Khushi
Arnav-ji had not returned for dinner.
"Khushi, I brought something to snack on."
The international call he'd postponed the day before had taken so long that he'd ordered dinner at the office.
Khushi glanced at her phone before taking the bowl of channa her sister offered. They were in the study, and the latest episode of Rabba Ve was about to start.
"Do you think she'll confront him?" Jiji asked, referring to the heroine.
"She asked for one chance and she got it. She has to give him a piece of her mind."
"Sagar won't know what's coming!"
"He's so mean," Khushi giggled. "He deserves it. But I don't think the actor is very good. Maybe this show won't be very interesting."
Jiji shoved her gently, "It's only the first week, give it a chance."
"I am!"
They quieted as the disclaimer appeared on the screen. The scene picked up exactly where it had left off, with the two protagonists facing off in the middle of the bazaar.
"I like his voice," Khushi conceded as the hero baited the heroine.
"At least it's shot in Lucknow," Jiji sighed, "I miss our home."
The ad break came right after the heroine's big speech, and Khushi glanced at her phone again.
"Call him," Jiji had noticed, "I'll tell you when it starts again."
Stepping into the corridor, she found Arnav-ji's name and hovered her thumb over the call button, pressing it after a brief hesitation. He answered on the third ring.
"Yeah, Khushi?"
"A-Arnav-ji? I ... uhh ... "
"Are you alright? Did something happen?"
"Oh ... oh no. I just ... I mean ..."
He spoke after a few beats of silence, "Are you being a wife right now, Khushi?"
"Y-yes."
"I'll be home in an hour."
"Have ... have you had your medicine?"
"Yes."
Another short silence, in which Khushi wondered what other wives said to their husbands. And whether those husbands were as romantic as the heroes she'd seen in films.
"Is he ... who else is home?" Arnav-ji interrupted her thoughts.
"It's just us," she assured him, hearing the concern in his voice, "Jiji and I are watching a new serial and everyone else is downstairs. It feels very quiet without Nanhe-ji."
"Alright, enjoy yourself. I have to get back but I'll see you soon, okay?"
"Okay," she breathed, "Take care of yourself."
"You too," he ended the call.
Khushi stared at the phone for a few seconds before rejoining her sister, who smiled up at her.
"You haven't missed anything except the dramatic music and lots of reaction shots. Sagar didn't like being lectured."
"He wouldn't," she flopped onto the sofa.
"Khoon Bhari—" Mami-ji came up the stairs, "Oh, what are you watching?"
"Maa-ji!" Jiji stood, adjusting her pallu as she spoke, "Is everything okay?"
YOU ARE READING
Charade (IPKKND AU)
Fanfiction(IPKKND AU) Some relationships are tied in extraordinary ways. They begin with conflict. They grow in hatred. They stumble, they fall, and yet they remain. The hatred grows as the relationship deepens. Until one day, even hatred itself is reluctant...
