Ye tumhaari meri baatein
"Oh, by the way, since when did we become friends?" Khushi asked Arnav teasingly as they waited for their breakfast to arrive.
"Well, saying that you are the person I am paying to act as my would-be fiance would have made Tiara's imagination run wild," Arnav shrugged.
"You could have also said that I was your colleague, or some distant relative."
"Okay fine," he conceded, "I do consider us to be friends, kind of."
"Hmm, even though I am a behenji, who is so clearly not your type?" she asked, remembering the disdainful manner in which he had treated her in their first meeting. It was the pivotal moment that had sparked off the war.
"Are you fishing for compliments now?"
"Yes," she demanded petulantly, "tell me I am awesome. And also that you were wrong to treat me like I was somewhat beneath you."
"Okay I was wrong," he admitted, "I guess I was in a bad mood because I was having to go to such lengths just to get my family off my back. And while everyone else was mooning over me, you just sat there, indifferent. It was really quite irritating at the time."
"And I am awesome," she insisted.
"Don't push it, Gupta," he responded, as the waiter arrived at their table with food-laden trays.
She smiled.
"Well, for the record," she announced when the waiter had left, "I don't think you're an obnoxious, pretentious bratty jerk anymore."
"You're making me blush," he muttered sarcastically.
"Okay, seriously, I mean it. You're a nice guy."
"How so?" he asked innocently.
"Are you fishing for compliments now?" she quipped immediately.
"No, because I already know I'm awesome," he smirked.
"You might be, but it's not for the reasons that you think. It's got nothing to do with your yearly nomination in GQ's list of most stylish men or whatever. You're a nice person because deep down, you care for people. It shows even when you try to hide it behind your swanky cars and flamboyant lifestyle and playboy image. For example, you didn't want to leave me outside Joshi Theatre alone because it might not be safe... and I also know that you feel guilty about the fact that you are having to deceive your family, especially Di."
Arnav stared at her, clearly taken off guard. He had been so used to her witty retorts that he did not know how to respond to this heartfelt side of hers. It did not seem that she was waiting for him to say something though. Her bright, intelligent eyes seemed to read through the little things that gave him away, almost as if they knew better than he did himself, what he might have wanted to say.
"I am very close to Di," he said quietly after some time, confiding in her as he would to the friend that he had never had, "After our parents died, we have been each other's strongest support. I wish I didn't have to do this. It kills me to see her so happy and excited."
"Then why are you doing it?"
"I don't see myself as getting married. It's a lifelong commitment that I honestly don't think I can pull off. I know myself too well, with time, I will begin to feel tied down, trapped. I can do anything for Di, I can even let go of my freedom. But nothing gives me the right to spoil someone else's life."
"I understand. I can't bear the idea of being tied down either. I want to fly and be free. It's the reason why I ran away from home."
"You ran away?" Arnav spluttered, nearly choking on his croissant, "You ran away and came here, to become an actress? You are so filmi!"
"Thanks... I guess."
"But then again, you value your freedom only in so far as your dreams and ambitions are concerned. You are perfectly okay with long-term romantic commitments, isn't it?"
"How do you know?"
"Because you're just that filmi!" he chortled, "I could tell simply by the way you enacted those soppy lines at the audition. There's acting alright, but the way you put yourself in the skin of the character and lived it out, was very revealing. You are one of those romantic girls who believe in happily-ever-afters. I bet you're constantly on the lookout for a Mr Right, who is just as filmi as you, so you can gaze into his eyes and swoon into his arms."
"Don't make fun of me," she said, threateningly, as she brandished her bread knife at him, "You, you... commitment-phobic ape with no emotional depth whatsoever. I will find my perfect heroic someone and we will live happily ever after."
"I'm sure you will," he said, eyeing her knife with apprehension, "I think any guy you like would have to be crazy to not fall for you."
"That's sweet."
"Don't call me sweet," he grumbled, "Or nice guy - yuck! That's like the least sexy thing ever."
She laughed, "Well, who said you were sexy anyway?"
"Just about half the town," he pointed out.
"It's just because of your aftershave," she said, matter-of-factly, the words leaving her mouth before she could stop them.
"My what? Wait... don't tell me, some of my undeniable charm rubbed off on you as well?"
"Chhi, no way!" she exclaimed, hoping, hope against hope, that she wasn't blushing too visibly.
"Oh come on, we're friends now. Tell me, do you think all girls get turned on by the way I smell? Should I wear more of the magical aftershave?"
"I never said turned on. It's pleasant, that's all. And don't expect me to give you any insights on why girls might fall for you."
"Ahem, is it because you'd feel jealous if you saw me with someone else?" he winked.
"That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!"
"Don't lie," he teased, "I saw the way you were looking at Tiara."
"Whatever!" she said, trying to appear casual, "And what kind of name is Tiara anyway? Sounds like Keera. By the way did you and her... um, did you... like, were you with her at any point?"
"We had a short fling, yes. But no, we didn't exactly sleep together."
"As if I care," Khushi shrugged, as she busied herself with the quiche before her.
She knew full well that she could not lie to herself anymore.
She did care, and she actually did feel jealous. What did it mean that they had a fling? And that they did not exactly sleep together? What did they do then? Did Arnav still like her, or feel for her whatever flimsy substitute he had for love?
It was an infuriatingly painful emotion to feel - jealousy. It was like a longing that tore itself within her, a longing for something she could not quite identify, a longing that she knew too well would never be fulfilled. Why - why did she develop a crush on Arnav Singh Raizada, of all people! Even if he did begin to like her one day, he would never fall in love with her because, as nice as he was, he just was not wired that way.
And just as she was trying to get to grips with her own little heartbreak, another blow was sent her way. Just a few metres away from where they were sitting, Akash Singh Raizada had just sat down at a table with a young lady. They were holding hands and even though Khushi could not see who the lady in question was, their body language indicated in that they were most irrevocably in love with each other. What about Lavanya then?
"Khushi," Arnav said, interrupting her thoughts, "Are you okay?"
"Akash," she whispered, shocked.
Arnav turned to look in the direction that she was staring at.
"Oooh, and he's got a little girlfriend, it seems!" Arnav commented.
"But - but... how can Akash have a girlfriend?" she mumbled, more to herself than to Arnav, "NK said that he was single. I had specifically asked him. I thought NK would know. How can it be?"
It was most disconcerting indeed! Khushi had already begun to implement some of her plans to set up Lavanya with Akash. The other day, when she saw that Akash was calling her to discuss the engagement party, she had quickly run off to the bathroom and shouted for Lavanya who was in the other room to take the call. And when Lavanya had been stuck at work till late, Khushi had berated her to ask Akash for a lift because apparently Mr Kashyap did not want her to travel alone. She had even asked NK to meaningfully hint at Akash that Lavanya was attractive and surprisingly single. And the biggest sixers of all had carefully been scheduled for the day of the engagement party, where she had insisted that Lavanya accompany her.
What an utter waste it had all been. And how would Lavanya react? Okay, granted, Lavanya had never admitted that she liked Akash. But Khushi could not have been mistaken in reading the small signs that Lavanya had given. Khushi was an expert when it came to love. Unrequited love it was then - the worst kind of them all. She knew it from experience.
Khushi was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice that Arnav was observing her very closely, trying to understand what was happening. A slight pang of jealousy and possessiveness hit him as he ended up grossly misinterpreting her reaction. Khushi liked Akash?
Cricket
Jodha Akbar
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