Intertwined Fates -- An IPKKND FanFic

Her Realization

Between the last time that Khushi had seen Arnav and the next dance practice, there was plenty for her to do. She attended two court hearings, wrapped up three case files, arranged caterers for the wedding, went to Aman Ji's apartment where she met his mother and practiced their dance, and negotiated her salary at the new law firm.

She should not have had time to think about that laad governor. She should not have been going to sleep angry because he couldn't let go of the past and waking up sad for the same reason. And now, as she waited for someone to open the door to the Raizada home, she should not have been carrying containers of jalebi that she had made earlier in a fit of nerves.

She didn't understand why it bothered her so much. She was well-aware of how judgemental and close-minded he could be; she should have expected it. And besides, he wasn't her only friend. She had Payal and Lavanya and Diya and Tanmay and NK and even Aman Ji now.

She didn't need him.

The devil on her mind opened the door, dressed casually in a fitted black t-shirt and sweatpants. As he greeted Buaji and Payal, she reflected on how much she hated it when he wore casual clothing. It made him look so approachable. He wasn't though. In fact, he was nothing more than a jerk.

They didn't say anything to each other as she walked past him to enter the house. Spotting a servant, she called out to him. "Could you please take these? The container with the blue lid is sugar-free and the others have sugar."

The servant went to the kitchen and Khushi turned back to the others to find that Buaji and Payal had gone ahead, leaving her alone with him.

"You don't have to go through the effort of making sugar-free sweets especially for me, Ms. Gupta," he said coolly.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Mr. Raizada. It's only for the sake of politeness; I can't make them for everyone else and not you."

"Of course." He nodded towards the doorway. "After you."

His disinterested politeness sent daggers through her heart, but she didn't let it show.

Aarav ran to hug her as soon as she got to the practice room, which she returned enthusiastically. After that, she politely greeted Devyani Ji, Manohar and Manorama before saying hi to NK, Lavanya and Aman.

"Since we're all here, should we start practicing already?" Khushi asked. She didn't think she'd be able to handle sitting down and doing nothing.

"Sounds good," NK said cheerfully. The group split into pairs to practice the couple dance, while Buaji, Devyani, Manorama, Manohar and Aarav watched.

Khushi grinned as she and Aman made it through the first half of the dance without messing up. Then over Aman's shoulder, she saw Anjali talking to Arnav about something, to which he frowned and shook his head.

"Ow!" Aman suddenly said.

"Sorry," Khushi apologized, flustered. She'd gotten distracted and stepped on his foot.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she ordered herself to focus and they managed to finish the rest of the dance without any other blunders.

"I think Madhubala Ji will be a lot happier with us this time," Khushi said to Aman Ji enthusiastically.

"I hope so. Here she comes now."

If Madhubala was pleased that her students were already practicing, she didn't show it. She ordered them to start from the beginning and watched the couples with a critical eye.

"You two are absolutely perfect," she said to Payal and Akash, who accepted the praise with a lot of blushing.

"Your chemistry is off the charts," she told NK and Lavanya. To Arnav and Anjali, "You two seemed to have made up."