She slept in his arms, his warmth enveloping her, giving her
a sense of serenity and peace that she hadn’t felt in ages, her mind told her that nightmares
would soon take over but her heart told her to believe in her love, but did she
love him ??
She trusted
him….
She knew he
cared…
She knew he
loved her….
But did she love him ??
Was she
ready to open her heart soul and body to
Arnav ??
Will he
wait for her lifelong to accept him or will he get tired of her as well ??
These were the last
thoughts that echoed in her heart
as she drifted off to sleep.
She was dreaming yet again....
" She was walking
through a meadow, it was beautiful, flowers all around, it was the picture if heaven, she could see people all
around her but they didn’t seem
to notice her, they moved about and then at a far distance she saw Rahul &
her Ma smiling at her, she ran towards
them, as fast as her legs could carry her but as soon as she neared
them, she could see them fading away, she cried out, asking them to take her
along and then she saw Arnav walking across , she waited for him to join her,
He walked upto her with a smile , she saw Rahul and her Mama smiling at Arnav,
Rahul : Take care of our Khushi Arnav, we are leaving her in your care, give her all the love she deserves !!
Arnav smiled at them....
Arnav : Mama, Rahul.... I promise I will always keep Khushi
safe with me, Promise that I will always love her and protect her, I need her
in my life as much as she needs me,
Promise I will never let her go !!!
Her Mama turned to Khushi....
“ No more tears little one, Arnav is all yours, trust him
Khushi, learn to love him, you will
never be along again, Rahul and I will always be there with both of you in
spirit
Arnav took her in
arms, holding her close to his heart, they stood there in each other’s arms as
they saw Rahul and her Mama slowly fading away into another world where mortals
weren’t allowed. "
Khushi woke
up from her dream , her cheeks were wet, tears welled up in her eyes, the dream
was beautiful, Her Mama & Rahul loved Arnav, they had left her in his arms,
to be taken care of by him, that’s when she felt a weight against her ,
she turned around to see Arnav sleeping next to her, his arms tightly wound
around her waist, his grip tight and firm, never letting go but his face was what caught her
attention, he was the picture of innocence , she couldn’t understand what she had done to deserve a beautiful soul like him to walk into her life, there
was a cute pout on his face as he pulled
her closer into his arms, she tried to slowly free herself from his arms to see
him frowning in his sleep, she slowly
stroked away the frown on his
face, gently stroking through his fair, smoothing his irritated lines, she bend
down and placed a soft peck on his forhead, surprised at her own boldness, she had never been so
expressive with her emotions with anyone
after Rahul’s death, Arnav had truly broken down a lot of walls that she had
built around herself !!!
Thats when she remembered Arnav’s request to her that he wanted
her to give a name to their home, their home was her haven now, the house had
already given her a lot of reasons to smile, it felt like her own home, like
she had been living here lifelong, there was a sense of acceptance that she had
never felt while she was in the hellhole of her father’s mansion !!
She wanted the name
to be special,
A symbol of her relation with Arnav...
A symbol of the fates who had conspired to bring them together in love....
A symbol of their love care and trust on each other...
A symbol of the eternal bond they shared.
She was lost in her trance when she felt Arnav stirring next
to her, She turned around to find him looking at her with a smile on his face,
and just
as she stared into his chocolate brown pools that could easily be the
windows to his soul, it striked her, it was perfect , it was everything that
this place made her feel, his eyes held the answer to her, it was what she felt when she lost
herself in those honey filled orbs looking back at her now with all the love
the universe held !!
She whispered just for him to hear
“ VAIKUNTA “
Arnav heard her whisper, like a soft murmur through the
winds, so soft that he might have missed had he not been watching her with full intensity of his
gaze and he knew what she meant !!!
Arnav : Why Khushi ??
Khushi : because thats what you have given me, thats what
this house makes me feel, thats what our
home tells me Arnav, I see it in your eyes, I feel it in your love,
there can be no other name thats more perfect for our home or what it makes me
feel, this is heaven for me Arnav, being here with you holding me in your arms,
this is definitely heaven for me , heaven as long as you are with me !!
Her heartfelt confession had left him speechless, she had
conveyed all that she wanted to tell him, everything that her heart felt in a
single word !!!
Arnav : Its beautiful & perfect just like you Khushi. I
love it !!
Vaikunta it is !!!
He pulled her into his arms, crushing her in his tight grip, she felt the air leaving her lungs as he held onto her like she was
his lifeline, and she hugged him back with equal passion, he was her heaven and
she didn’t want to let him go
!!!
Soon it was
time for them to leave but Khushi didn’t know the surprise that Arnav had
planned for her, while she slept Arnav Singh Raizada had taken the resolution
that he wouldn’t let Khushi spend another minute in the Gupta Mansion all by
herself, if he couldn’t stay with her there, then he would make sure she stayed
with people who genuinely care about her and he knew just the right place. He
had it all fixed and planned. Khushi on the other hand held Arnav
tightly by his hadnall through the drive back home, she was dreading her return
to the hell hole and she couldn’t see how she could avoid it. Arnav held her fingers tightly
clasped in his, he knew what was bothering her and wanted to give her the
perfect surprise.
As soon as they reached, Arnav held Khushi’s hand in his as
they walked in, Raj Maya and Payal were seated in the living room and as soon
as they Arnav coming in with Khushi, Maya jumped up with her ever ready plastic
smile, Payal fumed seeing Khushi with Arnav while Raj smiled at them.
Maya : Khushi beta !!! why didn’t you call ?? I called you so many times but your
phone was coming switched off, we were so worried !! Arnav atleast you could
have informed us , you both had been gone for the whole day !! How was your
day, did you both have fun ??
Arnav clenched his jaws while Khushi tried to find a
plausible explanation but before she could explain , she heard Arnav speaking.
Arnav : sorry aunty, actually I was the one who switched off
Khushi’s phone, you see I wanted to spend time with her and I didn’t want any interruptions, I had told
the house help here to inform you all that we would be late, didn’t they tell
you ??
Oh Yaa and we had a really good time, I took Khushi to our
future home, you see we Raizadas, each one of us, Akash Alaka and me, we all
have our own residences here where we plan to live once we get married, so I
had taken Khushi with me to see her new home !!!
And we both had a lovely time, didn’t we princess ??
Arnav smiled
at Khushi affectionately as he turned to her, pulling her in and giving her a
kiss on her forhead.
Khushi blushed a dark shade of crimson roses while Maya and
Payal fumed hearing Arnav !! Maya could see that Arnav had taken total control
of Khushi’s life from her reins and Payal flinched when she saw Arnav kissing
Khushi !!!
Maya : oh thats great then !! happy to see you both getting
along so well !!! I have never seen my baby so happy !!
Payal decided to turn the tables on Khushi, she put on a
fake smile and walked upto Arnav ...
Payal : hey Arnav, we couldn’t talk properly at the party yesterday, wont you
give a hug to your soon to be sis – in – law ??
Payal was about to hug Arnav when he moved away....
Arnav : Sorry Payal , thats another thing you need to know
about Raizadas, you see we Raizada men have a strict rule, we only interact
close to very few handpicked ladies, mainly our Mama, Alaka and ofcourse our
wives, am sure Akash will tell you more about it !! Once you get married to
Akash, then am sure we both can have the perfect bro-sis combo but till then I
would prefer that you keep your distance !!
Payal looked like she had been slapped on her face, she had
never been so badly insulted or rejected by any guy in her life, the Raizada
men were truly from an altogether different planet !! Khushi couldn’t help but give a naughty smile to Arnav while
she saw her step sister’s mortified expression !!!
Arnav : by the way didn’t you meet Akash today ?? he was telling me that you two had plans !!
Payal : oh yeah I am waiting for him to pick me up, he
actually got caught up in an urgent meeting and we shifted our plans for the
evening !!
Arnav gave her a nod before turning to Raj with a smile, it
took all of his self control to not rip this man who sat in front of him with a
mask of a loving father, he swore to himself that he would make Raj Gupta pay
for each and every crime that he had committed on Khushi and her mother and to
Rahul and his mother !!!
Arnav : ummm Uncle I had to talk to you about something, the
thing is Alaka had been telling me that she wants to open an art gallery and I
came to know that Khushi paints extremely well, I saw her paintings myself and
I was wondering if Khushi & Alaka could stay at Alaka’s place for a couple
of months so that Khushi & alaka can work on it ?? AR is planning to launch
the gallery in its name and the plan id for Alaka and Khushi to spearhead it !!
if its okay with you then I can take Khushi along with me now !!
And don’t worry about the society uncle, they wont dare to
taint a Raizada bahu, she will be staying at Alaka’s place and I will be at my
parents’s place, as long as the Bride and Groom stays separate, there is no
issue right !!
Khushi was stunned !!! She immediately figured out the real
intention behind this plan and she didn’t know how to thank him , she wanted to throw herself into his arms and
never let him go !!
He was truly becoming her life saver in all senses, knowing everything that her
heart desired !!! He was making sure
that he kept her safe and happy yet at the same time, he took all the required
precautions so that the society wouldn’t get their tongues wagging !!!
Arnav gave her a naughty wink that didn’t go unnoticed by Payal who in turn wanted
to burn Khushi limb to limb and erase the smile that now adorned her face !!!
But before she could act on her impulse, she saw Akash who
had just walked in !!!
And to her utter amazement, Akash walked upto Arnav as soon as he saw him and hugged him tight
and then to her horror, he hugged Khushi !!!
Akash : oops sorry Bhabhi, don’t mind, and Bhai please don’t
blow your head off, you told me to call her
Bhabhi and that means she is part
of family right ?? so I can hug her with your permission ??
Arnav
smiled at Akash !!
Arnav : you can Akash, like you said, she is very much part
of our family now, I hope to hear the same from you pretty soon !!!
Akash : I hope so too Bhai, lets see where this goes !!!
Arnav then turned towards Raj who was still contemplating on
his decision !!
Arnav : so what do you say uncle ?? Are you going to let me
take Khushi with me ??