Rabba Ishq Naa Hove - Season 3 - Part 43 (LAST PART)

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Chapter 43

Khushi’s POV

I swipe my card at the city hospital clearing all the medical expenses of Sheetal’s mother who is admitted here from a few weeks. She’s a heart patient and is suffering from chronic heart issues. Currently she is stable, but the hospital management were on the verge of shifting her to the general ward and chasing Sheetal to pay the pending dues so as to continue the treatment. Thankfully Arnav had asked Aman to keep an eye on them otherwise I would never know about them and this worse situation that they were undergoing. Whilst I pay the bills, Arnav speaks to the management to not stop the treatment ever and informs them that we will bear the entire expense of Sheetal’s mother’s medical care. They say only a poison could kill a poison. I don’t believe so. Two negatives make a positive only in mathematics. Otherwise, it always takes only goodness to end the evil. Despite whatever injustice Sheetal did to me, I’m here to end it all for good.

“Hey,” Arnav returns to the billing counter.

I smile at him weakly trying to stifle my emotions.

“Sheetal’s mother is on the second floor. I think we should see her once before we leave.”

Should we? I don’t know if I want to meet her and if do, will I be able to remain unaffected? I swallow nervously thinking if this is a good idea when Arnav strokes my back, taking me in his arms.

“You’ve been strong so far.” He says, planting a kiss on my forehead. “You can be stronger than this.”

“It’s not about being strong. I just don’t know what I’m going to say to her when we meet.”

“Just wish her speedy recovery?” Arnav suggests, and I am completely besotted by him. How can he ease all my worries in a fraction of a second?

“Do you have a magic wand or something?” I ask, raising my chin up and smiling looking at him.

He grins admiring all of my face.

“I have magic lips..” He teases before kissing my forehead again. That he is right about. He has great naughty lips which are that way only to please me. He has definitely changed my mood by that remark. “Should we meet her then?” He asks again.

I finally take a deep breath before holding his arm.

“Lead the way.”

“Always,” he smiles before taking me towards the elevator.

I see Sheetal’s mother from the door as she is resting, fast asleep and I don’t wish to wake her up. In fact, I don’t even want her or Sheetal to know that I paid their hospital dues. I didn’t do this to seek their attention or force them to be guilty. It’s not that helping them is going to wipe off all the darkness of my past life. That will still remain as a dark stain forever whenever I’ll sit alone and think of all those memories.

Realizing there’s no point to wait here, I strike off the idea of meeting her in person and speaking to her and Arnav agrees with me. As soon as we leave the room and head for the exit door to take the stairs this time, we hear Sheetal’s voice.

“Khushi wait,” Sheetal calls me from behind. I don’t turn around nor I wait to hear her out. Arnav gives me a glance as I clutch his arm tight before continuing to walk towards the exit. He knows I am disinterested in speaking to Sheetal. I came here for her mother, not the woman who betrayed my friendship.

The moment we reach the door, Sheetal blocks my way out.

“Just listen to me once. Please.” She pleads.

“I don’t know you,” I snap. “Just leave my way.”

“Khushi, I am sorry,” she sobs blocking my way again as I try to reach for the door.

I cling to Arnav’s arm again not even wanting to look at her.

“I did this only to get my father back to me and my mother, Khushi. I’d no other intention. I failed to realize he was never interested in any one of us. All he desired was power and money which he got by staying as your guardian all these years.”

Sheetal wipes her tears.

“But now me and my mother have nothing to do with him. That man doesn’t exist to us anymore, Khushi. Life has already taught us the lesson.”

She joins her palms.

“Please forgive me if you can. I am really sorry for keeping you in the dark all these years about we being step sisters and not being there for you when you needed your friend the most..”

I glance at Arnav once who is bothered of my state and reactions towards Sheetal’s apology. I know he wouldn’t take a second to dismiss Sheetal from our way and lead me out, so that I don’t stress further but I want to end this chapter between me and Sheetal myself. So, I turn to Sheetal again. Yep! Time to be stronger and face the situation ahead than ignoring.

“You think an apology is going to change what you did to me?” I snap.

She looks hurt.

“I trusted you Sheetal to guide me with my life. I told you all my secrets, and what did you do in return? You manipulated me so that you could push me out of your father’s life?”

Sheetal sobs again.

“I shouldn’t have done it.. I was blind enough to see my father’s selfishness,” she adds. “I wanted him to give my mother the right she deserved. I’d no other intention to hurt you Khushi but of course, me and my mother have hurt you and kept you in the dark all these years. I am sorry for that. Mumma came to know about Dad’s second marriage to your mother for her property, much later and there was hardly anything she could do about it. I was too young to even know why I started seeing my father so less every year and when I did, it just filled my heart with hatred for you, thinking he was giving my time to you.. he was loving you more than me.”

Loving? I want to laugh hard. I hardly even remember Shashi Gupta even talking with affection to me. He was only concerned about securing me from people and situations that could turn me against him. Like Arnav.. And I was so foolish in my young age to not see that.

“You didn’t have to pay the bills yet you did, Khushi, and now I’m further indebted to you.” She adds, trying to hold my hand but I shrug her off gently.

“This changes nothing between us, Sheetal. No matter what you do or tell me now, I’ll never be able to trust you again. Just one piece of advice though. The next time you befriend with anyone, do it with your heart and soul and not with a motive to hurt.”

I step back trying to rid my eyes from forming tears. I might have got a complete new family to love me, but I do miss the people whom I’ve trusted and loved over the past years. Only if, they hadn’t backstabbed me. Holding Arnav’s hand, I let him walk me out. One chapter of my life closed today and now I can’t wait to have a face-off with the man who is responsible for all of it.

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

Arnav’s POV

Khushi nervously taps her feet as we sit on the bench in the waiting area of the jail where Shashi Gupta is imprisoned. I can feel her pain. She’s desperate to talk to him, and that makes me worry because I know how cunning that man is and he has absolutely no control on his wicked tongue. Last time when I was here to make him sign all of Khushi’s assets back to her, he had mocked at me, tried to instigate too stating there was no difference between him and me. That all we got at the end was nothing. Today he will realize how wrong he was. I didn’t lose. He did. I won my life back, I won my love back whereas he is the one who lost everything and everyone he had in his life so far.

“You okay?” I ask Khushi as her breathing shallows looking at the door from where Shashi Gupta will be brought into this room. Khushi nods weakly, giving me a reassuring smile which I know is only to keep me calm. I’d swore to her if Shashi Gupta doesn’t keep his words in control or tries to hurt Khushi verbally, I wouldn’t mind putting a bullet in his head.

We have taken permission to meet him but we are warned doesn’t like to meet visitors anymore. Ever since Sheetal came here once a few weeks ago to meet him and cut off all ties with him, he probably realized he had lost in his own game and there was no way left where he could again stand up for his family or even be a part of them.

Finally, after a few more minutes of wait, the door opens and Shashi Gupta walks in. He no longer has that strong personality which he carried when we last met. He looks pale, completely out of focus and his energy is completely drained, as if he has finally given up every hope from his life. Well, he deserves that, in fact, he deserves much worse than what he is now.

I fist my fingers the moment I see him walking towards us, with his hands handcuffed and his eyes looking at Khushi and just her. But I control myself from showing off any reactions to him because I am thrilled with Khushi’s behavior. I’d thought the moment she will see him, she will charge towards him and ask him why he did this to her? To me.. and to everyone related to me? But instead, I see her in tears.

Even Shashi Gupta looks confused seeing her like that. Before I can touch Khushi, or do anything to soothe her, she wipes her tears and smiles sarcastically.

“Don’t go on these silly tears. They don’t know they are being wasted on a man who never had any feelings for me.” She speaks to him.

Shashi Gupta stays rooted to the spot, but never leaves his gaze from Khushi’s face as she continues.

“Hello Dad,” she calls him ‘dad’ one last time.. I know.. It’s hurting her. But she is strong. She can handle this conversation. I am confident of it.

Shashi Gupta’s dried lips part in surprise hearing that term ‘dad’ but he doesn’t speak a word.

Khushi makes her way to him, while I stay behind her, but a bit close to her just to ensure if Shashi Gupta tries to do anything, I’ll be there to save my wife.

“What was it all about?” she asks him. “Only money? Fame? Luxury?”

He looks at her disappointed face.

“I’m sure you never loved my mother. That’s stupid of me to even think so because if you could cheat on your first wife and leave her and your real daughter stranded, you can never love anyone.”

This is the first time I see Shashi Gupta swallowing. Khushi takes another step towards him.

“You had your own family, a loving wife, a cute daughter and yet, you manipulated my mother’s feelings, played with her heart… probably even killed her..”

“I didn’t kill her..” he snaps.

Silence spreads around us in the room. Khushi takes a sigh of relief, as if she had hoped the same. She had secretly wanted to have one reason less to hate him.

“Garima died in an accident and I was not at all involved in it.” He spats. “Yes, I married her for money because I wanted to be rich. Many men in my age that time would want the same, Khushi. Only a few gifted people get an opportunity like that where they don’t have to build anything from scratch. Luxury is bestowed on them not by their hard efforts but manipulation and lies.”

We both glare back at him as he continues to confess his sins.

“So many men out there have already done this before, I’m not the first of a kind. Two marriages, keeping both families isolated of each other is what I wanted. It was only after your mother’s death that I realized she probably knew I was behind her for money and not love. That’s why instead of passing me all of her wealth, she just made me a guardian of it until you would be mature enough to handle it.”

“And so you caged me?” Khushi shouts. “You pampered me with money but never let me mingle with any man, only because you were afraid if things get serious between us, everything that you tried to get hands on, will be taken over by that man I love and marry. Isn’t it?”

He nods and then gives me a stare. I want to punch him for even having that audacity to look into my eyes. He’s the reason of all the troubles and trauma my entire family had to go through only because of his greed for money.

“Arnav and his family were only a collateral damage,” he adds. “I just wanted you to marry someone I could control so that I get to still rule your entire property over which I had already started my dark business.”

The moment he says this, I charge towards him but Khushi’s actions are quicker than mine and before I can hurt him, she clutches his white cotton shirt angrily, fisting it in her fingers, as if to warn him.

“You are a monster in the name of a step father. For your greed for money, you have played with people’s health, emotions, feelings and life. I can still forgive you for what you did to me, and wanted from me. But you have hurt the man I love.. you have hurt his entire family. Every single one of them …” Khushi yells. “And for that Mr. Shashi Gupta, I am never going to forgive you.”

He frowns and looks angrily at her and I can’t tell you how much Khushi has made me proud today. The way she is leading this conversation, showing her support to me, showing her hatred for the man who devastated my family, makes me happy.

“Look where your greed has got you…” I add, staring at Shashi Gupta and then at the room we are in. “You still have a wife, your blood daughter and your step daughter but none of them want to have any connection with you anymore. You have no money, no power. Everything you craved for all your life is taken away from you and you’ll never be entitled to have any of it.”

“You came here to prove your victory?” he mutters.

He still doesn’t understand this, does he? For a man like Shashi Gupta who is so selfishly in love with money and power, it will take another few years for him to actually be guilty of his deeds. These few months behind the bars have surely exhausted him but not made him realize what he had lost.

Khushi steps back and stands next to me.

“This is the last time I wanted to see your face,” she says. “All these years I saw you in a different light. Ever since Arnav confronted his past and whatever sins you did, I couldn’t wait to have this face-off with you. I wanted to see your real face for one last time so that I could take you out from my heart, memories and from my life from that very instant.”

She entwins her fingers with mine, while continuing to look at him.

“If I had seen your true face and known your intentions earlier, then Arnav and his family wouldn’t have to suffer so much. But better late than never.” She adds. “Open your eyes and that mind of yours and realize that there is nothing greater than the power of love. Had you been greedy for love, you would have got it in plenty from your wife, your daughter and every little thing that you would do with them. Now that time is gone. And so are the people from your life whom you had a chance with.” She exhales. “Good bye, Mr. Shashi Gupta. You deserve to be here till the end of your life and I would pray not to take a rebirth ever if it is you God chooses to be my father. You don’t deserve anyone’s love, anyone’s sympathy and anyone’s tears.”

Khushi wipes the final drop of lone tear that slides from her eye and then without turning behind, she walks out of the room. I could have followed her straight, but how could I miss this chance to add one last line to the man I hate and will continue doing so for the rest of my life..

“What had you told me the last time we met?” I ask. “If you lost, I lost too, Arnav. That I’ll never be at peace?”

I grin.

“You know what peace is Mr Gupta?” I ask him. “Having people whom you love, love you back is peace. And I’ve got my peace forever. I win… You lose..”

He tries to lunge at me in anger but the police pull him back and then take him out. If it would have been my choice, I would never meet him again after last time. But I am happy Khushi wanted to end this her way and thus I got my closure too.

THE END

Note: This fiction comes to an end today. Happy New Year to all my readers and friends here. Wishing you all lots of success, good health and prosperity this new year. Stay blessed.

FF: The Wait – will be starting on the blog now. For now, there will be one update per week and I’ll try to add more updates once my other workload is eased. 😊

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