Almost two weeks passed by. Arnav dropped Samrat and Khushi to school in the mornings, and picked them up in the evenings. When he would be busy with his work, he would inform Khushi that it wasn't possible for him to come by in the evenings. Khushi would take Samrat home with her, but before going home, they would stop by the chaat stall and have pani-puris, and Samrat would ask for an additional ice cream, to which she could not say no, especially when he looked up at her with his big black eyes and his innocent face. He would then go to her house and they would play until Arnav came back and took him home. Samrat loved spending time at Miss Khushi's house. Not only would he get to spend more time with her, but would also be pampered by Garima. The older woman petted him to spoiled rotten. Both the women adored Samrat and he too loved the love and attention.
Arnav and Khushi were much more comfortable with each other, than earlier. Gone were the days when they used to hesitate to even call out to each other. Arnav's happy-go-lucky nature always brought a smile on her face. He could talk about anything under the sun, and she would smile at his silly jokes. Sometimes, she envied him. How could he keep smiling in spite of the fact that the person he loved, left him and went away! And she even knew how difficult it was for a man to be a single parent. Even then, there wasn't a single moment when she would see him without a smile. At one time, she was mad at him because he told her that she did not know to smile from her heart. That night, she spent half an hour in front of her mirror, trying to smile without being conscious. It was then that reality struck her hard- she had forgotten to smile! Her smile had died with Rishi.
Of course, there were a lot of times when she missed her husband. There were times when she still had nightmares where Rishi was calling for help and she just could not move ahead since her feet would be rooted to the ground. And then, after some ear-piercing screams, she would see only darkness, and Rishi's cold dead eyes looking at her. She would wake up with a start and the rest of the night would be sleepless. Arnav too, on the other hand, had his share of worries. Swathi's memories still haunted him. He wanted to move on, but something held him back. Every night, before he slept, every moment spent with her would play in front of his eyes like a movie, and just when he would smile thinking about her, her betrayal would come to his mind and he would feel like he was drowning. To add to it, he missed his father too. Many a times, he wished to forget everything and run to his Dad, hug him and tell him that he loves him. His guilt stopped him. Five years back he had gone against his father and ended up making the worst mistake of his life -marrying Swathi. And when he realised his mistake, he did not have the courage to look into his father's eyes. He thought that things would change after Samrat's birth, that his father would soften towards him and the infant. Nothing such happened. And now, five years later, being a father himself, Samrat was Arnav's priority. He still did not know why his Dad did not look at Samrat. Nor did he ask him for an explanation. Did his father not realise that Samrat was a part of him, and not just Swathi? How could a man be so cold-hearted that he would not melt in front of the little boy? Was he the same man whom he adored all his life, and looked up to? There were many nights when Arnav's eyes would be moist and he would end up staying awake up till three in the morning, ultimately getting up late next day.
The next morning, Arvind Raizada was the first in the entire house to wake up. He went downstairs and entered the prayer room. Joining his hands before the Lord, he prayed that all of his children be happy and healthy, and would prosper. He prayed for Ratna, Akaash and his family, Anjali and her family and Arnav and his son. After his prayer, he went to his study to spend some alone time. Locking the door, he sat at his table and took out the family picture. He missed his Arnav. He brushed his fingers over his son's face in the picture and smiled. Arnav was his pride even when his boy was just a child. His Arnav was mischievous, lazy, stubborn and never took any interest in studies, unlike his other two children. Even then, Arvind loved him the most. Pampered and spoilt, Arvind never said a No to Arnav for anything. And it would have still been the same if he did not make the mistake of marrying Swathi, five years back. Arvind, like many great businessmen, had a knack of reading people's minds, and when he first came across Swathi, he knew she was not the person for Arnav. Her awe on seeing the Raizada Mansion when Arnav had first brought her home, told him that she was only making use of Arnav for his money. Arnav was clearly smitten by her sweet talks and innocent looks and couldn't see anything beyond her sweet promises. When Arvind had tried to tell Arnav about Swathi, he refused to believe him and said that he was judging her without even knowing her. Arnav even went to the extent of choosing Swathi over his father. Arvind had to bring Arnav on tracks before it was too late, and he even threatened to keep his son away from all of his property. Arnav challenged Arvind and got married to Swathi, against his wish. Arvind had given up all hope. His pride in his son was shattered. And, he honoured his worda and kept Arnav away from all of his property and stated that until he was alive, his son and grandson had no share in the property. Of course, unknown to another soul, Arvind had written in his will that after his death, all his property would be divided equally among his three children- Akaash, Anjali and Arnav.
Presently, Arvind looked at another picture in his drawer- Arnav with Samrat, which was clicked on Samrat's first birthday. He smiled at the picture where Arnav was trying to feed a small piece of cake to the wailing boy. Arvind chuckled. Samrat looked like a copy of Arnav when he was small. At times, when Samrat called out to him, he felt as if his little boy Arnav was calling out to him. He would wish to carry the boy in his arms and kiss his chubby cheeks. Just then, Swathi's face would come to his mind. "I challenge you Arvind Raizada! I will make your son dance on my fingertips and there will be nothing you could do to stop him." Her words would echo in his mind. Ego had spoilt a beautiful relationship between him and his son and grandson. His ego would not let him melt in front of the boy and he would just go from there, not without dreading that he was walking away and breaking the little boy's heart. There were so many instances where he would hear Samrat asking Ratna as to why his Daadaji hated him. And at that moment, he would want to run to his grandson and lovingly hold him in his arms and say that he could never hate a sweetheart like him. Hatred was an emotion too strong and harsh for an angel like Samrat. He loved him more than his Arnav. However, doing that, meant forgiving Arnav and accepting him. He would have loved to do so if his ego had not stopped him. Why must he talk first? Wasn't it Arnav's fault? Wasn't he supposed to come to his father and apologise? Couldn't he come and just hug him? He would have instantly forgiven Arnav. Due to Arnav's stubbornness and his own ego, he had to keep himself away from his only grandson. He sighed, closing his eyes, as he leaned back into the chair. Just then, Kavya opened the study door and rushed to her Daadaji. "Happy holi Daadaji" she said and was about to apply colour on him, when she heard her name being called out by her Daadi. Arvind opened his eyes and smiled at the scene in front of him. Kavya was standing like a frightened bunny, fistfuls of pink and green colour in her tiny hands, with her Daadi looking at her like a tigress. "Kavya, how many times have I told you? No playing in the house. You'll dirty the carpet. Go out. You and your Daadaji, both!" she instructed them. Arvind carried the little one on his arms and walked out of the room, only after winking at Ratna, who couldn't help but have a small smile tug at her lips at her husband's antics.
"Daddy! Wake up!" Arnav heard the little boy patting his tiny hands on his chest and shoulders, forcing him to get up from the warmth of the cosy quilt. Arnav lazily opened an eye and saw his little boy sitting next to him, and trying to wake him up with all his might. It was amusing since it appeared as if Little David was trying to wake the giant Goliath. He simply pulled Samrat into his arms for a bear hug and pulled the quilt over them. "You've not got school today, buddy. Why don't you and i just sleep for some more time? It's so cold anyway!" Arnav murmured, but frowned as the little boy kept wriggling, trying to get out of his arms. "DADDY!!!" he screamed and Arnav had to let him go. "What is it Sam?" he asked as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Today is holi!" he exclaimed. On listening to the word "holi", a hundred memories came back to his mind. He remembered Swathi. She had looked divine wearing white. And to almost kill him with her looks, she wore those shiny dangler earrings, silver bangles and anklets with tiny bells. When she ran around, to dodge him from throwing colour over her, those tiny bells made the sweetest sound in the world. And when she would be caught in his arms, she would giggle and his heart would flutter. "DADDY!" Sam's voice drew his attention. "I want to go to Miss Khushi's house. Please please please please pl.." "Okay okay" Arnav muttered under his breath and got out of bed. "Let me freshen up and we'll have breakfast. After that I'll take you there" Sam raised his fists in the air and stood up on the bed. "SAM! Get off my bed" Arnav warned without even turning around, "Or else, you're not going to see Miss Khushi today" Immediately, much to Arnav's amusement, Samrat got off and ran to get ready to see his teacher dearest.
Khushi sat against the window, with her head leaning against the pane. Holi was fun. She smiled thinking about how she used to make water balloons and throw it on Rishi, and in turn Rishi would try to drown her in color. Life took a drastic turn since last year. Her life was colourless. A pair of warm hands closed her eyes. She touched his fingers and smiled. "You came? I've missed you" she said. Rishi stood in front of her and rubbed her nose with his. "I've missed you too" he said, cupping her face in his hands and leaning his forehead with his. "By the way", he said leaning a little back, "Happy holi" Khushi's smile faded. "Widows don't play holi, Rishi" she said in a dry voice, looking outside the window. Slowly, Rishi faded away from the room.
Garima stood at the door, watching her lost in her own thoughts and talking to herself. There was a time when Garima had to yell at Khushi to keep her voice low. She was a girl full of life and happiness. But not anymore. Garima wasn't even sure if Khushi was the same girl that she had brought up. The woman in white, sitting at the window seemed like a different person. She wanted her old Khushi back -the one so full of enthusiasm. "Khushi" she called out to her and was almost scared to see her looking back at her. Khushi's eyes were cold and empty, as if she was hollow and dead. "Yes Ma?" "Samrat is here to see you" Garima said. Almost immediately, her eyes filled with warmth and a smile lit up her face. "Oh right. There's no school today. I'll see him in a minute" she said. Garima noticed the visible changes in her and wondered if the suggestion that her innermost voice made was possible. Samrat was the only one who could thaw her frozen self. Maybe if she could spend more time with the little boy, her old self would return? Brushing her thoughts aside, she waited for Khushi to come to the living room.
"Samrat?" Khushi called out to him and immediately Samrat ran to her and hugged her tight. "Good morning, Miss Khushi" he flashed a toothy grin at her and she kissed his cheek. Arnav, who was watching such display of affection between the two said, "I wish Sam woke me up with so much love. But no! He chooses to sit on top of me, beat me and scream in my ears till I wake up!" Khushi smiled at Arnav, "You must be just exaggerating! Such a sweet boy could never do such a thing, can you?" she said looking at Sam, who only nodded with those sincere and innocent expressions on his face. Just then, the doorbell rang. Garima opened the door to find Pam and Kriti there.
Without greeting Garima, the two of them walked in and passed by Khushi, to talk to Arnav. Arnav rolled his eyes as Kriti opened her mouth to speak. "Arnav ji, there's a small get-together this evening for holi. You and your son must come." Arnav was about to say something when Pam interrupted, "We even went to your house but you did not answer. We figured out you and Samrat would be here. After all, your son spends all the time here with Khushi, right?" Glancing at Khushi and Garima, she looked back a Arnav and continued, "No saying you're busy, Arnav Puttar. You have to come and you must get your sweet little boy too." She then turned towards Khushi and said, "I would have called you too, Khushi Beta. But sadly, you cannot play holi since ... you know why, right?" Khushi looked to the floor with a sigh. She knew the reason. "Okay then" Pam said as she turned to leave, "I'll see you in the evening. Bye" Kriti also waved out to him and he just nodded his head with pursed lips. Samrat, who was quiet, spoke up after they left, "Why can't you play holi, Miss Khushi?" Khushi had no answer. The little one would probably never understand. "She's allergic to colours, Sam. Just like how you are allergic to dust, Miss Khushi is allergic to colours" Arnav said. Khushi only looked at Arnav with a faint smile, as if thanking him for the explanation. Samrat seemed to have bought it and nodded. "But you can come down and watch me play, right?" When Khushi was about to refuse, Garima said, "Of course Samrat. We'll come to watch you play" That left Samrat happy until evening, and his happiness brought a smile on everyone's faces.
In the evening, Arnav, Samrat, Khushi and Garima went downstairs where all the others were throwing colours on one another. There was a separate pool full of colour water for the kids. Samrat immediately left Arnav's hand and ran off to play. In the meantime, Kriti tried to pull Arnav, who refused and stood by Garima and Khushi, far away from the multicoloured people. Pam signalled Kirti and smiled at her. She picked a glass of juice and mixed something in it. She walked towards Samrat, who was busy playing. "Samrat puttar" Pam called out and he came up to her, "Look! Your Miss Khushi is all alone in the corner. Give this to her, please" Samrat looked at Khushi, who stood quietly. He immediately ran up to her with the glass.
Kriti came up to Pam. "Now what, Mummy?" Pam smiled. "Now, we get Garima away from Khushi, while she gets drunk. Next, we get Arnav drunk. After that we send both of them to the building garage. Obviously they will not be in their senses. But, before anything happens, we will draw everyone's attention to them and say we found them in a compromising situation. People will start talking and on seeing them drunk, all doubts will be confirmed. After that, when they come to their senses, they won't even look at each other because Khushi's name will be tarnished, and the only reason will be Arnav. After that, we have our way clear." "Wow Mummy, you're simply a genius!" she said and watched from far as Samrat handed over the glass to Khushi
"This is for you" he said to Khushi. As she took it, Arnav said, "Of course, now Samrat has forgotten Daddy. Samrat loves only Miss Khushi" Khushi smiled and handed the glass back to him. "Samrat, looks like your daddy is feeling a little left out. Give it to him" "I was just joking Khushi" he said as he felt bad for fooling around. "No, it's okay Arnav." She told him, "I'm not thirsty anyway." After a lot of convincing, Arnav took the glass.
"Mummy! Arnav ji drank the juice" Kirti said as she watched Arnav drink the entire content of the glass. Pam frowned. "Don't worry. We'll send another glass through that mischievous brat Samrat".
Minutes later, Arnav excused himself as he felt a bit dizzy. He had to blink twice to make sure that the walls round him weren't spinning. He went straight into the crowd and Kriti took the chance to dance with him. However, he wasn't interested. He was looking for that one face -Swathi. She had to be around. After all, she loved holi. Someone threw colour on him and momentarily, he went blind. After a few minutes, he spotted "her" in her immaculate white salwar suit, near the refreshment stall. Picking a handful of colour, he walked right up to where she was standing.
Khushi was standing at the counter for juice when she felt a hand on her waist. Hugging her from behind, the man wrapped his one arm around her waist and threw colour over her. She froze. "Happy holi, baby. I love you so much" he screamed aloud. She recognised his voice. Arnav Singh Raizada! The music that was being played went off and suddenly, everyone was looking at them. She turned around slowly and looked at him. Arnav, still inebriated, did not bother about anyone around. Even before she could react, he already hugged her in his arms and kissed her cheek. He felt her wriggle out of his arms, but he held her tighter. "Stop fighting me. Enough of this childishness. Can't you understand? I love you" he murmured in her ears.
Khushi took a whole minute to react. She could see everyone looking at her in accusation and talking to each other. She tried pushing him away, but he only held her tighter. "Arnav, leave me. ARNAV" she yelled and pushed him away with all her strength. Arnav left her and looked at her for a minute in confusion. "Khushi? You?" he whispered in shock. And before he could say anything, Khushi slapped his cheek hard. "How dare you?" she screamed out and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Stop this drama now, Khushi" Pam spoke amidst the crowd. "We all know what is between you both! Don't try to act all innocent now." Khushi looked around and saw a stunned Garima in the corner. Arnav was still unable to stop swaying due to dizziness. "What do you mean?" Khushi asked and Pam only laughed sarcastically. "What do I mean? Why not ask yourself, eh? We all know how you were trying to trap Arnav from the time he moved here. Through his little son, you tried to get closer to him." Looking at everyone, she said, "Look at what kind of a woman she is. Being a widow, she acts like this!" Garima stepped forward. "My daughter hasn't done anything wrong, Parminder! Mind your language!" Pam smiled, "Is it, Garima? Doesn't your "daughter" go with Mr Raizada in the mornings and evenings? Of course, the excuse is that the little boy wants to spend time with "Miss Khushi". And before you justify, let me tell everyone that these two are so "friendly", that Arnav's son spends more time in Khushi's house than his own. And their "friendship" has become so strong, that both of them go on outings, and give each other flowers. But it's okay. We understand. Khushi is lonely and she needs a man. Of course, she cannot flirt openly because she is a widow. And we also know that Arnav too is a lonely man who needs a woman for his needs. So as long as it's their mutual understanding, we don't have a problem. But imagine the example these two are setting. What would be the impact of it on our own daughters and sons? That it is alright to trap men? And that it is okay to fool around with women even if you had a son? And even if these two want to do it so desperately, let them go into closed rooms. Why behave so immorally in the public?"
Khushi was reduced to tears. Arnav, although heard everything, was unable to say anything. Garima held Khushi tight in her embrace. "Enough Parminder. You're crossing limits!" Garima warned her. "Me? Crossing limits? That was what your "daughter" did, Garima. The night you went to the temple for prayers, we saw Arnav coming out of your house, that too late at night. Now, I wonder, what urgent "work" did Arnav have with Khushi at night" The entire crowd was smiling sarcastically. Khushi looked up at everyone. The look on their faces seemed as if they had concluded that she was a characterless woman. She burst into tears. It wasn't her fault. It was only Arnav's fault and now she was being blamed. She had warned herself that people would talk about her and would cook up stories. Her blind love for Samrat made her overlook everything. And now, here she was, standing amidst hundred people, as someone spoke so cheaply about her. "It is not true" Arnav managed to say, "Don't blame Khushi. It isn't her fault. I made a mistake, I mistook her for someone else." He turned towards Khushi and had to try hard to focus. "I'm sorry Khushi. Forgive me" he said, as he leaned against the wall for support. "Oohooo! Look at the love" one of them said, and some of them giggled, "He cannot see her tears and takes the blame on himself" Another round of giggle. "Shut up" Arnav growled and there was a whistle and few more hoots.
Samrat stood watching everything. He saw Miss Khushi crying and he could not bear that. He ran up to her and tugged at the shawl of her salwar, "Miss Khushi, what happened? Are you alright?" Khushi did not say a word. Instead, she asked Garima to take her back home. Samrat ran to Arnav and saw that his Daddy was kind-of sick. Tears welled up in his eyes when he saw his Daddy sitting on the floor against the wall, "Daddy, are you okay? Are you going to die?" he asked with tears in his eyes. Arnav shook his head, "I'm okay Samrat. Daddy's not dying. Just feeling a bit sick" Samrat was relieved. He ran back to see that Miss Khushi was waiting for the elevator with her mother. He ran as fast as he could. "Miss Khushi, please answer me. Are you okay? Do you need a hug to make you feel better?" he asked and went closer to hug her. Khushi looked at him. "Stay away from me." She screamed at him. Samrat was taken aback. This was not something he expected from his Miss Khushi. "You want to know why I'm crying?" Garima tried to stop Khushi before she could say anything harsh to the child, who was not at all at fault. But she did not listen to her. "I'm crying only because of you and your Daddy, Samrat Raizada. You both made me cry. I never want to talk to you, anymore. Don't try to come close to me, ever again." Samrat's eyes welled up with tears. "You do not love me anymore, Miss Khushi?" he asked her in a soft whisper. Khushi felt her heart tug but anger had blinded her emotions. The door to the elevator opened and Khushi stepped inside along with Garima. "No. I don't love you, Samrat. You and your Daddy can cause only pain to others. No wonder your Mommy left you and went away. You do not deserve any love!"
The elevator closed and Samrat was left standing in front of the door, with his eyes full of tears and a hiccupping breath. His Daadaji hated him. His Miss Khushi hated him. And now he knew his Mommy too hated him. That was why she left. That was why Daddy never spoke about his Mommy. His Miss Khushi was right when she said that did not deserve to be loved. He only caused pain to others. He wiped the tears from his eyes and ran outside the building. He heard his Daddy call out his name as he left the gate. The security guard tried to stop him from going to the road but he wiggled out of his hold and ran. That tiny little boy couldn't bear the pain. His Miss Khushi's words pricked him like thousand needles. His chest hurt as he ran, but he did not stop. "Samrat, look out!" Arnav called out aloud, as he ran towards his little boy. And even before he could reach Samrat, he heard the tyres of a car screeching, after which there was complete silence. Arnav ran up to the place where Samrat was lying in a pool of his own blood. The little boy was with his eyes open and paled instantly as he recognised pain. "SAMRAT!!!" Arnav screamed out and carried the boy in his arms. "Please don't hate me. I'm not that bad" was all he heard his son whispering, before he slipped into unconsciousness.
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