Dark Paradise Chapter Forty Seven

"Khushi." Arnav said impatiently as he tied up his Nike running shoes. He was ready to do his morning run, but after a talk with the Doctor he found out that restricting Khushi to bed-rest was not good for her, she needed to still exercise to maintain a stable healthy environment for their baby to grow. So he'd persuaded Khushi to go for a walk/slow jog with him. She was reluctant but after everyone had said for her to go she caved. Khushi didn't want to go for a walk, if she wanted to walk she could, from the bedroom to the kitchen to make Jalebis. There, that was her idea of walking. Her feet hurt and she was tired because the baby had been kicking all night but Arnav refused to listen to any of it. It was his day to devote to Khushi and their unborn child and so he'd get her to do all the stuff she was too lazy and grouchy to do.
"Khushi I mean it, I will drag you out if you don't hurry up. We're only going to go to the park down the road. You can sit down when we get there, there are plenty of benches." He said.
"Aapka matlam kya hai? Main unfit hoon?" She snapped at him. That was not what he said but Khushi had a habit nowadays of twisting his words.
"No. I just meant that if its tiredness that you're worried about there is a solution to it. Now abh chalo." He said as he walked over to her and gently raised her off the bed. Khushi groaned as she began to force her feet out of her room.

Once there Khushi immediately made a B-line for the first bench in sight. Arnav shook his head as he saw her sprawl herself out on this bench. He walked over to her.
"Khushi I'm gonna run a few laps around the park, if you want you can stay here or you could walk behind while I run." He said and Khushi gave him a look as if he were the slowest person on earth.
"Main yahin par tik hoon, tum jao bhago dhor karo. Jao, jao, jao!" She said at him getting irritated by his grin. He put his Ipod headphones in and began his run. Khushi shook her head.
"Yeh Laad Governor bhi na, pehle voh healthy khaana mujhe khilata hai, phir aur torture karne ki liye mujhe yahaan leke atta hai aur phir khud apne fitness jataane ki liye bhagta hai jab ki main yahaan mari pai hoon. Hai Devi Maiyaa raksha karna humari!" Khushi said, she looked and saw people were looking at her. Khushi sometimes forgot it wasn't normal to talk to yourself out-loud. She smiled at the people and then looked away ashamedly. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the peace of being outside when she felt someone tug on her dupatta. She opened her eyes to see a little girl, no older than three looking up at her with a big smile. Khushi smiled at the little girl who had the cutest brown button eyes and little dimples on her cheek.
"Hello Beta, apki Maa kahan hai?" Khushi asked suddenly feeling anxious that this little angel was lost. That's when two hands descended and swooped the child into her arms. Khushi looked up to see a woman who she assumed was the child's mother as the child hugged her and buried her head into her neck.
"Sorry, yeh meri beti hai, itne shetaani hai khi poocho maat. I'm sorry agar isne tumhe paareshaan kiya." The woman said apologetically. Khushi shook her head.
"Nahin toh, tumhari bachi bohut pyari hai. Kya naam hai iska?" Khushi asked.
"Ji Pari, aur main hoon Priya. Namaste." The woman said with a smile. Khushi smiled.
"Namaste, bohut pyaara naam hai, I'm Khushi, Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada." She said and the woman's smile suddenly turned to a look shock.
"Aap Arnav Singh Raizada ki patni hoon?" She asked.
"Ji." Khushi responded.
"Arre what a small world. Mere pathi apki pathi ki liye kaam karta hai." She said with a big smile.
"Acha, kya naam hai unka shahid main usse jaanti hoon." Khushi said out of intrigue.
"Ji unka naam Aman hai, he's kind of Mr. Raizada's go to guy." She said.
Khushi gawped out of shock, Aman had a wife, she didn't know that and he had a daughter. Arnav never mentioned anything.

"Ji main usse jaanti hoon. Aman is like Arnav's office wife." Khushi said with a big grin when suddenly Arnav appeared. He looked tired now, he had little beads of sweat dripping off his forehead. His breathing was irregular, he looked at Khushi and then to the woman with the baby with confusion.
"Khushi..." He began.
"Arnav yeh Priya hai, Aman ki patni aur unki beti Pari." Khushi said quickly, Khushi could tell he had no idea who these people were.
"Oh yeah of course. Hi, I'm Arnav Singh Raizada." He said as gave the woman a courteous nod. She smiled back.
"I know Sir, yaad hai, tumne hamari Shaadi par ayein teh, char saal pehle?" Priya asked, Arnav smiled and nodded awkwardly, he had a vague recollection of Aman's wedding but he hadn't paid much attention and only gone briefly.
"Anyway, I should go, I have a hundred and one things to do today aur no one can look after Pari today so I have to try and juggle everything with her too. It was really nice seeing you both." She said when Khushi suddenly grinned.
"If you have a lot of work you can leave her with Arnav and I." Khushi offered, both Priya and Arnav looked shocked. Priya because she couldn't understand why anyone would willingly spend the day with a toddler and Arnav was shocked because he didn't want to spend his day at home with a toddler. "Arre, isme sharmaane ki kohi baat nahin. Aman is like family aur Pari bhi bhout pyari hai. Besides we're due one soon enough, practice toh karna parega. I promise she will be in good hands." Khushi said. Priya was sceptical, but it would be a great help and Aman was extremely close with Mr. Raizada. She agreed eventually. As Priya handed over Pari's baby-bag and explained all necessary instructions and the two discussed what time Pari would go home Arnav began to feel a migraine coming on....

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Dark Paradise Chapter Forty Six

Arnav groaned when he got out of the shower to see all the pictures still up on the walls, okay she'd had her fun but it was time to take them down now. He looked at Khushi happily writing in her baby book, she'd decided to keep a log for their baby to read when it was older, Arnav didn't really see the point in it. Why would their child want to know what Khushi thought when she was pregnant? She didn't make sense 99.99999% of the time, now that had gone into overdrive, poor kid would be confused if it attempted to understand the workings of Khushi's mind.
"Khushi ab bhas karo na, kafi raath ho chuki hai. Aur ha kal yeh sab photos ko vapaas meri cupboard mein honichaiyhe. Understand?" He said giving her a stealthy look. Khushi rolled her eyes.
"Humari cupboard, har cheez ab sirf tumhara nahi hai. What's mine is yours bholuji!" Khushi said with a big grin and Arnav clenched his jaw and got into bed.
"Khushi I'm serious, I don't like all this. Just get rid of it okay, I don't want to be angry with you." He warned, Khushi folded her arms over her bump.
"Nahi! Tumhe vaaje bhi nahi patta aur humhe hookum derre hoon ki saab photos ko nikalo. Nahi." She said and Arnav inhaled deeply, closed his eyes and exhaled.
"Okay, why did you put up the photos?" He asked, giving into her pagaalpaan. Khushi smiled, she wrapped her arms around one of his and rested her head on his chest.
"Aapko pata hai na ki jab ek aurat pregnant hothi hai toh jisse voh zyaada dekhe uske bucha uske roop mein attha hai?" Khushi asked and Arnav recalled hearing this silly wives tale before.
"Hmmm." He agreed, Khushi smiled, she could feel the vibrations of his confirmation through his chest.
"Well aap toh hamesha kaam mein busy hoon, aur hum yahaan kamare mein rehti hoon, toh maine socha ki tumhari tazveer lagao aur phir mera chotha sa pyaara sa Munna apne gussawala, akkarwala, lekin pyara sa Pappa pe jayega. Tik kiya na?" Khushi asked, she waited for some kind of response, a groan, a moan, an insult...anything really but all she had was silence. She looked up at Arnav whose expression was blank.
"Kya hua?" She asked.

"Nothing. You can keep the photos up, that way my princess wont turn out completely crazy like her Mamma. Goodnight Khushi." He said as he kissed her forehead and turned over to go to sleep. Khushi sat there mouth gaping, Khsuhi and pagal- how rude? She strangled the air whilst making strange faces at his back. Then stopped, as she realised it was this behaviour Arnav was talking about. Khushi scanned her eyes across the room, he hadn't seen her do it, she slowly slid down into bed and after wrapping herself around Arnav she drifted into sleep. When Khushi woke up the next morning she observed the pictures were still up and smiled. She patted her belly, "Akkir Pappa maangaya." She said happily and then got ready to go downstairs. Khushi had recently had to get looser fitting Anarkalis and she felt like she looked like a circus tent half the time but it was okay because Di was always there to give her confidence and support. Khushi slowly made her way down the stairs, she'd been warned so many times by Arnav about her clumsiness and how she'd better take care of herself properly because he didn't have time to watch her 24/7 blah blah blah. She shook her head as she made it to the bottom of the stairs, she had been self sufficient for nearly 23 years before she met Arnav Singh Raizada and she could continue to be so now also. She was walking to the kitchen table when a sight shocked her to the core making her gasp aloud. Everyone stopped eating their breakfast and turned to look at a pale Khushi.
"Kya hua?" Arnav asked looking at her, his face screaming the "what the" that was missing from his lips.
"A-ap aur ghar pe? Aap tik hoon na? Kohi bimaree toh nahi?" She asked and Arnav rolled his eyes.
"Ha ha very funny Khushi." He said shaking his head, turning his attention back to his toast.
"Nahi, main mazaak nahi kari, Devi Maiyaa kasam, aap tik hoon na?" Khushi asked in full seriousness, this earned Khushi a stifled laugh from Mamiji.

"Khushi I'm fine okay. Zyadaa nataak maat karo. You said last night that you hardly see me now, so I'm working from home today. I'm the boss and I can do it. Besides I have no meetings today its mainly just paperwork that I need to catch up on. Its not a big deal so lets not make one out of it. Got it?" He said and Khushi hid a smile. He would remain as naive as ever, did he really think she didn't see the love behind the gesture? He thought he was such an enigma to Khushi, unreadable and unpredictable. When in actuality Arnav was as readable to Khushi as a book in fact Arnav was Khushi's favourite book to read. She sat down beside him and she mulled over what to eat. Arnav looked at her and shook his head as he began to plate up Khushi's breakfast for her. She gave him a look of confusion, echoing his infamous "what the" look.
"What?" Arnav asked quietly, so that only Khushi could hear. She shifted her gaze to the plate and then back to him. Arnav rolled his eyes. "Khushi tum itna waqt lagari thi, humara bucha bhooka betha hai. Besides you'd only eat rubbish anyway. If I'm here I'll make sure you eat right and look after yourself." He said and Khushi groaned as he plated her up with toast, fruit and some juice to wash it down with. Whereas Akash Jiju, Payal, Mama and Mami were all having aloo ki parathe. Khushi's mouth watered at the sight of it. Arnav caught her look.
"No Khushi, I'm not letting you put that crap in you. Chup chaap kao." He said, Khushi frowned at him and began to eat, if you can call it that. Only God knows what he had planned for the next twenty four hours to torture Khushi with!


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