"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....
Read more of this here
Monday, 21 May 2012
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
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!
Read more of this here.
"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!
Read more of this here.
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Dark Paradise Chapter Forty Five
Khushi was sat downstairs with Anjali going through photos that Anjali was putting into an album, she had so much free time recently and Anjali had always meant to put these photos into an album but she always got distracted. Khushi was smiling as she began to get an insight into the Raizada parivaar pre-Khushi. There were many of Mamiji posing and a few Anjali had snapped on the sly of Mamiji when she is most herself, when she is eating. Khushi laughed as she looked at all the goofy pictures of Akash, she turned to Payal.
"Jiji its a good thing you met Jiju now and not ten years ago, sach mein, he grew into his looks didn't he?" Khushi asked whilst laughing at Akash who was gangly, had braces and big black spectacles. Payal gave Khushi a reproachful look, Khushi attempted to sober her mood but it was too funny, she'd have to talk to Akash about this photo. Khushi handed the photo to Anjali who placed it in the album.
"Hah hum sab tumhari taara lucky nahi hosakte, I mean not all of us get such a dashing man like my brother." Anjali said as she joked and Khushi turned confused. Anjali smiled and passed Khushi a stack of photos of Arnav. Khushi smiled broadly as she saw one of him with Akash posing in a very James Bond manner, both brothers attempting to look suave, another of Arnav looking angry his hand out in front ready to probably grab the camera, another of Arnav casually reading, his graduation photo stuck out to Khushi. Instead of smiling like most people would Arnav had an air of arrogance to him, his chin stuck up and his eyes pierced through the photo as if to send a warning to anyone that saw it, "I am ASR." it screamed to Khushi, she didn't like it and pushed it back. Then she came across one that confused her.
"Di, yeh...yeh meri photo kaha se agaaye?" Khushi asked as she looked and recalled the one photoshoot she'd done for AR. Arnav never used the photos so why were they in a stack of photos of him?
"Dikhao mujhe." Anjali said, Khushi passed it over and Anjali grinned at it. "Oh toh yeh thi raaz." Anjali said and Khushi still looked perplexed. "Arnav a few months back demanded he wanted to keep all his photos himself, he was acting very odd that day, I was sure he was hiding something but I couldn't figure out what. Today when I went to get his photos from his cupboard this was under all them. Chup chup ke dekhta apni biwi ki photos." Anjali said as she giggled at how secretive and elaborate her brother is. Most people kept a photo of their significant other on a bedside table, in a wallet or on their office desk. Arnav hid his wife's photo under a pile of other photos to maintain his image. Khushi scrunched her nose as Di passed the photo back to her, of course, her Bholuji could never show the love he felt in his heart for everyone to see. That would be too much, na? Khushi shook her head and decided she would talk to him about this tonight, she'd made him promise he'd come home early today.
Arnav had just gotten in and made it to his room when he set his eyes on a strange sight.
"What the-?" He said aloud as he looked around at numerous photos now dotted around the room, he'd adjusted to the photo of the two of them at the haldi being in their room but now on all the walls there were photos. There was a photo of Arnav and Akash posing in Bond style Arnav recalled they'd done that after they'd watched the latest Bond film at the time, another of him when he was trying to shove the camera out of his face, one of him reading, it creeped him out. He knew what he looked like and he didn't need a reminder, that's what mirrors are for.
"KHUSHI!" He shouted and Khushi came slowly waddling out of the bathroom, she had just changed into her pyjamas. Usually he'd smile at Khushi's penguin-esque gait but today he was not amused.
"Kya hua?" She asked.
"Yeh saab kya hai?" He asked pointing his photos to the walls.
"Oh yeh, kuch nahi. Di and I were going through some photos today, we put most of them in an album but we put up a few. You should be grateful I didn't put any bad ones up, I convinced Jiji to put this one of Akash in their room-" Khushi didn't get a chance to finish her story.
"Wait these photos, where did you get them from?" He asked as realisation flashed on his face, Khushi bit her lip to stop herself from smiling.
"Di got them from our cupboard, why?" She asked and Arnav's eyes widened as he went to the cupboard, he opened it to find the photos gone. He turned to see Khushi twirling her hair and smiling at him.
"Mujhe nahi patta tah ki tum mujhe chup chup ke dekha karte teh. Honestly Arnav that's kind of creepy." She said mockingly and Arnav groaned and rolled his eyes as he saw Khushi had the AR photos in her hand.
"Khushi aisa kuch nahi hai, you are too filmy for life. I kept those photos for business purposes, if we ever needed to use them at least they were safe. Stop making me seem like a creep, just because you like to think I pine for you 24/7 doesn't mean I do. I'm not this filmy hero like your Salman Khan. Got it?" He said and he went to go grab the photos but Khushi pulled them away. "Khushi I am not in the mood for this, give them back to me." He said and Khushi smiled as she pulled them away further.
"If its all for the business then you wont have any issue with me giving them to Aman to store away." She said and Arnav groaned. "Unless, you kept these photos because...oh I don't know, you think I'm beautfiul, when you look at these photos you remember how you felt then." Khushi said and she leaned in towards Arnav, although Khushi now had a bump Arnav was used to holding her with this addition. She smiled and looped her arms around his neck. "You remember how you stopped in the midst of your anger because you were so swept away by me. You remember how your heart was beating so fast and you couldn't understand why. You remember how you left quickly because you didn't like the confusion but then you felt restless afterwards." Khushi said and Arnav was in awe, how did she know all this?
"Yeah...right, dream on Gupta." He said and he was about to pull away when Khushi gently kissed him, he responded and as the kiss began to deepen and feelings awaken Khushi pulled away.
"I'm not dreaming, I know because no one kisses like that unless they feel deeply and lets face it, aggar meri life picture hothi toh tum uska hero hote. Tik hai?" Khushi said and Arnav exhaled deeply.
"Yeah whatever." He said and turned away. Khushi smiled, he could deny it as much as he wanted but at the heart Arnav Singh Raizada was a romantic.
Read more of this here
"Jiji its a good thing you met Jiju now and not ten years ago, sach mein, he grew into his looks didn't he?" Khushi asked whilst laughing at Akash who was gangly, had braces and big black spectacles. Payal gave Khushi a reproachful look, Khushi attempted to sober her mood but it was too funny, she'd have to talk to Akash about this photo. Khushi handed the photo to Anjali who placed it in the album.
"Hah hum sab tumhari taara lucky nahi hosakte, I mean not all of us get such a dashing man like my brother." Anjali said as she joked and Khushi turned confused. Anjali smiled and passed Khushi a stack of photos of Arnav. Khushi smiled broadly as she saw one of him with Akash posing in a very James Bond manner, both brothers attempting to look suave, another of Arnav looking angry his hand out in front ready to probably grab the camera, another of Arnav casually reading, his graduation photo stuck out to Khushi. Instead of smiling like most people would Arnav had an air of arrogance to him, his chin stuck up and his eyes pierced through the photo as if to send a warning to anyone that saw it, "I am ASR." it screamed to Khushi, she didn't like it and pushed it back. Then she came across one that confused her.
"Di, yeh...yeh meri photo kaha se agaaye?" Khushi asked as she looked and recalled the one photoshoot she'd done for AR. Arnav never used the photos so why were they in a stack of photos of him?
"Dikhao mujhe." Anjali said, Khushi passed it over and Anjali grinned at it. "Oh toh yeh thi raaz." Anjali said and Khushi still looked perplexed. "Arnav a few months back demanded he wanted to keep all his photos himself, he was acting very odd that day, I was sure he was hiding something but I couldn't figure out what. Today when I went to get his photos from his cupboard this was under all them. Chup chup ke dekhta apni biwi ki photos." Anjali said as she giggled at how secretive and elaborate her brother is. Most people kept a photo of their significant other on a bedside table, in a wallet or on their office desk. Arnav hid his wife's photo under a pile of other photos to maintain his image. Khushi scrunched her nose as Di passed the photo back to her, of course, her Bholuji could never show the love he felt in his heart for everyone to see. That would be too much, na? Khushi shook her head and decided she would talk to him about this tonight, she'd made him promise he'd come home early today.
Arnav had just gotten in and made it to his room when he set his eyes on a strange sight.
"What the-?" He said aloud as he looked around at numerous photos now dotted around the room, he'd adjusted to the photo of the two of them at the haldi being in their room but now on all the walls there were photos. There was a photo of Arnav and Akash posing in Bond style Arnav recalled they'd done that after they'd watched the latest Bond film at the time, another of him when he was trying to shove the camera out of his face, one of him reading, it creeped him out. He knew what he looked like and he didn't need a reminder, that's what mirrors are for.
"KHUSHI!" He shouted and Khushi came slowly waddling out of the bathroom, she had just changed into her pyjamas. Usually he'd smile at Khushi's penguin-esque gait but today he was not amused.
"Kya hua?" She asked.
"Yeh saab kya hai?" He asked pointing his photos to the walls.
"Oh yeh, kuch nahi. Di and I were going through some photos today, we put most of them in an album but we put up a few. You should be grateful I didn't put any bad ones up, I convinced Jiji to put this one of Akash in their room-" Khushi didn't get a chance to finish her story.
"Wait these photos, where did you get them from?" He asked as realisation flashed on his face, Khushi bit her lip to stop herself from smiling.
"Di got them from our cupboard, why?" She asked and Arnav's eyes widened as he went to the cupboard, he opened it to find the photos gone. He turned to see Khushi twirling her hair and smiling at him.
"Mujhe nahi patta tah ki tum mujhe chup chup ke dekha karte teh. Honestly Arnav that's kind of creepy." She said mockingly and Arnav groaned and rolled his eyes as he saw Khushi had the AR photos in her hand.
"Khushi aisa kuch nahi hai, you are too filmy for life. I kept those photos for business purposes, if we ever needed to use them at least they were safe. Stop making me seem like a creep, just because you like to think I pine for you 24/7 doesn't mean I do. I'm not this filmy hero like your Salman Khan. Got it?" He said and he went to go grab the photos but Khushi pulled them away. "Khushi I am not in the mood for this, give them back to me." He said and Khushi smiled as she pulled them away further.
"If its all for the business then you wont have any issue with me giving them to Aman to store away." She said and Arnav groaned. "Unless, you kept these photos because...oh I don't know, you think I'm beautfiul, when you look at these photos you remember how you felt then." Khushi said and she leaned in towards Arnav, although Khushi now had a bump Arnav was used to holding her with this addition. She smiled and looped her arms around his neck. "You remember how you stopped in the midst of your anger because you were so swept away by me. You remember how your heart was beating so fast and you couldn't understand why. You remember how you left quickly because you didn't like the confusion but then you felt restless afterwards." Khushi said and Arnav was in awe, how did she know all this?
"Yeah...right, dream on Gupta." He said and he was about to pull away when Khushi gently kissed him, he responded and as the kiss began to deepen and feelings awaken Khushi pulled away.
"I'm not dreaming, I know because no one kisses like that unless they feel deeply and lets face it, aggar meri life picture hothi toh tum uska hero hote. Tik hai?" Khushi said and Arnav exhaled deeply.
"Yeah whatever." He said and turned away. Khushi smiled, he could deny it as much as he wanted but at the heart Arnav Singh Raizada was a romantic.
Read more of this here
Sunday, 22 April 2012
Dark Paradise Chapter Forty Four
Khushi sat around downstairs waiting for Arnav, recently he'd been working so hard that she never saw him, he always came home late, told her to go to sleep and she had been doing so to avoid him getting worried about her health. But enough was enough, she missed spending time with him and seeing him, he should give some time to his wife! She sat at the dinner table, it was reaching eleven 'o' clock in the evening and Khushi's eyes felt heavy, her body was becoming slack and the drowsiness was taking over.
"Ouch!" Khushi said as her hands automatically went to her bump, the baby had kicked her extremely hard. "Lagta hai ek hor laad governer aane-wala hai, don't worry baby I'm going to spend time with pappa no matter what. Tumhe mujhe marne ki zuroorat nahi, I'll stay awake." She said to her bump, she grabbed some water from her glass and splashed it on her face to keep her awake. Everyone had told her again and again to go to bed, it wasn't good for the baby etc etc. But Khushi was adamant, the past few days Arnav came in when she was asleep and left before she woke up and this was not how Khushi wanted it to be. Arnav came in and began to undo his tie, he was exhausted, everyone he seemed to be working with was incompetent and lazy. Everyone always was in awe over how he rose to the top at such a young age when really it was very simple he worked hard and wasn't an idiot, that's all there was to it in his opinion. He walked towards the dining room to go warm up his food when he was startled by the sight of Khushi. Khushi who was impatiently tapping her spoon on her plate and staring off into the distance. Arnav smiled as he realised she was waiting for him but then grew angry as he realised she must have stayed angry this whole time. He cleared his throat which drew Khushi's attention towards him. She smiled and then frowned.
"Is this a time to be coming home?" She asked him angrily and Arnav looked at her with shock.
"Excuse me?" He asked and Khushi gave him a disgruntled look.
"I have been waiting for hours to spend a little time with you, aur tum, gyaara vaaje aaye. Okay work is work but what's the point in work if you can't even live?" She asked and Arnav rolled his eyes.
"I think I'm the one who should be lecturing you here. I didn't ask you to stay up this late and by doing so you've not only made yourself cranky but also deprived our baby in the process." He said, Khushi realised he had her there and smiled at him.
"Chorro na, mein khaana laga deti hoon." She said sweetly as she went to heat up the dinner.
Arnav smiled to himself, she had a habit of changing the subject when she was losing a fight, completely dismissing it, he pulled the chair out and sat down. Khushi came in with the food and they both sat down and began to eat. At first neither spoke because they were both too busy trying to satiate their hunger. After a while Arnav broke the silence.
"So what did I miss today?" He asked and Khushi smiled as she finished off her food, she wiped her hands and face and then began.
"Well we started to plan Di's godh barhaai today, it got me thinking about mine, it'll come up soon wont it so obviously I started thinking about it. Then I thought about you at work and how you miss out on everything." She said bitterly and Arnav gave her a reproachful look. "Anyway then I thought that what will happen when I go into labour." She said and Arnav looked confused.
"You have the baby, what else do you expect to happen?" He asked wandering why she was saying such stupid things.
"No I mean, you will be at work. What happens if you get stuck in traffic or you don't get my calls, I can't have this baby alone. I wont have this baby alone. If I have to go through all that pain you have to be there too." She said and Arnav looked at her with slight worry. She had a point, traffic in Delhi was always nightmare-ish and there was no way he could justify taking all this time off.
"Khushi don't worry I'll be there." Arnav said with conviction but Khushi was not convinced.
"Arnav! You are not God that if you say something it will happen. What happens if you're not there and you miss it? Or what if...what if something goes wrong?" Khushi asked, fear clear in her voice. Arnav looked at her, her lips trembling and her face pale. He quickly wiped his hands and face and walked over to Khushi, he knelt down beside her and clasped her hand into his own, with the other hand he guided her face gently to look at his.
"Khushi, there is no way anything bad is going to happen to you or our baby and as for me missing it. There isn't a force in heaven or hell that could stop me from being there." He said with such honesty that even Khushi couldn't challenge him. He smiled at her and tilted his head.
"Chale? I'm really tired Khushi." He said, Khushi noted the dark circles and the weariness on his face, she was sure her worries weren't helping him right now. She nodded, he helped her get up, giving her both his hands and then wrapping one hand around her waist just so his hand touched the growing bump and the other hand held one of hers. Arnav smiled.
"What?" Khushi asked as they made their way upstairs.
"If you carry on like this you can forget me ever lifting or catching you again." He said as he began to laugh, Khushi hit him playfully, he was being mean but he had laughed and as much as she hated it she loved his laugh and would even let herself be made ridicule just to hear it.
Read more of this here.
"Ouch!" Khushi said as her hands automatically went to her bump, the baby had kicked her extremely hard. "Lagta hai ek hor laad governer aane-wala hai, don't worry baby I'm going to spend time with pappa no matter what. Tumhe mujhe marne ki zuroorat nahi, I'll stay awake." She said to her bump, she grabbed some water from her glass and splashed it on her face to keep her awake. Everyone had told her again and again to go to bed, it wasn't good for the baby etc etc. But Khushi was adamant, the past few days Arnav came in when she was asleep and left before she woke up and this was not how Khushi wanted it to be. Arnav came in and began to undo his tie, he was exhausted, everyone he seemed to be working with was incompetent and lazy. Everyone always was in awe over how he rose to the top at such a young age when really it was very simple he worked hard and wasn't an idiot, that's all there was to it in his opinion. He walked towards the dining room to go warm up his food when he was startled by the sight of Khushi. Khushi who was impatiently tapping her spoon on her plate and staring off into the distance. Arnav smiled as he realised she was waiting for him but then grew angry as he realised she must have stayed angry this whole time. He cleared his throat which drew Khushi's attention towards him. She smiled and then frowned.
"Is this a time to be coming home?" She asked him angrily and Arnav looked at her with shock.
"Excuse me?" He asked and Khushi gave him a disgruntled look.
"I have been waiting for hours to spend a little time with you, aur tum, gyaara vaaje aaye. Okay work is work but what's the point in work if you can't even live?" She asked and Arnav rolled his eyes.
"I think I'm the one who should be lecturing you here. I didn't ask you to stay up this late and by doing so you've not only made yourself cranky but also deprived our baby in the process." He said, Khushi realised he had her there and smiled at him.
"Chorro na, mein khaana laga deti hoon." She said sweetly as she went to heat up the dinner.
Arnav smiled to himself, she had a habit of changing the subject when she was losing a fight, completely dismissing it, he pulled the chair out and sat down. Khushi came in with the food and they both sat down and began to eat. At first neither spoke because they were both too busy trying to satiate their hunger. After a while Arnav broke the silence.
"So what did I miss today?" He asked and Khushi smiled as she finished off her food, she wiped her hands and face and then began.
"Well we started to plan Di's godh barhaai today, it got me thinking about mine, it'll come up soon wont it so obviously I started thinking about it. Then I thought about you at work and how you miss out on everything." She said bitterly and Arnav gave her a reproachful look. "Anyway then I thought that what will happen when I go into labour." She said and Arnav looked confused.
"You have the baby, what else do you expect to happen?" He asked wandering why she was saying such stupid things.
"No I mean, you will be at work. What happens if you get stuck in traffic or you don't get my calls, I can't have this baby alone. I wont have this baby alone. If I have to go through all that pain you have to be there too." She said and Arnav looked at her with slight worry. She had a point, traffic in Delhi was always nightmare-ish and there was no way he could justify taking all this time off.
"Khushi don't worry I'll be there." Arnav said with conviction but Khushi was not convinced.
"Arnav! You are not God that if you say something it will happen. What happens if you're not there and you miss it? Or what if...what if something goes wrong?" Khushi asked, fear clear in her voice. Arnav looked at her, her lips trembling and her face pale. He quickly wiped his hands and face and walked over to Khushi, he knelt down beside her and clasped her hand into his own, with the other hand he guided her face gently to look at his.
"Khushi, there is no way anything bad is going to happen to you or our baby and as for me missing it. There isn't a force in heaven or hell that could stop me from being there." He said with such honesty that even Khushi couldn't challenge him. He smiled at her and tilted his head.
"Chale? I'm really tired Khushi." He said, Khushi noted the dark circles and the weariness on his face, she was sure her worries weren't helping him right now. She nodded, he helped her get up, giving her both his hands and then wrapping one hand around her waist just so his hand touched the growing bump and the other hand held one of hers. Arnav smiled.
"What?" Khushi asked as they made their way upstairs.
"If you carry on like this you can forget me ever lifting or catching you again." He said as he began to laugh, Khushi hit him playfully, he was being mean but he had laughed and as much as she hated it she loved his laugh and would even let herself be made ridicule just to hear it.
Read more of this here.
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
Dark Paradise Chapter Forty Three
Khushi's bump was unmissable now, she was five months pregnant and Anjali was seven and a half months, two pregnant, hoarmonal women in the house- Arnav was beginning to wish he could live in the office. It was the only place he didn't have to deal with the constant whining Khushi did. He knew it was hard being pregnant and whatever but Di never complained. Yeah okay, one or two times she got annoyed when the baby was moving around a lot but that was nothing compared to Khushi. As soon as he got home she'd list off every time she felt sick, or was sick, then every time she got a craving, every time she felt dizzy, every time she had a head ache, every time she got a fever, every time her feet hurt and the worst everyday she'd ask the same question, "Arnav, do I look fat?" Was there even a right answer to that question at this time? Of course she'd gained weight, she had a child growing inside her, she wasn't exactly going to look like a stick now was she? If he said yes she'd practically kill him (he never said it) but every time he said no she accused him of being a liar. He really couldn't win! He took a deep breath as he entered their room readying himself for Madam's list of complaints for today. He put his briefcase down and sat on the green lounger as he shrugged his jacket off and loosened his tie. He'd worked late today and had dinner at the office, missing dinner with the family, Khushi wasn't saying anything so he assumed she was upset about that.
"Kya hua? No long list of complaints today or are we just angry with me?" He asked and Khushi shushed him from behind, Arnav turned to look at her. She was on the bed, her hands on her stomach, her eyes confused but focused and a small smile played on her lips. Arnav got up and looked at her.
"Khushi yeh kya-" He asked as he stood over her, she shushed him and then grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach. Arnav was confused but let her do so, he waited and then felt it. He wasn't sure at first so he waited again and then it happened again. A forceful thud against Khushi's belly, he could feel the impact strongly, this kid had some zhor. His eyes widened and his lips broadened into a smile.
"Is that-" He began to ask and Khushi nodded excitedly. This was the first time the baby had ever kicked and here Arnav was experiencing it first hand with Khushi. He smiled and looked at her, she smiled back lovingly.
"By the way this baby's kicking I think we'll have a footballer not a princess." She said and Arnav shook his head and leant in gently kissing Khushi on the lips.
Arnav had showered and decided to join Khushi on the bed, he sprawled out and let out a sigh, he was exhausted. He'd been working intensively lately, it had dawned on him that he not only had his extended family to worry about but his own small one with Khushi which would expand soon. He needed to work hard to ensure their child would have a bright and happy life and he would give their child everything he never had. Khushi leant over and gently stroked his hair in her hands, Arnav closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Khushi smiled at her bholuji, he spent all day wearing his scary ASR mask, so when he got home he was always so tired, so vulnerable and just himself around her.
"Kya hua, aaj kuch zyaada se barkaar tukhe huye lagre hai." She speculated and Arnav stretched a little to loosen the strained muscles in his body.
"No Khushi, I'm fine, just work. Work's always like this and I don't like talking about work with you when I'm at home." He complained and she smiled to herself, she always complained to him about his work, he was just avoiding the topic because he knew it could lead to an argument. Khushi was about to drop the subject when Arnav's eyes suddenly flew open.
"Oh wait, I nearly forgot." He said, more to himself as he got up and took his hand out to Khushi who looked at him cautiously. "What don't you trust me?" He asked as he raised one eyebrow suggestively towards her. She bit her lip and gave her his hand. He took her hand in his own and grinned as he led her out into the hall.
"Arnav hum kaha jaare? Saab soye hue ya, kohi uttjayega Arnav." Khushi said and he rolled his eyes, it was his house he could do what he wanted. He took her to the room next to their's, it was a guest room, Khushi had hardly taken note of it. "Kya tumhe hum yeh dikhana chaate hai? If you think we're sleeping here tonight you've got another thing coming, I like our room, I don't want to move in here...are you trying to move me in here so you can sleep alone because that is a new level of selfish!" Khushi was like a motor-mouth, once you got her started you couldn't stop her.
"Khushi, shut up! Aur, close your eyes." He said, slightly angry now, she had to always dampen the mood. She groaned and closed her eyes. He covered his hand over her eyes to make sure and he guided her in. He lifted his hand off her eyes and whispered, "Open."
Khushi opened her eyes and was in shock. This was not a plain little guest room, it was...a nursery. The walls were a daffodil yellow, with cute little brown bears painted on the walls. There was a white crib against one wall, a changing table and hundreds of toys and teddies. Khushi smiled at the sight and then on the opposite wall she saw a picture of Arnav and Khushi, they'd had it taken after she and Arnav had come back from her pakh-phere rasam, Khushi in her red saree and Arnav in his suit. She'd never seen the picture, she remembered Anjali telling them to smile, they'd been sat on the sofa casually having a conversation when on the spur of the moment Anjali clicked the photo. Khushi looked at how happy she looked and then noticed something she'd never noticed before, Arnav had been looking at her, not in an angry or confused way but the way he looked at her now, with love. There was unashamed love as he plainly looked at Khushi. She smiled and turned to try and comprehend something to say to him when she noticed the stars mobile above the crib. That's it he'd done it, he knew she was hormonal, this pushed her over the edge and she began to cry, happy tears but tears nonetheless. Arnav slid his arms around her and smiled at his overly emotional wife.
"I didn't do all this for you so stop crying." He said and she pouted. "Well a little for you but I did it mostly for our baby. I want our baby to have a happy and fun life. I don't want it to be burdened by any sadness, anger or responsibility. If anything our baby should be just like you Jaan." He said and Khushi looked at him confused and he smiled. "Aakir aap hi toh humhe sikaaya tah khi kaisa haasna, don't take life to seriously, tumne mujhe pyar karna bhi sikaaya. Why wouldn't I want our baby to turn out like you? You're perfect to me Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada, todhi pagal ho, but perfect for me." He said and she smiled and nuzzled into his embrace. She didn't have to say anything because he knew she felt what he felt also.
Read more of this here.
"Kya hua? No long list of complaints today or are we just angry with me?" He asked and Khushi shushed him from behind, Arnav turned to look at her. She was on the bed, her hands on her stomach, her eyes confused but focused and a small smile played on her lips. Arnav got up and looked at her.
"Khushi yeh kya-" He asked as he stood over her, she shushed him and then grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach. Arnav was confused but let her do so, he waited and then felt it. He wasn't sure at first so he waited again and then it happened again. A forceful thud against Khushi's belly, he could feel the impact strongly, this kid had some zhor. His eyes widened and his lips broadened into a smile.
"Is that-" He began to ask and Khushi nodded excitedly. This was the first time the baby had ever kicked and here Arnav was experiencing it first hand with Khushi. He smiled and looked at her, she smiled back lovingly.
"By the way this baby's kicking I think we'll have a footballer not a princess." She said and Arnav shook his head and leant in gently kissing Khushi on the lips.
Arnav had showered and decided to join Khushi on the bed, he sprawled out and let out a sigh, he was exhausted. He'd been working intensively lately, it had dawned on him that he not only had his extended family to worry about but his own small one with Khushi which would expand soon. He needed to work hard to ensure their child would have a bright and happy life and he would give their child everything he never had. Khushi leant over and gently stroked his hair in her hands, Arnav closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Khushi smiled at her bholuji, he spent all day wearing his scary ASR mask, so when he got home he was always so tired, so vulnerable and just himself around her.
"Kya hua, aaj kuch zyaada se barkaar tukhe huye lagre hai." She speculated and Arnav stretched a little to loosen the strained muscles in his body.
"No Khushi, I'm fine, just work. Work's always like this and I don't like talking about work with you when I'm at home." He complained and she smiled to herself, she always complained to him about his work, he was just avoiding the topic because he knew it could lead to an argument. Khushi was about to drop the subject when Arnav's eyes suddenly flew open.
"Oh wait, I nearly forgot." He said, more to himself as he got up and took his hand out to Khushi who looked at him cautiously. "What don't you trust me?" He asked as he raised one eyebrow suggestively towards her. She bit her lip and gave her his hand. He took her hand in his own and grinned as he led her out into the hall.
"Arnav hum kaha jaare? Saab soye hue ya, kohi uttjayega Arnav." Khushi said and he rolled his eyes, it was his house he could do what he wanted. He took her to the room next to their's, it was a guest room, Khushi had hardly taken note of it. "Kya tumhe hum yeh dikhana chaate hai? If you think we're sleeping here tonight you've got another thing coming, I like our room, I don't want to move in here...are you trying to move me in here so you can sleep alone because that is a new level of selfish!" Khushi was like a motor-mouth, once you got her started you couldn't stop her.
"Khushi, shut up! Aur, close your eyes." He said, slightly angry now, she had to always dampen the mood. She groaned and closed her eyes. He covered his hand over her eyes to make sure and he guided her in. He lifted his hand off her eyes and whispered, "Open."
Khushi opened her eyes and was in shock. This was not a plain little guest room, it was...a nursery. The walls were a daffodil yellow, with cute little brown bears painted on the walls. There was a white crib against one wall, a changing table and hundreds of toys and teddies. Khushi smiled at the sight and then on the opposite wall she saw a picture of Arnav and Khushi, they'd had it taken after she and Arnav had come back from her pakh-phere rasam, Khushi in her red saree and Arnav in his suit. She'd never seen the picture, she remembered Anjali telling them to smile, they'd been sat on the sofa casually having a conversation when on the spur of the moment Anjali clicked the photo. Khushi looked at how happy she looked and then noticed something she'd never noticed before, Arnav had been looking at her, not in an angry or confused way but the way he looked at her now, with love. There was unashamed love as he plainly looked at Khushi. She smiled and turned to try and comprehend something to say to him when she noticed the stars mobile above the crib. That's it he'd done it, he knew she was hormonal, this pushed her over the edge and she began to cry, happy tears but tears nonetheless. Arnav slid his arms around her and smiled at his overly emotional wife.
"I didn't do all this for you so stop crying." He said and she pouted. "Well a little for you but I did it mostly for our baby. I want our baby to have a happy and fun life. I don't want it to be burdened by any sadness, anger or responsibility. If anything our baby should be just like you Jaan." He said and Khushi looked at him confused and he smiled. "Aakir aap hi toh humhe sikaaya tah khi kaisa haasna, don't take life to seriously, tumne mujhe pyar karna bhi sikaaya. Why wouldn't I want our baby to turn out like you? You're perfect to me Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada, todhi pagal ho, but perfect for me." He said and she smiled and nuzzled into his embrace. She didn't have to say anything because he knew she felt what he felt also.
Read more of this here.
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Agneepath - An ASR story Chapter One
Arnav Malik was dead. From the ashes of Arnav Malik rose Arnav Singh Raizada. It was a difficult task to rise up as he did but he did it. Why? This question was often posed to him. Why would a fifteen year old fight tooth and nail to rise up amongst the ranks of criminals as he did? Why didn't he just go with his Mamma and Nani and live a peaceful and easy life? It was a simple answer and could be summarised in one word. Revenge. In Arnav there was a fire that could not be quenched until he had one man's blood smeared on his hands. His Chacha's, Kanchan Malik. Ten years ago Arnav had to flee Lucknow, Arnav his sister and what little family he had left. His Chacha was a greedy man, Arnav's father had been an honest and kind man. He had always shared everything with his brother, but once his daughter was to be married Ashwin Malik (Arnav's father) decided it was time to share out his wealth equally between his two children. Arnav's Chacha could not handle this insult and so on Anjali's wedding day he killed Arnav and Anjali's mother with a fatal gunshot wound, he placed the gun in Ashwin's hand and all believed Ashwin had done this. Arnav had seen it all and tried to speak against it but his Chacha was cunning and a good actor. He claimed that Ashwin had been unfaithful and she had found out and so this had happened. Ashwin could not bare the accusations being thrown at him but they continued. Anjali's baraat left and Ashwin was defamed before all, he had fallen and his wife was dead. Ashwin was broken and on top of all this his brother Kanchan was instigating those few remaining people against Ashwin. They banded together and decided to teach Ashwin a lesson, Arnav had been consoling Anjali and telling his Nani and Mama what had really happened when he heard his father's cries. He ran out of the room and looked down to see how they were beating his father senseless, a pool of blood gathered around Ashwin's head. Arnav was in shock at first but he began to run towards his father. By the time he reached the ground floor of the Mahal, they had begun to drag Ashwin outside. Arnav ran after them crying out, "Babba!" He shouted, his voice straining and failing to reach them. Arnav reached where they were and witnessed his own Chacha hang his father. Arnav cried out, his father had taught him three things in life, one: Always live your life with honesty and integrity, never bow down or go on your knees for anyone, live a life that should mean you shouldn't have to. Two: Be strong in life, never let your dear ones see you cry, instead you should wipe their tears. Three: Rage is a senseless and poisonous emotion, never let it cover your senses and never hang onto it. That night Arnav abandoned all three of his father's teachings. He went on his knees and begged for them to let his father go, he cried as he watched his father struggle against the rope as it cut off his breathing and he vowed to never let go of the anger he felt as he watched his father die and then had to watch as his uncle seized all the wealth and property kicking Anjali and Arnav out onto the streets. This was how Arnav Malik died and how Arnav Singh Raizada was born.
Ten years ago he left Lucknow but vowed in his heart he would return, he would re-claim Sheesh Mahal, clear his father's name and kill Kanchan. His Nani didn't have a lot of money when they came to Mumbai and so they lived in a chawal. It was dirty and small and not at all what Arnav was used to. This only enraged him more. He hated it, the only thing he had that lifted his spirits was Anjali, but when Kanchan kicked them out he had beaten them quite badly, Anjali was sick and needed to go to a Hospital. They couldn't afford it and Arnav knew it was up to him to sort this out. That's when he met Shyam Manohar Jha, Mumbai's drug-lord, not only that but he also dealt in trafficking girls also (you're general scum-bag). Arnav had seen his Chacha in Mumbai one day and followed him, it turned out Kanchan needed the wealth and property to fund his drugs business, however Shyam was not interested. It was from that moment Arnav decided he'd have to shake hands with Shyam and join his business if he was ever going to get even with Kanchan. So it was Shyam who helped create Arnav Singh Raizada, he used him as a go to man to clean up murders and commit them also. Soon Arnav was his top hit-man. When Nani realised what Arnav was doing she left taking Anjali with her. She wanted to go somewhere more civilised where she could look after her granddaughter in peace. By this point Arnav had raised the money to pay for her hospital fees and so he gave the money to Anjali making her promise that she'd go and get her treatment. She did and the two parted tearfully. There was little joy in Arnav's life after that point, well of course apart from Khushi.
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Present day, the chawal
It was a time of festivities across India and in the Chawal all the members of this small but close knit community were celebrating it with full pomp. There was a column of young men stacked high, they were all standing on each others shoulders leading up to a rope that on it was tied a small clay pot full of milk, next to which there was a coconut also tied to the rope with string. The aim was that one man, was to climb above the rest and smash that pot with the coconut. Arnav rubbed red raang across his forehead and readied himself to take the challenge when his eyes widened as he saw red dye fly from a bucket and hit him with a force. He used his arm to shield his eyes and then looked up to see who dared do this to Arnav Singh Raizada. He looked and saw Khushi grinning, her eyebrows wiggling up and down, her smile plastered across her face and her eyes alive with mischief. Arnav grinned inwardly and began to make his run up. Khushi danced along to beat of numerous dhols, her hips swaying to and fro as she did so. She was completely lost in the music until Arnav wrenched he dupatta off her and tied it around his waist. He did not turn as he could imagine the shock on her face and the way she'd try to cover her now bare midriff. He had to get her back somehow and he knew she wouldn't mind. It may as well have been common knowledge, Khushi had been smitten with Arnav since the day he stopped a police officer from beating her mother. Khushi had been orphaned at a young age and left on the streets. If it hadn't been for her Aai, she would never have survived, it was true her Aai was a prostitute but not by choice and she vowed she would never let Khushi sell herself to earn a living. Her Aai was being beaten by a "customer" shortly after Arnav's family had deserted him, Arnav couldn't bare the sight of a woman being beaten, not after what had happened to his mother and sister and so he beat the man off of her until he was unable to use his hands again. Khushi had become smitten with him since then, the respect he had for women was something she'd never seen. Although you'd never guess he respected women from the way he acted with Khushi, but he only ever acted that way with Khushi and she liked it that way. Arnav climbed up the columns of men and Khushi shrieked at him, "Maaro Arnav, vaar karo abh!" She shouted. He tore the coconut and smashed the pot and everyone cheered. Arnav could hear Khushi's shouts above everyone else and smiled. He didn't have his family, he didn't have his revenge but at least for now he had Khushi.
Read more of this here.
Ten years ago he left Lucknow but vowed in his heart he would return, he would re-claim Sheesh Mahal, clear his father's name and kill Kanchan. His Nani didn't have a lot of money when they came to Mumbai and so they lived in a chawal. It was dirty and small and not at all what Arnav was used to. This only enraged him more. He hated it, the only thing he had that lifted his spirits was Anjali, but when Kanchan kicked them out he had beaten them quite badly, Anjali was sick and needed to go to a Hospital. They couldn't afford it and Arnav knew it was up to him to sort this out. That's when he met Shyam Manohar Jha, Mumbai's drug-lord, not only that but he also dealt in trafficking girls also (you're general scum-bag). Arnav had seen his Chacha in Mumbai one day and followed him, it turned out Kanchan needed the wealth and property to fund his drugs business, however Shyam was not interested. It was from that moment Arnav decided he'd have to shake hands with Shyam and join his business if he was ever going to get even with Kanchan. So it was Shyam who helped create Arnav Singh Raizada, he used him as a go to man to clean up murders and commit them also. Soon Arnav was his top hit-man. When Nani realised what Arnav was doing she left taking Anjali with her. She wanted to go somewhere more civilised where she could look after her granddaughter in peace. By this point Arnav had raised the money to pay for her hospital fees and so he gave the money to Anjali making her promise that she'd go and get her treatment. She did and the two parted tearfully. There was little joy in Arnav's life after that point, well of course apart from Khushi.
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Present day, the chawal
It was a time of festivities across India and in the Chawal all the members of this small but close knit community were celebrating it with full pomp. There was a column of young men stacked high, they were all standing on each others shoulders leading up to a rope that on it was tied a small clay pot full of milk, next to which there was a coconut also tied to the rope with string. The aim was that one man, was to climb above the rest and smash that pot with the coconut. Arnav rubbed red raang across his forehead and readied himself to take the challenge when his eyes widened as he saw red dye fly from a bucket and hit him with a force. He used his arm to shield his eyes and then looked up to see who dared do this to Arnav Singh Raizada. He looked and saw Khushi grinning, her eyebrows wiggling up and down, her smile plastered across her face and her eyes alive with mischief. Arnav grinned inwardly and began to make his run up. Khushi danced along to beat of numerous dhols, her hips swaying to and fro as she did so. She was completely lost in the music until Arnav wrenched he dupatta off her and tied it around his waist. He did not turn as he could imagine the shock on her face and the way she'd try to cover her now bare midriff. He had to get her back somehow and he knew she wouldn't mind. It may as well have been common knowledge, Khushi had been smitten with Arnav since the day he stopped a police officer from beating her mother. Khushi had been orphaned at a young age and left on the streets. If it hadn't been for her Aai, she would never have survived, it was true her Aai was a prostitute but not by choice and she vowed she would never let Khushi sell herself to earn a living. Her Aai was being beaten by a "customer" shortly after Arnav's family had deserted him, Arnav couldn't bare the sight of a woman being beaten, not after what had happened to his mother and sister and so he beat the man off of her until he was unable to use his hands again. Khushi had become smitten with him since then, the respect he had for women was something she'd never seen. Although you'd never guess he respected women from the way he acted with Khushi, but he only ever acted that way with Khushi and she liked it that way. Arnav climbed up the columns of men and Khushi shrieked at him, "Maaro Arnav, vaar karo abh!" She shouted. He tore the coconut and smashed the pot and everyone cheered. Arnav could hear Khushi's shouts above everyone else and smiled. He didn't have his family, he didn't have his revenge but at least for now he had Khushi.
Read more of this here.
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
Dark Paradise Chapter Forty Two
Khushi smiled as she walked hand in hand with Arnav downstairs to the living room where the rest of the family had congregated. Arnav made sure Khushi was sat down comfortably before he took the seat by her side.
"Kya baat hai Khushi Bhabi, aapne itne jaaldi Chotte ko maanake agaye? If this had been me it would have taken at least another thirty if not forty minutes to calm him down." Anjali said and Arnav rolled his eyes, he hated when Di said this kind of stuff. He hated the unnecessary attention he was receiving as a result of it. Khushi smiled proudly and gripped Arnav's hand.
"Of course, after all pyar kiya toh nibhana parega." Khushi said in full filmy style. Arnav felt uncomfortable and slightly disgusted, it was such a cheap and overused line. This is why he hated bollywood films, life was nothing like them and they just portrayed in his opinion, crap.
"What rubbish, you all spend too much time watching movies and not enough time in the real world. I did this because I felt like it not because I needed to fulfil the obligations that come with love. That's not what love's about anyway." Arnav said and everyone was slightly shocked, Arnav lecturing them about love? Someone needed to pinch everyone in the room as they couldn't believe it. Arnav looked at how perplexed everyone looked and he himself became confused. "What?" He asked and they all snapped out of their daze.
"Chotte tum humhe gyaan derhe, pyar ki barein mein. This is too good, toh phir batao naa, what is love about?" Anjali asked and everyone tried to hide their smiles as Arnav became more uncomfortable. Khushi wasn't smiling, she looked up at Arnav with genuine curiosity, she too would like to know what the definition of love was in Arnav Singh Raizada's dictionary.
"Oh come on Di. Don't get all sentimental. I was just saying that love isn't like how it is in these cheesy movies. Its a lot more complex than boy meets girl." He said and Khushi looked at him confused.
"Lekin humaare saath aisa hua." She said and Arnav now became confused.
"Really? Do you remember how we met?" He asked reffering to the Lucknow fashion show. She scoffed.
"Of course, kaise bhoolsakti, you had it on every t.v. station. Mera jeena mushkil kiya tumne." She said and Arnav smiled.
"Exactly we met, love didn't happen initially." He said feeling proud he'd made his point.
"Nahin, not straight away lekin woh sari filmy baatein toh hogaye." She said and Arnav looked at her again confused, none of the family intruded as they noticed how wrapped up they were in their argument.
"What do you mean? I don't remember running in a field with you and singing songs." He said and Khushi grinned at the idea of him doing that.
"No but you did dance with me at the sangeet, even after you'd said to everyone how you don't dance." She said and Arnav was silenced, she had him there. Khushi smiled as she decided to add more to the list. "Aur tumhe yaad hai, at the Fashion show when I fell you caught me. Aur jaab tumne mujhe uss building mein pehja, kaise tum hero banke ayaa aur apne heroine ko bachaya." She said, Arnav was lowering his head now feeling exposed and vulnerable as Khushi shared intimate moments in front of the whole family. "Aur, aur, aur, jab Teej hoi aur tumne mujhe uttaya jab mein behosh hui thi aur tumne mera vrat todha. Aur kitne baad tumne mujhe girne se bachadiya. Aur ek baad phool bhi giddhe jaab mein tumhari bahon mein thi." She said and Anjali looked at the two with a big grin, she had no idea how romantic her brother was.
"Kya baath hai Chotte, tum toh ek number ki cheesy romantic nikle!" Anjali said which caused everyone to laugh, Arnav felt annoyed. He didn't want his family to know about that side of him.
"Haa! Toh Khushi bhi kuch kam nahin!" Arnav accused and Khushi gasped.
"Kya matlaab?" She asked and Arnav smiled.
"Tumne hamesha se mere peeche padi thi!" He accused and Khushi's eyes widened with shock.
"Itna bada jhoot! Sharam nahin aathi kya?!" Khushi said to her husband and he only grinned at her.
"Who followed me from Lucknow to Delhi? You. Who got a job at AR to be closer to me? You. Who then got a job at my house and won over my family's heart? You. Who got the letter "A" in their mehendi before they had even gotten into a relationship with me? You. Who kissed me? You." He said and everyone looked at Khushi with awe. Yes she'd kissed Arnav on the day of the Haldi, everyone had seen but he kissed her first.
"Nahin! I mean haan yeh saab such hain. Lekin aapne mujhe kiss pehle kiya tah!" Khushi said trying to remind him of the Mehendi day. Arnav hadn't forgotten that but he knew she'd never talk about in front of the family.
"Oh really kaab? I only remember you kissing me on the Haldi day." He said and Khushi was about to reveal what he'd done on the Mehendi when she looked around at everyone's eager faces and then stopped herself. "What's wrong Khushi? Bhol naa, go on say. Kyun bholthi baand hogaye?" He asked and Khushi gave him a seething look to which Arnav replied with a wink.
"Mujhe yaad nahin." She said and turned away from him. Naniji smiled to herself.
"Ucha tik hai abh bohut hogaya tum dono baas bhi kijiye." Naniji said trying to mediate the situation. Khushi nodded, got up and went upstairs.
Khushi had stayed upstairs for most of the day, she'd even had her food sent upstairs. She was upset with Arnav for embarrassing her like that. He knew she wasn't that kind of girl who chased men and pursued them but that's what he made her out to be. Arnav too had avoided Khushi, he'd hoped that time would cool her anger, normal Khushi probably would have realised she started it and she should forgive Arnav. Pregnant Khushi however was less likely to do so. Arnav walked in and got an icy cold look from Khushi.
"Oh come on Khushi it's not that bad." He said.
"Not that bad, saab mujphe haasre hoge." She said and looked away from him. Arnav took a deep breath and then joined Khushi on the bed.
"Jaan." He said softly but Khushi refused to look at him. "Okay fine, if you wont talk to me then I'll talk to my princess." He said and he leant over Khushi and directed his head towards her abdomen. "Hi princess." He said and Khushi scoffed. "Mamma is very angry with Pappa today. You know why?... Okay I'll tell you. Aaj we were all talking when Mamma decided it was a good idea to tell everyone about how romantic Pappa is, even though she knows how hard he's worked to make a reputation for himself so that he can command a little respect." He said and Khushi chewed her cheek feeling slightly guilty but not enough to talk to him. Arnav proceeded on to guilt trip Khushi. "Anyway, I think Mamma forgot that Pappa only acts that way with Mamma and Mamma only. He doesn't like to show that side to anyone else and he doesn't want to share that with anyone. Its reserved for Mamma and Mamma only." He said and Khushi looked down at him and smiled. "Its up to Mamma now whether or not she forgives me, if she doesn't this could be a lonely life if she can't argue with me." He said and turned to get up when Khushi tugged at his arm.
"Aap itne bhi bhoore nahin. Chalo maaf kiya." She said with a small smile on her lips, Arnav grinned, then turned, he leaned in and kissed Khushi.
"Thanks." He said and then grabbed his stuff and headed for the shower.
Read more of this here.
"Kya baat hai Khushi Bhabi, aapne itne jaaldi Chotte ko maanake agaye? If this had been me it would have taken at least another thirty if not forty minutes to calm him down." Anjali said and Arnav rolled his eyes, he hated when Di said this kind of stuff. He hated the unnecessary attention he was receiving as a result of it. Khushi smiled proudly and gripped Arnav's hand.
"Of course, after all pyar kiya toh nibhana parega." Khushi said in full filmy style. Arnav felt uncomfortable and slightly disgusted, it was such a cheap and overused line. This is why he hated bollywood films, life was nothing like them and they just portrayed in his opinion, crap.
"What rubbish, you all spend too much time watching movies and not enough time in the real world. I did this because I felt like it not because I needed to fulfil the obligations that come with love. That's not what love's about anyway." Arnav said and everyone was slightly shocked, Arnav lecturing them about love? Someone needed to pinch everyone in the room as they couldn't believe it. Arnav looked at how perplexed everyone looked and he himself became confused. "What?" He asked and they all snapped out of their daze.
"Chotte tum humhe gyaan derhe, pyar ki barein mein. This is too good, toh phir batao naa, what is love about?" Anjali asked and everyone tried to hide their smiles as Arnav became more uncomfortable. Khushi wasn't smiling, she looked up at Arnav with genuine curiosity, she too would like to know what the definition of love was in Arnav Singh Raizada's dictionary.
"Oh come on Di. Don't get all sentimental. I was just saying that love isn't like how it is in these cheesy movies. Its a lot more complex than boy meets girl." He said and Khushi looked at him confused.
"Lekin humaare saath aisa hua." She said and Arnav now became confused.
"Really? Do you remember how we met?" He asked reffering to the Lucknow fashion show. She scoffed.
"Of course, kaise bhoolsakti, you had it on every t.v. station. Mera jeena mushkil kiya tumne." She said and Arnav smiled.
"Exactly we met, love didn't happen initially." He said feeling proud he'd made his point.
"Nahin, not straight away lekin woh sari filmy baatein toh hogaye." She said and Arnav looked at her again confused, none of the family intruded as they noticed how wrapped up they were in their argument.
"What do you mean? I don't remember running in a field with you and singing songs." He said and Khushi grinned at the idea of him doing that.
"No but you did dance with me at the sangeet, even after you'd said to everyone how you don't dance." She said and Arnav was silenced, she had him there. Khushi smiled as she decided to add more to the list. "Aur tumhe yaad hai, at the Fashion show when I fell you caught me. Aur jaab tumne mujhe uss building mein pehja, kaise tum hero banke ayaa aur apne heroine ko bachaya." She said, Arnav was lowering his head now feeling exposed and vulnerable as Khushi shared intimate moments in front of the whole family. "Aur, aur, aur, jab Teej hoi aur tumne mujhe uttaya jab mein behosh hui thi aur tumne mera vrat todha. Aur kitne baad tumne mujhe girne se bachadiya. Aur ek baad phool bhi giddhe jaab mein tumhari bahon mein thi." She said and Anjali looked at the two with a big grin, she had no idea how romantic her brother was.
"Kya baath hai Chotte, tum toh ek number ki cheesy romantic nikle!" Anjali said which caused everyone to laugh, Arnav felt annoyed. He didn't want his family to know about that side of him.
"Haa! Toh Khushi bhi kuch kam nahin!" Arnav accused and Khushi gasped.
"Kya matlaab?" She asked and Arnav smiled.
"Tumne hamesha se mere peeche padi thi!" He accused and Khushi's eyes widened with shock.
"Itna bada jhoot! Sharam nahin aathi kya?!" Khushi said to her husband and he only grinned at her.
"Who followed me from Lucknow to Delhi? You. Who got a job at AR to be closer to me? You. Who then got a job at my house and won over my family's heart? You. Who got the letter "A" in their mehendi before they had even gotten into a relationship with me? You. Who kissed me? You." He said and everyone looked at Khushi with awe. Yes she'd kissed Arnav on the day of the Haldi, everyone had seen but he kissed her first.
"Nahin! I mean haan yeh saab such hain. Lekin aapne mujhe kiss pehle kiya tah!" Khushi said trying to remind him of the Mehendi day. Arnav hadn't forgotten that but he knew she'd never talk about in front of the family.
"Oh really kaab? I only remember you kissing me on the Haldi day." He said and Khushi was about to reveal what he'd done on the Mehendi when she looked around at everyone's eager faces and then stopped herself. "What's wrong Khushi? Bhol naa, go on say. Kyun bholthi baand hogaye?" He asked and Khushi gave him a seething look to which Arnav replied with a wink.
"Mujhe yaad nahin." She said and turned away from him. Naniji smiled to herself.
"Ucha tik hai abh bohut hogaya tum dono baas bhi kijiye." Naniji said trying to mediate the situation. Khushi nodded, got up and went upstairs.
Khushi had stayed upstairs for most of the day, she'd even had her food sent upstairs. She was upset with Arnav for embarrassing her like that. He knew she wasn't that kind of girl who chased men and pursued them but that's what he made her out to be. Arnav too had avoided Khushi, he'd hoped that time would cool her anger, normal Khushi probably would have realised she started it and she should forgive Arnav. Pregnant Khushi however was less likely to do so. Arnav walked in and got an icy cold look from Khushi.
"Oh come on Khushi it's not that bad." He said.
"Not that bad, saab mujphe haasre hoge." She said and looked away from him. Arnav took a deep breath and then joined Khushi on the bed.
"Jaan." He said softly but Khushi refused to look at him. "Okay fine, if you wont talk to me then I'll talk to my princess." He said and he leant over Khushi and directed his head towards her abdomen. "Hi princess." He said and Khushi scoffed. "Mamma is very angry with Pappa today. You know why?... Okay I'll tell you. Aaj we were all talking when Mamma decided it was a good idea to tell everyone about how romantic Pappa is, even though she knows how hard he's worked to make a reputation for himself so that he can command a little respect." He said and Khushi chewed her cheek feeling slightly guilty but not enough to talk to him. Arnav proceeded on to guilt trip Khushi. "Anyway, I think Mamma forgot that Pappa only acts that way with Mamma and Mamma only. He doesn't like to show that side to anyone else and he doesn't want to share that with anyone. Its reserved for Mamma and Mamma only." He said and Khushi looked down at him and smiled. "Its up to Mamma now whether or not she forgives me, if she doesn't this could be a lonely life if she can't argue with me." He said and turned to get up when Khushi tugged at his arm.
"Aap itne bhi bhoore nahin. Chalo maaf kiya." She said with a small smile on her lips, Arnav grinned, then turned, he leaned in and kissed Khushi.
"Thanks." He said and then grabbed his stuff and headed for the shower.
Read more of this here.
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