Part 33: Heart over Mind
Inspector Rao gave Khushi a weary glance before turning a stone cold glance in Arnav's direction. "Mr. Raizada, you are one of the four individuals suspected for involvement in an attempted gang rape case. There seems to be evidence that you assaulted the girl." Mr. Rao gave him a nasty look.
Arnav was taken aback at the accusation. What the f***? His brain clicked into action, the fog cleared, and he went through the events of the night.
He had left the orphanage and had started driving towards Khushi's house. He had seen the three men off to the side of the road in a rather secluded area. Then he had noticed the girl they were assaulting. She seemed to be struggling with them. He had stopped and gone to help her. He had fought with the men; one of them had pulled out a gun and fired at him but missed. He had felt a head splitting pain shoot across his forehead, he had heard a gunshot and then...he had woken up in the hospital. Now this made sense. The inspector, the case, the accusation.
"I was trying to help her! I was trying to save her from them!" Arnav defended himself at once. "I was driving down that street and saw her struggling with those three b******s! I went to help her!"
The ugly inspector sneered and lifted Arnav's right arm. "See these?" He nodded towards the scratch marks on his forearm. "Looks like she tried to scratch you while trying to get away. We found similar scratches on her hand too. These marks are similar to what we found on the other three men's arms and faces."
Arnav eyed the scar, confused. "I...I don't know how I got these...I don't remember scratching her...maybe this happened while I was trying to fight off those guys but...I was trying to save her!"
The inspector kept repeating things and kept probing Arnav while Arnav kept defending himself with the same sentence. At last, Khushi had had enough.
"ENOUGH!" She yelled angrily, silencing all of them immediately.
Her voice pierced through Arnav like ice pricks. It was then he remembered that she was still in the room and it suddenly dawned upon him that she had just heard the policemen accuse him of being involved in a rape case. A Rape Case! A f***ing rape case of all things.
Oh how easy it would be for her to believe them. How easy it would be for her to relate this to her own experience. How easy it would be for her newly reformed trust to shatter. How easy it would be for her to hold him responsible for this. How easy it would be for Arnav's world to fall apart once again"but this time forever.
Yet, he couldn't think of what to say to her. He just looked at her blankly, feeling numb. It was as if the walls were closing in on him. The anger on her face gave him the chills. He hadn't seen that expression on her face since the day she left. She wasn't looking at him and that made him feel even more numb. His heart felt like it was enveloped in a thin layer of ice.
"I think you've made yourself clear, Inspector Rao." Her tone was clipped. "You're accusing him of being involved in this case and he has defended himself. I don't think that repeating the accusations will change his statement. I don't think there's any more need to discuss this." She spoke icily but firmly to the inspector.
"Listen lady...this is a serious matter. He better confess his crime because once the girl regains her consciousness as we get her statement, he'll have to deal with harsher punishment for""
"If he's guilty." Khushi snapped and cut off the inspector's rant. "The law clearly states that all accused individuals are innocent until proven guilty. You have accused him but he hasn't been proven guilty. So at this moment, he's innocent. You're trying to influence his legal statement by interrogating him without any solid evidence." She cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. "It's almost like you're trying to force him to accept a crime that he denies committing. I think it best if you leave before I call my lawyer and get him to discuss the lawsuit of emotional torture and trying to influence an innocent to accept a false accusation. You have thirty seconds to decide."
Her expression was angry. Her lips set into a thin line. Her eyes shooting daggers.
The officer glared at her for a few moments and Khushi glared back with twice the intensity. At last, the inspector left with his colleagues. Arnav stared at her while she stared at the retreating backs of the officials. His eyes hadn't left her face since she'd spoken her first word. Arnav's throat was oddly dry. His eyes stung without tears and his lungs ached with every breath. As soon as the policemen had left, Arnav squeezed her hand gently, afraid to let it go. His heart throbbed nervously.
"Khushi...I...I didn't do it. I was trying to help her." He said desperately.
A part of him laughed at his feeble attempt because the sentence he'd just said probably held no meaning for her. Why should it, after all he had done to her? Why had he even bothered to say it out loud?
Khushi slowly turned to face him and looked him straight in the eye. "I believe you."
Arnav just looked at her blankly, unsure of whether or not he had heard that right. She didn't say anything more than that and he didn't ask any more questions. There was a simple question floating in his mind in big red block letters: Why?
She believed him.
WHY?!?
They stayed like that for a couple of minutes. He waited for the illusion to break and to realize that she was actually gone. That she had run out of the room as soon as she had heard the accusation but she was still here.
He looked at her, waiting for her to say something more while she just looked at him with a gentle expression on her face. Gentle yet unreadable. Then, she slowly tried to move her hand out of his grip. Instantly, he held on even tighter, afraid of letting go. What if he let go and she never came back? What if she actually believed the officers?
It was as if she had read his mind, seen through his fears and worries. "I do believe you Arnav. I'm just going to go talk to the doctor to see if there are any formalities and probably give my lawyer a call. This inspector looks like he's hell bent on proving you guilty. I also need to call Aman and let him know what happened. I'll come back in a few minutes."
He let go of her hand reluctantly, fear clearly visible in his eyes. She gave him a small smile, cupped his face with one hand and placed a kiss on his forehead.
"I'll be back." She patted his cheek once before she left the room.
He lay there thinking about this new issue and he realized that he couldn't fathom why she believed him. No matter how much he tried. It made more sense for her to believe that he was guilty of this crime. He'd committed this crime before. Hell, she was the victim then! So, why did she seem so sure that he was innocent this time around?
Eventually his thoughts drifted from why she had believed him to why he was accused in the first place. He thought intensely about the incident.
He was driving to Khushi's house from the orphanage when he had seen those three men manhandling the young woman. He had gotten out of his car to help her and gotten into a physical fight with the three goons. One of them had pulled out a gun, aimed a shot and fired. He had missed and had nearly shot Arnav's arm. Arnav instinctively looked at his left arm where he found the bandage. He looked once again at the scratches on his other arm. For the life of him, he couldn't recall how he had gotten those.
(Purple = Arnav's inner voice #1, Green = Arnav's inner voice # 2, Orange = Arnav's inner voice #3)
Why are you worrying when you know you've done nothing wrong?
Because I don't want to lose her again. Things are finally returning to normal. We seem to have a chance at a happy future but this might ruin it all.
Well, she said she believes you.
Exactly! It makes no sense for her to believe me! Why does she believe me? I did the same thing to her all those years ago, didn't I?
Yes but she knows under what circumstances you did what you did. She gave you the benefit of the doubt. And why are you asking me? Why don't you ask her why she believes you?
When she comes back, I will.
You mean, IF she comes back? I think she let you down easy...I don't think she's coming back. She probably headed home...you know...to pack her bags and leave. Go away from you again.
NO! Arnav's heart sank immediately. No! She'll tell me if she wants to leave. She told me last time...and...And she said she believes me. I've done nothing wrong!
According to you. Those cops seem to think otherwise. How are you going to prove your innocence?
Arnav willed his mind to think over every detail but he couldn't. The darker side of his kept saying that Khushi was gone again. She won't come back. He had found her and now he had lost her again.
---
"I don't know Aman...he seems really distressed...I don't want to question him..." Khushi chewed on her lower lip nervously.
Aman had waited for Angad to drop off Kripa, Anjali and their kids with Amber and Aditya and then the two men had rushed to the hospital. They had met Khushi a few doors down from Arnav's room. Upon questioning, they'd realized Khushi didn't know much about the situation. All she knew was he was found injured and unconscious on the street with four other people. Only one of the five was a girl and the other four were accused for an attempted gang rape.
"Well, the only person he'll say anything to is you." Angad spoke to her encouragingly. "And you know exactly why."
Aman looked between the two confusedly. Sure, he didn't know why exactly Khushi had left Arnav all those days ago but he knew there was a fight after which Khushi had left. He didn't know why Arnav was always so guilty about it. He knew better than to ask. It was a family matter and though he had worked with ASR and his family for years, he wasn't family. But he figured that Angad was aware of what Khushi and Arnav's history was. Aman was curious to know, but he didn't ask.
"But wont he think that I don't believe him if I question him?" Khushi asked, sounding stressed herself.
"You'll figure out a way, Khushi. Go and speak to him. I'll go speak to the inspector and then I'll talk to the lawyer when he gets here." Angad nodded at her.
Khushi looked at Aman. "Did you tell anyone at home?"
Aman knew by home, she meant ASR's family. "No. I thought I should come and see before I call them."
"Don't!" Khushi said a little too loudly. Aman flinched and Khushi looked at him apologetically. "Sorry...I didn't mean to yell. It's just...given Nani's condition, I don't think you should tell them as of yet. Arnav is innocent...if we can settle this matter before it gets out of hand, they don't need to know. You just make sure the media doesn't get his name."
She sounded so much like ASR as she listed orders, and Aman almost smiled. He nodded at her orders and followed Angad to meet the doctor. Khushi took a deep breath and walked towards Arnav's room.
Her heart clenched at what she saw when she entered. His eyes were squeezed shut, his eyebrows knit in a frown, pain was written all over his expression, and the sole tear rolling down his cheek was the proof. He held his hands together, fingers entwined, his knuckles were white. He was too engrossed in his thoughts to hear her approach. She reached out and covered his clasped hands with her tiny soft one.
His eyes flew open at once, he let out a breath he must've been holding and his head snapped to her within a second. Relief replaced the pain in his eyes and the words he spoke next broke her heart.
"You believe me?" His voice was strained. His tone was pleading.
Khushi pursed her lips, put a hand around his head and pulled him into a hug. His head rested against her chest, his hands winding around her waist. She wrapped one of her hands around his shoulders, pulling him closer, while her other hand remained tangled in his hair, caressing soothingly.
"I do believe you, Arnav. Don't doubt that for another second." She whispered urgently after a few moments. She needed him to understand that she was here and he needed to trust her when she said that she believed him. He needed to trust her trust in him.
She felt him tilt his head back to look at her. "Why?" he rasped.
Khushi gave him a small smile and detangled herself from him. She took one of his hands in hers and looked up at him, her expression was sincere. She took a seat next to him, her shoulder touching his incidentally.
"I'm not going to lie to you. My brain told me to believe the inspectors. My brain told me to get out of here and get away." She saw his expression change and she went on quickly. "But that's the brain's job. It always brings in logic. It thinks too practically." She gave him a warm smile.
"Sometimes, you have to stop thinking from here," she tapped his temple once, "and think from here." She tapped his chest right over his heart. "You can't think with your brain all the time...for some decisions, you have to follow your heart. If I only thought with my mind...Aditya and Amber wouldn't be in our lives right now...I listened to my heart when I was decided that I would give birth to them...even at that time, my heart and my mind didn't agree. Like today, even though my brain was telling me to believe the cops, my heart put up a good fight. My heart says that you haven't done this...that you're innocent...and I believe my heart. I believe you. I believe you're innocent."
She felt him relax next to him and smiled to herself. He was like a small child sometimes. You had to explain things to him in simple terms and analogies...and she was glad that he had understood this with ease. Not that she could blame him. She had seen exactly how vulnerable he was behind the strong front he put up. She looked at him and saw him looking at their entwined hands. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and he looked back at her. She changed her expression into a mock-stern one.
"Now, if you think I don't believe you one more time...I will give you a time out." She said in a mock serious tone.
And that did the trick. Despite his earlier thoughts, despite his earlier fears, despite the unfortunate situation, Arnav couldn't help but smile when he recalled how he had sat on that bench in her yard with a finger on his lips.
"Can I ask you something?" Khushi said after a few minutes. She waited for his response and when he nodded, she went on. "Can you tell me what happened?"
She felt his grip tighten on her hand. Arnav took a deep breath and then began telling her what had happened once he had left. Khushi listened intently, trying to find anything at all in his description that she could use as evidence to prove his innocence. Nothing. He hadn't stopped anywhere else except for when he saw the three men with the young girl. There were no witnesses to prove his statements. Of course it looked suspicious when he was found along with the other three men and a semi conscious girl who showed signs of being abused. The injuries Arnav had could easily be mistaken for being a result of the girl's attempts at escaping. The girl's statement was the only thing that could prove anything.
"How is she?" Arnav asked in the moments of silence that followed his explanation.
Khushi knew instantly whom he was asking about. Khushi had gone to see the girl but wasn't able to go in because the cop said no one was to meet her until she gave her statement. Khushi had spoken to the nurse to make sure that she was fine. Being a woman who had gone through this before, Khushi was worried about her. She made a note to herself to speak to her once the cops would let her visit.
Khushi shook her head in response to his question. "Traumatized. I spoke to her nurse; they've put her to sleep for the night. She...she kept becoming hysterical as soon as any male staff approached her...the incident is too fresh in her mind. The nurse said she should wake no later than noon tomorrow. Y-you'll have to stay in the hospital until she gives her statement."
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Angad and Aman walked in. After greeting Arnav, they informed the two that Arnav's injuries were minimal. The bullet had grazed his arm and that wound would take about two weeks to heal. The small injury just below his hairline on the right side of his head had needed four stitches and that would take its time healing.
"The inspector said that the girl's statement would decide whether or not he'd be involved further in this case. The lawyer said that even if she agrees with Arnav's statement, though, Arnav may be asked to present himself in court as a witness. He'll be back tomorrow to speak with Arnav." Angad explained.
"That's fine." Arnav said decisively.
Angad hesitated to say something else and exchanged a nervous glance with Aman.
"What?" Khushi asked, worry seeping into her tone.
"One of the three men...who were harassing the girl...one of them was shot...he...he died." Angad paused. "Arnav...did...did you...?" Angad trailed off, leaving his question unfinished.
Arnav shook his head. "No. I couldn't reach the gun...I heard a gunshot being fired before I passed out, though."
"Maybe the girl shot him..." Khushi said in a small voice. The three men turned to look at her, surprised at the slight hint of menacing rage in her tone. "What?" She asked. "Defensive behaviour...humans go to lengths to try and save themselves from danger. Maybe she shot him to save herself. I would have."
Arnav shuddered slightly at her words. Khushi was never one to have violent thoughts. This wasn't the first time he was seeing this. He'd seen her slap those two men outside the restaurant the other night and now this. He knew that change had obviously been brought on by what she had to go through. He shuddered again as unwanted visions filled his mind. Khushi squeezed his hand, sensing what he was thinking.
After a few moments of silence, Angad spoke up.
"I think we should leave...only one person is allowed to stay overnight with him...and that too outside. Since this is a police case, there will be a constable outside this door and only a certain people will be able to come in until the girl gives her statement."
Khushi nodded. "Yeah, you two should go...I'll stay here."
Arnav looked at her immediately. "No...You need to go home." Khushi looked at him confusedly. Before she could say anything, he went on. "Amber and Aditya will need you there, Khushi."
Khushi was torn. She felt that she should stay here with Arnav but at the same time, being a mother, she should be with her kids too. Never in her life had she thought she would have to choose between them. Angad saw and recognized her dilemma.
"They were already asleep when we left. Anjali and Kripa are there." He explained to Arnav in the hope that he would let her stay.
Angad didn't relish the idea of them separating tonight. They should stay together until this was sorted out. That way, they could keep each other from falling into pits of dark thoughts. But Arnav had other plans.
"Khushi, please. Go home...I'm fine...They haven't seen you since you dropped them off at school. They'll worry..." Arnav pleaded with her.
A couple minutes later, Khushi finally gave in and agreed to go home with Angad. Aman volunteered to stay. Khushi looked meaningfully at Angad and understanding her need to be alone with Arnav for a few minutes, Angad and Aman headed out the room.
Khushi shifted on the bed so that she sat next to him, yet facing him completely. She cupped his face with her free hand, the other hand still in Arnav's possessive grip.
"Please go to sleep right away. The more you rest, the better it is for you. I'll be back tomorrow morning and you will get in trouble with me if I notice that you haven't slept properly." She scolded him affectionately, making him smile.
"Anything else, M'am?" Arnav asked teasingly.
Khushi knew, at that moment, that they would make it through this situation too. The sense of normalcy even in the most abnormal circumstances and their ability to be normal with each other in these seemingly tough times was comforting.
Khushi chuckled and shook her head. "Well...maybe one more thing...just so you don't go doubting it again...I do believe you."
Arnav's heart melted under the warmth in her eyes. It was if that one simple statement from her had doubled the size of his heart just so that it could hold the increased amount of love for her. He wanted to let her know what her support meant to him but of course, words evaded him. As usual.
But then he recalled Kripa's advice. He couldn't put his feelings in words right now, sure...but he could express them to her. She would understand what he was trying to say, he knew. As Kripa's advice rang in his ears, the worries and the current situation flew out of his mind. It was as if he had travelled back in time and he was back at the orphanage on a Friday night, sitting across from her.
He smiled and squeezed her hand before leaning closer to her. His lips hovered over her cheek for a couple seconds. This was her chance to back out if she wanted to. She didn't.
He touched her right cheek with his lips tenderly, feeling the heat rush up to her cheek at his touch. He pulled away and looked at her twinkling eyes. Yeah, she understood. "That's to thank you for trusting me." He leaned towards her again and kissed her left cheek. He pulled away and looked at her blushing face. "And that's...just like that."
Khushi blushed profusely at that and couldn't help but chuckle at his almost sheepish expression. Then, surprising him like she always did, she cupped his left cheek and kissed his right cheek twice.
"Those are because Amber would scowl at me for not giving you healing kisses again..." Khushi leaned in once again and pressed a tender kiss to his forehead.
"And that's...to thank you for saving the girl tonight." Khushi gave him a grateful smile before giving him a hug. As she pulled away, she kissed his left cheek once. "And that is...just like that." She imitated him, making him chuckle.
With one final comforting hug, Khushi forced him to lie down, covered him with a blanket, and ran her fingers through his hair once before walking towards the door. She turned to look at him before she left and found him gazing at her lovingly. As the butterflies went crazy in her stomach, Khushi closed the door and left...albeit reluctantly.
Next Chapter: (Click on Chapter's Title)
And There it is! I hope I'm no longer hated😆. To all those optimistic souls out there...congratulations, your positiveness has paid off!😉
Parineeti
Chakravarti Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan
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