Chapter 9 [Editing]

Koeli

@Koeli

Haldh Haat(Haldi)

Knock Knock,

"Khushi bitiya? Oh Khushi bitiya! Are you there?" Nani knocked khushi's door.

Khushi slowly walked towards the door, her abdomen pain was not helping her. The more she felt the pain, the more she blushed, thinking what have happened last night. The more happier she got, the more nervous she became, thinking about how arnav will treat her now.

She had managed to escape several attempts since morning. But she knew in this way, she is welcoming his anger more.

However, hearing dadi's voice, she went towards the door, clutching her tummy and opened it.

"arrey you are still not ready beta?" Dadi tucked her locks behind her ear.

"woh dadi actually" Khushi stammered, not able to find any word.

"Come here first" dadi held her hand and took her out of her room.

"dadi where are we going?" Khushi managed to ask her in between her cramps.

Dadi dragged her near the mandir and asked Khushi to enter.

To her surprise she saw Arnav, who was already there inside the mandir with folded hands, in front of the idol.

His eyes were closed and his lips were parted. He was dressed in white kutra pjama.

"All ready to get married Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada" she became sad and batted her tears.

She went inside composing herself and stood beside dadi. She promised herself that she will avoid any sort touch or direct contact with him.

So, dadi was standing in the middle.

Khushi folded her arms and prayed for everybody's happiness.

After he was done with his prayer, he looked towards Khushi, who was standing behind dadi, closing her eyes.

Her lips were still swollen. He tried to check her partition, to find his mark, which he gave last night, but he couldn't as her locks covered her forehead to some extent.

Her face was looking absolutely angelic.

And just when his eyes fell on her eyes, she looked at him.

His expression immediately mellowed down towards her. He was about to take a step towards her, when she shifted uneasily and clutched dadi's hand.

Dadi picked up the bowl containing dahi (curd) and blocked arnav's tracks purposely.

Dadi being dadi, exactly knew what happened last night. She even saw Khushi slightly limping from arnav's room to her room in the morning. She knew they have crossed all the limits last night. And Arnav being the vulnerable one, is trying to talk to her and understand his hidden feelings. But Khushi was a very strong girl. She was not strong initially, but arnav's anger, hatred and his rejection made her strong. She still loves Arnav madly, insanely but she does not show that anymore to him as she knows it is not worth. After she was back from abroad, she kept herself away from Arnav.

"lau beta, have some curd" dadi extended the spoon towards arnav's mouth.

Arnav reluctantly took the portion. Dadi dipped the spoon once again and extended it towards Khushi just like the way, she used to do before. But this time, Khushi stopped her hand and went out of the mandir. After few seconds, she came back with another spoon and gave it to dadi.

Dadi and Arnav were shocked by this move of Khushi'

~FLASHBACK~

"Arrey anrav beta, you have a little bit of this curd.. today you are joining office for the first time and by having curd, it will bring you luck and prosperity".

"Dadi I don't believe in all these.. please..".

"Arrey arnu zid kyun kar rahe ho?" (why are you acting difficult) she chirped while sliding her arms around dadi's neck from behind and rested her chin on dadi's shoulder.

"Chalo ab muh kholo" dadi held his chin and forcefully opened his mouth.

Seeing the opportunity, Khushi grabbed the spoon and fed him and then started giggling.

"What the?" he twitched his face in disgust.

Khushi scooped some more dahi and had it.

"umm mitha hai" she teased Arnav as if after he had it, the sour dahi became mitha.

"Dhath pagli" dadi hit her head fondly "tu kabhi sudhre gi nahi. Kitni baar mana kiya hai tujhe, kisika jhoota nahi khaate hai". (oh god, this girl will never be change. I have asked you not to have food from someone's portion)

Arnav was about to turn and leave when Khushi said loudly "kisiki aise waise ka jhootha thodi na hai, yeh to arnu ka jhoota hai, and I love having arnu's jhoota dadi kyun ki jhoota khaane se pyaar badta hai"  (this is not of any random person's portion dadi, this is arnu's and you know na I love having his portion, you know why? Because if you have someone's portion from the same dish, your love for that person increases).

~FLASHBACK ENDS~

"kya huya dadi? Aap mujhe nahi khilaoge?" (Won't you feed me?) she said in a serious tone, frowning a little bit.

Dadi looked at Arnav and Arnav gulped down his feelings.

He looked at the spoon kept in the bowl and then at the spoon, which Khushi was holding. He did not know why his heart sank seeing the sight before him. Khushi had denied to have his jhootha indirectly, his dahi.

"par Khushi tu to'"

"dadi aapne hi mana kiya tha na? kisi ka jhootna nahi khatey".

"Par Arnav!"

"dadi, hum aap dono se bohot pyaar karte hai aur karte rahenge" Arnav shot a look to her when she confessed her love for him in front of devi maiya". Ya ya it was not a confession, but she at least said that in the mandir, he thought.

"par yeh haq sirf mera pati ka hi hona chahiye na dadi? I mean meye sirf apne pati ka hi jhootha khaa sakti hoon na?" (but this is my husband's right only, right? I mean, I can only have my husband's food, right?)

His sadness was immediately masked by anger. "How could she say something like this? She is grown having my food. She always used to have her food in my plate after I completed my food and now, she will do these things with samrat?" he thought. His anger slowly rising up with the fact that now Khushi will be doing everything with samrat what she used to do to Arnav. Not that he gave two hoots to those things, he always found it silly and stupid. But today, when she denied, he felt a sharp pain of rejection. A pain that he never wanted to feel. The pain he avoided by keeping Khushi away from him. But that last night turned his life upside down. He was feeling extremely possessive. He was totally messed up. He was stuck in his own way. And his ego was worsening the situation.

Dadi fed Khushi some dahi and kept the bowl.

**

Raizada mansion was beaming with the sound of dhol. Arnav was taken to the area, where he was supposed to go through the haldi rituals.

Khushi was standing at the corner, fighting her inner feelings on seeing her arnu getting married to someone else.

On the other hand, Arnav was feeling suffocated with all these rituals and chit pit of ladies.

Dadi applied haldi on his legs, hands and face followed by other ladies and elders.

Then Arnav's office people started applying him haldi. One of the staff held khushi's hand and pulled her, where Arnav was sitting.

"arrey Khushi, tum nahi lagaogi arnav ko haldi?" she asked.

Arnav and Khushi exchanged an uneasy look towards each other.

Khushi was about to dip her hand in the haldi container, when dadi came and stopped her hand.

Khushi looked at dadi with questioning eyes.

"Nahi Khushi, you cannot touch this haldi." Dadi said pulled Khushi's hands.

"tumhe sabse pehle samrat ke naam ka hi haldi chadiyi jayegi jaise yeh haldi sheetal ko. Being an unmarried girl, you can not touch this haldi".

(you will be applied the haldi, which will come from samrat's house just like the way, this haldi will go to sheetal's house. Being an unmarried girl, you can not touch this haldi)

Khushi looked down and stepped back. She felt horrible and that did not go unnoticed by Arnav.

"koi baat nahi Khushi, tu baad mein laga dena ussey jab teri haldi puri ho jayegi" one of  the staffs told her.

Khushi gave a weak smile and stepped back.

"Arrey Khushi bitiya, Arnav tere liye itna kuch kar raha hi, teri puri saadi ka kharcha utha raha hai, tu kuch de rahi hai ki nahi ussey?" one of his relative asked.

(Khushi! What are you gifting Arnav on his marriage? He has done so much for you. he is bearing all the expenses of your marriage. I am sure you are going to give something really good to him)

Khushi felt a little bad the way she said. Without saying anything, she slowly walked towards her room.

She closed the door and slid on the floor crying madly.

**