Two days later.

 Payal was happy , it wasnt just a momentary fleet of emotion but rather something that was embedded in her heart ,maybe it was why she didnt mind when her sister dragged her to the beach .

  Khushi loves beach and always loses track of time once her feet hits the sand , it was also why Payal felt a nervous apprehension as her sister kept looking behind them as if waiting for someone else .

" Khushi , are you not telling me something ?" , Payal asked when her sister behavior went over her normal crazy. 

" I am sorry di, but let wait just five more minutes " Khushi answered back and Payal had her answer in two when two men in suit approached them ,and one of them made her heart flutter as he was the reason her heart always felt happy recently .

" Sorry the meeting run late than I anticipated " the other one , Arnav cousin spoke up towards his sister . Payal didnt think they kept in touch after their date.   And Khushi only nodded her head in answer ,her sister who can speak for miles looked close to dizzy .

" Bhai ,why didnt you tell me ,we are going to meet Payalji and Khushiji " Arnav asked his cousin and for a moment she wondered if her sister was trying to spring a surprise date for her. 

The last two days , he couldn't meet her due to sudden increase of work. He complained in the phone often about how his cousin seems to have changed into a  dictator recently .

And so she wondered if her khushi took it upon herself to approach his cousin on her behalf and demand that he set up a date for them, it was far fetched about right now Payal didnt have anyone reasons .

And her sister was known to leap straight into oceans for her without a thought and Payal had been down for two days ,so maybe her sister decided this would surprise her . But before she could ask her sister if this was her plan ,Arnav cousin spoke up leaving her shattered in its wake .

                ******************

Khushi wasn't used to trust anyone apart from her family and yet she trusted him ,maybe because he had come to her in the early morning with the truth that may not reflect well on his family.

The day before he had told her that her sister would be treated like a queen if she came without a penny and when he found the truth ,he walked up to her father shop to admit the truth that it was her damned inheritance that caused the chaos yet again.

Her initial reaction had been to wail and shout at him , he took it without a protest and then she asked him how she was supposed to break her sister heart yet again .

" Every decision I took had been for my family happiness , and do you think I cherish the idea of breaking Akash heart or telling him that his mother was the one standing in the way of his happiness, I am not it was why we need to wait a little longer until we could come up with a plan " he spoke up that morning .

" The longer we wait ,the more close they will get " She lashed back and he promised to ensure that they don't get to meet in the mean time ,and from her sister she had learnt how he had been able to keep them apart at least physically.

But it didnt stop them from talking or chatting well into the night ,that Khushi realized their plan of keeping them apart wasnt working ,it had been the reason she made a call of her own today and arranged for this meeting.

" Why do we have to tell them together " he asked once she told him ,it was indeed time to let them know the truth.

" Because then my sister would see how affected your cousin was about the news and she won't think he didnt care about her ,so will your cousin and if they really  care about each other ,maybe they will fight together to make it happen " Khushi had answered back .

And so here they stood all four of them yet again as Arnav spoke up about the misunderstanding as well as the truth about its ramifications on them .

She was thankful he had been the one who took it upon himself to tell the truth because khushi wouldn't have been able to finish the sentence before breaking down, still tears spilled through her eyes to see her sister face which lost all colour at the news .

Khushi was thankful Arnav had delivered the news in his calm voice and diverted the blame onto himself for the moment because no matter what the bearer of the bad news usually get the brunt of the anger.

It was why she wasnt surprised when Akash grabbed his cousin shirt collar in a solid grip asking him to stop talking nonsense but when her sister placed her hand on his shoulder and called him Arnavji for the very first time and changed it to Akashji the next second the fight drained out of him.

                     ****************

Akash had been always the calm cousin , happy cousin and silent cousin compared to his cousin and his quick to temper behavior . Yet today his cousin had been so calm as he quickly shattered Akash happiness with his words.

His first reaction had been instant disbelief, his mother wasnt like that someone who would bargain his happiness for wealth .Then came anger at his cousin for speaking them out , after two days of working him like a slave . He had been surprised when his cousin dragged him to beach.  Only for him to deal Akash with a cruel blow.

" Stop speaking nonsense bhai , " he lashed out until her hands fell up on his shoulder trying to calm him down . He still couldn't believe anything his cousin said until she called him by his cousin name and was quick to change it back to his real name .

He had been foolishly in love and dreaming of the first time she would call him by his name, and when she finally did it was to confirm his cousin words that there was indeed a mistaken identity among them .

And if not anything else, it was true Payal wasnt his date but rather his cousin .Which meant the rest of what his cousin said must be true as well .

Yet he couldn't let it make him lose her ,when he finally calmed down and looked back at her . He knew she was already giving up on them as if what they shared didnt mean much to her .

" I will talk to my mother ,she may have been foolishly assumed a match between me and Khushiji would work but she isnt greedy like you think . She will understand when I tell her everything , my mom loves me and she will never stand in the way of my happiness " Akash knew he was blabbering but he didnt care, one he didnt want to lose payal and two he really believed that his cousin must be mistaken about his mother .

" I can't go through it again Akashji , I am sorry but I can't let my parents go through it again nor khushi blaming herself. It would be better if we tell our family we didnt suit after all . Fortunately only four of us knew about the misunderstanding and the rest of the elders need not find out " She answered back , suddenly she was no longer afraid to use his name or shy to say it because he suddenly ceased to matter to her .

" Di ,let him talk first " came from Khushiji ,his sister in law or so he assumed until he learnt of his mother plan.

" No Khushi ,I can't and I don't want to " had been her final answer before dragging his sister away from them and walking away without even a look back at his direction .

" I am sorry Akash " this came from his cousin but he didnt need his apology ,he just needed her and yet he lost her without his fault.

                 *******************

    
  " Hello ,hi bye bye , How dare she reject my son "Arnav happen to over hear his mamiji loud voice two weeks after that night .

" Manorama , it not her fault . As Akash beta said they realized it wasnt meant to be " his nani answered back just like she had been doing the past two weeks.

" It both of their decision Mamiji" came from his sister who actually believed it as well unlike her husband who choose to remain silent because he was the only apart from Arnav and Akash who knew the truth .

" And yet why is my son miserable ,have you seen him smile once the last two weeks.  He hardly talks to me or even listen to me speak " Mamiji rallied back as it was the truth ,Akash was indeed miserable and no matter what anyone in the family did it failed to make him move on .

" What could we do Manorama " had been his uncle who for once was lost as well .

"Hello ,hi bye bye , Well we need to march into that house again and demand the girl why she rejected my son ,nobody I mean nobody rejects my son " Mamiji exclaimed back furious  at Payal in her case Khushi for breaking Akash heart .

" We will do no such thing Manorama ,don't be silly " his nani commanded in a tone that broke no argument from others but it didnt work  not on a  mother who was upset in behalf of her son

" She rejects my son because she is rich , because she was people falling at her feet to marry her . It must have gone to her head , how dare she rejects my son " his mamiji answered back surprising the rest of the clan in the house and unfortunately it was the moment Akash entered home as well and stood behind him overhearing the last thread of evidence he needed to believe his mother intentions . 

Everyone stopped speaking once they spotted Akash as well as him ,which may be the reason no one from his family asked his mamiji for further clarification .

And looking between the mother and son who were so unhappy Arnav felt the familiar flicker of guilt because if only he hadn't restricted his mamiji expenses then maybe she would have never wished for a wealthy daughter in law .

It was maybe the reason he found himself driving back to that shop early the next morning ,just to see if there was any way he could find another solution and found her all by herself in the shop .

This time the big smile had been missing from her face ,as her eyes found his looking at her hoping she would have answers to help him and his family from falling apart .

P.S :" That it for now , let me know your thoughts and feedbacks. Hit the votes if you liked it "

Juanita Reid