~
You're somewhat of a fantasy to me. The deep brown in your eyes, all the peculiar little freckles. It's something like a dream to think about, like a memory from a far off place. - Madeline L'Engle
~
~
"Come on! Hurry up!" He shouted as he jumped in then extended his hand out towards her, whilst Khushi could only manage to to stare back at him dumbfounded, actually unable to move from the spot. Everything was happening so fast, too fast and she wasn't able to make sense of any of it. How did he know about this place? The latch under the rug? Even back then, all of those years ago only the owner and the both of them had known about it, so how did he? She gulped back the sudden shock, bits and pieces coming together suddenly. The fresh flowers at the gravestones, the familiar back of a person as they walked away, the familiarity she felt around him, the fact that even though he was a stranger she seemed to feel safe with him around and then his eyes, those melted chocolate eyes. She needed to know who he was. Could he? She dared not think about it, not sure how that would make her feel, not sure what that would mean. She was still lost in thought when he yanked on her arm and she fell in. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the fall, waited for her body to hit the ground, for the pain to come. But it didn't, she felt someones fingers on her waist, a tight hold around her and slowly opened her eyes, only to be momentarily dazzled by his melted chocolate spheres. She stared at them for a minute, her eyes wide when she noticed the rage in his features.
He growled at her with his anger reaching it's peak. Who was this girl and what the hell was wrong with her? He put her down then abruptly as she continued to stare at him. "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you out to get yourself killed?!" He screamed through gritted teeth, his nostrils flaring with anger.
She stared at him for a few more seconds, her thoughts haywire. Who was this man? She needed to find out. She took a step towards him then as he continued to stand his ground, glaring at her with distaste all the while.
"Wh...What's your name?" She mumbled, her voice small and quiet, still lost in that daze that she had entered only minutes before.
He looked at her confused then, his brows scrunching together. "What?" He questioned, not quite able to understand what she was getting at.
"What's your name?" She asked again, her voice a little louder this time as she scrutinised his features, her large hazel eyes inquisitive.
He blinked several times, faltering at the sudden turn in the conversation, then recovered quickly. "I don't think that's important," he mumbled, his eyes flitting through the features of her face all the while. Why did she suddenly want to know his name? His brows scrunched together in confusion as he watched her completely taken aback.
"Yes it is," she whispered to herself and he unconcsciously took a step closer to hear what she had said. She looked up at him suddenly, hazel orbs clashing against melted choclolate spheres once more. "Yes it is!" She stated, her voice a lot louder this time.
"Excuse me?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow, the astonishment clear in his face.
"I need to know your name, I need to know who you are," she stated again, her voice confident as she looked straight into his eyes.
"You're unbelievable!" He exclaimed throwing his arms back and taking a step away from her. "There are men after you! We are hiding in this godforsaken underground storeroom and you are concerned about my name?!" He exclaimed, unable to comprehend what was wrong with her.
And that's when it hit her again suddenly, releasing her of all of the other memories, thoughts coursing through her. Wy she was here exactly. People were after her, people that she did not know and she was to get out of Lucknow? She was to go back to Delhi? Tonight? None of this was making any sense and now here she was with a guy she had only met once before and the mystery surrounding him made even less sense. What wa shis name? And how did he know this please. She held onto her head suddenly, a slow throbbing starting at the back of her head, she thought she felt dizzy and her limbs felt weak.
He leaned forward immediately, catching her arm then drew her in closer. "Hey? Hey? Are you okay?" He questioned, waving a hand in front of her face as she blinked her eyes several times, trying to focus. "Shit!" He mumbled to himself, why couldn't he ever be patient? He led her over to a little stool then, sitting her down and bringing his two fingers over her wrist checked for her pulse. "Are you alright? Are you feeling weak?" He questioned then, his voice gentle.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," she dismissed, her voice still quiet and weak, "I just felt a little light-headed that's all," she reassured him, her mind in a distant place.
"Okay, just lay your head on your knees okay?" His voice was soft as he placed his palm on her head and helped her bend over. "Just slowly breathe in and out, you'll be okay," he reassured her. "Have you eaten?" He asked then to which she shook her head, her face hidden between her knees. He pulled out one of the sweets that he kept with him then, a sugar crusted one that he kept for emergencies. Diabetes was definitely not a plus factor when it came to his field of work so he was always cautious. "Here have this, you'll get something in your system," he said moving it infront of her as she slowly lifted her head and extended her arm. He placed it in her palm gently and could feel the depth at which his heart pounded away in his chest as her fingers curled around his, then quickly drew his hand away from her, looking away.
"We'll wait here for a few more minutes, until they go somewhere else then I'll get you back to Delhi," he reassured her as she watched silently, working her way through what he had offered her.
****
"Shit shit shit!" Aman shouted to himself then leaned back against the chair, his arms folded behind his head as he watched Shyam on the screen.
"What is it?" NK shouted from behind him, turning away from a stack of ID card copies that he had been going through.
"Nothing. Just Shyam's mind seems to be occupied by other very weird things," Aman mumbled back, almost as if he was talking to himself.
"Like?" NK questioned, sliding over so that he was behind Aman.
"Nothing much man, just shit that Arnav might want to know about," he replied, not particularly wanting to divulge the information to NK, not needing NK to pull Arnav's leg at the wrong moment again.
"Is it about that Angelica bitch again?" He remarked, not really interested anymore.
"Somethig like that," Aman lied.
"What's up with her anyway? She knows what Arnav does and she could do much better with her life. But she chooses to do that?" NK made a face as he wheeled himself back.
"Well people will always be different," Aman blandly offered. "I guess that's her made up her own life and if I was being honest it's in Arnav's best interests not to interfere."
"What so it's alright for her to sleep with the enemy and even that for money, whilst Arnav goes off and nearly gets murdered by the same man?" NK remarked, the distaste clear in his voice.
"No I didn't mean that. But that's the life Angelica's chosen and this is the life Arnav has," Aman tried to reason out. "To be honest NK I think we should just leave it at that. I mean it's none of our business after all," he stated finally then put on the headphones, indicating that their conversation was now over.
****
Arnav walked over to the far side of the room as Khushi spoke to her buaji.
"What's up?" He asked sliding on his phone.
"Okay, don't get mad," Aman began, causing Arnav to scrunch his brows together in cofusion.
"At?"
"For prying," Aman stated simply, already ready to face the wrath.
"Prying?" Arnav questioned raising an eyebrow as he moved further away, stuffing his other hand in his pocket.
"Well you know what I do, I like to keep track of things and I know that you've been taking a bit of an interest in this chick called Khushi lately," he spoke quickly, as if he was hoping that Arnav wouldn't catch onto half of the things he was saying.
"What?!" Arnav exclaimed.
Aman made a face then, aware that Arnav would not be too happy, but he'd have to tell him what he had found out. "Yeh so anyway, I've not been keeping tabs or anything, just you know keeping an eye out for you," he continued to explain.
"Aman I am not a child! And I'd appreciate it if you didn't spy on my personal life!" Arnav exclaimed, quite clearly apalled by what Aman had just revealed to him.
Aman cringed away from the phone, not really surprised at Arnav's outburst. "Alright alright! Scream at me later. But I have news," he stated hoping that that would calm Arnav down.
Arnav listened quietly on the other end of the phone, his rage not allowing him to say anything more.
"I assume you are listening so I'll begin. Basically Shyam Jha seems to have some sort of interest in Khushi," Aman began as Arnav furrowed his brows in response. So these were Shyam's men that were after her?
"He wants her. He was looking at that picture I was talking about again this morning. The camera won't allow me to zoom in that far. He was talking about getting someone back, someone from his past. I dunno the man was drunk and didn't really seem like he was making much sense. But anyway," he spoke quickly, in the way he always did when he had something to reveal, for fear that otherwise he would forget the details. "This Khushi chick, she's Aakash's fiancees sister, well adopted sister," Aman corrected himself.
"Adopted?" Arnav quickly questioned, something at the back of his mind clicking into place.
"Yes adopted, which possibly explains her weird history," he added, more to himself than to Arnav.
"Weird history?" Arnav questioned again.
"Yeh, it's weird. Well I'll tell you all of that later. Now for this matter, I thought you might want the information quickly since it seemed sort of urgent."
"I'm listening," Arnav stated calmly, his eyes now distant and calculative as he thought through a dozen different things at the one time.
"So yeh, Shyam has asked Aakash to track Khushi down for him and bring her to him."
"So Shyam wants Khushi?" Arnav questioned then, trying to make sense of the story that was being narrated to him at a 100 miles per hour.
"Yes Arnav Shyam wants Khushi and Aakash has sent his men down to Lucknow, which I assume is where you are at the moment," he continued when Arnav cut in abruptly.
"So those are his men?" He pondered to himself, the situation making much more sense now. And then felt that tingling feeling of unease slowly creep up his spine. If they were Shyam's men Khushi was not safe anywhere.
"Which men are his men? Arnav where are you? Arnav? Arnav!" Arnav snapped out of his thoughts again on hearing Aman's urgent voice.
"I'm in Lucknow, with Khushi, in this underground basement place that I know of. There were a group of men after her and I've sort of brought her here. I was thinking of..."
"Wait wait wait! What? Back up for a second! You are with who and you are doing WHAT?!" Aman exclaimed all of a sudden.
"Did you not here me Aman? Do I really need to repeat myself?!" Arnav yelled back, the annoyance in his tone clear.
"Well this is weird! Maybe I should keep tabs on you," he commented then, "so how did this meeting come about? Like?" There was an edge to Aman's voice now.
"Shut up Aman! This is serious. So is she in any way related to Shyam? Or what he does?" Arnav questioned, attempting to plan an escape route but first needing that assurance. If she was working with Shyam he wouldn't help her no matter how much he seemed drawn to her.
"Well the honest answer to that is I don't know, there's such a mystery surrounding her that I can only dig to a certain depth and then my shovel just hits concrete. So I'll have to try something else. But I don't see the possibility," he was thoughtful as he expressed his theories about her. "First off she doesn't seem to be aware of anything that's going on and the events of that party seems to have shaken her."
"What do you mean?" Arnav cut in again.
"Well Aakash has a bad habit of talking to his fiancee on speaker phone," Aman stated rolling his eyes and making a face at the cringeworthy conversation that he had had to listen to, after getting enough information about Khushi he had passed the headphones to NK and let him drown in their puddle of cringe instead. "Oh god that was scarring," he couldn't help but add.
"Okay okay cringey scarring, now what did you find out?" Arnav questioned, quickly running out of patience as he always did.
"Alright alright jeez! I'll tell you!" He moaned making another face, "yeh basically Khushi was sent to Lucknow to stay with her buaji because she was having nightmares, walking about in a daze, seemed lost etc. etc. after that party, so you know I doubt she's connected to him," he finally finished off.
"And you are sure this isn't a trap? That this isn't a ploy that they are employing?" Arnav asked, his mind always only a step away from suspicion.
"Well I'm pretty sure. It would be sort of idiotic to plan something like this plus this Payal chick has a very clean record and so does her parents. I really doubt it," he finished off.
"Alright! I'll deal with things here. Try and find as much as you can about Shyam's future plans, if he's not too occupied with chasing after Khushi of course and then pass that onto me. We need to get a move on or he needs to get a move on. I am not prepared to shoot from his front," with that Arnav cut the phone off.
"How do you know my name?" Her voice was timid, the tremble in it clearly evident as he heard her from somewhere behind him and Arnav's fingers on his phone stilled instantly, his eyes widening, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Shit! The silence that enveloped the room then was almost terrifying, the only clear sound that of the distant drip drip of water. His body straightened and he felt his thoughts go haywire, his heart stammering away in his chest as he attempted to plan an answer through his conflicted thoughts.
Gulping down her fears she took another step towards him, she was already in this mess, might as well find out what was happening before things got worse. "How do you know my name?" She questioned again, her voice a little louder, a little more stable this time.
****
"Sir the crate will arrive in two days. This time the stuff is more clean but was cheaper. But we'll probably have to pay him more the next time," Aakash spoke into the phone confirming the shipment to Shyam.
"Good! I'll meet you at the dock tomorrow, another shipment is coming in but I'll text you the rest of those details," he spoke quietly into the phone, a shrewd smile spreading across his face.
Swivelling around in his chair he cut off the phone then sending his hand underneath the table removed a small square box. Bringing it in front of him he slowly opened it and let his finger run around the edge of the single gold band, the intitals "D" and "S" engraved on the underside of it. Closing it back with a snap he placed it on the desk, his eyes now lingering over the image of Khushi on screen. The similar contours of her face, the large dove-like eyes, rose petal lips, a slow snarl creeped up his face. Years of solitude, of fantasies that had been lost even before they had begun and now he had been offered a chance to live them out and he would whether Khushi liked it or not. Because she looked like the only woman that he had dared to give his heart to and for that he would make her his.
****
"Listen," she began as she stood looking straight into his eyes, her gaze not wavering for a second, his eyes equally intense, refusing to back down. "I need to know. This is already a mess and I'd rather get caught by those men than not know what the hell is going," she didn't shout, she didn't create a scene, in fact her voice was deadly calm and that scared him more than anything else. He watched her with wide eyes, her every action surprising him. "At least tell me your name," she finally finished off, maybe he had found out through Aakash and was just embarrassed to admit to it.
"Like I said, it's not important," he tried dismissing again turning away, "what's important is..."
"No it is important!" She began shouting then and spun him round, glaring into the depths of his eyes. "It is important! I just want to know your name! It's not a difficult question! Not one that you should not be able to answer!" She screamed, waving her arms about, her frustration hitting an all new level.
He grabbed onto her arms then suddenly and she flinched away from his steely grip, his hands tight enough to grind into bone. "Calm down!" He growled through gritted teeth, his caramel orbs boring into her as she stared back in astonishment, in fear.
"Let go of me! You are hurting me!" She squirmed as she struggled in his grip and felt his fingers loosen on her skin. He pushed her away from him, closing his eyes for a second and looking away.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled walking away then turned around to look at her once more, "and it's Hawk, if it's really that important," then turning around began to walk away once more.
She watched him in silence for a few seconds, slightly taken aback by his sudden reaction. "It can't be," she mumbled to herself then, that wasn't a real name, she wanted his real name. "No! I want your real name!" She shouted, hurriedly marching down towards him when he suddenly turned back round, his face cold and deatached as he glared at her.
"That's all you are getting! Now just leave me the fuck alone and let me think of a way of getting us out of here!" He exclaimed then turning around dialed Aman's number, his face a mask of anger and frustration.
****
Khushi sat in the passenger side of the car, her thoughts distant, occasionally watching him from the corner of his eyes. She didn't say much out of fear that he would snap at her again and her legs hurt from sitting in the same position for hours but she kept quiet, even within the small period of time she had spent with him having figured out that he had a flaring temper. She let the pieces fall together in her mind and now that she had for the first time in life actually begun to think it through everything was automatically beginning to make sense.
She let her mind wander back to the fresh white flowers, placed on all four gravestones right on the day of their death anniversary. Her mind suddenly flashed back to her first meeting with him; mesmerising pools of melted chocolate brown eyes, familiar, slightly distant, deadly floating over a sea of calm. She stole another glance towards him, he drove with his jaw set, his eyes steely, his grip on the steering wheel a little too tight and she tried to breathe as lightly as possible. Why hadn't she pondered these thoughts before? He was alive she was sure of it; the two missing bodies, the fresh flowers, the familiar back, this could be the only explanation. He was alive and she was possibly sitting next to him...
A few hints have been dropped ;). See if you can figure anything out :P. Next chapter: huge revelation! So comment! And I'll get it up asap ;) xx
He growled at her with his anger reaching it's peak. Who was this girl and what the hell was wrong with her? He put her down then abruptly as she continued to stare at him. "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you out to get yourself killed?!" He screamed through gritted teeth, his nostrils flaring with anger.
She stared at him for a few more seconds, her thoughts haywire. Who was this man? She needed to find out. She took a step towards him then as he continued to stand his ground, glaring at her with distaste all the while.
"Wh...What's your name?" She mumbled, her voice small and quiet, still lost in that daze that she had entered only minutes before.
He looked at her confused then, his brows scrunching together. "What?" He questioned, not quite able to understand what she was getting at.
"What's your name?" She asked again, her voice a little louder this time as she scrutinised his features, her large hazel eyes inquisitive.
He blinked several times, faltering at the sudden turn in the conversation, then recovered quickly. "I don't think that's important," he mumbled, his eyes flitting through the features of her face all the while. Why did she suddenly want to know his name? His brows scrunched together in confusion as he watched her completely taken aback.
"Yes it is," she whispered to herself and he unconcsciously took a step closer to hear what she had said. She looked up at him suddenly, hazel orbs clashing against melted choclolate spheres once more. "Yes it is!" She stated, her voice a lot louder this time.
"Excuse me?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow, the astonishment clear in his face.
"I need to know your name, I need to know who you are," she stated again, her voice confident as she looked straight into his eyes.
"You're unbelievable!" He exclaimed throwing his arms back and taking a step away from her. "There are men after you! We are hiding in this godforsaken underground storeroom and you are concerned about my name?!" He exclaimed, unable to comprehend what was wrong with her.
And that's when it hit her again suddenly, releasing her of all of the other memories, thoughts coursing through her. Wy she was here exactly. People were after her, people that she did not know and she was to get out of Lucknow? She was to go back to Delhi? Tonight? None of this was making any sense and now here she was with a guy she had only met once before and the mystery surrounding him made even less sense. What wa shis name? And how did he know this please. She held onto her head suddenly, a slow throbbing starting at the back of her head, she thought she felt dizzy and her limbs felt weak.
He leaned forward immediately, catching her arm then drew her in closer. "Hey? Hey? Are you okay?" He questioned, waving a hand in front of her face as she blinked her eyes several times, trying to focus. "Shit!" He mumbled to himself, why couldn't he ever be patient? He led her over to a little stool then, sitting her down and bringing his two fingers over her wrist checked for her pulse. "Are you alright? Are you feeling weak?" He questioned then, his voice gentle.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," she dismissed, her voice still quiet and weak, "I just felt a little light-headed that's all," she reassured him, her mind in a distant place.
"Okay, just lay your head on your knees okay?" His voice was soft as he placed his palm on her head and helped her bend over. "Just slowly breathe in and out, you'll be okay," he reassured her. "Have you eaten?" He asked then to which she shook her head, her face hidden between her knees. He pulled out one of the sweets that he kept with him then, a sugar crusted one that he kept for emergencies. Diabetes was definitely not a plus factor when it came to his field of work so he was always cautious. "Here have this, you'll get something in your system," he said moving it infront of her as she slowly lifted her head and extended her arm. He placed it in her palm gently and could feel the depth at which his heart pounded away in his chest as her fingers curled around his, then quickly drew his hand away from her, looking away.
"We'll wait here for a few more minutes, until they go somewhere else then I'll get you back to Delhi," he reassured her as she watched silently, working her way through what he had offered her.
****
"Shit shit shit!" Aman shouted to himself then leaned back against the chair, his arms folded behind his head as he watched Shyam on the screen.
"What is it?" NK shouted from behind him, turning away from a stack of ID card copies that he had been going through.
"Nothing. Just Shyam's mind seems to be occupied by other very weird things," Aman mumbled back, almost as if he was talking to himself.
"Like?" NK questioned, sliding over so that he was behind Aman.
"Nothing much man, just shit that Arnav might want to know about," he replied, not particularly wanting to divulge the information to NK, not needing NK to pull Arnav's leg at the wrong moment again.
"Is it about that Angelica bitch again?" He remarked, not really interested anymore.
"Somethig like that," Aman lied.
"What's up with her anyway? She knows what Arnav does and she could do much better with her life. But she chooses to do that?" NK made a face as he wheeled himself back.
"Well people will always be different," Aman blandly offered. "I guess that's her made up her own life and if I was being honest it's in Arnav's best interests not to interfere."
"What so it's alright for her to sleep with the enemy and even that for money, whilst Arnav goes off and nearly gets murdered by the same man?" NK remarked, the distaste clear in his voice.
"No I didn't mean that. But that's the life Angelica's chosen and this is the life Arnav has," Aman tried to reason out. "To be honest NK I think we should just leave it at that. I mean it's none of our business after all," he stated finally then put on the headphones, indicating that their conversation was now over.
****
Arnav walked over to the far side of the room as Khushi spoke to her buaji.
"What's up?" He asked sliding on his phone.
"Okay, don't get mad," Aman began, causing Arnav to scrunch his brows together in cofusion.
"At?"
"For prying," Aman stated simply, already ready to face the wrath.
"Prying?" Arnav questioned raising an eyebrow as he moved further away, stuffing his other hand in his pocket.
"Well you know what I do, I like to keep track of things and I know that you've been taking a bit of an interest in this chick called Khushi lately," he spoke quickly, as if he was hoping that Arnav wouldn't catch onto half of the things he was saying.
"What?!" Arnav exclaimed.
Aman made a face then, aware that Arnav would not be too happy, but he'd have to tell him what he had found out. "Yeh so anyway, I've not been keeping tabs or anything, just you know keeping an eye out for you," he continued to explain.
"Aman I am not a child! And I'd appreciate it if you didn't spy on my personal life!" Arnav exclaimed, quite clearly apalled by what Aman had just revealed to him.
Aman cringed away from the phone, not really surprised at Arnav's outburst. "Alright alright! Scream at me later. But I have news," he stated hoping that that would calm Arnav down.
Arnav listened quietly on the other end of the phone, his rage not allowing him to say anything more.
"I assume you are listening so I'll begin. Basically Shyam Jha seems to have some sort of interest in Khushi," Aman began as Arnav furrowed his brows in response. So these were Shyam's men that were after her?
"He wants her. He was looking at that picture I was talking about again this morning. The camera won't allow me to zoom in that far. He was talking about getting someone back, someone from his past. I dunno the man was drunk and didn't really seem like he was making much sense. But anyway," he spoke quickly, in the way he always did when he had something to reveal, for fear that otherwise he would forget the details. "This Khushi chick, she's Aakash's fiancees sister, well adopted sister," Aman corrected himself.
"Adopted?" Arnav quickly questioned, something at the back of his mind clicking into place.
"Yes adopted, which possibly explains her weird history," he added, more to himself than to Arnav.
"Weird history?" Arnav questioned again.
"Yeh, it's weird. Well I'll tell you all of that later. Now for this matter, I thought you might want the information quickly since it seemed sort of urgent."
"I'm listening," Arnav stated calmly, his eyes now distant and calculative as he thought through a dozen different things at the one time.
"So yeh, Shyam has asked Aakash to track Khushi down for him and bring her to him."
"So Shyam wants Khushi?" Arnav questioned then, trying to make sense of the story that was being narrated to him at a 100 miles per hour.
"Yes Arnav Shyam wants Khushi and Aakash has sent his men down to Lucknow, which I assume is where you are at the moment," he continued when Arnav cut in abruptly.
"So those are his men?" He pondered to himself, the situation making much more sense now. And then felt that tingling feeling of unease slowly creep up his spine. If they were Shyam's men Khushi was not safe anywhere.
"Which men are his men? Arnav where are you? Arnav? Arnav!" Arnav snapped out of his thoughts again on hearing Aman's urgent voice.
"I'm in Lucknow, with Khushi, in this underground basement place that I know of. There were a group of men after her and I've sort of brought her here. I was thinking of..."
"Wait wait wait! What? Back up for a second! You are with who and you are doing WHAT?!" Aman exclaimed all of a sudden.
"Did you not here me Aman? Do I really need to repeat myself?!" Arnav yelled back, the annoyance in his tone clear.
"Well this is weird! Maybe I should keep tabs on you," he commented then, "so how did this meeting come about? Like?" There was an edge to Aman's voice now.
"Shut up Aman! This is serious. So is she in any way related to Shyam? Or what he does?" Arnav questioned, attempting to plan an escape route but first needing that assurance. If she was working with Shyam he wouldn't help her no matter how much he seemed drawn to her.
"Well the honest answer to that is I don't know, there's such a mystery surrounding her that I can only dig to a certain depth and then my shovel just hits concrete. So I'll have to try something else. But I don't see the possibility," he was thoughtful as he expressed his theories about her. "First off she doesn't seem to be aware of anything that's going on and the events of that party seems to have shaken her."
"What do you mean?" Arnav cut in again.
"Well Aakash has a bad habit of talking to his fiancee on speaker phone," Aman stated rolling his eyes and making a face at the cringeworthy conversation that he had had to listen to, after getting enough information about Khushi he had passed the headphones to NK and let him drown in their puddle of cringe instead. "Oh god that was scarring," he couldn't help but add.
"Okay okay cringey scarring, now what did you find out?" Arnav questioned, quickly running out of patience as he always did.
"Alright alright jeez! I'll tell you!" He moaned making another face, "yeh basically Khushi was sent to Lucknow to stay with her buaji because she was having nightmares, walking about in a daze, seemed lost etc. etc. after that party, so you know I doubt she's connected to him," he finally finished off.
"And you are sure this isn't a trap? That this isn't a ploy that they are employing?" Arnav asked, his mind always only a step away from suspicion.
"Well I'm pretty sure. It would be sort of idiotic to plan something like this plus this Payal chick has a very clean record and so does her parents. I really doubt it," he finished off.
"Alright! I'll deal with things here. Try and find as much as you can about Shyam's future plans, if he's not too occupied with chasing after Khushi of course and then pass that onto me. We need to get a move on or he needs to get a move on. I am not prepared to shoot from his front," with that Arnav cut the phone off.
"How do you know my name?" Her voice was timid, the tremble in it clearly evident as he heard her from somewhere behind him and Arnav's fingers on his phone stilled instantly, his eyes widening, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Shit! The silence that enveloped the room then was almost terrifying, the only clear sound that of the distant drip drip of water. His body straightened and he felt his thoughts go haywire, his heart stammering away in his chest as he attempted to plan an answer through his conflicted thoughts.
Gulping down her fears she took another step towards him, she was already in this mess, might as well find out what was happening before things got worse. "How do you know my name?" She questioned again, her voice a little louder, a little more stable this time.
****
"Sir the crate will arrive in two days. This time the stuff is more clean but was cheaper. But we'll probably have to pay him more the next time," Aakash spoke into the phone confirming the shipment to Shyam.
"Good! I'll meet you at the dock tomorrow, another shipment is coming in but I'll text you the rest of those details," he spoke quietly into the phone, a shrewd smile spreading across his face.
Swivelling around in his chair he cut off the phone then sending his hand underneath the table removed a small square box. Bringing it in front of him he slowly opened it and let his finger run around the edge of the single gold band, the intitals "D" and "S" engraved on the underside of it. Closing it back with a snap he placed it on the desk, his eyes now lingering over the image of Khushi on screen. The similar contours of her face, the large dove-like eyes, rose petal lips, a slow snarl creeped up his face. Years of solitude, of fantasies that had been lost even before they had begun and now he had been offered a chance to live them out and he would whether Khushi liked it or not. Because she looked like the only woman that he had dared to give his heart to and for that he would make her his.
****
"Listen," she began as she stood looking straight into his eyes, her gaze not wavering for a second, his eyes equally intense, refusing to back down. "I need to know. This is already a mess and I'd rather get caught by those men than not know what the hell is going," she didn't shout, she didn't create a scene, in fact her voice was deadly calm and that scared him more than anything else. He watched her with wide eyes, her every action surprising him. "At least tell me your name," she finally finished off, maybe he had found out through Aakash and was just embarrassed to admit to it.
"Like I said, it's not important," he tried dismissing again turning away, "what's important is..."
"No it is important!" She began shouting then and spun him round, glaring into the depths of his eyes. "It is important! I just want to know your name! It's not a difficult question! Not one that you should not be able to answer!" She screamed, waving her arms about, her frustration hitting an all new level.
He grabbed onto her arms then suddenly and she flinched away from his steely grip, his hands tight enough to grind into bone. "Calm down!" He growled through gritted teeth, his caramel orbs boring into her as she stared back in astonishment, in fear.
"Let go of me! You are hurting me!" She squirmed as she struggled in his grip and felt his fingers loosen on her skin. He pushed her away from him, closing his eyes for a second and looking away.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled walking away then turned around to look at her once more, "and it's Hawk, if it's really that important," then turning around began to walk away once more.
She watched him in silence for a few seconds, slightly taken aback by his sudden reaction. "It can't be," she mumbled to herself then, that wasn't a real name, she wanted his real name. "No! I want your real name!" She shouted, hurriedly marching down towards him when he suddenly turned back round, his face cold and deatached as he glared at her.
"That's all you are getting! Now just leave me the fuck alone and let me think of a way of getting us out of here!" He exclaimed then turning around dialed Aman's number, his face a mask of anger and frustration.
****
Khushi sat in the passenger side of the car, her thoughts distant, occasionally watching him from the corner of his eyes. She didn't say much out of fear that he would snap at her again and her legs hurt from sitting in the same position for hours but she kept quiet, even within the small period of time she had spent with him having figured out that he had a flaring temper. She let the pieces fall together in her mind and now that she had for the first time in life actually begun to think it through everything was automatically beginning to make sense.
She let her mind wander back to the fresh white flowers, placed on all four gravestones right on the day of their death anniversary. Her mind suddenly flashed back to her first meeting with him; mesmerising pools of melted chocolate brown eyes, familiar, slightly distant, deadly floating over a sea of calm. She stole another glance towards him, he drove with his jaw set, his eyes steely, his grip on the steering wheel a little too tight and she tried to breathe as lightly as possible. Why hadn't she pondered these thoughts before? He was alive she was sure of it; the two missing bodies, the fresh flowers, the familiar back, this could be the only explanation. He was alive and she was possibly sitting next to him...
A few hints have been dropped ;). See if you can figure anything out :P. Next chapter: huge revelation! So comment! And I'll get it up asap ;) xx
Omg that was fantastic!!!!!! She's figuring it out:))
ReplyDeleteHmm loved ur story and different characterisations do update soon
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