Chapter 18

Omoraboti

@Omoraboti

Banner Courtesy: GanBarunFan

18

Arnav followed around Khushi as she checked out the apartment. On the 12^th floor, it was something around a 5000 square feet apartment that suited as Arnav's occasional hideaway perfectly. There was nothing feminine about the apartment. The foyer led to an elevated gallery which connected the study, the living room & the dining room. The bedrooms were spread around it. The huge kitchen along with a pantry was just beside the dining room. The paintings & the art pieces in the gallery proudly screamed of maledom all through. Khushi noticed the interior of the apartment was done in mostly black, white, grey & shades of brown. And strikingly contrasting with that, there was green all over. There were plants in all shapes & sizes in pots, in tubs, on grills .. even hanging from the wall.

"I love your kitchen, Arnav!"

Arnav chuckled as he saw her getting all excited in the kitchen. She elatedly checked almost everything - starting from the sink to the utensils.

"Do you love to cook?"

"Yes! But more I love to eat!"

Arnav chuckled again.

"So that's what you like most about this apartment?"

"Nope. This is second. I loved more how your designer has used so many plants. Looks beautiful. Who takes care of them?"

Arnav smiled.

"Mmm .. well, the owner himself tries to take care of the plants as much as he can. Also, there is someone who comes everyday to clean & water."

"The owner? I thought it was yours!"

"It is mine."

"Ah .. so you take care of the plants? You love plants? You do gardening?"

Arnav smiled shyly.

Khushi stared at him for some time realizing for the first time that she hardly knew anything about him. Apart from his killer looks, irresistible flirtiness, awesome kisses ... what did she really know about this confident, apparently arrogant, self-made, successful, no-strings-attached billionaire that no one else knew? Arnav Singh Raizada loved plants .. who would have thought?

"I love plants though I don't know anything about gardening."

"I can teach you sometime if you want. Now come with me. I think I have something else here that you would love."

Arnav held Khushi's hand and dragged her along with him towards the end of the gallery where was a large balcony facing the sky. It was on street side, not very magnificent view around but the sky was vast. But most beautiful was the little pond with lotuses. Khushi got awe-struck at the vision in shades of oranges, yellows & reds .. swimming above the stones, peeping from below the lotus leaves.

" You like it?" Arnav asked.

"I love it."

Arnav saw satisfied as Khushi kept watching the little in-house Koi Fish Pond without even blinking.

"That's mine!"

"What?"

"That one .. that white one."

Arnav looked at Khushi in surprise. There was only one white fish in the pond - a rare Koi breed. Arnav sort of considered it as his fish in the pond since he personally chose it.

"That's mine, Khushi."

"Accha? That was yours .. Now it is mine."

Khushi stuck his tongue out. Second time today .. Arnav chuckled inwardly. She looked really cute when she did that.

"Ok. We can discuss that later but I think we better go and sleep now. It is almost two."

"I can sleep in this bench! It is beautiful here. Sleeping by the pond and counting stars .."

"Save that for some other night. I am going to my room. You pick any room you like and sleep, ok?"

Arnav started walking towards his room and suddenly stopped as he remembered something.

"Will you be comfortable sleeping in that?"

"What?"

"The saree?"

"Oh no! This is not ok for sleeping. And this is so going to be ruined if I sleep in it. Do you have .. mm .. anything ladies' to wear?"

Arnav chuckled again.

"No. But you can pick anything you like from my closet."

"Your closet?"

"Ah .. yes. You may find something to wear. Come with me."

Khushi followed Arnav into his room. He showed her the closet.

"There you go. Mmm. I will go for a bath now. You pick something and .. go to sleep?"

"Yeah. Good Night, Arnav."

"Good Night, Khushi."

Khushi went through Arnav's closet. White, black, grey, brown, blue .. and a little bit of green. That was him. But mostly black, white & grey. As Khushi browsed more, she tried to understand Arnav's detached behavior over the last hour. And then an abrupt good night. Khushi smiled. He was not taking any risk. Khushi really wanted to trust him. But more than him, she was scared of herself. It was herself she was having difficulty to trust. She was the one who started this unnamed relationship. She was the one who allowed him to take her. She was the one to first give in to her desire .. She really could not blame him for anything. He had been clear about everything .. it was her who was confused and contradicting. She sighed as she eyed the closed door of the attached bathroom and left the room.

Arnav took more than he needed in the shower. He did not want to come across Khushi - at least not now. He wanted her to trust him but he was not sure if he could trust himself. He did not want to take a chance. Some 30 minutes later he came out in a pair of black shorts and a white t-shirt. Khushi was nowhere to be seen. He looked at himself in the mirror as he ruffled his wet hair. He liked her. He liked her like he had not liked anyone ever. At first, he thought he only enjoyed her company. But today he felt, he liked her enough to tell her things about himself .. to let her know him more. He felt like telling her about his gardening. She was the first one whom he wanted to show the Koi pond. He probably even would like to give her his white Koi fish too. Yes, she was special. And that is why Arnav was scared. He wanted to be with her but not at the expense of hurting her. He knew he was not remotely ready even to think of marriage. But for Khushi, that was the destiny. And he cannot promise her that. Dating, steady relationship, seeing each other .. may be living together .. but marriage was a different thing altogether. He had seen marriages breaking like anything - his mother, his sister ..

Arnav shut his eyes not wanting to go through the bad memories. He lied down in the bed but could not keep his eyes shut for long, knowing on the other side of the wall somewhere Khushi was sleeping. It was not that he had not been with prettier women. But Khushi was much more than a pretty face altogether. Far, far away from sleep, Arnav kept thinking about the moments he had spent with her over the last week. 8 days only .. and she had already become sort of a part of his system. He had no idea that the woman of his interest was also lying awake in another room thinking of him only.

After tossing and turning in her pillow for almost an hour, Khushi finally got up from the bed frustrated. She started this mess to get rid of the formidable dreams and now had ended up with no sleep at all. "Arnav Singh Raizada," Khushi muttered as she walked into the kitchen. She checked the pantry and easily found everything she needed. Arnav's room was in the last end of apartment. So there was no way this was going to bother his sleep.

After some time, Khushi was all set in the couch of the living room with a plate full of piping hot Jalebi. On mute, she switched on to a random music channel. She was humming softly & making random dance moves as she munched on the freshly fried jalebis one after another. Suddenly she felt eyes on her and she stopped in the middle of a rather complicated move with a half bitten Jalebi in her hand. She slowly turned her head to her right only to meet a pair of amused eyes & a half smirk.

Arnav was standing against a pillar with his arms crossed. He chuckled at the guilty face she made with her eyes wide & lips pouted. Still looking into his eyes guiltily, she took the half jalebi into her mouth, started munching & licking the syrup off her lips. Arnav leisurely walked towards her. As she bit another jalebi still with her guilty face, Arnav joined her in the couch.

"The dessert wasn't good enough?"

"Nothing like that. I just got hungry. You have some, naa?"

"I cant."

"Why? You don't like dessert?"

"Mmm. I do. But I dont have sweet."

"Ah! You should have told me this when I was scoring you."

"Why?"

"I hate men who are figure-conscious. Working out is fine .. but no carbs and all? By a man? A complete no-no!"

"Ok!" Arnav chuckled. "And what about men with diabetes?"

"Men with diabetes? They are old .. what else!"

"Old? Accha .. how old?"

"Mmm .. 50-60?"

"Do I look that old to you?"

"No. You are 29. I read somewhere."

"But I am diabetic, Khushi."

"What the .. oops, sorry. I mean .. you are diabetic? How come? You are not old!"

"Well, with all the wrong circumstances prevailing, a man at his twenties can also get diabetes."

Arnav watched Khushi suddenly going sad. Her jalebis were getting cold and she was no longer eating it. She put the plate in the centre table and turned to face him.

"How can someone live without eating sweets? That's a punishment."

"I do have some time. It is not that I don't have at all. Plus there are sugar-free sweeteners. Di makes sugar free desserts for me sometimes."

"Di?"

"Mm.. yes, I have a sister."

"I have a sister too! Payal. Next month she is getting married. How about your Di? She is married.?"

Arnav paused for a second.

"No."

Khushi noticed the uneasiness & sternness in Arnav as she mentioned about her Di's marriage. She had also noticed the fondness in his voice as he had mentioned his Di before. She again felt how little she knew about him. She felt like knowing him more - the real man inside.

"You have any brother?"

Arnav looked at Khushi. There was no unhealthy inquisitiveness in her. She was actually asking about his family. Could it be that just like he wanted her to know him more, she too wanted to know?

"No. It is only me & my sister. And it is our Naani's old house. I renovated it few years back. My maami also live with us. And there is my cousin Akash. That's pretty much our family."

Khushi smiled slightly.

"I live with my Mausa and Maasi. And Payal Jiji is .. actually my cousin."

Arnav searched her eyes to understand if this was what their conversation meant. Asking her more would mean he would need to open up more - something he had never done since he was 14. He did not like thinking about it even, let alone talk about it. Should he open the Pandora's Box? He took a deep breath before he followed his heart - knowing what would follow.

"What happened to your parents?"

"They died in a car accident when I was 8."

Khushi did not ask him anything. But Arnav read her eyes. It was his turn.

"My mom killed herself. And my father was killed on the same day in an accident."

Khushi watched the indifferent face of Arnav intently. Those two sentences came out without any emotion and his face was unmoved. But his fluttering eyelids could not hide his tormented eyes. Khushi finally got a peak to see the real man inside the carefully stoned armour. There was just a lonely man there, suppressing his pain. There was more to this man. There was more she wanted to see .. to know.

Arnav was trying his best to look away from Khushi. He could not meet her eyes. He was feeling so open .. almost grossly naked. He was not used to showing his weakness to anyone. He was not used to being seen. He suddenly felt two soft arms around him and the arms tightened as he sat still. He felt a soft kiss on the side of his neck. And then he felt her nuzzle a bit before she rested her head peacefully on his shoulder. Arnav felt his arms going around her and his head automatically supporting her head. They both snuggled close and could feel each other's heartbeat. Their hearts had heard each other in a completely different frequency today.

It was Khushi who broke the hug. She got up from the couch and extended her hand towards a sitting, seeking Arnav. Arnav held her hand immediately.

"Lets see what the fishes are doing," Khushi said softly, "You aren't feeling very sleepy, are you?"

Arnav got up and they walked into the balcony holding each others' hands. They sat in the bench together beside the little pond and watched the fish swimming around in their own world, with the moon reflecting on them.

Neither noticed how gorgeous the other looked under the moonlight. A lot ran beyond the surface of their desire. Their desire only opened the faucet to their inner connection. Not all relationship started in the same manner. In the end, it was about finding each other as they were meant to be. The realization hit them separately.

Two lost & lonely souls sat in silence besides each other under the moon.

There was something running through their intertwined hands .. something that set their lonely hearts to peace .. something that was yet to be understood.