Agnisakshi (Under Editing)

20: A new life

20: A new life

"Mrs. Raizada, your phone rang twice while you were in class." A fellow teacher told Khushi as she entered the staff room after a lecture.

"Did it? It must be my son. He is at home with his papa today, some football match they wanted to see together." Khushi smiled as she checked her phone.

2 missed calls from Home

"Hello? HP ji, give the phone to Aru please. What? He is crying? Why? Arnav bhi na! Oh God! Don't worry, I will come home in half an hour."

"What happened Khushi? You look tense?" A senior teacher asked.

"Nothing much ma'am, you know how kids are... so attached to their toys and all. Arush's papa broke his toy by mistake and now he is inconsolable. My classes are over for today, with your permission, can I leave for the day?" Khushi explained. The teacher nodded in understanding and let her go.
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"Mummaaaaaa!" 4 year old Arush wailed and hugged her tightly as soon as she reached home.

"Don't cry, baby, mummy's here..." Khushi cooed, patting his back as he rested his head over her bosom.

"We lost, mumma! Our team lost! Those footballers don't know how to play at all! When I'll be a footballer, I'll score so many points, save so many goals..."

"I know right, Arush! Those idiots gave so many easy points to the enemy team! I feel like kicking them!" Arnav also rested his head on Khushi's shoulder while she handed her empty tiffin carrier to HP.

"Football? I thought Arush was sad because you broke his toy?" Khushi put Arush down on the sofa. Arnav, Arush and HP looked at each other with a sad expression. Their lie had been caught.
"Unbelievable! All of you lied to me!" Khushi widened her eyes angrily. "I had planned on taking an extra lecture and revision for the grade 10 students, their board exams are just two months away!"

"Mumma... sorry," Arush held his ears and sweetly said. Arnav looked at her and did the same.

"Angrez chale gaye, sorry chhod gaye," Khushi mumbled to herself.

"Khushi, please don't be so angry! We are really sorry!" Arnav made a puppy face and tried to hug her.

"Then go, get us Samosas and Jalebis!"

"What?"

"My baby is so unhappy, he needs comfort food. Go get Samosa and Jalebi for us. Make some use of your holiday." She playfully pushed Arnav and took Arush in her arms.

"Not fair, even I am sad!" Arnav buried his head back into her shoulder.

"Which is why I will make kheer poori for you tonight, okay? I'll also watch that action movie of yours with you..." Arnav caught hold of his wallet and walked towards the door before Khushi could complete her sentence, making her giggle.

"Come soon, I'll be waiting." She waved goodbye to him, taking a drowsy Arush to his room. It had been almost 7 years since the day she had decided to forget that Nakoshi ever existed, for her own good. God had been kind to her, she believed. Right after Lavanya's wedding with Aman, Anjali had asked Arnav and Khushi about marriage again, and this time, to her delight, both of them had said yes. They got engaged after her graduation and married during her B. Ed training.

Anjali had hesitated in convincing Khushi to improve her ways of carrying herself but Khushi had been understanding. She took up English diction and grooming classes to match up the standards of the high society. Anjali showed off her talented daughter in law with pride, she was above the clouds.

The initial few days of marriage had been hard for Khushi, especially when it came to intimacy. She tried her best to resist all the memories which were hell bent on reminding her of the awful days of her previous marriage. However, Arnav and Anjali remained patient and supportive, allowing her to continue getting the therapy La used to take her for. La had told Arnav about Khushi's therapy sessions and had asked him not to accompany her as she might feel uncomfortable.

It took some time but soon Khushi was fine, completely comfortable in her new home, family and environment. She and Anjali made quite a team in pampering and irritating Arnav. Soon, to Anjali's delight, her wish of having grandchildren was fulfilled. Khushi was expecting a baby during the second year of her job as a teacher in the nearby international school.

This time Khushi was a positive kind of scared, unlike her previous frightening pregnancy. Arnav would care for her every single second, from when she had morning sickness and had vomited gallons to when she had difficulty sleeping due to back aches. Anjali had found a whole new reason to pamper her and Lavanya had tired herself of arranging pregnancy services for Khushi- massages to pillows and even dresses. Ananya, Lavanya's mother had come over to their house to help Khushi during her final trimester with Anjali.

Arush, the apple of everyone's eyes, had brought with himself immense joy and a new identity for Khushi. She didn't feel like she would ever need anything else in her life. She had got all the happiness she needed- a loving husband, a sweet child, a caring mother (in law) and a doting maternal family in the form of Lavanya and her parents.

Thank you so much for bringing Lavanya and Arnav to my life, bhagwaan ji. I owe it all to them. She prayed while patting Arush to sleep.

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"Pam ma'am, we found a few of these bridal costumes in the storage. There are more than one hundred pieces left in the emergency stock of this collection..." A new sales executive pointed out.

"This collection is at least 6-7 years old. I don't think we can give it for re-release in the market officially." Pam looked at the tags and said.

"We can't let such beautiful work go to waste either, can we Pam?" Sim caressed the exquisite borders and zari work on one of the dresses.

"I have an idea, why don't we sell them off to the stores at a 40% discount? These won't go waste that way. Moreover, because of these daily soaps, more people in semi urban and even rural areas have started taking interest in designer wear. This collection shall excel there." Pam suggested. Everyone in the sales and marketing meeting agreed and so the collection was sent off with its catalogue photographs to most ethnic wear shops in India.
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"Isn't that the daughter in law of our Sahib?" A middle aged woman asked her husband, looking at the catalogue closely. She was at a shop to buy designer wear to fulfil the whims of her daughter, instead of sticking to the traditional silk.

"Hmm, she looks like that but didn't Sahib's daughter in law die almost a decade ago in the storm?" The man studied the photo closely.

"Must be some doppelganger, leave it. I liked this dress, pack it up." The bride asked the shopkeeper. A pamphlet from the catalogue was packed along with the dress and thus it reached Nakoshi's village.

The bride was happily showing off her dress to her cousins and friends when some kids of her neighbourhood mischievously collected the pamphlets. Nice glossy paper for them to make paper planes and boats, they thought. Unfortunately, that very moment when Shyam was passing through the fields on his jeeps, the paper plane made of the pamphlet with Nakoshi's photo landed on him.

At first he couldn't believe his eyes but how could he not recognise the object of his torment. Her innocent smile made his blood boil. The twinkle of her eyes made him realise that the woman whom he considered insignificant had duped him. The logo of AR shined under the evening sun. Now he knew, this was the start of a new chapter in her life.

It's high time you pay for your sins, Lakshmi.

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As promised, I am back with a new chapter as soon as the last update hit 500 views. From today we are starting a new phase of this story, a faster paced phase. So, tighten your seat belts as I introduce the monstrous Shyam to this story, in flesh instead of memory. Keep reading and tell me your thoughts.