Edited: November 09, 2020

| . . . C H A P T E R - 3 . 2 3 . 5 - L O S T - S O U L . . . |

The shattering of a glass caught all our attention and we looked for the source. My first instinct was to search for Khushi. Even from a distance, I could note the color draining from her face. Rushing towards her, I caught her just before she would fall from dizziness. The glass pieces by her foot was answer enough for me. She would never knowingly drink.

Someone did this.

"Khushi? Khushi, look at me." I tapped her cheek enough to get her conscious again but she was only gasping for air. I sat on the floor and gently placed her head against my chest, holding her still in my arms. A mix of panic and anger settled in. Tearing my gaze up to her friends, I demanded. "Who spiked her drink?"

They all gulped in fear, stepping back as if I would stride over and strangle them for an answer. The ladies didn't say anything, but the guy fumbled. "We – we d-don't..."

I ended his pathetic attempt to answer with an order. "Get me her purse."

She always kept a tab of her pills and her inhaler in there no matter where she was going. The twins crashed into each other when they tried to go get it from wherever Khushi might have left it – probably the table where they all were sitting.

"NOW!" I yelled and instead of turning in spot like lost puppies, they sprinted.

"Khushi...." I turned hearing Aarav's scared whisper.

I cupped his cheek, trying to assure him. "She'll be okay, champ."

Lavanya squeezed through the crowd to reach us and sat on her knees to get Aarav to look at her but he wouldn't tear his gaze away from Khushi. "Is she mad because I was mad at her?" He started to cry, "I promise, I won't trouble her anymore. I won't. Please ask her to talk to me na." His voice pleaded to Lavanya.

"It's not your fault, baby." She hugged him to calm him down. "She's not mad at you."

"Here." Someone forwarded the purse.

I grabbed it, pulled it open and without caring of it, dropped the contents on the floor. I rambled through it but couldn't find the tab of medicine. There was an inhaler but it wasn't going to help till she had the medicine first. I dug through the purse hoping it might have gotten stuck in there somewhere. Noticing a side zip, I tore it open and exhaled in relief.

"Water." I asked but the second pair of the twins was already holding it out. Opening Khushi's mouth, I popped the pill in and placed the glass over her lips. "Come on, sweet pea. Drink." I whispered, my other hand on her forehead, wiping the forming beads away as she barely held on to her consciousness through the wheezing.

She swallowed no more than a sip. Placing the glass to the side, I caressed her cheek with the back of my finger.

"That's it." I encouraged her softly, "Breathe. You're okay. Just breathe." I continued to soothe her as her wheezing slowed and her chest rose and fell with deep breathes to compensate for the lack of air in the previous minute.

After what felt like forever to me, her eyes finally fluttered open. Given my face was right there, I was the first person she saw. She tried to smile as if to let me know she was okay. "Better?" She nodded in response, but my heart needed to hold her close to assure myself. So, I pulled her in a hug. "How many times do I need to tell you to stop scaring me like that?"

She spoke though her voice cracked as if her throat was dry, "I'm okay... Arnav."

I pressed my lips to the top of her head, "Yeah." More than her words, it was having her heart beating in her chest and the hammering vibrate off to my skin that assured me till my own chest released the tightening it felt on the scare of almost losing her.

I blinked away the forming tears in my lids when tiny arms flung over both of us. Khushi lifted her head off my chest just enough to see Aarav's drying trail of tears. Her mouth opened to beckon him to her from this group hug but she never got to it as the pitch silence from others broke.

"Look at her. She's not even ashamed of being in another man's arms."

"Did ASR really just kiss her?"

"I bet they had something going. Else why would she ever leave her job at AR?"

"And now she's here to trap our boss."

"I know right? She even calls him by his name!"

"I heard her call him ASR by his name too."

"I pity his fiancé."

"It's not ASR's fault. She must have done some black voodoo on him."

"The poor fiancé doesn't even know what's going on behind her back."

"This girl is just shameless. Not even..."

"Shut up!" I had been gritting my teeth holding it in because Khushi had placed her hand on my arm, silently asking me to not pay attention to it and fuel the scene. But, this outburst was not from me. It was from Aarav who came to stand possessively in front of us. "Just shut up. Shut up. Don't anyone say another word about Khushi. You're all bad people. Bad. Not her. She's nice. The best. She loves my daddy. She..."

Khushi leaned forward, pulling away from my support to reach for Aarav's hand. "It's okay, baby." She pulled him into a hug trying to calm down his mix of fear and anger. "It's okay. Shh. You don't have to tell them anything. We know how much I love your daddy, right?"

He nodded, his head hidden in her shoulder and did not say another word as she patted his back.

I, however, was not done. They've hurt not only Khushi but also Aarav. No one gets away with messing with my family.

I stood up, raising my voice into a clear demand, "Who spiked her drink? Is this how people treat each other here? When someone says they don't drink, then fucking respect that and the matter ends there itself!"

"Language, Arnav." Khushi scolded me who had covered Aarav's ears.

I didn't pause as I continued, "And taking others down, is that the best portrayal of humanity you have to show here? God forbid something could have happened, and you people want to spread gossip? What, do you not have a heart? You just want your dose of entertainment, right? Is this all games to you? Tarnishing someone's image? Almost killing them?"

"Arnav, please," Khushi came to stand in front of me, gently placing her hand on my wrist to pull me away, "Just let it go."

"Khushi, move." I tried to control my anger. She may be trying to end this for my sake, but enough was enough. "By the time I am done with..."

She ended my statement there, trying to hold me back with a palm over my chest to push me away from the crowd, "You'll do no such thing. Look at me." When I refused, her voice cleared into a command. "Look at me, Arnav."

The second I would look at her, all that anger would dissipate in thin air. I could never flash that at her.  It was as if she knew that. Unclenching my jaw, my eyes flickered to lock with her. The tension in my shoulders visibly disappeared. She was pleading through her eyes that if not for her sake then for Aarav's.

While we had that silent battle through our eyes where I didn't want to back out, a voice belonging to Sam broke the silence. "What's going on here?" He entered the area of the scene. It was his party, but he seemed to be disappearing quite often to attend phone calls. I did not know what to think of him as a host.

"Nothing." I answered, also letting Khushi have her answer with that. "Absolutely nothing."

I briefly looked at others before returning my gaze to Khushi once more. She looked relieved. Though I made a promise through my eyes. I would let it go, as long as these people kept themselves in check. I walked off to a secluded area, knowing no one would dare follow me. Having seen a glimpse of my anger, they would leave me alone.

Ofcourse, I couldn't claim that for Khushi. It must have been twenty something minutes and close to midnight when I heard footsteps nearing. I didn't turn to look, very sure it would be no one but her.

"Safe zone?" She stopped a couple feet distance from where I stood holding the railing surrounding the edges of the terrace.

"For you, always." I mumbled and she came to stand beside me. Her left hand touched my right as she placed them on the railing.

Not beating around the bush, she got straight to the point. "Why did you get that mad? It's not a that different than gossips that had started at AR. And don't tell me there were no gossips. I know there were."

"Those were just gossips. This was more, and you know that." I was talking about spiking the drink, and I was sure she heard my unsaid words.

"They didn't know."

My head snapped sideways, stating. "You know who did this."

"Yes, and I'll deal with it tomorrow. You don't have to work yourself up over it."

"The hell are you going to return to work tomorrow!" I exclaimed at her absurdness. "Tell Sam you're quitting or I'll do it for you."

She rolled her eyes, "Don't be ridiculous, Arnav. I can't keep resigning. These trivial office rivalries happen everywhere."

"Trivial?" My voice raised on its own accord, "You almost died in my arms, Khushi! I don't know what that says in your dictionary, but it is certainly not trivial in mine."

She sighed, touching my arm. "Okay, I'm sorry. You're right. It's not trivial, but she only did that because she wanted to get me drunk and probably humiliate me so Sam would see that and fire me over misconduct."

"Are you really going to make excuses for the person who just tried to kill you?" I questioned with a flare of temper.

Wasn't she the one who had told me not to justify Vivek when I had told her about our past in Shimla? She had said there was no justification for prompting someone's assault. Yeah, after the fact we might have learned that he didn't rape Khushi. Still, this is no different! The principle still applied.

"Now you're exaggerating. She didn't purposely try to kill me." She tried to get me to see it wasn't this mystery girl's fault, but in my books, it was her fault. Who was stupid enough to think a little drunk scene would be grounds for dismissal?

I opened my mouth to make that same argument when she cut me off by trailing her hand down my arm. "You owe me a dance and it's almost midnight. Let's go." Taking my hand, she dragged me towards the center that was reserved for those who wanted to dance. And given that it was almost midnight, others seemed to have the same idea. Getting all the way in the center of the dance floor, she passed a wink at one of the twins whose name I couldn't recall for the life of me. "Told you I can get him to come dance with me." Her friend responded by mimicking her. Khushi laughed and ordered, "Now go dance with Tarun."

"I hate you, Khushi."

"Love you too, Avani."

When she turned her attention to me, I asked with a smirk. "Are you using me to put another couple together?" This game was totally flawed against Avani and Tarun, for Khushi didn't have to do much to get me on the dance floor – just take my hand and drag me over. I'd let her drag me anywhere, even to hell and back.

"If I did?" She challenged, her gaze flickering to mines.

I leaned over and spoke in her ear only just loud enough so she could hear it over the music, "When I had said I wouldn't mind you taking advantage of me, this was not what I had in mind."

She laughed in my ear, draping arms over my shoulder, mines on her sides as we swayed to the romantic song. "You get what you get. Take it or leave it."

Pulling back enough to gaze into her, I mouthed. "I'll take it."

"Oh, did I thank you for saving my life again?" She asked in a 'by-the-way' tone.

I shook my head, "I don't believe you did."

She shifted her face to my ear, cheek touching mine as she hugged me closer in the swaying position. I didn't think she was going to say anything more than 'thank you, but her words shocked me. "Then maybe tonight, I will take advantage of you."

My fingers over her sides tightened as the words sunk in. I tried to pull back to look at her face for seriousness, but she didn't let me.

"Disgusting."

I heard the mutter from behind me. I nudged Khushi away and turned around to look at the source of that word. "Do you have something to say to me?"

She stumbled on her feet, obviously more than tipsy, and scoffed. "Listen up, people!" She yelled over and whoever was playing the music lowered the volume. Catching her footing, she continued after people who were on the dance floor with us had turned their attention to her. "You were yelling at us about tarnishing people's image? Can you blame us when its things like this that provoke us? She is openly flirting - talking about taking advantage and all. And we are lesser humans? Atleast we aren't cheating sluts who-"

"ENOUGH!" I yelled raising my index finger pointed at her. "Before I ruin you, I suggest you stop right there."

She scoffed again, trying to feign confidence but the demeanor did falter enough for me to see through her act. "Ruin me? And who do you think you are to do that, huh? Oh, that's right. The great ASR. The player who can't even be loyal. Do your girl a favor and tell her about all your office flings."

"Why you little..." I took a dangerous step towards her only to be stopped by Khushi coming in between again. I was sure this was the same woman who had spiked the drink. "Not this time." I didn't give Khushi an inch to ask me to calm down. "She's overstayed her welcome. She needs to know where her place is and where yours is."

Khushi sighed, learning she couldn't break my determination. This was not at all what I had in mind when I told the world about Khushi, but I won't stand by and let some wannabe bitch name-call Khushi for some plan I had in motion for the big reveal.

My hand slid down to intertwine my fingers with hers. "No one in this world has more of a right to flirt with me or take undue advantage of me." I said gritting through my teeth, sending glares at the girl who started it all. "She is not my office fling. She is my wife."

The girl faltered as if the earth had been shaken away from under her feet. Her expression read stumped, and I was sure others did as well since the whispers started off. Honestly, the society is so predictable. Always more invested in other people's lives than their own.

"Mrs. Arnav Singh Raizada." I confirmed for the few slow souls by tugging Khushi to my side, arm around her back possessively as I looked down into her eyes.

Her head tilted up as she looked at me with eyes filled with love.

After giving her a smile, I flickered over to the girl. "Any other insults you want to spew?" At her still shocked, silent state, I asked others. "Anything else anyone wants to know?" I was answered with silence. I mumbled, "That's what I thought." Then, I spoke to Khushi. "Let's go. I have had enough of these people."

I pulled her out, certain Lavanya and Aarav would follow behind. Just as we reached the exit of the terrace where the stairs led into the building towards the elevators to take us to the parking in the basement, Sam appeared. Noticing us and the pin drop silence once again, he muttered in irritation. "What the hell did I miss this time?"

"You've got one wonderful group of staff." I replied sarcastically, and Khushi swatted my bicep as a scolding.

"Sam!" Aarav ran up to him, hugging his legs. I narrowed my eyes confused as Sam squatted to his level.

"Hey, bud. Sorry I didn't get to spend any time with you tonight."

Lavanya asked, just as confused as me. "You two know each other?"

Sam answered right away, "Yeah, Khushi's brought him to the office a couple of times."

Aarav asked, "Will you bring Eva after school on Wednesday? She promised we could continue our chess game and even teach me a few more card games."

Sam nodded, smiling. "Ofcourse. She's been looking forward to see you again."

"Eva?" Lavanya asked.

Sam gave her a confused look, probably wondering why she was asking, but answered nonetheless. "My 10 year old niece."

Aarav informed further, "She's cool. Taught me a lot of games. She's like an older sister."

Lavanya and Khushi both glanced at each other, as if that meant something. Khushi reached for Aarav's hand to pull him away from Sam, "Alright, Aarav. Let's go home. It's very late."

Aarav waved back at Sam, "Bye, Sam. Say hi to Eva."

"Bye, kid." Sam waved back, standing up.

The three of us left and I thought Lavanya was right after us, but when she didn't get in the elevator, I realized she had stayed back to exchange words with Sam. I asked Khushi, "You wouldn't happen to be trying to set up the two of them, would you now?"

Khushi gave me a fake innocent look, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

I scoffed in response. Innocent my ass.

She added, to ease my worries. "He's a nice guy. A little lost sometimes, but kindhearted. And the best part is that he already gets along with Aarav. In a way, I think it's for the best that he met Aarav before Lavanya."

I did see her point. Knowing Aarav before, Lavanya doesn't have to worry about whether or not he would truly be accepting of the fact that she is his adoptive parent. Still, I knew Lavanya was going to make him work for this. "He had better be ready to face multiple rejections."

"She does know how to play hard to get to the T." Khushi agreed, causing me to laugh.

In all seriousness though, I more than understood why. In personal life, she had always faced hurt. She let me, Aarav and Anjali in, but that didn't normally extend to others. Only I knew just how much I had to do before she had accepted that Khushi was a person worthy enough. For her, there were no in-betweens in relationships. No grey areas. She either gave everything to someone, or nothing. Either she was completely dedicated and loyal, or she wouldn't so much as bat an eye.

It's what she was doing with Vivek. Before, she had hope for him, but since finding out shortly after Khushi confessed her love for me, she's shut him out. It didn't matter that eventually, we found out about Khushi's misunderstanding that he wasn't there with Shyam, but that he was trying to get Shyam away from her.

I didn't know if she'd ever speak to Vivek.

I just hoped Sam broke through her defenses. Because I don't believe in God, but if he existed, even he had to know she deserved to find happiness.

. . . ∞ . ∞ . ∞ . ∞. . .