7. OS 20. The Temperamental Tyrant (Part 7)

Part 7

Khushi fell to her knees by him, her legs giving up at the sight of the usually invincible Laad Governor collapsed on the floor of his bedroom.

Was this the man who had broken every piece of furniture in his room in anger? The man whose steely gaze could silence a storm? The man who left even his family uncertain about him and his moods and made them walk on eggshells around him? The man who was filled with bitterness but could be heart-meltingly considerate at times? The man who was more a force of nature than a man?

Tears filled her eyes.

“Arnavji...” she called feebly.

His head moved restlessly against the leg of the bed. He was in danger of slipping and falling to the ground.

Jolted into action, Khushi crawled to him and caught him by his shoulders and held him close to her.

“Arnavji...” she wept, her chin on his hair. “Kya hua aapko? Uddiye na, udd jayiye!”

Her tears trickled down and fell on his hand as she prayed desperately for him to be fine. She promised Devi Maiyya a kilo of jalebis made in desi ghee.

He moved his head listlessly.

“Arnavji,” she cried, cupping his face in her hands. “Please wake up. Please...”

“Khu...shi....” he murmured.

She smiled through her tears. “Yes, Khushi. It is me. Aap udd jayiye. Kya hua aapko?”

“Khu...shi,” he whispered.

“Yes?” she asked, sending a thousand thanks to Devi Maiyya.

“Sweet...kuch meeta...” he managed to say.

She frowned. “Aapko meeta khana mana he,” she said. “Did you eat something? Did that make you sick?”

“Shut up, Kh..Khushi,” he murmured. “Meeta lao.”

“Arnavji...” she protested.

“HP...call HP...” He tried to stand up.

“I will bring it,” she promised rashly.

Leaving him propped against the bed, she got up and ran to the door. At the door, she turned back. “I will be just a moment. Aap kahin mat jayiyega,” she said, as though he had it in him to get up and walk away.

She waited for him to assent to her request.

He grunted.

Reading it as his willingness to stay put, she ran for her life, unlocking the door and almost tumbling down the stairs in her hurry to get help.

Soon she was trying to stuff jalebis into Arnav’s mouth, aided by a flustered HP.

“Arnav bhaiya, open your mouth, please,” HP begged.

“Say aaaa,” Khushi insisted, trying to push a jalebi past his lips.

Arnav parted his lips to obey and was soon choking on the extreme sweetness of the jalebi.

Khushi held a glass of water to his lips and urged him to drink. “Peejiye na,” she breathed, grateful to Devi Maiyya that he was alive and breathing.

Soon HP and Khushi helped Arnav to lie on the bed.

HP, relieved that Arnav bhaiya was fine, said shakily, “I will bring dinner here.”

“I will come and get the tray, Hariprakashji. Don’t climb the stairs. Aap kasht na karein,” Khushi said, mindful of his aged knees.

HP nodded and left the room to get the food ready.

Khushi looked at the exhausted man lying on his bed, his handsome head resting against the white-coloured pillow. His chest was rising and falling and she took comfort from the telling movement.

“Khushi...” he called.

“Ji?” she asked, sinking to the floor by his side, her face at the same level as his.

“Don’t tell nani and the others,” he warned softly.

How considerate of him, she thought. But her silence in the present could harm him in the future. What if he fainted again? So she asked, “Arnavji, what happened?”

“I didn’t have tea and biscuits,” he admitted. “My sugar levels fell.”

“Aap bhi na!” she exclaimed after a moment of silent outrage at his neglect of his health.

“Khushi, don’t tell anyone,” he insisted, his molten chocolate eyes trained on her.

Khushi drew in a deep breath. “I won’t, if you promise not to lock your bedroom door again. Aap ko pata bhi he, Arnavji, how difficult it was to reach you?” she asked. Her face reflected her terror.

He looked into her tear-filled eyes and the words, “I promise” slipped out of his mouth.

She heaved a sigh of relief. “Tab theek he. I won’t tell anyone.”

He watched her closely. There was no sense of victory or joy in her at having manipulated him. There was just plain and unfiltered relief that he was safe.

“How did you get in?” he asked.

She pointed at the open window.

He smiled slightly. She must have struggled to open it and crawling through the gap couldn’t have been easy. She was one brave girl, her strength and presence of mind belying her young years. “Thanks,” he said softly.

Khushi swallowed hard. He was thanking her? Laad Governor was thanking her, Khushi Kumari Gupta?

“Aap theek ho?” she asked after a long moment of silence.

He nodded.

“I will go down and get your dinner,” she said quietly before leaving.

                                                             ***

Arnav sensed a gradual change in their equation. There were few outward signs of this change, but the change was real and palpable to him.

Khushi still did whatever the family wanted her to do and anything HP requested her to do, but her first and foremost priority was Arnav Singh Raizada and his well-being.

He could sense her eyes on him whenever they were in the same room. When he lifted his gaze to meet hers, all he could see were concern and care.

Arnav emerged from the car and nodded at the driver.

Khushi’s regard for him was pure, selfless, the care a friend would warrant.

But he couldn’t say the same for his regard for her. Her beauty captivated him; her voice entranced him. Her presence comforted him; her thought aroused all his masculine interest as no other woman had succeeded in doing. Ever.

He revelled in her attention. Her selfless friendship had brought down his barriers. He was consumed by thoughts of her to the extent that she had taken the place of his nightmares. Now his spare time and waking moments were taken up in ruminating on the difference her presence had made in his life.

He walked towards the front door of his house.

Khushi Kumari Gupta was a pari, as nonsensical it may sound, he thought. She had the magical ability to wipe the slate clean, to overcome horrors, to prompt him to shed darkness and seek light ahead, to survive life-altering ordeals with composure, to look at life with optimism, to smile in the face of adversity and put it to shame.

Love? Was it love? Of course not! He scoffed at the very thought. He enjoyed spending time with her. It was just pleasure in good company and a very potent sexual attraction from his side. That was all it was. 

And he had absolutely no intention of acting on it. Never. They were very different, worlds apart. And love and marriage were just words to make lust look better. No, he wasn't in the market for a relationship. Nothing could come of their friendship. She was his employee and he, her employer. Transient, temporary, meaningless. Their acquaintance didn't even qualify as a relationship. Not worth worrying about.

Arnav Singh Raizada walked into the house. The meeting at the Taj had taken all morning. He was in time for lunch. The rest of the family would have finished their meal by now. Good. He could eat alone and enjoy her company.

His smile widened.

Khushi always stood by him when he ate and regaled him with stories of her childhood and her family. He felt he knew all the members of her family. Her amma, her babuji, her jiji, her friend, Preetho, her buaji.... He had heard so much about her life that he even knew all the sweets in her babuji’s Satwik Mishtan Bhandar! Laughter filled his heart and soul.

HP came out of the kitchen and stopped short at the sight of his Arnav bhaiya.

“HP, ask Khushi to serve me lunch,” Arnav instructed. “I will be down in a moment.”

HP’s mouth fell open. A moment later, he said apologetically, “Arnav bhaiya, Khushi bitiya isn’t here. Shall I serve you?”

Arnav frowned. Where had she gone? To the temple? To the market? To watch a movie?

“Woh kya he, Arnav bhaiya, her buaji called. So she went to visit her at her house in Laxmi Nagar. Shall I serve you?” HP asked.

Arnav nodded slowly, feeling unsettled. He tried to keep his face expressionless as he said, “Ask her to meet me when she gets home. And serve me lunch in my room.”

HP nodded.