Chapter 43
Flashback – 5 months ago
Khushi’s sudden departure to London had made him lifeless. But he was not going to lose hope. His broken engagement with Sheetal Mathur had left a bad taste in between their families. His mother, Revati was continuously taunting him for being selfish. Though it hurt him, he never back answered her. She had all rights to hate his actions. His marriage to Sheetal would have made her the President of her Club which was her dream from past many years. It broke because of him. What he doesn’t understand is, where has he fallen short in showering his love as a son to her that she is still unable to love and accept him fully? He shuts his eyes tight. This is a very sensitive topic and it has always hurt him whenever he thought about it.
One side where his mother was getting uncontrollably mad at him, even Raj Mathur and his father Ayush Singh Raizada were no longer in talking terms with each other. Their years of friendship had shaken because of his one decision. Aman was the only one who still supported his actions apart from his father, Ayush. He was the only one who knew the repercussions of Sheetal’s life had she married his best friend Arnav. No one would be happy.
Things would take time to heal and Arnav had decided to fix things here and get back to his lady love in London. He had a lot to do there too. Convincing Khushi’s family was the trickiest one.
“Sir, this courier has come for Ayush Sir. As he has gone out for a meeting, we need your signatures to accept it” Pam, Arnav’s secretary keeps the envelope on his desk and waits for his signatures on the delivery receipt. Arnav does the needful and she leaves.
The envelope belongs to Mrs. Anita Raizada, c/o Ayush Singh Raizada.
What the hell is this? Who is Anita Raizada? He is confused and the reply only his father would have.
That night, Arnav hands over the envelope to his father. They were alone in the drawing room. Ayush was stunned to see Arnav handing him that envelope.
“Who is Anita Raizada, Dad?”
Ayush swallowed hard. He would have given some excuse hadn’t Revati not heard this name while entering the Drawing room.
“Anita? Why is she contacting you now, Ayush?” Revati stormed in the room.
Arnav is even more confused. So, his mother knows too? Who is this woman? What relationship does she have with them?
“Revati, it’s okay. We can talk this later” Ayush tried to convince her.
“Ayush, if she or her son try to contact us, just push them away. We have nothing to do with them. Do you understand?”
Ayush got up from the couch. He is totally frustrated.
“Will you just stop talking about them?”
“Why?” She snapped. “Are you by any chance helping them? Is that why she is still in touch with you?”
Ayush was afraid of his wife’s questions because they were leading Arnav to build a picture of their family circle in his mind. And if he managed to connect the dots then he would know his true identity.
“Who is Anita Raizada?” Arnav interrupted them and this time strongly.
“No one” he replied.
“Why lying to him, Ayush? Arnav should know about them too. I don’t want them to be in touch with anyone amongst us” Revati replied and then turned to Arnav to speak.
“Stop it” Ayush groaned. “Just drop this matter here”
Both Revati and Arnav became suspicious of Ayush’s behavior.
“Mom… Please” Arnav intervened their argument. “If Dad doesn’t wish to talk about this.. I think we should respect that”
Revati frowned and then clapped.
“How thoughtful Arnav. You really care a lot for your father, don’t you? Wish you had shown the same consideration for me.”
“Mom… please.. I have always loved you”
“Really? I don’t think so. And I repent that day when I agreed to adopt you”
Her harsh words broke Arnav. He was already going through a rough phase and it killed him to hear that from Revati Raizada.
“Revati” Ayush scolded her but she didn’t stop.
“We molded you into something valuable otherwise you were nothing but a piece of junk. God knows whose cheap blood you have inside this body of yours”
“Enough” Ayush scolded in anger, dragging his wife away from Arnav whose eyes teared at her cruel accusations. “Don’t say a word against my son”
“Your son?” Revati scoffed. “We adopted him Ayush. That doesn’t make him part of our family.”
“He is a part of this family.. a real heir of the Raizada family.” Ayush confronted unknowing of the consequences. “He has Raizada blood in him.. because he is Anil and Anita’s son… My elder brother’s son…”
Arnav stumbled back listening to that statement. Ayush Singh Raizada knew about his true identity? All these years he wasn’t even aware that Ayush had a brother and today that unknown man is been tagged to be his father?
A lone drop of tear escapes Arnav’s eye while narrating this flashback to Khushi. She clutches his arm, sitting next to him.
“I was part of them… their family… and he knew it all the time.. but he never told me. Never!! If I hadn’t received that envelope that day, this truth would never be out. How can he do that to me?”
Khushi rubs his arm to soothe his pain whilst Arnav told her what happened next.
Revati froze.
“Anil’s son?” she snapped. “Arnav is Anil’s son and you didn’t tell me?”
Ayush didn’t reply. He dropped himself on the couch again, his palms shutting his face. Arnav reached the couch and kneeled down before Ayush.
“Why?” he asked. Ayush instantly opened his eyes and met Arnav’s questioning stare. “Why didn’t you tell me this before? Why did you hide it?”
Ayush stayed silent. He didn’t know what to say.
“Arnav” Ayush tried to touch his face but he shrugged.
“Why?” he groaned at Ayush.
“Your father was not a good man. He… he was going to kill your mother when you were in her womb and to save you, she had to kill him”
That history of his birth came as another shock for Arnav.
“Revati wouldn’t approve your adoption if I had told her about your true identity. Your father had thrown me of his life, family and property long ago and Revati always had grudge against your parents. I had to lie. I had to lie to her that you are no one to us. I didn’t want to lose you son. I had to lie”
He tried to touch him again but this time instead of shrugging his father’s arm, Arnav picks the vase placed on the table next to the couch and throws it away with a force, breaking it into pieces. He is shattered and nothing or no one could control his anger. He stood up and left the room despite Ayush’s attempts to stop him.
Arnav shivers recalling that incident.
“I have never spoken to him since then.. And I never will” he mutters fisting his fingers.
“Arnav…” she gasps. She has no words to console him.
“He lied to his wife, I understand. But why did he lie to me? Why didn’t he tell me? I had a right to know Khushi” he meets her eyes with pain. She nods in agreement and hugs him tight.
“yes.. yes… Arnav” she sobs with him. “You had right to know.. you had right to know”
Arnav tries to swallow his pain but it doesn’t work. When people you love the most hurt you, you die. That’s what happened with him. The man he trusted the most, loved, adored, respected the most hurt him, a part of him died. That one secret from Ayush Singh Raizada changed Arnav’s entire life and it wouldn’t be easy for anyone in his place to forgive so easily.
******************
An hour later
Khushi came out of Arnav’s room, lost and utterly shocked by the revelation.
“Hello….” Aman clicks his fingers, stopping her on the stairs.
She comes of her stance and meets his eyes. Aman reads her eyes and gets serious.
“You okay? What happened? Where is Arnav?”
“In his room” she replies. “Sleeping now”
“Sleeping? I … I don’t understand.. Is he alright?” he is about to make a move to check on Arnav but Khushi stops him.
“He told me everything” Khushi exclaims.
Aman is shocked.
“Oh” he sighs. “Good he told you. I was hoping he does that soon because handling him myself was getting tough”
Khushi nods.
“Anyways, now that you know, I have to talk to you something. Come”
Aman takes her down and they sit on the Couch in the living room.
“Arnav had come straight to me that night.. after he got to know this truth..” Aman informs. “He was so… so devastated by this truth. I mean… anyone would be the same in his place. To have a biological father like that who backstabbed his marital relationship and tried to kill his own wife and baby. Then having a mother who.. who was probably serving a lifetime imprisonment. The next few days were tougher for Arnav. He didn’t step in Shantivan for almost a week. He stayed with me in my guest house”
Khushi gulps her tears. Wish she was there that time, to support him. There he absorbed that pain alone and here she was taking counselling sessions to remove him from her heart. That seemed so useless and unnecessary to her today.
“His anger towards Ayush uncle was justified. For two weeks Arnav didn’t step at work. He just stayed alone, aloof, probably thinking of his next actions. And then suddenly one day, he went back to Shantivan to pack his stuff and shifted to a hotel” Aman adds.
“Hotel?”
“Yes… It was obvious he didn’t want to stay in Shantivan with his foster parents anymore. I asked him .. tried to patch them up but probably it was too soon. He didn’t even wish to talk about them. Considering his sensitive state, I stopped my efforts and hoped that time would take care of it. But nothing simplified. Ayush Singh Raizada tried to communicate with him many a times, but Arnav always ignored him. It’s like he had made his mind. He wanted to get away from them. Forever.. The resignation from his role in AR group didn’t come as a surprise to me, but Ayush Uncle was definitely shocked. He tried to stop Arnav but when he was not ready to negotiate anything, Uncle had to accept his resignation”
Khushi wipes her tears that keep rolling down from her eyes.
“Weeks… and then months passed. Arnav formed this new company.. AK Software Tech and obviously because of his knowledge, experience and skills, he earned good clients instantly. And then… he moved here… Rest all you already know”
Khushi nods weakly.
“It seems he was looking for his real mother’s whereabouts and just a while ago, he got this message that she is no more” Khushi informs. “She died 7 years back”
Aman is again shocked. Though Arnav had not informed him anything about this, neither told him that he was even digging his past.
“He needs help Khushi” Aman replies. “He seems to be normal from outside, but he is broken. He feels cheated by Ayush Uncle.. And this agitation… is not good for him. I know it will take time for things to heal but he has to try come out of it because I cannot see him drowning in pain. He needs help”
Khushi thinks the same. He has to come out of it otherwise it will worsen his life.
To be Continued
NEXT PART
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