Two weeks later 

Khushi was happy again, after losing what they had finding their way back to each other made her cherish what she had with Arnav, all the more . It was also the reason they both spent almost all the time possible together. He would leave office early and come to her Cafe. His early morning visits resumed as well . 

Their family had decided after all there match making plans, it was time to stop saying anymore about them. So they held on to their silence, when Arnav and her walked back to the living room with hand interwined together that night , Khushi had been expecting questions, over enthusiastic happiness or hug from her family. But they didn't do any such thing.

It both surprised her and made her love their family more, they may have pushed them together. But now they also were giving Arnav and Khushi time to find their own path together. Which was the reason, Arnav and her were using the time before those questions and decision to be just together and happy . 

Even now, they had plans to go on a date which made her excited and she had plans to close the shop early tonight for the reason. The Cafe had been her dream but she realized in the months apart from Arnav, she could afford to take some time off from work, after their break up, she had worked 24*7 to keep her mind away from thinking about him. Which had been the reason, the Cafe was quite popular but also because of her partner NK.

Khushi noticed he had taken to come to the shop more and more than before, he agreed to be silent partner but recently, he had taken more interests in the Cafe that she had even cleared out the adjacent empty room from her office and made it into his office. So he can have a place of his own.

" The shop will be closed in thirty minutes " Khushi spoke up once she knocked and entered his office room where he was reading through the files.

"Are you kicking me out too, so you and Arnav can have the Cafe for just the two of you ?" NK asked back with a smile . He had been the only teasing her about their reunion, from the silence of their family, his teasing only made it all the more real.

"No, We are going out on a date today. You have the other key, lock it when you leave, I am leaving now " Khushi answered back and left his room, Arnav had  promised to pick her up in five minutes and so she was going to lock her office and wait for him outside. 

But at the last minute decided to check the kitchen to find if she can eat anything, as she got hungry. She was rummaging through kitchen when a hand wrapped around her waist pulling her into an embrace, her shoulder hit his chest and she would have screamed hadn't it been for the one word that greeted her " Khushi". 

"You scared me " Khushi whispered back , but refused to move away from his embrace.  She loved taking any chance to be held by him. It was something that always made her believe this time they will make it , after all they learned their lesson last time.

" Sorry, I couldn't keep my hands of you. " he answered back with his smile that made her forget almost everything, making him laugh or smile feel like an achievement of its own. And her heart thrilled that she was the reason for that smile .

" You can keep your hands on me as long as you like " Khushi answered back and blushed, she had gotten bold at voicing out her thoughts as well, and his answer had been to kiss her that she forgot all about being hungry few minutes ago. His kisses tend to have that effect on her and how she missed him and his kisses, by the time they both emerged out of the kitchen. Khushi was breathless and happy.

" Let me go and get my handbag, then we can leave " Khushi told him, but if she expected him to wait for her outside, she was wrong as he walked along side her to the small office room. They both really don't want to spend a minute apart it seems and that only after she entered the office, did she hear the loud voice of arguments from NK room.

Khushi who taught he was alone was about to check, but Arnav held her back said it won't be right to intrude on his personal life, and they were about to leave when her name was heard through the arguments, making both Arnav and her realize the reason for argument was her.

" I gave you everything you need to charm that Khushi, she should be very easy to sway ,you even invested in this stupid cafe to get in her good grace , and yet last I heard she is back with that Arnav , if you fail to marry her then you won't get a single penny from me and you will be on your own " a loud voice shouted making Khushi flinch while beside her Arnav grew tense as if he was angry on her behalf

Before Khushi could react , Arnav walked inside the room . NK and his older version look alike stood in the room, and Khushi realized the man who was shouting was NK's father. 

"You said you were alone " NK's father spoke to his son but one look at Arnav angry face, he stopped talking , Khushi knew NK's father and Arnav had a previous acquaintance due to business and they were working together in some project together as well, that was NK came back to her life during Arnav party for her sister engagement .So she didn't want to cause a rift due to her but she didn't know why NK's father wanted to marry her to his son either .

" Apparently not , If I were you now would be the time to talk or leave . I for one suggest you to leave but I know Khushi would want an explanation from you , NK. She thought of you as her friend " Arnav spoke up  and Khushi was relieved that he was talking on her behalf at the moment. 

                                 *********************************

Arnav knew Khushi was upset after the incident, but she refused to let him cancel the date. And while he understood that, he knew she needed to voice it out as well. For Khushi, who longed to believe in the good of everyone, today was another day where she learnt that not all people are as innocent as she tend to believe out of her innocence.

Arnav only knew about Khushi biological parents as much as she told him, they both died in an accident when she was too young and her mother's sister raised her as her own. He knew Khushi loves her family as her own too. Sometime seeing Payal and Khushi, it is hard to believe their bond was not made of blood ties . 

And what he knew about Khushi inheritance is that it was passed down to her by her Paternal Grandfather who laid the condition, it will be given to her after her marriage . He had learnt about how people tried to marry her for that back in her home town and how she hated when people looked at her and all they saw was her bank balance. 

So today it had been a hard blow for her to realize NK's father knew about the said inheritance and he had been forcing his son to marry Khushi for it. While Arnav was relived to know NK had a conscience and never went with the said plan of his father, Khushi had been hurt to realize the truth. 

So she had been mostly silent during the ride and when he reached the place, she looked mildly confused as well. She must have been expecting a dinner date in a 5 star Restaurant and the current destination was noting out of that sort. 

Yet this place is far too precious for him than anywhere else, it was why he brought her to this home. The house wasn't big in size but it was filled with love and Arnav wanted Khushi to be here with him today, he had made some big plans but maybe not today given Khushi mind frame.

"What is this place Arnav ?" Khushi asked him, the first sentence she spoke after the incident and he was glad to see she looked pleasantly surprised by it 

" This used to be our home. My father wasn't rich when he married my mother. My Nani and My Dadi were friends and they decided to get their children married, and this had been our home when we were young, a home which wasn't tainted by my father adultery and my mother sadness. She had been the happiest , I had seen in this house. 

And when My father's business flourished, we moved out of this house , too a bigger one but he never sold this house because my mother loved it too much and you will know the reason why when I show you " Arnav spoke up as he walked her to the back of the house, to his Mother's garden. 

She had been dead for years and this place was the closest he felt to her. As he stepped inside the garden the memories rushed in ,on how happy he used to be as a kid with his mother in the very same place. They may have not been rich back then but were immensely happy. Until his father over worked and over indulged in everything , he remembers how his mother used to wait for him to return home but he wouldn't until it was almost morning and how Arnav had found her mother in tears often .

But this house held an happy family, a mother who laughed all the time. A father who was affectionate and two kids who were content. It was the reason he brought Khushi to this house. It had been Khushi who made him see the happier time clearer and believe in them as well. Arnav had let the bitterness made those memories fade away until Khushi made him relearn his past and accept them.

"This place is so lovely Arnav " Khushi spoke up with a smile and he knew she would like it, he had hired enough gardeners to keep the garden intact , he knew his sister and Shyam visit the house often for a short get away, his sister used to say that she had been happy in the house but Arnav never really visited much because it brought him only painful memories.

He would make himself visit on his mother's birthday and her death Anniversary. As if to honor her but this was the first time ,the place actually made him smile because he was with Khushi. When her eyes found the picnic spot he asked Aman to prepare, she let out a delighted laugh that warmed his heart as well. 

Over a shared picnic, Arnav was relieved to see Khushi was smiling again and she kept asking him all sorts of questions about the flowers as well as his mother and his childhood memories, by the time they finished eating, he had been glad he brought her to this home. Even if the entire purpose for bringing her, will have to wait for some other day.

He wasn't going to ask her to marry him today, when she just learned someone else was trying to get her son to marry for her inheritance. Maybe he could bring her back here next week, he imagined and decided the ring in his pocket will have to stay there for one more week. So he had been surprised when she spoke up about the incident all on her own, he thought she wasn't ready to talk about it .

"After we get married, I am going to split half of my inheritance and give it too Payal di. I had decided on doing so when her marriage got broke once due to it. I felt as my sister, she had the right to half of it , my papa and mama didn't differentiate between Payal didi and me, so why should I allow my grandfather to do so . If the inheritance was mine, then my sister gets half of it . And with the remaining half, I will first pay off NK investment and then give all the remaining to my parents, they shown me all the love , I wanted as a child, my mom said , the inheritance from my grandparents was their love for their only grandchild. And I should accept it. 

That is why I won't give it up , but will give it back to those who loved an Orphan and gave her home ,not just in a building but their hearts " Khushi spoke up and waited for him to say something back, he always knew his Khushi had a heart of gold. Those words only proved it to him all over again.

" After we get married, is that a yes to the  failed proposal, don't you think I should make one good proposal first  " he asked instead making her smile at him. Arnav had been hesitant to ask her marry him today, but her statement with surety that Arnav won't mind one bit about how  she spend those inheritance made him realize, she already knew he had no care for her inheritance and she trusted him enough to believe he wasn't like them , if she could trust him with the inheritance , then he should trust her heart to see his proposal for what it truly represents as well, so he spoke again.

"Future Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada, I had been a fool to let my fears cause me to break your heart once. But if you trusted me with it again, I promise to cherish it with care, just like how My mother used to care for this plants. She used to say the plants , dont just need water and sun but love as well for them to grow. The last few times, I have just given you the words by my proposal but kept my love locked up by my fears. 

This time, let me clarify that I want to marry you , Khushi, because you make me happy, because I would be willing to compromise having to stare at yellow bed room wall for the next 50 + years if it meant sharing the room with you . I would be willing to watch a Salman movie, if I get to be the man who ends up marrying you for a life time, we have to go to both Paris and Hawaii though, because I will give you all the dreams you desire as long as I can get it done. It will be yours to dream them up. 

And lastly, I brought you here to ask this question because you made me believe in Marriages and made me remember that we could have that as well. This had been the home, I had been most happy Khushi, I brought here to ask you to marry me, So we can be a family together, build a life together , will you marry me ? " Arnav spoke up and waited to see her reaction, her eyes got teary after his first sentence, he remembers his sister saying to him, a girl wants a proposal that makes her cry in happiness and he had been hoping Khushi eyes was filled with tears of happiness not because she was going to say No.

And he had his answer not by her words, first it was a slow nod of her head as the tears spilled freely . Then he heard the quiet whisper of yes , followed by more yes that got louder and louder making him feel like the happiest man in the entire world and then she was in his arms kissing him and nothing else felt more right than having her in his life.  

Arnav's never imagined his family matchmaking plans will succeed but at the moment he had been happy for the blind date that led Khushi into his life. Arnav knew his family will go full crazy for their wedding, but he no longer cared because he wanted it too. All the rituals , all the pre wedding festivals , all the vows because it was the beginning of their marriage life and Arnav Singh Raizada will make it memorable for his wife in every way. And he was looking forward to their future filled with dreams. 

P.S: " The End. Let me know your thoughts and Feedbacks. Hit the votes if you liked it , there had been no epilogue on the plan as of now. But if I changed my mind or got an idea, I will post it later guys. Thank you to everyone who have been part of this journey with me and I will always treasure each of your vote and feedbacks "

Juanita Reid