Posted on August 13th, 2018

| . . . C H A P T E R - 1.5 (1) : A - B U S I N E S S - D E A L . . . |

[Two years ago]

I hear she's getting married... to Shyam.

I impatiently waited for my uncle, Manohar Sharma, to answer his damn phone call. He could not get off my back when he wanted me to help his friend and where is he now when I am ready to strike a deal?

At the fourth ring, finally, he answered with a scolding - no surprise there. "Arnav, is this a time to be calling anyone?"

I did not care if it was the middle of the night. Khushi's future was on the line here and I'd be damned if I let a person like Shyam be anywhere near her. If it were up to me, which I say it is, I would not even let him breathe in the same air as her. He's hurt Anjali already. No way am I letting him ruin Khushi's life too.

So, in clear words, I let him know. "I'll help your friend."

He was silent at first, probably rubbing sleep off to confirm he wasn't dreaming. Then, he asked in surprise. "Really?" After a quick yet brief pause, he added. "What do you want in return?"

There was this satisfaction growing inside of me because he could be many things, but he knew the reality of the world: there was a price for everything. Atleast, he was not underestimating me.

"Your word that you will not interfere in the deal I make with your friend."

He questioned, warily. "Why? What do you want from him?" When I do not give him that answer, he continued. "Arnav, he is a decent fellow. Whatever shrewd plans you are crafting to make my life tough again, leave him out of it."

I scoffed, "I think you have me confused with yourself."

Anger reflected in his tone as he attempted to insult me, "Why, you insolent..."

I cut him off, least interested in allowing him to waste my time. I have more important things to set in motion. "Save yourself the trouble, Mr. Sharma. I have no intention of giving your friend the lesser end of the stick. The deal will be on my terms and if your friend is half the man you say he is, then he'll see the terms to be more than favorable. Now, set up a meeting with him. I'll be there after my finals. And yes, do tell him that if he wants my help, then to stop looking for it elsewhere."

"Fine," he answered in a much-relaxed tone compared to earlier. He does know when the right time to pick a fight with me is. "I'll give him a call in the morning."

"Good."

"See you when you get here."

I countered, "Oh, no. Remember, you don't interfere."

"Yes, but..."

"You wanted me to help him and I am," I interrupted his argument, leas interested in lending him an ear as I knew he would only make it difficult for me to remain decent to him, "All you'll do is set up a meeting between us."

With that, I do not wait for any more arguments. I said what I wanted to. Without bidding properly, I end the phone call and make one more to a lawyer.

Sheikh had helped Anjali and me get our property back from my uncle and sort out the legalities to turn the business into a fashion house instead of construction that my parents had set up. Post that, whenever there is a business deal and a lawyer is needed to draft up the contract, I always reach out to him.

I think it's established. I trust very few people in life and in business, he is one I trust to always give me sound advice.

. . . ∞ . ∞ . ∞ . ∞. . .

A week later, when I am in Mumbai, the first thing I do is visit Anjali. I'd already asked her to accompany me in this meeting. As the rental car drives us from the Shimla airport towards the restaurant where the meeting was set up, Anjali looks outside the window. The familiar views.

This place never brings good memories despite the two of us being born in this city. Yes, there are good memories but after losing our parents in this city and after what happened to Anjali, I cannot help the bad memories trumping over the good ones.

She inhaled deeply, blinking away and turning her head inside the car towards me. "Why do I need to be present at this meeting?"

I remind her, "Di, the money used to buy out his business is yours."

She corrected, "Ours, chote. This has nothing to with designing. I don't need to be here."

I reached for her hand that was resting on the middle seat between us, "Trust me, di. You'll want to be here. I know it's tough being back in this place, but I promise. We'll only be here a couple hours."

She held my gaze, trying to deduce what was going on in my mind but failing, and eventually giving in with a nod.

Minutes later, the car pulled up in front of the restaurant. Reaching the reception, Anjali gave them the name and an employee directed us to a booth where Mr. and Mrs. Gupta were already waiting.

While we approached them, Anjali quietly asked, "Mrs. Gupta is here too?"

I nodded, "I asked him to bring her."

"What are you up to, Arnav?"

"Nothing good." I cheekily responded in an attempt to calm my own nerves.

I've done many a reckless thing in my life, but this has to top the list undoubtedly. This would be a life-changer and perhaps, for the first time in life, I felt nervous.

Am I really about to do this?

She glared at me in a scolding for joking at such a time and I passed her an assuring look just as Mr. and Mrs. Gupta noticed our approaching shadows and glanced up from where they were having a hushed conversation of their own.

Mrs. Gupta put on a polite smile, but I could tell she was not happy - that she would rather not be doing this. It was harder to read Mr. Gupta's face. I forward my hand in a greeting, "Mr. Gupta, nice to see you again."

Normally, I would wait for the other party to offer their hand in a handshake first. Rule of a business, never be the first. It's a sign of weakness. Yet, for now, I accept the downside. This is Khushi's father, after all. More than him, as it is, I need him to agree. After all, he is here to save himself while I... I need this to save Khushi.

"Mr. Raizada," he answered with a firm shake, "I was surprised when Manohar called. I was sure you weren't interested in investing in our business."

I take a seat across the booth after Anjali sits on the inner side. Unbuttoning the middle button of the overcoat, I answered. "Oh, believe me. I wasn't interested at first."

He doesn't show offense on learning that, perhaps knowing his business currently was a sinking ship. That must be the reason he was desperate enough for opting to marry off his only daughter as part of a business deal. It disgusted me but I think it affects me more only because I know this daughter is Khushi.

In that poised tone he continued to portray as a facade, he questioned. "What changed your mind, if you don't mind me asking?"

I tapped my fingers on the table, debating what to tell him. There were many things I had in my mind. Eventually, I decided on going subtle. "I know your daughter. She's a... let's say, a friend."

Anjali's head turned to me. I did not have to look at her to know she must have a surprised look on her face. I did understand why. I don't call anyone other than Lavanya a friend, and for me to go out of my way to help this said friend?

Yes, that's unheard of.

Mrs. Gupta spoke up for the first time, slight fumbling out of nervousness. "Y-you know Khushi? How?"

"We go to the same college." I briefly informed before hurrying this along, "Let's talk about business, however?"

"Yes, ofcourse." Mr. Gupta answered.

Anjali took her cue and retrieved the file I had asked her to keep in her purse. As she passed it over to him, I said. "These are the terms."

He glanced up through his lashes, "You already have a contract ready?"

"I'm very confident the terms are more than fair. We won't need to negotiate and change anything in the contract."

His brows narrowed in suspicion. Smart man. Then, how did he not notice the signs on his own daughter? Or, did he turn a blind eye to what Khushi was going through? That later thought, however, only fueled my anger against him.

Anjali looked at me, her eyes blaring questions, but I blinked at her to wait till Mr. Gupta skimmed through the files.

At the end, he asked retaining suspicion from earlier, "Mr. Raizada, I understand you have enough money to do so and continue to live a decent life but I do not take you for a fool. Do you really expect me to believe you'll buy my company entirely and continue allowing me to run it as I see fit without you getting anything out of it? What's the catch?"

I smirked in response. A fool? That, I was certainly not. "I've heard rumors, and feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but they go something like this. In order to save yourself from bankruptcy, a certain man came to you with an offer to invest in your business after you get your daughter married to him."

The expression on both their faces dropped, blood rushing away and turning their faces pale.

Doubt number 1, confirmed.

I continued, "Right. So, the catch is that I'll save your pathetic business but the only person Khushi will ever marry is me."

He raised his voice, eyes enraged. "My daughter is not some property that I will sell her off to the highest bidder! How dare you?"

I laughed at how pitiful this was. "Oh, how dare I? No, Mr. Gupta. The better question to ask yourself is what kind of a father are you to even consider marrying your daughter to the devil's incarnate."

Really, he should not point fingers at me when he is not any better.

"I'm thinking of her future!"

I scoffed, "Her future? Are you that delusional? She will never have a future with that man."

Mrs. Gupta kept her hand on her husband's wrist to stop him from countering back and interfered in a quiet voice, "Do you like her?"

The anger in my eyes quieted only for a brief second, allowing them to soften. Everything about her screamed motherly, the way she was showing concern for Khushi. But, just as quickly as that thought entered my brain, it left for it was countered by another.

If she was such a loving mother, she'd have noticed Khushi's sad eyes because even when I did not know her the very first time I met her in Australia, I could still see it. Then, how could she not have noticed? She should have shown her concern then instead of now.

I grit in order to keep myself from blasting off on them.

She added such an innocent question, "Is that why you want to marry her?"

Fuck it. They don't deserve to be spared the heartache. They need to know what bad parents they have been. "What I don't like is you, as parents, not even reaching out to her before making the biggest decision of her life. What I don't like is you marrying her off to save your business. And, what I definitely do not like is that despite having parents, she's been living the past few years silently killing herself because she'd rather do that then hurt you by letting you know she was raped."

I watched as both froze in their places as if holding back a breath would make me take back my words and prove them false.

Once again, color left their faces but their shock did not make me feel sympathy. If anything, it made me mad.

Doubt number 2, they really did not know anything about it.

Disappointed, I shook my head and broke the brief silence with my accusations, "Your own daughter living under your roof... how could you not notice what she was going through? The mood swings? The depression? Starting to keep to herself. Losing that smile of hers. Despite being young himself, Armaan was more of a parent to her then either of you. You know, giving birth to a child and buying them all the facilities in the world is not the definition of a parent. Your responsibility does not end there. When she needed you the most, where were you?"

"Arnav." Anjali called my name in a warning to stop there.

She understood why this was so much more personal for me. It wasn't just me connecting what happened with Khushi to what Anjali had already been through, but also because this was Khushi we were talking about here... and perhaps, somewhere, the lack of parents in my own life affected me to react with such hostility.

When I blinked the fury away on hearing my name, I noticed the tear-stricken face of Mrs. Gupta as she stared at me unblinking but tears continued to flow while Mr. Gupta, he sat there still shocked. Unable to process a word or muster a reaction.

I sighed on seeing I had overstepped my boundaries, but I was only thinking about Khushi. They needed to know what they were doing to her. "You can hate me, but please, she has been through enough. If you cannot make it better for her, atleast don't make it worse."

I stood up to leave having made my request to them. Anjali looked at them, struggling to decide if she should say anything to them before deciding to remain silent and slid out of the booth.

Just as I turned my back to them and was ready to start walking away, he spoke up. "Wait."

We turned again to face him. He blinked down at the file in front of him before taking a pen from his pocket, flipping to the last page, and signing it.

I watched, surprised.

It was the desired result I had been going for but after what I just called them out on, I was sure they wouldn't want me in Khushi's life. They had every reason to hate me. I had called them bad parents. I had humiliated them in possibly the worst way there.

Seconds ago, getting up from the couch, it was with the thought that even if they didn't go through with this deal, there was assurance that after knowing about Khushi, they would drop the idea of marriage.

Before he would sign the second line, I stopped him. "Wait."

He glanced up and waited.

Why did I stop him? In that second, I had forgotten before Anjali placed a gentle hand on my arm. I cleared my throat before informing them one last thing without which, I could not have him sign this. "I have a son."

It stunned them, not having expected a 20-year-old to have a son, but it didn't shock them the way it had seconds ago when they learned the reality of Khushi's life.

Mr. Gupta went on to sign the contract nevertheless and then stood up to reach me, holding out the file.

I must have had questions in my eyes for he pressed his lips in a small smile.

His other hand came to my head as if a father would pat a son lovingly, but the gesture left me confused and even awkward. I did not remember a time with my own father and the only other adult in my life, my uncle, had never quite liked me to be loving towards me.

Pushing aside this strange feeling, I look at him to listen to what he had to say, "I see it in your eyes. You care for her."

That, again, was harder for me to swallow. Knowing it for myself is different. Talking to Lavanya about my feelings for Khushi is different. But, having her father say it aloud to me... it is entirely unexpected.

His hand moved to take mines and placed the file in my palm, He gulped harshly and his eyes diverted to my hand, unable to meet mines in... shame? "I may have failed her... but this might be the best decision I have made for her."

. . . ∞ . ∞ . ∞ . ∞. . .

| . . . C H A P T E R - 1.5 (2) : B A C K - T O - H E R . . . |

In the car on the way back, Anjali broke her silence to question. "Did you have to tell them?"

"They needed to know," I calmly answered.

The stiffness remained in her voice, "Did you pause to think she maybe hadn't told them because she didn't want to hurt them?"

I defended myself, "Di, I had two choices and I choose the one choice that would not hurt her. Am I wrong? Hasn't she suffered enough on her own?"

"It was her choice to make, Arnav!" She exclaimed and my eyes widened at how affected she was. I knew she wouldn't approve of what I said but I hadn't thought she'd be this bothered. "It was her choice," she repeated. "You do not take away people's choices, even if you think you are doing this for them."

"Di..." I quietly said, not liking that we were at odds on this matter.

She raised her hand, silencing me even as she continued, "No, Arnav. Do you think what you did is any better than her parents? They decided to marry her without consulting her and you...? Did you talk to her about this? No. Moreover, you disrespected her wish and told them everything she had worked over the past couple years to keep from them. Everything she put up with, you turned it into meaningless in a matter of a second. How would you feel if someone you trusted went to uncle and told him everything about me and Aarav?"

With a sigh, she continued, "This... this is not how I raised you to be. I have tried to be both mom and dad to you and for the first time, Aarav..."

She shakes her head, dropping her statement but her disappointment was well implied in the heavy silence that followed. I have never done anything that would disappoint her or make her feel as if she was not proud to have me as her brother.

Khushi had been adamant back at the shelter that she did not want them to know. It wasn't my intention to go against her wish either. I had promised her... I'd never let her feel she was being forced into anything ever again in her life.

But, in an attempt to keep her from being forced into one thing, I unintentionally pushed her towards another.

"I didn't mean to do that." I mumbled, lowering my gaze to my lap as the realization of my actions started to dawn.

Anjali inhaled deeply to calm herself before exhaling a sigh. "Chote, do you have any idea how hurt she will be when she finds out about this?"

"I... I know she'll be mad at first... but she'll forgive me, right?" I asked and her gaze softened further at my innocent question. She looked like she didn't want to break my heart but it was inevitable.

Khushi had yet to forgive me for my actions that started the rumors and then the thing with Amanda.

She proved time and again that earning her forgiveness was not an easy task.

And now, with this, I was digging myself further in this hole.

Only thing left was a slight hope that when I tell her she won't have to marry anyone, that she'll be relieved. That she'll see the silver lining and eventually, hopefully, she'll forgive me for slipping her truth to her parents and meeting them behind her back.

. . . ∞ . ∞ . ∞ . ∞. . .

Two days later, I was back in Australia. I went over to the apartment to talk to her but given everyone was camped out there, I jumped at the opportunity to take Kripa and everyone to the club in the night so I could have a moment alone with Khushi to tell her everything. I wanted her to hear it from me first and as such, I'd even requested her father to not tell her right away. He must have understood since he'd agreed.

Only, that plan did not go as imagined when minutes later, Armaan had barged in with the news of their father suffering a heart attack and currently in the hospital.

I could not believe it. No, I was not ready to believe that it had been because of my actions. He had been shocked, yes, but by the time I had left, I'd say he had recovered much better than one would anticipate after hearing such a news about their daughter.

I knew he was, somewhere, keeping a strong front at the restaurant to close the matter but heart attack...?

And that too, two days later?

I have heard of late reaction but I was not ready to accept that this was all a result of my words.

But Khushi... I could not explain anything to her. She was beyond reasoning. She was enraged and in the heated moment, everything went downhill.

That forgiveness I had been hoping for? I knew it would never come.

I was going to learn this the hard way.

If I thought she hated me before, I was wrong.

This in the moment, that fire in her eyes and the cold front - that was hatred. Or maybe she was masking her hurt into it. Either way, she left me no chance to reconcile anything. She did not give me a second to explain myself.

. . . ∞ . ∞ . ∞ . ∞. . .

A week after, the engagement was taking place. I tried asking her mother to let it be but she wouldn't listen. She was mad at Khushi, blaming her wrongly for her husband's condition. To me, she said the engagement would take place as per the deal and Mr. Gupta's wish.

But, the first alone moment we had, she seethed in anger. "I never want to see you again."

"Khushi..." I whispered her name in another attempt to reach out to her.

She shook her head firmly, "No. I mean it. I have two years before college ends and trust me, I will find a way to get out of this engagement. But, until then, stay the hell away from me and my family. If you'll be in Australia to meet Kripa, then meet her anywhere but the apartment. I don't really care where. If you happen to see me somewhere, walk the other way. I don't want to see your face. I don't want to even hear your name. In fact, I don't want anything to do with you. Do you get that?"

I thought I could live with her hate. I thought I could handle it. But, by the day, it started eating away at me. It drove me to the brink of darkness like never before. Just when I was starting to see the light from being near her, she stole it away from me by leaving me. And unfortunately, I can't say that I did not play my part in it to push her away.

She walked away without once turning back.

A hand on my shoulder had me turning back to see it was Anjali. The sadness in her eyes told me she had overheard Khushi's words. I forced a smile on my face to assure her I was okay, but it was farthest from the truth and she knew that. She placed her forehead on my shoulder, standing beside me.

"Why did you ruin your chance, Arnav? Atleast one of us deserved to be happy."

I placed a heavy stone on my heart as I finally shared the truth I had been struggling to keep to myself the last couple of weeks, "I couldn't let Shyam in her life."

She stiffened beside me, lifting her forehead and looked up at me in disbelief. Her eyes begged me to tell her she was hearing things and that I did not mean what I was implying. But, when I didn't retract my words, she wrapped her hands around my arm to hold on to me as if to feel safe herself while also sending me some comfort in a silent gesture that I still had her and we could lean back on each other. As we always had when everyone else would leave.

Even if she didn't entirely approve of my methods, she understood why I had to do this.

I wished I could tell her that her support would be enough, but after Khushi... no.

A year ago, I would have been fine. Anyone's absence in my life would not have affected me the slightest. But, things were different now. I needed Khushi to feel like I was still living. Before her, I was only breathing. Seeing her strength, I started to live. I started to allow myself to feel vulnerable around her. I started doing things for her I wouldn't for anyone else.

And with her gone, knowing I had been the one to place that hurt in her eyes, I was back to being just alive. My heart was beating, but it was empty. I could hear it beating in my chest painfully, but the sound of her name in each beat was missing.

Mines was a body without a soul. A body desperately searching for that light to come back so it could feel like it was still living. And I did not know if there was even a path left which could take me back to her. Neither did I feel like I deserved to find that path after the way I broke Khushi's trust in me.

This suffering, I deserve.

This deep, relentless, burning ache inside of me where more than anything, I am mad at myself, I deserve.

. . . ∞ . ∞ . ∞ . ∞. . .

| . . . A U T H O R - N O T E . . . |

So this was added to the new plot. And... take a deep breath before deciding whether or not to be mad at Arnav for this rash decision. Unlike what Khushi will come to think, he did try to keep his promise (recall the one he made after they'd spent the night in jail).

Sure, Anjali tells him he disrespected Khushi's wish and as true as that is, technically he had not promised her anything then. In his defense, he only set out to protect Khushi knowing what he knows about Shyam - unaware that the two have a history.

Be back soon with more! <3