CHAPTER 2. LET THE DRAMA BEGIN!
Paayal
smiled shyly as she tried to untie the thread on her husband's hand with one
hand. All around them, relatives and neighbors, who were seated on the floor
surrounding her, took sides and either cheered her or warned her husband
against loosing to her. Paayal heard Anjali teasing her husband and her smile
widened. As she was trying to untie the thread she saw something in her
peripheral vision that made her turn her head towards the door. As she took in
the vision in front of her, her eyes widened and she stilled in shock. She
continued to stare even as people around her continued to cheer her trying to
get her attention back into the game.
Yeh
Paayalji kya dekh rahi hai? (What is
Paayalji looking at?), Anjali wondered as she turned towards the door and
now it was her turn to be shocked. She stared at the door with only one word
falling out of her mouth, "Chote!" Hearing her words, everyone turned towards
the door with wonder which turned into surprise when they saw who were standing
in the doorway.
Khushi looked around in worry as she gripped
the heavy garland around her neck tightly. Arnav had bought the garlands for
both of them on the way and both wore it before entering the house. Khushi
looked towards Arnav with trepidation wondering whether he was looking as
nervous as she was feeling. But Arnav looked ahead without a single expression
written on his face as if getting married without telling everyone was normal
every day thing to him. But then who knows! He was foreign return! Maybe there
people did get married without telling anybody else and just returned to their
normal life! After all, she did hear that people abroad served divorces to each
other as if they were serving food to one another, so getting married might not
be a big deal! Suddenly Khushi's eyes widened as she wondered how many times
had Arnavji married and divorced to be this casual about their current
situation! Maybe he had some ex-wives stashed over in foreign countries. Hey
Devi Maiyya!
Khushi was brought back to reality from her
thought world when her husband started moving ahead. Husband??? That will take
time getting used to, Khushi realised. She was married now! She had a pati! Realizing
that she was getting lost in her thoughts again, she mentally slapped herself
and tried to focus on what was happening in front of her.
Shyam looked on in shock as Khushi and Arnav
walked in with garlands around their neck. His eyes took in the scene in front
of him without blinking. Nahi! Yeh nahi ho sakta! Khushiji humaare saath aisa
nahi kar sakti! Woh jaanti hain ki hum unse kitna pyaar karte hain! Woh humaara
dil is tarah nahi tod sakti! (No! This
cannot happen! Khushiji would not do this to me! She knows how much I love her!
She would never break my heart in this manner!) Even though his heart kept
on denying the scene his eyes were showing him, his brain catalogued the
sindoor on her forehead and the mangalsutr around her neck all telling him that
she was Mrs. Arnav Singh Raizada as of now and she stopped being his Khushiji. But
Shyam's heart refused to believe and continued to deny the scene.
Khushi looked around with fear as shocked
faces looked back at her. She took a deep breath as she wondered who will break
the silence. Not her, that's for sure! It is not that Khushi was scared to
speak out or something. It is just that Arnav had warned her to keep her mouth
shut once they entered his house and not to speak a word till they reached his
room. She did not understand why and had wanted to protest but one glare ASR
style sent her way shut her up and all her protests died in her throat. She so
did not want ASR back. She would do anything to keep Arnavji here and not bring
his angry avatar back, especially when she was alone with him. His ASR avatar
still freaked her out and she would rather have that avatar away from her
unless of course he was fighting for her like he thrashed those goons who tried
to take her away mistaking her for someone else. Then she was all for
unleashing it. But she so did not want to face the wrath of ASR especially when
she had just convinced him that she was innocent.
Arnav looked around passively as he waited
someone to react. Oh come on! Someone say something! It can't be that shocking
that I married Khushi! I mean we did dance in front of everyone in the Sangeet!
So me marrying the only girl who makes me laugh in this whole universe should
not be that shocking! But maybe they are not shocked about me marrying Khushi! They
are shocked that I got married! Yes! That might be it! Me, the guy who claimed
to be eternal bachelor, decides to marry? No wonder my Di looks like she is
about to faint! Hope her blood pressure remains normal! High BP is bad for my
nephew or niece! Hope its niece! I cannot handle having a Shyam Junior around
after getting to know his truth. Speaking about truth...He gave his wife a
glance! Wife?? Who would have thought of that! ASR gets a wife! Ha! Hope she
keeps her mouth shut though! If she blurted about Shyam and innocence and all
that bakwas before I could get some proof she will be thrown out of this house,
before she can say her standard Hey Devi Maiyya!
Suddenly, someone stepped ahead and slapped
Khushi. Khushi and everyone were shocked. It was none other than frail looking
sweet Garima, Khushi's Amma. She gave another slap to Khushi. The slap was so
hard that Khushi teetered a bit and only Arnav's hold on her shoulder stopped
her from falling down.
"Ee
sab ka hai bitiya? (What is all this
bitiya?)", Amma asked in a cold voice that not only shocked Khushi but
everyone else in the room. No one had heard Amma speak in such a manner.
"Arre!
Bolat kaahe naahi? Ee sab ka hai? (Arre!
Why aren't you saying something? What is all this?)", Amma asked as she
grabbed Khushi and shook her like some ragged doll.
"Arre!
Ee ka bolegi? Jaanat hai ki ee jo kaand kar aayi hai ee galat hai! (Arre! What will she say? She knows that
what she has gone and done is wrong!)", Buaji roared from back making tears
well up in Khushi's eyes. She had never felt this level of hostility from her
mother and aunt. But she did not react or speak up. She had taken Arnav's
warning to heart. She was ready to be scolded thousand times by her family
rather than face the wrath of ASR.
Amma continued to rage, "Ka ee sanskar humne
tumko di hai? Ee sanskar? Ki tum jaake aisan chup chupaake shaadi kar aao!
Sharam naahi laagat hai tumko! ARRE! KUCH TOH BOLO! (Are these values I taught you? These values? That you will go and
elope. Don't you feel ashamed! ARRE! SAY SOMETHING!)" She shook her
daughter roughly but Khushi did not react. She kept her head down and continued
to listen with her heart turning heavier at every passing second.
"Arre
bitiya! Tum toh humaar Khusi ho na? Apne babuji ki jaan ho na? Toh kaahe
bataati naahi ki ee sab ka hai? (You are
my Khushi right? You are your babuji's life, right? Then why don't you tell
everyone what is all this?)", Amma pleaded but Khushi remained quiet.
"Hello
Hi Bye Bye!", Maami interrupted, "Eet ees obvious ki Khushi madam ko family ki
no care! Whery selfis! (It is obvious
that Khushi Madam not care for family! Very selfish! )", Maami sniffed as
she looked away haughtily.
"Toh
tum naahi bologi? (So you won't say
anything?)", Amma questioned, "Theek hai! Mat bolo! Lekin hum ab bolenge! Aur
hum bolte hain ki aaj se tum humaari beti nahi! (Fine! Don't speak! But now I will speak! And I am saying that from
today you are not my daughter!)"
Khushi
looked at her in horror. Her face turned pale.
"Haan!
Khushi! Aaj se tum humka kuch naahi laagat ho! Aur naahi tumhaari Babuji ki!
Aaj se Khushi humaare liye mar gayi hai! (Yes!
Khushi! Today onwards, you mean no one to me! And neither mean any one to your
Babuji ! Today onwards, Khushi is dead for
us!)", Amma announced making Khushi stagger a step back in shock. But then
she consoled herself. Koi baat nahi Khushi! Kal jab sab sachchai hum Amma ko
bataayenge, toh woh humein jaroor maaf kardengi! (No problem Khushi! When tomorrow I will tell Amma the truth, she will
definitely forgive me!) Khushi consoled herself but her heart continued to
turn heavier with pain and anguish.
Amma dragged her husband's wheelchair and
walked off after hugging Paayal and saying her goodbyes. Buaji was about to
follow her but not before saying few choice words to Khushi, "Ae ladki! Aaj
tumne dikha diya ki tum Sasi Babua ki saggi beta na ho! (Hey girl! Today you have shown us that you are not Shashi babua's blood
daughter!)"
Khushi's
eyes widened at that but Buaji had not finished, "Aaj tumne ee sab karke bata diya
ki tum ek anaath ho! Tum kisi aur ki bitiya ho, kyunki humaar Sasi ki bitiya hoti
toh ee sab na karti! Aaj tum ne apna rang dikha diya! Aaj tumne apna khoon
dikha diya! Aaj se tum hum sabke liye ek anaath hi ho! Aaj se tumra rista hum
sabke saath khatam! (Today by doing all
this you have proven that you are an orphan! You are someone else's daughter,
coz my Shashi's daughter would never do such things! Today you have shown us
your color! You have shown us your true face! Today onwards, you are an orphan
for all of us! Today onwards, your relationship with us have ended!)"
Khushi looked on in horror as Buaji followed
Amma. In her whole life, her mother and aunt must have scolded her many times
but this was the first time they reminded her of being orphan. Tears dropped
from her eyes and she looked down. Even though she had hope that once the
angers have cooled down her family would accept her and in anger, her family
did not mean those words, yet those words left the damage in her fragile heart
and Khushi did not know how long she could survive this.
As Khushi's family left the premises, the
guests, who till now were looking at the scene with shock, opened their mouth.
Khushi flinched as she heard some of the whispers. Slowly the guests getting bolder
openly started whispering. Some whispered about how Khushi was a gold digger
and some even wondered whether she seduced ASR into marrying her.
By now, Naani, Anjali, Maami and rest of
Raizadas remained quiet as they were still in shock at their Chote getting
married in such a manner but the whispers now made them wonder the same thing.
How did ASR, the man who hated marriage, eloped with Khushi, a lower class girl
in words of ASR? Did she seduce him? Everyone had questions but no one knew how
to place it in front of Arnav. Anjali and Naani were speechless and simply
looked at Arnav with shock while Maami fumed in her place with narrowed eyes.
Now was the time to point out how smart these Gupta sisters were! Maami
realised and happily opened her mouth, "Hello Hi Bye Bye! Humka bhi ee hi doubt
hai jo aap sabhai logan ka hai (I have
the same doubt which you all have!)! Ki what is happening here?" Her voice
was loud enough that whole room quieted down as the guests looked eagerly at
the drama happening in front of them.
Arnav
looked at Maami with neutral expression but inside he wondered what Maami will
say now. It was well known fact that Maami detested the Gupta sisters and now
was a golden opportunity for her to insult the girls. Arnav looked at Khushi covertly
as he wondered whether she was mentally and emotionally ready to take Maami's
onslaught especially after listening to her own mother disown her and her aunt question
her values.
Soon, Maami started with her diatribe in her
usual broken english, "Humka pata tha! I knew you see! Thees girls ij gold
diggers! Only want money! Badi (elder)
stole my son and choti (younger)
stole my bhatija (nephew)! Aaj prove
ho hi guva (And today it is proven!)!
Am I right Khoon Bhari Taang? Thees was your pilaan (plan) right? Marry the sons of this family by your maya jaal and
then become ranis of the house! Waise kaisan faisla kiya Arnav bitwa aur Aakash
bitwa mein se tumra honewaala bakra kaun? Coin toss kiya tha ka? (By the way, how did you decide which one of
you will fool Arnav bitwa and which one will fool Aakash bitwa? Did you do a
coin toss? )"
Maami looked at her bahu with excitement.
This was the right time! Hit the hammer! She knew that her bahu's strength was
in her little sister. And the only way to break Paayal was to first destroy her
support, her relationship with Khushi and this was the right time to drive
wedge between the sisters. And Maami was right. Paayal fumed in anger at her
sister. Because of Khushi, her love for her Aakash was being brought to
question again. Not only Khushi destroyed her life once by stopping her earlier
wedding but now she was trying to destroy her new life too? Why Khushi? Why?
Paayal stormed over to her sister and gave
her a tight slap. Arnav and Khushi looked at Paayal in shock. Neither of them
expected Paayal to be against her own sister. Even Paayal was shocked by the
intensity of her slap. But then the fear that this will destroy her
relationship with the love of her life was stronger than her love for her
sister who in her eyes, had done a very wrong thing. Hence, Paayal felt
justified at hitting her sister. Eloping was wrong and Khushi did that. Hence,
she deserved every slap she got.
"Waah! Kya behen hai humaari! Waah! (Wow! What a sister I have! Wow!)",
Paayal muttered making Khushi look at her tearfully. But Paayal did not give
heed to Khushi's tearful eyes. She continued with her harsh words, "Aaj tumne humaare
aur Aakash ki shaadi ka bahut badhiya tamaasha bana diya! Mazaak banaake rakh
diya hai tumne humaare Aakash ke liye pyaar ka! Aaj dikha diya tumne ki
tumhaari zindagi mein humaari kya ehmiyat hai! Shukriya Khushi! Shukriya! Humein
aaj yeh din dikhaane ke liye! Aur kya din dikhaaya! Humaari apni saas humpe
ilzaam laga rahi hai aur hum apne aapko bacha bhi nahi paa rahe hain! Aur yeh
sab sirf tumhaari wajah se hua Khushi! Sirf tumhaari wajah se! Aaj jo tumne
kiya uske liye hum tumhein kabhi maaf nahi karenge! Lucknow mein jab humaara
rishta toota tha woh bhi tumhaari wajah se, humne kabhi tumhein doshi nahi
maana! Lekin aaj hum kehte hain ki agar tumhaari iss harqat se agar humaari
shaadi shuda zindagi par zara si bhi aanch aayi toh tumhein humaari haay
lagegi! (Today you have made a circus
out of mine and Aakash's wedding. You have turned my love for Aakash into a
joke! Today you have shown me what is my balue in your life! Thank you Khushi!
Thank you! For showing me this day! And what a day you have shown me! My
mother-in-law is making allegations on me and I cannot even defend myself! And
all this is because of you, Khushi! Only because of you! After what you have
done today, I will never forgive you! When my wedding was called off in Lucknow
all thanks to you, I never blamed you for it! But today I am telling you that
if because of your one single action, there is any damage to my married life,
you will earn my curse!)
Khushi raised her hand as if telling Paayal
to not to say anymore words as she looked at her sister in horror but Paayal
was on a roll, "Aaj jo tumne kiya hai na Khushi, uske liye Devi Maiyya bhi
tumhein maaf nahi karegi! Humaari zindagi barbaad karne ke kagaar pe hai sirf
tumhaari wajah se! Bas Khushi! Ab humaara tum par se vishwas uth chukka hai! Aur
humein bharosa ho chukka hai ki tum sirf apne baare mein sochti ho, humaare baare
mein kabhi nahi! Isliye humne faisla kiya hai ki aaj se hum tumhein apni
zindagi se nikaale phenkte hain! Tum aaj se sirf humaare Jethaani ho! Behen
nahi! (For what you have done today
Khushi, even Devi Maiyya will not forgive you! My life is on the edge of being
destroyed, all because of you! Enough Khushi! Now you have lost my trust! And I
have realised that you only think about yourself and never about me! That's why
I have decided that I am throwing you out of my life! Today onwards, you are
only my sister-in-law and not my sister!)"
Saying her piece, Paayal ran off in tears
while Khushi kept looking down dumbly. She could not understand what was
happening. She simply stood still as harsh words were showered upon her by her
family.
Aakash's eyes followed his wife's movement
and he turned to walk after her to console her but not before he had a few
choice words to say to his brother. He spoke in a calm soft voice which spoke
of his disappointment, "Aapne nahi theek kiya Bhai! Aapko agar Khushi pasand
thi toh ghar waalon se keh diya hota, aise shaadi karne ki kya zaroorat thi? Maine
kabhi socha nahi Bhai ki aap mere shaadi ke din ko iss tarah yaadgaar
banaayenge, ek tamasha banaake rakh denge! (You haven't done right, Bhai! If you liked Khushi, you could have just
told the family members, why did you get married in such a way? I never thought
you will make my wedding day memorable in such a manner, you have turned it
into a circus!)" Aakash turned around and walked away. Maami and Maami also
walked away.
Arnav looked on stoically but inside he was
in shock. How could his brother think so wrong about him? Aakash knew that his
brother was a business man and did not take any decision without thinking it
thoroughly. Then why didn't his brother think that Arnav must have some reason
behind his actions? Arnav had hoped that he would have Aakash's support to
flush Shyam out of their house but now it was obvious that his brother would
not be his ally when he went against Shyam.
Soon the guests decided to leave and slowly
the hall emptied out leaving behind a confused Nk, a sad Naani, a shocked
Anjali and an angry Shyam.
Finally Anjali spoke up but in a whisper,
"Kyun?"
Arnav
looked at her stoically. She walked towards him and looked at him with blank
eyes, "Kyun kiya yeh sab Chote? Agar Khushiji tumhein pasand thi toh keh dete,
is tarah tamasha karne ki kya zaroorat thi? (Why did you do all this Chote? If you liked Khush, you could have just
said, why make a circus out of it?)"
Arnav
shrugged, "Oh relax Di! I wanted to marry her so I married her. Ab maine shor
sharaabe se shaadi ki yeh ek mandir mein jaake simple shaadi ki (Whether I married Khushi with bells and
pomps or marry in simple way in a temple), why does it matter? I like Khushi
and I thought it was the right time to get married, so I married her. That's
all! Why are we creating so much drama over it?"
Anjali's jaw dropped open at the nonchalant
answer given by her Chote. She looked at him with betrayal. She so did not
expect this reaction from her Chote. Feeling disappointed and unable to say
anything else, she turned around and walked off to her room followed by Shyam,
who of course, did not leave without sending a glare at Arnav and Khushi.
"Chaliye Naaniji!", Nk muttered as he
noticed how weak Naani looked. Naani nodded and walked off with Nk but not
without saying few words to Arnav, "Chote! Humka aapan se ee ummeed naahi thi!
(I did not expect this from you!)"
Giving him one disappointed glance, Naani walked away to her room.
Finally Arnav and Khushi were left alone in
the hall. Arnav grabbed Khushi's hand and took her with him to her room. She
sat on the bed while he sat on the recliner. Both were mentally tired after the
events of the whole day.
"Ab
kya karenge?", Khushi ask softly.
Arnav
shrugged, "Don't worry about others. Once everyone cools down they will accept
us. And then we will spy on Shyam and collect evidence against him."
Khushi
frowned, "Par sabut dhoondne ki kya jaroorat hai? Kal tak humaare ghar waale
shaant ho jaayenge aur phir hum unse baat karenge aur woh aake Shyamji ki
sachchai sabke saamne rakh denge! (But
why do we need proof? By tomorrow, my family would have cooled down, I will
talk to them and they will tell everyone about Shyam's truth!)"
The
innocent way in which Khushi stated the solution made Arnav laugh out loud.
Khushi frowned and Arnav explained, "Khushi! If only the matter was so simple.
My Di is pregnant Khushi! She will now believe in Shyam even more blindly.
Already she trusted him but now the trust must have increased. She won't
believe anybody unless we have proof. And if right now, Paayal, Amma and Bua
spoke against Shyam, only relations will be destroyed. Think Khushi! If I, the
most practical guy, did not believe you then why do you think, my family, who
are emotionally attached to Shyam, would believe your family over him? Plus,
you and your family are new to our family compared to Shyam who have been with
us for ages. My family taking his side and not believing yours is more likely
if we outed the truth without proof to back us up. We want proof Khushi! We
want proof! So we have only one option. Spy on Shyam!"
Khushi blinked for a while, "Theek hai! Hum
aapki baat samajhte hain! Aur agar kuch saboot mila nahi toh hum Shyamji ko apne
jaal mein fasaayenge humein chaara banaake jaise tv mein dikhaate hain, woh kya
kehte hain... haan... Sting aaprasun! (Alright!
I understand your point! But if we did not find any proof, we will trap him in
our trap while using my as bait like they show in tv, what do they call it...
Yes... Sting Operation!)" Khushi seemed so excited by her idea that Arnav
could do nothing but chuckle and order her to sleep on the bed while he took
the recliner. Both lied down but neither could sleep; not because of their
thoughts but because both were still dressed in their wedding clothes and had
yet to change into something comfortable. But when your world has been turned
upside down and your beliefs have been uprooted in last 24 hours, who cares
about clothes and all that.
NOTE:
If
you are not surprised by today's update, then wait for the next three chapters!
Coz
I have yet to open my bag of twists!
Also
the person who gave me this challenge, also gave me a list of persons who
should support Arshi and who should condemn them and some names in both lists
will shock you!
So get ready for some weirdest twists in the
story! You have been warned!
PRECAP:
The next chapter has the
supporting characters contemplating Arshi's spontaneous decision and evil gains
its upper hand! Be ready for some shocking but predictable scenes on next
Sunday!
Thanks
for reading!
Take
care and have fun,
Kalpana
P.S. Reviews would
be replied and/or liked, once the light stops playing games here!
P.P.S.
Sorry for the delay in posting; net stopped working just before I was about to
post!
Edited by Kalpana_Writer - 9 years ago
comment:
p_commentcount