ArHi FF: Yeh Saali Zindagi #4 Next thread link @page 1 - Page 41

ArHi FF: Yeh Saali Zindagi

Chapter 29-C

"So are you going to tell me or not?" Placing his briefcase on the desk, Aman asked bluntly, looking back as Khushi entered in his office.

Closing the door behind her softly, Khushi turned, quirking an eyebrow at him quizzically. Letting out a breath, Aman loosened the knot of his black tie, popping the first button of his white shirt open before turning to her again "How did your husband managed to find such an important evidence? Not that I am complaining about him helping me in this case."

Khushi blinked, crossing her hands across her front and retorted back "How do you think he did such a thing? You know, I know no more about it than you."

Raising his hands in air in mock surrender, Aman smiled "Hey, now don't go all defensive on me when it comes to your husband. I am just curious."

Khushi chuckled "Don't worry. You are still my best friend. But frankly speaking, the only answer to this question is his sister."

Aman froze "You mean Anjali Raizada?"

Khushi nodded, walking to sit down in a chair in front of him calmly. Leaning back, she looked up, running her fingers against her collarbone forth and back, thoughtfully "Arnav is very possessive of his family. Imagine his frustration when Vikrant cheats on his sister and he had to run back in here to save her, I don't think he would leave any chance to collect any evidence against him."

Occupying a chair across her, Aman asked looking surprised "You mean that your husband has kept an eye on Vikrant Chaudhary's doings all these years?"

Looking confident, Khushi nodded quietly. She watched as Aman stood up, walked over to his desk and started making a drink. Taking a large sip, he returned to his seat, making himself comfortable for the long conversation that they knew was going to commence.

Twirling the glass in his hands, he said finally "You mean, all these years, he had the cause and evidence to put that Chaudhary behind bars and he didn't?"

Khushi cringed, shifting uncomfortably in her chair. Knotting her fingers together, she looked down, replying in a small voice "I could be wrong about it as well, Aman. We don't know anything about it for sure."

Considering her answer, Aman nodded repeatedly "I know. Arnav is not the kind of man to keep quiet about it. But I got to say this, even for the sake of his sister, he does have a very credible source of inside information about Vikrant. Maybe it'll come to our use now. Because we need everything we can get."

"What do you mean?" Khushi squeaked.

"What I mean is it's just a start, Khushi. Politicians like Vikrant have many people at command to dispose of people like us. I bet he is hatching a new plan about how to either remove me or you from this case. A lot of accidents are about to happen, if you understand what I mean. We are so close to proving him guilty in the court. Just one accident will ruin everything. We have to be very careful about the upcoming days." Aman explained bitterly.

Khushi paled, words dying in her mouth at the implication of his words.

Watching closely as she started panicking, Aman continued in a soothing tone "Fortunately, we have a solution of this problem. But we have to wait for it."

Shaking her head in confusion, Khushi replied "I don't understand what you are trying to say, Aman."

Aman smiled, sadness and regret etched on his face "What I am trying to say is to defeat a mastermind like Vikrant, we need someone on our side who thinks just like him. We need a person who can predict his evil plans. Sadly, you and Arnav are good people. No matter what, you cannot think badly about others let alone your family to get a hang of his plans. To get the upper hand in this case, you need to join hands with Anuj Raizada. But since Anuj is in hospital, you have to wait for him to recover."

Khushi stood up, her voice tinged with shock "Whoa. Whoa. Rewind back a bit, Arnav's father is in hospital?"

Aman frowned "Yeah. It is today's biggest news. He had a heart attack around 6-7 hours ago. I thought you knew."

Khushi scowled, placing her hands on her hips "No I didn't."

Not missing a beat, Aman offered smoothly "Well now you know. You should think about it."

Picking up her purse, Khushi quickly took out her phone and replied, looking distracted "Yeah, I will get back to you on that. First, I need to get a hold of my husband and pound some sense into him."

Waving a hand at her in farewell, Aman smirked "Good luck on that, sweetheart. Travel safely."

Showing him a thumbs-up, Khushi left quickly, her mind seething and running along all the possibilities and implications with the sudden change in the situation.

And none of them looked good to her.

Life could be so f**king confusing.

Staring at the man who was solely responsible for everything good and bad happened in his life till now, Akash Raizada cursed.

If anyone had asked about Anuj Raizada a day ago, he would have gladly replied that he doesn't care a bit about the man. That he hated him a lot.

But right now, standing outside his ward, all he could think about is when he will open his eyes again. He was praying for his recovery.

As much as he wanted to hate the man, he still cared for him enough to worry about him. Why couldn't he be more like his little brother? He wanted to be like Arnav who looked completely unaffected by the news that his father is in hospital.

He couldn't just stop himself from caring about him.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Akash stiffened breaking out of his thoughts and turned around slowly. As his eyes fell on his wife, he relaxed, leaning against her instinctively, trying to find some courage and warmth to his frozen heart and mind.

Looking at him in concern, Payal whispered "Are you okay, Akash? You have been standing there since I left with Maa."

Shaking his head in agreement, he captured her hand, placing a kiss on her palm "Did you send her home?"

"Yeah I did. You know, she is worried about you too. Hell, even I am worried about you. Are you really okay? Please tell me truthfully." Payal pleaded, unshed tears shining in her eyes.

Holding her face delicately between his hands, he sighed, resting his forehead against hers. He confessed softly "I am worried about him, Payal. I don't want to but I am."

Taking a step back, Payal gripped his shoulder, shaking him a bit "You are not wrong in worrying about him, Akash. You aren't cheating your sibling by feeling all this. You just care about the man who literally raised you. It's expected from you. Stop beating yourself about it."

Grabbing her wrists to shrug out of her grip, Akash turned away, gripping the back of his neck painfully "I can't help myself from feeling guilty, Payal. What he did with Anjali was unforgivable. His own children hate him but I can't. No matter what he did with others, he gave me a family. He gave me you and our son. I can't hate him."

"Stop it." Walking around to stop in front of him, Payal admonished sternly. After a pause, she continued, looking apprehensive "Would it help if I told you that I feel the same? I mean I should hate him for treating you so badly throughout your life, but I am grateful to him as well. Because of him, we got married. It's not easy to categorize your feelings about anyone into a particular word, Akash. It's okay."

Gripping her hands, he shouted "Is it? Why aren't you angry with me?"

Payal smiled tearfully, making no move to free herself from his painful grip. Staring in his eyes, she whispered softly "Because I understand you. I love you, Akash."

With his last restraint broken, Akash relaxed, pulling her closer to his body. Closing his hands around her shoulders, he hid his face in her unbound hairs. Making no effort to hide how badly he was shaking, he whispered in her ear "Thank you. The moment he wakes up, we will leave. Being near him confuses me a lot, Payal. I want to move ahead in my life."

Resting her cheek against his chest, she whispered "You already have, Akash."

What the hell was he doing here?

Shyam repeated the question in his mind again and again, his hand resting on the doorbell. Closing his eyes, he pressed it slowly, stepping back.

Looking around, he thought of running away before the door opened. He was so not ready for facing the person he was expected to check on.

But he couldn't.

He knew he owed it to his best friend, who trusted him completely with this responsibility. Besides, it wasn't like he was doing it for the first time. He did it for six year.

Long, unbearable, six f**king years.

He could do this again. He could. And he will.

As his ears registered the sound of someone walking before the door opened, he steeled his heart, stretching his lips in a polite smile on his tensed face.

He stared ahead and blinked in surprise to see the inside of the house engulfed in dark. Barely managing to make the silhouette of the person standing in front of him, he called out apprehensively "Anjali?"

Suddenly a switch was flipped on, bathing the interior of the house in soft light. Shyam squinted, taking in Anjali's disheveled hairs curled around her face, her eyes puffy and red. She blinked, smiling darkly at him "I knew you would come."

Without giving him any chance to reply, she turned around, walking back in the house not looking back at him at all. Bewildered, Shyam stepped inside, closing the door behind him before following her to her room quietly.

Once inside, she plopped down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Not meeting his eyes, she whispered "As you can see, I am totally fine. You can report back to Arnav now."

"What?"

Anjali laughed humorlessly, stretching her hands behind her head "I know Arnav sent you here to check on me. Like always."

"Okay. So?" Shyam said slowly, not understanding her behavior at all.

"So?" Turning her head to look at him, Anjali scoffed "So I know that in last 6 years, you kept checking on me because my brother asked you to. All these years, you talked to me like a friend so that you can tell him that I am alright. But not anymore. You are here. You saw me. I told you I am fine. Now you can leave."

Looking at her in disbelief, Shyam opened his mouth to say something but he stopped and nodded curtly, turning to leave the room. Staring at his back in desperation, Anjali muttered her breath sadly "It's not like you love me anymore that you check on me."

Shyam stopped suddenly, inhaling sharply. Turning back swiftly, he strode towards her and scowled "Not that you cared about my feelings, Anjali. But I should give you an advice for your own sake. Stop being such a miserable bitch."

Placing her hands on the bed, Anjali pushed herself up and stood up, facing him. She growled "What did you just say?"

Shyam smirked "You heard it right first time. You are nothing but a miserable, jealous bitch."

Making a sound of protest at the back of her throat, Anjali stepped forward looking furious, raising her hand to his face. But before her hand could connect to his cheek, Shyam grabbed her wrist, twirling her around to cage her body in his arms.

Pushing back against his chest, Anjali raised her free hand to elbow him in stomach when he blocked her hand. Keeping a firm grip on her hands, he moved them behind her back, ignoring her struggles altogether.

"Let go of me." Anjali shouted, raising her leg to stomp on his foot when he moved his legs on the either side of her, trapping her completely.

"No I won't. What are you going to do about it?" Shyam taunted her, not letting go.

Not saying anything, Anjali struggled, moving her hands and legs to somehow break free from his grip while he held on to her stubbornly. Putting her anger and frustration behind her every move, she went wild, scratching and kicking him at every available opportunity.

But he didn't budge at all.

Soon, the bitterness enveloped her, making her go limp in his arms. Sad, she hung her head low in shame. She pleaded in desperation "Please let me go."

Hearing her plea, Shyam released her hands and pushed her away hard. He watched silently as she lost her balance, stumbled and fell on the floor on her ass, looking up at him in pain and tears.

His nostrils flared in anger, making him grit his teeth. Even with scratches on his hands and face, he looked unaffected by her current state.

Towering over her, he gripped her chin hard forcing her to meet his eyes. Removing all the restraints, he let her see what he felt for her.

Hatred.

Curling his lips in distaste, he bit out "You know how much time it took me to make you accept defeat? Only few bitter sentences and ten minutes of physical struggle. f**king ten minutes. And you expect to extract revenge from your dad and your ex-husband? You got to be kidding me. You can't even control your feelings. How do you expect to defeat them in their own game? God, you are so weak."

She gasped, recoiling in fear once she recognized the emotion glittering in his eyes. She looked away, finding it hard to look back at him, biting her lips in an effort to not cry in front of him.

Cursing out loudly, Shyam gripped her arms forcing her to stand on her feet. Pointing his index finger at her face, he growled "Stop this. Stop this act of yours. Stop feeling pity on what had happened with you. You think you are the only woman in this world who had to face all this? Feeling anger and bitterness will only make you weak. Your game will be over even before you start it."

Looking up at him, Anjali glared "What do you think I should do then? Forget what they did to me? Forget that I had to give up my daughter because of them? Forget that if I don't stop them now, one day they might use my daughter like they used me?"

Shaking his head, Shyam replied in a loud voice "God, no. I am not asking you to forget all this. I am not asking you to stop whatever you are doing. I am asking you to not concentrate on your anger and sadness. I want you to use your will power and your determination in making them pay. By acting bitter and pushing everyone who want to help you away, you are just hurting your family. They don't deserve this."

Anjali countered, seething in anger "I didn't deserve it either."

Pushing away from her, Shyam ran his fingers through his hairs in frustration before turning toward her again "I know. But there are things you need to figure out. Things, which will help you eventually. Because the way I see, you are sinking fast. It won't take much for them to finish you."

Anjali looked away, though she knew he is right.

Looking at her with a sad smile, he said "You know despite what you think, Arnav wouldn't have made me visit you if I'd not wanted to. I check on you because I still love you. I care about you. And I hate myself for it. Because no matter what I do, you never realized how much I love you."

Turning away, he walked toward the door, wiping the single tear which managed to escape from his eyes.

Throughout her life, Khushi met many people. Whenever she met anyone, it was their inspiration to live the life that attracted her.

Specifically, it was the cause behind this said inspiration.

She found out that many people were driven by the love in their life to embrace the complexities of it while for some, it was money and power. Few of them lived for the thrill of the so called adventure named life.

And some lived for responsibilities.

Khushi understood it all very well, no matter how much she despised it. While she never lived for all of the above causes, she respected all the reasons very much though there was one she feared very much.

It was living the life for your loved ones.

She never respected this reason neither understood it. Human beings are supposed to be selfish then how one can live for family and friends? What about the situation when you have no one in your life like that?

A decade ago, she lost everything dear to her. Her best friend, her will to live the life and the love for her so-called family.

She had no one to live for. No one actually was dependent on her neither needed her terribly.

She lived because she had something to achieve. And to be honest, she liked it very much. She had nothing to lose.

So, she never feared anything. At every opportunity, she welcomed the possibility of death with open arms.

But today, everything had changed.

Lying in the bed with a six year old girl sleeping in her arms, she tasted that fear of losing someone who is dear to her.

She understood what it is like to live your life for others. She understood that the reason she despised it very much was because it made her value something other than what she did for others. It made her scared of something.

It made her value two lives more than her work and her own pathetic life. Of her daughter and her husband.

And she realized that Arnav lived for the same reason. He lived for his daughter, his family and friend. It is a very selfless act, she understood.

She understood what it is like to worry about someone you love.

Because even around 2 in the morning, Arnav wasn't home. He was not taking any of her calls and replying to her texts. His security detail was refusing to answer to any of her questions other than assuring her that he is safe.

Finally, she was starting to respect it above the other reasons and surprisingly, she liked it.

But it didn't make her less worried right now.

Throughout the night, Manyata kept asking about her dad and every time, Khushi found it a bit hard to assure her because even she didn't know what was going on.

She was just as worried as her little daughter about Arnav. But she hid it as she fed her daughter, read a bed time story and then lulled her to sleep.

But her mind kept wondering. Where is her husband?

"Shit."

Waking up with start, Khushi pushed herself up on her elbows, blinking her eyes repeatedly to wipe sleep from them. Squinting in the dark, she found her husband crouching near the coffee table, rubbing his knee.

"Arnav?" She called out hoarsely, her voice full of sleep.

Jerking his head up, he looked at her sheepishly making her relax. Finally. Making sure of not disturbing Manyata's sleep, she eased out of the bed slowly.

Rushing to his side, she looked at him from head to toe, examining him carefully. As he stood up, she gripped his hand "Where were you?"

Arnav smiled, looking tired "Working."

Looking over his shoulder, Khushi checked the time and tensed. Raising her eyebrows, she asked evenly, keeping her temper in check "Till 5 in the morning, Arnav?"

Groaning in defeat, he bit out "Yeah. I was working alright. As you know my father is in hospital, everyone is after me. The people from his political party, media and everyone else, they just want me to save the situation. In last 10 hours, I have released five press statements and called 3 party meetings to pacify everyone."

"And here I was worrying about you. You could have just called once, Arnav." Khushi hissed, keeping her voice down.

Raising his hands in air, Arnav whispered looking frustrated "I know. I know Khushi but I couldn't. I am sorry. I am sorry that I was busy. I am sorry, okay?"

Taken aback, Khushi stared at him before closing the distance between them. Running her hands up and down his back, she asked softly "Hey, are you alright?"

Hugging her back, he broke down "I hate this, Khushi. I hate how when anything happens in my family, everyone just start looking to me. As if I am a god. But I am not. I am just a human being. I am tired of all this."

"Shh. Stop talking." Khushi instructed, her heart melting at once. Stepping back, she dragged him to the bed, making him lie down.

Sitting by his side, she stared down as he looked up at her in daze, resting his head on the pillow. Keeping a hand on his cheek, she whispered "Rest now. I have got your back."

Arnav smiled, closing his eyes at once.