IPKKND FF: KHUSHI by JALEBI JANE Thread 1: EPISODE 001-052 - Page 97

KHUSHI by Jalebi Jane (EPISODE 043)
SISTERS, WE WILL READILY FORGIVE Khushi's first thought when Mr Chopra's meaning sunk in, as it was the natural relief of diminished guilt. I am not solely responsible for Anjali's future unhappiness. Indeed, an unbiased eye would even suggest that they were equal victims. No, she immediately corrected herself. I have escaped unscathed. Anjali had loved Shyam. Anjali had married Shyam. Anjali had created a child with Shyam. Anjali had paid the highest price any woman could bear. Khushi looked at her husband, who was looking out of the window with unseeing eyes. She had no doubt he was also taking measure of that cost.

Mr Chopra returned them to the school parking lot in silence. As they disembarked, Khushi heard Arnav ask him if Shyam had children with this woman.

"Two," came the reply.

"This marriage then pre-dates his relationship with---with my sister?" Arnav asked, his words halting painfully at the words my sister.'

"Yes."

"So my sister is not his wife?" Arnav pressed.

"According to the Section 5 and 11 of the 1955 Marriage Act---"

"f**k that! Is my sister legally married to that son of a bitch?"

"No, Mr Raizada. She is not." Mr Chopra spoke solemnly.

It would be expected that this final statement would have caused Arnav's shoulders to sink lower yet; however, Khushi saw something else. In his posture, she read---triumph?

She tried to understand him but he was hastening her to climb into the car. He buckled her seatbelt and turned to close the door, but she stopped him with a hand on his arm and a question in her eyes.

He nodded, and smiled. It was a weak smile, but he was not shattered and that was enough for Khushi. For now.

"Mr Chopra, I want these new facts and supplementary photographs emailed to me within one hour," he said as he swung into the driver's seat.

Wrenching the gear shift into reverse, Arnav backed the vehicle out of the parkade, and over the embankment to circumvent the line of cars waiting to drop off children at school. Khushi was jostled about by his rough driving. His arm extended out to brace her. Turning the vehicle around, he entered traffic. Khushi gave him a moment to veer into the correct lane before she prepared to speak---but Arnav had hooked on his bluetooth and was already making a phone call.

"Aman. Arrange a phone meeting with Mr Rao in one hour. Contact SSP Khan and ask him to call me immediately. No, Aman! He won't take my call from a traceable line. He'll call me. Just do as I say. And cancel my appointments for the day."

He disconnected the line.

"---KHUSHI, I KNOW YOU WANT TO TALK," he said, meeting her eyes, "but I can't. Right now, I need to think and act."

Khushi absorbed this with some difficulty. Arnav Singh Raizada did not consult; she knew that, yet it still stung. "Theek hai. I'll only say this: don't act from anger; you always hurt yourself the most when you do that." He reached out and grasped her hand. She gave both hands to him, not quite sure if she was drawing or imparting strength.

Nothing more was said. She remained silent but listened closely as she heard him receive and make a few calls---though they were all equally cryptic. She knew only this: Shyam would soon regret the day he entered the lives of Arnav and Anjali Raizada.

SHYAM WAS COMFORTABLY HAVING BREAKFAST with the family when Khushi and Arnav entered Raizada House. Anjali twisted to face them as they approached the table. Then turning to Nani, she said, "didn't I say that Chotte had left early to go fetch Bhabhi from Buaji's?"

"Guilty," Arnav replied.

Khushi greeted them collectively, and turned towards the kitchen to escape from the sickening sight of Shyam buttering his toast.

But Arnav caught her hand. "Jaiprakash will serve. Come and sit," he insisted, holding a chair out for her. She sat, avoiding Shyam's eyes, and filled a plate for Arnav. Her fingers trembled. She hoped Shyam would not notice. Though she was not aware of the details of her husband's plans for Shyam, she had gathered enough from the phone calls that all depended on the element of surprise.

Nani asked Akaash when he would be bringing Payal home, and Akaash replied that he would be picking her up later this morning.

"Why don't you stay home today?" Anjali was telling her husband. "You had such an uncomfortable night!"

Khushi's ears were poised to hear Shyam's reply, but at the same time she pretended to be preoccupied with filling her teacup.

"Uncomfortable?" Mami asked.

Anjali elaborated for Shyam. "Yes, a client was called in for questioning by the police and he had to remain with him all night."

Khushi felt Arnav stiffen at the lie. How many such lies Shyam must have told Anjali throughout their married life? It was a miracle he had not been caught sooner. Shyam made an excuse that he could not remain home from work. He added with a laugh that he was not an Arnav Singh Raizada who could conduct all his business from a recliner in his bedroom.

Khushi marvelled at the strength it took for Arnav not to reach across the table and tear out the man's tonsils. She had known her husband to do far worse on far less provocation. She herself could barely contain the impulse to empty the teapot over Shyam's head.

But, this was not the time to fantasize on how Shyam could be made to suffer. Now was the time to think of Anjali. Khushi lifted her eyes to her pretty and vivacious sister-in-law, and her own eyes filled with tears. Anjali was so impeccable in her conduct towards her husband, her family, her faith---yet, here she was living a life built on lies. A life about to crumble.

ARNAV SPENT THE MORNING isolated in their bedroom, alternating between the laptop and the telephone. Khushi checked on him every half hour; once with juice, next with coffee, then finally water. She was running out of beverages to offer as an excuse to see him, when the best of possible excuses rang the front door bell. It was Akaash bringing Payal home---accompanied by Mrs Malhotra, Yash and Little Khushi. Payal introduced the Malhotras to Nani, Mami and Anjali, while Khushi excused herself to prepare tea and snacks for their guests. She left Hariprakash to serve and ran upstairs to fetch her husband.

"Do come down and join us for tea," she urged.

"Khushi, are you trying to drown me in beverages?"

"Yash is here," Khushi interrupted, not feeling the least guilty for mentioning the name of the gentleman whom her husband had suspicions about.

Arnav accompanied her downstairs, her hand firmly---possessively---in his. But when they reached the second floor, Khushi saw that the entire scene on the main floor had changed. Nobody was drinking tea. Nobody was eating pakoras. The group was gathered in a circle around a pale Anjali, and Yash had her wrist in his hand, measuring her pulse.

"Di!?" Arnav raced down the stairs, dragging Khushi along.

Khushi assumed Anjali had somehow learnt about Shyam. She was about to speak---though unclear what those words would be---when Anjali lifted her eyes to them, and said, "don't look so worried, Bhabhi, Chotte---just a dizzy spell."

"What happened?" Arnav demanded.

Mami began to explain in an elaborate way, when Little Khushi interjected in English, and also added a quick demonstration so there was no doubt in anyone's mind what had occurred. "She stood. Then---like this---she fell," the child said, crumpling to the sofa, just as Anjali had done.

Arnav was launching into a lecture on self-care, when Yash said, "please don't crowd the patient." His tone was uncompromisingly firm and physician-like. Even Arnav stepped back. To Anjali, Yash requested, with a finger under her chin, "tilt your head towards the light. I want to check your eyes."

Yash completed his examination, and asked, "is this your first pregnancy?"

Anjali nodded shyly.

"Then I will remind you that within you is a precious life. This is not a gift to take lightly. I have just met you, but your pulse is speaking to me. I can tell that you fret too much."

Nani and Mami made immediate noises of agreement.

Yash continued, "I can also see from your eyes that you did not sleep last night."

"My husband was away from home..." Anjali said in her defence.

"Then he was wrong to leave you," Yash said. "This is not the time to leave one's wife."

By Jalebi Jane

Originally posted by: JalebiJane

Gosh, Sister---you spoke my heart.

Because that moment when Khushi said, "I am worn out" made me weep when I wrote it, and when I read it yesterday after all these years. I think it moves me because I think it represents a very realistic meltdown moment in a woman's life. I have no doubt we've all sunk to the floor at one time or another and felt bone-tired because we carry the heavy load in our relationships, with not as much verbal feedback as we require. I also think that when our lover sees us like this, it kills him.

KHUSHI by Jalebi Jane (EPISODE 044)
KHUSHI SLIPPED IN BEHIND the sofa and pressed a cool compress to Anjali's forehead. And thus began the season of ineffectual sympathy, Khushi thought. The days ahead would be filled with all of them performing small acts of comfort for Anjali knowing full well that nothing could buffer the heart. Not from the degree of damage it was about to endure. Anjali alone would have to bear the pain---and no amount of well-intentioned hand-holding could mitigate this. She glanced at her husband and knew he was thinking the same. He could destroy the man; but he could do nothing about the desecration that would ensue.

Arnav met Khushi's eyes and he gave a very slight shrug. It said: what can I do?

Her heart ached for Arnav---yes, for his sister also!---but especially for him who was the silent victim. She knew he blamed himself. He would by now have asked himself a million times, how he could have let such a viper into the bosom of his family?

"Can I? Can I? Please?" Little Khushi's voice broke into her worried thoughts. The child saw some sort of naive pleasure in holding the compress to Anjali's forehead and wanted to have a try.

"Climb up then," Khushi encouraged.

The child kicked off her mojris and got on the sofa. Khushi showed her how to hold the folded up towel against Anjali's forehead, and not to let it drip into patient's eyes.

"Gently, darling," the father prompted his daughter. Then he met Anjali's eyes, and explained, "she fancies herself a bit of a nurse."

Anjali, in her usual wonderful way, wrapped her arm around the child's legs to hold her steady on the cushions. She replied, "then you are a perfect team. Doctor and Nurse."

"We are a team," he smiled, nodding.

Khushi sent a silent gratitude to Devi Maiyya who arranged for Yash to be here today. Yash had always been destined for the healing profession; not only because he came from a family of doctors, but because he had a quality about him which always restored those whom he encountered. One could know Yash for a decade or for a day, but to be in his presence made one feel better.

That was Yash Malhotra's true gift. Khushi looked from Yash to Anjali and back to Yash. She had a thought, but before it could be expressed, her husband made a request.

"DR. MALHOTRA, A WORD?"

Yash stepped away from the gathered family. Arnav lead him to the upstairs study where their conversation would be relatively private without arousing suspicion. However, when Arnav glanced back to meet Khushi's eyes, he saw that her suspicion had already advanced. Yash had removed a slim notebook and pen from his jacket pocket. He wrote on a page. Arnav remained silent during the process. Yash tore the page out of the book and handed it to Arnav.

"There is nothing to be alarmed about. But as a doctor, I would be negligent to not advise your sister have these routine tests done within the next couple of days."

Arnav took the paper and nodded.

Yash continued, "She is physically strong. Encourage her to rest. Eat every few hours. Indulge her whims. No mental agitation---"

Arnav interrupted him here. "Are you in Delhi for long?"

He saw Yash's surprise at the sudden shift in the conversational direction.

"Our plans are not firm," he replied.

"Can you stay at Raizada House for a few days?"

"That's kind of you, but we are quite comfortable at Buaji's," Yash replied, tucking the notebook back into his pocket.

"You misunderstand. I am not extending a personal invitation," Arnav clarified. "I am engaging your professional services for my sister for the duration of your stay in Delhi."

Yash's brows gathered. "That's really not necessary---"

"---Allow me to decide what is necessary for my sister---" Arnav snapped, and at the same moment he felt Khushi's hand on his shoulder. Her touch distracted him for that one second; a second that was long enough for him to recognize his misdirected anger. He took her hand, and brought her near. He pressed his lips to her temple. She wrapped an arm around his waist, pressing herself to his side, and looked at her friend.

"Will you please stay with us for a few days, Yash?" she asked. Then glancing at Arnav, she completed, "we'll all feel better if you are here."

Yash looked at Khushi and then at Arnav. His eyes asked for clarification.

Arnav provided it. "In a few hours, my sister will learn that her husband has left her."

There would be a time, Sisters, in the near future when Arnav Singh Raizada would reflect upon Yash Malhotra's next words and begrudgingly concede that the doctor behaved admirably. This, however, was not that time.

"I'll take my mother back to Buaji's, and return with some luggage. My daughter goes where I go," he said to the two standing opposite him.

"Of course," Khushi replied and gave him a smile of thanks.

Arnav added, "name your fees and I'll make arrangements---"

Yash held up a hand to stop him. "I'm doing this for Khush---and her new family. To talk of fees would be offensive of me."

KHUSHI QUICKLY INFORMED NANI that Yash and Little Khushi had accepted an invitation to stay at Raizada House for a few days. Mrs Malhotra and Yash left with the driver. Little Khushi chose to remain with Anjali. Payal went to begin lunch preparations. And Khushi excused herself to go and see her husband.

When she entered their bedroom, Arnav had changed clothes. He was in jeans and a light sweater. "It's time, isn't it?" Khushi asked.

He gave a silent, grave nod.

Khushi closed the distance between them, tears of apprehension pooling in her eyes and bubbling over her cheeks. "I'm coming with you," she stated in a voice that brooked no argument.

"Khushi," he wiped her tears, with his handkerchief. "I need you to stay here and take care of the family."

"Who will take care of you?" she protested.

He pulled her into his arms. "You will take care of me tonight."

"I'm serious!" she pushed him off.

"So am I!" he said, pulling her back into his embrace.

Khushi was not happy with these arrangements which kept her at home and sent the man she loved into a dark unknown. But she knew he was right. She tilted her face up to his and grumbled, "when there is anything exciting happening, women are sure to be left out of it.* While you men go out to slay dragons, we stay at home to supervise lunch."

Arnav laughed, "don't underestimate the importance of lunch."

With that he took her mouth in a bold and hungry kiss. Khushi met his hunger, surprised by her own arousal at such a time of crisis. His hands cupped her bottom, crushing her against his pelvis. Breaking the kiss abruptly, he left her to draw the blinds. He requested, "latch the door, Khushi."

She looked up at him, rather bewildered, her thoughts telling her she must have heard wrong. He himself moved to latch the door and returned to her.

Now? her eyes asked.

Now! his eyes replied.

But---?

Don't you want---?

I always want...

Then don't waste time, woman!

Khushi began to remove her saree, but he stopped her. "Part of the pleasure of a quickie is that we remain fully dressed." Khushi drew in a sharp breath when in one skillful move he gathered her saree with petticoat around her waist, and forced her down upon the bed. Then parting her knees, he pushed aside the small strip of lace which covered her, and tasted her.

Khushi gasped at this daytime audacity. But those sensations of shock were soon overtaken by the havoc caused by his mouth and tongue. It took only a moment for her reluctance to melt, and she parted her knees further to give him more access, threading her fingers through his hair. When she moaned in pleasure, he drew up to her, and begged, "take me inside you!"

She blindly fumbled at the fly of his jeans, and when her hand brushed against his hardness, she heard his breath catch, signalling that he was near his breaking point. Khushi found the parting in his underwear and freed him. But now she hesitated, her teeth tugging at her bottom lip. She met his eyes, and he told her, "now, Khushi!"

Khushi was aware of some sort of primitive power of having a fully aroused man in her hands and under her control. He swore softly, as she took him into her body. Once within her, he caught her mouth fiercely and penetrated her completely, fully, deeply. She moaned into his mouth, as he rocked her into position. From then on, he controlled the furious ride. It was nothing short of aggression directed into piercing intense passion. He led them both to shattering completion. Khushi let out a short sharp cry of pleasure and curled against him, wrapping her legs around him. Tightly. Not wanting to let him go. Ever.

"Promise me you won't fight him. I don't want you to be hurt."

Catching his breath, he rolled onto his back. "You don't think I can take him?" He looked affronted.

Khushi brushed his hair off his forehead, caressing his face, "I know you can. I've seen you fight remember? It's just---you are so beautiful---I don't want you to come home with a broken nose and split lip."

He smiled and kissed her nose and lip. "My fists will be used on Shyam another day. Today, I will use my mind. He will find that far more painful."

"Will you tell me what you intend?"

"When I return," he promised, as he rose off the bed.

SHYAM LOOKED UP AS ARNAV entered SSP Khan's office. He shook his head and chuckled without humour. "When they arrested me this morning, I took it for certain that the mighty Arnav Singh Raizada would be somewhere behind this."

Arnav ignored Shyam and greeted SSP Khan.

"Use my office," Khan said, leaving Shyam, Arnav, Mr Chopra and the ASRGroup solicitor, Mr Rao alone in the room.

Arnav took SSP Khan's seat, resting his arms on the desk, leaning forward to meet Shyam's eyes. Sitting opposite such an animal can make one feel savage. But he kept all expression from his eyes. He remained silent and waited for Shyam to open.

Shyam---not a man known for self-control---showed his hand immediately, "what am I being charged with? Even you cannot have an innocent man arrested without a charge? Whatever you do to me, Rani Sahiba will force you to reverse it. She controls you; I control her. So, essentially, I control you."

Arnav, satisfied that Shyam had revealed his trump card, said to Mr Rao, "let's put him out of his misery. What are the charges?"

Mr Rao adjusted his spectacles and said, "so far---embezzlement, larceny, and fraud. Fifteen counts and still counting."

Shyam laughed, "and precisely whom did I commit these crimes against?"

Mr Rao responded, "Anjali Raizada."

Shyam met Arnav's eyes. He sighed as though he was saddened by what he was about to say. "With all your money, you should really retain a more accomplished advocate. Your Mr Rao seems unaware that it is not considered misappropriation of funds when a husband manages his wife's money, property and other assets. What belongs to my wife, belongs to me. I have broken no laws."

Arnav said, "Mr Chopra, the photograph."

Mr Chopra proudly placed a full colour glossy underneath Shyam's nose. Shyam's eyes widened. Beads of sweat immediately appeared along his hairline.

"Is this the wife you are referring to---or is there yet another?" Arnav asked, coolly. Shyam visibly struggled to gather his thoughts. Arnav clarified, "you are right. You could not be charged for mishandling your wife's money, but as my sister is not your legal wife, the law will treat you as a felon and a bigamist." With that he rose to his feet, and said to Mr Rao, "proceed with those charges. And add eleven years for the crime of bigamy."

"Wait!" Shyam said, his mouth twisting and contorting as he tried to reassemble his world. "You will only hurt Anjali more by doing this. You know her. She loves me. I'll convince her to forgive me and wait for me. Is that what you want for your sister? To spend the next twenty years visiting me in prison? With our kid in tow," he asked, now appealing on sentimental grounds.

Arnav shrugged carelessly, "once you are behind bars, my influence on her will be stronger than yours. Don't depend on many prison visits."

With those words, Arnav checked his phone, an action to suggest that he had dismissed Shyam. He proceeded towards the door, but Shyam stopped him, "wait! Please!" Arnav could almost smell the man's desperation. "I'll make a deal with you. If you drop these charges, I'll disappear from her life. I'll tell her I don't love her. I'll tell her I never loved her. She can then hate me but she will be free of me."

Arnav turned to Shyam, and shook his head in disappointment. "You are so predictable. I was looking forward to a challenge, but this has hardly been worth leaving my recliner for." He then turned to Mr Rao, and said, "have him sign the goodbye letter to my sister which we drafted on his behalf."

*Adapted from Jane Austen's -Pride and Prejudice-

By Jalebi Jane