He woke up
with a smile on his face. It was the first time that he had slept so peacefully
in weeks. That was when he felt the soft warm body cuddled against him. Both
her arms were wound around his waist as her entire upper body lay atop his
chest. Her right leg was between his strong legs, while her left leg lay next
to his on the bed. Her long ebony hair flailed the pillow behind her as she
continued to sleep.
Both his arms
wound about her, holding her close to himself protectively. Disengaging one of
his hands from around her, he ran his fingers through her long hair
possessively. He felt her rub her nose against his chest as the activity
disturbed her.
She was
absolutely lovely, in every way possible. He couldn’t imagine why he’d want to
part from her at all? Things sure were muddled up, and didn’t add up. But he
didn’t want to think about that right now and ruin the moment. Plus the doctor
had told him not to. There’d be enough time for explanations later on. Rather
than dwelling on what he didn’t know, he should consider what he did. He hadn’t
become one of the richest business tycoons in India by getting fooled by people
and situations. He could assess and differentiate lies from the truth. And
something about Khushi told him that no matter what the facts were, no matter
what anybody said, she didn’t have it in her to lie and deceive anyone. The
innocence in her eyes, the aura of naivety about her spoke much more than mere
documents filed in a dossier. And maybe if he got to know her much better, he’d
eventually figure out the situation, ‘cause it didn’t look like she’d tell him
anything herself.
“Arnav..” he
heard her mumble as she started to squirm against him. After shuffling about on
his chest for a couple of minutes she clutched his shoulders and pulled herself
up to rest her elbows atop his chest, rubbing her eyes with her palms.
Warmth spread
through him as he watched her rub the sleep out of her eyes like a child. He
gently brushed the hair covering her face aside, as she looked up at him and
gave him a radiant smile.
“Good morning”
she chimed groggily.
“Good
morning.” He whispered back, running his hand through her hair as he tried to
put them in order.
She folded her
hands on his chest as she put her chin to rest atop them. They both looked into
each other’s eyes as their breaths mingled with each other’s.
“Khushi” he
whispered.
“Arnav” she
whispered back as she smiled down at him. Then cupping his face in her hands
she gently rubbed her thumb against his cheek. “How are you feeling now? Any
more nightmares?” she asked, her voice laden with concern.
“No.” he
answered, looking into her worrisome eyes. “It seems like I’ve found the
solution to those.” He spoke gripping her firmly to himself.
“Tell me what
happened? What happened in the dream?”
He looked up
at her thoughtfully, his expression going grim as he recalled the dreams.
Khushi’s face
fell as she saw his eyes stone up once again as reluctance crept into them. It had always been hard getting
through to him, but all the years of acquaintance had created a soft spot in
his heart for her. Everything that they had been through together, all the pain
that they had endured, and all the misery that he had put her through had kept
him tender and yielding towards her. He had always regretted his actions during
the Shyam fiasco, and had thus always been extra sensitive towards her emotions
and feelings. But now all that history no more existed for him. Hence, she had
to undertake the journey to his heart once again. Yes, the love, the attachment
still existed, but its realisation didn’t. He felt a pull towards her, but did
not know the reason behind it.
Arnav saw her
eyes glaze over at his cold refusal. The tears threatened to fall down the sides
when she turned away from him and made to get out of the bed.
“I’ll go and
see to the breakfast” she spoke in a morose tone as she avoided his eyes,
collected the sheets around herself and got up.
….
“Where’s
everybody else?” he asked her as he made his way into the kitchen where she was
making his breakfast.
“I don’t know.
It looks like no one except for us is at home. I asked Hari Prakash, and he
said that the watchman had seen them all leave in the middle of the night while
he was on duty. They had said that they’ll be back in the evening today.”
“That’s odd. They should’ve informed us before going away. At least Di should’ve told me!”
“Oddities
Arnav! Forget it! Have your breakfast, you’ve got a meeting with Ritu Kumar at
eleven. You don’t want to get late.” She spoke as she made to cut across him and
move to the other side of the kitchen when he held her back.
Pulling her to
himself and trapping her in his arms he looked into her eyes as he caressed her
cheek. “It’s the same dream every night.” He spoke in a strained voice. Khushi looked
up at him in startlement. She did not expect him to open up to her that soon
into this new relationship, but guess not everything can be wiped away with
amnesia.
“Di is lying
strewn across the floor. Her cast has been removed and thrown across the room. She’s
crying bitterly. Asking me to get up and save someone. Praying for my and
someone else’s safety.”
Khushi felt a
chill run up her spine as Arnav choked in his struggle to continue. Dread filled
her as he continued to narrate the story.
“I am cropped
up against the couch. I think we’re in the living room. I’m completely
incapacitated, can’t even move. It’s almost like I have no energy left in
myself, something that happens when I have an attack of hypoglycaemia. Then my
vision goes hazy and I can’t see anything clearly anymore. Di’s still crying. And
then…” he stopped as he felt Khushi shudder in his arms. He looked down at her
as he saw the frightened expression on her face.
“What’s wrong?
Is everything alright?”
“What happens
next?” she asked him fearfully.
“But why do you look so scared? I…”
“But why do you look so scared? I…”
“What happened
next Arnav?” she all but screamed, terrified. She had a sinking feeling that she
knew where this was going. What he had been dreaming about.
“I…I felt
someone shove something down my throat, imploring me to eat it.” He continued
as she prodded him on. “And then that person screamed in pain. I don’t know
what was happening very clearly, but I was very afraid. It was like something
terrible was going to happen. And then a sickening voice said…”
“Khushi Ji” she
completed for him.
Oh my gosh!!! He remembers the mega event from past! Love the Raizada family, leaving them home alone....pls update next part soon.
ReplyDeleteUlala.. finally an update.. after a long time.. and what an update Madamji..
ReplyDeleteThe return of the nightmare... or the Memory...only next update will disclose...
hatathbristi
lovely update
ReplyDeleteglad tht he didnt push her out in the morning.....and loved the way he is slowly opening up..
totally totally loved the update
Yay he did not push her out!!!
ReplyDeleteHmmmmmm where the family leave in the middle of the night????
I love how he is opening up
wow!! lovely update!! loved it!! Keep going!! this is getting more n more interesting by the minute!!! God Bless U!!
ReplyDeleteAHHH!!!!
ReplyDeleteWHY would you stop here??!??!?!??!?!
Please, please, PLEASEEEE update soon!! Amazingly amazing! :D
I am definitely going to recommend this story to people! :)
fabulous update pls continue soon
ReplyDeleteWw ishe going to figure out his dream,....
ReplyDeleteSmileyhug7679
poor family.......they had to leave because of their loud sex.......
ReplyDeletehow embarassing.....loved the part....can't wait to read more=D
So the rooms aren't soundproof then...lol! Love your pace of storytelling.
ReplyDeleteSo he is remembering a past incident.....so does this mean he may get his memory back soon!!!! Somehow I don't think you will make it that easy!!! Loved this update, nice to see Arnav starting to trust Khushi again.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks,
Honkytonk
Aww he watched her sleep and the way they said good morning was cute, he avoided his question for time being but then told her in the kitchen
ReplyDeleteWOAH So this nightmare is one of his memories! oh my it's painful and the way she got scared and finished his sentence was horrifying.
I wonder how they're going to deal with that now
Hey! Don't stop here! Update soon... Pleaaaseeeee! I've been reading this blog like a crazy fan, and trust me, I can't stop( I really should. I'm having my exams!) So pleaaseee, update soon. :)
ReplyDeleteOMG!! That was awesome!!!
ReplyDeletekdkumar
too good loved it,this is ajoop from if
ReplyDeleteaww..
ReplyDeletethat was such a cute update...
thank god he didnt push her away in the morning...
he had flashbacks of such an important event..thats a good sign..
the raizadas left home in the middle of the night...hmmm suspicious..
thanks for the pm..
aakriti120