Chapter 49-Frozen hearts will they melt by Deepti

Chapter 49

“What is all this Dhadhi! Here we are trying to play cupid to these two and there they are waiting for opportunities to grab each other’s throats”, complained Anjali who followed Devyani to her room.

“What are you so upset about, Anjali?”, asked Devyani, after closing the door behind Anjali.

“How can you ask me that question, Dhadhi. Didn’t you see how these two were bickering?We were trying to get Arnav involved in all this shopping and look what he did? Made Kushi step out of it”, said Anjali who was annoyed with whatever just took place few minutes ago, in the living room.

“Is that all you have noticed?”, questioned Devyani and when Anjali looked at her perplexed,she said, ” Looks like you are the one who didn’t see the smile which was glued to your brother’s face, while he was arguing with your Kushi”.

While Devyani enlightened her further,  Anjali felt much relieved and said, ” Does that mean he was just teasing her?”

“Of course, he was. Between, you did a good job by placing the responsibility of convincing Kushi on Arnav’s shoulder. Now we should see how he will persuade her”, said Devyani.

“But Dhadhi, for that to happen, we need to make sure that no one interferes in this matter. If Maa or Mamma try to convince Kushi, that’s it. All our plans will go for a toss”, declared Anjali.

“You leave that to me. I’ll take care of it”, said Devyani ending the topic.

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The next morning, while everyone was having their breakfast, Aarthi mentioned about the jewelry shopping. ” We want one of you to accompany us for the shopping”, she said, addressing Shashi and Aakash.

“What will I do in your jewelry shopping?Are you planning to buy anything for me too?”, teased Aakash.

“I have no such plans. But if you wish, we can find something for you too. After all, you are the bride’s father. And after spending a fortune on my jewelry, you do qualify for something.Don’t you!”, retorted Aarthi.

“Jokes apart, I’m planning to take a diamond set for Anjali and there are other things too. So,as today’s shopping is going to be a pretty expensive affair, it’s better to have one of you with us to take care of the transactions”, she added on a latter note.

The moment she heard diamonds, Kushi was all excited about it. Though she was not a jewelry buff, diamonds were something which always brought a glint in her eyes and hence, unable to mask her excitement she said, “Are we going to shop for diamond jewelry today??”

She didn’t realize what escaped her mouth until she looked at Arnav, but when she did,  she instantly corrected her sentence saying, “I mean… are YOU ALL going to shop for diamond jewelry today?”

“Yes, Kushi. Why don’t you…”, said Sakshi, stopping midway as Devyani shook her head, gesturing her to not say anything further.

As Kushi looked at her mother hoping that she would invite her to join the shopping, sprinkling water on her hopes, ” have one more poori”, said Sakshi.

While Kushi pouted and tore a poori piece showing her frustration on it, “Oh! So are you all planning to get us bankrupt?”, questioned Shashi for which Sakshi retorted saying,        ” Yes. Any problem?”.

“What problem we will have?? Isn’t it, Aakash”, said Shashi looking at Aakash.

“Ya right. Even if we have a problem,will these ladies really care and stop shopping?? Nope! So we definitely  don’t have any problem”, replied Aakash.

“If you both are done making fun of us, can you confirm who is coming with us to take care of the transactions”, asked Aarthi.

“Actually, we both can’t, Aarthi. We have some important meetings today. In fact we have a busy week ahead of us. So, why don’t you take Arnav to take care of the payments”, suggested Aakash.

“Papa, even I have three meeting in a row today. I can’t miss them”, replied Arnav before anyone else could react.

“Oh ya! I totally forgot about those. It’s with the new clients. So there is no way you can skip them. Now what shall we do? No one else apart from us three can authorize the checks for lump sum amounts”, said Aakash.

“Moreover, it’s not  so safe to send  only the ladies for the shopping when they are going to buy such expensive stuff”, added Shashi, giving his two cents.

“Hmmm”, Aakash thought for few seconds and said, “What about tomorrow?? How is your schedule tomorrow?”,  addressing Arnav.

Arnav quickly checked the calendar on his phone and said, “I have an appointment with Mr.Mittal at 9 am. Apart from that nothing major”.

Since Arnav  was free to join for the shopping on the very next day, Aakash suggested the women to postpone their shopping plans to the next day for which the women readily agreed.

While the rest moved on to a different topic, “Just because this bodyguard  has a busy schedule these people changed their plans.Awesome!!  And coming to me, no one even cared to ask if I was joining them for the shopping. Heights of awesomeness!!”, thought Kushi who was kind of mad at everyone for not giving any importance to her.

After breakfast,when the men left for work, Aarthi and Sakshi went  to shop for other minor stuff while Devyani and Anjali went to ‘Sakhi’. Having nothing else to do, Kushi too went to her workplace to check on the progress of the work. She spent the  entire day over there and completed her work just to make sure that she doesn’t have to come back to the workplace on the next day. Since shopping for diamond jewelry has been finalized for the next day, she wanted to keep herself free so that she can readily join the rest when they invite her for the shopping. But little did she know their plans.
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The next morning, at the breakfast table,  the discussion about the shopping was resumed. Since Shakshi and Aarthi had to attend the naming ceremony of their friend’s grandson, they mentioned that they would directly come to the store from the party place.  And after confirming that Arnav would be free by 12.30, they gave him the responsibility to pick up Devyani and Anjali from home and saying that they would meet them all at the store, both went to their respective rooms to get ready. Neither of the them took Kushi’s name as they received strict instructions from Devyani that none of them should persuade Kushi. She made it clear to them that since  Arnav was the one who made Kushi get angry in the first place,she wanted him to end this fight and calm down Kushi. And though the ladies highly doubted if Arnav would even TRY to persuade Kushi, they did just what they were asked to.

But on the other end, since Kushi had no clue about all this she was highly disappointed when neither of the women  took her name.”What’s wrong with these people? Did they forget that I even exist?”, she wondered, looking at the disappearing backs of her mother and Aarthi.

“Dhadhi and I will be ready by 12.30 Arnav. We can start as soon as you have some lunch”, said Anjali putting a halt to Kushi’s thoughts.

“Di too!!!”, muttered Kushi looking disbelievingly at Anjali.

After everyone left for their respective jobs, leaving Devyani, Anjali and Kushi at home, Kushi spent a good amount of time with the duo, hoping that they would invite her for the shopping. But unfortunately when neither of them raised that topic, feeling disheartened, she went to her room, stomping her feet.

“Did you see her face Dhadhi. She was thoroughly miffed”, whispered Anjali as soon as Kushi left.

“Hmm. I’m surprised that she didn’t bark at us asking why weren’t  talking anything related to shopping or not asking her to join us”, responded Devyani.

“We have infuriated her to a great extent, Dhadhi. Now God only  knows what she will do when Arnav tries to convince her. I hope he doesn’t become the victim of her outburst”, said Anjali, feeling tensed.

“You don’t worry about that. Don’t ask me why but I feel that if there is anyone who can handle Kushi and her tantrums, it’s your brother. He will manage. You just wait and watch”, said Devyani trying to ease Anjali’s tension.

“Don’t know what these two hot heads will do”, mumbled Anjali, picking up a magazine.

Back in her room, Kushi kept thinking about the whole situation. She was so surprised that no one  cared about her and was upset about it. ” It’s true that I myself declared that I’m out of all this shopping thing, but does that mean they should take it for granted and not ask me for one more time? What’s wrong with everyone? Do they have to literally take my words that seriously? This is all because of him. Had he not irritated me with his stupid comments, I wouldn’t have gone overboard and alienated myself from this shopping.I feel like strangling him for this!!”, she said locking her hands together. “Now, what shall I do?  I can’t murder my self respect and say that I want to come for the shopping. And that too when HE is the one who is going to drive Di and Dhadhi to the store. He would laugh at me if he sees me anywhere near them. Does that mean I really have to miss this shopping fun…. and that too when it’s diamonds?”, she asked herself and felt miserable with the very thought of it.

Though she was worried with her thoughts,  somewhere she had a little hope that her Di wouldn’t leave her behind. So hoping that Anjali would come and knock on her door some time soon, she went and opened her laptop to check her mail.

And on not finding the mail which she was hoping to receive, she cursed her stars which were not at all co-operating with her. She spent the next couple of hours browsing all mundane stuff and when she was almost vexed with it, she heard a knock on her door.

Her face lit up hearing that knock and pushing her laptop aside, she rushed towards the door and opened it. But on finding Shyamlal there, who came to call her for the lunch, all her energy got drained and she followed him silently to the dining hall.

She had a quiet and quick lunch with the other two women as neither of them spoke anything that interested her and came back to her room around 1’o clock, still hoping that she might get an invite any time. And as her hopes grew stronger, a weird thought crossed her head. What if no one actually took her words seriously and were assuming that she was joining them?Or what if they were planning to plead her in the last minute knowing that she would easily give in for their emotional blackmail?

“Quite possible! Isn’t it!!”, she said to herself and looking at the yoga pants and T-shirt she was wearing, she decided that she needs to get ready for the shopping. Picking up a sea blue salwar suit she dashed towards the restroom right at the same moment when Arnav entered the house.

“Are you ready,Di? Give me 5 minutes. I’m starving.Need to help myself with something “, said Arnav who went directly to the dining hall.

He pulled a chair and started serving himself when Anjali followed him to the table and said, ” Dhadhi and I are. But I don’t think she is”.

“Kushi?’, he asked.

“Ya. the last time she came down she was still in her night dress”, replied Anjali taking a seat next to him.

“Isn’t she planning to come?”, asked Arnav, innocently.

“Arnav! Don’t act smart. How will she come with no one asking her to”, questioned Anjali.

“Come on, Di! No one asked her to quit shopping. She was the one who declared that she wouldn’t come”, said Arnav with a shrug.

And when he got a glare in response he surrendered saying, ” Why didn’t you ask her to come along. I bet, the moment you ask her, she will be the first one to step out of the house and get in the car”.

“Because, that’s your job. Now go and bring her down. I don’t care how you are going to do that “, said Anjali hoping that her plan would work.

“Relax Di! Let me finish my lunch first. I know how to handle that hot head”, said Arnav calmly, hearing which Devyani looked affirmatively at Anjali.

Kushi was all set combing her hair when she heard a knock on her door. As a wide smile spread across her lips, she picked her dupatta and placing it on her right shoulder, she went and opened the door.

“YOU!!”, she said, shocked and surprised to see him at her doorstep.

“Ya! It’s ME! Do you see anyone else here??”, he asked sarcastically, looking around himself.

“Very funny”, she said making a face and asked, ” What are you here for?”

“Di and Dhadhi are waiting. Let’s go”, he said and turned around without waiting for her response.

“Where?”, asked Kushi stopping him in his tracks.

“Where else?? Shopping”, he answered as if he was stating a fact which she was totally unaware of.

Though she was quite surprised to learn that he was there to call her for the shopping, her brain acted fast in relating things.

“So this is the reason why no one else tried to convince me. Since he was the one who ruined my mood they must have compelled him to set things straight. Definitely this is one of Di’s or Dhadhi’s ideas. AWESOME!!”, thought Kushi, looking somewhere other than the man who was watching her.

“Now what are you thinking, standing like a statue?Lets’s go”, said Arnav authoritatively.

“First you stop giving orders to me and ask properly”, she responded coming out of her thoughts, in a very firm tone.

He glared at her for few seconds and after shaking his head he said, “Kushiiiii, Shall we go”, in a very dramatic way.

“Much better! I’m not coming. You go”, replied Kushi carelessly, which shocked Arnav.

“WHAT THE!! But you just said…”, Arnav couldn’t complete his sentence as Kushi interrupted him saying, ” I asked you to ask me properly. But I never said that your way of asking would change my answer”.

“Oh! Come on!”, said Arnav loosing his patience.

“What come on? First you insult me in front of everyone and now when you ask me to come, you expect me to follow you wagging my tail?”, she asked him.

“What crap!I don’t have time for your nonsense”, said Arnav rolling his eyes.

“Then Go! Who is stopping you?”, she asked as she was sure that he can’t do that without tagging her along. Would he be here had it not been for the women who were downstairs. She giggled inwardly thinking about his state.

“Kushi, just shut up and come”, he said increasing the intensity in his tone.

“I won’t. After all that insult you did, why should I?”, she asked without leaving her ground. She knew that he was helpless and was trying her best to make the most out of it.

“I never insulted you. Okay! Now stop this dumb discussion and come before I change my mind”, said Arnav.

“Your changing of your mind has nothing to do with me”, she retorted, making him leave a deep sigh.

Seeing his state though she was extremely glad, wearing a serious expression on her face,  ” Okay! You don’t have to to be that frustrated. I will come. But only on one condition”,said Kushi,  giving him an option.

“Which is?”, he asked, slipping his hands into the pockets of his trousers.

“You have to apologize to me”, she announced, folding her hands.

“WHAT!!”, reacted Arnav.

“You heard me right. You have to say sorry to me if you want me to come with you. That’s it!”, declared Kushi.

“What the!! Have you gone insane. What should I say sorry for?”, questioned Arnav.

“For all the nonsense you spoke day before yesterday”, said Kushi, trying to remind him.

“Oh come on! You are expecting too much. I’m not going to say any sorry to you”, declared Arnav.

“Then do whatever you want. I’m not going to come till you say sorry to me”, she said, very carelessly and started playing with her hair, looking at  her painted finger nails.

As she fell silent Arnav observed her and when he looked at the girl who was curling her hair with a finger and checking her nails as if she has nothing to do with him, a thought crossed his head. “Didn’t she just give me an offer. Then why not make the most out of it”, he thought as he watched her from head to toe. She looked cute to him in that sea blue salwar but it was her attitude which encouraged him to take the next move.

With a smirk on his face, ” Okay! If that is what you wish for”, he said and waited for her to react. And when she raised her head and looked at him, anticipating to hear that one word which she had been craving to hear, he barged into her room, making her step backwards with his each forward move.

“What are you doing???”, she asked not understanding what he was up to, once they both were inside her room, with the door, right behind him.

“Shhh!”, he made a sound silencing her and locked the door behind him. And after making sure that the door was properly locked ,  he turned around to face her.

“Why did you lock the door?”, Kushi managed to ask though the very thought of being locked inside her room with him, sent a tiny shiver down her spine.

“You ask a lot of questions, don’t you?’, he said, taking his blazer off. He threw it on her bed and started moving forward, forcing her to step backwards.

“It’s hot in here? Isn’t you AC working ?”, he asked after throwing a glance at the split AC, while his hands were busy in unbuttoning the top two buttons on his shirt.

“AC is absolutely fine. You first stop what you are doing”, said Kushi with a horrified expression on her face.

“What am I doing? Just trying to get some air, he said working on the buttons of his shirt sleeves, while stepping towards her.

Kushi just gaped at him,as if her eyes were ready to pop out of their sockets, while Arnav kept moving forward, folding the sleeves  on his arms. As her heart beat took a hike, she kept walking backwards, until she felt the hard wall against her back. She turned her head to look what hit her and when she turned back to face him, he was right there, with his face in a foot distance to hers.

“Whhhat arrrrre you doing”, her voice finally found an escape, when he placed both his hands on the wall, trapping her between his arms.

“Just what you asked me to”, he whispered in her ear which made the skin there get goose bumps.

“What did I ask you to ?”, she managed to whisper back, while his eyes were looking straight into hers.

“Don’t you remember”, he asked huskily hearing which Kushi felt something flutter in her tummy.

She shook her head as her brain was in no state to recollect what she asked him to do.

“You asked me to do whatever I want to. Didn’t you…”, he paused bringing his head closer to hers.

“I didn’t mean it that way”, she said in a rush as she was super tensed, seeing him that close.

“Seriously!! Then why do I feel that you DO want me to do something”, he teased tilting his head, while his gaze shifted towards her shivering lips.

She looked at him to deny but when she noticed where his gaze has landed, her mouth went dry. She was not so dumb to not understand his intentions and as she started fearing about his next move, she crumpled the dupatta in her fist and shut her eyes as tiny beads of sweat started taking birth on her forehead.

“I was right! It’s definitely hot in here”, he whispered and started  blowing his warm breath on her forehead which in turn made her suck in her breath. As he continued doing it,she felt as if  every cell in her system was getting tickled by him and as that feeling soon took over her nervousness, she felt more relaxed in his company, than ever.  She would have gotten carried away further had he not whispered, ” You do want me to do it. Don’t you”, bringing her back to this world.

“WHAT?”, she asked, as her eyes popped open.

“Admit it “, he said teasingly.

“Admit what?’, she questioned not understanding what he was referring to.

” That you do want me to do something”, he prompted, eyeing her lips.

Not understanding how to react as Kushi wet her lips, it stirred something inside him and now as it was his turn to get carried away, he moved his head more closer to hers, reducing the gap between their faces from couple of inches to couple of centimeters.

He would have succeeded in implementing what his head was asking him to do had she not literally screamed in his ears, “Look, I don’t want you to do anything”.

As her voice put some sense into him, he pulled his head little away and was quite astonished with his own actions.”DAMMIT!! Why am I loosing my control like this!”, he couldn’t help but wonder.

“Except one”, she added on a latter note.

“Which is?”, he asked,  totally coming back to his senses.

“Take these hands away so that I can get out of your room”, replied Kushi, forgetting where she was.

“This is YOUR room, Kushi”, he tried to enlighten her.

“Then you get away from here”, she replied instantly as all she wanted was a huge distance from the man who was making her  insides go all mushy with each passing second.

“Not without you”, he replied calmly.

As she met his eyes ,” What do you want?”, asked Kushi.

“Nah! It wasn’t me. You were the one who wanted something”, he said coming back to square one.

“Not again!”, muttered Kushi and facing him directly, she said, ” Okay! I take back my words. I don’t want you to do whatever you want”.

“What about the apology which you were expecting to hear?”, he asked.

“I don’t need that one too. Now please let me go”, she asked helplessly as his nearness was taking a toll on her sanity.

“Can you repeat that? Couldn’t hear properly”, he said insisting her to repeat the pleading part.

“I said, PLEASE let me go. Now is that loud enough?”, she uttered understanding his intention.

“Since you are requesting so much, I will”, he said slowly taking his arms off the wall. But when he saw a slight relief on her face, he kept them back in place and asked, “Are you sure that you don’t want anything from me”, for which she nodded her head.

“Think about it. I don’t mind apologizing……but in my way though”, he teased after giving a glance to her lips.

“No need. We are good”, she replied instantly  knowing what he meant by ‘my way’.

“Awesome! Then let’s go”, he said taking his hands off the wall,setting her free. While Kushi relaxed and took a deep breathe, he grabbed his blazer which was lying on the bed and walked towards the door.

She watched his every move until he opened the door and once he did open it and step out of her room, making sure that she was back in the safety zone, she dared to say, ” You go. I’m not coming”.

Though that was unexpected, Arnav turned back and giving a stare to her, he said,                 ” Enough of the drama! Just shut your mouth and follow me”.

“No, I won’t. I don’t want your sorry but at the same time I’m not going to follow your orders. That’s it!”, declared Kushi who was back to her usual self. Though she failed in her attempts to get an apology from him, why should she let him succeed in making her come for the shopping, was her thought behind that reaction.

” If you don’t listen to me and come like a nice girl, I do know how to take you downstairs”, responded Arnav, narrowing his gaze at her.

“Oh really? Will you lift me and carry downstairs?”, she retorted but bit her tongue the very next moment for giving him such ideas.

As her actions amused him, the smirk was back on his face and he said, ” Of course, I will. If that is what you wish for”.

“No way! You will not dare to do any such thing with Di and Dhadhi waiting downstairs”, said Kushi reminding him that they weren’t alone in the house.

He laughed aloud hearing her logic which made Kushi fluster.

“Silly girl! Do you think I would be here, asking you to come, had it not been for them? They were the ones who wanted me to get you. And believe me when I say this, they clearly mentioned that I can do whatever it takes to get you to the shopping. So trust me, they wouldn’t mind even if I carry you to the store”, said Arnav trying to explain the facts.

Hearing this, Kushi got lost in her thoughts as she started weighing her chances of winning over him. Why should she miss all the shopping fun when he himself came to call her. May be she shouldn’t drag this too much. What if he really does what he threatened to do. The very thought of being in his arms made the butterflies in her tummy flutter. Wait a minute! What is she even thinking. In his arms??

” Looks like you do want me to carry you. If that is what you wish to… be my guest”, he said, as if he read her mind, while he started coming towards her. His words made her jerk out of her thoughts and she said ,” NO, WAIT RIGHT THERE!”, making him stop in his tracks.

She is not going to go to the shopping setting her big fat ego to fire. He himself came to REQUEST her. Well… not actually a request…but there is no harm in thinking like that. So technically speaking, she hasn’t lost it all. Did she? Feeling content with her analysis, ” I’m coming”, she declared.

“Good! Sounds better”, he responded seeing how the expressions on her face drastically changed.

He showed  her way gesturing her to take the lead and waited until she walked past him and crossed the door. “Did he think I would cheat?”, Kushi wondered as she descended the stairs with him right behind her.

The two poor souls who had been waiting for the past fifteen minutes, having no clue what was happening upstairs, were relieved to see the duo descend the stairs. But when they got a much better look at them, they didn’t understand what to conclude looking at Arnav who was buttoning the top buttons of his shirt and unfolding his sleeves, with his blazer hanging on his right arm,and the girl who was last seen in a night dress and high ponytail,all decked up in a sea blue color salwar, setting her free long hair with her fingers.

“What do you think must have happened, Dhadhi?”, whispered Anjali for which Devyani said, ” I have no clue!”, staring at the duo who were fast approaching them.

“Kushi, when did you change?”, asked Devyani not able to hold back her curiosity, observing Kushi from head to toe.

“Just now Dhadhi, after he told me that you both are waiting for me”, replied Kushi, pointing her left thumb towards ,Arnav.

“Man! She is too good at lying“, thought Arnav, staring at her, though he preferred not to deny her statement.

“Oh. Okay! Shall we start”, asked Devyani addressing Arnav, whose cell phone buzzed right at that moment.

“Just a minute, I will be right back”, replied Arnav going towards the dining hall to take the call in private.

Seeing Arnav exiting from there, ” How did he convince you? We thought it wouldn’t be an easy task”, said Anjali expressing her doubt.

“Of course it wasn’t. To stay put when the man who is capable of making her go all mushy, standing so close to her” .Kushi shook her head as that thought crossed her head.

“Ya Kushi. I would like to know how he persuaded you”, said Devyani, who was equally curious to know what made Kushi give in so quickly.

“You will faint if I tell you what exactly he did, Dhadhi”, the words slipped out of Kushi’s mouth as she recollected what happened few minuted ago. But when the curious souls, responded with a ‘ WHAT’, she realized what she just uttered and tried to cover up saying, ” It might be quite shocking… but he did apologize to me Dhadhi.”

“Did he?”, asked a surprised Anjali.

“I wish he did. Sitting on his knees and pleading me to forgive”, thought Kushi visualizing her fantasy.

“Yup. Not once but many times”, she replied coming back to reality.

And when the excited ladies showed enthusiasm to learn the whole story, Kushi went little overboard and made up her own version of the story. She told them how she initially rejected his apologies but accepted them in the end when he literally pleaded her to join them for the shopping.

“Arnav??? And pleading?”, the duo stared at each other not able to believe Kushi’s story.

“Only God knows how I pleaded him to set me free”, mumbled Kushi scratching her eyebrow with a finger.

“Of course! You should have seen how he was on his knees, waiting for me to accept his apology”, Kushi bluffed to make them believe her story.

Hearing this the duo understood that she was indeed bluffing since they both knew that Arnav would no such thing. Understanding that he must dealt with Kushi in his very own way, which they weren’t sure how, they both giggled looking at the girl who was trying her best to convince them.

“Now, why are you both giggling?”,  asked Kushi.

“Arnav…and on knees… and you want us to believe that”, said Anjali between her giggles.

“Not exactly! But can’t you both at least pretend to believe it. If will make me feel better”, complained Kushi, collapsing in the nearby couch.

While Anjali and Devyani burst into a laughter, ” Let’s go”, said Arnav entering the living area.  Seeing him while Kushi stood upright in her spot, the laughs subsided which caused a suspicion in him.

He looked at his grandmother and sister who were trying hard to control their smiles and then stared at the girl who stood as if her act has been caught.

“What was so funny?”, he asked addressing the duo while his eyes were still on Kushi.

“He will eat me raw if he comes to know about the nonsense I cooked up“, thought Kushi, who moved closer to the other two ladies and whispered, “I will give you a treat. Don’t say anything to him”.

Though he noticed that she did say something to them, he couldn’t make out what it was. But it was evident from her face that it was something related to him.

“It’s nothing that important. Let’s go. Your mothers must be waiting for us”, said Devyani taking the lead to leave the home.

While Anjali followed her next, suppressing her smiles, Arnav walked with them till the door and once the other two stepped out of the house, he waited at the door step and grabbed the wrist of the girl who was eager to exit the house.

“What were you telling them?”, he asked without giving her any time to realize what just  happened.

“Nothing”, she replied trying to free her hand from his grip.

“Were you talking about me?”, he whispered pulling her little closer to himself which made her shudder.

“NO”, she managed to say while she placed her other hand on his, to uncurl his fingers which were holding her wrist.

He smirked and waited while she struggled to lift his fingers.

“What do you eat?”, Kushi couldn’t help but say finding it hard to get his hand off her wrist, though she continued her attempt to escape from him.

“Arnav!!”, the call from outside didn’t let him continue what he was doing and he loosened his grip on her wrist.

“You better watch your mouth when you speak anything related to me. If I come to know that you are trying to cross the line… I will be forced  to cross mine”, he threatened before setting her wrist free and walked away from there.

“I should never be around this guy when I’m alone”, thought Kushi who rubbed her wrist and followed him, cursing him until they reached the car.

He got into the car and ignited the engine but Kushi stood right outside it, gaping at the women who already took the rear seat. “Why can’t Di sit in the front seat”, Kushi mumbled looking at the empty seat which was right next to him.

“Do you need an invite to get in the car too? GET IN”, he barked from inside.

While Kushi sat in the car and slammed the door in response the women in the rear seat giggled, which infuriated Kushi further. She gave one look to them to shut them up and after wearing her seat beat looked out of the window as if she has nothing to do with the folks in the car.

They had a silent drive for five minutes until Devyani’s eyes fell on her grandson’s hand while he was changing the gear.

“Isn’t it the same watch you got as a gift, Arnav”, she asked drawing everyone’s attention towards the watch on his wrist.

“Yes, Dhadhi”, replied Arnav after giving a glance to Kushi, which she totally ignored.

“Looks like you like it a lot. I have seen you wearing it,almost daily”, remarked Anjali for which Arnav  preferred to stay mum.

“Have you invited your friend to visit us sometime. That reminds me. Why don’t you invite her for the wedding”, added Anjali trying to prolong the discussion.

“Ya, if her selection itself is this charming, how charming must that girl be. I wish to see her soon”, said Devyani.

“Did I mention that I spoke to her recently”, he paused, bringing the car to a halt due to the traffic signal and though she wasn’t enjoying this conversation Kushi too was curious to know what Arnav had to say further, just like the other two people.

“No, you didn’t. What did she say. When she is visiting us?”, asked Anjali enthusiastically though she was keenly observing Kushi.

“Now why is Di so over reacting. Is she planning to play the role of a match maker“, thought Kushi, who started playing with her dupatta.” And even if she is… why should I care?”, she asked herself.

“She isn’t, because I didn’t invite her in the first place. And most of all, she has nothing to do with this watch. She doesn’t even know in which part of the country I live now”, said Arnav throwing a glance at Kushi.

“Seriously!!! Then who must have sent it?”, said Devyani who was thoroughly enjoying the conversation.

“I don’t know”, replied Arnav with a shrug, looking at the road ahead of him.

“Who is this mysterious girl”, Devyani said as if she was talking to herself for which Anjali responded saying, ” Might be one of Arnav’s secret admirers who doesn’t want to reveal her identity”.

Kushi jerked in her seat hearing this while Arnav enjoyed seeing her in that state.

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