The Royal Fling - Part 58

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Chapter 58 

Shantivan 


“Bhai.. whats the matter? Why have you called us all here?” Akash asked as the brothers and Daadi seated in the study room. Angad shut the door. 

“Won’t take long Akash and let’s keep this discussion only between us” Arnav mentioned. “I didn’t involve Payal, Khushi and Anjali because that would raise suspicions in the eyes of people who might be spying on us. I don’t want any outsider to know what we discuss now. We can always share it with our wives privately after this meeting is over” 

“Arnav” Daadi interrupted. “This emergency meeting is scaring me. Did we get any hint on Akash’s abduction?” 

Angad turned on the projector and the image of Shyam’s lookalike flashed on the screen. 

“That’s not Shyam” Arnav cleared Akash and Aman’s doubts before they could ask. 

“Man!! Who the hell is he then? And what does he have to do with us?” Akash asked. 

“He was involved in your kidnapping Akash” 

Silence spread in the room. 

“How can you be sure its not Shyam?” Aman pointed out and then turned to Shyam. “Sorry Bro.. I don’t mean to hurt you but this man.. he is..he is like your twin” 

Shyam rolled his eyes.

“Arnav is far better than you” Shyam snapped. “He at least trusted that’s not me”

“Looks like I hurt you” Aman pouted. “Sorry”

“We have proofs of Shyam’s presence in some political meeting that same time when this image was clicked” Arnav clarified. “Whoever this man is.. he is dangerous. We also suspect he is working for someone powerful. We are unable to track him yet but chances are he has someone in this house to keep an eye on our family”

“A mole in this house?” Akash snarled.

Arnav nodded.


“That’s why I want you all to be very alert. Watch carefully what is happening around you and any suspicions, let me know. Akash, try to recall anything at all that relates to your kidnapping. Even a minute detail might help us catching the mastermind. Meanwhile me and Angad are already working on the other possibilities to catch the culprits”

“Arnav.. this is not enough” Shyam suggested. “We will keep looking for the mole and that person will play his next round. I suggest we get a background check again on all the servants and guards of this house. We should get some clue there”

“It’s already in process” Angad added.

“what about Anamika?” Akash queried. “She is the last one to be appointed in this house. And.. the way she hides her face all the time… makes her more suspicious..”

“No.. she is not a threat. We.. we have zoned her out” Aman interrupted.

Akash and Shyam glanced at each other and then back to Aman.

“Zoned her out?” Shyam repeated in a mocking tone. “Why??”

Aman stared at Arnav on what his next action should be. Arnav realized everyone in the family should know Anamika is Avni because they deserved the truth. He blinked at Aman to reveal it which also meant Aman had to tell the family he never lost his memories. Aman swallowed and got up from his seat.

“I have a confession to make”

Arnav stood behind with his arms crossed at the front. His little brother was good at confessions, he knew.

“I… I recall everything” he stated. “I lied all this time that I didn’t remember this family but the truth is.. I never forgot”


Shyam, Akash and Daadi were shocked again at his revelation.

“How dare you do that to us?” Shyam groaned. “And you?” he looked at Arnav. “You knew it all the time?”

“I believed he was lying and when we stayed in Mumbai, he confessed. So… I knew it before you guys. But then we mutually decided not to share this with anyone considering the looming danger over our family”


Shyam was stupefied.

“You both have always been secretive. And Aman you? Why did you do this? Why stay away from us for 2 long years?” Shyam shouted.

“I was upset on Bro. And just like you both, I always thought he was controlling my life. I wanted that to stop and this accident seemed like the perfect opportunity. But I do regret it now. I shouldn’t have and I am sorry.. Please”

He reached Daadi and kneeled before her.


“Daadi, in all this.. you were never at fault and yet I didn’t come back for you. Please forgive me”


Daadi was hurt but she had learned to forgive her grandsons. She weakly nodded and Aman kissed her forehead to thank her enough.

“Phew…” Akash walked to Aman and punched his chest gently. “You deserve so many of these from me”

“Sorry Aki” Aman hugged him.

Shyam sighed in disbelief.

“What else have you hidden from us?” he frowned at Arnav.

“Anamika… is Avni Sen” Arnav revealed.

Slowly he explained how he caught Avni red handed and how she always kept spying on their family to ensure they were safe. Shyam and Akash were impressed but Daadi was angry.

“She is Avni? She.. she is Avni Sen? All this time that girl was around me and I didn’t recognize her? She fooled us.. she fooled me?”

Aman quickly responded explaining how much he loved her and what was Avni’s motive behind her fake identity. The Raizadas were glad that despite being pushed away always, she did so much for the family.

“So Aman recalls everything.. Anamika is Avni.. This lookalike of me is behind Akash’s abduction and we have a mole in this house” Shyam summed it up. “Do we have more news or this is it?”

“Aman’s accident was not natural either. Someone failed his brakes and I suspect the same person behind it” Arnav mentioned. “This is Avni’s findings by the way. And the key…” Arnav said turning to Daadi.. “The key was stolen by Avni… and I have it back with me now. She stole it because someone else was going to do that during my marriage rituals in this house. She had to safeguard it and hence she managed to sneak in the house and get the key. You remember the suspicious woman who entered Shantivan during Khushi’s Haldi here? That was Avni”

“Key?” Aman asked. “What is that key for?”

Arnav exhaled. No one except Daadi knew it but now again was the right time to let the brothers know since they were working on it together.

“The key to the Royal wealth”

Shyam, Akash and Aman looked horrified at Aman. Royal wealth?

“Royal wealth? Never heard about it before” Shyam pointed out.

“Our ancestors have a lot of wealth stored in a secret place at Shantivan. This key belongs to that door which leads us to that wealth” Arnav replied.

“Your grandfather told me about this and handed me the key” Daadi added. “But because Arnav’s father and your’s Shyam had their own differences, I could never reveal about this to any of them. Their cold war between each other made it impossible for me to judge who should safeguard that key. And sooner than I thought, they both passed away. I had to keep this key with me for years until you four grew up. But then, I still had the same question running in my mind. Who should hold that key? And it’s not like one of you owns that wealth. It’s not just for us.. but for the benefit of the town and its people why your ancestors left that wealth for. It’s enough for next 4 generations of this family even if no one earns”

Akash flopped back on the couch whereas Shyam’s mind froze.

“What are we doing with that wealth so far?” he queried.

“Nothing yet” Arnav replied. “Daadi told me about that key when I graduated. If you recall, she was sick that time and for some reasons she feared if she would live any longer. In that threat, she handed me the key and showed me that secret place too. But I didn’t believe any of you to share that secret. That’s why all these years the key was with me.. secured and the wealth untouched. Seems grandfather wanted to adopt a small village and use that money for the upliftment of people and upgrade that village into a town with all basic amenities. If you three share the same motive as him, we can start that work immediately”

“With you Bro” Akash immediately replied.

“Same here” Aman smiled.


The three then stared at Shyam for his approval.

“No hurry Shyam” Arnav assured. “Take your time”

“I don’t need time” Shyam stated. “I am not that cruel to refute our ancestor’s wishes. I am with you guys in this. We all have got enough from the property split. This Royal wealth can be used for fulfilling our ancestors wish”

For the first time, Daadi was seeing unity in her grandsons.

“But.. because the key was going to be stolen, our enemies already know about this wealth somehow and we need to protect it. And again, the question still arises, how did they come to know? Someone is selling the secrets of this family” Arnav added.

“This man” Aman pointed at the projector screen. “He is the one… we got to find him soon”

Daadi looked carefully at the picture but she couldn’t confirm whatever she was thinking was true. And before she admitted that to her grandsons, she decided to be sure herself.


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

An hour later

When Arnav came back in his room, he saw Khushi talking to her mother on call. Only Garima Gupta had attended the baby shower today, her husband didn’t accompany her and it raised few more doubts in Arnav’s mind. But skipping those for a while, he decided to check on some important files on the background verification of Shantivan’s servants which could shed some light on the mole in this house. He opened his laptop and read the files. Khushi finished her call. She was still very excited about the whole thing.

“You know when I saw Payal today, with that baby bump, taking blessings from everyone, blushing and stealing glances with Akash… you know what I felt?” Khushi asked her husband who was too busy on his laptop.

“Hmm.”

“I felt… I too want this.. you know..” she blushed hard covering her face with palms.

She was sitting next to him on the recliner. Their discussion had started with how much she enjoyed the function tonight, how she loved to give that first rights of performing the rituals to Anjali and then it ended up on Payal’s topic.

“Hmm”

When he didn’t say a word apart from that, Khushi frowned. She snatched his laptop and put it away.

“Khushi.. what? I am doing something important” he snapped.

He had never shouted at her and it hurt tonight because her excitement levels and his were not same.

“Fine.. Sorry” she gave him back the laptop and strode away. Arnav gritted his teeth. He shouldn’t have done that. Damm!! But it wasn’t entirely his fault. He was also too busy analyzing if Shashi Gupta could be harmful for them. Khushi hopped on the bed alone and was about to turn the bedside lamp off when Arnav caught her hand.

“Don’t touch me” she snapped. “you all men are the same. Once you have enough of your wives, you don’t need them anymore. They are just… just some piece of décor in your room”

Arnav fumed at her comments and twisted her arm at her back, pulling her closer.

“You are hurting me” she struggled.

“You are hurting me too Mrs. Khushi Singh Raizada. Those are some serious allegations and I reject them all. You are not a piece of décor in my room. You are a piece of my heart which I can never stay away from. Doesn’t matter how much and how many times I have had you”

His grip on her arm loosened. She used some force to shrug off his hold and clutched his Shirt.

“So, you are sorry?” her mouth curved.

Arnav rolled onto his back and took her along.

“If that word will bring a smile back on your face, then yes. I am sorry for shouting at you unnecessarily”


Khushi embraced him, resting her head on his arm.


“I am sorry too for intruding your work. I know it must be important otherwise you wouldn’t ignore me”

“I can always check that later” she snuggled her closer. They stayed like that for few minutes, their hearts beating in sync until he decided to share about the discussions that happened in the study room today. Khushi heard it all without passing any judgements. But when she heard about Shyam’s lookalike, her body shivered.

“That’s scary” Khushi gulped. “You know what that means? He will try to replace Shyam in Shantivan and he could do anything for that to happen… he might even hurt Shyam”


Arnav nodded. He had already assumed all possible intentions of that lookalike. She ruffled her fingers in his dark hair to shift his focus.


“Why didn’t your father come today?”

Khushi saw no reason why he recalled about her father.

“Mumma said he had been out. And you know my father never loved me and Payal like he should have. He always wanted a boy and…” she paused. “I so wish.. Payal has a baby girl and even me. That should teach him a good lesson. I want him to know that he cannot control on the baby’s sex. He needs to embrace God’s wish”


Arnav chuckled at her cute thoughts. He pressed a kiss on her nose.

“What were you saying earlier? Seeing Payal taking everyone’s wishes and all you too desired to be in her place soon?”


His fingers circled her creamy back and she knew this conversation was soon going to turn in his favor.

“How soon?” he pressed her gently to him. Their lips were inch apart from claiming each other. Khushi wondered if they keep looking like that so frequently, that day wasn’t far when she would have a baby bump like Payal’s.

“How soon?” he repeated. His breath fanned her lips.

“Are you in a hurry?” her lower lip stuck out in a pout.

“Until my first baby turns four or five years older, I am in no hurry”


His reply made her giggle. He teased her to be his first baby and since she hoped to settle down in her career within 4-5 years, he was willing to wait before starting their own family.


“But it needs a lot of practice I heard to make babies” he aligned his body with hers and nuzzled his nose on her neck. “So why not we practice some”

Before Khushi could absorb his words, his mouth claimed hers and she bared her soul to him like every other time. After an hour when the two were still wrapped to each other, Arnav decided to ask. Somehow this question was haunting him from morning.

“Do you think it could be your father behind all this?”


Khushi met his gaze and though she was completely exhausted to react, she knew what he meant. He was hinting at her father for being that mastermind with the motive of Raizada’s destruction.



To be Continued.

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Khushi, a software Engineer is waiting at a Cafe Shop to meet the man her parents have selected through a matrimonial site. When Arnav, a banker, introduces himself as the same candidate she is here to meet, conversation begins and sparks fly over two cups of Cappuccino. Are they really meant to be for each other or is there a twist in the tale? A romantic tale which will make you fall in love with blind dates all over again.

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