Chapter 6

The awaited night comes after following all the rituals. Khushi convinced Arnav to follow them in the wedding and he did all of them for her with a smile starting from the shagun till their circumambulating around the fire; even wearing a sherwani in the rituals, even visiting the mandir, he did that for her; his love. He prepared everything for the wedding perfectly as she wanted and gifted her a green and pink saari and his mother's bangles. He brought payals for her too, which their tickling attract the ears of the listeners towards them. He didn't forget anything. She felt bad as she couldn't do anything special for him. "You've accepted me as your life partner. What could I have asked more?" once he told her.

* * * * *

After Akaash's and Payal's engagement, Arnav and Khushi didn't see each other until the Mehndi. He was moving in the Raizaada's mansion freely as he declared, "Since I don't believe in all of this, I won't lock myself inside the room in my own house for anyone's sake." He stared at her whenever he passed in front of her. It confused her a lot and she couldn't focus in anything, but couldn't stop glancing at him and feeling his gaze.

Then they met at the haldi ceremony. Khushi was pretty as usual and his attraction developed to admiration, and the admiration to love with every meeting.

At the sangeet, he surprised her and the two families by dancing with her. They danced on 'Teri Meri' song. She couldn't tolerate his touch through the dance; her heartbeats increased in an alarming tone, she could feel butterflies in her stomach as he touched it. Her skin was burning under his hands. The dance movement were slow giving their feelings time to grow more and more for each other. He was too close to her therefore her knees were so weak. Suddenly she felt herself giving up to him and she drawn in her emotions as she allowed them to pull her. She gave herself to him and followed his lead. He touched her bare waist, bare back, hands, arms, shoulders and her face; his touch left goose bumps in everywhere he touched.

After the scandalous dance, he followed her to the dressing room. She was thinkng of the dance. "Hey DM! What have you done, Sanka Devi? Couldn't you think? All is that Laad Governor's fault; if he didn't dance with me,'" then his presence cut the series of her thoughts.

"What'what was that?" she wanted to scold him, so she gathered her strength to ask him in accusing tone.

"What was right," he answered simply. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open at his answer.

"And'what are you doing here?"

"What I'm supposed to do!"

"What?" She was confused. They shared eye contact and silence ruled the room.

He cut the silence, "Khushi," he called her. "You've entered my life, brought happiness to it, changed me and broken my pride,'"

"Are you accusing me? Regretting that? What are you trying to say?" She couldn't get all of this at once. His manners' change was bewildering her. Confusion and nervousness are what she could feel the most.

"No I'm not. At all. I'm happy with this change," then he trailed off before saying, "I love you, Khushi."

She was numb; she was unable to react to his words, which kept echoing in her mind. Her breaths became uneven. She thought and thought; she thought of each moment they meet, each eye contact they shared, each emotion his presence gave, each night she thought and dreamt of him. 'Is this love?' she asked herself.

Jo pehle hua na

Ab hone laga hai

Dil humko jaga kar

Kyun sone laga hai

Yeh ishq hai

Ya kuch aur hai

Ya bas khaali khaali shor hei

Isko main kya kaho?

Tu hi bata.

She stood in her place for a good ten minutes whie he was observing her and studying her expressions.