I just finished your story The beginning of a new end & I loved it. Liking this story also. Nice to read how Anjali comes to know about Shyam's betrayal in detail also her bond with Aman& his daughter.
Read your ff another life , loved it. Please can you complete it after finishing the current story.
Thank you so much for your interest!
The truth is, In Another Life was never meant to be an Arshi Fan Fic. It was an independent novel I was working on at that time and I felt I wasn't doing it justice by adapting it.
That entire story has always been on and in my mind and I hope that someday (Devi Maiyya willing) I'll successfully write it in one form or the other. I'll definitely let you know when it happens and otherwise I'll share the synopsis I have written for it.
Meanwhile, hope you like this current story too :)
Thank you so much for your interest!
The truth is, In Another Life was never meant to be an Arshi Fan Fic. It was an independent novel I was working on at that time and I felt I wasn't doing it justice by adapting it.
That entire story has always been on and in my mind and I hope that someday (Devi Maiyya willing) I'll successfully write it in one form or the other. I'll definitely let you know when it happens and otherwise I'll share the synopsis I have written for it.
Meanwhile, hope you like this current story too :)
Ok, I understand.
Ofcourse I am loving this current story too. Waiting for the next part.
Chapter 4-
It took BT almost a week to get back to him and when he called, he sounded most disconcerted. On his way home from work that Wednesday night, Aman had pulled his bike to a halt by the side of the road to take BT’s call.
“Sir, aapne toh kaha tha ki husband-wife ka maamla hai” he said, speaking rapidly “Lekin yeh matter toh kuch aur hi nikla.”
“Kya matlab?” Aman said, confused. Had it turned out to be a misunderstanding after all? Was Shyam innocent then? For an instant, he imagined telling Anjaliji this and watching her face light up with joy.
She had surprised him by managing both the tasks set forth by BT and he, in turn, had managed to copy Shyam’s hard disk into a drive that he had then passed on to some hacker associates as it was password protected. While they waited to get access to its contents, BT was carrying on with his old-school investigative work.
“Sir, yeh toh criminal matter hai” BT said, in hushed tones.
Aman felt his heart sinking.
“Ek baat toh confirm kar sakte hai ki target apni wife pe cheating kar raha tha” BT said, “Pichle saal woh Laxmi Nagar ki rehne wali Madhumati Guptaji ke ghar me paying guest bannke reh rahe the aur ussi time pe unhone unki bhatiji Khushi kumari Gupta ke saath engagement kiya tha. Mohalle waalon se pata chala ki kisko khabar nahi thi ki woh pehle se shaadi-shuda the aur jab parivaar ko pata chala tab dhake maar ke usse ghar se nikaal diya tha.”
So, it was true then. ASR had not told him in so many words but there had been a hint that his hatred of Shyam stemmed partly from his disloyalty towards his sister and partly from his obscene interest in his wife.
Fighting revulsion, Aman asked what he meant by criminal matter and BT hesitated.
“Sir, hume ek banda mila hai- Sunny” BT said, "Target ke office me peon ka kaam kartha tha par target ne usse kuch aise ajeeb kaam karvae ki woh ladka darr gaya aur kaam pe jaana chod diya. Ek baar usse ek poisonous scorpion ki delivery lene ko bola toh ek baar ek mechanic se gaadi ka brake fail karaane ki vidhi seekh raha tha. Sab ko toh kaha ki kisi murder case ke silsile me pata laga raha hai par Sunny ko uske iraade pe shaq ho gaya tha.”
Aman’s heart skipped several beats, he clearly remembered ASR’s call to him on the night his sister’s car met with an accident. With an unusual tremor in his voice, he had asked Aman to handle the police report and see to the damaged car.
He got off his bike, kicked open the stand and stood leaning against it, blood thundering in his ears so loudly that the traffic from the street was muted.
“Aur bhi hai, Sir” BT said, “Sunny ka ek bada bhai hai- Rocky, jo ki target ka chela hai. Pehle se agar apne kisi case ke liye koi gair kanooni kaam karaana hai toh who Rocky ka istemaal karta tha aur Sunny ko pura yakeen hai ki kuch mahine pehle Arnav Singh Raizada ko kidnap karne me involved tha. Hume pata chala hai ki Arnav Singh Raizada, Delhi ke jaane-maane businessman, target ke saale sahab hai aur sabse ajeeb baat yeh hai ki haleen me unki shaadi hui hai ussi Khushi Kumari Gupta ke saath."
Aman tuned him out, already aware of how all the Gupta's, Raizadas’s and Jha’s were all related to each other.
It had been clear to him that his boss had not gone to London, that something bad had happened to him in the time he had been away. ASR had not elaborated but simply said that some local goons had held him for a ransom but he had escaped and was fine now. But when Aman, outraged, had wanted to inform the police, ASR had declined, citing vague reasons. He had simply asked him to arrange for increased security for himself and his family.
“Humaare associate ne kaha hai ki kal tak laptop ka information bhi mil jaega aur hum apna final report tayyar karenge." BT said. “Humne aapko pehle phone kiya yeh bataane ke liye ki target ki wife aur unke parivaar ko khatra ho saktha hai."
A chill running down his spine, Aman realised that the scoundrel was with her right now, as they were speaking. He had to get her out of his clutches, he had to get her to safety.
Cutting BT off with instructions to call him as soon as the laptop was decoded, he dialled Anjaliji's number.
She picked up after a couple of rings.
“Anjaliji…Anjali” he said, pacing by the side of the road. “Is Shyam with you?”
“Ji… woh” she said, her voice shaking a little. “bathroom me hain.”
“Listen to me very carefully” Aman said, “I need you to get out of your room right now.”
“Iss waqt?” she asked.
“Haan, iss waqt dammit!” he said, “Make some excuse, kisi bhi family member ke paas jaiye, right now!”
“Par hua kya hai?”
“I can’t explain now,” he said, slamming his wrist on his bike seat. “Agar aap nahi maani toh hum abhi ASR ko phone karenge”
After a beat of silence she said, “Hum Naani ke kamre me jaathe hai”
He heard her call out to her husband that Naani was asking for her and she would spend the night with her. He couldn’t hear Shyam’s response but there was some rustling on the other side before she said,
“Amanji?”
“I’m here” he said, “Anjaliji kal subah aap hume ussi café me miliye, hum sab samjha denge but you have to stay away from him. Nani ke kamre ka door lock kar lijiye. Don’t be alone with him at any time, promise?”
To his immense relief, she promised immediately.
"Acha hi hua aapka phone aa gaya" she said, sounding slightly out of breath.
"Kyon? Kya hua?" he asked, his heart leaping to his throat. He remembered that she had sounded scared even before he told her to leave the room."Aap theek toh hai? Usne kuch..."
"Nahi, nahi aisi koi baat nahi hai" she said. "Woh bas keh rahe the ki hume firse baby ke liye try karna chahiye aur hum iss waqt..."
She stopped short. Aman had to fist his hand and hold it against his mouth to keep from screaming at her to get away from that man. Nani's room was alright for tonight but she needed to get away from him.
"I'm sorry, yeh humaara personal matter hai" she said, her voice low. "Hum Naani ke kamre me pohonch gaye hain, aapse kal milte hain. Goodnight."
As he bade her goodnight, it was not embarrassment that he felt. Aman’s ride home was filled with anxiety and self-doubt.
Having returned from Bali earlier in the week, ASR had asked about the PI and Aman had been purposefully vague telling him that he had hired someone and that he was on the job. With moving into the new apartment and catching up on work, ASR hadn't had time to follow up on it but Aman knew that it was only a matter of time. Perhaps it was time to come clean with him.
But Anjaliji had been most insistent that the entire investigation be kept a secret until the final outcome and if he couldn’t tell ASR, then her safety became his responsibility.
For the first time in years, he felt a sense of resentment creeping in. This was all way above his pay grade.
When he reached home, he washed up and sat down to dinner with Amma and Pari.
Although Pari seemed much improved, almost back to her cheery self, and though the food was his favourite, jeera ke chawal with rajma plus his favourite halwa, sent over by Priya's mother, he simply couldn’t relax. BT’s words kept ringing in his mind.
He tucked Pari into bed with a quick story and returned to his room, exhausted but filled with a nervous energy that wouldn’t let him rest.
Pacing the length of the room, he turned to Priya and told her of his dilemma.
“That poor woman, Priya” he said, “All the wealth in the world and having to hide from her own husband like this. Kaise bardaasht karegi woh yeh sab?”
His wife’s smiling face gave him some comfort, reminding him of how strong women were and of the adversity they were capable of shouldering.
But tonight, he thought, it would be her last night of peace in a long time to come. Tomorrow Anjaliji would have irrefutable proof of her husband’s infidelity, among his other wrongdoings. Fretting over what the laptop would reveal, Aman didn’t quite know just then that they had barely scratched the surface of Shyam’s crimes.
All he could think of at the time was that Anjaliji needed a friend and if for reasons best known to God, he was the only available candidate for the job, then he would simply have to do his best.
Returning to bed, he hesitated but a second, before texting her words that Priya had once recited to him from her favourite poem.
“Honsla rakhiye, Anjaliji” he wrote, “Har raat ke baad hota hai savera aur har virah ke baad basta hai basera.”
chapter 1
So the story begins with Aman's perspective. How did he not Khushi in person till now?
Arnav telling Aman not to call him. Did we hear that right?
Anjali did not wait around for her brother, but took the initiative to find the truth for herself.
Haha! Two reasons-
1. In the show, Khushi actually says that even though she has never met him, Amanji was nice enough to send her a gift for her birthday.
2. In my story, I've taken the liberty to time Aman losing his wife with Khushi's office days to explain his absence then and the fact that they hadn't met before.
Thanks for your likes and comments!
