Delhi University (Imaginary) - 11:05 am.
While taking notes on her book of what the professor was explaining, Khushi was thinking about Arnav. Yes, the man who has been so kind, caring and attentive to her. The man who took care of her needs without her having to speak about it. The man who notices her presence even when she seems an invisible person in Raizada house. He's a good man. And can be a good friend too. But.. he might distract her from her goal in life. For someone like her, who grew up in a family where people scold you more than necessary in order to discipline you and show less affection to their daughters because one day they would have to detach themselves from their family once they're sent to their in laws house after marriage, being treated affectionately, kindly and respectfully by a man like Arnav makes her feel a thousand of emotions she doesn't even know what to name them, goosebumps and a huge number of butterflies flying in her stomach everytime he does a simple thing for her. She noticed everything he discreetly did for her in this week. Whenever she joins his family members to watch news in the living room, he's always the first person to get up from his seat and offer her, his place on the couch and then he brings a chair from the dining room for himself. Whenever he brought chocolates, cookies and chips for Ayan and Mami, he bought it for her too and sent Ayan to her room to give it to her. As it's been a week since she has joined college, the second day he had been kind enough to catch a rickshaw to drop her college as he thought she would get tired by walking on foot, but she made sure to immediately let him know that she enjoyed walking to college more and had no problem with it. She didn't want him to waste his money because of her too, as he already gave her money to use weekly for her college needs and not to forget the MacBook he bought for her. She just couldn't let him waste his money on her anymore like this.
And she noticed how he's always trying to make her feel comfortable around his family, like he made her join what they call their 'Haldi Doodh Competition', at night time before going they go to their rooms to sleep, they stay in the living room after the elders retire to their respective rooms, and then Arnav, Ayan, Akash and she who recently joined their game, drink a full glass of haldi doodh as fast as they can and whoever finish it first wins the game and the next day the winner is allowed to sleep fifteen minutes more than their usual alarm time set to wake up.
But everything he does for her, brings a sense of fear in her heart. She knows Akash and Ayan are like brothers to her, but Arnav isn't. Now it's friendship between them. But after sometime, their feelings might change for each other and turn into something she doesn't even want to imagine. Because she simply cannot. There's no space for Arnav in her life. Her life decisions have been made and she's only following what she has been allowed by her father.
She is trying hard to avoid him and focus only on her studies. But he is making it difficult for her. His good nature is making her feel bad for everytime he genuinely tries to befriend her and she remains unaffected to push him away from her life. Just like today, when he was dropping her to college, he was trying to start a conversation and she was doing her best to end the conversation. But she felt bad for doing this to him. That's why she spoke about Nani giving her permission to go to his friend mother's birthday party when he fell silent on their way, she didn't know what to speak further with him and the silence had to be their company for the rest of the journey.
Flashback
Gupta House.
"Suno ji.. Khushi bitiya passed her 12th grade.." Garima informed her husband happily, who sat on the dining table to have his dinner after a tiring day of work in his small sweet shop.
Shashi glanced at his wife serving the food on his plate with a wide smile on her face. He spoke seriously, "Chalo accha hai (It's good). We should start looking for prospective grooms for Khushi bitiya now."
