Hues of Love

Part 26

Rejection and resentment awaited Arnav Singh Raizada at every single step of his life henceforth. Khushi had mysteriously disappeared from the hospital right after he had a showdown with Rati and realization of his mistakes struck him like lightning, burning his very soul.

"I am sorry, Arnav, our ethics dictate us that our loyalty towards the patient is above everything and above the loyalty to the patient's family or friends due to patient confidentiality. I cannot reveal the location of Khushi," excused Geeta to which Rachna nodded in affirmation.

"Moreover, I don't think you deserve to have her company, Arnav. You know why? Because you have not just kept her in the dark but effectively exploited her lack of knowledge for your own advantage. You have let not just her but even me down. I will never reveal her details to you," spat Rachna, spitting fire with her words which just minced in the right way to hurt the most.

Arnav faced the backlash once again from Rati Agarwal in the court room where she accepted the divorce with humility to finalize the declaration of the end of their fourteen-year long companionship but she had chosen to not look at him even for once.

Every word or action notifying their derision towards him pained him deeply but if there was something which broke him from inside, it was the disappearance of one Khushi Gupta without a word and without a single hint throughout the time they were together.

"You have used my daughter, shameless idiot! And now you seek to find her? Not possible," rebuked Khushi's father Adityesh.

He felt tormented and shattered at the choice of words, more so because he was also a father to a daughter and he could not even bear to imagine someone doing the same with his daughter, who laid cocooned in his shivering arms. Redemption of ever increasing magnitude struck him in the manner he had never imagined.

He knew the Khushi who knew how to love boundlessly and in the most intense way possible; the woman for whom he could not help but lose his already defeated and derailed heart, but how had he forgotten that she was someone's daughter and someone's friend, someone who had emotions and aspirations?

He wanted one chance to make up for every mistake of his; both towards Rati and Khushi - the women who knew how to love in the truest and purest manner and he was the ignorant one who misjudged his infatuation, his attraction, his obsession or his mania to attain his dream as love but both, although had abandoned him on a hopeless and lifeless path, had been kind enough to teach him the definition of love before leaving.

Both had stood up to the age-old adage of all is fair in love and war, albeit in a different ways, and showed that love had various hues splayed across it but the most profound hue was pain which neither fades nor ever relinquishes the excruciating hold over the body, heart and soul but the greatest irony lied in the fact that the one in love would hold onto even pain if it is the only means of the solace of their beloved's memories. 

It had been five months since he had lost his everything even after gaining what he wanted the most. Swati had been scornful and detached since Khushi left, although she took care of his daughter Kuhu, she did not bother to take care of him like a mother she was to him.

Arnav sighed in distaste for himself as he earnestly prayed that he earns his forgiveness and is able to win Khushi's hand forever and he assured himself that this time around forever would not just be a word but a vow taken from the heart.

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Hospital,

"Ma'am, Dr. Lata is away due to an emergency. There had been sudden complications in one of her patient's health. Is it possible for you to attend a few of her patients? Most of them just need to be vaccinated," requested the head nurse as Khushi smiled at her and nodded her in affirmation.

Being the Chief Medical Officer had its own disadvantages and the one ranking highest was the lack of field work and just sitting at the table doing paper work and attending meetings. She was more than overjoyed to finally attend to her patients.

The pain of abandoning her love tormented her and churned her very insides but she had grown accustomed to living without him and there were beautiful gifts of her times with him which only lessened her pain.

It was the fifth patient who had caused shock, happiness, pain, love but surprisingly hate knock at her senses, after all, the patient was none other than her own daughter and accompanying her was the man who had made her lose her sleep, her morals and herself in his love - Arnav Singh Raizada.

"Khoosi? Are you really here?" he whispered in shock, making Khushi stand upto her feet to prepare herself for the confrontation. She had never really thought that she would completely escape him but it did not strike her that the meet would be destined so soon.

"Arnav," she greeted, but her eyes only looked at the daughter she had left behind in the course of placing her self-respect above her love.

Arnav took slow yet steady strides in her direction when the surroundings of Khushi became more clear to him. There was a cradle behind her chair and much to his stupefaction it was not empty. The pram was the home for an infant, quite similar in every aspect to the one in his arms, and it took no time for him to deduce that the child was his own, just like Kuhu.

"What the hell is happening, Khushi? You hid such a big thing from me? You gave birth to twins, took one along with you and just vanished in thin air? How could you? I thought you loved me beyond everything," he questioned, pointing towards the baby in the cradle.

"If you had asked me to stay in one-sided love forever, I would have, happily without any questions. If me being the surrogate of your child was your wish, I would have fulfilled it without a moment of thought. But you wanted me to be your rebound, your second chance, your instrument in your petty game of revenge, and I can never accept that. You claimed to love Rati right? You betrayed her at every step and you betrayed me too by keeping me in the dark and making me nothing but a means of your wish fulfillment, whatever the wish was. So what if I did the same? It is only fair because it abides with your principle of life 'tit for tat', isn't it?"

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So that was the decision of Khushi. To walk out with a twin. That is why Geeta was cold towards her and Rachna thought that it would lead to complications. I think Arnav perfectly deserves it but it is a sin to separate twins but is it a sin to place your self-respect above everything and be a bit selfish? She left the baby with the father, since she was sure that he would never let anything hurt her baby. Teaching him a lesson was secondary, just a cover, mainly it was to have her own child and since he would want to keep the twins with him, she ran away. She had decided long time back, so she is selfish but instead of losing both the children, she manipulated the situation so that she would at least have one child with her.

I leave it to you.