#arshi falls

[hand-picked-star]

(swrpeotry)

Mr. & Mrs. Raizada

[jalebi-weds-bluetooth]

IPKKND SS: Fall out of Love

(read previous chapter here)

Chapter 2

Khush fixed her dupatta loosely over her shoulders, all of her long sleeve outfits being in the laundry. No one would be able to see the bruise on her arms.

Not that many even talked to her. Perhaps this was Devi Maiyya's blessing to her. The situation had been so bad that the families were taking their time to heal - despite her best efforts - but due to the cracks, she didn't have at least play the happily married bride because no one was asking how she was doing.

The loneliness was a friend.

"Here," Khushi froze as Shyam walked into the kitchen, a bruise cream in his hand.

"I don't need it." Khushi began chopping the vegetables furiously, to a point where she cut her finger. She dropped the knife and yelped. Shyam made no move, rather stepped back.

After a few minutes, Shyam placed the cream on the edge of the counter.

"Trust me, I work in this profession enough to know what that means," he softly pointed out to her arms. Khushi looked at the cream wordlessly.

"And I'm sorry Khushi ji, when I realized you didn't feel the way I did, I only prayed that you'd feel what I did. Be tormented with a love you'll never get. And of course, out of all my prayers this was the only one that Devi Maiyya had to listen." Shyam chuckled.

Khushi chucked the cream aside, "You have no right to assume that's what's between me and Arnav ji."

"I don't wish for your love to not be reciprocated for my sake, I hope it is for yours because anything worse than a love never gained is a love that abuses." Shyam left, leaving Khushi is the kitchen.

Was it so visible that she loved Arnav?

And was it more visible that he did not?

-----

The cream worked like magic. Khushi no longer had to fret about the length of her sleeves. There was a new blanket and bedroll in the garden. Arnav's evasive questions about the blanket and his furtive glances to the other side of the window told her who bought.

But for once she could care less.

She only wanted sleep.

------

A/N: I'm reposting the chapters as separate posts :)

Read future chapters on AO3

tagging: @shaonsim @zaphbeeblebrox @shiyaravi @chutkiandchotte @featheredclover @goals1024 @honeybellexox @darkchocolatestuff @thedupattaknowswhatsup @bigfatreader @lostafpanda @exosexosekai @hi-this-is-permabanned @scorpio-smiles @noor1025 @minpdnim. @laadgovernorandsankadevi @laad-governess @pakki-ya-nahin @barshifan @whateverworks21 @maansiloves @dropsofserenity @samuraisamsworld @myloveforstuff @leila1 @aye-masakalii @phuljari @onadaanparindey @dimaagkadahi @ijustchangedmyname @persephone-with-a-cat @enchantingfunthing @hand-picked-star

(updating this list - lemme know who wants to be added/deleted)

[ipkkndlovescenes]

Arshi Poolside Moment #3

Touch&Feel {Epi- 29}

“If I could touch anything in the world right now, it would be your heart. I want to take that piece of you and keep it with me.”― Jessica Verday,

>>>>>>x<<<<<<

A wound, just a cut, a scratch, all he had, but the depth of this wound was more profound than ever. They say that family provides peace and love. But sometimes, this is the greatest lie; family is not succour for many reasons. For some of us, it is the secret wound. Sooner or later, we pay for the wounds of our ancestors, and Arnav was standing in his life at that point. 

Did he never get such small cuts and wounds?

Then suddenly, what happened that this scar was so special to him that he didn't even let Anjali dress it? He walked into his sanctuary, next to the pool, with a first aid box.

All he cared about was just this wound. His eyes never let that wound go away for a second. Why? Because it carried her part with it. It happened with the bangles he broke, hurting her and himself as well. There was this touch and feel attached to it, along with many things he was feeling right now. Regret, guilt, worries, and much much more. Among these feelings, he hurt someone who was beating in his heart.

A man in love who was feeling this pain towards his lover. He has hurt Khushi...That was all in the back of his head.

Standing at the window, his feet were refusing to move, his eyes refusing to let her go out of sight. Those memories were pinching him right now.

This was a feeling he had never known before or felt before. Oh, he hated this, but he was enslaved to it. He was a man who had to be in control all of his life, especially in such matters. Not a single girl mattered to him. There was no such thing as love in this world. 

But this wound, this cut, this scratch on his hand, was rushing in his veins like blood with these unbearable memories.

He Caressed her tears with his hands, removed her strands, and cleared every damn thing to clear his view of her, but her pain touched his heart and made him feel what he denied to feel. He was feeling it now; he closed his fist, remembering that touch, that feeling, and his eyes moved along, showing us clearly how deep this wound had reached this time.

The background was covered with hues of blues, and the shimmering water of a pool with a simmering light reflected all sorts of emotions in this man. A melodic portrayal of falling in love with a girl who was nobody to him and now was touching his heart with every beat. It was reminding him only of her... 

The entrancing background music added this lyrical prose to the eyes without a single word, The room was grey and black, reflecting his state of mind, and he had a red wound on his palm. A man was feeling the touch of the one he was caressing in it. He was completely lost in this touch that he never ever thought he would feel or even care about.

He wanted to rewind it, he wanted to make things right. He wanted that control back. With these unknown touched feelings, he sank into his bed. The thing that caught my eyes was his fist was secured, holding onto; he wanted to hold onto these like sacred things he had in his life.

His eyes returned to that wound, a touch, a feeling that would never go away.

Did he caress these wounds before like he was doing now? Absolutely not. Kyuon dard hai itna there ishq main? Why there is s much pain in this love? 

Was he feeling pain as well as what he gave her? Yes, whatever you feel, I feel as our heartbeats become one...if you've been wounded, so have I.

He lifted his hand slowly, brought it closer to his face, and gently touched his wound. almost caressing it the way he'd caressed her before, he had left her with this wound as well. His blood dried, but her oozing blood from that wound was still oozing and extracting every pain out of him at the moment.

His eyes raised with every memory he had of her. His fingers were still in the touch of the wound, like his fingers were touching her face. An etched memory that will make him up many nights from now on. A clear touch of a man to feel love in the palm of his hand as a beat to his heart. Left hand, a wound to his heart, a beat in his veins, he could hear it, and she could hear it as well...

The guilt was piling up all the harsh things and the words he ever did and uttered. She was shadowing his mind and heart. His heart was craving the closeness he felt every time he was so close to her. That first look of her in red saree halted him from meeting him with her heartbeat to holding her in the rain. Those yearning desires could now take shape as he was standing there, ambushed by all.

But at this moment, he had no idea it was that feeling that had trapped him completely; her thoughts just plagued his core, and all he wanted to do was just to forget her and all this nonsense. He got frustrated, slammed his wardrobe door, and waited to compose himself.

But

It was too late, he wanted to know about her, wanted to see her doing fine, wanted to hear her, touch her, feel her right next to him...

"How can I see your open wounds. And without really thinking, I just chalked it up to another strange feeling about you: I never realized how much you got hurt in return.” ~Faiqa~

On the other side, Khushi dreamed of Arnav gently brushing hair from her face and woke up with a "No!"

She will realize this feeling later, the true reason for her feeling him near her this close. "That hamesha " Telepathy will come later, but it was budding here...Whenever Arnav became distressed, she could feel him closer to her; the same went by with him too. They both could feel each other's presence in their hearts.

She was shocked, confused, and a bit scared. How could it be? No, he is Rakhshus, a stubborn rich man who cared nothing but himself. He was the reason for their conditions, her and her sister's. He was the one who sent her to that place, then how come he brought me home with such care and safety. How come I can feel his touch, his caressing, his wound? Yes, he was hurt too...? How?

She could gather her memories of how she was closing her eyes and was about to faint when he was holding her tightly. How on earth she could feel him caressing her so lovingly...until her eyes landed on her wound and reminded him of his cruelty. 

But this contradicted what her sister was telling her or what she was feeling at the moment. 

There was a denial in both of them. When Payal asked Khushi, did he do anything? She said no instantly, like she knew he could be anything but such a person. Her imagining him removing her hair in her unconscious state was disturbing her. Why was she dreaming or sensing such a thing or even dreaming h about him? Her thought process is normal, it can't be real. But there was a connection, a destined one shown here. While Arnav knew it, he was feeling it for a while, he was getting under the cloud that she was affecting him darn so much that now unconsciously, he talks about her, thinks about her, worries about her...

 But his denial was visible too.

“Such wounds to the heart will probably never heal. But we cannot simply sit and stare at our wounds forever.”

 Each of us wages a private battle to thrive. Whenever a person fully immerses oneself in life’s aromatic flower garden of pleasures and encounters life’s warship of armour-plated rigours, they blend and bend to make reasonable accommodations for surviving. But here he was, having a hard time blending with these feelings. His resistance was very much visible when he was regaining control in front of his di, and she was doing that the same in front of her Jiji...

But both awakened to a life that wasn't theirs...

A deep wound was open and etched in their hearts with many questions, feelings, and emotions, and both could not decipher it. It was love, but they had no name for it at the moment...

What should I name this love?

[msbhagirathi]

Moon-struck (For Arshi Fiesta)

Aao parmeswariyon welcome. :)

He stared at the random but ~not so random~ word, google had dared to suggest to him today, staring back at him. As if to challenge him to deny the truth written beneath it as it's 'meaning'.

He slammed the cover of the iPad and threw it away on his bed. He pulled out his belt only to slam it away on the floor.

He tore through his hair with both his hands, resting them at the nape of his neck, with the fingers intertwined.

He couldn't deny the effect that, that slip of a girl had on him ever since she had bombarded into his life quite literally.

He still used to feel restless and anxious almost all the time but it was not due to the anger and desperation of the trauma that he had to go through as early as fourteen. He could admit it to himself that he still used to wake up in the middle of the night with a start. But it wasn't due to the fear and panic which used to make him feel like breaking into tears and cry away for the rest of the hours in the vicinity of the walls of his room.

Rather it was due to the fact that a certain someone in a red chiffon saree, a barely there blouse, with no room for a bra had started coming to meet him in the privacy of his dreams.

The two frail doris tied above the shoulder blades, jet black straight hair pushed to one side of a shoulder. And just when he used to about to touch them, grab them in a bunch to bring them at the back and run his fingers through them.

There would be nothing accept the darkness around him to comfort him of the teeth shattering anticipation.

Heart galloping as if no tomorrow, and lungs struggling as if there was a sudden shortage of air around him. The hair pulling frustration running back to him and he used to fall back on his bed.

Again going through the charade of tossing and turning around until light flimsy excuse of a sleep used to evade him.

And yet when he used to wake up in the morning to start his day. He ~very strangely so~ used to feel as fresh as ever. Well rested, satiated and calm and absolutely at peace.

He knew he had somehow fallen for her.

He had seen her innocence when she used to distribute prasad and teeka to everyone around her cubicle on her floor, greeting them with 'shubh prabhat' and 'devi maiyya ki kripa se apka din mangalmay ho.'

He had seen her brilliance in the way she had handled the menial tasks that he had given her.

He had seen her kindness when she had given away a pair of bangles, which she had liked and bought for herself, to a little girl who had also liked them but was far from being able to afford them. Across the street of where his car had happened to be parked one day.

"Fuck."

He slammed his hands on the window in front of him.

He knew he had fallen for her hard. A lil bit too hard for his own liking.

He knew he was love-struck.

He knew he was moon-struck.

P.S.: So. ladies and gentlemen Sanka devis and Laard governors. *bows down with exaggerated gRaCe* This sweet short rendition was written much to the threat invitation received from @phuljari di. Hope you enjoy. :)

Credits: @arshifiesta

[arshifiesta]

Arshi Fiesta 2024 Theme : Colours/Stages of Love!

Moodboard 2 : Childhood Friends AU! x Arshi

You idiot, I've always loved you.

What if Arnav and Khushi met when they were kids? What if they became best friends? What would happen if either of them were to fall in love with the other?

What does the theme have to do with the moodboard? Well, technically— nothing. It's the theme for this month, June 2024 for we are celebrating IPK's 13th Anniversary! But it's also something you can choose to incorporate in your creation to help with the visual/written world building. You don't "have to" use it. Consider it as one of the individual prompts if you want to. :)

Steps to post correctly

[myfanficfrenzy]

Arshi FF : A River Runs Through It

Author : Meera

Status : Completed and available on Meera’s blog

Genre: Romance, Angst, Fluff

“Keep Reading” to read my two cents on the fic. Contains a few spoilers

My two cents :

If you’re looking for a story that took the names of your favourite characters from IPK, moulded them into something golden and weaved a gorgeous tale surrounding them, look no further. This is a story that will break your heart and heal it just as amazingly.

A river runs through it, mirrors exactly what the name suggests; Journey of a river as it gushes towards its last destination- the ocean. Kaveri Khushi Gupta and Arnav Varun are here to make you realise just how much beauty resides in the ordinary.

This is what made me fall immensely with this FF. There are no exaggerated dramas and yet you will feel every emotion just as intensely. The magic of this tale is rooted in its simplicity. From a simple crush on a cute college senior to battling with much relatable insecurities, you will go on a compelling journey with Kaveri Khushi Gupta as she makes her way to her Ocean, her Arnav. From the campus and banks of Ganges in Varanasi to the scenic beauty of Rishikesh Riverside and to the corporate jungle of United States, you will follow Khushi and Arnav on a decade long journey and you will be left craving another decade with them.

Meera’s writing is surreal and she is hands down one of the best writers we have in the Arshi world. And would you believe me when I say Arnav and Khushi aren’t the only stars of the story? Meera’s love of 90s Bollywood music shines throughout the story and you will be hit with nostalgia and butterflies in equal measure, in every single chapter! The music itself is an important character in the tale, and shapes the story as both our protagonists hum their way through life. You’re gonna end this story with a riveting Bollywood playlist in your repertoire. Trust me!

If the above summary has still not convinced you to give this story a go here are the four words that should - Arnav with a guitar! Go read it now.

Ps and spoiler - Arnav singing ‘Janam Dekh lo’ and ‘Batein Ankahi’ has forever altered my brain chemistry. Now those two songs belong to him and this story. Coming from an SRK fan that’s saying something 😉

- I

[fishrpg]

2024-11-02: Dwarf Planet Arshi (Core 2)

Traveling in an odd orbit around Tengri IV is the dwarf planet known as Arshi. Its namesake is that of the Mongolian god of fire because of its self-destructive orbit that will eventually see it burned up by the sun. Arshi was captured by gravitational interactions with another star system, which resulted in Arshi's unstable orbit. Current orbital projections estimate that it will begin active incineration within approximately 1,090 years, but it already experiences wild temperature variation and lacks mineral resources that would make extraction efforts worthwhile. It has significant nickel and iron deposits, but such metals are not valuable enough to warrant interplanetary export when similar resources exist on planets already being terraformed (and those planets aren't going to fall into the sun).

[jalebi-likes]

Hi jalebi! Hope you're doing well.

Again I just love your blog. Keep up with good work and always keep arshi alive through it. I legit fall in love with arshi more and more every time I go through your blog.

So i decided to give qubool hai 1 a try and it's so good(?) no really.. i finished the whole 300 episodes in just one week. I was under assumptions that it's not worth it and Asad was just another toxic male lead.. which is true, Asad was toxic but then even Arnav was too. But we choose to keep it in fiction only. And now I feel qubool hai was unnecessarily hated (specially because of that slap scene which no doubt deserves the backlash) but apart from that I don't find anything else problematic. Asad voluntarily changed himself when he realised that it's him who's unfit for Zoya. And grovelled (?) like oh my god. Asad crying was such a treat to my eyes. I really really wanted such scenes for arshi.

Something like when Zoya left without a word, gave Asad earful whenever needed (sometimes she's just too emotional and forgave him easily but i guess that's okay) - just imagine Arnav getting a grovelling track instead of the fashion show (which I am not so fond of but I don't hate it either lol) - not something that Arnav would fall in Khushi's feet and all that but the least Arnav genuinely apologising to Khushi, telling her how wrong he treated her before, how sorry he was, how guilty he was - well we can only wish.

anyway I think all those tracks in qubool hai were done better and all of those tracks had something or other importance in Asad Zoya's journey. Also as much as those siddique house dramas I wanted to skip but some were really funny and had its moment. Ayan Humeira were too good as parallel leads. Just disappointed with Najma's story. Could've been better but alas!

What do you think about qubool hai Jalebi?

Hi Anon,

Aww thank you so much <3

I am glad you had a great time watching QH. I never really watched QH much and was never drawn to it, hence I won't be able to make much of a comment.

And no show should go beyond 300 episodes tbh. Very few shows can manage plot coherence at that point.

Best,

Jalebi

[arziaisfrench]

▪︎ IPKKND Ep 49 : Arnav seems resigned to his new life

Khushi seems to be very determined to leave Arnav, even when her aunt is begging her to stay, but deep inside, she doesn't want to leave.

He means already too much to her, what he says, what he thinks etc but she hates the idea of having feelings for him, a man who thinks so wrongly of her (that's what she wrongly assumes he thinks of her).

She's still in denial but she can sense the discomfort her heart and body feel at the idea of not seeing him ever again. "How can I feel this way for a man that hates everything about me?"

"-Actually I forgot her name after calling her Chamkili so often -Khushi Gumari Kupta …" Arnav speaks her name as if he was inconsciously casting an incantation to bring her back haha! 😅

Mr Arnav Singh Raizada is literally thinking of Khushi in front of his girlfriend… that's rude af ! I can't help but to root so hard for Arshi, but seeing him emotionally cheating on Lavanya doesn't sit right with me at all ...

I also feel he's quite lifeless in this episode. His energy is off as I wrote in the last episode recap. He's probably feeling empty thinking Khushi left.

He's not even trying to flirt with Lavanaya, look at her being disappointed that he's not catching what she's trying to implies here, (being intimate, wanting se×). He did understand tho but couldn't care less.

Both can't stop thinking about Khushi. One is falling in love, the other is falling into obsession.

[tda-123]

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[hand-picked-star]

The 13th Annniversary Arshi Fiesta

Moodboard : Historical AU

Whispers of the Heart | Chapter 05

I am not very good at writing ffs. I even read ffs very selectively. But it was an attempt of me to participate in the 13th-anniversary arshi fiesta. I might be wrong about certain aspects of that age and era, but it's a fantasy, so why not?

I don't own Arnav and Khushi and the story is purely fictional and has no relation to any living or dead. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Chapter 5

(continuation of previous chapter)

'' Arnav"

She pushed herself off the bed but stumbled to reach Arnav. He wrapped his arm around her waist before she could fall. Her hands splayed palm out on his chest. She stared at him like he hung the sun and the moon and his breath caught. The atmosphere between them undulated, changing into something heavier, something alive.

"Ummm...I want to ask you something," she tripped over her words, "Why is it that every time someone says your name" feeling her pulse quickening "or you come close to me" she whispered like it was a secret "My heart starts to beat harder? ", taking his hand she placed it over her heart "I tried to understand it, but couldn't." a silence came over between them, "bataiye na!!"

Arnav blinked, her words not quite making sense. He couldn't think and that should have disturbed him, especially because he held her so close. It had not escaped him how pretty she looked. She was always pretty, but today was special. Her hair hung loose but wavy, and the dress she'd chosen, a pure white salwar-kameez with red churni dupatta, hugged her curves in all the right places. He had noticed her curves earlier. But it's difficult to ignore at this moment, not with her body up against his. And that red bindi on her forehead, it would be the death of him someday.

His pulse felt thready. And he wanted to touch her. The simple impulse to touch the tips of his fingers to her cheek was almost more than he could bear. He raised one of his hands to cup her cheek and tilted her head toward him. There was a good reason why he shouldn't touch her, but he couldn't remember what it was. Her eyes searched his, her trembling lips slightly parted. He heard the words as clearly as if she'd spoken.

Kiss me.

The heat of her breath on his lips made him dizzy with need and he gave in. At first, Khushi couldn't comprehend what was happening. One second she was asking him a question, the next second, she was in his arms, and before she could quite recover from that, he was kissing her.

Or had she kissed him? Her brain was muddled. She was thinking about him the whole day-how handsome he looked in the white kurta. She was shamelessly looking at his lips the other day when he was eating Kheer. Had she acted on those impulses? Shy and confused Khushi ducked her head, breaking their kiss.

But almost as soon as their kiss was broken, he put two fingers under her chin, tilting her head up and claiming her lips again. His free hand moved from her waist to her back, pressing her flush against him. She whimpered and forgot everything else, anything else existed. If she'd lost her mind, so be it. Nothing ever felt as good as whatever was happening at that moment.

One of her hands crept up to cup the back of his neck and threaded her fingers through his hair, while the other hand went around his back, clutching his kurta in a death grip. She tentatively tried to return his kisses. Her heart was racing. She felt weightless. His lips were hard on her while he was holding her so gently. Khushi couldn't rightly tell, when he'd begun to walk her backwards, she only knew she found herself pressed against the wall. And then, as abruptly as it all began, it was over.

Arnav groaned from the back of his throat as he pushed away from her. He stumbled back. His hair was rumpled from her fingers, his lips still moist and parted. The five seconds they stared at each other were the longest of Khushi's entire life.

And then, he left her there, pressed against the wall, flushed-face, lips swollen from his kiss, without a word.

(end of flashback)

Arnav was sitting on the garden bench, threading his hands through his hair and tugging hard. The guilt he felt was a weight on his shoulders, pinning him down as effectively as any physical thing.

It wasn't just that he had no right to do what he'd done. What made it all the worse and what could be worse than taking advantage of someone under the influence, was that to this day, two years later, he still daydreamed about that kiss. He could still remember how very sweet it was, the emotion of that kiss, the tenderness of it and the taste of her lips, and the way her body fit the lines of his. And how powerful was the need that rushed through him then. Her warmth, her scent, everything about that moment felt vivid and real as if it was happening all over again. He had to close his eyes tightly until the feeling passed.

It was not like it was the first time that Arnav had kissed a girl. The first time he kissed a girl in the Valleys of Darjeeling was a girl from Darjeeling High School at 18. it was supposed to be fun, but as soon as he kissed that girl, he discovered something, like she gave him a disease, he heard a voice inside his head that sounded very much like his Nani's. The look he gave her afterwards, she must had thought he was insane.

'you are a womanizer, Arnav'. the voice thundered. 'just like your father.'

After that every time he thought about kissing a girl, his Nani would start talking. It was really difficult to do anything with your Nani in your head. Then one day, he with some of his friends out of curiosity went to a pub to taste some liquor. He should have known better, he ended up spending the night with someone he didn't even remember.

'See, I told you so' the voice taunted him continuously the day after.

After that, he tried his level best not to hear his nani ever again in his head. There was one thing that Arnav didn't want to be and that was 'just like his father.'

But why the voice was so quiet when he kissed HER? It felt the most natural thing to do, like he was born to do that, like he was destined to be fitted into her arms. After he fled from her room, he sat on the garden bench for hours.

There Arnav had realized, he had irreversibly fallen in love with her. And she had finally quieted the voice in his head.

But instantly another voice appeared that sounded more like his since that day and they had a serious conversation with each other on the evening of Holi two years ago, sitting on that particular bench.

'what have you done, Arnav? you've proved your nani right. tumne jis thali main khaya usmehi ched kiya. What will Mahindar chacchu and roma chachi will say? How could you do that to their daughter? How could you tarnish her reputation like that? Is this how you repay them for all the love and care, they've bestowed upon you, when nobody was there for you? And Aman, what will you say to him? '

Arnav clutched his head with both hands, resting his elbows on his knees. he felt like screaming. He argued with himself for a long time. He succeeded in almost quietening the voice, when it murmured, very faintly.

'You can marry her'

'And what can I give her?.' Now it was Arnav's turn to contradict 'I have nothing, no house, no money, no reputation, no family and what made you think that Chachu and Chachi would want to marry off their beloved daughter to a nobody like me'. A pressure bloomed in his chest. With every breath he took, it increased. 'And what made you think that she would want to marry me?'

'She loves you, isn't it obvious? '

His vision blurred 'Have you forgotten that she was drunk? and I took advantage of her drunken state.' The silence that followed was suffocating, and his mind raced back to that moment, the memory haunting him. He remembered the way she had returned the kiss, her eyes fluttering shut just before their lips met. He remembered the vulnerability in her gaze, the way she had leaned into him as if seeking something more. 'She may have developed a silly little crush.' He whispered to himself, the words barely convincing even in his mind. An invisible rope tightened around his throat, 'it's temporary.' he told himself, desperately wanting to believe it, 'it will go away with time.'

'Bullshit' the voice whispered.

<previous> | <next >

@arshifiesta @featheredclover @phuljari @jalebi-weds-bluetooth @chutkiandchotte

[jalebi-weds-bluetooth]

ArShi OS: Chance

Warning: None | Word Count: 5681

Fear paralyzed her as her vision went blank. She blinked furiously, trying to make sense of her surroundings. Hands flailed in darkness,  feet unsteady.

The memory of her room wiped out the minute the whole house blacked out. Her heart beat furiously against her chest. Her throat tightened, as if she had swallowed broken glass. 

The last time the room was this dark, Shyam had stepped in to take advantage of her fear. He had walked in with a candle, hoping she’d be disoriented enough to let him come inside her room, or worse - hold her knowing she wouldn’t be able to put up a fight. 

God knows, if Nanhe hadn’t appeared on time-

Khushi collapsed, shutting her ears as another thunder blasted. 

Their headlights stopped working. The road ahead was pitch dark. Khushi clutched her teddy bear. Her father didn’t realize oil had spilled on the road. Her mother was screaming. A deafening crash. 

“Amma,” She cried, her body numb. 

THINK KHUSHI!

Khushi’s eyes snapped open. Arnav was out of town, so were the rest of the family. She forced her mind to focus on the facts. A house like Shantivan rarely loses power. It is not a coincidence that it had to happen the one time she was alone at home. 

More than the trauma of her parents’ death, it was reality that shook her bones. 

Shyam was back. 

The thought alone powered her to stand up and grab the first thing she could find. She screamed at the winds, screamed of her bravery, enough to let anyone know she was far from disoriented. Far from being taken advantage of. 

There was no reply apart from the howling winds and flickering lights. Cold sweat trickled down her temples. 

Perhaps it was just the thunder and her trauma. Nothing else. 

“Hey Devi Maiyya,” she whispered, soft relief washing over her. Before she could thank her stars, a shadow appeared. Panic seized Khushi. There was only one man who had cast a shadow in her room more than once.

Shyam Manohar Jha

Khushi screamed but her voice was stuck. Tears streamed down her cheeks but she couldn’t say a word nor move a limb. He had gripped her in broad daylight, there was no saying what he came for now.

Suddenly she was an eight years old child in the car, sure of her death. She was in a loop where no matter how much she blinked, she couldn’t see, couldn’t wake up.

Find Arnav

Blood flowed back into her body as she furiously searched for her phone. He’d save her. He always had. She should’ve gone with him. Stayed with him. At this point she didn’t even remember what they had fought about. She knocked the furniture over, unable to find her phone. 

Her ears twitched. She heard footsteps. 

No

She grabbed a pot and ran towards the exit. She had to leave this house - now! Her feet came to an abrupt halt when she saw a man standing in the living room, aware she’d been trying to make an escape.

Tears dried and her mouth struggled to speak. Her throat was parched, inhibiting her from speaking.

She let out a silent scream when lightning flashed. His face was as visible as day. 

Arnav 

She had heard stories of how the Lord Shiva had appeared as a saviour, untouched by the chaos surrounding him. Standing with a soft smile, unmoved by the thunder or darkness, Arnav appeared no less than the God himself. 

Somehow, this time too, he appeared just in time to save her. 

“Khushi?”

Khushi’s hands lost their strength. She didn’t need to put up a defence. She was safe. Relief burst through tears as she ran towards him. Her feet slipped and she fell down the stairs but she got up and ran again. Her forehead and arms burned from the fall but she ran despite it all. She reached out to him, her hoarse ‘Arnav’ steady on her lips like a prayer. 

Before she could fall again he grasped her arms and she pulled him into the tightest embrace and cried her heart out. Her wails were silent, for there were no tears and her throat choked her. Yet she heaved in his arms in relief. He was solid, this was not an imagination. The muscle and fabric under her fingertips was his alone. It was real.

She was saved. 

– – – 

Few men were as shrewd as Arnav Singh Raizada. He knew how to utilize one’s weakness for his profit. Perhaps that’s why it wasn’t a surprise when he ran a million dollar company by 26. Thus he never lost, nor were his intuitions and strategies ever proven wrong.

So when Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada challenged him that she would never come running into his arms - he knew she’d eat back her words by tonight. 

But when he saw her panic stricken face on the stairs, he lost his footing. Her eyes were bloodshot, face pale. Tears and makeup had streamed down her face and she almost appeared bloodless. He couldn’t move, unable to accept that he had caused her this.

Perhaps it was not real. Perhaps it was his guilty conscience berating him for using Khushi’s fear against her. 

It was not something husbands do.

So he blinked, hoping this apparition would disappear and his Khushi would come forth and smack him for teasing her. He could take her anger, but not fear. 

It was then he remembered why she feared darkness. Nausea overcame him. For every second Khushi approached him, he saw the magnitude of what he had done.  

He snapped out when Khushi fell down the stairs, slipping on the roses he had laid for her. He never thought she would run down the stairs. He thought she’d see the flowers and be appeased.

She loved roses, didn’t she? But she slipped again and before he could hold her she reached him. Her skin was cold yet she was sweating. Her lips were chapped, eyes frantic. 

She embraced him tight, and his breath was knocked out of his lungs. 

“A-Arnav-ji” She panted, her breathing erratic. His focus shifted to her, he gripped her tight, cradling her head in his arms. Khushi calm down, it’s me. He pressed his lips to her head and she hugged him tighter, her body quivering in fear.

They stood like that for a minute, her seeking comfort in his arms, him blocking out everything apart from Khushi in his arms. 

He would deal with consequences later. 

“Khushi,” Arnav hesitated, still rubbing his hand up and down her back, “I’m so sor-” Khushi’s body went lax. 

“Khushi?” Arnav broke the hug and her knees buckled. He tapped her cheek but she had passed out. And even then, her grip on his collar was tight.

– – –

The Raizadas stepped in and were first scandalized by the flowers on the floor. Did Arnav and Khushi have no sense-

Their accumulated anger broke as a pale Khushi lay on the sofa and Arnav ran around to get a doctor. Even Manorama, the one ready for a taunt, was stunned by how pale Khushi looked.

Like her life had been sucked out of her. Anjali kept quiet and was about to reach for Khushi when Akash went ahead and stopped Arnav’s maddening pace. 

“Bhai? Is Khushi-ji ok. Are you ok? What happened?” Akash held his older brother’s shoulders. 

“She’s not waking up. Give me your car keys. Mohan had this fucking great idea to take all the cars for maintenance. I’m not even getting a signal. I have to take her to the hospital.” Arnav panicked, throwing his bluetooth halfway across the room as his phone line didn’t connect. 

“Okay, bhai, calm down. You won’t be helping Khushi-ji like this.” Arnav closed his eyes shut, nodding at whatever Akash was saying.

Despite the confusion, Anjali’s heart ached for Khushi. Without consciousness, it appeared to Anjali how young Khushi truly was. But didn’t Shyam say how young Khushi was? Young to be tempted - her body rejected the idea before her mind could.

She knew this woman at the back of her hand. And with her so pale, Anjali doubted if Khushi could ever take advantage of anyone. 

That’s when a few bruises on Khushi’s arms caught her eye. Who gave this? 

“I’ll drive-” Arnav stated. 

“No Bhai, I’ll drive you both to the hospital. You stay with her, ok?” Akash advised. Mohan ran in the house, mumbling several apologies. Anjali briefly sprinkled water on Khushi but to no effect. 

“Chotte, Akash is saying the right thing. Let’s go to the hospital-” Anjali said.

“There’s no need for you all to come.” Payal interjected and grabbed Khushi’s hand from Anjali. Her frame shook in rage. Given all the treatment they had given to Khushi off late, Payal could not take another second of the Raizadas fawning over her. 

“Hello hi bye bye, what is-”

“Maa ji, it’s my sister. So you all don’t have to be worried. Jeth-ji and I will take her to the hospital. Mohan-ji will drive us there.” Nani was surprised at Payal’s tone. She was never the one to oppose anything anyone said - especially Anjali. 

“What are you saying Payal? Why wouldn’t I-”

“Akash ji, your sister and your house needs you more.” Anjali frowned, this was the first time she had heard Payal refer to her as Akash’s sister. 

“But if Khushi-ji needs anything-” Akash argued.

“You don’t have to worry about it Akash-ji. She is my sister. I have and can look after her.” Akash was stunned, he knew where this was coming from. But it was unfair to use an argument against him now. 

“Payal, main-”

He stopped when Arnav rushed by him and gingerly picked Khushi in his arms. That’s when Arnav saw Anjali and the rest of the family. 

“Di…” Arnav felt like he owed an explanation. 

“Chotte it’s ok, please take her to the hospital first.” Anjali smiled but Arnav shook his head.

“Di my meeting got canceled. That's why I came home early. Things have not been going ok so I thought of surprising Khushi and… and we would’ve met you all on the road but-”

“Chotte you don’t have to explain me anything. Your wife is unwell that is your first priority.” Anjali admonished. 

“No Di I need to because I know you hate Khushi and Mami just adds-” Arnav cut himself off. Fuck. He shouldn’t have said any of that. Without giving anyone else another glance he and Payal walked away. 

“Wah, Arnav bitwa comes home for romance and he has the audacity to blame me when Phati-Sari is the one who has him wrapped around her little fin-”

“Maa enough!” Akash thundered. “Di, please go to your room and take rest, okay?”

Anjali barely nodded and allowed Nani to accompany her room. Was she suffocating Chotte? Was everything wrong in the house stemming from her inability to accept the truth?

Is she ruining her brother’s marriage?  Was she happy to see Chotte and Khushi-ji break up because they broke up her and Shyam? 

Horrified at her own trail of thoughts she burst into tears and hugged Nani. Why did the truth seem so elusive? 

Akash closed the doors and stared at his mother in anger. Manorama had the presence of mind to look a little bit guilty. 

“Maa, you’re aware right that our marriages are fragile right now?” Akash asked.

“Yes but they are respon-”

“Oh yes, I hold them guilty for not telling us the truth on time. But nothing apart from that. I still love Payal and Bhai still loves Khushi-ji. I’ve seen how you treated them off late. It’s almost like them not telling us the truth justified this long standing hatred you have, haina?” Akash accused.

He had seen the way his mother had behaved the way it stifled both Payal and Khushi. They, of course, laughed off any of Manorama’s taunts but he knew it was not normal that he found his wife on the verge of being kicked out twice for something as small as a burnt dish or a pill. 

Arnav and Anjali had a lot on their plates. The mother who could help him with his marriage was too keen to see it breaking apart. Akash felt truly alone and abandoned.

It was as if no one was there to help him out with his issues. His anger for Shyam doubled. It was just an affair but he managed to make sure the news breaks the family to pieces. 

“Akash bitwa how dare you accuse your mother! Didn’t you see how they hid the truth so they could get married into this rich household? They ruined Anjali bitiya’s happiness. In fact I’ll be happy when those two get out of this house.” Manorama huffed. 

“Fine. I’ll leave Payal. In fact I’ll also ask Bhai to leave Khushi-ji. But all this will only happen when you leave Papa.” Akash watched his mother’s face shift from joy to terror. 

“A-Akash”

“You hate them for the same reason Dadi hated you. I regret the fact that you never opened your eyes maa. You love us, but you love status more. Here my relationship is on the rocks, things have continuously gone wrong between Bhai and Khushi-ji and as my mother you aren’t there to help me. No, I exist so you can get a great bahu and reclaim your status. I don’t know how to process the fact that you’re taking advantage of my relationship breaking apart.” Akash looked away, overwhelmed by tears.

Manorama stood shell shocked. If there was one person she had counted to never bring up her flaws, it was her son. He was her own.

“I don’t feel happy saying this Maa. I know you genuinely love us. But that’s lost. And now I’m lost in my family. You’re upset on Payal not telling anyone anything, right? So why didn’t you tell me that Bhai was kidnapped? NK bhai also didn’t say anything. Bhai, who trusts me with his company, didn’t tell me the truth about Shyam although he knew it for six months." Akash sighed.

"And now Di, who would understand what I would say without saying a word, refuses to listen to me when I beg her to move on and not trust Shyam. Papa is not here and my own mother is happy to see my marriage break with the only woman I ever loved. I am a stranger in my family and I don’t know who to blame.” Manorama remained quiet as Akash broke into tears. She couldn’t say a word. 

How could she? When she knew that she complained to Arnav about Khushi visiting Anjali or interfered with Payal trying to talk things out with Akash not only because she was genuinely upset but also that she saw it as a point for them to break off with the women she disapproved of. 

“Beta-” She tried to touch his arm.

“I’m sorry maa, I shouldn’t have spoken like that. Update me when Di feels better.” Akash walked away, the mask of calmness and maturity back in place.

For the first time Manorama realized that her son was not naive nor blind, he just tolerated more and loved enough to not interfere.  

– – – 

Payal pressed on her temples, her heart aching as she recollected how hurt Akash looked when she distanced herself from him. She knew he was genuinely worried about Khushi. Like the brother he is to her.

Yet, Payal couldn’t resist throwing back his words to him. 

And now that she did, she felt awful. An eye for an eye did make the world blind. 

She took a walk outside the hospital, desperately needing fresh air. Why is it when they were a step closer to patching things up, it fell through?

She knew she should call Akash, let him know that Khushi was stable but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Her pride and self esteem were still hurt. 

She had suffered a lot in the past few days and she felt at this point her suffering was more than her crime. But she couldn’t blame Akash entirely. They were both angry and doing things they didn’t mean. 

The cool winds of Delhi chilled her. She rubbed her palms up and down her arms. She missed the man who was silently there for her. 

A jacket was extended to her. 

Payal turned and saw Akash standing, his eyes clouded in worry. 

“Akash-”

“Maa and Nani are with Di. She’s sleeping now. How’s Khushi ji?” He waited with bated breath as she took the jacket and wrapped it around her shoulder. 

“Thank you. She’s asleep. She had a panic attack.” Payal explained. Akash frowned, panic attacks and Khushi? 

“Khushi was in the car when her parents died. So she doesn’t do well with speeding cars and darkness. The last time this happened, Khushi was thirteen. Some of her friends thought it was nice to prank her and lock her up in a closet.  But I was there. I just wonder what would’ve happened if Jeth-ji hadn’t come in time. She would’ve gone through this by herself and-” Payal burst into tears.

Akash hugged her tight and she wrapped her arms around his wait. It had been so long since he had held her. 

He closed his eyes, he finally felt at home.

“I’m sorry Akash. I’ve failed you as a wife,” Akash opened his eyes, surprised at her comment, “I’ve failed this house as a bahu. And I think I have failed Khushi as a sister. I’ve failed everyone I’ve loved-”

Akash broke the hug and held her shoulders, he searched her lovely face for answers. 

“Payal, you’ve made a mistake and so have I. If one mistake fails you then there’s no one here who has never failed.” Payal nodded, wiping her tears with his handkerchief. 

“I’m happy though that Khushi and Jeth-ji have managed to go strong. I was afraid if we ever told him the truth then he would’ve blamed Khushi for everything. But rather he’s been protective of her. Even Khushi has never left his side.” Payal sighed. Akash looked at her, her own wish visible in her eyes.

That is what she wanted. Someone to never leave his side. 

And here he was, expecting her to walk by him without even saying that’s what he wanted. 

Payal was surprised when Akash took her in another hug, “I’ll never leave you Payal. We’ll fight, have arguments, but I swear I won’t stop working on this relationship.” Payal closed her eyes and breathed in relief. It was the first time since months she felt she truly held him in her arms. 

And now, in his arms, she had the strength to fight against anything. The battle for showing Di the truth and managing this house had only begun. 

– – – 

Arnav sat on the edge of the hospital bed, holding Khushi’s pale hand in his. Her cheeks were finally suffused with color. There was a small bump on her forehead and a bandaid on her arm from when she fell. With a trembling hand he pushed a strand of hair behind her ears. He had misused her fear. Only for his sake. 

Arnav looked away, unable to accept the truth that he was responsible for her state. He loved her, beyond any logical reasoning. But the fact that he led her to this hospital looked very little like love. 

No sorry was enough. No ‘I didn’t mean it’ was enough. Nothing was enough. 

Tears overwhelmed him, along with the realization that if Khushi got to know the truth and wanted to leave - he  had nothing to convince her otherwise. In a span of forty eight hours he had hurt her twice. Both times to a point of no recovery. 

He pressed a warm kiss on her knuckles, hoping against hope that it would say everything he couldn’t. 

Khushi stirred from her sleep and jerked up, Arnav rushed to hold her head but she pushed him away. She blinked hard and looked at him.

It is Arnav. 

Her shoulders sagged in relief and she extended her arms for a hug. Armav, too selfish to not give into a hug, wrapped his arms around her as she closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. 

“Thank God it’s you.” She whispered, coughing as her parched throat protested. Arnav handed her a glass of water. Khushi frowned at his wordless actions. It was unlike him to be so quiet with her. 

“Arnav-ji, I’m fine. You don’t have to be so worried.” She smiled. What was she made of? Arnav looked away, lest she see his tears, and waited for her to be done with her glass of water. His hands were still trembling. She held his hands and kept it on her lap. 

“I’m genuinely fine. I… I’ve been through this before. But this time it was something else.” Khushi grew serious. Arnav panicked, waiting for answers. 

“Arnav-ji… I think Shyam is back.” Arnav froze and stared at her. 

“He has done this before.” Khushi trembled, gripping his hand until her knuckles turned white. 

“Did what?” Where was Shyam? How did he not see him! 

Khushi nodded and let go of his hands, brushing her thumb on the little nail impressions on his skin. Arnav cupped her cheek and insisted, “What did he do?”

Khushi had tried sleeping with her small lamp on. The memories of Arnav, the hut and the barely said words fresh in her mind. She twisted and turned in her bed, racking her brains to draw up a plan to rescue him. Suddenly, the lights went out. Khushi jerked up, alert and afraid. For a small moment she remembered how he had brought fireflies to ease her fears. And somehow he always dispelled her fears. 

And right then she heard footsteps and saw a shadow. Had Arnav freed himself? Is he secretly coming home? No! That sounded ludicrous - why wouldn’t they escape together if that was the case. 

To her horror, Shyam stood in front of her with a candle - attempting to cajole her fears. He walked closer, attempting a hug and touched her hand. 

“If Nanhe-ji hadn’t arrived in time,” Khushi shivered in disgust. Arnav shook with rage and stood up, itching to throw something against the wall and shatter it to pieces. All this while he had never thought what were the consequences of bringing Khushi in the same house as Shyam.

“Fuck!” He slammed his hand against the wall. 

“Arnav-ji!” Khushi shrieked. Arnav turned around, his anger diminishing at the worry in her eyes. He walked to her in two steps and held her face. 

“I swear I won’t leave you again Khushi. It’s all my fault. I should’ve listened to you-”

“Hey,” Khushi cupped his face, brushing her thumb against his stubble, “You’re here with me. You believe me. He can’t do anything to me. Despite him being there today he couldn’t even come in front of me only because you were there.” Arnav hung his head and clenched his fists. 

He sat on the bed and asked softly, “How are you sure he was there today?”

“Arnav-ji, I am pretty sure he has kept tabs on all of us. It is not coincidence that all the lights went out on a thunderous night where no one was at home. He knows my fear. I wouldn’t keep it above him to use it. And I saw a shadow of a man. Just like that night. Only one man can do such a disgusting thing. But thanks to Devi Maiyya you came here at the right time,” Khushi gave his hands a reassuring squeeze. 

Arnav couldn’t speak. His throat tightened as Khushi looked at him with her eyes full of hope and sincerity. Khushi frowned as she noted the guilt on his face. Oh, when will he stop feeling responsible for everything? 

“Arnav-ji, the mistake is mine. Easily we would’ve been touring the Taj Mahal and bickering about whether or not you’re my pati, but I had to be a wonder woman at home.” Khushi teased him.

Arnav covered his face with his hands, unable to take her reassurances. Khushi shifted towards him and removed his hands. She held his cheek and turned him to look at her. 

“Arnav-ji. Nothing happened. And you can’t feel guilty for an incident where you weren’t even there. And you should be happy. I did end up in your arms right? Which means that I have to accept that you’re my husband.” Khushi dramatically sighed and waited for him to smile.

Except he let out a shuddering breath and whispered sorry. 

“Arnav-ji, why are you apologizing? Is it about before? Then it’s ok… I know you didn’t mean it.” Khushi said. However Arnav couldn’t bear to look at her. She moved forward to hold his other cheek. 

“Arnav-ji, you’re behaving like you’re the one who switched off the lights,” Khushi chided. Arnav froze and looked at her, wide eyed. Khushi’s smile dropped, her hands leaving his face. In the few months of a difficult marriage with Arnav, Khushi had been forced to learn every single expression and body language. 

For a man who did things very differently than what he promised, it was his silence that gave her answers. When he had looked away right after Holi, declaring he didn’t remember anything, she realized he remembered everything.

When he had looked away, telling her their marriage was still a contract, she realized he was telling anything but the truth. 

She had assumed he wasn’t meeting her eyes because he felt guilty for not being there when Shyam was harassing her. For all the previous accusations. For being unaware what being married in this house meant. 

But Arnav was rarely a person to ruminate on the past, no matter how terrible his deeds were. He never shied from looking straight into someone’s eyes if there was a grain of truth.

And the only time he met her eyes, frightened, was when she joked that he had switched off the lights. 

Khushi’s chest tightened. A rock lodged itself in her heart. Her hands still hovered across the face as she searched his tormented face for answers. No, this couldn’t be her Arnav. 

“You didn’t reach home on time by coincidence. You… you did it?” She agonized, her hands falling to her sides. Arnav immediately grabbed her hands, “Khushi I didn’t know all of this would happen-”

“Why Arnav-ji?” Khushi snatched her hands away and buried her face in her palms. 

“Khushi, I’m sorry. I really didn’t know-”

“You didn’t know?” She snapped, “What did you not know? I told you what happened when I was eight. I literally fainted and developed a fever in Nainital because I was in a dark room. It happened in front of you! You know what happens Mr. Raizada.” Veins stood on her neck as she yelled at him. 

“Khushi I did not mean to hurt you-”

“Then what did you mean to do? What in the world did I do to deserve this? Who have I hurt in your family again? How have I hurt you?” Khushi demanded, angry tears threatening to spill. Arnav looked away and refilled her glass of water. 

“Look at me Mr. Raizada. You hate it when others look away while talking right, well that’s applicable to you too. Why did you do this?” Khushi stood up, wavering on her two feet. 

Arnav rushed to her and held her before she fell. Khushi struggled in his grip but he didn’t relent. 

“You’ll fall Khushi.” He warned. 

“I don't care. I just feel like an idiot for running straight into your arms-” Khushi stopped, her eyes widening in disbelief. 

You’ll come back to me. You’ll accept me as your husband. In fact you’ll run straight into my arms. 

“You did this for a challenge?” Khushi shuddered and swayed. Arnav put her back on the bed and she remained quiet. Arnav waited for her outpour. For her to hold him responsible and yell at him for being insensitive. He could only apologize after she punished him. 

Except Khushi sat quietly, tears streaming down her cheeks until they ran dry. 

“Say something,” He requested. 

“What should I say? I can’t say I hate you because I don’t. I can’t say I want to leave you because I know what the consequences of that are. I can’t say I’m heartbroken because you’ve heard that a thousand times and there’s been no difference. It’s just disappointing that you’re been cruel on things that needed no cruelty.” Khushi lamented, fidgeting with the band aid on her arm.

Their wedding, her accepting him as husband or a hug - all he ever needed to do was ask. Yet they’ve all been painted with brutality. 

Perhaps it is her fate, she couldn’t fault him entirely when destiny itself was written against her. 

“Khushi, how can I fix this?” Arnav asked. He was met by her mirthless chuckle.

“You cannot Arnav-ji. To hurt me once is an incident, twice is a mistake but the third time's a pattern.” Khushi rued, her face as pale as before, her eyes hollow. She had finally given up on this relationship because there was never a day where he wouldn’t hurt her. That fact alone broke her poor heart to pieces because there is no other man she could love as much.

Nor another man who could love her in return. In whatever bits and pieces she had received his love, it was filled with such intimacy and belonging that she had never had before. His love for his family was unparalleled. She just had the childish wish of being his family too. 

Arnav’s heart sank at her calm disposition. He saw hope and love diminish in her eyes. Even though he was sitting right next to her, the distance hadn’t been greater. He couldn’t breathe. 

When your loved one walks away from you, you will stop breathing. 

Clarity dawned on him and he grabbed her pale hands and Khushi balked. These were the eyes of a man determined and no good had resulted from it. 

“Khushi, I am very sorry for everything I’ve done and I am going to fix this.” He vowed. 

“Arnav-ji, please. The day I reciprocate you’re going to do something worse. And this time I won’t be able to survive it.” Khushi pleaded. 

“That won’t happen Khushi. I won’t promise anything, but I swear I’m not going to hurt you like this - ever.” Arnav stressed. Khushi looked away, there was no way she was going to look into his beautiful eyes when he said everything she had wanted to hear. 

“I know you won’t believe me. And that’s understandable given how I've been. But this time-” 

“This time what Arnav-ji? You’re not going to let me go? You’re going to make me accept that you’re my husband? You’ll tell my parents about our relationship?” Khushi cut in. How dare he make promises after violating her fears? How dare he treat her hurt as nothing? How dare he look like he loves her? 

Because love shouldn’t hurt so much. 

“This time I’ll prove that I’m a good husband.” Arnav solemnly vowed.

“What?”

“I realize there’s a fundamental logic lacking in the whole argument of me wanting you to accept me as husband.” Arnav perked up as if a light bulb had just flickered in his head, “It’s that I’m not husband material. Not by a mile away. So of course, this marriage is heading down a disastrous path. Therefore it’s done.”

“What is done?” Khushi was stunned. Either Arnav was suddenly drunk or he was possessed. By his smirk the latter half seemed likely. 

“The fact that I’ll be such a husband that you’ll grab the first person you see and declare yourself as Mrs. Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada.” Arnav proclaimed.

“Are you ok? Do I put a bed for you here?” Khushi touched his forehead, genuinely worried for his health. 

“I haven’t been better. I know what to do but before that I need to know two things from you.” Khushi bristled at his optimism and glared at him. 

“Ask, this seems a lot like another stupid challenge where you’ll do anything to have me-”

“-exactly Khushi. Why do you think I want to have you?” Arnav asked. He folded his arms as Khushi flustered. 

“What do you want to ask me?” Khushi changed the topic and fidgeted with her band aid. 

“Khushi, promise me you won’t ever hide anything from me. I need to know everything about Shyam. It does not matter if it hurts me, Di or anybody.” Arnav’s momentary smile was lost. Khushi led out a deep breath. Her role in ruining Anjali’s life by not telling the truth wasn’t lost on her. In an attempt to validate her intentions she had spread a wildfire with her secrecy. 

“I promise,” She whispered. Arnav nodded and kneeled by her bed, taking her hands once again into his. 

“Khushi, do you truly want to leave this marriage? Do you want something else from life? Because-” Khushi choked up and glared at him. 

“-you really need an answer for this Arnav-ji? Do you not know what I want?” Khushi’s question was answered by the briefest kiss on her forehead. Her eyes shut, savoring the feel of his lips on her forehead. She must be completely touch deprived at this point. 

“Then I’m sorry Khushi, for everything I have ever done. And I promise, I will fix things for you.” Arnav stood up and walked to the door, not before turning back and giving her a look with hope and longing. 

And like the fool in love she was, Khushi Kumari Gupta found herself giving him the last chance knowing things would turn just right.

--- --- ---

A/N: Inspired by a very famous hug scene that left a very bitter aftertaste in my mouth. Hope you all liked this.

JWB

tagging: @shaonsim @zaphbeeblebrox @shiyaravi @chutkiandchotte @featheredclover @goals1024 @honeybellexox @darkchocolatestuff @charucoal @thedupattaknowswhatsup @bigfatreader @lostafpanda @exosexosekai @hi-this-is-permabanned @scorpio-smiles @noor1025 @minpdnim @laad-governess @barshifan @whateverworks21 @maansiloves @samuraisamsworld @dropsofserenity @muttonthings @rae-blogging @charucoal @aye-masakalii (updating this list - lemme know who wants to be added/deleted)

[ipkkndlovescenes]

Ye Ishq hai ya kuch aur hai

Arshi Poolside Moment

Epi 25

"Sometimes reaching out and taking someone's hand is the beginning of a journey..."

>>>>>❤️<<<<<

A dreadful night drenching him completely with burning memories. A girl in red made him halt his tracks of life for the very first time, and his heart an unknown tune along with his heartbeat. He had no idea it was her heartbeat mixing with his own. She was unaware, too, along with him. But he was enraged over this, and not only that, but he was furious over saving her in the rain as well. 

Whose fault is that?

It was hers...His brain denied his heart, but his heart was pinching his brain constantly.

How dare she has this much power over him to make him restless?

Walking back and forth, he was immersed in her thoughts, in his own guilt for making her suffer this much, but his brain had this big NO written all over for the acceptance over anything, so he called La to get Khushi Kumari Gupta's number who was the reason of his restless state of mind.

Ye Ishq hai ya kuch aur hai

Yaa Bas Khali Khali shor hai

Well, his ears got entangled with something very different.

Chalo Maiya ke Bhavan ...Bhavan

Ah, these suit Khushi's personality yet fit on him right now as he was proceeding towards her, and she was instigating his hopes by admitting falsely that " hum aap hi ke phone ka intezaar kar rahe thay..." I was waiting for your phone call.." Like, really, Khushi?

While he was adamant about making her life hell...

"ittni asaani se chain ki saans nahin laine doonga?

"I won't let you breathe peacefully...Khushi Kumari Gupta."

Was he complaining or stating his own state of mind?

"Ji? Aap Kaun?"

Who are you?

How dare she? How dare she forget me that easily? The one who was the reason for my sleepless night? That nonchalant attitude of her enraged him a little more, and he demanded her to be awake along with him by assigning her overnight unnecessary work. It was pretty much obvious, and he wanted to see her, talk to her, yell at her and much much more but being a BOSS. Of course, he wouldn't accept her effect on him.

"If your nonsense has reached its end, then do what I said...and tomorrow morning reach my home at 7 am sharp" Well, a man who didn't want to see her in his office was inviting her over to his home. Interesting...He couldn't sleep either. A silhouette in red was hovering over his brain while he was tossing and turning, even turning off the light wasn't helpful.

"Every man somewhere in the world has a woman who was created just for him. She is not better than the others, but she’s the only one he really needs. And every woman, too, has such a man; But very few lucky people meet each other."  ~Boris Akunin~

The day reached with a revelation to Khushi that the fire and the water live under one roof. Anjali, such a sweet person, is living with that Alligator? Even HP couldn't resist denying that I guess.😆

The second revelation was when she stumbled upon the beast's den, where he was busy nurturing and watering the plants so diligently. A true "What the!" moment for her.

. 

He stumbled while turning around, and she dropped the typewriter to save him. Well, he was saving her as well, you know.😆 They both claimed it after falling for each other or saving each other, and it is a really complicated issue, but not for Anjali, who hid her laugh.

Well, she wasn't the only one who was stunned. He wasn't expecting her there either. He must be thinking of her coming into the living area where he could see her, yell at her, and say "Get out", but things got a bit daring here

The second revelation was like a fire on ice when Anjali dropped a bomb on his ears, telling him that Khushi was also here in Shantivan.

What the hell? How dare she?

An astonishing look followed by a killing and devilish stare at her like he was gauging her moves, thinking of her as a real culprit here, like a gold digger. He had no idea she was wondering too that Chote is the one who is allergic to sweets as well when she heard his name for the very first time from Nani. She didn't want to cross his line [ Arnav's rekha]  either.🤣 I mean his shadow, a venomous one whose hiss she could feel and hear from miles.

Anjali invites her over for breakfast and the very first blessing they both received together. "May God bless you both!"

God Bless dono ko!!!

Nani picked the right vibes here. Were you getting wet in the rain like Chote, Khushi bitiya? 

Yes, Naniji, Bitwa and bitya are sailing in the same boat...

They both were getting drenched again in the pool of that drenching night...or you can say that they had been inundated with complaints from their eyes.

Arshi poolside moments

[pakki-ya-nahin]

In My Head(30)

“You were so bad to me then” she said.

“I know..I was beginning to fall in love with you.That’s why.” said he.

[onadaanparindey]

quite literally, i am obsessed

So off-late, I’ve been reading a lot of arshi fanfictions and when I say a LOT, I do mean it. There are so many talented writers in here and I JUST DON’T GET ENOUGH OF READING AND DROWNING IN THE MAGIC THEY’VE CREATED. Mentioning few here, the ones that have struck in a chord :

shaadi, seduction, valley of flowers, a words worth, the same coin, farewell winter nights, stripped, stars after the storm, plot twist, incandescent, lost, secret romance series (the series has 4 stories and link directs to the wattpad ID of the writer), desert rose, harvest moon, resistance, WAUFMAIO universe, a river runs through it, Walk the line, Not Cut Out For Love, When the curtain falls, chasing love and chasing dreams, Entwined, Something About You, Accused, The Emerald Isle Tales.

pretty sure people in the fd will be aware of these masterpieces, but.. well, I’ve joined the bandwagon only recently, so here’s my little input. just incase T_T

[phati-sari]

Arshi FF: Tere Bin - Chapter 8

Read from the beginning | Chapter 7

Chapter 8: Ranjha (listen while reading)

Khushi

“What was he doing here?”

Khushi answered without turning, her head resting on the window sill as she studied the moon. “I don’t know.”

It’d taken a long time to escape to the room she shared with her sister after they’d first stepped through the doors. First, Amma had asked about the hospital visit, making Khushi recite everything the Doctor Sahib had said while Bua-ji interrupted often to ask questions. Babu-ji had soon taken over, asking to see the paperwork Khushi had collected and asking a few questions of his own. Still full from the gol gappe, Khushi had nibbled on some puri under Jiji’s watchful gaze while the family considered the payment plan the clinic had laid out.

Luckily, no one had asked exactly how she’d gotten home.

“You were in his car, Khushi.” Jiji came to stand next to her, her tone coloured with disapproval.

“The auto broke down. He was driving past.”

“He, of all the people in Lucknow and Delhi, just happened to be driving by? At the exact moment your auto broke down?”

An odd defensiveness flared in her chest, words popping out of her mouth before she’d thought them through.

“What can I say, Jiji? My phone’s battery was dead, it was dark. He offered to drop me home.”

Jiji reached out to touch her shoulder. “Did he fight with you again?”

No, he bought me gol gappe.

“No more than usual,” Khushi tried to smile at her sister. “I’m fine. Really. He drove me home. That’s all.”

Though she looked unconvinced, Jiji stepped away with a nod to ready herself for bed. Khushi waited until she was alone to snatch her bag from where it hung on a hook. Her searching fingers found the business card he’d offered.

“Well, it’s just that you like arguing so much, and we argue so often … I think we should keep in touch.”

At the time, she’d been so startled that she’d simply taken the card and slid from the car without answering. Jiji, fortunately, had been too busy scowling at him through the windows to notice as she’d slipped it into her bag.

The card was thick, the surface almost velvety to the touch. It sported a bright red logo in the top corner and announced his name in crisp black letters — ARNAV SINGH RAIZADA. Khushi shook her head to clear the unbidden memory of correcting his name on hundreds of letters.

The writing on the card included a number she recognised for the reception desk at the head offices and an email address that his managers monitored. But he’d scrawled another number untidily along one side with a black pen.

His personal number, Khushi realised with a jolt.

It felt strangely intimate, though logic reminded her that she’d had the same number saved in her phone before he’d broken it on the storeroom floor.

Why is he still in Lucknow?

On the heels of this thought came another: Why should I care?!

Her mind was suddenly awhirl with memories — raised voices and shouted words, a fall from his window, the broken door to the storeroom. His airs about money and power. The terror of the guesthouse.

Khushi ripped the business card in half, her breath coming in rapid pants, and then tore it into even smaller pieces. Tears stung in her eyes. She scrunched the pieces into her palm as Jiji returned to the room.

“Make sure you wake up early tomorrow,” her sister draped her towel near the window. “We’re going to the temple.”

“Okay.”

Waiting until Jiji was occupied with something in the cupboard, Khushi returned the ruined card to her bag. In the bathroom, she brushed her teeth and washed her face before studying her reflection. Her pulse was a chaotic drumbeat in her body, her thoughts a wild tangle. And underneath it all was something that thrilled and scared her at the same time, something that had followed her to Lucknow.

                                    #####

“Everything leads back to him,” Jiji had groaned, rolling on her side on the bed they shared. “Just go to sleep quietly.”

It had been a week since they’d returned to Lucknow, and Khushi had been comparing the price of potatoes between Lucknow and Delhi. Or at least, that was how the conversation had started. She couldn’t remember how they’d gotten to talking about that Laad Governor.

“You’re right Jiji. We’re in Lucknow now and we’ll soon forget that we ever went to Delhi. Or that we met such cruel, haughty people. Although … Anjali-ji had such sweetness in her. It’s a shame that we had to leave without saying goodbye to her. At least we met one nice person in Delhi. Oh … and Nani-ji. Maybe two nice people. And Aakash-ji, I suppose, though —”

“— Khushi! Are you going to count out every member of his family? Your mind is like a compass that’s always stuck on him!”

“And why wouldn’t it be?” Khushi had asked hotly. “He sent me there to do some meaningless task, knowing the place was about to collapse.”

“I know. You’ll never have to see him again, Khushi. You resigned from that awful job, you gave him an earful, and now you’re here and he’s there.”

The words should have elated her, but they only left her feeling strangely hollow.

                                    #####

That hollowness sat heavily inside her as Khushi joined her sister in their bed a few minutes later, sliding between the covers with a sigh.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jiji’s voice was soft in the dimness.

“Yes.”

“You barely ate dinner.”

“I’m not hungry.”

A short silence, in which Khushi’s mind unhelpfully replayed the way she’d fallen into his arms yet again.

Oh Devi Maiyya, couldn’t you find another place to make me slip? You mustn’t have liked the offering I left you this morning.

“I’m glad we came back to Babu-ji,” Jiji said softly. “I can’t imagine being away from home at a time like this.”

“The doctors said that as long as he rests properly and takes his medicines, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“He isn’t resting nearly enough, even with both of us at the shop.”

Khushi nodded her agreement, “He’s worried about the bills.”

“Bua-ji and Amma are talking about selling some jewellery. I thought I’d give them my bangles.”

“I have bangles we can sell too.”

It took a while for Jiji’s breathing to fall into the deep, slow rhythm of sleep. Khushi lay awake, her thoughts chasing each other in ever-tightening spirals.

The night of the photoshoot. The softness of her pallu as it slipped. The scorch of his gaze as it roved over her body and left her feeling singed. The electricity between them on Teej, every touch a bolt of lightning. The weight of him pressing into her in the storeroom.

She flushed, skin prickling and warmth blooming in secret places.

Stop it, Khushi. A handful of gol gappe is all it takes for you to forget his cruelty?

She turned onto her side with a huff. Sometimes it felt as though her life had been split into Before and After, as though falling at the fashion show had created an entirely new Khushi Kumari Gupta. A Khushi who was strangely compelled towards him, a Khushi who’d come dangerously close to swooning in his arms today. A Khushi who wanted something she had no name for.

“I didn’t know the situation at the guesthouse was that bad!”

“Do you really think I would’ve sent you there if I’d known? Is that what you think of me?”

For the first time, she allowed herself to entertain the idea that he hadn’t sent her there on purpose.

So what if he hadn’t? I was still trapped there for an entire day. He was wrong.

But the thought was impossible to dislodge now that it’d wormed into her mind. Having assumed he’d wanted to argue every time he’d approached her, she now considered whether he might have been trying to explain. She saw their interactions in a new light. The sweets, the cheque.

Did he feel guilty? Was he trying to say sorry?

She eventually fell into an uneasy sleep, tormented in her dreams by his eyes, his voice, the memory of his touch. She woke just before dawn, breathless and damp with sweat, the sheets tangled with her legs. Flinging them off, Khushi sat up in bed. Her sister made a questioning noise.

“Sleep, Jiji. It’s not time to wake up yet.”

A nameless storm raged in her chest, making it hard to breathe. She squeezed her eyes shut.

I should hate him.

A lurch in her tummy.

But I don’t.

Padding slowly over to her bag, she fished out the pieces of the business card one by one. There was a roll of tape amongst the paper and pens scattered on the table in the corner. Khushi glanced back at her sister as she sat. It took a few minutes to line up the jagged edges, to press the tape along them with trembling fingers until she could read his name again.

He’d set down a challenge. She wouldn’t back down.

    ********

Thanks for reading :) I know some of you may be disappointed with the level of introspection in this chapter and where I chose to end it. Tere Bin is Arnav’s story, one where he has to work out what he wants and how to get it while Khushi is in Lucknow. While I intend to dip into Khushi’s point of view where the story demands it (and I feel that her presence greatly improved Chapters 6 and 7), it will focus heavily on Arnav. I am not intentionally writing something to annoy or disappoint readers. I’m trying to do something very specific with this story, and like all experiments, I’m learning as I go :)