26-06-2023

Hello, dears... 

I hope everyone is doing well. 

Here I'm after a long time. I can never thank you all enough for giving me chance after chance. Thank you for waiting patiently for my updates. I wrote this part a week back but couldn't get time to post it. But, enough is enough, I'm posting now. I hope you all will enjoy the update. Please let me know. 

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Not proofread it yet. Please spare grammatical and typos and also please mention and point out the mistakes or typos or grammatical mistakes in in-line comments. Thank you.

Part 26:

Anjali sat in her room holding her head. She doesn't know what to do. She is having so many doubts. She needs to clear them as soon as possible before something happens. She can't sit idle without trying to find the truth. Now she can't take any risk. She needs to find the truth about Khushi's words. To her astonishment, her mind is supporting Khushi. Somewhere, Anjali is confident about Khushi. After the discussion she had with Khushi just before the dinner, she doesn't have any doubts about Khushi. She said everything to her, didn't she? And about Shyam? He is behaving weirdly. Sometimes supporting Khushi, and sometimes taunting her. What is happening? She needs to find out, soon. Her thoughts got disturbed by Dadi's voice. She is shouting at the house helpers.

"I can't take this anymore. I need space to think and look into the matters. And here, this Dadi is not helping my thinking. She is making everything difficult. She is not allowing me to think properly. I don't understand why she is behaving like this. It's not like she behaved well before. Duh! But it's unbearable now. Now I understand why Chote used to get irritated with us. So clingy and irritating we are. Now it's time for me to change. It's high time I should behave like ASR's sister. There, that small, tiny girl - Khushi - is behaving so maturely and taking every responsibility on her young shoulders, effectively. And here I'm, so uselessly sitting. No, this should change. I need space to think," Her thoughts got disturbed by Dadi ordering servants not to disturb her while she was talking with Anjali. "Not again. I myself am confused and have doubts, I need to work on this. And I can't entertain Dadi now," thought Anjali before leaving her to check where her husband is. She just needs to escape from Dadi now. Dadi stopped her to talk but Anjali answered before she asked her anything. "Not now, Dadi. I need to find Shyam ji now. After whatever happened I need to make sure that he is fine. Please don't start now. I may not be the person you should talk to now. Please take a rest, we will talk tomorrow," said Anjali, dismissing Dadi. Dadi is the last person Anjali wants to talk to, at the given situation.

Dadi stood there looking at her granddaughter, not understanding what to do.

Anjali walked around the house to find her husband. But to her surprise, not only her husband, no one is around the house. She checked the time thinking whether she was lost in her thoughts missing the time. But the clock is showing it is only 9! 'Then, where is everyone? This is not the time we usually sleep?' thought Anjali, before walking towards her Nani's room. She wants to check on her grandmother. She doesn't want her to fall ill with all the happenings. She needs to assure her motherly figure that everything will be fine. She was about to knock on the door but stopped by hearing.

"But sasuma, why would Ma ji and Damad ji blame Khushi? Why are they behind that girl? Why can't they leave that poor girl alone? Why can't they see her struggling? I can't take this anymore sasuma. And what that Shyam telling? Khushi asked a lawyer to prepare a Will. What a crap," said Mami.

"Whatever they say, I trust Khushi betia, Manorama. I can never doubt her. I believe whatever she does, she does for this family. I trust her as much as I trusted Chote. If she asked the lawyer to prepare the Will, I believe that she did that with a reason. And I can't trust Subhadra or Shyam. Didn't we know about them, Manorama? Didn't we have enough experience with them? Didn't I hear what Shyam and Subhadra talked about Khushi that day? Wasn't Shyam the person who told Subhadra about Khushi all wrong? Didn't he accuse Khushi of betraying us? Didn't he the person who talked about Chote's Will? If he was genuine why didn't he say all those with all of us? Why didn't he confront Khushi betia in front of us? Why did he talk only with Subhadra? I understand Manorama. As Khushi said, Shyam doesn't want her to stay here. And as Subhadra is not happy with Khushi, Shyam might have thought of using Subhadra to throw Khushi out. And being a brainless and heartless person, she is doing what Shyam wants," Nani said drowning in her thoughts.

"Yes, Sasuma. I think you are right. And whatever Khushi said was right. That was the only thing we can conclude after seeing what happened at the dining table. I never expected Shyam to be like this. Now I can't even believe his love for Anjali. But what should we do now, sasuma?"

"Nothing. Because I trust Khushi. She will make everything right for us. She is capable enough of solving matters. Otherwise, my Chote would never have fallen for this girl. Now onwards, I'm not going to think about anything. If Khushi can show proof against Shyam in a matter of minutes, I'm sure, she can prove all his doings. She can save Chote's everything. I'm not worried about anything, anymore, Manorama. I will just spend my time praying to Devi Mayya to give strength to Khushi to fight evil. You also don't think much about all these things, just go and sleep," said Nani, caressing Manorama's hair.

"But what about Anjali, Sasuma?" asked Mami.

"Didn't Khushi promise me about Anjali's safety? Didn't Khushi say that she will take care of Anjali? Didn't Khushi say she will try her full to fulfill her responsibility?" asked Nani with a smile.

"But is it fair to leave everything on Khushi? Or is it fair to let her face everything by herself? She is a kid Sasuma," Mami expressed her worry.

"I know. But don't worry about her Manorama. Because, if she was able to back answer our Chote, and if she could give it back to Chote, and if she could face Chtoe without any fear and can survive, she can take care of herself very well. She is a strong girl, Manorama. We should support her by trusting her. Don't worry, everything will be alright. You go and sleep," Nani dismissed Mami before getting ready to sleep. Mami left for her room after wishing Nani a good sleep.

Anjali left from there before Nani or Mami noticed her. Whatever she heard now, is too much. So much is happening behind her back in her house! And she didn't know? Is she became that blind? She can't blame anyone other than her own self. If she didn't become so dependent on her younger brother and behaved at least a bit more responsibly, and if she had taken care of her own life, then everything should have been different. Whatever is happening is her fault. Maybe not completely, but yes, she is one of the main reasons. She needs to act fast. They lost so much, they can't lose more. She understood Shyam's intentions. He is looking for her Chote's money. It's an easy catch for him. But she will not allow that to happen.

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Meanwhile:

"Thank you HP," said Khushi.

"Don't say that Khushi Didi. I am glad that I could help you in punishing the culprit. I wish I could do something to change happenings and bring Arnav baba, back. Alas, I couldn't. And I will do whatever I can. Just let me know, whenever you need me to do something," said their loyal servant.

That's how Akash, NK, and Payal found Khushi and HP.

"HP, what are you doing here? And Khushi, why are you thanking him? What did he do? And what help is he talking about?" Asked Akash.

"And also, can you please explain about the stunt you played down there?" Asked very much irritated NK.

"HP, once again thank you for your help. I will let you know when I need your help next. Till then just observe and let me know. Good night," saying that Khushi dismissed HP before turning to her family. HP left from there thinking about his work.

Khushi asked the trio to sit and closed the door to explain things that she knew they wanted to know.

"We are asking you something Khushi," said Payal holding Khushi's shoulder.

"I will tell you everything jiji. You guys please relax and listen to me."

"Relax? You are asking us to relax? Do you know what we felt when you stood against that man? Do you know how we felt when we couldn't understand what you were going to do? Do you know how we felt when we understood that we can't help you? Do you know Khushi? And you are asking us to relax?" asked frustrated Akash..., He is so sick with worry.

"Jiju," said Khushi but was stopped by NK.

"Don't jiju us, Khushi. You better accept that you did wrong. You should have explained things to us," said NK.

"When?" asked Khushi.

"What when?"

"When do you exactly want me to explain? Do you want me to explain when Shyam and Dadi Ji are accusing me? Or when they cornered me? Or when they gave me a wonderful opportunity to plant doubt in Di's mind? When do you guys exactly want me to explain or plan things? There was no time for that," said Khushi.

"And those papers? Where did you get them? I mean where did you hide them?" asked NK.

"I said right? I hid them in the toilet flush tank!" said Khushi with a small smile.

"You are not serious!" said Akash with an unbelievable look.

Khushi smiled mischievously.

"But wait a minute, di said about some fake Will. What was that? Did you ask a lawyer to prepare? Why? What's running in your mind, Khushi?" asked Payal.

"Nothing, Jiji. It's just to trick Shyam Ji. I wanted him to do something after knowing about me trying to take everything. I wanted to catch him red-handed and show everyone what he is. But that didn't happen," Khushi said disappointingly, successfully avoiding telling her about the threat.

"And about what phone call Dadi Ji was asking?" asked NK.

"That's my mistake, I was talking with...," Khushi was about to say Arnav's name. But stopped seeing Payal and composed herself before continuing. "I was talking with someone and Shyam Ji heard. And as usual, he tried to corner me,"

"But Dadi said she heard you, Khushi. And she also said about some recordings that Shyam did. What's all that?" asked Akash, understanding with whom Khushi was talking.

"Yes, he recorded and Dadi Ji heard," said Khushi.

"Then how can they couldn't prove that?" asked Payal.

"Because they didn't have this with them," said Khushi showing Shyam's mobile.

"What the! How did you get Shyam's mobile?" asked Akash.

"I have my help," said Khushi...

"Help? Who?"

"Unbelievable. Don't tell me, it's HP," asked NK with a small smile.

Khushi nodded her head before telling them how she signaled HP to take Shyam's mobile while telling him to bring water and sweets from Kitchen. She also told them that HP was helping her update her about Shyam's moments.

"Unbelievable... you are doing everything behind us and we didn't have any whiff of this!? And what about that video? Who recorded in the court?" asked Akash. He is not able to understand things at this point of worry.

"I said right jiju? I have my help. If Shyam can bribe Karthik to work for him, then I can surely do the same with his assistant. And being Mrs. ASR, I have my own perks. I can make others work for me in so many ways," said Khushi.

"And I hope those are not dangerous ones, Khushi. And please don't give us any heart attack as you did some time back," said Payal.

"Don't worry, Jiji. everything will be fine in a few days. Just trust me and support me. I will take care of things," said Khushi, holding Payal's hands.

"I wish the same, Khushi. Payal, can you check with Dadi before I join you? We need to talk with Khushi about some office stuff," said Akash. Payal left from there bidding her good night to NK and Khushi.

"And you were talking with Bhai, just like that? Openly? Didn't you realize how dangerous that could be? What if Shyam finds out about Bhai? Asked Akash.

"He already knows," said Khushi.

"What?? Shouted both Akash and NK. "How? When? Where? I mean... how is this possible, Khushi? No one knows about him, except a few of us. Who might have told him? And how did you know that he knows about Nannav?" asked NK.

"When we took Arnav Ji to the hospital for his first shock treatment. Shyam was there, stalking us, I think. He was so horrified looking at Arnav Ji safe and sound. He ran from there before you guys noticed him," said Khushi.

"That's why you doubled the security? Why didn't you tell us, Khushi? Don't you trust us?" asked Akash.

"It's not like that, Jiju. I was so concerned about Arnav ji and I wanted to end everything soon. So, that point slipped from my mind," said Khushi.

"Oh, God! What to do now? I need to alert Aman and Rudra about this. I can't take risks about bhai's safety," said Akash

"Rudra sir already knew. One day he called me, after not getting you three, and informed me about suspicious movements of a few persons. I requested him to send more security to tighten around the building. And he did the same. He said he will talk with you all about the incident. I thought he might have informed you," said Khushi.

"When did this happen?" asked NK, checking his mobile.

"Same day, when we took Arnav ji out for treatment," said Khushi.

"Damn, how can I miss his calls? I didn't notice and called back. Damn it!" said NK.

"Bhai will not spare me about this," said Akash looking at the missed calls and messages from Rudra on that particular day.

"It's okay, Jiju and Nanhe. Don't worry, everything will be fine. It's really late and you both should sleep. We will talk about everything tomorrow at the office. I need to go to Arnav Ji in the morning. He is so behaving like a kid," said Khushi with a small smile on her lips. Her hands and fidgeting with her phone.

Understanding her need to talk with Arnav, both NK and Akash bid her good night and left for their rooms.

Khushi locked her room and opened the call log to make a call to Arnav but stopped seeing the message which just popped up.

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Anjali was pacing like a caged tiger in her room. She is angry, with herself, and with her husband, with her foolishness. When she is thinking about everything which happened in her marriage, she felt nothing is natural. Almost everything about her husband was so dramatic. The way they both behaved towards each other, the way Shyam treated everyone, the way he acted around every family member of theirs - everything - everything was abnormal. And his frequent trips to other places!? Now, thinking about this, she is feeling like a fool who doesn't even know about her husband's work at all. Yes, she is a fool. A fool to ignore everything around her, she is a fool to live in a dream world. There her brother used to live his life to give comfort to their family, to her, and to her husband, forgetting his own life. And she like a fool, ignored everything and avoided everything which might hurt. And she never acted like an elder sister to her brother. She was always behind his back to fulfill her wishes, whether he liked it or not, whether he felt comfortable or not - yet her brother fulfilled every whim of hers. And now, she is the reason for her brother's hard work to go into the wrong hands. No, she will not allow it. She needs to talk with her husband. She needs to comfort him at any cost.

Anjali waited for her husband to return home, after calling him a number of times. His mobile was ringing continuously but never got answered. She felt like she heard a few rings, but she ignored that feeling. After waiting for him for a long, the day's events took a toll on her and she drifted into disturbed sleep.

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"Sir, please. You can't go inside tonight. My friend isn't there today. He is on leave. And I can't risk your safety without him. Please, sir, try to understand," Chandra said stopping Shyam by holding his hand.

"Damn you Chandra. I need to go inside and kill that b@$t@rd. Today, I will not stop for anything. I need to kill that ASR to get everything. I planned so well and I will not allow that man to spoil anything. Leave me, let me go," shouted Shyam, trying to come out of Chandra's hands. He is outside of the building where Arnav is.

"Sir, please. At least give me a chance. Let me speak with my friend once. If he can arrange tomorrow then you can go in. Please sir, just once," Chandra pleaded with an urgency to stop him.

"Fine, call your friend now itself and ask him," shouted Shyam.

Chandra tried calling his friend but he didn't answer.

"Hell with your friend and his help. I'm going inside," Shyam pushed Chandra and strode towards the gates. Just before the guard notice Shyam, Chandra pulled him back and pinned him to the wall.

"Are you out of your mind, Sir? There are so many armed men in there. Do you even realize what will happen when you intrude there? They might have shooting orders if they feel any danger to ASR. Don't you know what ASR is? Please sir, now I want you to go home and let me talk with my friend. I don't want you to take any drastic steps now. I think I made myself clear. Please listen to me and don't push us into danger. You please go home now," said Chandra and turned to his assistants before he ordered them to drop Shyam at RM safely. He asked them to stay there for some time to ensure Shyam is safe. He heaved a sigh of relief when Shyam left from there. Later he called his friend and discussed the intrusion.

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Shyam entered the house in a grumpy mood and walked toward his room. His eyes caught the sight of a blinking light on the living room teapoy. He walked towards it to see his mobile with so many missed call notifications. He groaned in anger and took his mobile. He remembered the argument at dinner, he opened his mobile and looked for the recording he did. He deleted it without a thought. He didn't want Dadi to corner him with anything. He can't prove himself as eavesdropping idiot before everyone. He can't lose his place in RM. He needs to maintain his act till he gets what he wants. After the stunt Khushi played, he can't risk his place in RM. He needs to make sure, everyone trusts him as same as before. He needs to be more careful. After whatever happened a few hours back, doubt might have entered everyone's mind. But can't take that risk. He looked at the call log and find Anjali's missed calls. First of all, he needs to check with Anjali. Hopefully, she, or anyone else for that matter, didn't check his phone. He needs to make sure, Anjali is fine and still believes him. She is his one and only anchor now to get Arnav's wealth.

Thinking that Shyam rushed towards his room to see his wife in deep sleep. He left his breath closing his eyes. He expected something else, but for his relief, nothing of that sort is happening. He lies on the bed closing his eyes, his erratically beating heart is calming down a bit. 

...to be  continued

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Any loopholes? Or missed points? Or incomplete ends or points? Please let me know

So? How is it? I hope you liked it. looking forward to your comments. 

Sri