Chapter 5

rulama

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Part 5

"Chodiye hamein!" Khushi tried to pull her hand out of the Shaitan's hold.

"No, I won't," he said, like an adamant child. "Why did you run away yesterday like a scared baby?"

Khushi drew in a deep breath. It never paid to admit your weakness to your enemy. "I was not scared. Nor am I a baby. Aap ko diabates ke saath saath blindness bhi he, kya?"

ASR controlled the quirk in his lips. "I know you are not a baby." He looked her up and down, his burning eyes singeing the hairs on her skin. "But you are scared. I can see the fear in your eyes." He looked deep in to her beautiful eyes.

Khushi turned her head away. She tried to pull her arm out of his hold, but his fingers were holding her arm firmly.

He opened the car door. "Get in, Khushi."

"No, I don't want to go with you." She turned her head away, letting her hair fan out.

"You didn't say that when you fell unconscious in my arms that night at the Guest House." ASR retorted. "I carried you home."

Khushi glared at him. "Who made me unconscious? You did!" She punctuated her sentence with a jab at his chest with her finger. "You sent me to that godforsaken place. You made sure I did not have any breakfast, sitting across from me at the table and scowling at me, Laad Governaar kahin ka. You made me sit up all night typing that stupid report from 1998 that even a self-respecting rat won't want to nibble on. You made me stand in the rain for hours at night, showing drivers where to park their cars. Why did they need help to park cars? Couldn't they see where there was an empty space? If they couldn't see, then why were they driving?" Her finger continued to jab him as she listed every crime against her.

ASR glowered at her, his sense of guilt firing his fury.

"And you broke my bangles and hurt my arm." She looked down at her arm as though she could locate the wound now.

"Khushi!" His voice held regret.

Khushi pouted, turning her head away.

ASR sighed. Being his usual overbearing self was not going to win him any brownie points with her.

"Let me drop you home. You must have a lot of work waiting for you," he said, sounding very reasonable.

She looked at him. She did have a busy day. "Yes." Khushi had to admit.

He helped her in, took his seat and drove away.

A while later he asked her, "What will you do when you reach home?"

Khushi sighed. "All the ladies will be there for the haldi. After the cleaning up is over, I have to serve food to all of them. Then clean the whole house. Stack all the gifts. Help Jiji pack the last minute additions to her big suitcase..." Her face fell.

Jiji would be going away tomorrow. It was only now that the consequences of Jiji's marriage struck her. Khushi blinked her tears away.

He looked at her pained face and swallowed hard. He would ask Payal to stay back in Laxmi Nagar if he could, but Akash...

ASR stopped the car. They had reached Laxmi Nagar.

"Khushi, she will be in Delhi. You can visit any time." He reminded her.

Khushi nodded, not really convinced that her loss was not his gain.

"I will look after her. Khushi, Payal will never want for anything." He insisted, wanting to see a smile on her face.

"I know." Khushi turned her head to look at him. "Buaji said that as long as you are the head of the family, Jiji will never have a problem."

ASR was touched by Buaji's trust in him. "Buaji said that?"

"Ji. She doesn't know you. She doesn't know that you create all the problems before solving them." Khushi made to open her door.

ASR caught hold of her arm.

"Khushi, I promise. I will look after Payal. Just as I look after Di." He was dead serious.

Khushi looked in to his eyes with moist ones. Finally, she nodded.

"And I will look after you," he promised.

Khushi frowned. "Why should you look after me? I am perfectly capable of looking after myself," she claimed. The tears vanished.

ASR smiled. "I know. But let me keep an eye on you."

"Keep an eye on me? Why should you keep an eye on me? Am I a chor for you to keep an eye on me?" Khushi asked, affronted.

"Yes."

"Aww!" Khushi's mouth fell open.

ASR bent to kiss her arm at the very spot that he had hurt her that night at the Guest House.

Khushi looked at him, her eyes wide in shock. Her arm felt as it had when she had tried to iron her salwar a few years back and the electric iron had given her a rude shock.

"You have stolen too many things from me, Khushi."

"What? What did I take from you?" Khushi's hurt eyes looked in to his intent ones.

"Do you want to know?" he asked.

Khushi nodded, determined to wrestle him to the ground if he so much as dared to call her a thief again.

"I will give you a list tomorrow," he promised.

Khushi glared at him, feeling wounded. "At the wedding?"

"After the wedding. Meet me on the terrace after the wedding." His husky voice send a thrill through her nerves.