FF Let Me Love You - Part 5

“ Rahul is dead Arnav, Papa killed him “ 

The words echoed through the silence, Khushi’s voice was unwavering as she looked at Arnav, she held him in her steady gaze and she spoke the words with such conviction that he knew it was the ugly truth. Arnav couldn’t fathom as to the treachery that had been met out to Khushi but he knew he had a lot to know, he cupped her face in his palms and placed a gentle kiss on her forhead…

Arnav : Khushi get ready now, I am taking you out, we are going to spend the whole day together, I’ll drop you back by evening, I don’t think your parents will have a problem with that, will they ?? 
Khushi laughed at Arnav,

Khushi : relax Arnav, even if I spend a night with you, my parents wouldn’t care, they would only be too happy  !! thats what my folks are like !! 

Arnav could totally hear the sarcasm in her tone, he smiled at her as she got up and went to get ready, meanwhile he explored her room a little, he saw her violin that was placed right next to her bed and also the portrait stands and an array of colors and brushes, Arnav smiled as he muled over her activities...”so my princess has a lot of hidden talents as well, she plays violin and she paints as well “ 

And then his eyes fell on the life size portrait that was hung on the wall behind her headboard, something about the painting told him that Khushi was the artist, the woman in the picture was the epitome of grace and elan, her eyes held an aura of love and compassion, he was so lost in the painting that he didn’t know that Khushi was watching him admire her mother, her soft voice brought him out of his reverie...

Khushi : Did you like my Mama Arnav ?? 
Arnav  smiled as he heard her question... “so this is the angel who gave birth to his Khushi “ 
Arnav : Your Mama’s portrait Khushi , did you do it ?? 

Now it was Khushi’s turn to be struck dumb , no one except Rahul knew that this painting was done by her, meither her dad nor her step mother or step sister cared about her paintings or music, Rahul was the only person she had shared it with, she couldn’t understand how Arnav had figured out that she was the one who did it.

She merely nodded...

Arnav walked upto her and held her hand....

Arnav : You don’t have to ask how I realised that its your painting, I can feel your prescence in every brushstroke of that portrait, only a person with a heart as pure as yours could have breathed life Mama’s eyes,the portrait looks so alive, as alive as Mama’s soul which lives inside your heart !! 


Khushi had tears in her eyes, she had never seen anyone other than Rahul take so much pain to understand her, to make her feel special !!! She didn’t get a chance to speak as Arnav pulled her out, he led her outside and made her sit in his car and soon he was speeding away, his one hand held her fingers tightly in his, they were silent all throughout the journey, All Khushi could do was stare at him, he had a smile on his face as he drove ahead, Arnav made no attempt to speak, he wanted Khushi to learn to trust him, trust him that he will always keep her safe, 

in between he gave her small teasing smiles and light kisses on her fingers that left her blushing, soon Arnav pulled into the driveway of a huge estate, the letters RM were stamped onto the huge iron gates in bold letters, as he drove up the driveway, Khushi could see a beautiful house set in the lap of nature, it looked like a picture straight out of a fairytale, scenic and serene, she turned to Arnav...



Khushi : whats this place Arnav and why have you brought me here ?? 
Arnav : Khushi this is one the Raizadas estates in Delhi, we have three of them, one each for Akash Alaka and myself, I bought them around 2 years back, we hang out at one of these places for small family holidays or at times small camps with our friends....

Arnav was talking as he led her inside, he paused at the doorway, before Khushi new it, he had lifted her in his arms and carried her over the threshold....
Khushi screamed at him....
Arnav : put me down Arnav !! what if someone saw us, also I can walk alright, you don’t have to carry me around !! 
Arnav : relax Khushi, no one is here to see us, the househelp comes here once every week and does the cleaning and no one lives here 
As to why I carried you over, thats because I had decided long back that when I come here with my wife, I would always carry her over the threshold, so get used to it Khushi, because each time you are to enter this place with me, I am going to carry you over !! 
Khushi stared at Arnav, he always left her speechless, she didn’t even what to tell him !! 
Arnav : Come I will show you around .... 

Khushi followed Arnav, her hand held in his tight grip, he took her around the entire house and showed her into all the rooms, Khushi fell in love with place , it was a perfect haven, away from all the troubles of the world, she imagined herself living here someday, with Arnav, every single second of her life in total bliss, it was a happy picture, Arnav and her, surrounded by  love and happiness, she could even see their kids... 

She was snapped back to the present when she heard  Arnav speaking....

Arnav : Khushi I want you to name this house, when I had bought it, I had decided that the girl I would marry would be the one to give our home a name, this is going to be our home away from home Khushi, where we will live once we get married, we will live all our lives here Khushi, grow old together, Ill hear you play your violin, watch you paint, watch our children grow up, Ma and Papa will be at Shantivan, even Akash and Alaka will be moving out to their respective homes once they are married, we can all visit each other anytime we want because we will all be close by, there is no rush Khushi, but before we leave from here today, I want you to give our home a name, a name that comes from your heart.

Khushi felt overwhelmed with all the love that he was showering on her, he was sharing all his dreams with her, the dream she had about spending her life with him in this home, he was making it a reality and she didn’t know how she could ever give him the same happiness that he was drowning her in, all she could share with him, was her pain and nothing more than that !! 


Arnav had meanwhile led her out into the garden behind the house, Khushi gasped at the sheer beauty of the place, it was heaven brought down to earth, orchid gardens, long gravel laden tiny walkways, small rivulets flowing around, it was picture perfect, 




Arnav smiled as he saw her face blooming brighter than the brightest roses in the garden, he led her towards a large oak tree, he sat beneath it and pulled her down into his lap, Khushi was too shocked to react, she tried pulling away but his grip was firm and unrelenting, he was looking at her straight into her soulful eyes, his dark brown eyes staring into her doe eyed pools.... 


“ Give me your pain Khushi...Let me Take it away....Tell me Everything “ 

Khushi stared at him, she knew there was no turning back anymore, Arnav deserved to know the truth and so she began to tell him what her life had so far given her.... 

“ My Mama, Revati Sharma, she came from a very wealthy family of Lucknow, she was beautiful, rich, charming, she was everything that perfect woman could be and she had a heart of gold, my dad Raj Gupta came from another well known family in Lucknow , the Guptas and Sharmas decided to get the marriage of Revati with Raj, it was an alliance that was befitting to their social status and family names, but my mom didn’t know that she was getting married to a demon, she realised it too late that she was married to a man who didn’t love her but loved her money, a playboy who came home every night with a different woman, Mama went through all the torture for the sake of the 2 families and for me so that I had my father’s name even though he didn’t give a damn about my existence, thats when Maya entered, she is a social climber, and my dad became her target, she seduced my dad, they plotted to kill Mama so that Dad can marry Maya and also inherit  Mama;s wealth, it happened when I was 7 years old Arnav, I still remember it, Papa and Maya , they poisoned Mama’s coffee, I was witness to all this but I was too small then to react, I watched my Mama die in front of me !! “ 

Khushi didn’t know how she had ended up crying on his chest, Arnav had tears in his eyes as he held her, her tears were soaking his shirt, they both were crying, but Khushi didn’t stop...

“ he intended to kill me as well Arnav, but thats when Mama’s will was discovered, she had left all her wealth in my name and if something were to happen to me then all the wealth would go onto the charity organisation that was run by Mama, its called Shantiniketan, its charity home for women, Dad was furious but he knew his hands were tied, there a lot of times Arnav when I tried to end my life, but my dad blackmailed me, he threatened that he would have his men destroy the organisation, harm the people who live there and I couldn’t let that happen Arnav, I know my dad, he is a dangerous man,he may look clean to the society but I know what he is capable of, so for their sake, I kept myself alive !! “ 

Arnav hugged Khushi tighter in his arms and she hugged him closer, Khushi didn’t know why but as she opened up more to Arnav, she felt like she was in the safest place she could ever be in !! 

Arnav : Tell me about Rahul, why did your dad kill him ?? who was Rahul ?? 

Khushi knew this was going to be the toughest part of her life but Arnav had to know it before he accepted her as his wife...

“I met Rahul in college, I was always a quiet person and I had very few friends and Rahul was one among them, we soon became best friends, rahul was the one who taught me to play violin, Rahul was like my sunshine, he became the brother that I had always wanted, he became my wall, my only source of love comfort and security, those days were beautiful Arnav, and thats when Rahul gave the shocking truth, he was my brother by blood, my mom had a sister, Anjali Sharma, She went missing soon after Mama and Papa got married and no one had heard from her since then, through Rahul I came to know later that my dad had been playing with Anjali even before his relation to my mama got fixed, Anjali believed him but he betrayed her in the end, but it was too late then, Mama didn’t know any of this, Anjali was pregnant when she went missing, she gave birth to Rahul, she passed away a few years back but before that she had told Rahul everything that had happened to the Guptas and Sharmas , Rahul came to Delhi so that he could confront Papa but then he realised that he would have to plan his steps carefully, meanwhile he came to know about me and thats how he got close to me, Rahul became my biggest strength since then, we vowed that we would make Papa pay for his sins one day !! “ 

Anjali Sharma 





Arnav was baffled, Khushi’s story was getting darker the more he heard it, there was so much pain betrayal and deceit, and something told Arnav that the worst was yet to come !! 

Arnav : what happened Khushi ?? did your dad find out who Rahul was ?? is that why he killed Rahul ?? 

Khushi shook her head.... 

Khushi : Dad killed Rahul because Rahul killed Jay Singhania, dad’s best friend Deepak Singhania’s son, with whom my marriage was fixed.

Jay Singhania 



Arnav : why did Rahul kill Jay ?? 

Khushi : 

   “ When I refused to marry Jay, to force me into the marriage, Jay forced himself on me, I was gang raped by Jay and his friends, so that I would be forced into a situation where I had to accept Jay to protect my name, when Rahul found out, he killed Jay but before he killed Jay’s friends, Dad killed Rahul in front of me”