IPK FF:Broken Mirror-Chapter 10 Pg 109 Upd-16/06 - Page 66

Chapter 9

"Kushi bitiya, there's a reason I called you. You nor Payal Bitiya was properly welcomed to this house given the tragic circumstances. But we can't neglect our traditions and rituals. I know the time is distressing for everyone but I want us to follow what our ancestors have told us to do. So we'll be having both yours and Payal's Grah Pravesh Rasam tonight"

Khushi stared at naani ji as her heart sank to the pit of her stomach. Another encounter with the devil himself and it would be unavoidable. How long was she going to escape him? She can't pretend that he didn't exist. Wherever she went his eyes followed her, his touch burning her body, his fingers still imprinted on her flesh. Kushi gave an involuntary shudder and tried hard to stop the familiar nauseated sensation now creeping up on her.

Naani walked towards her wardrobe and took out a glistening orange and green shaadi ka joda with intricate designs of silvery white thread and semi precious white stones studded in the embroidery and handed it to Kushi. "Wear this with the jewellery tonight" she smiled cupping her face softly.

Kushi nodded unable to utter the words stuck in her throat. What could she do other than accepting everything and moving on?

---

"Akash ji, I want to talk to you"

Akash paced around the room, a file in hand while resolutely refusing to acknowledge Payal's presence. She had betrayed his trust. She had hidden a truth that nearly costed his di's life and he knew Anjali would never be completely alright; neither physically nor mentally. Had she informed about the rascal sooner, things would have been different- very different.

Akash Raizada although calm and controlled on the outside had a stiff, inflexible interior. He and his cousin brother might show disparate dispositions from outside yet when it came to things that mattered he wasn't much different from Arnav. Stubborn, scathing and absolute refusal to hear the other side of the story how much it made sense made Arnav and Akash two peas in a pod.

Moreover his face was blank as a sheet of paper most of the time. It was quite a job to read what went inside his head just from looking at his face.

"Akash ji I can't even begin to say how sorry I am. We were wrong, very wrong in keeping your family away from this knowledge. But Akaash ji try to look at it from our point of view too. Anjali ji was in an unstable position. We were afraid she would take the news badly. We wanted to give Shyam another chance just for Anajali di's sake. We thought Shyam would change for the better."

"Hurry up and get ready Payal. The grah pravesh Rasam is in one hour's time."

Akaash cut across her and gave her a one last piercing glance before striding away. With a sinking feeling Payal knew one thing for sure. Her husband was as stubborn as a mule and as undecipherable as anyone could be.

---

Arnav stared at the vision walking towards him, a glittering ethereal nymph fallen from heavenwards. She looked divine; an exotic masterpiece of flaming beauty with the languid grace of a queen. And his stomach bubbled in grating self disgust as he averted his eyes in shame and trained them on to the ground.

He didn't even have the right to look at her much less admire her. Clenching his hands inside the pockets he dimly registered her walking towards him, the chun chun on her payals chiming in the background slicing the air as she stood next to him beside the door and faced the aarthi thali naani ji was holding in front of them.

He watched in reluctant awe as she pushed the rice kalaash with her foot and took a step to enter the house, her eyes down cast and no hint of emotion in her face.

"wait a minute Khushi Bitiya! There's one more tradition Raizada newly weds follow"

Khushi looked up at hearing naani ji's voice.

"The husband must carry his bride inside"

Khushi felt her body going rigid, small hairs at the back of her neck standing up as she felt the familiar nauseated sensation bubbling up inside her. No! this cant be happening. Fate seems to continue to mock her. Her whole countenance griped with panic as she realised he was going to touch her again- his hands that were her biggest nightmare holding her and touching her.

She gulped back the bile rising within her and clutched the dupatta covering her midriff as if it was a shield protecting her. She said one last prayer to her devi mayya and closed her eyes, hating herself for being so helpless-at not having the power to stop him.

Arnav watched her, the look of horror at the news of being in his arms now etched clearly across her pale face. He didn't want to touch her even if she begged him and carrying her is out of question. Last time he carried her, she was unconscious lying in the middle of his room without a thread of cloth on her to cover herself up, with bluish bruises on her white flesh; effects of his own fiendish escapades.

He had picked her up, applied medicine on her bruises, dressed her up in one of her old salwar suits and rested her on bed- in the darkest hour of his life.

"Chotte? Do you hear me? Are you going to complete the ritual or not?" naani's clipped voice cut in.

"naani is this necessary?" he tried to keep his voice measured and irritable rather than nervous and imploring.

"yes it's quite necessary chotte. I told you once. Without you agreeing to it, you and Khushi bitiya will have to stay outside for the rest of the night. What is the matter with you? This is your wife you're going to carry inside. Not some woman you've never heard of."

He gritted his teeth silently and glared at his grand mother. There wasn't much point arguing with her.

Turning towards Khushi and holding his breath, he gingerly ran an arm gently under her legs and the other around her back and lifted her up.

Khushi shivered as his feel on her bare midriff pierced and burned her skin; her stomach felt soggy and her whole body shivered in repulsion at his touch. She kept her mind blank through out the detour to the bedroom, firmly trying to convince herself that she is not being held by him.

The moment he sat her on the bed she jumped to her feet and rushed to the bathroom, the violent urge to be sick overwhelming her. The very thought of him made her sick and right on cue she did become sick.

---

It was their unspoken agreement that he slept on the green recliner beside the bed and she on the bed. She had no choice; firmly keeping herself away from thinking about him. She didn't want to associate him in her thoughts and hardly ever spoke a word in front of him- just went on with the motions, never acknowledging his presence.

She was in a trancelike mood, her fear replaced by a firm stand of indifference towards him except in her dreams when she relieved her nightmare over and over again and woke shivering , sometimes screaming, drenched in sweat, each night.

Her mind has permanently blocked itself from thoughts related to him, yet they resurfaced when her guards were down in the deepest hours of her slumber.

Three days had passed from her grah pravesh rasam when she heard that he would be leaving for Singapore for two week with Anjali ji for her special treatments on burn surgeries.

At least now she wouldn't have to see his form for the next fortnight. How she was going to handle his presence when he returned was something she didn't want to consider as of now. She was just glad he wasn't around for the next few days.

Arnav pondered his departure with a heavy heart. Would she feel better when she's not jailed in the same space with him? Of course she would. He wasn't too sorry to go away for sometime if it would only fetch her a little bit of relief.

After all, his sister is still his number one priority, or was it?

---

Khushi indeed felt better. It has been physically as well as mentally rejuvenating, not having to dread his presence each time she walked to a room or lay down to go to bed or face him when she woke up in the morning. She didn't have to pretend they were happily married, that she was a devoted wife in front of the family, or control her urge to be sick at the sight of him and the memories he evoked in her.

She sometimes wondered why she even cared, why couldn't she just leave? But something held her back, her sister's marriage, her family's reputation and something else? Is it a burning crushing resentment, the need for revenge? Her thoughts were still unfocused and daunting.

Yet She felt more of herself after days; the reins of her life being slowly regained by his absence. The trauma was still fresh on her mind but she found it easier to get a grip and re-strategize her life without the constant reminder his presence brought in her.

She still hadn't recovered, but she was slowly starting to come to terms with what happened and gather the scattered remains of her spirit.

Kushi Kumari Guptha was a fighter after all.

---

"Naani ji? Can I sleep with you tonight?" Payal and naani ji both looked up as her meek voice entered the room.

"Kushi Bitiya? Come inside. And yes of course you can sleep with me if you want." Naani smiled at her kindly.

Khushi smiled back thankfully. For some reason, she couldn't sleep in that room tonight; his presence still haunted there. "Thank you naani ji"

"Are you missing Chotte?" Naani asked, a hint of tease in her voice.

Kushi gulped and said nothing. "Koi baath nahi hai. Kushi bitiya, are you sure you are feeling all right? You look very pale and tired. You really must be missing chotte. But these are troubled times and we must be strong. Only thing we can hope for now is to everything be fine soon."

Kushi nodded in silence. She had nothing to say.

"I want both of you to promise me something"

"ji nani ji?" both payal and Kushi said in unison.

"from now on I don't want either of you to keep secrets" Naani ji's vice was firm and advocative. She wasn't reprimanding but her face was serious.

"It was not a small thing that you concealed from us. The circumstances forced you, I know, but the consequences are irreversible and life altering. I'm not going to go back to what happened. Some things could have been avoidable if actions were taken earlier. But I want both of you to learn a lesson from what happened. Never ever conceal a truth that should be known. You are protecting a lie and moreover you too are deceiving someone."

Khushi felt her throat constricting as guilt bubbled inside her. Suddenly her lifeless existence seemed daunting than ever. What happened to Anjali di could have been avoided had she alerted the Raizadas on Shyam's true colors the day she found out about him.

Maybe what happened to her was her punishment for her crimes.

"Now it's quite late. Let's go to bed. Khushi bitiya, are you sleepy? In my old age I tend to go to bed early, I hope you won't mind if we sleep soon?"

"Of course not naani ji. Im very sleepy too." Khushi said hastily.

Naani ji nodded and left the room to look for Laxmi, her pet goat.

The moment she left the room, Payal clutched Khushi's hand.

"Khushi, are you alright? You look so pale and worried. Is something bothering you?" Payal's voice was laced with concern.

"Ofcourse not jiji, Im fine. I..I'm just missing him" No way was she going to tell Payal anything.

"It's natural to feel lonely. Arnav ji's gone for four days now. But Khushi, I'm here with you if you want to talk anything. Besides you have..become very different all of a sudden. You are too quiet. Everything's alright hena?"

"Haan jiji everything's fine"

Payal looked at her with narrowed eyes. She knew her sister was hiding something. Maybe she felt guilty for hiding Shyam's truth; that it was eating inside just like her's. After all, this wasn't the ideal way she had planned to start her marriage. She wished Khushi would open up about it and talk with her.

Letting go of her hand, Payal reached forward and gave her a tight hug.

"Everything's going to be fine" she said softly stroking Khushi's hair as she tried to reassure her little sister as well as herself.

---

Many have been asking me if this FF is going have a happy ending. Well yes! I'll try to make it as happy as I can 😉

Fab update...what khushi went through was horrendous but naniji's advice was very apt.if they woudn't have hid ahyam's true colours then it could have been avoided...what anjilli went through was equally or to an extent more horrific just bcz of Gupta's stupidity.