Posted: July 2017 | Edited: January 31st, 2019

| . . . C H A P T E R . . . . 3 . 9 -  F U T U R E - P L A N S . . . |

After greeting mom and bringing in our luggage, we went to see dad who was resting in their room. Mom had told us of his steady progress over the phone, but it was entirely something else seeing it with my own eyes. He couldn't walk yet, but it also wasn't just his eyes moving. "Dad..." I had called him by the entryway. His head turned in our direction and seeing us, he had moved his fingers to usher us in. Happily, I walked up to him and helped him sit while Armaan placed a pillow behind him. I hugged him tight, having missed him and seeing the movement of his fingers was a celebratory news for me.

He surprised us all when he lifted his hand to my head. Stunned, I pulled back to confirm I wasn't dreaming this up. Mom informed, "When you all said you were going to come home for Diwali, I thought you should see for yourself."

I held my dad's trembling hands in mine and nudged my cheek in his palm. He had been paralyzed for long now. There was no limit to either mine or Armaan's happiness seeing he was getting better. Little by little, he was attempting small movements. Doctors had said we shouldn't keep much hopes, but I say we should definitely hold on to our hopes. He lifted his other hand to place on top of Armaan's head. I haven't seen my brother cry often, but this was one of those exceptions.

Happy tears were flowing down both our eyes.

Dad's gaze traveled to Arnav. Mom nudged him to walk, "He's asking for you." Arnav walked up to us, and I shifted a bit so he'd have room to sit on the bed side.

Dad slipped his hand out of mines and forwarded it towards him, reaching for his hand. He blinked his eyes at him to express something. At first, I didn't understand it until he looked at me and I noticed it was relief in his eyes. He was saying thank you to Arnav.

It had been the news that Arnav had given him about my rape that had paralyzed him. This realization was something else. There was a reason behind my dad recovering, and it was seeing me happy... seeing Arnav wasn't one of the bad guys. He was far from it.

Just... having dad's blessing meant a lot to me, and the way Arnav squeezed back my dad's hand told me it meant a lot to him as well. He was the kind of guy to hold on to guilt, and he never said it to me, but I was sure he felt guilty for telling my dad. He hadn't foreseen the impact it would have on him. In his way, he had thought telling him would mean he would cancel the marriage arrangement he had planned. He too must be feeling some relief seeing him recovering.

"Hey Uncle, don't forget me." Riddhima marked her presence with a pout.

Dad smiled the bit he could and nodded for her to join the group as well. She came up and hugged him, expressing she too had missed him. She had a father of her own, yes, but my father had been like one for her as well. We had after all grown up together in the same neighborhood. Both of our families had been close due to our friendship, just like I considered her parents to be like mines as well.

We spent hours talking to dad. He couldn't talk back yet, but he smiled and nodded at parts and listened to us telling him about our life in Mumbai. I even told him about the trip we had taken to Goa and the adventures we had there as well as the shoot in Rome while Armaan and Riddhima shared about their experience recording an album and the things they do at the hospital.

Time for dinner came sooner than we had thought and mom reminded us that Riddhima's parents must be waiting for her. Armaan walked Riddhima to her place and I told her to tell her parents that I would certainly come by tomorrow to meet them. Tomorrow was Diwali after all. I'm sure our parents must have planned to spend the evening gathered together.

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To say, I was eating popcorn. In reality, my mind was miles away. I couldn't shake off what my mother had said last night. She had come into my room to talk once she had helped dad get in bed. That talk included Arnav and I.

"Should I talk to the priest?"

"Priest?"

"For the marriage date, Khushi."

"Mumma! What's the rush? We're both still young."

"Khushi, ofcourse there is no rush. Your dad's business is recovering as well, but that's not the point. When your dad had first suggested this, I wasn't sure he was doing right by you. He was thinking like a businessman, but now I can see that you're actually happy with him... and you have no idea how happy that makes me."

"Mom, yes. I am happy. We're happy with things just how they are. And another fact is that I'm 22. I don't want to get married so young."

I had eventually convinced her to drop the topic, but I couldn't shake off that she could be right. But, I had also asked Arnav what he wanted. Since then, he had told me he loved me. That had been all. Our relationship was just beginning. Getting married should be far in the future, right? There were so many things the two of us needed to build first before thinking about marriage. Arnav was well-established, but didn't I need to be independent as well? I don't necessarily want to stay under his shadow.

I know... he never looked at it as such. Even at the calendar launch, the slight nudge he had given for me to the take the center stage was proof that he wanted me to be on my own two feet as well. I would get nothing but support from him.

But, before anything else, I needed for Shyam and Vivek to be gone from our life for good.

Armaan plopped on the couch next to me, and from the looks for it, he had just woken up. "Sis! Happy Diwali!"

If I was mom, I would have nagged him for sleeping in even on a Holiday. "Happy Diwali, lazy bum."

He rolled his eyes at the name-calling. "It's my day off." He defended himself. "Anyway, where's your head?"

"Something mom said last night."

He raised his brows, asking for full story. I gave him the details.

"So, what are you going to do?" He scooped a fistful of popcorn from the tub.

I swatted his hand for at this rate, he'll gobble down everything in less than a minute. "I'll let you know when I figure it out." Then, I turned the tables, "Anyway, you returned late last night. I almost thought you weren't going to come back."

He half-chuckled, admitting, "I did almost stay there. I'm so used to being with her. It's hard going to sleep if she's not there. Doesn't feel right."

"Aww."

He scolded, "Don't 'aww'."

I laughed. He had no idea how in love he sounded. "You know, I missed this. I feel it's been so long that we've talked – just the two of us."

I did see him a lot, but it was almost always with the whole group. And other times, he was busy at the hospital earning his degree or recording for his upcoming album or public events related to his music career. I was busy working on the calendar when not at Arnav's place.

"Yeah." He draped his arm around the back of the couch and pulled me to him. "We both let our life get busy, didn't we?"

"Part of growing up." I offered, for it wasn't really either of our fault for not spending time together. We were not kids anymore. We had separate lives even if we lived in the same city. We were starting to have different friend groups, and I was just realizing that none of that meant we cared any less for each other. It was simply a part of life that required slight adjustment.

Nothing new ever starts out smooth. There were bound to be bumps along the way.

After a few seconds of silence, he suggested, "I think you should tell mom you've moved in with Arnav."

"That's not true."

He raised a brow, pointing out, "Doll, 90% of your things are at his place. You've moved in with him."

"Well... technically, I don't live with him. I just live in his house with him and di. Kripa too now. Aarav occasionally. I have my own room."

He rolled his eyes when I dived into the technical meaning, "You know what I mean, Khushi! They think the three of us still live in that penthouse together."

I suppose he was right. Why was I hiding this from my parents? Why do I keep hiding things from them when they only show trust in me? I didn't tell them about Vivek and Shyam. Look what happened when dad found out from a third person. I hadn't done anything wrong when I was raped, and I am not doing anything wrong when staying at Arnav's place. It's only helping me get to know him better.

"I'll tell them."

"Good." He approved of my decision.

I added, "If you tell them about you and Riddhima."

He smirked, "Doll, pretty sure they already know." I knit my brows together, confused. He explained, "Before we left for Mumbai, I had already told her parents how I felt. So yes, pretty sure Padma Aunty must have told mom a long time ago."

My jaw dropped, "You sly!" He had told her parents he loved their daughter even before he had confessed it to Riddhima? Now, now. I had never imagined my brother would do something right for once when it came to Riddhima without messing it up. "I'm proud of you."

"I know." He cheekily replied. Well, yes. I was always proud of him for how dedicated he is to his family and turning into an amazing person with good morals. But this change was completely something else.

"Does she know?" As far as Riddhima and I have talked, she hadn't mentioned it.

He shook his head, "No." He continued before I even had the chance to open my mouth and berate him on his lack of transparency, "And yes, I plan on telling her very soon. The only reason I didn't tell her was because I didn't want her freaking out on me again."

"What are you talking about?"

He cleared his throat as if he were embarrassed about admitting it. I gave him a look as if to say this was me, his sister. He didn't have to be embarrassed about saying anything to me. Getting that, he confessed, "Well... before you two left for Australia, we got into this pretty big fight. I said a lot of things I didn't mean because I was hurt by what she had done and then she was leaving when I needed her the most. Plus, the fact that I was just starting to realize my feelings for her didn't help. My idiotic teenager of a mind took that confliction and not knowing what to do, I kissed her just before we were leaving for the airport."

"Shut up!" I exclaimed in surprise. I always had my suspicions about Riddhima liking Armaan, but the way Armaan was in high school, I hadn't assumed that he had realized too. "You kissed her?"

He nodded with a smile as if recalling that, but as he continued, it faded into a grimace, "Then she didn't talk to me for a long time. Answered my phone calls, but wouldn't talk. Do you remember that Valentines party and I came there?" I nodded at the remembrance of his first visit to Australia and he finished telling what happened next. By the end of it all, I couldn't believe it was my brother who had done all of this. But, thankfully, he took things maturely.

"I need to give hell to Riddhima for giving you such a hard time." I joked.

"Don't, it was all on me. I deserved everything."

Well, I didn't mean what I said seriously, but his reply was serious. I couldn't imagine what all he could have said to her for him to admit that he deserved such treatment from Riddhima. Either way, he was taking responsibility for his actions and I supposed that itself spoke for how much he has grown and matured since.

. . . ∞ . ∞ . ∞ . ∞. . .

That evening, Armaan, Arnav and I left the house telling our parents we were going to pick up Riddhima and then just be around town to watch the fireworks. Ofcourse, I knew Armaan had different plans. He separated from us after we picked her up, leaving Arnav to ask, "So, what now?"

I grinned, "Now, I show you some of my favorite places in town."

He gave me a look over, at the decked up, heavy dress I was wearing, "Dressed like that?"

"It's New Year, Arnav. So yes, dressed in Indian outfit. You should try being a desi too sometimes, you know?"

He laughed without humor, "Yeah, no. I don't think so."

I simply nodded my head towards our left, letting him know we were going to walk in that direction. As we walked, I hooked my hand around his arm. I sighed at the instant warmth I felt from the jacket he was wearing, "Love your jacket."

He caressed my hand for a while before one hand wrapped around my back. "This is why you should dress sensibly."

I did get what he meant. The dress I was wearing was made out of thin fabric. Even though I had draped a shawl, it didn't help much in the Shimla weather. Still, I instructed. "Just tell me I look pretty and keep walking."

"You always look pretty." He answered cheekily, making me shake my head. Smart answer.

No wonder girls fell all over him in college.

"Good save." I spotted the place I wanted him to see, and so leaving his arm and trailing it to grab his hand, I pulled him to walk faster. "Here." I said with a sigh, stopping by the edge of the road and looked around. Lights marked the different hills in the distance. Thankfully, it was still dusk and he'd be able to see.

"The three of us used to spend a lot of time here." I pointed at a hill in the far distance, "See that mountain there with that red flag? There's a temple there. It's quite old and the roads are not safe so no one's been there for years. We used to go there a lot when we were kids. But when we weren't allowed to go there anymore, we'd come here and throw stones towards it. Silly, I know, because it's so far away it wouldn't have reached ever. But it was still our way of feeling as if we were actually there." My smile widened as I recalled more of my childhood, "Eventually, Armaan and Riddhima made that into a contest as well... to see whose stone went the farthest."

I pointed out other things that we could see from here, the reason I loved this place. One, it was secluded. Not a lot of people came by this road because it was far from the middle of the city where the market was. Two, it felt as if we were in the middle, and standing here, we could look around with mountains and valleys in all four directions. Then there were the plantations below that could be seen from here and the place was at such height that sometimes, you get the feeling that you are standing in level with the clouds. Ofcourse, those clouds are at the distance and not directly above you, but the point was that you could still see them when looking down or in the eye level at a distance.

"Early mornings are the best times to come here." I added, taking a seat at the edge and letting my feet dangle below.

"Should we be sitting here?" He asked, wary of how it could be dangerous.

"You'll be fine, Arnav." I answered, patting the spot next to me to urge him further. The edge isn't railed so as to protect anyone from falling in, but it also wasn't a steep rock or a slippery one. It was pretty safe. After he took the risk, I continued, "As I was saying, early mornings. That's east." I nodded ahead of us, "And it makes for the perfect view of all shades of colors sitting from here. I can't tell you how many days during summer time I would come here when it'd still be dark and then stay for hours just watching the day unfold in front of me. This place is pretty much my sanctuary from the rest of the world."

Turning his head to me, he said, "I can see that," as if he could actually see the peace it brings my soul being here again after such a long. On top, sharing these memories with him. He smiled, and I smiled back. Within a few minutes, the evening sky turned dark blue. Yet, there was a light inside of me that I hadn't felt for a long, long time. A warmth that I started to embrace.

Suddenly, I had an answer for my mom's question the night before. "Arnav?" When he looked up at me instead of our intertwined hands, I carefully said, "Don't take this the wrong way... but I want to leave AR."

From the light of the streets, I saw his brows narrow in confusion. "What? Why? You love designing."

"I do, yes." I agreed, explaining further to make my point, "This is where you need to listen to me before you flip out, okay?" I hoped he would hold on to that patience he always has, "I love designing, but I guess it somewhere makes me feel that everything I am growing into is because of you. All the progress I have made with myself, all the healing, it started since I met you in college. Being a designer has been one thing I have been doing by myself, and I want that to stay like that. I want to work on my own."

I paused, hoping for his understanding, but his forehead remained creased, "I don't understand."

"Okay, see, yes. I did do all the designing on the calendar, and di selected by designs without knowing it was designed by me, but what I am trying to say is that we're together, and you can't be my boss."

It took him a second, but he did catch on. His fingers around mines loosened, pulling out of the hold. "You want to leave AR."

I wasn't talking about quitting work, but just working elsewhere.

"Are you mad?" I asked, slipping into a ramble when he turned silent, "I can't tell with not being able to see your face. Please don't be mad."

He exhaled before speaking, "I'm not mad, Khushi. Just... taking a moment to wrap my head around it. Is this because of the office gossip?"

"No!" I cleared his assumption, "I told you before too that office gossip doesn't bother me. Technically, we have been engaged long before I joined AR. I just don't like the idea of the world thinking I got any favors from you because of our relationship. It's like you said when you were convincing me before the shoot. Taking credit for my work where its due, and I guess I am just trying to keep our personal and professional lives separate. I want to stand independent on my own – atleast when it comes to my career. In a way, you can say that for the longest, I have depended on others. I guess, my whole life. Armaan. Riddhima. Angad. You. You've all saved me in different ways and as much as I appreciate that, and God knows I needed that, now I need to get on my own two feet."

"You already did that, didn't you? Look at the success of the calendar."

"Yes, but... okay, see, I didn't get this job on my own accord. Kripa made it happen. And I admit, Anjali di might not have been biased, but now, our personal relationship does make me feel like I would be taking unfair advantage of it. Our life is ours, yes. I meant it when I said rumors and what others think of us don't matter to me anymore. But, anything I achieve in the professional world, I want to know that I got that because of me. Not because of our relationship. I want to do this on my own without anyone's help. Remember how you said, 'two-way street' when it came to trust and our friendship? I want that equal footing in all other aspects of our life too. I depend on you a lot for a lot of things... and I can't keep doing that."

"You're not, sweet pea." He claimed otherwise, "You're not dependent on me for everything. If you hadn't wanted to bring change, nothing I could have done would have made a difference. You have the will and that is why you are where you are today. I just support you... at the end, it's all you."

I used his words to make my point, "Exactly, Arnav. You do support me, and I wouldn't ever ask you to stop doing that because I don't know how I would survive otherwise. But there does need to be a healthy balance, don't you think?"

As much as I have been enjoying working alongside him, can it go on as such? I would never truly be independent in my career. Sure, Arnav has never acted as the 'boss' in office. He's always behaved the same with me regardless of where we were or who was around. But I need to do this for myself. I need to know that I can do this. Everyone respects him for the businessman he is growing into. I don't want anyone ever tainting his honor by making false claims or calling his professionalism to question. Even when we know the reality, they will never believe it.

"Well, its not as if I can say much in this, is there? It looks like you've made up your mind."

I was silent for a second, unable to understand if he was being bitter or hurt. Then, the answer was obvious when I truly think about it. He has never been bitter towards me.

"Hey... don't be hurt." I kept my hand to his shoulder.

He placed his hand on top of mines, making me think he somewhere understood. "I guess I am going to miss having you around in the office."

I agreed along, "Yeah... it's going to be hard when we're not together all the time."

It's going to take a lot of adjustment for sure. But that's one more reason to do this. To bring some space into our lives. We can't be together 24x7. That kind of life would eat us up. Just how unhealthy would that turn our relationship into? We have endured enough ups and downs in our relationship. This is something we can avoid.

I added some lightness, "And you know... maybe you should help me figure out where I want to work."

"You want me to help some of my rivals in sending them an upcoming talent?" He pointed out, making me laugh. I did not think of that. Being a loving fiancé, I had no doubt that he would help me in choosing, but being a businessman as well, I can see where he would hesitate.

"I hate conflict of interest." I muttered.

Soon, the fireworks started and we sat in silence, tilting our heads up and just watching them. In the middle of it, I reminded. "By the way, you haven't told me what you want."

"Hmm?" He questioned and from my peripheral, I could feel him turn to look at me.

"You told me you loved me too. But now what?" I turned my body to look at him as well.

Understanding crossed his eyes, and he smiled while taking my hand and bringing it to his lips. He kissed the back of my palm. Then, he whispered. "Now..." He started to lean in and just before he would kiss me on the lips, I stopped him by leaning back and placed my index finger on his lips.

"Uh-uh." I denied, "You're not going to deflect the question again. I've seen Armaan do that enough times. Not you too."

He couldn't always keep running from putting his feelings into words. I did appreciate him backing it with his actions, but it can't work always. Some things needed to be said.

He answered by kissing that index finger. My stomach flipped with pleasure and I held in a gasp, but he grinned and I knew he had noticed. It was the tiniest gesture, but I'd be lying if I said my body didn't find that sensual. He grinned as I removed my finger from his lips.

"Um... we should get going." I suggested, starting to get up. It was a long walk back home.

He stood up as well, but didn't let me walk away. Taking my hand, he turned me to face him. Lifting my chin, I noticed the spark in his eyes but it wasn't a teasing one at all. In all sincerity, he asked, "Can you not spoil my plans?"

"Hmm?" What was I spoiling? I had just reminded him of a question I had asked him a few weeks ago.

"Do you have your phone with you?" He asked, and I pulled it out of the side clutch I had brought with me. He took it, plugged in the password which he knew from me telling it to him before (the month and date of Armaan's birthday), and did something. I tried to lean in to check, but he hid the phone to his chest. "Khushi, ever so impatient." He scolded.

I frowned, but pulled back and tried to wait while impatiently tapping my feet. Only five or so seconds passed, but it felt long enough to me. Eventually, he did turn the phone in my direction. It was locked again. I opened it, but whatever app he had opened was closed. I had no way of knowing what he had done to my phone.

"What'd you do?"

He answered a bit cryptically, "You'll know when to ask me that question again. Until then, let's just enjoy our present together, okay?"

"Okay...?" I answered, uncertain. What did he mean by that? How was I going to know when to ask him again? Then, it clicked. "You added something to my calendar, didn't you?" I started to unlock my phone to check, but he stole it out of my grasp.

"No, promise me you won't look. Let that alarm reminder ring when it's set."

"But..." He knew I couldn't be patient! Why would subject me to this torture?

"Khushi. Like I said, don't spoil my plans. Please?"

I frowned at the plea in his eyes. I didn't know what plans he keeps going off about, but it's obvious he has something planned and it's related to my question. He even seems eager, excited like Aarav would be, and so I am forced to promise him I wouldn't sneak into my calendar to check the date when he put the reminder on.

As we walked back, I tried to negotiate, "Can I atleast know how long I'll have to wait? Rough estimate?"

His blunt response was, "No."

I frowned, "How mean."

"I love you too." He answered, but this time, it annoyed me a bit. I huffed, walking ahead faster. He can't be acting cute right now! No, not when this secret he was keeping of his so-called plans was eating away at my insides.

He teasingly warned a few minutes later when I continued to refuse to talk to him and went on to frown.  "Khushi, stop frowning or else I won't be responsible for my actions."

I muttered, "You wouldn't dare." He was warning he'd kiss me, but I was certain he was just saying it, didn't mean it.

"Wouldn't I?" He challenged, but I stayed true to my belief.

"No."

Suddenly, he stopped, slipping his hand around my elbow and pulled me back. I stumbled into his chest. His other hand held my face close to his by keeping it at the back of my neck, also rendering me unable to move away. "No?" He challenged again, his thumb tantalizingly grazing against my jawline.

I gulped the nervousness down my throat as my eyes went on to search his for a clue that he was just testing me. But, every second I stayed glued, held against his body, barely a centimeter between our chests, my confidence wavered. Perhaps... he was serious?

"Arnav?" I called him sweetly, wanting him to drop his defenses.

Warily, he answered in a hum. He was right to be wary. I didn't always call his name sweetly.

Putting on a smile and batting my eyes, I added, "If you're going to try and intimidate me, atleast do it by threatening me with something that scares me."

He raised a brow, amused. He nudged me closer and my hips seemed to touch his legs, "Oh really? So the idea of kissing doesn't scare you?"

"Let's see..." I trailed off, placing my elbow on his shoulder and tapping a finger on my chin. Ofcourse, it was all just a pretense to think. I already knew the answer. After a pause for emphasis, I answered. "Nope. Not anymore."

I thought it would break his confidence and put him off balance. Alas, he smirked. He moved his hand away from my elbow and lifted it to my face. "So this doesn't intimidate you?" He ran a finger from my forehead to my ear to tracing the jawline and finally resting underneath my chin.

I shook my head in a silent answer. Him tucking my hair back was a gesture that had long ago stopped making me tense up. Now, I just found it sweet and romantic. It was almost a caress, if anything.

"Hmm." He grasped the knowledge, moving that same hand to flip my hair off my shoulder. All the while his thumb brushed from my collarbone to the back of my shoulder as he gathered my hair to move it back. "And this?"

Forget intimidating. Now, he was just teasing me. The warning had long left his eyes, replaced by mischief at this fore play of his.

Moving my head to rest against his cheek, I confessed in his ear, "The only think it's doing is making my heart beat faster." I moved my arm off his shoulder and slid that hand over his heart which matched my rhythm, feeling his hard chest and those heart beats were like music to my ears. "Just like yours."

. . . ∞ . ∞ . ∞ . ∞. . .