Chapter 8 - Longing

After the police took NK from there, it's only Nani and Nana was in the room with Arvind and Arnav.
"What happened to him...hmm?" Arvind asked his mother in law hesitantly as he doesn't know what to call her.
"Call me maa... Beta..."
"What happened to him maa....I mean nandkishore...it's like he is out of control."
Devayani was about to reply but Nana replied to him.
"It's because of me and manohar. Now I regret seeing my grandchild like this. Arvind beta, he considers you as your hero... There is a reason for it.
You saved ratna from a life full of compromises and gave her a life full of love. I'm sure that my daughter had a beautiful life with you and Arnav, even though it was a short one...Such a life was snatched away from my Nandu, by his own family...He loved a girl named Lavanya.... Like you and ratna they too loved each other very much. They met when they were in 11th, which continued till their college. Somehow manohar came to know about it. He threatened Lavanya's parents to get her married off to some other person and they agreed fearing manohar. Nandhu came to know about it and they were planning to get eloped but on that day Manohar locked him in the room for two weeks. With in that time Lavanya got married and left this place. Manohar wants him to get married to his Friend's daughter Sheetal. When NK came to know about this ....he was angry...After that nk started drinking,got into fights and cases. So that it will harm his father's status and pride for which he separated his love from him and manohar thinks that Sheetal can change nk from all these. I wish I could turn the clock and make everything right." Nana completed with a quivering sound.
Arvind and Arnav felt bad for nk. Arvind knew how painful it is to get separated from one's love and Arnav can understand his feeling...he can't think about a life without Khushi now.

All of them were silent for a moment.
"Maa we have to leave now." Arvind announced.
"You both please have food with us and go. I made ratna's fav dishes. I don't know if I will get a chance like this again."
"Come and have lunch with us beta..." said Nana to Arvind
Arvind was shocked, he didn't expect that ratna's father will accept him ever.
Arvind nodded his head and they moved to the table. Arvind was surprised to find a small table along with two chairs.
"I thought this will make you comfortable."
Arvind thanked his mother in law.
Arvind was again shocked to find Nana serving him food
"No..no...sir that's OK...we will manage." Arvind said to his father in law.
"I knew that what I did was wrong...I'm sorry for that... Hope that you will forgive me someday...and call me babuji like my ratna did."
"Ji... Babuji...." Arvind said hesitantly
"You forgive me that easily after what I have done to you???" Nana asked
"If my ratna was here...she would want the same..." That's all Arvind replied.
"I'm glad that she found you and had a good life...you are a good man Arvind... and you young man... makes a good son. You have brought him up very well Arvind... Not like me... And my son"
Nana said to both of them.
"Nana...nani, you both should have food with us.'
Arnav stood from there and placed two plates on the dining table near to them.

Four of them had food chatting about Arnav's childhood...ratna and Arvinds life together and the mallik's part of stories etc
After the lunch,
"Nana...nani... if you don't mind, can we visit maa's room"
"Sure beta...come let me take you there." Saying this Devayani took both of them to ratna's room
"All these years only I used to visit this room. After a long time, harindraji visited this room for the first time.... coming back from hospital...I will leave both of you now."
The room was very simple.
"Just like your maa...her room is also simple."
"You never been here?? I mean what about that incident you told me." Arnav asked.
Arvind dragged Arnav to the window.
"Your mom stood here while I was outside the window... Standing on a ladder."
Arnav lifted Arvind so that he can touch the window frame.
"When I came here your mom was lying on that bed...crying."
Both of them sat on the bed ....
"I want to lie here for some time." Arvind lied there closing his eyes while Arnav moved to the table. He saw the carving on the table.
'AR'
He opened the shelf....found some old books...He went through the books...In some pages he saw so many cute things. Some writings like 'Ratna Arvind Singh Raizada'
He found a small drawing, a lady and a man smaller than her...in between them a child..like a family. It brought tears in his eyes. Arnav went to Arvind and showed it to him.
"She showed it to me when she drew this pic..."
"Papa...can you feel maa right here now...like watching over us."
"I'm sure that your maa is with us...in this room..."
"I just want you to know that I love both of you a lot..."
"I too love my little Arnav and Ratna a lot." Said Arvind hugging Arnav, they lied on the bed for some time.
After a few minutes,
"We have to leave Arnav."
"Yeah...before going I have something to show you."
Arnav showed him the carving 'AR', also took some books with him.
"I hope that nani and Nana have any problem with us keeping these books."

As they expected, nani and nana gave the books to Arnav.


"It is true that time heal everything" Arvind said sitting in the car to which Arnav nodded his head.
"I never thought that ratna's father will accept me, but he did."
"I like all of them except that man...and I don't think I will ever like him." Arnav said about manohar
"What he did to NK beta was so cruel... Poor boy...He must have loved that girl very much."
Arvind said
"Arnav tomorrow we are going for an outing...."
"Where are we going, papa?"
"It's a surprise."

Khushi reached the restaurant and like yesterday she got a delivery. It was a toy...along with a note....


'If you want to hear what my heart want to say, just press your hand on the heart of that toy.'

With lots of love
Your Arnav


Khushi did as he instructed and the toy started saying 'I love you'. Khushi smiled and keep on pressing that toy. She got overwhelmed and called Arnav which was left unattended. So she left a msg....

I just want to say that I love you too...
Come soon...Waiting for you...
Take care of yourself and uncle

with lots of love,
Your Khushi

Arnav checked his phone after reaching the room. Found missed calls from Khushi and a message which brought a smile on his lips. He then called her, they talked about their days.
In the evening Arvind took Arnav to the places where he and ratna used to roam. Arnav got an insight of his parents love saga. He met some of his father's friends who were surprised to see both of them there. Some of them even had proposal for him which Arnav politely rejected saying that he is committed.


At night Khushi reached home, with extra care she smuggled the toy to her room. Khush saw the toy when he was in Khushi's room.
"Who's this toy for? Is that for choti???"
"No...it is not for anybody."
Accidentally Khush pressed the toy and heard I love you.... Khush looked at Khushi raising his eyebrow and run out of the room, shouting that Arnav gave Khushi a toy. He showed it to everyone. Khushi was feeling shy...and came up with an excuse.
"Khush, Arnav didn't give me this toy. I brought it. Isn't it cute?"
"Why are you all looking at me like that? Can't I even have a toy in this house?" Khushi asked
"Yeah...you can have whatever toy you want...."
Said Garima grinning at Khushi
"We should give this to choti... She told me that her toy got broken" Khush commented.
"Yeah... You should do that khush ...titaliya won't mind it..." said Shashi
"You can't give it to choti." Khushi told them in a stern voice.
"But why?" Nandini asked
"Because Arnav gave it to me." Khushi said while khush hi-fived his father
"Gotcha...." khush teased her.
Khushi snatched the toy and ran from there to hide her embarrassment.

Next day,
Arvind took Arnav to their college. Arvind showed every nook and corner to his son, the place where their love flourished and grew.
Around lunch.... Arvind said to Arnav
"Let's go back home."
"But why...???" Arnav asked
"I want to go...that's all...nothing...also you can give Khushi bitiya a surprise visit." Arnav liked that idea...also understood the reason behind Arvind's sudden departure.
They reached Delhi at evening. Khushi was very moody. She didn't get any call or gifts from Arnav. At first she thought he was busy, then her insecurities started to creep.
What if he thinks that she is not suitable for him after meeting his new family?
What If they find some good proposal for him?

She felt miserable thinking about all that.
It is around 6 at evening. Khushi went near to a table to take order.
"Why are you here?? At this time??" Khushi asked
"Can't I come here...???" he questioned.
"Yeah..you can...What do u want to have?"
"I want you to come with me..."
"What ?? I can't ...I have work..."
"Can't you do at least this for me...it is important."
"Is it that important???"
"Yes"
"Ok...let me change"

Khushi changed her dress and they went on her scooty. They entered the park.
"You please stay here...I will be back soon..."
Saying this he walked outside
Khushi stood there looking at the flowers.
"Khushi..." She heard him and turned around. She was dumbstrucked seeing him there.
Arnav saw Khushi looking at the flowers, he thanked khush and walked towards her...
"Khushi..." he called out and got a slap on his cheek
in return
"What the????" Arnav said closing his eyes.
"How dare you come in front of me after all these..." Saying this Khushi started hitting him on chest

"Why are you here now? When you can't even attend my call?"

Khushi started crying hugging him. Arnav secured her him his arms letting her cry.
"I missed you Arnav....I missed you a lot."
"Khushi as much as I like you in my arms, we should consider that it is a public place...let's move from here." Arnav said
"But khush..." Khushi asked wiping her tears.
"I asked him to bring you here...and he took your scooty. Now come with me."
Throughout the journey Khushi kept holding his hand. Finally they reached a secluded place.
In the car,
"Is it paining?" Khushi asked touching his cheek
"No..." Khushi kissed his cheek
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to slap you...I don't know what happened to me." Khushi said trying to control her tears. Arnav pulled Khushi to his lap and wiped her tears.
"Missed me a lot???" Arnav asked her.
Khushi nodded
"Won't u ask me the same?"
"Did...did you miss me?" Khushi asked hesitantly.
"I missed you a lot... I missed your smile...I missed you touch...I missed you voice...I missed your care...I missed your love...I missed my Khushi." Arnav said placing kisses all over her face.
They stayed in each other's arms for some time.
"What happened, Arnav?? You were supposed to come tomorrow."
"Papa want to return...you know visiting all those memories related to maa emotionally drained him...and I don't want papa to suffer...I can also be with my Khushi."
"When you didn't message me today... and didn't send any gift...I thought you forgot me, that you realized I was a mistake. I thought your new family would have found someone for you..."
"I just wanted to give you a surprise..."
"Yeah...I got it... Hmm am I a bad person to expect gifts every day??? So silly of me...is that make me greedy?"
"My Khushi can't be greedy and bad....I would send you gifts everyday if I gets to see this smile on your face...."
"No...I don't want gifts everyday... Just be with me ..that's all I want."
They stayed in each other's arms

"Khushi...tell me about it"
"What?"
"You know what I'm asking."
Khushi was reluctant and little embarrassed.
"It's silly... you know my insecurities..."
"Do you think that my new found relatives have any say in my love life?"
"They like you and you also like them... After all they are your family... I thought they may have some proposal for you...Someone who is suitable for you..."
"Khushi I agree that they are my relatives.... But don't know if I can consider them as my family
As for now they are not my family..."
"You and my father is the most important persons in my life. Everything comes after that... Don't think that they can make me accept their decisions. There are only two people who can influence my decisions... That's you and papa..."
Khushi had tears hearing his confession.
"I will try to work on my issues...Be patient with me please..."
Arnav hugged her and patted her head....
"That's ok...take your time...I'm with you... We will work together on it."
After a few minutes,
"You know I came here to surprise you.... And I think I did a good job with that... Don't you think that I should be rewarded???" Arnav asked with a naughty glint in his eyes.
"Yeah...you are right..."
Saying this Khushi lean closer and said
"You should be rewarded... With jelabies."
Khushi pushed him away and started laughing
"What the???"
"Ok laugh..." Saying this he started tickling her
"Arnav...stop...don't tickle... Ok...ok...I will reward you..."
"That's my girl." Arnav said waiting for his reward.
Khushi leaned and kissed him...but covering his mouth with her hand.
"Khushi if you are so eager to kiss your hand...I will also help you..." saying this Arnav started kissing her hand. She realized that her own plan backfired...somehow Khushi pulled back her hands away and sealed his lips with her.
After a few minutes, Khushi is still sitting on his lap.
"You know I had a dreamt of us yesterday." Khushi said
"What was your dream???"
"There is jelabies and laddos everywhere. We are kind of sitting on jelabies...you know like a jelabi land...a sweets land. You and I were walking around fire with a garland made of jelabis. Hmm...then you were waiting outside the hospital room...and a nurse coming with a bundle. You looked so happy and glanced at the bundle, then found a big long jelabi."
Arnav was laughing uncontrollably while Khushi was embarrassed. Somehow Arnav controlled his laughter.
"So you were saying that you gave birth to a big long jelabi???"
"Yeah...I think so....."
"You know Khushi... Nobody had ever made me laugh this hard." Saying this Arnav laughed again
"What can I do??? It was out of my hand??? If I dreamt properly we would have a baby boy."
"I think it should be a girl" Arnav argued.
"No...boy..."
"First a girl who look like her mother..."
"I want a boy like you..."
"Ok ...if it is a boy...we will have a girl after that..."
"What if it is a girl???" Khushi asked seriously
"Then after that we can have a boy"
"What if we don't have girls at all..."
"Then we will keep trying till we get a girl"
"No... I'm not a baby producing machine" Khushi shouted
"Yeah...you are not...you are one jelabi producing machine." Arnav commented.
Then they looked at each other and burst into laughter.
"Did we just???" Arnav asked
"Yeah...we just talked about babies..."
Both of them were bit embarrassed. It was Arnav who broke the silence.
"Khushi... You already know that I see a future for us...that do include marriage... When the right time arrives we will know... About babies... Let's finalize that after our marriage."
"You know that you want to marry me?" Khushi was surprised
"Did you think that I will opt for live in relation???
"No...that's not what I meant...I thought when you said you see a future for us...it was like boyfriend and girlfriend for a few yrs...and other decisions taken after that...you know something like that. We are getting to know each other."
"Khushi... We both knew that we know about each other very well..."
"Yeah... That's a fact."
"If not for you... I wouldn't wait to propose you... But I know that you want to concentrate on your business...."
"What if I want you to propose me??" hearing this Arnav was dumbstruck
"Hmm.... I think we shouldn't talk about it now... May be some other time."
Khushi nodded
"Arnav... I wanted to say something... That even if we are married or not...I know that you will be there to encourage me in my business."
"I will be..." Arnav said hugging Khushi.

"I brought some gifts for you and your family, hope that you guys like it." Arnav gave the gift packs.

"Arnav there is no need for all these." Khushi said to him.

"Take it or throw it...its yours now."

"Thank you. I'm sure that they will like it." Khushi kissed his cheek.

"I also have something for you." Arnav gave her a small box.

"When I see it, I thought you will like it. I know that you like earrings"

"It's beautiful." Khushi took the earring and worn it.

"Is it good on me?" she asked him showing her earlobe.

"perfect" Arnav said biting her earlobes lightly.

"Arnav" Khushi moaned his name and they found themselves devouring each other's.

They broke apart after a few minutes. Arnav looked at her swollen lips.

"You looks beautiful with this swollen lips and that earring." Arnav said touching her lips which made her blush.

"I should take you back to the restaurant now. Let's move." Arnav made her sit on the seat next to him and drove away.

Leave your comments.

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top