Lawful Sins - Season 2 - Part 46

 

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Chapter 46



Engagement Day


Arnav looked at himself in the mirror. Lavanya had chosen his attire for tonight; a grey party suit. Last one-week Lavanya and Nandakishore had been busier than anyone else in their families. They had so much to take care of and just like he and Khushi had ensured La-NK marriage went smooth, they too planned this engagement smoothly. It was in Gupta Mansion and he couldn’t afford to be late. His phone rang. It was Lavanya.


“ASR, don’t tell me you haven’t started for here yet. The Mahurat is an hour. You cannot be late”


Arnav picked his car keys and strode out.


“La. Relax. I will be there in 15 minutes” he replied. “And by the way, let my fiancée taste the fruit of patience for once” he teased.

Lavanya giggled at first and then stopped. “Ooops, I forgot to mention ASR, my phone is on speaker mode which means… your fiancée heard what you just said. She is standing right next to me” 

Khushi and Lavanya were heading down at the Garden where the Guests were waiting for them.


Arnav couldn’t believe it.

“You serious?” he asked.

“Very serious ASR. I see her frowning already and if you had been here right now, she might have strangled you”

Arnav laughed getting inside the car.

“My life is precious to her.. she would never hurt me..”


Khushi who was still listening to this conversation on Lavanya’s phone which was on speaker mode, smiled at his comment.

“Speak to her, I will go look for my husband. Havent seen him since long” she passed her phone to Khushi and made her way out.

“You like to keep me waiting?” Khushi asked putting off the speaker.

“What about you making me wait all this time?” he asked accelerating the car engine. “In fact, even if we are engaged, I still have to wait to have you completely”


Khushi blushed hard. She recalled despite making out so many times, they never crossed the lines.

“That’s your choice. I never stopped you Mr. Raizada” she mocked.


That made him smile.

“Sweetheart.. the day I make you mine, I want you to have Sindoor and Mangalsutra on you”

Words choked in her throat. Getting engaged was a big decision already and she knew it would some day lead to marriage. But she wasn’t prepared yet. She needed some time to accustom to these changes in her life. Marrying Arnav would mean she will have to leave Gupta Mansion and stay in Shantivan. She still hadnt settled Nandakishore yet.

“That will take some time Arnav..” she replied. “You know I have to train Kishu and in all this I wouldn’t be able to make time for my responsibilities as your wife and a bahu of Raizadas.”

“I know sweetheart. I am pressurizing you. Take your time. But don’t make me wait for months.. that would kill my patience”


She bit her lip.


“I will keep that in mind and fasten things for you.. happy?”

He laughed.

“Very. Now let me drive. I am reaching in 10 minutes”


She disconnected the call only to find Akash and NK coming to her.

“Khush” he hugged his sister. “You are looking gorgeous. I cannot believe my sister is getting engaged”

“And I cannot believe my little brother arranged all this in such a short span” she said admiring the party.

“I just hired the best event manager of the city. He took care of the rest” NK laughed. “Anyway, Akash told me dad and mom have left for the party. Akash’s men were keeping a watch on them. So, they will be here any moment”


Khushi nodded turning to Akash.

“Any update on Viraj?”

“He is in the same city but no moves from him yet. I am sure he knows about your engagement as the whole city knows about it but why is he not making any kind of move? That’s my concern” Akash replied.


That was everybody’s concern. If Viraj and her father had joined hands, they were definitely planning something big. Soon, Khushi dispersed in the guests and took compliments and wishes for this occasion. As promised, Arnav reached the party in 15 minutes and head straight to his Nani. He took her blessings and hugged her. That’s when Khushi saw him. In the grey tuxedo, he looked amazing with Godlike features. His face savagely handsome, his jaw chiseled perfection and his posture as he took greetings from people, proving his alpha male personality. He felt her eyes on him despite they were separated by some distance. In the peacock blue Lehnga and golden shimmering choli, she looked no less than a princess herself. The smirk on her face as their eyes met made him twitchy. She was going to be his in the eyes of the world from tonight.


“Hey gorgeous” Ruby interrupted their eye lock and hugged Khushi. “You are looking pretty. And the way Arnav is staring at you makes me so jealous right now”

“Why? Where is your psychologist Aman?” Khushi teased.

“Where else? He is speaking to Arnav right now while I am here”


Khushi turned her head and saw Aman greeting Arnav. The two were smiling and sharing some good talk now. She wondered if Aman still disapproves her for his friend.


“Oh Oh” Ruby sighed. “What are your parents doing here? Who invited them?”

Khushi became alert but didn’t let Ruby know anything yet. NK saw them too and was hesitant to make a move but it was he who had invited them on Akash and Khushi’s insistence so he had to fake being a good host. He quickly made his way as they entered the Venue together.


“NK.” Garima hugged him tight and kissed his forehead. “I missed you so much Son. Why don’t you pick my calls these days?”


Before he could answer it, she saw Lavanya reaching them and her smile doubled. NK introduced his mother to Lavanya who had never met before.

“Mom, she is my wife Lavanya”

“I know” Garima held her arms and pulled her for a hug. “She is so pretty”

Lavanya smiled weakly, unsure how to react.

“I was dying to see you both. Khushi has blocked us from seeing anyone of you. She is keeping my children away from me”

“She is your daughter too, Mom” NK interrupted. “And we all know why she is doing this”


Shashi’s brows twitched at NK’s comment.


“You are talking like your sister, boy”

“Kishu” Khushi joined them. She had seen her parents talking to NK and Lavanya and she didn’t like that much.

“Khushi.. what are you doing here? You should be with ASR”

“He is busy on a call” Khushi replied turning back to her parents who had silenced by her presence. “So, what were you saying?” she asked her father meeting his eyes.

Shashi smirked.

“Look at you little girl..” Shashi taunted. “Always ready to pounce on us. But we are not your enemies”

Khushi fisted her fingers. NK realized it and quickly changed the topic.

“Uh.. what are you gifting your daughter then? She is getting engaged tonight”


Shashi laughed.


“Of course. We have a special gift for this occasion. But the question is.. who deserves that gift? Khushi… or… her fiancée Arnav Singh Raizada”


His statements confused them all. What gift was he talking about?

“I don’t mind who gets the gift” Arnav joined the group and stood next to Khushi. “Afterall the gift would come in the family.. anyone of us can have it.. Right sweetheart?”


Shashi and Garima remained quiet.

“Oh, I so missed this house” Shashi scanned the Mansion.

“And you will keep missing it forever” Khushi snapped. “Because Kishu might have invited you to the party, but not in this house or in our hearts. You both better stay away from us”

“Khushi?” Garima shouted. “What kind of attitude is this? You cannot speak to us like that”

“That’s the only way I know to speak with you two” she declared.

Arnav pressed his palm on her lower back.

“Its okay.. they are our guests. We should let them enjoy the party.” He said to her. “Excuse us Mr. and Mrs. Gupta”


He led Khushi away from her parents because she was literally losing her calm now.


“Khushi, we have to retain them in this party, not drive them away. Akash wants to hack their phones and it can only be done until they are here. Please don’t spoil this one chance we have got”

“I know” she rubbed her forehead. “But I cannot control myself when they are around. And he… he talked about some gift. I am sure he has got something to hurt me again”

“He would never hurt you” Arnav assured cupping her face. “I won’t let him or anyone else cause you pain”


When he kissed her cheeks, her anger mellowed down. She wanted to kiss him back but they were heavily surrounded by guests and media and she didn’t want them to be noticed or clicked.


“Are you staying tonight?” she asked with some hope in her eyes.

“Haven’t thought about it” he teased. “Looks like I will”


Before they could get close again, NK made an announcement on the stage and called Arnav and Khushi to join him there. The mahurat was up so Khushi and Arnav reached the center of the lawn and exchanged the rings. The crowd cheered when Arnav kissed Khushi’s forehead after sliding the ring on her finger. She wasn’t prepared for his cute gesture and hence couldn’t stop the blush that immediately followed. Lavanya was holding Bella in her arms because they all wanted Bella to be a part of this occasion.


Shashi and Garima clapped with the crowd but there was no joy on their faces. Whilst Garima was a bit skeptical about Shashi’s plans for tonight, she knew they had no choice. To earn what they lost so far, they would have to implement their plan. Now all they waited for was to speak to Khushi alone.


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

Akash was in the closed room at Gupta Mansion with his team, wherein they were monitoring the security of the Party and also keeping an eye on the Gupta couple.


“Sir” one of his men voiced out raising his head from the computer screen. “We have hacked Shashi Gupta’s phone”

“Great. See what we can get. I need all his call details, messages, chats, whatsoever which can give us hint about his connection with Viraj Singh”


The team got to work and began tracing the details.


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


“Devyaniji” Shashi and Garima purposely met Nani who was standing in a group talking to other guests.

“Nani, they are my parents” NK quickly joined them to introduce.

“oh” Nani smiled at the two. She was aware NK and Khushi didn’t get proper love from their parents during their childhood which already made her dislike them. But she greeted them nicely.

“It is a pleasure meeting you both”

One of NK’s friend dragged NK away for some reason and Nani was left alone with the Gupta couple.

“We should have met earlier” Shashi stated. “Khushi didn’t allow us to come here during NK’s wedding. Her rebellious attitude has always kept us apart from our own children” he complained.

“I wonder what your grandson saw in her that he took such a big decision” Garima added.

“You must ask my grandson that. But if you ask me, I will say he made the right choice. Khushi is a wise woman. It’s hard to find such a talented and hard-working woman these days who has achieved so much success on her own. Despite having a rough childhood, you should be proud of her achievements”

“Are you really talking about our daughter?” Shashi mocked and laughed. “Devyaniji, you know her hardly from few months. You have seen her brighter side.. not her darker side. Did she ever tell you that she didn’t mind pointing a knife at her own father?”

Nani was stunned.

“Yea.. she did that” he stressed again. “She loses her mind when she fails. She hurts people by her arrogant and errant decisions. I am sure your grandson knows it very well. That’s why we wonder how he still chose to make Khushi his life partner?”

“You won’t understand that”

The sound of Khushi’s voice stopped the couple from bragging further. Khushi stood beside Nani and stared at her parents.

“You will never understand what kind of relationship exists between me and Arnav. Know why? Because you both never shared that bond with each other. You both taught me to hate people, not to trust even my own shadow, you made me cold and brutal but Arnav… he taught me to believe.. he gave me hope… he showed me what true relationship is.. he taught me what commitments means.. None of which you both will ever understand or appreciate. So instead of filling my family’s ears against me, why don’t you find a drink for yourself and mind your own business?”

Shashi’s nose flared. He turned around and walked away.

“Khushi..” Garima added. “We were just..”

“Leave” she snapped.

Garima sensed this wasn’t the right time to convince her and followed her husband. The moment they were far from Khushi’s sight, she turned to Nani.

“Whatever they told you Nani is true. I have done all that.. I have been a girl they described about.. but…”

“You don’t need to justify me Khushi bitiya. I am old enough to read people”

A faint smile lit her face.

“Go enjoy your party with Arnav. I want you both to dance. Go..” Nani pushed her to the group where Arnav was busy talking.

Khushi though made her way to ask Arnav for the dance, she knew after all that, she had to corner her parents and grill them about the gift they were talking about earlier. She had a bad feeling about it already.


To be Continued.

NEXT PART 
 

_________________________________________________________________________________

Standalone Romance Book 2 from Mr & Mrs. Series

Story of Neil Thakur, a Jerk Entrepreneur who gets what he eyes on. When he and his pricey girlfriend Nyra are en route to India, his life collides with 21-year-old Esha Singhal, the daughter of his rival. Whilst his mind tries to keep that baby girl out of his way, his body and heart don't approve. A romantic tale of love, betrayal and possession. Will Esha conquer Neil’s heart? Or is she on some other mission Neil is unaware of?

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EXCERPT 2

“Can we begin?” she requested. 

“The Striptease?” he mocked followed by a chuckle. “Sorry, but that day after the conference you put one hell of a show for me. I wondered if you would ever.. complete it..” 


Esha lost her cool. 

“Neil Thakur. You are not talking to a random woman who is cool with your flirting. You are talking to the CEO of the Singhal Group” 

“Who also happens to be my legally wedded wife” he corrected. 

Esha glared back at him. 

“And if I don’t get to flirt with my wife, whom will I flirt with?” he leaned back on his chair. 

Esha got up and tried to shut her laptop. 

“You are wasting my time. Probably when you are serious to get some work done, we can reschedule this” 

She was about to turn it off, when Neil gripped her wrist. 

“Go on. I am ready now” 


She shrugged off immediately from his hold. 

“Come on” he exhaled. “Show me the revised proposal” 

Esha took a minute to cool down and opened the presentation. For the next 30 minutes she explained him what strategies they had improvised for implementing this project. Neil was a multitasker. His ears were all on the proposal but his eyes were forced to linger all over her face. She licked her lower lip too often when she talked without a break. That was either because her throat was parched or she was nervous. When she looked back at the screen to show him a particular graph, a strand of her hair tickled her cheek. Neil’s fingers fisted around the handle of the chair he was seated on. She tucked the strand behind her ear and showed him the graph. His gaze shifted from her face to the graph and once she started explaining the statistics, his eyes lingered on her long fingers. She didn’t have long nails like most woman tried to keep. Her nails were neatly cut and manicured. 

“That’s all” she sighed with relief. He passed her a bottle of water to drink. She needed it after talking back to back for 30 minutes. She gulped some water and waited for him to speak. 

Neil cleared his throat to divert his own attention from her body to her eyes. 

“Share me the presentation. I need to take a look again on the figures you suggested. Rest all seems fine except some minute changes in the marketing part. I will ask someone from my side to look into it” 

That was one honest opinion he had given and she appreciated it. She gathered her stuff again and got up to leave. 

“One more thing, Neil Thakur” she said remembering something. “I know this is difficult for you to work with the same company you recently didn’t mind destroying. But this time it’s me you have to go through. And I have a lot of determination and patience to stand up every time you push me to the ground” 

“Don’t worry Esha. I don’t believe in killing the dead again” Neil grinned.

TO READ EXCERPT 2 CLICK HERE

TO READ EXCERPT 1 CLICK HERE