Trigger warnings - mentions of drugs and alcohol
"In politics, there are no relationships between rivals, there are only truces!" - Unknown
--*--
Arnav stood mesmerized as Khushi descended the staircase and walked towards the stage where he was standing, waiting for her. For a minute, he almost thought she would excitedly run into his arms, like older days.
But as she came nearer, he was made to face the reality of today, reality of his once ex-lover, soon fiancé.. he remembered the conversation he had with her when they had come with the proposal,
"This will be a marriage bound with terms and conditions. Of course, we have been generous for your benefit too, but you will sign it to pledge your loyalty." Saying so they had given him the file...or rather the contract!
And then Khushi had asked to speak with him alone, so Rani Ma excused them.
"I just want to clear one last thing Arnav, this is a namesake marriage, so we will be husband and wife only for the world. but we will not have any physical relations. Our bedrooms will be separate. I don't care what you do behind the closed doors as long as you don't do it publicly and I-" he stopped her from saying further, aghast at what she was implying...
"Khushi whatever you think of me but I am not into infidelity and I will expect the same from you." He couldn't believe she was hinting at something like that. He agreed he had cheated her the worst way in the past, but he wasn't going to be unfaithful in their marriage, and neither would he allow her to.
"Stop right there Arnav. Yes, I am faithful but to only one person. Swayam. And he is no longer in this world. And about your fidelity, I will never believe you on it, especially after getting my trust trampled under your feet last time." she was still not meeting his eye and that hurt him, more than her words
"Will you never even look at me khushi?" he didn't know why it was affecting him so much
"The day you refused to look at me, you refused to acknowledge our relationship, you lost all the respect in my eyes Arnav. I had trusted you despite you being my father's enemy's son, despite you being a Raizada, but you proved that an enemy will always remain an enemy. Now there is nothing for you here." she said with a finality and he sighed.
"Fine. I am ready to sign this, but I have a condition." one final thing he needed to ensure.
"You really think you are in a position to demand things Arnav?" she laughed but he ignored it with a stiff face,
"My condition is, you will never dig out about my father, Arvind Raizada." he said as he had to ensure Arvind Raizada was not messed with, until at least his mother was safe.
"So you can plot something again? you are still dreaming of snatching the chief minister chair aren't you? You know Arnav, when you threw me out, I had promised myself that jis kursi ki wajah ye sara kissa shuru hua tha, agar usse haasil karke nahi dikhaya toh hamara naam khushi Gupta nahi! (I had taken an oath that the crown for which this whole thing started, I won't stop until I possess it). And I did it. I snatched it from the Raizada family. and now-"
"Now you will want to publicly humiliate me too? The way I did? so tumhara badla pura ho, right?"
"I won't stoop that low Arnav. all of this started because of your game for power, I agree, and now I have it. But it has become much more than that for me now. and I am not going involve in anymore of your stupid games. So, this is a truce, a ceasefire..."
