Arnav
Singh Raizada. A humble man who has never asked for anything in his life. He
accepted whatever life threw his way and moved on. How was he going to tackle
this problem? He didn't know. Arnav was back in office and trying to over load
himself with work. Did it help? Not at all. He sat in his office piling himself
with as much paperwork as he could but even after a few hours there was no work
done at all.
His
silence gave way and his emotions overwhelmed him. He hid his face in his
hands. 'Where did I go wrong? Did I judge her wrong? Did I not take any
hints she gave me about loving someone else? All this while I thought she was
just uncomfortable and maybe I was the reason why she felt awkward. I thought I
was the reason she cried so often. I asked her so many times--so many times--but
she never told me a thing. She always shut me out and now out of the blue I
come to know that all this while she was crying for some other man who she
loves. Why? Didn't I have enough on my plate? Haven't I gone through enough for
a lifetime? Don't I deserve one bit of happiness?' Arnav was breaking down
and he needed someone. For the first time in his life, he needed someone to
hold him, he needed someone he could trust but there was no one'no one at all.
He found himself alone once again. No one had been able to affect him the way
Khushi had. He never had many friends and the few friends he had had all left.
Everyone always left. Finally, he was getting some happiness but that was gone
too. Khushi had broken through the shell and started to penetrate his thick
heart walls and she had bombed it from inside. Arnav was completely shaken up.
'I
was forced,' Khushi had said, 'I just did it for Buaji,' Khushi had
never--not even once--tried to tell Arnav any of this. Arnav had even asked her
before marrying her if she was sure about the wedding. She hadn't opened her
mouth then either. There were so many questions in his mind. He kept wondering
what he should do. 'Should I go talk to her?' He thought. 'But why
should I? I tried so many times but she never told me the truth. One lie on
another and it all piled up. I went home to have lunch with her; I went because
I was guilty that I asked her not to meet her friend. Huh, she was meeting that
man, the man she loves, the man I wish I was.' He sighed. He shook his head
in disbelief, 'Why did you do this to me Khushi? Atleast once you could have
tried to tell me! Just once. You could have told me the truth. What have I done
to deserve this? My wife loves another man. All my life I waited for love, I
wanted someone to truly love me for who I am-- But even my wife doesn't love me.
Why did she marry me? Not even once did she think about me? My life, my love?
She just thought about Buaji. She ruined all three lives.' Arnav didn't
know what to do, where to go, who to go to? Once again he felt lonely and
afraid.
Arnav
Singh Raizada's fear, the fear of being alone. The fear of having no one to
take care of, no one who would take care of him. That was his biggest fear. It
was because of that that Arnav came home late everyday from office. He didn't
let anyone do his work at office. He stayed away from the empty house for as
long as possible. The house kept getting bigger but it was always empty. He was
nine when his parents died in a car accident. Arnav had gotten time to know them
well, to love them. God had, then, ruthlessly snatched both of them at once,
leaving him all alone. He missed his mom's food, her shouting at him. He missed
his dad playing football with him, talking about cricket, about Sachin's 100s
and Azharuddin should be replaced and someone better should be made the Indian Captain. Arnav had been a naughty child and was
full of life until all this happened. It changed his life. He started to keep
himself away from everyone. He stopped watching any sport. He stopped doing
anything that his mother would object to. Only Mamiji had partially penetrated
through him when Khushi came into his life. He let her in with open arms. This
was his second chance. His only chance at finding love, at finding someone he
could trust and love, who wouldn't leave him. All of that had just changed.
Arnav
needed time. He needed time to digest the fact that his wife was literally
betraying him. He needed time to put himself together before he could go back
to that house and face her, question her. He couldn't break down in front of her,
not now, not when he didn't know her anymore, not when he didn't trust her
anymore. Arnav had loved her whole-heartedly and she had just shut him out. He
would have understood if he had told her this earlier. He didn't know what he
would do then but atleast he would know before he let her in, before it
affected him so much. Arnav was weak from inside and was vulnerable at the
moment.
His
office phone rang. He broke out of his trance and set himself straight.
"Hello?" he said in a soft voice, it was barely a whisper. "Sir, I have been
getting calls from your house, Ma'am is very worried, should I transfer her
calls?" she asked. "What did I tell you Claire?" Arnav said bluntly, "No phone
calls and no meetings. No one is to enter my cabin, get that?" he said raising
his voice a little. He looked at his watch it was 7:30pm already. He had been
in his cabin for almost 5 hours! "Yes sir." She replied slowly. "If she asks
again, tell her I left office sometime ago!" he said insensitively. 'Now she
is worrying? Really? I wish I could just rewind and make these three weeks go
away. I wish I never knew her. I wish I could just end the pain, all of it!' Arnav
thought. He had had enough. How much could one man take? That too when he was
so quiet and so reserved. How much could he take before he would burst?
He knew
he had to go home. He knew he had to face Khushi but he couldn't. He knew he
would break down and end up hurting her as well. But didn't she deserve it? She
gave him pain and suffering, doesn't she deserve a taste of it? That is not
even close to what Arnav was thinking, 'I hope Khushi is alright though, she
hasn't been keeping well. Whatever the issue maybe between us I have to take
care of her, I have to make sure she is okay. I promised her Buaji to take care
of her. I am responsible for her. I need to forget about myself and look after
her. I made a mistake. I trusted someone too fast. It won't happen again. I can
shut myself up. I don't need love. I don't need affection. I am alive and I can
live this way for the rest of my life. I will give Khushi her happiness though.
If she wants to marry Shyam, she will. I will make sure she does. I will make
sure she's happy,' Those were the thoughts in Arnav's mind. What do we do
when someone is so good?! Arnav was doing his duties as a husband, as a friend.
He didn't care whether she reciprocated but he would just keep doing it. He
knew this wouldn't work in the long run but as long as it could Arnav would
make it work. He was tired of heartbreaks. He didn't want any more.
He sat
back on his chair and started to dive into paperwork again. This was his only
escape, his only distraction. He could just lose himself here and work with all
his might. It really did help. It helped him heal; it helped him calm down. Arnav,
being only human, couldn't control his emotions for too long. He knew he would
have to give in sooner or later but just not now. He would push it as long as
he could. As a child he did the same with homework, his work, his friends'
work. He did everything he could to shut down the pain but it did burst when he
finished school. He couldn't keep it in any longer. He let it all out. That is
when he decided to study abroad. He studied in the US so he didn't have to see
the same faces everyday, which reminded him about his loss. He studied hard; he
topped his class and then return to open the best fashion line, "The ASR" It
was something he had learnt in business school. Fashion is the only thing that
you can change from time to time, anytime. He was always attracted to the
industry and so he did it. He took a loan from his Mamaji and built an empire
so strong that the whole of India looked up to it. He was just an inch away
from being the best. The Unbeatable.
Arnav
wondered how he would do it this time. He could bury himself in work but for
how long? Khushi was ill and he had to be with her. He had to go home. The next
time when he looked at the clock it was 11:45. He hoped Khushi was asleep but
he didn't know it and he just couldn't call. He was worried but his own
emotions were so overwhelming that it was difficult to put his worry above it
all. He tried to call down. He did everything in his power to calm his nerves,
he didn't was to be angry. He wanted to know why she did this to him, he wanted
to know so badly.
But
being Arnav Singh Raizada, he broke the spell and dived into his work again and
again. It helped, it really did.
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I hope you liked the update 😳 And this one was for all those who were confused about Arnav's character. This one is just to give you an insight on him! 😃
Any questions about his character, feel free to ask!
Love,
Manjari. 😳
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