Arhi FF: Us Against the World

Chapter 6

'You look like shit!' NK exclaimed looking at a haggard Arnav who emerged from Khushi's room. Aman had left late last night barking instructions to the investigators and NK had chosen to stay at the penthouse not wanting to leave his cousin alone. Arnav had chosen to stay beside Khushi knowing that she couldn't sleep alone and how terrified she was. Arnav just groaned at the cheery voice of NK and looked around for his special brand of coffee that he kept stocked here.

'

Dude if she gets to know that you spent the night in her room...' NK teased, satisfied to see a frozen Nannav ready to pounce on him. It was too much fun riling him up.

'I SLEPT ON A CHAIR!' Arnav bellowed. Obviously, he knew Khushi but he couldn't just leave her alone so he had chosen the uncomfortable recliner, the reason for his aching back right now.

'You've got it bad, my dear Nannav. But then I can't blame you.' NK tsked and patted his shoulder in a mock comforting way. He looked confused at the sudden guilty expression on Nannav's face and finally understood what the matter was. 'Oh, no-no. After that hair tie thing, I knew. Your face was too worth it to stop.'

It was true. NK hadn't been able to understand why Nannav reacted so violently around Khushi ji. He had been impressed by the guts of the girl who had the ability to stand up to the ASR but was pleasantly surprised to see Nannav responding as well. He did like the girl and a little harmless flirting in Indian weddings was no big deal but the way his cousin brother had clenched his fists and scowled at him was purely territorial. If their sensuous and sizzling sangeet dance hadn't confirmed his suspicions, the way Nannav had glared at him protecting Khushi did. From then on, it was just trying to make his cousin jealous and realize that his feelings ran deeper.

'How's Khushi ji now?' NK asked, smiling to see the relieved sigh that escaped Nannav.

'Had another nightmare last night.' Arnav replied clenching his fists remembering how she had woken up screaming for her mother. He had never seen her so vulnerable before. His heart had constricted painfully at seeing a strong person like Khushi in this state. No matter whatever he put her through, Khushi had the ability to bounce back. She stood up to him, challenged him and never compromised on her dignity. Now, she just looked lost.

'Being accused of something so appalling and not one person supporting you? Not even your own family. That's cruel man.' NK said, a bitter taste in his mouth. In the short span of time NK had known Khushi, he knew that she was someone who valued her self-respect more than anything else. HP's wife, Rekha, was talkative and when Aman had questioned her for details, she wasted no time in narrating the incident word by word. It wasn't pretty. Garima aunty had tried to explain something about knowing Shyam before and him cheating them but nobody had bothered to hear that side of the story. He was amazed to know that Rekha seemed confident that Khushi could never even think of something like this and sympathized with her fully. How the hell had their families failed to recognize the truth then?

'Dammit! I should've been there.' Arnav said slapping the kitchen counter. Rekha had seen Khushi's face and told him how she was slapped by Bua ji and Anjali. He had finally understood Khushi's fear. The character assassination, the slaps, harassment, what else was left for Khushi to face?

'It's not your fault. Shyam twisted the story to make it look like Khushi ji was after him.' NK said reassuredly empathizing with him.

'I wasn't.' A low whisper made them turn around. Khushi stood there looking pale and weak. Arnav rushed towards her and made her sit down on the sofa in the living room knowing how weak she was. 'I wasn't after him.' Khushi repeated.

'You don't have to talk about it right now.' Arnav stressed and NK nodded. He was afraid that it would take a toll on her again.

'I have to tell you. I've already paid the price for hiding the truth.' Taking a deep breath, Khushi started narrating how Shyam had charmed his way into their lives. She told them from how he had saved her from the goons in Lucknow, carefully omitting the role of that video footage knowing it would hurt Arnav. She went on to explain how he had helped her get a job, promised to look into Bua ji's pension case and portrayed himself as the perfect man.

'He was the paying guest at Bua ji's house.' Khushi finally revealed. She knew how difficult it would be for Arnav to listen to this. She had witnessed this man standing up for her when no one did. Her family who knew the truth had chosen to ignore her pleadings. She shuddered thinking what would've happened if Arnav hadn't believed in her.

'That means...' Arnav couldn't complete the sentence for the painful lump that had formed in his throat. His head swivelled with the conclusion and he closed his eyes trying to catch his breath when Khushi nodded and confirmed that he was the man she was engaged to. If not for Khushi's touch on his hand, he was sure that he would've been having a panic attack. A distant memory of Khushi crying on his shoulder flashed in his head and reality slammed into him.

'You saw him at Satyanarayan pooja for the first time.' It wasn't a question. The way she had cried and frozen when he asked about her fiance. She had been restless when Di had introduced her to Shyam. Arnav was sure that he was going to kill that bastard with his own bare hands. As if cheating on Di and ruining Khushi's life wasn't enough, he was playing the victim. 3 years, that man was living with them and no one had an inkling of the deceit they were facing.

'Did he hurt you, Khushi?' Arnav asked, barely able to control his temper. Of course, he knew the answer to that. But he knew there was more to the story and he needed to know everything even if it made his heart bleed.

'He kept following me. At Sangeet, Haldi, and finally at the terrace. I saw a message on the mirror and I thought it was from you. He told me that he... loved me. I told him to leave Anjali ji because he was disgusting! Anjali ji saw me and thought...' Khushi trembled thinking of the ways he had approached her. She didn't want to tell anyone how he wanted to manipulate her making her think that Anjali ji wasn't a good wife, how he had left marks on her arms at Sangeet threatening to destroy Payal's marriage, how her heart had stopped when she had seen him holding her dupatta at Haldi, and how she had cringed when he had hugged her telling that his marriage didn't mean a thing to him. She had decided not to burden Arnav with these details.

'THAT ASSHOLE! He was harassing her. You have to do something Nannav!' NK roared.

Arnav seemed to be frozen by the extent of damage one man had created around them. He simply couldn't believe what he was hearing. Could someone really be that evil behind that mask? Hadn't he conducted an extensive background check when Di told him that she wanted to marry him? What went wrong? His musings were broken by the loud voices coming from outside the door. Everyone exchanged confused glances before NK went ahead and opened the door to reveal the source of the noise.

'Aman?'

'Preeto?'