Bride of Sheesh Mahal - Season 3 - Part 48

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Chapter 48


Khushi’s POV


I cry happy tears as Arnav scoops me in his arms and keeps showering kisses on my face.


“I knew you were fine…I knew it..” He keeps murmuring while kissing all over my face. I don’t care if we are embarrassing his siblings and Sheetal who are witnessing this scene.

“What. What are you doing here?” He asks and that’s when I freeze. Should I tell him what we found here? I know he is wearing this Raksha Dhaga and Chandrika wouldn’t be able to sense where he is or what he hears but can I take that risk?

“Arnav… I …. Can’t..”

“Fine..” he nods.. “No pressure. I know its hard to trust me after what I did to you..”

“No,” I clutch his hands which are still cupping my face. “You didn’t do anything. You didn’t push me into that well, Arnav. Please don’t think you are responsible for it.”

“I know I didn’t push you in that well. Di did.”


The moment he says this, we are all stunned.

“How.. how do you know this?” Akash comes ahead with NK and Sheetal.


Arnav exhales before turning back to answer them.


“After knowing about Khushi’s premonitions that some day I will push her into that well, I was preparing to save Khushi if that truly happens. I took Jeejaji’s help as he was the only person outside the family whom I could trust at that moment.”

“I know,” I say. “You put sand inside the well so that even if fall, I wouldn’t be hurt.”

He smiles weakly.

“I could never even think of hurting you, Khushi. You are my wife and I would move mountains to protect the woman I love so I had started taking precautionary measures. Apart from closing the depth of the well with sand, I also installed CCTV camera at the backyard, on a tree which is close to the well.”

“What?”


Now that’s a shock to all of us. When did he do that?


“Yes,” Arnav mentions. “I did that too and ensured its recording everything that happens out there. The day Khushi went missing, I literally forgot to check that feed because we all were so busy looking for her.”


He turns to me again.

“I even wanted to check the well once but Di diverted me and I agreed to her at that moment. That’s when I remembered about checking the recording of that camera.”

I swallow nervously as he continues to share his side.

“That’s when I saw… I saw.. you running to the well, you meeting di, handing her some key and then she pushing you down in the Well. I .. I saw it all.”


Tears brim in his eyes.

“I can never believe my Di.. my di could do that. I then related why she wasn’t letting me check the well once. She didn’t want me to find you or know that you are dead. What she didn’t know is that I even saw the recording where Jeejaji saved you from the well, and then your father and Sheetal took you away from Sheesh Mahal. I thanked God you were alive and even wanted to come immediately and meet you but then I realized doing so would trigger Chandrika and she will again try to hurt you through me or Di… So I pretended to stay calm and behaved exactly how Chandrika wanted me to. I stayed in Sheesh Mahal, showed that I was unhappy and worried for you, but apart from that, I was also investigating why Di was supporting Chandrika. And that’s when I found the connection.”


I don’t understand.

“What connection?” I ask. “Is di under her spell too?”

“No,” Arnav sighs audibly and he looks upset. “Di is perfectly fine, Khushi. She is not under any spell.”

“Then why is she helping Chandrika?”

“Because she is Chandrika’s daughter.”


The moment he says that, we all freeze.


“Di is not a Raizada.. She has Chandrika’s blood..”

“What?”

This is a shocking news for all of us.

“Arnav, is this true?” I repeat. “But how did you find this out?”

“Remember the medical check up which happened a few days ago, where probably you wanted my blood and planned this out?”


Yes, I do remember. We needed Arnav’s blood sample so that we could exactly know how the spell was casted on him. Sheetal had to do the ritual and we somehow spiked Arnav’s milk and got his blood sample. That’s how we got to know that Arnav’s mother had given birth to twins that night and his brother died the very next minute of his birth. Chandrika used his remains to cast a spell on Arnav then.


“Di too had done a few tests that day,” Arnav’s voice breaks my trance. “So I checked her reports and realized that her blood group didn’t match with anyone from the family. I asked the doctors to do a DNA test to see if we are even siblings and it came negative. I checked casually with Daadi about Di’s birth and she told me that Di was born prematured. Almost two months. But she was absolutely healthy and looked normal so they brought her to Sheesh Mahal from the hospital with Maa within two days of her normal delivery. I was even more curious now. How can a premature baby by two months be totally healthy to be discharged from the hospital so early. So, I personally visited the hospital where this had happened. And that’s how I got this information from an old ex-nurse that shook the very base of my life.”


We keep listening to him with baited breaths.

“The day maa was hospitalized for getting pre labor pains on her seventh month, that same day Chandrika gave birth to twins in that same hospital. This nurse I met was the one who helped her deliver. Chandrika was happy but the moment she got to know that the Raizada bahu is also in the same hospital for premature labor pains and that soon after Maa delivered a dead child, Chandrika immediately offered the nurse to give her daughter to Maa and inform the Raizada family that the baby was theirs.”


My jaw drops.


“How did the nurse agree to do this?” NK asks angrily.

“She told me that she probably was hypnotized to do so and it was only after a few days that she realized what she had done. Until then our family had returned to Sheesh Mahal and Di was accepted as our family’s first born. They were all very happy and Chandrika was nowhere to be found. So the nurse kept her lips sealed over this matter in the fear that if we get to know this, we would put her behind bars and her entire life will be wasted.”

I am shocked. Definitely Chandrika had casted a spell on the nurse too that she did something so horrific.


“So you mean, Di knows that she is Chandrika’s daughter? When did that happen?” Akash continues to raise his concerns.

“I don’t know, Akash. Maybe in the course of our stay here during our childhood, Chandrika might have met Di and also done something to make her believe that she was her real mother and we Raizadas were the ones whom she had to avenge with her mother and twin brother.”

“Mohan,” NK mutters. “Mohan is that twin brother.”

Now this is something Arnav wasn’t aware about. He looks curiously at us and we all agree and tell him how we zoned out on this information and how Mohan was followed by Akash and NK when he was going to meet Chandrika.


“But we lost him, Bhai. He is hiding somewhere..”

“The Lunar eclipse is in two days,” Sheetal reminds. “If we don’t find Chandrika’s whereabouts until then, Arnav’s life and then everyone else who belongs to the Raizadas are not safe.”

“I am sure she is around this same town,” Arnav mentions. “We have to find her.”

“We will Bhai,” Akash reassures. “Di is going to meet her one day prior to the eclipse and we will follow her. This time we won’t miss her.”

“Right, but for now we should leave this place.. It’s not safe for us to be here and discuss this further,” Sheetal suggests.


Arnav nods in agreement but I see the longing in his eyes to have me by his side.


“Go with Sheetal, you are safe there.” He kisses my forehead.

“No..” I deny. “I am not going anywhere again. I am coming with you.”

“Khushi?” Arnav snaps. “I have already put your life in danger, not anymore.”

“No, Arnav. We promised to stick to each other in such crucial times and since I know the next two days are going to be worse until we sort the matter before the eclipse, I don’t want to leave your side even for a second. I have done it enough in the past few days. Not anymore.”


He glares at me but I keep holding his hand tight.


“But… what about Di? If she knows you are alive and in Sheesh Mahal then..?”

“She wouldn’t know. I’ll hide in our room and the family will support us, ensuring Anjali never finds me there.”


Arnav thinks for a minute and then looks at Sheetal.


“You think this is good idea? Is she really safe if she stays with me?” Arnav asks.


Sheetal turns to me and realizes I am going to be with Arnav only and not listen to anyone. So she agrees.

“Yes.. Just make sure you both don’t take out this Raksha dhaaga. That’s the only way she is safe with you. Until you are wearing this Arnav, Chandrika will not be able to read what is happening here with you. This might create a suspicion in her head when she cannot control you from far. So, we have to be careful. Two days is all we have..”

“We’ll be careful with that..” Arnav assures her before pulling me close. “I am never letting my wife in harm’s way again.”


His assurance is enough for Sheetal and others to let us stay together and I can’t wait to fool Anjali and Chandrika while staying under the same roof of Sheesh Mahal, while we plan out how to take this spell down.


To be Continued

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Sameer Khanna
I had no intention to marry till I met Tanisha Gupta. More than her gorgeous chocolate brown eyes, her petite curves and sassy attitude, her accomplishments as the current CEO of Gupta Industries, and her commitment and dedication to expanding her company allured me. Though I admired her love and sense of responsibility towards her half-sister for whom my marriage alliance was proposed, Taani, was all I had in mind, she was the only one I wanted.

Tanisha Gupta
I was looking for potential grooms for my younger sister when I met Sameer Khanna. More than his smart, charming personality and his oh so sexy French beard, Sameer’s eagerness to bring out my true self, the woman I used to be when my father was alive, drew me towards him. Much as I tried to resist him, my heart finally crossed the line it shouldn't have.

But were the sparks of attraction, compatibility, and respect that we felt for each other enough to sustain the Love that happened by chance between us?

A slow burn arranged marriage Contemporary Romance.

Note: Though the book can be read as a standalone, you can also read my book "Mr and Mrs Kapoor" to know more about these lead characters.