The Business Trip (Arshi FF)

The confrontation II

"Listen, Arnav. I've actually got to head out shortly. But erm, thanks for stopping by I guess. I'm fine, don't worry. Perfectly capable of looking after myself", she said sarcastically, having noted the time and realising she'd have to get ready for work soon.

This caused Arnav to raise an eyebrow. "Where are you going?", he asked.

"To work. Not that it's any of your business anymore."

"Work? At this time? Don't tell me, Karan doesn't even give you Sundays off? And Khushi, you will always be my business."

"I'm not heading to the factory. I've got another job at the mall. And you don't get to pick and choose those moments you decide to be a husband. It doesn't start and end with a card to pay the bills.", she retorted taking a jab at him.

"My intention was never to dust off my duties as a husband with a card. I shouldn't have left like that, I know and like I said, I'm sorry. But you are in no position to be going to work at the minute, Khushi. Neither is it safe for you to be working such unsociable hours in this area."

"For someone that had no idea what was happening in my life for the last month, you sure have a lot of ideas on how I should be leading my life now."

"Is this about the money, Khushi? Because I know things haven't been smooth sailing on the financial side since I left ASR Industries but there's no need for you to work these jobs. I could have afforded the hospital bill too. I have some savings kept aside for emergencies.", he told her.

Khushi scoffed, "I don't want your money, Arnav! For God's sake, keep your damn money! If it was your money I was after, I wouldn't have been by your side when you left ASR Industries. That would have been the deal breaker. But I bet in your mind you still worry I might be the gold digger you always thought I was right?"

"I wouldn't be standing here in front of you right now asking...begging you to come back home if I thought you were Khushi.", he told her firmly, with a hint of vulnerability in his voice, almost as if he was worried she wouldn't come back with him.

"Thank you for believing in me this time. If only you trusted in me a little more Arnav, we might not have been in this situation to begin with. Or maybe I always had a blindfold on when it came to you.", Khushi whispered questioning herself.

This time Arnav didn't have a response ready. The word sorry had never felt so shallow and meaningless till now, realising how he made her feel. The truth in her words pierced him.

"I've really got to go Arnav. I can't be late to my shift or they'll dock my pay. So if you could please show yourself out.", her hands gesturing towards the door.

"In a mall Khushi? Need I remind you how you were stuck on an IV drip and an oxygen mask less than 24 hours ago? You think it's wise for you to stand up stacking shelves or swiping clothes at a till for God knows how many hours without a break? To prove some kind of point to me?", he asked her frustrated she wasn't taking care of herself.

"Trust me, Arnav. The pain that you saw me in yesterday is nothing compared to the hell that I've been through the last month."

Khushi's words caused a stunned silence. He had caused her immense amounts of pain and he no longer knew how he was supposed to make up for his actions the last month. It hurt him to see her this way, but he felt even worse knowing he was the root cause of it all.

He took a deep breath before talking. "I know sorry isn't going to cut it. An apology isn't going to make up for lost time nor make you feel better about the last month. Truth is, I was selfishly waiting to hear from you when I should have been the one to check up on you. Even if we were in the middle of a fight. I know you think something happened between me and Sheetal but I promise I was just drunk and she took advantage of that and came on to me. I put a stop to it there and then and I've made it clear to the investors that I want out unless Sheetal is removed from the project. I never cheated Khushi. Please believe me."

"You know what hurts, Arnav? Even in my drunken state, I would never let any man near me. That's the difference between me and you."

Arnav was dealt yet another blow. Before he could apologise for the umpteenth time, he noticed Khushi clutching her forehead, swaying slightly as if she was going to pass out again.

"Khushi? Khushi, are you okay??" No response. He guides her and takes her to sit down on the sofa bed. "Have you had anything to eat or drink since you came back from the hospital?", he asked with no response from her again. He rushes to the kitchen, and finds nothing more than some teabags, coffee, Parle G biscuits and a small bottle of water. He grabs the biscuits and bottle of water, making a note of how cramped and dingy the kitchen is.

Having forced her to drink a whole bottle of water and force fed her two Parle G biscuits, Arnav feels a little relieved seeing a bit of life back in her.

"The Doctor clearly said you were suffering from dehydration, Khushi. You can't keep ignoring your health like this just because you're mad at me.", he told her.

"I'm fine, Arnav. Stop fussing." She continued, "now if you don't mind, I'd really like you to leave."

"If that's what you want, Khushi, I'll leave. If it means you put your health first, I'll leave without a fuss. But for God's sake, you're not going back to work today.", making his point clear.

She didn't feel it necessary to keep the argument going at this point so didn't bother with a rebuttal.

He stood up and walked towards the door and before leaving he turned around and told her "Take care of yourself, Khushi. You gave me a real fright yesterday. And just so you know, me leaving today isn't the end of us."