Running From The Truth (by Emma)

Chapter 1- The meeting

Present - 4 years later

"Guys! She's finally coming back from her business trip today! Di, can we have a family dinner pleasseee??" asked an excited NK.

"Of course! What kind of question is that? You have found the most beautiful and perfect girl to bring into our family, and we all adore her! Maybe not as much as you but'" said Anjali with a smile and a wink. "Plus, she can help me with shopping for that party next week!" she exclaimed.

"Great, I'll tell the rest of the family to be ready at 8! Will Shyam jiju be home as well?" asked NK.

"Yes, he should be home around 7" replied Anjali.

"Awesome, now maybe you'll get some alone time with your husband for an hour since he's always busy working!" said NK naughtily, which cause Anjali to smile and blush furiously at the thought of her loving husband.

~

Khushi picked up her phone immediately upon seeing the name.

"You're coming for dinner at 8, no ifs ands or buts"

"But I just settled down NK! Don't I even get the chance to relax down for a bit?" she asked with a smile.

"C'mon Khushi! The family is so excited to see you after all these months. They've missed you so much! Definitely not as much as me though. But my family really loves you." he said in a sweet voice.

"Of course I've missed you guys so much! I'm pretty darn excited myself. The love I've gotten from your family is overwhelming." she said happily.

"What's not to love about my beautiful Khushi!"

"Ok, ok enough with flattering me! Is this still about dinner or are you buttering me up for some ulterior motive?" she asked laughing.

"With you baby, I always have an ulterior motive" she could almost see him wink.

She rolled her eyes."Of course I'll be there. What time?" she asked.

"8, but I'll pick you up at 7:30. You know, half an hour for some alone time'" he said with a huge grin. He imagined see her hazel eyes going wide with shock.

"Hah! In your dreams! Now quit flirting with me, I have a date with some crazy guy's family." she said in a chirpy voice.

"Crazy...don't you mean Sexy?" he asked.

"You wish! Now go get ready!" she said laughing.

"Ok, see you soon! Bye Khush... Oh wait, forgot something!"

"What??" she asked confused.

"I love you. Just thought you should know" he said smiling.

"Love you too NK" she ended the call with a smile on her face.

She sat down on her comfy bed in her big New York apartment. She thought back to the first time they met during University. She was going through an extremely rough phase in her life, and he was the one who took care of her. He made her laugh constantly, listened to her problems, her complaints, her stories, took care of her and most of all he loved her. Being back in New York as never easy for her. It brought back bitter memories of the past that she hated thinking about, she felt terribly nostalgic. She had found an amazing best friend in NK, and for that she would always love him. With that thought, she went to her closet to pick out something to wear.

~

Arnav was back after a 5 day conference in Chicago. Finally back in his New York mansion with his family. As soon as he stepped in, he found his Mami cleaning the house, which was something she never did. Di was cooking something that smelled delicious and Nani was ordering the maids around, trying to make the house look more perfect than it already was. He got brief hugs from everyone and then was pushed into his room and told to change as his cousin's girlfriend was coming over for dinner. 'NK bringing a girl over for dinner?' thought Arnav. 'That's a sight I thought I would never see' he thought, smirking. NK was the biggest flirt he knew, and he was never serious about any of the girls he was with. But according to Di, NK and this girl had been together for the past couple of years, and the family had met her on several occasions while he was probably away on business trips. He saw all of them running around the house crazily and smiled. That was his family, and he loved them for that very reason. As his parents had died when Arnav was only 8, he and his sister Anjali had moved in with their Nani. His Di was his world, like the mother he never had. And he loved the rest of the family for accepting them with open arms. He was content with life...almost. He was missing one very big part of his life, her. He opened his laptop to watch the slideshow of pictures he had. Something she had made him when they were younger. Pictures of them, pictures of her. Her big beautiful hazel eyes, her breathtaking smile, pictures of them arm in arm laughing smiling, carefree, he thought. That was how she was, and he had never been able to forget her, even after all these years. Her hazel eyes still appeared in his dreams and he woke up with sadness and regret.

~

At exactly 8 o'clock, the doorbell rang.

"Chote, can you get that? My hands are dirty!" yelled Anjali from the kitchen.

Arnav made his way to the door and opened his eyes to a sight that he knew he would never forget. NK smiling widely, hand in hand with his girlfriend. He stared in shock at the pair of hazel eyes that he had been longing to look at for the past 4 years.

"Khushi?" he whispered in a completely broken voice.

"Ar...Arnav??" she asked in an equally broken voice.

Finally, two souls had met after a long separation.