Hi all our wonderful readers!
We are so sorry for this unintentional hiatus. There have been big life changes (moved to new cities, got jobs—yay!) but are settling into a routine now. So we hope to write more regularly. Thank you for your patience and all the love so far. Your comments motivate us to keep working. <3
Hope you enjoy this update. It is a little shorter than the others but we wanted to get it to you fast.
Happy reading!
A&V
-------------------------------------------------------
The next morning, Khushi woke up before Arnav. She took the opportunity to admire her husband's sleeping form. It was difficult to believe that she could have this now. That it was real and, after everything she and Arnav had been through, they were here—happy and together.
Though she would have liked to stay by his side all morning, it wasn't possible. Khushi extricated her right hand from where it was resting against his t-shirt collar. Arnav opened his eyes.
Khushi snapped her hand close and sat up, back to Arnav. He leaned over and caught her wrist, coaxing her to turn to him.
"Kya tum mujhe sote hue taad rahi thi?" [Were you checking me out?] Khushi's eyes widened.
"Nahi toh!" [No!] She stood up to hide her fierce blush.
"Maine dekha tumhe dekhte hue." [I saw you watching me.] Arnav said.
"Haan! Toh...hum nahi taadenge toh kaun taadega? Aur hum kisi aur ko taadne bhi nahi denge!" [Yeah! So...If I am not supposed to then who is? And I won't let anyone else check you out!] And with that she disappeared into the bathroom before Arnav could even process her words.
--
Arnav stepped out of the conference room, exhausted. It had been a long day of back-to-back meetings. He wanted nothing more than to go home to his wife. There was just one more conference to get through. His break was interrupted by an assistant.
"ASR, Khushi ma'am has been trying to get in touch with you all day."
"What?!" Arnav shouted. The assistant cowered under his glare. "Is she okay? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"N-no sir. Ma'am is fine. Sh-she asked me n-not to dis-disturb you in the mee-meetings." Aman shot the poor stuttering assistant a sympathetic look from across the corridor.
"I'm going home. Aman, take care of the rest," Arnav said as he walked out.
--
"Khushi! Tum theek ho?" [Khushi, are you okay?] Arnav ran into the kitchen, led by the aroma of fresh jalebis. This meant something was definitely wrong.
"Arnavji! Aap aa gaye?" [Arnavji! You're home?] Khushi looked up from the stove. "Hum aapka kab se intezaar kar rahe the!" [I have been waiting for you for so long!]
"Agar koi zaroori baat thi, toh tum mere assistant se keh deti. Wait karne ki koi zarurat nahi thi." [If it was so important, why didn't you tell my assistant? You didn't have to wait.] Arnav said. He reached out to give her a reassuring hug but pulled back when Payal walked in.
"Chalo, Khushi. Khaana laga dete hai." [Come on, Khushi. Let's set the table for dinner.] She stopped short when she saw the jalebis. "Kya hua, Khushi? Sab theek toh hai na? Ithni saari jalebiyan!" [What happened Khushi? Is everything okay? You've made so many jalebis]
"Mere liye!" [For me!] Arnav came to the rescue. "Aaj jalebi khaane ka mann kiya toh maine Khushi se kaha ki dinner mein bana de." [Today I was craving jalebi so I asked Khushi to makes some for dinner.]
"Theek hai," [Okay] Payal replied. But she didn't sound entirely convinced. Once she was out of the kitchen, Arnav turned back to Khushi.
"Dinner ke baad baat karenge. Okay?" [We'll talk after dinner, okay?] Khushi nodded back.
--
Arnav closed the door to their room and turned back to talk to Khushi. The worried expression she had tried so hard to mask at dinner was back on her face.
"Arnavji, hum kal se shaadi-shuda nahi rahenge!" [Arnavji, we won't remain married after tomorrow!] She shouted, frantic, barely pausing to breathe. "Aap itne gairzimmedaar kaise ho sakte hain? Aap ka chodiye, hum itne bewakoof kaise ho sakte hai ki hume bhi khayaal nahi raha?" [How can you be so irresponsible? Forget about you, how can I be so foolish?] Arnav was in shock, though it is difficult to say whether that was due to her words or his inability to understand them. He placed his hands on her shoulders and sat her down on the edge of the bed.
"Khushi, relax."
"Nahi relax! Aise kaise relax?" [No relax! How can I relax?] Khushi stood up again.
"Baitho." [Sit.] He pulled her down again. "Aur saaf saaf batao." [And tell me clearly.]
"Kal hamari shaadi ka contract khatam ho jayega aur hum kanooni taur par pati patni nahi rahenge." [Our marriage contract will end tomorrow and will not be legally married.] Her eyes were wide and panicked.
Arnav laughed.
"Iss mein hasne waali kya baat hai?"[What's so funny about that?] Khushi said.
"Aur koi contract hi nahi hai toh khatam kaise hoga?"
[If there was no contract, how can it end?]
"Nahi. Aapne humse hastaakshar liye the!"
[No, I signed the papers!]
"Tumne contract pe nahi, marriage certificate pe sign kiya tha."
[You signed the marriage certificate, not the contract.]
"What the—" Khushi stood up again. Arnav sighed. It was impossible to get her to have a calm conversation. "Aapne hume dhoke mein rakha. Aap aisa kaise kar sakte hai? Pata hai hum kitne pareshan the? Soch soch ke dimaag kharab ho gaya tha hamara!" [You kept me in the dark! Do you know how worried I was? I was so panicked, I couldn't think!] She was pacing around the room now.
"Jo pehle se kharab hai use aur kharab kar diya?"[You can think?] Arnav asked feigning incredulity. Khushi shoved him away, laughing.
"Ab toh sab theek hai, na?" [Now everything's fine, right?] Arnav asked. Khushi nodded and hugged him. Arnav smiled down at her and in one smooth move swept her off her feet. Literally. He was about to place her on the bed when there was a loud knock on the door. Startled, Khushi squirmed out of Arnav's arms and opened the door. It was Payal.
"Di ko hospital le jaane ka waqt ho gaya hai."
[It's time to take Di to the hospital.]
--
Shubh Singh Raizada was born just before dawn and everyone in his family was too happy to feel tired.
"Ka namewa rakhe hai Sasuma!" [What a wonderful name, Sasuma!] Mami said.
"Inka naam humne Shubh isliye rakha kaahe ki yeh apni maa ki zindagi ma mangal samay ka shubharambh karenge."
[I named him Shubh because he will bring an auspicious beginning to the happy chapter of his mother's life.]
But she may have spoken too soon. The family was so engrossed in arguing about who would hold the baby next, they didn't notice the door open until an unfamiliar shadow fell across Shubh's face. Anjali looked up.
"Dadi."
YOU ARE READING
Tu Safar Mera (Completed)
FanfictionA rewrite of the show IPKKND. Arnav was not kidnapped from the airport. How does Khushi try to prove her innocence? How does Arnav find out the truth? Sidenote: Shyam is still horrible but doesn't stick around for too long. The purpose of the story...
