9. OS 21. An Unwilling Passion (Part 13)

Part 13

There was a timid knock on the door.

Arnav frowned. Khushi had no compunction banging on his door. Who was knocking carefully?

He strode downstairs and unlocked the door to find Garima standing there.

He was taken aback for a moment, but his face showed little.

“I need to talk to you,” she said softly.

He stepped back but took care to leave the front door open. There was no way he wanted to get embroiled in a sordid scandal with a middle-aged lady.

Garima stepped into his house and without being invited to sit down, sat in a chair, her legs weak. Spending hours at the hospital worrying about her husband and wrestling with nightmarish memories from the past had taken their toll on her.

Arnav said nothing; he just joined her. He took a chair across from her.

They sat looking at each other in silence.

Finally, Garima mused, “Khussi said your name is Arnav Singh.”

Arnav said nothing.

“Did you lie to her?” Garima asked, tired.

“I am Arnav Singh Raizada,” he replied coldly.

“Raijjada?” Garima frowned. “Not Mallik?”

“No. You and my father made it impossible to live honourably in Lucknow with the surname Mallik,” Arnav replied, his tone cutting.

Garima paled further, looking down at her clasped hands. Then she drew in a deep breath and lifting her head to meet his eyes, asked, “Why did you come here, to Lucknow?”

“For revenge.”

Her face became as drawn as a corpse’s.

Then she said querulously, her voice breaking, “Bitwaa, please spare my children. They are innocent.”

“Did you spare my di and me?” Arnav asked, his eyes filled with rage and anguish. “And what was my mother guilty of?”

Garima had no reply. All she could do was sob.

Arnav turned away and said coldly, “There is no excuse for having an affair with a married man and destroying his family. My father got what he deserved. Now it is your turn.”

He turned towards her to blast her but stopped in shock. Khushi was standing at the door and it was evident from her wounded eyes and wan face that she had heard most of the exchange.

Garima turned her head to see what it was that had caught Arnav’s interest and gaped at the sight of Khushi.

Arnav was too stupefied to speak and Garima got up from her seat and brushed past Khushi on her way out.

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Khushi walked towards him and came to stand by the chair in which Garima had sat. Her fingers clutched its back as she tried to get over the shock of what she had heard from Arnavji’s mouth.

“Kh...khushi...” Arnav whispered.

She was too tired to fight, too exhausted to hate. “Yeh...yeh sab kya he, A..Arnavji?” she asked, hoping she hadn’t heard what she had heard.

He looked into her guileless, honest eyes. Only the truth would do this time. He took a deep breath and began, “Garima Gupta, your amma, aunt, whatever,” he made a slashing movement with his hand, “had an affair with my father, a married man with two kids.”

Khushi gulped, her eyes locked on his face.

“My mother found out about the affair when Garima visited our home, Sheeshmahal in Lucknow, on the evening of my di’s wedding.” He looked directly into her eyes and his words hit her like bullets. “My mother shot herself with papa’s pistol in the library. Papa shot himself a couple of hours after her body was found. The wedding was cancelled and a day after the cremation, my chacha threw us out of the house.”

Khushi quickly sat down for fear that she would fall down.

His lips twisted. “But Garima was nothing but kind. She took the effort to visit us when our parents’ corpses lay in our living room for the public to pay their respects.”

Her bloodless fingers clutched the arms of her chair.

He tried to drum up all the hate he had displayed to Garima. “I want revenge, Khushi. I will destroy Garima and her family just like she destroyed mine.”

Khushi gulped.

He laid down the cards, making her aware of whom she was dealing with and how futile it would be to try to escape him.

“I own AR Designs. My firm purchased your father’s loan papers from Tiwari and pressed for immediate repayment,” he stated.

Khushi’s mouth fell open.

“I have more money and power than you can imagine, Khushi. I can....” he paused to think of words that would make her understand how powerful he was. “I can buy the whole of Lucknow and not feel the pinch. I am Arnav Singh Raizada.” His quiet words carried assurance. “I am a bad enemy and your amma/aunt is doomed.”

He waited for her response. Would she beg him to spare Garima? If she did, what would he do? Could he give up his need for vengeance for Khushi?

After a long moment, all she did was blink away the tears in her eyes and say, “I...I didn’t know...matlab I was a child...I have no idea what happened between your father and amma...You were a child too.” She shook her head to clear it. “I am sorry...ki aap ko yeh sab sehna pada...I am so sorry.” She drew in a deep breath to control her sobs. “All I know is the amma I have lived with for the past decade. She is so careful of our reputation that we aren’t permitted to visit our friends for more than a few minutes. Woh khud akeli ghar se bahar nahi jaati. I don’t know how she could be the person who helped to destroy your family.” A sob escaped her iron control.

Arnav turned away, a frown on his face.

When he turned back after a long moment, she was gone.

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