Journey towards Love

Chapter 24

Note: This update has some lines in Italics, which are just my musings. They are not said by Arnav or Khushi!

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'Arnav! What are you doing?' Khushi asked for the nth time, as she saw Arnav packing their bags, without giving her any explanation, early in the morning.

'I am not taking a step until you tell me what is happening!' She shouted, halting him for a moment.

He turned towards her, and clutched her shoulders, his face straight. 'Its been two days since I lost you, Khushi. Two days since the revelation, but you are not yourself', he sighed, misery and helplessness evident in his voice.

'Do you think its easy? Its not!' She screamed, tears pooling in her eyes, as they did very often in the past two days.

'I know its not. Hence I am taking this step. To get you out of this. To help you move on', he emphasised, his indisputable desperation to help her, visible in his words.

She nodded her head denying, unable to articulate words, when she felt his palms cupping her cheeks. 'Listen Khushi. In these two days, you have forgiven your Buaji, mother and everyone for hiding this truth. You have understood their stand, as they were rendered helpless in front of your mother's promise. But still, you are not out of it yet!' He said the last sentence with agony lacing his tone, as her suffering burned his soul.

'It takes time, Arnav. It still feels I am living a life of lies. I am unable to throw that feeling out of my brain!' She explained. 'My mind still refuses to accept that I had a mother who is dead now. It is not possible to suddenly synchronise with the fact that there was a person, who gave birth to me. It is not easy to visualise anyone in the place of a mother, apart from the one with whom I had been living. Its tough, Arnav'. She cried, anguish enveloping her soul, as she wished for Arnav to realise her turmoil.

He supported her before her legs gave in, as she crumbled onto the floor, and hugged her form to his chest, drawing smooth circles around her back.

'I know, Khushi. That is the reason, I want to take you somewhere, where you can accept the truth. The fact that Mrs. Anuradha Gupta was your mother, should etch in your mind. You must know about her existence in this world', he elucidated, for her to acknowledge.

Her cries turned into silent sobs, his touch and warmth tranquilising her soul, while a part of his explanation still remained unheard by her.

He pulled her chin up gently with his finger, and looking straight into her eyes, he asked, 'Do you trust me?'

Khushi's eyes transfixed with his', transferring her into oblivion, where nothing other than him, mattered. His chocolate brown orbs held pain, worry, anxiety, concern, and above all, a promise. A promise to protect her!

Her heart urged her to believe him, as her eyes blinked twice, their way of conveying the answer to his question.

'Do you trust me?' He queried again.

The words 'I do' rolled out of her mouth, incredibly relieving her from her agony, at least partially.

Sharing your pain with someone reduces the burden of it!