Okay. First things first... I had planned on keeping the end a simple wrap up and close the story. But -Tintin, one of my readers said stuff and suggested things to me which gave me this idea... Initially, Khushi only undergoes emotional trauma... But -Tintin's suggestion went to my head, and I wracked my brains and came up with this.
Hope you like it!
And I wasn't planning on updating so soon, but your comments encouraged me to... especially saaruipk!!!
*CHAPTER 9*
Anjali stared at her brother. She hadn't told anybody other than Payal about what she had seen, but she couldn't believe her brother had done what he had...How could he even have doubted her?
Khushi was awake, but she did not show it. She could feel Jiji's hand stroking her hair, and Di wiping the blood from off her bruises. She heard the door open, and knew it was him. Her eyes filled with tears she tried to hold back...She felt betrayed...He had just told her lies... HALF truths, which were as good as lying. How could he even have thought like that? Her head hurt, and now it hurt worse than before...She closed her eyes, wanting to forget...Wanting everything to go back to the way it was early this morning...PERFECT. But...maybe that was a lie too...
*Flashback*
"OkaY Anjaliji...I mean, Di..." Khushi said, breaking apart from Anjali's hug, with tears in her eyes. Anjali smiled and said, "Khushiji, we are going to the temple in half an hour. Would you like to join us?"
Khushi smiled. "No Di. Arnavji might come home and find it empty...I will wait for him."
Anjali smiled again and left the place. Singing to herself, Khushi made prepared dinner for everybody. She did not really know why Arnav was being so nice to her all of a sudden...She did not care. After preparing the dinner, she went out of the kitchen happily. She saw Lakshmi by the poolside, and hurried towards the goat. "Lakshmiji, things are FINALLY falling in place..."
Anjali peeked throught the beams of the poolside, not paying attention to her words, but just looking at he finally smile, feeling happy to see Khushi happy finally.
She smiled, and looked at the call. She called Shyam. "Shyamji, all of us are going to the temple. Will you join us?"
"No RS. I have work. You go ahead, and I will join you at the temple directly."
"Ji. If you need anything, you can ask Khushiji. She is at home...okay?" she asked.
There was a pause and a moment of silence from Shyam's end. "Okay RS"
Then Anjali went to her room. Feeling slightly exhausted, she lay on her bed, and decided to lie down for 5-10 minutes.
10 Mins Later (3:40pm)
"Anjali bitiya?" Nani said, looking about for her. "Where is she?" she asked worriedly. Everyone had gathered at the door of the house, ready to leave to the temple.
"I will check and come Dadiji." Payal offered, and went upstairs. She saw Khushi reading a book, and her heart yearned to talk to her sister. She seemed a little happy today. But she heard Mamiji call. "Ae Khoon Bhari Taang!"
She hurriedly went to Anjali's room and saw her sleeping. Deciding against waking her up, she went downstairs and told them that she was asleep.
"Hm. Let her sleep...She must be tired..." Nani said, as others nodded in agreement and left.
Half an Hour Later- (4:10 pm)
Khushi put aside the book she was reading, frowning. What should she do now? She was alone now... Sighing, she looked around and went and stood by the poolside.
"I-I wonder whether after six months...when our marriage contract finally ends...Will it be goodbye...?"
She closed her eyes, sighing. Decided that Arnavji would not let that happen now...Whatever had made him change his mind, had changed everything about their relationship.
Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, scaring the daylights out of her. She knew it was not her Arnavji... She began to tremble and slowly turned around to face Shyam. His eyes were bloodshot, and he reeked of alcohol. His eyes looked crazed...much much crazier than the look he usually wore around her. He smirked at her and cornered her against a glass pane.
Khushi wondered if she should scream. Pinning her hands to the wall and leaning closer to her, Shyam said "The house is empty..."
Khushi's eyes brimmed with tears and fear and she began to tremble uncontrollably.
-Few Minutes Back- (4:00pm)
Anjali heard a noise and woke up startled. She found Lakshmi in her room, sniffing her dressing table. She had knocked down a bottle of perfume. Sighing, Anjali got up and walked towards the dressing table, and bent to pick up the glass pieces, after shooing Lakshmi away. She looked at the clock, and realized that the family had left for the temple and let her sleep. Then she remembered Khushiji was at home. Deciding that it was finally time to have a nice, warm chat with Khushi, she straightened her dishevelled hair and walked out and stumbled against Lakshmi. She saw Lakshmi chewing up a paper, and worrying if it was something important, she followed the trotting Lakshmi, trying to coax her into dropping the paper.
(4:10 by now...)
During this chase, as she passed the wooden beams that separated the corridor from the poolside, she heard voices. Frowning, she looked through the beams. What she saw made her head whir, but something made her not take her eyes off from the scene infront of her... Holding her breath, she watched, as something told her that she would now get all her answers...
4:15pm
"L-Let me go..." Khushi said, fear evident in every word.
"Arey, Khushiji, why are you so scared...Do you think I could ever harm you? I love you..." he smirked, not hearing a gasp from behind him. Leaning closer to her, he began to chuckle.
Anjali wanted to move and help Khushi, but seeing this crazed side of her husband, made her freeze with fear.
"I-I wi-will Arnavji..." Khushi said. "He will k-kick you out!"
Shyam smirked. "Really? And what will you tell him?"
"I-I will tell him you got yourself engaged to me!" An unheard hiss of anger this time.
"He wouldn't believe you... " Shyam said, bringing his head close to Khushi's neck, inhaling deeply.
"Wh-what!"
"Aaa...So he did not tell you did he?" Shyam said, enjoying even more.
"Tell me what?"
"The reason he married you? BY FORCE! THROUGH BLACKMAIL!" he leaned closer and whispered, "For six months..." It was loud enough for Anjali to hear, who felt her head would explode if she found out so many things in one day.
Khushi became mute now. How did he know... Knowing what was coming next, he said, "Bhaang is a beautiful revealer Khushiji... Besides, pardon me, but I had to eavesdrop on your conversation with yourself few minutes back."
Khushi flinched. Oh no! Oh no!
"So...Would you like to know the reason?"
He pushed her against the pane with force, causing the glass to shatter and making Khushi stumble onto the pieces of glass, which pierced her back and arms. She tried to get up with her elbows' support, but shards of glasses pierced her elbow as well, making her yell out in pain.
That yell broke through to Anjali's mind, and with a determined face, she set out towards the pool her room to gain access to the poolside, praying she wouldn't be too late.
Shyam laughed crazedly as he saw Khushi trying to get up and bent down and gripped her upper arm with force and pulled her up in one swift movement, causing her arm to twist in unbearable pain. He pinned her against the tree, pushing her roughly against its bark.
Her back was now on fire...The force against her back, caused the pieces of glass in her back to go in deeper.
"I shall assume your silence, as you wanting to know Khushiji."
Suddenly, his face grew serious. "You know Khushiji, why do you want to defend a man who has broken your heart everytime? Me? I love you so much, that I would do ANYTHING to get you... I mean...I tried killing your father because he realized I was married you see...Well, I did not succeed, but at least managed to make him shut up! And then, there is my DEAR RS..." he laughed. "I thought killing her would be easy...But I tried thrice, and thrice I failed! Next time, I WILL succeed!" he laughed maniacally again. He pushed Khushi aside roughly, making her land against the staircase, hurting her back and elbows further.
Then he stopped and said, "Arey! I forgot! I was telling you why Saale Saab married you in the first place... Hm...He thought we were having an affair Khushiji!"
Khushi looked up at him, completely shocked, unaware of all the pain in her body, not sure if she had heard him right. "What?"
"Yes Khushiji. Your dear husband, thinks we are having an affair..."
Shyam laughed again. "When Saale Saab confronted me, I told him I was in love with you. He thought you loved me too..." he smirked. "He thought of telling RS, but then...she just made it easy for me...She loves me so much after all... She told Saale Saab she was pregnant... concerned about her health, he decided not to say anything... So instead, he married YOU. So you would be under his eyes all the time...So that he can monitor you..."
"No. NO! You are lying! That is not true!" Khushi screamed, her tone rising with every word.
"Why else do you think Khushiji? Within six months, it is Rani Sahiba's delivery..." Then he looked at her, and said with mock pity. "Oh no! Did you think he loves you?"
Khushi understood... Six months... Only for Di and her baby, he had said... Delivery...Safe baby... And then...VOID...No relationship between them... Khushi began swaying, as her vision doubled...She felt that familiar pain again...Familiar pain of heartbreak...She saw a blurry image of Shyam, approaching nearer to her, and felt his hand on the sleeve of blouse, fiddling with her saree pin. Unable to take it anymore, she screamed in terror with every ounce of energy she had left and fell unconscious... The last thing she felt were a pair of soft arms catch her before she hit the ground, and did not hear the sound of a resounding slap... Khushi woke up after fifteen minutes,and saw Anjali looking at her anxiously. "Khushiji?"
She said nothing, and just lay there, staring at the ceiling as he felt sharp pain shoot through every muscle of her body. She couldn't believe what had happened... SHe had hoped it was a nightmare, but the pain in her body said otherwise.
"Please sleep Khushiji. The doctor will be hear soon..."
A sob built up in her throat as she remembered it all and knowing she needed a hug, Anjali bent down and hugged her. Khushi did not do anything or react.
Anjali stroked Khushi's hair. "It's alright Khushiji. Calm down..."
Anjali was not feeling HALF of the calm she was showing. Inside her, she could feel anger... and hatred. Anger directed towards her brother, and hatred to the man she had once loved; or...THOUGHT she loved...the man who she had slapped sometime back, and gotten him arrested.
Anjali was getting more and more worried, trying to get some kind of reaction out of Khushi, but it didn't work. Finally, she said softly, "I apologise on Chhotey's behalf Khushiji."
Something inside Khushi snapped, and she began to sob hard. Anjali held a sobbing Khushi, till Khushi passed out again. Gently laying Khushi back on the bed, she went downstairs. She took the phone, and called Mr Roy. "Mr Roy? I need you to prepare divorce papers..."
*FLASHBACK CONTINUES IN NEXT CHAPTER...A LITTLE BIT MORE*
Hey -Tintin! The physical storm/trauma part, was indirectly your idea. I changed the entire ending yesterday... Well, in case the physical trauma you were referring to was *ahem* 'something else', I am sorry to disappoint you :( I cannot bring myself to write such stuff about Snakeji... :(
I hope this compensates for the short length of the previous chapter...?
Hope I did not disappoint you people with lack of intense ArShi moments? :'(
PMs Later...
Edited by Dynamix215 - 12 years ago
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