**********

Not Proof Read... Ignore the mistakes..

***********

51 ~ Be safe... My Love ~

Two Weeks 5 days Later..

Arnav's Penthouse...

Arnav's Point of View...

" how's Veer?" I asked Aman and NK as soon as they come back from hospital.

" He is still unconscious but out of danger." Aman informed.

" I want to pay all his hospital bills and take care of any other responsibilities relating his health and well being..." I said.

" I know", Aman nodded. " I have already informed Lavanya.. She has reached into hospital along with Kamini Aunty..."

" Please... make sure Aman, that he get best treatment..I want to be there for him not only as a brother but as a friend and family, and after everything he has done for Khushi, I owe it to him." I said getting emotional..

Aman smiled lightly, but did not question my decision. " How's Khushi?" he asked

I threw my head back in exhaustion, a defeated sigh escaped me. " She is not okay," I whispered. " She is not okay Aman. She did not tell me but I can feel it. She is in pain and there is nothing that I am able to do. I am such a loser."

" No," he interrupted. " you are not. This is not your fault Arnav."

" it is. Four weeks almost. She has been gone for almost four weeks now and I have not been able to do anything. I made all those pathetic promise of protecting her , but I failed. I failed to protect her." I pulled my hair to erase the pain which I feel every time thinking about my helplessness..

" You did not ." Aman retorted. " Don't let this get to you. Until two days ago we did not even know Sheetal had her. And that is not your fault man. How were you supposed to know that the girl you once was engaged will kidnap your wife? You are a human Arnav, not a psychic. Besides we were looking in all the wrong places till now, but now that we know who she is with, we will find her. It's not the time to sulk, we have to get cracking and find her."

" it does not make sense, where could Sheetal have kept Khushi?" NK asked. "think from Sheetal's perspective, she does not want Khushi to be found under any circumstances. Where do you hide someone who you don't want being found?"

I closed my eyes, "I don't know man." I sighed in defeat. The only face I saw even with my eyes closed was Khushi's . Everything was going so well, we were happy. We were supposed to start our new life together in our new home. It was supposed to be a new start to our future, filled with our memories and love. My eyes snapped open.

Our Home.

" You know what I see Arnav? If you look through my eyes, I see our future, together. I can feel it so close to me, almost like I am living it." Arnav remembered Khushi's words from the phone conversation.

When I went to that house for the first time, all I could see was my life with you Khushi. I saw my future with you. Arnav felt his heart tightened remembering his own words spoken to Khushi when he first time told Khushi about the home....

"" I see us growing old.""

I saw us growing old together.

" I see hope for a family that I never thought I could have. I see our memories, countless memories. I am living in those memories Arnav".

I saw hope for a family that I never thought I could have.

Arnav felt his heart is beating alous, finally the silver lining is visible within the cloud...

" There is the one place she could hide Khushi, where she knows we would never look....question is where the place is..." NK asked meanwhile....

" My own home." I whispered.

They both turned to me, " What?"

" Where is the one place I would never look for her?" I clenched my fists as realization dawned upon me. " my own fucking house." It all made sense.

Khushi was in the estate. That's the one place I would never think of her to be. She was locked away in our own home.

Fuck.

" that bitch!" I cursed Sheetal under my breath. " I know where Khushi is," I said before I stormed out, not bothering to wait for either of them.

The drive to the estate passed in a blur. If my heart tried to beat any faster, it would explode. I felt like an idiot for not thinking of these before. Khushi tried to hint it to me and I did not understand. She would be waiting for me.

I am coming Khushi, just hold on baby... just be safe.. my love..

Aman and NK were on their heels following me. They were in their car behind me. We raced against time as my patience to see Khushi ran out. I did not bother turning the car off or even bothering to slap the car door shut once I arrived. I stormed out of the car and ran inside.

From the video that Sheetal had sent me of Khushi once, she seemed to be in a place that resembled a basement. I was heavy on my steps when I reached the basement. Not giving it another thought I bashed the door open. I lost my breath at the sight.

She was here....

My Khushi was here...

I could not control the tears that escaped me at the sight of her. She was not looking at me, she was looking straight ahead of her. But I could not get my eyes off her. She was as beautiful as I had remembered her to be. Time stood still as I looked at her, my hands ached to hold her close to me. My eyes were desperate to meet hers, but she did not even glance at me.

" Arnav... you are here.." Sheetal whispered. That's when I realized Sheetal was in the room too. I lost my breath just as soon as I found it as I saw the gun she had pointed straight at Khushi's heart. That was not just Khushi's heart, it was mine too. I froze, I had to be deal with this in the right way.

" Sheetal," I gently called her. She looked at me through her tearful eyes. " Put the gun down," I said, as calmly as I could.

She shook her head, " I cannot. Khushi will hurt me, she wants to hurt us Arnav. She will kill both of us, I ... I am protecting us. Because I love you and she does not. I am saving us."

I glanced at Khushi, she was staring at Sheetal silently. She did not say a word, nor looked at me since I entered the room.

I gulped , " Sheetal , please, put the gun down." She shook her head. Before she could turn to Khushi , I got her attention again, " hey, look at me, I know you are saving me, you are trying to protect us." I walked down the stairs lightly, trying hard not to scare her. " I know, I understand you."

Her eyes lit up, " you do? you understand me? I also want you to love me because nobody else does."

Consciously, I took another step closer to her. Ready to gently slide the gun from her hands as I kept her distracted. " of course I do. I love you Sheetal."

She gently smiled, " you love me?" her hold on the gun become lighter. " I don't want anything else, you love me, you will protect me , right?" she asked smirking.

" I will not allow anyone to hurt you, only if you give me the gun." She smiled and her hold on the gun becomes lighter. She finally pointed the gun away from Khushi. But before she could hand the gun over to me, Khushi snatched it from her hand and pointed it at Sheetal's face. That's when I noticed her face. She was sweating, her hands were shaking, her angry eyes were fixed at Sheetal.

" No," I whispered. " Khushi, no!" I tried to walk closer to her, but she stepped away from me. She did not let me come close to her. Her eyes did not move from Sheetal. All I saw in them was pure hatred. She placed her finger on the trigger. " Khushi... no!" I shouted, "don't shoot baby!" she did not listen to me, did not even acknowledge me.

Sheetal froze, her eyes remained locked with Khushi's. I saw Khushi walked closer to Sheetal. Sheetal did not protest, she silently watched as Khushi neared her. Khushi stopped an inch away from her, knocking the gun against Sheetal's forehead. She was ready to shoot.

" Khushi... No!"I screamed, but before I could reach her she let out a pained scream and bashed the gun against Sheetal's face. The gun hit Sheetal's face which cause her stumble back a step. Khushi threw the gun away and tackle Sheetal to the ground. She started hitting her every way that she possibly could, whether it was slapping, hitting, punching or simply pulling her hair. She was crying all its while. Her painful scream along with Sheetal's cry for help was all I could hear. I did not stop her, I let her get it all out. It was weeks of torture, mental exhaustion and suffering and she needed to let it out before she lost her mind.

I had to step in when Sheetal fell unconscious. I held Khushi in my arms but she protested my hold. "Khushi stop baby, you will kill her," I tried to hold her back but her actions only get more aggressive as she pushed me off her to run back to Sheetal. She slapped my hands off her, but before she could run back to attack Sheetal, I held her in my arms and pulled her back to me.

I forced her to look at me, she protested my hand on her. " Khushi," I tried to be gentle but nothing worked.

" Khushi...!" I yelled, jerking her to get her back in her senses. " look at me damn it!" I held her arms in a painful hold, " Come into your senses!" I lured and suddenly she fell silent. She did not look at me, she stared at the ground. The tears were constantly running down her eyes,

" I am here baby, you are safe now, I have you. It's okay." I held her tighter, trying to comfort her. She finally looked up at me, out eyes met after an entire month which felt like a long miserable lifetime. The tears I was trying to hold up, the strong face I wanted to put up, all went in vain because I could not stop myself from crying. I held her face and placed my lips on hers. She did not respond but I still kissed her with all that I had to give her. My hold on her waist got tighter as I pushed her against the staircase, she still did not respond. I continued kissing her, softly but aggressively, gently but harshly. I dragged my lips down her throat before I pulled her in my chest for a hug. I held her like my life depended on it.

When she still did not respond, I broke the hug and stared into her eyes. She looked like she was in pain. " I am sorry," she whimpered. I did not understand. I stared at her blankly. It was another moment of silence before she let out another painful scream and collapsed on the ground. She was sobbing. " Khushi...?" I sat on the floor with her, and that's when I noticed that she was bleeding.

Shit!!!

Had Sheetal hurt her before I got her? If she did, then I would not let Khushi kill her, I will kill her myself.

" Khushi, look at me. Are you hurt?" she bit her lip, like she was in extreme pain. " I am sorry," she whispered again before she fainted in my arms. I stared at her lifeless body in my arms, my own body shaking in fear.

Aman and NK rushed in at the same time. " Shit! Khushi?" Aman ran to me and NK to Sheetal. " You have to take care of her, make sure she does not get away. I have scored to settle." I said to NK as I pointed at Sheetal.

" Aman, help me get Khushi to the hospital." He nodded and helped me up. I picked a bleeding Khushi up in my arms and along with Aman we rushed to the hospital. I kept Khushi close to me in the car, kept kissing her head, trying to make myself believe she was real. I had my life back and there was nothing that I wanted more. I held her close, rubbing on her arms to keep her body warm.

" you will be fine, " I whispered as I kissed her head again. " I won't let anything else hurt you. You are okay." I assured myself, more than her.

" Arnav relax, she will be fine . She is just in shock", Aman tried to calm me down.

" She is hurt Aman. She was not shot. I don't understand. Why is she bleeding so much?" Aman bit his lip in worry and bumped up his speed to get to the hospital. We reached soon enough with Aman's fastened driving.

I picked Khushi up and we rushed inside. Dr. Kapoor was the first person we saw as we barged in, she was Khushi's doctor... We visited her few weeks ago when Khushi was feeling nauseated... I sighed in relief, only she could help my Khushi. She rushed to us as she saw Khushi's state in my arms. " oh my God. What happened?" she asked in a panic tone.

"Please!" I begged, " I don't know.." I stuttered, unable to talk. " Please do something. I don't know what happened to her, she is bleeding and she fainted, please."

I placed Khushi on the stretcher, and they took her. My heart dropped as her hand was forced out of mine. I watched helplessly as she was rushed into emergency.

Aman placed an assuring hand on my shoulder, " don't worry buddy. She is a fighter, she will be okay." He smiled. I tried to smile back, but my anxiety got the best of me. We waited for hours before Dr. Kapoor came out. I could not read her expressions, I found it hard to breath as she neared me. " Is.. she.. o..okay? She is okay, she has to be okay.. she is okay.. right?" I asked.

" look Arnav.." she started, " why don't you sit down? Then we can talk."

" No! I don't want to sit down." I gritted my teeth, " look I am not a patient guy. Especially not when it concerns Khushi , so cut the suspense and just tell me she is fine."

" Khushi is fine," she said. It felt like a massive weight was lifted off my shoulders, my face broke into a grin. I sighed in relief. " but.." she continued..

I looked back at her, " but?" I whispered. " But what..?"

" I am really sorry.."

My heart clenched, like it was preparing its upcoming heartbreak. "why are you sorry doctor?" I asked breathless.

"She.. she lost her baby." Dr kapoor said apologistically..

I stiffened in my place, unable to register her words. "N..No. that's not possible.. that cannot be.. Khushi was not..."

" She was Four weeks pregnant," she said. " I am so sorry."

I stumbled back a few steps. My head started ringing, my body started shaking. " N.. no.." I whispered. " I..I..BABY.. I CAN NOT.." I was losing my breath like I had just ran a marathon. My head was spinning, I failed to keep my balance.

I remained numb, everything around me became silent. I found Khushi but it felt like I had still lost a huge part of myself. One that could never be replaced.

Aman was holding me and telling me something... But I did not say anything, I could not understand what he was saying. I could see his lips moving but I could not comprehend his words. The only thing playing in my mind was..

She lost her baby.

She was pregnant, means I was going to be a father... I ... was ... going ... to .. be ... a father....

I could see Aman staring at me, but I was not present in that moment. He continued stared at me with a painful expression before he pulled me in a hug. but I pushed him. I faced the doctor again, " Can I see her? Please.." I begged.

The doctor gave me a sad smile and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. " she is all yours. She needs you, go."

I took a deep breath before I opened the door and walked in. Khushi was awake, she was staring straight ahead of her. Sensing my presence she turned to face me. As she looked at me, her dry eyes teared up. I sat on the stool next to her bed, a sob escaped her lips.

I held her face in my hands, and then gently pecked her lips. She was crying, so was I. I knocked my forehead against her. The pain that we felt could not be described into words. It felt like a part of my heart had died.

" I am sorry, I could not protect our.." she whimpered.

" ssss.." I placed a finger on her lips, shaking my head slightly.

She did not stop crying, " why did this happened to us? Arnav... our baby.."

I could not able to see her in tears so I just engulf her in my warm embrace..

This is too overwhelming.. today I got my life, My Khushi back... But today I lost our child too...

Our child...

Our love... Our own creation...

It was a distant dream for me... Today I realized that how much lie Sheetal had said to me... I am not a barren man... I just could not able to think how will I just react..

" Arnav... I lost my child... I ... My child left me... I am such a bad mother..." Khushi cried but suddenly we stop in our track when a figure appeared in the hospital door frame..

And soon Khushi and I lost our breath when he called for Khushi...

" Antel... Mumma...."

Khushi looked ahead and a beautiful smile appeared in her face... She just spread her arms and Advay run towards her.. Soon Advay was engulef in a tight hug in Khushi's protective embrace...

" You are my Mumma... My Antel Mumaa..." Advay said while kissing Khushi's lips..

My eyes teared up looking at them..

And Finally I smiled genuinely when Khushi wipes her tears and smiled, " yes.. I am your Mumma... and you are OUR SON..."

I got my family back...

Finally.....

To be contd.....

**********

Author note:

Hello, lovely people over here...Hope You all are doing well..

So, finally the clouds are gone.........

Share your thought about this part...

Next update after 400+ votes... Only 2 more chapters are left...

**************

Be safe...keep everybody safe...

Pray for all...

***********

Love,

Your Story teller

Mamree

23.04.2021