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Arshi FF Chapter 2 SMA – And so it begins

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“Tu hi meri Zindagi. Tu hi meri Khushi,” with his gaze roaming all over her face, he whispered.

“Jee?” Her heart trembling in her mouth, Khushi Kumari Gupta found herself trapped in the eyes of the man whose dark intense gaze was boring down into her soul, ripping her apart, tearing her away from the world she knew. And filling her with a heat that she’d never felt before.

Time had stood still as she took in every detail of his face. From deep brown sharp eyes seething with anger or perhaps some other dark emotion she wasn’t familiar with, to a perfectly chiselled jaw only just softened by a stubble, to a sinful mouth curled slightly into a smirk and a chest that feel like pure titanium under her fingers, he was the most handsome man she’d ever come across.

He must be built of the same titanium throughout, given the ease with which he kept her in his arms.

She’d never seen him before, had never known him. Yet, his touch didn’t repulse her. Instead, she felt like they’d been together since eternity. That he was the one man who had every right to touch her anywhere and anyhow he pleased.

“Sir, she wasn’t supposed to be here. She’s not even a model.” Someone yelled behind her jolting her out of her thoughts.

And amidst all that commotion she suddenly fell back to reality. Her eyes widened in fear, and she glanced at man again, who continued to keep his unflinching gaze upon her.

There were hundreds if not thousands of people around them. The blinding flashes of hundreds of cameras made her heart jump around in fear. 

She struggled to get out of his arms. 

He tightened his grip around her, forcing her to stay. Her eyes shot up to him. His eyes shone of a darkness that didn’t scare her, it terrified her, not only for how dark it was, but for how her body longed to melt into him.

There were very rare occasions when Khushi found herself at a complete loss of words. And trapped in the predatory gaze of this stunning man had totally rendered her voiceless, speechless, and thoughtless. “Lea…leave…” she managed to find her voice. 

But he snarled like as thought struck by something at the sound of her voice.

“Sir, I think she’s here to sabotage the show.” Someone else yelled, drawing Khushi out of her trance.

Yet, she couldn’t look away from the man holding her in his arms. 

“Please.” She flapped.Her heart pounded in her ears, her eyes finally welled, her tears began escaping the corners of her eyes.

And something changed between them in that moment. His eyes softened.  His grip also loosened. His jaw tightened as his gaze now locked on the tears slowly sliding down her cheek.

He finally broke the gaze and blinked before glancing at her again. This time a frown marred his handsome face.

But pursing his lips, he lowered her to her feet.

Although wanting to run, she continued to clutch onto the lapels of his jacket and stood frozen to the stop, her feet unwilling to move away from him. 

And when he glanced down to her hands clutching onto him, the smirk was back to adorn his glorious face.

“Lock her away.” 

This time she bit into her lip at the sound of his deep commanding voice.

Two female bouncers were beside her even before she knew. Fear clutched her heart again. She moved closer into his embrace and held onto him.

“Its alright. I’ll see you in a bit.” Caressing her cheek, he released her hand from his jacket and handed her to the two women waiting to drag her away. 

“No,” Khushi choked as the women dragged her. She clutching to his hand, yet as her fingers slipped out of his tears fell down her cheeks. Suddenly she felt empty. She felt cold too. 

And given how he frowned, it was obvious he too seemed shaken to have lost her touch.

But being taken away, Khushi glanced over her shoulder, her gaze still locked on the man who had rocked her world in ways she didn’t know possible.

And as he faded at a distance, she felt like as thought she had lost a piece of her heart. What is happening to me, Devi Maiyya? She shivered as she glanced up to the heavens. 

But even before she realised what was happening, the two women holding her in their tight grip dragged her towards a row of rustic cottages at the back of the Mahal and threw her into one of them.

“No wait.” Screaming, she scrambled to her feet as soon as they began shutting the door. The gravity of the situation crashed on her. “My sister….I must go. Please try and understand.” 

As she glanced around she didn’t know how to escape this golden prison she was in. 

But then her gaze fell on a large antique dark wood four poster bed, and she froze in fear. She was locked away in a bedroom. Why? She ran towards the window to see if she could scream for help. But they were shut from the outside. 

She ran back to the door and began banging on it. “Please, please let me go. There is some confusion….I must go.” 

But when they was no reply, with her head against the door, she slid down and collapsed to the floor. 

One moment she’d been on her way to speak to her sister’s fiancé, wanting to request him to give them time so they could organise the sudden demand of dowry his parents had made. The next minute she’d been running down the corridors of the Sheesh Mahal towards his room. But when the doors had opened, a woman in a suit had dragged her and thrown on top of the ramp asking her to take a walk. 

She glanced down at her lehanga….and then her thoughts raced back to her sister’s impending wedding. What time was it? She’d even lost her phone in the mess. How was she meant to contact her family? How had she landed in this mess? If only she’d listened to her sister and not taken matters into her hands and let the elders resolve the misunderstanding. 

She covered her face in her hands and wept. Yet, when his dark intense eyes came back to her, it was obvious she was crying for him. She was missing his presence. Her body was aching for the warmth of his embrace. She wiped her face and frowned. Was she missing him? But she didn’t even know his name.

“Devi maiyya,” she looked up to the heavens. “Yeh sab kya ho raha hai hamare saath. Kaun hai woh….What’s wrong with me?”

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As though struck by a lightning, Arnav kept his gaze on the girl being dragged away. He didn’t know what had hit him or what had come over him. But something had changed in a matter of a few minutes.

Her tears came back to him, making him clench his fists. It bothered him. But why? Only his Di’s tears had bothered him until now. Yet this….pure rage rose in his blood. Rage for her and for his reaction to her.

She’s here to seduce you, a voice warned in his head. She’s here for you wealth.

“Sir…I think she was paid by our rivals..”

“Bhai.” Akash strode up to him. “listen to me…there’s some confusion….” 

Arnav raised his hand at his brother, motioning him to stop, while he continued to keep his gaze on the storm that had hit him where it hurt the most.

Eyes like a doe, voice like the sweetest songbird, bangles tinkling like windchimes, in all the years since he’d found that diary, he’d never met a girl who’d matched that description to the cue. 

Clad in a pink bridal lehenga, and her eyes feigning innocence, she was every bit a seductress here to trap him.

But she wouldn’t succeed.

Yet, the raging hard-on in his pants was making it impossible for him to take this mind off her. Would she moan? Would she claw? Would she beg him for more? And how sweet would his name sound on her lips when she’d come apart in his arms?

“Enough.” He clenched his teeth and hissed at himself. No girl had ever managed to draw this kind of a reaction from him. No girl.

Yet, as he glanced down at himself, he narrowed his eyes— maybe tonight would be the night when he’d avenge his mother’s death and put behind his past forever.

Finally, he’d prove to his father, that the girl who’d lured him had wanted his wealth and nothing more. And finally, his mother’s soul would rest in peace knowing a girl with the exact same description as that home wrecker hadn’t managed to get the better of her son.

Yet, when his heart fluttered in strange ways, he reached for his glass of scotch and let the burning liquid distract the burn in his heart.

“Sir.”

Once the beautiful girl disappeared from his sight, he glanced to the woman speaking to him and straightened his jacket. 

Without another moment’s delay, he sprinted up the ramp with absolute grace and gave the audience one of his rarest smiles. “Sorry about the commotion, ladies and gentleman.” He spoke into the mike with his usual charm, not one hair ruffled or out of place. “Looks like the party is over. And looks like we’ve made the headlines again, even if for all the wrong reasons.”

Everyone laughed.

“The after show party continues in the main ballroom. Please do enjoy the entertainment and refreshments we’ve organised for the evening,” he continued. “And as far as tonight’s bridal collections go, everyone gets a ten percent discount as an apology for the disruption.”

The crowd applauded and cheered. 

Keeping his frayed nerves under control, he waved to the crowd and sprinted down the stairs. 

Excitement pulsed through him like never before at what awaited him in his bedroom. 

“Bhai.” Akash ran after him. “Bhai listen to me.”

With a skip in his beat, Arnav glanced at his cousin. “You’ll see what I mean tonight.”

“Bhai….that girl came here in a rickshaw. Bhai, I’ve spoken to the main desk, they confirmed she was here to meet some Dhananjay Sharma….bhai listen to me.” 

But Arnav wasn’t listening to any of his brother’s pleas. “Eyes like beautiful doe, kohl lined lashes.” He laughed. “I’ve found her brother. I’ve found the kind of a girl who ruined my mother’s marriage.”

“Bhai…what’s the matter with you?” Akash ran to keep up with Arnav’s strides. “What happened to Ratna Bua was terrible…..but what you’re doing to this girl….how is it?”

“This is closure.” He stopped and chuckled at his brother. “The moment she offers herself to me in return for my wealth….it will be my closure forever.”

“Stop.” Akash grabbed him by his wrist just as he turned the corner towards his cottage. “You may fool the world into believing you’re a player. But you and I know that’s not the case.” 

Arnav narrowed his eyes. 

“You never touch any of those girls you take to your bedroom,” Akash hissed. “Yes, I know. But what I fail to understand is why? Why do you let the media have a field day with your personal life.”

“What rubbish? Your head is so full of crap really.”

“No it isn’t. You never indulge yourself with any one of those girls. Neither with the one last night, or the ones that left your room last week. I know you. And so does Di. Hence she’s never thrown a fuss over this till now….but not tonight. Not anymore.”

With his eyes like slits, Arnav glared at his brother. He was telling the truth. He’d never touch a filthy middle-class girl with his barge pole, let alone share a bed with her. But his motive was simple. Offer wealth, a modelling assignment, a chance to be splashed across page 3 as Arnav Singh Raizada’s latest conquest. And the moment he’d get a girl to agree to his sleazy demands, he’d kick her out, reminding her and himself that middle-class girls were nothing more than sluts.

“Akash, in the last twelve years or so, I haven’t met one middle-class girl who wasn’t willing to offer herself in exchange of favours and gifts. This girl is no different. Bloody gold digging whore they are and nothing more.” Yet he felt a bitter taste in his mouth when using such words for the beauty who’d been fluttering in his arms till a few moments ago.

“This girl is not like the rest, mark my words.” His brother argued. “The others were struggling models, or maybe gold diggers…..but this girl is here by chance.”

“Nothing happens by chance in life.” Adrian glared at him. “You must work for it. And she’s done her research and deliberately gate-crashed so she could get her turn at seducing Arnav Singh Raizada.” 

And as he spoke those words, Akash took a step back as it struck him. “This is why you put up an image of being a casanova, don’t you Bhai? You want these girls to believe you are enamoured by their simple upbringing and you want them to pry on you….when the truth of the matter is, that you want them to take a chance on you so you can prove some silly theory you’ve been nurturing..…..you are unbeliev….”

“I’m always right. And you will see how. Now stay out of my business.” Wrenching his hand out of Akash’s grip, he sprinted towards his bedroom with a buzz in his heart. 

Not all doe like eyes could captivate him. Not all song birds could keep him enchanted with their beautiful voice.

And he would today prove to his father what a fool he was.

But the moment he opened the door and her kohl lined, fear-filled, tear drenched eyes came into view, he was struck by another thunderbolt all over again.

His eyes roamed all over her trembling form again. 

His heart stopped for a moment—Akash’s words came back to him. She wasn’t a model, it was impossible. With her ample cleavage spilling out of her blouse and her hips flaring around her, she was a curvaceous beauty.

Yet, she was everything her father had described. She was here to ruin him. Only that her ruin was looking her in the eye.

He took a step inside and closed the door behind him.

“Dekhiye, listen to me. Thank god you’re here.” Sniffling, she ran up to him.

Arnav stilled, his eyes flickering all over all. Her voice was sweeter than the sweetest songbirds. And those eyes, they were innocent like that of a Doe. And the pretty mole on her cheek. He licked his lips at the things he wanted to do to her.

But first, moving up to her, he whispered,“Tu hi meri chahat. Tu hi meri Khushi.” While ran his fingers through her long lustrous hair. 

Khushi shivered, but couldn’t help the way her erratic heart thudded in her chest at the sound of her name on his lips. “Jee…How….how do you know my na…name?”

He raised a brow.

“Khu…Khushi …how?”

And the way one side if his mouth curled, it was obvious he was pleased with her words. “Khushi? Is that your name?”

She nodded, yet sighed at the way his voice caressed her name.

“Nice name.” He chuckled, but lowered his lips to her ears. “Now lets see if you can give me Khushi, Khushi.”

“Jee.”

He shrugged. “How much money do you need?”

“Money?” She blinked.

“You are here for money, aren’t you?”

“Money?” She searched his eyes for what he was saying, but he was so distractingly handsome, her mind had turned blank. “Hmm….no..I was here to meet…”

“Me?” He winked.

“No…”

“Why are you here?”

“My…my sister.” Ah it came to her. “Its my sister’s wedding. Dowry…..her fiance..”

“You need money for your sister’s dowry?” Smirking, he nodded. “How much do you need?”

“Huh! Five lakhs.”

“Okay. I’ll give it to you.”

“Jee?” She blinked. 

“Now.” His eyes slithered all over her. “Undress yourself and get on top of the bed.”

She blinked again, her blood ringing in her ears. Surely she’d heard him wrong. 

But when he began removing his jacket, she took a step back in horror. 

“Quick.” He hung the jacket on the chair and reached for the buttons to his waistcoat.

And then everything descended upon her like a tonne of bricks. Five lakhs to get into his bed. 

Her body shuddered in fear and, she screamed at the top of her voice. “LET ME GO.” She ran past him, but he leapt to his side, catching her in time. 

“Leave me.” Kicking her feet as he lifted her off the ground, she shrieked and screamed. “Please let me go. BACHAO…BACHAO……HELP ME SOMEONE!!!” 

“What the f….” His grip tightened around her waist as he dragged her back to the bed.

“Dekhiye, I don’t know who or what your think I am.” Hot tears streamed down her cheeks as she joined her hands, yet her cheeks turned pink at the heat stabbing her at all the wrong places. “But please, for god’s sake let me go. My sister’s getting married tonight. I cannot get late.”

“You need money. I’m offering you money.” He loved the way her soft curves crushed in his arms. Passion flooded through his blood, hardening him more than he already was.

“I don’t need money. I just need to go,” she pleaded. How he was loving this denial game. He wanted her to continue denying him, so then when he’d eventually break her and make her beg for him, he’d prove to her and to himself what a whore she really was.

“Oh really?” He growled as her breasts crushed into his chest, the bloody tease that she was. “Is that why you came here to sabotage my show?” 

“No, its not what you think. You’ve got it all wrong.”

“How so?” He put her on the ground but kept her trapped between the bedpost and his chest. The man in his trousers had gone berserk. And for the first time in a very long time all he wanted to do was rip her clothes and pound into her till she was screaming his name and begging him to keep going and to never ever stop himself from taking whatever he wanted from her. 

Fuck! He was messed up. But fuck, he wanted to fuck her six ways to sunday. He wanted to fuck her, right here, right now. He wiped the sweat off his face and panted.

Khushi continued blabbering, but he hadn’t listened to anything. Not that he was in a state to think, let alone reason.

“Enough.” He thundered. “Now shut the fuck up and stop pretending you don’t want me too.”

Turning her around, he forced her against the bedpost and tugged hard at the doris at the back of her blouse.

Khushi gasped in horror, her eyes widened, her heart stopped, as she heard the pitter patter of the pearls in the string of her blouse spluttering all over the floor. 

She glanced over her shoulder. And shivered at the darkness that had suddenly descended over him. She had to run, she knew. This man had murder on his mind.

“Leave me, leave me.” She kicked and fought against the arm he’d wound around her waist. “Please let me go.”

“What the..” Pinning her to his chest, he turned her on his arms, and peeled her blouse away from her.

“No…No.”

“Stop fighting me.” But as she fought to grip onto her blouse, he drove his fingers into her shoulder, ripping the blouse in the process, all the way till it exposed almost all of her breasts.

With a gasp, she stopped and shot her eyes at him. 

Arnav too stopped and glared at the torn fabric in his hand. His nails had clawed into the soft creamy skin of her chest. He couldn’t believe what he’d just done. 

But the soft swell of her exposed chest sent his reason for a toss. Instinctively, he moved closer to cup the exposed mound of her breast, his fingers aching to pinch her tightened nipple.

“No, stop.” Shrieking, Khushi instantly covered her chest with one hand. But when he gripped her wrist and forced her hand away, she slapped him right across his cheek. 

Arnav froze, the ferocity of the slap rang through his ears and the walls of his bedroom.

His eyes widened. Passion was already coursing through him, now anger too flamed through his veins. 

“How dare you…. Bloody middle class.” Hissing, he shot his eyes to her. 

“How dare you?” Covering her chest, she slapped him again with everything she had when he moved into her. “Just because you are rich doesn’t mean you are entitled to do as you please. I may be middle class but my pride and dignity is all I have.” Her eyes flared with fire. “I worship the great Durga. Don’t you dare touch me or the great mother won’t spare you, you bloody rapist.”

“Hey,” he yelled. 

“Jaanwar kahee ke….Animal, that’s who you are…Hawas…all you know is lust,” she hissed making him take a step back. “Your wealth has blinded you. Like every filthy rich man you think you can take whatever your heart fancies. You think every girl is your property. And you do not understand that a NO means a NO.”

Arnav blinked several times at the stuff she was accusing him of. 

“You must have a sister too. What if some man was to touch her like this? Badtameez insaan,” she choked on the tears blinding her eyes. “I’ve been telling you, its my sister’s wedding tonight. I must go….but you…chee. Your mother must be so disgusted with herself for having birthed a son like you…..and your sister…what if her wedding too is cancelled as she’d dress like a bride and dream of beautiful life….What if her fiancé broke off with her and broke her heart too?”

Her words finally struck him somewhere so deep, he stepped back and blinked the tears that pricked his eyes. His Di’s wedding from all those years ago flashed before his eyes. Her empty lightless eyes when the wedding had been called out came back to plague him. They couldn’t afford the dowry once his parents had died. And their uncle had kicked them out of their property too. 

He remembered how his sister had wept for days, weeks, months, years for what had happened that night. 

Khushi continued glaring at him, but when he didn’t react, she carefully draped her dupatta around her. 

But he grabbed her hand arms till she shrieked in pain.

“It was alright so long as you accused me.” He voice was deep and terrifying. “But what you said about my Di.”  

“Haan, aap Di, Di…Hamari Jiji kuch nahi.”

“Shaatttuuup.” His nails dug into her arms as he roared. “Now get lost from here before I rape you for real.”

Dragging her behind him, he opened the door and threw her out of the room. 

She fell on the floor and shrieked in pain, in fear too. But when her eyes met his, her heart squeezed. Despite whatever she’d accused him of, and despite whatever he’d done to her, she didn’t want him to shut her out like this. 

And when Arnav stood at the door and kept his gaze on her, it felt like as though he too wasn’t sure if he wanted to go. 

Yet, he slammed the door on her face, making her jump in her skin. 

Slowly wiping her tears, she got up to her feet and kept her gaze on the door, hoping he’d open it. That he’d take her in his arms and tell her he was sorry. What was wrong with her? 

“I’m sorry Khushiji.” A warm voice made her jump in her skin.

She lifted her gaze to a warm smiling man. From the moment she’d landed herself in this hellhole, it was the first time anyone had spoken to her with such kindness. 

But given the state she was in, she covered her face and broke into a sob. 

“Please….please don’t cry.” He stepped closer, and handed her his kerchief. “I’m Akash. I apologise for what happened.” 

Shivering, she peeked at him in fear while clutching tight to her dupatta so she was fully covered.

“I…trust me…I don’t….my sister.” She blabbered, but her gaze was locked on the locked door, her thoughts with the man on the other side.

“Its fine. Let me take you home.”

“No…no. I cannot.” She snapped. “People cannot see me like this…its my sister’s wedding.”

“I cannot let you go alone at this hour. Please let me help you….I can arrange for a driver if thats okay.”

She glanced out to the sky at how dark it was, and eventually nodded.

But when she glanced at the door again, she broke into a sob. She wanted to see him. Just one last time. She wanted him to know he’d misunderstood her. She wasn’t here to sabotage anything. If anything her sister’s marriage was at stake. And she also wanted to apologise to him for what she’d called him and what she’d wished for his sister.

“Can I leave a note for him?” she choked.

Akash nodded.

“I’m sorry, for everything— Khushi.” She wrote with trembling hands and handed it to Akash. “Please tell him I didn’t mean what I said about his Di. I wouldn’t wish that upon any girl.”

And as the whisper of her footsteps receded into the dark, Arnav kept his head pressed to the door and allowed his tears to pour down his face. He’d been an animal with her. How could he have lost control like the way he had? 

He’d never touch a woman. And never like this. But there was something about her that was driving him to the brink of sanity.

Eyes like doe. FUCK! He wouldn’t let her affect him, he vowed. He’d make her pay for what she’d said about his sister. He’d break her and he’d prove to himself that women like her were nothing more than sluts.

But before that he needed a drink.

And then he had to make a call.

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