Part 25: Shifting Equations

"The Most Expensive Thing in the World is Trust: It Can Take Years to Earn and a Matter of Seconds To Lose..."

Note: This chapter goes back in time a few hours from the end of the previous chapter.

"I SAID JUST GO! JUST GET OUT OF MY FACE! LEAVE. ME. ALONE!!" Khushi's scream ended in a sob and she turned around to face them. "Go Away before I do something that I might regret later!"

Khushi turned away again but not before the agonized expression burned into Anjali and Payal's visions, increasing their guilt tenfold.

Quietly, Rohan turned to Anjali and wrapped an arm around her shoulders while keeping his other arm on Payal's shoulders.

"Leave her alone for now." His tone was clipped with a hint of barely hidden anger. His eyes flickered to Akash who stood, as expected, fuming in his spot.

He didn't even bother to glance towards Payal as he made his way around them towards Khushi. Stopping behind her, Akash looked at Rohan and nudged his chin in the staircase's direction, signing him to take Anjali and Payal away. With a quick nod, Rohan followed and guided Anjali and Payal out of the room.

Feeling numb at the outburst of Arnav and Khushi, Anjali and Payal stood in the middle of Anjali's bedroom, the guilt settling like a block of lead in their stomach.

"What have you two done?!" Rohan's voice was low but the disapproval was evident.

Anjali hid her face in her hands and burst into sobs. Payal pressed her hand to her forehead and started pacing, panic settling in. Rohan sighed and wrapped his arms around Anjali.

"I didn't mean for this to happen!!" She spoke after a long couple of minutes and sobbed louder. "I didn't know he loved her too! I would've never come in between if I'd known!!"

"We thought we were protecting her...from him...from the hurt and pain of seeing him with other women...I had no idea that it would backfire this way..." Payal's voice shook as she tried to keep her own tears at bay.

"Why did you two have to meddle in the first place?!" Rohan snapped. "You could have just stepped back and let them solve their issues on their own!"

"How can you say that?!" Anjali pulled away from him. "Are you saying that we should have just stood there and watched her go through that?!"

"It would have been better than what she's going through now, don't you think?" The dry, taunting voice came from the doorway.

"Akash--" Rohan began to warn but Akash held up his hand, looking more like Arnav than he ever had before.

"Do you think she's not hurting now? Because of you two, Bhai and Khushi didn't get to speak to each other for years! They both misinterpreted the lack of communication...because of your useless meddling; a matter that could have been solved over a serious conversation has escalated to this point!" Akash spat, anger rippling off of him in waves.

"And what are you doing now? Exactly what you were trying to avoid...watching her hurting. You're just going to stand here and watch her go through all this misery..." Akash shook his head vehemently.

"We want to help her but she won't even let us explain!" Payal defended.

"Would you let her explain??" Akash rounded on Payal, scaring her with his rage. Never before had Akash been so angry.

"Put yourself in her shoes! If you were in her place...would you have given her a chance to explain? Would you forgive her for meddling in your personal life? Both of you have forgotten that Khushi and Bhai were the ones who encouraged Rohan and Di enough to confess their feelings..." Akash turned to face Anjali. "If it weren't for them...you two wouldn't have gotten married today! And Payal," Akash turned to face a tearful Payal. "If it weren't for Khushi, we wouldn't be together. As far as I remember, wasn't it you who asked her to keep out of your personal life when she was trying to bring us closer? You were hell angry at her then...so how can you not understand her anger now?"

Akash pinched the bridge of his nose took a deep breath. "You know what's worse...neither of you three have realized what's going on...how have you not realized what Bhai feels for her? Haven't you seen him in the past few years? Haven't you seen how much he has changed without her?!"

"I thought that was because of what happened with Shanaya!" Rohan spoke calmly, knowing he was in the wrong even if by association. "I thought that the anger and frustration had come out of the situation he had with Shanaya and the fact that he hadn't had the opportunity to say a proper goodbye to Khushi..."

"That's what we thought too." Anjali muttered and continued sobbing.

"And what about now? Ever since Khushi has come back, it has been so obvious...Even Ifigured it out! Bhai's dislike towards the man Khushi is engaged to and his reaction to Khushi's engagement announcement should have been ample proof but the fact is...Payal and you have been so caught up in your own happiness...in your own blissful relationships that you didn't even bother to consider the fact that something horrible has happened with your friends! Who has time to consider other people's pains when your own life is going great, right?"

Payal's heart broke at the bitter words. Is this what it boiled down to? Selfishness? Was Akash accusing her and Anjali of being selfish? Was she really too caught up in her own happy relationship with Akash, in the joy of their engagement getting fixed that she didn't realize how unhappy Khushi really was?

"I think that's a bit harsh Akash..." Rohan spoke cautiously. "I agree that things were overlooked but it's harsh to say that it was for selfish reasons...sometimes people don't notice things..."

Akash laughed bitterly, the sound was like the sting of a whip to Anjali and Payal's ears. "How do you not notice these things when it's your brother and your cousin? If Di wasn't able to see Khushi's stress, she should have been able to pick up on her brother's feelings! And if Payal had missed Arnav's feelings, she should have understood Khushi's...and even if you set aside the relationships, Ro...we are all supposed to be friends...we're supposed to be looking out for each other."

"We were looking out for Khushi when we changed the emails!" Anjali sniffled. Yes what she had done was extreme, yes she shouldn't have meddled so much but the reason why she had done what she had was not something she was ashamed of. "When she told us that she loved him, we could see how much it hurt her to see him having flings with all those girls...she needed some distance...we did it to protect her from heartbreak."

"Ironic, isn't it? Considering that now you have two heartbroken people in front of you...and possibly three..." Akash deadpanned. "Don't even get me started on poor NK being dragged into this mess."

"We'll do anything to help." Payal's voice cracked and ended in a sob. "Anything."

"I think you both have helped enough." Akash turned away and faced the wall. "Just stay away from her for now. She needs distance...at least give her that. And do us all a huge favor...don't even try to meddle in their business now. I've been helping Bhai get closer to Khushi and I'll continue to do so. And I swear...if you two do anything--" Akash let the threat unfinished, making it even more dangerous.

Noticing a notepad sitting on Anjali's desk, Akash walked over briskly and tore out a paper. He picked out a pen from the crystal pen holder and walked over to Payal. He thrust the paper and pen into her hand roughly.

"Write down how to access that folder and the password to get into it. Now." It wasn't a request but rather a command.

The tone of his voice left no room for arguments and Payal hastily scribbled the folder names and the access passwords and handed the sheet of paper back to Akash with shaky hands. He all but snatched it out of her hands, turned on his heels, and stormed out of the room without a second glance at any of the occupants. Anjali and Payal jumped once again as he slammed the door shut behind him.

"You know what's scary?" Anjali sniffled. "I'm afraid of Arnav's silence more than Akash's outburst."

"And I'm afraid of Khushi's anger above all." Payal collapsed onto the bed and sighed. "I've failed my sister."

"Payal?" Anjali's voice was desperate for assurance. "Everything will be fine...right?"

I wouldn't bet on it... Rohan answered in his mind but didn't dare to actually verbalize it.
_____

"Come on!" Akash groaned. "Pick up your phone...pick up your phone, Khushi..."

When the call got directed to voicemail yet again, Akash swore and disconnected the call. It was well past midnight and he hadn't been able to get in touch with Khushi. He didn't know where she was but hoped that she was fine.

Not being able to sit there without doing anything about this, Akash left his room and headed straight towards the bedroom in which Khushi was staying. Two impatient knocks later, he threw the door open, forgetting his etiquettes about entering a girl's room without consent. A quick scan of the room told him that she wasn't there and almost immediately, the panic began to rise.

He dialed her number again as he checked a few more areas of the grand haveli before heading to Arnav's room.

On the other hand, Arnav was wide awake in is room. He watched Khushi as she slept, her face tear stained, a small frown on her face, her lips turned down. The sadness and stress were visible in her features even as she slept. His hand absent-mindedly caressed her hair, as if he were trying to take the stress away with that gesture. Whether sleep would come to him tonight or not, he did not know but the fact that Khushi was with him and asleep, as peacefully as the situation allowed, relaxed him.

A knock on his door at the ungodly hour made him frown. His lips set into a thin line at the thought that Anjali and Payal may have come to speak to him--something he didn't want to do right now...or for a few days.

"Bhai...it's me." Akash's voice sounded muffled across the door but even so, Arnav didn't miss the tinge of worry and panic.

Carefully unwinding himself from Khushi he crawled out of bed and pulled up the cover a bit higher to keep her comfortable before walking towards the door. He cracked the door open just enough to stand in front of Akash.

"Bhai...I can't find Khushi...she left after the whole fiasco and I can't get through to her!" Akash was jittery even as he spoke.

Arnav opened the door a bit more and turned to the side to clear Akash's field of view. Akash's eyes flew past Arnav and he found Khushi snuggled into the duvet and heap of pillows, sleeping like a child.

"How is she?"

Arnav sighed. "Pissed off, stressed...sad."

"And you?"

"More pissed off than anything else." Arnav spoke without missing a beat.

"I've told them both to keep away...Rohan is with them...I'm glad that you've kept Khushi with you...she needs someone she can trust right now..."

Arnav nodded thoughtfully, acknowledging that the seemingly meek and mellow Akash was smarter and more sensible than he had even been given credit for. At the moment, apart from Khushi and Arvind, the only person Arnav could trust blindly was Akash.

"Will you do me a favor Akash?" Arnav looked over his shoulder to make sure she was still sleeping.

"Anything, Bhai."

"Can you get the jet ready tomorrow morning as soon as you have a chance? Also have Mohan top the gas tank on my car..."

"Are you going for a business trip?" Akash was appalled.

"No...Khushi may want to leave...and if she does...I've promised to take her where she wants to go." Arnav could finally feel the fatigue settling in.

"I will get it all done for tomorrow morning. Just let me know if and when you want to leave."

Arnav patted Akash's shoulder. "Thank you Akash. For everything..."

"I owe you...I haven't forgotten all your help with my homework and helping me out when kids bullied me for being chubby...or the fact that it was because of you and Khushi that my relationship with Payal happened...and even if all that wasn't in the picture...you're my brother and she's my friend...it's the least I could do." Akash smiled gently. "Get some rest. You're starting to look like crap."

Arnav scoffed. "You too. Have a good night."

"Good night Bhai..." Akash turned to leave after one last glance at Khushi. Just as Arnav was about to close the door, Akash turned around again. "I almost forgot..."

Akash reached into his pocket, pulled out the folded sheet of paper, and handed it to Arnav. "Here...I thought you two might want this."

Before Arnav could ask what it was, Akash had started walking away. Arnav closed the door and started walking back to the bed as he unfolded the small sheet of paper. His feet froze mid-stride as the words finally registered in his fatigued mind. His lips parted slightly in surprise before apprehensions took over.

Should he actually try to access the folder? Did he really want to read the emails Khushi had sent him in the past three years? Did he need to be reminded--one email at a time--of what she had dealt with? Did he want to get caught up in a sea of "if only's" that would surround him after he reads the emails?

Did it even matter? Bygones were bygones weren't they? It was all water under the bridge. It wasn't like reading these emails would actually help make the situation any better...

Even then, a minute later, he found himself clenching and unclenching his fists as he waited for his laptop to start up on his chaise lounge. His eyes focused over the edge of the laptop on Khushi, wondering whether or not she would want to read the emails from the past too. In a movement that was second nature to him now, his thumb caressed the anchor tattoo on the side of his hand as his thoughts veered in Khushi's direction.

When his eyes settled back on the screen, he saw a list of the messages. His eyes scanned down the list quickly and he realized that her emails were as frequent as daily in the beginning and then slowly phased out to about seven months ago. Since then, she hadn't sent anything.

He started reading from the first one and he felt as if he had travelled back in time. Her emails bringing an odd sense of closure. He berated himself when he read her queries about why he was ignoring her and then anger coursed his veins as she acknowledged the fiasco with Shanaya. She'd sent a heartfelt wish to him on every birthday, every year on the day his mother had passed away, every year on the day her father had passed away...after every successful venture of his company.

An hour and a half later, when he finally opened the most recent, and last, email from Khushi's, his heart broke. It was the shortest of emails yet the loudest:

I can't do this anymore. Until we meet again...Goodbye, Arnav.

Khushi.

Arnav clenched his jaw and shut the laptop with force. His stupidity and Khushi's refusal to admit her feelings to him had given a blow to their bond, yes, but that was acceptable because it was their choices. The fact that others' interference and others' choices had messed things up further for them was not something Arnav could accept easily.

The fact that his own sister had failed to understand him was more frustrating. Why could she never understand him the way Khushi did? Would they have told him the truth years ago if he had told them how he felt about Khushi?

The ruffling of the duvet broke him out of his reverie and he turned to see Khushi tossing and turning restlessly. All thoughts shoved aside, he rushed over to her and took a seat next to her, taking her hand in his and clasping it snugly. As he settled on the bed, lying next to her with his upper back resting against the headboard, Khushi slowly relaxed and naturally snuggled closer to him.

In that moment, Arnav decided to call it a night. Too much information was floating around in his head and his anger added to the mix was no help. He needed to think everything through and organize his thoughts with a clearer mind. Apart from Khushi's presence, all he needed was some sleep. So he closed his eyes, rested his head atop hers and embraced the slumber which invaded his fatigued mind and body quickly.
_____

The next morning, when the sun was already high up in the sky, it saw an eerie silence over Sheesh Mahal, despite the young occupants in the palace.

Anjali and Rohan sat at the dining table, eating quietly save the occasional words shared between the husband and wife. Last night hadn't exactly been the most ideal wedding night for them but neither mentioned the fact. Rohan had spent the better part of the night calming Anjali down, reassuring her that, although not easily, everything would eventually work out.

Payal, on the other hand, had brooded in solitude because Akash had asked her to leave him alone for the time being. After seeing a glimpse of his temper earlier, Payal had done what he'd asked without any questions or qualms.

Payal sat in the living room to give the newly wedded couple some privacy and indulged in mindless TV as a means for distraction. When she had woken up and gone to Akash's room, he wasn't there. When she went to Khushi's room, she wasn't there either. Worry was making her sick so found any and every means to distract herself before settling in front of the TV.

Akash was out of the house, getting the private jet on standby at the nearest airport, just like Arnav had asked last night.

Khushi, however, was still in Arnav's room...awake and shaken to the core yet again. She sat on his chaise lounge, the words swimming before her tearful eyes.

An hour and a half ago when she had opened her eyes, she had found herself cocooned in Arnav's arms most protectively. After silently observing him for a few minutes, she had carefully gotten out of bed when the piece of paper next to the laptop on his coffee table had grabbed her attention.

Once the instructions on accessing the hidden folder were in her hands, nothing could have stopped from going in and reading them all. She had smiled; laughed, and cried while reading the messages he had sent her in the last few years. Birthday wishes, wishes of her success, confessions of how much he missed her...

The anger she had felt last night at Payal and Anjali returned in full force. She looked over at Arnav who had begun stirring in his sleep as she recalled the promise he'd made to her last night.

The question was...would he follow up on it?

Even if he didn't follow up on his promise, she would. She would leave from here today...with or without him. She needed distance from Anjali and Payal before her own temper could severe the already altered bond between them. No matter what they'd done, they were dear to her and she didn't want to hurt them in the heat of her anger. With that decision in my mind, Khushi left his room and headed straight to hers to get ready for the upcoming day.
____

An hour later Khushi knocked on Arnav's bedroom door again, not really expecting him to be awake. That is exactly why she was surprised when he opened the door a second later to let her in.

Despite the situation, her hormones roared and geared into action as she watched him move away from the door. He was freshly showered, small water droplets hung onto his hair, occasionally a couple falling on his shoulders before gracefully rolling down his chest.

Stop it! Khushi berated herself and she forced herself to tear her gaze away from him as she walked past. She could almost hear the smirk on his face.

"It's not the first time you're seeing me without a shirt..." he teased.

Oh I know...but you were less muscular back then...Khushi bit her tongue before she actually blurted the words. The quick fix to these wanton thoughts was addressing the elephant in the room.

"I read the emails." Khushi accepted with a sigh and looked up at him.

Arnav shrugged. "I read them too..."

"It didn't make me feel better..."

Arnav cringed slightly. "Me either. Made me feel worse and angrier for not being able to read them when I should have...look...I won't interfere with your decision anymore. Your decision should be yours. We've had enough of other people's choices forming our life paths...Whatever you decide is how it shall be, Khush...so long as you're happy..."

Khushi rocked back and forth on her feet for a second. "Did you mean what you said last night?"

The vulnerability returned in her eyes, making his anger flare for a second. He closed the distance between them and cupped her face in his hands. "That I would take you away to wherever you wanted to go...? Yes. I meant it. The jet is ready, my car is ready...just tell me where you want to go and tell me when you want to leave."

"Delhi." Khushi answered without missing a beat. "I want to go to Delhi. As soon as possible."

Arnav nodded solemnly. "Go pack your bags. The jet is already on standby."

Khushi's lips parted in surprise. After her father, only this man would go to lengths because of her whim, the only man who took her silly demands seriously.

"Thank you." Was all she could mumble at the moment.

He tapped the bottom of her chin with his index finger. "Chin up, Tiny. Go get ready. We'll leave in a...what? Why are you smiling at me like that?"

A small chuckle escaped Khushi. "It's been so long since I've heard anyone call me Tiny'."

"I would have used the term 'witch' but since you were kind enough to not wax my arm hair off this morning, I'll be nice." He winked and crossed her arms.

Of course, Khushi saw through the front. This was him, trying to return their bond, their relationship to what it was before others decided to interfere in their lives. This was him trying to return them back to happier times where their relationship was their universe.

She wanted the same...but there was still one thing that she wanted to clear up with him.
___

As soon as Khushi walked into the living room with her luggage, Payal and Anjali rushed over to her.

"Where are you going?!" Payal questioned.

"Khushi...please...we're sorry for everything we did...don't leave like this!" Anjali pleaded.

Khushi paused in her stride but the angry expression on her face remained unchanged. She didn't turn to look at either one of them, nor did she bother to offer any words.

"HP! Take the luggage to the car, please." Akash called out to the house keeper and seconds later the man came scurrying into the room.

Khushi gave him a small grateful smile as he took the bags away from her. Shoulders rolled back and head held high, Khushi walked over to Akash, her expression softening as Akash's worried expression bored into her vision.

"I'm fine." Khushi answered the unasked question. "Thank you for last night...for everything else too, actually. And Rohan..." Khushi turned to face a tired looking Rohan who stood just behind Akash. "Sorry about ruining your wedding night..."

"Please, Khushi..." Rohan shook his head. "Don't embarrass me by apologizing...I should be the one apologizing..."

"No...we should be the ones apologizing." Anjali walked over; angered by the fact that no one would give them a chance to explain. "Khushi...I'm sorry! I'm sorry, okay?? I thought I was protecting you from heartbreak...I thought you would get over him with time...and I didn't know how he felt!"

"I don't want your apology." Khushi's words were spoken calmly, making them sound even more frightening. "Your apology, unfortunately, can't bring me back the past three years. I understand you thought you were protecting me, but didn't you think that maybe I didn't want to be cut off from him? Did I ever ask you to protect me from him? Tell me something, Anjali...would you or Payal have ever told me what you'd done if the topic hadn't come up?"

"That's not Anjali's fault." Payal spoke up. "I told her not to say anything. She wanted to tell Arnav everything when she found out that he'd been emailing you. I told her not to."

"Doesn't matter Payal. It still doesn't change anything. I won't lie to you...I'm very hurt and disappointed with what you've done...even though I understand your reasons...I still wish you'd at least asked what I wanted..." Khushi decided that at this point in all of their relationships, honesty was the best policy. "I need some time away from both of you to clear my head. Please give me that."

Anjali took a step closer to Khushi. "But Khushi I--"

"That's enough." The command was dominating enough to make Anjali shut up at once.

She didn't dare turn around and face her brother. She was scared and ashamed. Even as she felt his strong presence come closer to her and move around her to stand between her and Khushi, Anjali couldn't bring herself to look up at him.

"Enough, Di." His voice was low. Dangerously low. "We're both leaving right now and I don't want a single word from either one of you. She wants some distance and so do I. My reaction last night must have been enough to tell you just how angry I am with you..."

Khushi placed a hand on his shoulder in warning, reminding him to keep himself in check.

"Does this mean that you're never going to speak to us?" Payal's voice shook as she watched Khushi.

Khushi let out a small mirthless laugh. "I'm not a child Payal. Despite everything that has happened, despite the fact that I won't be able to completely trust you two for a long time...and you have no idea how much that upsets me...despite all of that...you two are still my friends...I am angry with you but that doesn't mean that I hate you now...I just need time..."

"Let them go." Akash interrupted. "Did I not speak to you two last night about this? Just leave them alone, Damn it!"

"Relax Akash." Khushi cajoled. "There is nothing they can say that will stop me right now."

"Then let's go. We're done here." Arnav reached behind him and took a hold of Khushi's hand.

Without letting it go, he began walking towards the exit while Anjali and Payal's eyes zeroed in on their clasped hands. Neither Arnav, nor Khushi--nor Akash, who had begun following them--turned to look in their direction even once.
_____

After a long quiet drive to the airport and a somber farewell to Akash, Arnav and Khushi had boarded the private jet. Not a single word had been uttered between them until the plane had taken off the ground.

At last, Khushi decided to break the icy silence. She wanted to know some things that had happened in the past...some things that were still unclear to her and she decided to implore the conversation now. They were mid-air, in solitude and there would be no such perfect opportunity.

"Arnav...remember how I said I read the emails?"

"Yeah...?" Arnav answered, unsure where she was heading with this.

"It sort of gave me an idea about what happened for the majority of the last three years...but there is still something that I want to know."

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his hands folding together. She knew she had his complete attention. It was in the way his eyes scanned her face, in the way his blank expression silently encouraged her to speak.

She took a deep breath to ready herself...unsure of how he will react to her question. She phrased and rephrased the question in her mind a couple times before settling on the simplest version which was more a statement than a question.

Not an ounce of her nervousness reflected in her voice when she finally spoke. "I want to know everything about the situation with Shanaya."

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