9. Khushi, I am Coming



Arnav leaned back in his chair, exhausted. The meeting was over, the deal fixed. Another feather in his cap. But success had begun to pall a long time ago. Now it was all about going with the flow. There was no adrenalin rush. It was all about duty and responsibility...to his family and his employees.
He had almost missed the meeting. Had Khushi not sent him the note with the change in timings, he would have been unaware of it. But she had sent it. Why? Even though he had ravaged her self-respect and her heart, and told her to her face that he did not want to see her or talk to her, she had still helped him out. He smiled thinking of her gestures and the funny faces she had made while trying to convey the info without words. Bilkul Nautanki. So open, without any malice in her heart. He could see through her, read her every thought, feel her love for him. LOVE?. Yes, that is what it is. That's why she keeps coming back even though I try to send her away. DAMMIT!
He slammed his fist into the table, not once wincing at the pain. He had to send her away, throw her out of his life. This time he had to think of  a foolproof plan. No more excuses. She made him weak, question his priorities, take his mind off important matters, she made him vulnerable...VULNERABLE? And that too ASR? No more...no more. He leaped up from his seat with renewed vigor. He had to end this.
He slammed on the brakes in front of RM. One moment. Let me breathe for one moment. She is inside, making Di laugh. Making everyone happy...She would have to go today. He wouldn't have to see her face again. Or hear her sweet voice. Or listen to her innocent ramblings...a child-woman...at times wise beyond her years and at times as direct as a child. She needs a protector, he thought. 24x7. Someone who...No, that way lay madness...NO. Get her out of her. Make it FAST. She would go and never come back. And he would be left, alone, with her memories...the payal had been returned...the pearls, the hanky with her blood...her note now...
He put his hand into his pocket and quickly dug out the note. Khushi had put her hand on the paper and formed the words. He traced a letter with his fingertip. He frowned. This writing was familiar. He had seen it earlier, somewhere...He suddenly remembered the letter he had received from La while at the office, asking him to resume their relationship. So it was not La, but Khushi who had written those impassioned words to manipulate him. His jaw clenched in anger. She was playing with him and his feelings for her, making him do things he didn't want to do just to see her smile. He was going crazy. This had to end once and for all. He would show her. Khushi Kumari Gupta, I am coming...Let me see what you have to say to this.
He opened the car door. The plants that had come with the letter...who had sent them? Khushi of course. Who else knew him so well? La wouldn't even have thought about gifting him plants. After all, why should you give plants to a man who already had a full garden in his house and could buy the whole world with little effort? But how did she buy them? She had filled his office room with plants, many of them expensive. He knew to a paise how much they cost. And she must have made the arrangements as soon as she left the office crying. She wouldn't have had that kind of money on her when she came to the office to plead with me. She could have borrowed...no, never...not Khushi. She could have sold...what could she have sold? Her payal? No. they are with her. Her chain? But she does not wear any. Her bangles? But she wears glass bangles. He should know. After all, he had hurt her in the Guest House. Suddenly he remembered seeing a glint of gold among the red bangles on her arm. A gold bangle. One thin gold bangle. Maybe all that she could afford. And she went out and sold it...with no thought to what she was giving away...for me. ME?
What do I do with her? How do I cut her out of my life and live on? How dare she care more for me than for herself? How could she sell her bangle for me? The idiot... the fool... she has absolutely no sense of self-preservation...Khushi...Khushi. It is not safe to let her out alone. Khushi, just you wait, I am coming to get you.
Arnav walked into his house with  a light step and a sense of purpose...his Khushi.