Chapter 20: War

"I have a few questions." The fast moving figure stopped in his tracks and he turned, slowly.

Lunch had been quiet. Mahesh had opted to eat upstairs in the room- Arnav's, he had learned-  in which Khushi slept. She had awakened briefly to inhale her food and medicines and then had returned to her land of oblivion: sleeping. After that, he had met a few members of the family, including the infamous Shyam, and then spent some time with Shiv. He had passed on dinner and now after midnight, he had walked down to wait for the man he hadn't seen since the morning.

"Welcome to the club." Was Arnav's only response. Mahesh couldn't quite measure him nor decipher him. He momentarily zoned out as a memory lingered.

***

"So how did you figure him out? Solve the puzzle?"

"My husband is not a man to be measured, Mahesh." Khushi said, avoiding the question.

"You're interesting, you know?"

"Why do you say so?" She looked up to meet his eyes.

"You said your 'husband is' not was..." He watched her face as she processed what he had stated.

Nothing but the tick of the clock on the wall of the room spoke as Khushi remained fixed in her position, her eyes distant.

"Because he is." Was the silent reply that came from her side of the room after nearly three minutes. "He still is."

***

"I guess we have that in common, don't we?" Mahesh asked, standing to face Arnav Singh Raizada in all his angry young man glory.

"What's the need for us to find anything in common?" Arnav's reply was curt, slightly annoyed even.

"Similarities are what binds people together. It lays the basic foundation for understanding between people." Mahesh said coolly.

Arnav paused. Summing up the man before him, he spoke again. "I must say, your theory is flawed. Differences bind people just as strongly... sometimes more strongly than their similarities."

Mahesh smiled. "I guess that explains the case between you and Khushi, right? The case where differences overpower similarities to create some kind of unbreakable, everlasting bond?"

"Why are we having this conversation, Mahesh?"

"Khushi always strikes a cord with you doesn't it?" Mahesh said suddenly too calm for his own liking.

"That's not an answer to my question..."

"If I'm not mistaken, I too am overdue on an answer." Mahesh replied, facing Arnav and crossing his arms across his chest.

Arnav was composed. He tucked his hands into his pockets and faced Mahesh with a slight tilt to his head.

"Where's Khushi?" Arnav asked, knowing the answer to his question beforehand.

"Oh, so you care now? It didn't seem like it when you ran out the road this morning."

Arnav gritted his teeth. "I've always cared." His voice was low, a warning to Mahesh to not push it.

Little did Arnav Singh Raizada know, Mahesh was a daredevil. "Right... Was that before or after you forced her to leave the house? Oh yes, lets not forget she was pregnant!" Mahesh's tone was sarcastic, mocking the faults on Arnav's side.

"I asked her to come back! She didn't and I had to give up." Arnav's voice shot up two octaves before he squeezed his eyes shirt and clenched his fists in pockets.

"Ahh yes. The great Arnav Singh Raizada gave up without a fight." Mahesh slurred his words, teasing Arnav in ways he wasn't used to.

"I pleaded. Then she threatened me using the my only weakness: herself. I had to give up, do you understand? I had to!" Arnav's gaze bore into him, emotions that only a man who had been in similar circumstances could understand.

Mahesh's defiance slowly ebbed away. He dropped his hands and turned slowly away when Arnav's voice stopped him.

"You don't know anything. She may have told you everything, but you know nothing." Arnav's voice was slow, understanding one daresay. Almost as if he was compassionate towards Mahesh for not making sense of how they functioned..

"And here we are again, Raizada. This time I should welcome you into the club." Mahesh turned fully in the opposite direction, his back to Arnav. "Even you know nothing."

---

Arnav watched the retreating body of the man had suddenly earned respect for. Not many came and gave Arnav a fight worth fighting. And Mahesh knew how to fight. Suave in his manner, one except his opponent would never guess his defiance. Arnav shifted his head up before turning and heading in the direction of Khushi's room. He missed his wife and son.

---

Mahesh sat in the one of the many chairs that were placed in the room he was offered. Arnav was a tough shell to crack. No actually he wasn't a shell, but more a force field. A membrane even. He wasn't supposed to crack him, but gain an entry in.

He leaned forward and rested his forehead on his fingertips. Wrong again. He didn't need to gain an entry. No, Khushi had done that. Arnav wasn't Mahesh's force field to defy, but rather his force field to comprehend. Arnav's biggest problem wasn't that he held so much away from other people, Mahesh concluded, it was that he unknowingly held much away from himself too.

Mahesh sighed as he settled back into the chair. If anything was obvious, it was Arnav's love for Khushi. How the two worked would be something that Mahesh would never understand. Something he could do, however, was lead Arnav to the facts before him that he had overlooked.

But how would he do it...?

How did he tell him this? How did he tell this man that the woman he had been fighting for, for so long was losing her fight against fate? How did he tell a man to prepare for being the loser again in this game of life?

No, but Arnav Singh Raizada wouldn't go without a fight. He would wage a war. But would he wage war against the right enemy? There was no polite manners in the way Arnav regarded Mahesh and Mahesh knew that Arnav was once again misunderstanding. He had misunderstood Mahesh's role in the play. How was he going to do this without the help of Khushi?

Mahesh sighed. This was going to be a long night...

---

Arnav walked to the crib to find it empty. Looking around, he saw the bed was empty too. Panic rose in him and a familiar feeling unrest settled in his chest as he walked out of the room. Khushi couldn't have left.. Again? No... Arnav quickened his pace and almost banged into the sleepy figure of Payal in the hallway.

"Arnav-ji?"

"Payal! Where's Khushi? Shiv?" His voice was poorly hiding the panic.

Payal scrunched her eyes momentarily and relaxed them as a slow smile played on her lips. "Relax, Shiv is sleeping with Akashji and I today. And Khushi is where you left her this morning." Giving a parting smile, Payal continued on her way to her room. Arnav then noticed the bottle of milk in her hand and let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

It would be inappropriate to bug Payal now to see Shiv. Arnav smiled, almost victoriously, as he registered the latter part of Payal's message. Khushi was where he left her this morning, eh? He walked to his room with a new purpose in his movement.

Arnav opened the door to his room silently, not wanting to disturb the angel that was curled up on the side of his bed. Shutting the door, he turned to face the angel. His angel.

The full light of the moon from the poolside bathed the room in enough light for him to see her glowing complexion. Their conversation the past night, which had bothered him all day, lost all importance as it evaporated from his thoughts. She was confused. He would make her see sense. He wasn't letting her go this time.

Moving to his bathroom, Arnav dressed and showered for bed. Ever so silently, he moved under the covers and next to Khushi. He moved closer, gently scooping her up onto his chest. Obviously lost in the land of sleep, Khushi welcomed the warmth of Arnav's body and snuggled in, not forgetting to grab a fistful of his shirt in her hand.

Nirvana, at last. Arnav smiled. He was rejoined with his soul, free of hurt, free of suffering. Burying his nose into the tangled net of her hair, Arnav breathed in, rejoicing.

Khushi snuggled in deeper, her face tilting up and the bridge of her nose buried into the space where Arnav's neck and collarbone met. Arnav clutched her closer, her waist seeming smaller and more fragile in his grasp.

She wouldn't be pleased when she woke up, he knew. Or would she be? Would this remind her of the reason she came back? Would she care to give him, yet again, another chance? Arnav held her closer. Now wasn't the time to think of tomorrow. He had spent too much of his life looking forward or dwelling on the past, but never quite living in the moment. This was his time to live, because for once, his present was perfect and uninterrupted.

It had been a long year for them both. However this... This was nirvana indeed.

Suddenly, his path was clear. No doubts, no questions. Whoever this Mahesh was, he had to go. He wouldn't go without a fight, Arnav knew. They never did. But Arnav Singh Raizada was ready to wage war against anyone or anything that would take Khushi away from him.

Little did Arnav Singh Raizada know, Mahesh was hardly worthy of the blame.