Chapter 79

Arnav Singh Raizada was not a patient person & he was not the person who sat around idly for things to just go back to normal. So it actually seemed very uncanny to his sister, & even to his somewhat estranged friend Rohan, that since he had come to know about Khushi's disappearance, despite seeming deeply disturbed about the occurrence, Arnav hadn't really tried to go out into the streets of Delhi to look for her. He hadn't gone out & driven around the whole city till someone would call him to say they had found Khushi, much like Anjali had half expected him to do. & while no one else could understand why he did so, & why he had chosen to confine himself to Khushi's room or roam around the house that Khushi loved to pieces, Arnav himself knew the answer to these questions very well.

Arnav Singh Raizada was scared out of his life for the first time ever. & he was thinking beyond his own self for the first time ever too. Though he hadn't really lived with Anjali or anyone else at India for long, still everyone knew, it was a trait of him to just go away on his own when the going got tough, when anger got the best of him or when he had just had enough. His whole 'going-off-to-Boston' almost 10 years ago was the finest example of his habit of going away when he couldn't take it anymore. But today, it wasn't about Arnav anymore.

Arnav knew, maybe a drive would let him blow some steam. But somehow he had felt that he needed to be in Nikunja, either to catch Khushi's Babuji when he fell, or to reassure her Amma that Khushi was fine & she'd be back any minute. He was also afraid of going out to find Khushi, because, what if Khushi came back & no one remembered to inform him? As Aman had quite ruthlessly pointed out, he was no one to Khushi in the eyes of everyone else. & most of all, Arnav was scared to death of actually finding Khushi on the streets in a state that he never wanted to see Khushi in. This was Delhi, & Arnav didn't want to go off driving around its dark alleyways with darker thoughts forming in his mind every few seconds.

Arnav was still inside Khushi's room, sitting on her bed, when his cell phone rang. He took out the cell to see it was a private number. His heart immediately leapt up thinking it might be someone with some news of Khushi. But his sane brain immediately snubbed off his irrational brain. Why would someone call him with Khushi's news? As far as the world was concerned, he was nothing to Khushi except a distant relative. & Arnav didn't really feel like talking to anyone else at that moment, so he let the call go unanswered. But whoever it was, was persistent, because they called back immediately again. Arnav was just contemplating whether to take it up or not, when Aman came in.

Arnav's eyes immediately picked up the grim urgency of Aman's movements & in answer to his silent question, Aman held up a fat brown envelope in his hands & said pointedly, "I just got this, ASR. I think we'll know where Khushiji is very soon-" Arnav stood up abruptly & snatched the envelope from Aman's hands & as he dipped the contents out onto his hands, he commanded Aman fiercely, "Aman, spill!" Aman started talking immediately like a parrot, "Well, as you said to continue looking into Karan Kapoor, I did. When I couldn't find anything new, I was just looking through old background reports on him when I caught the name.. You remember, I told you that an uncle of his was the Attorney General at the time when his friend ODed & he was the one who got Kapoor acquitted of all charges?" Arnav furrowed his brows, trying to remember, & then as he vaguely started remembering what all Aman had revealed about Karan so many months ago at the Farmhouse after that night Karan had misbehaved with Khushi, he nodded & indicated Aman to go on. Aman took a deep breath & said in one stroke, "Well, that uncle has now retired & joined Kapoor's father's party & his name is Manohar Jha."

Arnav immediately cut Aman off as his mind started racing, "Aman, I have heard that name! Where?" & Aman didn't play around anymore as he said promptly, "Manohar Jha is Karan Kapoor's Bua's husband & the father of civil & property lawyer Shyam Manohar Jha. That makes Kapoor & Shyam Jha cousins." Aman waited for a few seconds as he searched Arnav's shocked features for some sign of any queries & finding none, he went on to reassure Arnav, "My sources are already looking into Shyam Jha'a property listings as we speak. Soon we'll know where to look-" But Aman had to break off as Arnav's phone rang up again. Arnav looked down at the phone, annoyed, to see that same private number calling & he would've rejected the call this time, but before he could do that Aman's phone started to ring. As Aman hurriedly went a little bit away from him to answer his phone, Arnav sighed & suddenly, instead of cutting the call, he impulsively answered his phone.

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 3^rd one, ASR. The one he has 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 to them once 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.

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The short 17 minutes drive over to the apartment complex seemed to Arnav to be the longest journey of his life. The police had agreed to let Rohan ride with them. The inspector had already left with one unit of officers in one car. & Arnav had been too surprised to say anything when Rohan had requested the ACP to let Arnav ride with them in the second car too. Khushi's Amma, Babuji & Buaji had been adamant about coming too, but the ACP's strict comment about how they were only slowing down the police with their pleas & endangering their daughter's life had instantly shocked them into silence. Even then, as they had been about to leave, Shashi Gupta had spoken quietly, requesting the ACP very politely to let at least Anjali follow them behind in a civilian car, as he felt his son was too deeply affected by anything slightly associated with his youngest daughter & Anjali's presence might be needed if things were too disturbing for Rohan to handle. As he had spoken the last words, Shashi Gupta's voice had closed up due to too much emotion & the ACP hadn't been able to say no anymore & had allowed Anjali to follow in Arnav's car with Aman driving it.

& half-way to their destination, as Arnav desperately looked out of the window to see how far they had come, his eyes fell on Rohan's reflection on the glass window, & Arnav stilled. Rohan's eyes were tightly shut & his lips were moving rapidly, but no sound came out of them. He seemed to be praying, frantically. & Arnav immediately looked down at his own lap, because somehow it felt like he was invading someone's privacy. & as he looked down at his hands, an uncontrollable & violent rage built up within Arnav. He still couldn't believe all this was happening to Khushi! Baby Gupta! & she was a baby after all! What else could she be called at barely 21? & yet, she had to go through so much! All the whispers of her past, rumors regarding her biological parents, & then finally coming to know the truth.. & if that wasn't all, all she got in the name of love was Arnav! & now she had to go through all these too? What kind of a deity called that justice?? & Rohan was still praying to that deity?

Arnav jerked his head up, & not looking at Rohan directly, said in a furious whisper, "Are you praying to her Devi Maiyya?.. She chants her Devi Maiyya's name more than she breathes! Then why is she in this horrible situation? I defy your God at every opportunity I get! Why am I safe & sound here, & why is she suffering so much? What is this God you guys pray to like crazies?!" He felt Rohan turn & look at him steadily for a couple of long seconds, before whispering back in a voice slightly shaking with emotions, "I pray to the God that saved her, when all the odds were against her 20 years ago. I pray to the God which had placed Khushi in our family. & I pray, because if I don't believe in a divine intervention far beyond human comprehension, then all I am left with is people.. people like the ones who took her. If I don't believe in the good of Devi Maiyya, then it's my loss, as then the scales get tipped towards the evil that I know is present in the world. & I have to pray to Devi Maiyya & believe that she's with my Bachchi, when no one else is & she has kept Bachchi safe beyond all hope, because Arnav, right now, she's all Bachchi has got! & about your question as to why she is suffering despite her devotion & why you are not despite your defiance.. Arnav, are you sure you are not suffering enough?"

Arnav looked over at Rohan & he had the look of a deer caught in a red light. He hadn't expected he was as transparent as that. He quickly looked away & hoped with all his heart that all those Pujas his sister regularly bestowed actually reached someone, as right now even he'd like to believe that there was some guardian angel watching over his Khushi. His thought hadn't even completed when they halted to a stop. Arnav would've immediately got out of the car, but the ACP's warning stopped him. The ACP turned towards Rohan & Arnav & said in a serious tone to let the police do their work their way & the only way Rohan & Arnav would be allowed inside was if they vowed to stay out of the police's way, otherwise they'd be just endangering Khushi's life. The last bit was enough to dissuade Rohan & Arnav from running like a bolt inside the building. Just then a constable from the inspector's patrol car approached the ACP's window & told him that the watchman had been detained & he had confirmed that two guys had carried an unconscious girl upstairs to K-5 hours ago & another man who frequently came here had gone up to the flat about half-an-hour ago.

Then the constable paused for a second & said urgently, "Sir, inspector sir has already taken position outside the flat & there are loud, banging noises coming out from inside. He was waiting for your command. Permission to enter?" The ACP got out of the car instantly, quickly followed by Rohan & Arnav, & by the time they got inside the lift being held for the ACP, he had already given his command to the inspector to break the door & enter the apartment. Arnav & Rohan both looked at each other at the same time, looking for some sign of courage maybe in the other's eyes, but all they found was the fear in one's eyes mirrored in the other's. Arnav took a deep, bracing breath as he looked down & as he slowly looked up, the lift 'ping'ed & the doors slid open.

As Arnav entered the apartment on the left behind the ACP & Rohan, the door was wide open & the first sight that hit him was a tall, well-built, sturdy looking man struggling to get free of the hold two constables had on him. & then his eyes fell on two officers trying to hold onto an extremely agitated Karan & behind them he saw Shyam, arguing, while another officer tried to put a cuff on him, & immediately a voice played in Arnav's head, "Khushi.. Shyam Manohar Jha took her.." & Arnav instantly felt a fuse sizzle in his brain as he walked purposefully past Karan just as an uncharacteristically deranged looking Rohan lunged forward aiming at Karan's throat. Rohan started throwing mad punches at Karan, & one of the officers tried to dissuade him while Karan tried to hide behind the other officer. As a result, when Arnav reached Shyam, the officer holding Shyam's hands at his back was distractedly looking at the hustle in front of him. Arnav dismissed the officer completely as he closed his right fist around Shyam's jugular & without giving anyone a chance to dissuade him, he almost lifted Shyam off of his feet & slammed him hard against the opposite wall.

Arnav moved like a possessed person as without letting any thought cross his head, he just started nailing Shyam's head into the wall with completely haphazard, but hammering punches. Shyam's jaw became bloody after the third punch only, & as Arnav was forced to draw back as the officer tried to pull him back by his waist, Shyam spoke up, spraying blood from inside his mouth, "I didn't touch her, I swear!.. It was all Karan's idea! & Rocky hit her on the head.. I just drugged her-" Shyam was horrified into a stop as Arnav let out an animalistic growl, threw the officer momentarily off his balance, & just grabbing the sides of Shyam's head with both hands, he started banging it on the wall behind with an almost obsessive rage. & as Arnav could feel his last vestige of control slipping away & that familiar darkness taking possession of his self, suddenly he remembered the last ever thing Khushi had asked him over the phone, "Just lost it?" She had sounded so sad. This was what she had been so concerned about, & Arnav remembered what Rohan had revealed to him earlier, "..she's afraid for you & what you become when you get so dementedly angry!.."

& precisely at that moment, Arnav heard one of the officers who was trying to break a door open on his left say out loud, "Sir, why is she not making a sound? Is she-?" Arnav immediately threw Shyam, who had gone slightly limp anyways, over at the inspector, & rushed over to the door, which was by now hanging from its hinges. As soon as Arnav reached the threshold, the ACP & the officer slammed their bodies over the door one last time, as the bolt was shot off its hinges & the door knob too broke off. But when Arnav would've rushed through it, the ACP stopped him saying, "Wait, there's something against the door, & we don't know where she is. We should be careful." Arnav nodded dazedly & as the ACP carefully inched the door open, Arnav turned around to see that Rohan had literally floored Karan & even Aman had now joined the officers in trying to get him off Karan, but in vain. Rohan was sitting atop Karan's chest & throwing punches left-right-&-center. Arnav shouted out to him impatiently, "Leave it! Khushi's in here!"

Rohan's hands stilled in the air instantly, but Arnav didn't wait to see anything further when he saw the space made by the ACP as he entered the room. Arnav promptly followed. As soon as he entered the room, he heard the ACP shout out to one of his officers, "Didn't you say the ambulance was on its way, D'Souza? Call them again.. Make it fast!" & as Arnav followed the ACP's line of vision, he felt like he'd never be able to breathe again.

It was an unreal sight. Arnav could no longer tell the color of her dress, but only that it looked white on the front. & her face too looked white & tiny. There were dark patches under her eyes as she lay there, bundled up, in an astonishingly vivid pool of her own blood. & Arnav had that sickening feeling for the second time in his life after he had seen his Ma's corpse, that, his life should've been over too & nothing in this horrible world would ever be right again. Then as the inspector asked him not to touch her, Arnav came sufficiently out of his trance & did exactly what he had been asked not to do. He slumped down on his knees over some of the blood, & very gently pulled Khushi's limp body over his lap, inside his arms. & his heart almost dropped to his stomach at how weightless & lifeless she felt in his arms. He looked at the tightly shut eyes, & Arnav desperately cupped her face & pressing a shaky kiss on her right temple, he whispered in her right ear, "Red, please..?" But it seemed that, for the first time, Khushi was oblivious to her Arnav.

Arnav looked on at her face, horrified. He didn't want to fathom the implications. His brain refused to register anything, & in that mind-numbing moment, Arnav Singh Raizada did something he hadn't done in more than 12 years. He prayed. He begged.. to whoever it was who resided up there. He prayed.. he begged.. & then he negotiated. His life.. instead of hers. Because, if she was gone, then he would follow too. Arnav desperately picked up her limp left hand & started massaging it, but he froze up when Khushi's hand just slipped out of his grasp like flowing sand. & immediately Arnav remembered what Khushi had said to him the last time he had seen her, in Lucknow. Rohan came inside, & without caring about the gory blood, took up Khushi in his arms & said something about the ambulance almost having reached, but Arnav still didn't move. Neither did he follow them as everyone went out following Rohan carrying Khushi in his arms. He just sat there, in front of the pool of blood in an empty room, as Khushi's angry voice taunted him over & over again, "..maybe that day, you'll have your faith back.. Par afsos ki baat hain, jab apko yeh ehsaas hoga, tabb yeh dekhne ke liye hum waha nahi honge.."

Then he looked over at Lavanya. She was expressing deep concern over Khushi's whereabouts to Anjali. & Arnav couldn't resist, but let out a very indecent slang word which startled a very somber looking Aman standing right by his side into looking towards him scandalously. Arnav didn't look back at Aman or anyone else, as he forcefully walked straight upto Lavanya & grabbing hold of her elbow, he dragged her aside to the corridor beside in front of the shocked eyes of her mother & his Di. As soon as they were out of sight of prying eyes, Arnav almost threw Lavanya away from him on the wall, & said not bothering to lower his voice, "I have never despised a woman more in my life than I despise you now! I can't believe you'd stoop so low as to-"

But he stopped as he saw the fake non-comprehensive look in Lavanya's eyes. Arnav felt his anger rising further & he fisted his hands to stop himself from doing he'd regret later, as he almost shouted, "Don't act! Not in front of me! Did you honestly think I won't recognize your voice?! & Red- Khushi might not say why she was stranded alone so far away from home, but the fact that you decided to wait for 5-f**kin'-hours before you decided to tell what you had seen, tells me all I need to know! So listen to me now, & listen good! You will stay the hell away from my Khushi.. Now & forever! I don't want to see you near her. I don't want to catch you trying to contact her in any way! & if I catch your filthy presence in my Khushi's life, even for once, I am warning you, when I'll go after you.. I'll go after your whole existence.. you.. your family, your whole world! Because, Khushi is my world, & when you went after her, you made it very personal for me!.. Now get your mother & get the hell out of here"