Non-erotic Hues of Love by Yagyaseni

[fasterboy]

PART 17

It seemed as if their souls connected with each other through the gentle yet soul-searing kiss which Arnav had planted on Khushi’s abdomen. Blood coursed through their vessels at a pace they were not aware of before and their body responded with an involuntary piloerection arising from bliss.

Arnav pulled away and gently rose up to face her. The way she had clenched her eyes shut with a beautiful red due splayed across her cheeks glowing with pregnancy ecstasy had endeared her to him more than ever. He gently cupped her jaw and placed a firm kiss in the partition of her hairline.

“Thank you so much, Khoosi, for giving me the best gift of my life. You have no idea how happy you have made me. I will forever be indebted to you,” he whispered against her forehead.

An overwhelming urge to rest her head against the love of her life’s chest, and hear the heartbeats arising from it developed in her but when the realization that the rhythm of his heart produced just Rati’s name struck her, it was just melancholy which drowned her.


She could not bring herself to say anything in response to him. Being the mother to his child was the most ecstatic part of her life but the conditions they were in, she could not rejoice as much as she could. He would be leaving back the next day morning and her cravings for him which had only intensified after receiving the news of pregnancy would torture her.


“Something worrying you, Khoosi?” he questioned, studying her expressions ranging from happiness, confusion and then finally pain.

“I was just worried it is a new place. Obviously it would take some time to acclimatize. That’s all,” she said, not wanting to share her inner turmoil and burden him.

“I will try my best to recreate home-like experience for you, even while being away. I will try to call you as many times as I can. I will ask Rachna also to stay in contact more than usual. I will just be a call away, whenever and whatever you need, Khoosi. It’s a promise,” he vowed, dropping his hands to her hands and intertwining their fingers together, symbolizing his promise to her.


The honesty which laced his tone and the affection which he showered through his eyes combined with his words to completely overwhelm Khushi. She flung herself into Arnav’s arms and wrapped her arms tightly around him. The warmth of his persona and his body seemed to seep right through her soul and heal the scars which had been present for so long that Khushi forgot how it felt without them.


Arnav encircled his arms around her and pulled her closer, feeling more at home than ever. Her straightforwardness and ability to love unconditionally had always stood out to him but being in her arms as the father of her unborn, he felt it was worth every sin and every crime.


The tune which his heartbeats sang out lulled her into a solace which she found only in her father’s loving arms. Protective, possessive and patient, her father knew how to erase her every worry just as Arnav seemed to know to heal her every scar. Only her father was just hers but Arnav? He was never hers to begin with.

“I am sorry,” said Khushi suddenly, pulling out of his embrace and looking everywhere except him. She did not want to put him in a tight spot by letting her emotions rule her as the realization struck her hard. She was not completely sure of where their relationship stood and if Arnav still loved his wife as much as he did since ages.


“Don’t. I understand, Khoosi. Don’t ever apologize for loving anyone. Sometimes your love can give them a reason to live and sometimes it’s the only thing which stops them from giving up. I don’t know how much has changed since your love filled the void in my life, Khoosi, but I am sure that if it didn’t, I might not be able to survive,” he replied earnestly with a faint half-smile on his face.


Khushi gently nodded at him while pulling the ends of lips into a smile to pull his spirits up.


“May I?” he asked, signing towards the bed and her.


“Your wish,” she said, unaware if he was anticipating an approval or expecting a rejection.


“Then this is my wish,” he said, scooping her up in his arms in a smooth move but in a gentle manner to avoid giving jerks to her body which could have adverse effects on her and her unborn.


Khushi clutched his shirt firmly as she looked into his eyes to find any malicious intentions. Not a lot of men had the courtesy and manners to not take advantage of a woman who offers her everything to them and disrespect them but when she found respect and admiration floating in his eyes along with her image, she could feel her heart swell in pride for loving a man like him.


He gently placed her on the bed and adjusted the pillows as per her preference. He wanted to spend the night in her blessed company before he leaves for the city and loses her sight for a few days. He turned around to leave when Khushi’s grip on his hand stopped him.


“You can spend the night here, Arnav. I don’t mind. You have a right to spend time with your unborn,” said Khushi, listening to the voice of his heart and the unsaid.

“You don’t have to do this, Khoosi,” he offered, knowing that it would be harder for her to let go if she spends more time in his company.


“I don’t have to? When you love a person, it becomes your duty to do everything in your capacity to ensure their happiness, security and peace. I am just doing my duty, Arnav. Also, the baby needs to bond with his or her father and I would not want my baby to suffer because of me,” she answered, her eyes gleaming with love for him.


That moment Arnav knew that he had never learned to love like she did. While he thought that momentary happiness was everything and did his best to ensure that for Rati, he knew that he lagged in providing her security and peace.


He quietly crept up the bed beside her and he was in for a surprise when Khushi took his hand in hers and placed it against her slightly swollen abdomen with an innocent and genuine smile playing on her lips.


“Good night, baby and baby’s Papa,” she greeted, the teasing glint in her eyes back after long.


He moved his other arm and slightly patted on her forehead in a rhythmic manner to lull her into deep slumber.


“Good night to you too, Khoosi. May every dream of yours be sweet and come true,” he wished, affectionately caressing her hair as she soon fell into the embrace of comforting sleep and Arnav soon followed her suite soon.


Little did he know that he was already fulfilling one of her sweetest and best dreams by comforting her into sleep.

[fasterboy]

PART 18


“Arnav, all I ask for, is one more chance. We have loved each other for years now. What happened suddenly that you cannot even give me, give us, a chance when that’s all I am begging for?” questioned Rati, appearing paler than Arnav had ever seen her. Her usually smooth and conditioned hair was messed up and her face was lacking the usual glow from various treatments she uses to enrich her beauty.


“Remember what I had told you about three months back before you received the divorce notice? I was looking for a surrogate mother and like you had quite affectionately offered, I went with traditional surrogacy,” mocked Arnav, his cold tone and nonchalant stare twisting the dagger in her heart.
A smile lit up on her face, ignoring the pain pulsating throughout her, and it had managed to take him by surprise.


“I am very happy for you, Arnav. Your wish and dream of years is going to come true. But there is one thing I don’t understand. How is that related to our divorce?” she asked, the pain in her eyes threatening to power his conscience which lied dormant since weeks.


“The contract with the surrogate mother states that the authenticity of the contract is subject to our divorce. I do not wish to step back from my word and that’s just one of the reason why I am intent on divorcing you. Apart from this, if you are forgetting, you cheated on me for years,” he spat sarcastically, rolling his eyes and a smirk stretching his lips to one side.


“As if you haven’t, Arnav,” she retorted, looking up to prevent the hot tears from spilling out of her eyes.


“What do you mean? When have I cheated over you? You even started making up things now,” he muttered through gritted teeth.


“Cheating is not just physical or sexual, Arnav. It is also emotional. Were you there beside me when my mother was on deathbed? In fact, you did not come even two days after she had passed away. My relatives were waiting for you. They wanted the son-in-law to perform the last rites since she refused to have her husband give fire to her pyre. In the end, I had to go against everyone, to lit the funeral pyre of my mother. To put up a fight when you have just lost someone so dear is not easy but I would not expect you to understand. I just expect to put the past behind us and move on. Who is the surrogate mother? I will myself go and convince her to change the contract,” she pleaded, her form shaking with myriads of emotions as the memories of the past wrecked havoc on her senses.


Arnav slightly stumbled back by the impact of her words but soon steadied himself. Maybe this was the reason why she always got upset when he left her alone because she was scared that she might face a similar situation and would be forced to face it in isolation, with no one by her side, he thought.


But as they say, vengeance can turn one blind - even to their own love - and can ward away logic from the recesses of mind.


“Convince her to change the contract or leave my life, Rati? You wouldn’t want to be the reason of my happiness or let anyone else be the reason, isn’t it?” he taunted, laughing mirthlessly.


“I never wanted you to be bereft of happiness, Arnav. Maybe that’s why I never let my inner demons complain to you, because I knew that if I did complain, whatever little bliss was left in our lives would leave us. Maybe that’s why I always allowed them to live off others and allowed them to pull me to others. But maybe my love was not strong enough to guard your happiness at the cost of my own,” she whispered with a sad smile playing on her unusually chapped lips.

Honesty.


That was the quality which had once endeared her to him. She had been honest about her flings from the beginning. Never trying to hide but never trying to flaunt them either. Hearing her speak about it, accept her follies out in the open, and reveal the whimpering of her heart, felt like reliving the old times. But alas, he was not the old Arnav Singh Raizada.


“Don’t. Don’t try to trap me in your words. You are doing this intentionally, aren’t you?” he questioned, running his fingers in his already rugged hair.


“I wish I could. When I could not stop you from leaving me in solitude back then, how can I stop you now?” she jeered at herself.


Before Arnav could respond to her, a message on his phone interrupted his trail of thoughts. He immediately dug out the phone, knowing that it could very well be of Khushi’s and she might be in the need of urgent help. Although it was from the woman of his thoughts, fortunately, the message was not sent from a situation of peril but of happiness.


The message contained the picture of the first ultrasound of their baby. Ecstasy, elation and euphoria swelled in his heart as he eyed the baby which was an extension of himself. Surprised by the chain of events, Rati moved towards him to look at what had caused such an emotional upheaval from the usually guarded Arnav Singh Raizada.


The sight which she beheld had at once revealed that he was rightfully blissful but before she could notice the name of the sender, Arnav pulled the phone away from the line of sight of Rati.


“I am sure you would want to speak to the mother, Arnav. Go ahead,” she said, standing by her words that she would never stand between him and his happiness, as she walked away giving the much required privacy to him by closing the doors behind her.


“Khoosi! The next time you go for an ultrasound, make sure that you call me. I wouldn’t want to miss this for anything in the world. I want to see this from my own eyes, want to see my baby move and respond, not just a picture,” he demanded as Khushi received his call.


He heard her tinkling laughter from the other side of the phone and it managed to calm his raging nerves like nothing before.

“Surely the next time, Arnav. But the baby, isn’t it beautiful? Both physically and the feelings associated with it,” she asked, smiling through the tears of beatitude as she stared the image of the ultrasound. The baby which they had together created- her and her first and last love; something which would be just theirs.


“Very. Just like the mother,” he said, surprising himself and the woman he had spoken about.

The baby had begun weaving its magic in forging an unspoken bond between its father and mother but will they be able to sustain it?

____________________________________



I always wondered one thing. What if the name of Rati was actually Khushi and Khushi was Rati? Of course, the ending would have been different but how would you have felt? Anyways, I hope I am doing justice to the storyline. Love you all! Please vote and comment! Do read the prequel - Shades of Love!

[fasterboy]

PART 19

Arnav was back to his abode in Shillong in which Khushi resided. Although he was physically living away from her, he felt that his thoughts and mind always revolved around what he was missing and what would the baby be doing. In the twenty days that had passed between his previous visit and current arrival, Khushi’s pregnancy glow had only boosted up multifold.


“She’s pregnant! You didn’t tell me, Arnav!” reprimanded Swati, questions floating in her eyes at she looked at Arnav in disappointment.


“I didn’t know how to tell, Aunty,” he answered, lowering his head unable to face his foster-mother.


“She loves you dearly, Arnav. In fact, it is something which people call as unconditional love. And you have hidden her away from the world here. I cannot believe that you have cheated in your marriage,” said Swati, making Arnav look at her by lifting his chin up.


“It’s tit for tat, not cheating, Aunty!” he roared, while Swati thanked his presence of mind while constructing sound-proof rooms.


“Two wrongs don’t make a right, Arnav. Moreover what you did is neither ethically nor practically right. You are using that innocent girl’s love for you,” she pointed, reminiscing the times she had seen Khushi smiling at herself as she caressed her slightly swollen abdomen lovingly.


“I am not using anyone! I don’t care about right or wrong, Aunty. My biggest dream is getting fulfilled. Khoosi entered this contract willingly and she would remain to be the legal guardian and the mother legally. I am not snatching anything from her. Now if you don’t mind,” he spat, turning around and staging a walkout as Swati sighed deeply in disappointment, wondering where she had gone wrong in teaching him.


_____________________________________________________

Khushi’s Room,


Being the Chief Medical Officer meant much more relaxed schedule for Khushi but she hopelessly missed interacting with the patients and relishing the innocence which her patients exuded. There was something about the company of children that could treat even the toughest mental afflictions and she desperately craved for solace.


Carrying a new life in your body was an out of the body experience and despite being a doctor who was well versed in embryology and the origin of life, she could not help but be at awe every time she touched her lower abdomen or heard her baby’s heartbeats. It was just an ethereal feeling out of the world and to add to the already divine feeling, the fact that the baby was fathered by the man whom she had loved for the better part of her life, only made her feel out of the world.

The sudden opening of the door compelled Khushi to cover her abdomen protectively and the protective wave passed when she found herself face to face with Arnav. He seemed to be furious before he laid his eyes on her covering her stomach in a worried gesture but soon his features softened and an affectionate smile danced on her lips.


“Arnav,” whispered Khushi, still taking in the surprise.


“How are you, Khoosi?” he questioned, moving towards her.


“Give me a minute please,” she said, her face contorting in ways Arnav was familiar with after working in healthcare industry for years. She was struggling with nausea and it was clear when she started pacing towards the washroom with him following her closely.


The bile which rose up her throat was emptied into the washbasin as she struggled to keep herself together. A gentle fondle against her spine as a hand pulled her lustrous and long hair away from the path of ejected food material overwhelmed her. Despite admirable self-control, Khushi could feel her mind wavering over and over to a dream in which Arnav pampered her through her gestation period and to feel him supporting her during the trying times felt better than ever.


He continued to run his warm hand over her back till the vomiting ceased and she cleaned her mouth with fresh water. The sudden lightheadedness accompanying the vomiting, mostly after the session, was a daily phenomenon for Khushi off late, considering her low blood nutrient levels. Sensing that she was losing control over herself, Arnav picked her up in his arms as gently as he could and walked towards the bed as she looked at him with a loving smile playing on her lips.


“Thank you,” she muttered, the twinkle never leaving her eyes and her lips only stretching further.


“You are enduring so much for me, this is the least I can do for you. Why did not tell me about your morning sickness over the call?” he questioned, as he placed her against the bed and offered the glass of water on the side table.


“I didn’t want to trouble you and also, there is nothing anyone can do about it. It’s just natural,” she answered, sipping water once before returning it to Arnav.


“I know that. But at least, I can be your partner in the struggle. If not anything else, I can stand beside you to help or carry you when your dizziness makes a comeback,” offered Arnav, taking a seat near her feet and placing them in his lap, startling her.


“What are you doing?” she asked, confused and out of breath.


“Trying something I learned through a book. I heard it helps for body aches and good during pregnancy,” he replied, pressing his fingers into specific points at her sole with accurate pressure. Khushi instantly felt her whole body relaxing and energy coursing through her in soothing waves. But even more soothing was the power of his touch and the image he was building in her heart; not many touched the feet of another with such ease and he was willingly massaging her without any request from her side.


Lost in her thoughts, Khushi realized that he was speaking when he stopped his acupressure therapy and waved a hand in front of her.


“Sorry. Can you repeat what you said?” she said, a faint red developing on her warm cheeks for being caught staring at him in a lost manner.


“Are you sleeping well? I read that pregnant women have trouble sleeping and don’t you dare lie to me since your soles are in my hands and I know that you are ticklish in your soles,” he mock-warned her with a glint in his eyes which reminded her of the Arnav Singh Raizada from their college days.


“I hate sleeping to my side because of those maternity body pillows but now there is no other option. I cannot sleep on my stomach because that will hurt the baby and I cannot sleep on my back because it will hurt my spine. I just cannot sleep these days,” she ranted, hormones taking over and frustration of sleeplessness showing.


“But tonight you will,” he claimed, massaging his way towards her knees through the front side of her feet.


“Taking sleeping pills is a risk, Arnav, and Ayurvedic remedies never worked for me. I don’t think they will work this time around. Why didn’t I join Ayurveda Medical Sciences while becoming a doctor?” she said, sighing in indignation that Ayurveda which was supposed to be the oldest and more efficient never worked her.


“I stand by what I said. Tonight you will sleep well,” he declared, gently pulling her towards himself as he worked his way towards her shoulders by looking straight into her eyes, reading her boundless love through the windows to the heart.

“And what makes you think that?” she asked, unknown and unfamiliar emotions floating in her eyes.


“Because you will sleep in my arms and I will lull you into sleep. I will make sure that you have the best sleep and get all the peace of the world. And it’s a promise.”


__________________________________________________


Well, Arnav is confusing, isn’t he?

[fasterboy]

PART 20

“Because you will sleep in my arms and I will lull you into sleep. I will make sure that you have the best sleep and get all the peace of the world. And it’s a promise,” he vowed, their eyes locked in a soul-searing embrace; one losing themselves and the other, finally, finding themselves.

But he did not have it in them to accept what he was seeing through her eyes and decided to diffuse the charged moment.

“Do you have any preferences in back-rubs, Khoosi?” asked Arnav, pulling her out of the reverie, which ironically, he had pushed her into.


“Anything would work but if you have a kind of oil from the brand Arrow, it would be amazing,” she answered, looking away from him into the space ahead of her.


“You seriously like that oil?” he questioned incredulously.


“Yes. Why?” she asked in a confused manner. She absolutely loved the smell and the feel of the oil and wondered if it was not the same as the opinion of Arnav.


“I absolutely loathe it! But Swati Aunty loves it so she might be having it. I will go get it,” he said, a slight frown visible on his features.


“You don’t have to get it if you don’t want to. Like I said, anything would work,” she replied, her heart stopping her from placing her preference over his comfort.


A smile replaced his scowl, his heart warming up with affection towards the woman in front of him, whose unconditional love and the way of expression managed to overwhelm him every time.


“I had promised you that you will get the best sleep and complete peace tonight, then how can I not prioritize your preferences? After all, I have a promise to keep,” he said, his eyes twinkling with warmth.


Arnav turned on his heel and walked out to begin his search for the oil mentioned by Khushi and hated by him, leaving Khushi to her own thoughts. She was caught in the web of strange emotions. Magnetically irresistible attraction towards Arnav was not an unusual phenomenon for her but his recent actions and words were causing her to lose her heart completely over and over again.


She wondered if the behavior and his concern would persist after the pregnancy or it was just for the sake of the progeny she was carrying. While her brain, versed in psychiatry, hinted that the latter situation was more plausible, her heart out rightly refused to accept it. The doctor in her knew that she had to think from her mind not her heart but she could not help but let her heart overpower her brain regarding everything related to Arnav Singh Raizada.

“Here you go. Move aside a bit, Khoosi, so that I can massage your back,” he offered, making her soul drown deeper into the only thing that can touch it - love.
She gently moved aside as he held her arm to support her and turned her to the side, making her face the mirror. It seemed as if the destiny was conspiring against her to make her lose every sense in front of him.


He gently lifted the hem of her shirt and folded it in a way that it would stay up without someone holding it up. He poured the viscous liquid onto his hands and began rubbing precise and soothing circles on her back in the manner prescribed in the book of pregnancy he had read up.


“Is it helping your back pain? Do you want me to apply it on any specific area?” he asked, as she looked up at him through the mirror.


There was sincerity, dedication and affection etched onto his features as he concentrated deeply on easing the knots of her back. Since the time she had fallen in love with him, she had hoped that someday he would look at her in the manner he was doing at the present and fulfillment of her teenage fantasy made a smile stretch on her lips from ear to ear.


“Khoosi?” he prompted.


“Huh?” she muttered, her sense of hearing returning.


“I asked if this way of massage is working well for you or do you want me to improvise on it in any way?” he probed, looking up at their reflection as he pondered on why Khushi seemed so lost.


“It’s magical,” she answered, looking at his replica in front of her.


“I was wondering, what do you want the child to be? A boy or a girl?” he questioned suddenly, making her thinks about the gender of the child for the first time.


“I don’t think it would make any difference, honestly. But they say that boys are closer to their mothers, so I would want it to be a boy. And if it’s a daughter, I cannot bear the thoughts of separating from her in the event of her marriage,” she stated thoughtfully.


“Who says that she will leave us? I will make sure that her husband moves in, she won’t leave the house. I will not let that happen,” he claimed, slight frustration and pain written on his face.


“So you are sure that it will be girl?” she asked, cocking her eyebrow at him.


“Yes, and she will be as successful and as loving as her mother,” he said, surprising her with his answer.


“And beautiful too, if I may add,” he added, making a tinge of red hue appear on her flushed cheeks with his word.


“But I am sure that it will be a boy. As hard-working and as fun-loving as his father,” she said suddenly with a smile playing on her lips as she gravitated slightly towards him on instinct and turned towards her side to face him.


“And handsome, just like him,” she whispered, memorizing every tiny detail of his facial features with adoration and adulation.


“Let’s see who is correct in seven months,” he challenged in a teasing manner with a mischievous glint of yesteryear resurfacing in his chocolate orbs, much to Khushi’s pleasure.


“Deal!” she accepted, losing herself in the pools of his eyes which promised her concern, understanding and support and feeling sleep knocking at her own.


Arnav had fulfilled his promise after all. The solace which she found in his arms, the rhythm of his heartbeat and the lulling movement of his breathing pattern along with the slender and careful caresses in the relaxing patterns by Arnav made sure that she had the best sleep of her life and she had no doubt that his mere presence was more than suffice to bring peace for her.


What do you think? Boy or a girl?

[fasterboy]

PART 21

“You are a doctor, Khushi. You know the protocol and the ethics. How can you expect me or any other doctor to do this?” questioned Rachna, who was on a video call with Khushi, along with her husband Anurag.


“I know, Rachna, that this is wrong and unacceptable, but I cannot leave the chance which destiny gave to me, only a fool would do so. This is the key to my solace,” answered a five-month pregnant Khushi, who had begun showing in an irrefutable manner.


“Have you given an open-minded thought to this, Khushi? Did you go through the possible consequences which can drastically affect your life, by either making it like you say or breaking you beyond repair?” asked Anurag affectionately in a calm and composed manner but he knew about the turbulent storms the brother in him was facing by seeing his sister-like Khushi stuck in a completely tangled situation.


“I did, Jijaji. And I think this is the best for everyone. Please convince Rachna, Jijaji, and Rachna, please, for my sake, fulfill my wish,” pleaded Khushi, tiredness floating in her hazel orbs and her pale face struck a chord with the couple watching her.


“I think you should give her what she seeks, Rachna,” advised Anurag, turning over to Rachna, who nodded thoughtfully at him.


“I will concede to your request, Khushi. But please take care of yourself and be happy, safe and peaceful,” wished Rachna, sighing deeply as she fought with her conscience internally.


“You have just ensured that I will have all of them by accepting my request, Rachna. Thank you so much,” replied Khushi, a sad smile dancing on her lips as she involuntarily caressed her bulged abdomen.


___________________________________________________________


“I cannot believe that you made me wait for four-months so see my unborn, Khoosi! It is really unfair. You got to see long time back,” complained Arnav as he drove them to the radiology clinic as directed by Khushi, who was prevented from driving by an extremely concerned Arnav.


“You know that I had reasons, Arnav, it was not intentional,” she answered with a slight smile stretching itself on her lips as Arnav looked at her flashed an understanding smile.


“Here we go. In a few minutes, I get to see my baby!” he exclaimed, his voice betraying his excitement and his amber eyes revealing his ecstasy for the same.


Khushi’s smile extended further with his actions and just as she was about to get down from the car, she felt a push in her abdomen, which she could distinctly verify as the first kick from her baby.


“Arnav...” she whispered in a pleasant shock as her smile crept into her eyes which began twinkling with happiness.


“Yes, Khoosi?” said Arnav, stopping himself from descending and turning over to her.


“I think, I think I just felt a kick,” she muttered, mentally prompting her child to kick once again to feel life coursing through her like never before.


“Really?” he asked, with an incredulous look plastered onto his face. Upon her nodding of affirmation, his hand seemed to get a life of its own as it moved towards her belly on its own accord but before it could actually touch her, he stopped himself.


Khushi saw his reflex action from the corner of her eye and the way he halted his action and could not help but let a familiar warmth seep through every cell of hers. She took his extended palm and placed it against her stomach herself, looking straight into his eyes, giving him permission.
<p data-p-id="a8977b9512ddf79e3127dae99baaa5b3">The kick under their palms made them look southwards immediately with a hint of brine, signing the bliss and euphoria they were experiencing, in their eyes and looked up to face each other.

“Looks like my baby is as excited as me that I will finally get to see my princess,” he chuckled, as he cupped her jaw and pressed a firm yet gentle kiss against her hair but unlike the past times, Khushi did not support his hand holding her with her own.


“We will have to go to the Geeta. She must be waiting for us,” reminded Khushi as Arnav nodded at her with a smile and descended the car.


He rushed on his feet to help her follow his suite and gently guided her to the reception. He was thankful of the thoughtfulness of the architect who did not include stairs for the radiology clinic. Khushi took over when they reached the reception as there was no formal appointment being acquaintances with the doctor.


“Hello, I am Dr. Khushi Gupta. Geeta had told that she would take care of the formalities,” she addressed the receptionist.


“Yes, Ma’am. Please follow me. Who would this gentleman here be?” asked the receptionist, pointing at Arnav as Khushi visibly gulped to answer the question and clenched her jaws unable to decide what she had to answer.


“Husband,” answered Arnav, shocking her.


“Follow me, Ma’am and Sir,” said the receptionist, speeding away in front of them to guide the way towards the cabin of Geeta.


“You didn’t have to say that. I know it must be incredibly difficult for you to say that,” she started, looking at the ground and the counter but not him. She had yearned to hear him address as her husband for twelve long years and the twisted manner in which it had come true, and the manner in which it was neither credible nor true, it felt tormenting for her.


“It must be equally difficult for you too, isn’t it? Seeing someone whom you love so much, love another woman yet decide to give away everything to ensure his happiness? I heard from Rachna that you had given me the respect of a husband in your life and you proved it every second henceforth. It might not be correct and it might be wrong but I don’t think something as pure as your love should be constrained by any boundaries. It is my tribute to your love,” answered Arnav, dropping his hand in between her dainty and slightly shaking fingers as she forgot her surroundings, her situation and herself, finding concern and an alien feeling which her heart vaguely recognized to be similar to the one she harbored for him.


Their eyes met in tumultuous embrace of myriads of emotions; ecstasy, admiration, respect, concern, trust, understanding and love. But is the tantalizing brew the right concoction to bring them what they need the most- solace?

__________________________________


What do you think Khushi was discussing with Rachna and Anurag?

[fasterboy]

PART 22

Like moth drawn by the fire, Arnav felt himself being drawn to her without any restraint or constraint holding him. The way her eyes twinkled by just looking at him, the racing of her heart which was visible due to their proximity and the slight flush of her cheeks, reminiscent of her teenage love, the attraction towards the one whose hand he was holding was irresistible to say the least.


The understanding she had about him, the trust which wavered but compelled him to do everything in his control to set it right, the admiration which floated in her eyes as her pupils dilated with pure amour; Arnav knew that the only most privileged had the opportunity to be on the receiving end of such ecstatic emotions.


While Arnav’s heart was throbbing in revere for Khushi, Khushi knew that she was getting more and more entangled in the intricately weaved, beautiful yet piercing, daunting yet soothing, paradoxically magical web of his love and moving away from him after everything that had eventuated and would happen was just unimaginably painful but she was equally aware that it was quintessential for her survival.


“Sir? Ma’am?” called the receptionist, pulling Arnav and Khushi out of their reverie.


“Huh?” they muttered in unison, and looked away from each other, their facial expressions revealing that the object of their thoughts was none other than the person opposite to them.


“Please follow me,” instructed the receptionist as they hurried onto their feet to follow her and not lose themselves once again.


Khushi walked into the cabin first since she was the acquaintance of the doctor.


“Good morning, Dr. Geeta. Khushi Gupta,” greeted Khushi, shaking hands with the doctor in front of her.


“Good Morning, Dr. Khushi,” said Geeta, greeting back with a smile.


“This is..” began Khushi, pointing towards Arnav but she was cut by the other doctor.


“Arnav Singh Raizada, I know. Dr. Rachna has given me the full details of the case. There would be no hassle,” assured Geeta, her eyes trained on Khushi in a manner to almost make her uncomfortable.


“So you know Rachna. That’s great. She is a good friend of ours,” exclaimed Arnav with a smile, unknown to the tension growing in between the ladies.


“We worked in the same hospital for sometime. Let’s start with the procedure then. I am sure you would be quite eager to see your child. I heard you did not get a chance to do so till now. Not fair, Dr. Gupta,” remarked Geeta with a slight roughness in her tone.


“Khushi had her reasons so it is not her fault obviously,” defended Arnav, as Khushi lowered her eyes to the ground.


“So understanding of you, Mr. Raizada. Let’s begin,” said Geeta, pointing to the nurse attending to set up the machine to run the ultrasound.


Khushi was prepared for the scan by applying the standard jelly against her abdomen and pelvis as she rested against the bed beside the screen. It was not at all a new experience for her but with Arnav beside her, it was completely new feeling altogether.


The man himself, Arnav Singh Raizada, felt extremely anxious and delirious that he held Khushi’s hand by standing on the opposite side to that of the doctor to ensure that his partner in the journey is right along his side.


The joy which splayed across his face by seeing the image of the foetus was inexplicable and the genuineness of the bliss was reflected in the way tear drops shimmered against his cheeks and the grip on Khushi’s hand increased in tightness.


“Khushi, that’s our baby? It looks so.....I don’t even know how to describe this feeling. I just want to hold my baby against my chest and make it sleep,” expressed Arnav, kissing Khushi’s hand and forehead involuntarily as he went by his inner instinct, shocking Khushi completely by his gesture and by the fact that he had used her real name after months.


Fourth time it was and like every other time, it incited frenzy and myriads of emotions which trapped her effectively.


“Why don’t you say something?” he asked, when she did not utter any word.


“Dr. Gupta might be a bit used to this, Mr. Raizada. You see, it is not her first time to see the image and it is your first time, so you both are not quite on the same page,” answered Geeta, with a hint of sarcasm in her tone which escaped Arnav’s notice as he was engrossed in appreciating the beauty of the moment against analyzing the words spoken by the doctor.


“Everything is fine right? No need to worry?” asked Arnav, caressing Khushi’s hand as she stared at his arm passively.


“Nothing at all, Mr. Raizada. Just ensure that you take double care of Dr. Gupta. That would be enough,” instructed Geeta, walking out with her nurse to give time to the couple.
<p data-p-id="6437a25dfd4dcac7f71b4d914cceff8b">“Thank you so much, Khoosi! I cannot tell you how happy I am!” exclaimed Arnav as Khushi rose to assume a seated position. Exploiting her position, Arnav engulfed her in an embrace as tight as it would be allowed in the situation. He felt his whole form relax holding her close to him, like she held the key of his redemption and relaxation; the nymph who could erase his every worry with her loving touch. Holding her against his chest made him feel lighter than he ever felt and he could not help but feel conflicted regarding his emotions for Khushi.

They were so close physically but Khushi knew that there were more mentally away than they ever were.

_____________________________________________________________

Raizada Guesthouse,

“What did the doctor say? Everything alright?” asked Swati, concern lacing her tone.


“She is perfectly fine, Aunty. Why do you sound worried? Did you notice anything fishy?” counter-questioned Arnav, praying that Khushi’s health had no problem and the unborn was completely sage.


“I am not worried, Arnav. I just felt that it was strange that she did not allow you to see the scan for five months and..” she paused, wondering how to express what was playing on her mind.


“And?” prompted Arnav.


“She seems to be more than five months pregnant. Neither in mine, or your mother’s or my daughter’s pregnancies, I have noticed such a development. I just hope that there is no abnormality or anything like a tumor which she is hiding from all of us,” explained Swati, having recently heard of a case of a mother who needed to get operated in emergency as her cyst had burst and it could harm the unborn.


Was Swati’s suspicion true?

_________________________________________________________________________


One thing, Khushi is not the Mahaan Ekta Kapoor Heroine(no offense intended to anyone) so what do you think could be the case?

[fasterboy]

PART 23


Rati Agarwal Raizada and Arnav Singh Raizada stood opposite to each other in front of the court room entrance, their lawyers standing behind them, waiting for them to move forward. It had been almost eight and a half months since Arnav had slammed a divorce notice on Rati. Three visits, multiple missed calls and ignored messages later, they were once again standing in front of each other.


As they stood in front of each other and looked at the eyes of their significant other, they could not help but lose themselves to the memories of years of togetherness they had, in which circumstances, relations and emotions changed but the eyes could still find the same emotions, one for the same person and another for someone other than the one standing in front.


“You are my very breath, Rati. I cannot see my future without you. You are the epitome of love for me, the one who has taught me how to live, the one to quench the thirst of my soul. It feels as if I don’t stand beside to support you, there is no meaning of my very existence,” said the eighteen-year old Arnav, proposing her for their marriage on the occasion of their graduation, rendering her speechless.


“Thank you, Arnav. I love you too,” she confessed, engulfing him in a bear hug.


The lack of poetic response from her had broken his teenage heart but only she was aware of the regret that splayed the memory for not expressing her love for him in a more exquisite manner and keep his spirits up.


“Arnav, I am being felicitated at an International Film Festival and am invited as the guest of honor. It is also my first event after marriage so I thought it is only right that the first invitation of the event comes to you,” she said, forwarding the beautiful invitation card towards him.


“Congratulations, Rati. But I am sorry, I will not be able to make it. I have a meeting with a client,” replied twenty-two year old Arnav Singh Raizada, who had setup a company of his own at the early age of twenty-one.


The lack of company from him when she had fought with everyone to get an invitation for him much earlier than others shattered her from within. The hushed whispers and the knowing looks she got when she arrived without her husband and a date for the night made her feel devastated.


It was the code that the guest of honor would have a date without fail but she had given that position to a man who refused it and she chose to not offer it to anyone else, respecting him and his decision but it was tough to not sway when the wind stood against you.


The look of disappointment on her face had haunted him for years but he only wanted to work his way to the pinnacle of success so that his wife would not see anyone but him as an achiever and her thirst for fame and status, as per him, would be quenched.


The heartbreaks they had endured till then were forgettable and forgivable but the bitterness which brewed in them due to the incidents made them commit mistakes they could never rectify or justify.


“My sincere condolences to you, Rati. I am sorry, I was not able to make it,” apologized a twenty-three year old Arnav over the text as Rati waited in the airport to catch her flight.


Storms ensued in her heart as the last words of her mother and the words of everyone present there haunted her. While her mother’s unfulfilled wish ignited the spark of pain and the wish to sway in her, the taunts of her relatives and friends fueled it.


The one, who had not realized his folly when she had cried out in her last message while begging him to be by her side in trying time, how would he realize if she complains again? He would just tag her as nagging and distance himself from her completely but was it what she wanted? Absolutely not, since she cherished every moment she spent in his company and the relished the way his gaze caused butterflies to flutter in her stomach even after years of togetherness.


“It’s fine,” she replied, sighing deeply as myriads of emotions took over as she told herself that she loves him beyond everything.


But was it enough to hold her walls high against the storm of depression which was surging towards her?


They never quite felt the same ever again in their relationship, both due to Rati’s pain regarding the incident and Arnav’s incapability to own up to his mistake and his inability to console her in the moment of dire need.


“What is this, Rati?” questioned Arnav, pointing to the magazine cover exploring her rumors and controversial side. For someone who had once hated her for being a reason for the pressure his family was inflicting on him to someone who went to fight with hers to make them agree for their marriage, cheating felt like the very last enemy to be fought.


“Just a part and parcel of my career, Arnav,” Rati Agarwal, twenty-five years, answered, looking out of the window at the greenery.


How he wished that she took sometime to look at her husband who yearned for one look of hers? And he knew that it was the same reason for which he could not think of separating himself away from her. The only consolation being that he felt like her refuge, the one she would always return to, irrespective of everything.


Both of them had been equally responsible for the undoing of their ‘happy love marriage’ but what stung the most was the not betrayal of their spouse but the fact that they had swayed away from the vow they had taken along with the seven sacred vows without the knowledge of single other soul, including the intended.


“Whatever affairs I had in the past were due to teenage hormones. I vow that you would be the only one in my life henceforth,” she vowed, decked up in bridal finery, hoping that her husband would give her the love and affection she had missed from her father.


“No matter how busy I am, my topmost priority would always be you. I promise to upkeep your happiness irrespective of the situation,” he promised, dressed as the charming groom, praying that his wife does not subject him to the pressure of standing up to her expectations.


Their vows and their wishes, both had broken and it was the time that their relationship was going to be broken for once and for all.


A phone call, like always, pulled Arnav’s thoughts away from the woman standing in front of him. He did not need to be a mind reader to see that she was struggling to hide her tears, much like him.


“Arnav, Khushi has gone into labor. You will have to be here very soon. She wants you to be by her side when she delivers,” informed Swati, panic visible in her voice and the honks confirming that they were on the way to reach the hospital.


“I will be there right away,” said Arnav, disconnecting the call and strategizing how he could reach the fastest.


“What happened? Anything serious?” asked Rati, concern lacing her shaky whisper.


“She, I mean the surrogate mother, has gone into the labor. I need to reach there soon,” replied Arnav, looking into his phone as he searched for flights available but it would be too late by the time he reaches. An unknown surge to fulfill Khushi’s wish developed in him as he was determined to do it at any cost.


“You can use my chartered plane. I will call it right away,” offered Rati, pulling her phone out with a genuine yet weak smile playing on her lips. They might have separated but his happiness would always give way for hers.


“Thank you very much. Tell me how can I return the favor? I will surely fulfill your condition,” propositioned Arnav, his tone formal and eyes cold and nonchalant much to Rati’s pain but she had her wish outlined much before he had asked.


“I want to see your baby, your dream being fulfilled after years and be privileged enough to share your happiness, even if it is for one last time.”


_____________________________________________________________________


I think it would go down as one of the tougher chapters I have written and I hope that I dealt the delicate topic well enough. Be assured, I don’t justify extra-marital affair but just because it is wrong doesn’t mean that there cannot be justified reasons for the pain causing it.

During my tenure as a therapist, I have seen people who cheated because they loved their partner deeply but as is the quest for everyone else, they wanted their life easy. I heard of men who swayed because their wife was too materialistic and did not love them enough and heard of women who swayed because they never wanted the relationship in the first place and sought freedom.

Life is full of stories of regret, love, conflicts, lust, expectations and desires and inspired by one such story is this story of ours - Hues of Love.

[fasterboy]

PART 24


No matter how many times his brain reminded him of her betrayal, he could not bring himself to refuse her request; blame it on the way she had phrased her request or the way honesty gleamed in her eyes unchanged through all the years, reminiscent of the woman he had fallen for.


“Sure. You may accompany me,” replied Arnav, looking at the ground as Rati nodded with a slight sad smile playing on her lips.


Arnav and Rati turned to their respective lawyers to inform that an emergency has come up and they would not be able to attend the court proceedings. They also instructed their managers to write an official letter to the court to convey their regret for not being able to make it to the hearing. Rati had called for her chartered plane to be ready as early as possible.


“Your car or mine?” she asked, making him look up at her once again.


“I don’t think I am in the condition to drive,” he answered, the conflict of myriads of emotions wrecking havoc on his senses and sanity. On one hand, fear of losing Khushi and being unable to complete her wish tormented him but on the other hand Rati’s pain and her love became more and more obvious to him, in a way he had never known.


“I will drive. No problem at all,” she said, pulling the keys from her pocket and guiding him towards the parking.


The journey to the airport was a quiet one but both of them were painfully aware of the fact that it might be the last time their life-partner would be their travel companion but the contrast lied in the fact that Rati felt as light as Arnav felt the burden on his heart to be.


Arnav was lost in his thoughts that he did not alight when they had reached their destination. Rati turned to look at him as tears threatened to fall out of her eyes. She gently placed her palm over his hand to bring his attention to herself.


“Don’t worry, it will go perfectly fine. The child and the mother both will be in perfect health and we will also reach in time,” she assured, smiling after what seemed like ages to Arnav. There had been articles that the top model Rati Agarwal Raizada had been depressed and stoic over the months and Arnav had seen for himself that the articles were cent percent true as the once breath-taking beauty had completely lost her pallor and looked every bit of broken she was.


________________________________________________________


“Khushi, are you mad? You know that this is a great risk, isn’t it? You are a doctor yourself, how can you ask us to do something like this?” questioned Geeta furiously. She had called up Rachna, who was in Shillong for about a week for Khushi, and had asked her to join in the operation because she was aware that Khushi’s demands are going to put her in a dilemma which could be resolved only by Rachna.


“I am doctor and that is why I know that the risk associated is not as high as we think it is. You think a mother will willingly take such a risk?” spat Khushi in between her sobs and the gasps of pain as the wave of contractions took over her body.


Geeta sighed in disappointment at Khushi’s views and arguments.


“Then what about our ethics? The oath we have taken?” she asked, rubbing Khushi’s hands to keep her warm and sentient lest she loses her consciousness.


“The oath says that our patient’s wellbeing is our prime concern and my peace and well-being lies in doing what I had requested you, Geeta. Trust me, somethings are beyond our control and such complicated situations call for complicated solutions too,” she whispered, her throat dry with the screaming and yelling arising from the labor pain.


“So be it. If you are so firm about this then let us go ahead with this. But you will have to take the complete responsibility of anything that may happen,” warned Geeta, instructing the nurse to the restock the injection mentioned by Khushi along with the general hormone injected during labor - oxytocin.


Khushi nodded her approval. “I will sign the required documents once I deliver but I will not let you face any trouble, legal or otherwise, due to this,” she assured as Geeta nodded, the signs of irritation still visible in her eyes.


___________________________________________________________


Hospital Lobby,


After eight hours of journey, Arnav had finally managed to reach the hospital in Shillong along with Rati.


“Aunty, how is Khushi? What are the doctors saying?” questioned Arnav, as soon as he saw Swati waiting in the lobby outside the labor room. Rati’s mind clicked when she heard the name of the surrogate but she shrugged it thinking that there are scores of people with the same name.


“The water has broke and contractions are strong. But she has not delivered yet,” answered Swati, looking at Rati intently for any signs of malice but she was proven wrong when she found genuine concern and affection floating in her eyes.


“Eight hours of contractions and she has not delivered yet? That’s a bit..” Rati trailed off, unable to find the proper word to describe the situation, and looked at the closed doors of labor room.


“She is waiting for you, maybe that’s why she had not delivered yet. Maybe due to some hormones or injections or maybe just with sheer mental determination,” answered Swati, as Arnav nodded at her and walked towards the labor room to join Khushi to erase her pain.


“I didn’t think that you will bring him here. It takes a lot of will to take your husband to someone who is delivering his child,” mused Swati, eyeing Rati who stared at Arnav’s retreating back.


“Not will, Aunty, it takes love, and I think I have had it for him since years,” she answered, her eyes trailing Arnav’s path sadly.


“Thank you for not letting me down, Rati. I had expected the same from you,” replied Swati, cupping Rati’s shoulder affectionately in a maternal manner.


The emotional upheaval inside the room was as high as it was outside. The moment the door clicked open to reveal Arnav Singh Raizada, Khushi Gupta felt her soul lighten and her worries lessening miraculously.


“Arnav...” she whispered, tears flowing out of hers eyes both due to pain of delivery and happiness of seeing her love.


“Sorry for being late, love. I will be by your side now, always,” he vowed, clutching her hand in between his rough ones and caressing her forehead lovingly after planting a kiss against her partition.


“Finally you came, Arnav. I just want you to know that if this is the last thing I will be doing, let our child know that I have loved the baby, and I will love you forever.”

___________________________________________

[fasterboy]

PART 25

“No! Don’t even speak of death! You will get to show your love both for our child and me yourself. Don’t let your hope waver,” whispered Arnav, pressing assuring gentle kisses on the back of her palm, which were more potent than any tranquilizer or aphrodisiac for the woman whose eyes never left his trail.


Rachna, one of the members of team guiding her delivery, was shocked to see the change in Arnav and the affection he showered on her. She had never imagined even in her wildest dreams that Arnav would look away from Rati and Khushi would get any kind of response from her love. She did not know if she were to feel happy for the same or listen to gut instinct of hers that Khushi was being lead on, but duty came first before her questions and she gladly drowned herself in it.


“Rachna, I think we should give her an injection of oxytocin, now that Arnav is here,” wondered Geeta, looking at the couple in front of her.


“I guess it is time now,” replied Rachna, picking up the syringe and the vial from the tray beside her and injecting the concoction inside the vial into Khushi’s body.


A new, stronger and more painful wave of contractions took over Khushi’s body instantaneously as she clutched Arnav’s hand in a vice-like grip. Her nails left half-moon marks on his skin through which blood gushed out but he cared more about the pain in she was, feeling the waves of myriads of emotions tingling the base of spine to the point of saturation.


Her screams resonated in his heart and pushed him to the emotion he was most acquainted with over the years - love. It took a person deeply in love to understand that it was the same feeling which reverberated in her to undergo such turmoil to ensure his peace and sanity, and he felt his very soul shift and etch her name onto the canvas of his heart.


Her screams stopped suddenly and it was the cries of a newly born infant which reverberated in the room, but instead of happiness at his wish being finally fulfilled, he felt shock and fear knock at his mind.


“Rachna! What happened to Khushi? Why did she stop suddenly?” he questioned, rubbing her palm like an obsessed man who had lost the very source of water he had found after eons of wait and penance.


“She just fainted out of fatigue, Arnav. Her vitals are stable, there is no reason to worry. Especially since you have been blessed with a girl. Congratulations,” wished Rachna, pointing towards the infant which was being cleaned and weighed by the head nurse.


Arnav wiped the sweat which had poured from her temples and patted her forehead affectionately as tears made their way out of his eyes. He freed his hand from Khushi’s already loosened grip and walked towards the baby being forwarded towards him by Rachna.


“She is born with perfect weight and height, Arnav. Looks like you have taken good care of Khushi after all,” mused Rachna, pressing a feathery kiss on the child’s fingers affectionately.


“How would I not? It is impossible to not care for someone so admirable like her,” replied Arnav, losing his heart for the second time in the past five minutes but this time for his infant daughter whose innocent hazel orbs like that of her mother’s managed to enchant him and incite love at first sight.


The feeling of taking the life which one had created into one’s arms was too heavenly for words to express. The ecstatic burst of emotions which began at the heart and spread out to every cell eliciting the fleeting and flattering bliss which only intensifies at the first time that life holds the fingers and the very soul awakes from its dormant state to welcome a part of it.


He walked out of the labor room to show his bundle of joy to the mother-figure in his life - Swati.


“Look at her, Aunty! Isn’t she beautiful?” he wondered, bending around the corner to reach the waiting area of the specific room.


“She looks so divine! I will go have a look at Khushi,” excused Swati, knowing well that Rati would surely have something to say to him.


“Congratulations, Arnav. I am so happy that your wish finally got fulfilled and you got a beautiful daughter in her form,” wished Rati, caressing the head of the infant lovingly and as she bent to place a kiss on her forehead she felt Arnav moving away from her.


Her wish acted like a fuel to the madness he found himself in when his dream merged into reality after a wait of fourteen years.


“What did you say that night? I can find myself a surrogate mother if I want but you won’t become the mother, didn’t you? You loved cheating me right? How would you feel if I tell you that this child is conceived by the natural way and is a symbol of Khushi’s love for me, something which you never had? How do you feel right now? Broken, shattered, cheated?” he questioned, tears rolling down her cheeks at the ruthlessness and heartlessness of the man who won her heart had showed.


“Looks like the answer is yes! This is a moment of double happiness because I finally get to see you broken and find my revenge,” he spat, clutching the child close to his heart as maniac smile played on his lips.


It was a moment of shock when a slap sound resounded in the lobby and Arnav was nothing less than shocked. Rati was never the one for violence and she had slapped him?

“You wanted revenge? Understandable, Arnav, but you used Khushi for that? Someone so pristine and selfless like her does not deserve to be exploited like you had,” lashed Rati, spitting fire from her eyes in the way Arnav had never witnessed.


“You are the one to speak..” he began, only to be stopped by the palm stopping him.


“Yes, Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada, I am the one to speak and since you hold such low view of mine it should mean much more to you that I am berating you. You had no right to play with her life and you drafted a contract subjecting it to our divorce. Let me take the responsibility of being your wife for one last time and correct your error, rather your sin,” she rebuked, pulling the divorce papers signed by him from her handbag.


She placed the papers against the wall and signed above the dotted line where her sign was required.


“At least now she will get to be a part of her child’s life and her belief in her love would not be shaken like you had broken my belief,” exclaimed Rati, thrusting the papers in his hands and staging a walkout, leaving him in the turbulence of his own thoughts.


“Please forgive him, Beta, he is under the influence of raging emotions,” apologized Swati with folded hands to Khushi who was lying on the stretcher to be moved to the private room when the confrontation of Arnav with Rati began and every sign of happiness erased itself from her.


“I had taken a decision long time back, Aunty, and your son just reinforced that my decision was correct in every way and erased whatever little guilt I was experiencing. Did you see that, Rachna and Geeta? Still question my decision? Because this was the reason why I had taken that decision.”


_______________________________________


So what do you think? Obviously Khushi did not die and I officially dislike Arnav in this part and like Rati.

I was seeing the stats of the story and saw that men read this story so we have all seen a female’s perspective on this so I was wondering if those guys would be ready to share their views to have another perspective.

[fasterboy]

PART 26


Rejection and resentment awaited Arnav Singh Raizada at every single step of his life henceforth. Khushi had mysteriously disappeared from the hospital right after he had a showdown with Rati and realization of his mistakes struck him like lightning, burning his very soul.


“I am sorry, Arnav, our ethics dictate us that our loyalty towards the patient is above everything and above the loyalty to the patient’s family or friends due to patient confidentiality. I cannot reveal the location of Khushi,” excused Geeta to which Rachna nodded in affirmation.
“Moreover, I don’t think you deserve to have her company, Arnav. You know why? Because you have not just kept her in the dark but effectively exploited her lack of knowledge for your own advantage. You have let not just her but even me down. I will never reveal her details to you,” spat Rachna, spitting fire with her words which just minced in the right way to hurt the most.


Arnav faced the backlash once again from Rati Agarwal in the court room where she accepted the divorce with humility to finalize the declaration of the end of their fourteen-year long companionship but she had chosen to not look at him even for once.


Every word or action notifying their derision towards him pained him deeply but if there was something which broke him from inside, it was the disappearance of one Khushi Gupta without a word and without a single hint throughout the time they were together.


“You have used my daughter, shameless idiot! And now you seek to find her? Not possible,” rebuked Khushi’s father Adityesh.


He felt tormented and shattered at the choice of words, more so because he was also a father to a daughter and he could not even bear to imagine someone doing the same with his daughter, who laid cocooned in his shivering arms. Redemption of ever increasing magnitude struck him in the manner he had never imagined.


He knew the Khushi who knew how to love boundlessly and in the most intense way possible; the woman for whom he could not help but lose his already defeated and derailed heart, but how had he forgotten that she was someone’s daughter and someone’s friend, someone who had emotions and aspirations?


He wanted one chance to make up for every mistake of his; both towards Rati and Khushi - the women who knew how to love in the truest and purest manner and he was the ignorant one who misjudged his infatuation, his attraction, his obsession or his mania to attain his dream as love but both, although had abandoned him on a hopeless and lifeless path, had been kind enough to teach him the definition of love before leaving.


Both had stood up to the age-old adage of all is fair in love and war, albeit in a different ways, and showed that love had various hues splayed across it but the most profound hue was pain which neither fades nor ever relinquishes the excruciating hold over the body, heart and soul but the greatest irony lied in the fact that the one in love would hold onto even pain if it is the only means of the solace of their beloved’s memories.


It had been five months since he had lost his everything even after gaining what he wanted the most. Swati had been scornful and detached since Khushi left, although she took care of his daughter Kuhu, she did not bother to take care of him like a mother she was to him.


Arnav sighed in distaste for himself as he earnestly prayed that he earns his forgiveness and is able to win Khushi’s hand forever and he assured himself that this time around forever would not just be a word but a vow taken from the heart.


____________________________________________________


“Ma’am, Dr. Lata is away due to an emergency. There had been sudden complications in one of her patient’s health. Is it possible for you to attend a few of her patients? Most of them just need to be vaccinated,” requested the head nurse as Khushi smiled at her and nodded her in affirmation.


Being the Chief Medical Officer had its own disadvantages and the one ranking highest was the lack of field work and just sitting at the table doing paper work and attending meetings. She was more than overjoyed to finally attend to her patients.


The pain of abandoning her love tormented her and churned her very insides but she had grown accustomed to living without him and there were beautiful gifts of her times with him which only lessened her pain.


It was the fifth patient who had caused shock, happiness, pain, love but surprisingly hate knock at her senses, after all, the patient was none other than her own daughter and accompanying her was the man who had made her lose her sleep, her morals and herself in his love - Arnav Singh Raizada.


“Khoosi? Are you really here?” he whispered in shock, making Khushi stand upto her feet to prepare herself for the confrontation. She had never really thought that she would completely escape him but it did not strike her that the meet would be destined so soon.


“Arnav,” she greeted, but her eyes only looked at the daughter she had left behind in the course of placing her self-respect above her love.


Arnav took slow yet steady strides in her direction when the surroundings of Khushi became more clear to him. There was a cradle behind her chair and much to his stupefaction it was not empty. The pram was the home for an infant, quite similar in every aspect to the one in his arms, and it took no time for him to deduce that the child was his own, just like Kuhu.


“What the hell is happening, Khushi? You hid such a big thing from me? You gave birth to twins, took one along with you and just vanished in thin air? How could you? I thought you loved me beyond everything,” he questioned, pointing towards the baby in the cradle.


“If you had asked me to stay in one-sided love forever, I would have, happily without any questions. If me being the surrogate of your child was your wish, I would have fulfilled it without a moment of thought. But you wanted me to be your rebound, your second chance, your instrument in your petty game of revenge, and I can never accept that. You claimed to love Rati right? You betrayed her at every step and you betrayed me too by keeping me in the dark and making me nothing but a means of your wish fulfillment, whatever the wish was. So what if I did the same? It is only fair because it abides with your principle of life ‘tit for tat’, isn’t it?”


___________________________________________________


So that was the decision of Khushi. To walk out with a twin. That is why Geeta was cold towards her and Rachna thought that it would lead to complications. I think Arnav perfectly deserves it but it is a sin to separate twins but is it a sin to place your self-respect above everything and be a bit selfish? She left the baby with the father, since she was sure that he would never let anything hurt her baby. Teaching him a lesson was secondary, just a cover, mainly it was to have her own child and since he would want to keep the twins with him, she ran away. She had decided long time back, so she is selfish but instead of losing both the children, she manipulated the situation so that she would at least have one child with her.

[fasterboy]

PART 27

Khushi took Kuhu into her embrace noticing Arnav’s lack of consciousness and control after her allegations. The tears which froze in her eyes on the day of their separation finally melted to the maternal warmth which coursed through her as she held her second born in her arms.  
       

“Arsh, your younger sister is here. Say Hi to her,” she whispered, bending down in front of the pram as she placed the siblings beside each other. The bond which was already established between them as fraternal twins was reinforced once again as the babies let slight chuckles out and patted each other’s cheeks.  
       

Khushi’s heart swelled with innumerable emotions when she eyed her children enjoying themselves but the reverie was soon broken when she was left bereft of their sight as Arnav harshly turned her to face him.  
       

“You separated the twins, Khushi. How can you punish them for my mistakes?” he questioned, holding her still both by his grip on her and his intent gaze which unnerved her.  
       

“Punish them? I did not punish them, Arnav. I punished myself. You think I was happy to do this? I chose the only option left with me if I wanted to move on. Tell me honestly; is it wrong to hope to have a souvenir of one’s love? If I had informed you of the twins, you would have forced me to give them up both or sued me in the court,” she replied, holding her head high as if daring him to deem her to be wrong.  
         

“But how did you do it? I was right by your side when you delivered and had your ultrasound,” wondered Arnav, unable to think of the time when she could have delivered.  
       

“You are forgetting that I am a doctor. The image you had seen during ultrasound was that of Rachna’s son Rahul and I delivered Arsh before you came. We stopped the delivery of the second child through the injection of syntometrine till you came and induced the labor with oxytocin. Is it wrong to want my baby to myself forever when you hardly distinguished between the right and the wrong? I heard your conversation with Rati. How could you betray her and use me at the same time?” she counter-questioned, shrugging her arms away from her as she furiously wiped the remnants of pain from her flushed cheeks.  
     

Arnav knew that her statement held truth. He would have forced her to give up the twins and move away, with rights only on the paper, if he had never fallen in love with her but after that emotion struck him right in the heart, he would not have wanted to distance her from himself at any cost.  
       

“I think it is only fair that I betrayed her when she betrayed me for years,” he began, only to be cut in between by Khushi.  
       

“Betrayed? People like you are the reason why people think twice to sacrifice something for others, why they are scared to fall in love, Arnav. You wanted your dream to be fulfilled right? What if I tell you that it was her dream too?” she remarked, folding her arms against her chest.  
       

“Her dream? Rati has time and again reiterated that she does not want to have children. How will she not want to fulfill her dream?” quizzed Arnav, shaken up by the revelation and hoping that Khushi was just forcing guilt upon him.  
       

“Because if she chooses to have children with you, then the children have a high risk of contracting Tay-Sachs disease. Since you may have forgotten, let me remind you that it is an autosomal recessive disorder in which there is no cure and the patient dies before the age of five. Her brother had the disease and when she found out, after your marriage, that your elder brother had the same disease, she did not want to take the risk,” explained Khushi, moving up to her desk and pulling the drawer out to pull a set of papers out.  
       

“Obviously you would not be trusting this so here is genetic map of her genome and yours. You can get it checked anywhere. She is a carrier and so are you. A clear twenty-five percent chance that your child will suffer the disease,” spat Khushi, thrusting the papers into his hands.  
       

“But why didn’t she ever tell me about this?” mused Arnav, his whole body shaking in myriads of emotions as he recounted the number of times he had seen flicker of pain in her eyes when she rejected his request of trying for children and had ignored it.  
       

“She knew that if she ever told you, you will set your own dream aside and move on for her. She thought that if she pushes you enough, you will look out and have your dream fulfilled. Imagine, if she had been so desperate as you were, she had more ways than you because maternity is solid but paternity is not. She could have passed off someone’s child as yours but she emotionally never wanted to cheat you. But your constant abandonment of her and the pain she felt when she reached closer to the end of her reproductive period with no appreciation of her selfless act whatsoever pushed her in seeking comfort out of marriage. End of the day, you did the same - stepped out of marriage,” berated Khushi, feeling guilty of all the times she had taunted Rati without the knowledge of her reasons and her story.  
       

“You know Arnav, it is incredibly tough to love the children who are your husband’s but not yours and show concern to the other woman in the life of your significant other, whom you have loved enough to give up your dreams, but Rati did it all. I know how tough it would have been because I did that for twelve years. You did not have children but I was sure that I will love them and Rati showed the same emotion. She was the one to provide shelter for me and serve me when I was weak after labor and had no one except Rachna. And you cheated on her with me, and kept me in the dark? How could you? Was it so easy to betray two women who loved you so much?” she whispered, pulling him close to her by his collar, her eyes finally allowing him a glimpse into her heart. There was no anger in her eyes, it was just scorching and shattering pain.  
       

The vulnerability in her eyes stirred the very soul within him. He had seen her standing stand despite multiple adversities and being the reason of weakness in such a strong-willed woman whom he loved felt like the biggest punishment he could receive for his deeds.  
       

He caressed her cheek gently with his right hand and his left hand cupped her shoulder from behind to hold her in place. As regret floated in the pools of his eyes, it sent ripples of multiple emotions in her heart. She had finally found the name of the emotion which she found in his eyes during her pregnancy and she had a feeling that it was going to make its way out through his lips.  
       

“Please forgive me, Khushi. I never wanted to hurt you, in fact, I love you with every bit of my soul and heart.”

_______________________________________________________

I was waiting to post this part since so long because I wanted to see how people will respond to this. Everyone who has pointed out that Rati has cheated and make it look like she is the only guilty party, I want to ask you one thing, don’t you see that Arnav did the same thing? Moreover he cheated Khushi in the course.


Let me put Rati’s psychology in simple words. She has seen marital discord and its effects from a very small age and Arnav was literally the one who gave her time and attention so she fell for him. Her quest for attention, which she did not receive from her parents, made her look towards others as a teenager and hormones only boosted her emotions.

When she got married, she decided to give it all up but Arnav who made up his own image about her being obsessed with fame thought that if he reaches the pinnacle of success, she will look at him when all she wanted was his time. Few people mentioned that how wouldn’t he realize that she is craving love when he has been with her for so long. Arre, that man did not attend his mother-in-law’s funeral even after his wife begged him and just dropped a text to her. You think he will see something even if it slaps him in the face?
   

Then Rati realized that having children is risky and she cannot be selfish to bring someone to life only to kill them. She readily gave that sacrifice but like a kid, literally, she expected appreciation in return but she got only bitterness and fueled by her mother’s last wish, she swayed. If she really wanted to sway, it would been so easy to show someone’s child as Arnav’s and fulfill her wish but she truly stayed loyal to her marriage unlike Arnav because the vow of marriage is to have children together. She set her dream aside to ensure his gets fulfilled and thought that his dream was bigger than hers. What is love if not for that?


Sorry for the rant, but I seriously think that it was necessary. I love reading your analysis and comments but I just cannot tolerate bias because someone has the name of Arnav or Khushi and someone doesn’t. About Khushi’s decision, let me rant about it the next time.

[fasterboy]

PART 28

“Love? You love me?” she whispered in shock, feeling her heart beats increase in frequency after months before she curbed her emotions professionally.


“I do,” he replied, unwittingly uttering the ceremonial words much like she had in the past. The memory, as he reminisced involuntarily, reminded him how their roles had been reversed over the months.


“I don’t believe it, Arnav. You have given me no reason to trust you, in fact, every action of yours only intensifies the wish to distrust you,” said Khushi, the pain in her eyes revealing her dilemma and the inner turmoil she was enduring.


“I am ready to do everything to reinstate your trust on me. Just name it, I will make sure that your wish is fulfilled immediately,” pleaded Arnav, holding her fingers and caressing them with his thumbs affectionately.


“You have taken away the strength to wish from me, Arnav. I do not dare to wish anymore,” she answered, pulling her hands away from his hold, trying to control the tears which threatened to roll out of her doe-like eyes.


Arnav held Khushi’s forearm to prevent her from moving away. He did not fathom that seeing her so broken and vulnerable would yield him unbearable pain nor did he think that convincing her would be such a herculean task as it now seemed to him.


Khushi did not struggle to free herself from his grip. She could not bring herself to decide if it was because she loved Arnav or it was because the vengeful side of her wanted to see him plead her to return.


“One chance. One chance is all I ask, Khoosi. I won’t let you regret it at any cost,” he requested, pulling her in for an embrace. He felt a burden lift off him when he felt Khushi’s muscles flexing under his arm but it only dropped back onto his conscience with a greater force when her arms dropped by her side once again.


“I don’t think I have enough strength to give you another chance, Arnav. My family is angry with me, my friends are angry with me, hell, I am angry with myself. I hate anyone using me to their own advantage! You remember, I told you that I had fallen for you after seeing the sheer contrast between you and the man who has a similar name as that of yours and had abused me? It feels like you have taken away the very foundation of my love for you and you have given me more pain than he had ever given,” she fiercely accused, pushing him away from her.


“I thought you would understand and I had your consent. I never thought that it would hurt you so much since it was your condition to spend a night,” he retorted, moving towards in an attempt to calm her down.


“I would understand? How would I? Did you tell me, even after requesting, what caused you to switch over? You first convinced me to forget the whole proposition and the associated events, only to come back and heed to the forgotten and forsaken condition? You have no idea how guilty I felt every second henceforth. I thought that I had pushed you to infidelity which is the last thing you, I thought, would have wanted. I cursed myself for not being able to regret it. All that for what? To find that it was a bloody revenge plan? To realize that I had been used? I never wanted you to accept the condition in first place and that was the reason I chose such a twisted request and Rachna knew it too. Who knew that you would turn my attempt at rejecting your request without hurting you or feeling regret into a game plan?” she yelled, venting her frustration of months. She had almost burnt herself in the attempt of calming herself from the onslaught of emotions and she was still burning in the flame of his emotions.


Arnav stumbled back at the impact of her words. That moment he knew where he had gone wrong exactly; he had always assumed things and perspectives and expected himself to be right every single time. He should have realized that he was not infallible when he had heard Rati pour her sorrow out in front of him but he had not paid any heed to it.


“You cannot forgive me, Khoosi, but can you forget Kuhu?” he questioned, eying her shivering form as she looked over the babies playing with each other and relishing the presence of their twin.


“I could never, even if I wanted to. Who do you think is the woman who sent colostrum and mother’s milk for Kuhu all these days, Arnav?” she quizzed, her heart melting at the way Kuhu moved her legs in the air and giggled. She had missed so much that nothing would ever compensate and the fact that it was her own decision certainly did not help her conscience.


“No. Wait, it was you?” he asked, surprised by her meticulous planning and her unyielding attitude.


“Yes. I had asked Rachna to speak with Swati Aunty about the same and they extended the same. You thought I would forget the importance of mother’s milk in an infant life, Arnav? Even if the doctor in me would have died down, the mother in me would not rest till I ensured the best for my children. That’s why I did not want court hearings and the pressure of judiciary to affect them at such an age. The same reason pushed me into taking the decision till you reinforced it with your confrontation with Rati,” she answered, the mere thought that she might lose her children, if Arnav decides to file the case against her, tormenting her soul.


Swati had shifted along with Arnav to his permanent residence to help him take care of his infant daughter but she hardly spoke with him, unless the matter concerned Kuhu. It was shocking for him to accept that Swati knew it all along that Khushi had given birth to twins and her plan after that but never thought to reveal the same. He was pained by the fact that the mother-figure in his life had abandoned his side too.


“I know I have hurt you a lot, Khushi. I am ready to make up for every single mistake, rather sin, I have committed. But please don’t let the punishment be living bereft of you and your love. You taught me how to love, Khushi. I thought Rati was my first love but you made me realize that I had never truly loved in my life. You will be my first and last love, Khushi. Will you give me the honor of being your husband and life-partner and allow me to fill in happiness in place of every pain I had given you?”


______________________________________________


First things first. Let me get one thing straight. I am NOT on Rati’s side. The only reason I explain her side is because I don’t see Arnav and Khushi needing any defense anytime since you already admire and respect them enough. Every single one of them is a sinner, not even guilty of mistakes but is a sinner but they are also victims of their own set of situations.


I will be very clear on one thing. If Rati had revealed the truth of her medical condition, even then Arnav would have done the same thing and even Khushi would have done the same. Arnav would have accepted the fate for a few months max as long as his self-accepted infatuation pulled him and then he would have wallowed in self-pity that his bad wife wouldn’t complete a single request of his. He would have still tried for surrogacy with Khushi, she would have still placed the same condition. Everything would be the same except you wouldn’t get to point that Rati had cheated Arnav. Tell me if you would have wanted to read the story in which only and only Arnav would be at fault, since even without his wife cheating, instead of understanding, he would have gone and cheated her since then he would have immediately agreed to Khushi’s condition.


Nothing will ever justify cheating and it goes on both sides - for both Arnav and Rati. Now even Khushi. Emotional cheating is much horrible than physical and Rati’s attempts to show her love, her attempts to gulp her emotions down for the sake of her love are shown in Part 23 and her love is well expressed in Part 24 too. She cheated but don’t say she never loved Arnav or Arnav never cheated her since he was very much married when he slept with Khushi. Rest, I do not want to argue. I write stories to get a message across and till I feel it is not reaching I will try to get it. At this point, all of them are guilty for something or the other. They are each other’s’ culprits and victims but slight bias towards Rati since she realized her mistakes by herself and tried to rectify them as and when possible.

[fasterboy]

PART 29


“You want Arsh, don’t you? That is why you are proposing me. How convenient isn’t it? Taking away my belief on marriage and asking my hand in the same?” mused Khushi, tearing her gaze away from him and looking at their children playing happily.


Arsh was an introverted child since his birth. Be it hunger or happiness, it was his set of expressive eyes which voiced out his emotions rather than his actions and seeing him rejoicing and enjoying himself filled in immense guilt in Khushi’s already heavy heart. She was aware that the kids did not deserve a fate like their parents had chosen for them but she could bring herself to trust the man whom she loved and the father of her children.


“Took away your belief on marriage? Khoosi, I genuinely love you and my proposition is based on my feelings for you not because that will give me the custody of Arsh,” explained Arnav, moving in front of her while she turned her face away in frustration.


She hated herself for punishing her children for mistakes of their mother’s and father’s. But she could not help but hate him more for breaking her internally in multiple ways through guilt in every step of their relationship.


“Rati was your companion for fourteen years. Remember the time you reiterated the length of that duration to me? After fourteen years of togetherness, you realized that you never loved her- your best friend in the past, your only girlfriend and your wife of eight years,” pointed Khushi, her face set into stoic emotion.


“Khushi, you are different, this,” Arnav said, pointing the space between them,”this is different. How can you assume in that manner?”


“What is the surety that you would not realize that what you have for me is not love? When you were not sure of your past or present, how can you assure me of the future? The man who is not sure of his first love, how will he give the right to someone as his last love?” she questioned, setting her heart into stone and forcing her heart to ignore her teenage heartfelt fantasy of receiving a proposal from Arnav Singh Raizada.


He felt destiny mocking at him when Karma bit him hard. He had questioned Rati’s love innumerable times in the past few months when he had himself never loved her. The all-consuming fire which ignites when one’s beloved questions the very love directed towards them had engulfed Arnav into its unmerciful embrace. He writhed, whimpered and wallowed in the emotion he had plunged Khushi into numerous times as the fate he had bestowed on Rati caught up to him.


“It is proof which you need, isn’t it?” prompted Arnav, his voice cracking and feeble enough to cause a flicker of concern in Khushi’s teary eyes.


“You call it proof, Arnav, and I call it assurance but as they say actions speak louder than words so can you do anything to assure me of your good intention and love?” replied Khushi, hoping that the destiny is merciful enough to unite the lovers which it had brought close.


“So be it, Khoosi. You taught me how to love in the truest sense. I might be a bad husband but definitely neither a bad lover nor a bad student. I promise you, I will convince you of my intentions and feelings and win your hand,” vowed Arnav, cupping her chin and looking deep into her eyes, searching for any trace of the unconditional love which floated in those hazel orbs which made him feel alive every time he has had the privilege to look at them.


Involuntarily and instantaneously, she felt herself gravitating towards his warmth. The upheaval of thoughts which he incited ensured that her body and soul elicit the same response to their proximity every time but her mind took the reins away before she could find her solace in his arms.


The sane part of her reminded her of his errors, forcing her to pull away from his grip, against her will. Whether it was her mind trying to ease her guilt or trying to build up her hatred as a defense mechanism, she knew not but she was sure that if Arnav’s love was true, her mind would surrender with any hesitation and peace would finally be hers to cherish.


Her unconscious yet conscientious rejection was just the push Arnav needed in the right direction.


“You get the custody of both the children, Khoosi. When I had thought in the beginning that I will raise them up alone, I had already taken away maternal affection from them through my decision. When that is not wrong, leaving both the children to the mother also wouldn’t be wrong since I am sure that you will be able to care for them much better than me,” announced Arnav, his eyes stuck to the pair of blessings which had landed in their lives.


Khushi’s maternal instinct and her selfishness regarding the same prevented her from arguing with the father. She did not want him to step back and take away the children from her. She had lost enough in the course of winning her self-respect and she had no wish to lose further for the sake of etiquette.

Arnav’s walkout plunged her into more than just loneliness; a storm of myriads emotions threatened to take away every bit of her sanity and living force but she knew that she was anchored to the mortal world due to the two chains that bound her with their wobbly hold.


__________________________________________________


The Next Day,


“Sona, Arnav’s parents have come here. They are seeking your hand in marriage for Arnav. They are not ready to accept any explanation or argument. I think you should come down and speak to them,” said Khushi’s father, unknown to the fact that Khushi had stopped listening out of shock after his first few words.


Memories spiraled her consciousness into their midst as she reminisced the words of Swati during her stay in Shillong.


--FLASHBACK--


“I don’t remember the time I have seen Arnav speaking to his parents last time. Their final civil conversation and meet was during his marriage. After that, Arnav got to know that his father made Rati’s father sign a permanent contract with the Raizadas and he swore to never speak to them. Although they had been very wrong on different levels, they surely love their son a lot. They never stepped into their own house ever again since their son had left them nor did they take any other decision with respect to their company. They abandoned everything and started living in a village with almost no facilities. Feelings, they are truly weird and make people do even weirder things,” narrated Swati, a whimsical smile dancing on her lips.


--FLASHBACK ENDS—


The mere fact that Arnav had reached out to his parents for her sake after years was overwhelming to say the least. He had abandoned his biggest dream and embraced his worst enemy, and Khushi felt bliss of an unimaginable ecstasy fill her senses and her nonchalance and facade melted out of her eyes.


_____________________________________________


Should Khushi trust Arnav?

I am not going to rant, don’t worry. So many of you had pointed out that Khushi had been a selfish mother to leave her child back with Arnav and walk out. I mean, isn’t that the whole point of a surrogate? Yes, she left after winning the contract where it says that she would be the legal mother of the child but end of the day, she was signed up as a surrogate. Her reason was obviously not to punish Arnav but keep her self-respect intact from his revenge plan.


Arnav accusing her for abandoning the children was equally weird since he had himself sent the contract which says that she would not be able to meet him ever. It is a different matter that he changed it to make sure that she signs the contract to begin with and the fact that he keeps changing his stand.


So my question: After seeing that Khushi ensured in numerous ways, like sending mother’s milk and entrusting the child to Swati and Rachna, that her child is in safe hands(read in the hands of the man who could go to any extent to have children), how good or bad of a mother is she?

[fasterboy]

PART 30

“I know that our son has hurt your daughter through his actions but he truly loves her and he is ready to do everything to make up to Khushi. Shouldn’t his regret get a chance to set things right? After all, as we have learned, Khushi has loved him for years,” claimed Arnav’s mother Kalpana, her affectionate voice slightly shaking with ecstasy that she had finally united with her son.


“Life is not a trial and error experiment, Mrs. Raizada. Especially when you have already known the nature of the reactants and their tendencies,” countered Khushi’s mother Savitha, giving a sharp glare towards Arnav’s side with anger shooting out through her eyes.


“Even the most aggressive reactant has affinity towards another reactant, with which it would only show its passive nature, Aunty.&#xA0; According to me, Khoosi is just the one for whom I am ready to surrender my everything,” said Arnav, the confidence in his eyes making Savitha quiet momentarily.


“But why should we trust you? You already used her once for your revenge plan and I think my daughter had made it clear to you that she does not trust you. When she has already announced her decision, how can you bring a proposal for her? Is this your respect for her and her feelings? Or are you doing it for the sake of the children?” questioned Sumit, Khushi’s father.


Like for most of the fathers, Khushi was his princess and only he knew how he controlled himself from beating Arnav blue and black for playing with her and her feelings. He wanted to make him pay for every tear Khushi had shed since she absconded from the hospital in Shillong but he was aware of the repercussions for his actions and the only consequence which stopped him was the gut instinct that his daughter would be affected the most, which he did not want at any cost.



“I won’t say that I don’t want Kuhu back or establish a bond with Arsh, Uncle. No parent will be able to say that, and I am sure that you know it well. But my bond with Khoosi is beyond them. For years, I had mistaken my friendship and the love for the same as love for Rati but she taught me the true meaning of love whenever she showered love upon me. Just everything about her taught me love and she is right in her place in hating me now too. When I had not been sure of my love for years together and made everyone hate Rati due to my lack of clarity, no one would want to face the same once again,” he replied, his head bowed down in humility and shame.


“When you are already aware of everything, why did you come here? To give her more pain by putting her into dilemma?” spat Savitha, furiously.


“Because Khoosi has loved me through every flaw and every strength, I am sure she will give me and herself another chance. I respect her feelings genuinely but what can I do, Uncle? Aisa Nahi Hai Ki Janta Nahi, Par Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi. Bas Yeh Khayal Dilata Rehta Hai Ki Kaash Woh Hota Tho Kya Hota. Although this is what I feel right now, Khoosi had spoken these words to me once and I want to bridge the gap between her dreams and reality. Will you give me a chance to do so?” requested Arnav, his love glistening in his eyes as he reminisced the same emotion gleaming in her eyes when she uttered the same words.


Falling for her was not a conscious decision but he was sure that there was no one in the world who could resist gravitating towards such passionate and lethal love, especially from the mother of one’s child.


“Stop discussing my life as if I am incapable of taking decisions or I am an object!” thundered Khushi, walking in through the open doors as she pushed the pram with the two babies.


“Khushi!”


“Sona!”


“Khoosi!”


Everyone stood on their feet immediately in surprise as they felt guilt rubbing on their conscience due to her words.


“Assumptions. Everyone has already made them up regarding me and my decision on the situation,” stated Khushi, lingering her scrutinizing gaze over all the assembled ones.


Taking everyone’s silence as the cue, Khushi continued speaking as her eyes stuck to the person whose very name never failed to incite myriads of emotions in her heart and wondrous reactions throughout her body,


“Since you have understood my view well enough, you have made it easier for me to arrive at my decision which is..”


Her speech was interrupted by the cries of the two babies who were getting irritated by the frowns on everyone’s faces and could sense the tension in the air surrounding them. Khushi and Arnav rushed to the kids involuntarily while leaving their parents astounded by their reflexive action and sincerity in them. No one ever grows up for their parents and seeing their children behaving like parents was an emotionally charged moment for the parents of both Khushi and Arnav.


Tending to twins was never an easy job and more so for Khushi since Kuhu had developed a bond with Arnav and Swati and she was earnestly missing them. She was overjoyed when she listened to Swati’s voice on the call and extroverted kid found herself silenced when her father left her with her mother.


The maternal bond ensured that Kuhu was at peace when with her but she could not gel well with her parents or the baby-sitters at office like Arsh had. Seeing Arnav proved to be the biggest surprise and happiest moment for the kid since she immediately stopped crying and Arsh, owing to their twin bond, stopped too.


Khushi had seen Kuhu smiling so exuberantly only in Arnav’s arms when she had seen her for the first time in the hospital as the consulting doctor and seeing the smile return became the reason for her to flash a genuine smile to her children. Unknowingly, her children had reinforced her decision and she was thankful that the Almighty had given her the sign that she was on the right path.



“I have decided and I don’t want anyone to argue or question me for the same. Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada, I am ready to marry you,” she announced, rising up to her feet from her knelt position which she had assumed to soothe her babies.


Arnav followed her suite, although taken by pleasant surprise, and felt waves of calmness and happiness take over his entire being.


“Thank you so much, Khoosi, you have no idea how happy you have made me by this decision,” said Arnav, his lips curving themselves into an excited smile to reflect his internal ecstasy.

‘I am not done yet, Arnav. I have consented for this marriage for the sake of my children, so that I do not lose the custody of them and so that they do not lose their father for my sake. But that does not mean that I have given the right to be my life-partner to you. You will still have to win my trust for that.”

____________________________________________________________________


Just clarifying one thing, I am not on anyone’s side in this whole fiasco. You degrade Arnav, I will support him or you accuse Khushi of something she has not done, I will defend her or you tarnish Rati’s name, I will stand up for her. Every one of them is a sinner and every one of them is a victim, of each other and for each other. BUT, Arnav needed others to show him the right way and was proud to commit sins so that is his character flaw which he needs to correct and he will or else let me tell you, I will not write a happy ending. If the story has to end here, he doesn’t deserve either Khushi or Rati but if he corrects himself, he may become eligible for either of them.

P.S: Aisa Nahi Hai... is one of the most favorite dialogues of mine which I have written. It was amazing to use it again, probably for the last time. Hope you liked it as much as I do.

[fasterboy]

PART 31


The day of fulfillment of Khushi’s teenage fantasy had finally arrived - the day which would tie her and Arnav together with a bond other than they shared between their hearts - the day of their wedding.


Their engagement, their musical night and making of the bride and the groom were hurried and completed just for the sake of completing the rituals. The occasions which Khushi waited for bated breath throughout the time she had been in love were slipping away from her fingers and she lacked even the energy to stop them from slipping away.


Convincing her parents was a herculean task, even if she had unconditional support from Rachna and Anurag, and once they had agreed and the rituals of marriage began, Khushi realized that their fears were not baseless.


She had met Arnav’s extended family for the very first time and although they seemed sweet, the blame game was on between the families to shift the ball out of their court - the ball of ruining their beloved child’s life.


For Arnav, the pain was no less. His marriage with Rati, her beaming face contrasting with Khushi’s crestfallen one, her relatives mingling and becoming one of his relatives which was complete opposite of their present but there was one feeling which superseded every other thing he held - his excitement and his happiness for the happenings - but there was pain of guilt associated with that pain that he could not feel his love’s pain or share hers.


The moment of seven vows had arrived. Seven vows which he had broken in the past despite being bound by them and the seven vows which Khushi obeyed despite not being married. The irony mocked at him mirthlessly as he felt his guilt intensifying at every moment.


They had vowed to love one another and no one else, throughout their life and cherish one another but deep down their hearts they knew that even without the fire as a witness or a priest to validate the same, they would remain true to the vow.


Khushi was the most beautiful woman of Arnav’s life since he had lost himself in the ocean of her love but with the signs of a wedded woman adorning her partition and neck, she seemed to be the angel descended down to be the harbinger of love and peace and his guide in the dark path.


Khushi had visualized herself in a married look and the feeling of ritualistically being the better half of one’s love was surreal than she could ever describe. She realized that her expectations had been overtaken greatly by the reality, which for the first time in months, made her smile right from within.


Alas, her reverie had to be broken as they began taking blessings from the small number of guests whom they had invited, considering that they already had children and Arnav was recently divorced.


“You know, they have twins. Poor Rati. She must be so depressed after the happenings. Whenever I saw her in the functions, she always used to search for Arnav and wait till she finds him to eat with him, no matter even if her favorite dish was getting over. This girl is a home-breaker. How easily she took Rati’s place in Arnav’s life,” ranted one of the relatives from Arnav’s side as she spit fire towards Khushi’s direction.



Home- Breaker.


The title she had earned for loving someone unconditionally and forgetting everything which mattered the most to her to fulfill his most earnest wish; the honor she received for choosing the best for her children.




Arnav was about to walk up to them and give a piece of his mind when Khushi’s grip on his hand stopped him.


“If you go and answer them, we will have to answer everyone present here. Just act as if you haven’t heard it,” she instructed, blinking away the tears which had formed in her doe-like eyes and controlling her voice which was shaking due to sorrow.


“But they cannot speak nonsense about my wife in front of me,” he retorted, making her heart swell with warmth but it was not enough to break the cold shackles of torture put around her by their words.


“And your dear nephew? Is he a saint whose feet I should wash with milk? First he trapped my niece in a surrogacy contract which she accepted out of compassion and empathy and now he is trapping her in a marriage because he had complaints against his first wife and wanted to take revenge from her and since he wanted the custody of the kids,” argued one of Khushi’s uncles, to whom Khushi was equivalent to his own daughter and he could not bear to hear anything against her.


“Aye! Stop blaming our child!” retorted Arnav’s aunt furiously.


“You should have thought about accusations firing at him before starting the blame game,” he retaliated.


“STOP IT!” said Arnav and Khushi in unison, finally letting their frustrations take better of them.


The warring parties moved away from each other as they listened to their children’s voice demanding them to stop their actions. The parents of both the sides were worried sick of the impressions they were creating in the minds of other guests.


Arnav went up to his Aunt while Khushi marked her way towards her Uncle, both ready to defend their newly-wedded spouses, and thus fulfilling one of their vows of wedding, just moments after they had recited the same. Rachna, Anurag and Vivek expressed their support by a slight pat on their backs as they prayed that no more peace is lost from their friends’ lives.


“Mami, please. You have no idea about the reality. Khushi is not a home-breaker. She is the one who taught me the true meaning of love. She has loved me unconditionally through years and she does not deserve such a title for something as pure as love. Divorcing Rati was my decision and falling in love with Khushi was involuntary. She is not to be the one to be blamed for it,” defended Arnav. Although his voice was calm out of respect for the lady’s age, his eyes would have bored holes into her if gaze could burn.


“Uncle, you know that I have loved him since years by now and trust me, this marriage is happening by my will. What happened before this was because he desperately needed a surrogate and I was willing to help him. I want to have the custody of my children and isn’t it an added bonus that I get to fulfill my dream of marrying him? Whatever happened has happened, let us just leave it and stop this blame game,” pleaded Khushi, looking straight into her Uncle’s eyes which were burning like hot amber. Khushi’s father held his hand in a pleading gesture to stop him from speaking any further but it seemed that it did not have any effect.


“You tell me, Khushi as a doctor, if one wanted a surrogate, would they go to a woman who had already given birth, or someone like my niece who was unmarried?” argued her Uncle relentlessly.


Arnav’s aunt stiffened at his question and Arnav’s attempt to calm her down had failed miserably due to his words.


“And you tell me, Arnav, which woman agrees to stay with a married man in his house alone, without informing anyone either in her family or friends? She already had set her mind to trap your in her web of so-called love,” she rebutted, huffing in indignation, ignoring the contant signs from Arnav’s parents to stop arguing.


“ENOUGH!”


There would be no chance of mistaking the owner of the voice which uttered soothing words of consolation when Khushi had trouble sleeping in the initial few days after her pregnancy and the voice in which he once craved to hear confessions of love - Rati Agarwal.


Amidst stares, whispers and gasps, she walked up to the spot where the newly-wedded couple stood with the warring relatives. Arnav was sure that it was Khushi who would have invited her but he wondered what would have made her come to her ex-husband’s marriage?


“Mamiji, Kakaji, I know you love your nephew and niece a lot but that does not warrant you to point a finger at the other one. You are saying that Arnav went to Khushi when he had other options as a surrogate. But did he? He didn’t. Law says only close friends or relatives can be surrogates and whom did he have? The only friend of his who matches your description is Rachna who already had a very difficult pregnancy and all the other friends were either like Khushi or they were married and still childless. He chose Khushi as a surrogate because she was a dear friend and as his life-partner because of love,” explained Rati, without any hint of complain on her face as she clutched her gift for the couple in one hand and tugged her hair behind her ear with another.


Arnav’s guilt only deepened at her open defense of him, signifying of her love for him, while Khushi felt proud of her decision of inviting her. Rati had just proven that she deserved the right to be invited or honored.


“Coming to Khushi, everything she did was just out of love. Just pure love. Whatever they did, however they did, they had noble intentions while committing those deeds. If anyone should have a problem, it is them and them only. Also, when destiny decides to unite any two, no one can stop it, especially when it is backed by love. So instead of ruining their big day celebrating love, you should bless them with your good wishes,” she suggested, turning to the elders who were whispering behind the backs or were debating like Uncle and Aunt of Khushi and Arnav.


“Their love will be complete with this marriage but what about yours? Are you over it already?” questioned another Aunt from Arnav’s side, making everyone stiffen at the audacity of the woman to openly raise such a sensitive topic at the wrong place and time.


“You don’t have to worry about it, Chachiji. I can be my own lawyer if required and coming to my love, it is my love which made me come late to avoid seeing my love being of someone else but it is same love which made me come here to witness his happiness, which he never found with me. I hope that now since he has found his Khushi, he never loses his happiness and Khushi, make sure that you give him the peace and solace which I couldn’t give him. And Chachiji, that is all my love asks from me,” she answered, while Arnav’s question found its answer and Khushi’s heart felt at peace after making sure that there is no sourness in Rati due to the marriage and the fact that it would ease Arnav’s heart to know that he was so loved.


__________________________________________

[kamdev99008]

is this the conclusion....

may be.....

because i know by my life experiences....
"life is more worse or best than the stories"

so everyone have to bear ...own deeds

but.....

i expect a more deep conclusion... a more logical
be it happy or sad.... but realistic

[fasterboy]

is this the conclusion....

may be.....

because i know by my life experiences....
"life is more worse or best than the stories"

so everyone have to bear ...own deeds

but.....

i expect a more deep conclusion... a more logical
be it happy or sad.... but realistic

I agree with you...

Reality always have more depth and deeper than fantasy.

[fasterboy]

PART 32


“You don’t have to worry about it, Chachiji. I can be my own lawyer if required and coming to my love, it is my love which made me come late to avoid seeing my love being of someone else but it is same love which made me come here to witness his happiness, which he never found with me. I hope that now since he has found his Khushi, he never loses his happiness and Khushi, make sure that you give him the peace and solace which I couldn’t give him. And Chachiji, that is all my love asks from me,” Rati’s answer resonated in the entire hall as everyone’s whispers dwindled into the pregnant silences that followed.


The silence soon turned awkward and excruciating as emotions rose sky high and their tolerance dropped down to the netherworld; the amalgamation of the emotions threatened their sanity and whatever little peace was left in their hearts.

“Let’s disperse for lunch! It’s a happy occasion, let us not taint these memories with any negative emotion for the couple!” announced Rachna, taking over the mic as she realized that the silence could soon turn devastating if not taken care of.

The crowd erupted into whispers and hushed talks once again as they began following the staff guiding them towards the lunch venue, leaving behind the newly-wedded couple, their families and their close friends.


“We will go along with the relatives or else it can result in damage beyond any control,” Savitha sighed, as she signed to her husband to follow her.

“We will accompany you, Savitha Ji. We will make sure that none of our relatives utter even a single word against Khushi Beta,” assured Kalpana, throwing a glare towards Arnav as she followed the Guptas along with Arnav’s father.

Sensing that the couple might want some time alone with each other, their friends began making excuses.


“Don’t let this affect you too much, Khushi. I know that whatever happened was horrible and it is bound to affect you but please don’t lose yourself into it. We know what you are and how everything was,” assured Rachna, patting and rubbing in soothing circles on the back of Khushi’s palm as Khushi gave her a blank look, quite complimenting the lack of clarity in her own mind.


“Take care of yourself and Khushi, Arnav. Don’t let guilt overpower you so much that you end up doing something you would not want to,” advised Vivek, following the stride of Rachna and going with the relatives so that they could douse some of the wildfire which had caught hold of everyone present.


It was then that they realized that Rati had brought a company for herself, whom Arnav vaguely recognized to be her friend - Ashok Singhal. Unlike all the times in the past, he did not feel a pang of jealousy trouble him or wave of frustration wash over him but instead he noted the deep sense of admiration, respect, concern and trust swirling in the man’s eyes with a tint of pain and angst as he eyed at Rati’s slightly shivering self.

The potent brew of emotions felt familiar and as wave of nostalgia hit him, he realized that he had witnessed the same aphrodisiac potion in Khushi’s eyes for him and it dawned upon him that Ashok was bearer of scars bestowed by unrequited love like Khushi in the past.

“Thank you so much, Rati. Your support truly means a lot to me. I don’t know how much effective you truly were but I just know that if you did not speak up today, it would have turned into a mess and would be remembered as one of the darkest days of my life. Thanks once again,” said Khushi, walking upto Rati and smiling warmly at her, although she could not manage her usual heartwarming smile.


“Don’t, Khushi. I did this for myself and for the sake of my love and sanity. Just no one has the right to take away someone’s happiness on their day,” replied Rati, pulling her present out of the designer bag that she was wearing.

“Here’s a gift from my side to the two of you. The credit for the design, however, goes to Ashok,” added Rati, as she opened the present for the couple to see, with a melancholic strain in her voice and flame of pain burning inside her eyes.


The present was a pair of rings with the couple’s initials carved into it intricately, reminding Khushi of a day when she had suggested Arnav to buy a similar ring with his initials along with Rati’s as Rati’s birthday gift, and causing her to awe at the ironical destiny since that gift never materialized but she received a similar gift from the intended on the eve of her wedding with the same man.

“I had one wish, but only if you consent to it,” requested Rati, still holding on to the gift she had bought.


Khushi was slightly alarmed by the hesitance in her tone but her heart told her that the woman who had just openly defended her relationship with Arnav would not try to harm it in any way despite loving him unconditionally.


“Sure, what is it, Rati?” asked Khushi, noticing how Ashok had stiffened significantly over the conversation.


“I wish to make you both wear these rings myself. Please,” voiced Rati, the desperate tone of hers telling everyone that it would mean a lot to her. While Khushi did not understand what it meant, Arnav did not want to understand her gesture as it would bring in a fresh wave of guilt to his already bruised conscience.


Khushi just nodded in acceptance as Rati smiled slightly through the tears which flowed from her eyes without any control as she made Khushi wear the ring.


She took baby steps towards the man she had loved for more than half her life, her eyes betraying the deepest emotions of her heart which she had never voiced and her heaving breaths hinting towards her turmoil - yet, she chose to do it, in an earnest hope that maybe it would help her from moving on from the one whom she would never be able to forget.

[fasterboy]

“Stay happy, Arnav. I hope that your happiness never leaves your side and you feel loved forever,” wished Rati, pushing the ring onto his finger over the tear that had dropped onto it before the ring erased its existence.


Arnav could not bring himself to utter a single word, owing to the turbulence his emotions were causing inside his heart. It was blur for him when Rati and Ashok took their leave and departed from the venue and he was left alone with his newly wedded wife who looked at him with tears filled in her eyes.


“Everyone is so disappointed and in fighting mode because of us. My parents, who were always proud of me, seem to have so many complaints against me today,” whispered Khushi to herself, bringing Arnav back to his senses.


“Khoosi! Didn’t you hear what Rachna said? None of it was your fault!” consoled Arnav, putting an arm around her waist and wiping away her tears with his other free hand.


“It was! How could I place such a ridiculous condition? How didn’t I inform my parents before taking such an important decision of my life when I tell them every single thing?” sobbed Khushi, resting her head against his chest involuntarily as she sought solace and what could be better than the arms of one’s beloved to offer shelter in the storm of emotions.


“You did everything for love, Khoosi. You are not the only one to be blamed. All of us are equally to be blamed. Your uncle was right. How did I end up propositioning an unmarried girl to be a surrogate?” Arnav accused himself as Khushi rose up from her position to look at him in the eye to see the pool of love capturing her image with a haze of regret hovering over it.


“Do you regret this, Arnav?” she questioned, praying the answer to be negative, after all she could not tolerate her love of twelve years regretting to have ever fallen for her and reciprocating her emotions, especially on their wedding.


“What about you? Do you?” he cross-questioned, holding her chin to stop her attempt of avoiding his gaze and forced her to look up at him.


“Don’t cross-question me, Arnav! I asked you first so I need an answer,” she demanded, rather childishly but she just could not bear his silence.


“I would never regret loving you or marrying you, Khushi Gupta. I will forever thank my destiny for giving a love like yours and a soulmate like yourself. It maybe a sin to begin our relationship without ending the previous one but for finding such true love, I am sure, anyone would be ready to commit that sin and it maybe a mistake to have approached you in the first place but that was the best mistake of my life. I love you, Khushi, and I will do so till death do us part,” he answered, a smile playing on his lips which only grew seeing Khushi’s dazed expressions and pushed him to place a tender kiss at her partition, right beside the vermilion which marked their union.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------xxx-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[kamdev99008]

i am confused .... what do you want to establish....

a fatherhood maniac arnav .... is an eligible person to be loved... by khushi .... even he cheated her for all ... love, pregnancy and revenge against her wife's fidality.... also claimed stake over her motherhood....

if khusi is responsible for seperation of her one child from sibling and father.... then... arnav is a criminal... who seperated one child from mother and on findingout about another ... he again tried to repeat the same.... and lastly he aquired khushi by emotional blackmail....

i'm not with rati.... because she also cheated with her love.... she can use contraceptive or any permanent solution to avoid pregnancy.... and motivate arnav for surrogacy.... but she choose a wrong path of fidelity....

only khushi is a fair person.... she never allowed her emotions to overtake....before surrogacy deal.... but to realise her feelings towards arnav she allowed him physically in place of clinical process.... only after the deal...even after the birth of children .... she never tried to get back him...

this marriage is not a bond.... but a deal.... without the hertly warmness of feelings... but for a social status of married couple and availability of both mother and father for their children....

let's see... what do you think.......
"life is irrelational, inappropriate, imperfect and illogical.... so... may be this story too"