FF: Arhi: The way IPK should've been[Ch9/Sc3 pg99] - Page 59

Originally posted by: smitzy

hey nazibah!! Thanks so much for your comment.. yes, we do need some heartbreak to get the redemption on track 😊

do study dear!! As much as I love your comments on my FF, I wouldn't want you to mess up your exams 😊 all the best!

cheers!

*None of my work can be copied without explicit written permission from me. It's not polite to steal ideas.*

Writer's Note: Hey people! What's happening? Sorry for such an emotionally draining last scene. Bas hote hote ho gaya 😆 Thank you for your comments, feedback and PMs. I'm thrilled to see you guys love this Alternate universe as much as I loved creating it.

Oh btw, two predictions of this FF have come true 😊 : Garima not knowing about Arnav's dad's marriage and Dadi revealing the truth to Arnav on the day of the marriage. Let's see what happens next.

A note on the chapter's name. The Jack(ass) obviously refers to Shyam 😆 but King and Queen will be unveiled in the later scenes. So stay tuned!!

Chapter 9

King, Queen and a Jack(ass)

Precap: As Khushi continues her work in the tiffin service, Buaji reminds her that she needs to return the shagun of the almost-wedding. Arnav returns the property papers to Dadi after signing them but retains the single suspicious sheet. Khushi returns to RM amidst sad memories and has a heartfelt conversation with Naniji. Arnav forgets his ring at home and is frantically searching for it. Khushi walks into Arnav's room to collect her left-over things when she meets Arnav. She sees him not wearing his ring and in a fit of hurt and disbelief she returns her own ring to him.

Scene 1

[Cut to Gupta House, later in the evening]

Payal and Khushi are preparing sweets in the kitchen. Buaji walks in sniffing the air appreciatively.

"Hum bata rahat hain tumka, aisi badhiya mithai bana rahe ho tum dono ki saare baarati ungliyan chaat te reh jayenge!" she says as she takes a bite of the freshly prepared Jalebi. Khushi smiles.

"Arre haan Buaji. Khushi ne itne pyaar se jo banaya hai," Payal replies smiling too.

"Waisan, ikk baat batao titaliya, yii shaadi ke bare mein tumka pata kaise chalat raha?" Buaji enquires.

"Woh Buaji," suddenly Aakash's voice floats by from the main door. All three ladies look up at him in surprise. "Mere dost ke yahan shaadi hai. Last minute par unko mithaiyan arrange karne mein problem ho rahi thi. To maine unko Khushi ji ka phone number de diya." Aakash explains as he walks up to them and smiles at Payal.

"Arre wah bitwa! Daamad ho to aisa," Buaji exclaims in delight and pinches Aakash fondly on the cheek. Payal laughs gaily at seeing this display of affections.

"Par aap yahan kya kar rahe hain?" she asks Aakash.

"Ab meri wife agar yahan hai, to main ghar pe akela reh kar kya karta?" Aakash admits playfully in a rare show of boldness. Payal immediately blushes much to the delight of Khushi.

"Kya baat hai jeejaji, bada pyaar aa raha hai hamari jeeji par," Khushi teases him and suddenly Aakash also remembers that he has company around him and smiles shyly.

"Aap logon ko mithaiyan pahunchani bhi to hongi na? To bas, banda khidmat mein haazir hai," Aakash does a small bow and everyone starts laughing.

Khushi smiles and looks on as Buaji continues to shower praises on Aakash as the perfect son-in-law of the family. Her smile slowly fades as she remembers the happenings of a few hours ago. Her eyes get drawn to the place on her arm where Arnav had gripped her really hard. His voice still felt so close to her ears, she could still hear his breathing in the silence between them, she could still remember the faintness of skin on his ring finger... She closes her eyes tightly, mentally coaxing the memories to go away.

"Khushi! Dhyan se!" Payal's yell of concern shakes her out of her reverie. Her eyes fly open in surprise to see what Payal was hinting at. She notices she was standing too close to the stove. She looks back at Payal's concerned eyes with her upset ones. She slowly keeps the spatula down. Payal's eyes change from concerned to confused as she tries to comprehend what is wrong. Khushi bows her head down.

"Jeeji, mithaiyan tayyar ho gai hain. Aap inko tokri mein sajaa dijiye, hum kapde badalne ja rahe hain," Khushi announces and before Payal can reply, she walks away from the kitchen leaving a bemused Payal behind.

"Buaji? Khushi ko kya hua? Woh itni chup chup si kyun lag rahi hai?" a confused Payal asks Buaji as Aakash helps to arrange the sweets in a wicker-basket.

"Woo, Khusee aaj Raizada Ghar gai thi. Apna shagun wapis karne," Buaji explains, her voice laced with a sad tone. Payal's eyes widen in understanding.

"Par aap kyun nahin gai uske saath?" She wondered.

"Tum to Sanaka Devi ko janti ho na? Humne kaha thi ki hum chal padte hain, par woh sunne ko tayyar hi nahin hui. Boli, nahin hum khud chale jayenge," Buaji explains. Payal nods her head in understanding and asks Buaji to help Aakash. She walks to Khushi's room.

[Somewhere undisclosed]

It's the same dark room with a single light bulb concentrating its focus in the centre of the room. Shyam is sitting on the rusted chair and carefully observing each page from a stack of papers. A buff envelope is lying carelessly on the floor. Woh kaagaz gaya kahan? He's furiously wondering to himself. Obviously, he is looking for the stray sheet of paper which had details of Khushi's Laxmi Nagar House. He stops for a moment and leans away from the papers. Kitni mehnat karni pad rahi hai aapke liye Khushi ji, he thinks to himself. Then with a resolve, he starts going through the remaineder of the pile.

[Cut to Riazada House, Arnav's room]

Despite it being night time, no lights are on in the room. It's bathed only in a faint glow by the gentle reflection of the poolside. Arnav is still sitting on the same spot on the floor by the recliner, holding on to Khushi's ring. Suddenly, Anjali appears on the door.

"Chotey? Tum yahan ho kya?" She asks as she fumbles around in the darkness. Arnav doesn't reply. "Ouch!!" she suddenly trips over the fold on the rug. Her exclamation finally snaps him out of his thoughts and he jumps up to his feet to hold her. He can see her clearly as his eyes have long gotten used to the darkness.

"Di, aap theek ho?" he asks her concernedly.

"Chotey!" Anjali exclaims in surprise. "Tumne kamre ki lights kyun band ki hui hain?" She extracts herself from his protective hold and walks to the board of switches and turns on the lights.

Arnav flinches and his palm immediately draw up to his eyes, saving them from the sudden glare. As the room is bathed in light, Anjali slowly looks around at the messy state of the room with a shocked stare. Chotey ka room itna ganda kyun hai? She wonders to herself.

"Chotey? Kamre ka ye kya..." She pauses as she studies his appearance. He's still in his office clothes. "Aap office se kab aaye?" Arnav slowly removes his hand from his eyes and she notices that his eyes are red. She stills in surprise, her mouth slightly open. He has been crying! She suddenly realises.

"Chotey...?" her mumble comes out as a shocked whisper. Arnav looks at her and quietly puts Khushi's ring in his pocket.

"Main theek hun Di," he replies mechanically. Anjali walks up to him and touches his face.

"Jhooth bolna to tumhe aata hi nahi hai Chotey. To koshish hi kyun karte ho?" Anjali asks softly.

An absolute feeling of sadness grips Arnav as he looks at the concerned looks of his sister. What do I tell you? What can I tell you, Di? That Khushi's gone? She's broken all relations with me and gone? She returned her ring and walked away? What do I tell you, Di? His jaw hardens and he turns away from her.

"Main theek hun Di," he repeats, trying hard to keep any trace of emotion out of his voice.

"Tum humein bata sakte ho Chotey. Tum jante ho na?" Anjali persists gently, unable to see her brother in so much of pain. "Kuch hua hai kya? Kisi ne kuch kaha tumse? Khushiji -"

"MAINE KAHA NA DI, MAIN THEEK HUN!" Arnav suddenly yells out loudly. Anjali flinches at hearing him shout. Arnav holds his head in his hands not saying anything for sometime. After a long silent moment he says, "I'm sorry Di. Main aap par chillana nahin chahte tha." His voice is laced with a tone of regret.

Anjali realises that he had snapped at her mention to Khushi. She puts two and two together. Chotey Khushiji ke bare mein soch kar udaas ho rahe hain. She takes a tentative step towards him and raises her arm to squeeze his shoulder comfortingly. She knows he doesn't want to talk about anything right now and she doesn't want to force him to talk as she knows he'll just snap himself shut. "Hum aapke saath hain Chotey." She reassures him kindly. Arnav nods but doesn't say anything. Anjali quietly walks out of the room.

Arnav's phone starts ringing. It's from Aman. He picks up the phone.

"Sir, sari details chalk out ho gai hain. Aur maine invites bhej diye hain. Khushiji ko bhi phone kar diya hai. Party Sunday raat ko 8 baje se hai and this time I've organised it in the Garden Club and resort." Aman reels off continuously. Arnav remains silent. Fearing that he has lost reception, Aman probes again for a response, "Sir?"

"Aman, main party mein nahin aa raha hun. You have a good time." Arnav replies and disconnects the call. Aman looks at his phone in surprise. Ye Sir ko kya ho gaya?

[Cut to Gupta House, later in the evening]

Payal goes into Khushi's room to see her putting on kajal in her eyes. She has changed into a fresh pair of salwar suit and looks beautiful. Payal gently places a hand on her shoulder.

"Khushi? Tum theek ho na?" she whispers. Khushi turns around with a big smile on her face.

"Haan jeeji! Humein kya hua hai? Hum bilkul theek hain," Khushi replies enthusiastically. Payal cups her face.

"Humein Buaji ne bataya ki tum aaj Shantivan gai thi?" Payal asks. Khushi's smile fades away. She goes back to applying kajal.

"Haan jeeji. Woh shagun ka saaman lautana tha na isiliye. Hum Naniji se bhi mile. Unki tabiyat bahut kharab hai jeeji," Khushi whispers sadly. Payal looks at her surprised.

"Kya hua Naniji ko?" she asks in concern.

"Woh bahut kamzor ho gai hain. Itna kuch hua hai pichle kuch dino mein. Humari shaadi toot gai, aap aur jeejaji ghar chod ke chale gaye. Unse itna kuch saha nahin ja raha hai," Khushi closes her eyes in sadness. "Pata hai jeeji, ghar pe unki dekhbhaal karne wala bhi koi nahin hai," she adds almost tearfully. Payal hugs her tightly.

"Kuch nahin hoga unko. Jaise waqt guzarta jayega woh theek hoti jayengi," she replies reassuredly. "To tum isiliye itni khoi khoi si lag rahi thi?" she asks. Khushi looks up at her.

Hum aapko kya batayen jeeji? Ki Arnav ji ne apni angoothi utaar kar humse sare rishte tod diye? Ki hum apni angoothi wapis kar aaye? Ki uss ghar mein wapis jane se humein kitna dard hua? Hum aapko kya batayen jeeji? "Haan jeeji, hum isiliye dukhi the." Khushi finally replies. Payal brushes her tears away and hugs her again.

"Sab theek ho jayega Khushi. Tum dekhna, ek din sab kuch theek ho jayega," Payal replies in a soft voice. Khushi nods her head in assent. "Achha ab chalo, shadi pe mithaiyan bhi to pahunchani hai na?" Payal walks away towards the kitchen.

After a long silent moment, Khushi takes out a small notebook and tallies up the amount she has earned altogether. She's happy to see the figure almost touching 5 lakhs. There was one more wedding function the next evening where Payal and she were to cater for sweets and then there was the big party Aman was throwing on Sunday. If everything would go according to plan, Khushi would be able to arrange enough money for the operation. Fir hum jald se jald lucknow ke liye ravaana ho jayenge, Khushi decides.

"Khushi? Kahan reh gai?" Payal shouts from the kitchen.

"Aayi Jeeji!" Khushi replies back, quickly puts the notebook away and rushes out to meet her sister and jeejaji.

[Somewhere undisclosed]

Shyam is staring at the pile of documents in front of him in disbelief. It doesn't contain that sheet that he had casually slipped in with the valid documents. Zaroor Arnav ne in kagazat ko kisi waqeel se verify karwaya hoga. Warna woh kaagaz aise gayab kaise ho sakta hai? In sheer frustration, he knocks off the entire pile to the ground. Aap apne aap ko bahut chaalaak samjhte hain na saale sahib? Par humse zyada chaalak nahin hain aap. Pehli chaal nakamyab rahi to kya hua? Ye to bas shuruat hi thi. A smirk appears on his menacing face as he starts planning for his next move.

ENGLISH VERSION

CHAPTER 9

Scene 1

[Cut to Gupta House, later in the evening]

Payal and Khushi are preparing sweets in the kitchen. Buaji walks in sniffing the air appreciatively.

"I'm telling you, you two are preparing such delectable sweets, the entire wedding party will keep smacking their fingers!" she says as she takes a bite of the freshly prepared Jalebi. Khushi smiles.

"Yes Buaji. After all, Khushi has made them with so much of love," Payal replies smiling too.

"But tell me something titaliya, how did you come to know about this wedding party?" Buaji enquires.

"Buaji," suddenly Aakash's voice floats by from the main door. All three ladies look up at him in surprise. "one of my acquaintances has the wedding. They were having trouble arranging for sweets at the last minute. So I gave them Khushiji's phone number." Aakash explains as he walks up to them and smiles at Payal.

"Oh that is wonderful! You're such a wonderful son-in-law," Buaji exclaims in delight and pinches Aakash fondly on the cheek. Payal laughs gaily at seeing this display of affections.

"But what are you doing here?" she asks Aakash.

"If my wife isn't at home, what would I have done there all alone?" Aakash admits playfully in a rare show of boldness. Payal immediately blushes much to the delight of Khushi.

"What is the matter jeejaji, showering a lot of love on my jeeji," Khushi teases him and suddenly Aakash also remembers that he has company around him and smiles shyly.

"You'd need to have these sweets delivered too right? So I'm here at your service," Aakash does a small bow and everyone starts laughing.

Khushi smiles and looks on as Buaji continues to shower praises on Aakash as the perfect son-in-law of the family. Her smile slowly fades as she remembers the happenings of a few hours ago. Her eyes get drawn to the place on her arm where Arnav had gripped her really hard. His voice still felt so close to her ears, she could still hear his breathing in the silence between them, she could still remember the faintness of skin on his ring finger... She closes her eyes tightly, mentally coaxing the memories to go away.

"Khushi! Careful!" Payal's yell of concern shakes her out of her reverie. Her eyes fly open in surprise to see what Payal was hinting at. She notices she was standing too close to the stove. She looks back at Payal's concerned eyes with her upset ones. She slowly keeps the spatula down. Payal's eyes change from concerned to confused as she tries to comprehend what is wrong. Khushi bows her head down.

"Jeeji, all the sweets are ready. You arrange them in the basket, I'll go in and change," Khushi announces and before Payal can reply, she walks away from the kitchen leaving a bemused Payal behind.

"Buaji? What is wrong with Khushi? Why does she seem so quiet?" a confused Payal asks Buaji as Aakash helps to arrange the sweets in a wicker-basket.

"Umm, Khusee went to Shantivan today. To return her Shagun things," Buaji explains, her voice laced with a sad tone. Payal's eyes widen in understanding.

"But why didn't you go with her?" She wondered.

"You do know Sanaka Devi right? I did tell her that I'd go with her but she wasn't ready to listen. She insisted on going alone," Buaji explains. Payal nods her head in understanding and asks Buaji to help Aakash. She walks to Khushi's room.

[Somewhere undisclosed]

It's the same dark room with a single light bulb concentrating its focus in the centre of the room. Shyam is sitting on the rusted chair and carefully observing each page from a stack of papers. A buff envelope is lying carelessly on the floor. Where the hell did that paper go? He's furiously wondering to himself. Obviously, he is looking for the stray sheet of paper which had details of Khushi's Laxmi Nagar House. He stops for a moment and leans away from the papers. I've to do so much of hard work for you Khushiji, he thinks to himself. Then with a resolve, he starts going through the remaineder of the pile.

[Cut to Riazada House, Arnav's room]

Despite it being night time, no lights are on in the room. It's bathed only in a faint glow by the gentle reflection of the poolside. Arnav is still sitting on the same spot on the floor by the recliner, holding on to Khushi's ring. Suddenly, Anjali appears on the door.

"Chotey? Are you here?" She asks as she fumbles around in the darkness. Arnav doesn't reply. "Ouch!!" she suddenly trips over the fold on the rug. Her exclamation finally snaps him out of his thoughts and he jumps up to his feet to hold her. He can see her clearly as his eyes have long gotten used to the darkness.

"Di, are you alright?" he asks her concernedly.

"Chotey!" Anjali exclaims in surprise. "Why haven't you switched on the lights?" She extracts herself from his protective hold and walks to the board of switches and turns on the lights.

Arnav flinches and his palm immediately draw up to his eyes, saving them from the sudden glare. As the room is bathed in light, Anjali slowly looks around at the messy state of the room with a shocked stare. Why is his room so messy? She wonders to herself.

"Chotey? Why is the room so..." She pauses as she studies his appearance. He's still in his office clothes. "When did you return from the office?" Arnav slowly removes his hand from his eyes and she notices that his eyes are red. She stills in surprise, her mouth slightly open.He has been crying! She suddenly realises.

"Chotey...?" her mumble comes out as a shocked whisper. Arnav looks at her and quietly puts Khushi's ring in his pocket.

"I'm fine, Di," he replies mechanically. Anjali walks up to him and touches his face.

"You don't know how to lie, Chotey. Why do you even try?" Anjali asks softly.

An absolute feeling of sadness grips Arnav as he looks at the concerned looks of his sister. What do I tell you? What can I tell you, Di? That Khushi's gone? She's broken all relations with me and gone? She returned her ring and walked away? What do I tell you, Di? His jaw hardens and he turns away from her.

"I'm fine, Di," he repeats, trying hard to keep any trace of emotion out of his voice.

"You can talk to me Chotey, you know that right?" Anjali persists gently, unable to see her brother in so much of pain. "Has something happened? Did someone say something to you? Khushiji -"

"I TOLD YOU, I'M FINE DI!" Arnav suddenly yells out loudly. Anjali flinches at hearing him shout. Arnav holds his head in his hands not saying anything for sometime. After a long silent moment he says, "I'm sorry Di. I didn't mean to shout at you." His voice is laced with a tone of regret.

Anjali realises that he had snapped at her mention to Khushi. She puts two and two together. Chotey is upset thinking about Khushiji. She takes a tentative step towards him and raises her arm to squeeze his shoulder comfortingly. She knows he doesn't want to talk about anything right now and she doesn't want to force him to talk as she knows he'll just snap himself shut. "I'm with you, Chotey." She reassures him kindly. Arnav nods but doesn't say anything. Anjali quietly walks out of the room.

Arnav's phone starts ringing. It's from Aman. He picks up the phone.

"Sir, all the details are chalked out. I've sent out all the invites as well. I've called up Khushiji too. The Party is on Sunday night at 8 and this time I've organised it in the Garden Club and resort." Aman reels off continuously. Arnav remains silent. Fearing that he has lost reception, Aman probes again for a response, "Sir?"

"Aman, I'm not coming for the party. You have a good time." Arnav replies and disconnects the call. Aman looks at his phone in surprise. What has happened to Sir now?

[Cut to Gupta House, later in the evening]

Payal goes into Khushi's room to see her putting on kajal in her eyes. She has changed into a fresh pair of salwar suit and looks beautiful. Payal gently places a hand on her shoulder.

"Khushi? Are you alright?" she whispers. Khushi turns around with a big smile on her face.

"Yes jeeji! What can happen to me? I'm perfectly fine," Khushi replies enthusiastically. Payal cups her face.

"Buaji told me that you had gone to Shantivan today?" Payal asks. Khushi's smile fades away. She goes back to applying kajal.

"Yes jeeji. I had to return the shagun, so that is why. I met Naniji too. She's not keeping well Jeeji," Khushi whispers sadly. Payal looks at her surprised.

"What happened to her?" she asks in concern.

"She has become really weak. So much has happened in the past few days. My wedding broke, you and Jeejaji left Shantivan. She can't bear all this," Khushi closes her eyes in sadness. "You know jeeji, there's no one to take care of her at home," she adds almost tearfully. Payal hugs her tightly.

"Nothing will happen to her. As the time passes, she'll start getting better," she replies reassuredly. "So that is why you seemed so upset all evening?" she asks. Khushi looks up at her.

What do I tell you, Jeeji? That Arnavji took off his ring and broke up all relations with me? That I too returned my ring? That going back to that house hurt me so much? What do I tell you, Jeeji? "Yes jeeji, that is why I was upset." Khushi finally replies. Payal brushes her tears away and hugs her again.

"Everything will be alright Khushi. You'll see, one day everything will be fine," Payal replies in a soft voice. Khushi nods her head in assent. "Okay get up now. We have to get the sweets to the wedding venue too, right?" Payal walks away towards the kitchen.

After a long silent moment, Khushi takes out a small notebook and tallies up the amount she has earned altogether. She's happy to see the figure almost touching 5 lakhs. There was one more wedding function the next evening where Payal and she were to cater for sweets and then there was the big party Aman was throwing on Sunday. If everything would go according to plan, Khushi would be able to arrange enough money for the operation. Then I'll leave for Lucknow as soon as I can, Khushi decides.

"Khushi? Where are you?" Payal shouts from the kitchen.

"Coming, Jeeji!" Khushi replies back, quickly puts the notebook away and rushes out to meet her sister and jeejaji.

[Somewhere undisclosed]

Shyam is staring at the pile of documents in front of him in disbelief. It doesn't contain that sheet that he had casually slipped in with the valid documents. Arnav must have had these documents verified by a lawyer. How else can that sheet disappear just like that? In sheer frustration, he knocks off the entire pile to the ground.You think of yourself as a clever person don't you Arnav? But you aren't as shrewd as me. My first plan failed but so what? This is just the beginning. A smirk appears on his menacing face as he starts planning for his next move.

NEXT CHAPTER(click)