Arnav, Khushi, and even Arjun for that matter, rushed to the ward where "Mrs. Bharadwaj" had been shifted to, and gasped at the sight in front of them. There, in the room of a not so posh hospital, sat Ajay, cradling a baby in his arms, Anjali asleep with her head on his strong and able shoulders, exhausted by all the pain she had to go through as she gave birth to another life. Khushi tightened her grip on Arnav's hand as they walked in, both breathing a sigh of relief, when they saw the newborn breathing in a shallow manner- the way newborn infants breathe. Ajay lifted his eyes to see them and his eyes had a smidgen of moisture in them as he smiled gleefully and whispered, "Its a girl!!" Khushi went to him, gathering the bundle in her arms, her own eyes filling up as she kissed the tiny nose of the sleeping baby and looked at Arnav, who was rubbing Anjali's forehead with a relieved smile. He turned to Khushi and found her telling him that he should take the baby too. And Arnav, though nervous to have this tiny little thing in his hands, which suddenly felt too brawny, spooned his arm awkwardly and let Khushi to put the child there safely. The pride he felt at the sight of his niece, the offspring of his Di! He bent and kissed its soft forehead, being careful all the time that his stubble did not even brush the delectable skin of the baby, and Khushi's heart soared with pride and happiness for the tough, yet gentle man she loved, for the woman whom she considered her own sister, her friend/ brother, and also the newborn which had come to a family so unconventional, yet filled with so much love. Oh, was it a lucky child! Basically she felt happy! A feeling that she had almost forgotten!
Arjun smiled too, brotherly affection in his eyes, as he remembered taking his baby sister in his arms for the first time. Arnav then handed the child to Ajay, who though was awkward with handling the baby, seemed determined to learn doing it on a regular basis. They came out letting Anjali rest, and the cop waited for them. Ajay knew that a meeting was on tow, and he turned to Arnav to see that he had understood it too. But Ajay was not sure of leaving Anjali on her own, and he looked back into the room. Understanding his anxiety, Khushi reassured, "I will be here. Why don't you go ahead and finish your business..." Ajay nodded, the smile fixed on his face, and Khushi left, after smiling at both the important men in her life.
"But Ajay, I want the statements of the victim too..." The cop informed and Ajay was about to tell him that Anjali was asleep when he heard her warm voice ask Khushi, "Aap theek hai Khushiji?? Chotey kaha hai?? Aur Ajay??" Ajay turned back to the inspector and nodded, indicating that the inspector's demand would be fulfilled, as he entered the room behind Arnav, who had rushed to the room as soon as he heard Anjali's voice and sat next to her, smiling at her all the time. Khushi stood next to him, and as Arjun sat there, nervously fiddling with his fingers, Khushi shook her head, telling him not to worry, and started listening as Arnav started explaining everything. "Shyam Manohar Jha had been married to my sister for almost 4years." Both Arnav and Ajay turned to Anjali here, wanting to see her reaction at the mentioning of her ex-husband's name. She looked at them both and smiled reassuringly, letting them know that she was fine. Though Ajay did not expect anything less from her. He knew she was tougher than what she showed to be. Anjali continued before Arnav could say anything, "But what we had not known then, was that he already had a wife and a son from her too. When we came to know about this, I was almost about to deliver my baby. And I, out of depression of being betrayed like this, eloped to Goa and was staying at Hope."
The cop intervened here, looking at Khushi, "House of Hope?? Run by Ms. Gupta??" Anjali nodded and the cop again inquired, "Why Goa, in particular??"
Anjali frowned as she replied, "I caught a random bus... Never saw the destination of it...And the next thing I knew, I was at Hope..."
Arnav had turned to see Khushi's reaction when her name was mentioned, not wanting to bring Khushi's name into this mess, before he continued, "Shyam had been obsessed with Khushi, you see? And Khushi and I loved..." Pausing here, he continued, "We love each other." Khushi smiled a sad smile at this, and heard him continue, "I had come here to take Khushi back to Delhi, and when I found my sister, I had been staying here, when Shyam, somehow caught hold of us..."
Anjali nodded at this and shuddered before she continued, "He kidnapped me last night and from what I could make out, he blackmailed Khushi to come to him with some money. He had called Khushi to some isolated place at... Canacona, I believe." Arnav confirmed it with a nod and explained, "I went with Khushi too, expecting to face Shyam, but he had left this boy there, having shown the bait of a huge sum of money. But the kid helped us." The cop turned to Arjun now, "What had he told you?"
Arjun took in a shaky breath before he answered, "I was buying medicines for my sister last night, and I was short of some money, when he helped me out. He asked me if I wanted to make money, and for the sake of my sick sister and agreed. Early this morning, he gave me a gun and said that it was fake. He had told me to tie Khushi Didi to a chair when she comes and keep the bag which she would bring safely... But when Khushi Didi came with this Bhaiyya, and I called him up, he said, he had been betrayed and that I should kill them both. I was scared, and he told me not to be, and also that he would double the amount of money that he had to give me. But then this Bhaiyya," He pointed to Arnav, and continued, "offered to save me from the police and that he would help me in getting my sister cured too... So I threw away the gun..."
Ajay started explaining here, "Meanwhile, I came to know of Anjali's exact location from one of my friends, and I went there, expecting her to be left with some goons. But Shyam was there! I was planning to safeguard Anjali first and then tackle Shyam, when my cover was blown and the rest, you saw..."
Khushi, who had stood silently, next to Arnav, listening to the conversation, spoke, "I don't understand, though... Why would he be with Di, when he had wanted m... me!" Delicately shuddering when she said that she was the source of Shyam's obsession. Arnav's arm snaked around her waist of its own accord, as Ajay cleared her doubts, "I don't think it was just about you anymore, Khushi... When Arnav Singh Raizada kicked Shyam out of your lives, he had hurt the ego of Shyam Manohar Jha, who had foolishly believed that he was invincible. When he was stripped off his title of being the son-in-law of the Raizada family, he became powerless. In fact, I had thought that he might have hired more help for his deeds! At least two or more goons. But the bas***d barely had the money to feed himself, let alone hire cohorts for doing his deeds! Though I am surprised as to how he caught hold of two guns... And somewhere in his mind, he had never wanted you. It had been the money he had been interested in all along. I also would like to think that he knew you would betray him. And if you did, he would have loved to hurt Anjali himself! That is why he had stayed back." Ajay's voice had grown so menacing at the end, as if he could go and kill Shyam again to reduce the insurmountable anger that he felt for the dead son of a bitch.
Almost everyone in the room shuddered, understanding the thoughts of the twisted mind of the most heinous villain that they had ever known. Ajay was staring deep into Anjali's eyes now, drawing strength from the fact that she was indeed here ' with him, and though there was nothing gooey about it, the inspector and Arjun left, giving them the privacy that they needed. All except Arnav, who frowned, looking at the feelings between his beloved sister and his only friend unfold. He was not sure about what he felt towards all this. Khushi sighed, suddenly feeling too exhausted, and Arnav murmured, "You should eat..." And Khushi countered, "You should eat, you diabetic man!"
Arnav nodded as he smiled, "In a while... I'll join you..." As Khushi turned to leave, Ajay called out that he would join her too. Quickly placing the baby in Anjali's waiting arms, he winked at her and left. Arnav sat next to her, smiling when he saw his sister smile at him, the way she did, causing warmth and security to seep into the person's mind to whom she had bestowed her smile with. "Are you alright, Di?" he asked, just to confirm that she indeed was good. "I am more than alright, Chotey!" Anjali had gushed, looking at her child as the baby tried to open her eyes to the world, furiously blinking against the alien, too bright atmosphere. They both watched her open her eyes and consider them with that look which told them that she was thinking what should be made out of these giants that sat in front of her. "Di!!" Arnav exclaimed, suddenly feeling too buoyant, looking at the exact copy of his eyes watching him intently! She suddenly lifted her lips in a wide smile, cooing at him, showing her pink gums, managing to look cute even like this, and Arnav looked at it with awe, before he turned to his sister, telling her about his happiness at the fact that his niece's first smile was because of him!
And then, just as immediately she had done it, she stopped it and her earlier sleep started to take over, and she yawned with her cute little mouth and let her heavy eyelids flutter close. The siblings smiled again, and Anjali now asked Arnav, "Are you alright, Chotey? Lets not start about me! I am here, now and I safe too! Are things sorted between you and Khushiji?"
Arnav sighed, showing his exhaustion at that, and replied, "I think Khushi has forgotten me, Di... Though I don't deserve even an ounce of it..." Anjali gasped at this, "Chotey! How could you say this after working so hard for her forgiveness?!"
"No amount of physical labor or anything could ever make me free of this guilt that is eating me inside out, Di. I would rather, she punish me by telling me to get out of her life. Bloody hell, I deserve it! But I don't know if..." He shifted in his seat and laid his head on her lap, just like he did when things started to become too overwhelming for him, and continued, "I don't know if I can take the weight of her forgiveness on myself, Di..." Anjali had started to comb his hair lovingly, as she smiled ironically at this revelation, and explained, "You love her, and she loves you back. Yes, mistakes did happen... On both ends..." Arnav sat up and looked at her, and she made her point, "Had Khushiji told us about him the day she had found out, things would have been much different, Chotey. Given that she had everybody's well being to think of, and hence hid it. But it was not her secret to keep! But this does not mean that I blame her for anything that my life is, right now. And while we're at blaming, the first person who should be blamed is me! I, being his wife, foolishly believed his cock and bull stories, turned a blind eye towards all the things gave me the proof that he might be cheating on me! Admonishing myself for being distrustful towards the one man to whom I should be feeling grateful to. But you don't see me sitting and sniveling about it!"
Arnav lowered his head, raised his eyebrows at that and muttered, "Indeed, indeed!" Anjali, though she blushed delicately at his comment, continued, "If at all it is anybody's fault, it is Shyam's. He not only betrayed me, he betrayed each one of us! But this is not the time to think about all of it! You have to start over! Give life another shot... Give love another shot!!"
Arnav laid his head back, on her lap, mostly because he wanted to hide his tears from his sister. Not that there was any need to do it, as Anjali knew exactly what her brother was feeling. And her baby chose exactly that moment to start crying. Arnav laughed as he sat up and blinked the moisture away from his eyes, before he commented, "From now on, I cannot demand your attention, Di! I have competition..."
Anjali cupped his cheek as she answered, "Never, Chotey! You will always be my first child!"
They were about to hug each other, when they heard a majestic voice from the door, "Anjali Bitiya!!" Arnav stood up and watched as his family pored into the tiny ward. So Akash had finally brought their family. His Nani seemed to be studiously ignoring him. He knew that she held Arnav responsible for ruining Khushi's life, and not taking care of Anjali, basically probably everything. Khushi had brought his family to the ward, he noticed, as she stood at the door, hand in hand with her sister. After a while of murmuring and whispering between the Gupta sisters, Payal came to Anjali's side and demanded her time with the baby, easily ignoring her mother-in-law's glare. At least that had changed! Khushi thought and turned to see that Arnav was smiling at her, as if he was privy to her thoughts. But he started to move out of the room, and she asked, "Kaha jaa rahe hai aap? Don't you want to talk to your family??" It was then that she realized that except Akash jiju, nobody else had even looked at Arnav! What is going on here?? She thought, and made a note to herself that she should ask Payal Jiji about it.
"Khushiji, did you not eat?" Anjali asked, amidst the din her family created. The family in question turned to see whether the woman was indeed Khushi. When they had seen Khushi walking with a stranger, to say that they were shell-shocked would have been an understatement! They had all hugged her, bestowing so much love and blessings. Even Manorama had shook Khushi's hands! Akash had reached Goa that morning, with their family, who were so eager to see Anjali, and had asked Arnav where they had to come. And he had given the address of the hospital. He had stayed silent about this, wanting to give a surprise to his sister. So here they were, each one of them fawning over the daughter of the house and the daughter of the daughter. But they seemed to have forgotten all about the elder son of the house, Khushi thought, as she shook her head as Anjali's answer. "Why don't you and Chotey get your dinner here? I am hungry too. We could all sit and eat together." And just like that, the air was filled with such electricity, that Khushi frowned, suddenly concerned to find Arnav at the end of the deathly glares that the elders were giving. Arnav simply nodded, and looked at Khushi, inquiring with his eyes if she would join him. She nodded with a smile and turned around, completely missing the surprised glances that the same family exchanged. "They're back together." Anjali confirmed their doubts, almost blaming them all for treating her brother, the way they did. When Khushi had suddenly disappeared, they were all worried so much, and had done everything in their power to find her. They had been thankful that Arnav was taking such a huge initiative to look her up. But what they had not known was that Arnav was actually preventing them from finding anything about her. And when the Shyam fiasco had occurred and the truth about Khushi came out. That she had been punished for no mistake of her's, they had been furious about it, punishing Arnav with their cold behavior towards him.
Honestly speaking, it did not matter to Arnav. Or so, he would like to believe, and that is what he appeared to be from the outside. But people who knew his mind, namely Anjali and Khushi, could clearly see how much he already repented and his family was not really helping him with coping up with the situation. "What is wrong?" Khushi asked as they sat at a table in the mediocre cafeteria of the hospital, and ordered two cups of coffee for themselves. Though Arnav knew what she wanted to know, he maintained his game-winning poker face as he asked, "Everything is right. What are you talking about?" "I am asking about your family's behavior towards you..." Khushi did not give up as she sought for the answers through his eyes." He sighed, suddenly too wary, and Khushi saw how the stress made him look even older. "They are unhappy with me for what I did to you. And though I deserve it, them and their thoughts is the last among my concerns." He had tried being nonchalant about it, but Khushi had seen the flash of hurt in his molten-brown eyes, in the crystal-clear way that she saw things related to him.
Khushi was thinking something should be done fairly quickly about this. If she being the one, whose life Arnav had supposedly ruined, was ready to move on, his family had no right to treat him so! Khushi thought, feeling annoyed at them for the first time in her life. The waiter brought the packets of food of whatever they had ordered, and they left. On their way to the ward Khushi got a call on her phone. Passing the two food packets to Arnav, she saw Arnav wanted to know who was calling her. "Its Shiva" Khushi answered, and received the call. After talking for a while though, her shoulders stooped, and she muttered a disappointed, "Oh!!"
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Please pardon any typos... 😳
So, I hope I answered all your questions about Shyam...
Next coming up... Arnav's perspective about the whole fiasco.. I read among the comments that Arnav's feelings would be good to read when he had thrown Khushi out. So that's what would be next...
And also a surprise!!! 😃
But before that. . . . . . . .
READ AND REVIEW, PEOPLE!!! 😆
Anupamaa
Pocket Mein Aasman
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