Chapter 28

A Twist of events Ch. 25

"Lani...where did you say Khushi worked?" Arnav asked

"Umm...it was a company...I...I forgot the name..."she said as she furrowed her eyebrows in concentration, trying to recall. Before she could answer, Sumi chachi stood up,

"Come beta...Ill arrange a room for you ...we should sleep now, its quite late"

Arnav stood up immediately,

"Ohh no..um chachi...its okay...Ill just go to a hotel for tonight" but before he could say any further, Sumi aunty shook her head vigorously

"You really think Im going to let you go at this time of night to a hotel? Your basically like my damad...my daughters husband" she said sweetly

"No...please I...I possibly couldn't" Arnav stuttered, feeling slightly awkward, not really wanting to spend the night with people he had just met for the first time. Sumi chachi gave him an upset face with puppy dog eyes,

"Your...Your refusing your...your mother in law??Do...do you not consider me...your mother in law?" she asked.

"Uhh...uhhm no...okay..Ill stay for tonight" he said reluctantly, finally giving in, earning a wide smile from both Lani and Sumi. They set up a spare bedroom for him while he got his luggage out of the car.

That night, He tossed and turned as the guilt took over his piece of mind. He didn't know exactly when , but the sky was lightning by the time his eyes finally closed rendering him to a restless sleep as images of Khushi passed by him. Khushi laughing. Khushi smiling. Khushi talking animatedly. Khushi's hair flying past her majestically. Khushi breast feeding his daughter. Khushi under him when he made love to her. Khushi crying out his name in pleasure. Khushi crying. Khushi getting hurt from his accusations. Khushi shouting at him.

He woke up groggily the next morning and the first thing he did was take out his phone and dial Akashes number,

"Hello?" answered a hoarse, morning voice

"Hello Akash...how is she?" he asked restlessly, getting straight to the point

"Oh Bhai..hi...yea Shaila's good" Akash replied, not really comprehending much, just wanting to go to bed, being disturbed by the cries of three children all night. Arnav sighed in irritation. Of course Shaila wasn't alright, she was in a completely new environment.

"Akash give the phone to Payal" he said with a slight tinge of annoyance, he would get something out of the sensible Payal. As the phone was being handed over to Payal, Arnav heard a baby's shrill cry; worry began to gnaw at him, w-was that Shaila crying? He..he had to go...he was going to go right now, Shaila was crying.

"Hello?" a struggling Payal answered.

"Hello Payal?! Is that Shaila crying!!?Im coming home right now...Ill arrange a private jet...Im coming right now!" he said quickly  and nervously,

"Oh...Arnavji...calm down! No need to arrange private jets or anything...its Suhana crying, she just woke up" Payal said as she tried to calm her little daughter

Arnav heartbeat slowed down, back to normal, so it wasn't Shaila crying then...thank God.

"Oh...okay...how's Shaila?" he asked

"Shaila...she was a little upset yesterday once she woke up and saw you were gone, but after coming to the apartment, she's gotten a little better, and she spends most of her time with Akhil "

"Did she have her morning milk?

"Yes"

"and her usual banana?"

"She's having that right now...Akash is feeding her"

"Oh okay good, and her-"

"Arnavji...everything is alright...Shaila has been dressed, diaper changed,she is eating right now" Payal said.

"C- Can I talk to her?" He asked

"Sure" Payal said as she handed the phone to the little girl.

"HEWOOO?!" Shaila said loudly on the phone while munching on a squished banana

"Hi baby" he said

"PAPA!!!!" she shouted out of happiness. Arnav smiled at her reaction. Papa's little girl. His little girl.

"hi my princess...how are you"

"Papa...where are you?" she said, with a tinge of grumpiness and sadness in her voice.

"Baby...i had some work to do...Ill be back home soon"

"But..you said...you would never leave me papa...?" she said sadly, with her baby lisp, and cute accent. Arnav felt terrible at her words, he had left her, when he had promised never to.

"I-I'll be home very soon okay?" he said, unsure of what to respond to her statement.

"okay..." She said sulkily.

"Anyways, are you happy? Are you having fun with Akhil and Payal Maasi?"

"Ye papa...you know Akhil likes Bob The Builder too?" she asked happily, forgetting all her sadness from earlier. Thats what it was about children, they were upset one minute, and completely obliviously happy the next. Their mood swings changing with a change in topic.

"You like Bob the Builder baby?" he asked incredulously

"YEAA!!! BOB IIS THE COOLEST PAPA! You know ...all the trucks talk?" she said as she giggled. Arnav laughed with her.

"You don't like Dora the explorer or My little Pony?" he asked im amusement, thinking she was into the girly things.

"EWWW NOO PAPA! WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!? Dora Da expworer is the worst!!!" she said in disgust. Arnav couldn't help but laugh at her reaction.

"I like Bob the Builder...and Tom and Jewy and SpongeBob Sqwarepants...and Pokemon and Arthur!" she said excitedly. Arnav chuckled at his little girl. She wasn't into girly things...he couldn't help but grin widely at that.

"Achaa, meri jaan. OK so are you happy there?"

"Paya maasi is nice" she said sweetly, "she gave me chocolate"

"And Akash chachu?"

"Hmmm...he looks funny"

Arnav laughed whole heartedly,

"okay..baby I have to go now...but Ill be home soon okay?" he said sweetly

"mmmhmmm...BYEEE PAPA!!" she said.

He smiled as he turned off the phone. Everyday, he was learning more and more about his daughter and noticing her striking similarity to his beautiful Khushi. But in a lot of ways she was also like him, she wasn't comfortable with strangers, she had somewhat of a temper, and she had his mothers eyes.

After getting showered and dressed, Arnav made his way to the living room where Sumi Chachi and Lani were just settling in for breakfast. He took an empty chair and sat down. Lani looked at him smiling widely,

"Arnavji may I ask what it is that has put such a goofy grin on your face?" she asked playfully

"hahaa...I...I just talked to shaila on the phone" he said fondly

"HAW?! And you didn't call me? I wanted to talk to her!" Lani said dramatically

"Oh...sorry" he said as he shrugged

"that ones a little nautanki isn't she?" Chachi smiled tenderly

"yeaa" Arnav said as he stared into the distance, thoughts of his daughter on his mind, "I just found out shes more into boy things than girl toys"

"OH yea...ofcourse" Lani said as she stuffed a large piece of toast in her mouth, "that little monster despises any pink toy...she'll wear pink clothes but give her a pink toy, she'll throw it back in your face" Lani said good humoredly, "once I gave her a Barbie doll, the next time I saw it, it was in pieces, her limbs all piled up in a toy tractor"

Arnav chuckled.

"Yea...she's much more into toy cars and trucks, and boy shows" Sumi said good naturedly

"So...Arnavji...whats the next part of your mission?" Lani said eagerly a while later,as she poured tea into a cup.

"my...what?" he asked confusedly,

"Oh you know...the mission finding Khushi, the first part was to come here, whats the next part?" she asked

"Umm...I don't know, I haven't really thought about it."

She turned to face him, and all the humor from just seconds ago vanished, and was replaced by a serious look,

"Arnavji...think about it, because you need to find Khushi...and fast"

"Uf ho...pagli! Chup karo! Lani let him eat his breakfast in peace and then he will go look for Khushi beti as soon as he can." Sumi Chachi scolded Lani. As they ate breakfast in a comfortable silence, Lani suddenly spoke up,

"OH! Ummm Arnavji...I remembered the name of the company for which Khushi worked...it was KM Enterprises...you know...Kavindra Malik Enterprises?...yea but the company closed down like last year..." she said casually.

Only she hadn't realized the significance of what she had just said. Arnav froze. The bagel that was in his hand fell to the ground. He felt the world stop moving around him as the revelation hit him.

KM. Kavindra Malik. His uncle.

Khushi was working for his uncle.

 few times, after having gotten her job, some large men dressed in black came to her house 

after having gotten her job

gotten her job

job

There could only be one explanation. Kavindra Malik had Khushi. He didn't know what they wanted or why. But now he knew who, and that in itself was a huge revelation.

He didn't notice the shocked looks aimed at his way, or the frantic pats Sumi Chachi was giving him,

"Aranv Beta? Beta? What happened?" he heard Sumi Chachi say repeatedly.

He stood up abruptly, Sumi and Lani followed suite

"What happened beta?" Sumi asked once again

"I-I-I have to go" he stuttered and ran out the door, leaving a confused Sumi and Lani behind. He drove as fast as he could to his childhood home. His uncle was still alive? What did he want from Khushi? Did Kavindra want something from him?  Khushi was working for his uncle's company...and those men were his uncles men...he knew that much. Was that who Shyam was working for...his uncle?

Arnavs head spun as horrible memories of his past flashed in front of him. His uncle beating his mother, the shouts at night, the killing of his mysterious child, him shooting his mother.

Arnav took off his aviators as tears pooled in his eyes as he stopped in front of an old, looming mansion. This is where everything had happened. Where he had witnessed his mothers death. Where his childhood had begun but had also ended- rather snatched away.

He wiped his tears and put his aviators back on. Once again becoming cold ASR rather than a broken Arnav. As he slowly made his way towards the entrance, he noticed the eerie silence engulfing the entire area. No sounds except for the shrill cry of the crows could be heard; It had the most sinister undertone to it. No one was around, not even the old guard's that used to stand at these very gates. He felt an odd sense of dj vu overcome him when he touched the gate of the house. He gave it a slight push knowing the iron gates wouldn't open, as they had always remained closed for the entirety of his childhood. But to his surprise, the gate opened squeakily, creating a large creaking noise. He slowly made his way in.

all original work belongs to arshiforever123. Please do not copy.

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