Chapter 35

Arnav was extremely restless. He had tried to keep himself occupied but nothing seemed to be working. He was now sitting by the poolside, trying to put the final touches on a presentation. "Wonder what Khushi is doing right now" he thought. He made up his mind to accompany Khushi on all of her dinners now back in Laxmi Nagar. That way he would be able to ensure her return. He glanced at the clock and saw it was around midnight. She would probably still be awake. Maybe he should go and visit her. He rummaged through his briefcase for anything that he could use an excuse. He finally found some contract papers. These would suffice as a reasonable reason to see Khushi. He would merely tell everyone that he absolutely needed her signature on these papers immediately as they needed to be sent over in the morning. He grabbed his keys and the papers and ran downstairs to see NK sitting and watching TV.  "Nannav ' mera bhai. Where are you going so late at night?" "Just heading out for a drive" while Arnav gave him an annoyed look.  "Nannav you are going to see Khushiji aren't you?" he replied naughtily.
"My whereabouts are not your concern. What are you doing up so late at night anyways?"
"I felt like watching a movie so I am watching Joru Ka Ghulam. Want to watch with me?" he asked fully well knowing that he would decline.
"I can't believe you're watching that movie!" as disbelief was replaced with rage. This was preposterous! "Enough is enough!"
"Relax Nannav I was just messing with you. I was just curious to see what this movie about that's all. We're cool right?"
"Yeah whatever NK" he mumbled as he unenthusiastically headed back upstairs. He plopped himself down on the empty bed and attempted to fall asleep. Yet sleep eluded him as his restlessness only increased with each passing minute. It was apparent that sleep was not in the near future; therefore he decided to sit outside for a little bit. The poolside always had a calming effect on him. He remembered the many memories that they had shared. After quite some time he decided to try to get some sleep. He went to the cupboard, grabbed one of her dupattas, and held it in his arms. Finally he was able to drift off to sleep.
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The next morning Khushi and Payal had gotten up early and were already on their way back. Arnav awoke and quickly freshened up. He then took his keys and phone and headed out to pick Khushi up. As he was coming downstairs he saw Payal and Khushi enter, along with the Raizada family sitting in the living room. His eyes indulged in the sight of her.
Nani nodded at them both as they went to greet her. "Welcome back Khushi bitiya and Payal bitiya. How was your stay there?" Payal smiled and replied, "It was good Naniji. Babuji (Father) is doing much better now and is making significant progress. His movement is also increasing steadily." Khushi had been elated at seeing the improvement that her father had accomplished. Soon he would be starting intensive speech therapy and the doctors were hopeful that his speech should be able to resume to normal as well. Just then Payal broke out into a huge yawn. The family looked at her amusingly. "Payalji , looks like you all stayed up late at night having fun. You are yawning and you seem very tired" Di stated. "No Di  it's nothing like that. Actually this pagli here , Khushi, did not let me get any sleep. She was so agitated and was tossing and turning the whole night. It is a huge mystery how Arnavji is able to get a wink of sleep with her" she said. The family burst out into peals of laughter, while Khushi ran towards the stairs thoroughly embarrassed. Arnav found her in the room mumbling angrily to herself. She sensed his presence and ran into his arms.

"Arnavji this is all your fault" she complained.
"What is my fault Khushi?"
"I could not get sleep at all last night, I have gotten so accustomed to your presence at night."
Arnav was a little relieved to discover that Khushi had difficultly without him last night.  "I missed you too Khushi. Next time I'll come and pick you up, no matter how late it is."
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Khushi had finished breakfast and was now waiting for Priya to come. She apparently was coming with some pieces and workers, ready to start work today once she and Arnav gave their final stamp of approval. She was surprisingly eager to see what changes would be made. She heard the doorbell chime and made her way to the door to greet her.
It had been one hour and she had finally given the green light on some changes. Priya's first suggestion had been to paint the white walls to a soft yellow. It was actually a blend of yellow and beige, toning out the room well. It had brightened up the room and she had said this color was a great reflection of Khushi's cheerful personality. The green wall would remain. A collage of their pictures was already ready to be hung.

Her design included a maroon border along the wall, which would match the new curtains that she had envisioned in the room. Khushi was hesitant about so many changes at once however the designer dismissed them. "The maroon curtains will look lovely and contrast the new walls perfectly. Mr. Raizada is very fond of red, so I took careful consideration of his preferences and chose maroon. After all, I have been hired to spruce up the room." With that reassurance Khushi nodded and gave her the go ahead.
Arnav looked over the new design and he was impressed with the new layout for the room. She then began to take out some more drawings. Khushi stared at them trying to figure out what they were.
" Mr. Raizada here is where will lie the new walk in closet. We will be decreasing the size of the guest room as you suggested and use that extra space to extend your room. Here are the initial sketches for the walk in closet which will have ample space. Also I have designed a his and her bathroom style for your new bathroom. The walk in closet will be connected to the bathroom as well as the bedroom. Please take a look and let me know what you think."
"Let me have a minute to discuss this with Khushi. The room changes are fine and you can begin your work on that."
"So what do you think?" he asked her eagerly.
"Everything is nice but a walk in closet and a new bathroom? It seems a bit too much."
"A walk in closet will be really convenient. The space that we use now is not spacious enough for two people. The bathroom design is outdated so I want a more modern feel."
" Alright if that's what you want. Can I ask you something? What is a his and her bathroom?" Khushi looked on at him innocently.
Arnav raised one eyebrow as a naughty look crept up in his face. He leaned over to her and whispered slowly. " A his and her bathroom is specially designed for couples. There will be two sinks so we can brush our teeth together. Or I can watch you take a shower while I shave." He winked at her and burst out into laughter as he saw her turn tomato red. He got up and left to  approve the additional renovations.
Khushi was wide eyed and still embarrassed. What kind of ideas was this decorator suggesting? Why would anyone want to brush their teeth together? Arnav's comment about the shower must have been a joke. Or was it? 
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They were now entering AR. Priya and her team would be working during the days on the room renovation project. Khushi had a busy day with the models arriving for practice. The fashion show was less than two weeks away and there was a lot of work to be done. She reached in her bag to grab her notes and realized she had left them in Arnav's office. She turned around and headed towards his cabin only to find him a visitor in his cabin.

"Khushi come in. Mr. Oberoi meet my wife Khushi Raizada."
Mr Oberoi smiled and extended his hand for a handshake. Her first inclination was to raise her hands and say Namaste, but that would seem rude seeing his outstretched hand. So she smiled back and shook his hand.
"It is so nice to finally meet you. ASR here keeps you hidden. Well now that we have met I have the pleasure of personally inviting you to my party tonight as well. It would be an honor if you would join us in celebrating the launch of my new company. I look forward to seeing you both. I'll take my leave now. Bye ASR."
"Goodbye Mr. Oberoi and I'll see you tonight."
"Sorry to interrupt Arnav but I left my notes in here." she glanced around the room to find the notes on his desk. "What kind of party is it?
"It's similar to the cocktail party that I had for Payal and Akash. It's up to you if you want to come." he explained to her.
She thought of that boring cocktail party and it didn't seem to appeal to her. "I don't think so."
"No worries Khushi. I'll check with you again before you leaving but you don't have to go if you don't want to.