Kaisey Yeh Rishtey 39

Chapter 39

Arnav drove faster than he had ever driven before. They reached the road to Khushi's house, and Arnav braked suddenly. He had seen something, or rather, someone. 

Two men were walking into the gate of the house. They were obviously arguing furiously. Arnav recognized them instantly.

"Where is Khushi?" he muttered, under his breath. "How come she's not with them? Have they kept her shut in the house?"

He parked the car a few houses down, and both men got out cautiously. But the two in front obviously did not expect to be followed. They walked quite openly and casually down the short garden path, to the front door. The younger man, Shyam, produced a key, and unlocked the door. Arnav and Akash watched from a distance as the two men walked into the house and shut the front door behind them. Arnav heard the click as it was locked from inside. He looked at Akash, and by silent consent, they opened the gate and entered cautiously, keeping out of sight should anyone look out of the windows. No one did, and they paused for a moment. Then Arnav gestured, Akash nodded, and they split to go around the house, circling it in opposite directions. 

Round the back  of the house Arnav came to an open window. The glass panels were open, but it was barred with grills. As he hesitated under it, he heard a door inside open, and sound of footsteps walking into the room. Then he heard a voice, which seemed to breathe new life into him.

It was Khushi. And a very cross, bad-tempered Khushi, he realised amusedly, as he heard her first words, relief washing into him as he realised that she was unharmed.

"Where were you, baba? What's taken you so long? I have to go, I told you that! I can come again tomorrow. But I can't stay out this late! I have commitments! You might not be concerned about the time, but I am!"

He waited no more, but moved quietly further. A little way around the house, he came to what was surely the back door. As he was trying the handle gingerly, Akash appeared as well. Together, they forced the door with a minimum of noise, and entered noiselessly.

They walked cautiously through the small hall, quietly moving towards the room where Arnav had heard Khushi's voice. And they heard her voice again, this time with a note of panic.

"Shyam, I can't stay! I have to go! Please! I'll meet you tomorrow, I promise. I'll sign whatever you need to be signed! But I have to go now."

 There was the sound of a slap, then another. But no cry came from whoever had received the blows. Shyam's voice came then, his tone ugly, and Arnav heard his voice through a red mist of anger.

"Shaddap and stay put! You're not going anywhere. Why are you in such a hurry, anyway? He's not gonna be waiting for you. He'll find someone else to warm his bed for a night! You're not that important! You were left there as my surety, now I don't need the surety. You come back home and stay put here. I'll tell him myself tomorrow, but till then, you stay here. You're not going anywhere till we go to the bank tomorrow, and you sign the papers there."

"I'll sign them," Khushi replied, and Arnav heard the tension in her voice again. "But I have to go now. I can't stay here till tomorrow. You can't force me to stay here. I won't."

"Khushi." It was her father's voice this time, as firm as his son's but without the ugliness. "Khushi, you don't understand. You  don't have to go back at all. It's over, Khushi. You can come home now. Shyam will sort it out with Mr. Raizada tomorrow." 

Khushi spoke again, the tension in her voice increased. 

"No, baba. You don't understand. I have to go back. I'll come back tomorrow for your papers or whatever you want me to sign. Mr. Raizada will explain ... I have to go ..."

Her voice was rising with her worry. Arnav had heard enough. He walked into the room.

"You heard the lady," he said, easily. "Let her go."

Khushi whirled around at the sound of his voice. She stared at Arnav and Akash in surprise, as they walked into the room.

"Arnav?!" she said disbelievingly. "You here?!" And then her face changed, a different sort of worry entering her eyes. "Is everything all right? At home? I know I'm late but they ..." more strongly, her face changing, annoyance in her voice as she gestured to the father and brother ..."they won't let me go. They don't understand .... please tell them I need to go back. She'll be waiting ..."

Arnav looked at Khushi. Her lip was swollen, there was a red mark on her cheek, but she seemed unconcerned with her physical pain. His anger rose again. With a supreme effort he controlled himself.

Shyam looked at the other man with loathing.

"The bargain is over," he said. "I have your papers. You can take them. Your men wouldn't let us come here before this. We gave them the slip, but it was only to return your papers to you. Now you can give me my sister back. She's warmed your bed for long enough."

"Give her back - but why?" said Arnav, easily, his tone betraying no sign of the rage engulfing him. "So that you can use her in the same way, the next time you try to fraud somebody again? I think not, Shyam. I think I'll keep her with me. I haven't got tired of her yet."

"She's my sister," Shyam said, fiercely. "I decide where she stays. And she doesn't have to be your whore any more."

Akash flinched, so did Khushi. But Arnav remained cool.

"Ah, such love and concern for your sister! That's so very touching, Shyam. But sadly for you, it doesn't really impress me. You see, I happen to know that your concern isn't for her, is it, Shyam? You really need her for your bank work tomorrow. The bank manager said he needs to see her, before he releases her money, isn't that right?"

Khushi looked at him with surprise. Money? What money? her eyes asked him. But Arnav wasn't looking at her. He was looking at Shyam. 

Shock reflected in Shyam's eyes, followed by a certain wariness. He looked at Arnav carefully, as though trying to discover what he meant. Or what he knew. His tone held truculence when he spoke again, but he spoke slowly, weighing his words more carefully than earlier. 

"Whatever I need or don't need with Khushi, is my concern, not yours," he said. "She was to live with you till I returned your papers. I'm here to return them. After that, she is no concern of yours."

"Ah, but I think that's where you're mistaken, Shyam," said Arnav, silkily, and Khushi shuddered at the dangerous note in his voice. "She is very much a concern of mine. Rather, I would say that she is no concern of yours. She's no relation of yours at all, is she?"

This time shock echoed in the three faces turned to him. Shyam looked frantically at his father and then back at Arnav. 

"No relation?! What d'you mean?! She's my sister!" he gasped frantically. It was obvious that he realised that something was wrong. "She comes back to us, to her home. Our bargain is over. You have no hold over her. She comes back to me, or I'll go to the police and tell them that you're holding her against her will."

"But my bargain with her isn't over yet," Arnav informed him, trying not to look at Khushi's baffled face, his heart bleeding for her. He had to deal with Shyam first. "And I think I have more grounds than you to keep her with me. You see, Shyam, Khushi is not my keep. I'm not holding her against her will. I thought this might come into your mind at some time – to blackmail me about keeping her as my mistress, so I got rid of that problem at the earliest. I've married her. She is my wife. And oh, yes, I was forgetting. She is not your sister. She is no relation to you at all. Nor to you," he added to the old man cowering in one corner.

Khushi looked blankly from one man to the other, trying to make sense of the conversation, her head reeling. Not related to her father and brother? Whatever was Arnav saying? And why were neither Shyam nor her father contradicting him?

Arnav didn’t look at her, his whole attention concentrated on the two men. Guilt and fear was written on their faces as the realization dawned on them that he knew the truth. He looked at them disgustedly.

"Your game is up," he informed them curtly, as Akash moved unobtrusively to guard the door. "The police will be here shortly, along with Khushi's bank manager. He will vouch for the fact that you have been living off her money for the last twenty-four years. That you’ve been using the money given for her own use, for yourself, without her even knowing about its existence. You two can look forward to a long spell in jail, I'm happy to say."

"And I've not seen anyone who deserves it more," added Akash, distaste and disgust on his face, as he stared at Shyam and his father. "We'll have you up for theft, fraud, and whatever else we can get on you! Maybe murder, as well. We still don't know under exactly what circumstances Khushi's parents died, but I'm willing to bet you might have had a hand in that, as well!"

"No!" burst out Khushi's father, or, rather, the man she had always thought was her father. "Not murder! Never that! You've got it wrong! All wrong! That's not how it is!" 

He turned to Khushi pleadingly, as she listened to Arnav and Akash, a look of growing horror on her face, as she began to comprehend what they were saying.

"It wasn’t fraud! They always knew – I swear they did! Khushi, you can't do this to me! Listen, Khushi, I've always looked after you. I've been a father to you, I've always thought of you as my real daughter! Khushi …"

Khushi looked at him, and then at Arnav, in complete shock, her world crumbling around her.

"Baba," she whispered. "You're not my …?"

Arnav went swiftly to her and held her face in his hands.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he whispered, regretfully. "This was not the way to break it to you."

Khushi shook her head, and moved away from him slowly, still looking at him disbelievingly. Arnav looked at her steadily, making no move to go closer again.

"You knew?" she whispered. "You knew all the time? And you never told me? Never said a word ...?"

Arnav shook his head and Shyam seemed to come to life.

"NO!!!" he roared. "I won't stand this! All my life, I've stood and watched as she had it all, the best of everything, and I won't stand it any more. They didn't want her back, she wasn't good enough for that! Then why should ….!!!"

He pounced on Khushi, and dragged her towards the door. His actions were so sudden, that she didn't even think to resist. Shyam looked at Arnav with loathing.

"You want her back, then you pay me for her. Otherwise, she stays right here ... and I empty her bank account tomorrow, when the bank opens."

Akash barred his way, but Arnav stepped forwards, as Shaym's father whined "No, no, Shyam," in the background.

"This one's mine, Akash," said Arnav, steadily. "I've waited a long time for this pleasure."

Shyam left Khushi's hand as Arnav advanced on him.

"So have I," he said, between clenched teeth.

The fight was short, and fierce. Shyam was angry, the pent-up frustration of twenty-four years of imagined neglect and envy driving his fists. And Arnav remembered each word of Khushi's, her every tear, her loneliness, and her utter despair. And that fury drove his fists. They fought hard, and silently. And the fight ended, as good fights do, just as the police burst in through the open door, accompanied by the bank manager, Vijay Dhawan, Mahendra Shah, and an old lady whom nobody recognized. Arnav delivered a final knockout punch to Shyam's jaw, and Shyam fell to the ground, senseless.

Kaisey Yeh Rishtey - 38

Chapter 38 

They drew up at the hospital, and Arnav parked and almost ran into the building, closely followed by an equally anxious Akash.

Khushi was nowhere to be found. 

Arnav cross-questioned the nursing staff in the physiotherapy department, and managed to trace a surprised Mrs. Gill in her small office on the first floor. She was startled to see the two men, and even more so at Arnav's evident worry. Quickly she checked her schedule planner, and turned back to him.

"She would have been here till about half an hour ago," said Mrs. Gill. "She had appointments till 2, she always leaves by 2, since Radhika ... your niece?" questioningly at Arnav, who nodded tersely. Mrs. Gill continued. "Yes, Radhika gets home from school by 2.30, so Khushi makes sure to leave by 2. I did see her a while back, but that must have been before her last appointment. She was with a patient. I think they are still here. Would you like to speak to them? Maybe she said something to them as to where she was going. I came to give her your message, but she had already left."

Arnav nodded, his face tight. They waited in Mrs. Gill's room, and she returned shortly, followed by … Aman.

Aman looked surprised to see Arnav there. Mrs. Gill introduced the two men, and Arnav nodded curtly in acknowledgement.

"I know him," he said, briefly. He turned to Aman.

"Did Khushi say anything about where she was going?"

Aman shook his head, evidently bewildered. "What's this about?" he asked. "Is Khushi all right?"

Akash answered for Arnav, who was obviously trying to keep both temper and impatience under control.

"We're not sure, that's why we're asking. There may be a problem. Have you seen her today? Is she still with your wife, by any chance?"

Aman shook his head, his face beginning to  reflect the worry he saw in the eyes of the other two men.

"She's not with Anjali now, I can tell you that much. Anjali didn't have an appointment with Khushi today. But they met briefly," he said. "My daughter's not been keeping well, and Anjali always wants to see Khushi, when that happens. Khushi was with Anjali for about fifteen minutes or so, I think. I wasn't there. I came just in time for Anjali's physiotherapy session ... we do that together. Khushi was just leaving, so I didn't really talk to her. Khushi did mention that her car had broken down on the way to the hospital, and she had sent the driver to the garage to get it repaired. I offered to drop her home after Anjali finished, but she was in a hurry. She had promised Radhika that she would be home by the time Radhika got back from school and she was getting late. I think she said she'd catch a taxi, but I went in with Anjali for her physiotherapy, so I'm not sure what she did."

Arnav went white.

"So she's not even with her own driver?! She went hunting for a cab?" he demanded, harshly. Akash took one look at him, and left the room quickly. Aman shook his head, and Arnav exploded again.

"Today, of all days! Damn it, man, couldn't you have seen her home?! Couldn't you have shown her that much consideration? She loves you, couldn't you do that much for her?!"

Aman looked at him, bewildered.

"What is the matter? Why today, of all days? What's the problem?"

Arnav almost snarled at him.

"Her father and brother are after her again," he said, furiously. "That's what the matter is! But I'm not going to let them get her. They're not going to put their filthy paws on her again."

Aman looked at him evenly.

"You're very concerned about her suddenly," he noted. "First, you snapped at me, because I dared to have tea with her in a public place. Then you're growling at her family. If you want her so badly to yourself, why don't you just keep her locked up? Or, if you're so jealous because you love her, then tell her so."

He turned to the door. "I'll ask Anjali if she said anything to her," he said. "Anjali spent more time with her than I did. If there's anything, I'll get back to you."

At the door, he stopped and looked back.

"By the way," he added. "Khushi doesn't love me. I know there was a time when she thought she did, and I thought I loved her too ... but times change. She ... well, suffice it to say she doesn't love me. She told me so herself, the last time I met her. The time you saw us on the terrace? I think you'll remember. There is someone else in her life now, and I'm very happy for her about that.  Though I agree with you, I do wish I'd dropped her back home. If she's in any danger, I would have done that gladly. She is, and always will be, a very dear friend, and I can do anything for her."

Arnav stood as though turned to stone.

Akash came back in at a run and pulled on Arnav’s arm. Arnav turned to him, as though in a daze.

"Bhai!" Akash spoke urgently. "She’s not there – not in the parking lot, not at the taxi stand, not on the road. I spoke to HariRam, her driver ... she told him to go home after getting the car repaired, because it was going to take too long. She must have caught a cab. She might be on her way home …”

He paused as Arnav shook his head dully, still in a daze at Aman’s words.

“They must have found her here,” Arnav said slowly. “They knew she worked here. They must have taken a shot at finding her here, rather than coming to the house.”

Akash looked at him, impatient at his slow reactions.

“So then? Where could they be taking her? What do they want with her? Can you think of anything? Think, bhai, think! We have to find her."

Arnav was already on his cell phone dialling Khushi's number. He tried three times, four, five ... and stared at his phone in frustration. Either Khushi had forgotten to switch it back on after she finished with her patients, or ... He didn't want to think of the 'or' ... 

He called the house. Shantitai answered. No, Khushi was not back yet. And she wasn't answering her phone either. This time, there was more concern than annoyance in Shantitai's tone. This was not like Khushi. 

Akash was looking at him worriedly. Arnav pulled himself together, and spoke with an effort.

"They would be after her money," he said, with certainty. "Akash, we need to call the bank. The manager would know if they have gone to the bank to get her money."

He checked his cellphone and dialed a number. He talked to the bank manager, as Akash listened.

"Yes, I'm Khushi's husband, that's right. Mr. Dhawan is my manager. Yes…. Yes…. I understand. Okay, that is really good news. Thank you. So they will be there tomorrow? Did they mention where they would be staying? Right, thank you."

He turned to Akash, a small triumphant smile dawning on his face.

"Shyam and his father have surfaced, and as I expected, they made straight for the bank. But there is a provision in Khushi's account, that if her allowance is not collected regularly for more than a couple of months, she has to be physically present to take the money. These guys didn't know this – obviously, they've never been late before! Anyway, they've promised to bring Khushi to the bank tomorrow morning first thing. I think we need to check out her old house. They have no other place to stay. Chances are they have found her and taken her with them, as she hasn't reached home yet."

"Let's go," said Akash. "but will they be there, bhai? They know you might look for them there."

Arnav smiled grimly. "I have no real reason to look for Khushi," he said. "As far as they know, she's only living with me. They don't know we're married. Neither did the manager, fortunately, till I just told him. The only problem for them now, is that they can't get her money. It stops when she gets married. So we need to reach them before they find out that she's married. Thank god I didn't tell them that I intended to marry her. I hope Khushi doesn't tell them that either ... we decided not to tell them anything when we got married, I just hope she remembers that. And it's lucky we decided that ... Shyam would never have agreed to her marrying me, knowing that his money would stop. My one fear now is that if they find out she's married, she's of no use to them any more, in which case, I don't know what they'll do to her. We need to find her, and fast."

They left the hospital and made for Khushi's old house, Arnav driving as fast as he could.

As he drove, he gave Akash some terse instructions. Akash called Mr. Dhawan's mobile.

"He's not picking up," he informed Arnav. Arnav cursed briefly in frustration. 

"Call again. And again. Leave a message," said Arnav briefly. "Tell him to reach Khushi's old house – give the address - with a couple of cops."

Akash nodded.