Arhi FF: Us Against the World

Chapter 12

Khushi was standing on the balcony staring at the stars just like every night. Although the penthouse was beautiful, this was her favourite part of the house. She could openly talk to her Amma Babu ji and tell them what was in her heart. It comforted her. Today, it had felt cathartic to let out her feelings in front of her family. The accusation in her Jiji's eyes, the hurt in her Amma's voice and the horrible words Bua ji had spoken; it had broken her once again. But something had snapped inside her. For the first time, she had confronted them and it did feel good. The way Arnav ji and Preeto had stood by her, she was overjoyed to have someone to lean back on. Her thoughts were broken by a clearing of a throat behind her and she smiled to herself.

'This is becoming our daily routine.' Khushi commented, biting her lip when Arnav came to stand beside her leaning on the railing with his arm grazing hers. From the past few days, they had started meeting here alone. They would gaze at the stars, talk about their days, and just bask in each other's presence. There was something magical about these stolen moments.

'Are you complaining?' Arnav asked instead. After dropping Khushi and Preeto home and making sure she was okay, he had gone to the office to attend to the work that was piling on because of his absence. He had gone to Shantivan and even though planned to have dinner with Khushi, his Di had insisted that he eat with her. He had sent Khushi an apology text and asked her not to wait as he'll be late. But he felt thrilled to know that she waited. He looked at her standing with open hair in a simple white shalwar kameez and a serene smile on her face and his heart did a flip. She's so beautiful, his thought.

'You okay?' Arnav asked for the umpteenth time. He had thought that nothing would surprise him after that fiasco but Khushi's family took the cake. They hadn't for once even asked how Khushi was doing and had instead put the entire blame on her for sabotaging Payal's wedding. Preeto was right, they didn't deserve Khushi.

'Yes. Why does everyone keep asking me that?' Khushi asked with a hint of irritation. Everyone around her seemed to be fixated on the 'making-sure-Khushi's-okay' mission and she wasn't used to be treated like a glass doll. Yes, she had fallen weak when everyone was against her but she was stronger than that. She did love the care and concern these people showed her but she truly felt fine now. She saw Arnav raise an eyebrow at her with a smirk and shrugged.

'That night when everyone was blaming me, I was numb. I was just so shocked at how things turned out that I lost my ability to react.' Khushi explained, staring ahead at nothing in particular. Sharing things like these with anyone was hard but she wanted to tell this to her Arnav ji. He had seen her at her lowest point and had been there for her through it all.

'It's understandable.' Arnav grunted. He knew that Khushi felt a little stifled with all the hovering but she didn't know what he went through when he saw her battling with those nightmares. She had a habit of hiding her innermost feelings, not wanting to burden others. But how could he tell her that her pain tore him apart? For once, he felt helpless.

'Yes but I'm fine now. You don't have to worry about me all the time. I've always stood up for myself and will continue to do so. Especially when I know I'm right.'  Khushi declared with a proud smile on her face.

'I thought that side of yours was specially reserved for me.' Arnav joked, instantly changing the mood. He loved this side of Khushi, the ability to bounce back from anything that life threw at her. Unlike everyone he knew, Khushi took everything in her stride and fought her battles with a smile. And he was in awe of that.