New Arhi SS: Highway to Hell. Part 1.

           Highway to Hell…

Current Day:
It all happened in the expanse of one day, one bloody freaking awesome day. One fucking day fucked up her entire world

She wasn’t a bad person… or a bad sister… or a bad daughter… Or so she would have said… Nope not just said but actually believed with all her heart and mind up until this morning and everyone would have vouched for her, she was more than sure. Heck, they would vouch for her even now for they still lay wrapped in the warm cocoon of ignorance. Looking at the happy content faces of her mom and dad, she felt a sharp pang of envy and in that moment she had an epiphany, ignorance indeed was bliss, that Gray dude got this crap right after all. And all those people who advocated knowledge were bloody sadists. Well whatever, she had seen the light and there was no going back now. Khushi Gupta had made a deal with the Devil himself…

One Month Ago:

“Jiji, are you absolutely sure about this?” she stood there listening to whatever hr Jiji had to say and then continued.

“Jiji, promise me you are not doing this under any kind of pressure.”

“Okay Jiji, if you say so, I’ll just take your word for it... for now. Anyways I’ll be there in a weeks time, we’ll talk then and I want to know everything, such evasive lines wouldn’t do then, okay?” she kept her phone down and for the millionth time in the past month pondered over the name, Raizada. But there was nothing that she could do about it, not for a while at least, not from New-York.
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One Week Ago:

It wasn’t until the next month that Khushi finally arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. Her family was there to receive her however, she had also expected a certain Mr. Raizada to be there, after all wasn’t he her would be Jeejaji? And wasn’t he supposed to pamper her and win her favors and all that crap they showed in cheesy Bollywood movies. Was he really the Dickhead, her initial instinct had said he was? Well, she’ll find out now and pretty soon too, for now that she was in Delhi, where would he go? Or as they say, he could run but he could not hide. And if he was going to get married to her darling Jiji, then he’d have to impress a certain Khushi Kumari Gupta first. And with just one week left for their wedding she would have to be quick with both the planning and the execution.

It was time for their face-off finally, Khushi Kumari Gupta would soon meet Arnav Singh Raizada… a bloody sister stealer.

“What the hell is wrong with these people?” Khushi wondered for the millionth time in the space of just two hours. She could hardly believe that all the over-dramatic crap that she had only seen in Karan Johar’s and Yash Raj’s cinema {which btw, she was forced to watch, first by her Khan crazy sister and later by her best friend, NK, who was also well, a Khan maniac} was actually happening right in front of her eyes, in her own bloody house. “Why the hell was everything so pink and blue?” And the color theme that had been finalized for the wedding didn’t give her much respite either… “Red and gold… like really? Could it get anymore Ekta Kapoorish?” And then there were all these aunties and uncles, who had nothing better to do but try and fix her up with theirs sons or their son’s cousins or their son’s cousin’s cousin, well practically any single man in his mid twenties, who shared community ties with her. Khushi was tolerating all this madness for the only person whose big deer eyes and puppy-dog pout could get her to do practically anything… her elder sister Payal Gupta. And well, also there was this added motivation of meeting her Jeejaji, well actually the eagerness was melting a bit too fast since  this evening, a man who would agree for an arranged marriage and especially these bloody pink and blue drapes shouldn’t be all that hard to figure out.

She got a mock-tail from the bar. She wasn’t stupid enough to drink in front of her very puritanical parents, who had of course set up a bar on the occasion for what would the society people say otherwise, but would never in this life approve of their daughters even smelling it… typical! Hiding it was an option but then Khushi was not an addict, no, she knew how to keep things under control and so the risk out-weighing pleasure, made it a non-profitable option. Rebellion, on the other hand, though fine sometimes was mostly just stupid and Khushi for one always preferred the smart way. So, there she was, at the bar, swirling her drink and giving some final touches to that faceless image she had been building up the whole day. Her sister had outright denied her any pictures for she said it would build up the suspense. “Suspense my ass!” She mumbled irritably. Payal could really get on your nerves sometimes; she just hoped that the loser she was marrying could handle it. Well, Payal could deny her the picture, but Khushi had a very functional sense of logic and a very creative imagination which she put to work right that moment. 

‘Suits, well what was a business man without his suit; spectacles, probably square and gold-rimmed as of-course nothing portrayed intelligence and maturity better than a defective eye-sight; a little bit of a pouch, now didn’t it signify prosperity; and then the cherry on top, the widely prevalent and highly idealized ‘yes mom’ attitude, for who else would agree to such ridiculous color schemes.’ She didn’t realize when her silent contemplation turned into audible mumbling and neither did she notice the shadowy frame behind her.

“Jiji said he is 31, must be some uncleji type and of course, who else agrees to a marriage without even dating for a bit? Poor Jiji, Devi Maiya knows what she is settling for and she is so young, barely 24 and getting married to some bloody uncleji. So unfair!”  Khushi was busy grumbling and failed to notice the stern gaze narrowed on her. Lost in her thoughts, she also failed to see the slightly raised platform and tripped, expecting cold floor, she clenched her eyes but instead felt a warm presence around her.

She slowly opened her eyes. Sure she wasn’t falling anymore, but now she was drowning… both helpless and happy she didn’t even attempt to fake a struggle as those chocolate brown orbs threatened to consume her. His eyes narrowed over hers and hers flickered in response. A little too far-gone already she took a moment to collect herself and then finally straightened her body moving out of his arm’s circle. ‘Was there a little reluctance she felt in his body?’ Khushi mused.

A little physical distance was much needed to make her brain functional again and once it was at her disposal she finally gave the Adonis in front of her a once-over. ‘My my! Things aren’t looking too bad now, are they? Seems like I just stumbled over my spice choice of the week.’ And with that thought she smirked sexily at the devilishly sexy and she could bet, deliciously yummy young man in front of her.

AN: Hey Guys! Now, this is going to be a short one. six to eight parts long and very concrete. I have decided to make it more action oriented this time. Well, actions are rendered implausible and in fact impossible without emotions, so there will definitely be an exploration of that as well. However, compared to my other stories, this one will be fast and focused. Hope you guys will like it. Do let me know what you thought of it.

Love,

 Srija :)