Hues of Love

Part 12

Khushi was surprised at the revelation from Arnav's side. She quickly tore the envelope and read through the documents to confirm his words and the sight which greeted her eyes sent across waves of multitudes of emotions through her body.

She alternated her gaze between the paper in her hands and the man standing across them. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought that Arnav Singh Raizada would agree to divorce his darling wife because she had asked him to. She pondered upon the possible reasons for his action.

Was he so fed up with his wife that when she posed the condition, he agreed to divorce Rati?

Was his dream to have children so strong that he could sign the legal marriage dissolution papers?

Or did the one night of passion convey her love to him and manage to incite feelings in him towards her?

While the first and the second questions made way for sympathy and concern for him in her heart, the third theory made her heart flutter in anticipation and frenzy amour. She decided to voice her doubt out and leave it to Arnav to clarify or leave it off.

"Why did you do this?" she questioned, her tone conveying her confusion and quandary.

"There are many reasons for me to do this, Khoosi. You were right and I was wrong and I could not see you in agony like I did this morning," he replied, paving way for more confusion in her already tumultuous mind.

She stared at him blankly. His answer held more questions than answers and her insolent heart refused to wave away his concern as friendly as platonic. It tried to instill a seed of hope in her that the man whom she loved for twelve years had finally began reciprocating her undying and unconditional love, at least by a fraction.

"Will you sign the contract now?" he asked, making her to break out of her reverie and look at him.

He had finally taken the step in the correct direction by signing the divorce papers and she could not afford to make him regret his decision and there was her heart telling her that the contract will just be a facade as he would never let her go away after the nine months end.

" I will," she answered as their eyes met in tempestuous embrace. He forwarded another envelope towards her as she returned the divorce papers to him.

She opened the envelope, ignoring her conscience and intuition, both asking her to stop and to forget the agreement and pulled out the contract papers.

The contract was rather a simple one but it had shocked her out of her wits. The contract declared Arnav as a single father and bestowed Khushi every right as a mother. Although the contract declared her as the surrogate mother, it gave her rights to take part in the important decisions concerning their child and it also mentioned Arnav's impending divorce with his current wife and stated that the authenticity of the contract is subjected to the divorce of Arnav and Rati as the child would require a caretaker and mother figure whose place would be taken by Khushi herself.

"This contract," she could not find the right word to describe the nature of the contract as she felt her heart swelling with warmth and pride that she had not chosen to give her soul to a completely wrong man.

"When you said that you had no basis to trust me anymore, I was hurt beyond words, Khoosi. I know how it feels to be not able to trust the one whom you love and I just could not put you through the same pain. I wanted to do everything I could to reinstate that trust and hence this contract. Do you trust me now or you want me to give you more reasons to trust me?" he said, looking sincerely into her eyes and cupping her shoulder affectionately.

His words continued to send waves of confusion towards her. His choice of words was creating a maze in her mind which would only lead an unending vortex. Her malapert heart could not help but wonder if the sheer intensity of her love had managed to reach his soul and his potent urge to regain her trust was a result of that.

"I do," she answered, uttering the ceremonial words of the sacred knot.

"That's all I wanted to hear since today morning," he replied with a ghost of a smile dancing on his lips.

She reciprocated his gesture weakly and began searching for a pen to sign the deal when Arnav forwarded the pen from his shirt pocket to her. She accepted the pen with a slight nod and walked over to the side table for a solid surface to sign on.

She knew that one signature held the potential to change her life. She was not keen on getting married in future but she knew that in future, she would have to tie the knot to fulfill her family's dream and this contract might lie in between her and the marriage. That also reminded her that her family was completely unaware of the happenings and she knew that their response would not be welcome or sweet.

What about his family? How would they react?

Despite so many odds, she did not want to take a step back because she knew that it would break Arnav's journey to a new destination and her promise to him. She decided to take one thing at once and think of the marriage and her family's reactions when she has to face those situations.

"Are you hesitant to sign, Khoosi?" he questioned, noting her silence and lack of action as she blankly stared at the legal bond in front of her with a thoughtful and troubled expression.

"I was just contemplating the consequences of this action, Arnav. Have you spoken to your family about it?" she asked to clear the odds at least from his side. Her question had changed his features from soft to clenched and stiff discomfort.

"I did not and I don't intend to, Khoosi. It is my life and their decisions have never worked me. Marriage with Rati stands as the biggest example for the same," he answered nonchalantly.

Khushi was not aware the discord between Arnav and his family and decided that it was not the best time to discuss something so personal, considering that she had never shared about her familial matters with anyone other than her best friends. She nodded thoughtfully at him and turned towards the legal document.

She clicked the pen open and took a deep breath as she bent to touch the nib of the pen meet the paper, where her signature was needed. She signed at the document already signed by Arnav, sealing their destinies together.