Chapter 3: She Said What?!?!?!?!

She stared at the edited pros and cons list with a smile on her face.  Akash really wanted this to happen.  And now that he mentioned it, she could see that a lot of the cons that she had listed could really be changed with time and effort.

If she was being honest with herself, the pros were weighing heavier.  But it still felt weird to be discussing your own marriage proposal with the guy's family with no family of your own to give you feedback.  She wished that her 'Amma' and 'Bauji' were alive.

Think about what your parents would say to this proposal.  Akash's words echoed in her mind.  She knew the answer to that too.  They would have accepted.

Khushi walked out of her cabin and walked straight to Akash's.  Following his "come in" after he knock, she opened the door and walked in.  She saw his gaze move to the paper in her hand and then back at her face.

"Are you here to argue my edits, Ms. Gupta?"

"If you were older brother...if ASR was just your friend...would you still be trying to do what you're doing now?"  She asked smoothly, coming straight to the point.

Akash smiled.  "Yes."  He said confidently without hesitation.

"I see."  Khushi said walking closer to the desk.  She picked up a pen and scribbled something on the page.  She put the paper facing down on his desk and left without another word.  Akash picked up the paper after the door closed completely. 

Under the pros column, she had drawn a star along with It's a Yes.

Akash jumped out of his chair, threw a fist into the air and cheered.  Just when he was busy doing his happy dance, Arnav walked into the cabin without a knock, as per habit.  He looked at his brother as if he had grown horns and a tail.

"What the--" Arnav said at last when Akash started shaking his butt.

Akash whipped around and a second later, he had run up to Arnav and practically jumped on him, wrapping his legs around him.

"What the hell are you doing Akash?  Get off of me!"  Arnav protested.

Akash climbed down, shoved the list of pros and cons in his pocket, grabbed Arnav's wrist and tugged him towards Khushi's cabin.

Khushi looked at them wide eyed as Akash burst into her cabin.  Akash let go of Arnav's hand and walked towards her.  With bursts of weird anxiety within her, she stood up from her seat and almost right away, Akash grabbed her hand and turned to leave, grabbing Arnav's hand with his other hand as well.

The staff looked on as Akash pulled Khushi and Arnav out of the office.  Khushi and Arnav exchanged a confused look but otherwise didn't say a word to one another.

Nor did Akash.  He simply shoved the two in his car and started to drive.

"What the fuck is going on Akash?!"  Arnav roared in his ASR tone and Khushi flinched at the profanity.

Akash pretended he didn't hear that and kept driving.  As soon as he pulled up in front of Raizada mansion, he jumped out, pulled Khushi from her seat and practically ran into the house.  Arnav was sure that either he or Khushi were going to get their shoulders dislocated if Akash kept pulling them like that.

"What the hell, man!"  Arnav exclaimed as he followed.

Even though he was a few feet behind, Arnav could hear Akash calling out to each family member over and over again.  By the time Arnav reached them, everyone was already present.

"Alright, everyone!  It's time to celebrate!  Things are about to get super busy!  I have good news!" Akash nearly sang the sentences.

Khushi's heart jumped...oh no!  Was he actually going to announce it now?  Like right here?  Right now?

"Good news?" Arnav asked stepping in closer to join the crowd.  "Did you sign that deal with the Goa delegates?"

Akash looked at him and frowned.  Khushi couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"I've signed even a better deal!"  Akash chimed.  He turned to Nani and the rest of the family.  "Bhai is getting married!  She said YES!  She said yes!!"

Khushi's face went tomato red while his declaration hung in the room for a few seconds.  Then, all at once, cheers erupted and Khushi was surrounded by hugs and congratulating wishes.  From a gap in the crowd, she caught a glance of Arnav's face.

Akash was giving him a hug while Arnav looked at Khushi, sort of shocked.  That was an understatement.  His expression was stunned.  His eyes were wide and his jaw had dropped open slightly.  Khushi could feel her cheeks going even redder, if that was even possible.

As he registered what had happened, a small smile made his way onto his lips and Khushi's heart skipped multiple beats.  Gosh, He had such a drop-dead-gorgeous smile!  Why didn't he smile more often?  Stupid Lad Governor!

The family then headed in his direction, and Payal tugged Khushi along.  The small slanted smile stayed on his face for as long as Khushi had ever seen him smile.  She tried not to look at him but she could feel his eyes on her.

She couldn't help herself and she glanced at him, meaning to look away as soon as possible but that didn't happen.  When she looked at him, their eyes met and she couldn't look away.  The family kept chattering excitedly.

"Are you sure?" He mouthed a few seconds later.

Khushi was just a tiny bit confused but at the same time, she felt a slight rush of joy.  He was making sure that she was really sure and not pressured into it.  She smiled and nodded in the slightest, suddenly feeling shy.  His smile got a little bigger and he nodded back.

Once everyone had calmed down, they sat around in the living room, discussing how everything would go.  All the while, Arnav kept stealing glances at Khushi and Khushi, very aware of the fact, avoided looking at him.

"All of that sounds great!  We'll just have to go over to Khushi's place for the mehendi ritual...I'll talk to her mom and--" Payal stopped talking as she registered the expression on Khushi's face.

There was pin-drop silence in the room.  Nani gave a quick look to Payal, gesturing to not say anything further.

"This is great!  I never thought I'd get to be from the bride's side considering that I only have two grandsons.  I don't know about all of you but I'll be from the bride's side and the groom's side as well!" Nani tried to lighten the mood.

"Wait wait...does that mean I'll have to cry at bidaai?" Akash asked jokingly.  Everyone giggled to support his unsuccessful attempt.

"So it's decided then.  We will go to her house for all the rituals for the bride!" Payal added in joyfully.

Khushi agreed quickly and gave a smile but she couldn't push the thoughts out of head.  All of a sudden, she really wished that her parents were here with her right now.

"Excuse me."  She said as she got up and walked outside.  She took a deep breath, taking in the smell of the few dozens of roses blooming on dozens of rose plants.  She remembered how her mother used to tease her about her marriage.  Khushi would get tensed up thinking that she would be one of those girls who got married at eighteen.  In this worried state, she would start making jalebis.  That's what she felt like doing right now.  Making a mountain of jalebis.

With a tiny smile on her face and tears filling her eyes, she looked up at the sky to look at the stars.  She always believed that people who passed away became stars in the sky.

"Are you okay?" someone asked and she jumped a little. 

She quickly tried to wipe away the tears.  A handkerchief appeared in front of her face.  She took it and turned to see who it was.  She was more surprised than she expressed when she saw Arnav standing there, hands in the front pockets of his trousers, looking at her with a concerned expression.

She thanked him for the hanky and gingerly dabbed at her eyes.  She mentally kicked herself for it later but she couldn't help but notice the scent of his cologne on his handkerchief.  And then she recalled that he had asked her a question.

"Yeah...I'm fine."

She sniffed a couple of times while he looked at the stars, thinking.  A few seconds of silence took over and the silence didn't end until he looked at her.

"Can I ask you a question?"  He asked, with a look of amusement on his face.  She nodded and he went on.  "If you were to describe yourself in one word...what would you say?"

"Crazy." She said not even thinking for a second, as if the answer was obvious.

Arnav raised an eyebrow.  "Crazy?  Really?"

"Yeah...I mean...I'm fun-loving, spontaneous, I like adventures...I'll try new things...I'm a prankster, I don't have a particular hobby...they're all scattered...I make jalebis when I'm upset...summing up all of that...I'm crazy...in a good way."

Arnav considered it and then he twitched his lips and shrugged.  "I guess that works."

"What If I ask you that question?" Khushi countered.

"Well...I don't know...but I've heard that I'm described as 'lad governor' quite a lot."

Khushi's expression became sheepish and she was glad that it was dark because her face probably matched the tons of red roses in their garden.

"Can I ask you another question?"  Arnav asked.  She nodded again.  "So why did you agree to marry a lad governor?" 

He looked her straight in the eyes.  To her, it seemed like he was evaluating her reaction to the question but she surprised herself by remaining collected.

"I didn't. I agreed to marry the man behind the mask of a Lad governor. The man behind the mask of ASR." Khushi's spine tingled with the after effects of her boldness.

She'd never thought that she could answer a question like that so smoothly. But she knew she had and she knew that she had stumped him. It was evident on his face.

He looked at her like he was trying to figure something out. They didn't know how long they stood there like that, looking at each other. He, trying to figure out something about her while she tried to figure out what he was trying to figure out.

A tap on her shoulder nearly had her jumping out of her skin. She turned in the other direction and it took a few seconds to reorient herself to the present. She had been so lost in her past that she felt like she was re-living it. The present suddenly seemed gloomy and alien without him being in it.

"What's wrong Khushi?"

"Nothing Kripa..." Khushi sat up straighter on the couch. "You just startled me, that is all."

"I'm not talking about that...ever since we came back from the Dargah, you seem lost and upset." Kripa put a hand on Khushi's shoulder.

"No...It's nothing...just dwelling in the past."

"Again?" Kripa asked. Khushi just shrugged so Kripa went on. "Try not to think about it."

Kripa was a good friend to Khushi and she knew that thinking about her past made Khushi unhappy. Kripa didn't know what had exactly happened in Khushi's life but she knew it had something to do with her husband because Khushi never spoke him. She didn't wear a mangalsutra and she didn't apply sindoor, unless a special occasion, but she never took off her wedding band and the engagement ring.

"We need to get going...I'll see you tomorrow. Take care of yourself." Kripa said gently. She knew that the best thing to do right now was to leave Khushi to herself.

Khushi ran a hand across her face and got up to hug Kripa goodbye. 

*

It was ten p.m now and Arnav still drove in random streets of Delhi. On an abandoned street, he pulled over and got out of the car and sat on the hood. He leaned his head back on the windshield and looked up at the starts, remembering the first time he had looked at them with Khushi by his side.

After Payal had mentioned Khushi's parents, Khushi had been visibly upset and had politely excused herself. Akash had taken a step in her direction but Arnav had volunteered to go. He had found her standing in the yard, looking at the stars. He didn't realize she was crying until he reached her. He offered her a handkerchief and looked at the sky while she wiped her tears. He specifically remembered a question he had asked and her response to it.

"So why did you agree to marry a lad governor?"

Arnav looked her straight in the eye.  Her reaction to this question was important.  Arnav had to make sure that Akash hadn't pressured her into this situation.  Arnav searched her face for the slightest change in her expression but it never came.  Her face remained neutral.

"I didn't. I agreed to marry the man behind the mask of a Lad governor. The man behind the mask of ASR."

Arnav looked at her, amused. Firstly, he couldn't wrap his head around her honesty. What amused him more was how well she'd seen through his pretense. At heart he knew he wasn't anything like ASR. It had taken even Payal a long time to figure that out about him but Khushi had done it in a few meetings. He had no idea how she looked through him so well. It was almost like she could read his mind and know what he was hiding from the rest of the world.

Akash had walked up behind her and tapped her shoulder, making her jump. Arnav knew that he was still staring at her and that he would be teased about it later by Akash but he didn't care.

"Why don't you tell him how much you had to go through to come to a decision...why tell him only half of the story?" Akash teased.

"What other half of the story is there?" Khushi asked, clearly confused.

"Oh you know...the one that you wrote and I edited." He said pulling out a folded paper from his pocket. Arnav saw Khushi's eyes go round and her lips formed an 'o'. Her head jerked back to look at Arnav and then she looked back at Akash.

"DONT!" she warned as Akash fanned himself with the paper in his hand. Khushi tried to reach for it but Akash pulled away and she missed.

What could possibly be on that paper that Khushi wanted to be kept secret and that involved him? Arnav was confused and curious.

"What is that?" Arnav asked, hoping one of the two would answer.

"Nothing! Its...it's nothing!" Khushi exclaimed, a hint of panic in her voice. She jumped around Akash, trying to snatch the sheet of paper out of his hands.

Arnav just looked on, amused and dying of curiosity. In the process of getting away from Khushi, Akash had come close enough to Arnav that Arnav was able to snatch the sheet out of Akash's hand.

Khushi froze in horror while Akash was just stunned. He turned to Khushi who was glaring at him and gave a sheepish smile.

Arnav was just about to look at the paper when Nani and Mami yelled for Arnav and Akash. The two brothers exchanged a look at the panicked cries before running into the mansion while Khushi followed.