Arnav sat jolted into shock as he saw Khushi walking away with Payal ... her face expressionless ... her steps faltered a little and Payal held her tighter ... Arnav��s heart was screaming out to run to her and hold her but he knew that it was his presence that she didn��t want right now � not because she loathed him but him being there with her now would only remind her of the cruel blow the wretch of his father unleashed over her and her parents ... making her an orphan in a single stroke !!
The letter that Shyam had sent was lying on the floor ... Arnav seized upon it and read its last few words ... his whole body shook in fury ... at Shyam not for exposing and unveiling the veiled connection between his and Khushi��s family ... but for his last words hopinf that Khushi would seek shelter in his arms ... his words that he would raise Arnav��s children � if Shyam Manohar Jha was anywhere in the vicinity then he would have had his lungs ripped out by ASR right then and there !!
Arnav swore to himself then and there ... even if the worst happened and Khushi walked out on him ... even then he wouldn��t let Shyam anywhere near her or their children ... if Khushi wanted to live away from him then he would let her go but he would always protect her day and night no matter how far she went away from him !!
Meanwhile upstairs in their room ... Khushi was lying in Payal��s tight hold � her tears never ending ... she didn��t speak a word but her tears and silent agony spoke much more than her words ever could !!
Payal knew she would have to let Khushi take it all out ... she knew the pain was ripping through Khushi��s very existence ... the truth that your parent��s death was never an accident but a cold blooded murder in itself was a terrible truth ... but to know that the love of your life happens to be the same blood as the murderer of your parents ... Payal knew that her sister was shattered ... and she also knew that Arnav downstairs was equally shattered ... she could feel his longing to be there with her sister right now and her heart told her the same that only Arnav could heal Khushi now but she knew Khushi needed her time.
The Guptas couldn��t bear to see Arnav��s pain � on one side their daughter had left because she couldn��t bear to be with her husband whom she loved the most �and they knew that nothing or no one could heal the pain raging inside her ... and here they saw their son in law who treated them like his own parents ... he was right now looking as good as dead without his wife beside him. Buaji walked over to Arnav and placed a hand on his forhead ... she sat down next to him ... Arnav opened his mouth to speak ... to apologise for the crimes for which he wasn��t even responsible but Buaji stopped him with a single glance �
��Not a word Arnav � I know you are going to apologise but am speaking to you now for Garima and Shashi as well ... don��t you ever say sorry for what your father did !! it wasn��t your or Anjali��s fault that you both were born to a man who couldn��t understand the purity of family relationships � Khushi is hurt now ... her pain is beyond imagination ... but she will never leave you ... never walk away from you ... we know our Khushi ... you are her heart beat Arnav ... you are the father of her children ... you are the reason of her existence today ... if your pasts link you both in the ugliest way possible then look at your present ... the love you both share ... the bond that connects your heart ... the love that you have given Khushi ... the love that she can still feel even though she is far away ... that love will help you both survive this hurdle Arnav ... this is nothing but just a hurdle in your life and like everything else you both will overcome this as well !! ��
Arnav didn��t have words to convey his relief ... Buaji��s words ... if the Guptas could forgive him ... it gave him the faintest hope that Khushi would forgive him ... forgive him for the fact that he happened to be the son of the person who murdered her parents !!
Arnav hugged Buaji tight ... his tears falling freely ... the old matriarch of the Gupta house held him safe in the confines of her arm and Arnav after years of desolation and pain at having lost his mother finally felt that he had returned home ... in the arms of Buaji ... he finally felt the same warmth .. the same love ... the same sense of security that being with his mother gave him !!
The day seemed to a long one as it stretched on ... when it became time for lunch ... Arnav got Anjali to get a meal ready for Khushi ... at first he was doubtful about taking it upto her but he didn��t care now � Khushi could insult him ... throw him away but he had to try and see if he could approach her ... the distance was killing him and he could take it no longer.
And so Arnav entered their room to see Khushi sleeping in Payal��s arms � Arnav went and kept the food tray on the bedside cabinet and moved towards Khushi � he looked at Payal beseechingly ... she undertood his silent plea and gently moved aside so that Arnav could move in ... Khushi protested slightly when Payal moved away but immediately quietened when she felt his arms enclosing her ... Leaving Arnav alone with Khushi ... Payal moved out of the room ... closing the door behind her.
Arnav took Khushi tight into his arms ... his heart finally beating once again as he felt her lithe body close to his ... the feeling of having her close to him despite the fact that she hadn��t spoken to him till now � nevertheless did a lot to calm his raging heart ... he stroked her forhead ... occasionally placing kisses on her face and her hair � his free hand resting over her belly where their children were safely nestled within the warmth of her womb.
Time passed but Arnav didn��t care ... Khushi in her sleep had curled herself more into his warmth and Arnav held her close ... an hour passed again before Khushi slightly stirred in his arms ... as her eyes opened ... her eyes stared into a pair of eyes which she knew even in her dreams ... eyes that were window to the man��s soul .. a soul that existed solely for her ... and right now she could see a tensed fear creeping into his eyes ... tears gradually filling them ... she could feel him loosening his grip on her ... she heard him speak ...
��Khushi ... hang in there princess ... Ill just send Payal in ... your lunch is here .. I will get it warmed and then Payal will help you to have it �� saying so Arnav made his way to move out when something stopped him in his tracks ... he felt Khushi��s hand holding him back ... but it was her words that set his heart soaring...
��Arnav its not Jiji who feeds me everyday ... its you who do that and its only who will do it for the rest of our lives !! ��
His head whipped around ... his ears unable to believe what he had just heard ... his heart beating at an insane pace that it threatened to burst out of his body !!
��Khushi !! �� whispered Arnav ... her eyes filled with tears ... and before they realised ... they were holding onto each other for dear life as they cried ... the pain and anguish of the past few hours finally flowing free as they cried together ... for Khushi ... there was no greater comfort than being in her husband��s arms and she wanted to be in his haven free from guilt ... with a clear conscience and thats the reason she had moved away from him ... for Arnav ... the mere fact that Khushi yearned for his warmth was more than enough to know that she didn��t hold him guilty for what his father had done !!
He rained kisses all over her as he crushed her into his arms ... Khushi cried hard in her husband��s arms ... Arnav slowly pulled her away .. cupping her cheeks ... he wiped her tears away ...
��Khushi ... princess ... enough of tears ... please don��t cry more ... I know no words can remove the pain in your heart ... I never knew that our pasts were so cruelly linked together ... I didn��t know Khushi that the victims of my father��s blasphemies happened to be your parents ... I am so sorry princess ... a million sorrys for crimes I know that can never be avenged ... for losses that can never be taken account off ... Khushi I know you need your time to heal but please jaan ... you have to take care of your health ... for my sake ... for the sake of our babies ... Khushi if anything happened to you ... .. I will not survive in this world !! ��
Khushi controlled her tears ... her husband��s words sinking in ... she knew he was right ... she felt a touch on her womb ... saw Arnav��s hand resting there � she smiled softly as she placed her hand over his ...
��Arnav am sorry I stayed away this long ... I am sorry ... I saw the fear in your eyes when you saw me waking up from my sleep ... Arnav ... did you for atleast sometime think that I would leave you ???
Arnav the revelation almost broke me ... I couldn��t bear the pain � couldn��t bear knowing that it was your Papa who had my parents killed � the link between our pasts is too cruel but our love is stronger than the past ... I would never be able to live leaving you ... going far away from you ... I had to purge my heart ... I wanted to be alone with my parents ... they live in my heart and I wanted to be their little baby ... wanted to be with them for sometime ... they don��t hold you responsible Arnav and they would never want to see their Khushi leaving her husband for crimes he cant account for ... and as for me ... how can I hate you ??? I already knew everything Arnav � that letter gave names to your father��s victims ... and it turned out to be my parents ... thats fate��s cruel hands ...
I have seen what you became because of your past ... you aren��t your father��s son ... you are not that man Arnav ... I hate the person who made me an orphan but he is your father ... and for that one reason I forgive him ... and his soul ... my parents will understand me Arnav ... I cant take this pain alone anymore ... I have grown tired ... tired of all the games that fates throw at us ... trying to rip us apart ... I want to live happily with you without any fear ... existences like Shyam will never stop trying to take me away � they wont succeed and that I know but this constant attempts targeting us is wearing me out ... each a lethal blow ... when our children enter this world ... I want all the evil around us wiped away !!
But for now I want to forget everything else ... and be with you ... block out everything else and just be with you alone ... ��
Arnav kissed her lightly on her lips ... her confession was scorching him and he knew he would do anything ... go to any lengths to make sure Khushi��s got the happiness she deserved !!
��Khushi ... I was scared of what this revelation would do to you ... I wouldn��t even be able to stop you if you had decided to leave me and that fear almost killed me � even I want the same Khushi ... I want to put an end to all the evil around us and I will ... before our children come into this world it will happen !! I promise you that ... and it will be just us and our family ... and I wont let any creep in this world cast their evil eyes on you ...
But right now your health is important ... more important than anything else ... eat Khushi ... I will feed you like always ... eat now and then together we will deal out everything else � ��
Khushi smiled as she hugged him tighter ... the pain didn��t vanish � it didn��t abate � it was still there and they would heal each other ... but right now their children needed to be looked after ... and so as Khushi ate ... as Arnav lovingly fed her ... she fed him in return as well ... and the time passed as they fed each other ... soothing each other in between ... as they finished eating ... Arnav left the food tray outside... and locked the door and walked back to Khushi ... his eyes holding the promise to heal all their pain.
