The Royal Fling - Part 11

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Chapter 11


Old Railway Station 

“Leave me… Leave me I said” Khushi shouts at the top of her voice, struggling to set herself free from the clutches of Arnav Singh Raizada who managed to trace her location and flopped her plan to flee.

The moment he sets her free from his grip, she starts running behind the train which is yet to depart completely from the Station. She is much much away from the last compartment to board back the train and even if she runs faster than usual, she cannot catch up with its speed. She still runs in the direction of the train, yelling at it to stop but all in vain. The train leaves the station and Khushi’s feet trembles at the thought that now there is no way she can escape the Royal Wedding.

She drops down on her knees, yelling at the top of her voice, taking out her frustration on the deserted station where no one can even come to help. Arnav watches all of her actions from a distance, giving her the time she needs to face the fact. Angad is still far from the two and feeling pity for her state. Any woman in her place would feel the same. She deserves to know why she is being pulled into this alliance. Wish Arnav tells her that now. It’s high time he opens up his plans with the only person whom he relies to set things right in his family.



Khushi cries for few more minutes and then composes herself from the loss. This is not the end. She is a fighter and she will fight till her last breath. She wipes her tears and gets up, striding back to the man responsible for all the problems she is currently facing. The moment she reaches him, she starts to hit him on his chest, angrily, madly and with full force.

“Why don’t you just let me go? Why?” she shouts..

Angad and two of Arnav’s close bodyguards take a quick stride towards him to stop her assault but Arnav extends his arm for them to not bother. He can handle her. This is his fight.. and he can tackle her. She doesn’t stop hitting his chest.

“Which part of my actions you don’t understand, huhh?” she continues to shout. “Which word of my denial you couldn’t accept? When I said I don’t want to marry you, I mean it. I mean it from the bottom of my heart. Does it hurt your ego that a woman is denying to marry you? Does it?” she keeps beating her palm on his chest. It’s started to hurt her now. Her palms turn red by the assault but she doesn’t stop.

“You want to see your sister again?” he asks with a sudden twist in his tone. She stops hitting him.
“You cannot blackmail me” she snaps. “Yes, I want to see her, know her wellbeing but it cannot be at the cost of my future”

Arnav doesn’t like her reply.

“You are being selfish” he mutters.
“She is selfish. She left us all… she didn’t care to turn back even once and let us know where she is? How she is? I hate her for that. I hate my sister. So, you cannot blackmail me by her name Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada. I would do nothing for her.”
“Not even when her life is in danger?” he scowls
“No” she replies but that was in rage. Payal’s life is in danger? From whom? Her tears stop and dry as she meets his gaze again.
“You will kill my sister if I don’t marry you? How could you do that?” she groans in anger.

Arnav grabs her arms and pulls her closer.

“I am not the one behind her life. Someone else is. And I need to reach that person and stop him before he hurts your sister. I want to protect her and the baby she is carrying in her womb”

Khushi’s eyes swell in pain. It is all very hard to absorb. Payal’s life is in danger? And she is pregnant? Why would anyone want to kill her sister and her baby? And how does he know all that?

“look” he gasps. “I have no much time left to explain you the details. For now, all you got to do is trust me and marry me because that’s the last hope I have to find Payal’s whereabouts and save her life.”
“Why?” she snaps. “Why are you so interested in saving my sister’s life? What is she to you?”

Well!! That’s not hard to explain. So, he decides to share his relationship with Payal and the child she is going to give birth to.
“Payal had eloped with my brother Akash Singh Raizada”

Khushi’s heart skips a beat. Payal had eloped with a Royal?

“And right now wherever they are.. they are in grave danger” he adds.

Khushi stumbles behind as energy drains from her body.

“Akash is missing from our family much before he eloped with your sister. I tried to reach him. But he knows to cover his tracks… We Raizada Royals are meant to be secretive … each of us have our own secret hideouts. I had stopped tracking Akash a long time ago but recontinued it when I learnt about some conspiracy against the Royals which promises to end our entire family”
“Who? Who would do that to you? Why don’t you catch hold of the people who conspired all this?”
“We have no fixed names. Just clues. Just blurred faces and weak connections to them. My sources are digging for their identities but it is all in vain if they make a move on Akash and his wife Payal first. Until I know their whereabouts, I cannot protect them. Our marriage is the only way, the only solution”

Khushi still has doubts.

“How would our marriage.. be a solution to this?”
“Payal is the connection Khushi.. for me to reach Akash and warn him. And she can only connect with you.. Her own blood.. The news of our alliance has spread throughout the country and abroad. Since Akash hates me so much, he would definitely have shared it with your sister and doesn’t matter if she has never contacted you or your family again ever since she eloped, but she will never want you to marry me, based on Akash’s inputs about me. She will come here.. some day.. to make a contact with you… to warn you against me and it is that moment when we can reach her and through her.. Akash”

Khushi’s head spins. He seems to have a point but should she believe this? She takes a minute to think wisely.

“You are lying” she shakes her head disapproving everything he just told her. “I know why you are doing this. Only because I am denying to marry you now, you are building up a fake story to convince me somehow for the marriage”
“That’s a serious allegation” he scowls. “And stop giving yourself so much importance Khushi Gupta” he strides once towards her. “You are not the last woman left on earth to be my wife. Why do you think I am ready to marry you? Neither you belong to any Royal family nor we seem to like each other even 1%. Why would I risk my whole future for making you my wife with whom I can never be happy?”

Now that pisses her off but more than that, it hurts her. Does she have thorns that will keep pricking him for the rest of his life? How can he say that?

Arnav gestures at Angad to come to them. Once he reaches, Arnav asks him to show the pictures from his mobile. Angad unlocks his phone and shows a picture to Khushi. It’s Payal with a small baby bump. Khushi’s eyes fill with tears again.

“Our sources got this picture of hers in Nainital.  That was a month ago. She was alone and until they could reach her through the crowd, she disappeared” Arnav mentions. “We searched the whole of Nainital but couldn’t find them. Maybe they got to know and eloped again”
“But why?” she queries. “Why would they run like that? Why not come back to the family?”

Her concerns are genuine but he has no patience and time to make her understand each and every bitterness the Royal’s siblings share.

“Marry me, Khushi Gupta. If not for the sake of your sister then her unborn child. Do this as a charity for the Royals!! I want to save my Brother and his heir and I need your help”

Khushi’s body burns with an unknown pain. It’s too much to ask for. She is still confused and in darkness about most of the Royal Secrets. Should she really go ahead with the marriage?

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

Shantivan – An hour later 


“Subhadraji.. What is all this? Is the marriage even happening or have you called us all for putting a fake show?” one of the guests speaks aloud, gathering the attention of everyone else too.

Daadi is confused what to reply. No one ever spoke to her in a mocking tone so far. The Gupta couple look down in disappointment for being responsible for all this. Anjali Singh Raizada is enjoying the show. She is the one who coaxed this woman to raise her doubts about the wedding happening or not. Now the great matriarch of this family would understand how it feels to be insulted.

“Where is the bride?” the guest continues to poke.
“She is here”

There comes the voice of the eldest grandson of the Royal.. Arnav Singh Raizada. Every pair of eyes present in this house turns around and look at the door where the would-be couple are standing together. Anjali’s eyes dart in shock. Khushi is back? Arnav managed to get her back? Where did he find her? But she knows even if he managed to threat Khushi and get her home, this is not what Khushi wants. So, in order to turn the situation in her favor, Anjali whispers something to the woman beside her.

“The bride is here!! And so is the groom!! The marriage rituals will begin in an hour” Arnav addresses the crowd.

Garima wants to rush to Khushi and ask her if she is fine but Shashi grips her arm not letting her move away.

“You don’t get to meet her now, until the wedding happens. I don’t want you to help her flee again” he mutters angrily to his wife.

Garima sighs at his adamance. The woman who was questioning Subhadra Raizada before. comes ahead to Khushi on Anjali’s request.

“Khushi, have you been forced by the Royals for this marriage?”

Arnav’s jaw clench.
“How dare you ask that to my fiancée?” he barks.
“I am sorry His Highness” the woman fakes respect to him. “But my sources have informed me that Miss Gupta is been threatened to marry you. I just need a confirmation from her side”

Arnav is about to retaliate but Khushi speaks to the guests before him.

“I am marrying Arnav by my will. I don’t see why anyone would think I have been threatened”

The guests ease down at her reply. So does Daadi and Shashi Gupta. Relief relaxes Arnav’s spine.

“But then why did you go missing suddenly?” the woman continues.
“I didn’t go missing. I had been to the temple outskirts to take blessings. And called Arnav there too. It’s just that we informed none of the family members which is why everyone is panicked. We truly apologize to our families for being so irresponsible”

That’s a cold lie. Anjali and Shyam glance at each other witnessing the fall of their plans.

“Enough of wasting time now” Daadi comes ahead. “We should begin the rituals without further delay. Suhani” she calls for Khushi’s friend and asks her to get Khushi dressed up for the wedding. Suhani nods and takes Khushi upstairs. The guests disperse to enjoy the food and drinks, waiting for the rituals to begin. Daadi reaches back her grandson.

“Where did you find her? And… she agreed?”
“I told her everything” he replies. “I think we should have done that much before setting up this alliance. It would have saved the pain today”

Daadi nods weakly. She is glad that there are no changes in their original plan. The wedding is happening and it will soon reveal the whereabouts of her other grandson, Akash.

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

Khushi reveals everything to Suhani while dressing up for the wedding. She is equally panicked and confused.

“Oh my god. Angad knew this all the time and he didn’t tell me?” she sighs in disappointment.
“That’s okay Suhani. He is very loyal to Arnav and his best friend too”
“But I am his wife, Khushi. God knows ever since I have heard him and Arnav talking something about Payal, I have pleaded him to tell me what he is hiding from me. But he didn’t utter a word. But I am glad that at least Arnav cleared his stand with you. We at least know why he is so interested in marrying you”
“Hmm” Khushi agrees to that.
“But.. isn’t this a huge sacrifice?” Suhani continues to raise her doubts. “I agree Payal should be saved but… is marriage the only solution?”
“for now.. yes.. We don’t know who is behind their lives..we don’t have much time Suhani and that’s the only reason why I agreed to ahead with Arnav Singh Raizada’s plans. But once this is all sorted.. I have planned my exit too”

Now Suhani is confused.

“Exit? What exit?”


Khushi shakes her head in dismissal.

“Nothing.. Let us go down before the Mahurat (auspicious time) of the wedding expires” she looks at herself one last time in the mirror. She is all dressed up as a bride… A Royal Bride!!


To be Continued.


NEXT PART


To Read THE ROYAL FLING from start. Click HERE

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