"Mind telling me what is going on?" Akaash asked Arnav in a stern voice. "I proposed to Khushi, and she said yes" Arnav said, standing by the huge window from where he could see the main road from that towering height. Akaash placed the file on the table and stood next to him. "Arnav, if this is some kind of joke, I'm warning you..." "Relax Akaash! I'm not joking! I really love her. It's time I thought about settling down. I've had enough of wild crazy meaningless fun. I've put that behind. Khushi is a really nice girl. She makes me happy. And I am happy with her." Akaash rubbed his temples. "I really hope you are serious. Because if you are taking her for a ride, and it affects the project with Mr. Gupta's company, I will skin you alive with my bare hands" Arnav was amused at Akaash's imagery. Both of them stood quietly for some time. And Arnav finally broke the silence after a few moments. "So, that's it? You aren't going to tell me to stay away from her and stuff like that?" Akaash looked at Arnav, and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Why should I say that, Arnav? I'm happy for you. And I have always asked you not to hurt her. And if you're genuinely in love with her, and have proposed to her, then trust me, I'm the happiest. I've always wanted you to settle down. And now, I'm glad you're considering it" Arnav smiled, and surprisingly he blushed slightly too. That was a first for him. Then he frowned. "But, I thought you came to tell me something important. I thought it was regarding what you saw. I mean, me and Khushi..." "Pfft, no Arnav. You're a grown man and can make decisions on your own. What's between you both is not my concern. Of course, if it affects work, then it is!"
Pausing for a moment, he continued, "I came to tell you that Vinod Raizada is coming back from Australia." Arnav looked as far as he could see, as though trying to figure out what lay beyond the horizon. He frowned at the name. Vinod Raizada was their Dad's younger brother. Apparently, when their Dad had started Raizada Industries, Vinod too had a share in it. However, he had different dreams where he could squander money and had gone away with his share of the ancestral house property, leaving Ajinkya behind. Off recent, it was heard that Vinod was going through some financial crisis after his company had become insolvent. And it was also rumoured that it was his misjudgement and inability as a businessman that caused the company to drown into loss. If Arnav and Akaash knew him well, he was coming back to claim his shares in the company. Or even worse, perhaps claim a rightful position in the Industries. "Arnav, say something!" Akaash tapped him. "I don't know, Akaash. After these many years, what does he want now? It's not like he put in a drop of sweat for a day into this company. Raizada Industries has come up only with Dad's efforts! Hell, that Vinod had not even come for Dad and Mom's funeral!" Arnav said gripping tightly on the window pane, his knuckles almost turning white. Akaash patted his back, asking him to calm down. "How did you come to know that he's coming back?" Arnav asked, looking at Akaash from the corner of his eye. "He called up. Spoke to me as though he had raised me since birth!" Akaash's lips twitched in a sarcastic smile. "Pathetic jerk!" Arnav spat in a venomous tone, and said, "When is he coming?" "In two days" said Akaash, with a clearly distasteful pitch. Both of them stood there, contemplating on the possible moves by their uncle and their probable responses to the same. After a good whole ten minutes, Akaash excused himself since he had to prepare for a presentation at a meeting.
Just when Akaash was to leave, Arnav called him back. "Can you spare a few more minutes? I had to tell you something." "Alright." He straightened and gave his brother an odd look seeing his concerned expression, "Do I need to break out the scotch?" "That depends on you. I'd say you could probably use it." Arnav said and Akaash cocked an eyebrow. "I could?" Arnav nodded. "That doesn't sound good." He said now giving him his full attention, "What's up Arnav?" "I ran into Payal." Arnav answered seeing Akaash's eyes darken. "It has nothing to do with me anymore." Akaash said abruptly turning back towards the door to leave. "Akaash, you need to listen." Arnav insisted, holding on to his arm. Akaash didn't look at him. Instead he reached into the inside pocket of his suit to pull out an envelope tossing it on the table. "That came in last week." Arnav walked over and picked it up. It was from a lawyer. "What is this?" he asked. "Read it." Akaash said straightening and putting his hands in the pockets of his dark navy blue pants.
Arnav pulled out the letter and scanned over it. It was a request for Akaash to come to the reading of Payal's father's will. "What is this about?" Arnav asked with his eyes still glued to the paper. "I don't have a clue, but the old man died three days ago and this was sent to me last week. He must've known he was going to die." Akaash said in a soft tone. "It can't be about money, he didn't have much." Arnav frowned while thinking of the possibilities that he was called to the reading. "I'm not going anyway." Akaash said, "I've closed that part of my life a long time ago." Arnav watched his brother turn and walk out. "Who told you that Payal was after your money?" Akaash paused but didn't look at him, "Why does it matter now?" "If I know one thing Akaash, it would have to be someone who knew Payal well enough, that you would listen. I'm guessing it was her father because you loved Payal too much to listen to gossip." "That's enough Arnav, drop it." Akaash scowled. Arnav shook the envelope in front of him, "Maybe the old man had something to say." Akaash stood straight again, "Like I said, why does it matter!"
"She's engaged." Arnav said watching his brother's expression carefully. "Oh hell." Akaash released a breath of air. Then after an extended silence he finally spoke, "I was pretty cruel to her." He reached up and ran a hand through his neatly combed hair. "I called her a who*e among other things I'd not repeat." He turned and went to the liquor cabinet, "Do you want a shot?" "Sure, I'll have one with you." Arnav answered, knowing his brother seemed to need someone to share a drink with at that moment.
"Her Dad said she was only looking for a way out and I was the third guy to fall for that sweet innocent look of hers." Akaash continued while pouring them both a drink. "She swore on her mother's grave that she loved me." He turned and gave Arnav a glass. "What did you think?" Arnav asked as he took the glass from him. "I wanted to believe her." Akaash shrugged, "Maybe I was young and stupid and head over heels for this girl and I had cold feet about the wedding"her own father told me that. And for some reason I didn't question it. Things were so perfect between us, almost too perfect. So I started to doubt it. As for the information, I know I would have I argued against it if it was anyone else. Her Dad said she watched her mother die broken and poor, and knew she could be so much more because she was pretty. He said that her mother consistently told her to marry a rich man so she could have all of the things she wanted, even if she didn't love the man. He told me that Payal told him herself that was why she was marrying me."
"Maybe he had his reasons for saying those things. What if it wasn't true." Arnav watched his expression change. "If I'd listen to her maybe I could have been able to tell. You should have seen the look on her face when I said those things to her, she was devastated." He lifted the glass and swallowed the contents. "The more innocent she looked the more I thought she was fooling me." Arnav took a drink of his own. He didn't say anything. It had been almost seven years and Akaash never talked about that day, so he wasn't going to interrupt him. "I reflect back often and wonder if I'd been wrong. Not one day goes by that I don't see her face and the hurt in it when I exploded on her." Akaash looked away to wipe his moist eyes. "What did she say?" Arnav asked softly. "She denied everything," Akaash's expression became pained, "She told me she loved me. She begged me Arnav, she even got down on her knees in front of me swearing that it was a lie and that she truly loved me." He turned and went to pour himself another drink and spoke without turning around, "I called her a lying bi*ch, grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the house. Hell, I was so hurt. She left town two days later. No one knew where she went. Not even her father. After I came to my senses, I wanted to talk to her, but I couldn't find her. I even hired several detectives, but for some reason she didn't want to be found." That was bad. No wonder Akaash didn't talk about it, and no wonder Payal was still upset over the incident. As for her not wanting to be found, it probably had something to do with the precious package she was carrying in the form of a baby.
"So much time has passed, Arnav. Even if she's well, I don't want to know. It's like twisting a knife in my gut thinking about that day." Akaash said with a heavy sigh. "Do you still believe what her father said?" Arnav asked again. "I don't know, Arnav. There are times I wonder. Did you know he was a bit of a drinker?" Arnav looked at Akaash with a bit of shock. "No I didn't." "It sort of made me think that maybe she did want out of his house and I was just being taken advantage of. She never talked about it, but he had that look about him." Pausing for a while, Akaash spoke again. "Did you meet Payal's fianc?" Arnav nodded, "The guy looks nice enough." He said remembering the protectiveness he showed her and the little girl. "I take it that he has money." said Akaash, with a sarcastic tone. "He looks like he does." "Well, it looks like she got her wish then." Akaash said, looking at his glass. "She was in tears when I saw her, Akaash." Arnav said, and Akaash shrugged a shoulder, swallowing the contents of the glass again while turning away from him. "I'll take your leave. I've got some work" Translation: this discussion is over. "Sure." Arnav said finishing the contents of his own glass before he saw Akaash leaving the room.
Arnav had thought that Akaash burned that bridge, but if he saw Payal and how she looked at the mention of his name, he might reconsider. It was true she was engaged but shouldn't she be happy? What he saw told him she was far from it. Arnav didn't mention his daughter, but he would. This just wasn't the time. If he told him, he knew that Akaash's feet wouldn't touch the ground as he left to go over to the Payal's place to confront her. And that the little girl would be under the roof of their house in no time. Payal was vulnerable being home again and after what Akaash had told him, she needed some time to prepare for this reading of the will. Arnav decided he would tell him after her fianc - Karan Goenka - left so there wasn't any interference between Akaash and Payal when the truth would come to light.
Akaash walked out of the cabin and saw Khushi seated at her desk as she looked up at him. She had noticed that he was a bit upset when he entered the cabin. However she could not react to his annoyance since she was yet to recover from the blush that Arnav had caused her. Since the past few minutes, she was sitting at the edge of her chair, hoping that Akaash would be in a better mood when he came out, indicating that he did not have a problem with the relationship. However, when he came out he seemed to be in a different mood. She thought she saw a flicker of emotion in his eyes. But even if she did see it, he masked it well because the very next moment he walked to Khushi and held out his hand to her. "I've heard you won my brother's heart. Congratulations!" She only smiled and blushed. He then saw the ring on her hand. "Hmmm, seems like we have to come over to your house soon to talk to your Dad about the wedding plans" She could only manage a nod along with a shy smile. He flashed her one of his broad genuine smiles and walked away to go to his cabin.
Arnav turned around and looked at Khushi who smiled and blushed to something that Akaash said. Probably he was congratulating her that he had managed to turn a lion like Arnav into some snuggle bunny. If they hadn't been in his office, he would have surely walked to her and kissed her delicious lips. He had always wanted to do that - to kiss her senseless. And then he wouldn't just stop with a kiss. He would do things to her that he wouldn't dare to repeat in public. And she would melt in his arms without a word of protest. He knew his abilities as a lover in pleasing a woman until she clawed and ripped the sheets. Hell, he was so hot for her that he could get her pregnant the first time he would bury himself inside of her. Suddenly an odd sensation went through him and his eyes guided over her petite form through that glass door. Imagining a little girl like Akaash's and Payal's except with copper colored hair and green eyes sent a longing through him like a tidal wave. Just a thought of having a child with her sent electric sensations through him and got him aroused. He had a certain yearning, a desire to see Khushi pregnant with his child. She was wonderful and loaded with compassion and there was not a single doubt that she would have been a wonderful mother; a mother to his child. Calling himself foolish for even thinking like that, he ran his fingers through his already mussed up hair and made his way to the bathroom room. "What have you turned me into, Khushi?" he smiled, glancing helplessly in her direction, much to her oblivion. Despite his thoughts of a child, he was still aroused thinking about some sinful things he could do her and knew only a cold shower could cure it"maybe.
Two days passed, and Akaash got tensed with each minute. He was worried about his uncle's visit, and was even more anxious to know why he was invited to the reading of Payal's father's will. At present, he was at the airport, ready to pick his uncle. Arnav had flatly refused to come. But Akaash being the softer one, decided to run along. Vinod Raizada was their relative, and no one could deny the fact that they were connected by blood. Akaash had seen Vinod only in photographs of news articles that flashed over the internet. He had seen him in person when Akaash was just a child. Now, after so many years, he was about to face him again. "Akaash Raizada?" a voice boomed and brought him out of his thoughts. There he was, right in front of him. He looked pretty much the same as he did earlier, except that he had grown thinner, weaker, sported salt and pepper hair, had a few wrinkles on his face and his voice was meeker. "Hello, Uncle. Pleasure seeing you after this long" He said and shook hands. He did not feel like touching his feet and seeking his blessings. There was no way that he was going to get respect from Arnav and him since he had made his intentions clear, years back, when he walked away from their Dad, and did not even turn up for the funeral. What was worse is that he never even came to see what the two of them went through after the death of their parents. They were capable of standing on their feet due to some trusted friends of their Dad. Whoever said that blood was thicker than water surely had not met a person like Vinod.
Despite the anger that Akaash had, he welcomed Vinod and offered to take him to their home. "I'd like to go to the office first. That is, if you do not mind" he said politely. Akaash nodded without looking at him, and asked the driver to take him to the office. Meanwhile, he texted Arnav about Vinod's arrival. Arnav was in the middle of an important dictation to Khushi about a conference meeting, when he saw the message. "Ah Hell!" he cursed, after a few strings of curses in French. Khushi simply wondered how many languages Arnav knew. "Something wrong?" she asked when she saw his grip on the pen increasing so hard, that she thought it would snap into two. "My Dad's brother is coming here to the office." Khushi seemed to be surprised that he had a close relative. Suddenly she saw his expression darken, and he said, "He's not worth trusting." And Arnav told her in a gist as to what his uncle was. "Hell, he did not even care to see what happened to us after Mom and Dad passed away. And now he has a sudden interest in our lives?" Khushi saw his moist eyes when he recalled his parents. She knew that Arnav was a soft person at heart and always wore a mask so that no one could see his vulnerable side. "You're crying" she said and placed her hand on his shoulder. "No, I'm not. It's just that my eyes get watery when I have a headache" he said rubbing his forehead. She knew he was lying, but decided to stay mum on his excuse. "I'll leave you to yourself for a while. I'll come back later" She turned her heel to leave, but he called out to her. "Thanks" he said, and she just smiled. This was probably the first time anyone had seen "The Arnav Raizada" crying. It took a lot to break that man down, and if he was teary, it meant that it was something really huge. She knew that Arnav would want her to keep away from his uncle. The rage in his eyes for him told her just that. And she would do the same.
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
Anupamaa
CID
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
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