Maid in Love! - Chapter 4

Kushi shut her eyes and braced herself for the impact, but it never came; instead she felt strong muscular arms around her body. As a reflex she held onto his shoulders and buried her face in his neck, her hear beat was running at an abnormally high speed while her hair fell across his face; barring his vision. But in all the chaos that transpired in the last few seconds, Khushi felt at peace being in his arms. She didn't know why it felt right being enclosed in this strangers arms, and she was afraid to open her eyes. Finally after a few more seconds, she moved her head to face him and flicked her hair to the side; She was mesmerized by a set of chocolate brown eyes staring curiously at her. She felt one arm around her back and the other behind her knees, her bare legs she realized with a start, she might as well be naked since the minimum clothing she was wearing left little to the imagination. Suddenly feeling extremely shy; she extracted her arms from his neck and motioned him to put her down, but he just kept on holding her as if in a trance. She spoke loudly at him “Hello! Can you please put me down?”

Arnav felt a bolt of electricity hit him when she fell into his arms. As if she was meant to be in his arms, she felt perfectly aligned with him. He was too shocked to register her words; He could still feel her arms tight around him, her lips caressing his neck as they trembled. His hands itched to feel those impossibly smooth legs and his chest did not want to part with the warmth of her erratically beating heart and heaving bosom. She had the most angelic face her had ever seen, calling her beautiful was an understatement. Her gorgeous hair felt right on his face and her vanilla scent made him go wild. Arnav singh raizada had never felt out of control like this, he had no idea what was happening to him. In his daze, he realized it too late when she bit him on his shoulder. He let go off her suddenly and she fell on the ground with a thud “What the hell is wrong with you? First you catch me, then you wont leave me and now you throw me down? Are you nuts?” Arnav could not believe his ears “ I'm nuts? What about you? Who the hell are you? You actually bit me! That too after i saved you?And what were you doing on that balcony? Im calling security right now!” Khushi looked at him with disbelief “Seriously! You think i'm a thief? Climbing on balconies in my night wear? Oh wait maybe its possible that i wandered into your palace, past you security and electric fences and whatnot while i was sleepwalking, that seems little bit more plausible, don't you think?” Arnav was a little amused and very angry, no one spoke to ASR like this “Well then before i call the security who will either escort you to your house or to the police station, explain yourself! I don't have all night for your antics” Khushi was positively livid, who the hell did he think he was! Looking at the way he dressed, he looked like a palace staff person; scruffy tshirt and tracks with mud covered shoes, otherwise who the hell will be roaming about at this time of night; but something about him seemed very regal, the way he spoke and the way he held his head high, being around royals must have rubbed off on him! Khushi said smugly “Excuse me, but i happen to be the new governess of Shobhana devi's great grandchildren and when she hears about how some guy on her property treated me with such scorn, you will have it! Maybe even lose you job! So i am warning you.Say sorry!” Arnav did a double take when she said governess, 'What the hell! Had dadiji lost it completely? This girl child was the new governess? No way...did she even know 'What' the twins were, they will eat her alive , but this thought made him happy, good that will teach her a lesson. No one messes with ASR' Arnav looked at her and asked “Oh ok, so you are here to take care of Vishal and Vaishali?” Khushi was relieved and confidently replied “ Yes off course, Vishal and Vaishali, absolutely angelic kids they are. I can't wait to meet them tomorrow, though i didn't understand how the parcel caught the spark, i mean poor kids they must have bought something really nice for me, but due to some sparks which caused some kind of a cracker effect, the parcel fell deep into the bushes, i'll have to apologize to them tomorrow” Arnav was throughly enjoying this, neither did she know the twins name nor did she know them if she thought they were anywhere near angelic, down-right demonic is what suited them. He was sure the crackers were her welcome gift, he'll have to talk to them tomorrow but this was going to be fun. Arnav straightened his face and said to her solemnly “Sorry for my outburst mam, i did not realize who you were. I suppose you will be meeting up with Shobhana deviji tomorrow morning, please don't complain about me; i will truly lose my job, i live off tending to these gardens, its how my family survives” Khushi felt bad for the chap and relieved that he was staff and not family “Hey, its fine. These things happen, don't worry i won't complain but its best we stay out of each others way, I should be going back now. Need a good night's sleep to meet everyone tomorrow morning.Oh and i hope you will not tell of this incident to anyone, especially to sir? Sharada said he's very strict and likes discipline amongst us staff, you must know” Arnav was finding it difficult to hide his smirk “Sure yes i know. He can be very scary sometimes. You should go now. Oh and take the back door entrance through the bushes there, i don't think you would want to walk around the night security in these clothes” Khushi nodded her thanks and took off at once, she could not stand here talking to him anymore. She felt completely out of bounds near him. She hoped she never meets him again. But those mesmerizing brown eyes will not let her rest, of that much she was sure.

Arnav saw her walking briskly towards the back door, her perfect round bottom swaying from side to side and her long legs disappearing swiftly around the bushes, he was still very confused as to how such a young girl came to be an experienced governess. Something did not sit right, but he had too many things to think about before leading another investigation! He still could not explain his out of control reaction to her; granted she was gorgeous, but he had been amongst soo many beautiful women. It scared him that for the first time in his life, he was lost control. He shrugged his shoulders and resumed his walk towards the front of the palace, he was sure all this was due to the extra stress he was carrying around like vitriol, it was definitely playing havoc with this system. He needed to sleep, but God only knows how replaying a pair of beautiful hazel eyes in his dreams would get him any sleep. It was going to be a long night!

Khushi woke up at sharp 6am in the morning, she wasn't sure what time the house really wakes up to, but knowing the stern Shobhanaji she assumed it must be dead early. After having a quick shower, she wore her dull pastel shade salwar kameez, the loose fitting garment did nothing for her figure and the color made her look positively ill. She did not put any makeup on her face but refrained from oiling her hair, she hated the smell and feel of it; instead she wore her hair in a tight bun on top of her head. She looked in the mirror and saw her school headmistress looking back! with a quick smirk she left her room for the living room.

As she was walking down, she kept remembering her encounter from last night, will she see him again? she probably will she thought since he lived on the property. His eyes were soo dreamy while his hard body felt amazing, it must be due to the tough work he did around those magnificent gardens; Khushi mentally shook herself 'Calm down Khushi! Why the hell are you thinking about that gardener? I should concentrate on the job at hands and so what if i don't see him again! As if it matters to me' she walked into the living room area still in her thoughts and bumped into someone, “Sorry” she immediately replied, a good looking guy of around early 20's looked at her with amusement “Hello! You must be the new governess, Ms Kumari?” Khushi smiled a little “Yes, that's me. May i ask who you might be?”... “Oh Sorry! I'm Yuvraj, Shobhana Deviji's younger grandson. Hope your journey was good?Sorry none of us could meet you last night” Khushi looked smiled genuinely now “Sorry sir, i did not recognize you. Yes thank you , my trip was very good, the flight left on time” Yuvraj looked funnily at her “Flight? I thought you took the train? Oh and please call me Yuvraj, sir is better suited to my elder brother” Khushi mentally whacked herself, she needed to be more careful “Oh right, sorry i mean train..im still a little fuzzy from lack of sleep” Yuvraj nodded “Ok, don't worry it happens, come i'll take you to meet My grandmother and the rest of the family” saying this he ushered her into another room off the living room.

This room was very artistically done and had a huge grand piano with various other musical instruments lying about, Khushi was delighted as she loved classical Indian and western music, She was admiring the piano forte when a superbly elegant woman walked in, She wore a sari of beige silk, with pearls adorning her neck and ears. She had a streak of white running through her greyish hair and it gave her a very regal look” She looked at Khushi from top to bottom and her eyes finally rested on her face, she stepped in front of Khushi and looked her in the eyes “Good Morning, you must be Khushi, its very nice to meet you” She looked her up and down again, “You looks very young ms Kumari but i suppose your recommendation speaks for your experience” Khushi smiled a genuine smile; even though this woman looked fierce, something about her was very homey, very comfortable, she quickly changed the topic “Namaste Shobhana deviji, its an honor to meet you. May i say you have a magnificent home and an even beautiful Music room” Shobhana devi liked this girl instantly, anyone who admires music was special for her “Thank you dear, do you like Music?” Khushi's face lit up “Oh yes, i love music. In fact i grew up amongst the various raga's of hindu classical music and the Beethoven's and tchaikovsky's of western. I feel music runs in my blood” as soon as she said it Shobhana devi's face looked suspiciously at her, Khushi again hit herself mentally because obviously how can a poor governess have this much knowledge and tuition on music, Khushi quickly added “My uncle worked at a Musician's place in Lucknow, I used to work there during my summer holidays every year to earn some extra cash, thats when the good gentleman used to give me free lessons, once i started learning i got hooked. He taught me everything i know” Shobhana devi seemed convinced of this, she smiled again “Very nice, you should play something for me one day. We have a ball coming up in a few days, maybe if you are good we have have a performance from you, oh and you can teach music to the twins as well! Speaking of which, Yuvraj where are the twins?” Yuvraj quickly answered “Payal bhabhi has them, she's bought a lot of gifts for them from her holiday and as always she indulging them” Shobhana devi summoned one of the maids and told her to fetch the twins and Payal and to see if Arnav and Aakash are ready for breakfast; she wanted to introduce Khushi to everyone at once.

Arnav was having another banging headache, all night he had tossed and turned, not getting an ounce of sleep! He was very tired and very irritated, that girl had kept him awake all night. He had no idea why he was so restless, why was he so affected by her. She was just a governess, he had been amongst soo many sophisticated and gorgeous woman but somehow no one had had this effect on him, it was as if this girl had reached out to his soul. The thought made him shudder and as always he thought its due to the high amount of stress he had. He got up quickly and got ready for office. He was really looking forward to seeing her reaction when he re-introduces himself to her; He wondered what she would be wearing, her gorgeous hair swaying about her hips, her long legs making him go crazy, his impatience was really scaring him now. He slowed down and took his time getting ready. As he was picking up his laptop bag one of the helps knocked on his door and informed him about what Dadiji had said, she wanted to introduce everyone to Ms Kumari. Arnav smirked and said to him “Tell dadi i'm on an early morning con-call. I'll come down as soon as im done. They can go ahead with the introductions” 'I will be the other surprise element' he thought with a grin. He shut his door and waited 15 minutes till he went down. This was going to be interesting..

Khushi was very happy to meet everyone, she liked Aakash and Payal as soon as she was introduced. She wondered if there was anyone she would dislike in this house, everyone seemed soo warm and kind. When the twins were brought around, she gave them a huge smile and gestured them to come near her, Payal had just started saying “and these are the twins, v..” Khushi interrupted her and spoke loudly, “yes i know! The beautiful vaishali and the handsome vishal” The twins gave her a look as if saying 'Are you nuts?!', Khushi looked around the room and saw everyone staring at her , Aakash was the first to speak up “No Khushiji, their names are Vibha and Vivaan. Where on earth did you get those names from?” Khushi looked embarrassingly at everyone “Oh, sorry..the gardener yesterday told me those names, so i assumed....sorry it was my mistake” Shobhanaji looked curiously at her “Gardner? Which gardner dear? Murli told you this? Why would he do that...strange” Khushi smirked inwardly “murli? Really? Thats his name?! Hell and i though it would be something more macho'.

Khushi was just turning towards the twins again to apologize when a tired looking woman hobbled slowly into the room, she seemed to have some problem walking which Khushi assumed was due to some accident. She seemed very quite and very lost in her own thoughts, Khushi thought she should introduce herself to her, so she went quickly and stood in front of her “Namaste, im Khushi, the new governess for the twins” Khushi said cheerfully, the young woman seemed to be taken aback for a moment,but then she smiled a very small and faint smile and said a namaste herself, then looked at the twins and left the room. Khushi thought this very odd and was quite upset that she did not even introduce herself, she turned towards the rest of the family to find them standing open-mouthed staring at her, Khushi did not understand what was up with everyone, suddenly Shobhana devi came a took Khushi by the shoulders “How did you do it? What did you say to her? This hasn't happened in the last 8 years! What are you?” Khushi was now seriously freaked out and worried, she looked at everyone trying to find some sense of what was happening, she looked at Yuvraj who seemed to have recovered from his frozen state “Khushi, that was my sister Anjali,the twin's mother; she has been in a state of solemnity since 8 years, she has never even looked at anyone in the eye forget about responding to anything. Today she acknowledged you and not only that she actually smiled at you. All of us have been dying to see that one smile on her face all these years. Nothing has affected her till now, but somehow you got through to her. We don't know how, but you did” Khushi felt goosebumps on her skin, she had no idea what just happened or how she had gotten through that woman, she looked at Shobhana deviji who had tears in her eyes, she came towards her again and held her face in her hands “Thank you bitiya, maybe you are just what we need” saying this she left the room. Payal took Khushi's hand and led her out of the room from the other end; while leaving Khushi looked at the twins who had a sad but angry look in their eyes, she dismissed it as her imagination and left the room. What she did not see was a pair of chocolate brown eyes staring at her in disbelief from the other end of the room. Arnav Singh Raizada was stunned for a second time in 24hrs. 'Ms Khushi kumari...who are you?'