54. Keeping Khushi (Parts 11-20)

Part 11

"Shall I drop you home, Khushi?" His voice still carried traces of the effect her tale had on him.

"No. No, thank you. We will manage. Namaste." She folded her hands. So did Nidhi. He reciprocated, and watched Khushi walk away from him with a pang, the emptiness in his chest growing...

She stopped when she was a few steps away, turned around, and looked at him.

"It is so strange." The pale morning sun lovingly outlined her figure, fully covered in red.

He walked towards her, his eyes worshiping her beauty.

"What is so strange?", he asked softly.

"That you should ask and I should tell you."

He swallowed hard.

"Maybe it is for the best.", she murmured, her eyes lowered to his shoulders, her face pensive.

"I am glad that you told me." His sincerity was without doubt.

She looked into his serious, direct eyes and nodded. Then she caught hold of Nidhi's arm, and walked away.

Arnav stood still, watching her leave.

"Chotey! How did you meet Khushiji?", Anjali asked.

"Such a sanskaari child!", said Nani.

"She is sooo beautiful!", remarked NK.

Arnav frowned at him.

Mami teased him, "What did you see of her to judge her beauty, NK Bitwaa? Even her facewaa was covered in the ghoonghatwaa!"

"Tumhe pata he, Chotey!", began Anjali, trying to sell Khushi to Arnav. "The children in the orphanage love her so much."

"Haan, Chotey, Nidhi was telling us that she cooks for all of them."

"And sings too.", added Anjali.

This continued as they travelled home. Arnav drove, hiding a smile, as the ladies enumerated Khushi's plus ponts and wondered about what they did not know.

"Chotey, do you know anything about Khushiji's parents?", asked Anjali.

"She is an orphan. They died in an accident."

All in the car became silent for a moment.

Then Anjali said softly, "Like us."

Nani asked him, "Chotey, can we visit her orphanage?"

Arnav murmured, "Yes."

"Do you know where it is?"

"Yes."

"Chotey, you didn't tell us. How do you know her?"

"Met her at the recording studio.", he mumbled.

"Nannav is shy! Nannav is shy! He is blushing.", NK teased him. All laughed.

That night, dinner was a noisy affair.

Nani, Mami, & Anjali, ably helped by Akash & NK, were determined to find out what Arnav felt about Khushi.

"I was thinking, Khushi is such a nice girl. Where do you find girls like that these days?", started Nani.

"Haan, haan.", agreed Mami.

"We should keep her in our family."

"Haan, Nani."

“Bhy waste good girlwaa?", added Mami. "She can cookwaa & cleanwaa. She ijj a ready-made bahuriyaa. And Saasumma, she can sing too. Lori bhi ready-made!!!"

"There are 3 boys in our family. One of them can marry her.", declared Nani.

Arnav clenched his jaw.

"I am ready. Naniji, Maasi, Di. I am ever ready to marry Khushiji."

Arnav choked on a sip of water.

"You! Marry Khushi?', Arnav growled.

"Why not?", asked a cheerful NK. "I am jawan, badsoorat, fitrat..."

"Fitrat?", asked Akash.

"It mean fit and healthy.", explained NK.

Akash sighed in exasperation.

"My bitwaa ijj alzo ready to marry Khushi. Caampatition (competition) shuru ho jaaye!", said Mami. Akash stole a scared look at Arnav's red face.

"Unfortunately my Chotey has no interest in marriage.", said Anjali,  sad & sorrowful. "So we will have to cut his name from the list, Nani."

"Haan, Anjali Bitiyaa. It is so sad.", sighed Nani.

"Who said I don't want to get married?", said the lion, growling, standing at the edge of the trap.

"You want to marry, Chotey!", exclaimed Anjali.

"Have you changed you mind?", asked Nani.

"Err... I wouldn't mind marrying if the girl is good.", stammered Arnav.

"But Khushiji wouldn't suit you, Chotey. Such a gharelu girl!"

"And why should she live with a bitter karela who laughs once a year?", asked NK.

If looks could kill! NK moved back in his chair to hide behind Akash.

"She is too simple for you, Chotey."

"Too simple for me?", fumed Chotey.

"Matmal, she wearjj too many clothes, Arnav Bitwaa. You are used to seeing modals (models) bearing chote kapde, in your ophice (office)!", Mami explained the meaning of 'simple'.

"She is not too simple for me.", said Arnav, frantic at the thought of losing Khushi.

"Are you sure, Chotey?", asked Nani.

"Yes.", came the answer, low but sure.

Akash & NK quickly gave up all claims to Khushi. Akash said, "When Bhai is not married, how can I...? I am younger to him..."

NK joined him. "Haan, Nannav. You are much older than me. Take this chance. Otherwise buddhiya ho jaaoge, akele, akele..."

Anjali bit back a smile and asked, "Chotey, if you regret it after marrying her..."

"I won't."

"Arnav Bitwaa, soch lio." Mami warned him.

"I am ready to marry her."

The others looked at each other, relief & joy written on their faces.

"Shall we go to the orphanage tomorrow morning and meet her Baba?", asked Nani.

Arnav nodded. "I... I need to talk to Khushi too. To get her to agree." After his stupid proposition at the studio, would she believe him if he proposed marriage to her? He could feel a drop of sweat roll down his neck.

Part 12

Khushi stood at the door of her room, looking at the small enclosed courtyard opening out from her room. Other than for the light streaming in from other rooms, it was dark and it was raining. Raindrops fell on the hundreds of buds on the jasmine plants she had so lovingly planted in pots, waking them up. Their scent permeated the air. She smiled.

She held her hand out. Cold water trickled down her fingers. Soon she extended both hands in the rain, and began playing with the water. She laughed at the feeling of water wetting the long sleeves of her blouse, and running up her arms.

Baba looked at her from his room on the top floor. She laughed again, unaware of being watched by loving eyes. He smiled. His taarva.

Khushi smiled at herself. It was scary to think of herself as a woman. She had never done so. Not once in 21 years. When she had looked at herself in the mirror, she had seen everyone's Di & Di Amma, Baba's daughter, a musician, her students' teacher, but...but never a woman.

But these days, something was happening to her. Spending time choosing a matching bindi, her hand pausing over the saris while selecting one to wear...because of the look in someone's eyes.

She began to hum, and then sing a kajri, a monsoon love song telling of the longing of a maiden for her lover.

Barsan Laagi Saawan Bundiya Raaja
Tere Bin Laage Na Mora Jiya...

Barsan Laagi Saawan Bundiya Raaja
Tere Bin Laage Na Mora Jiya...

Mera Bhi Tum Naam Na Lena
Unse Jaakar Yeh Keh Dena

Tere Bin Laage Na Mora Jiya...

Sasi Sharma watched his daughter for a while. She had grown up. She was becoming a woman now, with a woman's longing for a mate. Must be Arnav Singh Raizada's effect on her, he thought. All other men she knew were her brothers or chachas. Only Arnav Singh Raizada had succeeded in flustering her, disturbing her peace, making her talk about their past. When she had told him about meeting ASR's family at the temple and the questions he had asked, Sasi Sharma had been intrigued. He had realised that ASR had changed, that he was now seriously interested in Khushi. But was he man enough for her? He would have to wait and see.

He looked at Khushi playing in the rain. It looked like the fire had been lit on both sides. Now what would be the next step?, he wondered.

She smiled wryly. She was being foolish. Maybe reading meanings into his looks and words, his touch on her arm which had made her heart flutter so... And even if he meant them...it was of no use. No use at all. Her life was in many ways a punishment, a curse. That did not mean that others had to pay the price for it.

She walked into her bedroom and looked at herself. The flush on her cheeks, the bashfulness in her eyes, the rapid beat of her heart...She placed her hand on her heart. She looked at herself in the mirror, and told herself softly, "Khushi, you are a fool. Don't let your foolish daydreams leave this room."

Sasi Sharma turned his head away from the window and looked at his wedding photo on the wall. He walked up to it. His wife smiled at him, the faded photo unable to dull the brightness of her smile, the almost incandescent joy on her face. He slowly dragged a finger down her cheek, and murmured,  "If they are half as happy as we were, I will consider them blessed."

Arnav walked up to his room, finally escaping from the collective expression of delight expressed by his family. He wiped his neck awkwardly. It was wet from his sister's tears. How could one person cry so much?

He was happy.

Happy that his family knew that he wanted to marry Khushi.

Very, very happy that his family loved Khushi.

Thrilled that his family was going to talk to Baba about his marriage to Khushi.

But more than happiness was his fear of Khushi's reaction.

Would she accept him?

After their disastrous first meeting at the studio, after inviting her to be his mistress, after doing everything he could to force her hand, if he proposed marriage, wouldn't she laugh at him? Worse still, would she think that he was a loose fish, inviting every woman he saw to be his mistress? How could he make her understand that he had never done anything like that before? Would she believe him?

He strode towards his garden. It was raining. Chill wind and cold rain plastered his clothes to his body.

"Khushi!", he called silently. He confessed to the night air, "I am sorry. Sorry for every moment of grief and worry I caused you. Sorry for all the stupid things I did. I..I had never felt anything like this before. I couldn't let you walk out of the studio, Khushi. What if I had lost you? I thought I could keep you with me if I offered you the world of ordinary women. Money, Success. Position. Security... I...I didn't know what your world was made of, Khushi..."

An hour later, he returned to his room to sleep, dressed in warm clothes, a glass of milk with haldi in his hand. Aman had come with the file from Fingerprints detective agency. He took it in his hand, and sat on his bed. He didn't want to read it. Khushi had told him everything he wanted to know. He set aside the glass of milk, and got up to place the file in his locker. As he was about to push it inside, a thought struck him. Maybe the file had a photo of Khushi. He quickly flipped it open. 

Yes, there was one. She was in a gorgeous gold and maroon sari, her hair in its customary bun, the pallu draped over her shoulders, smiling at Chotu. It must have been taken at some concert of hers.

His eyes fell on the details given below.

Khushi Kumari Gupta

Age: 21

Father: Siddharth Gupta

Mother: Gouri Gupta

He frowned. Where had he heard those names before? They were not unique names, but somehow they...

He carried the file back to bed.

Khushi had been their only child.

Other relations: Unknown.

They had been living in a rented house. The house had been rented out within one month of their death to another family. Their belongings had been thrown out by the house owners who hadn't expected Khushi to survive. His jaw clenched. If he got 2 minutes alone with those scoundrels, just 2 minutes, he would teach them a lesson they wouldn't forget in a hurry.

He skimmed the report for details of the accident, letting all the info about Khushi's present occupation and abode go. He knew all that. Yes, the accident...

Khushi & her parents had been going to see a movie. About 1km from the theatre, another car had crashed into their taxi. Arnav felt cold. He shivered. Reason unknown was the cause cited by the police. The cars had burst into flames. Arnav felt breathless. He rubbed his chest, and carried on reading. The taxi driver and Siddharth & Gouri Gupta had died immediately. Khushi alone had escaped. First considered almost dead, she had been rushed to the hospital, where she had remained for months. 

The occupants of the other car too had burned to death. Aravind Mallik and his wife, Ratna Mallik. His parents.

The file fell from his nerveless fingers. He could smell the iron in his blood as it rushed through his body, driving him senseless with shock. Then came pain. 

His father. The ultimate good-for-nothing scoundrel. He had made his own family's life hell. Killed his mother many times with his actions & words before killing her in the accident. And killed Khushi's parents. And made Khushi suffer pain and the loss of her family. Made her an orphan. Tears fell from his eyes, trailing down pale cheeks. Turned her homeless, left her alone, hurt, in pain.

At the age of seventeen, Arnav had taken over his dead father's affairs with the help of his uncle. He had become responsible for his family. Aravind Mallik's extravagance had emptied the family's coffers, bankrupted a thriving family business, destroyed Arnav's childhood and made him grow up before his time...

And now from beyond the grave, Aravind Mallik had succeeded in destroying his son's life a second time.

Part 13

Arnav Singh Raizada knocked at his Nani's door early in the morning. She looked up, surprised. He looked haggard, his face drawn, as though he hadn't slept all night. The book of prayers slipped from her hand, and she stood up to walk towards him.

Around 10 o'clock, the Raizadas came in full force to Omkar. As they walked in, they saw Nidhi playing hop, skip, & jump with her friends. She came running towards them, greeting them warmly. She didn't notice the strained smiles directed at her.

"Why are you always late, Uncle? The pooja is over."

"Pooja?", Arnav asked in a voice that even he didn't recognise.

"Haan. Pooja for Baba's birthday."

"Oh!"

"Di is making jalebis in the kitchen. Because that is Baba's favourite sweet.", Nidhi confided happily.

Arnav stretched his lips in a wan smile, and asked her, "Where is Baba?"

"In his room.", pat came the reply.

"Where is his room? Can you take us there?"

"Of course I can. I am a big girl now, Uncle. I know all the rooms here. It was difficult in the beginning because it was a new house, but now I know all the rooms..." Nidhi chattered as she led the silent family to Baba's suite of rooms. Arnav winced at the reminder that he had forced Khushi & the children out of Anand Sadan.

She knocked at the door. "Baba, Di's friends have come to see you. Shall I let them in?"

"Haan."

The Raizadas walked in to Baba's room.

They saw a tall, slim man in his early fifties, sitting cross-legged on a meditation mat. He had overlong curly hair falling to his shoulders, sharp, patrician features, and bright eyes.

He stood up slowly, his eagle eyes on Arnav Singh Raizada.

"Pt. Sasi Sharma?", asked Arnav.

"Yes?"

"I am Arnav Singh Raizada."

Baba nodded.

Arnav introduced his extended family to Baba. Baba greeted them and offered them seats.

A difficult hour later, there was not a dry eye in the room.

Baba asked Arnav, "Why do you want to marry her? Guilt? Regret? An attempt to compensate her for her loss?"

"No. Because I love her."

Baba looked into Arnav's sincere eyes.

"We were planning to come here and ask you for Khushiji's hand today morning.", wept Anjali. "Then we found out..."

Finally, Baba said, "You have to talk to Khushi about the accident and your father's role in it. After that, if she wants to marry you, I will conduct your marriage."

Arnav nodded.

"How will she bear this?", Nani wept.

"Saasumaa, mat royiye. You will phall sick."

Baba smiled sadly. "You don't know my Khushi. She has borne worse."

Khushi was sitting in the prayer hall, stringing marigold flowers for the evening pooja. The wind from the open windows had blown the pallu of her red and gold silk sari off her right shoulder. Her hair was unbound. It fell like a dark, shiny, silky waterfall down her back, lying on the wooden floor behind her. The wind played with the strands of her hair, blowing it away from her beautiful face.

She sang,

Kanganwaa Mora Atahi Amola, elaborating on the lyrics and the raag Kedar.

She looked happy, at peace, content. Beside her was a big basket of marigold flower chains that she had made.

Arnav swallowed hard, a cold shiver spreading throughout his body at the thought of destroying her hard-found peace of mind with his words.

Khushi felt someone's eyes on her, and turned her head to look at Arnav and his family. A smile appeared on her lips. She set aside the flowers and the needle, and forgetting that she was not in Anand Sadan, tried to stand up, her hands searching for the railings Vivek had fabricated for her.

She felt ASR's hands on her shoulders, sliding down her arms covered by yellow cloth, slowly helping her rise from the ground.

"Shukriya...", she managed to say.

The Raizadas watched Arnav helping Khushi stand, her knee-length hair and the golden pallu of her thin red silk sari flying against his face and his lean body in his black formal clothes. Anjali could not control her tears. Nani bit down a sob, and Mami's eyes filled. NK and Akash looked at each other, helpless.

 Arnav helped her hobble to a chair. The Raizadas found seats around her. Arnav took a seat opposite to hers.

"We wanted to speak to you about about something, Bitiyaa.", said Nani softly.

"Why are you crying, Naniji?", asked Khushi, worried.

"Eleven years back...", she paused., unable to continue.

"Ji?"

Arnav continued. "The accident that k..killed your parents and left you h..hurt..."

She looked at his pale, worn face with serious eyes.

"It... it was caused by Aravind Mallik. He was driving the car t..that crashed into your t...taxi..."

Khushi nodded, not understanding where he was going with this. She looked astonished as Baba slipped into the seat beside her. Then she looked at Arnav's face, expecting him to finish whatever it was that he wanted to tell her.

"He... He... Aravind Mallik... was... was my f...father."

Arnav looked at her pale and expressionless face.

They sat in silence for a long time, Nani and Anjali sobbing quietly, Mami trying to wipe away the tears falling down her cheeks, Arnav, Akash, and NK silent and moist eyed. Khushi sat still as a statue her face revealing nothing.

"Taarva...", Baba called softly, finally.

She turned to look at him. "I am fine, Baba." She caught his hand in hers, and kissed it.

She looked at a weeping Nani, Anjali, & Mami. 

"Please don't cry. You will make yourself sick." Her voice conveyed her anxiety.

"Khushi!", whispered Arnav.

She looked at him.

"My father killed your parents and the taxi driver. And he put you in the hospital." Arnav wanted to be certain that she had understood the entire story.

She nodded.

"He made you an orphan, took your home and family away from you."

"Ji. I understand."

They sat in silence for a long time.

"I am sorry, Khushi.", Arnav said.

"For what?"

"For whatever happened eleven years ago."

"It was an accident. If I lost my parents, you and Anjaliji lost yours too." Her tone was even, her sound quiet.

Arnav couldn't find the words to convey his pain and regret. Her dry eyes, stoic demeanour, and pale face made him want to burn down this world. As Baba and his family watched, Arnav Singh Raizada got up from his seat, walked up to her, kneeled down in front of her, and buried his face in her lap, hugging her legs gently.

"I am sorry, Khushi. I am sorry. I am so so sorry, Khushi...", he wept.

As they watched, a slow, silent tear finally made its way down her cheek, to be followed by many.

A long time later, she placed her hand on his head, and patted it gently.

"It is alright.", she murmured. "It was not your fault."

Part 14

Khushi packed lunch in 20 boxes with the help of Akansha and Varun. They filled 20 water bottles and placed them on the dining table. The children came in to the dining hall in groups, touched Khushi's feet, and after being thoroughly hugged and kissed by her, grabbed their lunch & bottle, and left for school.

Khushi heaved a sigh of relief, smiling. The cooking was done. Breakfast was over, lunch had been packed and given. The major work of the day till evening was over. Now she could focus on her music classes, and prepare for the concert in the evening. She lifted her hand to her head to untie the towel she had wrapped around her wet hair.

"Khushi!", came a murmur.

She looked in the direction of the sound to see ASR standing near the door. Her mouth fell open.

"Aap?"

He walked in. "I wanted to talk to you.", he said quietly, his eyes on her beautiful face and form, her body covered in a green sari and matching long-sleeved blouse, her hair in a white towel coiled in a bun.

"Ji?"

"Can we talk in private?"

Khushi nodded, and led him to a small room adjacent to the kitchen. She offered him a seat and sat down slightly away from him.

Arnav lifted his chair, placed it next to hers, and sat down.

Khushi stared at him, apprehensive, the fragrance of his aftershave and the nearness of his masculine body sending her limbs trembling.

"Khushi, will you marry me?"

Wide, shocked eyes looked into intent, determined, chocolate brown ones.

Maybe she had imagined him asking her to marry him. Khushi looked away from his waiting regard.

"Khushi?"

She looked at him.

"Will you marry me?"

After a few moments of looking at him silently, she asked softly, "Are you all right?"

"Never better."

"I asked because...marriage... That too to me. There must be something wrong with you, Mr. ASR."

"Arnav."

"Ji?"

"Arnav. Call me Arnav. That is my name."

"Ji." She looked to the door for escape.

"Why do you think there is something wrong with me, Khushi?"

"Kuch n..nahin..." she stammered. "You wanted me to be your m...mistress first. Now you are proposing m...marriage. That's why I..."

Arnav caught hold of her hand. The warm clasp of his large masculine hand was disturbing. Very disturbing.

She tried to pull her hand away. His hold tightened.

"Khushi, when I saw you... that day at the studio... I wanted to keep you with me. I didn't want you to leave me and go away. That's why I... I don't normally do things like that. Khushi, I am sorry. I know I hurt you a lot."

Khushi looked away.

"I forced you to leave Anand Sadan."

"Did you pay Mohanji the asking price?"

"More."

"Good."

"Uuhh?"

"He needed money for his daughter's treatment. She has cancer that can be cured if she has a surgery, chemo, & radiation. Baba had been asking him to sell Anand Sadan for days."

Arnav stared at her.

"We had hoped that the new owner, when ever Mohanji sold it, would let us stay on at a higher rent."

Arnav stared at her.

"Anyway, it all ended well. Baba has adjusted to being in Omkar now. The children are very resilient. They have gotten used to this building now."

"And you?"

"I am very happy. We don't have to pay rent any longer, and nobody can throw us out of this house. What more can I ask for?"

"A husband?"

Khushi laughed. "No, thank you."

"Why not?"

"I don't want one." She smiled.

"Khushi, is it because my father...?"

Khushi shook her head to mean 'no'. "That was an accident. A tragic one, but nevertheless, an accident."

"Then marry me.", he insisted.

Khushi smiled gently. He pressed her hand.

"Nani, Di, Mami, Akash, NK, they all want you home. As the bahu of our family."

A fleeting expression flashed through her eyes. What was it? Sorrow? Pain? He couldn't determine exactly what it was.

"You don't have to feel guilty, you know.", she said softly.

Arnav looked at her silently.

"You were not driving the car."

"But I should have done something. I was told that all four in the taxi had died. I should have asked again & again, followed it up... Then I would have found out that you had survived..."

"I was as good as dead. In fact, it was many days before the doctors could be sure that I would survive. So please don't blame yourself."

"I should have known, Khushi. I..."

Khushi smiled. "I admit that you are Arnav Singh Raizada, the shahenshah of Delhi. But you are not God, you know."

"I know." Arnav smiled.

"So why take responsibility for things that are beyond your control? Leave them. Let go. Live, please."

"Will you help me live, Khushi? Be with me, always."

Her lips twisted in a slight grimace. His hold on her hand tightened.

"Khushi!", he pressed for an answer.

"You don't know me well. Your family does not know me at all. It is foolish to propose marriage to a person you don't know."

"Then, let me know you. Let me spend time with you. Come home daily. Let my family visit you here."

Khushi looked at the door, frantic. She tried to pull her hand away, but his hold was firm.

"I... I don't want to get married." She looked at his face. She said quickly, unwilling to hurt him, "I mean, it is not because I have anything against you. I just don't want to marry anyone." She averted her eyes from his face.

"Khushi! Do you hate me?"

She looked at him, her wide eyes revealing her astonishment. "No."

"Do you think you could love me, someday?"

Khushi squirmed, her eyes darting away.

"It doesn't matter. Give me a chance to change your mind. Let me woo you.", insisted Arnav.

He kissed her palm, flicked a finger at her red cheek, and left the room, smiling.

He turned at the door.

"Khushi!"

She looked up, her face still flushed.

"Can I have lunch in a box?"

She stared at him in shock. Then she nodded, and went to the kitchen. He followed her. She packed lunch for him. As she was about to place a jalebi in the box, he caught her hand, standing behind her, close to her.

"I am diabetic. Can't take sweets."

"Oh!", she looked at him, dismayed. She put the jalebi back in the bin, closed the lid of the lunch box, and handed it over to him.

"Can I get a hug and a kiss too?" , he asked, a devilish smirk on his face.

Part 15

Khushi stared at him, her beautiful eyes wide with shock.

Arnav walked towards her, his eyes holding hers, and put his arms gently around her, pulling her flush against him. Her head settled in the crook of his neck as though the space had been made for it. Her arms clutched his shoulders, whether to push him away or pull him closer, she didn't know.

He cupped her face and raised it gently. Dazed eyes looked into his. He bent his head and kissed her cheek, taking his time about it. His hard lips savoured the soft, plump warmth of her creamy skin. He lifted his lips away from her cheek, and looked at her face. Her eyes were closed, her lips were parted to draw in air, and her fingers were clenched around the fabric of his coat. He wished he could stay there like that for ever.

Her dazed eyes opened, and her eye lashes fluttered as she realised where she was and what she was doing. She let go of his coat, and began to try to move away from him. He was not in a mood to let go of her.

"You didn't kiss me back.", he complained softly, a naughty smile on his face.

Khushi gulped.

"Tomorrow morning.", he promised. "I will take your kiss and interest for the delay. After all, I am a businessman." He caressed her red cheek and smiled as he walked away, taking his lunch box.

Khushi watched him go, holding the lunch box as though it were something precious. She felt her throat close with unshed tears.

There was much she wanted to tell him...to dissuade him from pursuing her...to discourage him from wasting his life on her... But she could not make a sound. She stood there, helpless.

She composed herself, and went up to Baba's room.

"Baba!"

"Come in."

He was sitting on his meditation mat. Khushi sat down facing him.

"Kya hua?"

"He... he proposed m..marriage...", whispered Khushi, looking at the floor.

"And?"

"I... I r...refused h..him..."

"What reason did you give him?"

"I said... I said that I...that I did not want to get m..married to anyone."

"Did he accept your decision?"

Khushi moved her head to signify 'no'.

"What did you want to tell him?", asked Baba's even voice.

Khushi looked at him, confused, unable to comprehend his meaning.

"When he proposed, what did you really feel like saying? Yes or no?"

Khushi swallowed the big lump in her throat, and whispered, "Yes."

"Good.", said Baba.

"Good?", asked Khushi, astonished.

"It is time you got married."

"Baba?", Khushi whispered in shock.

"I always knew that a man worthy of you would come asking for you one day."

"Baba...How can I...? Baba, you know...", Khushi tried to convey the anguish in her heart to the man who knew her as well as he knew his own mind.

"I know."

"How can I? It would be unfair to him. I... I..."

"Taarva, any man who gets to marry you should go down on his knees and thank God." Baba caressed her hair.

"Baba, you are partial to me.", sighed Khushi, unable to stop the small smile from creeping on to her lips.

"I am. I am entitled to be."

"Baba..., will you please refuse him? Baba...?", she begged him, serious now.

"No."

"Baba...?", she pleaded.

"I have already promised him that I will conduct your marriage once you agree to his proposal." Baba was firm.

Khushi stared at her fond father, helpless.

Khushi closed and locked the door to her room, and sagged on the bed. How could she make Mr. ASR, no, Arnav, no, Arnavji understand? Even Baba had deserted her.

She got up from the bed, and walked to the full-sized mirror. Slowly, she caught hold of the pallu covering her right shoulder and let it slide off. It hung from her left shoulder, held by a pin. Looking at her hands in the mirror, she slowly unpinned the pallu of her green sari and let it drop from her body. She unpinned the pleats, and let the sari fall around her on the ground. She stood in her green long-sleeved blouse and skirt. Every inch of her body was covered.

She lifted her hands to her neck, and unhurriedly began slipping the buttons from their holes. Soon, the blouse was open to her waist. She slipped it off her torso, pulling the sleeves off her arms. And she inspected herself.

The skin was puckered in places, darker than the surrounding tissues... Scarred, uneven in patches... White lines like stretch marks... They didn't hurt. They just looked painful. And ugly.

The doctors had said eleven years back that her survival had been a miracle. Yes. It had been a miracle. But there was no need to impose that miracle on Arnav Singh Raizada. Especially when he was weighed down with guilt for his father's role in her parents' death, she thought.

She slipped her skirt off. Scars on her hips, thighs, all the way down to her feet. Her muscles so badly damaged that excessive standing or any kind of strain sent them throbbing.

It was not a new sight to her. She was familiar with her body in all its glory. She had accepted the price she had paid to stay alive, to draw breath... Her eyes travelled all over her poor form. She had accepted this. But there was no reason to force it on others. Especially Arnav Singh Raizada.

His mistress! He had wanted her as his mistress! She laughed soundlessly. If only he had seen her body hidden under her white anarkali that day! And now he wanted her for his wife! His wife!

Slow tears fell down her cheeks, and down on to her scarred chest. She wept for him, his dreams that would be shattered, his hopes that would be dashed, for her, for her longing for him, for her heart that wanted to jump out of the scarred body that held it and join him...She wept long into the night, thinking of a man with molten chocolate eyes and a good heart...

Part 16

Baba looked at Khushi's wan face as she placed his cup of tea on his low table. The absence of her usual warm smile, her silence...all told him the truth. She had spent the whole night crying and worrying about Arnav and her future course of action. He sighed. Even in the most difficult situations, she always had a smile on her lips as she quietly went about finding a way out. But now... This had hit her too hard.

As she straightened, Baba said lovingly, "It is not very difficult, Taarva."

She looked at him, surprised.

"What is not, Baba?"

"Solving your problem."

Khushi looked at Baba with direct eyes.

"Tell him the truth. Let him decide what he wants."

Pain flashed across her face. Baba winced inwardly.

"If he decides to marry me out of guilt... I don't want that, Baba."

"Then what do you want?"

Khushi stared at him, finding it difficult to voice her desires.

Baba helped her out.

"You want Arnav to know about your scars and the damage to your body, and still decide to marry you because he is deeply in love with you.", he stated.

Khushi lowered her eyes. Put this way, it seemed like she was hoping for too much.

"And you don't want him to regret his decision. Ever."

Khushi had to nod. Baba was, as usual, perfectly right about her.

"But how will you know if he is capable of all this unless and until you tell him the truth? Give him a choice?"

Khushi stared at him, unable to answer him.

"Arnav has to choose his path on his own. You can't do it for him."

Khushi nodded reluctantly.

"Tell him the truth. If he is worthy of you, he will react as you want him to."

Khushi looked at Baba, scared.

"If he is not worthy of you, he will react as you fear. Either way, it will decide your future."

Khushi lowered her eyes to hide her tears, and nodded.

Baba touched her hair gently with his long fingers.

"Life is too short to be wasted in regret and worry. And no one should know this better than me, you, and Arnav, Taarva."

Khushi nodded, and caught his hand in hers to kiss his fingers.

"You are right, Baba.", she said in a choked voice. "As usual.", she tried to smile. "I will tell him the truth, as soon as I get a chance to talk to him alone. He might come here in the morning."

Baba nodded.

Khushi placed 21 boxes and bottles of water on the dining table. Her children came in laughing and teasing each other. They touched her feet, hugged and kissed her, and were hugged and kissed in return. They then collected their boxes and water bottles and left for their schools & colleges.

Chotu turned back on reaching the door.

"Di, are you alright?"

Khushi smiled. "Haan, I am alright."

"Something seems to be missing in your smile. Di, you have been looking pale for the last couple of days. What's wrong?"

Khushi smiled, trying to put on a confident air. "There is nothing wrong with me. But you will be late if you stay here any longer.", she reminded him with a smile.

"Di, let's see a doctor in the evening. I will come with you."

"Chotu!"

He touched Khushi's shoulder. "Di...", his voice was quiet, but determined. "There is something wrong. I know it. And you know it. Let's get a full medical check up done today evening."

"There is no need, Chotu. I am perfectly fine." Khushi cupped his face lovingly. Chotu was becoming a man now, willing to take on responsibility...

It was so difficult to hide her pain from her children. Chotu had already cornered her three times that morning. Akshaya, Akansha, Simi, Varun... even Vivek, calling her from Mumbai, had caught her out. She was blessed to have so many loving children.

"Then there must be something worrying you. What is it?" Chotu was insistent.

"There is.", Khushi said with a serious air.

"Kya, Di?", he looked at her, worried.

"That you will be late today."

Chotu looked at her smiling face, not fooled for a moment.

"I will go now, Di. But don't think that our conversation is over."

Khushi looked at the single lunch box and water bottle sitting on the table. Where was he?

Her phone rang. It was Arnavji.

"Hello!"

"Khushi!" His husky voice sent shivers down her spine.

"Ji?"

"I am sorry I won't be able to come to Omkar today."

Khushi swallowed her disappointment.

"I am at the hospital."

"Hospital?", her voice was thin, reedy in shock. "Kya hua? Are you alright?"

He loved it! Her concern, her worry for him...

"No, I am not alright.", he sighed.

"What... what is wrong?"

"I am upset, worried...so tensed..." He lowered his voice.

"What is wrong with you, Arnavji?" Her voice said that she was expecting the worst. "Were you... were you in an a..a..accident?"

Arnav rushed to comfort her, hating himself for having brought back bad memories.

"No, no. I am perfectly fine, Khushi. Perfectly fine. Mami twisted her foot while coming down the stairs for breakfast. We brought her to the hospital. She has a sprain. The doctor is bandaging it right now. That's all."

"Oh!" He could hear the rush of relief in her voice.

"Khushi, did you pack lunch & fill a bottle with water for me?" How could a man's voice be so warm, so full of love?

It was no use hiding from him. She looked at the guilty lunch box & bottle. "J..i..i..."

Arnav smiled. She could see him smile.

"Acha, let me cut the call. I have some...some work to do." She tried to get away from him.

Arnav let her go. For now.

"See you in the evening.", he said before ending the call.

Khushi frowned. Evening? How would they meet in the evening? She had another concert that evening.

The curtain was raised. Khushi folded her hands to honour the audience, smiling. The smile froze on her lips. In the front row were the Raizadas. Nani, Mami with her bandaged foot on a footrest, Anjaliji, Akash, NK, and Arnavji. They were all smiling at her. Mami waved her hand. Khushi smiled at them, greeted the accompanying artistes, and started her concert. 

As she made her way through Bhairavi and explored the nuances of Kalyan, her eyes returned to Arnavji who had his gaze fixed on her. The look in his eyes... 

Arnav looked at her with pleasure. Pink and light green silk sari, the pallu over her right shoulder, her long-sleeved blouse, her beautiful face, her well-formed fingers moving gracefully in the air as she elaborated some point in the raaga, her smiles...He could spend his whole life just basking in the open, shared pleasure that she took in singing.

As soon as the concert was over, and the curtain fell, she felt Arnavji's arms helping her to rise. She thought that he would let go of her once she was on her feet, but his fingers curled around her arms more firmly, pulling her to rest her back against his chest.

She tried to free herself as the Raizada ladies, including a hobbling Mami, came to join them. His hold tightened. His family seemed to find nothing strange in his holding her so close. They paid her rich compliments, and Naniji and Anjaliji kissed her cheek. 

Mami said, "You sing well. Bahut hi acha gaawat ho! After your marrijj to hamre Arnav Bitwaa, sing Munni Badnam Hui and Second-hand jawani for me."

Part 17

Arnav was driving towards Omkar the next morning when he saw Khushi walk up the steps to Devi Maiyya's temple. He braked immediately, and after parking his car at the nearest available spot, ran up the steps.

Khushi was praying, the pallu of her blue saree covering her head. She knew that Arnavji would visit her that morning. She looked at Devi Maiyya's benevolent eyes.

How could she tell him about her scars? 

She would bear it if he took back his offer to marry her. 

But what if he decided to marry her because he felt pity for her, responsible for his father's folly?

She asked the only mother she had now, silently, "What should I do?"

Devi Maiyya continued to smile at her. 

"Please tell me what I should do. A sign, a signal, anything to show me your will."

Pigeons cooed around her, picking grains from near her feet and flying away to perch on railings.

"Devi Maiyya, you gave me my life. You gave me my Baba, my children, a home, my music. Am I being too greedy to hope for Arnavji's love too?"

Someone jostled her on their way out. She stumbled and staggered back. Warm, familiar hands curved around her shoulders, pulling her to rest against his strong body. His fragrance rose around her, comforting her. His touch soothed her mind, making her feel safe and secure.

But she couldn't stand in the temple like this forever. Khushi slowly pulled away from him. His hands left her shoulders reluctantly. She turned around to look at him.

Arnav removed his sunglasses to get a clearer view of her. She looked like his dearest dream, like everything good on earth.

"Khushi!", his husky voice pulled at her heart strings.

So Devi Maiyya had given her the sign she had asked for. Khushi turned to look at her, and silently thanked her.

"Arnavji, I... I was hoping to meet you. We... we need to talk."

"Shall we go to some cafe? Have breakfast together?"

But what she had to say could not be said in a restaurant where privacy would be in short supply.

"Let's meet at Omkar.", she suggested.

"OK.", he drawled. "As long as you let me drive you home."

Khushi nodded. She hadn't let him drive her home last evening after the concert. He had insisted. His family had insisted. But she had held firm. 

They walked to the car together. Arnav opened the door for her, and helped her settle in, tucking in the folds of her sari so that they wouldn't get caught in the door as he shut it. He pulled the seat belt and fastened it across her, looking at her face from close quarters and loving the view. He drove her to Omkar, his eyes straying to her face again and again.

She took him to a small living room, showed him in, and locked the door after her. The pallu covering her head slipped down, leaving her head and right shoulder uncovered. Her silky dark hair hung down her back in a single tidy plait, down to the back of her knees.

Arnav asked, his voice more husky than usual, "What are you planning to do to me, Khushi Kumari Gupta?"

"Do to you? I..I just wanted to..."

"You should know that I am a well brought-up man, unused to spending time in closed rooms with ladies. Should I worry for my virtue?", he asked, tongue in cheek.

Khushi blushed.

Arnav asked, serious, his eyes fixed on hers, "Marry me, Khushi. Come home with me. It is very lonely there without you."

Khushi paled. She swallowed hard. The time had come. There was no going back now.

She showed him to a chair. She sat down facing him.

"Arnavji, there is something that you should know if you are...if you are serious about the... proposal."

"I am always serious about everything concerning you, Khushi.", he said, his gentle voice not masking his steely determination to get and keep her.

"I didn't want to tell you all this. I never wanted you to know. But if we are talking seriously about m..marriage, then you should know this."

"I am listening, Khushi. And I am going no where till you finish."

Khushi drew a deep breath. 

"I... I have s..scars on my body... The accident... From my neck downwards. I ...I cannot wear short-sleeved clothes. My arms, torso, waist, hips, and legs...they are all b..badly scarred." She looked into his eyes to read his reaction.

His eyes were moist. 

"You were burnt.", he whispered.

She nodded.

He shut his eyes tight.

"May he burn in hell... My father...", Arnav whispered.

She looked at him, silent, waiting.

"There was not a day he didn't make Mama cry... Bad husband, bad father, bad son, bad son-in-law... And on his way from the world, he took four innocent people with him and left you dying, an orphan..."

They sat looking at each other, both trying hard not to cry.

"You were in the hospital for months, weren't you, Khushi?"

"Ji. After I went with Baba, he used to take me to the hospital regularly for check ups. For years."

Arnav nodded.

"So I never thought of getting married... The scars... They are pretty bad. I am used to them, but... but to someone who is new to them..."

"Marry me, Khushi.", he pleaded.

"Why? Because you feel guilty?"

"No. Oh, I will never stop regretting the hurt and loss that my father caused you and many others. Never. But I am not marrying you to make up for what he did to you. My proposal of marriage is no compensation."

Khushi looked at him, silent, waiting for him to speak his mind, her heart in her mouth.

"Tumhe pata he, Khushi, I fell in love with you before I knew who you were. I had decided that I would marry you and only you long before I knew of the accident and my father's role in it. In fact, I had told my family that I wanted to marry you, and we had made plans to visit you the next morning to meet Baba and propose to you. It was then that we found out..."

Arnav looked at her, his eyes melting with love for her.

"That's why Nani, Di, Mami, NK, & Akash treat you like you belong to us."

Khushi smiled slightly, remembering Mami's demand for Munni Badnam Hui & Second-hand Jawani.

"Believe me, Khushi. Guilt has no role to play in our relationship. I love you. I want to marry you. Bas." His sincerity shone from his eyes.

"Why did you fall in love with me, Arnavji?"

He smiled, his mind back in the studio where he had gone to shake up Singhania and ended up being shaken himself.

"You were talking to Chotu on the phone. You called him 'Chotu' with so much love that I wished you were calling me. I turned around, and there you were. Beauty personified in a white anarkali that covered every inch of your body. But more than your beautiful form and face, I was trapped by the love in your eyes and voice when you talked to Chotu. Your eyes brimming with love for him. Your loving smile. The care in your voice as you asked him to have the karela sabzi you had made for him as it is his favourite. Your warmth. Your immense capacity to give love. I was frantic to make you mine."

Khushi stared at him, astonished.

"I wanted to carry you away, take you away from the other man you were so concerned about. I wanted all your love for myself then. But now, I know that your heart is big enough to hold me and my family, Baba, the children, and a hundred others..."

Khushi swallowed hard.

"The more I tortured you, the more you resisted, and the more I fell in love with you. Your innate goodness. Your self-respect. Your generous heart that made you forgive my family. Your love for Baba. The love you shower on your children and the love they return to you. Khushi, marry me , please."

"Arnavji..." Khushi had to clear her throat to get the words out. "The scars are bad."

"Do they hurt you?"

"No."

He heaved a sigh of relief.

"If I strain too much or sit on the floor, my legs..."

"I will make certain that you don't strain too much. And I will talk to Vivek, and we will fix railings for you in Omkar and RM."

"Arnavji, the scars. They are bad. Ugly." She had to be truthful. She had to let him choose.

"If you can live with them for 11 years, then I can live with them for the rest of my life."

"Arnavji!", she sighed. "Living together...with this body..."

"The scars don't matter to me, Khushi."

"They should."

"Maybe. But they don't." He was certain, sure.

There was nothing else she could do. Khushi unpinned the pallu and let it drop to the floor. Her fingers went to the first button of her blouse to undo it.

Part 18

"Khushi...?", his voice was thin with shock. "What..what are you doing?"

"It is better that you see the scars before than after.", she said quietly, her face expressionless.

"Khushi!"

She was on the second button.

"Khushi, don't." He caught hold of her hand to stop her.

"Let me.", she requested evenly.

"Khushi, I don't care how bad the scars look." He managed to get the words out through a throat choked with tears.

"I do.", she replied. "If you don't see me now, and we get married, and then you find it difficult to bear them, then..."

"Khushi!", he protested.

"I don't think I could bear to see disgust in your eyes, Arnavji...", she said softly, her eyes slightly misted with tears.

"Khushi!" He kissed the hand he was holding. "Never, Khushi. Never."

"I don't want you to regret your decision later."

"I won't."

"Arnavji, these scars are mine. I don't have a choice, I have to live with them. But you have a choice. You don't have to bear my punishment along with me." Her eyes were direct.

"Khushi, believe me when I say that the scars don't matter to me.", he begged in his husky voice. "Please..."

"I will. Once you have seen them. Atleast some of them..."

"Khushi!", he looked at her, helpless in the face of her determination not to cheat him.

She slipped her hand out of his gentle hold. Her fingers went to the third button, slipping it out of its hole.

He looked into her eyes.

She undid the fourth button, the fifth... Their eyes were locked.

Khushi moved the ends of the blouse apart. Her eyes lowered to the skin she had bared for his view, inviting him. His eyes followed hers.

Her creamy skin was criss-crossed with burn scars. He stood silent, looking at her.

"My whole body... There are scars all over.", she whispered, eyes lowered, scared to look at his face.

Finally, he said, "Khushi, why did you lie to me?"

Astonished, doe-like eyes met his. "Lie? I don't lie to anyone."

"You said there are ugly scars. They are not ugly."

She stared at him.

"When I look at them, Khushi, all I can feel is gratitude. That you are alive to show me the scars."

Khushi was made speechless by the quiet conviction behind his words.

"They are not scars, Khushi. They are badges of honour, of courage, of survival..." He cupped Khushi's face in his palms. "I can't hate them, Khushi. I can only love them, because they mean that you are alive, with me."

He bent his head and kissed the scars, starting with the ones at the base of her neck. He took his time, pressing his warm lips softly to each scar, not letting any of them feel unloved. Khushi gasped at the unexpected and arousing touch of his lips.

"I told you not to show me the scars, Khushi. Ab bhugto.", came his husky drawl.

He kissed every inch of skin revealed by the partially open blouse, stopping only when his lips were blocked by her undergarments.

"Now will you marry me, Khushi?", he asked.

Part 19

Khushi nodded, and lowered her head, blushing. She caught the edges of her blouse and brought them together. As she was about to do the fifth button, he brushed her hands aside and took over the job. Both of them looked at his hands as he fastened the fourth, third, second, and first buttons.

"Did that mean 'yes'?"

Khushi nodded, being beyond words at that particular moment.

"Khushi, tell me. Tell me that you will marry me.", he insisted on the words being spoken.

She smiled. The sly smile would have been sufficient warning to her children had they seen it.

"Ji. You will marry me."

"What the?"

Khushi giggled, seeing the flabbergasted look on his face.

"I see. So you have become brave enough to tease me?", he growled.

Khushi laughed, her infectious laughter bringing a smile to his lips.

He lunged at her, catching her unawares, and pulled her into his arms.

She fell flush against him, and his arms went around her, trying to hold her as close as possible to him. Her arms went around his shoulders, cradling them, and her head rested in the crook of his neck. She could hear his heart thunder against hers. She moved her hands over his shoulders, enjoying her freedom to touch him, to press herself against him, loving the feel of his rippling muscles against her...

He pulled himself away quickly, and waved a finger near her eyes.

"No. No. No touching. We are not married yet."

Khushi stared at him in surprise first, and then glared at him. He was stealing her lines.

"If you want to touch me...", and how his seductive eyes beckoned her, "...you have to marry me."

She pouted, loving this side of him. 

She said, "Well, if there is no other way I can touch you, then I suppose I will have to marry you."

"Will you, Khushi?", he was eager.

Khushi said, "Yes. I would like to marry you, Arnavji. But..."

"But?"

"Your family?" Her worried eyes wounded him.

"They love you already.", he soothed her.

"Haan, but they don't know about my scars..."

"I will tell them today.", he promised.

She nodded.  "If... if they agree to our marriage, Arnavji, please meet Baba..."

Arnav nodded.

"Shall we leave?", Khushi asked.

Arnav nodded reluctantly.

He watched her rearrange the folds of her sari that had been dislodged in their play. Soon, he would have the right and many opportunities to muss her hair and crush her clothes... He smiled, anticipating the day when...

"Kya hua, Arnavji?", she asked, her innocent eyes seeking answers.

"Nothing.", he smiled, trying to look as innocent as possible.

"Chalein?"

He nodded, and followed her to the door.

She removed the bolt, turned around suddenly, brushed a kiss against his rough cheek, and ran away.

He stood there, a hand raised to his burning cheek, his heart thudding...

"Kya hua, Bhaiyya?", asked Varun who was passing by. "Did someone slap you?"

Arnav looked at his family sitting around the dinner table. Di and Akash were teasing NK.

NK was repeating dialogues from some old Hindi movie they had all watched.

"Hum aap se beimtihaan mohabat karte he!"

"Beimtihaan nahin, NK bhai. Beintihaa!"

Mami was talking to Nani about one of the ladies in her social circle.

"Saasumma, Mrs. Mehra iraaned (ironed) her hairwaa."

Nani stared at her.

"Haan, Saasumma, she went to the new beauty parlaarr in Orchid Mallwaa, and iraaned her hairwaa. Now they looks like stickwaas."

"She used to have nice hair.", Nani lamented.

"Haan. And I asked her, when are you starching it? Iraan kar sakat ho to starch bhi kar lio!"

Mami & Nani laughed.

When the laughter died down, Arnav said, "I would like to talk to all of you after dinner."

They looked at him, all alert, all anxious.

They gathered in Nani's room, all of them sitting around Arnav.

"I asked Khushi to marry me."

All looked at him, eager to know her reply.

"In fact, I asked her many times. She kept on refusing me."

The Raizadas looked at each other, fearing another heartbreaking news.

"Finally, today, she told me why she didn't want to marry me. She... she..."

"She? She kya, Arnav Bitwa?", asked Mami.

"In the...in the accident that killed her parents, the accident that my f..father caused, she was b..badly hurt..."

"Haan, we know.", said Nani, tearfully. "Her legs..."

"Not just her legs.", his voice was quiet, but the words sounded like hammer blows in the perfectly silent room. "Her entire body. The cars burnt. So...so she has burn scars..." His throat closed thinking of how much pain a 10-year old must have gone through, alone, in a hospital without her parents by her side.

He looked at the shocked faces of his family.

"She... she...", he stammered, trying to explain the extent of the damage to them. But he didn't have to.

"That is why Khushiji covers herself, always.", NK whispered.

"Do the scars still hurt, Bhai?", Akash whispered.

"No.", he managed to get out.

Anjali was crying too hard to get a word out.

"Aravind Mallik!", Nani sobbed. "He destroyed that child's life too...that innocent child's life too. And... and we didn't even know..."

"Haan Saasumma, when we were in shockwaa, Khushi was in hospital, alone." Tears trailed down Mami's painted cheek, carrying her makeup along with it.

"She said... she said that I had to tell you about the scars. And that she would marry me only if you are all OK about them.", Arnav said softly.

He was not worried. He knew his family.

"Bring her home now, Chotey.", sobbed Anjali.

"This night. We will have the marriage tomorrow morning.", added Nani.

"Haan, Arnav Bitwaa. Griha Pravesh tonight, and marrijwaa tomorrow morning."

NK and Akash said eagerly, "Bhai, we will get a room ready for Khushiji."

"Haan, Nannav, mere Bhai. Just bring her. We will look after her."

Arnav leant back in his chair.

"I can't ask her to come tonight. And even if I do, she won't come."

All looked at him, surprised.

Arnav smiled gently. 

"She is no longer an orphan. She has a father in Baba. Brothers and sisters whose world revolves around Khushi. We will have to go and ask for her hand again."

The Raizadas nodded, remembering Baba's words.

"Baba did what we should have done eleven years back. He gave her a home and enough love to make up for the loss of her parents. He gave her the courage to live fully, taking her disabilities in her stride. He gave her his music. He gave her the world she knows. The only world she knows. Only he had the right to decide her future."

Nani nodded. "Sasi Sharmaji should do her kanyaadaan. Only he has the right."

Anjali, Mami, Akash, & NK nodded.

"The wedding should take place in Omkar. Baba will have good memories to replace bad ones. And the children will enjoy marrying their sister off.", said Arnav.

All smiled, remembering Nidhi.

"Let's go to Omkar in the morning and talk to Baba.", decided Nani.

Late that night, Arnav phoned Khushi.

She was awakened by the ringing phone, and stretched a sleepy hand to answer it.

"Hello!", her sleep-roughened voice was music to his ears.

"Khushi!"

"Ji?", she became alert.

"My family wanted me to come to Omkar tonight, and carry you home to RM."

Khushi smiled, relief on her face and in her silence.

"Did you think they would reject you? Really think they would say no?"

"No, but..."

"We are coming to Omkar in the morning to talk to Baba."

Khushi smiled.

"Shall we have the wedding at Omkar?", he asked.

"Ji." Khushi's happiness knew no bounds. Her children would be able to participate in it fully. They would...

"The children will enjoy it.", said Arnav.

"Ji."

"That's all I called to say.", said Arnav, as though eager to end the conversation.

"Arnavji!", she called to stop him from ending the call.

"Yes?"

"Err... err... Nothing. I... I will see you tomorrow.", she said in a small voice.

Arnav smiled at the other end.

"By the way, Khushi, there was something else I wanted to tell you."

"Ji?", she asked eagerly. Maybe he would say something romantic, something sweet...

He did.

With an audacious smirk on his face and a tender light in his eyes, he said softly, "Don't forget to add laddoos to the list of sweets for the wedding. After all, Nidhi loooves them."

Part 20

Baba looked at the Raizadas, the whole family eager for his permission to claim his daughter..

"When do you want to have the wedding?", he asked in his usual direct manner.

"Today?", asked Nani, smiling.

Baba smiled. "Will tomorrow do? That will give us time for shagun, sagai, sangeet, & mehendi today, and haldi and shaadi tomorrow."

"Yes!" The whole family was thrilled. 

Arnav smiled at Khushi who was sitting silently behind Baba. Dressed in a pink sari, she looked delicious. He wished he could carry her home that instant.

"Nannav, chill, mere bhai. Wait till tomorrow. Khabar (sabr) ka phal hamesha meeta hota he.", NK advised him.

  "Shall we hold it in Omkar, or do you want it elsewhere?", Baba asked.

"Omkar!", the Raizadas said in one voice. 

Baba smiled.

The ladies made Khushi sit in their midst, at the feet of Devi Maiyya's big picture on the wall in Baba's room. Each one of them applied a tilak and filled her lap with lots of gifts. NK and Akash too joined in to welcome Khushi into their family. The shagun was done.

Arnav took a diamond ring from his pocket. 

"Baba, this was our mother's. If Khushi does not mind that it is not new, can we have the sagai right now?", he asked in his husky voice, determined not to waste a single moment in claiming his Khushi.

All laughed. Baba nodded.

Khushi blushed, her cheeks as pink as her sari.

Arnav slipped the ring onto Khushi's finger.

Baba opened his cabinet, and took out a box. In it was a simple ring that he had worn once upon a time when he had been healthy and happy.

He held it out to Khushi. She took it, and blushing, slipped it on to Arnavji's finger. 

"So sagai is done. Two down. Three more to go.", murmured Arnav in Khushi's ear.

Nani laughed, "Sasiji, I don't think anyone will have had their shagun and sagai done like this."

All chuckled.

The mehendi and sangeet were slotted for that afternoon and evening. Anjali and Mami arranged for enough mehendi ladies to cater to all the women and the girls in the orphanage. The whole afternoon, they laughed and giggled as ladies drew various patterns on their hands, arms, & legs.

Khushi was the last person to get her mehendi done. As usual, she was busy serving cold drinks and sweets and seeing to the last minute arrangements for the sangeet that she forgot that she was the bride.

"Di!", Chotu scolded her. "Please go and sit down. This happens to be your mehendi!", he reminded her.

"Khushi Bitiyaa!", Nani called her, smiling. "Please come and have your mehendi done now."

"Haan, otherbise, we will make Nidhi the bridewaa.", teased Mami.

Akansha, Varun, & Chotu shooed Khushi away from helping them, and she came laughing to sit by Nani. Arnav moved closer to her.

She looked through the designs and patterns in the books. She wanted a beautiful one in which she could hide the 'A' of Arnavji's name.  She found one, and showed the pattern and her left hand to the mehendi lady, who began making floral designs on her palm.

Khushi could feel Arnavji's eyes on her. Dressed in a black sherwani, he was sitting in a chair behind her, watching her. After the hand was filled, the lady said, "Now show me your arm."

Khushi stilled, the smile on her face fading.

Nani, Mami, & Anjali stepped into the breach, asking the mehendi lady to do the right hand.

Arnav sat down on the floor next to Khushi, his shoulder touching hers. Khushi turned around to look at him, startled. His eyes showered love and understanding on her.

He lifted her left hand, careful not to smudge the green paste. He gently undid the hooks of her blouse at her wrist and rolled her sleeve to her elbow. 

"You can do it now.", he told the mehendi lady. The lady drew patterns over the faded scars.

Khushi stared at him.

He did the same service for her right hand, making sure that both arms were covered in mehendi.

"Why?", Khushi whispered.

"I intend to kiss every loop and curve of the design tomorrow night.", he said softly, smiling at her shocked face. "The more the better."

Her eyes widened, and her cheeks became red in colour.

"Chotey!", Nani called, happily. "The bridegroom is supposed to apply a little bit of mehendi on his hands."

Arnav nodded, a small smile on his lips. He placed his right hand on Khushi's lap, and asked the lady to mark him with the green mixture.

Khushi and Arnav watched the lady put a blob of the paste on his palm.

"Shall I ask her to write your name, Khushi?", he asked softly.

Khushi blushed.

"Don't be sad if Di does not let you write her name, Bhaiyya.", said Nidhi who had been watching and listening to them. "You can write my name on your hand.", she granted permission graciously.

All of them laughed.

The sangeet was loud, noisy, with children dancing in abandon to the latest Bollywood hits, the boys dragging Akash & NK into their midst. Not to be outdone, the girls dragged Nani & Mami into the centre of the crowd, and competed with the boys' team to dance longer & more energetically. 

Baba went to his room to save his eardrums, and shut the door, smiling.

Arnav & Khushi sat in chairs set aside for them and enjoyed the performance of their family members, laughing at the antics of the children. 

Arnav turned his head to look at her. Her pink and gold sari made her look like a princess. He looked at her animated face, and felt a hand close around his heart. He promised her parents silently that he would keep her happy, always. She looked at him, astonished at the strange look on his face.

She quirked an eyebrow as if to ask him what was wrong.

"Do you know how much I love you, Khushi?", he whispered in her ear.

She shook her head as though to say 'no'. A naughty smile played on her lips.

"I will show you tomorrow night.", he promised.

She looked at him with eyes wide open, the smile far away from her face.

"You are not scared, are you, my lioness?", he smirked, touching her cheek with his nose as he whispered in her ear.

She jerked back, gathered the tattered remains of her composure, and said, stammering only a little, "N.n.o.o.."

"Good." The wicked smile on his face and the slight touch of his arm on hers set a fire burning in the pit of her stomach.