ArHi SS - Dil De Diya Hai: Part 18 Pg 119 - Page 3

Khushi returns to the house and is met at the door by Anjali. She asks, 'Aap kaha thi? Chote aapko dhoondne gaye hai.' Khushi replies, 'Jee, woh hi humhe lekar aaye hai lekin kuch kaam se chale gaye.' Anjali nods and Khushi takes it as her assent to leave. Anjali sees her go and wonders, 'Humhe samajh nahi aata ke agar Chote aur Khushiji ek doosre se shaadi karna chahte the toh aaj who ek saath khushi kyun nahi hai? Khushiji toh hamesha nakhush lagti hai aur chote naraaz. Kahin hamara gussa unhe door toh nahi lekar ja raha?' Anjali looks worried and thinks, 'Humhe shayad Chote se baat karni chahiye. Woh hamare problem ka gussa apne rishte mein la rahe hai.' She looks down determinedly and decides to talk to Arnav once he is back.

Arnav is huddled near the temple steps and feels that he has been immobilized. His mind was throwing flashes of the injustice that he had meted out to Khushi over the last one month. Each memory was more brutal and bitter than the other, the most recent one being of Shyam looking longingly at Khushi. Khushi notices it and looks uncomfortable. This was the third time that Shyam had done this and it annoyed Arnav no end. Arnav was furious and dragged Khushi to the room. Khushi looked at him questioningly and he said, 'Mat kehna ke tum nahi janti ke tumne kya kiya?' Khushi replies, 'Jee nahi, hum nahi jante. Aur agar aapke paas hamare har sawaal ka jawab hai toh aap pouchte kyun hai?'

Arnav closes in on her and says, 'Tum iss kamre ke bahar meri patni ho. Agar koi tumhe koi dekhta rehta hai toh tum mujhe bata nahi sakti?' Khushi is baffled and says, 'Aap kiski baat kar rahe hai?' This further infuriates Arnav and he says, 'Of course, tumhe kyun farak parhega? Doosre logon ko character dheela iss liye bulati thi kyunki tum khud aisi ho!' Khushi was mad at this accusation and said, 'Arnav Singh Raizada, apni zubaab sambhaal kar baat keejiye humse! Hum apni Jeeji ke liye aapki har baat bardaasht kar sakte lekin hamare charitra ke baare mein hum kuch nahi sunege.' Arnav shrugs his shoulders and says, 'Tum Lucknow mein acting toh nahi karti th, Khushi Kumari Gupta? Agar main already tumhara asli chehra pehle se nahi janta toh shayad iss waqt tumhara yakeen kar leta lekin meri kismet acchi hai.' Khushi helplessly says, 'Kaun si asliyat? Kaisa naatak? Ek mahine se yahi sun rahe hai hum. Aap humhe batate kyun nahi?' Arnav just leaves the room leaving behind a frustrated and confused Khushi.

Arnav's eyes are bloodshot when he returns to the house. Anjali is very concerned seeing him and finally initiates dialogue between them. Anjali says, 'Chote, yeh kaisa haal banaya hai tumne apna? Gaye the tab theek the.' Arnav cannot gather the strength to talk to her and his eyes scan the house for Khushi. Anjali understands and says, 'Woh apne kamre mein hai. Chote, tum theek ho?' Arnav looks at Anjali sadly and finally says, 'Kaash mujhe itna gussa nahi aata Di. Kaash mein kuch bhi karne se pehle do baar sochta.' Anjali is shocked to hear such words from her brother's mouth and says, 'Kya kiya tumne Chote, jo aisa keh rahe ho?' Arnav looks down and just shakes his head slightly indicating that he cannot talk about it. His pained face troubles Anjali and she lifts his chin up to see him. She says, 'Mat batao, Chote lekin sabse badi baat yeh hai ke tumhe apni galati ka ehsaas hai. Jiska bhi dil dukhaya hai use maafi maang lo.' Arnav wipes his tears and says, 'Kabhi kabhi, maafi mangna kaafi nahi hota Di. Nahi hota.' He goes up to his room not knowing how he would face Khushi. Her words rang in her head, 'Humne jo kiya uski wajah se hum dobara anath ho gaye Arnavji.'

Khushi was pacing the room worrying about why Arnav had not returned till midnight. She was fidgeting with the mobile phone in her hand but could not get herself to call him. She said to herself, 'Kis haq se pouche unhe? Unhonein khud hi toh kaha ke hamare beech kuch nahi hai toh'' At that moment, she heard Arnav approaching the room. She rushed to her mat near the swimming pool and pretended to be asleep. Arnav entered the room and closed the door behind him. He knew where to find Khushi but did not look in her direction. His own insensitivity was threatening to eat him alive. He thought back to the night of their wedding when he had thrown her out and he sat inside while she shivered in the bitter cold. The nights after that Khushi went outside without any argument. Arnav thought to himself, 'Maine ek baar bhi nahi socha ke jo ladki apni Jiji se itna pyaar karti hai woh kissi aur ki behen ki zindagi kaise barbaad kar sakti hai? Why dammit' He hits his fist on the wall in anger.

Khushi hears Arnav's restlessness but does not want to let him know that she is awake. He knew her presence caused him pain and this arrangement was stifling him. Despite all that he had done, she did not want to make this time more difficult. Moreover, Arnav's words were too bitter to endure. She slowly fell asleep and at that time Arnav entered the poolside. He was enchanted by the sight of Khushi by the moonlight looking amazingly beautiful. Arnav went on his knees and stared at her for a long time. He looked around the poolside and thought, 'How could I be so heartless? Agar jo Shyam ne kiya woh bura tha toh maine kya kiya? Ek minute ke liye agar Shyam ne sach kaha bhi ,tab bhi aisa bartaav' It's inhuman!' Silent tears wash his face and he sits down in the same spot that Khushi was in at the night of their wedding. He bends his head and tries to stop his thoughts but cannot. He finally falls asleep close to dawn but is restless throughout. Morning comes and Khushi wakes up to Arnav sitting by her shivering in the cold.