Chapter 2: Chaos
There was a lot of commotion inside the palace as doctors were being flown in by helicopters directly from Delhi. Local doctors had already begun preliminary operations. It was lucky that Shashi had a hospital constructed nearby.
The media had already jumped on the opportunity to announce the events to the world.
"We do not have a lot of information but it appears that Shashi Gupta has suffered from a mild cardiac arrest. The status of the marriage is still unknown as there has been no comment from the Gupta family."
The cameramen along with the rest of the media were literally being pushed outside the hospital premises. It was getting far too noisy for a hospital. And understanding the urgency, the guards along with the city's police had begun to evacuate the hospital of unwanted personnel.
Inside the hospital, the entire family was waiting. Anjali was sitting next to Khushi trying to console her while Devyani was talking to Garima.
"It will all be fine Garima. Do not worry. God is just testing this family."
Garima had been completely silent after having recovered from the initial shock. She looked towards Devyani through her teary eyes "Everything is finished. Everything is destroyed."
Devyani looked puzzled as Garima looked towards Khushi with accusing eyes.
Khushi found it hard to breathe. For the first time in her life she was truly feeling scared. She had never witnessed loss and now that she was faced with the possibility, she didn't know how to react. She felt numb. She looked towards her mother trying to seek assurance in her eyes. All she found was accusation.
Garima suddenly came forward and slapped Khushi with all strength that she could muster. She was about to repeat her action but Devyani caught her hand.
"Garima, what is wrong with you?"
Garima broke down and cried "It's all her fault. She chose that man. It's all because of her stubborn nature that we accepted the rishta. She didn't even let Shashi check Ajay's background. And look what happened."
Garima came forward and caught Khushi angrily and spoke, "Ajay cheated on you. At his Bachelor's party. He spent his night alone with a bunch of strippers. And someone sent the photos to your father to blackmail him and extort money. Our reputation will be ruined."
Khushi's face paled. Every possible color looked like it had left her body. Reality came crashing down on her.
Devyani quickly led Garima away from Khushi and with her eyes ordered Anjali to not leave Khushi's side.
When the doctors finally came out after what felt like hours, the Gupta family rushed to surround them. The news was good.
"The operation was successful. However he needs complete rest. He will be regaining consciousness in a couple of hours and I would strongly advise keeping a stress free environment around him."
Smiles broke out all around the room as relief spread through the guests and the members of the Gupta family.
One person was really quiet.
Though Khushi was relieved that her father was out of danger, the pain of betrayal had broken her heart into a million pieces.
Did she even know Ajay? Was she so blind by her crush that she made such a horrific mistake?
She looked at her phone.
11 missed calls
Ajay
She called him and in an icy voice ordered "We need to talk. NOW"
No one except Anjali noticed Khushi walking away from the family and so Anjali silently followed her.
Khushi walked into the garden of Sheesh Mahal where Ajay was waiting.
With all the courage that she could muster she asked, "Is it true?"
Ajay came and held Khushi's face "Khushi Baby I was just goofing around. It wasn't serious. What I had with those strippers was just casual. One night thing. Baby it's only you that I lov-"
And Khushi's one tight slap stopped him. She took out the engagement ring and threw it on his face.
Ajay's temper broke and he moved forward to slap Khushi. Just then Anjali caught his arm and pushed him back warning him, "Get lost from here otherwise I'll make sure you are arrested for assault."
Khushi ran into Anjali's arms and broke down and Ajay was escorted out of the Palace by guards. Khushi let her tears fall as she had tried to be strong but was broken on the inside.
Anjali patiently soothed Khushi and tried to calm her down.
After a few hours, Anjali finally stepped back into the Hospital with Khushi by her side. It appeared that Garima and Devyani had already entered the room in which Shashi had been transferred to.
Khushi almost flew to Shashi's side and wept all over again. Shashi looked quite weak but was able to hold his daughter's hand.
His daughter had to face so much pain in her life today. He had spent his entire life trying to save her from all the harsh realities of life maybe even spoiling her a little on the way. But he had never wanted her heart to break.
Devyani came to Anjali with a stern expression.
"Call Chottey and inform him that I want him here by the end of the day. I don't care where he is. I want him here. And call Akash too."
Anjali looked at her Nani confused as she didn't understand why she wanted Arnav here. To clear her confusion, Garima stepped forward breaking the silence "Maaji and Shashi had been talking. The situation we are in is quite delicate and we didn't want the media to drag the family's name through the mud."
Anjali glanced at her Nani trying to decipher where this conversation was heading. However she was unable to read her Nani today. Nothing could prepare her for the words that followed. Garima took a deep breath and added, "Devyaniji proposed a solution and Shashi and I thought over it and accepted it."
But nothing had prepared Khushi for what she heard next. Her eyes widened as she tried desperately to register the words that came out of Devyani's mouth.
"I asked for Khushi's hand in marriage for our Arnav"
---To be Cont---
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