Incandescent

Chapter 4

Khushi woke up the following morning to the distinctive and familiar sound of morning activity. She had always been an early riser and it was like her biological clock was tuned to wake up between 6.00 – 6.30 A.M regardless of anything. Arnav still slept beside her, his arm unconsciously and possessively thrown around her waist. The intimacy of sleeping beside him had taken some getting used to, but now, she was so warm and comfortable, she wanted to snuggle some more. Her breath caught as she turned to look at Arnav then, looking so peaceful in his sleep. He must have been really tired last night, for he was an early riser too and he had not even moved so much or woken her up for another round of lovemaking after that quick first time, she conceded with a blush.

She let a wanton eye roam along the length of his naked body from the angles of his face, the passionate curve of his lips down the column of his throat to his well-toned muscular body now made visible as the covers had fell away and finally the firm strength of his legs twined with hers. She could never look at him enough and she would probably never be able to do it while he was awake. She blushed again, embarrassed at the change in herself. Instinctively, she leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead in the lightest of caress, careful not to wake him up and with a rueful sigh, snaked away and scrambled out of bed.

Once out of the cocooned warmth of his body, she felt herself shiver at the chilled air that hit her completely naked body. Soft morning light had slipped in through the windows and looking around her, she found both of their clothes lying scattered around the bed. Quickly covering herself with a towel, she closed the curtains so as not to disturb his sleep and went about picking the clothes up. After one last glance at his sleeping form, she went to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

Twenty minutes later, she had showered and was unwinding the towel from her hair, when she saw the blue-black bruise marring the junction between her throat and shoulders. Not to mention the subtle red marks all over her body and face. Her sensitive skin always had this reaction to his stubble, as gorgeous as he looked sporting one. The first time it happened, she had to Google a lot of makeup tutorials on how to conceal a love bite with makeup, her own experience limited in that area. And to her surprise, she had felt good that she wasn't the only one who seemed to have that problem. There were so many tutorials. Now, she was a pro. Only problem was the embarrassment that she won't be able to hide it to her stylist and makeup people who always know but are loyal enough to not comment on it or mention it. Obviously, they didn't know just who had caused it.

She watched his reflection in the mirror and thought back to a time when she couldn't, in her wildest imaginations, have imagined her life like this.

"But Amma, I don't want to be a model. I know nothing about being one."

Khushi's eyes were wide open with shock as she heard her mother say she'd like her to be a model. There was some Payal Arora who had seen her in her college's annual celebration. They had had a mini fashion event and Khushi had walked the ramp for the first time. According to Payal, Khushi had it in her to be big in modeling.

Khushi didn't believe it for a minute.

"Don't be a fool, Khushi. These kind of offers do not come by every day. I have always thought you to be beautiful and now you'll be paid just for that! How wonderful," Garima gushed and added, "I wish I had had this kind of offer in my young days. I wouldn't have thought twice... imagine the life you'd live. You'll be a celebrity!"

Khushi couldn't believe her ears. She didn't want to be a celebrity. But then, why was she so surprised?This was her mother and if anything ever mattered to her, it was money and fame and a luxurious life.

Garima watched her daughter with dreamy eyes. She had been born into wealth. But she had fallen in love with Shashi Gupta, a sweet shop owner who would supply sweets to their home regularly. In a daze, they had eloped and her father in a fit of rage had named all their properties to an orphanage. She had been an only child and had not seen any hardships until then and couldn't cope with life as the wife of a halwai. That her husband loved her dearly and was devoted to her was of no consequence to her. Khushi didn't know if her mother had slowly fallen out of love with her father, but if there was love, she didn't see it a lot. Regret, though, was widely expected.