Arshi TS: The Proposal *COMPLETED* - Page 5

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Thank you so much for the wonderful response on the very first piece of writing.🤗

Since many of the readers have asked for a part 2 of the OS, I decided to convert it into a Two Shot and here I am with part 2.

Happy reading😊

PART 2

"You are ten minutes late, Mr. Raizada. Didn't my sister inform you that I like punctual people?" A furious Khushi Gupta had asked Arnav Singh Raizada as he entered the Cafe Coffee Day.

"Will I be forgiven if I say I got late trying to select the perfect bunch of flowers for you?" asked Arnav while forwarding a bouquet of yellow roses.

"Are you trying to impress me?"

"Are you getting impressed?"

She couldn't hide the small smile that had started forming on her lips listening to his words that time, and even now she was smiling widely remembering her first coffee date with Arnav.

She had been very angry at him for making her wait for ten minutes. Who on Earth made his girl wait for so long? She had thought. Wait. His girl! When did that happen? While her mind was struggling to find answers to such questions, she saw him coming towards her with his usual smirk adorning his lips. She had wanted to lash at him but the cheesy dialogues that came from his husky voice had surprisingly calmed her. She didn't like such dialogues. In fact she hated people who used such words to impress her. But Arnav was different. Somehow his words, his flirting didn't irritate her. He was attractive and had the charms to woo any woman. She had admitted but her ego didn't allow her to confess it easily. Instead she had said, "Just because I have agreed to have coffee with you doesn't mean that I am ready to marry you." The date had ended there and Arnav had returned to Delhi the next day.

***************

Arnav Singh Raizada had a tiring day with back to back meetings and video conferences with the foreign clients. He slumped into the chair loosening his tie and ordered for a cup of strong black coffee without sugar. It was time to wrap up things for the day but before that that he needed to go through the details of an important project. While grabbing the cup of coffee, his eyes fell on the photo frame with the picture of the ever-radiant smiling face of his wife. As the bitter taste of the coffee made its way through his throat relaxing it in the process, he remembered her comment.

"How does he manage to utter such sugary sweet words in spite of drinking such tasteless bitter black coffe? Eww." Khushi had muttered under her breath but Arnav's ears were sharp enough to hear them. He had smiled inwardly.

Khushi Gupta was a tough nut to crack. They had talked over phone a couple of times after he had returned to Delhi but there had been no sign of her agreeing to marriage. The more he had talked to her, the more he had been attracted to her. However cracking business deals seemed easier than impressing Khushi Gupta. After a lot of pestering from her own family, especially her mother, she had agreed to the marriage proposal but with a condition.

***************

How silly she had been! She thought. She didn't want to marry because of her own insecurities. She didn't want to leave her home and her family. She had already rejected five grooms citing various reasons. However, a certain Arnav Singh Raizada had somehow managed to break her resolve of not marrying.

She had tried finding faults in him to reject his proposal but had failed miserably. Instead she had started falling for him. Every time she had conversed with him over phone, she could feel her heartbeats racing hearing his husky voice which felt sexier. Moreover her family wouldn't listen any of her excuses this time. They were hell bent on marrying her off. Finally she had come up with a stupid plan. She had declared one day that she would marry Arnav on a condition that she wouldn't leave her job in Kolkata and go to Delhi. She would live with her in-laws in Kolkata.

Garima Gupta had gone berserk listening to the weird condition that her daughter had put. She had shed buckets of tears repenting on the kind of girl she had given birth to. Shashi Gupta had been busy pacifying his wife and trying to instil some sense into her daughter's mind simultaneously. Payal had rushed to her room and had dialled Akash's number immediately giving him the recent breaking news. Akash had almost fainted hearing the news had his assistant not supported him. He had immediately called Arnav and the three of them had an hour long discussion regarding their future steps.

Khushi Gupta had a victorious smile on her face but little did she know that winning over Arnav Singh Raizada wasn't easy. After all he was backed by his grandmother Devyani Singh Raizada. She had already agreed for the proposal but hadn't met Khushi having faith in her son and daughter-in-law's choice. Arnav had revealed about Khushi's condition and the gloomy look on his face showed his disappointment and confusion. That is when Devyani Singh Raizada tried to interfere in the matter. After all nothing was more important to her than her grandchildren's happiness. She expressed her desire to meet Khushi and the next day Arnav had flown to Kolkata with her.

Just by looking at Khushi, she had known that Khushi was the perfect Raizada bahu. She could see an image of her younger self in her. Having lost her husband at a young age, she had raised her son single-handedly along with handling business. She could see the same fierce and strong woman in Khushi who wouldn't budge an inch from her decision. She had to be dealt her way and had advised Arnav accordingly.

To say that Khushi Gupta was shocked would be an under-statement. Arnav Singh Raizada had agreed to her condition! "Khushi, I don't have any problem with you staying in Kolkata and continuing your job. In fact this is a wonderful decision. Even I am thinking of shifting to Kolkata. We are already launching the new branch of Raizada Enterprises in Kolkata. So I shall handle the business here and Akash will be sent to Delhi." Arnav had said and thanked his daadi in his mind for giving him this brilliant idea.

"Okay, sure." Khushi had replied meekly.

The marriage preparations were in full swing. Arnav was handling business of both the branches since Akash was still inexperienced and needed Arnav's help every other second. Within a few weeks Khushi had realised the stupidity of her decision seeing a stressed Arnav barking orders over phone every now and then. Finally she agreed to stay with Arnav in Delhi after marriage.

***************

Khushi had taken a transfer in the Delhi branch of The Times of India where she was now the Editor-in-Chief. She was tactfully managing both office and home. She smiled thinking how she has changed after fifteen months of her marriage. Now she was a dutiful daughter-in-law and a loving wife.

While she was busy thinking how lucky she was to have a husband like Arnav, she felt a strong pair of arms encircling her waist and the musky smell of the cologne invading her senses.

"Thinking about me, Mrs. Raizada?" She heard him whisper in her right ear.

She turned around facing him releasing herself from his hold and said, "Why do you always presume that I think about you Mr. Raizada?"

"You weren't. Ouch. My heart just broke." He said placing her palm on his chest.

"Dramebaaz. Aren't we getting late for the party, Arnav?" Khushi asked.

"Wait", Arnav said in a serious tone. "Do you want your husband to murder someone tonight?"

"WHAT?" Khushi asked shocked.

"If you are going to the party wearing this sexy red sari looking smoking hot, men will be ogling at you at the party and being the possessive husband I won't be able to tolerate it. Someone will definitely be murdered by me today."

"Thanks for the compliment, Mr. Raizada but we are getting late and I am not going to change my sari."

"I never asked you to change."

"What do you mean, Arnav?"

"Let's not go to the party. I have a better proposal."

"But Arnav what will Mr and Mrs. Roy think?"

"Ahh. Don't worry about them. I will send an apology letter along with a gift. You know how good I am at that. Moreover, daadi is at Lucknow visiting her NGO. Don't you think we should utilise this opportunity in fulfilling daadi's wish." Arnav said with a wink.

Khushi's cheeks turned into deeper shade of crimson remembering daadi's wish. Last month when they had visited Kolkata, daadi had expressed her wish of playing with her great- grandchildren in front of both the Guptas and the Raizadas embarrassing Khushi and Arnav to the core.

"I love to see your red cheeks Khushi. You look cute," said Arnav kissing her cheeks. A shy Khushi is a rare sight.

Arnav pulled Khushi towards himself and asked, "So, Mrs. Khushi Arnav Singh Raizada, do you accept my proposal?"

"Accepted", she said and snaking her arms around her husband's neck, she took his lips in hers as Arnav lifted her and closed the bedroom door with a bang.

The night had just begun.

-----THE END-----

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