Making Her Mine- An IPKKND story.

Chapter 32 - Hope

When he woke up again, Arnav realized he had fallen asleep. There was no more pain. His body ached from lying down, but that was it.

It was dark in the room. There was something warm in his hands. He turned his head sideways, slightly. There was a figure hunched over his bed—someone sitting beside him... Khushi! He glanced at his hand. She was holding it.

"...Khushi..." his voice was a breath. She started. She had been asleep on a chair.

"Arnav Ji!"

"Khushi...?" He tried again, louder this time, voice hoarse.

"Arnav Ji! Do you want something? Water? Are you okay? What do you want?"

She had moved her hand away. He reached out and couldn't find it.

"Khushi... your hand..."

"What? My hand?"

"Your hand...Where's your hand?"

She looked puzzled as she raised her hands to show him.

"Please..." he murmured.

Yes, he had left Buaji's house. He had meant to let her choose. But she was here, next to him, holding his hand. "Put it back—in mine."

She gave a loud sob and slipped a warm hand back into his. He was too weak to even tighten his grip.

"Do you want anything?"

"No, I don't want anything else."

She squeezed his hand.

"Just—what time is it?" he asked, his voice stronger now.

She looked around and picked up her phone with her free hand. "It's 2 am."

He frowned. 2 am? "What are you doing here, Khushi? Why aren't you asleep in bed?"

She began to sniffle.

"Khushi, shush... please don't cry."

She continued sniffling. "Khushi, bas, please stop," he said again. "Tell me, I'm confused, no one has told me. What happened?"

"You got hurt," her voice broke. "That's all, Arnav Ji. You got hurt. And now you're in hospital."

Arnav remembered again and tried to sit up.

"I didn't get hurt, Khushi. I—you have to call the police. Are you alone here? You're not safe!"

"It's okay, Arnav-ji," she said, pushing him back down gently. "I'm safe. There's security outside your cabin."

"What? Khushi, tell me! What happened?"

She was quiet for a while. He squeezed her hand feebly. Finally, she started speaking, her voice wobbling.

"S–someone attacked you, Arnav-j–ji. W–when you left—I d–don't know what happened, why you s–stopped your car. B–but your c–car was in the middle of a deserted road. And—someone hit you o–on the h–head."

She sobbed, and continued in an even worse voice. "They f–found you on the s–side of the road, hidden behind some bushes. You were v–very badly hurt. S-someone's trying to h–hurt you. T–thank g–goodness you are safe."

With an effort to steady herself, she continued, "B–but because of that, Jijaji and Aman ji arranged for security outside your cabin. No one can hurt you... A–and one of us has been with you at all times."

"Wha—how long has it been?" Arnav asked.

She sniffled again. "Two w–weeks."

"What? It's been two weeks?" Arnav tried to sit up again.

"Arnav-Ji, please rest. You were seriously hurt. You're only just getting better. We will talk about all of this later."

"But, Khushi, why are they making you stay here through the night? You don't even have a bed to lie down on. Where's everyone else?"

"No one has been making me do anything. There's a couch on the other side of your bed. Everyone is home because I asked them to go. It's been a very long two weeks for everyone. All of us have been—" she gave a small dry sob.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Why are you sorry? It's not your fault. Someone attacked you."

"I know. I'm sorry I left like that. I didn't want to win the bet. And, I never wanted to put you through this. Especially you and Di. I'm sorry you had to go through two weeks afraid for me."

She squeaked out a small sob.

"But it's very late now. Go lie down. I'm fine. We'll talk tomorrow."

She shook her head.

"Khushi, come on. I'm going to sleep too. You can't spend the whole night sitting beside me."

But she shook her head again, obstinately.

"Fine, then," he said. He moved his body gingerly, to see if he could. He had tubes attached to one arm, but his body didn't hurt. He shuffled to the side, making enough room for her beside him.

"Get up here then."

"What? I can't get on your bed!" She exclaimed. "You're hurt!"

"I'm fine. Just don't kick me in your sleep. Come on, get in."

"Arnav-Ji..."

"Look, Khushi. Either you lie down here or on the couch. I'm not going to be able to fall asleep with you sitting up like that all night. Please let me rest."

She hesitated, then stood up and sat on the bed. Slowly, she lifted her feet up and lay beside him. She turned on her side, facing him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." he murmured. She snuggled closer, her head on his shoulder, a hand on his chest. "Okay," she said in a whisper. "Now sleep."

It was early morning when he woke up. The light filtering in still had the bluish tinge of pre-dawn. They were in the exact position they had fallen asleep in—him on his back, her on her side, her head against his shoulder, her hand on his chest.

He turned his face to look at her, and saw that she was awake, too. She looked at him, smiled, and gently patted his chest. Arnav felt like his heart would burst.

Whatever had happened, whatever was to happen next, it didn't matter anymore. Khushi was here next to him, holding him like she never meant to let go.

In that moment, nothing else mattered.