FF Let Me Love You - Part 14

Khushi held her gaze steady... her green eyes pools looking straight into Arnav's brown smouldering depths'.

She felt his fingers grazing through her forhead' his fingers etching a blood red path through her parting'.

His fingers were on her forhead but she felt its mark blazing a scorching trail right through her heart'

The shock refused to leave her'. She didn't know yet if all this was the right thing to be done'

More than anything she doubted her own capability to bring happiness to this new family who was showering their unconditional love on her...

She looked at Arnav whose eyes didn't have even a glimmer of doubt in them as he marked her in his name' All she could see was the love that blazed loud and clear for all to see... His eyes were drunk with a clear shield of love love passion possessiveness and fierce urge to protect the girl he loved with all his heart, with every cell in his body.

Sayali Samar Akash and Alaka watched the scene unfolding in front of them with the happiest hearts possible, Sayali and Samar knew they had a lot of explanation to do but this step was a necessary measure.

Arnav caught Khushi's hands in his and turned towards his parents who were watching them with their proud smiles...

"Mama Papa, I don't know why you asked me to take such a step today but I know you have your reasons, you can tell me about it when the time is right, as for what just happened, I love you both for giving me such a chance , an opportunity , an event in our lives which has made me the happiest man alive  "

Arnav caught his parents in a tight hug... everything that he wanted to tell them were put into that hug, his love, his care, his gratitude and his thanx for their unending support in fulfilling all his dreams.

Sayali broke out of the hug and went towards Khushi, holding her daughter close to her heart... 

" Khushi... princess... what I asked Arnav to do just now, thats not just his promise to love you forever, thats the promise that your family is giving you today to always treasure you, I know you have seen enough pain to last you a lifetime, pain that was more than anyone could ever bare in a single lifetime, don't think of your past anymore Khushi, don't let it come in the way of your happiness, you are a part of our family because we love you, I know you feel that Arnav is doing a huge favour on you by accepting you... but let me tell you Khushi...you couldn't be more wrong in thinking that' 

I have seen Arnav from the day he was born, I have seen him achieve success one after the other, he made us as proud as any parent could hope to be, he made sure that he always had his siblings happy and safe, but amidst all this I have seen his heart... his heart that has always been waiting for that special someone with whom he would share the rest of his life and when you walked into his life, I saw the fulfilment in his heart, I saw him happy, like he had finally found what he had been waiting for all his life, He loves you Khushi, your past present and future doesn't matter to him, its only you that matters, I know you have placed your trust in Arnav to give you all the happiness that you have been denied all your life but today I am placing my trust in you to always keep my Arnav happy because if anyone can make his life complete, then its you Khushi and as for your wedding, you both will have your wedding as planned in a matter of 6 months, whatever took place today, take that as our promise to always keep you a part of this family and our lives, Welcome to the family Khushi !! " 

Both the women hugged each other, Khushi unable to find words to tell her new family what they meant to her, Arnav came to her and together they took the blessings of both Sayali and Samar, the family then turned towards Alaka who despite everything that she had faced alone had still managed to keep herself from breaking down under the the onslaught of tragedies in her life.

Samar held put his arms for Alaka who immediately rushed into his arms ... breaking down as she finally let out all her pain in front of her family.. the time passed but the family stood still as the tempest broke, Alaka's pain had finally found a release and nothing could stop it today, she had fulfilled Rahul's dream but her own dream would never come true, today she finally let herself feel the pain of losing Rahul... and there was no one around her who understood that pain better than Khushi... Khushi walked upto Alaka who was still in Samar's arms who beckoned Khushi to come to them, Samar held both the girls as they broke down in his arms... 

Arnav turned away seeing the sight in front of him, one was the woman he loved and the other was his sister whom he had grown up with and Raj Gupta had made the mistake of hurting them both, Akash held Arnav's shoulder as they took a silent vow not to let Raj Gupta and his family walk free after the atrocities they committed on 2 innocent souls...

Khushi held Alaka's hands in hers'

" Pari' I don't even know what to tell you' Rahul is my brother but he is your love' each time we spoke about you, I could see that he treasured you, it was important to him that I love you, he was always anxious as to whether I would be able to accept you, trust you to be the one for my brother and I don't even understand why he had such doubts !! how can anyone not love you Pari... you are true to the name he gave you, despite him not being there, you hid your pain so that you could make sure his dreams come true, despite being the youngest in the family, you shouldered this grief inside your heart all alone... despite not knowing me at all in person, you did everything in your power to make sure that I meet the person that Rahul wanted me to be with... in doing that you gave me a world full of happiness Pari, you gave me your bhai... you gave me Arnav who loves me beyond my wildest imagination... 

Pari I don't know what the future holds in store for us but whatever it is, I want you to know that you don't have to bear it alone, good or bad... we face it together... knowing my father... I know he wont let me live in peace... my happiness is something he cant stand but till my last breath , for the sake of the love you lost Pari, I will make sure that I do everything to make my father pay for taking away that one person who made our world... 

Its a promise that Rahul's Chutki is making to Rahul's Pari !! " 

Alaka stood stunned as she heard Khushi... she knew Khushi was a strong woman, she had turned her heart into a stone as the place she called home gave her living hell... Khushi had worked hard during her sessions with Naina to overcome the horrors of her past, her nightmares still haunted refused to leave her but she had not let evil take over and today Khushi had promised Alaka that she would never let Rahul's murderers walk free, it was more than she could have asked for from Khushi.

Khushi then turned towards Sayali and Samar...

"Mama... Papa... Arnav promised my dad that he was taking me to Alaka's place and I don't want his word he gave Raj Gupta to go in vain... I hate that man more than anyone else in my life ... he killed my mother... he destroyed my mother's sister's life... he took Rahul away from me and Pari and he ruined my life in the worst manner any girl can be ruined and I want my revenge... the world should know about his atrocities, no child in this world deserves to have a father like him, the man doesn't deserve to live, the men who tore my life apart, one of them is dead but the rest still walk free, they are my nightmares to this day and I know I will make them pay but whatever I do ... it shouldn't be based on lies or with the help of false promises, whatever I do, it should be in the rightful manner'

I cant stay here when Arnav has given his word otherwise, let me go now ' I don't want my father to get a reason to doubt our intentions or point a finger at Arnav or anyone in this family... let me go now please ?? " 

Sayali and Samar knew right then Khushi was the perfect choice for their son, the girl despite all the horrors of her past had not lost her strength of character or sight of her goal, she had not crumbled like a weakling but she had steeled herself into a living stone, she had kept herself alive so that her mother's inheritance wouldn't pass onto the wrong hands, Khushi was true to her name, she had ensured the happiness of others even if it meant that her own life was a living nightmare !! 

The hours passed and the Raizadas and Khushi had their dinner before Arnav took Alaka and Khushi to Alaka's home, Akash had also decided to accompany them... reaching their destination Alaka and Akash exchanged a naughty smile as they pushed Arnav along with Khushi into the bedroom knowing that their brother wanted sometime alone with his lady love...

As soon as Arnav had locked the room, Khushi came rushing into his arms, her lithe body colliding against his with such force that he had to take a step back to prevent them from falling...

"hold me in your arms Arnav and please don't let go... A lot happened today and some of it feels like a dream... I want to believe all this to be real, my heart tells me its real but my head tells me that all this is just a beautiful dream that will fade away the minute I open my eyes... happiness always leaves me Arnav, it never lasts long in my life and I don't want to loose what I have now "

Arnav tightened his arms around Khushi as he crushed her into his body, he knew that Khushi would need a lot of assurance to accept the happiness in her life as her biggest reality and he was ready to be with her through every single phase of her life ... 

He cupped her cheeks... looking straight into her eyes... his gaze unwavering... 

" Happiness may not last long Khushi... Pain might return... am sure there are lot of obstacles waiting for us out there... and if it was in my power to control them then I would have taken you away to someplace where there is only joy but we both know its not in our hands to control it but there is something thats within our control Khushi and I can promise you that no matter what happens, even if hell breaks loose and the earth threatens to fall apart... 

Arnav aur Khushi hamesha saath rahenge !! " 

Arnav placed a gentle kiss on her forhead and picked her up in his arms and took her to bed, he gently laid her down and covered her and was about to leave when he felt a tug on his wrist, he turned around to see Khushi holding his hand with a soft smile on her face... 

" Mat Jao Arnav !! I love falling asleep in your arms ... " 

Her small confession send silent shockwaves through Arnav, his face broke out into a huge smile as he moved closer to Khushi, it was a small step in their long journey together but the fact that Khushi trusted him enough to open upto him about what she wanted meant the world to Arnav.

He got in next to her and before he could make a move, he felt Khushi crawling into his arms , she nestled her head over his heart, her arms hugging him tight as he enfolded her petite body in his arms, Khushi buried her face in the crook of his neck as she slowly drifted off to sleep while Arnav gently stroked her, as she fell asleep, he pecked her on her forhead and headed out of the room, bidding Alaka goodnight, Arnav and Akash headed over to RM. 

Next day morning Khushi woke up and got freshened up  and went about exploring the house, soon she reached Alaka's bedroom and gently opened it finding it partially closed, her eyes welled up in tears as she took in the sight in front of her, the walls were all covered with pictures of Rahul and Alaka, there were a few pictures of Rahul and Khushi as well , as she moved her gaze over to Pari's sleeping form, she could see that Pari had fallen asleep holding Rahul's violin in her hands... 

Right then Khushi knew that no one could ever take the place of Rahul in Pari's life ... Pari was alone no matter how much her family loved her because her heart was in love with  a person who couldn't come back but Pari had her entire life stretching ahead of her and Khushi could let Pari live her entire life all alone ... she knew that Rahul would never be in peace seeing the love of his life spending her days and nights in misery, Alaka had given Khushi her happiness and now it was upto Khushi to ensure that her Rahul's Pari got the happiness she deserved, Pari had borne the pain all alone but she too deserved a second chance at life, Khushi knew it would be painstaking but if not for anyone else but for Pari herself, Khushi knew Pari would need to move on, Rahul's memories would always be a part of Pari's life but Khushi was sure that there was someone waiting out there who could bring the lost joys of life back to Pari.