Chapter 4
Daksh Khurana
If there was a motto in life that Daksh Khurana believed in, it was "All was fair in love and war. He had been at war with Shivaay since their childhood and been in love with Annika ever since he had seen her talking down Shivaay. Everyone he had known had been awe of Shivaay, the perfect beta, the perfect businessman and the perfect brother. No one had the guts to stand up to Shivaay or match his perfection, a fact painfully brought to life for him by his own parents. Until that day, when a slip of a girl had stood up to him, without fear, as if he was a four year old under her charge and pointed out his flaws. Sheer exhilaration had flown through his veins. Finally, here was someone who realized that Shivaay was not perfect and he, Daksh Khurana had found the one woman who was not enamored by Shivaay like the countless others he had dated.
How could he make sure she stayed by his side all the time so he could watch Shivaay burn? He was not unaware of the sparks between the two. During his whole stay at the Oberoi mansion, he had noticed that Shivaay had not been able to take his gaze of Annika whenever she had ventured into his field of vision and many times he had seen Shivaay look at Annika as if she was his favorite expresso coffee. Stalking Annika had seemed like the godsend solution to his problem especially after she had turned down his proposal. He could watch her all the time and scare her into accepting his proposal the next time he proposed and it had worked! Finally Annika was going to be his. The elaborate drama that he had arranged around the "one night stand and the 15 lakhs payment had also paid off. Shivaay was never going to act on any impulse and make a move on Annika when he had such a low opinion of her character.
If the family emergency had not happened, his mom had slipped down the stairs and had a concussion, he would have ensured that his and Shivaay's wedding happened at the same venue and time. He had desperately wanted to walk up to Shivaay after both their weddings and tell him the truth about the "one night stand and see the devastation on Shivaay's face that finally he, Daksh Khurana had something that Shivaay wanted. Instead he had to be content with watching the video coverage of Shivaay's wedding. Finally Annika was forever out of Shivaay's reach. Congratulating himself on executing a well laid plan he had gone to bed looking forward to tomorrow when he could go back to Mumbai and marry Annika.
It was while he was packing the next day that something said on the TV caught his attention. His mind screamed in denial but he could only watch frozen as Shivaay and Annika's marriage played out on the screen. His "so called best friend and fiance had cheated him, marrying each other behind his back. Cold fury raced down his spine. This was war and Daksh Khurana had every intention of winning this one through foul means if necessary. Sliding open a drawer in his nightstand he picked up the revolver he had kept hidden between a pile of papers. Checking to see if it was loaded, he put it into his duffel bag, slung it over his shoulder and walked out to catch the train to Mumbai.
Oberoi Mansion
Present day:
Shivaay had heard that the human heart could tolerate only a certain amount of emotional pain. Beyond that, a numbness would set in which was the brain's way of protecting the heart from further damage. He had never experienced it before but today with the revelations thrown at him in the last five minutes, he was glad for the numbness. He couldn't hear the questions being shouted at him by his family as they stood around his bent form, there was an odd ringing in his ears that drowned everything else out. A glass of water was thrust in front of his eyes but he couldn't lift his hand to take the glass. Short gasps of breath burst past his lips and he idly wondered if he was experiencing another episode with his heart.
Om and Rudy had squatted down next to him and were rubbing his back, while Prinku held the glass of water to his lips. He drank robotically ignoring their frantic questions. Finally the ringing in his ears subsided but his heart continued to thump erratically almost as if it was missing every other beat. "Shivaay... Shivaay can you hear me? Ever so slowly he turned his head and stared at Om. A sharp breath hissed out of Om as he looked at blue eyes that were hollow and haunted. He had seen that look only once before in a pair of large brown eyes just yesterday and they had followed him in his sleep as a nightmare. "I was so wrong...She...she said she...she would never forgive me. I believed Daksh...said things about...to her...that I...I never should have said...She left...no, I drove her a...away. What have I done...God what have I done?
Om grabbed Shivaay's shoulders, "What do you mean you believed Daksh? What has Daksh got to do with all of this?
Before Shivaay could answer, a bunch a policemen walked into the hall and surrounded Shivaay who slowly got up from the floor. "Mr Oberoi you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Sahil Chaturvedi and for blackmailing and coercing Ms Annika into marriage.
Pinky Oberoi lost it. She pushed herself in front of Shivaay, hands spread out and challenged the inspector, "Do you know who you are talking to? My beta has done nothings wrong. You go finds that girls first. She is the roots of all the problems. She was the one who sent that video to the news channels to defame my son. You..
A quiet "Stop maa.. had Pinky stopping her tirade mid-way. Astonished she turned around. "Annika has nothing to do with this...She is the only blameless person in this mess... Inspector please do your work... and Shivaay moved around Pinky with a calm stoic face and walked out with the policemen accompanying him. The rest of Oberois watched shocked as he boarded the police jeep and the jeep slowly wound its way out of the Oberoi garden gate as camera lights flashed and reporters hollered questions at the departing vehicles.
Mallika's penthouse:
Mallika handed the tea cup to Annika and watched as she drank a sip before quietly turning to her brother and asking if he was alright. Sahil nodded in between munching on a cookie. The sight of Sahil had been another shock to Mallika. She hadn't known the boy was handicapped. She wondered what else she didn't know about Annika. When Chanda had mentioned that Annika had left to go to Kasuali she had made a mad dash to the railway station because she knew Annika did not have the money to fly there and the bus route was hazardous for a lone girl and a little boy. The only train that connected Mumbai to Ambala Cantt from where you could hire a taxi to Kasauli left every day from Mumbai at 8.30 am. Since Annika had left in the night she would have had no option but to wait for the train at the station till the morning. Praying to every God she could think of, Mallika hoped the notoriously late Indian Railways would stay true to form and despite the fact that it was 9.30 am, Annika would still be waiting for the train.
Luck was on her side and she had spotted a listless Annika sitting on one of the platform benches with her brother. She had approached slowly a little unsure of Annika's reaction to her presence but the moment Annika had looked up that doubt had vanished. Deep pools of pain had slowly widened and then a shimmer of tears glimmered in her eyes. Then with a determination that Mallika could only admire, the tears had vanished. "Why are you here? If Mr Shivaay Singh Oberoi sent you, tell him I have returned his money and his mangalsutra and want nothing to do with him. I am done being his pawn.
"I am here for you. You are also my friend and no matter how close my friendship with Shivaay is, I will stand by you because you stood by me when Shivaay wouldn't. You fought with him for me and I will fight him for you.
Once again tears shimmered in Annika's eyes and this time they fell in rivulets down cheeks. Mallika had grabbed her in a fierce hug and in between sobs that wracked her frame, Annika had told her the whole story. Cursing Shivaay in her head to hell for all of eternity for his sheer cruelty and the inhumane treatment meted out to Annika, Mallika had wiped Annika's tears, asked for her trust and ushered brother and sister off the platform into her car with their meagre belongings.
Now sitting with her own cup of untouched rapidly cooling coffee, she was contemplating the next step when Annika spoke up, "I am back here only because you asked me to trust you, else I would never have set foot in Mumbai again. You have to promise me that if something happens you will take care of Sahil.
"I am going to hire a lawyer for you and get you a divorce. You need to be free of Shivaay and his sphere of influence. I am also going to make sure you get a hefty alimony with which you and Sahil can start your new life away from Mumbai. Shivaay can afford to lose money and you deserve it for the pain he put you through.
"But I don't want his money objected Annika fiercely, "I will not do this if his money is involved. He already believes he can buy everything with money and now he will think he can buy me.
"Okay, we can discuss that later, but now I need to call up Om and find out what Shivaay is planning to do. You may not know it, but the video of how he got you to agree to the marriage is on the news and a police case has been registered against him for it. Also you have been reported as missing since yesterday night so there are a bunch of people looking for you all across Mumbai. Its best that you and Sahil lie low for a little while and let Shivaay go crazy looking for you. Annika nodded.
Thinking to make Sahil comfortable by putting on a cartoon channel, Mallika switched on the TV. The remote clattered on to floor and broke as a disbelieving Annika and Mallika watched Shivaay Singh Oberoi being escorted out of the Oberoi mansion and loaded into a police jeep. The accompanying report said that Shivaay Singh Oberoi had been arrested and was to be lodged in the Bandra police station before being produced in front of a first class judicial magistrate the next day morning. Annika sat as if turned into stone. Everything else was a blur, the only thing she could see was a pale, haggard, sick looking Shivaay walking slowly into the jeep. Before getting in, he briefly turned and looked to where his family stood open mouthed and shocked. Those mesmerizing eyes were captured for a brief moment on the camera and she saw immense pain, despair and a deep well of hollowness in those depths. She tried to swallow but a lump the size of a boulder seemed to be lodged in her throat. A vague sense of deja vu engulfed her. She had seen the same expression somewhere before. With sudden shock she realized, this was the same expression she had seen when she had last looked at herself in the mirror. Her own words uttered in the last confrontation with him came back to haunt her, "I pray that you go through the same pain that I am in. It seemed that God had finally decided to grant her wish but it was one that she wished he hadn't listened to.
Precap: It was ironical that she had wished for his fate to be controlled by someone else so that he could learn his lesson but that someone else had turned out to be Annika herself. She now held the reins to his life and he had no idea what the verdict was going to be.
Her expression was blank until she slowly looked down and saw the blood starting to bloom across her chest, staining the pristine white shirt she wore. Before he could vault across she swayed and collapsed hitting her head on the hard stone floor. Maniacal laughter echoed in the dead silent chamber.
Edited by vanshika56 - 7 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Pyaar Kii Ye Ek Kahaani
