Mr. Perfect (COMPLETE)

Chapter Fifty Five

To Arnav's insistence, I let him drop me off at the restaurant I would be meeting Raghav at. Apparently he had made a quick reservation and when I arrived, I saw Raghav already there. His eyes gleamed with happiness when I met them, and I felt my nerves bubble as I went over to him.

"Hi," I waved lamely, going over to our secluded booth.

Ugh, geez!

"Hi. Please, sit."

He held my chair out for me and tucked me in as I sat down. He sat down across from me and the waiter came, giving each of us a menu. We briefly went through it, picking out what we wanted, and then the waiter left. For a moment, neither of us said anything and not wanting anymore awkward silence, I opened my mouth.

"I-"

"So-"

Both of us stopped, waiting for the other to continue, but we stayed silent. And then for some reason, we both started laughing.

"Why is this so weird," I said, reaching for my water.

"It really shouldn't be," Raghav smiled.

"And yet it is," I sighed, and I took a sip of my water.

Raghav let out a sigh. "In all honesty, I do really want to take this time to get to know you better. I want to know what your childhood was like, how was school... everything."

"Umm... that's a lot of stuff, no?"

"I'm all ears," he smiled.

And somehow, it just took off from there. I told Raghav several tales of my childhood, and things just got so easy. Talking to him, it almost felt like I knew him longer than I did. There was an ease as I spoke to him, and as we ate the conversation flowed naturally, little bits of laughter here and there.

"You really made your mother chase you," he chuckled.

"Like I had escaped from prison," I laughed. "Amma was so mad I had nabbed that chocolate bar; meanwhile Babuji was laughing hysterically and Buaji was cheering me on. Amma got so mad at them and me, she wouldn't even talk to us."

Raghav continued to chuckle, but I noticed something flicker in his eyes. Although he was very entertained by my funny childhood stories, it was evident that there was a deep sorrow within him.

"It's hurting you, isn't it," I said softly.

Raghav looked at me in confusion.

"Even though I'm telling you silly stories like me running around butt-naked, waving my diaper in the air like a savage, there's a wave of sorrow in your eyes even though you're laughing."

"I still can't believe you did that," he grinned.

"Babuji felt the need to document it on camera and remind me forever with it, but you're avoiding what I said."

Raghav let out a sigh and began circling the rim of his glass. "I am enjoying these tales, I really am, but... I can't help but to think that I missed out on all of those moments, that I should've been there."

"You should have..."

Raghav looked up at me.

"But its not your fault. Everything that's happening today - it's none of our faults, only Kinjal's."

My fists automatically clenched as I said her name and Raghav noticed it, glancing at them before meeting my eyes again.

"How old were you when you found out about her," he asked softly.

"Twelve; it came as a shock but I refused to believe it. I even had Amma, Babuji, and Buaji swear to never mention it again. All I ever knew was that I was my parents' daughter, that was it."

"How did you find out?"

"Well... Amma was going through some emotional stuff. She and Babuji had been trying so hard to expand the family, but nothing was working.... I was walking past their room when I heard Amma crying, Babuji holding onto her. Curiosity got the best of me and that's when she revealed it unintentionally in her spur of emotions. I had an immediate reaction, bursting into the room, asking if it was a lie, but one look at their terrified faces was more than enough proof that it wasn't. Things were a bit rough after that, Amma telling me the truth. Buaji was around during that time so she comforted me... and then I made them promise to never bring it up again. And then I turned 18," I sighed heavily, "and I decided to have Amma look into her, and well, you know how that went."

"Hmm.... Well that explains your knowledge of her, but how did you meet her?"

I tried hard to not react, but my eyes widened anyways. Raghav caught it, however, and I felt my blood run cold.

"What did she do," he asked, his tone clipped.

Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!

"Khushi, I see the look in your eyes, you can't hide it from me." He leaned in closer. "What did that witch do?"

I gulped. Fuck, fuck fuck! Why did I allow myself to react like that?!

And yet, even though I knew I shouldn't tell him, my stomach was bubbling, desperate to let the words out. After all, I had been holding this secret in for so long and it was affecting me. But to tell Raghav....

Raghav reached out and took my hand in his. "Khushi, you can tell me. You can trust me."

And I don't know why, but I believed him. "Kinjal is pregnant," I whispered.

Raghav's eyes widened in complete shock, his eyes widening into disks. "What," he breathed.

I nodded. "And she's claiming it to be Arnav's child."

Ashamed, I looked away, unable to meet my father's eyes. The man was in enough shock as it is, but this sealed the coffin with a nail. You could see the gears of his brain cranking, Raghav's eyes dashing from side to side as his mind worked.

"No," he finally said, though his voice was very low. He looked up at me. "Tell me everything."

I didn't even think, I just told him everything, words pouring out of my mouth like a fucking waterfall. Not once did Raghav interrupt, allowing for me to speak my truth.

"...and I honestly don't know what to do anymore," I whispered, tears flowing free.

All of the pain I had been storing in was now free, and while it felt so good and lightened me, it still stung, hurting me.

Raghav took hold of my hand again, squeezing it as if it would give me strength. In a way it did, and I wiped my tears away and drank my water to calm myself down.

"I won't spare her," Raghav finally said. "I swear Khushi, I won't."

"How? I keep saying this myself but how exactly am I suppsed to do it? I can't exactly get her to do a paternity test."

"No but... I'll figure it out, I'll find a way, I promise I won't allow for her to destroy my daughter's life the way she tried to destroy mine." He squeezed my hand. "That's my vow to you."