Chapter 1
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Part 1
Khushi looked at the file that Shyamji had given her.
He had promised to confess everything to Arnavji, tell him the truth about the relationship between him and the Guptas, their engagement, his attempt to marry her when he was already married to Anjaliji, his performance on the terrace on Jiji's wedding night... make a clean breast of everything that had happened... Only if she got Arnavji's signature on this file.
What was in this file? Why was Arnavji's signature on these papers so important to Shyamji?
She turned the pages. It was something to do with Arnavji's property and business.
She frowned, perplexed.
What did Shyamji have to do with Arnavji's business? He was a lawyer, with his own practice. And Arnavji had never involved him in his business matters. Only Akash Jiju and Mamaji worked with Arnavji. So what were these papers? And why did Shyamji want Arnavji's signature on them?
Khushi clutched her hair. He Devi Maiyya! If only she could read English well and understand the meaning of these big words! If only she had paid attention to the plump Mrs. Sharma who had taught them English in the government school in Lucknow instead of sighing over Salmanji's pictures in the phillum magazine in class! If only! Regret flooded her veins.
She let out a frustrated huff.
What was the use of whining over spilt milk? Khushi, socho, socho... find some way out... she exhorted herself.
Nanheji! He knew good English. Only his Hindi was atrocious. If she could ask Nanheji... But how could she show him this document? What if he asked her who had given it to her, why, how? Where would she go for the answers?
Akash Jiju? But he too would ask questions. And if she had to confide in him, she would have to rehash the whole sorry tale of Shyamji living as a PG in Buaji's house... No! Atleast Jiji was happy now. She had a life. How could she destroy it by informing Jiju of the unsavoury character of their own personal hallowed saint, their Damadji?
Khushi swallowed hard, her dry throat protesting against the action.
She couldn't go to anybody in this house with these papers.
What if she tricked Arnavji into signing these? She could. She could do it. But... but... without knowing what these papers were...
How could she trust Shyamji when he said that these papers were not important, but just part of routine office work? If they were not important, why couldn't he approach Arnavji personally and get them signed? Why was he anxious that no one knew about these documents? Why was he waiting so eagerly for her to get this done?
Shyamji was evil. He was unscrupulous. He could sink to any level, cheat anyone... His purpose was always suspect, his motives worthy of scrutiny, his behaviour immoral, his character non-existent...
Should she believe the crook Shyamji and try to clear her name in Arnavji's eyes? Or should she disbelieve Shyamji and confide in a brutally and unpleasantly honest Arnavji, who hated the very sight of her.
There was no choice. There was only one way out.
Arnavji... she would choose him over Shyamji any day. Any time. She had to show Arnavji the file and inform him about Shyamji's willingness to confess his misdeeds. Arnavji had to know what was going on. She would have to tell him...
But would he believe her?
Khushi blinked away a tear.
She knew the answer. He wouldn't. He wouldn't believe her. But It no longer mattered if he didn't believe her.
Not anymore.
His opinion of her was lower than low. He believed that she was having some galat rishta with Shyamji, that she was in collusion with that scoundrel, that she was helping him cheat Anjaliji...
His contempt for her was cutting... his hatred was soul-shattering... his picture of her as a characterless girl was painted deep in his heart... Things couldn't get worse now. The situation was at the worst already.
And there were greater considerations at hand right now. Starting with Arnavji's well-being and security.
She had to let him know. She had to go to his office and show him the file. He could believe her or ignore her. It was his right to choose. But it was her duty to tell him. She had to make sure that Shyamji was not planning something evil, something that could harm Arnavji.
His opinion of her was not important anymore.
He Devi Maiyya, please help me choose the right path. Please, please make everything alright. Please keep Arnavji safe... she chanted silently, her hand on her heart.
Then Khushi walked down the steps from the bedroom, her fingers closed tightly around the edges of the file.
"Khushiji!" Anjali called as she saw Khushi walk down the steps. "Come here! Dekhiye, Motilalji has brought a wide variety of jewellery for us to choose from!"
Khushi jumped, startled. In her preoccupation, she hadn't noticed that the family was sitting in the living room.
Khushi, in a hurry to leave, looked with total disinterest at the hundreds of boxes displayed before the Raizada ladies. Her heart thumped madly, chanting only one mantra, Go to Arnavji's office immediately and give him the file.
"I need to go out urgently, Di. To meet Arnavji. I don't want anything." Khushi moved towards the door.
"Khushiji, your Arnavji will wait for you, but Motilalji won't." Anjali laughed. "Please come and sit by me. Aap hi batayiye, does this bangle suit me or this?" Anjali lifted her arms.
"Both are nice, Di." Khushi said, desperate to leave.
Anjali limped up to Khushi, and led her to sit by her.
"Please choose a few pieces, Khushiji. I wanted to gift you jewellery after you and Chotey got married, but... Anyway, let me do it now. Aap choose keejiye, please." Anjali pouted becomingly.
Nani & Mami nodded encouragingly. Payal smiled at Khushi.
"Dekho, Khussi Bitiya!" Nani said. "Payaliyaa has selected this set. Now you choose whatever you like." she smiled.
"Saasumma, this looks good on me, doesn't it?" Mami showed everyone the effect of two hefty gold bangles on her already overloaded arms.
Nani frowned & Anjali shook her head. Payal bent her head to hide her smile.
"Manorama, you have already selected enough, more than your body can hold at one time." Nani chided her daughter-in-law.
"Saasumma!" Mami backtracked. "Lagat he, you hab (have) misunderstood me. Kono baat nahi! Hum to Khussi keliye selekssion (selection) kiye rahe!"
Nani shook her head in resignation. Anjali & Payal smiled.
Khushi looked towards the door in desperation.
"Lo, pehno!" Mami forced the bangles on to Khushi's arms. They were heavy, made of solid gold.
"Do you like them, Khussi Bitiyaa?" Nani asked fondly.
"If you don't like them, maybe we can look at diamonds... or platinum..."Anjali started.
Khushi took the escape route she had been offered with alacrity. "I love the bangles, Naniji. Can I keep them?" she asked, smiling.
All smiled at her, happy.
Nani cupped her face , and said, "Hamari Khussi bitiyaa can keep whatever she wants."
The other ladies nodded, smiling.
Khushi tried to remove the bangles from her arms, but Mami stopped her.
"Tumko Mami ki chaaijj (choice) itni pasand ho, to pehen lo. Don't take them off, Hello Hi Bye Bye!" Mami said.
"Yes, pehen lo, Khussi Bitiya. They look good on your arms." Nani added, smiling.
"Yes, Khushiji, they suit you. Mami knows how to choose good things." Anjali laughed.
"Aur naahi to kaa! Tumhre Mamaji ko kaun choojj (choose) kiye rahe?" Mami laughed.
In the ensuing laughter, Khushi slipped away, her heart thudding frantically, eager to lay her eyes on Arnavji, desperate to unburden her mind...
Shyam watched Khushi leaving the house, the file in her hand. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. She was going to Arnav's office. That was what she had told Rani Sahiba now, in the living room. Going to Arnav's office... to tell him the truth...
She had not availed of the many opportunities she had got to get Arnav's signature on the papers while he was at home. So she didn't mean to do it... Shyam ran his fingers through his thick mane, cursing the day he had given her the papers. He had thought that she would be a pushover, would do anything to prove her innocence to Arnav, but... but he had misjudged her...
If she gave the file to Arnav & told him the truth, her side of the truth, he was doomed... Everything that he had worked for, planned for, plotted for, and schemed for would be lost to him for ever, including the roof over his head and the access to Rani Sahiba's unlimited funds.
The file would be proof enough against him... Solid, unrefutable proof that he was eyeing Arnav's wealth. If Arnav showed the papers to Rani Sahiba... Shyam gasped, feeling the blood rushing to his head.
Khushi had to be stopped before she got to Arnav's office. Shyam ran for his car keys, panting as if all the hounds of hell were after him.
"Shyamji!" came Anjali's dulcet call, an order hidden behind the apparent sweetness and her cloying smile.
"Damadji, aayiye! Help me choojj a necklace!" Mami invited him.
"Damadji, aap hamare saath thodi der baitiye!" Nani patted the seat beside her, smiling.
Shyam hit his head with his hand, looking around for an avenue of escape in vain, sweat pouring down his temple.
Arnav sat in his office, staring at the screen of his laptop. His eyes alone were on the monitor, his mind was far away, with Khushi.
Khushi. His wife.
He clenched his jaw and looked away.
After her suicide bid and his revelation of the reason behind their marriage, she had become silent. She spoke little, she smiled little, she ate little... She drifted like a worried shadow through his house, spending more time with Laxmi the goat than with anyone else. Mami's quips got a pale smile in return, Di's and Nani's love wet her eyes. Payal's teasing remarks were met by a slight movement of her lips, and NK's jokes mostly produced no discernable reaction in her...
Arnav looked down at his clenched fists.
It was as though someone had switched off the light within her. She looked pale, worried, sad... always. As though the weight of the world was on her frail shoulders. She rarely left the house. She had given up the catering business she had started with Shukla... his employees had started complaining about the lunch packets they were getting...
Arnav stood up, and moved towards the glass wall of his office. He looked down.
That day, after Teej, when she had come in to his office to get her Devi Maiyya's idol... he had watched her walk to her seat right below him... Now someone else was sitting there... Arnav ground his teeth.
He had followed her to the storeroom, furious at her refusal to listen to him and his apology... and had fallen over her. Arnav closed his eyes in pain.
Where had those days gone? The fire in her, the challenge in her eyes, the unwilling attraction in her eyes as he had walked towards her on Diwali night, the way she had jerked when he had touched her foot, the way her eyes used to rest on him whenever he entered the room, the way her eyes searched for him if he was absent... Where was that Khushi? Or had he imagined all those days? And the girl? How could that Khushi, that innocent Khushi, that girl who was not familiar with the touch of a man, be Shyam Manohar Jha's mistress?
Images of Shyam hugging Khushi on the terrace and shouting his love for her to the skies rushed to his mind. His fingers curled in to his palms, leaving deep marks on the skin.
Part 2: 92012502
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