UPD! PART 8B!! I Don't Need Proof-SS (Arnav's POV) - Page 17

Part 5: I Don't Need Proof

"AUNTY-JI!" we both yelled at the same time looking at the horrid sight in front of us. Aunty-ji was lying unconscious on the doorstep. She had cuts and bruises all over her body, almost as if someone had beaten her up.

I picked her up and carried her too her room. Khushi closed the front door. After I laid her down, I went outside to check what could've happened. Meanwhile, Khushi was tending to her bruises. I found nothing. I went back in.

"She seems to have been tied up somewhere." Khushi said pointing to the marks on Aunty-Ji's wrists. "And over here, on her head, she seems to have been hit by something heavy and made unconscious." She said pointing to the massive bruise on her head. I looked at the marks in disgust. How could someone do something like this to her, someone as sweet as her? What problem could anyone possibly have with her? Khushi and I slept the rest of the night there, at her side.

***

It was about 9 when I woke up. Khushi had gotten up before me as she wasn't there. I came out of the room to see her working on breakfast. I completed my morning routines and followed her out. Sliding my hands on her waist resting my face in the curve of her neck, I sighed.

"Kya hua?" She asked.

"Nothing, I'm just disgusted someone could do something like that to Aunty-Ji." I sighed into her hair.

"Well, whining about it here isn't gonna do anything. Go check if she has woken up." She said handing me a glass of haldi-dood (turmeric milk, oh god how much I hate that thing)

"Sure." I said taking the glass from her hand. "Suno." I said.

"Yes." She turned when I captured her lips. "I love you." I said as I broke away.

"I know, now go and check on Aunty-Ji!" She said pushing me out of the kitchen.

***

I entered the room to see that Aunty-Ji is still sleeping. I rested the milk on her side table and wandered around the room. I was going to walk out when I dropped a bunch of her prayer books by accident. I silently picked them up and put them back when a stubborn glossy paper fell out. I picked it up to put it back and received the shock of my life. My head was spinning; the world turned upside down, the same damn flashback came back into my head.

"MAAA!!!!" I yelled in the same nave 17-year old voice. I broke down into tears. Khushi ran inside.

"Kya hua?" she ran to my side. She took me out to our room and sat me down. Her soft hands wiped my tears. "Kya hua Arnav?" She asked ever so innocently. I hugged her tightly as if my life depended on it. "Khushi..." I said stroking her hair pulling her even close. "Haan bolo, tell me Arnav what happened." She said stroking my hair simultaneously. "Khushi, main, maa, Khushi..." I couldn't manage to say anything. "Haan Arnav, maa what about her Arnav?" She asked. Her voice was barely above a whisper, she knew how sensitive I was about the word "ma" and she had also gone through the loss of hers.

"Khushi," I finally said as I calmed down. "You're my wife and what I'm about to tell you now is very important. It is the reason behind my ruthless attitude, my sensitivity about the word "ma", my over-protectiveness of Di, everything." She nodded her head.

"It was Di's wedding, everyone was happy, the house, our home, the Sheesh Mahal (I don't know what the Sheesh Mahal is, I'm assuming it's a haveli so let's just bear with me for purposes of the story :P). Ma was waiting for the baarat like everyone else when she saw my paapa angrily walking towards his room and Malik uncle, following behind. Malik uncle was the groom's father. Ma was listening outside the door with her ear. We could hear the argument's noise from where I was standing.

Then, my mom's eyes opened wide. I don't know why but then Mr. Malik suddenly opened the door and saw that my mom was listening to their conversation. My mom ran in fear and followed her. And then someone shot a bullet and my world came to an end. Mr. Malik carried my dying mother away from there and that was the last I saw her." I said with my voice breaking. Khushi gave me a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. I laid my face down in her lap as she wiped my tears. I cried my heart out.

"And then, Di's wedding was called off. I told by my uncle that my dad was found with a gun in his hand, he committed suicide and that Mr. Malik took my mom to the hospital but they couldn't save her." I looked up in pain.

"After a few days in despair, my very same uncle kicked us out. He told us that we no longer own our family business empire nor the Sheesh Mahal. I still to this date don't know why. Di and I wandered the street for days and weeks, we slept wherever we found space, I skipped school, and then one day I found work at a tea stall. Yes, I Arnav Singh Raizada, worked at a tea stall. Soon I started working 2, 3, 4 sometimes 5 jobs. I went back to school and worked hard, Di and I were not born to live on a small for-rent hut. I saved money penny by penny." I sighed.

"Then one day, I got home from school and saw that Di had met with an unfortunate accident. Her right foot was permanently impaired. I almost died that day. She was coming to school to give me my lunch that I forgot and she met with an accident. The driver ran off and left her to take care of herself. I died in guilt that day. She never let the sadness reach her eyes. I decided that day I will work hard and create a business empire even larger than what was snatched from us."

"I saved money and went to college. I started my own business, back that AR Industries was just Arnav's Sari Shop. I invested money in materials and started designing saris that everyone seemed to love.

Flashback:

"Hey Arnav babua, teri chachi root gayi hai, jaldi se ek sari de do na." Said Rahim Chacha a good old man that lived in the same street. [Arnav babua, your aunt is angry at me, quickly go get a sari for her please.]

"Abhi laya chacha." I grabbed a sari and came out. "Ye dekhiye, yeh chaachi ji ko bohot jajegi. Sirf 200 Rs. Ki hai." [Here look at this uncle, this will look very good on aunty and it is only for 200 Rs!]

***

"Arnav, Jaya ki Shaadi ka joda tumhe hi banana hai yaad hai na!" Bijal Mosi called out from the street. [Arnav, you remember that you have to make Jaya's shaadi ka joda right?]

"Mosiji kyun fikar kar rahi ho, humne zubaan di hai, joda ekdum alag ho ga. Sab yaad rakhenge!" [Don't worry Aunty, I have given you my word, the wedding dress will be out of this world, everyone will see.]

***

"Beta, ye dekho, Nidhi zid lagaye bethi rahi hai ki tumhare dukaan se hi sari lege leken humare paas paise nahi hai. Kya hum thode thode kar ke de sakte hai?" said Parmeet Uncle. [Look my son, Nidhi is being stubborn about buying a sari from your shop, but I don't have the money. Can I pay you in installments?]

"Uncle aap kaisi baate kar rahe ho, ye lo. Rakhlo, hamari taraf se Nidhi ke liye gift aur haan kehna ki dhyaan se padhai kare warne hum hi isse wapis lekar jaye ge." [Uncle, what are you saying. Of course you can have it, here take this one, keep it as a gift. And tell her to study hard otherwise I will personally come to take this back.]

End of Flashback.

I wiped away my tears that fell in memories. "Eventually people started liking it so much that they told me I should start selling them in a big town like Delhi. In pursuit of business, I went there and found out that naani lived there too. I had very faint memories of her as I never really met her. Ma would hardly ever go to her maayka. She was also poor, just like us. She took us in. Eventually Arnav's Sari Shop became the AR Industries but I took it to mind to never trust anyone again, to never believe anyone again, ever. I locked away my emotions for good, until you came along and awoke them. That leech got married to my sister after the AR Industries was created and I was named richest man in India and one of the richest men in the world. I should've known. There were many proposals for my sister, but all of them were after the money and the perks. I desired to find someone that loved her despite her handicap. Shyam fooled all of us, even me. I still can't believe I let the wrong man marry my sister." I cried into her sari. She caressed my head.

"Arnav you've worked so hard. It hurts to see you go through this and to see that Ravan take over the company you've worked so hard on. You have such a terrible past, I completely understand why you were the way you were, why you had lost complete faith in emotions and love. But I vow to bring all that you have lost back to you." She picked up my face and adorned it with kisses filled with care and concern. It felt nice to have someone care for you, like I had my Khushi. I kissed her back putting all of my force on it. I needed this kiss to survive, her love was all that kept me going.

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IMPORTANT READ: Ok so you all have read Arnav's POV of the past in the next you will find out Aunty-Ji's relation to it, and a LOT of other people's relations to it. Not much ArHi romance, sorry! But there is a major passion increase and a bunch of ArHi-licious stuff coming up as I'm trying to incorporate a plot with necessary romance! The whole past is necessary to get the case moving on forward. Lot more surprises in store. I have already spoiled a lot of it! Everything will make sense I promise. There is a lot to add on to this story; I'm on the verge of making it an FF.

CHALLENGE: What could possibly be Shyam's relation to Arnav's past. [when he was 17].

***Story was written assuming that one is 18 when they are in 12th grade in Indian Schools***

Hope you liked it,

LIKE AND LEAVE COMMENTS!!!

Ashu <3

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Part 4-Page 20 Part 6-Page 30