Chapter 18

ACTywm

@ACTywm

Chapter Seventeen

Khushi sat at her bedroom window, staring at the white Fortuner parked outside on the street, a house away, trying to be discreet, but a car like that never was and never would be discreet in Laxmi Nagar. She stared at it, annoyance boiling up inside her. She recalled the last day in the hospital, two weeks ago now, clear as if it was yesterday.

She had been all dressed and ready waiting for the nurse or one of the family members to come in and say that she could go home now. She secretly hoped that Arnav would come. And then, Payal had come in followed by Bua ji and Amma. There was something, hesitation, in their faces, but she didn't take heed of it then, she was too excited to see them. She hugged them and asked happily whether she had been discharged. They answered in the affirmative and she bounced up happily and then recoiled as the jump up had pulled at her stitches. Bua ji had lovingly scolded her. After the pain subsided she turned to go asking them on the way out whether they would be coming to Shantivan with her. That is when her cloud burst and the reality of what had gone on in the corridor, while she had been safely enclosed in her room, hit her. She wasn't going home with Arnav ji, but with Bua ji. After digesting that sour bit of news she asked quietly whether Arnav ji had agreed to it and when Amma answered that he had, she felt her whole world spin round her. Amma had gone on to explain how they all decided that it was in her best interest that she go home with them, but she only half listened to what Amma said.

He had decided again for her. And again he had decided wrong. When would he understand her? And more so when would these horrible setbacks in their relationship end and when would they finally be able to move on in their lives together. She had had enough of this roller coaster ride, she did not even like roller coasters, yet her life had been like one these past days.

She stared at him from her window, although she couldn't really see him, she could make him out sitting in the car. He sat there, like he had sat that day in the hospital, not looking at her while she kept glancing back at him, hoping that he would call her. That he would stop her. That he would demand that she go with him. But he hadn't. He continued looking at the floor, avoiding her gaze, and she had left heart-broken from the hospital. But what had irked her was that minutes after they had arrived at Bua ji's house, and she had been put on bed arrest by Bua ji even though she did not need it, but Bua ji would not hear anything. (She had declared that Khushi was not to move an inch from the bed and if she needed anything then she was to call them.) Once she was in bed, she had noticed the Fortuner outside her window, it had been right outside her house that day. He had arrived within five minutes of them, and it irritated her that when he could not stand to be away from her why had he then let Amma and Bua ji take her in the first place. She had wanted to go out and give him a piece of her mind right there and then but Bua ji had a keen eye on her and as soon as she had gotten up Bua ji was there putting her back inside. Thus she decided to ignore him, and hope that he would go away as she was annoyed at him. But he didn't leave and had been there the whole of last week and this week, he would come first thing in the morning and leave late at night once the light in her room went off. He never came in or tried to talk to her but just sat outside, a house away from the second day. She suspected his attempt at concealment had something to do with Bua ji, for even though she had not mentioned him being there, none of them had, she had caught her whispering his name to Amma on the first day, after which she had noticed the car to have disappeared only to reappear the next day a house away.

And so she sat by the window, the drapes concealing her from his view, but she could see him. Bua ji had finally let her get out of bed today, but she was still on bedroom arrest. She glared at the jeep, annoyed that he was outside, but wouldn't come in and talk to her. What had happened, why was he behaving like this, and why was no one acknowledging his presence or talking about him in front of her? These questions plagued her day and night.

Deciding enough was enough. She got up from the window and went to her room door. No one was in sight, Bua ji and Amma were probably attending to Babu ji. This was her chance and she rushed for the door, she was going to get her answers from him today.

****

Arnav sat back in his seat, after disconnecting his call from Aman. It seemed everyone at AR became incompetent when he was not around. This was the tenth call since this morning about another mishap and Aman needing his help in fixing it. His staff seemed to be running around like headless chicken without him being in the office, when he got back he would deal with them all, but right now he had a more important matter at hand, Khushi, his staff and work could wait. He had been parked up outside her house since the day she had been discharged. Dealing with work over the phone and his laptop connected to his 3G inside his car. He had succumbed to Garima's plea to let her take her daughter home with her, but he couldn't go to work or just sit at home while Khushi recuperated, and so he had parked outside her window, from where he would be able to see her and know that she was ok. Although he had had to move after a bashing from Bua ji, to the house next door, and now couldn't see her properly but only make her out on her bed or walking around the room, he was happy that he was near her and would be able to get to her if there was any emergency.

He knew she was angry and upset with him, for not stopping her, but he could not help it. Aunty had said such things that he could not counter her. But he couldn't stay away from her either and so he was here, outside her window, bidding time until she got well. And once she was well then...well he would cross that bridge when he came to it. For he had no idea how to convince Bua ji, Aunty or Uncle to let him take Khushi home. But more importantly he knew that them he would manage, but Khushi would be a problem, not because she didn't want to go home with him but because she was angry at him, and when she got angry he knew she would be stubborn and not listen to him at all. He was actually surprised that she had not stomped up to him and yelled at him already. But then that could be because she did not know that he was there or because she was so angry that she did not even want to talk to him. She would take time to come around but then that is what he liked about her, her feistiness.

The buzzing of his phone brought him out of his thoughts. He picked it up annoyed, thinking it was Aman again, when the display flashed Anjali's name. He disconnected it. It was her fifteenth call from this morning, but he still was in no mood to talk to her. He understood why she had done what she did, but he was unwilling to forgive her just yet. Her lying to him he may have been able to get over, but how could she have made him revisit that nightmare from the past. She in her selfishness had not even thought for a minute how much it would break him to think that she had relapsed. She knew, too well how possessive of her he was, and she had played with his emotions. She had made him relive that nightmare, making him believe that she was slipping away from him again. And it was that which had caused him to make one wrong decision after another, which could have resulted in Khushi's death. And so, as much as he loved his Di and as much he understood her reasons behind her deceit, he was not ready to forgive her just yet. He needed his space. He needed time to recover from her betrayal and be able to trust her again.

A loud rap on his window brought Arnav out of his thoughts. He started and looked outside the window as Khushi limped into view. He drew back a breath as he took her in, he had forgotten how beautiful she was in these two weeks. No, correction, his memory had not done justice to her sharp beautiful features. Her face was flushed, probably from the exertion, she wore a green salwar suit, he was partial to that colour on her skin. And her eyes looked murderous. He stifled back a smile, she had finally come to collect.

****

oki so that is it for the time being, hoping to hear your comments...😊