Dear friends, Eid Mubarak 🤗 to you and your family! 😃

Sorry could not post the chapter earlier!😭 Thanks for tolerating me! You guys are so cool! 😎

Chapter 13

Khushi blinked her eyes! The Suhaag Raat bed in her room! How was this possible? She lunged towards the bed and raising her right leg high in the air, kicked it ! As her soft muscle came in contact with hard wood she screamed in pain and slumped down on the floor!

All this while, Arnav, had been staring at Khushi incredulously, as if she was a mental case, immediately rushed to her side and kneeling besides her, thundered in rage, "Tum paagal ho kya, Khushi? (Are you mad, Khushi?) What were you trying to do? You could have hurt yourself really badly again. Haven't you hurt yourself enough for the day?"

Khushi pouted at him teary-eyed, "I wanted to be sure that the bed was actually here and I was not dreaming!"

Arnav rolled his eyes. "Wow! So you had to kick it! Only you could have thought of something so smart! Now look what you have done? You have reopened your wounds" Arnav said looking at her ankle which was oozing blood, his brown orbs alternating between anger and concern!

Suddenly Khushi's phone rang. It was Neha. Her shrill voice filled the room, "Hey Khushi madam, I landed at Bangalore airport and went straight to office. Just walked into my hotel room. Was dying to ask you, are you making good use of your super sexy bed?" she guffawed at the other end of the line.

Arnav raised his eyebrows and hid a smile. Hey Devi Maiyya had the Laad Governor with his big ears heard what Neha had just said! Really, the things Neha says!

"How do you know about the bed, Neha ?" Khushi whispered furiously into the phone.

Neha laughed. "Don't tell me it was a secret between you and your superman bed breaker! He he! I know everything. A Mr Sharma had called from the'Only Beds' store. He was most apologetic that his nincompoop juniors had the audacity to deliver the wrong bed to you! Ho ho! Just before I left for the airport, he delivered the bed which according to him you really really liked. Are you trying to seduce Raizada, Khushi?" Neha burst into another round of laughter.

"Shut up, Neha. You should have called me before accepting the bed and dashing off to the airport! I will talk to you tomorrow," and saying that Khushi disconnected the line.

She looked at Arnav from under her eyelashes. He was almost laughing at her. How dare he eavesdrop on her personal conversation! A thought took shape in her head.

"Did you by any chance ask that funny Mr. Sharma to send this bed to my apartment?" she said accusingly.

But he did not take her bait. "What crap! I have better things to do in life, Khushi! And as far as I remember you are the one who gave Mr. Sharma the impression that you would give your right eye for this bed," he laughed throatily.

"Anyways now that you know your friend took delivery of the bed, take off your damp clothes and let me have a look at your wounds," Arnav ordered her summarily.

When Khushi made a face at him and did not budge, he leaned forward and without much ado lifted her up in his strong arms and strode towards the bathroom depositing her in front of the door.

"Wh..what are you doing Ar'Arnavji''.." Khushi stammered, finding her voice.

"What?" he inquired, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

Then smirking, he dropped his voice to a husky whisper, "What do you want me to do? Do you want me to help you take off your clothes?"

That sentence had the desired result and Khushi scurried into the bathroom and banged the door on his face.

Arnav chuckled, "Paagal hain par cute hain (She is mad but she is cute)."

And still smiling, and slowly unbuttoning his wet shirt he strolled to the balcony and looked at the clear sky with its stars twinkling in all their glory.

What did she say, he mused. Her parents have become stars in the sky! Is my Maa among the stars too, he thought for a fleeting second before he realized he was thinking like her! Damn Khushi Kumari Gupta! My Maa committed suicide because my father betrayed her for another woman. And that is the harsh reality. A dreamy starry world as Khushi would have one believe, does not exist!

"Arnavji, Arnavji!" The urgency in Khushi's voice broke through his reverie.

Khushi! What has happened to her? He panicked and ran towards the bathroom.

The door was ajar and Khushi was peeping from behind it! Her face was flushed but she seemed okay, he deduced in one glance and felt a wave of relief washing over him.

But when he asked,"What now, Khushi!?" his tone was unnecessarily brusque.

The harshness in his tone agitated Khushi. "What do you mean, what now! I need something to wear! " she retorted

"Oh! Okay! Shall I see in your cupboard?" Arnav smirked.

Khushi made a face at him and then nodded, jerking her head towards the cupboard on the opposite wall. Clothes were folded neatly in the cupboard and Arnav grabbed the first thing he saw and handed it to Khushi.

Khushi snatched it from him and locked the bathroom door. But when she saw the thin material she gasped. "Hey Devi Maiyya! The Laad Governor has handed me one of Neha's short flimsy nighties. If I ask him to hand me another dress he will surely blow his fuse. Hope he doesn't notice what I am wearing, Devi Maiyya, Khushi prayed fervently.

But when Khushi stepped out of the bathroom that is the first thing he noticed, how desirable she looked in the nighty. The sleeveless knee length nighty exposed her shapely hands and legs to his admiring gaze while the plunging neckline showed off her creamy white skin and cleavage. He undressed her with his eyes and Khushi for all her inexperience understood instinctively the smouldering look in his brown eyes. Her throat dried up. As he advanced towards her she backed away till she hit the bathroom door behind her.

Khushi closed her eyes, her heart beating fast, dhak dhak dhak.

Once again, Arnav kneeled in front of her. She was surprised to feel his hands on her legs and opening her eyes in a flash, she looked down.

He placed her right feet on his thigh to have a better look at the ankle wound which had grown in size and was oozing fresh blood ! The touch of his gentle fingers on her feet sent shivers down her limp body and she gripped his shoulder to steady herself !

Arnav thought she was in pain and swiftly lifted her up brought her to the bed and laid her down on it. Khushi quickly sat up on the bed, remembering the first time she had sat on it with him, the white net enveloping them, the fairy lights twinkling like the stars, the bed rotating ever so slowly.

But Arnav had other things on his mind."Where is the first aid box, dammit?" he growled, running his gaze round the room.

Startled, Khushi looked up at him and pointed to the left-hand drawer of her dressing table.

Arnav pounced on the drawer and ripped it off of its shelve rummaging through it frantically. Once he got what he was looking for, he cleaned and dressed her wound as fast as he could.

But his eyes had a far away look. The image of his mother lying lifeless in a pool of red blood rose unbidden to his mind. He shivered. His insides screamed.No I can't lose Khushi like I lost Maa. I was too weak to prevent it when I was fourteen but I won't let it happen now, he thought looking at Khushi with red unseeing eyes.

Khushi knew at once that something was wrong. She felt it in her heart. He was in pain and instinctively she reached out to him.

"Arnavji?" she said tentatively, touching his cheek, her fingertips testing the roughness of his stubble. The pain in his eyes was now evident as he continued to stare at her with that wild look in her eyes. "Arnavji?" Khushi inquired of him again. Then touching gingerly the scar on his left eye, the only mark of his physical pain, she said in a stronger voice, "Arnavji, what is it, tell me please!" He had dressed her wounds, now it was time for her to dress his.

Arnav suddenly pulled her up against him and hugged her tight, burrowing his face in her silken hair, taking solace in her as if there was no tomorrow.

Khushi's body stilled for a second. Then an unknown emotion surged through her veins. She put her arms around him, hugging him back, daring to comfort him, revelling in the power to ease the pain of Arnav Singh Raizada like only Khushi Kumari Gupta could.

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wiwy2013-08-10 08:52:01