Dark Night Dawning Chapter 19

Khushi had no more tears left in her eyes. Her heart was breaking into a million pieces. Why was she wasting her tears on someone who had never trusted her? He had believed that she was a gold digger right from the first day. Though things had improved in the days before the wedding, Shyam’s deviousness had revived that old distrust once again. But, the truth was ---- he had distrusted her even before Shyam.

She got up from her bed and looked around. She had a lot of work. The house had to be cleaned up thoroughly. They had only cleaned the beds a little so that the family could sleep for one night. She took the broom and pan and set herself to work. In a couple of hours she had managed to dust, sweep and mop the entire house. Though she was exhausted the physical labour had helped her to keep her mind off him.

Khushi went to the nearby store to pick up some grocery for the house. Tomorrow she would have to make a list of the things she would need for dabba service she was going to start the day after. When she came back home she realized that this was the first time she was going to be living all alone. She decided to stop thinking like that. She was going to forget everything that happened like a bad dream and start her new life with a fresh cup of tea. She had just filled the water in the pan when she heard the knock on the door. She went up to it and opened the door.

‘Surajji?Khushi smiled at Suraj glad to see a friend when she was feeling so lonely. ‘Please come in. I was about to have some tea. Would you like some?

‘You know I cannot refuse your tea Khushiji.’ Suraj looked at Khushi’s face and realized she was sad. He wondered if he should ask her.

‘Is there anything you need Surajji?’ asked Khushi.

‘I actually came here to give you the address and phone no. of the office that needs the dabba service Khushiji. You will need to call them to introduce yourself.’

‘Thankyou so much Surajji!’ Khushi remembered that Shyam had taken away her phone once they had left Delhi. She would have to get a new one. She made a mental note to have the landline reconnected.

As they sat there quietly sipping their tea Khushi realized that Suraj wanted to know what she was doing her all alone when the entire family had left in the afternoon. In this colony everyone saw everything. She decided she would avoid the topic until he asked her specifically. Suddenly someone shouted her name from the door way.

‘Khushi Kumari Gupta!’

‘PalakMathur!’exclaimed Khushi excited to see her school frien, ‘oh it’s been so long!’ the two friends hugged each other.

‘Married life seems to suit you Khushi. You have become more beautiful though you seem to have lost a lot of weight. Don’t they feed you well at your sasural?’

‘Looks like someone is worried because she is getting married soon. Congratulations! Who is the boy? What does he do?’

‘His name is PrateekRastogi and he is from Mumbai. He runs a textile store there. I will be moving to Mumbai after marriage.’

‘I am so happy for you Palak.’

‘But I am not so happy about the fact that you didn’t invite me to your wedding.’ Said Palak pouting. Isn’t it bhaiyya?’

‘Palak!’ Suraj berated his sister for being rude.

‘That’s ok Surajji,’ said Khushi quickly coming he defence, ‘ it’s just that everything happened very fast.’

‘But tell me what you are doing here all alone? Mother told me she saw everyone leave in the afternoon. What about your husband? Where is he?’

Khushi stole glance at Suraj and saw that he was eagerly awaiting her answer as well. She didn’t want to reveal the real reasons for her stay in Lucknow. She racked her brains trying to think of a valid reason.‘Actually, Arnavji decided to work from the Lucknow office temporarily. So I had to move with him. And since my parents’ house was empty I suggested that we should stay here.’

‘So where is he right now? Has he gone with your family to drop them at the railway station?’

‘He …..he ……’ Khushi wondered if she should tell them that he was away on a business trip.

‘He is back!’ said a voice from the door way.

What _____? What was he doing here?

Arnav had arrived a few minutes earlier and realized that Khushi had guests. He had decided to wait until they left. But when he heard Khushi struggling to reply to her friend’s question he decided it was time to bail her out.

‘I see we have some guests here.’

‘Namaste Arnavji, I am Palak ---- Suraj’s sister.’ Palak introduced herself, her eyes going wide as she looked at him.

‘The same Palak who is getting married next month right?’ he gave his rare lopsided smile.

‘Y…Yes!’ managed Palak blushing. ‘How did you know Arnavji?’

Before his sister made a fool of herself Surjaj decided to leave. ‘We should be leaving now Palak. Please call the office and talk to them Khushji. Bye Arnavji.’

After Suraj and Palak left, Khushi rounded Arnav. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘If I am working from Lucknow office, where else would I be?’

‘That is not funny….you left some time back.’ She said dumbly.

‘I had to ….. ‘ he told her seriously, ‘I wanted to talk to Akash. I had to give him a lot of instructions regarding office and I also had to tell him to have my luggage packed and sent over.  And most importantly ----my laptop. You know I can’t live without it.‘

‘What?!’Khushi began to panic, ‘I mean ……why? Why are you sending for your luggage?’

‘How am I going to stay here without my clothes?’

‘Stay here?’ she screeched, ‘You can’t stay here!’

‘Why not?’ he asked her, ‘When you can stay here, why not me?’

‘I stay here because this is my house!’ Khushi declared.

‘Sorry Khushi…… The last time I checked this is my father-in-law’s house and he says I can stay here.’Came his flippant reply.

‘But why do you want to stay here?’

‘That’s what married people do right? ……Stay together.’ He quipped.

‘But we don’t want to be married, do we?’ Khushi posed the challenge.

‘I never said that!’  Arnav said firmly, ‘For better or worse we are married.’

‘That can be changed easily by going to court.’ She knew she was pushing the limits.

‘Let me save you some time and tell you something Mrs Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Rizada! Courts stipulate that a couple should be married for at least a year before they can apply for a divorce.’

He seemed to have done his homework. But why?‘Why are you doing this Arnavji?’

‘You told me that this won’t work because we are “incompatible”. Arnav Singh Raizada never backs out of a challenge!’

Of course! She should have guessed.‘Then, prepare yourself to lose,’ she said looking at him squarely in the eyes,‘I wouldn’t even have to work hard to prove I am right.’

‘We will just have to see, won’t we?

‘Let me make one more thing clear ---- ‘she added,‘You will stay in the guest room because that is what you will be for me --- a guest.’

‘Just a guest or a paying guest? This reminds me of my hostel days in college. It’s going to be so much fun!’ he replied undeterred at Khushi’s smouldering look.

Khushi walked away to the kitchen to prepare the evening meal. So the thought this was all a big joke. A few days in this house and he will realize how people in the real world lived. The hot weather, the frequent power outages and water problems would drive him up the wall and very soon he will be packing his bags. There was no way he could easily run a multi-million dollar business sitting in a small house in Lucknow.

Anyway why should she worry about how he was going to manage? She had her own problems to worry about. She had managed to buy the groceries for tonight as she had told the shop keeper that she would pay up later. He had obliged as he knew her very well. But how was she going to buy the provisions to cook for the dabba business she was going to start? How was she even going to call the office to talk to them and take orders? She didn’t have any money. She had been so distraught that she had put all her money into an envelope and left it for Arnav. At the time she had behaved like a lamb going in for a slaughter. She had never thought what the lamb would do if she survived. She could borrow from Palak but she didn’t want them to know about her situation with Arnav. At least not until things between them were final. Lost in thought she jumped when she realized there was someone in the kitchen watching her. Arnav!

‘What do you want?’ she snapped.

‘I was hoping my land lady would give me some dinner as she gave me only a good speech for lunch.’

Hey Devi Maiyya! Could he get any more sarcastic that this?‘At your service Laad Governor!’ she muttered under her breath as she set up the table.

They ate in silence. Once the dinner was complete he helped her clean up the kitchen. When she looked at him in shock, he told her it was the duty of guests to help the hosts. She didn’t say anything in reply. She quietly cleaned the kitchen and walked back to her room, shutting the door firmly.

Arnav looked at the shut door and went to the guest room. He had called Anjali on the way back from the airport and informed her of his decision to stay at Lucknow until he could convince Khushi to come back with him. She told him that he was doing the right thing. But then his Di always thought that he was right. She could see no wrong in him. After the incident with Shyam he had been in touch with her by calling her every day. She seemed to be very calm about the whole issue. She told him that she was enjoying every moment spent with her little daughter. She also told him not to worry about her as there was a house full of people to help if she needed anything.

Arnav was satisfied with how things had gone on so far. At least he had managed to convince Khushi to let him stay. Of course it was different thing that she was totally expecting him to fail.

As he settled himself on the bed his thoughts went back to the conversation he and Khushi had in the afternoon.

There is a vast difference in our class, in our traditions and our values….

He regretted each and everything he had told her about her class and status. How could he explain to her why he did that only to her ----when he had never ever said that to anyone else in his entire life? He knew he was not that kind of a person.

Remember the foolish things I have done?

How could he not remember the foolish things she had done, when it was those very things that had attracted him to her?  He remembered their business trip to Nainital, how she had danced wantonly to the bhangra beats and the way he had carried her on his shoulders to the room so that he could teach her a lesson. He so wanted to kiss her right then. Because he couldn’t he had yelled at her.

It had been the same feeling each and every time they had sparred – the water throwing incident at the office or the time she had offered her cheek to him so that he could slap her as a return to the slap she had given him trying to kill a mosquito. As she had told him, she was either naïve or a complete minx who was born just to create turbulence in his otherwise sedate and calm life.

You move in high societies where girls like Lavanyaji will form a queue for you.

Did she even realize what she was saying? Hadn’t he broken it off with Lavanya right in front of her eyes? Had she seen him even looking at another woman in all the time since then? Then he remembered Shyams words.

Arnav isn’t capable of love. I have seen him move from one woman to the other ----- not one has ever touched his heart.

Shyam had not been wrong. He had moved from one woman to another in the past and not one had ever touched his heart.Except Khushi. She was the one who had made his heart go dhak-dhak. He remembered how he had brushed off his sister’s words when she had said that this would happen when the most important person came into his life. But then one day, he to eat his own words when his heart had beaten for Khushi. Was this what people called love? Or what if Shyam was right? What if he wasn’t capable of love?

You told me that you love me……… That was two months ago!

Arnav realized that she never really told him that she had fallen out of love with him. She had avoided answering that question. With this hope in the mind Arnav felt rejuvenated and decided that there was hope for him after all. He would prove to her that they were compatible is spite of their differences.

If nothing worked he would have to use his charm. He knew she wasn’t averse to his touch. He remembered their intimate moments when she had responded to him that last night in *Nainital, then back in Delhi, in the elevator and finally in Musoorie. He had to win this challenge at any cost! This was no different from a deal, was it?

Arnav Singh Raizada never backed out of a good deal. And this was the most important deal of his life!