26-06-2021

Ola dears...

I hope every one of you is doing good and taking care of yourself. 

I'm here with a new update. I don't know what exactly I wrote, if any one of you feel confused, please let me know.  If you feel this update silly, forgive me. Please don't think about any logics and take it as fiction. 

Please ignore grammatical and typo mistakes, not proofread yet.  Please point out the mistakes in in-line comments then I will edit. 

Before starting the update I want to mention one thing, Even though I'm writing Khushi's dialogues in English(as I'm not much fluent with Hindi), please note that whatever Khushi is talking in Hindi only. 

Please read not at the end.

Part 11

"What are you saying, Khushi? ASR is alive?" asked shocked Aman.

"I guess, Aman Bhai," said Khushi.

"But how can that be possible? I mean we saw Bhai with our eyes, Khushi. And I was there along with Dad, to do the last respects to Bhai," said Akash with a thudding heart. He was so terrified.

"I don't know, Jiju. But I'm having this feeling that Arnav ji is alive," said Khushi thinking and remembering everything from the day Arnav went missing.

"But, we saw him, Khushi," said Akash. His voice is low and confused with fear.

"Did we, Jiju?" asked Khushi with tears in her eyes. "We never saw him. There is a chance that the body we saw that day may not be Arnav Ji's," said Khushi, her throat pained with the lump she controlled. Her eyes teared thinking about Arnav. A sob escaped her which she tried to control by closing her mouth.

Both Aman and Akash rushed to her. Akash hugged her sideways and Aman held her hand to console her. Khushi composed herself fast as one memory came to her mind.

"Jiju, that day you said; your man informed you about Arnav Ji being in that building. And later he tries to escape and then his accident. Was he sure that the person he saw was Arnav Ji? And did he see any other person in the car along with Arnav Ji? Do you remember anything odd?" asked Khushi.

"I don't remember, exactly, Khushi," said Akash, trying to remember the conversation.

"Can we talk with that man? Maybe he can help us? And the inspector, can we talk with him too?" asked Khushi looking at Akash and Aman.

"I will just call the person and ask about that day," said Akash, moving to the corner.

"Aman Bhai, can we talk with the inspector?" asked Khushi.

"Of course, we can Khushi. Let me call him. We will ask him whatever doubts you have," said Aman and left from there.

Khushi slowly went to the balcony which is adjacent to Arnav's personal elevator. Strangely, the view of the rushing city from the balcony at almost the top of the building, made Khushi relaxed and gloomy at the same time. She stood looking at the traffic. The hustle bustle of the people reminded her of Arnav Ji and his staff. Arnav always made sure his employees to run to complete their work. Even though he never said anything to anyone, unless they made a mistake, his presence, his aura and his discipline made everyone work with perfection. Even now, in his absence, every employee is following the same discipline. She can see the gloomy atmosphere in the office. It was never joyful or loud in AR. It's always calm and quiet, everyone used to do their work without a single word. They were allowed to talk only for work related things. It's an untold rule. But during lunch hour and after office hours, it's completely another thing. Arnav never said anything to anyone until they neglected their work. How much of a strict boss he was, that much freedom he gave to his employees. And Khushi knew how much helped his employees. She is the best example of his helping nature.

But now, that calm and quietness turned gloomy and sad. She can see how much the employees miss their boss. Even though they are working not moving around, she can notice the zeal in them lost with their boss absence.

'If you are alive out there somewhere, I will bring you back, Arnav Ji. If not for myself, I will bring you for our family, for AR and for your employees. Please don't disappoint me this time, Arnav ji. Don't break my heart again. I can't bear it anymore. Please help me to reach you, help me to find you and bring you back. Please Arnav ji, stay safe' thought Khushi. She stood there thinking about Arnav not noticing the time. Her thoughts got disturbed by her phone.

"Hello, Jiji," said Khushi.

"Khushi, are you still in office? Why didn't you come back yet?" asked worried Payal.

"Yes Jiji, I'm still in the office. Jijaji said he needs my help in completing some work. So, I stayed back. I will be back with Jijaji. You please don't worry," said Khushi looking At Akash who just entered the balcony and heard her saying.

"That's good, Khushi bitiya. But please take care of yourself and come along with Akash," said Nani, taking the phone from Payal.

"And we sent lunch for you and Akash with the driver, have it first and then do your work," said Anjali.

"Okay Di. We will, thank you. See you all in the evening," with that Khushi disconnected the call. She can't lie to her family members at the same time, she can't tell them about her doubts.

"Khushi," her thoughts got disturbed by Akash who touched her shoulder understanding her pain.

"I'm fine, Jiju. You tell me, are you able to talk with that man?" asked Khushi. And at the same time Aman entered the cabin in a hurry.

"Yes, Khushi talked with him. And he confirmed that he saw Bhai in the car," said Akash.

"And?" asked Khushi looking straight into his eyes. She doesn't want to believe whatever happened.

Akash looked at Khushi then Aman, then turned to Khushi and said "And he also confirmed another person's presence in the car before the accident."

Aman looked at Akash with shock.

"I knew it. I'm sure, that body was not Arnav Ji's. My Arnav ji is alive somewhere out there." said Khushi thinking.

"But how is that possible? Just now, I talked with the inspector. He said there is only one body in the car. And he said he found ASR's belongings on the spot too. Then how can ASR be alive?" asked Aman, not able to believe that they are missing something important.

Khushi stood there thinking, hearing Aman's words.

"Yes, that must be what happened," said Khushi.

"What?" asked both the men.

"Simple, being the laad governor he is, Arnav Ji might have collected his things before escaping from there. He might have tried to escape from there, and one of the goons joined him in the car to stop him. And maybe, seeing the truck approaching them, Arnav Ji might have jumped from the car just before the collision. And in that process all his belongings might have slipped from him. Think once, if Arnav ji got burnt along with the car to the ashes, how come his belongings are in perfect condition? How come they found them 'on the spot'? If Arnav ji is coming from the airport as the inspector said, he should have his suitcase and laptop. Then why didn't the police find them? I'm sure, Arnav ji keeps his passport in the laptop bag. Then how come they didn't find the laptop bag and how can they find his passport?" asked Khushi.

She remembered the time when they came back from Nainital and Arnav leaving her on the road and asking her to go home on her own. He also gave money to her, taking it from his wallet. "And I'm sure, Arnav ji keeps his wallet in his pants pocket even if he is driving. Then how can they find it on the spot, if he got burnt then how come his wallet is in perfect state?" asked Khushi.

Both Akash and Aman sat shocked hearing Khushi's words.

"Jiju, can you ask your man to come here now? I need to talk with him, please. If he can, ask him to come as soon as possible," requested Khushi.

Not able to say anything, Akash nodded his head and called the man asking him to come.

"He said he will be here in half an hour," said Akash.

After that no one talked about anything. They sat in silence thinking about Arnav and his accident. Aman and Akash were shocked to realise that they missed all these things in their grief. They couldn't believe that they never looked into this matter in fact. They felt miserable thinking about their irresponsibility towards Arnav.

Their thoughts got disturbed by a knock on the door. They composed themselves and asked the person to come inside. Raju - their driver came with Akash and Khushi's lunch. He left from there after keeping the lunch saying Anjali asked them to eat food before doing any work.

After so much pleading, scolding and blackmailing from Aman and Akash, Khushi took just a few spoons of food and sat waiting for Akash's man. After waiting for some more time, the man came and everyone sat for a serious talk.

"Khushi, this is Kunal, the man who found Bhai. and Kunal, this is Khushi, ASR's wife," said Akash.

"Namaste ma'am," said Kunal.

"Namaste, please sit. So, can you tell me what you saw on that day? Did you see Arnav ji in the building? Did you see him escaping in the car? Was anybody there with Arnav ji? Did you see him... burn... burning?" asked Khushi, coming straight to the point.

"Ma'am? What's wrong?'' Kunal asked, looking at visibly disturbed Khushi.

"Can you please answer me without questioning me back?" asked Khushi, controlling her anxiety.

"Kunal, please. I will tell you everything once we get clear things in our minds. Please tell us," Akash said.

Nodding his head, Kunal answered Khushi. "Yes, ma'am. I saw ASR in that building totally tied up. After finding his whereabouts in that old building, we went there and saw him. Then I called Akash sir and informed about him. Then we saw ASR running out of the building. I don't know how he got freed, but he escaped from there. I saw him clearly. After seeing ASR running out, we ran towards him. We saw him driving the SUV and leaving the premises. We hopped in our car and followed him. After driving for a few minutes we saw a truck run into ASR's car and," Kunal's eyes got tears remembering the heart wrenching scene. He gulped hard to control his emotions and continued "and everything finished just in front of my eyes and I couldn't save ASR. I saw ASR turning into ashes with my eyes," He got silent, not able to say anything. He met ASR a few times, that's enough for him to know what ASR is. ASR might be a ruthless and arrogant businessman. But as a human being, he was the best.

"And?" asked Khushi, controlling her emotions.

"And I saw one more person in that car before the accident. Before I figured out who that person was, the accident happened," said Kunal.

"Then?"

"Then I informed Akash sir about this. That's all ma'am,"

"Did you see anyone jumping from the car or throwing something out of the car? Or did you see anyone near the car after the accident?" asked Khushi.

"No, I didn't see anyone, ma'am. In fact the fire was so intense. We couldn't even go near it. We stood a few meters away and we saw everything."

"We mean who? How many are there with you?" asked Khushi

"Two of my men. They work for me," said Kunal trying to understand what Mrs ASR is thinking.

"And you said you informed Jiju about this accident. When did you inform him? I mean after how much time?" asked Khushi, doubting something.

"Immediately ma'am. I mean immediately after I saw the intense fire burning ASR's car," said Kunal.

"Immediately?" whispered Khushi.

"Yes ma'am, immediately," confirmed Kunal.

"Did you see any police there? And any media?"

"No ma'am. I didn't see any police there," confirmed Kunal.

"Kunal ji, can you please give all these as a written report? I need everything written," asked Khushi.

"Of course ma'am. I will email you everything by tomorrow morning and I will send you a hard copy too by afternoon," said Kunal.

Khushi hesitated about the email, but felt relaxed hearing Aman's words.

"I will give you Khushi ma'am's email," said Aman.

"Thank you, Kunal ji. You can go now," said Khushi. "Kunal Ji," called Khushi, seeing him leaving the room. "If I need any help, I will call you. Please be available," said Khushi.

All the three men saw a little bit of ASR in Khushi for a fraction of a second. Even though she requested it, it sounded more like an order. Nodding his head, Kunal left from there.

"But Khushi, what is the point?" asked Akash not understanding or finding any abnormality in Kunal's answers.

"The point is, Arnav Ji is alive for sure," said Khushi smiling.

"What? I mean, I don't see anything abnormal in his answers. With all these, how can you be sure about Bhai being alive? Khushi, please don't take me wrong, I just don't want you to get false hopes about this," said Akash, getting worried about Khushi.

"There is nothing false here, Jiju. I'm sure my Arnav ji is alive, for sure," said Khushi. Her smile is growing every second by second.

"Then what about the accident Khushi?" asked impatient Aman.

"That's fake!" announced Khushi leaving both men in shock.

"What?"

"Yes..., I mean the accident was surely intentional to kill Arnav ji, but my lad governor escaped from that for sure. And he is alive," said Khushi, the twinkle in her eyes was back.

"But how?" whispered akash with a thudding heart.

"Trust me for once, Jiju. I will take us to Arnav Ji and we will bring him back. Please give me a chance. My instinct couldn't be wrong this time. It was always right when Arnav ji was involved. Please Aman Bhai," pleaded Khushi.

"Khushi, we will be so happy if ASR is alive. You don't know what ASR means to us. We are just worried about you. We know what you are feeling with ASR's absence, we don't want you to get hurt again," said Aman looking at Akash who agreed with him, then continued "Fine, let's talk about your doubts and let's see what we will find out. If your instinct is right, then we will do everything to bring ASR back. Let's discuss this," said Aman with determination.

"Thank you Bhai and Jiju. Now, my point is..., as I said, Arnav Ji might have collected his things before escaping from there. He might have tried to escape from there, and one of the goons joined him in the car to stop him. And maybe, seeing the truck approaching them, Arnav Ji might have jumped from the car just before the collision."

"But, Kunal said, he didn't see anyone jumping from the car!" said Aman

"Maybe, he couldn't see from the place their car was. And also he said he couldn't go near the spot as the fire was so intense. So, in the process of jumping all Arnav Ji's belongings might have slipped from him. Think once, if Arnav ji got burnt along with the car to the ashes, how come his belongings are in perfect condition? How come they found them 'on the spot'? Unless someone wants us to believe that the person was Arnav ji. Let's think as the police said, if Arnav ji was coming from the airport, he should have his suitcase and laptop. Then why didn't the police find them? The metal in the suitcase and laptop will melt with car fire. And also I'm sure, Arnav ji keeps his passport in the laptop bag. Then how come they didn't find the laptop bag and how can they find his passport?" asked Khushi. "And I'm sure, Arnav ji keeps his wallet in his pants pocket even if he is driving. Then how can they find it on the spot, if he got burnt then how come his wallet is in the perfect state?" Khushi expressed her doubts.

"Hmm...," said Aman, not knowing what else to answer.

"And as per Kunal, there was another person in the car. Then why didn't the inspector mention that? And Kunal said, there is no police or media there. He said he informed Jiju immediately after the accident. And remember Jiju, you and I got the calls about the accident, exactly at the same time along with the news on TV. And they didn't show the spot on the TV immediately, but the newsreader announced his death very confidently as if they saw with their eyes. If there was no media or Police, then how did they know about Arnav ji's accident? And if there was no police then how come the inspector called me and informed me? And more than that, how did the inspector know my phone number? No one knows that Arnav Ji got married. Other than our family, no one knows my number. Then how did he get my number? And the Media, if no one from the media was there, then how come they knew about the accident and announced the news? And thinking about all these, now, I remember only XXX channel telecasted this news for the first hour or so. Later other channels joined and then only XXX channel showed the spot." said Khushi. Pointing at every small point is making her instinct strong.

Both Aman and Akash, sat in shock. Whatever Khushi was saying is absolutely right.

"That means...?" whispered Akash.

"That means, the inspector and the XXX channel knew about Arnav Ji's accident beforehand. They were informed about the impending accident. And if I'm not wrong, they were told about the time too. That's why the inspector's call and the news telecast happened at the same time." said Khushi.

"But ASR was tied up in the building, Khushi. He tried to escape. Then how come they were informed about the accident?" asked Aman.

"That means his escape was also planned." gasped Akash.

"I'm sure about that. They want Arnav Ji to escape. That's why they kept his vehicle there. So, they can create an accident and make us believe that Arnav Ji is dead." said Khushi.

"But Khushi, something is amiss here. I mean, if whatever you are saying is true, then..., I don't know. But something is missing here," said Aman.

"Jiju, can you call Kunal once now? I need to ask him something!" said Khushi.

Nodding his head, Akash called Kunal with a thudding heart.

"Hello... Kunal, Bhabhi wants to talk with you again, here you talk," said Akash, giving the phone to Khushi.

"Hello, Kunal Ji, I want to confirm one thing. Are you sure that you saw two people in the car? And also are you sure, the car Arnav Ji escaped and the car which got burnt is the same?" asked Khushi.

"Um..., Ma'am! I... I don't know. I mean...," stuttered Kunal.

"No worries. Just tell me, which vehicle you saw Arnav Ji escaping," asked Khushi.

"Jeep ma'am," Kunal answered immediately.

"Are you sure, Kunal Ji?" asked Khushi with a smile.

"100% ma'am," said Kunal.

"Thank you. We will call you if we need to know anything," with that Khushi disconnected the call.

"So, if Arnav Ji escaped in a Jeep, then how come he was burnt along with his SUV? So with all these, I'm sure this accident was completely a set-up, for others to believe. That means Arnav Ji is alive," said Khushi.

"I can't believe we missed all these points. I can't believe ASR is struggling out there and we are mourning his death. I'm sure, ASR will fire me once he comes back," said Aman smiling while tears forming in his eyes.

"And Bhai will say, 'Akash you are a hopeless, grow up man.' I can't wait to see him," said Akash. And after a few minutes, he continued "But I don't think it will be easy for us to find him."

"It definitely will not be easy. I'm sure about this. But not impossible. I think for the start, we need to confirm a few things. Aman Bhai, can we get the location of the inspector when he called me to inform me of Arnav Ji's accident, without his knowledge?" asked Khushi.

"Of course, we can Khushi. I will get you the details by evening," said Aman with a sudden zeal.

"And the most important point is, we need to find out who took his SUV to the spot? As per the security and travel team, they weren't informed about Arnav Ji's travel or return or whatever. So, they didn't go to pick Arnav Ji. Then who took the vehicle to the building Arnav Ji was tied up to or to the spot? We need to find it," said Khushi.

"That will be easy. If we check the security footage of RM, then we will know. I will ask the security team to check that," said Akash.

"Great! Let's start then. But I want us to be careful about all these," said Khushi. I don't want the person to know about our doubts and get alerted. Thought Khushi.

"We will for sure. It's already late, you should go home, Khushi. Akash sir, you both leave. I will take care of things here," said Aman.

Nodding his head, Akash left from there along with Khushi.

After deciding to tell both NK, Mami and Payal separately, both sat in the car and left for RM, hoping for the best.

...to be continued

So..., how did you guys find it? Is it okay? Let me know.

I'm planning to start one thread about requesting readers about stories. I don't know how many of you know that I used to post Arshi stories index on my FB page. I'm posting Arshians story requests there, so someone can help them to find the story. So, I'm thinking to start a thread here too (as a new story named 'request/help to find stories). Please tell me will it be helpful for us or not. I will ask Arshians to post their request in the comments, then I will post them in the next update. so that others can reply as in-line comments. What do you guys think?

Thank you for your wonderful Support and Love. 

Awaiting your replies.

.Sri.