The truth and the trust

Chapter 41

Arnav pulled out a bunch of papers handing them to her while Khushi's eyes popped out after reading the content.

'Khushi, I promised to correct every mistake of mine and I would like to start with this', Arnav told while Khushi's eyes again welled up.

Arnav gently wiped her tears and said, 'Shuru me hi ye aasoon khatam mat karna! Aakhir tak kuch toh bacha ke rakho!' (Save some tears till the last, dont waste them all now)

Khushi chuckled at his comment and glanced back at the papers.

'You promised me that you will enrol yourself into a college and pursue your dreams. So that is the first thing you shall do after our marriage!' Arnav declared while Khushi happily obliged.

Taking her hands in his', he said, 'I have insulted you, tortured you and gave you pain, a life of misery and I really feel sorry for every thing that happened. If I had it in my power to take back all those, then I would. But thats not possible. So I want to return you few things that you alone deserve and no one else! I have brutally snatched few things. And I want to return them to you with full dignity Khushi'.

Arnav's statement made Khushi anxious. There were many things that transpired between them right from the day she fell in his arms. She too knew, many were irreversible but her curiosity grew with the idea of knowing what he was about to do!

Fishing out the first thing from the bag, he took out a beautiful red saree which Khushi recognised it to be the one which she wore on the day of the photoshoot when Lisa's fur coat was spoiled.

Arnav took the saree in his hands and reminisced the day when she wore it. 'The first time when you blew my mind was this saree. You looked ethereal Khushi. Every single time I saw you, there was an unknown feeling, unknown emotion that connected me with you. But that day, my heart beat went erratic. It was not in my control. My eyes could not stop admiring you. Only when I saw you in this outfit, I started loving the colour red even more. If this suits on someone perfectly, then it has to be you Khushi', he voiced out lending the saree to her.

Khushi's dam broke as soon as Arnav started speaking. She was not used to so much love and getting all that in a day from Arnav was making her go crazy. She wanted to pinch herself to believe her eyes.

Then he took out a small box that contained all the painful memories. He opened it only to leave Khushi gasp in shock. She took the box with shivering hands and inspected the contents of it. Inside it, were some pearls that so much resembled the ones she wore during their first meet. She looked up to Arnav with questioning eyes and she got her answer. They were the same pearls!

The next was the Mannat ki chaabi that both could never forget about. While she was drowned in the details of their second meet, he said, 'I never believed in god Khushi. But today I want to, just for you!'

Next was a small cloth, a part of her duppatta, which left Khushi frowning on what it was. He answered her again. 'That is the torn cloth of your duppatta that got stuck in my car when we argued at AR's parking lot. I tore it. But that cloth always remained with me', he admitted.

And then there was a broken bangle to which Arnav owed the explanation. 'The first time I saw defeat, vulnerability, fear in your eyes was that day in the construction site Khushi. The thought of that day still dreads me. I curse myself for sending you there. The thought of something happening to you leaves me sleepless', he confessed and then took her palms in his hands and said, 'Trust me Khushi. I did not know it was dangerous. I promise I would not have sent you there if I had known. I can never put your life at risk. I behaved like a beast Khushi but I was not one. I can never let people die, even if they are my enemies'.