Always and Forever

Chapter 07

"You can't let a mere simple middle-class girl ruin the life you have built" Arnav was trying his hard to make himself understand. He remembered everything from the day he first saw her at the temple till a few hours back.

He has refused A-list actresses to runway models previously just because he wanted to maintain the life ethics he followed and did not want to break the walls he has around him. But he knew, this one single girl has now managed to crack pretty much all those walls and it's a matter of time when all those walls fall down exposing him and making him vulnerable. He can't let that happen.

He has to keep his distance. He knew it will be the hardest decision in his life but for the sake of his own sanity, he has to let go of his ego and revenge and keep his distance from her.

Akash getting married to her sister made this hard but he has to. He will try to avoid as many as pre-wedding rituals he can and after the wedding, he heard his grandma mentioning Khushi will move back to her hometown with her Aunt. So basically he has to stay away from her for two weeks. It doesn't sound that hard thought Arnav.

But one thing he didn't know was when it comes to HIM and HIS way of planning, not even the greatest of greatest couldn't resist. Arnav was nothing compared to those people.

On the other hand, Khushi was restless. Today she has broken all her laws. She let Arnav touch her, embrace her, almost kiss her and the worst part was she actually liked it.

She felt attracted to a man for the first time, she was sitting in the dark and it didn't scare her. Because her feelings towards Arnav scared her the most and Darkness was nothing compared to that. She must lock her feelings deep inside her and then throw the key away and for that, she must keep her distance from him.

He is Arnav Singh Raizada, crown bearer of the Raizada family. They were royalty. He was a billionaire, foyer of his mansion is bigger than her whole house. But all these materialistic things can be ignored. After all her sister is getting married to their younger son.

But there was a difference. Her sister was not an orphan. Khushi for the first time after many years felt helpless. She missed her parents. If only she was ready to give up her favorite toy for a minute her parents would be still alive. She remembered that unfortunate night.

Flashback

"Moma, Moma, Mr. Figgy"

"Oh Khushi, please don't cry baby. I can see Mr. Figgy. He is by your dad's feet. As soon as he is out of the motorway he will park the car and get you your toy. Okay baby"

"No moma, I need Mr. Figgy now. Dada dada, please give me Mr. Figgy."

"Please baby, this is a motorway and dad is driving 100Kmph speed. He is not allowed to stop the vehicle on a motorway unless it's an emergency and at this speed, it is risky to leave the steering baby. Give us 5 mins"

"Moma, I am holding my breath until you give me Mr. Figgy. I'm not going to breathe" saying that Khushi held her breath.

Knowing how stubborn his Khushi is, her dad removed one hand from the steering and bend to one side trying to get the toy that was lying by his shoes.

BANG!!!! It only took a second and all Khushi remembered was her mom screaming "Khushi get down".

Flashback End.

Her whole world turned upside down in a second. She has never shared this part of the story with anyone because she believed she deserved to live with this guilt for the rest of her life and this is her punishment.

But if she is to go into a family like Raizada, she must disclose this. She can never start a new relationship with a lie. She knew she has no right to dream. Khushi was not stupid. A family like them will never accept an Orphan like her. So she decided what was best for her.

She has to keep her distance from Arnav. She has to let these feelings die down. It will be hard, but it's better to cut them while she can than regret it for the rest of her life. She is already living with the guilt of killing her own parents and she was not strong enough to add heartbreak to the list.

With that thought, she went to sleep thinking about how she can avoid Arnav for the next two weeks. After Payal's marriage, she will tell her Aunt that she is moving back to Lucknow and will spend the rest of her life taking care of her adoptive parents.

Payal, who was planning on talking to Akash about Shyam totally forgot about it and got busy planning her wedding.

Anyways, they say everything happens for a reason.

Arnav successfully avoided the first few pre-wedding rituals making the excuse that since Akash is taking leave for his wedding he has extra work at the office. He would leave early in the morning and come home late at night.

But the time between night and morning was the hardest for him. Khushi, roamed around his mind all the time during that time. He wanted to see her badly. He didn't know what this feeling is but it was different. He thought if he keeps his distance from her after a few days these feelings will die down but it was the opposite. The feelings grew daily and were killing him. But he has no other option. He cannot let his guards down. His sister always says his ego is his enemy. Maybe she was right. 

He was not born to love. His father cheated on his mother. After all, he is carrying the same genes and he believed he will someday do the same. The only way he can prevent that is by never getting married.

His Di has told him million times he is not like his father. But she is no fortune teller nor can she see the future.

Both Arnav and Khushi have their demons and only if they let each other in their lives, they will see how they can help each other fight these demons.

Arnav and Khushi came close yet the distance never reduced. Their story always left incomplete even after meeting each other. When they say that true love is the one that does not get a destination maybe they are right. But no one knows what the future holds for them only HE knows. 

...................................................................

Hope you enjoy this chapter. This is a little emotional chapter. Wanted to give some depth to the main characters. 

Happy reading!