28Dec Ch25/2 pg71 :Arhi|Th5 How IPK should've been - Page 24

Chapter 24 Scene 2

[Living room, Shantivan]

Nandini, NK are yelling accusingly at Aakash who seems to have cheated in the card game. Aakash has thrown his hands up defensively and is counter accusing NK and Nandini of teaming up against him. Payal is laughing at the entire exchange taking place in front of her, knowing all too well of Aakash's intentions. Buaji and Mamiji are too shouting good humoredly at each other, Mamiji taking Aakash's side whereas Buaji helping out NK, much to his visible discomfort.

"Hello Hi bye bye! Tum humre Aakash bitwa ko accusation kar doge to hum maan jayenge ka? Humra beta cheater naahi hai, I tells you!" Mamiji exclaims.

"Acha Nandkishore? To kya humre Nandkishore jhooth keh rahe hain?" Buaji asks pointing to NK. Nandini stares at NK at hearing the longer version of his name. NK shrugs nonchalantly and shakes his head making Nandini giggle.

On the other side of the Lounge, Naniji, Garima and Anjali are talking animatedly about the marriage preparations to be underway. Shashi is smiling happily at the exchange progressing in front of him.

"Garima ji, chahe sare riwaz pehle se hoye rahe hon, Khushi bitiya aapan shagun humka lautaye di thi," Nani reminds Garima who nods in reply. "Isiliye hum chahat hain ki hum shagun dene fir se aaye rahenge," Anjali looks delighted at this. "Par kyunki Khushi bitiya aur Chotey pehele se aapan angoothiya ek doosre ko pehnaye rahe hain, to baki ke riwaz karne ki zaroorat nahin hai. Ab seedhe shaadi hi honi chahiye

Anjali gets up awkwardly and starts walking towards the kitchen. "Hum mithaiyan lekar aate hain," she declares to the rest of the family with a big smile on her face, "aakhir humare Chotey ka rishta fix ho gaya hai. Mooh meetha karna to banta hi hai."

Back in Arnav's poolside, Khushi and Arnav are sitting side by side on the recliner with her head resting on his chest, holding their hands with their fingers entwined, enjoying each others' presence and relishing the content silence enveloping them.

And just when we least expect it, Destiny toys with our lives. All it takes is a mere twist to divert from a place where everything is exuding happiness to a place where darkness shrouds every cheerful thought, every happy bubble, every optimistic plan.

And we as human beings get reduced to being puppets to the will of destiny; hanging in helplessness as it takes over our lives.

On her way to the kitchen, Anjali suddenly stands rooted to her spot, clutching her lower belly as a sharp pain shoots through her body. She gasps out loudly and stumbles towards the wall, trying to hold on to it for support. As she feels a trickle of fluid slowly coursing down the inside of her thigh, she wonders if her water just broke. The intensity of the pain slowly starts increasing and she groans loudly slowly collapsing to the floor.

Her gasps of pain reach Nani first and she stands up in alarm and rushes to her. "Anjali bitiya! Aap theek to hain na?" Nani asks bending over Anjali, looking frenetic with worry. Her alarmed voice reaches NK, Nandini, Buaji, Mamiji, Aakash and Payal who immediately stop their humorous mock fight and stand up in unison.

"Hum theek hai Nani. Hamari rajkumari ke aane ka time ho gaya hai lagta hai," Anjali murmurs with a faint smile pointing to the pool of liquid getting accumulated near her feet, hoping to show Nani that her amniotic sac was ruptured, which meant she was going into labour. However, Nani's face bears a look of utter shock as she looks at the direction Anjali was pointing towards. She looks up at Anjali with terror struck eyes.

"Anjali!" "Di!!" "Anjali bitiya!" Urgent summons of her name announce the arrival of the rest of the family. Aakash rushes towards her head, and gently embraces her from behind so that she is in a lying position on the floor resting her head on Aakash's chest. Anjali continues clutching her pregnant belly, a serene smile on her face. "Humari rajkumari aane wali hain," she murmurs reassuringly to everyone. But everyone is rendered speechless at the sight. Their horror struck eyes make her smile falter slightly and she looks around at everyone's faces. What was wrong? Why didn't anyone look happy at hearing the news? She was going into labour for crying out loud!

"Is that... blood?" NK's horror struck voice cuts through the stunned silence. Anjali feels the liquid with her fingers and raises her hand to her face. A sudden feeling of dread grips her. The liquid on her fingers shimmering under the lights was... red. She stares at her trembling fingers for a moment, her mind unable to process what was happening. And then the very next moment, Anjali's eyes start fluttering shut.

Something was terribly wrong!

She faintly registers the commotion that follows; Aakash yells out to NK to call for an ambulance. Payal rushes upstairs to call Arnav and Khushi. Nani is getting hysterical with worry and Garima steps in to comfort her. Mamiji and Buaji are both on either side of Anjali continuously pleading with her to keep her eyes open and reassuring everything will be alright. Aakash is still sitting behind Anjali holding her body propped against his chest, his trousers now soaked with Anjali's blood.

[Arnav's room]

"Arnav ji!!!" Payal starts banging on the door, her sound frenetic with worry. "Arnav ji darwaza kholiye!"

Arnav and Khushi quickly break away from their embrace, looking at each other in alarm for a moment before Arnav rushes to open the door, Khushi following behind him. "Haan Payal. Kya hua?" Arnav asks the moment he opens the door. Both Arnav and Khushi are stunned to see tears streaming down Payal's cheeks.

"Arnav ji... Di..." Payal croaks through her tears and that one word is enough to make Arnav realise something terrible has happened. He rushes past her out of his room and sprints towards the living room without wasting a moment to ask her what was wrong. Khushi and Payal too rush down behind him.

[Lounge]

Arnav runs towards the kitchen where he sees a gaggle of his family standing around a figure on the floor. The wind gets sucked out of his chest as he gets closer and realises it is Anjali lying on the floor ina pool of garish maroon liquid, her eyes half closed. He immediately kneels down next to her. "Kya hua? What is wrong with Di?" he asks Aakash urgently, holding Anjali's hand in his.

Aakash looks momentarily relieved that his elder brother had arrived because truth be told, he had been too terrified for his brain to function normally. He had taken one look at his Di's condition and everything had frozen inside him. He shakes his head helplessly towards Arnav. "I don't know Bhai, I don't kn-"

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW?" Arnav thunders loudly making Aakash flinch. Khushi too leans next to Arnav and places her arm around Arnav comfortingly, all the while looking at Anjali with scared eyes. "Di?" Arnav leans closer to Anjali's limp body and touches her cheek. "Di, aankhein kholo. It's me!" Arnav whispers urgently to his sister, a feeling of terror slowly creeping up inside him.

Anjali opens her eyes slightly and looks disoriented at the hazy faces around her. Then as she recognizes Arnav's frenetic face hovering inches from hers, she smiles faintly in relief. She had been wanting to talk to him all morning and finally he was here. She strains to open her mouth; it was extremely important for him to know about her discovery. Nothing else was important right now. "Chotey!" she rasps in pain. Arnav nods his head encouragingly, to keep her talking but the pain was spreading through her very fast. "Chotey... cameras," she murmurs in a garbled voice. "cameras..." before her eyes flutter shut again and she passes out.

"DI!!!"

*

[Somewhere Undisclosed]

Shyam is sitting on a comfortable lounge chair, his feet resting one on top of the other on a rickety stool. He looks up interestedly at the last of the two active screens in front of him which were still feeding live footage. The one camera was showing a gaggle of people near the kitchen huddled around the lifeless figure of Anjali, looking extremely panicked and harried. He smiles as he hears the family members pleading with Anjali to open her eyes.

Sorry Naniji. Anjali ab apni aankhein kabhi nahi kholegi, Shyam thinks maliciously to himself. He's whistling to himself as he stirs a cup of cold tea with his finger and then sucks it.

A short while later, he sees the main door open and few nurses bringing in a stretcher for Anjali. Shyam watches with a sly smile, as they load her heavy pregnant body on to the stretcher with dexterity and then take her away. Shyam watches with a sly smile as Arnav's shoulders slump down for a while as he stares at the pool of Anjali's blood. Shyam watches with a smile how every one were trying to comfort each other that everything was going to be fine.

Galat. Ye to bas shuruat hai. Shyam gets up from his chair and walks to the board at the back of his room and picks up the red marker. Slowly he crosses the picture of Anjali. One down, one more to go, and then he starts laughing, a sick despicable eerie laughter.

[Hospital corridor]

The stretcher is being wheeled towards the Operation Theatre by two nurses as the entire family jog to keep up. Nani is seen following the stretcher with the attending doctor explaining her about Anjali's due date and her symptoms of pain of the past hour. The doctor looks grim as he makes notes. An extremely anxious looking Arnav and Aakash are running on the either side of Anjali's head. Arnav's bloodied hands are clutching Anjali's tightly, while Aakash is stroking her head, muttering that it was going to be alright repeatedly, although more to calm himself than to Anjali who had an oxygen mask perched on her mouth. Just as the stretcher enters the Operation Theatre, the family stops at the door allowing the doctor to pass them.

"Doctor, meri Di..." Arnav murmurs helplessly to the doctor. She looks around with a kind look on her face and touches his arm assuringly.

"I'm going to do everything I can, Mr. Raizada," she says and enters the OT. The doors seal shut behind her.

Arnav stands still facing the OT doors for a moment, before his weakened legs stumble back till his back hits the solid wall. Aakash and NK round up the other family members and make them sit down on the cold steel chairs. Nani is crying and Garima and Nandini both comfort her. Payal is kneeling on the floor with her head on Shashi's knees. He's stroking his trembling hand on Payal's head, silently trying to comfort his daughter as best as he could. Mamiji is crying too, and surprisingly Buaji comes and sits next to her and places a comforting arm around her. Mamiji looks surprised for a moment before she accepts Buaji's gesture and allows herself to be comforted by Buaji.

Arnav is standing staring at the OT doors transfixed, hardly aware of what was happening around him. Shock overtakes him as the first burst of adrenaline that had shot through him at panicking about Anjali back in Shantivan starts fading inside him. He looks dazedly at his family members who were crying hysterically and then at his extended family who were doing their best to comfort.

Khushi who had been quiet all this time, having been struck speechless with the chaos of the evening, slowly walks towards Arnav. He looks at her face with teary eyes, his eyes finally registering her face. She holds his hand and entwines her fingers in his, trying to comfort him.

"Khushi... Di?" Arnav asks in an agonising whisper, his voice heavy with emotion and barely audible. He wants to hear from Khushi that his Di was going to be alright. He knows he wouldn't believe anyone else right now. Understanding what he wanted, Khushi squeezes his palm reassuringly, her eyes conveying to him silently that everything was going to be fine.

Thirty minutes later the doors of the OT open and the doctor walks out, her face looking grim. Arnav rushes forward to meet her, his red eyes looking at her questioningly. "Mr. Raizada, Anjali ka kaafi blood loss hua tha which is very unusual before her going into labour. We had to perform a C-section and got the baby out. It's a girl," the Doctor announces with a small smile. A wave of relief runs through everyone's faces. Naniji, Mamiji, and Khushi smile at the news of the delivery of the baby girl. Arnav however, looks stunned with the news. He was an uncle! Aakash and NK cheer and hug each other as they hear the good news, and Payal slowly wipes her tears away.

"Doctor, what about Di?" Arnav asks ignoring the sounds of celebrations behind him. The smile fades from the doctor's face.

"There were some complications with the delivery, Mr. Raizada," the Doctor pauses, making everyone look at her in confusion, the relief on their faces slowly fading away. Arnav stares at the Doctor, unsure of her tone.

"What does that mean?" He asks, trying very hard to keep the feeling of panic from resurfacing.

The doctor looks grim again. "The baby had to be resuscitated, Mr. Raizada. Woh khud se saans nahi le pa rahi thi." Every one walks closer to the doctor, gasping in shock to hear her words. "In fact, humein pehle ye laga ki baby still born hai." Nandini covers her mouth with her hand and exchanges a scared look with NK standing next to her.

"But the baby is doing much better now," the doctor adds reassuringly. "As for Anjali, she is still in a critical state." A cold dread again envelopes Arnav and his heart starts beating in panic. The doctor places her hand on his shoulder again. "We are trying to find out why. Please have patience and faith, Mr. Raizada," the doctor walks back into the OT, leaving a stunned silence outside the OT.

Arnav's mind barely registers the happy news about his niece being alright. The disturbing news about Anjali's critical condition bolsters him into dejection. For one moment he had actually felt hopeful that everything was going to be alright. But then the second news had come and shattered everything once more. He dejectedly walks back to the corner where he had been standing before and leans sideways on the wall, tears quietly streaming his face. His sister was hanging in the balance and there was nothing he could do about it. Arnav had never felt this way before.

"Sab theek hoga Arnav ji. Aap dekhna, Devi Maiyya sab theek karengi," Khushi's whisper breaks through his thoughts and he feels her tiny hand again covering his, the warmth of her hand trying to overpower the coldness that was coursing through his body.

He looks down at her. Khushi's eyes look scared despite the strength in her voice. Every inch of her body is trembling inside but she is calm on the exterior, lending the support that she knows Arnav needs at that point of time. Arnav starts walking away from the OT and his family, Khushi still holding his hand and silently working with him. Arnav has no clue where his feet are taking him, but he keeps on walking.

Finally they reach the end of the corridor which culminates in a huge glass window. Arnav stops and dazedly looks outside.

Memories from the past start flashing into his mind... the first time he had seen her breaking down after their parents' death... their lecherous Uncle making an advance towards her and Arnav vowing to protect her from that day onwards... him doing every bit he could to make her happy and supporting her... her accident a few months ago when she had told him he was going to be an uncle... her undying support to him when he thought he had lost Khushi... her encouragement for him to keep trying to fight for his love... her enthusiasm at hearing about Arnav's proposal... Her lying in a pool of blood...

"Ye sab, kya ho gaya Khushi?" Arnav's broken voice sends a shiver down Khushi's spine. She looks up at Arnav's face suddenly feeling at loss as to how she can reassure him. "Maine promise kiya tha khud se, ki main hamesha Di ka khayal rakhunga. Fir ye kaise..." Arnav's voice breaks again and he bows his head down, his shoulders slumped in resignation.

Khushi had never seen Arnav in such a condition, so broken, so vulnerable. Her throat feels heavy with a lump and tears spring to her eyes. She places both her hands on Arnav's face and makes him look into her eyes. A wave of sadness engulfs her as she realises Arnav's eyes are red.

"Arnavji, hamari baat dhyan se suniye." Khushi says, her voice trembling with emotion. Arnav looks into her eyes. "Kuch nahin hoga Di ko, samjhe aap? Unhe kuch nahin hoga. Jaise unka bacha theek hai, usi tarah woh bhi theek hongi. Devi Maiyya sab kuch theek karengi," Khushi says looking into Arnav's eyes. "Iss waqt, baat kyun ya kaise ki nahin hai. Baat bharose ki hai. Aap bharosa rakhiye ki Di bahut jald theek ho jayengi. Kya aap ye kar sakte hain?"

Arnav's hand reaches up and holds Khushi's hand. He closes his eyes, a look of utmost turmoil and pain dawning on his face. He slowly nods his head in reply. He'll have to keep faith. That was all he could do right now. Khushi leans in closer and touches her forehead with Arnav's, willing all his suffering to flow into her. Hey Devi Maiyya, Arnavji ko aur dukh mat dijiye, she earnestly prays in her heart.

ENGLISH VERSION

Chapter 24 Scene 2

[Living room, Shantivan]

Nandini, NK are yelling accusingly at Aakash who seems to have cheated in the card game. Aakash has thrown his hands up defensively and is counter accusing NK and Nandini of teaming up against him. Payal is laughing at the entire exchange taking place in front of her, knowing all too well of Aakash's intentions. Buaji and Mamiji are too shouting good humoredly at each other, Mamiji taking Aakash's side whereas Buaji helping out NK, much to his visible discomfort.

"Hello Hi bye bye! Do you think I'll agree to it if you accusation my Aakash bitwa? My son is not a cheater, I tells you!" Mamiji exclaims.

"Acha Nandkishore? So is our Nandkishore telling lies?" Buaji asks pointing to NK. Nandini stares at NK at hearing the longer version of his name. NK shrugs nonchalantly and shakes his head making Nandini giggle.

On the other side of the Lounge, Naniji, Garima and Anjali are talking animatedly about the marriage preparations to be underway. Shashi is smiling happily at the exchange progressing in front of him.

"Garima ji, despite all rituals having been completed earlier, Khushi bitiya had returned her shagun," Nani reminds Garima who nods in reply. "And so, we wish to give you the shagun once more," Anjali looks delighted at this. "But since Khushi bitiya and Chotey have already exchanged their rings, so rest of the rituals aren't really needed to be repeated. Now we should directly proceed with the marriage." Garima smiles and nods again in agreement.

Anjali gets up awkwardly and starts walking towards the kitchen. "I'll fetch sweets," she declares to the rest of the family with a big smile on her face, "after all my Chotey's alliance has been fixed. We should definitely have sweets to celebrate."

Back in Arnav's poolside, Khushi and Arnav are sitting side by side on the recliner with her head resting on his chest, holding their hands with their fingers entwined, enjoying each others' presence and relishing the content silence enveloping them.

And just when we least expect it, Destiny toys with our lives. All it takes is a mere twist to divert from a place where everything is exuding happiness to a place where darkness shrouds every cheerful thought, every happy bubble, every optimistic plan.

And we as human beings get reduced to being puppets to the will of destiny; hanging in helplessness as it takes over our lives.

On her way to the kitchen, Anjali suddenly stands rooted to her spot, clutching her lower belly as a sharp pain shoots through her body. She gasps out loudly and stumbles towards the wall, trying to hold on to it for support. As she feels a trickle of fluid slowly coursing down the inside of her thigh, she wonders if her water just broke. The intensity of the pain slowly starts increasing and she groans loudly slowly collapsing to the floor.

Her gasps of pain reach Nani first and she stands up in alarm and rushes to her. "Anjali bitiya! Are you alright?" Nani asks bending over Anjali, looking frenetic with worry. Her alarmed voice reaches NK, Nandini, Buaji, Mamiji, Aakash and Payal who immediately stop their humorous mock fight and stand up in unison.

"I'm fine Nani. I think it is time for my princess to come," Anjali murmurs with a faint smile pointing to the pool of liquid getting accumulated near her feet, hoping to show Nani that her amniotic sac was ruptured, which meant she was going into labour. However, Nani's face bears a look of utter shock as she looks at the direction Anjali was pointing towards. She looks up at Anjali with terror struck eyes.

"Anjali!" "Di!!" "Anjali bitiya!" Urgent summons of her name announce the arrival of the rest of the family. Aakash rushes towards her head, and gently embraces her from behind so that she is in a lying position on the floor resting her head on Aakash's chest. Anjali continues clutching her pregnant belly, a serene smile on her face. "My princess is about to come," she murmurs reassuringly to everyone. But everyone is rendered speechless at the sight. Their horror struck eyes make her smile falter slightly and she looks around at everyone's faces. What was wrong? Why didn't anyone look happy at hearing the news? She was going into labour for crying out loud!

"Is that... blood?" NK's horror struck voice cuts through the stunned silence. Anjali feels the liquid with her fingers and raises her hand to her face. A sudden feeling of dread grips her. The liquid on her fingers shimmering under the lights was... red. She stares at her trembling fingers for a moment, her mind unable to process what was happening. And then the very next moment, Anjali's eyes start fluttering shut.

Something was terribly wrong!

She faintly registers the commotion that follows; Aakash yells out to NK to call for an ambulance. Payal rushes upstairs to call Arnav and Khushi. Nani is getting hysterical with worry and Garima steps in to comfort her. Mamiji and Buaji are both on either side of Anjali continuously pleading with her to keep her eyes open and reassuring everything will be alright. Aakash is still sitting behind Anjali holding her body propped against his chest, his trousers now soaked with Anjali's blood.

[Arnav's room]

"Arnav ji!!!" Payal starts banging on the door, her sound frenetic with worry. "Arnav ji open the door!"

Arnav and Khushi quickly break away from their embrace, looking at each other in alarm for a moment before Arnav rushes to open the door, Khushi following behind him. "Yeah Payal. What happened?" he asks the moment he opens the door. Both Arnav and Khushi are stunned to see tears streaming down Payal's cheeks.

"Arnav ji... Di..." Payal croaks through her tears and that one word is enough to make Arnav realise something terrible has happened. He rushes past her out of his room and sprints towards the living room without wasting a moment to ask her what was wrong. Khushi and Payal too rush down behind him.

[Lounge]

Arnav runs towards the kitchen where he sees a gaggle of his family standing around a figure on the floor. The wind gets sucked out of his chest as he gets closer and realises it is Anjali lying on the floor ina pool of garish maroon liquid, her eyes half closed. He immediately kneels down next to her. "What happened? What is wrong with Di?" he asks Aakash urgently, holding Anjali's hand in his.

Aakash looks momentarily relieved that his elder brother had arrived because truth be told, he had been too terrified for his brain to function normally. He had taken one look at his Di's condition and everything had frozen inside him. He shakes his head helplessly towards Arnav. "I don't know Bhai, I don't kn-"

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW?" Arnav thunders loudly making Aakash flinch. Khushi too leans next to Arnav and places her arm around Arnav comfortingly, all the while looking at Anjali with scared eyes. "Di?" Arnav leans closer to Anjali's limp body and touches her cheek. "Di, open your eyes. It's me!" Arnav whispers urgently to his sister, a feeling of terror slowly creeping up inside him.

Anjali opens her eyes slightly and looks disoriented at the hazy faces around her. Then as she recognizes Arnav's frenetic face hovering inches from hers, she smiles faintly in relief. She had been wanting to talk to him all morning and finally he was here. She strains to open her mouth; it was extremely important for him to know about her discovery. Nothing else was important right now. "Chotey!" she rasps in pain. Arnav nods his head encouragingly, to keep her talking but the pain was spreading through her very fast. "Chotey... cameras," she murmurs in a garbled voice. "cameras..." before her eyes flutter shut again and she passes out.

"DI!!!"

*

[Somewhere Undisclosed]

Shyam is sitting on a comfortable lounge chair, his feet resting one on top of the other on a rickety stool. He looks up interestedly at the last of the two active screens in front of him which were still feeding live footage. The one camera was showing a gaggle of people near the kitchen huddled around the lifeless figure of Anjali, looking extremely panicked and harried. He smiles as he hears the family members pleading with Anjali to open her eyes.

Sorry Naniji. Anjali will never open her eyes now, Shyam thinks maliciously to himself. He's whistling to himself as he stirs a cup of cold tea with his finger and then sucks it.

A short while later, he sees the main door open and few nurses bringing in a stretcher for Anjali. Shyam watches with a sly smile, as they load her heavy pregnant body on to the stretcher with dexterity and then take her away. Shyam watches with a sly smile as Arnav's shoulders slump down for a while as he stares at the pool of Anjali's blood. Shyam watches with a smile how every one were trying to comfort each other that everything was going to be fine.

Wrong. This is just the beginning. Shyam gets up from his chair and walks to the board at the back of his room and picks up the red marker. Slowly he crosses the picture of Anjali. One down, one more to go, and then he starts laughing, a sick despicable eerie laughter.

[Hospital corridor]

The stretcher is being wheeled towards the Operation Theatre by two nurses as the entire family jog to keep up. Nani is seen following the stretcher with the attending doctor explaining her about Anjali's due date and her symptoms of pain of the past hour. The doctor looks grim as he makes notes. An extremely anxious looking Arnav and Aakash are running on the either side of Anjali's head. Arnav's bloodied hands are clutching Anjali's tightly, while Aakash is stroking her head, muttering that it was going to be alright repeatedly, although more to calm himself than to Anjali who had an oxygen mask perched on her mouth. Just as the stretcher enters the Operation Theatre, the family stops at the door allowing the doctor to pass them.

"Doctor, my Di..." Arnav murmurs helplessly to the doctor. She looks around with a kind look on her face and touches his arm assuringly.

"I'm going to do everything I can, Mr. Raizada," she says and enters the OT. The doors seal shut behind her.

Arnav stands still facing the OT doors for a moment, before his weakened legs stumble back till his back hits the solid wall. Aakash and NK round up the other family members and make them sit down on the cold steel chairs. Nani is crying and Garima and Nandini both comfort her. Payal is kneeling on the floor with her head on Shashi's knees. He's stroking his trembling hand on Payal's head, silently trying to comfort his daughter as best as he could. Mamiji is crying too, and surprisingly Buaji comes and sits next to her and places a comforting arm around her. Mamiji looks surprised for a moment before she accepts Buaji's gesture and allows herself to be comforted by Buaji.

Arnav is standing staring at the OT doors transfixed, hardly aware of what was happening around him. Shock overtakes him as the first burst of adrenaline that had shot through him at panicking about Anjali back in Shantivan starts fading inside him. He looks dazedly at his family members who were crying hysterically and then at his extended family who were doing their best to comfort.

Khushi who had been quiet all this time, having been struck speechless with the chaos of the evening, slowly walks towards Arnav. He looks at her face with teary eyes, his eyes finally registering her face. She holds his hand and entwines her fingers in his, trying to comfort him.

"Khushi... Di?" Arnav asks in an agonising whisper, his voice heavy with emotion and barely audible. He wants to hear from Khushi that his Di was going to be alright. He knows he wouldn't believe anyone else right now. Understanding what he wanted, Khushi squeezes his palm reassuringly, her eyes conveying to him silently that everything was going to be fine.

Thirty minutes later the doors of the OT open and the doctor walks out, her face looking grim. Arnav rushes forward to meet her, his red eyes looking at her questioningly. "Mr. Raizada, Anjali has lost a lot of blood which is very unusual before her going into labour. We had to perform a C-section and got the baby out. It's a girl," the Doctor announces with a small smile. A wave of relief runs through everyone's faces. Naniji, Mamiji, and Khushi smile at the news of the delivery of the baby girl. Arnav however, looks stunned with the news. He was an uncle! Aakash and NK cheer and hug each other as they hear the good news, and Payal slowly wipes her tears away.

"Doctor, what about Di?" Arnav asks ignoring the sounds of celebrations behind him. The smile fades from the doctor's face.

"There were some complications with the delivery, Mr. Raizada," the Doctor pauses, making everyone look at her in confusion, the relief on their faces slowly fading away. Arnav stares at the Doctor, unsure of her tone.

"What does that mean?" He asks, trying very hard to keep the feeling of panic from resurfacing.

The doctor looks grim again. "The baby had to be resuscitated, Mr. Raizada. She wasn't able to breathe on her own." Every one walks closer to the doctor, gasping in shock to hear her words. "In fact, at first we thought the baby was still born." Nandini covers her mouth with her hand and exchanges a scared look with NK standing next to her.

"But the baby is doing much better now," the doctor adds reassuringly. "As for Anjali, she is still in a critical state." A cold dread again envelopes Arnav and his heart starts beating in panic. The doctor places her hand on his shoulder again. "We are trying to find out why. Please have patience and faith, Mr. Raizada," the doctor walks back into the OT, leaving a stunned silence outside the OT.

Arnav's mind barely registers the happy news about his niece being alright. The disturbing news about Anjali's critical condition bolsters him into dejection. For one moment he had actually felt hopeful that everything was going to be alright. But then the second news had come and shattered everything once more. He dejectedly walks back to the corner where he had been standing before and leans sideways on the wall, tears quietly streaming his face. His sister was hanging in the balance and there was nothing he could do about it. Arnav had never felt this way before.

"Everything will be fine Arnav ji. You'll see, Devi Maiyya will make everything right," Khushi's whisper breaks through his thoughts and he feels her tiny hand again covering his, the warmth of her hand trying to overpower the coldness that was coursing through his body.

He looks down at her. Khushi's eyes look scared despite the strength in her voice. Every inch of her body is trembling inside but she is calm on the exterior, lending the support that she knows Arnav needs at that point of time. Arnav starts walking away from the OT and his family, Khushi still holding his hand and silently working with him. Arnav has no clue where his feet are taking him, but he keeps on walking.

Finally they reach the end of the corridor which culminates in a huge glass window. Arnav stops and dazedly looks outside.

Memories from the past start flashing into his mind... the first time he had seen her breaking down after their parents' death... their lecherous Uncle making an advance towards her and Arnav vowing to protect her from that day onwards... him doing every bit he could to make her happy and supporting her... her accident a few months ago when she had told him he was going to be an uncle... her undying support to him when he thought he had lost Khushi... her encouragement for him to keep trying to fight for his love... her enthusiasm at hearing about Arnav's proposal... Her lying in a pool of blood...

"How did all this happen Khushi?" Arnav's broken voice sends a shiver down Khushi's spine. She looks up at Arnav's face suddenly feeling at loss as to how she can reassure him. "I had promised myself that I'll always take care of her. Then why did this..." Arnav's voice breaks again and he bows his head down, his shoulders slumped in resignation.

Khushi had never seen Arnav in such a condition, so broken, so vulnerable. Her throat feels heavy with a lump and tears spring to her eyes. She places both her hands on Arnav's face and makes him look into her eyes. A wave of sadness engulfs her as she realises Arnav's eyes are red.

"Arnavji, listen to me very carefully." Khushi says, her voice trembling with emotion. Arnav looks into her eyes. "Nothing will happen to Di, do you understand? Nothing will happen to her. Just like her baby is fine, she will be too. Devi Maiyya will take care of everything," Khushi says looking into Arnav's eyes. "Right now, it's not a question of how or why. It's a question of faith. Keep faith that Di will be alright very soon. Do you think you can do that?"

Arnav's hand reaches up and holds Khushi's hand. He closes his eyes, a look of utmost turmoil and pain dawning on his face. He slowly nods his head in reply. He'll have to keep faith. That was all he could do right now. Khushi leans in closer and touches her forehead with Arnav's, willing all his suffering to flow into her. Hey Devi Maiyya, please don't give Arnavji any more pain, she earnestly prays in her heart.

Precap:

"These are not multivitamin and Iron substitute capsules, Mr. Raizada. These are growth inhibitor pills. They affect a pregnant woman and her unborn child very severely. How long has Anjali been consuming these?"

A dreadful chill enveloped Arnav's heart. Anjali couldn't have known she was taking these pills. Obviously she couldn't have! "I don't know doctor." Arnav admits.

"Well, from the traces of Arsenic in her Anjali's bloodstream, I'm guessing she must have started having it not longer than a week ago. Does that ring any bells?" the doctor asks.

One week ago? What had happened one week ago? Arnav suddenly sits upright in the chair, his eyes narrowing as things click into his mind and he realises what had happened. "No, doctor. It doesn't ring any bells," Arnav lies to the doctor, his mind already on high alert putting two and two together.

Writer's note: *ducks the rotten tomatoes and eggs*

Okay, yes I'm sorry to pop up this sad update right after Arshi romance! But this was intended to happen. On the bright side, the baby is alright! huzzah! *phew* Okay, I am not a doctor and do not know the technical details about meds which can cause pregnancy problems, but I do know there are plenty of them out there which pregnant women are advised not to take. So grant me a little writer's liberty here will ya? 😊

Shyam oh Shyam... I HATE him!! Don't you!! ugh! More clarifications in the next update and the return of ASR!! Hell ya!!!

Cheers! 😊

PS - THANK YOU SO MUCH for your lovely comments of the last scene muaaah!!