Abbas stared at the bare sleeping form of the woman lying beside him. Casting away his glance from the nameless faceless woman, he got up from the bed, sliding off the bedsheet from his naked waist and hurried into his pants, taking out a cigar alongside and lighting it. He looked outside the window of his apartment that provided a good view of the city, noticing the skyline dotted with tiny spots of lights at the horizon.
His plans were getting delayed day by day and he couldn't afford it. He had waited for this since all these years, when finally the entire Malik Empire would belong to him, Abbas Malik, the rightful owner.
And not his elder brother Khalid.
The ache in his heart couldn't be described by any words. For more than 25 years, he had lived under the shadow of his elder brother. Even today, when anyone spoke about the Maliks regime, only Khalid Malik's name was feared. No one spoke about Abbas. It was as if he never existed.
He felt his blood boil in fury as he remembered what his own father had done to him. That man had bequeathed the entire property and business in his elder son's name before dying three years ago, not bothering even once about his younger son, that very son who had done every single thing for his father.
He felt immense irrepressible rage against his father and brother whenever he thought about one particular memory that had changed the entire direction of his life.
"Abbas, I know very well what you do when I'm not at home, bringing all those girls of your college."His father said one fine day, when they were eating breakfast.
"Baba, I..." he had stammered, fearing his father's wrath, unable to face him.
"Very well. I've let you enjoy your life all these years thinking you were still a young boy. But now, you're a man and you need to take responsibility. Look at your brother. He's just four years elder to you. But today, he manages every single thing about the business without giving any tension to his aging father." The old man said, glaring at his younger son with displeasure.
"Maybe if you had given me a chance to prove myself, you wouldn't be scowling at me." Abbas had murmured, drinking the orange juice.
"Chance? What responsibility do I give to my son who comes home past 3 am every night, partying around wildly with his friends, sleeping around with a new girl everyday, who only bothers to see his father's face when he needs money?" Abbas's father shot back.
"Then, what do you want from me?" Abbas had been enraged and shouted back at his father.
"Prove yourself to be worthy of being my son." The old man had replied calmly. "You really want to please your father? Be better than your brother? Then do one work for me."
"What work?" Abbas had asked suspiciously.
Retrieving out a photograph from his pocket, the old man had shoved it on his son's face. "You are proud of your womanising skills aren't you? This girl here is the daughter of my biggest rival. Trap her with your charm, make her desperate for you until she begs her father to marry her off to you. She is his only daughter. He'll do anything for her. Produce heirs for him and me and his property will be automatically transferred to you."
Abbas had looked at the photograph and felt an instant repulsion towards the girl. "You want me to marry her? This girl? She's so freaking ugly."
"She might be ugly, but she's the heir to a billion. All that money will be yours." His father had told him that day. "And my biggest competitor will be forced to accept defeat in front of his daughter's in-laws. Then once again, Maliks will rule the entire Delhi without any threat."
"Why can't Bhai marry her instead?" Abbas had suggested, not very eager to marry that girl.
"Because he has my billion to manage. He's good at that. So let him do that. And he's not a womaniser like you. You are better equipped for this job." His father had replied back.
Abbas Malik had ended up marrying that girl, had four children with her just to please his father and hers. But in the end, that son of a b*tch had transferred the entire property on his wife's and children's name, not bequeathing a single thing for him from his in-laws side.
So in the end, he had ended up without a single penny from either his or his wife's side. He had to rely on his brother's or wife's mercy, begging them for money when he needed it, as if he was a beggar.
He still couldn't understand one thing. Even after fulfilling his father's wishes, why had his father left him out from his will? His father had bequeathed the entire business to his brother, who hadn't even married or had any children.
Anyways, he needn't have to worry about it now by breaking his head over it. Now, in a matter of few days everything would belong to him. He would rule Delhi. Every single thing that was his would be returned back to its rightful owner.
He remembered his brother telling him that Arnav would be back after two weeks. And now two weeks were over. So maybe he could slowly put his plan into action, now that the man for his job was back in the city, he decided and gloated in the impending doom of his elder brother.
o0o
Khushi tried dialling Arnav's number for the fiftieth time and as usual, she got the automated response that the number was switched off. It was already 9 pm and there was no sign of him. From the time he had driven away from the Raizada mansion, leaving her behind, she hadn't heard from him.
Initially, she had thought that maybe he would return back to her house. Afterall, he had still left behind his luggage bag in her house. But as hours passed by and the evening turned into night, she realised that he wasn't going to come back.
The state, in which he had left, made her feel worried for him. How couldn't she? She knew it very well how he felt regarding the matters of his mother. However tough he appeared from the exterior, in the interior there was a side of him that was vulnerable and weak.
And she desperately loved him. How was she supposed to not feel for him? He might have broken her heart, her trust. But she hadn't and couldn't. There was a part of her that couldn't stop loving him.
And realising it, she felt angry and frustrated, at him and herself, at her fate that landed her in this dilemma.
No, she had to go and find him and know that he was alright and not hurt, atleast not physically. Only then would she be able to sleep at night, she decided.
She switched off the lights and taking her handbag and cellphone, she locked the house door and stepped into the dark night. She wondered how would she able to reach his house all by herself at this hour of the night. But it looked like Devi Maiyya was on her side, coz right at that minute an auto rickshaw passed beside her and she stopped it and got into it.
"Indira Nagar." She said to the driver and hoped that he would atleast be at his house and not roaming around the city aimlessly.
In fifteen minutes she reached his house and paying the driver, she stepped into the dark compound and soon realised that there was nobody in the house.
"Arnav, where are you?" she whispered into the night air, the worry growing inside her as every second passed.
No, she couldn't go back. She would wait for him, here, at his doorstep coz she was sure that he would definitely turn up atleast at some point in the night. There was no way she would be able to pass the night without making sure he was alright.
Hence, she decided to wait for him and thus, sat down near the door, bearing the cold winds of the night and the mosquitoes that were biting her. She didn't even care if her stomach was growling with hunger.
At that moment, she realised that she was ready to do anything for Arnav.
Her Arnav.
o0o
Arnav stopped the bike in front of his gate and got down to push open the gates and take his bike inside the compound. With the help of the nearby streetlight, he glanced at his watch and realised that it was going to be 12. He had spent the past few hours driving around aimlessly around the city, watching the life around him move forward, while he remained stuck behind, in his past, never being able to overcome it and move on.
Today for the first time after so many years, he had wondered why he was living this life, all alone with no purpose or person to live for.
He had felt angry, frustrated, hurt, confused and desperate at the cruel games his fate was playing with him.
But then, his body had eventually given in to physical tiredness of the day and he had finally decided to return back to his house. He had remembered about leaving behind his bag in Khushi's house. But he didn't have any more strength in him to face her. She didn't love him anymore and he knew he had to accept that fact, however hard it was for him.
He didn't want to see rejection in her eyes anymore and he decided, he couldn't live with it. He had finally come upon one conclusion from the past few hours.
He had to go somewhere far. Away from her, his new found family, everything. He couldn't handle all this anymore. It was too overwhelming for him.
And thinking about it, he was on his way to push his bike inside the compound, when suddenly his eyes fell on the figure that was lying down at his doorstep. Hurriedly parking the bike, he rushed towards that person and moving closer, he felt his breath stop completely as he recognised the face.
Her face.
Khushi's face.
"Khushi?" he asked, bending forward and realised that she was sleeping. He tapped her shoulder to wake her up. And feeling his hand, Khushi suddenly opened her eyes, absolutely startled at where she was lying for a minute. "What are you doing here?" He asked in disbelief, holding her shoulders and helping her to stand.
Khushi could only stare at him speechless for a minute, until she finally remembered her purpose for coming here and felt a sudden rush of rage in her body.
"Where were you?" she blasted off loudly at him, holding his collar. "Do you have any idea about how much I was worried about you? I tried to call your number but your damn phone was switched off. You have no idea what I have been through for the past few hours. Why did you leave me behind and go when I asked you to wait for me? Why? Give me the bloody answers!" she continued to shout at him, her eyes stinging with uncontrollable tears simultaneously.
"You expect me to love you with you behaving like this? How can you? You don't deserve my love. I'm so stupid for loving you inspite of all the hurt you have caused me and you're causing now." She said wiping away her tears furiously. She was absolutely overwhelmed seeing him and she didn't realise what she was blabbering about.
Arnav didn't know what happened to him, but suddenly, somewhere, the cord that was securing all his emotions snapped open and he burst out at her. "Then why have you come here? What do you want from me? You hate me right? Then why do keep returning back to my life again and again and torture me? I don't deserve your love right? Fine. Go away. I won't stop you anymore. If I was destined to be alone all my life, then so be it. Why are you worried about where I went? I will go wherever I want to. You have lost all right over me when you walked out of this house and my life. And NO! I won't give you any bloody answers. Not you, not those Raizadas, not anyone!"
Khushi took a step backward seeing him in this state. He was visibly trembling with fury, his breathing getting heavier by the minute.
"What are you looking at? Just go away!" he shouted. Once again, Khushi witnessed that invincible rage in him, a rage so powerful that it was capable of destructing anything in its path and she felt scared of him. Slowly, she took staggering steps behind, without breaking the eye contact with him. She didn't even realise when her back went and crashed into the gate.
Fearfully, she turned around to open the gate, when suddenly, she felt his hand on top of hers preventing from opening it.
"Wait, it's past midnight. You can't go alone to your house. I'll drop you." He said and without waiting for her response, he firmly held her hand and dragged her to his bike.
With tear filled eyes, Khushi looked at the man holding her hand. What was he made up of? One minute, he was shouting at her asking her to leave him alone and the next minute, that same man was dropping her home in his bike so that she didn't have to venture out all alone in the night.
"Come!" he ordered, getting ready to sit on his bike, his breathing still short and heavy. Even the cold night couldn't stop the sweat beads from rolling off the sides of his face.
Khushi didn't know what happened to her. But the next minute, she flung into his arms, taking him by surprise and hugged him fiercely, as if her entire life depended on him.
"Leave me!" he said, a strange pain growing in his chest at feeling her so close to him.
"Shut up!" she said, not wanting to let go of him anymore.
She was tired of running away from him, fighting those feelings inside her, denying to herself constantly that she couldn't love a man like him. But the truth was, she loved him inspite of all the pain he had caused her, inspite of being a criminal to the whole world.
To her, he was her Arnav and that's all that mattered.
He didn't know what to say. He was speechless. He just let himself go and reciprocated her hug holding on to her like she was his life.
"Arnav, calm down." She whispered, rubbing his back when she felt he was still trembling with the outburst.
And at that minute, he felt the dams of his mind burst open. He did not feel ashamed to weep in a woman's arms, to let all those emotions pent up inside him to flow out. He sobbed, cried, wept, without any hesitation, coz it simply felt right, to share his sorrow with her, his Khushi.
Khushi felt the strings of her own heart tug with anguish at hearing him cry like this. She had never expected a breakdown like this from him. She had never realised what he had gone through for the past few days, what he had been through in the morning, meeting the Raizadas. She just held on to him, offering a shoulder to weep on, not finding any words to console him.
She moved apart to hold his face in her hands and staring into those wet reddened eyes, she wiped away those tears with her thumbs. "Everything will be alright." She whispered, her own face streaked with tears and she pressed her lips delicately over his. He didn't respond, but he didn't move back either.
"I cannot take this anymore. I simply cannot." He whispered in a hoarse voice.
"Sshhh... I'm here." Khushi said trying to console him. One thing was very clear to her. She could bear his rage, the pain he caused her, his silence, but she could never bear his tears. She couldn't bear to see him cry like this, helpless, defeated and destroyed. However, she knew that she had to let him cry, let out all that anguish and sorrow he had been holding in his heart for all these years.
So they simply stood there, in each other's arms, as if time stood still, their heart beats intermingled, their breaths in unison.
"You know, I think it would be better if we go back to my house. Did you have your dinner?" She finally suggested, breaking the silence between them.
"I don't want to eat." He replied, moving backwards, looking away from her face.
"But I want to eat. I'm hungry. Take me to my house." she smiled, trying to change the gloomy atmosphere.
"Alright." He said, and wiping away his tears, he sat on his bike. He felt his whole body stiffen, as she sat on the bike behind him and this time, he felt her hands envelop him firmly while she rested her chin on his shoulder, placing a warm moist kiss on the side of his neck. He felt a shiver run down his spine as her lips came into contact with him. Only he knew how much he had missed it, how much he had longed for her like a thirsty man longing for a sip of water to quench himself.
As he rode on the dark streets of Delhi way past midnight, he struggled to comprehend what had happened between him and Khushi. He still couldn't believe that she was sitting behind him, holding on to him, just like the old times.
It felt like a mirage that would simply vanish away the next time he blinked.
Khushi herself didn't know why she had decided to walk back into his life. But as she clung to him, enjoying his body's warmth which provided relief for the cold wind whipping her face, she felt like it was right, as if they were meant to be. The void in her soul felt complete when she was with him.
Everything seemed perfect when he was in her life.
They quickly reached Khushi's house with hardly any traffic at night.
"Goodnight Khushi." He said, as she got down from the bike.
"What? Where are you going? No, you're coming with me." She replied, pulling his hand.
"I cannot. Not after shouting at you like that earlier." He replied, trying to free her hand. But she tightened her grip. Tonight, he had to listen to her at any cost and she wasn't going to accept his refusal.
"So what? Even I shouted at you. Our scorecard is equal." She said and forced him to come home along with her, practically dragging him to her house. Entering the house, she made him sit at the dining table, while she went to reheat the dinner which she had prepared earlier for both of them. From the kitchen, she observed how he was blankly staring at the wall in front of him and her heart ached to see him like this.
Taking the food filled plates, she went towards him and placed one of the plate in front of him. But he didn't react to it. As she placed the first piece of roti in her mouth, she remembered all those numerous times he had taken care of her, especially after Buaji's death.
Khushi silently stood up and moved towards him and cradling his head in her arms lovingly, she took the roti from his plate and fed him. At first, he didn't respond and simply gazed into her eyes questioningly. But when he saw her pleading eyes, he relented and ate from her hand.
"You are no less than a baby at times." Khushi said, stroking his face. But he just stared at her quietly. "Why are you staring at me like that?" she asked, eating the next bit of the roti. He silently shook his head and looked away. "You can look at me. It's your right." She said, in an attempt to make him smile, pulling his chin towards her, placing a feathery kiss on the tip of his nose and she was sure she saw him smile faintly, even if it was for a second.
The rest of their early morning dinner went on with her feeding him and herself alternatively. It was nearly 1:15 am by the time they were done.
Khushi was dead tired by the time she was done with cleaning up the kitchen. She observed that all this while, he hadn't moved from his place. She had never realised that she would be affected to this extent seeing him gloomy like this. Something had to be done about it. She had to bring back that warm smile back on his face. It was going to be a long, tough journey, but she had to try, for him.
Going towards his luggage bag that was still lying near the door, she retrieved out a clean pair of clothes for him and walked towards him. She began to unbutton his shirt and this time, Arnav relented and allowed her to undress him and change into the new pair of clothes.
Her eyes didn't miss the huge scar across his back, a testimony to what he had been through in his life. She let her hand glide over it, tracing its length and her lips followed the same path, as she kissed it, praying that its pain would diminish.
"Let's go to bed." She said, after he had changed into his new clothes. The stark irony of her words didn't miss her. Just yesterday, she had forced him to sleep on her couch, all alone and she had gloated at his miserable condition, enjoying her payback for all the pain he had caused her. But today, she realised that she couldn't go through it anymore. She couldn't see him in any more misery. Arnav had been through enough misery for seven lifetimes. He didn't deserve to suffer anymore, however bad a person he was to the world.
While he waited for her on her bed and she changed into her night dress in front of him, his eyes caught sight of the emerald pendant he had gifted her that now lay cradled in the valley of her breasts. And he felt a sudden rush of hope infuse into him. She hadn't parted with it even after all these days.
Soon Khushi turned off the lights and settled beside him, gazing at the fluorescent stars that were glowing on her ceiling. She purposefully slid more close to his body, forcing his arm on her waist, as she snuggled beside him. She could feel his fingers move of their own accord as they glided inside her clothes and started caressing her bare skin and she felt her heart fill with a strange yet comforting warm feeling.
"I know we have both messed up." She began, as she stroked his hair. "I still haven't forgiven you for lying to me. I don't even know how you are going to regain my trust back. We have loads to talk about."
"I know." Arnav whispered, finally breaking his silence.
"You have hurt me a lot." She continued.
"Yes." He answered, echoing her thoughts.
"But I want to give you another chance. I want both of us to have a fresh start." Khushi said and instantly felt his hands stop for a minute, before they began continuing to draw circles on her waist.
"I don't even know whether it is morally right to love a person like you. You kill people for a living and I'm not comfortable with it, regardless of your reasons for it. I may never be able to accept that side of you." She continued and she knew, he was carefully listening to her every word. "But there is a side of you that I fell in love with. A good, loving, caring and kind hearted side to you. A side which has suffered and endured a lot in life. A side that makes me want to protect you and love you unconditionally. One minute, I feel like you are a complete stranger to me and yet, the next minute, I feel like I've known you eternally."
"By entering into this relationship with you, I have nothing to lose. I have lost everything in my life, my parents, my Buaji. All that remained was my heart and now, I have already lost it to you. I tried hating you, but I failed miserably. I still love you Arnav. I still do." She said, reaching out to capture his lips with a short sweet kiss. "I was wrong when I said I cannot possibly love you anymore. I'm sorry I behaved cold and indifferent with you yesterday. I was just mad at you. You know, when you were away for these two weeks, every night I used to hug that Pikachu and weep thinking about you."
Even in the darkness, he could see that she was looking at him. He slowly entwined his fingers with hers and brought her hand to his lips as he showered her knuckles with soft kisses. "And you still wear the pendant I gave you." He said, reaching out to that pendant, tracing its edges.
"Yes, I do." She confessed.
"I'm really sorry, Khushi. Believe me. I never wanted to hurt you." He pleaded, looking into those eyes that glinted with hope and promise even in the absolute darkness surrounding him.
"I don't know, Khushi. Everything is so messed up. I don't know what to do. My life is suddenly spinning out of control. And I..." he stopped, unable to speak.
"I know. Arnav, you know you can trust me. I would never let you down." She assured him as she stroked his chest.
"Can you forgive me?" he asked, as he kissed her forehead delicately.
Khushi pondered over his words for a whole minute, before she spoke. "I will definitely try."
After that neither of them spoke. Both were lost in their own thoughts. They wondered where had life ended them up, but as they slumbered into the unknown that lay for them the next day, only one thought of satisfaction calmed their racing minds.
They were with each other at the moment and everything else didn't matter.
o0o
"What do you mean, they are missing?" Ramcharan Das blared at the man who had come to give him the news.
"Das Bhai, those four men haven't been sighted for the past one week. Their families have been contacted and they said they haven't heard about them. It's as if they mysteriously disappeared." The man timidly announced, afraid of the wrath of the man sitting in front of him.
"They were my important men. How can they just disappear like that? No, there's more to the story. Someone must have seen them somewhere. Find out all the information whether they are alive or dead." Ramcharan ordered, feeling his blood boil with fury.
No, this wasn't a coincidence. How could four important men of his gang just disappear like that? Maybe his rivals had shot them down. But who dared to cross his path? Who dared to throw an open challenge to his face?
Suddenly, his cunning face lit up with enlightenment. Could it be Khalid Malik? Could he have arranged to gun down his men? But as far as he knew, Khalid Malik had no idea that he was after him. Was that traitor Shyam playing a double game with both of them? He couldn't trust him. Once a traitor, always a traitor.
He had to be very careful. He soon had to put his plan into action to take down Khalid Malik. And everything had to be done inconspicuously, so that the matter didn't reach the ears of Delhi Police nor the other gangs that were trying their hand to succeed. Otherwise, mayhem would follow and all his plans to rule Delhi would be destroyed in mere minutes.
So for that to happen, he first had to take down Arnav Singh. Maybe it was indeed time to tell that Shyam to carry out his plans and finish off the right hand of Khalid Malik. And then it would be just a matter of days before the entire Malik empire came crumbling down.
CHAPTER 51
And if you are confused as to what men was the Das guy talking about, it was the same guys that Arnav had shot down in Guwahati. I only mentioned about the killing of two of them, but the others were also successfully killed. Arnav rarely misses his targets.😛 It's just that I didn't want to bore you all with the details and extend this FF to another 10 more chapters.😆
And if you are wondering why Khushi suddenly forgave Arnav, it's because she was loving him all this while. she never hated him actually. once you love a person, you will always forgive them at any cost, however big their mistake is. That's the power of love.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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