HOME IS WHERE HEART IS.

CHAPTER 6| OVERTURE.

A beginning to something substantial.

"6 goes there and 4 here. Not otherwise!! I told you so..." squealed Khushi, her left index finger pointing at the little boxes which were wrongly filled.

Arnav intently stared at the sudoku puzzle on the Sunday Newspaper, which he'd been solving along with his wife. He couldn't remember the last time he'd solved the puzzle nor could he remember the last time he saw the Newspaper for matters other than business.

She was right. He'd exchanged the numbers.

"Arnavji! I know I'm right. Quit analysing and just change their places." Khushi urged as she saw him burning the newspaper with his gaze.

"Okay, okay! I'm just double checking." he shook his head, correcting his mistakes.

"You needn't 'double check'. I'm always right." Gloated Khushi, her face lighting up as usual.

"Really?" Arnav raised an eyebrow.

"Really." she answered confidently.

"Oh..kay... How about the time when you poured hot tea on me by 'mistake'." asked Arnav, folding his arms and smirking a little.

Khushi's eyes widened and her lips searched for an appropriate response.

"I...I..." she fumbled.

"You... You..." he imitated.

"It was defensive move..." she objected, pouting.

"Agreed... But, you were wrong, weren't you?" he insisted.

"Okay! I was wrong... Once..maybe?"

Arnav smiled smugly.

Irked by his reaction,

"Haww! How many other incidents can you quote? I on the other hand can enlist numerous instances when you were so wrong about me...." she blurted out.

Arnav stilled at that. What was only meant to be a playful bicker, had no longer stayed so.

Khushi hadn't meant to utter it that like that. Nevertheless, she had and she could evidently see the effect of her words.

His eyes had reflected hurt which flickered to guilt the very next moment. The air around them grew thick with tension.

The truce they'd been operating on for the past week had been cracked.

Arnav sought the sudden silence to excuse himself. He needed air to breathe.

"I'll refill the waterjug and come." He said, his lips pressed to a thin line.

Khushi sighed as she watched him go.

What are we even doing?

The question haunted her. It had been a week since he'd arranged for the kids to visit her. Ever since, the hositily between them had gradually decreased. It even felt completely non-existent at times, that it scared her.

She so wanted to give in to his acts of kindness, his softer side. But, he was still holding her responsible for something she might not have done, something she had no clue about. So, her subconscious warned her to stay away and sometimes even succeeded in pushing him away.

Today had been one other time. Maybe all that she'd had bottled up, had found a way to come out.

Arnav's strides back to his room were slow and calculative. His wife's words reverberated in his head

"I on the other hand can enlist numerous instances when you were so wrong about me...."

She was right. Most of his judgements on her had been terribly wrong.