Chapter 12: The Surprise Gift

Anjali's Dress:

Payal's Dress:

"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 screen. 

"Trust me...I really wanted to be there and see you all again.  It's been three years and I have missed you all so so much.  I guess we would have reminisced about old times if I was there so I thought why not do this instead?  It's not professional...I don't even know if I did a good job with it...but I just had to make sure you guys take a walk down memory lane today.  So think of me but don't miss me too much as you watch the video...I love you!"

And then her face was gone and replaced by a group picture of theirs that they had taken when they had newly moved in to the penthouse in Canada.  As the music started, a small smile played on his lips and he absent-mindedly ran his left thumb over the tattoo on his right hand.  The tattoo that represented the bond him and Khushi shared.  Anjali, Payal, and Khushi often sang this song, albeit completely off-key.  It was "their" song, as they'd called it.  Of course, Khushi would have chosen this song as the background music for the video montage she had put together.

Hum, rahen ya na rahen kal

Kal yaad aayenge ke ye pal

Pal, ye hain pyar ke pal

Chal, aa mere sang chal

Chal, soche kya

Chhoti si, hai zindagi

Kal, mil jaaye to hogi khush-naseebi

Hum rahen ya na rahen yaad aayenge ye pal

Akash and Payal quietly took their seats as the pictures continued to change on the screen at regular intervals.  Everyone's eyes were glued to the screen as the five friends truly took a walk down memory lane.

Hum rahen ya na rahen kal

Kal, yaad aayenge ye pal

Pal, ye hain pyar ke pal

Chal, aa mere sang chal

Chal, soche kya

Chhoti si, hai zindagi

Kal, mil jaaye to hogi khush-naseebi

Hum rahen ya na rahen yaad aayenge ye pal

There were all sorts of pictures in this slideshow.  From candid photos to poses to photo booth snaps.  She had even included some recorded clips, in mute, that displayed the bond all of them had shared.  There was a small clip playing right now that showed how everyone had become the target of Arnav and Khushi's surprise water balloon war against them.

Shaam ka aanchal, odh ke aayee dekho woh raat suhani

Aa likh dein hum dono milke apni ye prem kahani

Hum rahen ya na rahen yaad aayenge ye pal

As the slideshow went on, the pictures and clips became more recent.  There were pictures in this video that Arnav had never seen before.  Apparently, he had been the victim of numerous candid pictures taken by the others while they made faces next to him as he slept...sometimes on his bed...sometimes the dining table.  His heart had skipped a beat when a picture of him and Khushi sleeping on the couch had come up.  Both slept head-to-head, his resting on her shoulder while hers rested on his shoulder, their legs were dangling off of the armrests on the opposite sides.

Meri chaahat ko rakh lena jaise koi nishani

Hum rahen ya na rahen yaad aayenge ye pal

Arnav glanced at Anjali and found her dabbing at her cheeks with a tissue.  He glanced at Payal and found her doing the same.  He swallowed back the lump in his throat and clenched his jaw when he felt tears prickling at the back of his eyes.  God, how he missed her!

Hum rahen ya na rahen kal

Kal, yaad aayenge ye pal

Pal, ye hain pyar ke pal

Chal, aa mere sang chal

Chal, soche kya chhoti si hai zindagi

Kal mil jaaye to hogi khush-naseebi

Maybe she didn't hate him like he thought she did.  It wasn't as if she had excluded all of his pictures or had tried to minimize the pictures that he was in.  Arnav's heart did sink when he saw the last few pictures"undoubtedly from Khushi's last birthday with them.  The birthday that Arnav had missed and hence his absence in the pictures too.

Hum rahen ya na rahen yaad aayenge ye pal

Hum rahen ya na rahen yaad aayenge ye pal

The last picture hung for a few moments longer.  It was a snapshot of the five of them sans Arnav at the airport.  Even though everyone tried to smile in the picture, none of their smiles were genuine.  Khushi, in fact, looked like she'd been to hell and back.  Hair tied in a messy ponytail high on her head, her eyes red and puffy as if she had been crying, her right hand clenched in a fist and put up to show her tattoo.  Arnav got the feeling that that gesture was her way of including him in the picture, to make up for his absence.  Memories of that day tried to cast their web on his mind but he resisted. 

The screen faded to white and then turned off as the lights got just a tad bit brighter.  As if they had communicated silently, Anjali and Payal stood up simultaneously and gathered themselves in an embrace as the crowd broke out in a small applause.  Akash, Arnav, and Rohan exchanged knowing glances as each of them reeled in the fun-filled past they had until things had gone wrong for Arnav and Khushi.  her departure had changed the dynamics of the group and each one of them yearned to have the old bonds restored.

Just as the two women pulled apart, the lights turned off again, momentarily drowning the hall in completed darkness.  Then a spotlight hit the center of the stage a few seconds later.  Everyone turned to look at the woman who stood up there with her back facing the crowd.

She was dressed in a floor length open back dark purple gown. The fabric hugged her curves in the right places, giving her a sensuous look.  Her brown hair was done up in an elegant side-swept hairdo, leaving her right shoulder exposed.  There was an intricately designed butterfly tattooed on her exposed shoulder blade.  It stood out starkly against her milky skin.  She looked graceful just standing there.  An aura of elegance and confidence surrounded her.

Arnav recognized the evening gown immediately.  It was one of his personal designs from their most recent collection.  The silver strips attached in an abstract way to give the open back a windowed look.  If he hadn't known better, he would have bet that this gown was custom made for the woman who was wearing it right now.

Must be Lavanya.  Arnav groaned inwardly. 

Lavanya Kashyap, a drama and dance professor at the Delhi University where Anjali taught.  Anjali, Lavanya, and Payal had become good friends in the couple years that they'd known each other.  Arnav, however, found her irritating with her sly glances and flirty remarks.  It irritated him and she knew that well, which is precisely why she continued to flirt with him.  She loved irritating him, despite his infamous temper.

The woman raised a microphone to her mouth and sang.  The very lines from the video which was playing seconds ago.

"Hum Rahe Ya Na Rahe, Yaad Aayenge Yeh Pal..."  This time, she was perfectly in tune.

Arnav's heart started thundering in anticipation and his limbs felt numb, having realized that she was standing here in flesh and blood.  Mere twenty steps away from him.

She turned around to face them with a wide grin on her face and at the same instant, the lights came on again.  Arnav's knees suddenly felt like they would give away any second.  Anjali and Payal were already running towards the stage, squealing.  Akash and Rohan soon followed, leaving Arnav standing in front of his seat, flabbergasted.

There she was.  Khushi Kumari Gupta.

Anjali and Payal had gathered Khushi in a big hug, not caring that all their dresses were getting wrinkled or that their hair and makeup would mess up.  They were meeting after three long years and nothing mattered more than that.  So they stood there, gathering each other in hugs, smiling and crying at the same time.  Even Rohan's eyes were misty.  Akash broke away from them momentarily and announced that the dance floor and bar was open and that the guests could make their way there. 

Arnav stood still, refusing to move or even blink, lest she disappear.  His heart threatened to jump out of his chest, his throat felt choked, his knees weak, and his head swam.  He watched Anjali hug her again and shed a few more tears.  Payal followed suit as well.  Khushi's sudden appearance at the most unexpected time had taken them by surprise, yes, but it had completely stunned Arnav, to say the least.  He couldn't remember how to move.  He was staring at them like a fool, unsure of what his face expressed, what his stance was.

Then her eyes caught his and everything shifted.  Everyone else blurred out of his vision, and his eyes only saw her.  Her face glowed with the joy of seeing her friends tonight.  She hadn't shed a single tear, unlike the others.  She gave him a genuinely dazzling smile and he felt the corners of his mouth automatically lift up in a smile as well.  He found control over his legs again and took a couple of steps towards them.  His heart still thudded uncontrollably but he liked it.  He had missed that erratic heartbeat of his.  It used to do that when he was around Khushi.  It had succumbed to a boring rhythm ever since she had left.

The group also collectively made their way towards Arnav and they met halfway between the stage and their table.  She looked up at him, still smiling, and moisture finally rushed into her eyes.  Seeing him here hit her with a force she didn't know existed.  She realized, in that moment, exactly how much she had missed him.  The odd vacancy that existed in her life felt filled again.  He had indefinitely made a spot in her life and heart and three years of separation hadn't changed that.  She knew things won't be the same as they were three years ago for he had changed and she had, too.  But, eventually, Arnav and Khushi would fall back into their Raizada-Khush patterns, she knew.  But until then, she was just happy to have her friend back, to see him again.

"Arnav."  She whispered his name as if it was her most favourite word in the vocabulary.

Before he could even blink, she had closed the distance between them and hugged him.  So attuned to this gesture, his arms automatically found their way around her and he held her close, afraid to let go.  The sense of completeness and familiarity was overwhelming, even for the apparently ruthless ASR.  He was sure he was dreaming and that when he woke up, she would be gone.  Then, he felt her tremble in his arms and he realized with a pang that she was trying not to cry.  The realness of the situation drove home.  She was really here.  Khushi pulled away from Arnav but her warmth still engulfed his excited heart, refusing to let it go and fall back into the cold, dark abyss it had hibernated in for the past three years.

"I can't believe you're actually here!"  Anjali giggled, wiping away a tear.

"Of course I'm here!  I promised you I'd be here, didn't I?"  Khushi, now standing next to Arnav, turned to face her.

"B-but the e-mail you sent..."  Rohan started.

"It was a part of the plan...I was supposed to surprise you and clearly...I have."  Khushi beamed.

Arnav and Rohan glared at Akash.  "You were in on this??"  Rohan accused.

"What?  No!"  Akash defended himself.  How the hell had they gotten to that conclusion?  Of course!  Of course, they would think that he and Payal knew about this because they were the ones who presented the video before she actually showed up!

"No one here was in on it...I sent that DVD to Payal...it was the perfect alibi...it would make you think that I actually won't show up..."  Khushi smiled.  "Thank God it worked out perfectly...I thought I was going to be late..."

"Wait...when did you get here?  Where's your luggage?"  Payal questioned.

Khushi rolled her eyes.  "I got here mid afternoon...and my luggage is at Buaji's place...your house, to be precise."

"You've been here all afternoon?"  Anjali gasped.

Khushi had been in the same city, merely a twenty minutes drive away from Raizada Mansion, where Payal had spent all day, preparing for the evening.  Khushi couldn't have done this alone.  Someone had to have filled her in on the day's agenda; otherwise Khushi wouldn't have ended up at Payal's house.  There was a traitor in the group who hid such important information!  Anjali's eyes scanned over their faces carefully, half listening to what Khushi was saying.

"yeah...it took everything I had to not hike a cab to Raizada Mansion and see you guys there...I decided to be more filmy with my entry...to satisfy Anjali's Bollywood buds."  Khushi giggled, making Arnav's heart flutter.  That sound was the world's third best melody to his ears.  The first best being his mother's lullaby and the second best being Khushi's laughter.

"And before any of you ask me any more questions...Amma is here with me too, she will be getting on that flight with Buaji tonight and I will be on that flight tonight with you guys.  Yes, I have been planning this ever since I got the details of the party from Anjali.  And Buaji was in on this for the past week and Arvind uncle found out today."  Khushi said in one breath and picked up a champagne flute from the waiter passing by.

Offended gasps were heard.  Khushi bit her tongue.  Damn.  She wasn't supposed to tell them that Arnav's dad knew about this.

"Dad??"  Anjali yelped. "He knew??"

Khushi smiled guiltily.  "Umm...yes?  But in his defence...he only found out this evening...I needed to tell someone about Amma's attendance...for the flight tonight...and...He drove me here tonight."

Anjali and Arnav shared a glance.  "So that is where he was tonight??  He told us he had some dinner with Singapore clients!"  Anjali crossed her arms, annoyed.

"It would have spoilt the surprise, Anjali...stop being dramatic.  Let's go and get your make-up fixed."  Khushi nudged her chin in the direction of Anjali's face.

Rohan gasped.  "Look at you...you're talking like a girl...hell...you're dressed like a girly girl too...I mean...the gown...the heels...the jewellery!  Where's Khushi Gupta and what have you done to her?"

"I'd tell you...but then I'd have to kill you."  Khushi winked at him and left with Payal and Anjali, presumably towards the restroom.

Arnav's eyes caught the butterfly tattoo on her shoulder.  Was that fake or real?  It was then that he noticed her.  Really noticed her.  She was different.

No longer was she a clumsy girl who bounced and tripped from one spot to another.  She was gliding gracefully across the hall in heels!  Silver strappy heels to be precise.  Gone were the running shoes.  She had put on weight in the last three years.  The healthy kind of weight that filled out a woman's figure.  She no longer looked like a young girl.  She had transformed into a curvaceous and graceful woman.  Her face had matured too, replacing her baby fat with femininely defined bones and planes.

Arnav blinked and broke out of his thoughts when someone clicked their fingers in front of his face.  Annoyed at having been interrupted, he turned to blast whoever it was but shut up seeing the person.

"Where are you staring??  I'm over here..." She drawled in a flirty tone.

Aman, Rohan, and Akash suppressed their chuckles.  Lavanya's flirting always irritated Arnav- simply because she reminded him of someone unpleasant from the past.

"His best friend is back and I think he has gone into shock."  Rohan chuckled, earning a glare from Arnav.

"Anjali and Payal have gone to the restroom."  Arnav said curtly.

Lavanya winked at him and walked in the direction of the restroom as well.

"Dad is so dead."  Arnav bit out a second later and pulled out his phone, undoubtedly to make a call to his father.

"I think your old man is smarter than to answer your call at this time...I bet you he knows that you'll be pissed off."  Rohan took the phone out of Arnav's hand.

Akash and Rohan were marvelling at the surprise of it all while Arnav listened silently, his eyes running over the crowd every now and then to catch a glimpse of her.  It felt like forever before the four ladies finally found their way back. 

"She's beautiful..."  Aman said as he eyed Khushi.  Arnav looked at him with a heated glare, feeling the possessiveness rise in him again.  Aman squirmed away from there, cowering under the intensity of Arnav's glare.

Arnav turned back to look at Khushi in time to see her waving him forward.  His brow furrowed in confusion.  Why was she waving him over when she was walking towards him anyway?  He was just about to take a step forward when he realized that she wasn't looking at him.  She was looking over his shoulder and behind him.

Before he could turn around to see whom she was waving at, a man dressed in a white suit walked past Arnav and took a step towards Khushi who had just reached them.  Khushi placed a hand on his arm casually, making Arnav clench his jaw. 

What.  The.  Hell.  Who the f**k is that?!

"Guys...this is Nakul Kohli...my friend..."  Khushi introduced, Anjali and Payal exchanged a glance.   "And NK...this is my cousin, Payal...and her boyfriend, Akash."

"Hi Nakul..."  Payal extended her hand.

"Hey...please...call me NK."  NK shook Payal's hand and then Akash's.

"This is Anjali and her fiance Rohan...the couple of the night...Lavanya, Anjali's friend" Khushi beamed and paused as the people in question shook hands with NK.

"And this is Arnav."  Khushi smiled.

NK raised an eyebrow, interested, as he extended his hand towards an angry looking Arnav.  "Ahh...so you're Arnav..."

Arnav raised an eyebrow and tilted his head, his hand gripping NK's more forcefully than necessary.  "So you've heard about me."

NK shrugged.  "Khushi talks a lot."

"I do not!"  Khushi gasped indignantly.  Everyone turned to look at her and simultaneously gave her a look that said Really?'  "Oh fine...so I talk a lot.  I can't help it.  I have too much to say..."  Khushi smiled sheepishly.

"Good...let's put that to use and get you introduced to some people!  We have so much time to catch up once we get home..."  Payal quipped and everyone scattered as they started mingling with the guests that remained in the dinner hall.

The fact that NK never left Khushi's side had already irked Arnav.  He felt a wave of temper rising and disappearing as his glance flickered between NK and Khushi.  The comfort level between NK and Khushi was like sand in his eyes.  He hated it.  The way their hands casually found each other, the way she seemed alright with it, the way he kept tucking a lose tendril of hair away from her face, the way she touched his arm or shoulder when she introduced him to someone.  All of it was irritating him to no extent.  It was the Joel scenario all over again, except this time, Arnav had to witness all this.

Arnav usually didn't judge people in the first meeting but right from the moment he had seen NK, he was sure of one thing: Arnav didn't like him.  He didn't know why.  But he didn't.  Somehow, Arnav felt as if NK had replaced his place in Khushi's life.  He sulked by the bar with Aman as he saw the others walk into the dance area and dance away to some fast-paced song he didn't recognize.

He didn't know whether to be happy or sad.  Khushi was here, in flesh and blood, in front of him.  She had returned as a gorgeous lady but he sort of missed the tomboy look of his Khush.  It used to set her apart from the other women.  Apart from her appearance, another thing was obvious to Arnav:  There was a void between them.  He hadn't missed it.  It was staring him in the face.  There was a weird awkwardness that existed between them that wasn't present between her and the others.  He hadn't said a word to her since they'd come face to face today and she hadn't particularly said much to him either. 

He was confused too.  She hadn't replied to his e-mails in three years but she had happily given him a hug when she saw him today.  As she had met people around the hall, she laughed freely and chatted animatedly like she always did, not even realizing that Arnav wasn't accompanying them.  While his gaze followed her everywhere, her eyes didn't search for him even once.  Like right now...she was so taken by the others and that NK, she hadn't even spared Arnav a glance.

Little did he know that she was, in fact, too aware of his intense gaze on her to turn around and look at him.  She knew his eyes had followed her everywhere from the moment they had parted till this very second.  She wasn't a fool.  She hadn't missed Arnav's interaction with NK, as brief as it was.  Though not as close as Arnav or anyone from her old group, NK was the sole good friend she had made in the last three years.  She had taken an instant liking to NK's chatter and jokes and lively personality.  But as much as she knew Arnav, she knew that his possessiveness would eventually resurface, assuming the fact that the lack of communication hadn't severed the bond they had once shared.  From her end, she had overlooked the communication gap, but whether or not he had, she didn't know.  Too much was unknown and uncertain as of now, which made Arnav and her friendship highly unstable.

Minutes later, the fast song slowed considerably and couples took over the dance floor as they swayed gently together to the soft melody, Khushi and NK included. 

NO! 

Arnav refused to think of them as a couple.  Khushi had introduced NK as her friend.  That's it.  A friend.  No more, no less.  He watched on, feeling the green eyed monster in him roar violently as he saw Khushi giggle freely with NK as he whispered something in her ear.  Why the hell was he holding her so close??

"Dance with me?"  Lavanya poked Arnav's shoulder flirtingly.

Without removing is eyes from Khushi, he grabbed Lavanya's hand and made his way to the dance floor.  He didn't care that his lack of attention on Lavanya may seem rude.  He couldn't look away from Khushi.  He was trying to revitalize the image of hers he had in his mind.  He was mentally making those small changes to her old image that was in his mind.  He felt the anger rise in him, bit by bit, the more he watched NK and Khushi together.  He hadn't felt this type of possessive anger in years!  Seeing her tonight had made him realize, in its truest sense, that he loved her today as much as he loved her three years ago, if not more.  The distance of three years had done absolutely nothing to change that.

Arnav watched as NK removed his hand from her waist to brush away a tendril of hair from her forehead.  Arnav's grip on Lavanya's hand tightened in response.

"Ouch...ASR..."  Lavanya tried to pry her hand from the painful grip.

Her efforts fell on deaf ears because at the same moment, Khushi's eyes had caught his and she had given him a small smile.  Arnav let go of Lavanya abruptly and excused himself as politely as he could manage.  He walked directly to NK and Khushi and saw the surprised look on her face when she saw him approach them.  Was that a tinge of fear in her eyes?

Yes it was.  She was aware of the look Arnav's face portrayed right now.  The last time she had seen that look was when Anjali and Payal had tricked her into a date with Joel.  Arnav was looking angry.  If a Rohan and Anjali's description of Arnav's worsened temper was anything to go by...she was afraid that Arnav would hurt NK...physically hurt him.

But Arnav surprised her by gently poking NK's back to get his attention.  NK turned to look at him.

"May I?"  Arnav jerked his chin in Khushi's direction, indicating that he was asking for the dance.

NK turned to look at Khushi, who nodded gently in affirmative.  NK placed Khushi's hand in Arnav's and with a smile walked away from them.

Arnav and Khushi stood there for a few seconds, looking at each other, hand-in-hand.  The tension between them was too obvious to ignore.  The unasked questions weighed down on them both.  Khushi put up her best poker face as he pulled her closer.  She successfully concealed the tremor that ran up and down her spine as his heated hand was placed against the bare small of her back.  She held his gaze confidently as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

Then they began to sway to the music.