Love is not always Sweet

chapter 14

It had been nearly two months since their departure... and in these two months, there was never a day where Arnav didn't remember Khushi... He was already silent by nature and adding to it, Khushi's absence in the house made him absent minded every time... He got habituated so much to Khushi... Her smile... Her crazy acts... Her typical way of sleeping position which he got to know when they stayed in Gupta house... and not just that, the way she cared for him always... When his throat was gone... or when she didn't sleep for the whole night only to take care of him... Everything about her... He missed everything related to her... How could he misinterpret the care and the love which he always saw in her eyes for him, though he literally tortured her after marriage... He should have trusted her and asked her directly instead of blaming her... Arnav's thoughts were thus daily filled with Khushi's... He started imagining her too...

'I love you, Arnavji', she appears with a smile infront of him and then, that smile would slowly leave her face replaced by tears flowing down her eyes... 'but you broke my heart', she would utter sadly and disappear...

This guilt in Arnav never reduced... He felt suffocated with the burden carried in his heart that Khushi didn't forgive him...

As usual, he entered his room after having a late dinner as Anjali made sure about that since the time Khushi left... Actually, she waited for him to reach house everyday... Anjali is in her last month of pregnancy now... As a matter of fact, he scolded her for not sleeping till late night but Anjali argued and asked him to come home early, if he wanted her to sleep early... All the Raizada family members noticed the changes in Arnav and the way he always remained in some other world... They knew the reason... and even they felt the house to be very calm in the absence of Khushi...

Arnav went to change his clothes... Nothing changed much except the presence of Khushi... He already made Khushi not to remove those stars hung to the wall behind the bed... but after Khushi's departure, he himself had arranged all the other missing things which Khushi removed... the wind chimes... the colourful bedsheet... Salman Khan's poster... everything were same as before... Even the cupboard he used was only half occupied... Arnav turned back the room as before and the reason was simple... He wanted to feel Khushi... He wanted to live with her memories atleast...

Arnav changed to his night clothes and found his cell ringing... It was from Aman... It might be some office related thing... He thought work could be the only way to make his mind stable, but nope... He couldn't concentrate on his work properly... Initially, he didn't even go to office... He just sat in his room most of the hours, staring at Khushi's photo and asking her forgiveness silently... It was Anjali who motivated him and asked him to join the office, explaining the situation...

Arnav moved poolside, attending the call... He agreed when Aman asked whether he should fix client meeting, the next day... He finished the call within minutes and stared at the sky... After a while, he moved inside and picked Khushi's photo that was kept beside the bed... He took it and lingered his fingers over Khushi's face in the photo frame...

Arnav: I hope you are doing well, Khushi... (he talked with the photo)

He observed her face captured in the frame for few more minutes... He observed her pure smile which makes his heart to stay at peace and he too smiled...

Arnav: I wish, you come back to me...

He said and slowly placed back the photo frame on the table... He walked to the recliner and leaned back on it to sleep, still in the thoughts of Khushi... but sleep was the last thing that he could get now with his mind running with all the memories of Khushi... Sweet and bitter... Sweet because of her crazy yet innocent acts and bitter because of his impulsiveness...