It should have been you

2. Deep wounds

About this scene: Arnav is distressed after knowing about Khushi's engagement. He takes his anger on his garden, cutting the good plants and flowers in rage. However, he accidentally cuts himself in the process and when Khushi rushes to help him, he dismisses her, calling Lavanya's help instead, intentionally hurting Khushi. (S4 episode 8 on Hulu/Hotstar, episode 125 otherwise)

--~--

"It is my engagement ring."

Ever since Arnav Malik became Arnav Singh Raizada, he had written his own destiny. He had proudly boasted about it. ASR got everything he wanted, even before that 'want' came to his mind.

But today, when he heard Khushi Kumari Gupta utter those blasted words, he felt as if he lost something greatly desired, something coveted that he desperately wanted. What was that something precious he lost, he would rather not acknowledge. He was too proud to do that.

But he despised that nameless, faceless man who was her fiancé. That son of a b*tch who will be in possession of her; her body and heart included. Just because that sco*ndrel was going to marry her, that nonsense, moronic institution called marriage which Arnav hated with every cell in his being.

He felt an excruciating pain in his heart just with the thought of Khushi becoming someone else's. He wanted to remove that disturbing thought from his mind, he wanted to expunge that detail where she mentioned about her engagement from his life, he wanted to wipe out that part from his past, better still remove that s*um who was her fiancé from her life! Yes, that is exactly what he wanted. Cut out that man from her life- the man who was not him.

He didn't even realize when he directed his thoughts into actions on his beloved plants and started cutting them, as if they were that man in Khushi's life!

"What are you doing? You are butchering the flowers!" her voice reached his ears. Momentarily soothing him, telling him she was here, at least at this moment.

The next he remembered she signed her future with some other man, and his anger was back!

--~--

Khushi knew he was hurt. When she told him about her fateful engagement. She was hurt too. She hadn't liked going ahead with that proposal in the first place. This wedding, if it happened, was an ill-fated compromise for her. She had always dreamt of marrying for love, not for compromise.

But lately, it appeared as if her Devi Maiyya had decided to not listen to her wishes and not fulfill her dreams. How was she going to fulfill them in any case? The man who occupied Khushi's mind and heart, wasn't hers.

Even the thought caused her eyes to fill with tears. But she had to look for him. Something was telling her; he was not ok. And she had to follow her instinct.

She found him tending his garden, rather mercilessly cutting his beautiful plants!

"Do you even realize you are cutting the flowers?" she asked, trying to stop his madness!

"Whatever I do, what has it got to do with you?" he asked angrily and then, the sharp scissor cut his hand!

Even before the 'Uff' escaped his lips, Khushi had felt the pain! Her breathing almost stopped, her heart started ringing in her ears, when she saw blood spilling out from his palm.

No. It was not his wound, not his hurt, not pain, it was all hers! In that moment, she realized Arnavji's deep wound had power to cause unimaginable pain to her!