Chapter 23
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[MEMBERSONLY]
[NOCOPY]
SAVING KHUSHI
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Part 11
(Laxmiji: Heroine of the part)
Shyam looked around frantically, and stopped short.
All eyes followed his to the corner of the room where Laxmi was chewing on the last of his papers.
With a loud yelp, Shyam tossed his bag aside and ran to pull the papers out of the goat's mouth.
Realising that her snack had caught the eye of a predator, Laxmi quickly rolled it in to a ball with her tongue and gulped it down.
Shyam came to a stop by her, his feet leaving skid marks on the floor. He clutched his hair in frustration and shouted, "You dumb goat! You... you..."
Laxmi bared her big teeth at Shyam. How dare he try to steal her food from her?
"You ate the papers? You... you ate my papers?" Shyam could not believe what had just happened before his eyes.
NK asked softly, "Your papers? Would these papers be the ones you stole from Nannav's cabinet after opening it with a key you had made for that very purpose?"
All gasped.
Mr. Singhal's phone beeped, and he went away to take the call in peace.
Shyam looked around like a trapped animal.
"You are adept at stealing too?" Mr. Sharma asked with a smile.
"He steals, Mr. Sharma. But he is not adept at it. The key got stuck and it is still there." NK added with a shrug.
Mr. Sharma looked at Shyam with pseudo pity in his eyes.
"And he did not notice that I was recording the entire proceedings." NK shook his head at Shyam's folly.
Mr. Sharma had to look away to hide his laughter.
Shyam saw red.
"Your stupid goat ate my evidence, but the truth of the matter is that..." Shyam began.
Arnav held Khushi's hand lightly. Mr. Singhal took his seat once more.
"The truth of the matter is that the wedding between your favourite Arnav and your sainted Khushi is only a contract marriage, not a real one." Shyam announced, and looked around for exclamations and scandalised expressions from the family.
He was fated to be disappointed that day.
The Raizadas were too exhausted after the revelation of the true face of their jamai raja to react violently to the new piece of news.
Anjali was too broken about the state of her own marriage to weep over somebody else's marriage or the lack of it.
The Guptas were too illiterate to understand what a contract marriage meant. They looked at Arnav and Khushi with mild curiosity.
Finally, Nani asked Arnav, "Chotey, is he speaking the truth? Or is it another one of his many lies?"
Arnav said softly, "Shyam caught hold of Khushi on our terrace on the night of Akash's marriage. I watched and heard him declare his love to her, telling her that he was willing to leave Di for her. I caught him as soon as I could, and asked him about the state of affairs. He told me, bold as brass, that he & Khushi loved each other and that he meant to leave Di."
All faces turned to him were pale, except for those of Mr. Singhal & Mr. Sharma. They were used to this and more in their line of business.
"I went to inform Di of Shyam's truth, but she fainted, & we found out that she was pregnant." Arnav said softly.
Nani buried her head in her hand.
"I had to keep her happy till she could deliver a healthy baby. I was foolish enough to believe Shyam when he said that Khushi was in love with him."
The Guptas gasped.
"I thought that both of them were planning to destroy Di's life. I had to keep Khushi away from Shyam, for the 6 months it would take Di to deliver. So I forced her in to a contract marriage for 6 months, threatening to break off Payal's wedding with Akash."
The Raizadas and the Guptas had their mouths open wide in shock.
"That is how we turned up married on Akash & Payal's wedding night." Arnav explained. "But after our marriage, I realised slowly that things were not as they seemed. I realised that Shyam had lied, that Khushi was a victim of his, just as Di was, and that she hated him from the bottom of her heart." Arnav paused.
All the people in the room looked at Arnav & Khushi, silent.
Shyam grit his teeth, and then burst out, "Who saw their marriage? No one. And they were living in one room, like husband and wife..." he laughed madly.
"Chotey...?" both Anjali & Nani whispered at the same time.
Arnav asked softly, "Nani, am I just Aravind Malik's son? Am I not Ratna Raizada's son too?"
Nani & Mami nodded, tears in their eyes.
He turned to the Guptas. "Amma, Babuji, Buaji, I was brought up by my Di, Nani, & Mami. I was angry with Khushi, cruel to her at times... but I never forced myself on her or exercised my conjugal rights. We lived like two strangers under one roof."
The Raizadas and the Guptas nodded.
But Shyam burst out laughing, fury making it sound like the cackles of a maniac. "Who will believe you, Saale sahab?"
"Anybody who knows Arnavji will." Khushi spoke up. "He is not a cheap scoundrel like you." She turned to look at the family. "Arnavji married me due to a misunderstanding, but by giving me the protection of his name, he saved me from the attacks of this... this... ghatiya person."
All looked at each other. Anjali wept silently, her life in tatters.
Then Buaji asked the question that every one wanted to ask. She queried, "Bitwaa, when does the contract end? Oo kaa he, Khussi should not stay here after the six months are over... She will not be your wife after that..."
Arnva said softly, "Buaji, don't worry about the contract marriage. Khushi & I got married yesterday at Devi Maiyya's temple..." He gave the details and passed the photos around. "We have registered our marriage."
All looked at the photos, slackjawed. Shyam could not control his ire at the turn of events.
"I am sorry we couldn't marry in your presence, but the situation was urgent... an emergency... When NK told me that Shyam had stolen a document from my cabinet, I knew it must be the contract marriage papers... So we had to act fast..." Arnav explained.
Buaji looked at Khushi's face and asked her, "Titliyaa, did you marry Arnav Bitwaa because you wanted to marry him, Nandkisore? Or did you do it to defeat this... this man?" She pointed to Shyam who was quivering with anger.
"I wanted to marry Arnavji, Buaji." Khushi's conviction was obvious to every person in the room. "I... I like him... very much." The blush on her face spoke of how much she cared for her husband.
"Aur Arnav Bitwaa... why did you marry Khussi?" Buaji was nothing if not thorough.
"I married her because I love her, very much. Because I don't want to spend even a moment of my life without her. I... I would have proposed to her on Akash & Payal's wedding day... but..." Arnav said softly.
The Raizadas and the Guptas sighed in relief.
Mr. Sharma said, "It is time for us to take Shyam Manohar Jha in to custody." He stood up.
Arnav, Akash, & NK stood up with him. Mr. Singhal stood behind them.
Mr. Sharma approached Shyam.
Suddenly, Shyam pulled out a gun from his pocket, rushed to Anjali, pulled her up from her seat, locked his beefy arm around her neck, and held her at gunpoint.
Arnav, NK, & Akash leaped forward, only to be held in check by Shyam as he pressed the gun's muzzle against Anjali's forehead.
"Anjali Bitiyaa..." Nani, Amma, Mami, & Buaji gasped.
Anjali stared at her family with wide, shocked eyes. Who was this man with whom she had shared her life for the past 3 years?
"You will arrest me, will you?" he laughed like the mad man he was, taunting Arnav. "I will kill your precious Di... the witch... always whining, always complaining, always phoning to know where I am... checking on me..." He mimicked Anjali to perfection. "Shyamji, why is the balance in our account so low? Chotey paid in 2 lakhs just yesterday, didn't he? Shyamji, why are the credit card bills so high? Shyamji, where are you? Shyamji, Shyamji, Shyamji..." He tightened his arm around Anjali's neck.
She gasped.
Nani & the other ladies whimpered, "Anjali Bitiyaa..."
"Di..."
Khushi looked helplessly at the scene that was unfolding in front of her eyes. She was in direct view of the rascal, and could not move a finger without his noticing her. The same was the case with Arnavji, Nanheji, & Akash Jiju. Mr. Singhal & Mr. Sharma too were right in front of the devil.
Shyam muttered, "She is the spawn of the devil... wouldn't die even after I cut the brake wires..." All stared at him in shock, their hearts in their mouths.
"The scorpion wouldn't bite her... the ether in the perfume bottle didn't burn her..." Shyam shouted his complaints to the sky. He rammed the gun against Anjali's temple, hurting her.
"Shyam, your child, your rajkumari..." Arnav tried to appeal to his non-existent paternal instincts.
"Rajkumari!" Shyam spit on the ground. "Who wants the whelp?"
His eyes fell on Babuji in his wheelchair. "You old fool! You are responsible for all this. You! I should have killed you when I had the chance instead of just causing a stroke. I should have strangled you... But for you, I would have married Khushi, and no one would have been any the wiser..." His eyes spewed hatred at Babuji.
All stared at the evil man in their midst.
Payal was standing to Shyam's left, slightly behind him. She looked at the small urn on a stand next to her and then at Akash. He was looking at her. With trembling hands, she lifted the urn and smashed it on the floor.
Shyam turned his head to look at her.
In that split second, Arnav, NK, & Akash leaped on him and knocked the gun out of Shyam's hand.
Khushi picked it up from the ground.
Then it was a free-for-all. Arnav freed his Di from the clutches of the villain, and handed her over to Nani & Mami. Meanwhile NK & Akash punched Shyam as though there were no tomorrow. Shyam tried to defend himself, putting his strong muscles and his experience in brawls to good use.
But the boys, driven by the need to punish the rogue for the harm he had done to their Di & Khushiji, proved too strong for him. Buaji & Mami cheered them on.
Anjali collapsed sobbing on the sofa, hugging her Nani.
Arnav comforted her, making sure that she was fine.
Khushi & Payal sat by her, rubbing her back, consoling her.
Once the boys were done, Arnav took over. He slapped Shyam silly.
Once the men were finished with Shyam, Mr. Sharma summoned the police men waiting outside the house. They led away a Shyam who had a bloody face, a broken nose, a black eye, a broken arm, crushed ribs... He looked like a vagrant, like an unkempt beggar... as soiled outside as he was inside...
Arnav carried Anjali up to her bedroom. All the family members followed her, except Amma & Babuji.
Anjali wept copiously as Arnav hugged her close, telling her without words that whatever happened, he would be there with her, always.
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