Khushi turned around on her bed, at the sound of her phone beeping, announcing the arrival of a new text. She quickly wiped the tears that had streaked her face and pressed the message into view.
"Are you okay?"
Her pout instantly transformed into a tiny smile. She cursed his ability to always fill her heart up with joy. She thumbed the keypad, smiling to herself some more and propped herself up on her elbows, getting ready to textback when another text flashed on screen.
"Do you want me to come over? Take you out somewhere? Please don't be upset. It's all sorted :) x"
She rolled her eyes at his growing concern, her face irrupting into a full blown smile. His calls had persisted since the incident the day before and after several missed calls she had finally picked his call up, letting him know that she was okay, asking him not to keep on calling her as she wanted some time for herself. It was now early morning and he had started all over again. She basked in the joy of having his love back all to herself again. Her thumbs started moving swiftly on the keypad as she typed out a response only to be cut short by yet another text message. She really should not have given him her mobile number.
"Sorry jaan. I'm being a pain. Just making sure you are okay. Can I call you?"
"Hai Devi Mayya! What will I do with this idiot!" She said aloud, deciding to just call him herself. "He probably won't let me finish my text anyway," she mumbled to herself whilst pressing down the call button. He picked up on the first ring.
"Hello!" His urgent, worried voice came through and she instantly wanted to go and engulf him in a hug, brush his worries away.
"Hi!" She chirped down the phone.
Arnav broke into a slight smile acknowledging the brighter tinge to her voice and breathed a sigh of relief. "Someone sounds happy today!"
She grinned, staring at a random spot on the wall, hearing his more jovial voice. "And why wouldn't I be?"
"No no, no reason at all. Just checking," he smiled to no one in particular. "So... Are you okay now?" His voice was serious again, confirming for himself that she actually was fine.
"Hai Devi Maiyya! I'm fine!" She shouted into the phone. "You are such a pest!" She laughed and hearing him laugh back made her heart flutter with happiness.
"You know you should drop this serious act of yours. It really doesn't suit you," she commented then, lightening the mood of their conversation.
"Oh damn! And here I thought it made me more attractive," and he grinned to himself as her tinkling laugh vibrated through the speaker.
"Oye thithlia! Why are you laughing so loud? Who are you talking to so early in the morning?" Khushis buaji suddenly came crashing into the room, her face squinting in annoyance as she tied the band of cloth she constantly had around her head round tighter. Khushi made a face hurriedly whispering, "will call you later," and cut off the call.
"No one buaji, just a friend from Glasgow," she smiled brightly and skipped off of the bed, twirling around Madhumati then whizzed out of the room. Madhumati smiled a satisfied smile to herself at having seeing her neice so happy after a long time. "It must be the marriage proposal that I told Garima to talk to her about. I always knew Khushi had a thing for Shyam bitwa!" She smiled to herself as she walked back towards the hall.
----
Arnav ignored the phone call for what would be the umpteenth time. He did not understand such women. What was the need? Hadn't he made it clear enough that he didn't want to talk to her, that he wanted nothing more to do with her?
The next buzz infuriated him. He slammed the file he had been reading shut on the desk and grabbed his phone, the anger taking over once more.
"What the fuck is it?!" He shouted into the phone.
"ASR! I'm sorry I don't mean to disturb you. I know things didn't end well between us and to be honest they weren't in the best of places to start off with. I don't even know what I was thinking," she trailed on, her words coming out in a flurry.
Arnav listened in more intently now, his anger slowly fading away. But he didn't like people beating about the bush, she obviously wanted something. "Get to the point Lavanya," he said through gritted teeth.
"Yes I'm sorry. Oh god ASR I don't even know how to phrase this," she breathed out a heavy sigh, not quite sure where to begin. Too many thoughts whirling through her mind and a cold fear slowly sinking her heart. She gulped loudly, suddenly feeling too hot in an air-conditioned room and wiped off a bead of sweat from her brown before awakening her dry throat again to continue. "ASR your brother-in-law is a cheat! He wants to destroy you and he wants Khushi! I don't know what's happening ASR but he seems like a dangerous man. I don't want anything to do with this! You can find out the details. I don't know. I just... Just do something," she finished hurriedly then shut the phone off, not wanting to talk anymore, not knowing any answers to questions he could ask and then turned off the phone. Lavanya hastily moved the hair away from her face, wiping off the sweat that had now gathered on her forehead and sniffing as she closed the zip on her bag. She took her other phone out, "taxi? I need to go to the airport."
Arnav stood at the window, dumbfounded, not quite sure if he could move his limbs. Slowly turning Lavanyas words over in his mind trying to make sense of it all. Shyam? Khushi? None of it was making any sense. Did Khushi then know Shyam?
"What the hell is going on?!" He screamed out to an empty room, slamming his fist against the glass, another ripple of rage flashing through his body.
It was time he talked to Khushi, he had had enough. All those unanswered questions and now even more! Enough of the waiting, he would ask her for the answers today and she would have to give them. Their relationship shouldn't restart with unfilled cracks.
----
Shyam got into a taxi, a sneer already plastered to his face. "Follow that taxi."
He watched as Lavanya Kashyap got out of the taxi in front, took her bags, glanced around twice then entered the airport. She hadn't agreed to his plan but plans could be changed and Shyam Jha was a man that didn't need to stick to just one. So what if she had told Arnav the truth, it was bound to come out one day anyway, he laughed to himself, shrugging his shoulder. The stupid woman had thought she was smart but instead given him the footing for the next part of his plan. He laughed out louder this time, flinging his head back whilst combing his hair back off of his face with his fingers, startling the taxi driver in the process.
----
"Khushi!"
Khushis eyes bulged out of her sockets at hearing Lavanyas urgent voice. "Ye... Yes Lavanya?" She managed to let out.
"Khushi! Shyam! I don't know how you know him," she glanced around looking to see if anyone was looking, "but he's a married man and he's after you." She suddenly felt someones eyes on her, as if she was being followed. "I... I gotta go Khushi. If you need any help at all one day then you have my London number. Take care." She cut the call off, hurrying into the airport, not wanting to spend anymore time in this godforsaken country. Shyam Jha had instilled the fear of god in her.
"Lavanya ji if you breathe even so much as a syllable of this conversation to anyone then I won't think twice before taking your life and everyone elses that's dear to you."
His threat still echoed in her ears, she had told them and now she was running away. It wasn't her fight and she would bare no part in it.
----
Arnav closed his eyes briefly, thumbing the handle of his car, his mind fighting against the storm of emotions racing through him. Needing to take everything one step at a time but not sure anymore if that was an option.
He strapped on the seatbelt, untensing his muscles and drove out of the car park, an unusual calm taking over.
----
Khushi sat on the edge of the flat roof, her feet dangling off of the side, completely lost in her own thoughts. Arnav had called again, wanted to meet up with her, insisted it was urgent. In fact he was probably heading over right now. She felt happy after a very long time. Sure Lavanyas call had flustered her a little and frankly she had been quite taken back by it. How did Lavanya even know Shyam? She then quickly shrugged the whole conversation out of her mind. She didn't care about that stupid man anymore, he was just a paying guest, nothing more than that.
She started humming a slow song to herself, moving her feet to the rhythm when she suddenly felt a heavy hand on her shoulder, a hand which was not Arnavs...
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