Part 9 Comeback

Arnav slowed down his steps and asked the man,

"Where is Madhumathi's house?"

"That one..." the man showed Khushi's house.

Shyam stopped walking and heard that. Why did Arnav particularly ask the man where was Madhumathi's house? When Arnav came home to drop Khushi off the other day, Payal called him right after Arnav left GH and said, 'Khushi reached home'. Did Arnav hear her talk to him? Recently Arnav's behavior towards him was not pleasant. The man who would melt by his few words towards his sister looked rigid. Did Arnav doubt him? Shyam was alerted.

Arnav came and sat in the car. His next question confirmed that Arnav doubted Shyam.

"Who is Madhumathi?"

"she is an old lady. I met her in Lucknow when she came there for her niece's wedding. I'm the Groom's family lawyer. The groom's father introduced me to the Bride's family. That was when they got to know I'm from Delhi. She approached me for her pension. I promised her, I would get her pension after coming to Delhi but unfortunately, the wedding stopped" Shyam didn't hesitate to tell them about Guptas because he thought Khushi went to Lucknow and would not come back.

"But why?" Anjali asked.

"The Groom's family suddenly asked for extra dowry. The younger daughter of the family went to meet the groom to tell him that they could not manage the huge amount all of a sudden but, unfortunately, she got stuck somewhere and could not reach home till midnight. So, she was not able to meet the groom. Poor she repents a lot that because of her, her sister's wedding stopped"

Arnav gulped down. It was not hard for him to understand about what incident Shyam talking.

"Madhumathiji brought their nieces to Delhi because Lucknow people taunted them heartlessly. She got a job in Delhi too... but, her Boss tortured her a lot it seems. I got to know about it when she called me to inquire about her pension. She felt so helpless. As I was in Lucknow at that time, I could not help her... what can I do from Lucknow, if the girl was late from the office? I could have gone to her office if I had been in Delhi...but I was not. Could not bear the Boss's torture, she resigned from the job and went back to Delhi" Shyam managed the situation.

Arnav didn't suspect Shyam because what he said was true...except for one, that, he was Groom's lawyer. Shyam beautifully covered up the story to save himself. But... he didn't know what kind of impact his story created in Arnav's heart.

He was the one who restricted Khushi from going home. Because of his action, Khushi's sister's wedding stopped. Because of his torture, Khushi resigned from the job even though he didn't torture her, the situation led her to think so.

"You could have told Chotte about it. He would have given her a job in AR" Anjali said.

"Rani Sahiba, don't I know Sale Sahib? He doesn't like the recommendation. That's why I didn't do it. They are very poor you know, they spent almost all of their savings on the wedding but it didn't take place. That was why the girl tried to mend things by finding a job... but, finally, they went back to Lucknow"

RM

Arnav didn't know how to sort it out. The flashes said Khushi was his wife but she went back to Lucknow. She wasn't even ready to talk to him. According to her, he was a villain. How could he get her forgiveness? Of course, he was not a man who could say SORRY effortlessly but what he did was something beyond the limits. He didn't know what to do. Should he go to Lucknow to meet her? Yeah, he could get Shyam's help in finding her house. Yes, that would be a good idea. After Anjali and Shyam's wedding anniversary, he decided to go to Lucknow to meet Khushi.

But, he didn't know Khushi got the idea to lift her family by starting a sweet-making business, on the way to the railway station and come back to Laxmi Nagar. She started the sweet-making business and also got the contract for Anjali and Shaym's wedding anniversary.

Khushi also didn't know she was going to RM to serve her sweets. When she got to know that, she was shocked. She didn't want to go to the place where the heartless man living but Payal consoled her as they spent money to prepare sweets for the occasion beyond their means. Without any choice, they went to RM.

When she entered RM, Arnav felt something... not something, he felt the same in his heart when Khushi went to AR to collect her things. He didn't know what that was. He knew she went to Lucknow. He knew she could not come to RM. Then why did he feel like that? Should he take seriously his gut instinct? he decided to wait and watch.

Khushi was directed by Rahim Kaka to the storeroom but Khushi ended up in Arnav's room. Seeing him advancing his room, she hid in his cupboard. Hearing a noise from his cupboard, he opened it and found Khushi sitting inside it.

He could not believe she was in his cupboard. How could he believe he would find the girl who he wanted to meet? He thought he was hallucinating because he was in her thoughts. But he had no choice other than believing it when he clutched her hand when she jumped off the cupboard and struggled to stand straight.

Arnav was gazing at her, holding her hand unbelievably. What Khushi was doing in his cupboard? How did she come to RM? Didn't she go to Lucknow? There were a lot of questions in his mind but he could not speak. Words were not coming out of his throat. Shrugging his hand off, Khushi ran out of his room, ignoring his call,

"Khushiiii"

Later, Arnav got to know Khushi got the sweet contract for his sister's wedding anniversary. That means she didn't go to Lucknow. That thought made his heart relax. He came to the hall and didn't find Khushi there as she was in the kitchen arranging sweets.

Anjali was so happy about Khushi's new sweet business. after all, she liked Khushi at the first meeting itself.

"Khushiji, I'm so glad to see you as a businesswoman" She smiled.

"I'm also glad that I got a chance to serve on your wedding anniversary"

"I will introduce you to my husband"

"Jee"

That was when Manorama came there to call Anjali.

"Anjali, come and cut the cake"

"Yeah... you too come, Khushiji"

"You go Anjaliji. I will come later"

Anjali walked away. Seeing Khushi at the party, Shyam silently skimmed away. That made Arnav doubt him again. He saw Khushi consoling Anjali with her heartwarming words. The man who didn't have faith in marriage melted by it. As per the flashes, if she was his wife, he would be the luckiest person in the world to get such a wife. he thought.

He saw her going to the poolside to bring tissue papers. He followed her. Khushi was perplexed seeing him there.

"You said you were going back to Lucknow and would not come back to Delhi?"

Without answering him, she tried to leave the place. Arnav clutched her hand and stopped her from moving.

"What are you doing? Leave my hand"

"I want to talk to you"

"Look, I came here only because I got the contract to serve sweets at the party... let me do my work and go"

"You can do it but before that, I want to tell you something"

"I don't want to hear anything from you" She twisted her hand and stopped hearing,

"I'm sorry..." from Arnav.

She looked at him stunningly and stopped struggling.

"I'm really sorry. I don't know that it was your sister's wedding. I misunderstood you that day..."

Khushi was looking at him without a blink. Was that really Arnav Singh Raizada who apologized to her?

"I'm ready to compensate your loss..."

Khushi pulled her hand and moved a step back.

"No need... by God's grace, I started a business. I don't need your compensation because what we lost could not be compensated" She said and walked away.

Arnav noticed her missing her anklet in the poolside. He took it in his hand and smiled. Though she didn't accept his favour he apologized to her. That was when he remembered he wanted to ask her about Shyam. He walked to the party hall fast and found something. Akash was talking to Payal lovingly and Manorama fumed by the scene. Arnav's gut instinct warned him. He felt a bad vibe. He sensed something wrong was going to happen and he was not ready to ignore his instinct.

To be continued...