Prologue
For the first time in his life, Arnav Singh Raizada was forced to concede he had made a mistake, and that too a massive one. He had allowed that man to nearly destroy his family. He could still see his Khushi lying there helpless in the middle of the road. He had almost lost her that day. He had been so cruel to her and she had been innocent all along. His Di had been shattered but she was stronger than he had believed her to be. It was the weight of guilt that now sat on her shoulders more so than any heartbreak that bas***d had inflicted on her. But she still had her baby to live for. And he had Khushi, who had somehow found it in her heart to forgive him, after everything he had done.
There was no lasting damage, but his family had suffered at the hands of that man. Arnav Singh Raizada could never forget and the crimes that bas***d had committed were beyond forgiveness. Shyam Manohar Jha had made the error of toying with the two most important women in his life. Everyone must pay for their sins at some point and Shyam's time had come. Arnav would make sure of it.
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Akash poked his head straight into the lion's den and saw his brother sitting at his desk, his forehead furrowed in thought.
"Bhai?"
Arnav looked up into Akash's slightly anxious face, his eyebrow quirked in inquiry.
"Bhai, the lawyer is here."
"Send him in."
Akash nodded, softly shutting the door behind him. After a few minutes, there was a slight knock on the door but before Arnav could respond, a man walked in.
The lawyer was nothing like Arnav had presumed. After hearing about the man's formidable reputation in the courtroom, Arnav had assumed him to be old. It was hard to accomplish so much success at a young age. Of course, Arnav himself had done so but then again, he was extraordinary. For mere mortals, it was more difficult to attain such a legacy. But this man had achieved it. Arnav had known the lawyer was a good choice; after all, he only hired the best. But, looking at him now, Arnav admitted he was impressed, though he did not betray his emotions by even a twitch of his face.
The lawyer extended his hand forward and Arnav met it with his own. The two men shook hands, each evaluating the other. Arnav took a seat, indicating for the lawyer to do the same. The two men sat facing each other, silence engulfing them until the lawyer decided to break it.
"It's nice to finally meet you in the flesh Mr. Raizada, after hearing so much about you. I'm Viren Vadhera."
Chapter 1
Arnav was never one to waste a moment. After all, time was money and money was everything. No. He immediately contradicted himself. There had been a time when he had believed money to be far superior to everything else, but he had been shown that he was wrong. But time was still valuable and he now pulled out a picture from a file sitting on his desk.
"So let's get down to business. This is the man that we are filing a case against."
The picture was of a man who was fairly young, maybe two or three years older than Arnav. He had a slightly circular face and a light dusting of facial hair. His almond shaped eyes didn't seem as though they opened too much; they were almost like slits on his face. His hair was parted down the middle and each side was combed neatly. He was smirking and there was something altogether strange, maybe even sinister, about that smirk. It made him look suspicious, and the look in his eyes paired with this smirk seemed to be enough to prove him guilty without any need for a trial, or proof. Just his expression was enough.
"His name is Shyam Manohar Jha and he has made my life a living hell the past year. To begin with-"
Arnav was cut off by his cellphone, which had just started to ring. He was going to disregard the call until he say the caller ID and he realized that ignoring this caller was not an option.
"Hello?"
"Arnavji!! Why did you take so long to lift the call? Don't forget today is Di's birthday!"
"Khushi, she is my Di! Why on earth would I forget?"
"I was just making sure since you forgot my birthday!"
"What the! That was different! I didn't know-"
He was cut off by another loud exclamation.
"No it isn't! You never bothered to find out!"
Viren smiled to himself as he watched the couple argue. They reminded him of his brother and sister-in-law, whose relationship was largely comprised of such petty fights.
"Anyways Arnavji, I called to ask you if you picked up the decorations yet. Did you?"
"Khushi I will later. I'm with the lawyer right now so I'll talk to you later, ok?"
"Oh! Why didn't you tell me before? I would have called later! Don't forget though. Bye!"
Arnav hung up, shaking his head. Why did women always have to make such a big deal over simple things anyway? He turned his attention back to Viren.
"That was my wife. Today is a big day for us and she has the habit of making big things an even bigger deal."
Viren nodded, well acquainted with such women himself. "So you were telling me about Shyam..?
"Right. Shyam has-"
Arnav stopped again and looked up with irritation at the sound of someone knocking on his door.
"Who is it? Didn't I tell everyone that I would be busy today?!"
"Sorry Bhai, I just wanted to ask you if I could take the car. Payal needs me to pick her up."
Akash stood at the doorway looking slightly scared. He had interrupted his Bhai's important meeting, but he didn't have another choice. His own car had been taken by his grandmother, who had gone to the mandir, as she invariably did every morning. His wife had called him, stating the urgency of her situation because God forbid Di's ice-cream cake melt even a little bit. And so Akash had to incur his Bhai's wrath. Akash sighed. The things I do for love..
Viren studied Akash, noting the tall and powerful form and the pale face, which had turned paler still in fear. This man reminded him of his Inder Chachu in a way. Both strong men, with an unfortunate dose of terror when it came to certain people. For Akash, it was Arnav and for Inder, it was Dadaji.
Arnav impatiently answered his brother. "Yes it's fine. Now tell everyone else not to disturb me."
"Of course Bhai. Thanks."
Arnav turned back to Viren once again.
"Anyways, Shyam has caused many problems for my family. It all started when my sister-"
Arnav clenched his fists in anger as he glared at his phone, which was ringing yet again. He checked the caller ID. NK. He was just about to ignore the call when he realized that NK was probably with Khushi and neither of them would spare him if he did not answer. He would never hear the end of it, especially from Khushi. She'll undoubtedly burst into tears, screeching that I don't love her. All because I didn't pick up the damn phone because I was busy.
Resigning himself to another unnecessary conversation, Arnav answered the phone. "What do you want NK? Didn't I tell you I was busy?!"
"Sorry Nannav, Khushiji wanted me to tell you to get red roses along with the decorations."
"Ok I will! Now anything else your Khushiji has to tell me?"
NK looked over at Khushi who shook her head in the negative.
"Nope Nannav that's it. Bye!"
He hung up before Nannav could grumble anymore about disturbing him. He and Khushiji had just arrived at a shop called Susheela Outfitters and Jewelry to buy Di a sari and necklace and Khushiji had suddenly remembered about the flowers. It had been about an hour since they started looking and Khushiji had only just chosen a sari. Now they probably had another hour to go before the necklace selection was made. She kept asking him for his advice and although he thought that the first sari she showed him was absolutely fine, she insisted that they had to go through a "couple more" sari's before selecting. By a couple more she really meant 100. Now he had another 80 necklaces to go, at least.
"This one is also wonderful Khushiji." NK sighed as he approved of yet another necklace. This is so boring. Why did I even come shopping?
Before Khushi could shove another necklace in his face, NK quickly excused himself, muttering something about using the restroom. He nearly sprinted out of the store in his haste, only stopping until he was safely locked in a men's bathroom stall.
As NK exited, another man had walked into the store. He was dressed all in black, with a mask hiding his face. Though NK had been lucky enough to leave the store, the others were not so fortunate. They were trapped in the room with this man in black, who was brandishing a gun at the cashiers, gesticulating wildly.
"Give me all your money!"
Everyone froze. Khushi, meanwhile, was oblivious to her surroundings and continued comparing two necklaces that she liked. The cashiers attempted to call the police but the man ran and knocked the phone to the ground.
"Don't try to call the police!"
The robber looked around and yanked the woman who was closest to him, holding her in an iron grip. She was young, about Khushi's age and she was beautiful, with long, silky hair that fell straight down her back and big, brown eyes. She was wearing a pink and green salwar kameez that was elegant yet simple and somehow managed to show her wealth without flaunting it. Her expressive face was puckered up in fear, her entire body trembling.
Everyone froze in shock, not daring to touch their phones. Still lost in her own world, Khushi turned around to ask the absent NK which necklace looked better.
"Nanheji! Which neckla-"
Suddenly she stopped, finally noticing what was happening around her. The robber had slowly taken out a gun and pressed it against the woman's head.
He spoke in a cold voice completely devoid of emotion. "You call the police. I shoot. So just give me the money."
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Anupamaa
