Posted:
Arnav was about to go up on the roof when he stopped short of taking the stairs from the 2nd floor lading. His eyes strayed to the door of Khushi's room. Something seemed to draw him towards it & before he knew what he was doing, Arnav found himself pushing the door open & going inside. The room looked disheveled, as if someone had gone through it looking for something & not knowing where to find it. Arnav assumed that would be Anjali & Buaji. Rohan had requested them in front of Arnav to search Khushi's room for any indication of whether she was planning to go somewhere. But they hadn't found anything.
Arnav didn't know why, but his legs were drawn towards the collage hanging on the wall beyond her study table on their own. Maybe his desire to see her face were guiding his movements, but Arnav halted stiltedly as soon as his eyes fell on the snaps arranged haphazardly on the board. Right at the middle of all the snaps was a new one. It was from the engagement of Rohan-Anjali & Akaash-Payal. There were six people in the photo. On one side there were Rohan-Anjali & on another side there were Akaash-Payal. & on the middle, Arnav looked on at the camera, looking incredibly smug about something, almost smirking at something, & beside him Khushi was standing, looking not at the camera, but at him. The adoration & adulation clearly visible in her eyes, & love overflowed from them. & Arnav felt the tight leash that he had maintained on his emotions for so long starting to slip.
He remembered how it had riled him to not be on the board with all the milestones of her life, & how she had retorted that it was him who had not wanted to be in any frame with her. Arnav's hand slowly rose as he touched Khushi's cheek lovingly over the glossy photograph, & the broken voice just came out from deep within him, "Red! I want to be in every frame of your life & I want you in each one of mine! I am sorry! Tum bas wapas aa jao. Wapas aa jao.. Bas!"
Arnav felt a hand over his shoulder & turned away, a little startled, to see Rohan's muted face. Rohan looked away from the naked anguish in Arnav's eyes, & not finding anything to say, he apologized unnecessarily, "Sorry.. Didn't mean to interrupt- Woh.. the police needs a photo of Bachchi.. So.." Rohan looked back at the collage as Arnav did too. For a moment both of them were taken in by the smiling faces of Khushi that dazzled them from every snap of the collage. Rohan was so astounded by the intensity of the love shining in Khushi's eyes in the photo belittling every other one in the middle of the collage, that he missed it for a couple of second when Arnav spoke up, "I.. never wanted to go behind your back.. or betray you like that. Ever. But it wasn't about you or me anymore. It was about her. Once you take notice of her, it's really impossible to forget her, you know?" Rohan promptly nodded in agreement. His sister was exceptional & he knew that.
Arnav looked at the opposite direction from Rohan & said something he knew he had to, more for Khushi's sake than his own, "There's just something about her! I love her. Have been in love with her for some time now.. But then again, who wouldn't fall in love with her? & when I said I wasn't ready for marriage, I didn't mean I didn't respect her, or wanted to exploit her or.. I never wanted to hurt her.. or push her away from myself like I had-" This time Rohan couldn't stop himself from speaking up. He had been seeing Arnav walking like a shell of himself, his eyes lifeless since he had come in about an hour ago, & he had wanted to say this from then on, "Arnav, Bachchi didn't leave you because of those things you said! She.. she's afraid for you & what you become when you get so dementedly angry! Especially when it's got to do with her. She didn't want you to hurt yourself in the process."
Arnav turned onto Rohan with disbelieving eyes. He felt such an overwhelming feeling of sadness at Rohan's words.. He had felt her crying on the phone. He had known she wasn't really angry with him. He should've come after her yesterday. Right away after she had left. But no. He had let his rage drive a wedge between them. But Rohan stopped him in his self-recrimination, "Listen Arnav, I am still her brother.. & you're still not good enough for her. But I think, if anyone could polish a diamond out of such a rough rock, my Bachchi would be the one. Plus, I don't really care for you at this moment, but I have seen her since yesterday.. So let's clear all this mess. & for that we have to find her first! So, what say, we stop all this wallowing & go find Bachchi?" Arnav nodded, & suddenly he remembered the inspector had come back with some information, so he looked up & asked Rohan what the police had found out.
Rohan looked disappointed as he relayed that in response to Manohar Raizada's request, Karan's father, Ravi Kapoor had agreed to let the police go & ask a few questions to Karan. Upon going there, the inspector had found out that, Karan was home the whole day today. Various guards & people who came to meet his father put him there. So the police was of the opinion that Karan couldn't have been involved in Khushi's disappearance. Arnav didn't say anything & just nodded absently. Somehow he still had his suspicions on Karan.
~~~~~~~~~~
Khushi looked over at the man Shyam had earlier called Rocky. He was peeling an apple with an oversized chef's knife & looking very leeringly at her. She suppressed the shudder that went through her & looked around the apartment again. It was a big apartment, & it was virtually furniture-less. It was as if the owner had just purchased the place, but no one had started living here yet. Apart from the chair she was sitting in, there was only a 5-sitter sofa set & a big, round dining table in the dining area they were in. It's almost like they bought the furniture they felt the need for daily. Khushi felt the plastic handcuffs that were tied snuggly to restrain her wrists cut down more firmly on her wrists & she looked down to see her wrists were bloodier than before. She suddenly stiffened as she felt a shadow over her.
Shyam crouched down in front of her & looking at her bloody wrists said with genuine concern in his voice, "Tch tch tch, Khushiji! Don't fret so much na! You're hurting your creamy skin!" Khushi bit back the slang that came to her tongue & looked away from the revoltingly sleek smile Shyam gave her. It was that smile that had made her feel so relieved when she had seen Shyam pull up in front of her at the entrance of the mall. She had been in the car for all of 2seconds when she had been hit hard on the back of her head, Khushi now suspected by Rocky, & she hadn't regained consciousness till about a couple of hours ago. She had come around to find a really anxious looking Shyam looking at her & Rocky standing over with a glass of water in his hand. But as soon as they had seen she was awake, they had sat her down in this chair & had cuffed her hand so tightly that they had become within 10minutes of her being cuffed.
Khushi had asked Shyam a couple of times why he was doing this, but when he had just come forward & tried to soothe her with his repulsively affectionate behavior, Khushi had stopped talking to him altogether. She had assumed he wanted money as being a lawyer he might have heard Nikunja was getting sold & that meant the Guptas were getting some hard cash pretty soon. So she had just prayed to Devi Maiyya that the creep would make the ransom call quickly, so that her Bhaiya & Babuji could pay him off & rescue her soon. Therefore, Khushi couldn't really stop the loud gasp that left her mouth when she saw Shyam opening the front door in answer to a door bell & then Karan Kapoor entering through the door as if this was his own turf & he came to this place often enough.
As soon as Karan had closed the door behind him, Shyam accused hotly, "Can you never prepare a cocktail properly? The injection you gave for her nearly knocked her out for more than 3 hours! We made her conscious after so much effort! Do you want another OD on you rap sheet, Karan? Seriously, why can't you just ask Bua which drug is for what, when you forge her prescriptions?" Karan turned around to look angrily at Shyam & said hotly, "Come on, Bhai! Give me a break! What am I supposed to say to Mom? Mom, give me something that will knock a girl out for a couple of hours.. & while you're at it, give me some Roophies too? As it is, for the last hour the police have jammed my head asking all those questions about her! I bet that swine Raizada had something to do with the police turning up so quickly on my doorstep! If it hadn't been for them, I'd have left for here an hour ago!" Karan glared at Khushi as he spoke of Arnav, & Khushi understood in that instance that, today she was in mortal danger & this wasn't the mere kidnapping-for-money that she had though it to be earlier.
Khushi looked around the apartment again, but this time she looked for a safe place for herself. She was sitting facing the main door. Behind her Rocky was sitting where the sofas were & beyond the sofas there was a huge balcony. The was a room just left of where Khushi was sitting in & then there was a hall beside the room that led to other rooms, which was in a straight line from the main door. She was startled to hear a snapping command from Shyam to Rocky to come & cut her handcuffs off. Rocky promptly came & did as he was told. Khushi came to her feet as soon as her hands were free. Rocky was about to go back to his earlier position, but he was held back by Karan, who barked at Rocky, "Go untie the ropes tied on the grills of the balcony." Karan looked menacingly at Khushi, & said bitingly, "We would need lots of ropes."
Khushi's attention was immediately focused on Rocky, who made a disgruntled noise at being ordered about like this, & keeping the half eaten apple & the chef's knife on the table beside Khushi, he started for the balcony slowly. Khushi was debating reaching for the knife when Karan's harsh voice startled her, "It's all your fault really, Khushi! You're a tease, you know that? & Arnav? He shouldn't have humiliated me like that in the club. If Arnav hadn't come to the club & done all that, then I swear Khushi, all Bhai & I wanted was to have you for a few days, have some fun & then dump you somewhere! But Arnav.. & his little 'possessive boyfriend' act in the nightclub? It has really riled me up, Khushi, & now a much worse fate awaits you."
Before Khushi could reply to Karan in any way though, Shyam spoke up impatiently, "Enough talking, Karan! As it is, your drug & your absence have slowed us considerably!" Karan turned towards Shyam & said equally impatiently, "& I told you, I needed to stay home & show people I was there! I needed alibis! I knew they were gonna suspect me before anyone else.. & they did!" Shyam just shrugged his cousin's words off, & said, annoyed, "Yeah, yeah! Now what? You were gonna bring the Roophie? Do you inject it, or make her drink it?" Karan rolled his eyes at Shyam's ignorance, & said, "Obviously make her drink something with Roophie in it!", as if it was something being taught to 5th graders & Shyam should've clearly known it. Shyam just shrugged & was on his way to the kitchen to fetch a glass of water, when he stopped & said in a mock-soothing manner to Khushi, "Sorry, Khushiji. Ab aapke Arnavji toh nahi aane wale hain..(Sorrry, Khushiji. Now your Arnavji isn't gonna come here..) He's the one you rejected me for, right? Well, truth be told, I was never much interested in marrying you. I just wanted to avenge my cousin.. but still, rejection hurts, you know? That too, when you get rejected for some arrogant ass like your Arnavji! But now that he's no where to be seen.. Toh humein hi aapna Arnav samajh leejiye!(So consider us your Arnav only!)"
But Shyam's eyes quickly narrowed when he saw Khushi slowly back stepping towards the door of the bedroom behind her. As he took alarmed step towards Khushi, Karan who was checking his cell phone for updates looked up too, &as soon as he saw Khushi's expression he became alerted. Khushi looked at the two of them glaringly & said cuttingly, "Arnavji toh jo karenge, so karenge.. But did you guys know that, my father was a murderer?? Huh??" With that she brought her right hand out from behind her & the large chef's knife held firmly in it pointing towards the men. Karan immediately looked alarmed, & shot Shyam a troubled look, but Shyam just looked on at Khushi with an amused expression on his face. Khushi noticed Shyam's mocking expression, & she felt something blow up inside her head at the rage she felt. She dangled the knife specifically pointing it at Shyam's face as she shouted angrily, "A murderer! & if you come even one step near me, then I swear, I'lll follow my father's footsteps too!"
Shyam threw his head back as a short laugh left his throat, & then he addressed Karan as he said smoothly, "I see what you meant! She's cute as a button! & I like that spunk too! I'd love to see the fire she brings forth inside the bedroom-" Khushi was wondering at the overly smooth manner of Shyam's voice, when Karan's twitching movement gave them away, & she turned around in time to see Rocky stealthily approaching her from the side of the balcony. She didn't waste another rsecond & ran for the open door of the bedroom. She heard Karan scream 'catch her' in a desperate call, but she managed to get inside the room & slam the door jamb in its frame. But before Khushi could turn the lock of the knob, she felt someone throw their whole body over the door, which momentarily caused the door to fly open a bit towards her, but before they could shove a foot or hand inside, Khushi's body acted like a spring & just threw itself against the door. As soon as the door was closed this time, Khushi turned the lock, & then she put the big iron door bolt in place too.
Khushi would've stood there leaning against the door itself, but she was startled away from it when one of them jumped on the door with all his might. It was possibly Shyam as he had been the closest to Khushi. Khushi looked over at the door, & she started crying for the first time she had been in this situation. Because the shaking door was scaring her like nothing else as the reality of her bizarre situation just hit her. Plus she didn't know why she was hurting like hell somewhere. Khushi stood for a few second, shaking like a leaf & just stared at the shaking door through her tears. The wooden door looked pretty heavy & large, but the way it was shaking was not a good omen. Khushi desperately looked around & saw the only furnitures in the bedroom were a large double bed in the middle of the room & a medium sized dressing table just a couple of feet away from the door. Khushi frantically ran towards the dressing table & opened its top drawer to see if there was something in it. Finding the drawer empty, Khushi took it out & throwing it down, she hooked her hand inside the empty slot of the drawer, & with superhuman effort stemming from desperation, she somehow dragged the empty dressing table in front of the door. & then leaning against it with her back on it, she pushed it further up the door. Then she picked up the empty drawer again, & put it back in its slot, & as she straightened, she froze seeing the sight on the mirror facing her.
Blood was gushing profusely from the inside of her left arm. It was hurting her like hell & she didn't even know when it had happened. Khushi manically turned her head to look for the knife & immediately found it by the foot of the bed, covered in blood. She grabbed on to the dressing table & slowly let herself down by it. She must've cut her arm when the door had been flown onto her body or when she had pressed onto the door with her body, bracing her arms for more force. & from what she had seen, blood was pouring out quite abundantly, so it must be a deep gash. But Khsuhi didn't look down at it anymore. She felt tired, & spent. She slowly crumpled up in a ball just by the side of the dressing table & felt blood pool under her upper body quite rapidly. She heard the commotion outside. Someone commanded someone else angrily to break down the door & drag her outside. As Khushi's vision started to blur, she suddenly remembered how her mother had bled out to her death in a closed room like this with only Khushi by her side. Did she ultimately have the same fate written for her as her own mother? As Khushi felt oblivion taking over her senses, she called out one last time weakly, "Arnavji!"
As soon as Arnav put the phone to his ear, he knew he should have picked this call up sooner just by the eerie silence that followed from the other end. He knew this was no ordinary call. & so Arnav didn't even say 'hello', he just waited & more than a couple of stilled seconds later, a shaky, muffled voice started speaking nervously, "K- I mean, Khushi.. Shyam Manohar Jha took her to Tilak Nagar. Block 20B. You go through Mall road.. & then.. the apartment building's new.. the name's Mira.. Nandan Complex, I think! They took her in though the building in the middle.. & she was unconscious. You have to save her!" & then the call was abruptly cut off.
Arnav turned towards Aman as soon as he finished his own phone call, & before Arnav could say anything, Aman said positively, "ASR, I got 4 addresses of real estate belonging to Jha. I'll just go down & give them to the ACP, so they can start looking-" But before Aman could turn around, Arnav stopped him as he asked quite absentmindedly still looking down at his own phone, "The addresses you've got..? Do you have one Mira Nandan Complex, Block 20B, Tilak Nagar?" Aman was taken aback by the very specific question suddenly coming from his boss, but he quickly recovered & scanned the list he had just scribbled down, & nodded quickly, "The 3rd one, ASR. The one he had most recently purchased. DDTE Mira Nandan Complex, Flat- K5, House- 1/B, Road- 9, Block- 20B, Tilak Nagar, New Delhi." Arnav nodded & was out of the door by the time Aman had finished, & as he climbed down the stairs, he said over his shoulders, "Khushi's there. Hurry up!"
What Arnav didn't divulge to Aman or to anyone else, as the ACP quickly talked into his radio commanding back up to meet them & everyone from the Gupta family hounded Aman to know what was going on, was that, he hadn't become such a successful businessman without having learned to recognize voices over the phone. He never failed to address a person by their correct name, even if he had only talked once to them in his life & he had definitely recognized the voice on the other end of the line giving him Khushi's whereabouts. It had belonged to Khushi's 'best friend' Lavanya Kashyap.
comment:
p_commentcount