Their lips were inches apart.
Her angelic eyes closed in anticipation.
His eyes roaming around her facing capturing the effect he has on her.
Her halving chest brushing against his every time, she inhaled his intoxicating aftershave.
Not that he has not felt her before but it was something different. He himself made her sit on his life. He himself held her hair and pulled her close to him. He himself wants to do something which he always held back under his anger. He wanted to Kiss her. He wanted to be kissed. He wanted to devour her lips which played with his senses everytime she kissed him on his chick. He wanted to feel those feathery petels for once before she is gone.
Gone'
GoNE'
GONE'
The word hit him hard. A sense of lose, a sense of insecurity, a sense of hollowness started suffocating him.
His chain of thoughts broke by her whisper "aaarnnnav!" which was hardly audiable.
Slowly he looked at her face one last time and leaned futher to join their lips. He placed his upperlip inbetween her lips and locked her lower lip capture inbtween his lips.
Both of them gasped in unison. The moment their lips matched Arnav closed his yes and pressed his lips further.
**
Khushi was just blowing away by his move. The kiss which she always wanted from him, she never thought it will ever going to happen in her life and that too coming from him.
She was just to shocked'blank to react at that moment. She did not know whether to touch him, whether not to touch him. What if he moves back? What if he insults her once gain, what if he regrets this moment in his life? She relaxed her fingers and rested it on the bed finally breathing sigh. She did not want to let go of this special moment, she did not want to pull back, she did not want to disturb him, she just wanted him to kiss..kiss and kiss her.
**
Releasing her hair and tucking it behind her ear, he touched her cheeks. With the other hand he touched her back and gave a slight push to make her flush with with him. Travelling up her spine he clutched her nape to complete the unfinished kissed this time locking it even more and moistening it with his lingering saliva.
**
the moment Khushi was starting to respond the kiss there was a knock in the door.
"Khushi! Khushi! Beta"
Khushi immediately opened her eyes and realized their position. Arnav was still lost in a different world.
She pulled back immediately and looked at his trance state. His lips were still parted, his eyes closed, his hand holding her firming against him and his face after a long time looked relaxed. As if he was drowning into sleep after many sleepless night.
She started wiggling to get up from him lap and that's when he realized their state. He opened his eyes and looked at her, the first thing he saw was her lips. They were still quivering then her eyes, which was now round as a saucer and fear pretty much evident in them.
He half heartedly released her and she got up. Straightening the crease of her dress she casually combed her hair and ran towards the door.
She immediately bumped into dadi at the door step.
"Daa'di! Aaapne mujhe bulaya?"
Dadi cupped khushi's hiding her smile seeing the blush on her face. She gulped said "YOUR, sammy is waiting for you downstairs". Dadi made sure she pronounced the word your louder.
Khushi faked a smile and ran out from arnav's room.
Dadi stole a quick glance at Arnav and cleared her throat, "erm! How are you feeling Arnav?"
"Dadi! Did you give permission to samrat to meet Khushi before marriage?"
Dadi raised her eyebrows and again gulped her bubbling fits.
"Haan!" she said casually.
"Par dadi, the couples cannot see each other before marriage right?"
"haan, woh to hai, but that is only after haldi", she tactfully corrected.
Dadi knew it very well that Arnav doesnot like samrat around Khushi. And what she witnessed few minutes back before she called out khushi's name, Arnav will go all the more possessive.
"ab chalo, I will ask Khushi to make haldi wala doodh for you. it will hell your wound faster".
"I don't want anything dadi", Arnav angrily said and got up. Leaving dadi behind he walked down to the living room where Khushi and samrat was talking.
**
While descending he was trying to figure out where they were seated. He craned his neck to peep further but the decorations were not helping him to see beyond certain point.
He quickly took few more steps and got down from the staircase. He saw Khushi serving him some tomato juice, smiling.
He clutched his jaws gritted him eat when he saw samrat brushing is finger against hers in the process of grabbing the glass.
Taking few long steps Arnav stood right infront of them.
"hi! samrat, tum yahan?" he asked in a serious tone, devoid of any emotions.
Samrat whose concentration was on khushi's touch practically chocked his drink
"Cough! Cough!"
Samrat saw Khushi who stood glued to her place like a statue.
"COUGH! COUGH!" Khushi came back to her senses and quickly went inside to get him a glass of water.
In the meantime Arnav sat on the single sofa and asked samrat to be seated.
Khushi offered him the glass of water and glanced at Arnav once and looked down.
"thanks!"
Khushi gave a nervous smile to him and was about to leave when Arnav asked her angrily, "don't you know you are not supposed to meet each other before marriage?"
Khushi was awestuck. Since when her arnau started believing all these rituals?
She blinked her eyes few times.
"Arnav! Just relax dude, why you always ready to pound on her?"
"that's between me and her I guess samrat and I am not answerable to you".
"well, you might be her guardian and you have all the right to behave anyways you want to but please don't forget she is going to be Mrs Sehgal soon and I wont be liking much if you scold my wife in front of me. I know you know like he much and you treat her life an orphan".
"ENOUGH SAMMY!" before Arnav could react to his words, Khushi spoke.
"you have no right to talk to Mr Raizada like this".
"but Khushi, I have always seen her behaving so rudely with you".
"so what? He has all the right to talk to me anyways he want to. He is my'
"my'"
"your what?" samrat asked straight on her face.
Khushi's eyes welled up and she felt uncomfortable. She felt bad and bit her lips.
"family he is my family" she said wiping her tears secretly", giving him a hurtful look.
**
Khushi was sitting with her coffee mug, adoring arnav's signature in it. She remember the day he officially became the MD of AR group she took his signature. And from that day she never let go of that mug.
Arnav never had any control over khushi's zid (stubborn attitude) and craziness when it came to him. She was capable of anything and everyone. At one point of time Arnav was really scared of her.
She gazed her engagement dress, which AR has designed and sighed.
She opened her packed suitcase and took out a red gown and brushed her fingers over the fabric.
She remembered how Arnav sent it to her when she told dadi that she will not be attending her farewell party because she did not have appropriate dress to wear.
Since then she thought that she is going to wear that outfit on her engagement.
**
she sat on the stool near her dressing table and started doing her make up.
Her back was entirely exposed as she was combing her long hair bringing them to one side
"hi!"
she looked through her mirror.
His jaw dropped immediately seeing the drop dead gorgeous girl in front of him.
Stunning would be an understatement. He was loss of words seeing the lady in red.
Khushi felt a little uncomfortable, the way samrat was looking at her.
She immediately brushed her hair and made it cover her back. The dress indeed got a very deep back. It just covered till her waist. The entire back was open. There was a jacket to cover her arms and back. But as she was doing her make up she did not put it.
The movement she shifted her hair, a thin bunch of hair got stuck in her zip.
"OUCH!" she screamed in pain holding her hair.
Samrat quickly came to her and tried to help her but they both couldnot manage to open.
After sometime samrat lost his patience and said "lets chop it".
Khushi was shocked.
"Nahi sammy! I cannot chop my hair. I just love my hair and you know that".
"oh please Khushi we are already getting late now, cut this crap and tell me there is the session?"
Khushi bursted out in tears, "how can you ask me to cut my hair samrat?"
"oh Khushi come on, long hair looks tacky'out of fashion you know. I want my wife to look stylish and up to date".
"sammy'i'..i.love'.my hair".
"oh baby cant you do this much for me? Waise bhi it is not going to come out from the zip you have to chop it anyways".
"sam"
"you are not suppose to enter a woman's room when she is dressing up"
Khushi turned to see Arnav standing near the doo.
"she is my wife" samrat spatted.
"WOULD.BE WIFE Mr. Sehgal and these things are not allowed in this house. You can carry on with your romantic moments at your place not here".
"Now if you kindly atten your guest who are waiting for you downstairs, or you want me to attend them on your behalf? I am sure they will not like it right?"
Samrat left her hair and placed a quick kiss on her cheeks before leaving he said "fix this mess soon and come down".
**
Arnav glared at Khushi seeing her top to bottom. Suddenly the anger that he had bottled up seeing samrat and Khushi together in the room whooshed.
Strolling towards her making her go stiff. He stood right in front of her.
This time he checked her out making her aware of the the fact that he is checking her out he said, "so you wanted to seduce your would-be-husband right? How cheap. Look Khushi kumari gupta we belong to a reputated family so please if you wish to expose so much then you better do that once you are'"
*
*
*
*
*
There was a silence.
*
*
*
*
There was a silence.
Stream of tears flowing down her cheeks, her pupil fixed on his eyes. "did he say that?" she thought.
"pehle mama papa ka khooni, aur ab he is calling me characterless?"
Few more minutes of silence she turned towards the mirror and bent to open the drawer.
After fiddling for few seconds she held the scissor.
Facing her back towards the mirror she looked at her back through the mirror and was about to cut her hair which got stuck in the zip.
Her faded vision
Her shaking hands
Was not letting her crop her hair. But her determination made her slid the scissor around the bunch of hair and in once go she tried to chop it.
*
*
*
*
*
she heard a hissing sound made by Arnav.
*
*
*
*
she heard a hissing sound made by Arnav.
Unable to bring herself to open her eyes and see her chopped hair she pressed her eyes more.
Arnav just stared at her all the while.
She opened her eyes and met with his. Slowly looking down she she turned to see the length. For a moment she just skipped that the scissor blades did not make a cropping sound. It felt like there was some obstruction.
she realized what she has done, her heart skipped a beat. Her eyes couldnot believe, her mind failed to register and unknownling she has hurt the person she loves the most.
Arnav put his hand in between the scissor blade to stop her from chopping her hair.
How could she let her chop it when he loved her hair the most?
"aaarrrnnn'"
"sssh!" he placed the other finger on her lips and pushed her hand on her back to flush her with him.
He looked through the mirror and shifted the lose hair at one side. He tried to release the hair, which got stuck. But he couldnot.
"I have to slid your zip a little down to release it" he said in a husky tone almost inside her ear, sending tingling sensation.
Khushi's hands gripped his suit on their own accord anticipating his touch on her skin.
The moment his warm finger touched her back she closed her eyes.
Arnav concentrated on the zip looking through the mirror. Khushi was breadthing heavily this time sending him tingling sensation. Her warm, uneven breathing around his nape was not helping him to concentrate. But still he managed to slid out the zip and release the
Slowly he removed her hand from the zip and made him turn towards him.
Their eyes met. His hand touched her bare back. She flinched in his touch.
He removed the hair that got stuck in the zip and added it to the bunch.
Gazing her bare back he pulled her zip up. Loocking it finally he touched her bare back with his knuckles.
Khushi gasped with she felt something liquid.
She immediately turned and took his hand in her hand. He was furiously bleeding now.
"Arnav!" she called his name in her painful voice.
"I am sorry" she chocked.
She ran towards her bedside drawer to get te first aid box.
"bhawgan jane kiski nazar lag gai hai tumko aaj, subha se you are getting hurt".
Wiping madly she held his left hand cleaned his wounds around starting of each finger. the scissor blades cut him just above his knuckles.
She bandaged his index finger and middle finger with leucoplast. The moment she touched his ring ringer she froze.
She looked back to him with questioning eyes'but he remained quite.
She took the leucoplast and bandaged his ring finger.
"Jab job hi hota hai manzore khuda hota hai" when god wants something to happen no one can stop that.
Just like Arnav, who unconsciously slid their khandani ring in her finger, Khushi did the same thing with the leucoplast. Whether any of them believes it or not but both got engaged to each other.
"YEH TO HONA HI THA"
