ArHi FF || Serendipity #5 || CH 59 Pg 136 (JAN 16TH 2017) (new update) - Page 19

She slept close to her girls that night, snuggling Kinara against her bosom as Shagun snored peacefully against her father's chest. The warmth of their four bodies was comforting and eased her erratic breathing into a more natural tempo. 

Relax, Khushi. Relax. Everything is fine now. They're fine.

She had broken her phone earlier that afternoon. 

While trying to balance coffee, lunch and a client's shopping bags in only two hands, her cellphone had slipped and been run over by a taxicab. And unfortunately, with New York City's notoriously rude inhabitants, no one was willing to lend her their cellphone, indifferent to a mother's urgency of informing her children that she was running an hour or so late.

 As she drove through Manhattan's traffic, a strange fear began to creep through her... a maternal instinct more powerful than anything she had ever felt before. True, Khushi had warned her daughters against talking to strangers multiple times in the past, but her gut still warned her of an impending disaster.

 Something terrible was going to happen.

And sure enough, when she approached the small daycare, she found the doors bolted and the usual wooden bench empty. They were gone. Her girls were gone.

It was only when the mother was inconsolable and weeping in pain, did a passing New Yorker let Khushi borrow their phone. Tarang, busy in an administrative meeting around Queens, was completely clueless about the girl's whereabouts, but called the police and rushed back towards Manhattan immediately. Their respective teachers were also oblivious, claiming that they had left the girls at the main office when Khushi didn't show up. 

When the police finally knocked at the school secretary's door that they discovered a man had taken the girls... tall, handsome, Indian and apparently their "Uncle". 

It was him. It was always him. 

She knew almost immediately. 

Arnav Singh Raizada had set out to do exactly what she'd feared he would... snatch her children and ruin their family. It was what the man did best after all - torture her with a pain so brutal it became a struggle to breathe.

With a rental car and an Indian citizenship, Arnav was almost impossible to locate. His phone, kept on silent and undetectable, allowed calls to go unanswered and unnoticed. And in a city like Manhattan, with millions of tourists, employees and students, it would be impossible to pinpoint one Indian man with two girls. 

The truth was irrefutable. Her daughters had vanished.

So for the next most torturous hour of her life, she remained helpless outside Wings for Wishes, nestled quietly in Erica's arms as Tarang tried to call the cops in New York's neighboring cities. They had to sit and wait at the office until 4:30, hoping against all hope that Arnav would arrive for the appointment scheduled that afternoon.

And when he did arrive, with the girls unharmed, she didn't think twice. 

Channeling her emotions, fears and suspicions into one firm slap across his face, she abandoned him in the middle of the street, completely disinterested in whatever bullshit excuses he was about to spin her.  Arnav Singh Raizada simply wasn't worth it. The safety of her girls wasn't worth it. He'd been handcuffed and removed, as he deserved to be. 

But when Shagun quietly explained the circumstances of the afternoon and Kinara's request for ice cream, Khushi finally registered what'd happened.

He'd tried to call her, multiple times. The girls had been crying senseless and he did not want to abandon them in the schoolyard. Arnav had been kind and friendly to her daughters, and had allowed them a treat so they wouldn't be worried. 

Yes... he had been horribly misguided to take them in his car without her permission.

But did he deserve to be in jail for that?

"Khush," he whispered into the darkness, careful not to stir the girls. "You and I both know what you're thinking. You need to take a trip to the station, honey. I hate the man more than you could ever imagine, but he doesn't deserve this."

"But Tarang, he ---"

"I know, Khush. I know exactly what you're thinking. But if I'm truly honest with myself, the girls were a lot safer with Arnav than they would've been on the street. You saw that idiot secretary. It's a miracle she didn't just abandon them and leave." 

Her perfect Lord Ram-esque, 'follow the path of righteousness', husband was right, of course.

But that didn't change the fact that she wasn't very keen on helping Arnav.

"But that means I have to brush my teeth, drive to the station, etc. etc... all because of an asshole laad governor" she whined loudly. 

"Khushi. Are you Shagun's mother or her baby sister?"

She sighed and turned on the lamp beside her, gently shifting Kinara into a more comfortable position as she did so.

"You know how much I love you for you rigid moral compass, jaan. But sometimes it can be really god damn annoying." 

She stripped out of her night clothes as he began to chuckle softly, throwing her pajamas at his face with a small smile.

_________________________________

"Raizada", the officer barked, twisting the keys to open the jail cell. "You're free to go."

 Arnav stared at him wordlessly. He had still been trying to comprehend the escalation of this afternoon's events and was now surprised as to why the night had ended with unexpected freedom. He had tried to clarify the situation to the police, but they'd flat out refused to listen, claiming his explanations would only be given in the courthouse on Monday morning. No exceptions. 

And if Arnav ever knew Khushi Kumari Gupta, she was not one to let matters go. This was a stubbornly persistent girl, one who didn't compromise easily. Least of all, with him.

"The pretty girl left you a note", the policeman sneered, passing a folded piece of paper into his hands. "You can fap to it on your own time. Wrap it up and move out"

His confiscated belongings were thrown into a plastic bag and returned as he was unceremoniously led out of the holding cell. As he turned around to ask whether the 'pretty girl' was still in the vicinity, the heavy door of the police station was closed on his eager face. 

The pretty girl left you a note. 

Arnav twiddled the paper within his fingers with a small grin, walking towards a nearby streetlight to better read her message. If being in jail meant interacting more humanly with Khushi, then so be it. Carefully, he unfolded the paper, smiling as he recognized the small and clean penmanship. He let his fingers wander over her penned words, rejoicing in the feel of her fair hands moving over the slightly worn paper.

Mr. Raizada,

 Shagun explained what happened this afternoon. Our apologies. 

Erica can reschedule your appointment for tomorrow.

Khushi Gupta 

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Sorry for the delay in sharing the update! I'll proofread the chapter later :)

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT: P A I N