An ArHi SS:Seduction *Thread Two* (COMPLETED) - Page 99

A truly beautiful banner... kudos to the person who created it! And the new

Naming Khushi's loyal servant Sheetal' is a nice twist. It's truly said that one's real character is revealed by the way one treats one's servants or waiters, etc and the way they respond to one... the servants considering Khushi the rightful heiress to the Gupta fortune, rather than the usurpers, says a lot about her character. The insidious cruelty shown Garima to Khushi is the worst kind... at least with Payal, her dislike of Khushi is blatantly obvious, but with Garima it isn't so! Khushi would never mean anything more than a burden she had to bear...a price she had to pay in order to stay in the Mahal. No, Garima Gupta wasn't really cruel... quite an understatement, I must say! Payal usurping Khushi's rightful place and using the latter's wealth to dower herself is quite selfish on her part. That Khushi had been adopted and gone on to enjoy all these luxuries must have rankled with Payal who believed that the Gupta wealth rightfully belonged to her as she was a Gupta by blood whereas Khushi wasn't! Khushi's myriad talents had been encouraged and supported, and tutors had been brought in to teach her the languages, painting , and mathematics... glad to note the progressive outlook of Khushi's parents, especially of her mom, at a time when marriage was all a girl was considered worthy of. The love and understanding they and Madhumati showered on her was lost when they died, so it's no wonder that Khushi withdrew into herself, thus playing into the hands of the usurpers, Garima and Payal. Khushi's stitching that bridal veil for Payal as a gift is an selfless act that sadly wasn't appreciated or valued as it ought to have been. "You look good, Khushi. You look like...a true Gupta. Not one single guest will think otherwise tonight." That's such a cruel thing to say, especially as her kindness and generosity reflect that she was just like the older Guptas, unlike Garima and Payal. Their crassness is highlighted when they valued a designer' veil over one beautifully handcrafted one having love imbued into each and every thread. If Shyam was intent on marrying Payal, he had no business touching Khushi... deliberately or unknowingly, Shyam Manohar Jha has always proven to be a disaster for Khushi once he steps into her life! Payal's hatred is truly virulent. I blame Shyam for waiting till the last moment to tell the truth of his feelings for Khushi, not that the outcome would have been any better if he had told her earlier... the insult and humiliation to Payal are all the more greater... this betrayal combined with her hatred for Khushi pushed her over the edge, making her hold Khushi responsible for all her woes. I believed Khushi to be a ghost or one of the fairy folk, but a curse... never saw that coming! ...but innocence can dare... could this be the key to undoing the curse? Payal's cutting words were bound to leave Khushi with a sense of guilt, especially now that two people are dead. Khushi laying aside her guilt and grief to provide solace to Garima is a poignant moment. Garima accepting Khushi as a daughter seems to be the only good thing to come from this tragedy... does she know that Shyam was in love with Khushi and had broken off the marriage with Payal? The curse is all the more vile as it has condemned Khushi to loneliness and to a world devoid of happiness, as the moment she is happy she gets trapped in her portrait. And the fact that she never aged ensured that she would have to change jobs and dwellings frequently if she were to keep her secret. Just a thought: Khushi really gives new meaning to the notion of the older woman in a relationship! Khushi gathering such a vast array of knowledge in diverse fields is another good thing the curse yielded. A sentence for the hatred born from a seduction that had never been... heart-rending yet beautifully put! And then... There was nothing he could do, but leave her to her fate... it seems to reflect her loss of hope or could be her acceptance of her fate. Now that the truth is before Arnav, he has no option but to believe in her honesty and that she has no hidden agenda. Was it because of their heightened love for Khushi that they could see Khushi being drawn into the painting? Or has it something to do with the painful loss of a loved one that both have experienced which is the key to this? No, she hadn't run from him. She had run to the painting...because she had been overwhelmed by happiness on both occasions... thank god he has realised how much he means to her, that she isn't indifferent to him, as he feared! Arnav empathising with her suffering makes our heart go out to him as it indicates not only the depth of his love for her but also the depth of her suffering. Wonder what was that object that Khushi left behind, and which broke his control over his emotions!