ArHi FF: Yeh Saali Zindagi #3, Link to next thread @pg1 - Page 73

nice teaser - seems shyam making arnav see sense-

ArHi FF: Yeh Saali Zindagi

Chapter 27-B

21st July, 2014

A human's entire life entails everything-happiness, grief, confusion, longing, pain and tragedy. According to the facts, in everyone's life there is a breaking point where something happens that encompasses every moment of happiness, grief, longing and pain.

Arnav Singh Raizada was experiencing that exact moment. Six years ago, he thought he had hit rock bottom after watching his sister and family fall apart.

Boy, he couldn't be more wrong about it.

Because watching his life aka his daughter, his Manyata burst into big, heart wrenching tears broke every ounce of strength, determination in his body. Watching her cower and run away from his touch broke his heart.

There was this unbearable, excruciating pain emanating from his heart, making him struggle in breathing normally. He felt that it isn't Manyata, it's him experiencing hurt and devastation.

Granted Manyata isn't his biological daughter but she owned him dammit. She owned his love, his care, his heart and soul.

His bond with her ran beyond words, expressions and feelings.

And what did he do? He broke himself willingly. Dammit it wasn't supposed to hurt this bad. The decision he had taken was for his daughter's benefit but it felt so wrong. So cruel. And so unfair.

Unfair, to the woman standing beside him, crying and urging Manyata to open the f**king door.

As his ears caught another loud sob from behind the doors, Arnav jerked his head forward and pounded on the door, whispering soothingly "Princess, please open the door. It's not like what you think. We both love you very much."

"Manyata please don't cry." Khushi begged beside him, her shoulders shaking in grief.

They froze, registering something crash against the door before hitting the floor noisily. A momentary silence fell before they heard Manyata's hysterical shout "GO AWAY!!!"

They turned to look at each other in horror.

Grabbing his shirt's collar, Khushi shook him hard, whimpering "Stop her Arnav. Stop her before she hurts herself."

Staring back at her desperately, Arnav contemplated breaking the door but knew his daughter won't appreciate it. Just like right now she was angry over the way they weren't leaving her alone, not letting her cry and immerse herself in hurt and grief to her heart's contentment.

But he trusted his daughter enough to believe that she won't hurt herself. Manyata had never been a coward to choose the easy way of making him bend to her demands. She knew that hurting herself will only lessen the chances of getting what she wished.

She will fight once she gathers herself together, Arnav realized. He stood still, trying not to hyperventilate further.

Cupping his wife's tear stricken face in his palms, he assured her "Khushi calm down. Let me think something."

Swatting his hands away from her face, Khushi retorted heatedly "How could you tell her everything like that? She is just a kid, Arnav. You just delivered the most important decision of her life like you were reciting today's news. She needed to be told gently and after much needed assurance."

Looking away, Arnav whispered choking on his words "I didn't realize the same thing. I have always made sure to never cause her pain. God, I did everything I could to make her happy. I am sorry. I was struggling with how much this news is going to affect her."

Silently berating herself for the outburst, Khushi whispered softly "Is there something you can do to calm her down? I am worried, Arnav."

Frowning, Arnav mumbled "I think I can."

With his eyes riveted once again to the closed door, he took out his phone and dialed a number "Shyam, I need your help."

Pressing a button to shut the news he was watching, Anuj looked up as Vikrant barged inside his party's conference room looking enraged. The moment he found him sitting in a chair comfortably, he glared down at him, a nerve ticking in his jaw violently.

Letting out a sigh, Anuj gestured to the empty chair across the table and watched silently as Vikrant reluctantly sat down, looking angrier if possible.

Resting his hands on the table between them, he asked looking bored "Now, why are you here?"

Vikrant's eyes widened a bit, thrown aback by his laid back demeanor. Recovering quickly, he leaned forward, hissing furiously "Why is she here?"

"She? Who are you talking about?" Anuj countered back, looking amused.

Vikrant sputtered, looking bewildered and spat out in disgust "Anjali." Smacking his clenched fist down on the table, he continued "I didn't kill her only when you promised that she will be out of here. You said that no one will ever know that she is alive. And now she is the head of your party. Are you f**king kidding me?"

Suddenly looking very serious, Anuj replied bitterly "Oh I didn't know that my own daughter needed permission from you to come home. You have done enough damage when she was your wife. Now you need to back off."

Standing up abruptly, Vikrant kicked his chair back and thundered "WHAT THE HELL, BADE SAHAB?"

Following suit, Anuj stood up looking down his nose at him arrogantly "Don't shout, Vikrant. There is no need to throw a tantrum around my office. Anjali is of no concern to you at all."

"You think I am STUPID? I know she is here for revenge." Vikrant growled.

Anuj Raizada's eyes widened in disbelief before he burst out laughing and fell back in his chair. The sound was cold and scary, frightening Vikrant further. Because he knew that the man in front of him is the mastermind of all the games he had ever played. And he had always been cautious of him.

Anuj kept laughing, peeking glances at Vikrant alternatively. Wiping the tears spilled from the corner of his eyes away, he replied hoarsely "Oh, I never heard anything funnier than this. You think she is here for revenge. Then why would she wait for 6 years to extract this so called revenge?"

"Because she knows that the upcoming Elections for the next Delhi's Chief Minister are important to me. She must have thought that if she managed to destroy my chance at this again like her brother did last time, it would be the perfect payback to me for whatever I had done to her." Vikrant bit back, looking positively pissed.

Flicking his hand up in the air, Anuj replied amusedly "Now hold on to your thoughts right there, Vikrant. Because I know the whole world doesn't revolve around you."

Biting back a curse, Vikrant questioned furiously "What is that supposed to mean?"

Looking away, Anuj Raizada stood up and walked around the table. Leaning against it, he looked down at Vikrant who sat still in his chair caught abruptly by his sudden, mean eyes focused on him.

Crossing his arms across his front, Anuj smirked "Maybe it was actually me who called her back. Maybe whatever happened last night is what I actually planned for my party. Maybe I thought Anjali could be a better choice for the party rather than joining hands with you and announcing you as our contender. Isn't it what you had thought right?"

Vikrant cringed, knowing very well that he has once again been caught red handed by the man he despised and feared. The moment he had heard about Akash Raizada's resignation from the party, he had wanted to meet Anuj and convince him into joining hands with him. So that he could eliminate the possibility of competing against a strong contender from AVP.

Damn. It looks like he had missed his chance. And all this happened because of Khushi and Arnav Raizada. God, he hated the pair of them.

Clearing his throat, Vikrant looked around uncomfortably "I thought it would have been better for both of us, Bade Sahab."

"No it wouldn't have been good. I wouldn't have ever joined hands with you. You are hungry for power just like me. The whole thing would have had been a disaster because either you could have overtook my own party or you could have killed me to be on the top." Anuj answered coldly, knowing very well that it was true. Vikrant stiffened feeling as if the cold tone of Anuj Raizada's voice was slithering down his spine, choking him.

Looking down, Vikrant didn't say anything for a while and barely controlled his hands from shaking. Focusing on keeping his calm, he said meekly "So Anjali didn't come back for revenge?"

"No, she didn't." Anuj sighed.

"Okay then, I must take your leave. Sorry for disturbing you." Vikrant muttered under his breath, standing up quickly and scampering away from the place as if the hounds of hell were chasing him. His body shivered in fear, realizing the warning that Anuj Raizada had just given him without even muttering the exact words.

He is such a fool to even think about becoming more powerful than Anuj Raizada. He isn't smart and sneaky like him. Not now. Or ever maybe.

As he heard Bade Sahab chuckle, he ran out not noticing the pity in his eyes for him. Neither was he aware of the words murmured to his back lightly "She has come to end you and me."

"Manyata!!!!"

Covering her ears with her small palms, Manyata turned away from the door and continued crying looking down at the Tweety in her lap.

Jutting her trembling lower lip out, she complained to her best friend "No one loves me, Tweety." She sobbed, hugging her favorite soft toy to her chest. Atleast, it loved her unlike her parents. And stayed with her always.

She will never talk to her parents. Why would she talk to them when they don't even love her and stay away from her?

Yes, she won't talk to them.

Letting out a frustrated sound at the pounding reaching her ears even after covering them, Manyata turned around and picked up her favorite penholder, ready to hurl it against the door when a voice reached her.

"Manyata!!! Angel, Please open the door."

Dropping everything from her hands, she ran towards the door and yanked it open. Rubbing her eyes to wipe the tears clouding her vision, she blinked and looked up cautiously.

And right in front of her stood her favorite person, who loved her. Always.

With her eyes lighting up in love and relief, Manyata breathed "Shyam Uncle." As her Uncle smiled at her and crouched down spreading his arms wide, she ran and hugged him tight wrapping her arms around his neck.

She clung to him, desperate for some love and adoration, refusing to step back when her Uncle tried to look at her. Closing her eyes tightly so that she won't look at her parents who were standing in the room, she stood there sobbing in the crook of her Uncle's neck.

"Angel, don't cry sweetheart." He whispered so gently to Manyata that she instantly closed her mouth and tried not to sob. He always has been so nice to her. The moment she felt him patting her hairs, she stood still basking in the sole attention her Uncle was giving to her. It was so good.

"Uncle, I love you." Manyata mumbled quietly, hoping that she won't lose him ever.

"I know." Her Uncle said, before picking her up in his arms and marching inside the room and closing the door softly behind them. He even understood that she didn't want to see or talk to her parents.

She loved him totally. As he sat her down on the bed and softly wiped her tears before brushing her hairs away from her forehead, Manyata started crying again "Uncle, Mumma and Daddy never loved me. Daddy is trying to take me away from here and Mumma doesn't even want to come with us. She doesn't want to live with me again."

Opening her eyes again to look up at him, she cried out "And I am so hungry."

Trying to control his laugh, Shyam whispered soothingly "Hush, Angel. Don't think about it okay? Let's just feed you something before rats start running in your little tummy."

Gasping softly, Manyata wailed dramatically "And I hate rats."

"How is she doing?" Arnav enquired the moment Shyam stepped out of the room and closed the door quietly. Standing beside her husband, Khushi waited for the answer anxiously.

"She is doing okay. Ate some bagels and then fell to sleep. Don't disturb her. She is very sad and tensed." Shyam answered grimly, turning swiftly to face his best friend and his wife. Clenching his fists tightly, he clipped out "Now tell me, what the hell you told her, Arnav?"

Arnav stiffened, looking miserable and guilty "I told her that I am taking her away from here."

"And why did you say that?" Shyam fired back.

Running his hands through his already disheveled hairs, Arnav replied curtly "Because I am going to do it. Okay I don't know what you think but I think that with Anjali coming back and declaring an open war with Bade Sahab and Vikrant is going to open some old secrets. I fear that the truth about Manyata's biological parents won't be in the dark for a long time. I just want to avoid facing it whenever that happens. Disappearing with Manyata will be good."

Raising his eyebrows, Shyam said cautiously "Just to be clear, what do you think is going to happen once this comes out in public? But I really don't think it's going to happen because we destroyed all the evidences pointing to it."

"But we can't deny the possibility of it, can we? And once that happens, Vikrant really isn't going to keep quiet. Presenting his very legal daughter to the society and blaming the delay to the Raizadas will win votes of sympathy for him. He will use his own daughter for it in a heartbeat once he gets to know about it. I just want to go out of India so there will be some overseas issues if and when he demands for the same. It'll give me time to think of something to not let it happen." Arnav shot back heatedly, stress shadowing his face making him look tired and haggard. Khushi hesitated wanting to calm Arnav but she knew the gesture won't be appreciated right now.

"I think you are being paranoid. Suppose even if he gets to know about it, he can't just snatch her away. You adopted Manyata legally for the same reason." Shyam pointed out, looking at his best friend in disbelief.

"But you are forgetting the fact that the signatures of Vikrant on adoption paper are unauthentic. So in a twisted way, he still hasn't actually agreed for adoption on papers. He can prove his claim on Manyata in the court. And I don't want it to go that way. My kid won't go through it at all. That bas***d will not ever get his hands on her." Arnav declared stubbornly as Khushi gasped realizing the very possibility of it.

Exhaling sharply, Shyam looked around wringing his hands together in agitation. In a blink, he rounded on Khushi and said accusingly "How the hell did you even agree for this bullshit? I thought you loved her."

"I do Shyam but I can't leave from here." Khushi answered grimly, tears of helplessness gathering in her eyes.

Turning away, Shyam laughed harshly yanking on his hairs brutally "I can't believe you are doing this just because of a freaking possibility."

"It's just not a possibility Shyam. It could change everything. Can't you see that?" Arnav demanded, feeling his own anger rising.

Curling his lips, Shyam shot him a dark look "No, what I see is a man who always loved his daughter more than anything running away. I see a father shattering everything that his daughter held dear just because of a possibility. I see you breaking her heart. I thought you were stronger than this, Arnav. I thought you knew better than to break your own daughter's heart."

"Don't you dare tell me what to do, Shyam." Arnav growled, his fists clenched tight.

With his eyes taking in a mocking glint, Shyam replied sarcastically "Why shouldn't I? What will you do? Will you stop talking to me or something? Do it anyway. Suppose if you did all this and still Vikrant managed to take Manyata then what will you do? You just can't stop living your life because of a mere possibility or fear. Rather than facing it, you are running away? You know what you are, a coward. A f**king coward."

"I am not a COWARD, DAMMIT." Arnav yelled, feeling the accusations hitting close to the real truth.

"Yes you are and you know why? Because the heaven that you have managed to create with your daughter and wife is something worth fighting for. You fear that it won't be the same always. Running away is not even an option. If you stay here, you will get everything you wished for. But if you leave, you will lose what you had until now." Shyam said honestly.

Not giving Arnav a chance to reply, he turned to Khushi and commented dryly "I expected better from you."

Giving them a last look of disappointment, Shyam walked towards the door, leaving them staring at his back. Just as he was about to open the front door, he shot over his shoulder "By the way, if you are that desperate to break Manyata's heart, just send her to me. At least I love her enough to take that risk."

And then he walked out.

I wanted to explain many things before the update but I guess I will postpone it for next update as my eyes are already drooping shut in sleep.

I think there will be a "C" Part of this Chapter since there is much to happen on 21^st July, 2014 and I want to capture a day's all events in a chapter only. I will answer all the pms and scraps I have received in the last 2 months tomorrow after waking up in morning. Sorry for delay friends again. Let me know your opinions please,

Aditi

p.s. next update will be mostly of ArHi and Manyata😉