The Business Trip (Arshi FF)

The second note

After a night of little to no sleep, Khushi decided there was no use of tossing and turning in bed any longer. The exchange of words in their heated argument last night kept replaying in her head, over and over again. It made her madder and more upset each time. Sure, she might have taken vows and promised Devi Maiyya at her wedding that she'd be a dutiful wife, but she was sure as hell there was nothing in there about dropping your husband off in to the arms of another woman.

Khushi drags herself out of bed from the guest room back to their room, truly hoping her last day with Arnav would not be spent arguing. Careful not to wake him, conscious he wouldn't get any sleep the day of his flight, she tiptoes in the room only to be left disappointed, again. The bed had been made with no sight of Arnav around and strangely, it didn't sound like he was in the shower either. Before Khushi turns around to go check the kitchen, she notices a post-it note by her bed side table.

Out for business meetings. Wrapping things up. Will be home late.

Wow. So that's how things were going to be then? He'd rather avoid her than have an honest conversation and spend quality time with her on his last day before he was due to leave. For 6 months. His ego would truly be the end of their relationship, she thought.

Khushi busied herself with chores, contemplating about how it might be a good idea to take on a job again with Arnav leaving. Sure, she didn't get a chance to complete her degree in fashion designing, but there had to be something out there for her. The day would go by faster if her mind was occupied, as opposed to wondering how Sheetal would be throwing herself at her husband at any given opportunity in New York. No matter what she was going through, she didn't want to ruin her last dinner with Arnav for a while. So as angry as she was with him, she prepared all of his favourite dishes while she waited for him to come home. And yes. That included freshly baked focaccia bread, lasagne and his favourite tiramisu. Such an angrezi babu, Khushi thought.

9:30pm. Still no sign of Arnav.

He's just busy sorting things out for his flight in the morning, Khushi convinced herself. The lack of sleep began to catch up with Khushi as she felt her eyes become drowsy. Just as she was about to knock out on the dining table, she heard the rustling of keys as Arnav comes in.

"Arnav! You're finally back! Aap ko bahut bhook laga hoga na? Guess who made all your favourite dishes for your farewell meal?", Khushi asks with a smile on her face. Arnav looks around awkwardly, leaving Khushi a little perplexed. "Hey Khushi, you're still up? Erm, actually I had a business dinner and i'm actually pretty stuffed.", he responded feeling a little bad about the whole thing. Khushi couldn't believe her husband. "Armav, you couldn't have texted me to let me know? Saved me the hassle perhaps?", she asked, upset at her husband. "I'm sorry jaan, I thought you'd know when I said I'd be home late that I'll eat and come. Sheetal and I just had a few things to discuss ahead of our trip so she suggested we grab dinner at Hakkasan and Khushi, we've pretty much nailed all the plans for the summer line now.", Arnav stated.

"Sheetal. Of course.", Khushi sighed. "As if it wasn't bad enough that you insist on making her your lead model despite everything I've said, you also take her to my favourite restaurant. Our date night spot. You have 6 months with her, Arnav. And you couldn't even spare me an evening meal. I'm glad you have your priorities in place.", Khushi stated with tears threatening to fall.

"For the last time, Khushi. I'm going there for work. Things between me and Sheetal are strictly professional. There really is no question of replacing her at such short notice. Please don't make things awkward by conjuring something that doesn't exist with that wild imagination of yours.", Arnav spat.

Ouch. That really hurt. Now he was accusing her of making things up?

"My bad. I guess me wanting to spend time with you on your last day was me being selfish. Obviously you had other, more important things to do. Just do me a favour please? Aman has agreed to pick you up in the morning right? Can you pass this food on to him? I'd hate to chuck it away and maybe he might appreciate it." Khushi said sarcastically.

Arnav sighed, clearly aware of his wife's sarcastic tone. "Please don't make this more difficult than it already is, Khushi. Trust me, if it was under my control, I'd take you along in a heartbeat. These 6 months aren't going to be easy for me, being away from you for that long. You've always been my support system. Unfortunately, it's just one of the compromises I've got to make in the short term for a longer term gain."

Khushi scoffed, "You have no idea about the compromises others have had to make, Arnav. You've been too absorbed in this world of you and Sheetal." She was done and honestly had no more energy to continue this game of ping-pong. They were getting nowhere and she was ready to call it a night as she left the kitchen.

"Khushi. Khushi! Don't walk away from me dammit. Fine, go! But you won't have the last word, just remember that." Arnav shouted.

So that was that. They had spent their final night together fighting, precisely the opposite of what either of them wanted. Khushi wanted nothing more than to spend this night in the arms of her husband, in close proximity to him so she could treasure every last moment. However, she wasn't comfortable having him label her as insecure, especially not after his ego wouldn't even allow for a civil discussion. So, for the second night in a row, Khushi headed to the guest room. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't secretly hoping that Arnav would stop her and tell her to stay. Even if it just meant helping him pack for his early morning flight. But alas, this was her husband we were talking about. He was determined to have the 'last word', even if it meant letting his upset wife sleep separately on their last night together for a while.

Khushi was exhausted. Tired of fighting a losing battle. Tired of the arguments. Before she knew it, sleep finally found her, only to be finally awoken by the sound of the chirping birds. She turned to look at the time on her phone.

8am. Holy crap! Arnav's flight was at 10am.

Before she could get up to bid him goodbye, she found yet another note lying by her phone.

Getting late for flight. Didn't want to wake you. There's money in the account, you know the details. Take care of yourself.