Part 3
This is a long update...again there's a long build-up of misunderstanding but is crucial for the Arnav Khushi face-off at the end. I will be updating part 4 today...I can't leave it hanging like that It's so heartbreaking. This is the end of ASR as a monster...promise
Sipping a glass of water, Arnav watched as Aman ushered the foreign clients away, nervously looking back at his boss from time to time. Aman gulped as he shut the door, preparing to face the music. There it was, the steely, ice-cold deadly glare and the clenched fists, barely masking ASR's fury.
'Aman. What. The. Hell. Was. That. About,' Arnav said through gritted teeth.
Aman gulped again and looked down at his feet.
'AMAN. I'm not going to ask you again. W*F WAS THAT ABOUT,' Arnav bellowed, slamming his fists down onto the table.
'urmm...urmm..I'm really sorry ASR. You know me...I would never, EVER, interrupt a meeting like that..but..but,'
'But what,' snapped Arnav
'but it was really important,' said Aman quickly, eyes downcast again.
'Important?' said Arnav incredulously, an eyebrow raised and quickly approaching the end of his tolerance level.
Aman gulped yet again'he knew that tone..
'Please don't fire me ASR. I promise it won't ever happen again. It's just...she called and I.. couldn't say no to her and... she threatened to..''
'WHAT?! Who called?'
'Shit. My mistake Arnav..sorry no-one..uh..'
'AMAN if you don't tell me right now I will fire you and make sure nobody ever hires an idiot like you ever again,' said Arnav menacingly, stepping closer and closer to his quivering employee.
'It was bhabi,' he blurted out'quickly looking down again.
'WHAT. Explain this right now.'
'She..uh..she called the office when you were in the meeting, she needed to speak to me urgently.'
'You. Why would she need to speak to YOU,' said Aranv, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
'It was about your food. She uh..she said you hadn't eaten two meals in a row and she could almost guarantee that you hadn't eaten any of the food Hariprakash sent for you..so she..she told me to get your car keys, get the food out and make sure you ate it. That's why...that's why I had to come in here and ask for your keys...in front of the foreign delegates...and why I kept asking...even though you told me more than once to GET OUT,' Aman replied sheepishly.
'And you ?!'
'She uh..she said I had to do what I said RIGHT NOW so then I told her that you were in one of the most important meetings of the year and I couldn't disturb ASR or you'd fire me, so then she said something about Laad gov something and that I had to do it, so then I said, 'but its ASR and she said it's not ASR but KSR you should be scared of and that SHE'D fire me. So I said...either way I'm getting fired and she said exactly, but if you listen to me you'll get fired without the guilt of an ill or dead boss! She emotionally blackmailed me sir, saying if ANYTHING happened to you it would be all my fault...I should just stop.'
Arnav stared disbelievingly at his hyperventilating PA. Was this really a man?
But he brushed aside his annoyance with Aman's lack of professionalism in the boardroom...focussing again on the glaringly obvious fact that she cared. She didn't want him to know that she had sent the food with HP..didn't want him to know she'd set Aman on him too. This wasn't an act...
Arnav took the parcel out of Aman's hands and went back to his own office, lost in thought.
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Khushi sat on the bed surrounded by sarees thinking deeply about something, barely listening to Anjali's cheerful babble.
'I think you should wear this one,' Anjali said, holding up a pink and silver saree.
No response.
Anjali flapped the saree in Khushi's face, bringing her back to the present.
'Khushi...What's wrong? is everything alright?' asked Anjali, placing a hand on her shoulder and turning her round slightly.
'Nothing di..I'm fine. I..err I don't want to wear this saree today,' she replied blandly.
'Khushi I'm not asking about the saree. I've been meaning to ask you for a while. Is everything alright between you and Chote? You've been looking so lost these days, been so quiet. It's not like you?'
'No..no. Nothing's wrong, everything is absolutely fine between us,' she replied, a little too quickly.
'Ok Khushi. But just remember, if you ever want to talk about something, you know I'm here for you. Nobody knows Chote better than me...whatever he says or does in anger..you should never take it to heart. He's..he's always found it hard to express himself...but I've seen it. I know that he loves you..i've seen it in his eyes..'
'his eyes,' Khushi muttered..a flood of memories flashing through her mind, finally ending at the way he looked at her last night. His eyes had been burning, burning with hatred.
'Yes..his eyes. You know, Nani and I thought there was something brewing between you two before you..er..got married like that. Remember that night, when you fainted..I had never seen so much concern for anyone other than me on his face before,' said Anjali with a smile.
Hmmm Khushi nodded'
Eyes twinkling, Anjali reached over and picked out a red saree from the pile and held it up.
'I think you should wear this one..it's his..'
'favourite colour..I know. But I don't want to wear that one,'
Never again, Khushi thought. That saree brought back too many painful memories.
Flashback:
It was the second morning after marriage. Khushi still did not know why Arnav had blackmailed her into marrying him like that but she had decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and trust him. It was useless trying to ask him anything anyway. It had always ended in pain and she definitely didn't want a repeat of the Suhaag Raat conversation. So she had gotten up early, showered, washed her hair and made a special effort. Worn his favourite colour..for him.
Creeping downstairs she had made breakfast, planning to surprise him. She knew he had to go to the office early that day and would miss the family breakfast.
He was still asleep, in a restless sleep, his face strained, tossing and turning.
She had shaken him lightly to wake him.
'Ar..Arnav. Arnav wake up,'
He had grunted something in reply. Leaning over him she had gently tapped his face..earnestly trying to wake him up. He had opened his eyes slowly and smiled. Actually smiled at her.
'Khushii..' he had said slowly, a lazy smile spreading across his sleepy face.
Her heart had skipped a beat. He had smiled at her. She straightened up slightly.
'Arnav get up...I've made you breakfast. You need to go to work early today remember,' she had said, smiling back at him and still leaning over him.
Her wet hair had dripped onto his face, bringing him back to reality. He stared up at her, the smile had faded as he spied the mangalsutra hanging down as she leant over, and with it the cursed chain of memories..Shyam hugging Khushi. Anjali fainting. The marriage.
His eyes had darkened.
'Get out of my face. What the hell do you think you are doing,' he had growled, sitting bolt upright in bed.
She had been taken aback by that
'I..err..Arnav..get ready and have some breakfast..i've made'
'Don't tell me what to do,' he snapped back at her, cutting her off mid-sentence.
Choosing to ignore that comment and putting it down to early-morning crankiness from an already moody person, Khushi walked over and put the breakfast tray down on the table.
By that time, Arnav had gotten out of bed and was just about to head to the bathroom when she turned around, and he saw her properly and clearly.
He stopped dead in his tracks, transfixed to the spot. Khushi was beautiful..he had long accepted that. But in that saree she had looked even more so.
Noticing his stare, Khushi felt a blush creeping up her cheeks, her lips quivering in nervous anticipation.
'Do you...do you like this saree?' she had asked nervously.
And that was it. He had totally lost it.
Striding towards her in quick steps, he backed her up against the nearest wall, his hands leaning against the wall as he stared down at her, his brown eyes blackened with hatred and said
'Don't think for a minute that I don't know exactly what you are. I hate you, hate the sight of you. So when I can barely stand to look at you, do you think I give a damn about what saree you wear. Do you get that Khushi Kumari...I mean Khushi Singh Raizada,' he breathed before storming back to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.
He hadn't come home till 10pm that day, ignoring her in the hall and climbing into bed, rolling over to face the wall, staying true to his word of not wanting to ever look at her.
End of flashback.
Khushi felt her eyes prick for the second time that morning.
'No Khushi..I think you should wear this red saree. It's the first pooja we are holding after your marriage. You are a suhagan now'I think you should wear it and Chote will really like it,' insisted Anjali.
'No Di..you're right. This is my first pooja after marriage and that's why I want to wear this saree,' she said, holding up a blue saree. 'It was my amma's...when I was little It was my favourite saree. I wanted her to wear it everyday. One day she said to me, when you get married, I'll give it to you and then you can wear it everyday and see how annoyed your husband gets when you always wear the same colour. She never got to see my marriage...and..and,' breaking into a sob, 'neither did my new amma and babuji. That's why I want to wear this saree..,'
'Shh,' said Anjali softly, tears welling up as she hugged her sister-in-law. Wiping Khushi's tears, Anjali said ,'then you must definitely wear this saree to the pooja, ok'
Shyam was in the doorway, watching the scene play out before him. Suddenly he remembered the note Khushi sent Arnav and, an idea striking, a devious, evil smile spread across his face. Stepping back a bit, he called out:
'Rani sahiba...where are you. I need your help with something.'
Anjali smiled at Khushi and said she'll just be back.
Anjali walked out of Arnav's room and found her husband waiting at the top of the stairs.
'What's wrong,' she asked.
'Where were you? I've been looking for you for sometime,' he replied, mocking urgency.
'I was just helping Khushi pick out a saree for tonight..why has something happened?'
'Nothing..I just wanted to make sure you were resting. I don't want anything to happen to you or our baby.'
'Nothing has or will happen to me. I was just looking through sarees!'
'Acha Ranisahiba. Oh speaking of Khushi and sarees...I've just realised something. '
'what'
'We still haven't gotten Khushi any wedding present. I think we should gift her a saree and some jewellery'
'That's a great idea. And we should get her a blue saree...a sky blue saree. I know she'll love that' replied Anjali, beaming. This will definitely cheer Khushi up, thought Anjali. Nobody could know better than her the pain of losing a mother.
'We shouldn't delay at all. We are both at home today, let's go right now and get her something. We can get a saree for Payal too,' chirped Anjali excitedly.
Shyam smiled...this was getting too easy.
'Acha Ranisaiba. Today? But you nearly hurt yourself today at the dinner table and I don't want to take any risks. You know how much you mean to me,' he cooed, drawing her into a hug.
'Nothing is ever going to happen to me when I have you to take care of me,' said Anjali, nestling her head onto his shoulder.
'There's no guarantee of that.' Shyam muttered instinctively. 'I mean, I'm not prepared to take the risk. Now I want you to go and take some rest right now, or I'll call Sale Saab and complain about you. I'll go by myself and do the shopping. Anyway, you've dragged me along so many times I'm sure I can do it on my own,' he replied, grinning from ear to ear.
Anjali hit him playfully on the chest. 'There's no need for that. Don't call chote about anything! '
Shyam guided her back to their room, a satisfied smirk spread across his face.
*****************************************************************************************************
Khushi sat at the dressing table, brushing her hair when she heard a knock on the door. Anjali came in, holding a gift bag.
Putting down the hairbrush, Khushi glided over to Anjali.
'This is for you, from me and your Jijaji.' Anjali smiled at Khushi as she took the bag from her hands. Her eyes twinkled as Khushi opened the bag and gasped in surprise. Inside was a sky blue saree. Khushi felt a lump in her throat.
'Blue saree...for you. Fulfilling your Amma's wish is my duty, right.' Khushi flung her arms around Anjali's neck, overcome with emotion. 'Anjali Di is such a beautiful, pure person,' Khushi thought wistfully. She didn't deserve what life had thrown at her.
'And here's a set of bangles. It's a wedding present, don't refuse it!' she warned playfully. 'I know you won't wear this new saree today, but you can at least wear the jewellery. Right?'
Khushi nodded, the tears still flowing.
Anjali left, closing the door softly behind her.
Khushi stared at the jewellery. She was so touched by Anjali's gesture she wanted to cry. Her own jiji was still angry with her, understandably so. Di was such a sweet person, she thought as she hugged the bangles close to her chest. It meant a lot to her. But it was a present from both of them. Khushi felt sick at the thought of wearing jewellery from Shyam. But Di's words, her smiling face and that look of understanding, of sharing her pain flashed before her eyes and she knew in that instance that no matter how sick Shyam was, he could never beat the goodness in Anjali. 'For di,' she thought, as she slid the bangles onto her wrists.
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Arnav pulled up outside his house and stopped, his mind in confusion. The shreds of paper were strewn all over his car, constantly reminding him of that note. He didn't understand. Didn't know what to believe.
Holding his head in his hands, he thought over past events carefully, thinking clearly and rationally.
A hundred memories of Khushi flashed before his eyes; their first meeting, Khushi in his office, in that red saree, in the rain, the guesthouse, Teej, the party, his house, Naintilal, Diwali. His thoughts lingered on the memory of that fateful Diwali. He had seen it in her eyes. There was definitely something in that expression; love, passion...'desire? And he'd seen that look again, on the Sangeet night when they had danced, she had let him kiss her..she'd kissed him on the cheek, in front of his family?!?! But then he remembered Shyam hugging her, her words echoing loudly in his brain. Images of Shyam smirking at Khushi in their house raced through his mind, ending at last with the vision of his hand on top of hers this morning, the parathas, the note... Of course she had led him on for so many months..there was nothing to it but lust. Of course she had let him go so far as to almost kiss her on the lips. A girl who could happily try to break the marriage of a woman like his Di, his Di who had always treated her so well, loved her like a sister...of course she wouldn't protest if a rich man like himself tried to kiss her.
But it couldn't just be lust, or gold-digging. He was richer than Shyam, better looking than Shyam. Why go for him? Unless she really was in love with him'
'Show you have feelings for me,' her words swam before his eyes and he punched the steering wheel in frustration.
But she had wiped her hand in disgust when Shyam had touched her..? And she had made sure he ate..went to such dangerous lengths risking both Aman's and HP's necks for it. She WAS concerned about him...
What if he had completely misunderstood her? He closed his eyes, her face appeared, her big, innocent eyes looking at him questioningly. Innocent..that was the word to describe her..
His mind a mess, Arnav got out the car and walked into his house, stopping suddenly, rooted to the spot.
Arnav felt his breath hitch as he stared at the sight before him. Khushi slowly descended down the stairs, the pallu of her sky blue saree trailing behind her and her eyes never leaving his as she walked towards him purposefully.
'Khushi,' he whispered hoarsely, his eyes misty and burning with desire.
She looked stunning. Her beautiful, long hair was open, her fringe blowing softly against her creamy cheeks. There it was..that look. Innocence. She seemed happy today, radiant even, a spring in her steps. Arnav just stood there, mesmerised.
'Beautiful..isn't she' said Anjali softly.
Arnav jolted back to reality and looked to the side.
'No need to shy away infront of your Di! What's wrong Chote..'
'Nothing..she just looks so'
'happy,' he murmured.
'It's what she's wearing,' Anjali replied.
Anjali looked at him quizzically. 'Do you notice anything different about Khushi today?'
Arnav paused for a moment.
'Her bangles..I've never seen those before,'
' They're new. A present from your Jijaji and me. We bought her a blue saree and bangles as a wedding present,' she said, smiling up at Chote.
'What?! you went shopping today! How many times do I have to remind you Di that I can bring the world to your feet if you want me to, but you don't have to go anywhere. In this condition you should be taking care of yourself!' he scolded, angry at her carelessness
'Relax Chote..you and him..won't leave me alone for a minute! He said the same thing..made me go and rest. He did the shopping...he picked it all!' she said reassuringly..completely missing his muscles tense, his jaw set in a straight line and his fists clench.
By this point, Khushi had made her way over to Arnav.
'Aman told me everything. Have you eaten,' she asked quietly. Ignoring her remark;
'Do you like this saree,' Arnav asked through gritted teeth.
'of course she does,' replied Anjali, twinkling at her.
Touched, amazed even. 'it's very special for me..means the world. And Di, I couldn't have received a better surprise than this,' she replied, holding up her arms to jingle the bangles.
Arnav felt his heart tear apart in that instant, her words echoing, screaming at him, torturing him.
'Means the world'
'maybe you should surprise me, make it clear you have feelings for me'
Her smiling face
And then the image of her jingling the bangles mixing horribly with an older memory...family photo-shoot when she was teasing him, trying to get him to confess that he had bought those stupid, wasted bangles for her.
Arnav suddenly felt unable to breathe.
Thankfully at that moment Khushi and Anjali disappeared towards the Mandir. Arnav staggered backwards..he had received confirmation. Khushi loved Shyam...Openly.
As if his torture couldn't get any worse, he was met with the sound of a low laugh. Shyam bit into a jalebi, grinning at Arnav's tormented face.
'It feels so good, doesn't it. When the one you love appreciates a gift,'
'Listen you,' Arnav hissed, digging his nails deeper and deeper into his skin.
'Uh uh Sale Saab. So much anger' he whispered, mocking concern before his eyes darkened and narrowed. 'So much anger isn't good for a person. Makes them bitter. Life should be sweet, like jalebis.' He bit into another jalebi.
'mmm...this jalebi is sooo good. So sweet, so sticky...just like it's maker. Khushi's jalebis are the best in the whole world...one bite and you keep wanting more.'
He looked straight into Arnav's eyes, which were blazing with a rage so strong, he backed up a bit.
Licking his fingers one by one, he added 'you should try them sometime...oh sorry I just remembered, you're diabetic. Tumhari liye meetha mana hai, na. Koi baat nahi, tumhari hise ki jalebi meh kau?'
Shyam smirked at Arnav, took the last bit of the Jalebi and walked off.
Arnav's body was trembling in anger. It took every last vestige of control in his body, every ounce of mental strength not to tear Shyam to pieces, limb for limb.
He was sickened to the core, a wave of emotions overpowering him, threatening to take over and sweep him into a rage so blind he would...
At that moment his Nani appeared, calling him for the pooja.
Drinking a glass of water, he kept the storm at bay throughout the pooja. He could not bear to look at Khushi, who still had that happy glow about her. Of course she did, dressed in the clothes and jewellery Shyam had bought her. She had received her surprise...he had shown he had feelings for her.
Shyam's words echoed in his ears. Arnav stared into the fire, his mind raging with emotion, his heart burnt and his pride scalded.
The moment the pooja ended he got up and announced that he wanted to be left alone in his room and he was taking Khushi with him.
Before anyone could protest he added 'I've already tolerated this pooja against my wishes and beliefs for all of you, now let me do what I want.'
And with that he dragged Khushi by the hand upto their room, practically shoving her inside and then locked the door.
'What are you'' he cut her off grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her back as he backed her up against the wall. He stared at her, his eyes reflecting a myriad of emotions, hurt, pain, anger but the overriding look of contempt is what hurt her the most.
'TAKE IT OFF RIGHT NOW' he yelled, squeezing harder on her arm as he struggled to keep control.
'What..'
'I said take that filthy saree off right now and I never want to ever see you wear it again,' he stepped back immediately, noticing her eyes well up as the tears started streaming down her cheeks.
'do you know what this saree means to me?' Khushi asked slowly, doubtfully. 'it was a present from...''
'yes I know...Di told me everything. And I'm not going to repeat myself..go and take it off right now or I'll'
'OR WHAT,' she screamed as she marched up to him. 'How dare you say that to me?! If anyone I thought YOU'D at least understand. I never want to take this off'...it means so much to me, it means the world to me. It..'
And that was it. It means the world to me. That was all it took to push Arnav over the edge.
Overcome with this all-consuming, over-bearing rage he viciously ripped the pallu of her saree off and literally pulled the saree off her, spinning her, not stopping until every last yard of the saree lay in a crumpled heap on the floor.
He was blind to her tears, deaf to her screams. All he knew was that she loved Shyam. Even in that state though he couldn't bring himself to do this to her, degrade her like this...picking up the bedsheet he threw it over her exposed body and pushed her down onto his bed.
'I TOLD YOU TO TAKE IT OFF and I never, EVER want to see you wear it again. In fact, I never want to SEE it again...I'm going to burn this saree till there's nothing left..
'NOOO,' Khushi cried out, sobbing her eyes out as all the grief she'd been harbouring for the past month came out in a flood.
But he was oblivious..too wrapped up in his rage to know.
'And not just this saree..all of this crap,' he blazed and started yanking off the bangles one by one, roughly, carelessly and then moved on to pull out the earrings she was wearing. Khushi squirmed as she tried to stop this madness, sliding backwards so he grasped her ankles to make her stop.
'And these too..anything that I didn't'' and then he stopped. Suddenly, halting his charge. Abruptly, his eyes wide with shock, his hand retreating, stepping back in horror.
He was about to rip off her mother's payals. Her real, dead mother's payals.
Breathing heavily through her tears Khushi looked at him and screamed 'RUK KYU GAYE'! WHY DID YOU STOP. PULL THESE OFF TOO...BREAK THEM. WHEN YOU WANT TO BURN MY DEAD MOTHER'S SAREE TO THE GROUND THEN WHY SPARE HER PAYALS'
'WHY'
'KEEP GOING...GO ON'
Arnav stepped back again, an overwhelming feeling of horror coursing through him.
'Khushi...'I'm sorry 'I'm sorry im sorry DAMMIT I DIDN'T KNOW...YOU KNOW I'D NEVER,' his voice sounded alien to him...constricted and tight...weak and hoarse
'YOU DIDN'T KNOW??!
'I'M THE ONE WHO DOESN'T KNOW'
I'M THE ONE WHO DOESN'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE?
WHO ARE YOU?
WHO ARE YOU
YOU ARE NOT THE MAN I FELL IN LOVE WITH
YOU AREN'T EVEN THE MAN I ONCE HATED
WHO ARE YOU? 'who are you..who are you?' she kept repeating as her voice subsided and blended in with her muffled sobs as she picked up the saree from the floor and shrank back to the bed, finally breaking down, clutching the material to her chest as if her life depended on it.
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Part 4:
http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=2793542&PID=53923892�
Bindi
Udne Ki Aasha
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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