FF: Arnav and Khushi On their way to Happily ever after
Chapter 7
A few minutes earlier'
Shyam watched his handiwork with satisfaction.
Anyone starting either of these cars was in for a surprise. Grinning, he glanced around the garage. He'd managed to safely avoid the security cameras and sneaking out would be no more difficult.
Eying his work once more, he made his way quietly out of mansion.
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'Payalji, hm mandir jana chahtay hain'' Anjali said to Payal who'd been wandering around her room for the past fifteen minutes or so. Anjali was both a little amused and annoyed at her antics; she wasn't going to do anything stupid even if it did sound tempting.
Payal nodded, 'Hm driver ko btatay hain''
Anjali watched her go away then looked down at her hands. She was hurting so much'
Tears blurred her eyes and she finally had a few peaceful moments of blissful crying. Ap hmaray sath ye kaisay kar sktay thay? Kiun kia ap ne ye sb? Aur becharay Chotay or Khushiji'
Approaching footsteps alerted her of Payal's arrival and she wiped her tears, not wanting to worry them all the more. Besides, this much hurt had to be bad for the baby. She swallowed and forced a smile.
Payal's eyes were quietly understanding as she nodded. 'De, hm ap ke sath jain gy.'
Anjali nodded, grateful for her support. She was glad neither Nani nor Mamiji were here or they would've crowded her a lot more.
They made their way to the garage and on spotting them, the driver, who'd been lounging beside the car, straightened and entered the driver's seat to start the car.
They were a few feet away when he turned the ignition and'
BOOM!
They knew no more.
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Khushi was not sure how they came upon the scene. One minute she'd been leaning towards Arnavji, on the verge of that elusive something and suddenly, before she could so much as blink, he'd been on his feet, running away, calling for De.
She'd followed, naturally and the smoke had told its own story. Fear gripped her in its cold grasp as she eyed the now smoldering garage through the smoke. Arnavji hadn't let the smoke deter him, jumping straight in.
A pain-filled cry filled the air and she ran, her worst fears suddenly much more real.
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Arnav felt like he was drowning. There was strange pressure on his ears, his throat felt clogged and everything else was slowly fading into nothingness.
He could only see what lay in front of him and he wanted to tear his eyes out so that he wouldn't have to.
Lying a few feet away from the open garage door (or what remained of it, anyway) were two bloodied bodies, covered in soot and ash.
Please De, please be okay' he silently pleaded, fearful of moving forward but unable to stop. He forced one step ahead of the next, until he stood right above them.
With a broken cry, he dropped to his knees beside De. Her face was blackened and bloodied, several scrapes marring her hands and arms. And was that a burn?
He stared at her uncomprehendingly, his mind refusing to accept what he saw. He knew he should turn and check the other body (probably Payal) but he couldn't turn away.
He was aware of someone running to stand beside him, of Khushi's scream when she saw Payal but it was all faded, in the background.
Hesitantly, he reached out to touch De's face, his voice hoarse, 'De''
She moaned and stirred and started to get up. She winced when she moved; suddenly, everything came rushing back into focus. De was alive! He had to get her help.
'Shh',' he murmured, gently forcing her back, 'ap wapis lait jao De, I'll call the ambulance''
De laid her head back with a grimace; in his periphery he saw Khushi place Payal's head in her lap, softly murmuring. He took out the phone, called for the ambulance and waited.
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The ride in the ambulance had been quite stressful; Khushi hated hospitals, especially since her Babaji's stroke. It was made even worse by the fact that the orderlies kept saying dangerous sounding stuff like 'heart beat stable, blood pressure normal''. It made her head hurt and she was grateful to finally get off the godforsaken vehicle.
They rolled Payal and Anjaliji on gurneys and straight to the emergency room, to provide them quickest services. She and Arnavji were left to wait outside.
Arnavji had withstood the shock much better than she'd anticipated. At first, when she'd seen him kneeling beside De, she'd thought he was going into shock himself. But then, he'd come back, snapping orders, demanding answers and all in all, appearing completely in charge.
She was more than glad to hand over this responsibility to him. Her hands and feet still shook when she thought of Jiji and De lying like the dead. They'd been standing away for the garage door which had saved their lives. Their driver hadn't been so lucky; neither had been the other car.
Arnavji had made her call Ammaji and Buaji and he was attempting to contact Naniji, Mamiji and Mamaji, who'd gone shopping earlier in the day.
She looked about her, feeling suddenly exhausted. Ammaji and Buaji would be here soon enough. Sighing heavily, she plopped into the waiting seats and closed her eyes. Soon, she was napping.
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Nani, Mami and Mama arrived like a hurricane, Khushi's Ammaji and Buaji following in the aftermath. Arnav was both relieved and a little tense. Usually, De or Khushi or Payal or even Aakash dealt with the social aspects of his life.
Now, however, De and Payal were indisposed (his fists clenched tightly), Aakash, who'd arrived moments earlier, was now attending to his wife and Khushi had fell in an exhausted sleep on the waiting seats and he was left to his own devices. In that moment, he realized how much he relied on the others to save him from the bane of social existence.
Everyone started talking at once, bombarding him with questions and not even waiting for his reply before asking the next one. He tried to get in a few words but failed.
Mami and Buaji were near hysterics, as was Khushi's Ammaji and Nani was barely holding it together; he felt sure that in another minute or so, they were going to break out into tears and then he would be completely lost. So he did the only thing he could.
'Enough!' he nearly yelled, so that everyone within the waiting area, including the hospital staff, fell quiet. His family stared at him and he resisted the urge to curse. 'De or Payal ko ap ke ansuon se koi faida nahi hoga' if you want them to get better, do something practical. Nani, aj raat unhain yahin rukna hai, ap uski arrangements krwa den aur''
'Hello hi, bye bye! Thora apun speed ko slow karo, Arnav bitwa. Ee to btao ke hua ka hai?' Mami asked.
'I'm not sure,' he said, then raised his voice over their protests, 'I called the police before coming here. Ab ja kr check karun ga''
He turned to Nani, noticing the lines drawn around her mouth. She looked very worried and was that' that was a small toy sticking out of her purse. He eyed them all again, noticing a cuddly teddy bear in Mami's hands. In her worry, she'd twisted the poor thing severely.
When he'd come home, he hadn't really noticed nobody was home until much later, when his mind had cleared up a little. Now he wondered where they'd all been.
He realized he'd asked the question aloud when Nani replied him, 'Hm apnay ghar ke nai mehmanon ke lia kuch tuhfay lenay gai thay''
Sometimes Arnav wished Nani wouldn't talk in riddles. What did she mean, mehmanon? As far as he knew, De wasn't expecting twins. Did that mean Payal'?
Judging from the interested looks on Khushi's family, he realized he wasn't the only one in the dark. Nani continued, 'Hm aj Khushi bitia aur ap ko surprise dena chahtay thay''
Whoa, wait, back up. 'What?'
He was sure he looked much more stricken than either Buaji or Ammaji.
'Sanka devi?' Buaji intoned, her expression going from stricken to blissful in mere moments. She turned to Arnav, 'Nandkisore, tm ne hmain kiun nahi bataya?'
'Madhumati ji, aisa inhn ne jan ke nahi kia. Wo kia hai ka inhain khud he kal pata chala hai' hm aj ap ko ghar bulana chahtay thay'' Nani soothed Buaji.
'What the hell are you talking about?' Khushi? Pregnant??? And she'd told him about it? He suddenly recalled De's meaningful glances. Wow, they think Khushi's' wow, just'
Mami rolled her eyes, 'Ee dhek lo'' she launched into a detailed account of how men usually got cold feet upon discovering they were about to become fathers. Mama naturally disagreed, saying it just took them more time to adjust to that idea. Others enthusiastically joined in.
He shook his head to clear it, wondering how he could get them off this increasingly disturbing topic of his impending fatherhood. He glanced around and watched as Buaji and Ammaji shook Khushi awake, and hugged her. She responded with equal enthusiasm, which faded somewhat as they congratulated her on her pregnancy.
She gave him a look over their shoulders. Ap ne sb ko kia bta dia ha? Her words echoed. He understood her confusion now.
He'd have to end this ridiculousness but later. For now, Khushi could handle them; he'd go and see the police.
'I'll be back once I wrap things up.' He announced and, ignoring Khushi's warning glare, stalked off
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Khushi watched Arnavji leave. She couldn't believe he'd abandoned her like this, leaving her to deal with the entire family, regarding the accident and her supposed pregnancy.
She settled on giving them what little details she could about Jiji and De's accident; fortunately, they were too concerned with it to ask about much else. And she was saved from the trouble of giving out the painful details of what had happened before the accident and her supposed pregnancy.
Although'
Everyone sounded so sure she was pregnant, it was contagious. And what did she really know about it anyway? She didn't even know exactly what the right of Suhag meant. What if she really was pregnant? What if Arnavji had indeed been fulfilling his husbandly duties and she was simply unaware of it? She'd heard said that when a guy got too close to a girl, that usually resulted in pregnancy. And she and Arnavji, despite their differences, were certainly close enough.
That would mean'
She suddenly clamped her stomach, wondering if she could feel that nameless, faceless baby inside her. It was a scary and thrilling thought. If Anjaliji and Jiji and everyone else on whom she depended for guidance thought she was expecting'
If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it might as well be a duck.
She did love such moments of clarity.
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Edited by Mariam.Ejaz - 13 years ago
CID
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
29