Chapter 11: Three Years Later

Note:  This colour is Khushi's voice recording

(3 years after Khushi's Departure)

"Everything looks great!"  She smiled as she took in the beautiful venue in front of her.  Everything was decorated to go with the 'purple, white, and silver grey' theme as per her choice.  Multiple drapes in white and purple hung from ceilings around the wide hall while decorative small mirror chains added the silver to the mix.  Various flower arrangements in colours of purple and white were placed smartly around the hall.  The stage at the end of the hall was also decorated with more drapes and curtains giving the place the look of a young girl's fairytale themed wedding.

The circular tables were spaced equally in rows on either side of a single table in the center of the hall, draped in a purple tablecloth, with white china plates, shiny silver cutlery and equally shiny crystal glasses and flutes.  She looked to the right of the dining area, through the wide glass door where a dance floor glimmered under the probing lights that bounced off of the numerous disco balls overhead.  To the left of the dining area, through another wide glass door, was an open space which housed an elegant fountain in the center, surrounded by lush lawn.

She turned to look at his expectant expression.  "No, seriously...I love it!  It's exactly how I imagined."  She reassured him.

He smiled at her genuinely.  She had missed that smile on his face.  Most of the time, he smiled but it never reached his eyes.  She knew the reason behind the joy he was feeling today. 

After one last glance at the venue, the two turned and left.  Their drive home was void of any conversation between them for he was glued to his Bluetooth.  Again.  She sighed and looked out the window at the passing buildings and tress. 

Her brother had gone from a party animal to a workaholic.  From a chilled out guy to a heap of anger, ready to burn anyone in his path.  She often felt sorry for his employees.  Poor individuals who worked with him always seemed dazed and scared.  She had visited his office enough times to witness him lashing out at a cowering employee.  But everyone took it silently.  All of his bitter words, his anger, his ruthlessness...all of it was welcomed because of the big money they made by working with him.  Sure her father had always been a successful businessman but ever since her brother had been made the CEO of the company, their fashion house had rooted its limbs successfully all over the world.

Who could deny or refuse the enigma that reeked of success, arrogance, and confidence?  Who could say no to the aura that surrounded him?  No one in his company so much as batted an eyelash without his knowledge.  No one dared question his decisions no matter how risky they seemed.  No one dared say anything against his opinions.  Such was the power that emanated from Arnav Singh Raizada.

She turned to look at him when he started firing off instructions furiously, letting a pearly swear word drop occasionally.  To anyone who looked at him now, they would see an arrogant, ruthless businessman but no one, except the few already knew him from before, saw the Arnav that hid behind the facade.  ASR was the front he put up to hide the weak, broken, and vulnerable Arnav.

ASR had emerged three years ago after she had left.  Only Khushi could bring back Arnav, and Anjali Singh Raizada knew that well.  That's why she was even more elated today.  Her best friend was going to be here.  After three long years of broken and difficult communication, they would finally meet again.  Today when all of them reunite again, Arnav will find his way back to his happiness...to his Khushi.

*

She was rushing with hurried footsteps with a floor long dress cover in her hands.  Reaching the room she had intended to, she placed the dress carefully on the bed and started running to her next destination.  There was so much to do and so little time.

She felt someone tug at her elbow and the next moment she found herself pinned against a wall with his body pressing down on hers, locking her in her spot.

"Where do you think you're going?"  He raised his eyebrows at her.

"I need to go and pick up the jewellery...I'm running behind schedule."  She tried to wiggle out of his grip.

He moved closer to her.  "You've been too busy to even spare me a glance today..."

She blushed as she saw the glint of desire in his eyes.  "Your mom will see..."

"She's gone out with dad to the temple."   He explained and tried to capture her lips.

"We...need to pick up Anjali's gift."  She mumbled weakly.

"We don't need it for another few hours."  He mumbled and leaned in to give her a kiss when they were rudely interrupted.

"Guys...have you seen Anjali...oh...I'm sorry."  He apologized as he saw Akash and Payal jump apart.

Akash scowled at him.  "I swear, if it's not my mother interrupting us...it's you or Di..."

"Sorry...I just need to talk to Anjie as soon as possible."  He took out his phone, ready to dial a number.

Akash and Payal exchanged a look.  He looked really worried.

"Is something wrong?"  Payal questioned.

"It's Khushi."  Rohan answered robotically.

"What about Khushi?  What happened?"  Payal fired off at once.

"No...No.  Khushi's fine...I just saw her e-mail...she said she can't make it..."  Rohan explained.

"Oh..."  Payal looked at Akash and then back at Rohan. "Anjali is expecting her to be here today, isn't she?"

"Yeah.  She e-mailed Khushi and she's almost certain that Khushi will show up.  I just saw Khushi's reply and she said she can't make it.  Something about a busy summer before her internship starts...I don't think Anjali has read the e-mail yet."  Rohan sighed and ran a hand through his sleek hair.  "What do I do?  What do I say to her??  She's already so excited about Khushi returning..."

"Rohan..."   her voice stilled the others and they immediately turned to look at Anjali and Arnav.  One just looked disappointed while the latter looked heartbroken...again.

"She's not coming?"  Arnav bit out, as anger bubbled within him.

Rohan exchanged a quick nervous glance with Akash and Payal.  "No...She said that she has a busy summer before her internship starts...Wait, Arnav...wait...Arnav, listen!"  Rohan tried to call him back as Arnav stomped away to his room.

With a sigh and slumped shoulders, Anjali followed her brother.  When she entered his room, she paused in the doorway as she saw him typing away furiously on the laptop.  His sharp eyes scanned the screen quickly.  He swore out loud and pushed the laptop off of the coffee table in front of his lounger.  Anjali flinched and walked up to him.

"What happened?"  Anjali questioned.

"Give me her number.  Give me her address...I need to talk to her."  Arnav demanded.

Anjali's jaw dropped slightly.  Arnav had never, in the past three years, asked for Khushi's number.  He was aware that she was gone off to medical school but not once did he question where exactly she was.  Not until now.

Arnav had put a heavy stone over his heart, and had let Khushi be.  He had let her go and chase her dreams.  He could have forced the information out of any of their friends but he hadn't.  He had hurt her so much and he told himself, that he was saving her from more heartbreak at his hands.  He knew that eventually, at Anjali's wedding, he would meet her again and he would sort out everything, including the horrendous past issues that took her so far away.  But now she wasn't coming.  Arnav felt helpless and heartbroken.  He felt his hope leave him along with the joyful mood he'd been in all day.

"Chotte...you...you've never...tried to contact her.  Not in the past three years...then-" Anjali began but Arnav cut her off.

"I've been e-mailing her."  He announced. 

Anjali looked at him wide-eyed.  That was the last thing she was expecting.  He stood up from his seat and paced back and forth across the coffee table, looking very much like a caged and irritated lion.

"I've been e-mailing her since the day I found out she left and she hasn't replied once.  Yes, I lied to her but you know what I was dealing with!  Won't she even give me a chance to explain??"  Arnav spoke out loud.

Anjali swallowed a lump in her throat.  This was the first time in the last three years that he was speaking about Khushi.  He had very artfully avoided speaking about her with anyone.  Hell, no one knew that he was trying to contact her.

"I'm so sorry Di...I know she's not coming because of me...I've disappointed her so much...I saw it on her face that day...it's my fault that she's not coming to your wedding...I'm so sorry."  Arnav looked apologetically at his sister.

He may be ASR to the world, but for Anjali, Arvind, and Akash, he was still just Arnav.  He even let the ASR facade drop in front of Payal, Rohan, and the rest of the family every now and then.

"It's not your fault.  Khushi specifically wrote in her e-mail to let you know that it has nothing to do with you."  Rohan walked in tentatively.

Arnav looked thoughtful for a minute but his final expression made it clear that he didn't believe Rohan's words.  He nodded absent-mindedly to the two of them and stormed out of his room yet again.  Shaking his head at his soon to be brother-in-law, Rohan turned to look at Anjali and found her staring at the floor instead, looking like she'd been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to.  Rohan suppressed the urge to sigh.  Whenever it came to this topic, Rohan always felt slightly irritated with Anjali and Payal.  It always seemed that those two knew more than the others and they never shared.  They were hell bent on keeping some unspoken vows of their sisterhood.

"What did you do now?"  Rohan asked with a raised eyebrow.

Anjali's head snapped to look up at him.  "W-what?"

"I asked...what did you do now?"  Rohan crossed his arms.

Anjali stood up and fidgeted with her hands- a dead giveaway that she was going to lie next.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Rohan snorted.  "Please Anjie.  I've known you for a long time...hell...I've been in a relationship with you for a long time...you're going to be my wife soon...do you think I can't tell when you're lying?  So shut up and spill...what did you do now that you're looking so guilty?"

"I'll tell you once I tell the people that need to know first...does that sound fair?"  Anjali sighed, giving up.

Rohan squinted at her, trying to gauge the honesty in her words.  But her face was set in that stubborn expression again.  She wasn't going to budge from this decision, so Rohan just sighed and nodded in agreement.

*

"I need to talk to you.  Now."  Anjali muttered to Payal as they made their way out of Raizada Mansion to head over to the venue of the cocktail party.  Anjali's white elegant gown fluttered with each step, making it look as if she was gliding on the floor rather than taking steps.  Payal fought with the hem of her dress, trying to make sure that it didn't touch the floor and get dirtied as they stepped from the smooth and clean marble steps onto the asphalt driveway.

"Can it wait?" Payal whispered back.

"It's about Khushi and Arnav."  Anjali said in a dangerously low tone.

Payal paused a few steps away from the limousine that awaited Anjali's arrival and looked at her friend.

"Remember what we did to Arnav and Khushi's e-mail accounts?"  Anjali questioned, her eyes flicked instinctively towards Arnav who stood by the limousine with Rohan and Akash.

Both Rohan and Akash had opted for a Gray suit.  Rohan had chosen to go with a purple shirt and a purple tie whereas Akash had chosen to dress with a white shirt and purple tie.  Arnav stood out starkly, dressed in a crisp white suit, deep purple shirt, gray waistcoat, and a classy white tie.

Payal's forehead instantly crinkled with worry.  Of course she remembered what they had done.  "What about it?"

"Arnav has been e-mailing her...and we know that Khushi has been e-mailing him."  Anjali bit her lower lip.  "Do you...do you think...that...maybe, we shouldn't have?"

Payal took a few deep breaths to gather her nerves.  Whatever they had done three years ago had seemed like a good idea then.  But now, after having three years of maturity and experience added to the mix, she wasn't so sure anymore. 

They knew that Arnav and Khushi would try to communicate, but Arnav had never indicated that he was trying to connect with Khushi.  In fact, he always made it seem as if he had gracefully let Khushi go.  Necessary measures were taken, even before Khushi had left, to make sure that the communication was hindered by the two mother hens of Khushi's:  Anjali and Payal.

"Whatever we did, we did it for Khushi.  When the time comes, we'll tell them."  Payal said with determination.  Anjali may be selfless in protecting Khushi from further heartbreak by Arnav but Payal's reasons for protecting Khushi had been solely selfish.  She was her cousin but they were as close as blood sisters for crying out loud.

"They're going to be furious when they find out...and with Arnav's new found anger..."  Anjali shivered just thinking about what he would do.

"Like everything else...we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."  Payal said, putting a gentle hand on Anjali's shoulder.

"Are you two done gossiping?  Come on!  We're already late thanks to you two!"  Rohan exclaimed.

Anjali and Payal immediately put their conversation on the shelf and started walking towards the men.  Rohan ogled at his princess in white as she gracefully made her way towards him.  She was dressed like a bride tonight.  She wore a simple yet elegant white floor length evening gown which hugged her form until below her bust and then cascaded in ripples to the floor.

How was he supposed to wait for some old priest to tell them what day they could get married?  He wanted to get married right now!

Akash's jaw had actually fallen open as he watched Payal approaching them.  Usually she dressed in modest clothes.  Being the Human Resources director of AR Group of Fashions, she always dressed in business attire at work.  When at home, she usually donned traditional Indian salwars.  For her to be walking so confidently in a purple thin strapped, sweetheart-neckline floor length evening gown was an instant turn-on for him.  Suddenly, he wished that this was their engagement party, instead of Rohan and Anjali's.

Arnav clenched his jaw and looked away as the couples engaged themselves in overly affectionate greetings.  This was perhaps the one thing he detested about being around the few of his favourite people.  It always reminded him of what was missing in his life.  Or better...it reminded him of what he had pushed away.  If he hadn't been so stupid and played those dumb jealousy games and just gone and told Khushi how he felt, things would have been much different.  No matter what the future held for him, he would always regret that.  His stupidity had cost him at least years of happiness with Khushi, if not his entire life.  He was already very aware of the fact that he had lost her; he didn't need an in-your-face reminder around these couples.

Thankfully, they seemed to realize his discomfort because they always tried to keep their display of affection to a minimum around him although he knew he should get used to it.  What with Anjali and Rohan getting married, and then Akash and Payal probably being next.

"Look at you guys...You all look like some fairytale characters, ready for a ball."  The elderly man made his way towards them, smirking at the way Akash and Payal jumped apart.

"Relax you two...it's just me.  You mother and your father have gone out for a dinner."  Arvind smiled at Akash.

"Dad...you should come with us..."  Anjali gave her father a sideways hug, trying to make sure she didn't mess up her curls.

"What's a mouldy old man like me going to do between you youngsters?  You guys should go and enjoy...be cozy all you want without worrying about the glares of us old people."  He winked at Akash particularly, making Payal blush.

"You ladies look wonderful tonight."  Arvind smiled at the two affectionately.  Payal left Akash's side to give Arvind a side hug on the other side of Anjali.  Arvind smirked at Rohan and Akash as he held their respective ladies on each arm.  "Seems like your old man has impressed them more than you."

"That's your daughter...I'm sure it's illegal."  Rohan tried to joke, pointing at Anjali.

"Oh, if my hyper child was here, I would have given up Anjali to you for her."  Arvind smiled.

Arnav stiffened at the mention of her again.  Hyper child was what Arvind had started calling Khushi because of her never ending energy.  He used the term rarely before but these days, he said it more often.

A silence befell them again as they all exchanged glances and tried to look at Arnav slyly to see his reaction.

"Where are you going at this time, dad?"  Arnav questioned, changing the topic.

"Ah...remember those Singapore clients?  They've called us over for a friendly dinner."  Arvind stated.

"And you didn't tell me?  I'll come with you.  They probably want to discuss the terms of the summer collection contract."  Arnav pulled out his blackberry.

Arvind groaned.  "Arnav!  Stop acting twenty years older than your age.  Go and enjoy with your sister, to be brother-in-law, cousin, and friend."  Arvind referred to each individual with a nod.

"But dad I""

"No.  I already told them that you won't be able to make it.  I don't want any excuses.  Looking at the way the girls look tonight, they'll need all the protection...and what better than your mountainous anger and dagger shooting eyes?"  Arvind mocked and was about to chuckle but stopped seeing the frown on Arnav's face.  The others snickered, trying their best to not laugh.

"Is everything ready for the flight tonight?"  Arvind asked Akash.

"Yeah...the driver will pick up Payal's mom and reach the airport on time.  Ro's parents will be picked up on time as well.  After you guys fly there, they'll come back for us...we should be there around dawn."  Akash explained.

Rohan's family, the Raizada's, and Payal's mother were being flown to Rajasthan in a private jet for Anjali and Rohan's official engagement, which was in two days' time.  Anjali had insisted that she wanted to get married in the same Haveli where her mother and her father had gotten married.  All of the wedding related rituals were taking place in their Haveli, the Sheesh Mahal.  She had spent countless summers in that Haveli and had lots of memories with her parents, family, and friends.  She wanted to be married in a place which harboured all these sentiments.

"Sounds good...I'll see you guys tomorrow, then."

Arvind took his leave and the others also shuffled into their limousine and drove off.

*

The venue buzzed with excited chatter, light clinks of cutlery, light chinks of glasses touching in greetings, whispered rustles of evening gowns and suit fabric as the individuals move around and about mingling with others.

Rohan, Anjali, Akash, Payal, Arnav and Aman sat at the center table, finishing up their deserts.  Aman Oberoi is Rohan's cousin as well as Arnav's loyal manager of the designing department.  Two seats remained empty at their table.  One because its occupant, Lavanya Kashyap, was running late and the other because its occupant, Khushi Kumari Gupta, wasn't able to make it tonight.

As was typical of this group's gatherings and hang outs, Aman and Arnav talked business while Anjali and Payal chatted animatedly, leaving Rohan and Akash to try and partake in whatever conversation interested them.  Today, thankfully, Anjali paid more attention to her fiance rather than her friend.  As soon as Payal and Akash had finished their deserts, they stood up and excused themselves.

"Poor guy...he still has to sneak around with his girlfriend."  Rohan noted as he watched Payal and Akash head towards the stage, hand-in-hand, smiling broadly.

Anjali giggled.  "Because Mami is old-fashioned.  But hey...sneaking around is fun."

Rohan looked at her with raised eyebrows.  "Oh?  Perhaps getting engaged was a bad idea, then."

Anjali elbowed him playfully as he placed a playful kiss on her temple.

"Ladies and Gentleman, may I have your attention please?"  Akash's voice grabbed everyone's attention and the noise reduced significantly in the hall.  "First of all, I would like to thank everyone who took out the time to come and celebrate and congratulate my cousin sister and my friend on their engagement!"  Akash paused as a small round of applause broke out.  "Now...I know your official engagement ceremony isn't until the day after tomorrow but we decided to give you an extra gift today.  It's not from us...we're just the courier people for it."  Akash beamed a wide smile at Anjali while she looked at them with a confused face.

"The sender has sent a note for you.  It says I hope you wore waterproof make up today, Anjali, because this just might make you emotional."  Payal chuckled along with the crowd.

"Once again...Congratulations Anjali and Rohan."  Akash raised a champagne flute in their direction.

Just as Akash and Payal walked off the stage, the lights dimmed and the projector screen turned on, throwing a white glow over majority of the dining hall.  Arnav turned his face away from the screen to pick up his goblet of red wine when it happened.

"Congratulations!!"  Her voice brought Arnav to a freezing halt while he heard Anjali and Rohan gasp.

Arnav could recognize that voice even if everyone in the hall was talking at the moment.  How could he possibly not recognize it when it was so quiet?

"Congratulations!  I can't tell you how happy I am for you Anjali...and Rohan...but happier for you, Anjali."

Arnav willed every fibre in his body to move so that he could turn and look at her but he couldn't.  His body was beyond his control.  He sat there with his hand closed around the glass, his eyes staring at the blood-red liquid but not seeing it.

"I'm so sorry that I am not there." 

This time, Arnav's head whipped around to look at the stage.  Indeed, she wasn't there in person but her beautiful face was glowing with pure joy on the large overhead screen.