||Forced to be Yours||

Chapter 17

“Mamma! Open the door!”
“What door?” Khushi frowned.
“We’re in London!”
“What!” Khushi screamed. “Give the phone to Maya.”
And she heard the doorbell. Khushi's heart skipped a beat. Was they really here? She rushed out of the room only to see the house help unlocking the door, with Arnav walking behind. And in front, stood Aarush with his signature smile that could win anyone’s heart.
But his smiled dropped when he noticed Arnav. He kept looking at him for few seconds and his lips started to tremble. His eyes started filling up and soon tears rolled down.

“Pappa!”

Aarush ran to Arnav who involuntarily sat on his knees to be at his level. Soon he was in his arms who hugged him closely. Arnav was hell shocked to see the kid calling him Papa. He picked him up and Aarush hugged him tightly putting his head in crook of his neck.
“Wh- what happened?" Arnav tried to calm him down.
He didn’t know how to handle him. He didn’t even knew this little boy but he suddenly felt solace holding him in his arms. The kid was constantly crying so he bombarded with questions.
"How did you come here? Does your mamma knows that you're here?” he asked then saw a lady walking behind with some luggage. She looked shocked seeing him as if she identified him from somewhere.
“Stop crying, buddy!” he said as be realise him still crying.

"Mamma!"

Arnav stood shock as the child climbed down his arms and hugged Khushi.

Mamma?

His face turned pale. This child was calling Khushi mamma that means, he was his son! Khushi's and his. He couldn’t believe he was a father! Father of this beautiful child. He heart filled with happiness but Arnav's happy thoughts came to pause when he realised that Khushi hid this truth from him. How could she keep his son away from him? He started getting angrier as he realised that he never got to meet his son in 5 years, that his son lived the life of an orphan while he was alive! How could she?

"Mamma, we finalised sufer-ised you!" He was bought out of his thoughts by the little kid's voice.
"it's surprise, Aarush." Khushi corrected him as she kissed his cheek.
"But you gave a shock to me." Arnav whispered but it was quite audible to Khushi.
Mumma, why didn’t you tell that papa was here?" Aarush asked unaware of the cold war his parents were fighting through eyes. “You sufer-ised me too!”

"Yes, baby." Arnav replied, looking straight into Khushi's eyes.

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Arnav still wasn’t able to digest that Khushi didn’t even tell him. How could she do this to him? How could she hide such a huge reality from him? His son.

He looked towards Aarush who was playing with his nanny, Maya. How can she not tell him about him? He knew he did wrong her by sending her away from him. But all this while he had been dying everyday. Khushi was obviously not glad seeing Aarush here. Did she want to make them apart again? No! Aarush was his son! Their son! How could he just leave him?
________

“I can’t believe this, Aakash!” Khushi yelled on phone. “How can you send Aarush and Maya here without asking me?”
“See Khushi, I think it’s high time Arnav out to know about his son. Aarush is growing up. Till how long were we going to lie to him?” Aakash tried to reason with her.
“I know how to handle my son! You don’t need to worry about that!” she yelled again and dropped the phone on the bed.
She looked in the side mirror of the car. All of a sudden she was shocked to see Aarush’s mother staring back at her, with no trace of Arnav’s Khushi. What had she done to herself? To him, to her love for him? She realised the spark between them has been lost. But is it only the spark, or the love itself?
Suddenly she heard the door open and Arnav walking inside.
"What are you doing here?" she asked trying her best to not look at him.
“Just one question,” he said as he tried to control his tears. “Why?”
"Arnav, I..." she couldn't continue. She didn't know what to say. She realized that he has made her suffer, but he was now suffering more. He did a mistake by sending but she also didn't do correct by hiding her pregnancy from him. "What should I say..?"

"Is there still something to say?" Arnav exploded suddenly making Khushi flinch. "Do you still have to say something now? Is there still anything left that I don't know?"

It is the love, she decided. It is the love that has been lost not because it wasn't strong, but because she quit. She couldn't fight anymore. She was done, she was fed up trying to hold the relationship alone.

"Will you now dare to speak?" She came out of her thoughts. "Why on earth did you do this?"

"What else should have I done?" Khushi barked back. "You fucking sent me away! Not even cared to ask what I wanted!"

"I did all that for you, Khushi. No other university was ready to take you in after that. I couldn’t compromise with you career. I know I should have asked you beforehand. But why didn’t you even tell me that we are pregnant?

"Why should have I? So that you ask me to abort?" She shouted as tears rolled down her eyes.

"Don't!" Arnav warned.

"Why? You sent me away from you, Arnav. Have you ever thought of my pain, your question broke my heart, do you even know what all I went through? Can you imagine how difficult it was for me? I wanted to tell you that night but you didn’t show up. You sent the flight tickets!"

"Fine, I know I was a fool but you could have been angry on me, slapped me. Beat me and then tell me?" Arnav asked. "Did he even know that he had a father?"

"Of course he did!" Khushi said. "Or else, how do you think he recognised you? He knows you are his father. He knows your name, has seen your picture. He has all the right to know. I am not selfish, unlike some other people here.”
"You hate me, don't you?" Arnav asked as realisation drew upon him.
"I won’t lie and you won’t be able to hear the truth," Khushi confessed and left the room leaving behind a broken Arnav.

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That was all for today. I hope you guys enjoyed it!