Chapter 10 - Making amends...belated

It had been a month since Arnav returned to Delhi. A month since he met Khushi after so many years of banishing her from his life. And it took her only 5 minutes to prove she would never really be gone from his mind, his heart, his thoughts. No matter how much time passed. He could grow old, achieve every material milestone life had to offer, build an empire larger than the one he already had, and still, the pain of losing her would never leave him. She was married to someone else now. Had a child from that marriage. And soon, he too would be taking the plunge. He would marry. Perhaps even have children of his own.

Life would go on. Society would ensure it did.

But what about his heart? What about his innocent dreams? His unblemished love?

How was he supposed to forget the way the sound of her laughter breathed life into him? How the simple act of hearing her say his name made the world feel lighter? How was he supposed to accept that all of it had been taken from him?

Yes, he had asked her to leave back then. But he had done so because he believed she had betrayed him...

Why had she betrayed him?

Why had it been so easy for her to shatter his trust?

No. Not again.

He had worked too hard to crawl out of that darkness. Had spent years ensuring he would never fall back into that vortex of emotions. Never let his mind play tricks on him. Never let himself become that broken boy again.

That chapter was over.

Now, it was time to look ahead.

He looked up and saw Lavanya helping his Di set the dining table for dinner. Something she said made Anjali laugh freely, and the sight drew a faint smile from him as well. Lavanya was genuinely sweet. He had known her for seven years, had broken her heart five years ago, and yet she had remained by his side. So even if the decision to propose to her had been sudden, it felt like the right thing to do. For her. And for his family.

.

His Di and Shyam had been the first to know about his proposal to Lavanya, and they reacted with a surprise that wasn’t necessarily happy. But eventually Anjali had wholeheartedly accepted his decision. After all, she had once openly supported Lavanya over Khushi as his life partner. Back then, he had fought her. But now, he was finally choosing what she had always wanted for him.

Akash and Payal too were visibly excited for the upcoming wedding, and so was his Mami ji. Only his Mama ji, who had always been a steady father figure in his life, had asked him if he was really sure. Arnav had paused before nodding yes. It had been surprising, considering his Mama ji had often tried to push him towards Lavanya. But perhaps, after hearing what had happened in Lucknow and how he had met Khushi and Dhruv, his Mama ji had realized something Arnav himself was afraid to admit.

Either way, none of that mattered now.

He was marrying Lavanya in a week and that was final.

It was going to be a simple wedding, followed by a brief reception for close family, friends, and business associates. The preparations were already in full swing. Since Lavanya didn’t have any immediate family members; her only living relative, her grandfather, had passed away two years ago, so, she was already living with them at Shantivan.

And although he had asked for a simple wedding, his sister and his Mami ji had insisted they follow all rituals, which were to begin the next day. But what surprised him was his nani’s absence from any of those discussions. It was as if she was not even aware of his wedding. He decided to speak with her after dinner and walked towards the dining table.

.

Lavanya smiled at him as he stood near her and then took the chair beside her. She did have a beautiful smile, especially when it reached her eyes, which happened quite often these days. He had to ensure he kept that smile intact.

He had already lost the woman he loved. At the very least, he could not afford to lose the woman who loved him.

--*--

Devyani Singh Raizada, Arnav’s Nani, sat on the old rocking chair in her room, chanting a prayer with her tulsi-maala. She had seen a lot in her life, and at this age, the metaphorical evening of her years, she couldn’t help but feel regrets clouding her mind.

Her two children, Manohar and Ratna, had turned out to be two very different personalities. While Manohar was extroverted but lacked ambition in life, Ratna was introverted yet fiercely ambitious, determined to get what she wanted. Marrying the charming Arvind Malik had been one of those. Even when he had confessed, he was secretly married and was waiting for the right time to tell his parents, Ratna had twisted the situation so that Arvind’s first wife, Radhika, herself forced him to marry Ratna. It was years later, when Radhika was on her deathbed, that she requested them to accept her son Dhruv. Only then had Ratna realized the truth. That all those years, Arvind had never stopped loving Radhika. That he had lived two lives. And that love, no matter how forcefully claimed, could never be owned...

And thus, she had brought Dhruv home to raise him as her own.

But by then, her own two children, Anjali and Arnav, had been born. And Arnav, about nine years old at the time, had already sensed that his parents didn’t truly love each other, and that somehow, Dhruv was at the center of it all.

Although Anjali, who was older, had accepted Dhruv maturely, as had Devyani, Arnav never truly could.

The worst day of her life had come years later, after Ratna and Arvind’s tragic deaths, when Arnav had tried to take his own life. Finding him unconscious, surrounded by blood, had nearly stopped her heart.

From that day on, once he was saved, Devyani and Anjali had made a silent vow. Arnav would never know the truth about his parents’ marriage. Or about his mother.

.

However, when Khushi came into his life, Devyani’s old fears resurfaced. Arnav’s emotions were too intense for Khushi; she could see that. And on the day of their engagement, when things spiraled, she could do nothing but watch, afraid that if she said anything, he might take another drastic step. Devyani had watched them that day, watched the misunderstanding swirl, watched Arnav’s temper flare, and Khushi’s resolve crumble. And when Arnav, blinded by pain, asked Khushi to leave, Devyani had stayed silent.

Not because she believed he was right. But because she was terrified.

Terrified that if she intervened, if she revealed even a fraction of the truth she had buried for years, Arnav’s fragile control would snap. She had already once seen him bleed because life had felt unbearable. She could not risk pushing him there again. So, she had chosen the lesser cruelty. Silence.

.

Although she managed to “save” him that day, in the aftermath of losing Khushi, he went missing for over a year. Only she knew how she had lived through that time, praying for his safe return before she closed her eyes forever.

He did return, alive, but when he did, Devyani knew she had lost something else. The boy she had raised was gone. In his place stood a man who had armored himself against feeling, who spoke less, who hid feelings, who loved with restraint, if at all.

And now, as he prepared to marry Lavanya, a good woman who truly cared for him, Devyani found herself unable to celebrate. Not because the match was wrong, but because the foundation was incomplete. Too many truths remained unspoken. Too many wounds had been stitched shut without being cleaned.

.

And so, she had done what she should have done long ago, she had called Dhruv and Khushi back to Shantivan…

--*--

Hope you all had a nice start to the new year and are having a good time so far. Let’s slowly dive into the story once again. Thoughts and reviews are most welcome 😊