Badly Arranged

Prologue

In a light pink churidaar, looking beautiful as always, her long hair tied up in a pony tail. Mehak leaned against the railing of the window of her room, her big beautiful eyes gazed out into the night sky. The full moon and the shining stars above her head made the city lights look so lively. It was a quiet night, it almost felt like the calm before the storm. Closing her eyes for a few seconds, she took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around herself as the night breeze left a shiver down her spine. Her fingers clutched the railing tightly as her biggest fear flashed infront of her eyes.

"Mom?! Mom, where are you?!" a cute voice echoed through the hall, that belonged to a little girl in a pink frok, long silky tresses dangling over her shoulder. She ran back and forth in search of her mother, but she was nowhere to find. "Has mom already left?" She said in her broken voice.

"Sia".  Suddenly she heard her name and two pair of soft hands covered her eyes. As soon she heard the voice she knew to whom the voice belonged. The smile which was lost since the time she couldn't find her mother, within seconds appeared back on her face. "Mom!" She screamed, as loudest she could.

Within a swift motion she turned around to see the most angelic face on this earth ever. There she was "Mehak Khanna" her darling mother. "Sorry baby" She said while touching her ears smiling at her daughter asking for forgiveness for not being around.

Without wasting much time Sia jumped into Mehak's arms and took her into an bone crushing hug. Mehak smiled and hugged her back with all the love she had.

"Sia my sweet little munchkin! Why do you think I would leave you my bacha?! ." She said trying to keep that smile intact on her face. "Dadi said you are leaving, but why mom? Where are you going and that too without me?. She said while tears made their way into her beautiful eyes. Mehak's face went pale as her daughters words echoed through the hall, she tried to hold her ground which kind a flipped under her feet. With in seconds she pulled herself together and with a smile on her face changing the topic quickly. "Nahi mera bacha, I am not going anywhere. Mein yahin per houn, kahin nahi ja rahi. Chalo we will talk about this lateron but for now we have to go. Sana and Sanjana, your naughty sisters might be here anytime. Hum nahi mile to dono ghar ko sar per utha lein ghi. Now go and change, if you need any help just call me". Said Mehak hoping to have diverted Sia's attention.

"No! Pehle promise karo ke aap mujhe chor ker kahin nahi jao ghi." Said Sia while holding her hand out infront of Mehak demanding for a promise. A cute little pout appeard on her face while her innocent eyes twinkled looking up at her. Mehak couldn't hold her smile thinking how she was a carbon copy of him. "Acha baba pakka promise, mein kahin nahi ja rahi. Ab khush?" She said pressing a kiss against her forehead. Sia happily kissed her mom and ran towards her room to get changed.

Once Sia was gone, not being able to hold onto herself, she fell down to her knees. "Aaj maine Sia ko yeh keh kar sambhaal to liya lekin ek na ek din tou mujhe jana hee hai. Why is this happening to me?! Once upon a time I wanted this to end as soon as possible, but now its a part of my life. How can I leave everything behind. How can I leave my family, my kids and most importantly him. I just can't." Bit by bit Mehak was breaking into a million pieces. She didn't let anyone know but the fear of losing him was there, deep inside, eating her up. How she wished things would have been different....

Startled she opened her eyes. This was bound to happen one day and it almost happened today. Her worst nightmare was about to come true. Wiping the sweat away from her forehead, in order to calm her nerves she closed her eyes again. After standing for a while against the cold railing she opened her eyes and turned around to walk across the room in search of her phone. Which she had thrown away in a great frustration. "You are exactly becoming like him!" She mumbled to herself and shook her head thinking how some of his traits had rubbed off on her.

Luckily she looked under the bed and found the poor thing lying in a corner on the floor. She looked at the home screen to find 10 missed calls from an unsaved unkown number, which was familiar in so many ways. "Not again! For God Sake, stop calling me! I know what I have to do!" She almost screamed in distress. She was about take a huge step, something that would change everything, something that would effect so many lives, something that would break her in a million pieces. Some new beginnings and some unwanted endings. She still couldn't believe what was about to happen. Holding her tears back she looked down at her hand, moving it upwards she stared at her wedding ring. His face flashed infront of her eyes and his deep husky voice echoed in her ears. How she wished to hear his voice once, never did she realize before how his voice could do wonders. His soothing words of assurance, the sound of his hearty laugh, all of it were treasured somewhere deep inside her. She could let go of everything but for some reason this would be the most difficult thing to let go off. After having debated with her innerself she decided to call him up again and this time promising herself to not hang up on it even before it gets connected. She had been trying to call him since he had gone out. Very bravely she would dial his number and disconnect the phone even before it would ring. She didn't know why she was being so nervous today, usually she would never hesitate before calling him.

While walking back and forth her eyes halted and stared at the huge family picture behind on the wall. In the frame they all looked like a big happy family but where they really happy? And what place did she have in the family? Did her existence even matter? There were so many questions yet she knew she didn't have any right to demand for any answers. After staring at it for a while she turned her focus back to the home screen of her phone. The huge clock besides the frame ticked 10.30 pm. Taking a deep breath she swiped her fingers over the screen and dialed his number again. "Why are you being so nervous?! Just call him and get done with it!" She told her self again and again while still going back into the denial mode, wether to call him or not. He was out of town, on one of his outdoor tours again. Less than 24 hours since he had left and she was already missing him. The word missing was an understatement, it was more than missing. Something she wasn't able to understand herself, and something that could not be put into words. Not that it was the first time he had gone for a tour. Once in a while he would go on outdoor meetings or conferences. But this time it was all different, the strange kind of longing, the never ending wait for him to call and inform her about his whereabouts. She had never felt this before and it was surely taking a toll on her sanity. Although two days and he would be back home....back to her.

She tilted her head to look across the room at his picture on the shelf. He was hands down the most beautiful man on this planet, no wonder girls still die to see his one glimpse. "What would he be doing? Does he feel the same way I feel when he is away? Does he even miss me?" She sighed, knowing very well he didn't care or maybe he did but would never express, or it might be he didn't know how to express. "Khadoos Kumar!" She whispered loudly, an huge smile appeared on her face on remembering their sweet and sour encounters. Giving up she flopped on the couch. She didn't know about him but she herself was done pretending that she didn't care. She did care and would do anything for him and would give up everything to keep him safe. to keep their family from breaking apart. She couldn't even explain how blessed she was to have him in her life. He was so precious to her. He was her peace, her sanity, her insanity, her madness, her passion, her desire, the reason behind her strength, courage and determination to go through anything in life. It all started a year ago, she still remembered the day she had met The Shaurya Khanna and her life changed. She was about drift away in the deep ocean of their soulful memories when she suddenly felt her phone vibrate. "Hello!" She picked up the phone on the very first ring. He closed his eyes upon hearing her soft voice echo deep down to his soul.

To be continued - A week later Mehak sat in the corridor of Shaurya Khanna's house. She felt her heart drop to her stomach as she looked at the handsome man clearly for the first time. He was charming. Taller than she remembered him.