Chapter 48-Frozen hearts will they melt by Deepti

Chapter 48

“Arnav! Where are you lost???”, said Anjali bringing him back from his world.

As his sister’s words broke his trance he looked at her and the rest. Clearing his throat and composing himself he took three long strides to join them.

“Nowhere Di. Now tell me. You said Mamma lost her purse and Maa’s card is expired. But what happened to your’s?”, he inquired, diverting his sister’s interest from him to the current issue.

Kushi froze as she heard this from the trial room and once she was out of the initial shock she didn’t wait to step out of the trial room.

” Mamma lost her purse? When? Where? How?”, she asked joining the rest, with her right hand still on the dupatta, holding it in place.

While Devyani started to enlighten Kushi about the recent developments, Anjali responded to her brother’s query.

“I went to Kushi’s workplace to check her work and had no plans to join this shopping. And since I had no shopping plans, I didn’t really bother to carry my wallet. All I have is this”, said Anjali showing her cell phone to her brother with a guilty look on her face.

“That reminds me. In a rush to reach here, even I forgot my handbag at my workplace”, said Kushi, placing her free right hand on her head.

While Anjali who was aware of this fact tried her best  not to giggle, the others plainly watched Kushi.

“I liked this lehenga a lot and was planning to take it. Now how will we pay for it?”, she asked worriedly, looking at her attire.

“That’s what I’m here for. Take the one you are wearing and whatever  you like. I will take care of the bill”, said Arnav in response looking at Kushi, hearing which the women around him were quite surprised.

“Is this offer limited to Kushi or is it extended to all of us?”, asked Anjali which made Arnav realize his mistake.

“DAMN! If I like that dress so much on her and want her to take it,  do I have to be that obvious?”, he cursed himself but without showing any emotion on his face he said, ” Of course I meant it for you all Di. Take whatever you like. I will be at the billing counter”.

The women relaxed  and got in a discussion about the shopping, while Arnav took a step  away from them in the direction of the billing counter. He took one more step ahead, but the very next moment, as if he remembered something, he turned around and looked at Kushi, who was in turn looking at him.  As he took in her sight, scanning her from head to toe, Kushi felt a shiver run down  her spine. As she saw his eyes travelling along the length of her body, her heart beat took a hike and when she couldn’t handle the intensity of his looks, she dashed back into the trail room and locked herself in it.  Trying to control her uneven breathe, she leaned her forehead on the door and tried to calm herself. She could clearly hear and feel her heart pounding in that silence that prevailed there.Turning herself around she looked at her face in the mirror and noticed the red tinge on her cheeks.

“Oh my God!! Look at me!! This redness on my cheeks and this hike in my heart rate are back again!”, Kushi muttered giving a closer look to her image in the mirror.

“This is all because of him. Had he not looked at me like that from top to…”, she stopped midway as her mind drifted away and she recollected the look on his face when he first saw her in that attire. Kushi’s gaze moved towards  her waist which was now covered with the dupatta and involuntarily she curled up her left hand fingers making the dupatta fall back to its pleated state, exposing her midriff.

She looked at her bare midriff which was glowing in a creamy complexion and when her eyes fell on her oval shaped navel, his gaze over there flashed in her memory making her cheeks take a much deeper shade. Feeling the entire heat in her body gushing towards her navel as she recollected his piercing gaze over there, she couldn’t help but place her left hand involuntarily on the left side of her face to control the shyness which was making her blush profusely.

She would have got carried away like that had she not looked at her face in the mirror. Because the moment she looked at her half hidden face in the mirror, warning bells rang in her head which made her jerk and pull the hand away from her face, uncovering it.

“No! I can’t let history repeat and make a fool out of myself. So what if he looks at me like that? I can’t and shouldn’t give any importance to it because the moment I  place the first brick to build a mansion over it, he will kick it right away making it evident that it means nothing to him.Do I have to get humiliated again? No need! It happened once. Can’t let it happen again and again”, she said talking to the image in the mirror.

While she was busy counseling herself about how she should ignore the incident which just took place, someone else too was having a hard time to leave it behind. He had been standing near the billing counter for the past ten minutes but Arnav’s mind was elsewhere. He was so preoccupied with the thoughts of the angel who enchanted him in her beautiful attire, that he didn’t notice the girl who was trying to get his attention for the past few minutes.

Seeing his family approaching the counter, he came out of his thoughts and that’s when he got to see the girl who was flashing a smile towards him. She was in a similar attire in which Kushi was just few minutes ago, with a sales girl standing next to her, helping her pleat the dupatta. He looked at the girl for a brief second but turned his face away as he was annoyed with her actions. And this didn’t go unnoticed by Kushi,  who just joined her clan after changing into her regular outfit. She noticed the annoyed look on his face and looked in the direction in which he previously looked. And when she noticed the girl and her actions, Kushi figured out what might be the reason for his annoyance. “He was gawking at me when I was in a similar state. Then why not her??”, she couldn’t help but wonder and at the same time she somehow felt good about it too.

Soon Arnav handed his credit card to the person at the counter and waited, wondering why he wasn’t  interested in the one who was flaunting her curves to him and thought only about the one who hid her’s from him. His eyes then fell on the lehenga which was getting billed at that moment and this made him have a flash of how Kushi looked in it few minutes ago. To get his mind off the waist which mesmerized him, he shook his head off and raised it, only to find the owner of that waist looking straight at him. And the moment their eyes met, Kushi jerked and hid behind the other ladies as if she didn’t want to fall in his eyes.

He couldn’t instantly analyse her actions as he had to authorize the payments. But when he was done with them and looked for her, she was nowhere to be seen. As she had no plans to travel with him in the same car, Kushi went and sat in the car in which the women came for shopping. And when they reached home,she was the first one to hop out of the car. By the time he parked his car and came inside, she was totally out of sight noticing which Arnav couldn’t help but wonder, “Is she avoiding me?”.

“How come you all are done with your shopping so early. We weren’t expecting you to return until tomorrow morning……  done stuffing the entire Delhi in your shopping bags??”, teased Aakash addressing the women who were dumping all the shopping bags in the middle of the living room, where Kushi just left hers.

“If that was a joke, we are in no mood to laugh Papa… we are really tired”, said Anjali taking a seat next to him in the couch. The other three too collapsed in the couches while Arnav went to his room to freshen up.

On the other end, Kushi spent a good amount of time in the shower counseling herself. Living under the same roof she knew that it’s hard to avoid him, but she can at least avoid having dinner with him at the same table. Can’t see? She came downstairs and was glad to find him nowhere around. Leaving a sigh of relief she went to the dining hall, filled her plate and came back to the living room, to sit next to her father.

“Why are you roaming here and there with your plate. Can’t you sit and eat at the dinning table?”, questioned Sakshi, seeing her daughter who was stuffing her mouth while coming towards them.

“Felt like spending some time with my father and since he’s already done with his dinner, I came to sit with him while having my dinner. Do you have a problem with it?”, questioned Kushi without looking at her mother as her entire focus was on the food in her plate.

“Look at you! Is that how you talk to your mother. Sit and eat  wherever you feel like. Who cares! Once you get married your mother in law will teach you…. where to sit and how to eat”, said Sakshi raising from her seat.

“My daughter doesn’t need to learn anything from anyone. She is good the way she is. Why don’t you go and have your dinner instead of annoying her”, said Shashi running his hand fondly on Kushi’s head.

“You and your daughter! Do whatever you both feel like”, muttered Sakshi leaving from there and rest of the ladies followed her, smiling, as they looked at  the duo who team up to annoy Sakshi.

Soon, Arnav came downstairs and when he saw her having her dinner in the living room, he somehow was sure that she was doing it deliberately.

Dinner was a quick affair as the ladies were eager to show the stuff they bought, to the men who had no clue what was lying in those more than dozen shopping bags. Everyone assembled in the living room to watch the show and since this was something which couldn’t skip, spending time with her family, she too joined everyone. While  Anjali took the responsibility of showcasing the saris and lehengas, Kushi sat on the floor, crisscrossed  and took the job of opening the bags and passing it’s contents to Anjali.  She was so involved in what she doing that she paid no attention to the   chocolate brown eyes, whose gaze was fixed on her.

“Look what I found here”, said Kushi pulling out Aarthi’s handbag from one of the bags, drawing everyone’s attention towards the handbag.

While Aarthi was puzzled and happy to find it there, Devyani declared that Aarthi might have kept it in that bag and  forgotten all about it. “It happens Aarthi. It’s tough to keep track of everything as you grow old”, said Devyani for which, “Maa… do I look that old to you?”, responded Aarthi sulkily.

“Not that old…but ya, definitely older than me”, said Devyani on a teasing note. And when Aarthi gaped at her, ” I was just joking”, replied Devyani smiling at her daughter in law. Sakshi too took part in the conversation and when  the mother and daughter in laws conversed and exchanged smiles, the bond between them which was evident to everyone around them, amazed Anjali and Kushi.

“Don’t you think our mothers are so lucky to have such an amazing and lovely mother in law, Di”, whispered Kushi in Anjali’s ears,  admiring the trio who were busy in pulling each other’s legs.

As Anjali nodded her head in response, enjoying the trio’s conversation, ” I wish we too get such wonderful mother in laws who can treat us like their daughters instead of daughter in laws”, added Kushi, making a face when she uttered ‘daughter in law’.

And when those words reached Anjali’s ears, she couldn’t help but mutter, ” I don’t know about mine but if everything goes well, your wish will be granted and you will get your Mamma as your mother in law”

As Kushi couldn’t make out more than half of what Anjali muttered, ” What did you say Di”, she questioned.

“I was just saying how nice it would be if your wish comes true”, replied Anjali, feeling relieved that Kushi  didn’t catch what she previously said.

As the topic among the senior ladies got diverted to the saris and the shopping, Kushi’s selection soon became the main topic of conversation.

“Had it not been for you, it would have been really  difficult for us to complete this shopping , Kushi”, said Aarthi looking appreciatively  at Kushi.

“Ya, we have to accept that her choice is the best. No one among us has such a fine taste as hers”, declared Devyani.

“I have to agree in this context because, no matter how much more experience I have in shopping clothes, the knowledge which she has about fabric and fashion is way more than what my experience taught me”, said Sakshi agreeing with the other two.

Coming from her mom, Kushi considered it as a very big compliment  and as the praises about her continued, it suddenly hit her that they was this one person, right there, who disagrees with the rest in this context. As she raised her head and looked at him, she found him looking straight at her. And when there was no noticeable expression on his face, which conveyed that he disapproved anything or everything which was being said about her, Kushi raised her hand and pointed her right index finger towards her right ear, asking him if he was listening.

He had been too occupied in observing her for the past few minutes that nothing that was happening around him was reaching his head. But when he saw her gesturing, her actions distracted him and for a moment he didn’t understand anything.

“Kushi is the best. There is no doubt about it. You should have seen my wedding outfits. Oh my God! You would have fainted Maa”, paused Anjali enlightening her brother about the current topic of discussion.

Hearing his sister’s words, Arnav smirked looking at Kushi and the very next moment he asked his sister, ” Why Di? Were they that terrible?”

While Rishi giggled and Kushi narrowed her gaze at him in response, ” Come on Arnav! I was trying to say that they were out of this world. Perfect, elegant and what not. Just the way I wanted them to be. She is just terrific at what she does”, said Anjali coming to Kushi’s defence.

As Kushi arched her eyebrows and threw a smirk at him,hearing Anjali’s declaration,  Arnav just loved the expression on her face. She looked so cute to him at that moment that he couldn’t help his lips from curling into a smile.

“Now what’s that smile for?”, wondered Kushi who was startled seeing his smile.

“Did he lose his mind hearing such sweet comments about me?“, she wondered as she kept staring at him.

“That she is. Whatever she does, she puts her mind and soul in it. So obviously the result would be outstanding. And moreover it’s her taste that differentiates her from the crowd. She can pick THE BEST from the best”, said Devayni in response to Anjali’s words.

“You are saying all this because you are so fond of me, Dhadhi. But,I don’t think everyone agrees with it. As per someone in this house having good taste has nothing to do with picking the best”, said Kushi ignoring the man whose smile grew wide on his face hearing her remark.

“In their actual words, if we buy something really nice from anywhere, the credit should go to the people who made it and not to the one who selected it”, added Kushi reminding him of his very own words.

If she was trying to settle her score with him for pulling her leg during Anjali’s engagement dress selection then why not have some fun, thought Arnav getting ready for the battle.

As most of them  in the room knew , whom Kushi was referring to, they all looked at Arnav, who in response said, ” I  still stick to my words. There is no need to give you any credit  for the selection”,  igniting the fire, as he sat relaxing in his seat placing his hands one over the other, at the back of his head, resting his head on them.

“Oh really??”, responded Kushi and keeping the bag in her hands aside, she got up and came to him asking, ” Then why couldn’t Maa, Mamma or Dhadhi pick all this stuff??? Why did they need my help?”.

“They must have been confused as the collection there was pretty huge. I’m sure that given some more time, they too would have picked what you did and that too… without your help”, replied Arnav in his cool tone, stressing on, ‘without your help’.

“So true!! THEY would have picked and had you gone to the same store, YOU too would have picked the same stuff. Right!!”, said Kushi sarcastically, placing her hands on either side of her waist.

“Yup! You got the whole point. Didn’t you”, he said and stopped as his gaze fell on her tiny waist which was held between both her hands. A memory from that evening got refreshed in his head and he couldn’t move his gaze from her waist thinking about the  midriff which was now hidden behind her salwar suit.

Kushi opened her mouth to retort but when she followed his gaze, she shut it right away, as the flash of his gaze on her exposed midriff alerted her brain. Though she was completely covered in a lavender color salwar, his gaze on her waist  made her feel as if her  midriff was exposed. As she recollected his piercing gaze in the store, her hands involuntarily left the sides of her waist and acted as a protective shield, covering her waist completely.

Looking at the girl who folded her hands in a rush and was trying her best to hide her waist from him, Arnav couldn’t help but smirk.

As the others around them didn’t know why the argument took a sudden pause, Anjali encouraged Kushi to retort, saying, “Come on Kushi. Say something. You can’t let him have the final say”.

While Kushi tried to get a hold on herself, Arnav raised from the couch and extending to his full length, he stood right in front of her, crossing his arms against his chest.

He raised his eyebrow at her and while Kushi felt intimidated with his tall, lean frame so close to her, “I’m waiting!”, he whispered in a husky, teasing voice.

“I.. I”, stammered Kushi, searching for words, as the fragrance from his cologne made her throat go dry.

“Come on Kushi! Has cat got your tongue”, teased Rishi, making fun of his sister for which Anjali threw a pillow at him in response.

“Forget about talking. Looks like your sister is scared to even look at me in the eye”, taunted Arnav ,with his trade mark smirk, looking at the girl in front of him who was watching the floor.

As his words woke up the tigress in her, Kushi raised her chin and taking a step behind to increase the space between them, she said, ” What!! Scared and Me?? And that too of you? Go get your eyes and head checked”.

Seeing his smirk she was infuriated and said, ” I was just thinking about the best solution which could set your head straight.”

“Which is?”, prompted Arnav.

“If you can select the best like, I can,  then why don’t you help Di with her wedding related shopping”, said Kushi as if she was throwing some challenge.

“I would…. if I had the luxury of time, unlike you”, mocked Arnav, as he placed his hands in the pockets of his pants.

“Then you better make some time. Because, going forward, I’m not going to help with the shopping. And don’t give any excuse of TIME .It’s your sister’s wedding and she would love to have her brother help her in all the possible ways.. Now everything she buys is going to be of your choice. I will also see how great it would be. Enjoy your shopping”, mocked Kushi in response, blowing the fringe which was falling on her face.

While Anjali and Devyani sensed the determination in Kushi’s voice, Arnav paid no attention to it as he was more interested in the cute expression on her face and the fringe that was falling on her face, bothering her.

“Di,  now you have your brother. He will help you with EVERYTHING. Tag him along whenever you go for shopping”, announced Kushi, as if shopping was no more her business.

“Kushi, just ignore him. It’s YOU by whose choice I would like to go with. So don’t care what he says”, said Anjali who was very much aware of Kushi’s anger,  shaking her head disapprovingly at her brother.

“Yes Kushi, Ignore his words. He is just saying it for fun. He doesn’t mean them”, said Devyani trying to calm down Kushi.

“No Dhadhi. I meant everything which I said”,said Arnav.  As his words added more fuel to her anger, Kushi’s faced started turning red and seeing the colors which her face was taking, Arnav was enjoying.

While Aarthi tried to shut him up saying, “Arnav, will you keep quite”, Sakshi tried to calm down her daughter. But since Kushi’s anger reached it’s peaks, and since she already made up her mind, she said,” No Maa. It’s decided. I won’t involve myself in any kind of shopping. You all have him. So make good use of his amazing skills.”

“And I will wait and see, how good they are”, she added before she gave one last look to him and walked away from there stomping. But before she left she didn’t miss the smile on his face which infuriated her further.

Calling him names while Kushi went out of sight, the other four women started taking a good class for Arnav. He was looking at them but nothing was getting into his head as his brain was busy in doing it’s own analysis. In the whole episode, what he truly realized was getting her all riled up is what he enjoys the most. “To that extent where she turns all red”. Arnav couldn’t help but smile as that thought crossed his head and when Anjali saw this smile, she slapped on his brother’s shoulder saying, ” It’s not funny. Stop smiling and do something. You both had a good fight and made me the victim. Now she won’t come for the shopping”.

Coming out of his thoughts with his sister’s slap and words, “Relax Di. Do you really think she would do that. Women and shopping can’t stay away from each other for a very long time. Trust me. She will definitely come”, said Arnav giving assurance to Anjali.

“No Arnav. It’s not so easy. Kushi’s anger is something else. And when she takes a decision in that temper of hers, she always sticks by it”, said Sakshi, who knows her daughter better than anyone else.

“Arnav, I don’t know what you are going to do. You are the one who made her angry and take such a decision. So you will be the one who will cool her down and make sure that she joins me for the shopping”, declared Anjali, passing the ultimatum.

“I’ll see what can be done, Di”, said Arnav leaving from there, with a tiny smile still lingering on his face. Noticing this, while Anjali thought, ” Here I’m so worried and this guy is smiling!“, “I might not be aware of her anger and mood swings but I do know how to bring her back on track, Di”, thought Arnav as he took the stairs to his room.

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