IPKKND-ARHI-FF - Gypsy- Chapter 42 - Page 53

Its imperative that Arnav realizes the depth of the harm he had inflicted upon this dear girl. Such vulnerable picture she presented today that my heart went out to her. I am counting big time on Granny, Mummy and Di.

wow such an amazing update... wow.love it to the core.Finally Khusi getting her dues...😊

Amazing story.. Read it in one go.. Awesome writing :)

It is such a beautiful story...way different than all available on IF...I'm mesmerized😊👏 ...Plz continue and complete it...i will like to know all about it...King ASR has lots of work to do...

loved it.raizada's are sooo sweet

Chapter 30

"So Shashi Babu, this is our future daughter-in-law. I must say she is very beautiful indeed. Exactly as we expected!!!"

"Baba? What ...?"

Shashi wondered how to explain to Khushi that the Maharaja wanted to marry her and his reasons, here, in front of his family to a very stunned and shocked Khushi.

"Bitiya, wo kya hai ..." He began but Mamta Raizada interrupted him gently,

"Shashi Bhai Saheb, allow me to explain please." Holding one hand to Khushi, she said,

"Khushi, come here will you?" Her words were accompanied with a gentle smile and almost unconsciously Khushi obeyed, placing her hand in the Maharani's and allowing herself to be pulled down on the sofa.

"Sit here with us my dear. I can see that you are very shocked but you heard us correctly. We have brought a proposal of marriage for you with my son Arnav. Now I know that your Maayi; isn't that what you call her?" At Khushi's slight nod she continued, "Your Maayi is away with your tribe and we have not been able to find out where she is or else we would have taken this proposal to her. However you have been living with Shashi Bhai Saheb and call him Baba so in this case we have brought the proposal to him. There is a need for urgency in this matter of your marriage and it would not be advisable to delay the matter anymore than is necessary. So here we are, with this proposal."

Mamta watched Khushi as the girl struggled to make sense of her words. But for all her naivete, Khushi had never been slow on the uptake. It didn't take her long to understand that the royal ladies were well aware that she was a gypsy and that they knew something of what had happened between the Maharaja and her, hence, the delicate hint that time was not a luxury they could afford in this matter. But what she didn't understand was the need for marriage. After all she knew she was not the first gypsy whose honour and life had become a toy for royalty and she doubted that she would be the last. And was the Maharaja aware of their intentions? She didn't think so; she recalled his words in his study that fateful evening. She was not of his class; therefore, he couldn't marry her. She turned to Mamta, voicing her thoughts softly,

"Maharani Saheba, I am honoured with this marriage proposal. But it is not necessary. I am a simple gypsy girl. Whatever happened, it doesn't require marriage to make it right since I don't mix around with normal folks anyway."

Mamta was not surprised at Khushi's words. In fact she had been expecting it. After all she had already decided, in the first glance, that this girl might be quiet and shy but she had a backbone. And her words were typical of a gypsy girl. It underlined, very clearly, the expectations a gypsy had from royalty which was precisely nothing. They had no expectations from the upper class and heaven forbid that they would expect royalty to make amends for dishonouring them. But there was always a first time for everything. And this particular thing' was long overdue.

"I understand what you are saying Khushi. At this point I would like to mention that we are well aware of the incidents that have taken place with you and my son. We are also well aware of the injustice that was committed with you and that too as a direct result of my son's behaviour. No matter what, every girl's honour is just as important, regardless of her social status. You didn't deserve punishment for choosing to uphold your honour and my son had no right to demand differently. As a result, we are your criminals and you have the right to demand restitution. But we are well aware that you will not demand anything. But that does not mean that we are off the hook. It was your honour that my son besmirched and he has to make amends in the right manner. In our society that means marriage my dear."

"But Maharani Saheba, still, ..."

"Khushi bitiya?"

Khushi froze before she turned to face Devyani Raizada who had just spoken.

"Bitiya I understand your hesitations. But as my daughter-in-law has just said, our son needs to make amends and that is the way it will be. You do not need to worry about status and class differences child. We have seen more of the world that you have and we know what we are doing. All you have to do is keep your head high and accept this marriage proposal. After all even if you are a gypsy, you are no less than any royal princess. For you see, it requires courage and a very strong sense of right and wrong to refuse a Maharaja's proposition to become his mistress. History bears witness that very few girls have ever refused these kinds of arrangements. The fact that you did just that proclaims to one and all that your moral standards are very high. And that is all we require; a daughter-in-law whose character and morality are above reproach and one who does not lack courage to stand up for the right thing. You cannot imagine, bitiya, how very proud we are that a girl like you will be our daughter-in-law."

Devyani Raizada finished her speech with a kind smile for the child in front of her. But her words reminded Khushi that her standards were not so high. After all she was illegitimate and a half-breed to boot. She couldn't keep quiet about something like this.

"Raajmata Saheba, my standards are not as high as you are thinking. For you see, I am not a complete gypsy. I am an outcast in my tribe because I am a half-breed. My gypsy mother ran away from her tribe to live with a Thakur when he was a student. But they were not married. She came back to her tribe when she was expecting me and she died when I was 6. Maayi has just brought me up."

At this revelation, about which no one in that room had known anything, everyone was completely silent. Khushi watched the Raajmata and the Maharani's face resignedly. She waited for them to withdraw their proposal and leave. And yet, when Devyani shook her head slightly, Khushi was aware of a feeling of intense disappointment. Although she had been prepared for this, she was still acutely disappointed for she had wanted these kind ladies to have a good opinion of her. But Khushi was nothing if not practical. She knew that was impossible.

A few minutes later Devyani spoke up,

"Bitiya, your circumstances illustrate your character very well and I still maintain my words of earlier. You have risen above your mother's mistakes and embraced the correct path. But more than that, I now know that you are very honest. Not many people would have spoken the truth about something like this. So you see bitiya, the proposal stands. The only thing that has changed is that your image has risen more than before in my eyes, courtesy of your honesty."

Khushi was truly stunned. All her life, everyone apart from Maayi had judged her on the circumstances of her birth. But here were these ladies, overlooking what she had always thought was the most important thing about her. She felt the pricking of tears at the back of her eyelids and she blinked rapidly. The silence was broken when Mamta spoke to Shashi,

"Bhai Saheb, we will consult our family pundit and get back to you in a few days. In the meantime, take these few days to reassure and allay Khushi's concerns and fears. For you see, at soon as we have spoken to the pundit, your daughter will not remain yours anymore. We are anxious to take her home with us."

Her words penetrated Khushi's mind and she made another attempt, which in her mind was the most important.

"Maharani Saheba, I ... the ... the Maharaja Saheb. What will he ...?"

This time Anjali spoke up,

"Khushi, don't worry. My brother wants to marry you. Just relax."

Anjali's words had the most effect. Khushi underwent a subtle change, which no one in that moment noticed. Her body stiffened lightly and she averted her eyes while her mind worked furiously.

"He wanted to marry her! But she was not of his class and she knew the Maharaja was class conscious. Why then did her want to marry her? Why??? A thought occurred to her and she worked out to her satisfaction why he wanted to marry her? It was to punish her. He wanted to take revenge for her refusing his proposal. But whatever the case, now that she knew his intention to marry her, she didn't dare refuse this proposal. She had Baba and Maa to consider after all. Just yesterday, she had taken the decision to become his mistress. Today it had changed to becoming his wife. She valiantly tried to swallow the terror that threatened to choke her while hiding her fears from everyone else ...

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Happy Diwali everyone. Have a blessed and safe Diwali. May Goddess Laxmi shower her blessings on all of you.

poor girl she is terrified of arnv.i hope arnav starts loving her sooon.raizada ladies are just awesome.loved he update.thq for the pm

Only a terified mind can think this way...since he has not come to her and apologized first she is taking his intentions as revenge...It might take a lot of work from his part to repair her broken heart..The three ladies have a big heart and are very high on morals...It was a wonderful update😊

loved the updates...
So Raizada ladies cleared almost all the doubt she had about this proposal...
and now she thinks Maharaja want to take revenge on her... now only Maharaja can clear her doubts...
will wait for their meeting...
Happy Diwali to you...
God bless you with happiness...
thanks :D