Chapter 25 (Last Chapter)

Arnav’s Room, Shaantivan:

Arnav goes in his room decorated with roses and jasmine flowers making the air fragrant with their sweet smell and in the middle of his bed, behind the curtains of flowers, were sitting his bride covered in a red semi-transparent veil.

Arnav walks up to her mesmerized, when he hears giggle… Arnav wrinkles his brow in confusion and strides up to her and notices Khushi is looking at something under the long veil and giggling.

He grabs the long veil and flips it over Khushi’s head. Khushi looks up to see Arnav there and opens her mouth in a “O”. Arnav notices that she was holding an iPad in her hand.

Arnav clenches his teeth and bites out: What you were doing?

Khushi stammers: Me? Nothing… Nanheji gave me this picture book to look… (gulps the rest of the sentence seeing Arnav’s expression)

Arnav (irritated): It’s not picture book, it’s an iPad and what pictures you were looking at?

Arnav grabbed the iPad to Khushi’s indignation and pouts and sees that it was their wedding pictures.

Arnav scowls: What the Khushi? Today is our first night. You could not have waited tomorrow to see the pictures.

Khushi pouts: I wanted to see how I was looking in the pictures. I have to show this to our children and grandchildren.

Arnav (exasperated): Unbelievable. Khushi, if we go through this night, then there will be even remote prospect of children, let alone grandchildren. Understood?

Khushi (equally exasperated): I know. I have seen a lot of veil flying in movies. Don’t think I’m stupid.

Arnav (now confused): Veil flying?

Khushi (wide eyed): Yes. You don’t watch Bollywood movies so you don’t know. (puts her right hand on her chest) I’ll tell you.

Arnav (raises his brow): Movies… Of course… Why am I not surprised?

Khushi (ignores him and continues): When the groom enters the room in wedding night, he looks at the bride with love. And the bride blushes under the veil. Then the groom lifts the veil and the bride bites her lips.

Arnav leans closer with smoky looks: Then?

Khushi (continues): Then the bride gives the groom a glass of milk to drink.

Arnav (confused): Milk? Why?

Khushi (wrinkles her brow): I don’t know why. But you gotta give milk to the groom.

Arnav (shakes his head): I prefer coffee. Black no sugar. But anyways, continue…

Khushi (continues): Then the groom holds the bride’s veils and throws it in the air…

Arnav (confused): Throws the veil in the air? Whyever for?

Khushi (exasperated): Off ho… He does…

Arnav interrupts: Never mind. (smoky looks) And then?

Khushi (continues): The light goes off.

Arnav leans closer and whispers: I prefer lights on sometimes. But do continue…

Khushi (finishes her story): The next morning the smiling husband and blushing wife wake up.

Arnav leans back in surprise: What? That’s it?

Khushi (thinks for a moment): No. The groom has to have the bride’s sindoor on his cheek too.

Arnav (exasperated): No no. What is between the light goes off and the next morning…

Khushi (confused): Errmmm… Darkness?

Arnav (exasperated): What is after darkness and before sunrise?

Khushi (even more confused): Sometimes they show ads like washing powder Nirma or Lux beauty soap…

Arnav (groans painfully): Khushi, that’s what you think happens in wedding night?

Khushi wide eyes, nods her head slowly.

Arnav groans: Dammit.

Khushi (irritated): If you did not want to know, why did you ask me?

Arnav opens his mouth to speak but says: Never mind.

He grabs the iPad to take away from Khushi, but Khushi tugs at it: My picture book…

Arnav (exasperated): Your picture book is not going anywhere. You can have it in the morning.

Khushi starts to speak and notices something in the iPad: Arnavji, who is she?

Arnav looks at the face Khushi pointing her fingers to and pales as a pained whisper rips out of his throat: Lachhi.  

It was picture of their engagement party and Lachhi was standing right behind Khushi. How did she escape everyone’s notice?

Khushi continues her babble unaware of Arnav’s plight: She is not from our side of the family. Is she from your side of the family? She came in every function of our wedding and talked to me. I like her.

Arnav whips through the pictures and there she was. 

In every function, she was standing close to Khushi. Even in the wedding pictures, she was standing behind Khushi and him as he was tying the Mangalsutra on her neck or putting sindoor on Khushi’s forehead.

Arnav threw the iPad on the bed and grabbed Khushi’s arms in panic: Khushi, what did she tell you?

Khushi blinks her eyes: I can’t remember them all. But she said today that, “Don’t measure how many moments you have in your life, measure how much life you have in those moments.”

And she said to tell you that, “You live in the past, love in the present and leave the learning for the future. You have to learn from the past, live in the present and store love for the future. I did what I could but now it’s time for you to stop trying to write your destiny and shape your own memories instead.”

What does it mean Arnavji?

Arnav understood what Lachhi was trying to tell him. She tried to make him understand that running after an unknown or known future will only make him loose his present moments with Khushi. He needs to make as many memories as he can in these small moments he has left with her.

He looked at Khushi and smiles: I got the message. I know what I have to do now.

He tugs at Khushi’s hands: Let’s go.

Khushi is surprised: Where?

He smiles: You’ll see.

They sneak out of their room and slowly gets out of Shaantivan.

They get in Arnav’s car. Khushi notices that he makes some calls while driving using his Bluetooth.

The car stops in front of Mughal Gardens, New Delhi.

Mughal Gardens, New Delhi

Arnav gets out of the car and opens the door for Khushi. Khushi gets out and looks around in surprise: Arnavji, what are we doing here?

Arnav smiles: You’ll know shortly…

As they approach the main gate, a guard opens the door and takes them to a dark place and leaves.

Khushi could not see anything in the dark so she squints her eyes and asks: Arnavji, I can’t see anything.

Suddenly, a light switches on and she sees a magnificent old gazebo probably built in Mughal Era in the middle of a circular flower bed fragrant with roses and tulips.

The light was lit under the dome so the gazebo looked as if it was lit from within and in the gazebo was a bed covered with white silk sheets sprinkled with red rose petals.

Khushi gasps at the beauty of the magnificent scene and looks at Arnav in wonder.

Arnav smiles at her expression and bends down to swing her up in his arms and carries her to the bed.

Khushi gasps at the sudden action and holds onto his collar for balance.

He gently sits her down on the bed and slowly takes off her bangles and kisses her wrist

Then he takes off her maangtika and kisses her forehead.

Then he takes off her earrings and kisses her ears.

Then he takes off her necklace and kisses her neck…

MATURE PART BEGINS: For all my underage readers, please skip this part and scroll down until you reach MATURE PART ENDS. You won’t lose any information other than what is not suitable for your young eyes.

Khushi feels as if her body is on fire. She shivers under his touch.

She stammers: Arnavji… (then swallows)

Arnav smiles at her nervousness and whispers in her ears: I’m gonna show you what happens between the time the light goes off until the husband and wife wake up in the morning…

Then Arnav lifts her veil from her head and throws it on the floor of the gazebo.

Then he releases the pins from her hair slowly and her long hair falls on her back like a dark silk curtain.

He then guides her hand to his chest. Khushi looks at him questioningly. 

Arnav whispers: Take off my Sherwani.

Khushi’s hand trembles but follows his instructions and slowly takes off the buttons of his Sherwani. Arnav shrugs his Sherwani off his shoulder revealing his toned muscled body gleaming like melted caramel.

Khushi’s face goes into flame but she peeks in to Arnav’s body under her lashes and blushes some more.

Arnav smiles at the beautiful but red face with cute little red nose. He runs the back of his finger on her cheek and says: I love your blushes. But I want to see how far they spread.

Khushi jumps on him and hides her face on his chest with her arms holding him tight.

Arnav removes her hair to the side and tugs on the ties holding her choli together leaving her back completely exposed.

Khushi feels ripples of pleasure running through her back. She turns away leaving her hold on Arnav and lies face down on the pillow hiding her blushing face in the white silk.

Arnav takes off the rest of the clothes and gets on the bed. He leans on Khushi and bends over her exposed back raining kisses from the nape of her neck to the dimpled dent on her spine where her waist flares out to her hip.

He tugs at the rope holding her lehenga there and slowly pulls her lehenga and her panties off.

He sees Khushi’s exposed back shivering in the February cold and arousal, so he smiles and puts the lambskin white blanket on both of them.

Khushi gets surprised at the sudden warmth and feels Arnav’s hand on her turning her towards him. She turns and looks up to Arnav’s face looking down at her while their bodies were touching each other from chest to the toes.

She gasps at the feel of Arnav’s manhood while Arnav leans down and swallows her gasp with his kiss. Khushi wraps her arm around him and gives in to the sensation of her love’s kiss.

Arnav then rains kisses all over her face, neck and slowly moves towards her br**ts and draws a n**ple in his mouth while palming the other making it into a tight bud.

Khushi arches her back in pleasure. She feels the tugging motion all the way down in her centre.

Arnav then turns to the other br**t and showers equal attention to the other n**ple drawing that one also in a tight hard point.

Then he slowly reaches down and touches her sensitive nub.

Khushi almost comes off the bed at the sensation.

Then he inserts one finger in her warm tight passage, letting her get accustomed to it. Then he enters two fingers and moves them up and down further relaxing her inner muscles.

Then he whispers: This is going to hurt a little bit. But I will try to be as gentle as possible.

He leans closer to her face and draws her lips into a kiss while he inserts his manhood in her in a sharp jab.

Khushi lets out a cry in his mouth as a sharp pain seems to go through all her nerve endings. She tries to get away from the pain.

Arnav swallows her cry and holds back his urge to move. He clenches his teeth and whispers in her ears: Don’t move or the pain won’t go away. I promise baby, there will be no more pain if you don’t move.

Khushi stills her movements, trusting him while tears like pearl drops run down from the corner of her eyes.

Arnav looks at her trembling lips and kisses her slowly while kneading her br**ts softly and slowly.

Khushi feels the pain slowly ebb down followed by a sensation of fullness. She slowly moves her lower body instinctively and feels sudden pleasure shooting through the same nerve endings that were a few minutes ago were almost burning in pain.

Arnav grits his teeth and asks Khushi: Are you okay?

Khushi whispers: Yes, Arnavji. I want to move now.

Arnav kisses her lips again and starts moving slowly. Khushi also instinctively picks up her rhythm and tries to move faster.

Arnav understanding her intent catches up to the rhythm and keeps going deeper and deeper, harder and harder, faster and faster.

Khushi feels pleasure running through her and muscles go tighter and tighter as pleasure builds up. Then suddenly it seems a thousand stars bursts in her body.

As ripples runs through her inner muscles signaling her release, Arnav let’s his tight control go until he too feels stars exploding behind his eye lids while intense pleasure courses through his entire body as he spills jets and jets of warm seeds in her womb.

Arnav collapses on Khushi with exhaustion still trembling from the most powerful orgasm of his life as Khushi still feels the ripples of aftermath running through her veins as exhaustion claims her as well.

MATURE PART ENDS:

After resting in each other’s arms as their breathing slows down, Khushi buries her blushing face on his shoulder. She whispers: Arnavji, we should go back.

Arnav sighs: Why?

Khushi smiles: Because very shortly the sun will come out and our family will expect us to be present at the morning worship with Jiji and jijaji.

Arnav realizes that 12 o’clock has come and gone, yet Khushi is still with him.

He sighs in relief and hugs her tight and whispers: Okay. Let’s go home.

They dress up quickly. Khushi just puts on her bangles and earrings and carries her necklace and maangtika.

They walk up to the front entrance and Arnav starts driving towards his home.

Arnav drives a little faster to get home sooner, but Khushi panics and says: Arnavji, can you please slow down.

Arnav remembers Khushi’s fear of speeding car and tries to slow down. But Arnav notices that the break of his car is not working. He tries to press it down repeatedly, but the car does not slow down.

Khushi looks at him in worry: What is it Arnavji?

Arnav looks at her worried face and tries to assure her with a smile when he notices in his peripheral vision a bright light heading their way.

He realizes that he did not escape his destiny as he thought. All moments spent with Khushi flashes in front of his eyes.

He grips the steering wheel hard and closes his eyes for a moment remembering his vow: If death comes to you in the next moment, I will be so wrapped up around you, that it will have to get through me to come to you.

He takes a deep breath and looks at the oncoming truck heading towards his car. 

Then he turns to Khushi and says: Do you trust me?

Khushi looks at his eyes without hesitation: More than my life, Arnavji.

He lets go of the steering wheel, pulls Khushi in his arms and holds her tight…

The next moment he sees the white light coming closer until everything becomes invisible in the glare and some horrible crush, crunch and screeching sound and everything goes dark.

In the Devi Maiyya’s temple, all candles go off at a strong gust of wind leaving the temple dark as night.

Hindi Words Hints:

Maangtika: A long chain with a locket like ornament. Usually worn on the forehead of Indian women.

Sherwani: Long top worn by Indian men with tight pants.

Choli: A short tight embroidered blouse. Comes with a lehenga and a dupatta.

Lehenga: A long embroidered skirt. Comes with a choli and a dupatta.

Dupatta: A long piece of scarf.