SS : Take What’s Left Of My Heart Part 19
July 29, 2013
“WHAT!” Arnav screamed, dropping Khushi’s note as if it had scalded him…
His eyes darted back to the message written above on their bed’s headboard…
“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!!!??!!!!!” he raced from the room…
“KHUSHI!?! KHUSHI STOP THIS AND COME HERE TO ME RIGHT NOW!!!!!”
The family began crowding around him…
Questions were hurled at him as he felt overcome with a panic so intense that he could hear the blood roaring in his ears…
Turning away, he sprinted back up the stairs and yanked open his cupboard with so much force that the door fell off it’s hinges…
Clothes gone.
Akash had followed Arnav into his room and Arnav pushed him brutally away as he grabbed his wallet…
Money gone.
“…No…NO!” he yelled furiously…
Arnav roughly pushed his wallet into his trousers and pulled on a jacket…
“”Bhai…” Akash tried to get his attention…”Come and sit, we can make a plan…”
Arnav faced his brother head on…”I have a plan. Find Khushi.”
………..
Arnav stepped out onto the airstrip…
He pulled his jacket collar up over his neck…
He blinked as raindrops drizzled onto his eyelashes…
Grey clouds covered the sky, sheilding light …
Arnav felt his pulse kick up as he studied his new surroundings…
He was looking for her.
He was ALWAYS looking for her.
Each week, Arnav arrived at a new destination.
The first week Khushi went missing, the police couldn’t turn up any leads, which only infuriated Arnav…
His temper was completely out of control…
His heart unable to relax…
He had employed an army of the best investigators to run her to the ground, to find her no matter what the cost, but still, all searches came up empty.
Arnav was coming to the end of his patience…
His days and nights were taking up with a constant need to find his wife…
Most times, he would wake up in a panic, only to find himself in his car, parked somewhere unknown…
“Damn it! Damn her!” he internally screamed…
His eyes scanned the crowd at the London airport…
Almost 8 weeks he had been obsessively searching…
When the police tried to force him to stop, and let them do their job, he assured them that he would stop searching…
And the second he left the police headquarters, he booked a flight and continued his hunt.
The police couldn’t turn up a single piece of evidence regarting the intruder who left the threatening message.
They came to the conclusion that it was a professional job, and that someone was out for revenge.
“Revenge…” he snickered as he angrily threw his luggage in the back of his four-wheel drive…”That asshole doesn’t even KNOW revenge!”
As Arnav began to drive to his hotel, he called Aman on the bluetooth…
“Find me all the confectionary stores in the city…in the damn country…and have the list waiting for me in my hotel room…”
Slamming his hand on the steering wheel, he was once again consumed with anger…
For Khushi.
“How DARE she put me through this!!!?” he growled to himself…”She instantly determined that I was incapable of protecting her! Of protecting US!?”
He yawned for the millionth time as he pulled up to his hotel…
He basically lived out of hotels now…
He hardly slept at night, his mind constantly thinking of the possibilities…
His fear for her life ran deep, deep through his soul…
Throwing his car keys to the valet out front, he barged through the doors of the grant hotel and headed to his room.
As he pulled off his tie, he slumped to the couch and opened the large yellow envelope that was sitting on the coffee table…
His heart sank as he held in his hands almost a novel’s worth of pages…
“Fuck it…THIS many confectionary stores!!!!!????!!!!!”
Frustration hit it’s point and he threw his laptop to the ground like a madman, shattering the screen.
His mobile rang, and even though he knew it wouldn’t be Khushi, his heart still jumped at the hope…
“Hello?”
“Chote?”
He let out a sad sigh…”Hi Di, I’ve arrived…”
“Please remember to eat something…I am worried for you…”
Arnav massaged his eyes with the back of his hand…”I will…”
“I’m serious Chote, Khushiji would want you to look after yourself…she said stay safe…”
Arnav lept to his feet and roared…”I know what she said! I know DI!”
Silence.
“Sorry…”
“Chote, it’s okay…talk to me…”
“Why did she abandon me?”
He heard the tears in his sisters voice…
“She didn’t abandon you…She was scared…The centre of her world was threatened…YOU.”
Arnav kicked his suitcase feeling primal…”Oh she won’t lose me…When I finally get my hands on her she will fear me more than anything!!!!!”
He was about to take back what he said when Anjali spoke again…”I know you don’t mean that…”
“Di…what if this other person finds her before I do…”
“Are you sure that someone is after HER?”
“Yes. . . I…I feel it…strongly…She isn’t just hiding to protect me…She’s hiding to protect herself…”
Anjali spoke clearly…”You will find her. I know you will. Pray Chote. Pray that God leads you to her…”
“I can’t live without her Di…”
“And you won’t…”
“Anjali bitiya! End the conversation! We have to go!”
Arnav briefly held the phone away from his ear as he hear Nani call for his sister…
“Chote? I have to go…Nani is taking me to the hospital for my checkup…”
………
The conversation ended abruptly, and he sat alone for a moment staring into space…
“BE SAFE…” her written words haunted him….
“Why bother…” he muttered feeling completely shut down…
But he knew he had to take care of himself, because he needed the strength…the strength to find his wife…
He dragged himself out of the hotel…
Having enough of room service, he decided to find a pub or restaurant where he could eat.
He considered calling for a taxi, but decided to walk, the rain numbing his fears momentarily…
He took off, briskly walking down the busy street…
He passed several cafes and restaurants, peering inside to see survey whether or not he wanted to go in…
Without conscious thought, he wandered into the next restaurant and seated himself by the window, so he could watch people walk by outside…
It was a small, dark café with a collection of small tables lit with tealights…
The café was packed with people up the front near the stage…
His eyes wandered around and he saw that this was not a cheap little place…
It was obvious that this small jazz bar had quite a lot of class to it…
“Have you come to try the special? Or hear the houseband?”
The question made his head dart up…
“I just need a meal. Have you got a menu?”
“The special is a customer favorite, but here is our menu with all our other selections…” the man said passing a leather folder Arnav’s way…
“The houseband plays in about 10 minutes…That’s why the front of the room is so crowded…you’ve picked the quietest area…”
Arnav was surprised at the price of the food, but figured it must be good considering the surroundings…
He pointed mindlessly at one of the items on the menu, and pushed it back in the man’s face…
“If you want, I can try and find you a table closer to the front…You’ll have a better scope of the entertainment…”
Arnav looked hard at the rambling man, willing him to shut up…
“I don’t give a shit about the band…” he ground out…
The waiter screwed up his face…”Okkkayyy…”
He was about to walk away, when he began talking again…”This band plays your type of music though! You came on the perfect night…they play bollywood tunes every 3rd tuesday…we even have a dancer…she started as a waitress, but one night she started dancing and the people loved it…”
Arnav rolled his eyes and was holding himself back from punching the guy in the face.
“The lead guitarist of the band is nuts about that dancer girl…but it’s hard NOT to be crazy about her, she’s got…something…something about her that is so different…”
“Is this a talk show?” Arnav spat out…”Are you going to start telling me their innermost feelings…?”
The waiter snickered…”Ha! No need, the band leader only likes her because she’s gloomier than he is! He tried playing bollywood music every night, but she refused to dance so often…she doesn’t like getting attention…she especially doesn’t like Chris…oh, he’s the guitarist guy…hey did you want a drink with your dinner?”
Arnav’s heart began thundering…
The hair on his neck was spiking up as he heard an amplifier humming as it turned on…
“So…this woman only dances every 3 weeks?”
“Yeah, Only once a month now…but folks come around to watch her…she didn’t want to do it, but the manager offered her triple pay…and she needs it, seeing as she lives in a trashy building…”
A familiar song began to tease the air around him as he slowly turned towards the stage…
He saw the drummer and keyboard player, and finally, the guitarist…
Arnav was about to ask about the dancer when he heard the jingling of anklets…
“Here she comes…” the waiter muttered…
A smoke machine flipped on, and the stage was now blurred with blue and purple lights…
A slender woman, with a delectable build appeared on stage, a veil covering her face…
Her silhouette slowly started to move…
The woman’s long hair floated around as her graceful movements shadowed through the smoke…
His eyes were drawn to the dancers body…the curves of her form…the sway of her hips…
As she turned and moved, he felt a deep desire to move closer…
He closed his eyes and groaned…
This music, this dancer, this setting only brought to mind all the heartache he had inside…
He couldn’t take it…
He stood up to leave when his eyes once again locked onto the dancer…
The jingling only made his heart beat harder…
And as his eyes scanned her, he felt a painful current sharply jolt his body…
He couldn’t move a muscle…
Squinting, he began to move forwards…”It couldn’t be…Could it?…could it?”
Even as his heart jumped to conclusions, his brain ran the odds that he could have actually stumbled into a small town café and found the woman who had been fool enough to run from him…
The likelihood wasn’t even calculable.
But still, his every nerve buzzed with hope…
It seemed right…
It seemed like she was waiting for him…
Dancing this dance hoping he would walk in and rescue her…
“…if this IS her, ” he thought furiously…”Then why the hell would she be up on stage DANCING!? She’s supposed to be blending in! Not standing out! Stupid and reckless!”
Anger welled up inside him…
Arnav turned to see the waiter carrying his food to the table and he rushed over…”Tell me about this dancer…I want to meet her…”
The waiter laughed, a taunting sound that said he had been asked this question before…”Good luck with that…She’s a total introvert…She’s been here for 5 weeks and has barely spoken a word to ME! And I work here!”
“Is she beautiful?” Arnav questioned…
“Sir, there is no question about it…even though it’s hard to tell under her veil…”
Arnav yanked out his wallet and gave the man money as he said…”Tell me everything you know…”
The man’s eyes were wide as he took the money…”Well, I don’t know much…she doesn’t drink…she doesn’t socialize…she claims that she was born here, but her accent is totally unmistakable…”
“…meaning…”
“Meaning she sounds like you dude! Which totally turned Chris on…he loves the accent!”
Arnav scowled, turning the full force of his raging gaze at the guitarist…
“If that fucker is trying to steal my wife, then I’m going to punch him! Right after I strangle HER for leaving me…” he thought…
“Is that it? Is that all you want to know?”
Arnav turned back to face the waiter…”What’s her name?”
The man pocketed the cash that was in his hand and said…”Her name is Joy.”
Joy.
Happiness.
Khushi.
Overcome with an emotions that was so strong it didn’t have a name, Arnav demanded patience from himself…
He could wait a few minutes until the dance finished…until the band finished…
When the smoke dispersed and the lights came up slightly, he would be able to get a better look at her…
He fought the urge to sprint up towards the stage and snatch the ‘might be’ Khushi from the stage.
Finally the music ended, and Chris signalled for the band to take a break between songs…
Arnav clenched his fists, already hating the leader of this ‘band’…
The audience was clapping and cheering as ‘Joy’ started to leave the stage…
Arnav was losing control and began pushing his way into the standing crowd…
“Hold UP!” Chris shouted…”I want to take a moment to mention our one and only dance spectacular, JOY!”
The dancer had her fingers clinging tightly to her skirt as her back remained to the audience…
Arnav was becoming furious, whether it was Khushi or not, no one should treat a woman this way…especially one who didn’t WANT to be in the spotlight…
He wanted to get everyone’s attention off her, and fast.
Her body language was easy for Arnav to read, and he began to forcefully push his way towards the front…
Chris grabbed Joy’s hand and pulled her closer to himself, and more into the light…
Arnav could FEEL the woman’s disgust and shoved the last few people out of his way, finally reaching the front of the stage…
He stood still…
Chris pulled her other hand around and Arnav thought that if this in fact WAS Khushi, then this guy was in perilous danger…
And in less than a second, Joy’s face was illuminated by the light…
Arnav was in awe…in shock…
It was Khushi.
She was glaring at Chris, her hands fisted at her side…
“…well…” Arnav thought in utter fury…”I’ll give her something else to think about…”
In one swift jump, Arnav pulled himself up onto the stage, letting the light fall fully on him as well..
He was about to tear Chris apart when her gaze hit his…
Her eyes widened and he saw her lips move…”Arnavji…”
11 Comments
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~~ Secrets From Vashti Kovac ~~ 
oh so she is dancing …. arnav singh raizada is not going to take it lightly
And all she said " Arnavji " !?!?! All the searching, living out of his suitcase, becoming a jetsetter, roaming around on the streets, just to find HIS Khushi ! All this just goes to prove the intensity of his love for Khushi !How on earth was it possible for anyone to enter their room and write anything, while they were sleeping there ?!? Khushi read the warning and left just like that ! She should have woken up Arnav atleast ! This only shows that she doesnt yet trust him fully !Knowing Khushi she would have been really desperate to dance in a bar which was full of men ogling at her and her body ! JOY , wow arnav you interpreted the name instantly..the tinkling of the anklets only deepened his curiosity in the dancer ! And atlast he found her ! She is in big trouble now after doing what she did !?! But still thinking who could have entered their room at night !?! Sarah update asap…..!!!! All questions, well not all i guess. But few will surely be answered in Part 20 !!!!
update update update!!!!i am going crazy!!!!update update update!!!aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!omfg!!!!!!!
What the hell. 8 weeks!! for 8 weeks he was away from her!!
Now he found her. oh he is furious . what will he do to her..??
please please update tomorrow. very curious to know what will happen now
Wow….what will asr do to kkgsr now….can't wait.plz continue soon
Omg!! Eeeekkkk!! Please don’t leave it like this for long!! I can’t wait to see what happens!! x
Omg he found her
Plez let there be sad scene
Can’t wait
ah he finally found her now KKGSR is in a lot of troubleASR is gonna rip the guy apart for touching herplease update soonyou left us with a cliffhanger
Its jus getting better with each update!!Initially I thought of this story to be with a clearly obvious track ie r arnavz repentance and winning khushi back bit clearly there is soo much more to it,the suspense,mystery and intensity of love and affection is beautifully penned downSo now that khushi is found arnav will make sure that the pay back is sweet for him that pays off all the suffering he took down to search for herAmazinggg update!!!
khushi arnav sigh raizada dancing for other to see oh lord asr is going to burn down the place and blind every man in there loved the update intense
Loved it. Arnav searched for Khushi for so many days and he finally found her.- desisweetheart9 from IF.