Chapter 15

                           

                                   On the Rocks...

        It was past 7 in the evening when Arnav entered home. He could sense her presence. He was sure. Only recently he had started being habitual to his senses which used to react erotically whenever she was near and now his  bloody dumb organ had picked a new habit of drumming some stupid sound like Dhak..Dhak..Dhak...! He even thought once to send a memo to 'who may it concern' for creating such useless thing in human body.

       

         Om Prakash came and took hold of his briefcase while Hari Prakash was devoted to look at Laxmiji. Arnav had been noticing that HP had started avoiding coming face to face with him from few days.He simply shrugged at that and asked OP directly,

  

  "Where is Khushi?"

   "On terrace?"  OP replied with a surprised tone.

      

  

           Arnav climbed staircase skipping two steps at a time and went to terrace almost running. He was just thinking over some new strategy to convince Khushi for the proposal when stood rooted to the ground , dumbfounded at terrace door by the scene unfolding before him.

           NK had knelt down over the ground holding a ring into one hand and beautiful long fingers of a girl into another. He asked,

 "So the lady, may I have this honor to ask you , would you like to marry me?"

  

   Master of those beautiful fingers picked the ring up from his hand and cupping her face into  palms due to shyness nodded positively.

  

  "No Khushiji, not like that..Apako  marjani bolana padega (You need to say dying ) "

  

  "Marjaani...??"

 "Yes yes..boliye Marjaani boliye..."

  

Khusi giggled at his Hinglish and corrected him.. "Offo..marjani nahi Nanheji, mooh jubani ,mooh  jubani bolana padega(Not dying, it's  verbally)"

 "Yes yes, that is it..apko wahi karana hoga.." He demanded sheepishly.

   

     And then Arnav heard that one word..those three letters  on which his life was felt dependent ,were granted to that b*****d  NK.

                                      

                                             "Y..E..S"

     

                 He left stunned by her response. His mind  blacked out for few seconds before he could register her word and deduce meaning of it slowly. Once the realization hit him, his claws clenched in fists with anger which knew no bound now. He only could call her name through his clinched jaw with hard attempt , trembling with rage..

                                               "Khushi..."

   

            That thunderous sound startled both Khushi and NK. And his sudden presence panicked them. They could see the  tarrying storm in those eyes. Nk tried to hid behind Khushi avoiding Arnav's gaze.

  

Arnav strode closer to them and staring Khushi with vigorous disbelief ordered NK,   "NK leave..."

     

Sweat droplets gathered at NK's  forehead. How could he leave Khushiji alone to be ASR's prey?

  "Let's leave , Khushiji" He could only speak this with all energy drowned.

  Without moving his gaze for a moment Arnav roared ,"NK leave, before I do something  so uncontrollable."

  

              NK left hastily giving an apologetic look to Khushi.

     Khushi took a step towards door when suddenly those strong arms grabbed her and flushed to his chest...the place where his heart rested..

  

   "How many times have I warned you not to move away when I am talking to you."

  Khushi looked into those caramel eyes. He looked so vulnerable. She had experienced many tempers of him until now but this was something different. It was not even temper. She could see frustration, irritation..and...fear of losing something valuable there.

  

  

    As she continued perceiving him, his face caught coldness of a stone.  Pushing her away from himself  abruptly ,he howled "How dare you Khushi?  How dare you to say 'NO' to me and  'YES' to that damn fool NK?"

 "I didn't say 'NO' to you, Arnavaji." Khushi replied in a calmed voice.

   

 "But you said 'Yes' to him, didn't you?"

   

  "No,I didn't say 'Yes' either to Nanheji."

   

   Arnav lost his remaining control at her answer. He grabbed her forearms hearing the denial. Khushi winced as his nails digging into her  fragile skin caused pain.

  He warned,"Don't try  to speak  even a single lie, Khushi. I have witnessed you double gaming me."

  

 Khushi hurt by that. How could he? Was he accusing her for deceiving  him? He could  believe his eyes but not her ? How could he not trust her? Is it even  possible for her to think of betraying him ever?

   She tried to explain him,

   "Arnavji ,ap ne jo dekha wo wesa nahi hai jese ki aap samajh rahe hai. (Whatever you have witnessed is not what you are considering) Once listen to me..Let me explain you.."

   

         But where was  Arnav there to listen to her pleas ? He was imprisoned  behind pitiless, frigid walls of solitary at that exact instant when he heard her uttering those letters to someone else.Now stood there ,the ruthless ASR ... With hurt ego... drown in madness like a wounded beast..ready to clapper claw to the one who is assailant. His eyes filled with burning flames of  anguish. He could not tolerate his bruises anymore..And there would not be any need of a psychic to forecast what happens when marred ASR scathes.

     

     He dug his nails into her skin further more and ignoring her pursed lips to avoid grimacing due to the pain ,blew out,

    " Do not..! Don't you dare Khushi  Kumari Gupta..Now it's of no use. Your plan has brutally failed, though you did a commendable job. I was almost fallen for your traps." 

  

   He  paused to gauge her reaction...But  continued  further when she did not seem to react to his words , " It was my mistake to give you this much of importance. I should have understood earlier... I should have known better. ... What else I can expect  from a middle class gold digger girl like you? It's pretty clear now. What an irony!"  He smirked with disguise. "Here I was willingly providing you all the riches you ought and there you were making mint from someone else considering him as a jackpot? What a pity!"

   

       Khushi stood glued to the floor by all that stoop low allegations. How dared he? How can he think so low of her? Khushi was the girl who could easily sacrifice everything for others' happiness excluding only one thing and that quality of her had provided a subtle strength to her character .It was her held high self respect which she would never let fall down for anything.or for anyone in that matter..He can't always come and ram it for not any so good reason..So she riposted him.retaliated with all her mighty being  but failed to match his atrocious  blames.

     

"Ohh ..so now it's me who was chancing on someone else but what about your failure? I had told you to come up with some attractive term which would convince me for your so called proposal... but you could not. You failed to do that. Why don't you accept that instead of blaming me?"

   "But you had even told me to take my own time and I haven't used my whole time yet." He spoke highly surprised to see her not defending  herself.

   "There was no any clause saying that I can't seek any other proposal until you come up with some lucrative term for me, was there?"

  His nostrils flared at her audacity. He asked in so hoarse voice,

  "Ohh... This is it? So what kind of so lucrative thing that dumb NK has offered you  which Arnav Sigh Raizada could not? I never knew that you had such  a good calculative brain of yours, Khushi. Really ,such a back-stabber you are!"

  

     And that was it. It was enough for  Khushi  to lose all her control which she had tried to gain with her every breathe  from last few minutes. She let go of her attempts to understand him. Let go the hope that he would ever understand her.

 She shoved him back with all her strength. He could see the green marks  left over her forearms.

 "Stop it somewhere Arnvaji, will you?

         

          What do  you think of yourself and what you think of me? How could you degrade me like this? It is just because I did not agree to your proposal, isn't it? It is your so fat hurt ego speaking  because it can't tolerate that a  middle class girl does not fall for The Arnav Singh Raizada. 

         

                What am I for you? just a mere project ? An interesting deal which  you want to grab either by hook or crook, isn't it? It doesn't occur  to you if this interesting deal of yours is a human being too who can have her own feelings. Have you ever thought  once what do I want? Whether I am happy to marry you or not? Even once? No..it doesn't matter to you because it's not profitable for you to think about my happiness, am I right? Or maybe  because you don't find me of that standard . Is it so , Arnavaji?" She stopped to grab some air for her exhausted lungs after her heavy outburst.

   "Khushi listen.."

 She held  her palm open in front of his face warning in so cold voice,

   "Don't you dare to intervene when I am talking to you!

      

        You want my answer to your said proposal or deal or project or whatever you call in that your business language, don't you? So here it is. I deny to  accept that proposal. I deny it not because I have chanced something else but because I don't find your deal beneficial for me in any way. I don't know what kind of profits you ought from me in this but the only profit I was seeking was ..that..your...your heart , Arnavji!"Tears were rolling down from her beautiful eyes being unable to handle that emotional tornado anymore.

  "I swear by my Devi Maiyya Arnavji, I never expected anything else from you. Not a single penny of yours  ever lured me. It was always only you...But I was wrong. I made a mistake to  think that Arnav Sigh Raizada can have a heart too. I was fool to expect you to change..to understand what the emotions are..to experience the magical world of Love. I was such a big damn stupid." Her beautiful eyes felt incompetent  to depict intensity of the pain jabbing her heart at that instant, no matter how many tears were frittered away.

  " But now I have understood, you can never offer me the only thing I ever expected from you and if you speak of offering your wealth  then I was never  even remotely interested  in that  riches. So now I say 'NO' to you because  Khushi kumara Gupta  can never marry to a heartless man like Arnav Singh Raizada. Sorry, Arnavaji!"

              

         

    

         Befuddled Arnav stood there staring at her running back. His brain just could not deduce what she said.  He was baffled enough to understand whatever happened in last few minutes of span. Did she  really deceive him? Or was he imagining everything? Did she say 'NO' to him? That means will she leave him forever to be alone ? Would not he ever able see that beautiful,  smile adorned  face again..?  Her those crazy antics which always ended up making him smile..? Her overdramatic histrionics which had filled his life with different colors ?  Would he ever able listen again those magical beats of her heart which always reminded  him of his own?  With his every dreading thought, the newly found rhythmic sound of his heart was slowly conking...Dhak..Dhak ..Dha..Dh..D..!

        

    

       Suddenly he felt short of air. It was like someone had snatched the very earth below his feet. An abyssal vacuum  was created in his heart which left him feeling dizzy.Did she just say 'No' to him?  'No'? It was only few days before when he had found something worthy of living and ...now suddenly that all lost.What is need to live this lonely life now? She has left him...Left him alone like his mom did 14 years ago. He sank on his knees.

         

     

      

   The sky was covered by the black evil clouds hiding those shining stars       behind them. He could not see the bright star there, he was looking for.

                

                  "Why  Ma? Why it always happens to me?"

   

        He surrendered himself to that cold, lifeless floor of the terrace...