Lawful Sins - Season 2 - Part 1

BANNER TO COME SOON 

PROLOGUE 

Chapter 1


GUPTA VILLA


Guests crowded in the Villa chattering and enjoying the exotic dishes and drinks served on the occasion of the 25th birthday of the handsome man of the Gupta Siblings – Nandakishore Gupta. Girls doted on his charming personality and easy to go attitude towards life. The constant smile and joy on his face boosted positivity amongst people around him.

“He is so dashing” a guest from the crowd breathed heavily admiring the Birthday boy greet his friends.

“And rich” the other girl added. “His woman will roll in money”

“Uhh” another woman joined the group. “Don’t be in that impression. Though he is a charming rich hunk, the chains of his richness are controlled by his arrogant sister, Khushi Gupta. Though she is just 3 years older to him, he does nothing without her approval. Not even sign the bank cheques”

The other sighed at the mention of it.
“Why do you think he hasn’t cut the cake yet? He is waiting for her. And just like every other time she must be busy signing billion dollar deals abroad” the woman added, sipping her drink.

“No. I have heard she never misses this day. She is present on his birthday”

“There she comes”

A posh black car halted at the porch steering the attention of the cameras and freelancer photographers towards it. The driver rushed to open the backseat door for his Boss. The moment her feet touched the carpet, men gasped oogling her flawless skin underneath the short formal pencil skirt. Plastering a smirk on face, sliding the sunglasses from her eyes to above her head, Khushi Gupta got down the vehicle. Her house seemed like a Guest house. Parties like these had always irked her where men swooned over her beauty, women felt jealous and oldies from her relatives’ side kept on chasing for her marriage plans. She paid heed to none of them apparently and kept her eyes locked with her Brother Nandakishore Gupta who made his way to her, flaunting his dimples.

“Khush!!” he screamed happily passing by the crowd and gave a full hug to his darling sister.

“Am I late?” she asked patting his cheek.

“Never. The party can wait…” he assured. “Got the deal?”

“Have I lost any?” she back questioned.

“Damn No!!” he hugged her again. “And that calls for a double celebration”

He took her inside.

“All my friends are as usual dying to meet you” he said.

“You mean those clingy boys?” she pointed at a group of men whose jaws had dropped seeing her in the party.

“Yea… those and those too..” Nandakishore pointed out at other boys who seemed to be new for her.

“You make friends so often and easily, Kishu”

She called him Kishu lovingly. Nandakishore got his name from his grandfather who was a strong follower of Lord Krishna but Khushi called him by his pet name – Kishu whilst he called her Khush!!

“Do you know why they are your friends?” she asked. “For money.. fame and…”

“Khush” he interrupted. “Not everyone cares for money”

“You haven’t seen the world Kishu”

“And you haven’t seen life” he winked.

Khushi shrugged that statement.

“Let’s cut the cake” she demanded.

“Just in case you didn’t notice.. its your favorite flavor”

“Chocolate marble?” she queried.

“With choco chips on top” he added. “Because in this whole world if my sister is obsessed about something its cakes and ice creams”

Khushi glanced at him, delighted and surprised. There was nothing Nandakishore didn’t know about her or took care of. As the guests circled them, Nandakishore cut the cake. The birthday songs played in the background as he fed the first bite to his sister and hugged her again.

“Where’s my present?”

She turned to her secretary Mrs. Pinto, a woman in her late 40’s who strode to her with a small box. Khushi held out the box and gestured Nandakishore to open it. The glow on his face when he saw the keys inside were unmeasurable.

“Is this.. is this?”

“Yes.. It’s the car you wanted. The only edition imported from US”

“God, khush” he kissed her cheek. “I love you”

“Praise me later, now go take a look at your car first. It’s outside”

“Can’t wait to”

He ran outside with his friends to show them the masterpiece. Mrs. Pinto smiled happily.

“He looks so happy today” she addressed to Khushi.

“And he always will be Mrs. Pinto. I won’t let him devoid of anything” she replied. “EVER” she further mumbled as if promising to herself.

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

Shantivan – Few Days Later

“Hari Prakash.. Om Prakash.. Jai Prakash” she yelled to get some response from the servants of this house but seemed like none of them had time for her today.

“Why are you shouting Lavanya” her grandmother rushed in the kitchen.

“Nani. I need help making Soup. Look at these veggies. Do you think they are boiled right? And its still tasteless. Something is missing. But I cooked exactly the way it was mentioned in the book”

Nani laughed at her state and tasted the soup once.

“Its perfect”

“Is it? But I cant feel the taste”

“Strange” Nani replied. “Maybe your taste buds are on vacation then. Let your ASR return, everything will be back on track”

Lavanya Raizada jumped with joy.

“His flight has landed an hour ago. He will come here any moment. I cannot wait to see him Nani. Can you believe it? He is returning to us after 3 long years”

“I know” Nani sighed. “These 3 years have been the longest of my life”

Lavanya shot her sad smile.

“He has moved on Nani. And that’s the best part. I just have this feeling that now he is going to stay with us forever”

“I hope that too” Nani touched Lavanya’s face. “You look dull. Are you not feeling well?”

“Dull?” Lavanya was confused. “I don’t know Nani. Just couldn’t sleep well last few days and my stomach seems upset too”

“Then why are you taking more stress? Leave it”

She snatched the spatula from Lavanya’s hand.

“I will finish the rest. You call up the driver and check if they have started from the airport”

“Thank you, Nani” Lavanya quickly kissed Nani’s cheeks and ran outside.

20 minutes later, Arnav Singh Raizada got down his car quietly. He had purposely asked the driver not to honk. He wanted to surprise Nani and his baby sister Lavanya whom he knew would be waiting impatiently for his arrival.

“Sir, I will get the bags” Mohan, their driver urged.

“Not these ones” Arnav took out few shopping bags from the backseat. “I will carry them myself”

He stepped inside the house and old memories flashed before his eyes. The days he spent here 3 years ago with his family.. Life was so perfect then. Wish he could relive those times again and change the mishap.

“ASR? Oh my God. Nani.. .come out.. ASR is home”

Lavanya ran into his arms, breaking his chain of thoughts. He hugged her with the same warmth and love.

“Missed you La” he said kissing her forehead.

“I missed you too ASR and gosh…” she stepped behind to take a full glance of him. “You look hotter than in those video calls. Whose effect is this? I hope you are not dating someone without my approval” she teased.

Arnav passed her lopsided smirk.

“Are you?” she asked again. Before he could reply, Nani came out of the kitchen with the Puja thali. He leaned down to take her blessings once she was done circling it around him.

“God bless you Chotte. You have become thin. Didn’t you eat well there?”

“Nani… that’s called muscles.. look” Lavanya pointed out to Arnav’s flexed arms. "You got my stuff? What is all this?” she started searching in the bags he was holding in hands.

“Wait.. wait. Let him settle down first” Nani dragged Arnav inside and they seated on the couch. Arnav passed three bags to Nani.

“These are for you Nani. I hope you like them”

Nani opened the bags and found some Shawls and holy books inside.

“I loved them” she replied.

“ASR… don’t make me wait so much.. Where is my stuff? You didn’t forget the cosmetics I told you to get”

Arnav held out the rest 5 bags to her.

“These are yours.. And nope, I didn’t miss a single item from the list you messaged”

“Thank you” she threw her arms around him and took the bags. Arnav observed her looking for something in particular. She removed a bottle of perfume from the bag and sighed in relief.

“That’s a men’s perfume” Arnav reminded. “When did you start using men’s perfume La?” he mocked.

“Shut up” she giggled. “Its not for me”

“I thought so” Arnav noticed her facial expressions. She glowed even talking about it.

“Who’s the lucky guy?” he whispered sitting closer. He didn’t want Nani to be a part of this conversation.

Lavanya blushed hard.

“ASR… its nothing as you think”

“Stop blushing and tell me his name. I promise won’t tell Nani so soon”

Lavanya took the perfume bottle and her phone from the couch.

“Will tell you when the right time comes” she blew a kiss at him and got up. “I will be back in a minute”

She ran upstairs probably to make a call. Arnav Singh Raizada leaned back proudly on the couch. Seemed like his baby sister was in love. He hoped the man she loved was worth her expectations.

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

AR Office – Next Day
“Welcome to the office, Boss” the staff presented bouquets to Arnav Singh Raizada. He was thrilled seeing his entire cabin loaded with flowers. That showed how much he was missed here.

“Thank you” he took his seat.

His staff had really been very accommodating and hard working. Throughout his absence in the last three years, they still managed to run the company without his physical guidance here. And all of this was possible because of his manager Shyam Jha.

“Welcome back, ASR” Shyam stepped in the cabin.

“Shyam” Arnav smiled. “I was just thinking about you. Where had you been? You are never late”

“Traffic” he answered.

“Yea, I realized that. Delhi Traffic wasn’t the same few years back. Its overcrowded everywhere now”

Shyam nodded and asked the rest of the staff to get back to work. Once they were gone, he glanced back at his Boss.

“Glad to have you back here, ASR”

Arnav knew exactly why he said that.

“You came here at such a short notice and…”

“Shyam” Arnav interrupted. “I hope there is nothing to worry about”

Shyam rolled his eyes.

“Wish I could say so. I don’t know where to start from? Business is fine.. but there are some things here to be taken care of. And then there is Lavanya”

“Lavanya” Arnav paused him. “Start from her”

Shyam took a seat.

“ASR.. these 3 years only because you wanted me to keep an eye on Nani and Lavanya’s wellbeing apart from the Business here, I have done this. Otherwise I don’t believe in spying on people and hindering their privacy”

“It was necessary Shyam. I wanted to ensure they were safe and you are the only one I could entrust this duty on in my absence. I will always be grateful to you”

“Don’t be” he replied. “Lavanya is like my sister too. And that’s why whatever is happening these days I thought you should know about it. She is having an affair”

Arnav exhaled. Now he knows why she asked him to get that special edition Men’s perfume.

“She doesn’t need my approval for that. She is a grown-up woman. She can choose her man”

“I know. But this guy… he .. he is not exactly the one you would want for her”

“And why would you say that?”

“Because he never takes the decisions himself. He is very much sister oriented. In fact, he is puppet of her hands. If she denies something, he will never look back at it. If she asks him to do something.. he will put his life to make it happen”

Arnav was confused.

“Such people exists in today’s world.. Strange” he answered. “But I still don’t get your point Shyam. Whats so wrong about him?”

“Not him ASR.. He is good. But his sister… she is a … well” Shyam had no words to explain further. “You will know once you meet her, which seems like happening soon to me”

He removed some envelope and handed it to Arnav.

“Whats this?”

“The farm house you wanted to own some day is on the auction list. The auction is coming weekend. You should go and buy the property. That’s your best chance”

Arnav opened the envelope and confirmed the details.

“You will meet her there. She is on the VIP list too for the auction” Shyam added.

Arnav gave a gentle nod.

“From our sources, I have heard she is pinning for this property too from years. Seems like you both have got the same choice”

“Does that ‘She’ have a name?” he mocked.

“Khushi Gupta”

Arnav arched his brow. That sounded like one freaking good name.

“Don’t go on the name, ASR. I don’t think she has any connection with happiness as her name defines. People tend to forget smiling if she is around. Her stern attitude and impossible targets have arched the attrition rate in her Company. As if she cares!!” he sighed. “She hires people like she is doing some favor on them.. throws them out like she never needed them. She pays them well though…Enough to sustain even if they don’t work for a year more. She is… she is a hot devil”

“Language, Shyam” Arnav snapped. “Don’t use such words”

Shyam rolled his eyes again..

“By Hot I meant … Hot tempered… Not the one which you thought..”

Arnav laughed.

“But… she is every man’s fantasy and nope I am not saying this because she is beautiful. When you meet her … you will know yourself”

Arnav was intrigued by the portrayal of this woman. He always had a different ideology about how delicate and simple Indian women are but seemed like this woman was going to change his set definition. And if that’s so, it would be worth meeting her.

To be Continued.

NEXT PART 

Note: Banner will come soon for this fiction. And I am still drafting the last part of He Loves Me Not. Hence that FF I will post tomorrow. 

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