Chapter 9 (60)
"Why are you so angry, Arnav ji?" she asked, and grinned when he looked at her, to cool down his anger a little. But that only made him more angry. He drove back home at faster speed and not a single word he uttered not even of anger on the way home, all the while Khushi tried everything to calm him. He stopped the car at the main gate of the house and from there he handed his car keys to the security guard so that he could park the car.
Khushi got out of the car and too followed Arnav in a hurry. Security cars stopped at the main gate.
Arnav flew opened his room door and angrily loosened his tie and flung it over his neck and threw it and it landed on the chaise. Then he sat on the chaise to open his shoes.
"Arnav ji..." Khushi said as soon as she entered the room.
"Shut the door!" he ordered.
Khushi closed the door. "Arnav ji, why are you so angry? Do you really think those poor old man and lady could harm us?"
Arnav threw his sock on the floor instead of tugging in his shoes.
"Why the heck you think they might not? And what were you thinking when you decided to have a dinner with them?" he shouted, to emphasise every word, but more than that his anger. "Are problems less that you are creating more? Here you were first scared to come to Darjeeling and all of sudden you were acting like everything was okay with us?"
"Ar-..."
"Shut up, Khushi...For god sake keep your mouth shut at this point," he retorted, he was so angry that he did notmind using harsh words.
Now Khushi trembled seeing raw rage in his eyes.
"You know what? I did a mistake to tell you that I didn't loose my memory. This is the exact reason why I was hiding it from you, and from everyone. Then I thought no actually you are the one who deserved to know it, no, how could I forget that you have a habit of say and do things in excitement."
"I am sorry..."
"Please, Khushi, do me and yourself a favour, don't do anything unless you are told to, I don't care about my life but yours and our son and my family's. We have already gone through a lot for the freakish past two years. So stop acying like kids. And you asked whay happened? You even know what this dinner can cause us if they are no sober people? Why even I am complaining when it was all my mistake," he said and left to the washroom.
"Arnav ji, please listen to me once. I am sorry!"
Door shut with a loud bang, Khushi shuddered. She banged on the door with a hope he would listen her. "Arnav ji, please forgive me. I promise I won't do this mistake again."
Arnav shut his eyes as he kept both his hands on the countertop, his anger not at all affected by her pleas. "Khushi, right now just leave."
"Arnav ji, not until you come out."
"Khushi, GO. SLEEP. NOW."
"Ar..."
"I said, leave!"
Khushi against her wish, walked backwards towards the bed and came to stop as her back hit the bed pillar. Then she slowly turned to sit down. Her eyes were welled up. When she heard the door knob turned she loooked at Arnav.
"Arnav ji!"
"You should sleep, Khushi," his voice was much more calm.
"Arnav ji, I am sorry."
"It's alright, Khushi. Next time please be careful."
"I will, but why you sound still so mad?"
"Khushi, I am not mad anymore, but tired."
She held her ear and stood up. "I am sorry, Arnav ji."
Arnav opened up his arms and Khushi rushed to melt in them. "I am sorry, Khushi, I am so tensed right now thwt nothing is making sense to me."
"Arnav ji, I was only trying to act normal. So that you believe that I am not stressed out. I know as long as you are with me nothing can happen to me or any of our close ones. But I think I went overboard with it."
Arnav rested his chin on her head. "Khushi, as long as I don't know who is doing all this we can't take things easily. We can't trust anyone. Especially strangers."
"I won't do anything stupid like that, I promise!"
"It's alright now, stop crying."
He pulled away from the hug. "Go and wash you face first. I will be back soon."
"Where are you going?"
"Have to talk to Karan about something, it will not take long."
She nodded, and Arnav left to talk to Karan.
***
"Hello, hi, how are you?"
Anonymous: I am good. I have heard, he had come?"
"Yes, you have heard it right. His wife was also with him."
Anonymous: Hmm...Didn't you try to stop them and stay for a little longer?
"I tried my best, but after having dinner, they left. Arnav seemed to be in a hurry, his wife was much more comfortable. As if she was not afraid of anything. She herself convinced him to have a dinner."
Anonymous: Seems she isn't careful.
"Yes, even I found out that."
Anonymous: Has he really lost his memory?
"Yes, when I asked were they husband wife, Arnav seemed to be angry. I assume he has really lost his memory."
Anonymous: Do one thing, leave this place as soon as possible.
"Why?"
Anonymous: Chances are Arnav will try to find out if you are potentially harmful to him, if anybody came to know who we are we will be in a problem.
"So you know where we would go? And when you are coming?"
Anonymous: I am coming now, and then we shall decide where you both will go.
"How we will see their activity?"
Anonymous: Don't you worry about that. It's not your job. I just wanted to make sure he isn't pretending of to have memory loss. That our job is done.
"Also, we won't be able to do anything. There is a lot of security."
Anonymous: That's what I am saying. If they came to know about me, you will be the first from whom they will come to know from.
"Okay, you come then we will talk. This time I promise it's the end of them."
Anonymous: End.
***
"How is it even possible? Just shut up..." Karan shouted angrily on phone at someone and hung up the phone. "Crap."
Arnav hurried to him.
"Karan, what happened?"
"Arnav, you here. I was going to call you."
"But what happen? Why are you so angry?"
"Arnav, our police officer were taking Lavanya to the central jail from the Delhi jail and from there she fled away."
"What? How is it even possible?" Arnav asked in disbelief.
"Arnav, that's what I am thinking. Despite of having lot of security, this happened."
Arnav raked his hand in his hair. "So this means Lavanya...?"
"Yes, Arnav, Lavanya. If she can fled despite of having so much of security around her it means she is the one who is a danger for you and Khushi. And it is quite possible someone has helped her. Because police van were captured and all of the police officers were killed and that's when she escaped."
"Great!" he said. "So, this is what you will be saying to everyone at home."
"Yes, until everything has the idea that she has fled the jail, lavanya will be kept in the central jail. Then we can use her to know what exactly she wants. Our eyes are on her. Anyways, you do one thing, go and sleep. And tell me what are your plans for tomorrow."
"Yeah, good night, Karan."
"Good night, Arnav."
***
Arnav went to Khushi as she was now standing in the balcony and staring at the large dark misty mountains in a distance. Arnav took her shawl from the cupboard and wrapped around her shoulders.
"You have come!" she said, as she looked at him, as he rested his chin on her shoulder and hugged her from behind.
"Hmm."
He stood straight now and Khushi leant against him. "It feels like nothing bad happened."
"It didn't. Even then it was full of hard times."
"Arnav ji, everything will be okay."
This statement was all of sudden so strange and too foreign for him. His childhood had not been that hard when it came to supporting his sister and brother alone after been kicked out of the house and then all together his extended family, then now is, not knowing who is 24 hours planning to kill him.
After long silence Khushi only heard his breathing, she asked, "what are you thinking, Arnav ji?"
He didn't want to say anything to make her worry when already he had been too angry on her. "Something very special."
A little smile, full of glow, shined on her face. "And what is it?"
"Hmm...Weather is cold, how about...?"
Khushi turned around still being circled around Arnav's arms. "Wait...If you are thinking what I am assuming, then no. You have already been too lovey dovey already."
He furrowed his eyebrows. "Did we have a coffee lately?" he asked.
Her face turned crimson red at the speed of light, her cheeks were warmed by rushing blood through her blood vessels. "Coffee?...I thought."
"What did you think, Khushi?" he asked, as he was too innocent and he didn't know whwt exactly she was talking about.
"Nothing!" she blushed.
"Khushi, is there anything that you wanted to signal me about?"
"Arnav ji, please!"
"Khushi ji, please what? Tell me what you were talking about."
"Nothing. Let me go. I go and get a cup of coffee for us."
"But on one condition."
"What is it?"
"Call me, Arnav!"
"Again?"
"Yes, it sounds too romantic to hear my name from your mouth, without ji."
"Please, Arnav ji, let me go."
"Arnav..."
Khushi sighed, but she knew it was hard to practice to call him just by his first name. She tried.
"Arnav."
Arnav smiled.
"So, I hope I would hear Arnav from now onwards."
She looked down and blushed and played with the button of his shirt. "Yes, Ar...Arnav."
Seeing him softly laugh she smiled as well. She grabbed the back of his head and rose on her toes and kissed him briefly.
"I really missed you, Arnav," she said. A pain in her eyes made him more determined to find out the culprit faster so that he could make him pay for every little pain that his loved ones went through. He kissed her back. "I missed you too, Khushi."
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