Your comments on chapter 18 told me that you are eager about chapter 19!😃 So I am rather nervous about this one!😛 Believe me, it was a difficult chapter to write!🤢 Looking forward to your confessions and reactions, jackfruits and jutas!!🤪

Chapter 19

Confession and Reaction

In a shady neighbourhood of Lucknow, in a dark dilapidated house at the end of a narrow street, a shrill ringtone sounded at four in the morning. The street dogs barked loudly. Half asleep, Shyam muttered a bagful of profanities before picking up the phone and growling into it, "What is it? Couldn't you wait for daybreak?"

There was a small pause at the other end before a woman's voice whispered, " Hello Hi Bye Bye! Saarry bitwa, tum sleeps kya after bail fraam jail!? Tumko ek bheri aargent news dewat ka padi! Ooo broken beddwa Khhusi leabhing Dilli tomorrowz. Gosak main koi praaject kari ka padi! (Hello Hi Bye Bye! Sorry son, are you sleeping after bail from jail? I want to give you a very urgent news! That broken beddwa Khushi is leaving Delhi tomorrow. She is going to Gosak for some project!)

Shyam sat upright on his bed, wide awake, and said in a sugary voice,"Thankyou Manoramaji!"

The sun yawned, stretching its chubby red hands, colouring the world in a gleeful flash!

The rays filtered through the glass window pane in Khushi's room and tickled her eyelids! Khushi groaned and grabbed the pillow from under her head and placed it over her eyes. The next moment someone snatched the pillow from her grip and threw it on the other side of the bed!

"Neha!" Khushi squealed, propping herself up on the bed and pouting, "I wanna sleep!"

"Well, you have been sleeping ever since he carried you up in his arms and laid you on that special bed!" Neha winked at her friend!

Khushi mouth formed a perfect O'! She rememberd feeling sleepy in his car. She must have gone off to sleep! Hey Devi Maiyya, I hope I didn't do any gadbad (nonsensical thing)in his car! And then he carried me upstairs! "Arnavji! Hey, Devi Maiyya what must he have thought of me!"

Neha giggled, "Well for starters, he must have thought that you are totally besharam (shameless)! You should have seen yourself yesterday! You held on to the lapel of his shirt and refused to let him go! It was such an awkward moment for me! After all I had met the great ASR of AR Designs for the first time!"

Khushi's face heated up. "I did not do that!" she protested

"Oh yes, you did! But he was such a gentleman! And up close so damn good looking! I don't blame you Khushi, " Neha giggled again. "But if I hadn't got you off him, bechare ki to izzat lut jati! (He would have been raped)" Neha guffawed!

She stopped laughing when she saw Khushi's face growing serious. Neha said gently, "What happened Khushi? I was just joking."

Khushi shook her head and sighed, " Its not that Neha! I have very little time on my hands! I have to join the NSS project tomorrow and..."

"And?" Neha prompted her.

"I have to tell him something..." Khushi smiled shyly.

Arnav's secretary called him again with the same message, "Sir Miss Khushi Kumari Gupta says she will not leave unless you meet her."

Arnav looked at the pile of files on his desk and rasped, "Did you tell her I am neck deep in work? And I have a deadline?"

"Yes, Sir but she..."

Arnav thought for a moment and said, "Okay send her in!"

In a second Khushi breezed into his cabin. "Arnavji! I am sorry about yesterday. I don't know when I fell asleep!" she gushed.

Arnav looked up at her at her apologetic face. It was apparent she didn't remember what she had said in her sleep. Arnav was relieved! He quickly dropped his eyelashes and gestured to her to sit, going back to his work. He looked at her from the corner of his eye. She was looking so pretty in her pink salwar kameez and green dupatta. So innocent and fresh.

Khushi sat down in the chair opposite Arnav gingerly. She was feeling nervous. She looked around the cabin. Aman and a group of five six people were trying to fit a short white off shoulder dress on a mannequin. Aman acknowledged her with a smile. Khushi smiled back and then turning to Arnav she tried to make casual conversation with him,

"I don't know much about dresses but this white dress is very elegant, Arnavji!"

"Hmmm." said Arnav and then with an inscrutable expression in his eyes, he leaned back on his chair nonchalantly and pushed a bunch of pictures in front of her and asked in a low husky voice "And what do you think of these?"

The pictures were of models in various state of undress! Khushi's eyes widened like saucers and she clamped both her palms to her O' shaped mouth! Her eyes locked with Arnav's. His eyebrows were raised and he had a maddening smirk on his face. He was no doubt enjoying Khushi's apparent state of shock.

"Bad by your standards, huh?" he questioned her leaning forward on the desk. She could now see the dancing golden specs in his molten eyes. He moistened his lips and whispered, bringing his face close to hers, "Not many girls have a perfect figure and unblemished skin like you Khushi! And very few look good without clothes!"

Khushi blinked. It took her a few seconds to digest what he meant! A heat wave surged through her body and inflamed her face. " Arnavji! That day...when the towel dropped...you saw me...you cheated?" she hissed angrily at Arnav, goading him to confirm what he had just hinted.

"I never cheat Khushi ! It takes a trained eye one second to notice and you gave me at least ten seconds before you shut my eyes!" Arnav laughed at her.

Khushi gasped in embarrassment! Her face red, she jumped off the chair and without another look at him rocketed out of the cabin and ran out of the office as fast as her legs could carry her!

Arnav threw back his head and laughed in earnest at her retreating back! At the end of the room, his employees' jaws dropped to the floor to see their usually stern boss laughing like a child! Arnav felt six pair of eyes staring at him and scowled. "Get back to work! Do I pay all of you to gape at me?" Everyone scurried back to work immediately!

Arnav congratulated himself on being able to get rid of Khushi so easily ! He needed time to think about her! Meanwhile, he had to finish a lot of work before he could shift his team to the Lucknow factory He got up from his swivel chair and turned around to open the overhead closet when something soft bundled into his back with great force! A panting Khushi hugged him behind and sliding her arms up his chest placed her flush palms on his collar bone. She placed her cheek on his broad shoulder and closing her eyes said in a smiling voice, " Its alright Arnavji because I love you!"

It would be an understatement to say that Arnav was shocked and his employees were dumbfounded !

Arnav pulled Khushi from behind him and gritted his teeth.He saw his employees trying their best to hide their smiles and barked, "Get lost !"

They raced out of the cabin like bullets from a pistol!

Khushi trembled as Arnav pushed her roughly against the wall and glowered at her, "Are you completely out of your mind, Khushi?"

Khushi stammered, " I ...I am ...sorry Ar...navji. I forgot there were other people in your room."

"But what I said about loving you is true," she continued defiantly.

"True? Really? I don't believe in this love crap so how can it be true? Get this stupid idea out of your head, samjhi tum?" he thundered at her.

Khushi hazel eyes brimmed with tears and she could not stop them from trickling down her hot cheeks. Arnav. groaned and then cupping her cheeks said in a shaken voice, "Khushi, what do you want? What do you see happening between us?"

Khushi lowered her eyelashes and fidgeted with her fingers.

Arnav placed his thumb under her chin and forced her to look at him.

"I am not capable of this... this thing...you ask for. But yes, I feel drawn to you physically and we can..."

Khushi cut in, " No...I want more..." she begged.

"Impossible!" Arnav said in a distant detached voice.

Khushi searched his eyes for a flicker of hope. There was none. His eyes had gone cold. His body had stiffened. Khushi's heart sank into a dark bottomless pit.

As minutes ticked by, she did not know how and from where she regained the strength to push away Arnav with all her might! As he staggered back she ran out of his office for the second time that day sobbing her heart out!

Khushi wiped her tears and stared out of the auto at a fuzzy world.

What did she expect from him! It served her right for running to him and confessing her love! She was a fool to think that Arnav Singh Raizada ko faraq padta hai(cares)! Arnav Singh Raizada ko koi faraq nahi padta(does not care)!

The moments she had shared with him flashed through her mind...Their first meeting, the broken bed, the instant attraction, the visit to the showroom, the sudden welling up of desires on the suhaag raat bed, their passionate kiss by the poolside, their journey through the stars...his arrogance, his tenderness, his concern, his teasing, his laughter, his possessiveness...his molten eyes...Stop it Khushi Kumari Gupta! Stop thinking about him! Bhad main jayye, laad governor! Hum uske saath koi rishta nahi rakhna chahtey.(To hell with him! I don't want to maintain any sort of relationship with him!)

Love you all! ❤️ 🤗

Thanks for reading! Do press like,😃 that is, if you liked the chapter 😃 and please do comment while you are at it! 🤗

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See you next Saturday!😃

wiwy2013-09-21 06:26:06