Chapter 10

Arnav

She won't look at me. I don't know why, but she just won't look at me. I have been trying the whole night to get her attention but she won't just look at me. She just keeps on ignoring me. And honestly, this is starting to piss me off. Why would she ignore? I didn't do anything. If it's anyone's fault it's hers and her family's. They hid Shyam's truth from us. If anyone should be ignoring anyone it should be I ignoring her. But I didn't. My family didn't. We could have, but we didn't. We could have called off the wedding, but we didn't. Shouldn't they at least be regretful or thankful to us? If it wasn't for Akash, Payal wouldn't be getting married, and her wedding would have been called off for the second time. What would have they done then?

I looked again through the crowd of the wedding guests for Khushi but she was nowhere to be found. Where is this girl whenever I'm looking for her? Why does she always have to be so hard to get? She isn't like this with NK or anyone. Then why me?

I sighed with frustration as I almost gave up before I finally saw her heading towards a bedroom which was used as Payal's waiting room before the wedding. I hurried after her and caught the door as she was about to close it.

"Wait. I need to talk to you." I said in a tone, leaving no room for argument because she loved to argue. Especially with me.

She looked up at me then said, "Not now, I have to—"

"I said, now." I cut in as I gave her a look that said not to talk back. But this girl just doesn't know when to listen.

Khushi's eyes turned slightly angry as the tips of her brows pulled together slightly before she replied, "And I said not now."

My own brows pulled together. What is wrong with her? Why is she being so difficult?

But I had only enough patience to her nonsense. So I caught her wrist and pulled her out of the room and dragged her in a secluded hallway. Because she likes it or not, she's going to have to listen to what I have to say.

"Arnav Ji! Haath choriye humara! What are you doing?!" Khushi exclaimed as she struggles with my hold on her wrist. But I kept my grip firm until I was sure that we were alone and let her go and looked at her.

"Have you gone crazy?!" She exclaimed again with disbelief laced on her features as she rubbed her wrist with her other hand.

"Yes. I have. And you are reason behind it." I answer through my teeth as I fought against the urge to grab her by her arms to knock some senses in her head. Is she blind? Or just that ignorant to the most obvious thing that's between us? "You have made me lose my damn mind, Khushi."

Khushi looked up at me with a mix of both shook and disbelief.

But I continued, "You know, we feel something for each other. We have something mutual between us for long time now. Even before Akash and Payal. Even before Shyam. Before the fiasco he created and you and your family supported until the very end by keeping me and my whole family in the dark."

Khushi eyes were slighly gloosy. But there was something different about the look she had in her eyes. It wasn't hurt or pain or sadness. It was something I had never seen in her eyes.

"We never wanted to keep you and your whole family in the dark ever. We told you the truth because we didn't wanted to start a new relationship based on lies." Khushi said while looking directly into my eyes. "We could have hidden the fact from you. We could have pretended to be the victims. But we didn't. Even though we are the victims here. We were cheated and lied to by your brother-in-law." She paused briefly but never for once she looked away. "My family was lied to by him times after times. I was engaged to him. Anjali Ji was his wife and now she's pregnent. She didn't came accusing me like you are now. Instead, she apologied like I deserved to be. Because it was her husband who did that to my family, to me. And I apologied in return like she deserved to be. But how would you understand that? You need to look beyond yourself and your ego to actual know and respect something, to apologize, to accept your mistake, to—"

"Enough!" I said with my eyes blazing with the smallest of the fraction of the amount of rage I was actually feeling inside at her nonsense talks. Is she really trying to put this on me? Since when did she become like this to blame others for her own mistakes? "Enough of your nonsense, Khushi. Don't you dare put this on me. Don't you dare put Shyam's fault on my head. I had no idea about this. I didn't know he would be a cheating bastard like that." Pause. "And as for Di apologizing? She would apologize or say sorry to anyone in pain or shedding a few tears. Also don't put this on me. Whatever happended to you and your family it happended because of your own faults. No ones but yours."

Khushi stared up at me with the same look in her eyes that I still couldn't decipher as she asked, "And you think I would feel something for a person who thinks like that? I may have been a fool to start growing some unnecessary feelings towards you, but not anymore." She shook her head. "Not when I know exactly what kind of a person you are." She paused briefly. "I knew you were like this since the moment I met you. But I really don't know how I overlooked that. Maybe I was stupid enough to think that there might be some good in you."

I didn't respond. Because whether I like to admit it or not, her words stung. More than they should have.

"May, Devi Maiya, kill me before a day like that comes again in my life." She added before walking by me.

And in that moment I finally could name that look in her eyes. Rage. Pure rage and hatred. For me.