Opposite Poles..Part 21

Part 21

The middle aged person opened the door for her.  She couldn’t decide.  She peeped inside.  Another lady was sitting inside.  The person got down from his side and moved towards her.  

“Come sister! We will drop you at the nearest place..! he said politely coming towards her.  Khushi smiled when he called her ‘sister’.  The lady opened the door for her.  Khushi took a step ahead to go with them. 

 

A strong hand grabbed her arm and dragged her.  She screamed in fright. 

“Shut up!” someone yelled and dragged her away from that car.  She was unable to resist.  The middle aged person ran back to his car and raced away.  Khushi was dragged to the white SUV and was pushed inside on  the passenger seat.  The door got locked.  Arnav Singh Raizada hopped into the car from other side.

“What the hell you think you were doing? Going with a stranger in a car?” he yelled at the top of his voice.   She shuddered looking at his enraged face.  He slammed on the accelerator.  She gaped at him aghast.

“What do you think you were doing? Don’t you know the danger?” he asked her again glancing at her angrily.

“Answer me, Damn it!” he yelled.

“bu.. but he called me sister…!” she tried to defend her decision.

“In which world are you living, Damn it!” he yelled glaring at her for her stupidity.

“This…. your so called brother… would have taken you anywhere… by the time you realize.. you would have been ra…!” he stopped looking at her ghostly face.

“Do you have anything in here? You.. brainless git!” he snapped pointing at her head.

“What?” she blurted.  “Who are you, then?” she asked him piercingly.  He gaped at her with his mouth falling open.  He too was a stranger to her and had pushed her in his car. He drove the car recklessly totally frustrated with himself.  He felt exposed..! 

She pressed her paining arm.  He glanced at her guiltily. 

“You are disappointed.. Aren’t yout?” he asked disdainfully.  She looked at him blankly. 

“You lost the opportunity to extort money… ask for a lift. cry out molestation.. Blackmail and extract money…!” he went further describing.

“Buss kijiye! Stop it!” she said painfully.   He had again managed to hurt her enough.  She couldn’t take it anymore.

“I know what opinion you carry about the poor, classless, one in the crowd type girls like me! Please stop the car and let me get down!” she looked away out of the window to know where exactly he was taking her.  He looked at her.  He felt a surge of pain in his heart.  “Damn it!” he banged on the wheel.

“Please stop the car!” she said wiping her eyes off.  He accelerated. 

“Why? Why, Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada? What have I done to you? Why are you hell bent on ruining my life?” she asked looking straight into his eyes.  He avoided her gaze.  He had no answer.  In fact, he himself was searching for the answer.  

“Where?” he asked her after a while.  “Laxmi Nagar!” she said in a whisper.  He looked at her. She was looking out of the window, wiping off her tears from her cheeks.  His heart ached.

“Look! I..” he opened his mouth with a toned down voice…. and applied sudden brakes.  “Shit!” 

She bumped her head on the dashboard.  She looked at him shocked.  He was glaring ahead.  A small stray puppy had wandered in the middle of the road.  He jumped out of the car.  Lifted the puppy in his arms and looked around.  She gaped at him from inside the car.  He heard the growl and saw puppy’s mother at his feet with three more of them.   A faint smile appeared on his face.  He lifted all the puppies in his arms and took them aside away from the road and kept them down.  The mother followed.  “Don’t take them to the road…!” he blurted patting on her head.  “Bhoooo!” the thanks giving session was over…! He came back to the car.   Khushi still had tears in her eyes, but a faint smile on her face.  She had opened her Tiffin.   He looked at her in bewilderment.  “Roti!” she whispered looking at him, not knowing how he would react.  He gaped at her and took the roti from her, went back to the puppies and fed the roti to the mother. 

He took a big sigh of relief and started his car again.  

“Why can’t you be like this to human beings?” she asked him.  He glanced at her.

“Or may be, you don’t consider me a human being!... Do you have the same opinion about all the girls or is it special honor for me?’ she continued with the topic. 

“Shut up!” he yelled.

“Yeah! You can shut me up anytime you want!” she went ahead scornfully.  “Girls like me… Isn’t it? A faceless, shameless, classless, manner less girl like me, has only one motto! Money and money only! Extract money… by hook or crook… isn’t it, Mr. Arnav Singh Riazada? Like my Kutte ji, a girl like me doesn’t even deserve a proper name…”

“KHUSHI…!” he uttered in a deep voice and she swallowed rest of her speech in a gulp and chocked.

“Khushi Kumari Gupta!”  he said very clearly fixing his gaze on the road ahead.  Her mouth fell open.  She lost her words.  He looked at her briefly and uttered her name again in a soft husky tone..

“Khushi !” she tried searching for words.  All of them had vanished somewhere.   A shiver ran through her spine, hearing her name from him. 

“Ho..How do you know?” she asked looking aghast.  He refrained from answering.  She suddenly fell silent.  He too wrapped silence around him for a while.  He had managed to stun her this time.

“You know? My Kutte ji.. that ungrateful nameless dog?” she started off.  That was the only thing they shared in common.

“Yeah! He ran past you to me!” he smirked.  She flared up her nose, but went ahead.

“Someone beat him to death! Babuji told me the other day..!” she missed him again.

“What?” he was shocked.   The dog always followed him on the Ghat during his last visit to Lucknow! He missed him too!

She tried to control her sob.  He touched her shoulder silently!  She looked away from the window.  They drove quietly.

Feeling little relaxed, he asked, “How is your wound now?” .. There was no answer for a second and in return he got the explosion.  

“Wound? Are you asking about wound? Oh! Sorry it couldn’t take your permission but healing…!” she said sarcastically.  

“What?” he blurted in confusion.

“What? Ask me what not!” she had crossed the line of sanity.  “Do you even know, your so called help landed me in hell?” she asked furiously and removing her seat belt in frustration.

“What?” he asked her bewildered.

“What? Are you asking me? Read it in the news papers tomorrow…Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada..!” she flared up.  “Read about the theft .. read about a girl in Jail…!” she looked hysterical.  He stopped the car and turned to her.

“Stop it!” he grabbed her arm.  She stopped panting with uneven breath.  She chocked, words failed her. She gaped at him.

“Tell me what happened!” he asked her calmly. She freed herself from his grip.

“What happened?... two boxes are stolen… they put the blame on me… I am a thief…!” she said trembling and trying to control her tears.

“What?” he couldn’t understand. 

“Will you tell me everything?” he asked  her holding her hand.  She broke down with his touch.

“Khushi..! Stop crying..! tell me what happened…!” he said still holding her hand tightly.

She started narrating, incoherently between her sobs…!  He listened to her patiently.

“Why didn’t you tell them that I was there?” he asked her the logical question.

“Tell them what? That an intruder helped me? What will happen to the security guards then? They will lose their jobs!” she asked him back.  He gaped at her.  “Is she taking the blame and saving their jobs?” he was amazed.  How could one be so selfless? He thought.  Frown disappeared from his face.

“For God’s sake, Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada, please don’t meet me again in my life… I have had enough already.  Whenever we met, I always have landed in trouble losing everything I have.  Please.. I wish I never met you Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada…!” she said in a defeated voice.  He applied breaks.  They were at traffic signal.

“Laxmi Nagar!” he glared at her.  She got down without another word and without even looking back, headed towards her home.   He accelerated….!

“What does she think of herself? Does not wish to meet me again, does she? …Fine!” he muttered like her.

“You will have it Khushi Kumari Gupta! You will be punished again…!” his eyes spat vengeance.

“Get me the number of Indraprastha warehouse incharge…!” ordered Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada…!