ENIGMATIC LOVE- ARSHI FF- PART 10 (III) Ready to go (OCT 11th) Page 8 - Page 6

Continued from Part-9 (Same place, Same time)

Lavanya cleared her throat at being caught unawares.

"What...", She looked around for support, "What are you talking Jeejaji?"

Shyam smiled, "I know exactly what I am talking about"

"How can you even think of..."

"Enough Lavanya", ASR roared, "Just answer the damn question"

"ASR", she ran towards Arnav, "he is just turning this on me. You never liked him much, so, he is making me the scapegoat," she continued without noticing Arnav's irritation, "Actually I saw him go into your study multiple times, he is the one trying to steal your docum..."

"Stop it", Arnav said calmer than before but there was a dangerous edge to his voice

"You know what? You are smart Lavanya, I am surprised that you noticed my displeasure towards my Jeejaji because I never voiced it out to you"

Turning towards Shyam, Arnav said, "I am sorry Jeejaji, I really am", he continued, "Two weeks back, when I had gone to Delhi to crack the deal with Seth, Aman told me that he had seen you in Surat. I really suspected you"

Arnav was genuiunely apologetic, "I did not know you were looking out for me, So, when I flew right away to Surat for the first time to confront you, I was really shocked, but I mean it when I said, I really found a true ally in you, a real friend in you"

Shyam acknowledged with a smile.

"Di, my most recent trip to Delhi last week was orchesterated by Akash as Jeejaji mentioned already", he turned towards Di, "When all of you thought I went to get a deal done, I had a confidential meeting with Akash, Aman, Vishal and Praveen. We put everything together, we conferenced with Jejejaji in Surat, and then I flew down to Surat, for a second time, from Delhi for some addiditional information. We have everything we need including a bunch of evidence"

"Now Lavanya", he said looking at her intensely, "Spill the beans"

"I hate you ASR", she said realizing her game was up

"Why did you marry Chote then?" Nani asked, furious

"I was forced into this marriage by my mom"

"Nonsense! You were happy throughout the weddding", Anjali intercepted, "You even complained to me that Chote was not paying you enough attention"

"Cut the crap", Arnav said with a tight smile, "pathetic excuse, out with the truth!"

"But I have to admire your loyalty...", Shyam said to Lavanya, "...to your partner in crime"

"Yes", Arnav smirked, "He will be here any moment, he has no freaking clue what is going to hit him"

Akash walked in, surprising everyone, with Arjun.

...continued...

"This is Khushi", he introduced her to his family in general

Khushi folded her hands in greeting.

Shyam and Akash nodded at her.

Shyam stepped out with the DIG as the police handcuffed Arjun and walked out with him. The DIG gave him a pivotal piece of information that made Shyam smile for the first time after the entire ordeal.

"Please wait here sir. They need to know this", Shyam requested the DIG as he led them into the well-furnished atrium on the ground floor, "along with him", Shyam added pointing at Arjun.

"Sure", the DIG understood.

Shyam walked back to the family room as he made a few important calls.

Back in the adjoining hall, as Lavanya sat down with a thud, Akash signaled the guards to keep an eye on her.

While Nani and Di greeted Khushi back, they looked at Arnav confused as to how she was related to any of this.

"Khushi is the one who helped me nail the bast*rd," Arnav said barely concealing his anger.

"Chote" Nani admonished his language right away

"But how?" Anjalis tone was still weak

"He used her as a bait Di, Arnav explained, "She is as much a victim of Arjun and Chitwan as we are. He imprisoned Khushi's father and blackmailed her into doing his bidding"

"Di and Nani- please sit down", he seated them all in the grand foyer and ordered HP to serve some beverages.

"I am sure both of you have a lot of questions", Arnav said as he sat down in a couch next to Khushi, "I have a lot of explaining to do. Earlier, I could not let you have a wind of what was happening as I could not afford risking exposure in front of Lavanya or Arjun."

"But Lavanya..." Nani was unsure how to continue, "how could she and Arjun... I mean how did Arjun even get to her? What does she gain from this?"

"Nani, please, Arnav pleaded, worried about the matriarch's delicate health, "I will explain every. single. Thing", he promised, "Take a breather"

Nani calmed down visibly even though her inner turmoil was great.

"Chote", Anjali asked, after taking a sip of the beverage that HP brought, "But Lavanya is Garima Aunty's daughter. Then why is she involved with him? I mean how is it even possible?

"Di, everyone knew that our mom and Garima Aunty were best friends. It was no secret either that I was supposed to marry Lavanya. Arjun has been tracking us- our family and our business from the past four years. He had one goal in life, the reason I was not aware of until now, and that is to destroy us"

The women gasped.

"Yes, Arnav closed his eyes he took a deep breath, "He made acquiescence with Lavanya four years ago. This plan has been set in motion a long time back. I would not call Lavanya innocent in this whole nightmare, but she has been filled in by Arjun's supposed love and hatred. She is nothing but a spineless stupid, blind in her love"

"Well, women can do anything when they are blinded by love", Anjali said sadly with tears in her eyes, "as is evidenced in Mom's case"

"No Anjali", Shyam stepped in to counter his wife's statement, "Your mom may have been in love but she was not definitely blind"

"Oh really, she was pregnant before marriage", Lavanya spoke with spite, "what do you call it if not blind?"

"Shut up", Shyam bellowed for the first time, "Only because I still consider you a family member, I am keeping quiet. Don't push your limits"

Shyam turned towards his family as he said, "Chitwan's locker had the official divorce document of Arvind and Charuseela.. that is Arjun's parents"

"I just spoke to Garima Aunty, and she hastened to send me a picture of an old photograph that Ratna Ma gave to her. Here it is", he showed his IPhone with the picture in it.

It was a clear photograph, though worn out on the edges, of Arnav Mallik and Ratna Raizada's wedding. They had married in a simple temple ceremony. Ratna looked shy and beautiful.

Shyam continued, this time looking at Lavanya, "Garima Aunty also mentioned that- Ratna wanted to wait until their wedding in front of everyone, but she could never refuse her husband anything. She loved him a lot. He married her secretly more than two months before their official planned marriage"

He looked at Lavanya straight in the eyes- "Arnav and Anjali are not illegitimate"

Arnav and Anjali hugged each other tightly. "Mamma", Anjali said as she pulled back slightly, "she is so beautiful"

Arnav nodded, his eyes glistening with a sheen of water.

"Chitwan knew that his sister and Arvind were divorced. But he couldn't tolerate the fact that his sister committed suicide. So he killed Arvind Mallik. Shashi Gupta knew about the murder, hence was captured and tortured by them- hence his daughter Khushi followed their rules. If she didn't play along, they would kill her dad"

Chitwan also hid the divorce document and incited Arjun to exact revenge on Arnav. Lavanya was trapped by Arjun on purpose as he knew this alliance was going to happen. She did it in his love and for the property. Arjun masqueraded as a distant cousin of the Raizadas. He eyed the property too. And Arjun used Lavanya knowing that she would betrothed to Arnav" Shyam concluded finally.

"Like I said Di, Arnav concluded, "this plan was set in motion many years back. Arjun has been tracking us diligently"

Akash smiled as he walked to the area where his family was assembled, "All that has been wasted now, isn't it Arjun?" Akash taunted him.

That's when everyone noticed that Akash had walked in with Arjun and the DIG.

"I wanted him to know that he had been wrong from the very start, so I got him here", Akash explained to their questioning gazes.

"Oops you were kept in the dark by your own uncle and while you were busy plotting revenge, you were blissfully unaware that you were set up by him, Akash mocked Arjun, "The truth as you can see now is that Arvind Mallik and Ratna Raizada were infact married before Arnav and Anjali were conceived. Your parents, I am sorry to say, are divorced. The reason for your mom's suicide is that she couldn't handle the divorce"

At the mention of his mom, Arjun surged forward and hit Akash in the face. He was about to deliver another punch when the DIG and Shyam pulled him back.

"Akash are you okay?" Arnav inquired as Akash nodded rubbing his jaw.

Arnav looked murderous at Arjun for hitting Akash, but Akash calmed him.

"Let him go Bhai. All his life, all his revenge is a sham. He will need time to process it," Akash sniggered on purpose.

Arnav smiled at his dear cousin as Arjun's vein popped.

"But Bhai", Akash called Arnav, "when did you start suspecting him of foul play?"

"The first time I doubted Arjun was because- he seemed to know everything about me. He claimed that Nani had told him. I felt that was fishy.

He attended my wedding. He never got an invite from our side; And as much as he maintained, he did not know Lavanya either. Yet when he talked to me about me missing my wife, he took Lavanya's name very casually. I was surprised that he remembered my wife's name so well considering the fact that I never talked to him about Lavanya.

The last nail in the coffin- He was around me every time I fell unconscious"

"Blood test in Delhi revelaed high doses of hypoglycemic to induce loss of consciousness", Shyam said as he brought out the blood work report and started reading it, "His doctor interpreted that Arnav was probably overdoing his diabetic medication, but he was not. There were sulfonyl ureas in high doses. Sometimes he was also given Insulin intra-muscularly which would suddenly lead to hypoglycemic syncope- Meaning losing consciousness due to decreased blood sugar levels. It leads to confused mental state, and Arjun planned to use that against Arnav.

Unfortunately, the only person in our vicinity with medical knowledge is Arjun. That's how we started suspecting him"

"Arjun used that confused state to introduce Khushi to me".

"What, how?" Nani and Di gasped simultaneously

"Arjun wanted to hit on Arnav's fascination, as an enigma or a mystery would fascinate him", Shyam explained smirking at Arjun, "But how did you assume that Arnav would fall for a pretty face?"

"He may not be a lady's man," Arjun's laugh was devilish, "but Arnav was hooked to her- not just her beauty but the mystery around her "

"Maybe, but your re-incarnation tale is lame", Arnav said promptly

"What re-incarnation?" Nani asked right away

Arnav smirked looking at Arjun.

"Well, he went to great lengths to create a story of a curse and a re-birth", Arnav explained, "I acted like I believed in the reincarnation story just to find the real hand behind it.."

"Oh, don't show off now Arnav", Arjun spat at him, "The story was created not to make you believe in it but to trap you in it. You would have been dead before it ended, had she not gone against my plan", he pointed at Khushi.

"Tch...tch... It's a well-planned, well-executed elaborate hoax that ended up as a failure", Arnav mocked him

"Failure?" Arjun questioned raising his eyebrows, "You are definitely attracted to Khushi. You spent hours and days waiting for her. I clearly saw the desperation in your eyes for one glimpse of her. The very fact that you are so protective about her right now- is proof enough that you fell for her."

"You call this a failure ASR?" Arjun mocked, "I won for sure... I would have reached my goal, had she followed my instructions. She is too smart for her own good" Arjun looked at Khushi in insane fury

The subtle threat toward Khushi made the DIG step forward. He said, "ASR, I think it's high time he's taken away"

"Thank you, sir" Shyam appreciated the DIG sincerely, "We will be coming to the station to file a FIR. My law firm will get back to you soon regarding the rest of the stuff"

He dismissed the cops smoothly.

As DIG and his team walked away with Arjun in cuffs, the living area turned completely silent. Everybody was processing the information in their own way.

Shyam walked over to the couch with Anjali and sat down next to her, "Anju are you okay?" he asked concerned

"Thank you Shyam", Anjali held his right hand in her left, "Thanks for protecting Arnav"

"Damadji," Nani called him, "Thanks for saving my daughter's reputation"

"Naniji", Shyam was affectionate, "you don't have to thank me at all. I am sorry that we all had to go through this ordeal"

Shyam continued, "Remember the time when Arjun came to Lucknow airport to receive us from Delhi?" Anjali nodded as Shyam went on, "I noticed the covert looks of Lavanya and Arjun and got a doubt. Something did not feel right. A couple of times, I almost caught them at their secret nightly meetings. They escaped at the last minute. There are many secret passageways with hidden rooms leading to the Northside foyer and outside gardens. Arjun knew the layout of Sheesh Mahal very well and used it to his advantage"

"Do you remember Arnav that one night I caught you in the study when you were looking for the flashlight?", Shyam urged him to recollect the incident.

Arnav remembered the night well. It was right after Khushi had said that her portrait was the key... He had decided to go check on the portrait in the Northwing.

Flashback:

Since it was dark inside the Mahal, it was difficult finding the way to north-wing. He did not want to switch the lights on and attract attention. He could walk around in the garden and reach the north-wing from the other end. He needed to get a flash light from the study for that.

Arnav walked to the study but was unable to find it, so he had to switch a small side-lamp to search for it.

"Who is it there?", a male voice shouted from the stairs. Someone switched the light on in the living area.

Arnav pocketed the flash light and moved into the living room.

"Saale Saab", Shyam said, "Is that you?"

"Hmm", Arnav said

"What are you doing in the study?", Shyam asked

"Um... just had to get something from there", Arnav said

"Ok", said Shyam and looked around as if scanning to find somebody/ something

"What are you doing at this time?", asked Arnav looking at his watch, "It's almost two in the morning"

"I came to get water for Mehak", Shyam said still looking around

"Ok", Arnav said, "I will get back to sleep"

Flashback ends..

"I remember that well Jeejaji", Arnav smiled, "I was determined to go to the Northwing to check on Khushi's portrait and you inadvertently stopped me"

"I didn't stop you inadvertently Arnav, I stopped you on purpose" Shyam supplied as Arnav's eyes widened, "I didn't know where you were going but I knew you might get in trouble. So I diverted you. I had heard voices the previous night from the study. They were in your study looking for something. I was worried that if you stepped out, you would be hurt"

"Thanks for looking out for me Jeejaji"

"Anytime Arnav"

"Another incident that cemented Lavanya's intentions against Arnav was- when Lavanya came to Sheesh Mahal for the very first time, Arnav had the same unconscious episode again. What made me doubt her is that Lavanya is a poor actor. While everyone was concerned about Arnav, she being his wife was not bothered at all, moreover had a slight smirk smile playing on her lips"

"It's an irony that my so-called wife wanted me dead when a complete stranger risked her life to save me. Khushi dropped me numerous hints, she went off the script dictated by Arjun knowing that she was being watched by him or his minions constantly"

Arnav smiled at Khushi as she raised her eyes to look at him. Everyone noticed the warmth in their interaction. Shyam and Anjali noticed the bond right away and beamed at each other.

"Thanks, Khushi beta, Nani said, "If it was not for you, we would have lost our Arnav"

As Khushi nodded meekly, Anjali asked in a naughty tone, "Exactly how did you save your Arna.. uh.. I mean our Arnav?"

Arnav caught onto that right away as he winked, "Ah Di, where do I start?"

...To be continued...