Lots of things will be cleared out in this chapter! I think you guys will enjoy it!😳 Fingers crossed!😳
This update is dedicated to all my readers and likers - and especially Siona (Sio_Angel) <-- I think that's the username? hehee... I'm a bhulakad... excuse my bhulakadness! I'm so sorry I haven't been able to respond to your comments sweetheart! Hope you like this update!!!
Ps. Same rain background music works for this chapter too!😳 But I think you need to read the update on your laptop to hear it!😆 hehe.. and Amuu... you were upset that I didn't use coloured font in my last update! So this one's for you, babe!😆
Chapter 2 - Arnav Singh Raizada
(did the title make you smile?😆)
Drip. Drip. Drip. Within the few moments that Khushi had entered the grand, white, house, she had managed to form a puddle of rain water all around herself. How convenient. She shivered, grabbing on to her tight fitting dress and squeezing it, to get the water out. "Preets!" She called to her friend who was not present here at the moment.
"Kahan challi gayyi tu? (where have you gone?) Darwaaza bhi khula? (Even the door was open!)"
Stepping out of her 6-inch red heels, she traipsed into the house, feeling more like a sneaky thief than her friend's best friend. "Oh hello? Sab so gayye kya? (is everyone asleep?) Koi hai? (Is anyone here?)" But all she could hear were the sound of her own two feet slapping against the wooden floorboards.
Another clash of thunder. Khushi gasped, quickly covering her mouth to avoid screaming. Suddenly, the house went dark. All the lights went off. And it seemed that she was completely alone in this big...house. Khushi swallowed. "Hehe.." She chuckled, nervously. "Just like in the horror movies..."
She moved forward a few more steps. She knew that Preeti always kept a flashlight near the shoe rack by the front door... Maybe she ought to have grabbed that before she decided to saunter her way into the house. But it's not like she had seen the power outage coming. She looked back. It would take at least another ten steps to go back there...
"ahem... this would be the time when a crazy man with a chainsaw grabs me from the back and tries to kill me..." It was in all the movies that she had watched at least. And just in case there was some sort of madman with a chainsaw waiting near the front door, she wasn't going to take any chances going back to the light source. She gulped. "Lights bhi off ho gayye... haath me flashlight bhi nahi hai... (the lights fused out... no flashlight...)" She could almost see it coming. It was going to be either the man with the chainsaw or a creepy vampire, hungry for blood. Guarenteed. "Beta Khushi... tu tho gayyi... (You're dead Khushi)."
But she had to do something. So, taking a deep breath, she moved forward. "Woh papa kya kehte hain? Haan... Hanuman Chalisa..." She cleared her throat. She had never been much of a singer. But if she had to make a choice between singing and being hacked to death by a mental man, she would choose the prior.
"Jai hanuman gyan guna sagar, jai kapis tihu lok uchaagar... (Trans: Victory to thee, O Hanuman, All hail to you, O Kapisa, You illuminate all three worlds with your glory).
She scratched her head. "What's the next verse..? Uff..."
Since she couldn't remember, she began to sing the verse that seemed most suiting for this situation: "Bhoot pisaach nikat nahi aave, Mahavir jab naam sunave... (Trans: All the ghosts, demons and evil forces keep away, with the sheer mention of your great name, O Mahavir)"
Suddenly, she heard a loud clatter. It came from in front of her. Her heart caught in her throat. "What the hell?" She whispered, shakily. "Who's there?!" She yelled. "Dekho, main kisise darti nahi! (Look, I'm not scared of anyone!) Tum jo bhi ho, bahar aa jao! (Come out, whoever you are!)"
And then she felt it. A cold hand touched her shoulder. She screamed, practically running for her life. So much for the fearless Khushi Gupta. "Khushi?!" Asked the voice. Khushi, who's breathing was overly erratic, froze. She recognized that voice. It was Preeti. "Tu hi hai na? (that is you, right?)" Added Preeti, who sounded equally frightened. At that moment, Khushi felt a relief like none other.
"Hanuman ji, thank you thank you thank you!" She muttered, happily, before groping in the dark to find her friend. "What are you doing here?" Asked Preeti, shocked. "Ek minute ruk, I'll get my flashlight. (wait a minute while I get my flashlight)."
Twenty minutes later, both the girls sat across from each other on the large leather sofa. Khushi was wearing her friend's father's t-shirt - upon insistance from Preeti while sipping a mug of hot cocoa. For those confused readers, let me say that Preeti would not have hesitated at all to lend Khushi her own clothes. But Khushi refused to let Preeti leave her side, claiming that there was some sort of mad man out to get them both, and refused, herself, to accompany her to her room. Hence, Preeti had tossed her her father's extra large nike t-shirt that had been scattered on the sofa.
"Tell me everything from the very beginning. And don't you dare leave out a single detail." Said Preeti, with a cup of coffee in her own hand. Khushi sniffled, trying to hold back the tears.
"Ok, so you know how I'm going out with Ethan right?" Preeti nodded, encouraging her to continue. "He comes to the club every Friday. And I wanted to surprise him. So I went there today, wearing his favourite red dress..." She added, motioning towards the dress that was now spread out on the coffee table, drying. "And you know what I saw?" She added. Her eyes were now wide as saucers and the tears spilled out on their own. "I saw... I saw... wahahaaahhaha..." And then she began crying, full-fledgedly.
Preeti, who had already guessed the scenario, rushed to her side to calm her down. "I knew it." She said. "I knew he was a jerk from the very start... that two-timing loser. Maine bola tha ke nahi? I warned you! But you didn't listen!" Khushi glared at her friend through glassy eyes.
"Haan haan, mujhe pata hai... now stop rubbing salt on my wounds, wouldya?"
She sniffled. "I think I was jealous. Angry. So I started to drink. It was only one glass... but I never realized when that one glass became two... and when those two glasses became six...But then." She stated, adding dramatism to her voice. "I saw this guy. He was super hot yaar, Preeti, you should have seen him." Preeti winced. She felt happy that it was dark and Khushi hadn't noticed her reaction. It would raise a lot of unnecessary questions...
"Said his name was Karan Rathod... and his eyes... by god... Good enough to make any girl's heart melt."Preeti tried her best to muster a smile.
"Accha? (really?) And then what happened?" She probed.
"And then what?" Khushi shrugged. "I drove myself to your place. I can't go home all drunk, you know?"
Preeti raised her eyebrows. "You mean he dropped you here, right?" Khushi nodded. "Yes but-"
A sudden silence as reality hit her. "Wait a minute..." Responded Khushi, slowly. "How do you know about that?"
Preeti shrugged, quickly. "Oh, I just guessed. You know, lucky guesses... hehe he... Besides, any gentleman would have done the same..."
Khushi nodded... but she didn't feel entirely convinced. Was her friend hiding something from her? "But then he yelled at me. For driving too fast." Khushi said, pouting. Preeti laughed. "Wait. I thought you said HE dropped you here." Khushi shook her head. "Well, technically, his car dropped me here. And I drove it." She said, with pride.
"But you were drunk."
Khushi glared. "What is wrong with you both? You and him... like two peas in a pod. Even he said the same to me. And that's why he started yelling. You both na, you need to take a chill pill." Preeti shook her head. "No Khushi. You can't do things like that. Promise me that you won't do anything like that next time. You could've gotten yourself (And him...) killed!"
Khushi rolled her eyes, realizing that her friend wasn't going to let this go until she promised. So she did. "Fine fine..." She sighed. "I won't do it from next time. Waise, missy, where were you all this time? Darwaaza khula chod diya... (you left the door open)... I've been calling you for like, a whole ten minutes... Like, meri bhi koi value hai ke nahi iss ghar me? (Is there any value for me in this house?)"
Preeti grinned, sheepishly. "Woh... sorry... I was watching a horror movie downstairs. But when the electricity went off, I thought I heard someone enter. Thought it might be my parents... there's supposed to come home tonight. but I guess not."
"Speaking of your family," Added Khushi. "What's your bro's name? You've never introduced us!" Preeti laughed. "You wouldn't want to meet him anyways. Such a computer geek. All the time, glued to his laptop. I honestly don't know what he does on there! His name is Arjun."
Khushi nodded, remembering. Ahaa, yes, it had been Arjun. "Heyy!" She exclaimed, getting back to the topic. "Don't be mean to computer geeks! I think you're just jealous that you don't have skills like him!" She said, winking. Her friend simply glared. "Kya baat hai Khushi, badi acchi dosti nibha rahi hai tu? (wow! You're such a nice friend!) We've known each other for one year now, and the moment I talk about my geeky brother, you take his side?! I thought we were friends Khushi Kumari Gupta!" She said, haughtily.
Khushi couldn't help but snort. "Awww... my jealous best friend! Dekh na, chehre par kaise kaise rang aa rahe hain! (Look at the different colours your face is turning)!" she teased, to which Preeti could do nothing but whack her with a pillow.
"Chal, give me your cups. I'll throw them in the sink. It's Arjun's turn to do the dishes tonight anways." Said Preeti, with the most satisfied expression on her face.
Just as she was walking towards the kitchen, Khushi uttered the three words which made her freeze. "Arnav Singh Raizada."
Preeti's heart nearly froze in her chest. No. She thought. She can't know. Not yet. No.
"Who is he?" Asked Khushi. But getting no response, she probed her friend further. "Preeti, tujhe pata hai, iss ASR ke baare me? I've heard he's a big business tycoon or something. But I've never seen his face. Majraa kya hai?"
Preeti swallowed and turned to face her friend. Khushi was holding the flashlight in one hand and a newspaper in the other with his name on the front page. She breathed a sigh of relief. Khushi doesn't know anything. Good. "Woh... uh...yeah. He's pretty secretive about his identity. I've heard only a few people have actually seen him. He doesn't like exposing himself to the media much."
"Huh." said Khushi, absentmindedly. "That's weird. Aren't most business tycoons just hampering for attention?"
Preeti shook her head. "Not him. He's different." And saying so, she quickly rushed into the kitchen and dumped the cups into the sink. Close call. Thankfully, at that very moment, the lights turned back on. Quickly, she reached for the cordless phone that she had (luckily) left on the kitchen counter.
After pressing a few numbers, she held it to her ear, her heart thudding. "Karan." She whispered, using the codename that he had given her the moment her call was answered. "Let's not do this." She said.
"Did she ask about me?" Was the only response that she got.
Preeti sighed, exhasperated. "Yes. And I gave her an answer. One that wasn't a complete lie. But do we have to do this?! She's my best friend! I should tell her about you! She told me how you met her at the club. She told me how you drove her here. She trusts me so much. I can't lie to anyone. Especially not to her. She's my best friend for god sakes!" She repeated.
The voice on the other end sounded equally exhasperated. "Hiding...certain things... is not the same thing as lying, Preeti. Besides. I want her to get to know the real me. If she's going to marry me, she has to know ME. Not my money. Not about how many companies and shares I have. Got it? And this is the only way. If I tell her my real name, she'll turn out to be like everyone else. Fake sympathy. Fake respect. Too MUCH respect. She won't love me. Is Ethan here yet?" He asked, changing the topic. "He has to be ready to play his part. There's a reason I'm giving him this much money."
Preeti groaned. "No, Karan, he's not here yet. And Karan. Only a while more. I can't stand this. You know my weakness... I can't lie."
"I know Preeti," Stated 'Karan' sympathetically. "But for a friend? Please?" Preeti sighed. "Speaking of which, what kind of a friend am I? Supporting one and lying to the other... I'll never be able to forgive myself for this... And you owe me BIG TIME."
"Anything you want." Said 'Karan' with a laugh. "Waise, how's Arjun?"
Preeti's eyes narrowed. "Dekho Karan, aka ASR, main kuch nahi jaanti... but I won't have you bringing in my innocent 15 year old bro into this shit. Samjhe?!"
"Ok, ok! Cool it, beta, cool it!" Said Arnav.. oops, Karan, chuckling. "I was just asking how the little guy was! Sheesh! Baat karwa na, usse! (Let me speak to him!)"
"He's asleep. What do you think? It's 11 at night!" Arnav chuckled. "Acha theek hai. Fill me up on Ethan's part tomorrow morning, alright? Aur Khushi ko bhanak bhi nahi lagna chahiye ke ye sab kuch planned hai. (And Khushi shouldn't realize that this stuff is all planned)."
"Fine. I'll see ya tomorrow."
"Bye."
--End--
Haha... I think I cleared some things out there! Actually lots of things!
Hope everything is a little bit clearer! But to summarize,
Karan is Arnav (I might use these terms simultaneously, but If I'm writing through Khushi's POV, I'll definately use Karan's name instead of Arnav).
Ar..Ar Arjun is a secondary character! Preeti's 15 year old brother! 😆 Fooled ya there, didn't I?
And Ethan.. well, don't wanna reveal too much more about him, just yet!!!😆
Edited by -Sanjana- - 13 years ago
😎 
Hollywood
Naagin 7
Health and Fitness
Cricket
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