She sat at the poolside, gazing at her wavering reflection and her mind was filled with thoughts of her husband.
She thought about the time he cared enough to buy pigeons to fulfill a little girl's prayer.
She thought about the time he had held a glass of milk to her lips and gently helped her weak self to down it.
She thought about the time he had apologized to her Jiji and taken the blame for Jiji's wedding with Abhinav breaking up.
She thought of the time he had stepped up on the stage at Jiji's sangeet, to dance with her and ensure that she goes on to win the challenge.
Could the same person do this to her? It was so difficult for her to believe it.
He had forced her to marry him, for 6 months!
He threw cruel words and insulting barbs at her, at every opportunity.
He made her sleep outside and he looked at her with such hatred.
She could keep thinking about him and continue to be in turmoil forever and she would never find an answer to her questions.
She sighed and got up, knowing it was time for him to return home and she'd rather pretend to be asleep than face him, knowing fully well that any encounter would only bring more pain to her fractured heart.
As she turned to enter their bedroom (if she could think of it as theirs!!), she felt a cold hand on her left arm. She turned in surprise, wondering who would be at the poolside at this late hour.
Shyam observed the emotions flitting across her face. Surprise, disbelief, disgust and anger. Just as he had witnessed a myriad other emotions on her face as he had hidden and watched her sitting by the poolside for the last few minutes. Those emotions had been different.. tenderness, fondness, happiness followed by confusion and pain.
He did not know what she had been thinking about, but he only hoped that it was not his arrogant saale saahab. He could not bear the idea that she sat alone lost in thoughts of him!.
Just like he could not tolerate to think about the fact that Arnav had actually married Khushi. His Khushi. His blood boiled every time he thought of it.
He had been sleeping badly, often waking up due to nightmares of Arnav and Khushi being together, living together, sharing the same room, the same bed' "Nooo'!!!".
Khushi: "What??".
Shyam realized that he had spoken aloud. He looked at Khushi, who was eyeing him as if he was some dirty scum who had dared to encroach upon her personal space.
"Khushiji.." he began. But Khushi immediately snatched her hand away and turned towards the bedroom doors.
"Khushiji, please listen to me. You have been avoiding me every time I try to approach you or talk to you.", Shyam continued.
Khushi stopped and turned. "Well you do not behave like you have realized that I am trying to avoid you. If you had any self-respect, you would have taken the hint and stopped trying to talk to me."
Shyam felt his anger rising. How dare she talk to him like that?
"My love for you is too strong to be deterred by your attempts to avoid me Khushiji. I am not able to stop myself from trying to find out why you have suddenly married Arnav. I know it was against your wishes. I know he did something to force you in to this out-of-the-blue wedding. I just'".
Khushi looked at him blankly. And she suddenly realized the one good thing that could come out of this whole farce of her marriage. She may finally be able to get rid of Shyam and his obsession.
Shyam watched as Khushi seemed have made some mental resolve and blanched as she smiled at him and replied "I do not need to explain anything to you. I married Arnav because I wanted to. I care for him and he cares for me and the next logical step for two people who care about each other is to get married."
Shyam glared at Khushi. "Oh so now you care for him? Don't forget Khushi, I have witnessed all those times when you came home after an encounter with Arnav, fretting and fuming about how much you hated him. I know how he insulted you, tortured you and left no stone unturned to make you suffer. And now you want me to believe that you care for each other?".
Khushi's face softened. "It was always my awareness of him, the way he made me feel by just being there, the way I could not stop thinking about him that confused me. I could not understand what I felt". She smiled dreamily. She no longer needed to think as she spoke. The words came freely, came from her heart as she was speaking the truth and not concocting a tale. "In my confusion, I mistook my feelings for hatred".
Shyam heard the ring of truth in her dreamy voice. He visibly paled.
"I think I always cared for him, but did not realize it.", Khushi continued, unaware of the effect her words were having on Shyam. "I did not want to get engaged to you, when my thoughts were filled with Arnav. Everytime Buaji forced me to agree to marry you, I could only think about Arnav. Even as I was compelled to get engaged to you for the sake of my family's happiness, I was lost in thoughts of Arnav. As you slid that ring on my finger that night, my mind was filled with images of Arnav.."
Khushi suddenly realized that she was rambling on and snapped back to reality.
She was supposed to try to get Shyam off her back, and not try to acknowledge her true feelings for Arnav.
She looked at Shyam and said, "In my mind and in my heart, I only belong to Arnav. If Devi Maiyya had decided to test me further and fate had forced me to marry you (Khushi shuddered involuntarily at the very idea), it would have been a marriage in name only. I would still have felt what I do for Arnav. I would never have truly belonged to you."
Shyam's temper had steadily risen to boiling point, he was seething at Khushi's continued speech about her feelings for Arnav. How could she say that she may have been married to him and still thought of Arnav every moment?
He thought about Arnav's hands on her, touching her, kissing her, making love to her. He
could not tolerate the idea of them together, of anyone but him touching his Khushi and feeling her soft skin, her silky tresses, her gentle curves'
"I don't care", he whispered menacingly. "I don't care, if you wanted to marry him or not. It doesn't matter whether you care for each other or not. You belong only to me Khushi." The decibel levels increased, getting louder my the second. "You are mine, you were mine from the moment I laid my eyes on you. And I will not let you become someone else's. I will not allow anyone else to touch you. It is my right and my exclusive pleasure." He leered at her and Khushi recoiled at his creepy, suggestive words.
She stepped backwards as Shyam raised his voice and she saw the obsession in his eyes.
"Tell me Khushi, tell me that he does not touch you. That he does not lay his fingers on your body. That you are still the pure, innocent Khushi.."
Khushi cringed as she realized the line of thought that Shyam seemed to be taking. She strengthened her resolve to use her marriage to get rid of Shyam once and for all. "Arnav is my husband and he does not need anybody's permission to touch me or hold me or'". Khushi gave a little smile and pretended to blush as she said in an embarrassed voice, "or anything else that a husband would normally engage in with his wife".
Shyam totally lost it at this admission from Khushi. He stepped menacingly towards her and yelled, "How dare you Khushi? Knowing that you are mine, only mine, how can you let that bas***d touch you."
Khushi desperately wanted to turn and run as she saw Shyam advancing towards her, his eyes filled with madness. But she steeled herself and stood her ground. "Don't you dare abuse my husband. We are married, we are in love and he can do whatever he wants with me. He can touch me, feel me.."
Shyam could not take it any more. He could not listen to another word from Khushi about her husband and their love life. He saw red as he imagined Khushi in Arnav's arms, as he made love to her. He wanted to hit Khushi for cheating him. For sleeping with another man when she belonged to him.
He raised his hand to slap her and Khushi stared at him in shock, never having imagined that Shyam could be driven to physical violence.
She raised her hands in front of her face in defence and her eyes closed, as she braced herself for the pain.
But the pain never came. She slowly opened her eyes and saw a familiar strong arm clad in a black sleeve, which had stopped Shyam's raised arm in mid-air.
He was here. Her husband was here.
"Shyam' I mean Jeejaji. Maine aapse kaha tha na, Khushi meri patni hai. Uske aas-paas bhatakne ki koshish bhi mat karna. Khushi ko koi aankh uthakar dekhe, mujshe toh itna bhi bardaasht nahi hota. Aur aapne us par haath uthane ki koshish ki? How dare you?".
Arnav clenched his teeth and grit out the words, trying his best to keep his temper in check.
(Translation for hindi dialogue: "I had told you that Khushi is my wife and I do not want to find you anywhere near her. I cannot even tolerate anyone raising his eyes to look at her and you actually tried to raise your hand to hit her?")
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I hope it meets the standards of the OS that one can normally expect on IF.
Please let me know if you would be interested enough to read another part in continuation..
Compliments and criticisms are welcome.
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
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