Chapter Twenty Five

Luckily for Khushi, since she hadn't been so successful with her shopping trip, she had managed to be spared of the gym, but just until the activewear Arnav had made her order online, had arrived. That was only for a few days, and then Khushi's workout resumed. They didn't workout every day, but Khushi still hated it very much.

As Sheetal had said, she dropped by a few days after her encounter with Khushi at the store. She asked her and Arnav about their trip to Khushi's parents, but Khushi let Arnav do most of the talking. She couldn't help herself but to look Sheetal up and down, taking in the royal blue shift dress she wore and the way her curls flowed. Sheetal looked absolutely beautiful and Khushi felt her insecurities rise.

As the days went on, Khushi's insecurities continued to linger. Even when holi came, no matter how much bhang she was tricked into drinking - or even personally chose to drink herself - her insecurities remained. While there was loads of fun filling the air, along with intoxication, Khushi could not get herself to be in her overly-cheery mode when intoxicated. Instead she kept herself along the sidelines and watched Arnav and Sheetal enjoy themselves, especially Sheetal. While Khushi had worn a simple, full-sleeved white salwar kameez, Sheetal had worn a white t-shirt and denim shirts, and once again, Khushi felt absolutely insecure next to her.

As the days went on and things were getting more hectic at work, Sheetal would come over now and then, and work with Arnav and the others. Khushi would now and then see what they were doing, as she and Mona would bring them tea and snacks while they all worked. Khushi would look at Sheetal, noting her standing by Arnav, or working with him, and she would always observe her. She would always take note of what she wore, how she looked, and so on. And Khushi only would feel more and more insecure by the day. She would never let Arnav notice it, afraid of what he might think, or worse, what he might say.

*~*

It had been a little over six months since their wedding, and finally, the Thailand project was complete. Business had been a complete success, and Sameer believed that it was very long overdue and time for Arnav and Khushi to go on their honeymoon.

"I won't listen to another word, you two will go on your honeymoon and that's final," Sameer said.

The entire family - except for Abhay, of course - were sitting down at the dining table for dinner. Khushi and Arnav glanced at each other, and before Arnav could say anything, Sameer spoke.

"Nope, I won't hear a single word. It's been stalled long enough, no more."

"But dad-"

"I told you Arnav, I won't hear a word."

"This is so exciting," Mona squealed. "But where should we send them?"

"I was hoping you could help me decide," Sameer smiled.

"Um- oh! The Bahamas? That would be great! Or oh! After all this Thailand talk, Thailand would be a good idea. Or maybe Greece? What about Italy? Or how about-"

"Great, now that you've got her started, she'll never stop," Aditya frowned, shaking his head.

Mona scowled at him. "Well I don't see you coming up with anything."

"Well it's not that hard to name a place," he smirked.

"Oh yeah? Name one."

"One?"

"Just one."

"Okay, fine - Paris."

"Now that's a good idea," Sameer said.

"See," Aditya grinned to his wife.

Mona rolled her eyes, though she couldn't help her grin. "Okay fine, Paris is a really good idea."

"Then it's settled," Sameer beamed.

"But dad-"

"But nothing Chote," Sameer said, cutting Arnav off. "You two are going, that's final."

"Okay, but you do remember that there's a conference there, right? And that you wanted one of us to attend?"

"You will not be attending it whatsoever," Sameer frowned.

"But Bhai is-"

"Busy with the Spaniards, I know. That's why Sheetal will be going instead."

Khushi paused for a fraction of a second but quickly recovered, no one catching it.

"But-"

"You will not step one foot into it whatsoever, and I will make sure to tell Sheetal to keep you out of the loop."

Arnav let out a sigh. "Fine."

"Perfect! So then both of you will be going to Paris; is that okay with you, Khushi?"

Khushi gave a light smile; she didn't have a problem with it at all. She just didn't know how to feel about Sheetal being there with them.

*~*

With the tickets booked and everything planned, Arnav and Khushi were ready and packed to go. Bidding their farewell to the family, the couple headed off to the airport very early in the morning. At first, Khushi was curious to know if Sheetal would be flying with them as well, but based on what she had heard, she discovered that Sheetal would not be flying with them, but rather on a different flight later that night. Khushi felt somewhat relieved by the news, but it was also only a matter of time before she joined them in Paris.

But it wasn't long until Khushi's mind was completely distracted from this thought. Upon arriving to the airport, they were treated with complete luxury, both Arnav and Khushi being escorted over to check in and wait in the VIP lounge. Khushi was absolutely stunned by the service, especially when she was offered to go to the spa. She denied the service, however, too stunned by it all. While they waited for their plane, they were treated to a lovely, exquisite meal, and once again, Khushi was stunned, feeling as though they were in a fancy restaurant. Although she had never flown before in her life, Khushi had heard of tales from others, as well as seen movies that displayed the discomfort of flying, the crappy food, and the horrendous crying of very loud babies. Yet what she was experiencing was nothing of the sort! But then again, by taking one good look at her husband, Khushi realized that the only reason why everything was so perfect was simply because of the family she had married into.

Holy crap!

Soon, it was time for them to board the plane and when they were escorted to their "apartment", Khushi felt her brain ready to give out. They basically had what Khushi thought to be a large chunk of the plane to themselves, with very comfortable seating as well as a big TV. Along with their seating area, they had a private bedroom with a double-sized bed, which seemed absolutely luxurious to Khushi. But as if that weren't enough, they even had their own private bathroom with a shower - a shower!

Khushi sat down with a small huff, still very much in shock. Arnav sat down beside her and their private butler - that's right, a butler - left to get their drinks, shutting the doors to their apartment.

Khushi immediately turned to Arnav. "Arnav, this is way too much."

"Normally I'd agree, but it is a long flight, so I'm kind of grateful they got us these seats."

"What- Arnav we have a shower - on a plane. Now I may have never flown before, but this has to be excessive."

Arnav shook his head with a small frown. "Not really, no," he shrugged.

Khushi opened her mouth to say something, when the butler returned with their drinks. While Arnav took the glass of champagne, Khushi took the glass of water. Khushi noticed the few sweeties on the small platter the butler had brought, along with a small envelope that had Mr. & Mrs. Raizada written very fancily.

The plane would be taking off soon, so both Arnav and Khushi buckled in, the butler leaving to take his seat as well. Khushi kept looking anxiously out of the window, checking to see if they were moving or not.

Arnav noticed this, so he placed his hand over hers. "Nervous?"

Khushi looked at their hands before looking up at Arnav. "Kind of," she said softly.

Arnav gave her a small smile and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry, it's not so bad. For a small moment it'll feel like your stomach dropped, but that's really about it."

Khushi nodded with a small gulp and glanced back out the window.

"Oh, let me show you this cool feature."

Khushi looked back at Arnav and saw him fiddling with the remote. Soon the TV screen displayed their plane on the screen.

"It's cool isn't it? It's a live view from a camera on the tail."

Khushi noticed the plane moving on the screen and she quickly looked outside. Their plane indeed was moving, and Khushi gulped. It moved down along its path, going to the runway, slowly speeding up along with her racing heart. Arnav gave her hand a squeeze, Khushi returning a squeeze of her own as the plane took off of the ground and ascended into the sky. She felt like she had left her stomach on the runway, the plane continuing to go higher and higher until they were within the clouds.