Posted:
Amazing...I read all in a go..I really really loved the concept...so eager to read more...
Plzz do pm me ur updates...
Waiting for the next..
Amazing...I read all in a go..I really really loved the concept...so eager to read more...
Plzz do pm me ur updates...
Waiting for the next..
Thank you Aboli for allowing me the chance to collaborate with you and for supporting me as I try to find my way through this.
Thank you to everyone who liked the chapter and especially to those who commented. My replies to you in purple.
Originally posted by: Savera84
Anjali proposed and Arnav after trying and arguing gave up and agreed to play Armaan.
Yes, it was Anjali who gave the idea and Arnav though hesitant initially later agreed. But he keeps on swinging between wanting to do it for Khushi and the baby while also feeling that it is morally wrong. This causes him to keep wavering on his decision. But Anjali will make sure he does what is required 🤔.
The main reason for the whole act is, Khushi and her unborn baby. Business part came later.
Yes, which is why when Arnav (in his anger) blamed Anjali of caring more about the business, it hit a wrong nerve with her and Shyam.
Arnav may have agreed also because, his family termed him a failure and disappointment, so, he may have wanted to contribute something for the family and show them that he is not a total disappointment.
Ah! Arnav has multiple reasons for agreeing. Trying to overcome his guilt, wanting to contribute something for the family, and of course love for Khushi which wants to make him protect her.
Coming to trying bit, no one ever thought he has a life beyond Raizada mansion and business, which he is used to. He was a disappointment so, they don't need to know about his life at all? In fact no one needed him until Armaan passed away. Instead of understanding him, they are still demanding and accusing him for things which he raised to just make a point.
This is one of the main reasons due to which Arnav drifted away from the family in the first place. No one has ever tried to understand his interests and feelings because he was different from their set mold. The only ones who have been with him were Armaan and Shyam upto some extent. The rest, especially Anjali will take quite some time before they come around to accept him as he is.
If Anjali has gone through a lot, was it before Armaan died or after? Is Arnav responsible for that?
The upcoming chapter, going to be posted in a few hours, shall answer your questions. 😃
Irrespective of his behaviour and irrespective of his business interest, I still sympathise with Arnav and the family is making it even harder.
There is no doubt here that Arnav is facing a lot of things. For the entire story, everyone's sympathies and understanding will be automatically towards Arnav and upto some extent Khushi as well. Fate has played a major twist with their lives (with some help from Anjali) and they will be left dealing with the aftermath as best as they can. Let's see how they fare.
Let us see how Arnav crosses all the hurdles and emerges victorious.
Oh he will! He might not have been the typical ASR in this story but he won't be one to sit and accept defeat either. 😃
Cheers........
Thank you so much for replying and always being so supportive towards us. It's lovely when readers ponder so much over the storyline and I've tried to reply as best as I can. 😳
How can Khushi not tell the difference between her husband and her brother-in-law? I can see the voice being the same, looks etc, but after holding his hand something should have alerted her, isn’t it?
Haha! We haven't really followed the canon here about the wind blowing and alerting them of each other's presence or their electrifying touches instantly letting them know who it is 😆. And yet, Khushi has her doubts about why 'Armaan' is acting weird but she thinks it is because he is grieving for Arnav's death and will take some time to get normal again. To her Arnav is dead, the family too thinks the same (except Anjali and Shyam) so this is not something she would think of in her wildest dreams / nightmares.
Thank you for commenting. I've tried to answer your questions, hope you find them satisfactory. 😃
Originally posted by: Asha1968
Glad to know the story is being continued. Arnav is right khushi needs to know the truth before she gets too invested
Yes, and hopefully we won't be having too many long gaps between the updates either. 😆
He is right but then, isn't Khushi already in too deep? The moment they decided to replace Armaan with Arnav and keep her in the dark was the moment they broke her trust, it's just a matter of time now before their decision comes back to haunt them. 🤔
Thank you for following the story. 😊
Thank you. 😊
i feel for arnav... all thigs aside..it is difficult to act as someone without anyone realizing the switch.
Yes, nobody would want to be in his boots right now, what with all the difficulties he is facing from all corners. But he will get over them because he won't sit and admit defeat (similar to ASR from the show 😉).
anjali does come across as heartless..until shyam spoke today... waiting to know more about her
Anjali's story coming up within a few hours. I'll let you read that before answering more. 😊
fantastic update...
Thank you so much. 😃
No matter what Anjali’s reasons are but she couldn’t do this with khushi bcoz it is against her values he is after all her husband’s brother n they are not legally married so Arnav is right whenever khushi will realise that he is not her husband she will shatter n will blame them so it was a wrong decision to replace Arman with Arnav.
Khushi will go through quite some shock if and when she comes to know. There is no doubt about the decision being morally wrong but Anjali has her own reasons and thinks that they end justify everything. Whether they do or not, only time will tell.
Thank you for commenting. 😳
Originally posted by: TwilightStar_JP
Hey welcome back and so glad for the Collab!
I had two updates to read so yeah. Arnav and Khushi were friends initially? Then how did she end up marrying Armaan?
They were friends but not in the same class or something, just met through a common friend on a college trip. Friendships like those, even though memorable, fizzle out over time and distance. You will get glimpses of their story (Arnav-Khushi and Armaan-Khushi) in the future updates. 😊
And why is Anjali hell bent on blaming Arnav. It's not like he's not trying. He's not being himself! You got to understand that!
Anjali and for that matter most of their family hasn't ever tried to understand things from Arnav's PoV. It will be a long time before the accept him the way he is. But in the meanwhile, Arnav will learn how to deal with everything because he won't be sitting around waiting for things to happen to him anymore. He may not be completely like ASR from the show but it's about time he gets on top of things. 😉
But, looking at Shyam's rage. There's more to the stroy! What is that?
Yes, Anjali has reasons for being the way she is, whether they are justified or not, we will have to see.
Cheers
Thank you so much for your enthusiastic welcome and going through the two updates. It's a pleasure reading your comments on the story. ⭐️
Originally posted by: coderlady
What did Anjali do for Arnav that Shyam is hinting about? Anjali is pushing Arnav too much without understanding his position. Comparing him Armaan over and over will not help.
Anjali didn't do anything for Arnav. Shyam only hinted that she has her reasons for behaving the way she does. Anjali and most of their family have never understood Arnav much, and they won't be doing so till quite some time yet. She only thinks her reasons justify what she is doing, so she will keep on trying to make things work accordingly.
Thank you for replying. 😃
Originally posted by: abivicky86
Glad you are continuing this story. After Armaan’s death Anjali was desperate that Arnav should act like Armaan keeping in mind kushi and her baby . Arnav was not ready to impersonate his brother but he was foxed into this situation due to Anjali’s blackmailing .
Yes, we are continuing and hopefully at a better pace than earlier. 😆
Anjali gave the idea but Arnav has his own reasons to agree. If he didn't want to, no amount of blackmailing from Anjali would have worked. They are collectively worried about Khushi and the baby which is why they decided to do this.
Now it is becoming increasingly difficult for him to impersonate his brother that too behave like a husband to kushi it is something that should come natural but Arnav can’t do this acting, he has a fear of getting exposed in front of kushi. Now Anjali want’s him to take his brother’s place in business and Arnav is least interested in doing business.
Arnav is suddenly being made to take up too many positions, none of which he was prepared for. It isn't going to be easy for him to live as Armaan when they have lead such different lives all along. And even though he has agreed with Anjali's decision, he keeps on thinking about how it is morally wrong to do so, which makes it difficult for him to continue the act with Khushi. But he will start taking control of his life soon. 😉
All this while he had the support of Shyam now since Arnav accused Anjali of forcing him to hide the reality of Armaan from forcing him to do things Shyam has turned against Arnav and is supporting his wife.
Shyam tries to understand everyone's PoV, so he knows why Anjali is the way she is, but he also knows how difficult it is for Arnav right now. He was trying to be the mediator between them but when Arnav blamed Anjali about caring more for the business than about Khushi and the baby, it hit a wrong nerve. But don't worry, he will be back his understanding self later on.
Thank you so much for reading and giving an in-depth comment. I have tried to reply to the best of my capability. 😳
Originally posted by: Ameyadiaz
Happy to read the story now that u r back
Thank you for following the story. 😊
This is getting intense, how will Khushi react when she gets to know about Arnav pretending to be Armaan? 😭
If and when Khushi gets to know the truth, it will surely be a major shock for her. Thank you for replying. 😊
Amazing...I read all in a go..I really really loved the concept...so eager to read more...
The concept credit goes solely to Aboli. It's her story and characters, I'm only helping with the writing and I hope I'm being able to bring life to the story she imagined.
Plzz do pm me ur updates...
I have informed loquacious_soul and she will be sending you the PM. 😊
Waiting for the next..
Your wait won't be long now, the next chapter will be updated within an hour or so. 😃
Thanks a lot for going through the story in one go. We are as eager to continue with the journey as you are. ⭐️
Just a note to all readers. PMs will be sent by loquacious_soul ONLY to those who comment on the chapter or those who specifically request for one in comments. She is not sending out mass PMs for this story.
Hello everyone, Stuti and I are back with the next chapter😄. This chapter is my personal favourite due to the depth of character it has. Stuti I am really glad that we decided to collaborate for this story. Also I would like to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for the great response you have graced us with. Your response really encourages us to write better. Now enough of my bak bak😅. Enjoy the update.
Chapter 8
Flashback
Anjali couldn't believe what she heard. 'Was this the reality or had she gone off into an alternate universe?' She barely paid attention to what the doctor said as her thoughts took precedence. 'Could such things happen to her? Weren't they reserved for other normal people, unlike her?' She wondered.
The doctor understood her preoccupation; after-all the news was such. So she told her to schedule an appointment for later and come with someone from her family, preferably her husband.
Anjali had no idea how she reached home. As she sat there, still pondering over her report, Shyam entered the room. Shyam had been surprised when Anjali's PA informed him that she had canceled her meetings for the evening stating a ‘personal’ reason. Anjali was a workaholic just like everyone in her family, so it had to be something big if she had decided to leave early. Shyam had tried calling her but got no response. What made him even more worried was that she hadn’t even reached home. Panicked, he wound up things swiftly to leave as soon as he could.
He sighed in relief when he entered their home and was informed that Anjali had returned too. But the reprieve didn't last long as he saw the blank look his wife was sporting while looking into a file. It seemed like she was looking right through it than actually reading what was written.
"Anjali?" Shyam called out causing her to startle and drop the file.
"Oh! I... I didn't realize you came back" she fumbled.
"Was there some event or get together today? I came to know you left early." But even as he asked, he knew what the reply would be.
She didn't look like she had been to a party or anyplace fun. In fact, she had few friends outside office and though the Raizadas were social and kept occasional parties, but they had no such close relatives that warranted sudden plans to meet.
"I.. uh.. I had been to the doctor."
"What?! The doctor? What's wrong? Why didn't tell me if you weren't feeling well? I would have accompanied you..." he ranted causing her to smile.
"And why are you smiling now? A minute ago you were looking like AR shares had dipped to an all time low and now you are grinning like they have suddenly gone up again."
Shyam had no idea what he was saying, but to see his wife grinning like a Chesire cat when she been so pensive just a moment ago, had thrown him off.
"Even the share market wouldn't show such fluctuations all of a sudden." He trailed off.
At that she let out a tinkling laughter before saying "Then get ready to handle these mood swings Mr. Hubby. Because they are here to stay for some months now. 7.5 months to be precise."
Shyam could make no head or tail of the scenario. Seeing his confused face, Anjali decided to make things clear. She bent to retrieve the fallen file and gave it to Shyam. He looked down at it, registering belatedly that it was a medical report and not an office file like he had assumed. He opened it and tried to look past the medical jargon as he finally found the words that changed his life.
Pregnancy report : Positive
"You.. are you really..?" He stuttered not knowing how to react.
They had hoped and prayed for so long without any merit. And now when they had almost given up, were they finally getting their reward?
Anjali nodded an enthusiastic yes with a smile on her face even as tears started filling up in her eyes.
That was all the confirmation that Shyam needed as a grin broke out on his face too. He suddenly lifted Anjali, twirling her around as she gave out a yelp which turned into giggles soon after. To see her usually reserved husband act with such abandon made her elated. More than when the doctor had informed her. Telling him and seeing his reaction had droven home the point that all of this was true! That the happiness which she had accepted as unattainable, was now within reach. Shyam set her down and cupped her face before pressing a kiss to her forehead.
"This is so..." he failed to find words which could express his joy, but Anjali needed no words today. After all, she was sailing the same boat.
"I know" she said softly, turning more emotional by the minute. She blinked back tears as Shyam's eyes turned shiny too.
She hugged him hard as his arms too went up around her. They stood there hugging, rejoicing, as their world would finally be complete.
The elation dwindled as the night fell and Anjali became slightly apprehensive again. Shyam looked at her and asked what he had been meaning to ask earlier but had forgotten in the sudden delight caused by the announcement.
"Anjali? This is happy news right. Then why do you look worried? In fact, you had been sitting with a forlorn face when I came in the evening. Is something bothering you?"
"Shyam, you know how it was. I... ,well my health issues had almost snatched this away from us. The pregnancy came as a shocker and it took me time to absorb the news."
"Anjali, you know it wasn't your fault."
She suffered from PCOS which had caused subsequent fertility issues. They had been trying for a child since long and even tried a few treatment options but to no avail. And as she neared thirties, the doctor said it would become more difficult. Shyam had eventually accepted things and thought of adoption; the idea of which had been vehemently opposed by Anjali.
Her condition made her feel inadequate even though Shyam had assured her repeatedly that none of it was her fault. But she had been undergoing a period of low self-confidence due to repeated failures and his suggestion of adoption had hit the the wrong nerve. She had refused to even consider it - stating how she wanted a baby who would be a part of them, one that she had carried in her womb and known from the very beginning, and not one of unknown origins and foreign blood.
Shyam knew that she didn't really believe in all that and it was her guilt talking. Anjali had been extremely remorseful about not being able to give him a baby, and nothing that Shyam said made any difference. She was dealing with the feelings of being unfit and insufficient; and at such a time, the idea of adoption was like showing her incompetence to the world. Shyam tried to make her understand but seeing her slowly slip into depression, he decided not to bring up that topic again. And so, they had kept on trying, although somewhere they both had given up hope. Only to receive this unexpected gift now!
Both of them were lost in their thoughts before Shyam decided to come back to their incomplete conversation.
"So, you took time to absorb the news which explains your mood earlier. But what about now?"
There was a long pause before Anjali answered "I'm still afraid. What if this is all a dream and I'll wake up to see that nothing has changed. Or if something goes wrong, something happens to...."
"Shhh!" He stopped her tirade mid-way. He knew it would take time for her to let go of all apprehensions and feel truly joyful. But he tried to reassure her as best as he could.
"Nothing will go wrong. The sun has finally shined after many cloudy days. And instead of enjoying the rainbow, you are thinking."
He stopped speaking at Anjali's eye-roll. He laughed knowing that she wasn't someone who would be impressed by talks of sun and rainbows, so he decided to change his tactics
"Maybe I can make you believe this is not a dream. After all, your dreams must be consisting more of AR meetings than us getting all..." he trailed off suggestively with a wink
"Oh! Let me show you what my dreams are made of." He chuckled as she winked back at him before moving towards the bed as he followed.
Shyam looked at Anjali's joyful face. They were standing outside the doctor's clinic after their first visit together. Since Anjali had been a little too shocked, the doctor had not talked much earlier and compensated for it today. She explained everything they should be prepared for. Even normal pregnancies required care and dietary restrictions; her condition only made it more important. A dietary chart was drawn up on what she could eat and what should be avoided. They were informed of the problems they might face and the precautions to be taken.
The doctor was being practical and informing them of things they should know. But it only caused Anjali's worry to aggravate. When the doctor looked at their apprehensive faces, she decided to bring back their joy. Anjali was already over 6 weeks pregnant, so there were good chances of the heartbeat being detected although the doctor assured them that even if they did not hear it, it was okay and they would try again later.
So, it was slightly unexpected when they heard the low thumps reverberating around. The sounds though feeble had been strong enough to make them forget everything else as a sense of ecstasy filled up.
"I hope you have a good reason for slacking off at work." Armaan's voice cut through her thoughts.
Anjali was sitting in her cabin and looking into some official work when her mind had drifted off. It was starting to become a common occurrence these days, but Anjali wasn't going to admit that in front of him.
"I'm not slacking." She said, her voice coming out more forceful than she had intended, but it only made Armaan smirk.
"You have been looking at the same page since the last 5 minutes - a page which has nothing but the title of our project written on it."
She looked down to realize that he was right, she had not even gone past the first page in her file since the last 20 minutes. But she still tried to hold her fort "How would you know? I just opened it..."
"I know because I've been standing here since the said 5 minutes and you didn't realize that either." Armaan grinned.
"Don't you have other work than to stand in people's cabins and scolding them unnecessarily? You accuse me of slacking off while you yourself have been wasting time standing over here."
But if Anjali had hoped to make him back off from his teasing after listening to her rant, it didn't really go as planned. He laughed out at that before flicking her nose softly, instantly reminding her of their childhood. He seemed to have the same thought as the playful look morphed into a thoughtful smile.
"You look so happy these days. I hope you stay like this forever and your happiness keeps on increases as the months go by." Anjali gave a sweet smile, knowing that his wish was genuine.
"Although by the looks of it, I might need to find someone to replace you here in office." he added with a smirk.
A look at Anjali's flushed face made him laugh again as he moved out of her cabin to bump into Shyam who was making his way inside in a hurry. Armaan grinned at him too before going away.
Shyam looked at Armaan's back and turned to Anjali with a bemused expression. Anjali explained what had happened at which Shyam laughed too.
"Of course!" Anjali lamented "I should have known that you would team up with your dear brother-in-law.
"He may be teasing you but I think he knows and is just waiting for our formal announcement." Shyam replied.
The family had caught onto their sudden euphoria and asked for it's reason but they had decided not to reveal it yet. The doctor had said that PCOS not only caused problems in conceiving but also lead to difficulties later on. It would be a slightly complicated pregnancy and extreme care had to be taken. Even than, miscarriages were common in such pregnancies. So they had decided to wait for a few more months till the risk was considerably lowered before they would announce it officially.
"I think we should tell everyone now. They have been questioning since quite some time and they have the right to know too."
Anjali nodded immediately. She had been thinking the same. She was well past her first trimester; the bump would start showing up soon. Also, her happiness and constant preoccupation with her thoughts had made things fairly evident to others. Never before had she been caught at work, 'slacking off' as Armaan put it. But she couldn't help it as she kept drifting off into dreams of her future.
Anjali had always loved her work but it had taken more precedence in the last few years. Repeated failures at conceiving had lead her to feel worthless, and work was one area where nobody could ever blame her of being incompetent. She had always been good at it and slowly it started to become the benchmark by which she calculated her worth. Also, focusing on work had kept her mind off other things so she had started putting in long hours with more determination than ever.
But now since she came to know about her imminent motherhood, work had taken a backseat. Anjali had scoffed at people who thought that pregnancy and motherhood made a woman focus less on work. Yes, it would definitely make them give more time to their family but that in no way meant that both couldn't be balanced out, she had argued. Today, she wondered if they had been right afterall. Shaking her head to remove such chauvinistic thoughts, she came to a conclusion. Even though she may not put in extra hours like earlier, she was going to make sure to continue working as long as she could, maybe even continue from home in the later period. And she would do things as diligently as earlier.
"See, this is why you get teased" Shyam's voice brought her out of her thoughts. He was smiling and this time she smiled back instead of rebuking.
"I'm hungry." she said changing the topic "What's the time?"
At that Shyam immediately shot up from his chair "It's lunch time, that is what I came here for, Armaan must have come for the same."
The family had their lunches together at office whenever possible. Especially the younger generation, with all four of them right here, it was fun. Although sometimes the 2 couples - Anjali-Shyam and Armaan-Khushi had their lunch separately to spend some quality time with their spouses. But they enjoyed the group lunches too.
"So let's call him back. And also tell him to bring Khushi." Anjali said as she lifted the office telecom to ring Armaan up. But she kept it down at Shyam's instant denial.
"Why?" Anjali looked surprised but was interrupted when the telephone itself rang. "It must be one them" she muttered while putting it on speaker, but was surprised to note that it was her PA informing her that she had no meetings till 4:30 pm.
Shyam answered on her behalf at which the PA explained that she had called Shyam's office to inform about the same but had been told that he was in here.
"Do you want me to postpone the 4:30 meeting as well?" She asked at which Shyam denied and assured that they would be back by then.
"Back?" Anjali asked after he had cut the call. "Are we going somewhere?"
"Yes we are!" Shyam said excitedly.
"Where?"
"It's a surprise. We will have our lunch outside too so hurry up. Let's get going!"
Anjali picked up a few things and placed them in her purse as Shyam too pitched in to help. His excitement was starting to catch up on her as she smiled and asked again about where they were going.
He had still not replied when they sat in his car and he started driving.
"Atleast tell me where we are going for lunch. I'm hungry, I should know how much time I'm supposed to be waiting." Anjali whined.
"It will take barely 10-15 min to reach there, don't worry." Shyam said, still refusing to say the exact place.
"10-15 minutes!!" She exclaimed.
"Well, seeing that you hadn't even realized it was lunch time when we were sitting in your office, I don't think 15 min more should be any problem. You should just start dreaming again, then even half an hour more won't matter." He teased with a grin.
"It's 15 minutes to reach there, than waiting for a table, and than again waiting for our orders to come. So it will take a long time." She said gruffly even as a smile attempted to come up on her face.
"I have made reservations so we won't be waiting for a table or food either. Everything will be ready for you."
Anjali looked at him surprised. "Is this a date? In the middle of a working day?"
"Where is it written that dates can only be on weekends?" Shyam said with a smile.
Anjali smiled back but continued muttering about how she wasn't dressed appropriately, and that she had to get back to work at time.
Shyam let her continue, knowing that she couldn't handle suspense and this was her attempt to divert her mind from asking him about the location again. He always found it funny about how she loved surprises on one hand but couldn't deal with the waiting and would keep on questioning him. It only made him more determined not to answer, at which she would give up and start ranting about other things.
It had been quite some time though, since they had done this. The failure at conceiving and later the adoption matter had started causing a few cracks in their relationship. Anjali had drifted away from him, as guilt had plagued her. Her pregnancy was bringing them closer again and he hoped she would like his surprise today.
He was jerked out of his thoughts roughly when he saw a bus take a turn at crazy speed. Before he could steer away, the end part of the bus had smashed right into their car. He saw the airbags come up as they went careening onto the other side. He last remembered looking over to Anjali's side and seeing a red colour start spreading onto her clothes.
So how was it guys? I know this was not an Arhilicious update but this is also a required aspect of the story. Anjali needs to be understood. She proves that nobody is all bad. People are just victims of their circumstances fears and insecurities. Do leave your feedback. Until next time then😁
Oh poor Anjali after so long she got pragnant but fate has other plans n they lost their baby before it to come in this world n now she is so protective for Khushi’s baby n wants her to deliver it safely.
It is so sad how Shyam and Anjali list their baby, especially after being blessed after such long wait. No wonder she is very very worried for Armaan and Khushi’s child, after Armaan’s death. She may not have had time to grieve her loss and all the emotional turmoil. Though that doesn’t justify how blunt and harsh she is with Arnav.
Shit...Anjali lost her baby in the accident poor her..of course she is so strong after all the loss..
But then too she seems harsh and not justifiable sometimes...Arnav is trying his best...
No Arshi in this update...plzzz update soon next part...
Feeling bad for Anjali, but still she shouldn't have called Arnav as selfish
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