Your Love Broke Me ~ Thread 3!!!

Presenting to you...

"Kya hua, Chhote?" (What happened, Chhote?)

"Di, Khushi kahaan hai?" (Di, where's Khushi?)

"Voh... garden mein..." (She... in the garden...)

Alok walked up to Arnav as he saw wild fury passing on the young man's face. "Di aapne usse bahar jaane kaise diya?" he shouted, causing Aman to cower behind him. (Di how could you let her go out?)

Anjali shrunk back, her eyes wide with fear. "Chhote-"

"How could you, Di?"

"Arnav? Sab theek to hai?" Alok asked, placing his hand on Arnav's shoulder in an attempt to calm him but he turned on his feet and ran out of the house. The remaining four people looked at one another before they followed him into the garden. (...Is everything fine?)

Arnav yelled her name a few times, walking around the expansive grounds that surrounded the Gupta Haveli. They others tried too but with no result. He felt his heart fall into his feet, then even deeper. His worst fears had come true. Garima had started weeping again.

"Sir," Aman tried. "Shayad voh ghar ke andar-" (Maybe she went in the house-)

His boss's gaze flickered on him briefly and he saw a glitter of hope there. They went back to the house, only to find Akaash, with a huge gash on his forehead, and a sobbing Payal, holding on to him. The couple straightened as gasps erupted from Khushi's parents. Akaash sighed and before they could be asked any question, he started explaining what had happened.

"We were driving here when Payal saw Khushi in the garden. She had been attacked and they were in a car. I think she was unconscious. I stopped the car and tried to help her but the guy punched me and I got this," he pointed to the cut on his face. "I'm sorry... I couldn't stop them... They took her away."

Arnav clenched his jaws together while his hands balled into fists by his side. "Who was it?" he growled.

Akaash shook his head regretfully. "I'm not sure... I didn't recognise the man but I think the other person was Radhika..."

Padmini slid to the ground sobbing as her husband wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Arnav had frozen to a statue of dark fury. His cousin paled visibly and lifted her fist to press it against her mouth. It was all her fault...

"Did you see their car?" Arnav spoke up after a few minutes of calculative silence.

"I... I don't remember..." his friend stammered.

"Radhika had asked me if she could take the blue Chevrolet," Alok said weakly, his chin resting on the top of his wife's head.

Arnav took a step closer to the broken father. "And all your cars have microchips embedded, right? Which are linked to a tracking system?" Alok nodded.

"Aman, I want this system connected to my mobile asap, do you understand?" Arnav barked at his assistant, who ran inside to execute the order, before he turned to Akaash. "And Akaash inform the police. Then, please go see a doctor, you might need a few stitches."

He stalked to his car and motioned the driver to get out. Anjali followed him and caught his arm.

"Chhote... tum kahaan jaa rahe ho?" (...Where are you going?)

Arnav sighed and looked at her. "Khushi ko dhoondne, Di!" (Look for Khushi, Di!)

His cousin released a sob. "Chhote I'm sorry... yeh sab humaari vajah se-" (...All this happened because of me-)

"Aapki vajah se nahin, Di," he reassured her by putting his hand over hers. "I'm sorry maine aap pe chilaaya lekin aapki koyi galti nahin hai... Kal raat jo bhi hua uske baad mujhe Khushi ko chhod ke kabhi jaana nahin chaahiye tha..." (Not because of you Di... I'm sorry I shouted at you but it's not your fault... I shouldn't have left Khushi after what happened last night...)

Anjali gazed up in her little brother's tearful eyes and bit her lip. Then she stepped back, allowing him to go...

***

He pressed the button in the Bluetooth earpiece he had plugged in his ear as soon as he had left the Guptas' driveway.

"Yeah Aman?"

"Sir, I've connected the system to your iPhone."

"Fine. And the police?"

"On their way, sir. Anything else?"

"Inform my family members," Arnav commanded. "And keep alert, I might call you any time."

"Yes, sir!"

He disconnected and with his free hand, he unlocked his iPhone. He found the link to the tracking system immediately. Only seconds later, he was sneering at the screen.

"Gotcha!"

***

"What the fish!"

"What happened Ritika?" Anjali asked hoarsely, coming up behind her sister, who, with Aman Mathur, had her head nearly buried in the latter's laptop.

Arnav's assistant looked at her nervously.It had been around six hours since Arnav had left. Alok was with some officers who had stayed back at the Haveli, in case Shyaam or Radhika called for ransom. The other Raizada women, including Arnav's Nani, Mami and mother were with Garima, who still could not understand why one of her daughters could have done this to the other. Shaan had accompanied the policemen who had followed Arnav.

"If my calculations are not wrong, Anjaliji," Aman explained to her. "They are heading to Shimla."

Anjali clamped her sweat-slicked palm to her mouth. Whatever her Chhote could say, it was undeniable that she was responsible for Khushi's kidnapping. She never should have let Khushi go out... Her stomach lurched violently and she knew at once what was coming. She quickly ran to the nearest toilet, her sister on her heels, making it on time to retch out her lunch...

***

It was perhaps his luck which saved him from the traffic police because he had already broken all the speed limits possible as he followed the kidnappers across the country. And yet, he was nowhere near to catching them. All he could hope for was that Khushi stayed safe and he reached there on time.

Arnav sighed and blinked away the stinging tears as he glanced at the screen of his iPhone he had had to connect to the charger before its battery expired. Aman had been right when he had called him up five hours ago. They were heading for Shimla. The question that kept coming to his mind was, Why Shimla? But he had no answer to that...

They had stopped a few times, which had enabled him to catch up a bit, as he had not bothered to stop to eat or drink anything. He had just taken his medicines hurriedly with his free hand while driving. According to his GPS device, he would reach in Shimla in a couple of hours.

Radhika and Shyaam were one hour ahead of him but they were also fools. Perhaps the greatest he had ever seen. If they wanted to kidnap Khushi, why take a car from the Guptas? Did they not know about the embedded microchips and tracking system? Or maybe they did, he suddenly realised. Maybe this was a trap. They had known he would come after them, hadn't they? Well, trap or no trap, he was going there to save his Khushi.

As Arnav lowered the window pane on his side, he felt the late December gusts of freezing wind hit his face with force and he thought of Khushi. Had she worn something warm?

"Dammit!" he punched the steering wheel.

He never should have left her like that after whatever had happened the previous night. How could he have put some idiotic deal before her? This was all entirely his fault. He jammed his foot over the accelerator hard.

Damn the rules and laws, he had a life to save. He could still see her face, bruised from Shyaam Manohar Jha's assault. Instantly, his anger raged inside him. He would definitely find that bas***d and kill him...