ArHi FF: Highway to Hell, note pg 147 - Page 45

Chapter 13: 13 is an unlucky number.

Khushi was lying in her hammock with a book. A steaming cup of coffee sat on the side table next to hammock. Nigel was there too with the kids. Sheila was bouncing a ball around and Nita had a huge bunch of toys around her that she seemed to specialize in scattering around her. Apparently that amused her no end, for she was chuckling as she flung the around her, while Nigel tried to maintain a semblance of order. The bell rang.

"I'll get it" Nigel got up.

"No. Nigel, you watch them. I'll go see who it is" said Khushi. She leapt out of the hammock and hurried down the stairs. She swung the door open, the greeting dying on her lips as she took in whom it was.

"May I come in?" asked Anjali.

"Come in" said Khushi opening the door wide. "What do you want Ms.Raizada?" she asked formally.

"Err. I just want to talk to you Khushi." Said Anjali.

"I really have nothing to say to you" Khushi's eyes were stern. Sheila chose that moment to come down. "Is it Aadit uncle Mommy? He said he would come today" she said.

"No, honey. It's not Aadit Uncle" said Khushi.

"Your daughter?" asked Anjali. Khushi nodded. "Is she the older one?" asked Anjali, receiving another nod in reply.

"Sheila, say hello to Ms.Raizada and go upstairs to Nigel. Now." Said Khushi stiffly. Sheila looked at her Mom in some surprise. She rarely used that tone. She walked up to Anjali quietly.

"Hello. I am Sheila. How are you?" she said politely.

"Hi Sheila. I'm Anjali. Nice to meet you" said Anjali smiling pleasantly. Sheila smiled at her, shook her hand lightly and scampered away.

"Say what you want to and leave Ms. Raizada. My Saturday mornings with my family are very precious to me" said Khushi.

"Khushi, I am so sorry" said Anjali.

"What for?" Khushi snapped.

"Everything. All the things I said all those years ago. I was wrong. I was so wrong. But I loved my husband. Trusted him implicitly. Can't you understand how hard it was for me to disbelieve him?"

"I understand. Why don't you understand that I can't forgive you for what you did to me? Leave me alone" Snapped Khushi.

"You're willing to speak to Chotey. Why not me?" asked Anjali.

"Free country. I get to choose whom I speak with." Said Khushi coldly.

"Khushi, you're being unfair to me. To your Mother and Sister. Give us a chance, please."

"Unfair. I'm being unfair? You accused me of having an affair with your husband. Nobody believed me. Nobody gave me a chance to speak. You called me a wh**e. Said I was sleeping with your husband and your brother so I could extort money from the Raizada family. You even managed to convince my family that I was a gold-digger and a s**t. They shunned me. I had nothing. No money, no family. Nothing. And I'm being unfair because I don't want to talk to you? That's hilarious."

"Khushi, I'm sorry. I was wrong. So wrong. Nothing I can do will change what happened. But you have to give us a chance. Please."

"Oh. Because I got so many chances, of course?" asked Khushi.

"Because my brother loves you."

Khushi's eyes flashed anger. "How dare you. Don't ever try to manipulate me using ASR."

"You love him too." Said Anjali flatly. "You always have."

"Go to hell" said Khushi.

"You guys can be happy together. And that means we can be happy as a family. For that to happen, you need to forgive us. It's hard. I know. But for Chotey's sake. Please."

"Leave" said Khushi.

"What?"

"Leave. I don't want you in my house any longer. Get out." Said Khushi, in a tight, controlled voice. "And tell your brother I won't be meeting him for lunch today" she said flatly.

"He'll kill me Khushi. Don't. Please. I'm sorry I came."

"He won't say a word. After all, you're his Di. And Di is always right. Di is so right that even though he knew I'd never slept with any man but him, he threw me out."

"Khushi! Don't" Anjali was crying now.

"Get out. And tell ASR I won't be going to lunch with him. Not today. Not ever. I don't want anything to do with your family. Agreeing to lunch was a mistake." Khushi walked off leaving Anjali standing. When she came down 5 minutes later, Anjali was gone.

30 minutes later Khushi's phone rang. "I'll be waiting at The Zodiac Grill at noon, Khushi" Said ASR.

"I'm not coming."

"We need to talk. Forget about it being a date. I need to talk to you" said ASR.

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Then listen to what I have to say."

"Don't want to. I made a mistake agreeing to lunch with you. In fact, calling you home to meet the girls was a mistake. And I should've never rented the bungalow from you. As soon as I find another place, I'll move out with the children."

"Shut up Khushi."

"In fact, coming to India was a mistake. Kissing you that evening was a mistake. And letting you read Sheila that story was a mistake."

"Don't say things you'll regret later Khushi" said Arnav very quietly.

"I regret nothing I said ASR. I should have never let you meet my girls. You and your family have already screwed up my life once. I won't let you mess with my children's lives."

"Enough" he thundered, now very angry. "Either you come to lunch or I'm coming over to the bungalow."

"Do as you please. If you come here, I'll call the cops."

"You do that. Remember, I own the damn bungalow Khushi Kumari Gupta."

"Blackmail. Of course, typical ASR."

"Are you coming to lunch or am I coming over?"

"Neither."

"Nope. Pick one. You know I'll come over. What's more, I am angry now. Very, very angry. Do you want me to make a scene in front of your kids?" he asked.

"I'll be there."

"Good. I'll be waiting."

He was waiting for her when she got to the restaurant. She walked to his table and sat down.

"What do you want from me?" she asked.

"To make you see sense" he glared. "Khushi. I know you're not happy with us. I know we hurt you. But I thought we were making progress, you and I."

"I made a mistake. I told you. I should have never let you come home."

"Talk sense Khushi. I love you. I want to be with you. I want to right all the wrongs we did all those years ago."

"You can't," she said quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"You can't right all the wrongs you did. It's done. That's it. I dealt with it. I made a life for myself. Then I saw you again after all these years. I let you in a little. It was a mistake. I should never have done it. But it's a good thing Anjali came home today. I woke up to the fact that I made a mistake. I don't want to see you anymore. And I don't want you, or your family, or the people who were my family anywhere near my kids."

"Why? What do you think we'll do to them?" he asked angrily.

"I don't think you'll do anything to them. I just don't want them to see you people and see me when I'm with you guys. They haven't seen their mother get angry or upset the ways you guys make me upset. They are children. They are very perceptive. And they've been through…anyway, that's beside the point. Bottom line, either you stay from us, or I pack up and leave for the UK tomorrow."

"That's your final decision then? You won't give me a chance? Us, a chance?" he asked.

"I've said all I had to"

"Fine then. Leave. Go. Run away. That's your usual style anyway."

"Better than your style of trying to scare everyone into submission."

"Just go Khushi. Just leave. And don't ever come back. We'll stay away from you, just like you asked. And when your Buaji dies in a few months, don't bother showing up for the funeral. We've managed all these years without you. We'll manage that too."

"Buaji is sick? She's dying?" asked Khushi.

"She has Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. She has about 6-8 months left. She wants to beg your forgiveness before she dies. She's too ashamed to even talk to you. But of course, Khushi Kumari Gupta is now a successful career woman, and so called Mother. What kind of mother are you? No mother can ever be as hard-hearted as you." He said furiously. Khushi turned pale at his taunt about her motherhood.

"F**k you Arnav Singh Raizada. Nothing you say can change my mind." She got up and left.

Arnav didn't stay to watch her leave this time. He strode away in the opposite direction. It's over, he thought. It's over.

Sorry it's so angry and sad. If you guys are mad, I'll understand completely.

Expecting all the eggs and tomatoes. *runs*

Originally posted by: ..-Sanzz-..

The Ending Was Extremely Sad :X 🥺

Originally posted by: madmaxine

Sorry. If I had a dislike button, I'd hit it for this chapter. 😭

Vidhya...I would say it was a powerful update...a clash with all the bare.Atleast she let it out...she said what she had to say to Anjali.She confronted her.