Perfectly Flawed - Part Two

Khushi jumped and hissed as a drop of sizzling oil burnt her wrist.

Why did she love her husband?

That answer was still empty.

Initially Khushi was in the seventh heaven realising that her hot headed husband was probably pushed by all this emotional upheaval and ended up venting on her, to only apologise profusely and reassure her every night that she was his everything.

But now his actions hurt Khushi more than his words.

For how many more days?

With what reason would Arnav blame his unjustified anger on her? Out of hurt if she refused to get intimate, that would be dealt with complete silence from Arnav. He would often mutter that he's trying to make up if only Khushi wouldn't be this stubborn.

Arnav loved her, Khushi was matured enough to know that.

But more than love, she was a habit of his.

Shaking her head, Khushi placed the fried puris in a bowl and switched off the stove. On a positive note, at least there's wasn't an emotionless marriage. It may be turbulent but it wasn't weak. Their relationship was in their hands, unlike Jiji's.

Probably they needed a heart to heart talk. Khushi reigned her sentiments as she decided to talk to her husband over dinner - he wasn't a heartless man, just a confusing one.

"Arnavji, where are..." Khushi looked at Arnav in surprise as she found walking out with his coat folded over his right arm. "Oh Khushi, we are having a conference with the clients at New York. Sheetal found this excellent party..." Arnav replied before she could finish her question, failing to notice her tightened grip on the ladle.

"All the best." Khushi whispered while Arnav stopped, his footsteps becoming quicker as he approached her "Khushi, what's wr..." He found his answer as when he saw the dishes before him. "Fu..." He swore and turned Khushi towards him.

Chinning her up, he paused to kiss her cheek "Khushi I would have stayed back for this. But this meeting is really important." Fiddling with a button of his shirt, Khushi looked into his hesitant eyes "But Arnavji, can't Akash jiju go in place of you?"

"Khushi! Payal can go into labour any minute, he can't leave her at the dead of the night." Arnav reasoned while Khushi gave an apparent nod. "Of course, even jiju knows how important it is to be with one's wife."

Arnav froze and turned sharply at Khushi "What did that mean?" Khushi shook her head "Nothing."

Tucking a lock behind her ear "Khush, don't be childish. Are you feeling lonely? Then you can probably go over to your Amma's for dinner. Then you won't be alone, ok?" Arnav patted her head gently, his words hesitant as Khushi grew stonier.

"I'm used to being alone." Khushi stated and looked up to find him frowning at her tone.

"Anyways..." Khushi said and turned away, avoiding his gaze yet again. She knew that her eyes were a traitor. "Enjoy your meeting with Sheetalji." She stretched her lips to a fake smile

An awkward silence passed between the two.

"Till then... I'll pack my bag." Khushi declared and dusted her hands while Arnav grabbed her arm "Hey! I asked you to just be there only for dinner!"

"I thought as much but your meeting with Sheetal is more important for you." She replied in an icy voice. Arnav was taken aback by the sharpness in her reply. He looked at her carefully, and let out a helpless groan, as he realized how upset she was. He grimaced and pulled her restless hands into his. "Come on, Khushi! Don't tell me you're jealous," he said.

His careless reply stung Khushi. "Hurt", she said, "I am not jealous. Now please leave, dinner's turning cold. You won't be here so I might just fend for myself."

Arnav closed his eyes in annoyance, as she roughly pulled her hands away from his. "Fine." he replied.

"Should I pack something for you?" 

"I'm having dinner there." Arnav said, awkwardly. Khushi's eyes shot up to meet his and her eyebrows raised in mock understanding. "Of course. It was foolish of me to have asked."

"What the fu..." Arnav cursed and turned towards Khushi "Please stop being jealous like an idiot! Obviously this meeting is going to run for a few hours hence we decided to have dinner at the office. And it's just freaking dinner. It's not that I don't care for you, tomorrow we'll have lunch together. What's there to break your head for?"

"So I am being jealous like an idiot? Fine, I am jealous! But then unlike you who decides to make marriage a mockery out of jealousy, I prefer to show that your absence is hurting me!" Khushi emptied the contents of the cooking pan into a bowl, banging the bowl down on the counter. "Now go and enjoy your dinner!" she said. Her sarcasm laced words irked Arnav.

"What the... Khushi stop dragging our marriage in this! You are over-reacting. Nothing has happened." Arnav said, irritated but desperately trying to keep his calm. "And Khushi, why the hell are you digging up old graves? It was just a mistake and I even apologised for it! What more should I do?"

Khushi turned a deaf ear and continued to take crockery from the cabinet. It was just a mistake... Khushi sighed to herself.

"Stop making an issue out of it everything. I mean all this is happening because I am not being able to have dinner with you, right?!" Arnav blasted while Khushi clutched on to the containers, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Oh great, the waterworks!" Arnav sighed and threw his briefcase aside, along with his coat. "Since this dinner is deciding the foundations of our marriage then let's get this fu***ng dinner off. I'm cancelling my meeting with the clients and I don't care for the bloody losses I receive. Are you happy now Khushi?" He barked and sat at the table, grabbing forward a plate and the dishes.

"Devi Maiyya." Khushi cursed under her breath. Sniffing slightly she looked at her angry husband "It's all my fault! God knows what I ended up saying." She mumbled to herself and turned towards Arnav.

Arnav looked up as his wife gently pushed away the plate and handed him his coat and briefcase. "I'm sorry, I was just missing you."  His anger fizzled as he saw precious tears roll down her cheeks.

"It's fine Khushi but if you have a problem then tell it to me! Now don't cry."  He wiped her tears and looked into her big, expressive eyes. "I'll try to be back as soon as possible, okay? Can you give me my car keys."

Khushi reached for the keys and pressed them into Arnav's hand. Arnav tried to withdraw his hand, but Khushi held onto it. He sighed and took her into a hug, his heart clenching as Khushi hugged him back tightly.

Khushi rest her head on his shoulder, tired, and whispered "I love you Arnavji." . She was relieved to notice his lips curve into a smile. "Me too," he said, softly, after a momentous silence. She smiled and gently glided her fingers over his chest to his chiseled jawline.

As her fingers curled around his neck, Arnav smiled and pushed her hair back from her face. He gazed into her glazed eyes, desire pulsating through his body.

He played with her earlobe and whispered "If this was what you're missing, then you could have told me na. How would I know that you need me? Most of the time you run off to be with Nani or remember some dish that's left in the kitchen!" She closed her eyes as he traced her lower lip with the pad of his thumb.

Just as he leaned in to steal a kiss, they were interrupted by a call. "I'm on my way." he walked away, still on the phone, after waving a hurried goodbye to Khushi.

"I'll be back soon." He told to a stiffened Khushi who leaned against the door and waved right back at him.

"I'll wait for you."  She said but by then Arnav had disappeared out of their lane, as always.

He never knew that she was waiting, right?

---

Khushi pushed her plate aside as she couldn't stuff more than one puri into her mouth. Grabbing her cell phone she texted Arnav for the third time in an hour.

"I've had my dinner and meds. Stop texting, busy."

"Sorry, take care. I love you." Khushi replied back and paused to delete I love you. She bit her lips to control the tears which stung her eyes.

Stop texting, busy.

"Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada needs to cry at the drop of a hat!" Khushi chided herself. If she could survive well enough after all the mess up in her life then a non committal remark from her husband shouldn't hurt her too much.

But it hurt, nonetheless.

For a change Khushi would wish her husband to talk to her rather than state that by the time he would arrive, she would be too tired to hear a word from him. She didn't need the soothing physical gestures when it came to love, a word from his mouth would have meant everything.

Toying with her wedding band, Khushi fervently wished for Arnav to open up to her and brush away her insecurities. As she chanted her Devi Maiyya's name; her lips suddenly paused as she exhaled a soft breath. Khushi opened her eyes and mocked at herself.

What use could chanting Devi Maiyya's name give her when Khushi herself couldn't do anything? If only chanting her name solved problems, then none of things which had happened... would've happened.

Foregoing her prayer for the first time, Khushi stretched her arms and kept a watch on the door.

---

It was only at the crack of dawn when Arnav came back. Slightly drunk, he was walking straight into their bedroom, but stopped abruptly, when he saw Khushi asleep in a chair, with her head resting on the dining table. Her hair was all dishevelled, and she wore a tired expression on her face. Guilt filled him.

Arnav was well aware of the lack of time he spent with Khushi and her growing distance from him. Somewhere down the line he had hoped that a quick stay at her parents would alleviate her sadness but it turned out to be contrary.

"Fu**." He swore as he noticed the half finished dinner plate before him. Damn, did he not know that nothing would go down his wife's throat till he returned? Worried whether she passed out, he bent closer to pat her cheeks when he caught the moisture on her lashes.

He looked at the innocence on her face, innocence that was now shrouded by worry and insecurity. She was no longer the carefree girl he once knew. And he knew deep inside that he was the cause of this change in her.. Somewhere, something had gone wrong.

Now, he debated whether he should rouse her from her sleep or not, when due to his inebriated state, he shook a little, and his phone dropped from his hand. Khushi sat up with a start. Still groggy, she stared at Arnav for a few seconds. Her gaze automatically shifted to the clock.

"Four eleven?" she asked, with evident disappointment. She cleared her parched throat and looked at Arnav who was looking at her, intently. The couple stared at each other, sensing a certain awkwardness between them.

As she rubbed her eyes and stretched her sore muscles she asked "So late? Did the meeting run later than expected? Anyways, did you crack the deal? Should be... after all you're the Arnav Singh Raizada."

Arnav looked in disbelief as she carried out the conversation with herself, "Yeah, deal took some time to come through." He murmured.

"No worries, do you need anything?" Khushi frowned as she saw him struggling with his coat and walked up to him, to help him.

"Wait, I'll hel..." she started, but stopped abruptly, as the slight stench of alcohol reached her nostrils. Her eyes widened in shock and she cupped his cheeks, brushing her nose near his lips.

"You drank?"

"Just a bit! When the deal came through Sheetal called out for a celebratory drink." he said, indignantly.

Khushi threw her hands above her head, "But that doesn't mean that you drink to an extent that you stink of it! I thought you never liked these things. And above that, with Sheetal? What if something happened while you were drunk?"

Her sentence was cut short when Arnav grabbed her by her arms painfully and pulled her towards him. Khushi held on to his shoulders, as he was merely a breath away. "WHAT! You think that... that one drink will make me sleep with anyone!?" he asked sharply.

Khushi winced in his grip, shook her head, and said, "Never Arnavji! I trust you irrespective of your actions, unlike you. However I can't say the same for Sheetal. From the way she looks at you and that Aarav is terribly similar to you..."

"HOW DARE YOU!" Arnav snarled and pushed Khushi against the door. "I only love you damn it!" He barked and tightened his grip on her arms "How dare you suspect me? Love, trust... these mean nothing right!"

Taking a deep sigh, Khushi shakes her head and looks pleadingly at his angry face "A..."

"And how dare you suspect me? Have I given you any reason to suspect me? What happened to the so called trust? I trusted you and let go of what I had seen before my own eyes!" Arnav barked while Khushi stared at him in confusion.

"In front of your eyes, what happened? I don't understand..." Khushi started to be cut off as Arnav gripped her tighter.

"You never understand anything Khushi! Should I repeat what I felt when I saw you plastered against Shyam on the terrace? That image still hurts... still fu***ng hurts! Yet I realised that you did truly love me and that's the basic reason why, for a change, I let my heart rule. But look at what's happening... in spite of me believing you, you return the same gesture by thinking I have fathered a child and am having an affair with Sheetal!" Arnav paused to take a deep breath and felt a wave of anger throb through his body.

Shaking Khushi, he pinned her further and growled "And who gave you the right to suspect me? Unlike you demanding Shyam to leave my sister, right in front of my eyes, I didn't even give you any reason damn it! And," Arnav stopped and sucked a breath as Khushi grew paler by the minute.

His hand flew to his mouth as his wife turned as still as a lifeless doll in his hands.

With teary eyes, Khushi looked at Arnav in sheer disbelief. 

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For all those who think the fight accelerate way too fast, well let's say the man was born with a very volatile temper. And don't worry, Khushi isn't always going to cry along! Don't forget to vote by the way!

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Part Three

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Thank you so much for your kind wishes and lovely comments - makes my day, literally.
Love, 

Armageddon