Part 40 Loved to be Loved...

Arnav controlled his smile, seeing Khushi's horrified expression.

"I too want a sister to play, Dad" Abhi pinched Arnav's chin cutely.

Arnav became serious.

"Beta, there are some things that WE can't decide"

"WE mean?" Abhi asked frowning.

"Boys... Boys are incapable to make decisions on some important issues. This is one among them because it depends on only girls" Arnav said making a sad face.

Khushi widened her eyes, seeing him escaping from answering Abhi's question.

"Why Dad?" he twisted his lip.

"You can't understand it because you are a small kid" Arnav caressed his hair.

"I'm not a kid" Came from the big guy.

"Ok... You are a big guy... Yet, you can't understand..."

"If it's a girl thing, mom can make the decision right?" Abhi asked thoughtfully.

"Wow, you are really a big guy. How beautifully you caught the right point..." Arnav smiled.

Abhi looked in the direction where Khushi was standing but he didn't find her there. He looked here and there. Arnav smiled not finding Khushi. She should have run from there to save herself from Abhi's demand.

Abhi searched for Khushi and found her in the kitchen. She was boiling milk to prepare coffee for Arnav as if she was not related to their talks. Abhi rushed to her.

"Mom..."

Cutting him,

"Wait, Abhi, I'm a little busy. Dad has to go to the office. Let me prepare coffee for him. We will talk after sending him to the office. Ok?" She said while preparing coffee.

"Ok..." He said sadly.

"Go and change your uniform first. This is your first day with Dad. What will dad think if you roam with a dirty uniform, without minding about changing it? Don't you want him to appreciate you?" She asked pouring coffee into a cup.

Abhi nodded yes and rushed to the room without any second thought. When it comes to getting appreciation from Arnav, Abhi was not ready to compromise because Arnav was important to him.

Khushi turned taking the cup and saw Arnav standing leaning on the wall with a slight smirk. She got stuck for a few seconds. That was the first time, she saw his smirk. It was something that highly disturbed her. Arnav usually looked striking. His smirk added extra loveliness to him that tried to strike Khushi. She composed herself and came to him, without taking her eyes from his face. She wanted to get used to his LOOKs and SMIRKs. She didn't want to get weak by his charms. But, her constant gaze shook Arnav as he was not strong like Khushi who was in love with her head over heel. Arnav was stunned, seeing her mental strength.

Khushi extended the coffee cup to him with a slight smile.

"I don't know how smart you are..." He smiled. He said about how smartly she handled Abhi.

But Khushi thought he was talking about her steady mind.

"Knowing to handle people around us is important. Is not it?" She asked without any attitude.

"It seems you will find out the right way to handle me too?"

"Handle you? Then about whom you are talking now?"

Arnav got stuck. He stopped drinking coffee and looked at her.

"I talked about how you handled Abhi"

Now, Khushi got stuck.

"Were you talking about me?" he sipped the coffee smiling.

Khushi went back to the kitchen stage without answering him. she poured the coffee into another cup and came out.

"You didn't answer me"

"Yes... I was talking about you only" she said without hesitation.

"Wow, have you learned about how to handle me?" he asked teasingly.

"We can't learn anything to the fullest... but I will surely try to learn..."

"I'm glad that you are interested to learn about me"

"I have to... shouldn't I?"

"Yeah... but I'm sure learning about you will be the toughest task of my life," he said with a lopsided smile expecting her to ask him WHY? But she didn't. She just smiled.

"Won't you ask me why?"

"I know what will be the answer"

"Oh really? What is that?"

"Woman's heart is like an ocean... no one knows what's there in its depth... she is a puzzle... etc., etc.,"

"Mmm..."

"Am I right?"

"Maybe... it suits others... I'm not like that"

"Oh... then tell me what do you think about women?"

"I think nothing about woman... but..."

"But...?"

"I always think about my wife..."

Khushi was stuck.

"Do you want me to say what I think of my wife?"

Though Khushi wanted to be strong his question slightly shook her. She didn't know whether she should say yes or no. seeing her suffocating,

"Ok... Let me tell you about her"

Khushi drank the coffee without answering.

"She shows off as if she doesn't care about anything. But it's acting. She does... she cares for her beloved ones... she cares about their betterment. She doesn't show interest in anything but she does, secretly. It seems she won't mind being loved but she does. She too loves to be loved" he said with no smile on his face.

Khushi was also gazing at him without a smile. Arnav stopped nattering but didn't move his eyes from her face. Khushi also didn't feel awkward staying in the eye lock.

"I'm sorry, Khushi... I lied to you" Arnav said seriously.

"Lied?"

"Mmm... to get a YES from you, I said we will be friends..."

Khushi shrank her brows.

"Honestly speaking, I said that only to marry you."

Khushi rolled her eyes.

"Promise... how can I treat you as a friend having a lot of love in my mind, tell me?"

That's when Abhi came there.

"Dad, have not you gone to the office yet?" he asked.

"Yeah... going"

"Please go..." he pleaded.

"But why?"

"Then only I can talk to Mom about sister"

"Oh... really Then, I will surely go. Tell me later what your mom said" he said looking at Khushi smilingly.

"Ok..."

"Bye, Abhi" he kissed Abhi's cheek.

"Bye..." Abhi waved his hand.

"Bye, Khushi"

Khushi nodded ok. Arnav left the house smilingly.

"Mom, tell me..." Abhi asked.

"Answer my questions"

"What questions?"

"Where were we till yesterday?"

"At our home"

"Today?"

"In Dad's house, with Dad"

"Are not you happy about it?"

"Yes, I'm..."

"It doesn't seem so..."

"Why?"

"Instead of celebrating your Dad who is with you, you are feeling bad for someone who is not with you. Is it not your responsibility to make your Dad feel special?"

Abhi nodded yes.

"Dad had been alone for many years. He got us after a long gap. Let him be with us happily. Make him feel like, he is more important to you than anything. Stop asking for a sister because it's not more important than Dad. Don't you love him?"

"A lot..."

"Then, when will you give your time to Dad? You will become busy if you get a sister because you are a big brother and you are the one who should teach her everything. Right?"

Abhi nodded yes.

"Don't you want your sister to be the best than anyone?"

Abhi nodded yes hurriedly.

"For that, you should learn many things from Dad. Then only you could teach your sister... am I right?"

Abhi again nodded yes.

"What will you do now?"

"I will make Dad feel special"

"Good. Than?"

"I will learn many things from Dad"

"Good..."

"Will you bring me, sister, after I learn many things from Dad?" Abhi pleaded.

Khushi remembered what Arnav told Abhi.

*Tell me later what your mom said*

She smiled and nodded YES.

To be continued...