KHUSHI

"Will you please relax?" Ananya said.

I couldn't just stop pacing around and thinking about all that had happened, I dint even know how to react or how to behave, I knew nothing at all. For the first time in life I was feeling stuck, because I dint know what to or how to move ahead from where I was stuck.

Since I came into this industry, I hadn't really made much friends, Ananya was the only one I could trust and then I met Adi, and although I never loved him, I trusted him, at least I thought if nothing else he was my friend and he was always going to be.

He was just as important as Ananya was to me, and learning that what Arnav did to break us two could have actually jeopardized my friendship with Aditya, broke my heart.

I get it, he liked me and wanted to be with me, but he could have talked to me, told me what he felt, he dint have to do things like this, I was so hurt.

At one point I wanted to understand him, his life hasn't really been easy, plus the kind of family he has, I know he has a lot of problems, but this wasn't the right thing to do.

"I can't!" I look at Ananya angrily.

"You are the one that said, you asked for a crazy, mad and deep kind of love, and you can't complain then what happened now?"

"I am not complaining about his love Ananya, I just can't... the truth is too big. Imagine if someone had tried to jeopardize our friendship, would tell me to be calm? Look I am trying to understand him, but I am hurt too.

He shouldn't have done that, it's breaking my heart knowing that he's out there feeling miserable and I should be with him but the things he did are stopping me. How am I supposed to go on with this relationship? What if someday he doesn't like you being my friend and does something?"

"I thought you understood him Khushi. He is Arnav, he won't do anything to hurt you on purpose."

"Yet he has done a lot to hurt me."

"You have to understand him and be patient. What if he never told you what he did with you and Aditya? You would have never found out, at least he had the guts to tell you. His love for you made him do it.

You have to understand that he hasn't been having a good mental health because of his family, it was just the influence, but don't you see how hard he is trying to make things better between you two?

He even visited the doctor with you, he could have stepped out saying nothing was wrong with it, but he visited, because he loves you and wants you in his life, he is trying Khushi." Ananya looked at me sadly.

It wasn't like I dint understand his situation, I did, I do realize that he is just a normal human being like I am, and neither of us is perfect, but I am hurt too, he is boyfriend, he wasn't supposed to keep secrets from me.

My thoughts are distracted when out of nowhere my phone starts ringing, I grab it from the table where it had been lying for hours and look at the screen, its Dr. Roopa calling me. Why is she calling me? Is everything okay with Arnav?

"Hello Doctor, is Arnav fine?" Is the first question I ask. No matter how mad I might be at him, I would never stop caring for him.

"He is fine, but I was hoping to see you, could you come when you are free? There's something important I need to discuss with you."

"Sure, I can come right away if you're free."

"That would be great."

"Okay, I'm on my way." I disconnected the call, rushed to my room to get dressed so I could go see her.

*****

"Khushi. Come in." Dr. Roopa smiled at me as I walked into her office and settled down.

"What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked.

"Arnav came to see me yesterday, asking for help, he was stressed out, he was feeling really bad. I did some research on him, studied his behavior, read some things he wrote and everything. I even had a long talk to him yesterday night when I called him to make sure he was okay, and he told me a lot of things.

So after all this, there's only one solution I see to his problem, I thought if I told him about it, he might get mad or something, but maybe if you tell him and help him he can do it."

"What solution?" I looked at her curiously.

"He has to get away from his family. Those people have a horrible influence on him. He has a lot of battles in his mind regarding them and it's affecting him a lot. Staying away from them is the only thing that would help him be at peace, of course we can do therapy and counselling but it won't help much if he keeps on living with the people that constantly try to put him down."

"Do you realize what you're trying to make me do Doctor? I don't want to be that woman, I don't want to take his family away from him." I looked at her in shock.

"It is for his own good Khushi. He has to understand that. That environment is really bad from it, no matter how hard he tried, they would keep pulling him back, unless he walks away. He has to start a fresh life, away from them."

"He loves his family a lot Doctor, how can I take that away from him?"

I knew Arnav had a lot of problems with his family and although they never got along, I knew how much he loved them all, I remember seeing his wallpaper on his laptop, it was a picture of his entire family, how could I just take that away from him?

"He loves you a lot, I've noticed that and I'm sure if you tell him this, he would understand. Just try talking to him, I have already told him we will start his therapy today but we need him to live in a better environment for it to help."

"Okay, I'll try talking to him."

"Thank you." She smiled at me as I stood up and headed out wondering how I was going to tell Arnav to leave his family.

Oh God! Please help me.

*****

I walked out of the elevator and stood outside Arnav's cabin nervously. Aman was inside and they were having some discussion, but they stopped as soon as he saw me. He stood up and rushed towards me holding me into a tight hug.

How could I be mad at him? How? He always ended up melting my heart like this. Oh Arnav. What have you done to me?

"Khushi, you came. For a moment I thought I had lost you." He smiled at me happily.

"I can get mad at you sometimes because you do things to make me mad but I can't leave you Arnav, I love you too much to be able to leave just like that." I said.

"I am sorry Khushi, I know I have hurt you a lot." He said as he broke the hug and looked at me apologetically.

Although I knew that what he had done was wrong, I also knew I couldn't stay mad at him forever, especially not at a time like this where he needed me the most.

"Can we talk?" I asked, he nodded as he held my hand and pulled me into his office.

"Hi Aman." I greeted him as he walked out of the office leaving us alone.

"Hi Khushi, good to see you." He smile as he walked away.

"Just so you know, I promise I won't ever do anything like that, ever again. I promise no more secrets, just don't ever get mad at me again. It's painful." He looked really sad. How was I going to be able to tell him what I wanted to?

Oh God! Someone help me here.

"Arnav, I need you to do something."

"Anything for you baby." He agreed immediately. Why did he love me so much? The words that were going to come out of my mouth were going to break his heart.

"Please leave your family. Get yourself another house, live somewhere else, you can also get a house together with Aman, that way you won't be alone." I said. Was I even making sense? Why was this so scary?

"I'm sorry what?" he looked at me shock. Was he going to get mad at me?

"I talked to Dr. Roopa, she thinks the only possible way to help you is if at first you leave your family, they have a bad influence on you. So you have to leave them, for you own good." I said. Although I was no one to take him away from his family, I knew Dr. Roopa was right, his family had messed him way too bad.

"Are you out of your mind Khushi? It's my Family you are talking about!"

"Yes Arnav, the same family because of which you are in this situation today. Don't you see it Arnav? They are ruining your life and as someone that loves you, I can't see that. You have to leave them, for your own good."

"I can't!"

"Fine then leave me!" Jeez Khushi calm down! Why was I getting mad now?

"I can't do that either!"

"Look Arnav I would have never told you to leave them if it wasn't going to help you, I am doing this for you, so you have to decide, you will either have your family in your life or me in your life, because I can't see you ruining your life around them. The final decision is going to be yours, I hope you take the right one." I said as I stood up and walked away angrily. Who was I lying to, I knew it wasn't going to be easy to convince him to leave his family.

And maybe I shouldn't have told him to make a choice, but it was the only way, and whatever choice he made, I was still going to be with him, although deep down I did hope he would leave them. I couldn't see them ruin him anymore, he deserved better.

"He won't leave his family Khushi." Aman said while I stood beside the elevator waiting for it.

"Why do you say so?"

"Because this is the first time. Once before I tried to convince him that way too, he got so mad at me, he dint talk to me for months." Aman sighed.

"Why can't he see what they are doing to them?"

"He can, it's just that he loves too deeply. You must know that by now, he can go to any extent for the people he loves."

"Well I hope the love he has for me will convince him to leave them then."

Now I wasn't even sure anymore. I came into his life yesterday, his family was there the whole time, why would he leave them?