Part 1

Shyam Manohar Jha watched the scene unfold in front of him with anxious eyes. The goons he hired had surrounded a defenseless Arnav Singh Raizada and were very close to finishing him off. A few more blows and then it would be the end of Arnav's life and the start of happy days for Shyam.

The only issue was Khushi ji was also getting in harm's way. Despite his instructions, his goons were manhandling Khushi ji, and she too was trying to come to Arnav's rescue!

The picture turned in a few seconds. Until now when it seemed like Arnav was defenseless, suddenly got a lot of energy to fight and was overpowering Shyam's goons. Shyam toyed with the gun he held and contemplated pulling the trigger. He had successfully kept himself in the dark until now throughout the time that Arnav was held in his captivity.

However, what happened next took his breath away. Because his useless goons pushed khushi ji off the cliff!!! And suddenly no fight was left in Shyam.

Shyam followed Arnav's taxi as he took an injured Khushi ji to the hospital. When she was wheeled into an ICU, Shyam could not hold it anymore and came in front of Arnav. He had planned this for Arnav, it was supposed to be Arnav in the ICU if not morgue not khushi ji. And Shyam confessed all that in that weak moment. The rest of the Raizadas who had reached there at that point overheard it and within the next hour as Khushi ji came to her senses, Shyam was being taken away by the police.

The last thing he heard before they took him away was that Khushi ji had refused to recognize any one of the Raizadas including Arnav. The doctors were saying that due to the trauma of the accident, she may have forgotten her memories.

It was then that Shyam promised himself that he would come back and make use of this opportunity to win khushi ji again and destroy the Raizadas!

--*--

3 years later, London:

Packing bags was something he was very much used to by now. Having moved his residences quite a few times in the past years and then his frequent trips between London and Delhi, made him consider packing as a routine job.

Still, when he opened his wardrobe to select things to carry with himself, he felt unsure. Not only was he going to attend an engagement ceremony but also, he was going to meet a few people he had not met in a long time.

Kashish walked into his room at that point and seeing the empty bag lying open on his bed, she slapped her forehead in exasperation.

"Arnav Singh Raizada! Why is your bag not packed yet?"

Arnav's reverie was broken by her voice, and he gave a somber look. "I don't know what to carry."

She sighed. Walking over to where he stood, pushed him away and started selecting his clothes herself. Almost 3 years of knowing this man and he still was a mystery to her. A well-known sharp businessman, otherwise, he lacked basic knowledge of doing simple chores!

Taking a quick look at his wardrobe, she started picking a few shirts and suites.

"It should be me who is nervous for meeting them for the first time, but I have already packed my bag since the morning. And look at you." she kept blabbering as she packed his bag.

She was the only semblance of family for him in these years of solitude. He didn't say it to her ever, but he knew he could trust her. With his most revered secrets!

"Did you check if our flight is on time? And is your secretary going to pick us up from the airport?" her questions broke his chain of thoughts.

Arnav wordlessly pulled his phone out and dialed Aman.

This was it. He was really doing this. He knew his presence may not be welcome there, but he wanted to be present on such an important day for those people he considered his own.

.

.

It was an unknown place. Somewhere on the hilltop. She stood there. But she was not alone. There were a few other people as well. One man amongst those caught her attention. He was approaching her. She felt nervous and scared. She wanted to run but her feet wouldn't move. She tried to summon all the strength, she tried to shout for help but to no avail.

Someone held her hand then. And she felt comforted. She knew that touch. She slowly lifted her gaze to see who it was.

But was left disappointed as his face wasn't clearly visible.

There was too much fog around them.

"Khushi? Khushi, wake up."

Her sister's voice fell on her ears followed by her hand caressing her hair and her sleepy senses started waking up.

She slowly opened her honey-toned, doe eyes to reality!

Her sister, her Anjali Di was sitting on the bed, looking at her with love and concern.

She let her hand lovingly cup Khushi's cheek and said, "Sorry, gudiya. I wanted to let you sleep for some more time, but guests will start coming soon. So, I had to wake you up."

Khushi held her hand. "Sorry, Di. I had set an alarm, but I must have put it off."

Anjali smiled at her, in understanding. "Was it a bad dream?" She asked, making Khushi nervous.

But this was her Anjali Di, who always understood her. Khushi had never hidden anything from her.

So, despite being hesitant at first, Khushi spoke, "Yes, Di. It was the same dream again. I saw the same hilltop that I had never seen before and some group of people around me. And then someone was there who I thought I knew but I could not see his face."

Anjali stiffened hearing it. How she hated it when khushi had that recurring dream. She needed to talk to khushi's doctor to do something about it.

But for now, she had to keep up the charade. She had been doing a fine job of keeping khushi safe from unwanted things in her life until now and she will continue to do so.

"You are just overthinking, gudiya. These dreams don't mean anything. You must have read something or watched something on TV and that stayed in your mind and then appeared in your dream."

Khushi was not fully convinced. The number of times she had this dream was not normal, she knew. But she didn't want to argue with her di. Last of all today. It was an important day for her sister.

It was her engagement.

--*--

Anjali and Vikrant were standing next to each other in that elegantly decorated hall of Shantivan. Since it was a small ceremony, there were not too many guests invited. Only close family and few friends.

However, as the next set of guests entered through the hall of Raizada mansion, Anjali's face paled. She could not believe it. What was HE doing here? Chote- no- Arnav?

Nervously she looked around and noticed that Khushi was not there yet. Thankfully, she was still getting ready in her room upstairs and Payal was there with her.

Anjali's eyes then found Aakash, and sensing her ask, he immediately came there.

"Aakash, what is Arnav doing here? Did you invite him? I had said no, right?" she had long stopped calling him chote.

"But Di, I did not invite bhai." Aakash replied in a low voice, although he was equally nervous about arnav's presence, today of all days.

"I invited him." Came a voice from Anjali's side. It was her soon-to-be fiancé, Vikrant.

Truthfully, Anjali never wanted to remarry. Especially after seeing how it was her marriage that brought havoc on her family, that made her chote- whom she loved more than anyone destroy lives of khushi and himself, and after seeing how her blind faith in her husband led to disaster. She had lost faith in herself and her ability to judge people.

But all changed when Vikrant -Dr. Vikrant came into their lives 3 years ago. He was Khushi's doctor. But over time, he and his family made a place in their lives. They bonded over their past baggage, as Vikrant's sister was a victim of domestic violence, they bonded over the fact that Vikrant himself struggled with trust issues in marriages and then they found themselves becoming good friends. Vikrant became a strong support to not just khushi but also to Anjali and at times to rest of the Raizadas.

Thus, when his family suggested the idea of anjali's marriage with him, she didn't reject it right away. However, she took a few months and did a thorough background search on him. Also, she made it clear that khushi's marriage is her responsibility and thus they decided to only get an engagement now and get married after khushi settled down.

Anjali let her displeasure know, "Why did you invite him, Vikrant? Despite knowing his presence will affect Khushi?"

"I invited him for Khushi's sake Anjali. You are forgetting that I am not just your fiancé but also Khushi's doctor. It has been 3 years, and nothing has been able to end her nightmares. This is my try to do so."

"You think Arnav's presence will help her? How? This is not the first time she will meet him after losing her memories, she has met him a few times. And despite meeting him, her memories did not come back. On the contrary, she gets affected by him every time he visits Delhi and our house. I don't want her to suffer like that. Arnav needs to be away from Khushi."

"Anjali, you just said it. Seeing or meeting Arnav has not helped bring Khushi's memories back. Staying in this house did not do so. Visiting her previous house in Lucknow or Lakshmi nagar had no effect on her nor did meeting anyone else from her past. But she still suffers from those nightmares almost every night, and you and I both know that it has been affecting her. Irrespective of our many tries, she has not been able to rest her anxieties, or get a peaceful sleep. I am afraid it will affect her health more if we don't do anything soon."

"And meeting Arnav will do it?"

"Not exactly. But if we are able to bring some of her memories back, that may chase her nightmares away."

"Or trigger them." Anjali whispered, looking at Arnav who seemed to have brought a plus one! A gorgeous young woman was standing by his side, talking to him.

--*--

Khushi exited her room on nervous feet. Her Payal Bhabhi was walking right beside her, it was her Anjali di's engagement with her Vikrant jiju whom she respected so much, she was wearing her mother's bangles, and this was her own house. There was no reason for this nervousness. Still, she felt as if it was not her Di but she who was the center of attention there.

Soon she understood the reason.

Because as soon as she stood on the landing, near the staircase that headed to the main hall where all the guests were gathered, one pair of eyes got focused on her. As if waiting for her arrival for ages.

Arnav could not take his eyes off Khushi. Even if she was constantly in his thoughts and on his mind but seeing her in person hit differently! Dressed in an ethnic pink-hued Anarkali gown, she looked quite royal. What made a stir in his heart was she was wearing his mother's bangles and was subconsciously playing with their edges as she took one step at a time.

Someone cleared their throat and that made him come out of his trance.

"Seriously bro, good luck with your resolution to stay away from her if you keep giving her those bedroom eyes!" Kashish said.

Arnav looked at Kashish with anger, who just chuckled in response.

"Why did I even bring you here?" Arnav said more to himself.

"Because you want me to help Khushi remember you."

"Wrong. I want you to ensure she doesn't remember me. Ever."

Looking at the intensity in his eyes, Kashish kept quiet for the moment.

Khushi tore her eyes away from the duo who seemed to be having a private moment. He was married, she knew. Maybe this was the wife he mentioned about. Maybe finally he decided to bring her to meet everyone. She needed to stay away from him. For her own good.

--*--

Character sketches:

Khushi: The youngest member of Raizada family, formerly Khushi kumari gupta but after her accident 3 years ago, has forgotten all her life before that including meeting Shyam Manohar Jha and contract marriage with Arnav Singh Raizada. Finds herself attracted to arnav; knows he is married but thinks that he is married to someone else.

Arnav: Estranged husband of khushi, after her accident while saving him from Shyam and his goons and her subsequent memory loss, he decided to give his everything to her including his surname, his family and his happiness. Mostly lives in London in a rented apartment.

Kashish: Arnav's self-declared friend and sister, a master's student in psychology at Oxford, owner of the house where Arnav lives, Aman's future love interest. (I imagine Jennifer Winget here)

Aman: Same as the show (except here he has a face, I imagine Karan Wahi in this role). He is the only person from Arnav's past who still respects him, also his PA and Kashish's future love interest

Anjali and Nani: Same as the show. After khushi's accident and knowing how arnav had tortured her throughout the contract marriage time, consider him and themselves guilty. They don't want khushi to ever get back to arnav and support his decision to leave their lives.

Dr. Vikrant: Khushi's doctor, a decent young man, loves his family and adores Anjali and her family. Protective to khushi and Anjali. Has a bitter past where his sister was a victim of domestic violence so feels strongly against men who are abusive.

Mami, mamaji and Aakash: Feel bad for what happened with khushi but also want arnav to come back to the family

Payal: Not a docile daughter-in-law or wife anymore. Holds grudges against arnav after what he did to khushi, wants khushi to marry some other good man

Gupta family: Same as the show. Have accepted that khushi live with Raizadas, feel guilty for not supporting her when she needed, don't want arnav to ever reunite with her

Last but not least, Shyam Manohar Jha: Our resident villain! Was put in jail for 10 years but has managed to break free. Plans to seek revenge against Arnav and Anjali, still obsessed with Khushi.

More characters will be introduced later as needed.

Story Banner by supremely talented __Shiri__

--*--

A/N - Presenting a new book after a long time! Let me know if you liked the first chapter and is it worth continuing. Some of you have already read a one-shot based on this in 'Meethe Pal' and thought it needed extension so here we are :)