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That Evening,
"Ah! Khushi, what brings you here? Is it the problem with the custody again?" questioned Sanjay, the legal advisor, sipping his tea with great relish.
"There's no way you can get the custody of both the children, Khushi, given the rate at which divorce proceedings are taking place. Your right on the children is subjected to his divorce so if you happen to give birth before his divorce, the infants would be considered as the progeny of Arnav and Rati, in the eyes of law. Of course, one child, maybe since the contract is regarding only one child so you may be able to claim your right on one child but of course, I am sure, Arnav would find a way around it, if he has to."
She reminisced the call with him when she was troubled by the clauses of the wretched contract and it was his words that led into planning intricately to avoid losing both her children, since she had no idea that Arnav would fall in love with her, ensuring that she remained the legal mother of both the children.
"No, Sanjay. It is in regards to Arnav's company. I am sure, you have heard of the case?" began Khushi, as she laid her doubts to rest in Sanjay's company and planned once again, but unlike last time, it was not to separate herself from Arnav but to unite with him, once and for all.
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Three Days Later,
"I cannot believe this! Anita? She is the one who changed the composition and ruined my company?" exclaimed Arnav, raking his fingers through his scattered locks as he wondered how did someone from the lowest rank in the corporate hierarchy affect the company in such a drastic manner.
"Surely she cannot be doing this alone, Arnav. Did you see her bringing someone into the office anytime?" questioned Vivek, knowing that Anita lacked the skills to implement such an elaborate plan by herself.
"Her boyfriend! She had been asking him into the office since she started working overtime to earn extra money required for her mother's treatment. She claimed the reason to be her mother's insistence that it remained the same," answered Arnav, the light of realization clearing the dark clouds of confusion from his mind.
"Of course! He happens to be a cyber-security advisor for an e-commerce giant! It would be child's play for him to hack into the system and change the composition. But according to whose words?" wondered Khushi, who held the information brought by a private detective regarding Anita.
"Now, that's for the police to investigate since we have enough proofs to prove the conspiracy," said Anurag, sighing deeply, hoping that the judgement brings the much required peace to the couple.
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About A Month Later,
"The Court finds Arnav Singh Raizada, on the accusation of criminal conspiracy and medical fraud, not guilty. However, the Court finds him guilty of costly negligence and hence the company remains closed with its funds being used as the compensation!"
"What are you going to do now, Arnav? The Court won't allow you to start another pharmaceutical company and even without the interference, you would not get the license due to the charge of negligence upon you. What did you plan for the future?" questioned Khushi, placing her head upon his shoulder as she circled her arm around his, trying to lose herself in his warmth which melted the chilling cover of fear around her heart.
"Well, I have the ownership of Agarwal Manufacturers so maybe I will start looking into its administrative aspects," answered Arnav with a sigh.
"Agarwal? Rati?" wondered Khushi, rising to look up from her laid down position.
"Her father's company. He transferred it onto our name upon our marriage and she never cared about it, after all, she hated her dad for abandoning her mother. I just appointed someone trustworthy to look after the company while I merely signed on the necessary paperwork, for the sake of it. Maybe, I will start getting involved in it till I find some other means of livelihood. Having said that, I never liked that company myself. That company was the reason my parents set me up with Rati. What a lowly thing to do with one's child!" he exclaimed, drawing circles on the back of her arm which was encircled around her, preventing her from leaving him in a grip which almost crushed her. His shaking voice, his trembling lips, his shivering grip and withering control on himself was a sign on inner turmoil that he chose to bottle up for years, hiding effectively from everyone - except the one with whom he had decided to share his very soul.
Khushi felt short of words with the string of revelations that took place. She was surprised to know that the company stayed on his name despite his divorce with Rati and he felt it was normal to use the company which he claimed to dislike. Behind the guise of businessman, she saw the emotionally wrecked child who was used by his own parents, snatching his conscience away with the demands they placed in front of him which blurred the lines between ethical and evil.
How could a child be blamed for the fate his parents had written for him, the fate he would not have chosen for himself if he had the right to will? What could anyone tell to someone whose will had been snatched, only to be replaced with everything which meant business?
That moment she understood the true reason behind Arnav's struggle to reach the pinnacle, his inability to balance multiple responsibilities and the shrewd behavior. He wanted to be the ace businessman to show to his parents that they should have trusted him to reach the top instead of using immoral tactics, and show his wife that he could have been at the top even without the company she had brought with her. While his shrewd behavior was inherited from his parents, his inability to multi-task was a result of his childhood scars, deep in his mind.
The realization brought upon a wave of empathy from the bottom of her heart as she clutched her better half in a grip meant to assure him of her presence in his life, through every upheaval and every happiness, through light and dark, accepting every nuance, every flaw and every characteristic of his, allowing the truest hue of love to splay over them - oneness.
"Arnav, we will have to seek Rati's permission to exert complete ownership on the company. She is the co-owner, I believe, and has every right to know about what you do with the company," advised Khushi, knowing that only the meet between the past lovers would bring about the true closure of each others' chapters in their lives.
She had seen every hue on the spectrum of love, and he was yet to experience the myriads of emotions which it brought upon but Khushi was keen to ensure he sees them all and gets colored in every single one of the Hues of Love, to erase the scars brought upon by the most unfortunate hue of all - authority.
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Dedicated to all the accusations on me for being hard on Arnav! My word to them - Patience is a virtue, darling!
Also, the response has been so disappointing. Can the story, please, end on a high note, for being close to my heart?
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Hues of Love
Romance#163 angst out of 89.4K stories Her heart craved him but he pined for someone else. Her heart continued to image him ignoring the reality but his heart continued to break for someone else. Her eyes searched him everywhere and he still looked at s...
