STARS AFTER THE STORM

17. TANGIBLE TRUST.

Arnav and Khushi sat close, blanketed by the lull of the night and the softness of the wind. Arnav had finally found the peace that he'd lost years ago; peace he thought he would never discover again. Khushi had offered it to him, with only the simplest of words and the slightest of gestures.

Arnav looked down, as he felt soft even breaths on his shoulder. A small smile made its way to his face. His wife was sleeping. She looked so serene. "Such a child!" thought Arnav.

He untangled her fingers from his arm and picked her, careful not to wake her up. He made a mental note to do star gazing with her more often.

As he laid her down on his bed, her hand caught hold of his T-shirt collar - a habit she'd unconsciously become accustomed to doing. Arnav took in a deep breath as he freed her grasp. These were one of those tiny moments that made him fall in love with her a little more.

He pulled the comforter over her and tucked the ever disobedient strand of hair behind her ear and took his time to admire her.

Just as he was about to pull away, Khushi caught his hand and snuggled into his palm as she shifted in her sleep. All his attempts to free his hand went futile and he finally gave up when she mumbled something incoherently which sounded a lot like scolding.

Settling beside her, he feared how she'd react the next morning. Not a wink of sleep followed. A thousand hundred thoughts occupied his mind. Many of which composed of his relationship with his wife, the events that had happened in just a span of ten days, the 360 degree turn of his life, his childhood, his Di.

He felt a dip in his chest as he thought of his Di. A woman for whom, he'd become who he was. A woman who'd stood by him against all odds and showed him the light when in dark. She had been another mother to him in th guise of a sister. In the earlier days, he knew his Di pretended to be happier for him but he'd seen the true happiness in her eyes during the days she'd claimed that she was in love. He was elated seeing her that happy after all that they had been put through. That was why he'd not stopped her from getting the life she wanted for herself. Little did he know then, that the man who gave her so much happiness was nothing but a tyrant. That vile man, who had played such dirty games with his sister and his wife. He knew that his Di would be hurt when the truth would be out. In the process of trying to protect her from the pain, he failed to protect her from the filth and also put another woman through hell. But now, he wasn't going to become weak fearing for her weakness. He was going to stay strong for her like she'd stayed strong for him all those years. Because now he was certainly stronger with his wife beside him.

His thoughts shifted back to Khushi and what she'd had to endure. He was reminded of how she'd looked during the days of her so called engagement. Of course, the news had broken his heart but it broke more to see her equally unhappy with it. She had refused to show her displeasure and he'd kept on instigating her every chance he'd got. Her tears when she'd cried on his shoulder, how she'd blasted at him for breaking up with Lavanya, the days during Aakash and Payal's wedding, the moments they'd shared - the dance, the cheek kisses, the bangles, the numerous eye to eye conversations, the mirror and the realization of his love for her. All had been shattered by his misjudgment, his mistrust. He sighed.

He turned to face her sleeping form. He slipped his free hand in hers.

Trust was as new as love was to him. How could he have deciphered that the two coexisted?. But, now he understood what it meant to trust someone. He knew he would never ever commit the same mistake of not trusting Khushi.

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Khushi woke up to find her husband sharing the bed with her. She immediately sat up straight , wide eyed. Her mind was already cooking up insane possibilities of how they could have ended up in the same bed. Her eyes then shifted to their entangled hands. Now, that wasn't something that was new to her. He'd held her hand the same way, the night they'd spent in Lakshmi nagar.