Making Her Mine- An IPKKND story.

Chapter 1 - Unveiled

Even when the thought of losing Khushi filled Arnav's heart with the worst kind of dread, he needed to remember who she really was. How easily he had almost forgotten all her transgressions, almost told her that despite the horrible thing she had done to his sister, that he—no. Just because she had pretended in the silliest competition on earth that she was dying.

This stupid competition that Nani had childishly made him stay for, where everything made him cringe from the depths of his soul, and he had taken that moment so seriously, when she had said that she would die. And seeing her fall to the floor, after her mesmerizing little performance, he had become exactly the kind of stupid that he had always accused her of being.

No, Khushi wasn't stupid. She was a superb actress. Hadn't she convinced him that she wanted him, not that disgusting creep Shyam? He, Arnav Singh Raizada, whose instincts had been unfailing, had failed so miserably when it came to Shyam and Khushi. No, he had not failed; he had been right about Khushi in the beginning, and then let her turn his brain to mush, exactly the way he had told his sister and the whole world he would never allow. Love made people weak and helpless and stupid. He had always known this. And yet he had succumbed to it. Even now, when he knew her true face, he was weak.

The familiar feeling of rage bubbled up uncontrollably in him when the emcee told him that Khushi had gone out with her husband. "I am her husband," he had growled.

Shyam. She was with Shyam. Both of them were missing together. It was obvious. Were they patching up after their fight months ago on the terrace? Or had they already patched up and sneaked off together? The thought made him want to throw up, cry, and destroy everything around him, all at once.

And then he saw them. Shyam was smiling and holding Khushi's hand. They stood near the entrance of the hall, evidently having returned from outside. The audacity, sneaking off together like that. He was ready for the rage, but not the piercing in his heart. After all this, and he had somehow imagined that she cared for him. That all of it was not an act. What she had said at Holi. The way she looked at him sometimes. The way she had lost her mind and tried everything under the sun to get his voice back. The way she had spent all night awake because he had fainted from low blood sugar. The way she understood him even when he had no voice, even before he tried to explain what he wanted. The way she seemed to hear him before he called out her name. It was all an act. How could it all be an act?

And here she was, standing next to a smiling Shyam, holding his hand—no, wait, what was happening? Arnav caught a glimpse of Khushi's face, and suddenly the picture changed. She looked—distressed. Angry, afraid, even. She wasn't holding Shyam's hand; Shyam was holding hers. And she was trying to—before he could complete that thought, Arnav found himself striding toward them. Khushi saw him first—her expression morphing from disgust and fear to pure alarm as she made eye contact with him. Shyam turned around, following her gaze, and looked panicked for a second before wearing a bland, simpering face.

Khushi had freed her hand from Shyam's grasp now and was staring at the floor.

"What is happening here?" Arnav said in a low voice, barely holding down his rage.

"Nothing, Saale-Sahab," Shyam replied instantly, in that sickening, oily manner that made Arnav want to grab him by the throat and punch him senseless. "I ran into Khushi-ji here and was asking her if she wants to return inside."

Arnav ignored the disgusting creep, but watched Khushi closely. She looked afraid, clutching her dupatta in a fist. But when Shyam spoke, a look of pure disgust marred her face. Disgust and anger. Not directed at Arnav, but at Shyam. Were they still fighting, then?

Arnav grabbed Khushi's hand and pulled her after him wordlessly, still ignoring Shyam. She didn't resist but followed him willingly.

They almost looked like lovers, hand in hand, as they walked into the dressing room, where they ran into Di.

"Di? What are you doing here? Didn't you say you were with a friend?" Arnav asked, taken by surprise to see his sister in the dressing room instead of with everyone else. She looked a little pale.

"My friend? She left; I was just looking for Khushi-ji," Di said, eyes not meeting his. She was clearly hiding something too.

"What happened, Di? Are you okay?" he asked, concerned now.

"I'm fine, Chotay. Why don't you go back? I'll join you, I'll come with Khushi-ji."

"No, something's going on. What happened? Tell me," Arnav demanded.

Di sighed. "Chotay, please don't overreact. Nothing happened, I am fine, Khushi-ji is fine. Everything is fine. I just want to talk to Khushi-ji; we'll come join the rest of you in a minute. They must be getting ready to go now anyway. Go on."

Exasperated, Arnav turned on his heels and left them. He would ask Khushi later.

It was impossible to figure out what was going through Khushi's mind as they made their way back to Shantivan. She seemed herself again. She hugged Payal and Mami, and smiled at Mamaji and Akash and Nani. But she wouldn't meet his eyes, and when she felt his gaze on her, her smile seemed to slip. And she didn't look at Shyam at all. It was as if Shyam did not exist in the same world as her, even when he stood in her line of sight.

So they were still fighting. What was she doing? Was she asking him to leave Di, again?