Warrior - Chapter Thirty Nine

Given the turn the conversation had taken, we decided to end it there. Arnav made sure to see if I was truly okay, which I was, and only then did he pull away and return to his make-shift bed. With the lights off, I momentarily stared up at the ceiling and remembered the way Arnav was holding me just moments ago.

He held me... he held me the same way he had in that nightmare. He actually... he did. ...he really did.

The feeling of his hands spread across the back of my head, as well as along my waist, and it lingered around. It also then spread down to my left hand, and I lifted it up, all of the diamonds on my ring finger looking down at me as it slightly glinted from the light that snuck in through the windows.

It's okay.

A small sigh escapes my lips as the lingering feeling spreads all throughout my body, giving me comfort. I brought my hand back down and turned to my side, balling up slightly as I found comfort.

It's completely okay.

*~*

When I awoke the following morning, I found Arnav placing his pillow and covers on the end of the bed.

"Good morning," and he gave me that small, polite smile of his.

"G'morning," and I couldn't help but to stretch.

"Sleep well," and there was a hint of teasing in his smile.

Honestly and weirdly enough, I did sleep well, and given the past few nights, I needed it. "Yeah."

He gave another smile in return. "Would you like to wash up first-?"

"Arnav, there's no need to be super nice and a gentleman all the time," I smirked lightly.

"What can I say? I just am one," he smiled haughtily.

"Is that ego I see," I teased.

Arnav only rolled his eyes in return, chuckling as he did, then headed off to start for the day.

You know what... this guy really isn't so bad.

After both of us finally got ready for the day, we made our way downstairs, and Amma pretty much squealed as soon as she saw us- sorry, Arnav. She pretty much dashed to his side, seated him at the table, then started stacking anything and everything on the poor man's plate. I honestly felt sorry for the guy, I really did - but I can't help but to be entertained at the same time, especially when he looked at me for help.

Sorry bud, I got no power here.

Babuji tried here and there to help him out, but there truly was no stopping Amma. Even Payal tried to calm my mother, telling her to stop stuffing up her jeeju, but Amma claimed she wasn't.

I wonder what her definition of stuffed is.

Though I must admit, I can't help but to watch my family interact with Arnav. Not only did I now, but throughout the day I did. They all seemed to get along really well, and it was clear that my family had accepted him into the fold with open arms. It made me think of his family, which then reminded me of how I had thought of asking Arnav about his past last night, but didn't get around to. It all ended up being so focused on me that I totally forgot.

But that won't be the case again tonight.

So this time, I was prepared. This time, as Arnav came into the room all ready for bed, he found me chilling on some cushions on the floor of my closet with a bowl of chips, a charcuterie board full of goodies, a bottle of wine, as well as two glasses just for us.

"Uh-"

"I thought we could continue our talk from last night," I smiled.

"Really," he smiled, and he walked over, sitting himself down.

I passed him a few cushions so that he could get comfortable. "Yup."

He made himself comfortable, then looked at the spread before him. "This is is different," he said, waving his hand to gesture at the room.

"My closet has always been my comfort space. It's a room of its own anyways, not to mention all of the glam is here."

"True," he nodded with a smile.

"So I thought why not."

"Hmm.... And the wine? Not to mention the spread."

"Well... things did get a little deep last night," I said softly.

Arnav's eyes immediately met mine.

"I thought if that were to happen again, we could mellow it out with some wine."

He eyed the bottle before looking back at me. "Are you sure?"

"What? Afraid you won't be able to control yourself," I asked, arching my brow.

A small smirk spread across his lips. "I'll be good."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely."

"In that case," and I opened up the bottle and poured us each a glass.

After handing him his glass, I placed the bottle aside and dug right into the chips. "So, are you ready?"

Arnav let out a small chuckle and picked up some chips for himself. "I suddenly feel like I'm on a game show."

"Eh," I shrugged. "It's only right that tonight the topic shifts onto you, since last night was all about me."

"That's fair," he nodded. "So, what would you like to know about me?"

"I want to know about the twelve years you and your parents lived in exile."

Arnav's small smile drops and he glanced down at his wine. For a moment, he remains quiet, and I don't push him. I knew this wasn't going to be an easy topic, and urging him to answer wouldn't get me anywhere, so I simply waited, sipping on my wine.

"What about it," he finally said, his voice low.

He has a point; twelve years is a lot of time for many events to occur. So when of those twelve years do I want to focus on first?

"What was it like in the beginning," I asked once I decided. "Obviously you know that your mother has told me about her pregnancy and all that, but... I guess what were the early years like when you three lived separately?"

Arnav nodded, looking down at his wine glass. "As you know, my grandparents didn't accept my parents, or rather, neither of my grandfathers could accept what had happened. My parents were kicked out of their homes by them, so they set out to get one of their own."

"I have a hunch where that home might be, but there was something I wanted to clear out on first."

"Sure."

"Did they get married before they told your grandparents?"

"Yeah," Arnav nodded. "As soon as Ma told Pops she was pregnant, he quickly married her. Then they went to their parents."

"Hmm.... And as for the home, you once mentioned an apartment on top of a bakery. Would that bakery happen to be the ones who make those amazing cannolis?"

A small smirk spread across Arnav's lips. "The very one you saw me outside of, yeah."

I remembered back to that day, remembering how Payal had seen Arnav's mother and aunts at the same restaurant we were at, only for the both of us to later see him when we got to the car. I remembered the small interaction Arnav and I had - if you can call it that - which then brought me back to reality.

Oh how things have changed.

Arnav let out a sigh, a small smile ghosting over his lips. "I remember a few memories of my younger days there. The apartment wasn't really much; it was a studio basically. It was all one room, just the bathroom separate. As soon as you walked in, the kitchen was immediately to your right. We had a tiny living area set up with a small couch a tiny TV on the left. We also had a small table to eat at, and there was only space for one bed."

"The bed your parents wanted for you to sleep on, but you would give up for your parents instead," I said, remembering his words from before.

"That's right," he smiled lightly. "When I was a baby, fitting a small cot was easy, and since the bed was against the wall, Dad was sleep on that side while mom stayed on the other so that she could easily get me from the cot in case of anything. When I got older, Dad gave up the bed for Mom and I to sleep, and he would sleep on the floor. It then got to a point where I was old enough to understand and said I wouldn't be sleeping on the bed. But my parents being my parents were stubborn as well, despite it being a tight squeeze. But, after all I get my stubbornness from them."

I can't help my small smile. "Sounds like you guys had your own little world."

"We did," he sighed softly, and he took a sip of his wine before placing the glass down. "But anytime I had to step out of the apartment, it reminded me that there was a far greater world out there... and a cold one at that."

I couldn't help but to pinch my lips together.

"In the beginning, I didn't understand," he continued. "But very quickly, while I was young, I learned that people looked at us differently. With age, I understood that not only did they look at us differently but they spoke to us differently - spoke about us differently."

"Do you remember how old you were when you first realized?"

Arnav shrugged lightly. "Hard to say.... For as long as I can remember, people always judged us, ridiculed us, pointed fingers at us... at me."

While Arnav took another swig of his wine and refilled his glass, despite it not having been finished in the first place, I looked at him at slightly wide-eyed. I had only been judged and pointed at, not to mention ridiculed for a few years, and yet Arnav....

I can't imagine the anger he must feel - the rage he must feel.

Which makes me wonder....

"Were you ever bullied in school," I asked softly.

Arnav let out a small scoff as he smiled. "Yeah," and he reached over to the charcuterie board and ate a grape.

Damn, we've hardly touched it! I don't want Gomez seeing it like that in the morning, not after the time he took to elegantly prepare it!

Taking a cracker, I spread some cheese on it and took a bite, waiting for him to continue.

"Kids are harsh," he finally said. "I don't think people realize it, but kids can be really mean - almost brutal - because they can't look past the angelic faces. But as a kid myself, I knew... and every day they would torment me - harass me.... I hated it."

"Did you ever tell anyone?"

"I didn't have to. My classmates would say shit in front of teachers, and although they would get scolded for being rude, I knew that on the inside, the teachers agreed. All of them had the same look on their face, the look of judgement.... Nah, age didn't matter at all here because they all thought the same."

For whatever reason, I found myself gritting my teeth.

Huh?

"I heard it all, to tell you the truth," and Arnav moved to his side, leaning on his arm, resting his head in his hand. "Not one person spared me, nor my father, and especially not my mother. They said anything and everything. ...At times, death felt like the better option," he said lowly.

Shalini's words from the first day I met her, immediately came flooding back to mind.

Everyone whispered behind my back, some directly to my face. Everyone pointed their fingers at me, doing whatever they can to make me feel low and disgusted in myself. ...I was so ashamed and embarrassed that... I wanted to kill myself at one point. However, two pairs of chocolate eyes always looked to me, and I knew I could never do something so drastic that could take me away from them. ...but it was hard.

I looked over at Arnav, who was eating another grape. As he did, I couldn't help but to look at Arnav, specifically his eyes. It was as if I were looking into a pool of chocolate, and I quickly realized that Shalini was right.

Or at least right about one pair of chocolate eyes. And the pair of chocolate eyes before me truly held a lot in them.

"It's a good thing you chose life over death," I finally said, bringing his attention to me.

"Those motherfuckers weren't worth losing your life over," I continued. "They never will be."

A small smile spread over his face. "You're right," and then he glanced down. "It took a while for me to understand that. And just as I was getting over that," he sighed, "another person entered the ring."

"Your Dadadji," I said, fully confident it was him.

Arnav pursed his lips together and nodded. "The one and fucking only."

Oh! Okay Raizada, I see you! It's not often this man cusses.

Wait, have I heard him cuss before? Surely I have... right-? Focus Khushi!

I moved over to my side as well, making myself comfortable, holding my wine. "Tell me about the old man; I've heard a few things about him - mostly business-wise - but I've never had the privilege of meeting the man."

"Demon would be the more appropriate word to describe him," Arnav scoffed. "And be grateful that you never met Manosh Singh Raizada."

Hmm.... "There's a name I haven't heard in a long time."

Arnav glanced up at me.

"Almost forgot he ever existed," and I took a sip of my wine.

A grin took over his face as Arnav looked away. "Now that's a sentence that could've sent the old demon to his grave if he were still around," he smirked.

"Oh? Is that so? I feel so honored," I smirked.

Arnav's grin grew even wider and he looked at me for a moment.

"What? Is something on my face?"

"No," he smiled. "I'm just imagining what it would've been like if Dadaji had met you."

"Oh?"

"Only one thing comes to mind."

I arched my brow at him.

"Warzone," he smirked.

I couldn't help but to reflect one of my own. "You honor me, good sir," and I waved my glass to him.

He waved his in return, the both of us clinking them together as we chuckled and sipped our wines.

"I almost feel sad I didn't meet the geezer," I said.

Arnav tilted his head with a small scowl.

"Hey, I said almost. I already know the old timer never would've approved of a divorcee like me to marry into his family."

"That's true," Arnav nodded. "Heck, he probably would've had me marry years ago."

"Oh? Is that so?"

He nodded. "Dadaji had his own ways... everything had to be under his control. The old demon, he... he was something else."

"What do you mean?"

"Not many people like to admit it and keep it to themselves but... but I knew all to well and would say it while others wouldn't," he said, shaking his head, and then he looked at me. "You should know Khushi that my grandfather was the ultimate, self-absorbed jerk one could ever meet."

Huh. "Not surprised but how so?"

"Dadaji's biggest issue with my parents isn't just the fact that they got pregnant before marriage, but rather that my father decided to get married on his own, making his own decisions."

What the fuck?

"The old fucker couldn't stand that someone else was making decisions over him."

"No shit fucking way," I murmured.

A small grin spread across his lips. "Yes shut fucking way."

Ooh! Okay Raizada, I see you again!

"Dadaji was just something else," he continued. "It angered him and filled him up with fury that his eldest son did as he wanted, rather than listen to his father. He couldn't tolerate the so called insolence and wanted to teach my father a lesson, as the old timer liked to put it."

"By kicking his son and his son's wife to the curb, and threatening anyone who tried to give your father a job."

"Exactly," he nodded. "And not only did he try to wreak havoc on their lives, but on my uncles' lives as well."

Oh? Well this is news.

"See, Dadaji had plans of his own. He had decided from before that like his father had done to him, and his father before, my father and my uncles would marry a girl of his choice when they each turned 18."

My eyebrows shot up on their own, totally unimpressed. "You've gotta be shitting me."

Arnav shook his head. "Told you so - self-absorbed. Because my father married earlier and the girl of his choice, my grandfather lost his shit. So when Bade Kaka turned 18, Dadaji didn't want to waste a second more than necessary."

The image of Firouz Singh Raizada quickly came to mind.

"Getting him married wasn't a challenge at all for Dadaji. Bade Kaka turned 18 in June and Dadaji had a friend who wanted to marry off his daughter. Months later in December, he got married to Kaki Ma."

"How old was she?"

"Seventeen."

Shit.... I can't even imagine myself being married at that age. Sure, I had been in a relationship at that age, but that ended eventually. But what the fuck?!

Then again, mama in-law got married at 15 and had a baby. If the legal age to get married in this town is 13, should I really even be so fucking surprised?

Don't ask, them older generations were on some other shit when they created these laws.

"If you think that's bad," Arnav continued, bringing my attention back to him, "that's not even the kicker."

"What the fuck? What else could the old geezer do that was fucked up?"

Arnav let out a scoff. "Don't underestimate the demon," he smirked.

Touché.

"Not only did he demand for his sons to get married at 18, but to also father a child as soon as possible."

My eyes widened immediately. "What?!"

Arnav only nodded.

What the fuck? What the actual fuck?! "No way the fucking geezer was okay in the head! No offense and what not."

"I could care less," he shrugged, then drank his wine.

Well, no surprise there I guess.

"So let me get this straight," I said after taking a moment to process his words. "The shitty old timer demanded for his sons to get married at 18 and immediately make a baby?"

"Yup."

"Yet when your father did just that, only in reverse and a few years earlier, it was a problem?"

"Basically. And don't forget, my father was the one who chose his life partner, not Dadaji."

"What the actual shit fucking fuck?!"

A short escapes from Arnav, but he quickly catches himself and stops himself from laughing. However the humor and entertainment is purely obvious in his eyes as he looked at me.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm serious! What the actual fuck was wrong with that man- no, demon- no! Monster! The fuck? He's lucky he never met my ass or I would've given him a fucking piece of my damn fucking mind," and I took a big gulp of my wine.

Fucking piece of shit, I would've loved to put that fucker in his fucking place!

"If only he had," Arnav smiled lightly.

"Damn straight! ...so wait, did it end up happening though? Having a kid immediately that is?"

"Yeah; not even married a full year and they had Akash."

"No way," I gasped, my eyes widening.

Arnav nodded. "They married in December and Akash was born later in October."

Holy fuck! ...Then wait-! "Wait, did the same thing happen with NK then? Did his parents have him as soon as possible?"

"Unfortunately and fortunately, no," Arnav said, shaking his head.

"I don't understand."

"While Kaka did get married at 18 to Choti Ma, they didn't have NK till he was 21."

"Shit, old geezer must've been pissed."

"I'd say Kaka was more pissed given that Dadaji constantly ridiculed him, saying he wasn't able to have children."

"Clearly that's not the case."

Arnav nodded. "True."

"Wait, so how old was NK's mom when they got married?"

"She was 16."

What the fuck?! "Sixteen?!"

"Funnily enough, this time it was Choti Ma who wanted to get married to Kaka, so she had her father talk to Dadaji."

Oh word? "Really?"

"Her family came from wealth as well, so they knew mine and mingled among them. I guess Choti Ma fell for Kaka, and Dadaji had a bride set and picked before Kaka turned 18."

"No way."

Arnav pinched his lips together and nodded. "Kaka turned 18 in March, Choti Ma turned 16 in July, and they got married that following September. In Dadaji's eyes, everything seemed all good, but when there was no child, the problems started. I'm sure he's said stuff about Choti Ma indirectly, but he mainly shot his jabs at Kaka for not being able to produce an heir. The reality of it is, which I learned years later, was that Kaka didn't want Choti Ma to go through something like that so young. So they waited a few years and then had a child."

"Resulting with NK," I said absentmindedly. "So he was 21 and she was... 19?"

"Yeah."

Holy shit! The fact these people all had kids so young... shit! I mean they were so young! Regardless each situation was different but....

"I still can't believe what an ass your grandfather was," I scowled. "He really had the audacity to be mad at your parents, not to mention the audacity to shun them out and have society ridicule him, when he was a far worse organism than anything on the fucking planet!"

I tossed my drink back, finishing my wine. I'm a little surprised that I've only downed one glass, but I quickly let it escape my mind.

"He was an ass," Arnav nodded. "But he's dead and he's been gone for several years, which have honestly been the best years for everyone in the family."

"How old were you when he died?"

"Twenty two... yeah I was 22 at the time. The house was finally peaceful and everyone felt like they could actually breathe. ...Then Dadi passed about two years later and momentarily we forgot how to breathe. Things eventually picked up on its own."

I pursed my lips, nodding in acknowledgement. "I'm going to take a wild guess here, but by any chance, was your dadi's name Aarohi?"

Arnav's eyes shot up to mine, but then followed to where I was looking. On his left forearm, directly above his Anubis tattoo, was what looked like a bed of roses. While they were in black ink, the art was superb, looking quite realistic. Among the flowers, however, was a name written in a small cursive font - Aarohi.

Arnav glanced down at his arm before looking back up at me. "Yeah, how'd you figure that out?"

"You mentioned before that you got the Anubis tattoo for your grandfather. Given how close the tattoos are to each other, and how the name falls in between, not to mention the supposed lack of women in your life, I had a hunch. But then your parents spoke about your grandparents the other day, and you don't seem to be the type to just get anyone's name inked onto your body, so my hunch felt right."

"You are," he smiled softly.

I knew it.

Arnav reached over to the bowl of chips. "This has been quite the eventful night."

Indeed it has. I've definitely learned a lot about the Raizada's, not to mention quite a bit about the man that is my new husband. Seeing him the way he is now, it's almost hard to believe that he was bullied as a kid. And yet, when you remember his story, it makes sense why.

There really is so much more to Arnav Singh Raizada - CEO of AR Industries, tattooed badass - my husband.

And he's actually turning out to be quite an interesting man.