Chapter 17
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[MEMBERSONLY]
[NOCOPY]
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Part 4: Day 10
Section 2
Arnav called from the office at noon.
"Khushi, Mr. Roy came to see me. The papers will be ready by late evening. I will talk to Di tonight, fix everything up... We can get rid of Shyam by tomorrow evening."
Khushi clutched her heart that had started to pound. If something went wrong! They were playing with the feelings of Di. If she reacted badly to Shyam's true face, then her condition might be worse than it was now...
"Don't be scared, Khushi." Arnav comforted her, her silence speaking volumes. "Di is strong inside, where it counts. She has seen worse, faced worse, and come through it all, her head held high. She will deal with this too."
"Yes." Khushi murmured.
"Where are the others?" Arnav asked.
"Jiju & Nanheji are in the garden, sitting almost by Di's window. Mami is chatting with Anjaliji. Jiji is sitting with them. Nani is having a nap now so that she can be alert at night. The nurse is in Anjaliji's room." Khushi reported. She added, "Anjaliji is asking everyone if they have seen her phone."
"I will handle it once I get home. Just ask the others to keep her confused as we planned till I do, Khushi." Arnav requested.
"Ji." Khushi replied. "They are helping her look for it."
"Khushi, I have arranged for the doctor to visit Di two more times today. Shyam will be watching the house. I want him to think that Di is fading fast, that her condition is critical."
"Ji." Khushi said.
"She will examine Di 4 times tomorrow, before evening." Arnav told her.
"That's good." Khushi said.
"I will be late getting home today, Khushi. I will come only after getting the papers. I want this done at the earliest."
"Yes. Shyam is unpredictable. It is not safe to keep him waiting." Khushi murmured.
Arnav agreed. "I will get her to drink something when I reach home." Arnav added.
Khushi nodded. "I have sent Hari Prakashji to the office with your lunch."
"Yes. He has reached the office." Arnav could see HP handing over a bag to Aman.
There was a moment of silence.
"Khushi..." he said.
"Ji?"
"Khushi, I love you." Arnav said.
Khushi stood motionless, the phone held tight in her hand. Tears pooled in her eyes.
"Why do you always cry when I tell you that I love you, Khushi?" Arnav tried to make her smile.
"Because you make me cry, always." Khushi whispered before cutting the phone.
Arnav walked into his Di's room, a bowl of soup on a tray in his hands, to see her looking for her phone under the bed. Seeing Arnav, knowing why he was there, Mami left the room in haste, making some flimsy excuse.
"Kya hua, Di? You should be resting!" he said, setting the tray on the bedside table.
"Chotey!" she pouted. "I can't find my phone."
"Your phone? Di, I will help you search for it. But first have some soup." He led Anjali to recline on the bed, her back against a mountain of pillows.
"No, Chotey. I don't want any soup." Anjali pouted.
"Just a few spoons, Di. Please, for me." Arnav held a full spoon near her lips.
"No, Chotey." Her eyes filled with ready tears. "Not without my Shyamji."
"Di..." Arnav protested mildly.
"Chotey, how can you believe such things about your Jiju? How can they lie, in such a ghatiya manner?" Tears flowed down Anjali's cheeks. "Woh hamare pati he! The father of our rajkumari. You won't be able to find a more loving or good man even if you set out to search for one!" Anjali was convinced of her husband's claim to sainthood.
Arnav swallowed his opinion of Shyam with a great deal of effort. Just a few more hours...
"And by lying, they have taken away the respect that is due to my husband. You hit him, Chotey! How could you raise your hand to your Jijaji?" Anjali wept.
"Di..." Arnav said slowly, as though reconsidering his stand. "I... I am sorry, Di. I.. I was angry. You know how I get when I become angry. I... shouldn't have... I should have thought before.. I am sorry, Di. I don't know if Sh... Ji-Ja-Ji was behind the kidnapping. I didn't see him." he confessed.
"There! What did I tell you, Chotey?" Anjali could not contain her glee.
"But..." Arnav sighed. "...I was kidnapped. That is the truth."
Anjali nodded solemnly, and cupped his face with gentle fingers. Arnav set aside the soup and hugged her. After a long moment, he gently helped her to lie against the pillows.
"Di, can I ask you something?" Arnav asked, as though he were confused.
"Haan, Chotey?"
"Di, when we conducted your marriage, I built a posh office for Jijaji in Delhi."
Anjali nodded.
"Jijaji is always away, always working..."
"Haan, Chotey." Anjali pouted.
"Then where is the money that he makes, Di?" Arnav asked softly.
Anjali stared at him, open-mouthed.
"Is he saving it, Di? Or using it for you?" Arnav asked, pasting a concerned look on his face.
Anjali tried to think of any occasion when her Shyamji had saved money or spent his own money on her. She couldn't come up with anything.
"Di, I have been depositing money in your joint account every month for the past 3 years. You have been receiving rent from the houses I gave you at the time of your marriage. All your fixed deposits and investments have been done by me, before your marriage. All your diamonds and ornaments have been given by me. Where is the money that Jijaji is making?"
Anjali stared at him.
"Di, Jijaji takes money from your joint account, doesn't he?"
Anjali had to nod.
"If he is short of cash, he asks you for money, doesn't he? From your personal account?"
"Yes..." Anjali could not lie to such a sympathetic Chotey.
"Di, he lives with us. He uses the car that I gave him on your marriage. The fuel and the service are billed to me, not him. Di, he has no living expenses. He is an orphan. He has no relations to support. Then where is the money that he is making?"
Anjali stammered, "Woh, Chotey, he does a lot of charity work... he works for free..."
"Di..." Arnav pretended as though he were reluctant to say the next lines. "Di... it is because he is a ghar jamai without any income that people don't respect him."
Anjlai frowned.
"Di, he is going to have a rajkumari. He should behave more responsibly. He can't raise a family without an income."
The sister of the financial genius felt the first strike against her husband, the epitome of every virtue.
"Yes..." she had to agree.
"It is not nice that he is dependant on me for his daily expenses, especially when he has a job and, now, a family to support."
Anjali nodded slowly.
"Di, even though many accusations were made against Jijaji that day, I have no proof against him. And Jijaji managed to counter many of the statements made by the others."
Anjali looked at him hopefully.
"Everyone believes that Jijaji is out to get my money, Di. That he married you for money."
"Chotey!" Anjali protested, but the protest was weak. Her husband's extravagances at the expense of her brother were known to her. Designer watches, unexplained & frequent trips away from Delhi... frequent requests for money from her...
"Di, you are endangering your health and your baby's health because he is not with you. I can't bear this anymore, Di..." Arnav caught hold of her hand and kissed it. "Kill me, Di. That is better than seeing you starve for Jijaji." His plea was heart-felt.
Anjali hugged Arnav, copious tears drenching his jacket.
"Di, I don't mind calling Jijaji and asking him to come to RM. I am ready to apologise for hitting him in anger."
"Chotey?" Anjali's eyes shone bright in hope.
"But things can't go on as before, Di."
Anjali looked at him.
"I want you to be happy, Di. If Jijaji makes you happy, I don't mind calling him over. But this time things should be different. I want him to pay his way, Di. I want him to realise his duty towards you and your child. I want everyone to respect him."
"Chotey'" Anjali protested faintly.
"Di, there was a time when we had nothing except the clothes on our back. Do you remember how we stood on the grounds of Sheesh Mahal when our Chacha threw us out?"
Anjali nodded slowly, swallowing hard. "Chotey..." She tried to take his mind away from the tragedies of their past. She couldn't bear to see him burn in the fire of his memories.
"We had nothing, Di. Nothing. No parents. No house. No money. Not even our school books or toys. Just the clothes we were wearing. We have come far now, Di. We have everything now. Rather, we made everything we have now, Di, by working hard, by working every moment of every day, by cutting costs, by saving, by investing wisely, by standing together... Di, If Mamaji, Akash, & I worked, you, Nani, & Mami saved the money we made. That is how we got to where we did. It was a joint effort, involving our whole family, including Mami who gave me her jewellery to sell to start the firm."
Anjali nodded.
"We know the value of money, Di. Jijaji doesn't. If he continues to live here comfortably, if I keep on paying him every month, he is never going to make or save money. When your daughter grows up and realises the true state of affairs, Jijaji will fall in her eyes too." Arnav was very persuasive.
Anjali had to nod.
"I have even heard employees at the bank referring to Shyam Manohar Jha as the husband I employed for you, Di." Arnav said.
Anjali gasped. "How dare they?"
"Exactly. What if your rajkumari hears such demeaning comments about Jijaji? He will lose all respect in her eyes. We need to change this, Di. Now. We need to make Jijaji aware of his responsibilities. For his own good. For the sake of your rajkumari."
Anjali nodded, wiping away her tears.
Arnav hugged Anjali. "Di, as long as I am alive, you will never want for anything. I will always take care of you. But Jijaji shouldn't take my love for you to mean that he has nothing to contribute to your and your rajkumari's wellbeing."
Anjali agreed.
"Di, as long as you have money in the bank, as long as I pay you a monthly allowance, as long as you own property and diamonds, he is never going to change, Di. You will never be able to live here happily."
Anjali nodded. "You are right, Chotey."
"We need to do a few things to change the situation here, Di. To get Jijaji the respect that is due to him."
Anjali nodded.
"I will call him tomorrow, Di, and ask him to come over."
"Really, Chotey?" Anjali could not contain her happiness.
"Really, Di." Arnav sighed inwardly. "Have some soup, Di. I will ask Payal to bring your dinner here." He spooned cold soup into Di's mouth.
"What about Khushiji? The rest...?"
"My word is law in my house, Di. I will manage everything for you. You don't have to worry about anything." He made sure that the bowl was empty.
"Remember what you told me, Di? To make everything as it was? To bring Shyamji back? To make your life as happy as it was earlier?" Arnav asked her.
Anjali nodded, smiling.
Arnav hugged her. "I promise, Di. I will protect you, as I vowed to do every year when you tied the rakhi on my wrist."
Anjali hugged him back, happy beyond measure.
"Do you trust me, Di?" he asked.
Anjali nodded, unable to control the love welling in her heart for her brother.
"We need to go over a few documents, together..." Arnav said.
Anjali nodded happily. Then her face fell. "Chotey, my phone! I want to call Shyamji and tell him the good news... Chotey, give me your phone?"
"I will look for your phone, Di. And you can have mine if you want to call Jijaji. But I would suggest, don't call Jijaji. Let it be a surprise to him when I call him tomorrow." Arnav suggested.
Anjali was all smiles, now that she had got her way.
"It is only right that I call him, apologise, and invite him back here. After all, I was the one who sent him away." Arnav tried to look penitent.
Anjali smiled and nodded.
Arnav went to get the documents and ask Payal to serve dinner to Di in her room. It was better that she stayed put there.
Arnav walked into his room. Khushi was sitting on the floor, feeding leaves to Laxmi.
She looked up as he entered the room. He nodded, weary. "She signed everything." He sat down on the bed. Khushi got up from the floor and sat by him.
"Because she trusts you." Khushi reminded him. "She knows you will never abandon her to her fate, never leave her defenceless or poor..."
"And because she loves or thinks she loves that... that... rascal." Arnav sighed.
"He is her husband. She thinks that she is entitled to love him whole-heartedly, without holding anything back." Khushi said softly. "It is just her misfortune that she picked a man who is not deserving of such a wife or her love."
Arnav caught hold of her hand.
"Khushi, I... I am sorry. You did nothing. None of this was your fault, and yet..."
Khushi looked at his drawn face.
"It wasn't your fault. Or mine. Or Anjali's. It was all Shyam's fault. All we were guilty of was believing him, trusting him, letting him into our lives when he was not worthy of our trust or affection."
Arnav nodded. He lifted their joined hands to his lips and dropped a kiss on her hand. Khushi pulled her hand away, flustered.
She jumped up. "It is time to go to bed." Khushi said. "I am feeling sleepy." She led Laxmi out of the room, locking the bedroom door after her.
Arnav changed into his night clothes and got into bed.
Khushi was turned away from him, lying at the far end of her side, as far away as possible from him.
If she could move away from him, he could always move closer to her. Arnav shifted till he was flush against her, his front to her back.
Khushi jumped. "Kya kar rahe he aap?"
Arnav calmed her with his hands on her shoulders and settled her once more into position. "The more you try to run away from me, the more I will try to bring you back."
Khushi panted, his nearness capable of causing a heart failure, his hard warmth against her softness robbing her of words and her sense...
"Because I can't do without you, Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada." he whispered in her ear as his fingers trailed down her arm, leaving a line of fire down her sensitive skin.
Khushi scrunched her face and shut her eyes in the effort to ignore his touch.
He kissed her nape with warm, hard lips. Khushi trembled and tried to move away. But there was no space on her side of the bed. She was at the very edge. The only place left was the ground. One more inch and she would be lying on the floor.
She brought her arms to cover her chest, holding clenched fists under her chin, in a vain effort to dissuade his marauding fingers.
He touched her waist and gently ran his fingers down over her hips and the long lines of her slim legs as far as he could touch. His face was buried in her hair.
"You smell so sweet!" he complimented her in his husky voice.
Khushi gulped, the pulse at her throat hammering away.
He raised his head slightly to kiss, bite, and soothe the creamy skin of her throat, leaving behind his mark.
Khushi jerked, and an involuntary moan left her. The jerk caused her to roll off the bed and fall down on the floor in a sprawl.
Arnav looked down at her from the bed with twinkling eyes, and asked softly, "Kya hua, Khushi? Dar gayi?"
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