Arhi FF, Chamkili. Ch-11, 'It's All in the Past.'

                                    
                                       It's All In The Past...

When Khushi finally arrived home, it was quite late and she was glad that no one was there for if Nani or Anjali would have been there, there would have been an array of concerned questioned and had Mami been there, some inbhestigation would have followed, and presently she was in mood for neither. And as for her husband, well what did she expect from him, that he would stay there even after she shouted at him, that he would mollycoddle her, grovel even, if need be. Her husband was one Arnav Singh Raizada and he didn’t grovel. Her head had been on the verge of bursting with all the personal and professional troubles and so she decided to make herself some ginger tea. With that in mind she moved towards the kitchen, not wanting to disturb Hari Prakash for her own selfish reasons. But as soon as she reentered the drawing room, she could hear some faint musical notes floating in the air around her. And forgetting about the tea for the moment, she made her way in the direction of the song instead.

She found herself standing outside the guest-room, the door was shut, not locked though and she stood there wondering what the social protocol was in such situations. The musical notes were in some foreign language, probably English so she didn’t really understand the lyrics. What she did understand however, was that those notes vibrated with sadness… melancholy even. The only words she could catch sounded something like cats…moon…dad…son… what kind of a song was this, the jumble of words made no sense to her and yet she felt like she understood it. In that moment, she knew who was behind those closed doors and so without hesitating for another second she pushed the doors and there he was… a lost little boy… fighting his demons… all by himself. She knew what it felt like; she had fought that war almost all her life.

He was still oblivious to her presence and she wasn’t sure how to approach him, the similarities that he shared with her Arnavji or even the simple fact that he was just a kid, didn’t give her any lead right now. And so she just stood there, quietly listening as the high notes of that foreign song attempted to and yet failed to drown his soundless hiccups.  ‘Where was his mother?’ she wondered, ‘Weren’t mother’s supposed to feel their child’s pain from anywhere, making a mockery of all those cartographers who attempted to draw borders across the face of earth? She still believed that her parents, though worlds apart were still with her, every step of the way. Then why was Aarav, whose mother was so close to him, so helpless… so alone?’ 

Khushi felt her frustration rising at her helplessness, her inability to cure this broken child and her anger at her husband knew no bounds.

“Where the hell is she?” Arnav Singh Raizada felt his frustration mounting as soon as he entered the room and figured out that his arch nemesis, who also happened to be his lover, was nowhere to be found.  He had been on an edge for quite some time now and all the frustration could just burst out any moment now. But just when he was about to shout for her, he heard her foot-steps behind him.  Facing the door he assessed her from some distance for a while. She seemed lost somewhere, unaware of his presence and that frustrated him all the more. How could she be so unaware of him when he could feel her every pulse as if it were his own.  Insecurity… no such blatant insecurity had never been such a defining feature of his existence until Khushi and ofcourse he hated her for making him feel like that.

His nails were digging his palm as he fisted those into tight balls. And the next moment he was right beside her.

Khushi jerked out of her thought and let out a shocked gasp as she felt someone roughly pull at her arm… and ofcourse who else could it be. She wondered why she felt even that momentarily shock at such rough pulls and grabs now, even after being the sole recipient of such callous roughness for more than a year now. 

“Where were you, I was waiting near your office all this time and then you don’t even have the courtesy to inform me when you left?” Arnav said in a dangerous tone.

“Courtesy?” Khushi looked at his hand that had held her upper arm in an almost painful grasp and then let out a small wry laugh before continuing, “Who asked you to wait for me? I didn’t.”

“And since when do I take orders from you?” Arnav wasn’t going to back out either.

Khushi let out another dry laugh, ‘Men… such fickle creatures they were, in one moment of passion and pleasure you become the centre of their universe… nah… their entire universe and in another they disregard your very existence.’ But she didn’t utter these words, for her motive right now was not to rile her husband up… No, she actually wanted to talk to him.

“Aarav seems a little upset today, I was wondering when Sheetalji would be coming back.” Khushi said her tone emotionless. She saw a flicker of concern cross his eyes but the steel was back in a blink.

“I do not want to talk about Aarav or Sheetel and you know that very well.”

“What do you want to talk about?” She said trying to jerk his hand away from her arms.

“About us and you know that very well. Khushi I… I” he stammered a bit, trying to figure out what would be the right thing to say here. But he was cut short by Khushi.

“I think you should go and talk to Aarav…” and before she could finish Arnav continued,

“Khushi, today… in your office I don’t know…”

“… after all both of you seem to share a special connection…” the fire in his eyes burned brighter than before.

“…I don’t know what happened to me… I mean lavanya had told me that…” Khushi had seen the warning in his eyes and yet chose to ignore it.

“I think we should maybe call Sheetal ji and find out when she’ll be able to come…” and the next moment she found herself suffocating between two solid walls… the cemented on at her back and the steely muscular one pushed against her chest, almost painfully pressing her breasts.

“Khushi!”

 “Khushi stop this madness this moment, okay.” she stilled, still locked in his arms.

“Khushi I knew… I mean Lavanya had told me… that you didn’t want… that you wanted…” Arnav found himself at a loss of words. How was he supposed to justify or even explain his action after accepting that he knew about her choice and still didn’t respect it?

“When has it ever mattered?” he heard her voice, low and distant. He shivered, but this dampness had nothing to do with November.

“When has it ever mattered Arnavji… what I choose, what I want. It has never meant anything, not to you… not to anyone else.” His hold on her arms slacked, not letting her go but also not really holding on to her. No one spoke for a while. Both felt that cold dampness spreading… the silence multiplying… breeding… feeding on that sickening dampness. But he wouldn’t let it defile their relationship.

“Khushi please listen to me. See I know what you wanted and believe me, when I first reached there I had that in mind. I… I hadn’t planned on revealing your relationship with me. But then when I saw you… and him… I… I just don’t know what happened…” he was cut short once again as his phone started ringing right that moment.

“You should take that, it might be something important.” said Khushi, but he had already disconnected the call.

“Khushi, I want to talk about what happened today, please let Me.” he had started to lose his patience now. She stayed silent and he continued.

“Khushi, when I saw you with him, I don’t know what happened to me… you know, right, you of all people know what it dos to me, seeing you with someone else.”

“Ofcourse I should know, I am your wife after all and its my duty to understand you, to fulfill your desires and to cater to your needs, oh and how could I forget, to follow your orders as well, right Mr. Raizada? But what about you? Why is it that you don’t have to fulfill any of these duties, that you are not answerable to me as I am to you?” Arnav stood there quietly listening to all her complains. It was good, better than her silence ofcourse, this was his Khushi, the one who fought her own battles.

“Why is it that an innocent crush that I had on someone as a kid disturbs you so much that you can not tolerate the sight of that person, even for a second and yet I am expected to happily live under the same roof with your old flame, who now means nothing to you? Must I remind you that I am not the one with a string of lovers in my past? Have you thought about me, about how insecure and how unsubstantial I feel in front of those faceless Shreyas and Cindys.”

“Is that what all this is about, Sheetal?”

“It’s not about Sheetalji or Samayji or anyone else Arnavji, its never been about anyone but us. I love you Arnavji, I trust you with my entire being, why can’t you love me… trust me the same way? What have I done so wrong? Why must you always punish me? What have I done to deserve this?”

“Khushi, I…” 

“I don’t have it in me Arnavji... not anymore. Please I cannot go through all that once again.” she saw guilt on his face and continued.

“We have been through all this before… you accusing me of having an affair, you blemishing my character, the hatred in your eyes and the venom in your words, I survived it once Arnavji, but I don’t have it in me anymore. The cracks have still not healed and if you put me through all that once again I’ll break, I… I won’t be able to survive it. Please Arnavji… Please.” and she broke into uncontrollable sobs as Arnav hugged her to himself. He stood there, holding her, trying and then failing at gathering the broken pieces of his wife’s heart. There were very few moments when his wife’s Herculean spirit crumbled… when her vulnerability blatantly stared him in his face and what he hated more than anything was to be the reason for all this. He wanted to whisper soothing words in her ear but words failed him. He wanted to run soothing circles on her back but his hands seemed paralyzed. And so he just stood there, a broken woman in his arms… his broken woman in his arms.

 ‘Why did she decide on coming here… what did she expect to find or rather who?’ Anjali Singh Raizada was harassed by a multitude of questions as she entered the campus of Ramjas, her college. Memories, from what seemed like another era, invaded her, hunting through the dusty corners of her mind. Most of those memories weren’t pleasant and she was glad that they were nothing more than occasional visitors now. For who would want to remember seeing humiliating pity in every single eye, hateful sympathy in every single gesture and that demeaning compassion that one shows towards an unequal, secretly feeling glad that you are not in their place. She was pretty sure that like those pity-filled eyes were the only thing she still remembered about her companions, her limp would be the only thing that they remembered about her. She wasn’t Arnav Singh Raizada’s sister then, no she was just the girl with a limp, she was pretty sure that’s how her batch-mates would recall her.

She had often wondered in thee last few weeks if that was the reason that she fell for the charms of Shyam Manohar Jha, the man who saw beyond her limp. The man who saw or at least pretended to see the woman, not the limp, not the name, not the past, nothing but the woman that she desired to be… nah, that she was… for he was not the only one… and with that thought the dustiest recess of her mind saw some light again. Just like our eyes lose all sense of sight when suddenly exposed to light after being suspended in darkness for a long time, similarly the images that came rushing back to her now seemed blurry… disjointed… formless… fragmented… surreal almost and for the first time in years she didn’t try to push them back. The memories were hers and she was now ready to claim her rights on the same… even though he…

“Anjali Singh Raizada?” a familiar voice stopped her in her track.

A funny thing about long forgotten memories, sometimes they are better as just that… memory.

It had taken some time and a lot of cajoling and soothing but he finally been able to put her to sleep. And now that he looked at her calm visage, he felt a little at peace, finally. But sleep eluded him, there were a few things that Arnav Singh Raizada could not handle and Khushi’s tears had topped the list for quite a while now. He had seen today that just how broken and insecure she was. How could he have missed on all the signs, now that he though of it all those little, wordless gestures blatantly stared him in his face and in all her unspoken words he could hear her restlessness, her insecurity, her fear. Realization had finallt struck, but that was not the end, hell it was not a Greek tragedy that was bound to end in destruction. He was Arnav Singh Raizada, and though a little late this time, he still knew that he would get things under his control and that too very soon. He dialed a number on his cell,

“Aman, I need you to do something for me and it’s not work related.”

Lots of love

Srija :)

Arhi FF: Tangent Worlds. Ch-6.

                                  TANGENT WORLDS                                                                  Chapter-6
                               Some Unrevealing...s

Khushi felt the continuous piercing gaze on her back. She was scared and angry... but she was also alone, hence she decided to work on the scared part, leaving out the anger part for now. She thus decided to move from there, but the gaze though giving her goose-bumps was strangely... warm... and she couldn't stop herself as she turned her head slightly... her eyes for some unknown reason halting on a black suit clad figure some distance from her... He had his back towards her and seemed to be talking to a saree clad figure standing in front of him. Khushi felt a strong urge to know who this woman was, and so forgetting all about her fallen luggage or her very inelegant posture, she craned her neck further to catch a glimpse of the woman who stood secure under the shadow of the tall, black suit clad man. But that was hardly required, for the very next second he bent down and a dark-rough-skinned middle-aged woman, elegantly wrapped in a cheap seeming saree came in view. Well, the adjective cheap was relative actually, for the man with her, who was at the moment touching her feet, looked every bit as expensive as the Rolex of his wrist-watch, Armani of his suit and Prada of his shoes. The staring could have gone on for quite a while, but the woman smiling down at the man, frowned slightly and then her dark eyes locked with her hazel ones. Khushi turned back embarrassed at being caught blatantly peeking and stumbled once again, but getting herself and her things together this time she all but ran towards the exit.

Arnav heard the loud stumbling, hurried ruffling and some supposedly hushed mumbling behind him, and was instantly reminded of the lass in red. He turned back, wanting to catch a glance of what lay behind the fiery red and gold shawl, but all he glimpsed was a black slithering snake erupting from within the all-consuming flames, as the woman ran towards the exit as if chased by the hounds of hell.  He was bewildered at that bizarre need he felt to wrap that black shiny snake around his skin and feel its texture. And that need in him was strong... very strong, really strong, like gravity almost... pulling a stray drop of rain, directing its course, deciding its destiny. Bizarre, isn't it?

"Arnav bhaiya!" the happy chirping voice demanded his attention, as if it was her fundamental right, and he gave it to her because it really was. A rare honest smile graced his lips as he ruffled her curls.
"How was your vacation Palak?" Arnav asked the chirpy kid.
"It was great Arnav Bhaiya, I did so much masti. No no, actually it was also a little boring, you see there were so many people there and I didn't know anyone but they were all very nice and they all knew me. Amma said, they were all our family but they were so many I haven't seen such a big family ever. But the wedding was fun. The bride was so pretty, fair and all dressed up and oh, red is now my favorite color. But the groom wasn't very nice and not at all handsome, not like you or Aakash bhaiya. He was black as coal, poor Kuhu di, she is so pretty... But then I am also black as coal and you know all the kids down there teased me and called me Kali Ma, and most of all that irritating Jagiya..."

"Breathe bitiya breathe, your Arnav bhaiya is not going any where." her mother said smilingly when Palak showed no sign of stopping in the near future.

"Okay bhaiya I'll tell you rest of the story at home." she smiled at Arnav Bhaiya.
"So there is more to it?" Arnav said with a teasing glint in his eyes, something reserved exclusively for his doll and she made a face at it. He gave her an indulgent smile and then led them towards the car park.
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"Hmmh, yehi natija hota hai zyada angrezi batiyane ka." muttered the woman in bright magenta saree, as she reentered the front lawn.
"Aree Bahenji, I heard some gossip, but is it true?" a woman in peacock-blue saree asked in a hushed voice.
"Aree what did you expect, where the elder goes, the younger follows, aur kya." the pink saree woman sported the look of the worldly wise.
"Guptaji's elder daughter you mean? But didn't she die in some accident in Delhi, a few months ago?"
"I'll believe she's dead when I see her dead-body. Kaun jaane kahan muh kala kiya hai ki apne parivaar wale bhi sab palra jhad rahe hai. AH! looks can be so deceiving, who could have ever thought that the ever shy and quiet Payaliya would bring shame to her family. And their younger one, hey bhagwaan, she was born a tornado, what better could you expect."
By then their high-pitch-hushed voices had managed to gather a little crowd. Well isn't a bite of juicy gossip better than the juiciest of sausages at such gatherings.
"What are you talking about Bhabhi ji?" enquired a round bellied man in a Bhagalpuri silk kurta.
"Aree wo dulhan bhaag gayi, aur kya." replid the woman in magenta.
"Kya?" several voices echoed all at once. The news spread in a flash and soon there were people assembling in big and small groups, like a pack of wolves gathering around the carcass of the dead, staking their claim on the bits and pieces of its bloodied flesh... feeding and flourishing...cold-blooded... un-caring... unflinching even.

Society in its complete glory!'  Sumeet entered the front-lawn and grimaced as the casual callous bitterness hit him right in his throat, he had an urge to throw-up... without the natural sweetness of his life, without his Khushi, how was he ever going to swallow even a single slice of life. His shoulders slumped, he felt tired, the kind of tired one feels after experiencing every minutest detail of each and every micro second of heart-break... the tiredness one feels from holding on to that last bit of a shredded almost non-existent thread, that you know you should let go of and yet you don't, you can't... the tiredness of knowing and yet pretending to not know... of feigning hope to even yourself. But now was not the time, a lot had to be done, he would rest later, after all somewhere in his heart he knew that this tiredness was going to last through his life.
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Khushi stepped out of the station, struggling with her luggage and trying to take out the paper with the exact address of her current accommodation when out of no where she was swarmed with a flood of auto-walas and taxi-walas. She stood there shocked and harried with no idea of how to handle the situation and the fact that these were all strangers and men and some were very strange men didn't help either.

"Madamji auto karlo"
"Kahan jaana hai madam"
"Aree madam taxi karlo."

"Bhaiyaji, South Campus chalenge?" she tried hiding the nerves that were threatening to drown her that very moment.
"Haan haan madamji change na" one of the auto guys answered.
"How much?"  she didn't really know what to expect.
"Bas 450, madamji." even her grossly exaggerated thought process couldn't have imagined that.
"Kya?" she almost let out an involuntary shriek. "Leave it bhaiyaji I'll ask someone else."
And yet a few minutes later she was still standing with auto and taxi-walas surrounding her, asking 400 and 500 bucks for the ride and for someone who could have booked a taxi for the entire day, visiting very nook and corner of Lucknow in barely 300, this was unimaginable and ofcourse unethical.
"Madamji, come with me, I'll drop you there in just 100 rupees." a slightly dark, burly man approached her.
"Hmm!" this was getting weirder with every passing minute. But the taxi driver didn't give her another minute to process things as he just got hold of her luggaege and gave it pull. Khushi was still in two minds, the scale dripping more towards accepting the ride though.

"Tell me you are not THAT stupid!" she heard someone hiss, a force pull at her and losing her stand at the abruptness of it, she lost her footing, which was already quite precarious with that burly man in the process of pulling her luggage from her hand, and fell face forward. She anticipated the fall, the collision with the hard-cold ground, the pain that followed and the public humiliation that more often than not tagged along. But to her utter shock, none came. Well, she did feel something solid underneath her, but it wasn't cold... and what was that sound, that rhythm? After days of restlessness, she felt tired and this rhythm, this almost musical beat was now lulling her to relaxation, pulling her to sleep and covering her with a pleasant, aromatic haze. She felt someone lift that warm haze off of her face; she could feel the rough yet warm touch of something skimming through her facial plane. She felt too lethargic to open her eyes, the haze was too comfortable to let go of. And then out of nowhere she shivered, that slightly roughened touch was somewhere down the slope of her neck, the newness of that intense pleasure robbed her of her breath. The rhythm of her own thudding heart brought her back to reality. Reality had never been so gloriously destructive, Khushi Kumari Gupta had an epiphany then, this was the visual manifestation of sublime... yes that was it... those eyes, those stormy orbs staring right into her soul.
"J..J..Jii?" Khushi blinked her eyes, unable to comprehend the situation, both his accusation and her reaction. But the accuser seemed just as dumbfounded as her. What was he looking at, Khushi wondered and what was that look. The slightly darkened patch of skin around his eyes resembled a bank or maybe a muddy beach shaded under the shadows of his long lashes and the centre of it all, the centre of her universe in this bizarre moment, probably on some parallel timeline, his eyes. Those fathomless oceans of coffee or maybe sepia, ah! the aesthetically pleasing miniscule differences of colors seemed outrageously frustrating to Khushi at the moment. She craned her neck a little, pulling her face further closer to his eyes for a more concentrated inspection, desperately wanting to know the exact color of those murky oceans.
The spell was broken then. The moment she had craned her neck, twisting awkwardly in his tight grasp to get closer to him, looking deeper into his eyes, a slight frown marring the planes of her forehead, as if she was trying to read his eyes... read him and there was nothing scarier for Arnav Singh Raizada than someone trying to figure him out... someone who knew him and as he glimpsed a tiny shred of understanding in her eyes, he was jolted out of the warm, strangely familiar haze that seemed to have enveloped the two of them. He straightened himself, righting her in the process.
She was gawking at him, with no idea of anything whatsoever. And, finally in control of himself, he gave a slight push to this despicable... beautiful... no absolutely despicable... enchantingly beautiful creature in front of him. What the f**k was wrong with him', he mused. She let out a shocked yelp at that abrupt and according to her completely uncalled for push, bewildered at what she had done to deserve the verbal and physical lashing that she was getting now and that too by some strange man, whom she didn't know and who probably didn't know her. But then it struck her...
"Could it be?" she mumbled under her breath.
"Where the hell do you think you are going?" his voice was steely, opaque and so were his eyes, completely devoid of the penetrable depth that she had witnessed just a while ago.
"Hey Devi maiya!" she was sure now, his question had confirmed all her doubts. Ofcourse, how could she not see, he was one of his father's men, and they had found her already? What was she going to do now? She hadn't even started with her search yet and she had already been caught.
"Raksha karna Devi Maiya." She called her guardian deity for help and did the first thing she could think of... Twice in the same day, she ran for her life. Longer legs and quick reflexes, however, gave her pursuer immense advantage over her and twice in the same day Khushi Kumari Gupta was caught before she could actually flee. His tight steely grasp binding her, bruising her and... branding her...
"What the f**k are you trying to do? What was this stunt for?" Arnav was genuinely amazed and excessively annoyed at this strange woman in front of him.
"Dekhiye hum chilayenge." Khushi gave her aggressor a fair warning... though her staggering voice didn't make it sound as threatening as she would have wanted.
"Aacha! Chillao." He said simply, not a single dip or rise in his tone.
"Choriye hamen... D..dekhiye h..um sach mein chilaenge." She warned him again, though the threat seemed as convincing as Harry Potter without Voldermot.
"Chillao." He hissed.
"See, I am telling you right in the beginning, don't try to force me, hum Lucknow nahi Aayenge." She said with some steel in her voice, finally.
"Kya?" Arnav was dumbfounded once again.
"yes, you heard me, you'll not be able to take me back to Lucknow, I will shout and gather everyone around and then they'll all beat you to..."
"What the f**k are you on about? Why would I take you to Lucknow? Hell! Why would I take you anywhere?" both were at a loss of word because of the strangeness of the situation now. Khushi was the first to figure out that there was some miscommunication and that she was safe for now... Probably.
"Then what were you yelling at me for? What do you want from me?" she asked, completely confused now.
"Well, I was just trying to take the measure of your idiocy." He said matter of factly and it was the plainness of his tone that affected her more than what he said.
"Ji!" her eyes were huge as saucers.
"Were you really going to take his cab?" he asked in all seriousness.
"Ji?" she was still unable to comprehend anything. Did she hit her head somewhere recently?' she wondered.
"Are you really so dim-witted as to actually hire his cab?"
"Wha..." but he didn't let her finish.
"Didn't it occur to you as to why would someone offer you their services for less than half of the normal rate?"  he was genuinely intrigued by her apparent naivety now.
"Ji wo..." what was she to say now. Well ofcourse she had acted very foolishly and worst of all she had acted without thinking.
"This is Delhi you know, not More's Utopia." He had said it in a flow but then he wondered if this girl clad in bright salwar-suit and with that lost look on her face would actually get what he was implying. But the recognition in her eyes told him, she did. And to his utter frustration, this bewildered him all the more. She knew about Thomas More but lacked basic commonsense?' he thought astounded.
"Come, I'll drop you to your destination." The absolute surety of his tone brooked no argument and the way he tugged at her hand, pulling her with him left no space for even its possibility.
But, there was only so much that Khushi could take and this strange man had crossed that line long ago. HOW DARE HE!' she heard a roar somewhere inside her and in that moment, neither commonsense nor common-courtesy mattered. Everyone and everything ceased to exist in this parallel universe that had just the two of them and boiling hot rage... loads and loads of it. She'll show him!'
Arnav Singh Raizada was not used to resistance. He ALWAYS got his way. Hence, the magnitude of shock he felt when he felt resistance from her was very new and almost incomprehensible for him.  He frowned and then turned back coming face to face with a fuming woman...
"So, going with this taxi driver who offered me a relatively cheaper rate was dumb but accepting a free ride in some stranger's car is smart and logical?" And Arnav Singh Raizada was dumbfounded.
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 It must have been pink, a shade brighter than the dull one and a shade duller than the bright one, the just right shade. These niches that ran along the walls of the entire room must have been white on the inside, the plainness of the color emitting an almost sublime light when lit with colorful candles. The ceiling seemed to have been some shade of white, off-white maybe, and right from the centre of it, probably from that huge nail a huge chandelier would have hung. And when the sun would submerge into the horizon, retiring to its chamber after a hard day of work, rejuvenating itself for another, then this palatial figure would have come to life. Incandescent lights peeking from the niches, while hundreds of candles in the various crystal shells of that aesthetically humungous chandelier bathing the environment in its warm glow. It must have been warm then...' but suddenly the cold started to creep inside her as the creaking of the bed hinges filtered through her subconscious and she struggled once again, desperate to drown the noise...

Evenings would have been beautiful and mornings lazy... well, that part of their existence survived the rough hands of time. Well, ofcourse things were different now, the huge chandeliers, the harmonium, the tabla, the music, the dance, the colors, the life... they weren't needed anymore. And to think about it, what were they anyway, mere accessories, useless decorations? Who had any time for such useless garnishing anymore... now they got straight to the meat.'

The sound and rhythm of meat-slapping amplified... breaking the chain of her thoughts, breaking through the protective walls her mind attempted to build her every single time... And then the rhythm ceased, instead the pressure on her shoulders increased, making her bite her lips in an failed attempt to suppress the pain... the sound changed to that of continual grunting... and then finally the wetness... around her thighs and even a little of it on her lower-abdomen. That piece of meat invading her body finally withdrew, slumped and satisfied. She just lay there as he got off her and laid by her side for a little while... but time was running short, after all  he had purchased her for two hours only and her boss was pretty strict about timings... now didn't they say that time was everything.' She just laid there as he dressed and before leaving he leered at her naked body once again, and then as if unable to stop himself, squeezed her breasts... she felt the pain and wanted to shout but she knew he owned her for about three more minutes and being a modern day corporate man that he was, a CEO of a relatively newer foundation at that, he knew the worth of every second and every penny. She saw an animal in him and was afraid that he would bite her, but no... all her fears were ill formed, he knew what the ground-rules were, leave no mark behind'... he was human after all.  

She laid there as he finally left, staring into nothingness. But ofcourse that was too good to last...
"Aree Jhunki, madamji has asked you to get ready, your next customer is already waiting in the hall so, don't bother with bathing right now, just cleat up all the mess and use some perfume. But see to it that not a single sign of your previous engagement remains here when the new client enters. But ofcourse, you already know the rules, it's been a few months since you have been employed here." and with a smile she left the room.

Jhunki got up from the bed and then moved towards the small attached bathroom. As she put her hands on her inner thighs, attempting to wash of the wetness, the bitterness, the pain... she knew it was futile. The conspicuous amount of wetness didn't surprise her anymore... after all that was the one thing that all men wanted to give to her... expecting absolutely nothing in return... for she was sure of one thing... none of that wetness was hers... Jhunki's... or Payal Gupta's.

To be continued...

AN: Hey guys! SO how have you all been? I hope you've all been having loads of fun with the approaching winters. Now to the update, so it been many months since I last updated Tangent Worlds, I am well aware of my mistake and apologize for the same. But at some level I wasn't very sure about whether or not I wanted to take this story forward, lack of much response from my readers being the key factor here. But then I got a few mails wherein people requested be to continue with this story and so I decided that even if I have just one reader I'll write for that one reader and of-course for me, because I love writing and this story in particular is very close to my heart. So, the updates would be fairly regular from now on and I do hope that some of you would take some time out and write your thoughts about this story, so as to better help me develop it.
  
PS: Chamkili Update by tonight :)
Lots of love,
Srija

Arhi SS: Chamkili. Part-10, 'The Raizada Men.'

            
So, before I start with the update I want to dedicate this part to my lovely friend on India Forums, Gita, or as she is popularly known, mem1. She was generous enough to write an entire section about my writing on her brilliant thread 'Musings of Arnav Singh Raizada' and this dedication is my little way to express my gratitude for all this free publicity :) Love you dear :)

                   The Raizada Men!

“Okay Mr. Raizada, I understand your frustration but I’d expect a well educated and proficient man like you to respect the professional decorum of my work place.” Dr. Sinha said in a calm voice while looking through the forms that Mrs. Raizada had filled as per the hospital requirements, not even sparing him a single look. And to the credit of the said Mr. Raizada, he had the decency to look visibly embarrassed at his previous conduct. He mumbled a hasty apology that to his further annoyance went unacknowledged.

“Okay, so Mrs. Raizada your form says that you are twenty-three and that you have been married for almost a year now.” Dr. Sinha looked directly at Payal.

“Ji.” she replied softly.

“Hmm! Now I need to ask some questions from you before I proceed with the second level of diagnosis. And these questions are of an intimate nature, so are you comfortable with your husband here or would you prefer some privacy.” Payal looked a little unsure at this and before she could make her mind her husband spoke for her,

“Ofcourse I’ll stay.” Dr. Sinha wondered if she had imagined the hint of panic and vulnerability in his voice.

“Well, it is not your choice to make Mr. Raizada.”

“Ji, I want him to stay.” Payal said trying to defuse the tension that seemed to surround the trio. And her husband did seem a bit relaxed after that.

“Sure.” Dr. Sinha said , her voice still calm, cold and devoid of any sort of emotion. Payal felt a little intimidated by her.

“So, Mrs. Raizada is your menstrual cycle regular?”

“Ji.” Payal replied in a small voice, she knew that they were seeing a gynecologist and these were the most obvious sort of questions to expect and yet she couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable.

“Do you keep track of the dates of your cycle?” and at her patient’s slight nod she further continued, “when did you get your last period?”

“More than three weeks ago.”

“So you are expecting your next cycle somewhere around this or the next week? I see. Do you face any physical discomfort during or around your cycle?” Dr. Sinha asked while taking notes,

“Nothing severe, just slight cramps in my abdomen on the first day.” Payal started feeling a little at ease, probably owing it to her doctor’s professionalism.

“Anything major in the past?” the Dr. Krishna asked.

“No.”

“Okay, so in the initial stages of your marriage were you on any kind of contraceptive medication?” Payal looked a little confused and so the doctor clarified, “birth-control pills?”

“Yes, I used Sronyx for about six months, but I haven’t been taking any medication for the last four-five months. Doctor do you think that these birth control medicines could have had done some permanent damage to…” Payal couldn’t finish, unable to continue for the fear of actually getting an answer.

“See Mrs. Raizada we wouldn’t know anything unless we run some tests but yes continual intake of birth control pills is not a very safe method and one with long-term side-effects. Anyway, no need to panic for now for if taken under correct guidance they are also one of the simpler ways to avoid pregnancy and there are many couples who actually prefer pills to other methods.” she tried to comfort her patient while making her aware of the harsh but no less real medical facts. This had always been Dr. Krishna Sinha’s way, striking perfect balance between sugar-coating and an almost robotic insensitivity.

Aakash tried to soothe his wife, lightly patting her shoulders, while silent sobs rocked her frame despite all her efforts to control them. Their doctor gave them a much required moment before continuing further,

“Look Mrs. Raizada we should not arrive at any conclusion for now, lets just wait until your tests are done. Please don’t worry sometimes these things take a little more time than normal and even if there is some complication we will try our best to find a way around it.” she smiled at Payal and received a forced teary one in return. She gave Aakash a list of prescribed tests as they stood up and he shook her hand thanking her, but they were halted in their process of leaving as Dr. Sinha further added,

“Oh Mr. Raizada, here are some prescribed tests for you as well. Please get these done as soon as possible.”

Aakash looked at the prescription, a look of bafflement on his face, while his wife’s face mirrored the same.

“Well doctor I think there is some sort of misunderstanding, our appointment concerns my wife only.”

“Oh! Okay so have you been seeing some other doctor?”

“About What?” a look of utter bewilderment crossed his face.

“About this… this right here.” Doctor Sinha said showing him the prescription still in her hand, before adding further,

“Mr. Raizada, you do realize that there is a 50% likelihood of you being the physically inadequate one, right?” the frustration finally showed on her face following his ridiculous behavior. Aakash knew better than to argue at this point. He quietly took the papers from her hands and they were about to leave when once again Dr. Krishna’s voice stopped them.

“Oh! Also I have mentioned a site on the prescription, I’d request you to visit the site for you can find some brilliant advice on dietary and other such factors that effect fertility. And one last question, now though many people are oblivious to this but many a times, inability to reach mutual climax could affect fertility. Now in case of men it is relatively easier to both attain and decipher it, but female sexuality is relatively much complicated. So I hope both of you do share a mutually satisfying physical relationship?” she looked at the couple questioningly while they stared at each other for a moment before stuttering their answer,

“Yes.” claimed Aakash.

“Ji.” his wife followed the suit.

While they left the cabin, Dr. Krishna Sinha was left wondering if she saw a look of confusion in their eyes for just a second there…
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“Good Lord! Is that Arnav Singh Raizada?” Samay’s eyes zeroed on the tall, handsome man sitting opposite his boss, continuously staring in their direction. His colleague who had just straightened herself and was about to thank him for breaking her fall stood frozen there for a moment as she heard his excited whisper. Finally collecting herself she followed Samay’s gaze, hoping against hope that just maybe… just maybe Samay had made some mistake… And yet the next moment she found herself staring into a pair of deep brown eyes, glowing… glowing with something that… that gave way to a not very comfortable, fluttering in her stomach.

“I don’t know if you know this but he is like the LeBron James of the Indian fashion industry.” Samay whispered again. But all his comments and compliments fell on deaf ears for Khushi stared unblinkingly as her lover stood up and straightened his coat. She knew that look… it spelled disastrous trouble for her. Oblivious to all else, she saw her tormentor take measured steps in her direction. She had seen that graceful walk enough number of times to know that in that instant he was the embodiment of Devil himself. Her breath got stuck somewhere in her throat as her husband stood less than a foot from her.

“Are you alright?” he asked her in a gentle voice. Nothing out of normal about his question or his tone, it seemed just a gentlemanly gesture and yet Khushi knew better than to override her instincts that screamed at her to just disappear. Arnav Singh Raizada the passionate lover and the possessive husband not reacting to the sight of his Khushi in someone else’s arms was just too good to be true.

“And thank you Mr.?” Arnav looked directly at Samay questioningly and yet Khushi could clearly see signs of recognition in his eyes.

“Joshi. Samay Joshi. It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Raizada.” he held out his hand for Arnav, before further adding,

“And what exactly are you thanking me for?” Samay asked a little doubtful of what he might hear, after all the elder Raizada was quite famous for his cynicism.

But Khushi knew. She was one hundred percent sure of what would follow and yet she hoped and prayed with all her heart that she was wrong. After all Lavanya did say that she had already told him that she didn’t want anyone at KaLa to know…

“Oh, for saving her, Khushi here. You do know that she is Khushi .Singh .Raizada, right? My . Wife.” and all her hopes of him ever understanding her crashed once again as her husband Arnav Singh Raizada staked his claim on her… very conveniently dropping the Kumari Gupta from her name.
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“No, you cannot play in our team.” Anurag, the captain of the Junior Basket Ball league of Faith Academy gave his verdict.

“But why? I qualified in the selection round and the Coach let me in.” Aarav reasoned with his senior.

“Yes Anurag, he got in fair and square.” another kid piped in, while others shook their heads in support of this claim

“No he cannot play with us, my mom said kids from good families like  us should not mix up with such boys. Just ask him his father’s name? Or leave that, just ask him what the SR stands for in his name? Anurag mocked demeaning Aarav.

 “And he calls himself ASR.” Aarav stared at him unblinkingly, his eyes stinging due to all the effort he was putting in to block the flow.

“So ASR , do you know what kids like you are called in our society or should I spell it out for you.” Anurag said menacingly. Aarav wanted to run from there, to hide somewhere so that no one could ever find him… so that no one would call him that one thing that he knew was true about him. But no, he was ASR and he wouldn’t let out these insecurities, even at barely nine his pride wouldn’t let him. And so he did not run or hide, he just stood there staring at him. The other kids had also made their distance from him, in fact some had actually taken a few steps back.

Anurag blinked his eyes, while Aarav maintained his cold stare, finally forcing his senior to look elsewhere. He then kicked the ball, catching it and then finally throwing it towards the hoop. It fell right into it. Truly saying, it wasn’t really a very difficult or heroic shot, like in the movies but making it right did mean a lot to him. He then took slow steps towards the exit of the playground, convincing himself for the nth time in his life that it didn’t matter, that he didn’t need these guys or anyone else… not even his dad. No, he was fine… because life didn’t give him a choice.
_________________________________

“What the hell was Mr. Singhania thinking? How could he let Khushi work with us and that too on such an important project?” Celina groaned in frustration before continuing further,

“That young witch queen has destroyed his mental faculty, I knew it, I told you that this La bitch would destroy KaLa one day.”

“Celina, there is nothing we can do about it, so why the hell are you even fussing about it. What, are you going to go tell that ageing idiot that his fiancé is a conniving witch?” James tried to reason with her for what felt like the millionth time in the last fifteen minutes and now even the ever cool James showed some signs of irritation.”

“Oh don’t challenge me James, you know I can. And bloody hell I will. What the fuck was he thinking, she is Arnav Singh Raizada’s wife. KaLa’s biggest competitor’s fucking wife! I don’t give a fuck about this Singhania empire but I have bought twenty percent shares of KaLa with all my life’s savings and I cannot afford to lose it.”

“Celina please calm down, we’ll talk to him about it, but not like this, you need to calm down first. Okay listen, you just take the day off and relax. It’s anyway post lunch and we have nothing major lined up for now. Just relax and don’t worry I’ll inform Mr. Singhania.” but Celina didn’t even stop to acknowledge his statement and rushed out of the room, flinging her hand-bag around her shoulder with force. She stepped out, shutting the door behind her and moved towards the main entrance/exit… while the figure standing pressed against the wall near Celina’s cabin held her breath.
________________________________

For the last forty-five minutes, since the moment Arnav Singh Raizada had staked his claim on his possession, her, she had stayed locked in a stall in the ladies room, hearing to the endless taunts of the each and everyone, who were unaware of her presence. They had all cursed her for trapping a man so out of her league and then had accused her of working as an AR spy at KaLa. Some wondered if Lavanya was also involved in all this, after all she was ASR’s ex-girlfriend. In fact some even claimed to have heard Lavanya and Khushi talking about taking over KaLa.

Khushi dragged herself towards her cabin,  Koyal’s taunts still ringing in her ears. Celina’s accusations felt like a sharp slap across her face, and the sting was still there. Lost and unfocused she entered her cabin and was further distressed by the sight of her egoistic fool of a husband standing against her desk.

“What the hell Khushi! Where were you? I looked for you all over the place, I even called home to check and Lavanya is still looking around in the office.” Arnav came next to her in a flash and berated her for her childish behaviour.

“Did you have anything important you wanted to talk about Mr. Raizada, for you seem to have created a ruckus over not finding me?” she said in a flat businesslike voice.

“Khushi why are you acting like this? I was worried about uyou.” his hands reached out to cup her face, but she took a step back just then.

“See Mr. Raizada, if there is nothing work related you want to talk about, I suggest we wait until this evening.” and saying so she turned back, only to be pulled in her husband’s embrace as he locked the door and pushed her against it, pushing his body against hers, staring deep into those pools of hazel. She didn’t push him and didn't make any other physical attempt at distancing herself from him. But the very next moment he was thrown off-guard as once again her flat cold voice pierced his ears and then his heart…

“Okay Mr. Raizada, I understand your frustration but I’d expect a well educated and proficient man like you to respect the professional decorum of my work place.”

__________________________________-

To Be Continued…

Author's note: hey guys, so how was this? Comments and criticisms are always welcomed, in fact they keep me going. Oh and this is not it, there is a little surprise for you guys here, a peek into a one shot that I am working on, will probably update it in like two three days, tab tak ek jhalak...

On a Highway to Hell…

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 and all those people who advocated knowledge were bloody sadists. Well whatever, she had seen the light and there was no going back now. Kushi Gupta had made a deal with the Devil himself…

How was it guys? Do lemme know what u thought of it. And for now I shall take my leave.

Toodles

Srija :)

Arhi SS, Chamkili: Faces.

                          FACES        
Chamikili:

Arnav Singh Raizada

Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada

Anjali Singh Raizada

Aakash Singh Raizada

Payal Singh Raizada

Devyani Singh Raizada {Nani}

Manorma Singh Raizada {Mami}

Lavanya Kashyap

Sheetal Kapoor

Aarav

Samay Joshi

James Potter

Celina Goldsmith

Dr. Krishna Sinha

Hey guys do let me know what you thought of these characters, specificaly the new ones. And yes, as more characters come along I'll keep adding those to the list.