Forgive Her Anything (IPKKND AU) #Wattys2016

Chapter 3: Arnav

Arnav sat alone in the club, engaged in watching strangers for the second time that night. He nursed an untouched glass of whiskey.

Memories of Khushi troubled him alongside those of his mother. It felt wrong to think of the woman who wanted to tear apart his sister's marriage, now, so close to his mother's birthday. Mamma had killed herself because of infidelity, and now he lived every moment in fear that Di would do the same if she found out.

But his mind wouldn't stop replaying every moment he'd shared with Khushi. His disgust in himself, in his love for her, mingled with the agony he felt at his separation from her.

Leaving her at the airport had been torturous. It had taken all of his willpower to stop himself from going back to her - her tears and pleas for his time had nearly undone his resolve. He'd desperately wanted to believe her but as their time had run out, he'd come to accept that she had no explanation for herself.

As usual, he questioned his decisions when he was alone. It'd rocked him to the core when she'd claimed that her mysterious fiancé had been his brother-in-law Shyam, that Shyam had never told her family he was married, that he'd betrayed them all.

The story seemed believable given what he now knew about Shyam and his disgusting thoughts about both Khushi and Di, but he had to trust himself. He had to trust what he'd seen, what he'd heard. He couldn't forget that Khushi had urged Shyam to leave Di. That Shyam had claimed that the only thing that stood in their way was Di.

Arnav didn't know how to reconcile his love for his family and his sister with his love for Khushi. There hadn't been a day in his six month contract of a wedding when he hadn't thought of what he'd seen on that terrace, but there had been plenty of moments where he'd forgotten. Moments where he'd given in and indulged in his attraction to her, in the way his heartbeat quickened when he saw her, in the way her touch made him weak.

When he came to his senses, he was always disgusted with himself, with how much he wanted her, and reacted with anger and malice. He especially hated Khushi's act of innocence: her pleas for him to stop hurting her, to consider her feelings, to tell her why he'd held her sister's wedding hostage until she'd agreed to an elopement.

Now he wondered if it was an act at all.

Then, at her aunt's house, removed from his family, removed from the constant reminders of Shyam's betrayal, he'd started to forget. A crumpled piece of gift-wrap had shattered his illusion and forced him to confront reality.

An all-too-familiar feeling broke his thoughts. Air rushed past him and he felt short of breath. His pulse stuttered and then started up again, loud and almost painful in its vigor.

Khushi.

But she couldn't be here.

Could she?