Part 24 Khushi's Decision

Arnav was nervous like hell about Khushi's decision. He paced in his room here and there, and could not sit in one place. Don't know what would she decide. He had never been in this nervous state ever... for anything. He didn't know why this situation made him nervous. So what if she took a risk? Why did he think of it all the time?

Arnav stopped pacing, seeing Khushi, who was about to knock on his door.

"Naniji asked me to call you for lunch," she said, and about to go,

"Khushi, one minute..." He stopped her.

Khushi looked at him.

"Get in..."

Khushi got inside his room with hesitation because she knew what he would say.

"What have you decided?" He asked as she expected.

"What do you want me to decide?"

"You know what I want"

"Arnavji, I need a strong reason to leave my house"

"What kind of reason do you need? Tell your sister that you got a job in some other city and leave"

"Mmm..."

"Will you?"

"Mmm..."

Arnav huffed in relief.

She turned to leave,

"Listen..."

"Yeah..."

"Call me if needed... I will be available for you tonight..."

She nodded ok smiling.

"Don't think you are disturbing me..." he added.

"Don't I?"

Arnav got stuck.

"I will be up tonight as I have to compose tunes for the next movie," he said stammering.

Khushi nodded ok smilingly and left. Arnav closed his eyes. Why did he lie that he would be up the whole night? Was he going to be up?

Khushi had lunch with Arnav and Nani. Both of them didn't speak about Shyam. They let her think about it. No doubt, Khushi also was thinking about it. She decided what to do and how to do it. She raised her head slowly.

"I will come to RM, Naniji"

There was a smile on Nani and Arnav's faces.

"I will be here tomorrow"

"Why tomorrow? Why not today?" Arnav asked.

Khushi was about to say something,

"Chotte, give her some time. She decided to come here. It's more than enough..." Nani said, gesturing something through her eyes.

Arnav rolled his eyes and kept silent.

After lunch, Khushi went to Nani's room and spent time with Nani. She didn't feel to go to Shali Villa. Nani sensed that she was under an extreme level of stress. She felt bad for Khushi. How critical her condition was? She had to tackle her Jeeja but she didn't want to hurt her sister at the same time. Nani did not know, how Khushi was going to do that.

Evening

Khushi thinks of leaving RM only in the evening.

"I'm leaving Naniji," Khushi said.

"Don't worry bitiya, everything will be alright..." Nani said.

Khushi hugged her emotionally.

"Make yourself up, bitiya. You have to be strong. This is the time; you should bring your braveness out. Don't hesitate to do anything to save yourself"

Khushi nodded ok with a plastered smile.

She came out of Nani's room and looked here and there for Arnav. She wanted to take his leave before leaving RM but he was not seen there. She came out of the mansion and saw Arnav waiting for her near the main gate. She smiled at him.

"Shall I drop you?" He asked.

"No Arnavji... I don't want him to know any of your trace of existence"

Arnav nodded ok.

"I'm leaving"

"Be careful"

She nodded ok.

"Don't forget what I said"

"What?"

"You can call me anytime, no matter what... I will be waiting..."

She nodded ok and left RM.

Arnav felt heaviness in his heart. What the bloody was happening to him? He came to Nani's room with a rushing heartbeat.

"Why did you allow her to go to her house, Nani?"

"I don't want to confuse her more, Chotte..."

"But, that house is not safe for her"

"However she is going to come to RM tomorrow..."

"What if anything unpleasant happened to her tonight?" He asked restlessly.

"I don't think he will take such a step on day one itself," Nani said meaningfully.

Arnav understood what Nani hinting at. Shyam just came to India after a long time. He would like to spend time with his wife. Maybe, to make her believe that he was longing for her.

Though it made sense Arnav was not satisfied.

"Don't worry Chotte, Khushi is ready to come to RM. Hope for good... She will come to RM tomorrow"

Arnav came to his room and inserted his mobile with the charger even though his mobile had ninety percent charge. He wanted to be prepared to receive Khushi's call. He couldn't disappoint her when she called him. He made sure his mobile had a full signal.

Arnav's mind was not at peace. He thought Khushi will definitely call him that night. At the same time, he didn't believe her sister and jeeja would allow her to leave the house. Khushi would surely face a tough time with her Jeeja.

Shali Villa

Shyam and Anjali were having tea in the living room when Khushi entered.

"Khushiiii... Come and have tea" Anjali tried to be normal.

"No Di, I already had" she lied.

"What happened to your interview?"

"I got a job in Delhi. I will leave Mumbai tomorrow"

The tea cup slipped from Shyam's hand that was not gone unnoticed by Khushi.

"What? Where are you going? Just find a job in Mumbai itself. A lot of opportunities are there in Mumbai." Shyam said.

"I got a music teacher job in Delhi school. I like the job I want to join it."

"Khushi, listen to me. I have no objection if you want to go to the job. But we can't allow you to step out of Mumbai"

Khushi threw a sarcastic look at him and went to her room.

Shyam glared at Anjali.

"Did you see, how she is behaving? Don't I have a little respect in this house? What will people talk about us if we sent her to another City when there are many opportunities are there in Mumbai? Doesn't Mumbai city have Schools? Won't she get a music teacher job in those schools?"

"I will talk to her," Anjali said.

"I don't know what you will do. I don't want her to leave Mumbai and that's final"

Anjali was silent.

"Do you understand what I said?"

Anjali nodded yes.

"She left the house in the morning without even giving heed to me. You didn't even try to put some brain in her mind... What's happening here? This how you are running a family?" Shyam sneered.

"She just came home. Let her rest for a while. I will talk to her later. She won't make any decision going against me." Said Anjali.

"Whatever..." Shyam said annoyingly.

Khushi who heard their talks from inside her room made sure that Anjali won't come to her room so soon. She removed a bag from the cupboard and filled it with necessary things, like her certificates, bank book, Aadhar card, voter ID, and very few dresses.

She hid it under the bed and went to the washroom to get fresh.

After a while,

Anjali came to Khushi's room with a cup of coffee. At the same time, Khushi came out of the washroom. Anjali extended the coffee cup toward her. Khushi didn't deny it. She took it from Anjali's hand and sipped.

"Don't you think you need someone for yourself?" Anjali asked.

"Yes, Di... I want someone for myself but your husband will make him run away asking for his HIV report" she said casually and sipped the next sip.

"Khushi, I agree he did wrong. For that how could you punish me?"

"What does that mean I'm punishing you? I'm just settling down in my life. What's wrong with that?"

"When you have many options to settle down in your life, why do you decide to go Delhi? Can't you get a good job in Mumbai?"

"Di, I didn't decide it purposely. I just got a job in Delhi and I liked the job... "

"You will get a good job in Mumbai if you wait a few days... What will you do in Delhi all alone? You knew no one there... It's very hard to survive in the new city alone, Khushi" Anjali pleaded.

Khushi felt bad for her sister. Because of Shyam, she was hurting her sister.

"Please reconsider your decision Khushi"

"Sorry, Di... Please stop pampering me. Let me face the troubles. How long will you incubate me? This is my life Di. Now, I'm with you. Yet, there are many things I could not share with you..."

"What are you talking about, Khushi?"

"Nothing Di... Forget it"

"Khushi please don't take me wrong... How can I be peaceful leaving you in an unfamiliar city?"

"You left your husband in the unfamiliar country Di... I just am going to our capital..."

Anjali sighed seeing Khushi's stubbornness. She knew Khushi was not like that. She didn't know why she behaved adamantly. She left the room with disappointment.

Khushi didn't interact with Shyam and Anjali. She gave them the cold shoulder. She answered him in one word when he tried to talk to her which irritated Shyam.

Khushi went to her room, after finishing dinner. She didn't sleep... she could not... how could she sleep after knowing that there was a snake in her bed? As per her plan, she wanted to leave the house, early in the morning. She was lying on the bed thinking about it. But a sudden knock on her room door made her jerk and also nervous.

To be continued...

Note: The next few chapters are available on INKITT.