Back to his room, although Arnav had wished to cast away all the parasite-like thoughts swarming his mind, he just could not stop thinking about Khushi. Sitting on the front of his bed, he swiftly closed his eyes and images of the party focusing on Khushi and him ran as a flashback in front of him, before finally culminating to the dreadful phone call where the words 'I love you too Rahul' caused Arnav to angrily throw the possession that he had clutched in his hand on the floor. What he termed as anger or incomprehension could be better be phrased as something called jealousy, but little was he aware of it.
Suddenly realising what he had done, he slowly advanced towards the glittering object and cupped it back into his hands affectionately. He brought it close to him – the silvery earring twinkling and reminding him of how he had found it in the parking area while Khushi had been combing every nook and corner in search of it. He had been meaning to give Khushi back the earring but before, he had wanted to show her that even without an earring, she would look just as beautiful as ever. Never had he imagined that in a moment of weakness, he would have been totally bewitched by her until the final blow that dumbfounded him to such an extent that his reasoning had gone for a toss.
The only question repeatedly irritating him was why Khushi was occupying such a central place in his life. In an attempt to forget about her once for all, he decided to phone Lavanya, who should after all have always been his priority, he thought. But it seemed that he had dialled the number following his heart's instincts as he heard the voice on the other end of the phone, which was none other than Khushi's. With a jerk, he looked back at the screen of his mobile and he realised that he had accidentally, or more precisely instinctively, called Khushi instead of Lavanya.
"Arnav?" Khushi asked, stunned to find Arnav calling her after the awkward situation in the party.
"Khushi, I…"Arnav started to say when he suddenly heard Khushi taking Rahul's name, most probably talking to him, and he added before angrily cutting the call "Wrong number…I was trying to call Lavanya"
And once again, an unspoken pain could be felt on both sides, giving them a sleepless night, with Arnav experiencing for the first time of his life that negative feeling of jealousy while Khushi buried herself in bed thinking about the way the dreams that she had built within seconds had shattered in the same lapse of time.
***
Arnav was sitting in the lecture theatre, trying to keep his calm but none of his attempts were fruitful. The more he tried not to think about her, the more he was being tortured about thoughts on Khushi and Rahul. NK who was sitting on the table next to Arnav was constantly murmuring and looking in Arnav's direction, which did not go unnoticed by the latter.
"What?" Arnav asked NK, esasperated by his behaviour.
"I was just wondering where Khushi is…I mean she is not here yet and she is always here at this time." NK replied.
"So? How will I know where she is?" Arnav retorted.
"Who will know better than you?" NK thought, smiling about how Khushi and Arnav seemed to have grown pretty close these days.
"She must be with her Rahul" Arnav let out, clasping his fists and reliving another fit of jealousy.
"Khushi told you everything?" NK asked, "Yeah of course I should have known, after all you have become such great friends now."
"You knew about it and you didn't tell me" Arnav gave NK one angry look.
"I promised Khushi never ever to tell this to anyone, but see she herself told you … Rahul is her life, the only reason why everyday she finds a reason to live, he is her everything…" NK revealed.
Those words just stabbed Arnav once more and gave him one for reason to be overwhelmed by that strange feeling of envy and resentment. He frowned as he saw Khushi making her way towards her seat, plastering a happy look on her face. He just could not take it anymore, feeling he could burst at any moment.
A sudden chaotic atmosphere in the class was the sign that there would be no lecture, soon confirmed by the class representative that the lecturer was absent. Just at that moment, Lavanya approached Arnav and asked him to come with her. Quickly glancing at Khushi, Arnav followed Lavanya, mentally thinking that spending time with her would be the best solution to forget about Khushi. Since Arnav was new to the university, Lavanya made him thoroughly visit the grounds, while seizing the opportunity to seal a new friendship bond. After having witnessed Arnav's changing nature which reflected more compassion and gentleness over the past few days, Lavanya had thought that it was time for her to rectify her mistake.
"ASR, I want to give our relationship a second chance. Are you ready to forget everything and start afresh?" Lavanya held Arnav's hand.
Some time ago, Arnav would not have hesitated to say yes, in fact, only to hear this had he come to Delhi University with the hope of winning over Lavanya again. But things had changed so much now. Khushi who was passing nearby at that time, happened to hear their conversation and stood still, her head and heart conflicting with each other. Was Anjaliji wrong in thinking that Lavanya and Arnav were not meant for each other? Was she wrong in promising Anjaliji that she would make Arnav realise that he deserved better? The mere sight of Arnav and Lavanya in the same frame provided Khushi with such an unexplained feeling of sadness that she turned her back and struggled not to let the threatening tears flow down. Taking a deep breath, she turned once again in their direction before forcibly sketching a large smile.
Arnav was about to explain to Lavanya that he no longer harboured the same feelings for her, when he saw Khushi looking at them, and giving him a thumbs up sign. Not being able to withstand how Khushi was acting all normal despite what all happened between the two of them on the eve, Arnav impulsively gave a positive response to Lavanya's proposition. While Lavanya threw her arms around Arnav for a hug, Khushi walked away, her face showing the opposite of what her heart was feeling.
Her bag dangling in one hand and a box of jalebis gracing the other, Khushi walked absent-mindedly in the corridor until she felt her hand being pulled, causing her bag and jalebis to spread over the floor. Before she could even react, she found herself thrust towards Arnav who had dragged her hand and was looking at her with intense angry eyes.
"Arnav, what are you doing? My jalebis" Khushi almost shouted, trying to break free from Arnav's grip which was getting tighter by each passing second.
"So you care only for your jalebis, right?" Arnav asked, frowning his eyebrows trying to seek a honest answer from Khushi.
"I didn't say that" Khushi almost stammered, noticing the tone in which Arnav was speaking, "By the way, congrats…I mean you and Lavanya"
"You are happy that we are back together. Why?" Arnav asked, his anger subsiding to a more painful touch in his voice.
"Why wouldn't I be happy? You love her, she loves you. Simple" Khushi said, trying to convince herself about what she had just said.
"Right, simple it is … It must be even simpler to you with your boyfriend" Arnav let out, getting dangerously closer to Khushi who cringed in pain under the forceful pressure that he was exerting on his hand.
"What? Boyfriend? Stop messing Arnav and please leave my hand, it's hurting" Khushi retorted.
"You pretend to be the most innocent, traditional girl over here, but still you are lying. I have never thought that you would turn up like this. I should have believed my first instincts when I first saw you. You even tried to create trouble for me and Lavanya…I should never have made the mistake of treating you like a friend. You just don't deserve it" Arnav unleashed in one go, not letting Khushi interrupt him at any moment.
Khushi finally found the strength to break free and ran away from the man whom she had thought was her friend, the same person who had just thrown all kinds of accusations at her without even trying to listen to her. Despite the unjustified pain that he had just inflicted upon her, Khushi did not feel the need to provide him with any kind of justification simply because she was Khushi and Khushi never needs to prove anything to anyone.
Upon seeing Khushi walk away with pain and melancholy written over her face, Arnav tried to compose himself and regain his calm self until he heard a familiar ringing tone right beneath him. It was emanating from Khushi's bag that was lying on the floor and which she had forgotten to take in a fit of desperation. Arnav slightly bent to her bag and took her mobile phone from it, and his eyes conveyed a high degree of exasperation when he read the name Rahul flashing on the screen.
Was it a helping hand from destiny that Arnav accidentally pressed the answer button? Arnav was about to cut the call when out of curiosity, he brought the phone next to his ear.
"Hello…Hello…Hello" the voice at the other end of the phone spoke.
Arnav looked surprised at the voice that he was hearing…it could not be Rahul.
"Who is speaking?" Arnav finally asked, but silence prevailed. "Why did you phone if you don't want to speak? Who are you?"
"Who are you YOU? I don't speak to strangers. I phoned the owner of the mobile that you are holding!"
"I am Arnav…Khushi's fri….classmate" Arnav revealed.
"If you know my Momsy Buddy, then you are no longer a stranger to me! We can talk."
"Momsy Buddy?" Arnav repeated.
"Momsy, as in Mom jaisi, and buddy because she is my best friend in this whole wide world…I have no one in this world apart from my Momsy Buddy and my nani. I love them to infinity"
Arnav paused a second upon hearing those words that totally mellowed him, before finally asking "Who are you?"
"I am Rahul, nephew of Miss Khushi Kumari Gupta, grandson of Mrs Garima Gupta, age 5, height 42 inches, hair colour black, eye colour dark brown, love playing video games, football, and painting. Your turn?"
Arnav suddenly found himself smiling, translating the happiness of knowing that Rahul, the person who was supposedly Khushi's life and her love, was only a kid. Arnav was on the verge of answering when he felt the phone being snatched away by Khushi, who had come back in search of her bag. Without uttering any word, Khushi left, leaving Arnav pondering over the biggest mistake that he had ever made by insulting Khushi to such an extent. Even if Rahul was her boyfriend, he had no right to blast at her in such a way, and today he in fact found one reason to respect her even more. And Arnav Singh Raizada was decided to remedy to the situation.
Next update: To 'Right' the Wrong will be up most probably by Tuesday 😃
And a special mention to all those who guessed right that Rahul is a kid 🤣 I am not evil, as opposed to what some people think *glaring at Rima and Fujjy* 🤓
As always, press the 'Like' button and leave your comments. Nothing can make me happier at the moment 🤔
How much I love you for .. 1) updating .. & 2) not stretching the MU beyond a chapter only!! 😆 Oh .. I hate MUs .. especially, long ones! LOL
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