Head over Heels ☑️

Chapter 37

18+ Mature Audience Only.

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🎶 Laung Gawacha—Neha Bhasin

Hustle. That pretty much summed up Khushi's life in the days leading up to their special date. Between assignments, project deadlines, and a string of interviews—some in person, others remote—she was burning the midnight oil on her portfolio while also preparing furiously for behavioral rounds.

And it wasn't just Khushi running on fumes; Arnav, Akash, and Payal were all juggling their schedules to keep the London office afloat after Mama flew back. Meanwhile, Anjali had headed off to Lucknow, entourage in tow, under Arnav's insistence—after yet another shouting match with him (blessedly less explosive than the last).

To top it all off—she had to stitch Arnav's anniversary suit in secret, which, frankly, had been the trickiest part of all.

They had started switching workspaces—alternating between the study and their bedroom while the other slept. At first, Arnav asked why she insisted on dragging her entire sewing setup along each time they swapped. She'd tossed out excuses about "noise pollution" and disturbing his sleep, until she finally hijacked the guest room and claimed it as her covert tailoring base.

Some nights, Arnav would fall asleep waiting for her on the guest bed. On others, he'd quietly scoop up a passed-out Khushi and carry her back to their room. Either way, they were one cup of adrak wali chai away from officially changing their names to Mr. and Mrs. Highflyer.

On the eve of her anniversary, Khushi was on a video call with Gauri, working on a team project, when an email notification popped up on her laptop screen.

She froze mid-sentence, prompting Gauri to squint at her through the video feed.

"Hello? Are you actually frozen or is it my network again?"

"I... got the job," Khushi whispered.

Gauri's eyes widened as Khushi switched to the Zoom call. "Oh my god!! Congratulations, Khushi!!"

All the squealing drew Nani into the guest room, hobbling in with a concerned expression.

With a quick, "I'll call you back," Khushi dropped the call, rushed forward, and dove at Nani's feet to seek her blessings.

"I got the job, Nani! Junior Fashion Designer Intern at a startup!"

Nani looked mildly bewildered, placing a hand gently on Khushi's head and peering at her glowing face.

"Startup? Is it not AR?"

Khushi's smile faltered for the briefest moment. This was a conversation she'd only had with Arnav so far. She took a steadying breath.

"Yes... I thought it would be better to gain some outside experience before eventually joining AR. Arnav-ji is on board with it too."

"Oh, I see," said Nani thoughtfully. "You do what you feel is best for yourself, bitiya. These things go over my head anyway. But this is fantastic news—I'm very happy for you. Come, let's take Devi Maiyya's blessings."

Khushi's delight returned in full, and she let out a deep breath of relief before wrapping her arms around Nani in a gentle hug.

"I have a small favor to ask, Nani-ji," she said, as a sudden thought struck her. "I'd like to be the one to tell Arnav-ji myself tomorrow, if that's alright?"

"Of course, bitiya," Nani replied warmly. "It's your news to share."

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