Hey guys, here's the next installment..
Thank you for the overwhelming response for the previous Chapter.. It had become really difficult for me to pen down this one, knowing that the show and the cast wouldn't exist anymore.. Hence the delay.. Your comments and constant PM's and scraps have motivated me write again..
I hope I've retained the essence of the story, though.. Constructive criticism is always welcome.. Do leave behind your views.. 
Chapter 18
Khushi had been bewildered on waking up in Arnav's room; her
senses numbed partially as the familiar surroundings began to sink in..
Her
last visit to RM had been a brief one; however, tonight as she lay on the
king-sized bed, past memories came flooding back.
She felt a gentle touch on
her forehead and quickly wiped the moisture around her eyes. Anjali moved a
couple of pillows behind her back and made her lean against them.
She saw Nani and Anjali exchange worried glances ; How did she land there?
She rested her
head back against the pillows and then happened to recollect, her slumping on
the floor of the locked room. She threw the duvet down with a jerk and sprang
to her feet, Hey Devi Maiya, wahan toh
aag lagi thi.. Phir Armaan?
A sharp pain shot through her ankle, reminding her of the
sprain she had suffered a few hours ago. She looked around helplessly at;
Anjali realized her discomfort and lightly squeezed her palm,
"Khushiji.. Akash
aur NK Bhai ke wahan pohonchne se pehle, Chotte ne aapko dhoondh nikala.. Lekin
jab woh wahan pohonche to Armaan ko wahan se le jaaya gaya tha.. I'm sorry,
Khushiji.."
Khushi closed her eyes and threw her head back; Why did it always have to be so complicated!
And then Anjali's words rang in her ears.. Her eyes flew open; she was
trembling with rage, "Dii.. Kya kaha aapne? Jeejaji aur Nanheji wahan aa rahe
the?" She looked on in disbelief, "Woh humara peecha kar rahe the?"Anjali
glanced at Nani and nodded her head.
Khushi couldn't help but sigh; she was aware of the fact
that they wanted to help her.. They were all genuinely concerned for Armaan's
safety as well.. And she couldn't blame them for having followed her..
But
wait! She shifted uncomfortably on the bed and turned to Anjali and Nani,
"Lekin Arnavji wahan kaise pohonche? Unhe kaise pata chala ki hum wahan the?"
Her question was soon answered by Akash who had just knocked
on the open door, "Rehan ne Bhai ko sab bata diya tha.." Khushi's eyes widened
in shock and Akash nodded in negative confirming her suspicion.. Akash heard NK
call out to him and walked out after softly patting Khushi's head..
Khushi drew her knees closer and clutched them tightly.. Sab galat ho raha hai.. Armaan ka koi pata
nahi chal pa raha hai.. Aur hum itne bebas hain, ki sab sach jaante hue bhi Di
ya Arnavji ko sach nahi bata sakte..
Arnavji.. Ab agar unhone humse sawaal kiye
toh hum unke sawaalon ke kya jawaab denge? Hey Devi Maiya, yeh kaisi duvidha
mein daal diya hai aapne humein?!
She buried her face between her knees and shut her eyes,
preparing herself for a confrontation soon.. She knew Arnav very well.. Arnav Singh Raizada was a shrewd and
highly-analytical businessman; he wouldn't rely on mere words.. He would either
confront Shyam or her for answers and she was proven right by the man himself,
the very next minute.
She raised her head and saw a duel of glares between the
brother-sister duo. She heard Anjali and Nani leave and heard the lock click in
place. He locked the poolside doors and drew the curtains.. She watched on nervously
as he marched towards her and stood
opposite her, his eyes fixed on hers..
She slowly lifted her chin to face him and there it was; the
dhak-dhak was back.. Only, it wasn't
a good feeling, this time around.. She wound the rim of her dupatta around her
index finger and bit her lip; he wasn't her Arnavji anymore.. He reminded her
of the times when he was her khadoos boss at AR.
Arnav would have been amused by Khushi's antics if it
would've been any other day.. However, tonight was very different.. Khushi
would have almost died there, had he not made it there in time; according to
his family, he had fathered a child three years ago.. And now the child was
kidnapped by Shyam, himself! Any man in
his shoes would've driven himself up the wall with so much of tension and
curiosity.. But then again, he was no ordinary man.. His calm and composed demeanor often came across as a surprise to many, considering he was
aggressive and short-tempered at times..
One glance at Khushi and he realized he was going to need
every ounce of self-control within himself to confront her tonight.
He advanced towards her with his signature predator-like
gait and as expected Khushi flinched back.. He stood a foot away from where she
sat and inhaled sharply, "Main tumhe safai dene ka ek mauka de raha hoon. Mujhe
sach jaan na hai.."
Khushi heard the familiar authoritative tone in his voice and
gulped; she raised her moist eyes to meet his stern ones, "Lekin humein aapse
koi baat nahi karni hai.."
Arnav balled his fist and stepped towards her, "Look
Khushi.. Don't push it.. Aakhri baar tumse pooch raha hoon.. Aur haan, iss waqt
agar tumhara beta.."
He saw her eyes widen with shock, yet chose to ignore it
for it at the moment, "Agar tumhara beta sach mein kidnap hua hai, toh main
usse chudakar laaonga.. In fact, main abhi tumhare saamne Commissioner se baat
karunga.. Lekin, I want to know the truth.. Poora sach sunna hai mujhe.."
She shut her already heavy eyelids and pondered over his
words.. Was she ready to reveal it all to him? Was it the right choice to make?
How would it affect their already strained relationship? What impact would the
truth have on Di's married life?
She shook her head vigorously to break her chain of
thoughts. She saw Arnav sitting on the recliner, with crossed arms, awaiting
her reply. She slowly peeled the duvet off herself and walked to the poolside
door. Arnav glanced at her retreating back and realized she had made up her
mind; he waited for her to speak up.
She inhaled sharply and began speaking, "Aaj teen saal baad
aap humse safai maang rahein hain.. Sach nahi, hai na? Humne agar aapko sab
sach bata bhi diya, toh kya iss baar humpar yakeen karenge? Kyunki pichli baar
toh aapne humein kuch kehne ka mauka hi nahi diya tha.."
Arnav stared at her and looked away, "Look I don't know
what's happening.. Tum yahan achanak teen saal baad lauti ho.. My entire family
is acting very weird..NK aur Lavanya kissi ko bina khabar kiye India mein
hain.. Di bhi pareshaan hain.. Aur
tumhara beta?"
Khushi's eyes met his, Humara
beta, Arnavji..
He read her eyes yet chose to ignore it, "Aur jo baat mujhe
sabse zyada pareshaan kar rahi hai, woh hai ki iss sab se Shyam ka naam kyun
juda hai? Aur agar uska naam juda hai, toh something is definitely wrong here..
Woh teen saal chup tha, Di ke saamne achha Pati banne ki
acting karta raha, lekin main jaanta hoon, aise logon ki fitrat kabhi nahi
badalti.."
He raised his eyes to meet his and saw hurt flash across her
face.. He instantly knew he had
disappointed her yet again.. But was it easy to trust her; is she had indeed
been innocent all the while, why had she left them? Because the Khushi he had
known would never turn her back on problems and run away; she would fight till
the very end.
What had then happened in the past? He had no clue whatsoever and
that annoyed him; but what infuriated him was that Shyam Manohar Jha was
controlling the reins. He turned back to her,
"I don't know what he is upto.. But Im sure, ki woh Di ya
mujhe chot pohonchane ki koshish jarur karega..
And this time, I won't let get off scot free.. Pichli baar,
ussne meri, meri Di ki khushiyan cheeni thi, mujhe maarne ki koshish ki thi..
But fortunately, aisa hua nahi.. Aaj phir se usne vaar kiya hai..
Lekin iss
baar woh mujhe chot nahi pohoncha sakega.. Pichli baar main uske iraadon se
anjaan tha lekin iss baar, main usse nahi chodunga..
So, tell me.."
Khushi looked at him bewildered, It's all about him.. Even
today!
Haan, yeh toh sach hai ki who aapko chot pohonchana
chaahta hai.. Humein aapse humesha se door karke.. Pichli baar bhi humari koi
galti nahi thi aur naahi aaj hai, Lekin dono hi baar, saza humein mili.. Kaash
aap yeh samajh paate Arnavji..
She walked to the window and looked at the calm blue water
in the pool, "Jiss din aapne humein, humari shaadi ki asli wajah batayi, hum
toot chuke the.. Kuch der tak toh humein yakeen hi nahi ho raha tha.
'Main tumhare aur Shyam ke baare mein jaanta hoon..
Jaanta hoon ki tumhara aur Shyam ka affair chal raha hai.. Isliye maine tumse
shaadi ki..
Humara dil iss baat ko maan ne se inkaar kar raha tha, ki
aapne humse shaadi sirf isliye ki kyunki aap humein Shyam aur Di ki shaadi
shuda zindagi se alag rakhna chaahte the."
She sat on the bed, with her unhurt leg dangling, "Aapko laga,
ki humse shaadi karke, aap Di ki zindagi savaar denge.. Aapne yeh soch bhi
kaise liya, Arnavji ki hum Di ke saath itna bada fareb kar sakte the.."
She saw him staring at her and sighed, "Lekin aap toh Arnav
Singh Raizada hain, aap kahan kissi ki sunte hain.. Bass jaldbaazi aur gusse
mein kuch bhi kar baithte hain.. Aur aapne aise hi gusse mein aakar ek din
humare gale mein yeh mangalsutra baandh diya aur humein apni cheh mahine ki
patni banakar iss ghar mein le aaye..
Humne bohot koshish ki, aapko sach batane ki; lekin aapne
humari baat tak nahi suni.. Aur humare liye ek ek pal kaatna mushkil ho raha
tha, yeh jaankar ki aap humare baare mein itna galat sochte the.. Aapko humari
baat par vishwas nahi tha na, isliye hum Shyamji ke paas gaye the.."
Arnav's head shot up upon hearing his name and he saw Khushi
bit her lip nervously. He shot her a stare signaling her to go on..
"Humne unse
kaha ki woh khud aapko saari sacchai bata dein.. Shayad tab aap humari baat par
yakeen karte.. Lekin, unhone, phir humare saath dhoka kiya.. Unhone badle mein
humein kuch papers par aapke hastakshar lene ko kaha.."
Arnav punched the recliner in annoyance and spat out, "Aur
tumhe pata nahi tha, ki woh Will ke papers the, right? Oh please Khushi!"
She glanced up and shook her head, "Haan nahi pata tha.. Aur
hum aisa karna bhi nahi chaahte the.. Hum aapke office aaye bhi the, aapse baat
karne, lekin aap busy the.. Waqt nikalta jaa raha tha aur phir humne na chaahte
hue bhi aapse unn kaagzon par hastakshar karvayein.."
Arnav rolled his eyes, wondering if he had made a wise
decision by asking her to narrate her side of the story, because it obviously
sounded very unconvincing to him.
Khushi realized his hesitation and sighed, "Rehne dijiye..
Aapko ab bhi yakeen nahi hoga."
Arnav glared at her and looked away.. She cradled her hurt
foot on the other,
"Hum aapko issi wajah se airport bhi rokne aaye the.. Lekin
aapne tab bhi humari baat par yakeen nahi kiya.. Aur aap chale gaye.."
Arnav glanced up hearing her trailing voice and realized
that she was sobbing.. He wanted to reach out to her; her tears hurt him even
today..
She cleared her throat and wiped her moist face with the back of her palm, "Aap chale
gaye.. Bina humari baat sune.. Bina humpar yakeen kiye.. Aur tab humein ehsaas
hua ki Shyamji ne humare saath chhal kiya tha.."
Arnav was all ears now; he had no idea of what had
transpired back home in his absence. He wanted to know why his family had done
nothing about his disappearance.
He glanced at Khushi; if Khushi was indeed
innocent, how had she managed to find him?
He shrugged his shoulders steering away from all
speculations and assumptions.
Khushi told him how Anjali and Nani had planned a London
trip for her. And his following phone-call when he had himself admitted to
have changed his plans at the last minute and had instead gone to Scotland.
Mention of the phone call brought back painful yet fond
memories for both.
Arnav had been held at gun-point by kidnappers. He was
forced to lie to his family about his whereabouts, so that they wouldn't send
out parties in search of him. But what was unplanned was his confession to
Khushi..
They both looked up the same instant and his eyes held hers.
She looked away not being able to withstand a blend of raw emotions in his eyes.
She slumped on the bed, clenching her eyes shut as his words rang in his ears, Khushi,
I love you!
Arnav glanced at her through the corner of his left eye and
knew she was reliving the moment. He hadn't intended to confess to Khushi. He
had left her at the airport having granted her a last chance to prove her
innocence. However, Khushi hadn't managed to procure any and staying true to
his words, Arnav had left..
He had left her crying and distraught and that pained him
dearly. Yet, what hurt more that Khushi had failed him.. The tiny flicker of
hope and trust he had in her had died out and he had walked into the airport
with a heavy heart.
Three days later, when he had heard her sobs over the phone,
something within him had snapped. For the first time, in years Arnav Singh
Raizada had listened to his heart.
He yearned to see her once, to her her once,
to confess his love to the one, he had ever loved before he could embrace
death..
And he had leapt at the opportunity, voicing out his heart-felt
emotions in the most subtle way he could.
Khushi's eyes flew open wide as she recollected his words;
her heart had skipped a beat the very moment she had heard him say those words.
It took her a while to calm down her senses; to let the true essence of his
words sink in.
She was on cloud nine.. Every other worry and pain had made way
for a blissful moment, where nothing else existed but pure love!
However, the truth had come down crashing a few minutes
later, as she realised that Arnav would never do that unless he was in grave
danger. And that had killed her!
She grew restless with each passing moment and
hoped for a miracle to happen and him to be back.
A thunder outside brought snapped them back to reality.
Their eyes locked before Arnav looked away.
Khushi managed to compose herself and rubbed her arms,
"Humein poora yakeen tha, ki aap kissi musibat mein the.. Aur hum ghar par
kissi se yeh baat kar bhi nahi sakte the.. Varna woh sab pareshaan ho jaate.."
"Aur humne tai kar liya tha, ki hum aapko dhoondh nikalenge..
Agle din hum ek private detective ke paas gaye, lekin unhone itne zyada paise
maang liye, ki humein wahan se khaali haath lautna pada..
Aur phir hum police
ke paas gaye. Lekin jab humne unhe humare shaq ki wajah batayi toh unhone
humpar yakeen karne se hi mana kar diya.."
Arnav glanced at her and couldn't help but smirk; he
imagined Khushi telling the police about his confession..
Khushi unware of his trailing thoughts, went on narrating
how she had finally managed to convince the airport officials and obtain the
CCTV footages,
"Humne dekha ki kuch log aapko apne saath airport ke bahar le
jaa rahein the.."
Arnav looked at her and was surprised at the sudden
transformation within her. She now stood opposite him with an index finger
pointed straight at his nose, "Aap? Aap anjaan logon ke saath aise bahar kaise
chale gaye? Aapne ek baar bhi nahi socha ki woh log aapko agva kar sakte the..
Hadh karte hain aap Arnavji.."
Arnav's head shot up and stood up,with his arms crossed, "Oh
Come on Khushi. Agar mujhe pata hota ki woh log mujhe kidnap karnewale the, toh
main khud apne pairon par chalkar unke saath jaata? Unn logon ne apne aap ko AR
Designs ke Gurgaon workshop ke workers kehkar introduce karvaya.. Apparently,
wahan par kuch workers ne strike announce kar di thi.. Aur mujhe unke saath jaana
pada.."
Khushi looked on, though not convinced. Arnav shot her a
look and spun around, anxiously waiting to hear how she had found him.
Khushi told him about having tracked down and followed one
of the kidnappers, "Lekin unhone humein dekh liya tha aur humein apne boss ke
paas le gaye.. Hum Shyam ko wahan dekhkar chaunk gaye the.. Lekin ussne apni
kartoot ko chupane ke liye, humse jhooth bola..
Lekin ek baar hum unpar vishwas karke galti kar chuke the..
Dobara nahi kar sakte the.. Humein ussi waqt ehsaas ho gaya tha, ki ho na ho,
aapke kidnap ke peeche Shyam ka hi haath ho sakta tha.. Lekin kyun? Humein iss baat ki jad tak jaana tha.."
Arnav was now thoroughly engrossed in her narration of
events. He didn't know if he could believe her. A part of him realised that she
was indeed speaking the truth since the turnover of events did sound realistic
and logical to him. However, he would wait before passing a judgement, this
time around.
Elsewhere in the city, two men winced in pain on the cold
flooring.. Shyam had slapped them hard.
"Bevakoof! Humne tum dono ko Shantivan
aur Khushiji ke ghar par nazar rakhne ko kaha tha.. Phir yeh sab kaise hua? Woh
log humara peecha kar rahe the aur humein khabar bhi nahi thi.."
He glanced at the tied up child and ran his fingers through
his hair,
'Nahi Khushiji.. Humne teen saal aapka intezaar kiya hai.. Aur ab jab
hum apne maqsad ke itne kareeb hain, hum aapko phir se Saale Sahab ki baahon
mein nahi jaane de sakte.."
He kicked a barrel of kerosene on the floor,
"Hum aisa hone
nahi denge! Chaahe iske liye humein kissi ki jaan hi kyun na leni pade.."
He
spun around and glanced at a sleeping Armaan. "Aur hum Arnav Singh Raizada ki
dukhti rag ko bohot achhe se jaante hain.."
An evil laugh echoed through the dingy place. Okay!! So, that's it for now.. The next Chapter will be Arhilicious.. 
And well, Shyam isn't going to sit back and wait for them to strike.. The snakewa has his own evil schemes..
I don't know when I'll be updating next.. Maybe in 10 days.. Let's see..
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NOTE:
I do not own the characters.. My stories are my fantasies and are based
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