Hey fellas!! Back with the new update...

I would like to dedicate this update to sakshi1sakhi

Here's your update sakshi...

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Arnav moved towards Khushi's room with determined steps. The door was open. He stood at the threshold watching her taking out stuffs from the cupboard & piling them on the bed.

He could see her futile attempts of stopping her tears by rubbing her face vigorously. Her hands were trembling, causing the things in her hand to fall on floor again & again.

Entering the room he slowly moved towards her with thudding heart & moist eyes. He just wanted to pull her in his arms, hugging her tight & take away all her pain which he himself has inflicted in her.

He firmly believes that ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. But today it has to be the opposite.

Today, they both need to verbalize their emotions, feelings, pain, expectations, disappointments & above all their love from & for the other.

Khushi had felt his presence the moment he had entered the room but didn't give him a glance because she didn't wanted to show her vulnerability infront of him & give him a chance to taunt her, mock her.

Only if she could see how vulnerable he himself was & had no hesitation in showing her the same because right now he was her guilt ridden Arnavji & not the ruthless ASR.

She was stuffing the things mechanically in the bag when he came from behind & kept his hand on her shoulder.

Her hands stopped their work & clutched the bag tightly. She wanted to shove his hand off her shoulder but couldn't as she felt the same tremble in his hand as hers which indicated both their vulnerability.

Her heart clenched feeling his pain & at the same time berated her for falling weak.

Khushi!! He called her softly. But instead of his usual husky tone there was pain in it. She felt as if the voice came straightaway from his heart.

She just wanted to turn around & hug him, keep her head on his heart, hear it calling her name with all the love he has stored in it but never bothered to show her.

Khushi, what are you doing?? He asked in a shaky voice.

She shut her eyes tight hearing his question. She felt like laughing. He very well knows why & what she is doing still he is asking such irrelevant question.

Shaking her head as if removing all the weak emotions, she opened her eyes, wiped her tears, gulped her pain, composed herself taking a deep breath & turned around harshly making his hand fall off her shoulder.

She looked straight into his eyes which were reflecting the same agonized emotions as hers.

His eyes has always spoken volumes. But his tongue has always cut her heart with cruel words.

Its time he gets to taste his own medicine.

Wrong question Mr. Raizada. You should ask or rather shout on me as usual. Khushi, how dare you reveal everything to your family?? Don't you know what I can do?? I can break your jiji's marriage. I can throw you & your family out of this house. I can drag you back to RM by blackmailing you in the name of our contract marriage. Blah blah blah. She said sarcastically raising her eyebrows.

But you know what Mr. Raizada. Now I am not scared of any of your blackmails or threats because unlike before I am not alone anymore to adhere to your forced decisions. Now I have my family's support just like you always had even when you were completely at fault & I without any fault of mine had to yearn for my family's support.

Fresh bout of tears gathered in her eyes remembering the times when she yearned for her family's love, care & trust which she had lost due to the man standing infront of her.

He could not bear to see her anguish & wanted to embrace her, kiss her tears away to not let them flow ever again.

But today he has to control his urge of consoling her. She needs to voice all her hurt, pain, sorrow & grievances which he had never let her do before. They have to sort out all the mess which has been created mostly because of him, only then they could move forward.

Khushi, I never wanted to blackmail you or threaten you. I just wanted to keep you with me. I didn't want you to go away from me Khushi & for that I did all that I thought to be right according to me without thinking of its consequences. He said. Remorse palpable in his eyes & voice.

But that was enough to set Khushi on fireworks, straightly aimed at him.

Yes Mr. Raizada, you are right. You just act according to your baseless conclusions without thinking about its consequences which certainly you never had to bear because it was always me at the receiving end, right from our first meet at Sheeshmahal where I mistakenly landed in your fashion show.

They both got transferred to their first meet at Sheeshmahal where he had mercilessly showed her his monstrous side.

You thought I was planted by your competitors to sabotage your show. I tried to convince you but without giving ears to my pleads you had locked me up.

I requested, begged, cried to release me but you wanted me to accept your false accusations. When I didn't relent, it hurt your ego. In return you had hurt me, insulted me, tore the dori of my blouse which was not less then an act of tarnishing my dignity alongwith breaking my sister's marriage. She gritted out. Fury burning her heart, body & mind.

He was listening to her painfilled bearing which was his giving to her but now was cutting through his own guts. But he knew there is more for him to bear & he will let her all out today without disruption.

Khushi too was on a toll today to give him back his each & every nasty deed he had thrown on her till date.

I thought after that horrible night in Sheeshmahal I would never see your face. But to my bad luck we met again at the dargah & again your bruised ego retaliated to my gesture of returning your mannat ki chabi by airing the video clip of my falling in your arms at your show with a cheap commentary without thinking what could it result into.

Again I had to bear the repercussions of that thoughtless action of yours.

He scrunched his eyebrows at that. Frown of incomprehension on his face. He waited with ill contained impatience to know what had happened then.

She saw the urgency in his eyes to know about the happening. But her body shuddered at the mere thought of that incident. The muscles of her tummy cramped.

Gulping down her fear she said looking into his eyes. I was about to get molested amidst the market by some hooligans who thought of me as an easy catch who is ready to fall into anybody's arms for money & fame as per your commentry in the video clip. They even hurt my babuji when he came to help me. Her body shook with sobs remembering the molestation she had faced that day.

Arnav stood shock still, unable to move or utter a single word. He was angry at himself for his thoughtless actions which landed her in such jeopardy.

She inhaled deeply trying to draw courage to continue.

Mr. Raizada, your jijaji was a pathetic humanbeing & the worst scoundrel on this planet. I abhore him for what he did with me, with your dii, with our families, but I will always be obliged to him for his one obligation on me.

He stared at her with puzzled expression not understanding at the sudden mention of Shyam doing any obligation on her.

He was the one to save me & my babuji from those hooligans that day.

He looked at her with wide shocked eyes.

She let out a dry chuckle showing him mirror further more.

You accused me many times for coming in between your sister's married life by trapping Shyam. But the truth is it was you who brought him in my life & not the other way around. She threw at his face without mincing her words.

He sat on the bed with a thud not able to digest the gut wrenching knowledge. His heart pounded faster to the verge of exploding in his chest.

She continued between her sobs. Me & my family cried tears of blood at the humilation we had to face, which led us to leave our own city & settle in an unknown city amidst the strangers.

He stared at her crying form. His chest hurting.

I thought after getting exiled from my city I won't have to see your face or meet you ever again. But I failed myself spectacularly when I ran my scooter in your costly SUV & again you mocked me of my low class & challenged me by fining Rs 25000 for just a small scratch on your car & to pay you back I was in search of a job & as always my bad luck was running two steps ahead of me & unknowingly I ended up in your office to work & you got more chances to insult me, taunt me, mock me at every given opportunity whether I was at fault or not. Exhausted she sat on the bed besides him before continuing further.

You kept on insulting me infront of your girl friend & her chamchis without thinking how it must be cutting me within.

You very well knew about my beliefs on my morals, my self respect, my dignity still you ordered me to wear those filthy, small clothes. You asked me to take measurements of those half naked male models of yours knowing very well I would never do all those cheap works but some how I managed to complete your given tasks & banished all your efforts to dampen my spirits which crushed your big fat ego more.

So in order to get back to me & being a heartless jerk, you never thought twice before putting my life at stake just to soothe your bruised ego for not being able to bend me as per your wishes.

You dropped me on the groundfloor from your cabin on the first floor without bothering that I could get my bones break, could become a handicap for a lifetime, heck I could have even died. You ordered me to work in your parking lot as a valet in the dark night amidst heavy rains where I could have met with an accident & could have possibly died. But that was not enough to quench your thirsty ego that you sent me to a god forbidden, dilapidated building which was on the verge of collapsing at any moment & I could have died getting burried under its debris.

The mention of those fatal incidents sent chill down his spines. Where he faced the worst fear of his life . Fear of loosing her.

He felt difficulty in breathing. Rubbing his chest he stood up from his place & moved towards the window to get much needed oxygen.

Khushi noticed his uneasiness & restlessness but could do nothing more to soothe him as all these was his own doings. She continued furter.

You endangered me, had hurt me, made me cry. But there is only so much a person can endure, so I left your cursed job because for me & my family, my life mattered more then keeping with your challenge. But as if DM had some other plans. Your dii came to my house to offer me job of training your GF Lavanya which I refused straightaway. But being your dii she finally did what she could be best at just like you. She blackmailed me.

Arnav gasped hearing it, not able to believe that his dii could do something like blackmailing somebody.

She saw shock written all over his face. Don't be so shocked. After all she is your dii, also an ASR having tactics like you to get things done in her own way as per her wish. So unwillingly I had to accept her job offer & that gave you more chances to humiliate me, insult me more with your taunts & actions.

You were rude to me when I was working in your office & you were ruthless to me when I was working in your house. Time & again you mocked my beliefs on our rituals & traditions. Stood opposite to me at every single step.

Suddenly her eyes turned soft & tender & a small smile crept up on her face.

But slowly things started changing between us during jiji's marriage. I got to see a different side of yours which was not at all rude, arrogant or egoistic but kind, gentle & sweet.

Forgetting all your nastyness towards me I started liking that good side of yours & could see the similar liking in your eyes too for me. She stood up from the bed & went near him.

On jiji's wedding day when you told me you wanted to talk something important to me, I was on cloud nine with expectations of hearing something from you which I was yearning for. She smiled without humour on nourishing such false hopes.

But you ruined all my expectations & gave me the biggest shock of my life by forcing me into a contract marriage keeping my sister's marriage as a bait.

They stared at each other in silence for a while before she continued.

Since childhood I had fantasized that when I will meet a man, I would want to marry it would be magical. It would rain flowers accompanied by band & fireworks. It would be occasion of joy & laughter with all the rituals done amidst all my & the groom's family & our relations.

I had never wished a lavish wedding but a wedding with all rituals done in the traditional way.

But what I got was a forced contract marriage with only me & you, without any other being, without any priest to do the rituals. All I got was vermillion thrown in my hair partition & the mangalsutra forcefully tied around my neck which felt nothing less then a noose to me. She stared at him with disgust in her eyes. He turned his face away unable to face the disgust.

You mercilessly ruined all my dreams & fantasies of a traditional wedding her voice came as a weak cry of pain.

I was condemned without giving the reason of condemning. If you were a heartless jerk before, you became a monster to me after our marriage.

Your cruelties, callousness, harsh words, manhandling - everything increased manifolds.

You called me names - Immoral, shameless, cheat, liar, golddigger, homewreker & what not. Tears were flowing down in a silent stream from her alabaster cheeks.

You made me sleep on the hard, cold floor of the swimming pool in the chilling winter night without any comfortor right on the first night of our contract marriage & you yourself slept under warm comforter & room heater to beat the chilling winter in the warm confines of your room just the way you escaped & sat in the safety of your room leaving me alone to deal with the bitterness of the two families, their upset teary faces, their anger, their accusations to which I had no replies to give, resulting into my family disowning me. She paused as her lips trembled remembering her amma's slap which was still reasonating in her head.

Wiping her tears she turned him towards herself grabbing his forarm. But it made no difference to you as everbody was scared of you to ask you anything. So all were normal with you unlike with me. It took me days to get back the trust & love back of both the families which I had lost without any fault of mine.

I kept on asking you, requesting you, pleading you to tell me the crime I committed for which I was being punished by you day & night but all I got was more torchure, taunts & harsh words from you in return. Her eyes were pool of hurt.

Finally when you obliged me telling me my crime, you literally swiped the ground beneath my feet when you told me that you are aware of my affair with your swine jijaji & I am a homewreker who is out to break your di's dream world.

How could you think such despicable about me Arnavji?? How could you believe in his words whatever he said to you about me Arnavji ?? She asked grabbing his collars, shaking him with fury in her bloodshot red eyes.

I saw you on the terrace, hugging him, him confessing his love to you & you telling him to leave my dii on the night of Akash's marrige. I was devastated Khushi & couldn't wait there to hear more of your betrayel as I beleived then. Then when I confronted him he accepted of you two being in love & you being equally involved with him in his treachery. He replied swallowing hard. His clenched jaw refusing to relax.

You saw us that night?? She asked leaving his collars, not believing her ears.

He nodded in affirmation looking into her eyes.

She looked at him perplexed, baffled by his revelation. She gulped the boulder in her throat & replied. There was a message written with lipstick on my dressing table mirror asking me to meet at the terrace. I thought it to be you as you wanted to talk to me since morning.

He looked at her with wide shocked eyes & replied. I didn't write any message.

But I reached there to meet you as per my belief but it was Shyam who wrote it & he came there to meet me. You saw us at the terrace. It was Shyam hugging me while I was standing still but being the ASR you couldn't register that difference because that very moment you lost control & anger took over you as always that how could a slip of a girl like me fool you, cheat you, hurt you, betray you. You didn't bother to confront me but you gave the previlage to your bigamous jijaji who fooled you with his words just like he was fooling you since 4 years. She replied sarcastically making a mockery of his intelligence.

But still I tried hard to prove my innocence but you were blinded with your assumptions, pride, prejudice & Shyam's lies. You didn't paid any heed to my requests or pleads.

He could not bear to see her anguish & tried to hold her by her shoulders but she moved back not letting him to touch her.

Then your kidnapping happened which completely changed the course of our lives.

I was happy that you beleived my innocence atleast then. You supported me against Shyam. You stood by me against your family. I was thrilled to get your support & trust & like a fool I started weaving dreams of a happy married life with you which you again crushed mercilessly under your feet by blaming me for the sorry state of affairs in your di's life. You regretted of me coming in your life as I was the biggest mistake of your life.

Her voice faltered. She paused & drew in a long deep breath to control her tears.

I had gone to your di's room to make her understand to take care of herself & eat something for her baby atleast. I didn't go to provoke her to kill her own child. I can't even think something like that for my worst enemy whereas she is not less then a sister to me. But you never bothered to find the truth & blamed me for your sister trying to kill her own baby.

She stared at him. Pain racking her body & soul, being blamed for such horrible crime. Her pain reflected in his eyes & he lowered his head in guilt & shame.

All that matters to you is your sister & her happiness even if it is at the cost of others happiness & that's why you forcefully married me for six months to protect your sister's married life but you didn't care how it would affect my life after you left me at the end of our contract marriage.

You didn't think how I will face my family? How I will answer the accusations this society will hurl on me? How I will live my life with the tag of a divorcy, a left woman by her husband within 6 months of their marriage?? Her voice came out weak & unsteady. Her pain & sorrow palpable.

He hated himself for his impulsiveness & prejudiced decisions. The muscles of his throat protested as he tried to swallow.

You are the best brother in the world Arnavji & your siblings are really lucky to have you as their brother who can go to any extent to keep their happiness intact.

How I wish I could say the same about you being a good husband too. But I can't Arnavji because you never thought me as your wife. I was nothing more then a punching bag for you to vent out your anger, ego hurt & frustration, whenever & however you wanted. She growled on his face gripping his upper arms.

Your ego makes you what you are Arnavji. If your ego is hurt then you cross all the bounds to strike back. But not any more Arnavji as now I am done.

I am done being a scapegoat for everybody else. For your di's happy married life, for her unborn child's safety, to control her leecher husband, for your brother's love, for my sister's marriage security. I am done giving up on my freedom for all these to happen. She bellowed leaving his arms with a jerk causing him to falter two steps back.

I am done bearing your anger, your caustic tongue, your unreasonable behaviour & your control freak advances.

He straightened his spine & tried to protest holding her hands.

Khushi, please listen to me. I am but she was way past to hear anything from him. Pulling her hands from his, taking two steps back she declared.

Now I want freedom from all these. From these contract marriage. From all the selfish relations & above all, freedom from YOU.

His heart gripped painfully. Fear of loosing her returned back with full force chocking him. He breathed deep, drawing vast amount of air.

Calming his thundering heart he asked her in pain laden voice. You want to be free from me Khushi??

She stared into his hurt filled eyes. Her voice died away in her throat looking at his panicked visage.

But I can't let you go away from me because the moment you will be gone from my life I will stop breathing. I will die Khushi. I will die that very instant. He said pulling her into his arms. His heart was thudding loudly audible to her who was tight gripped in his embrace.

She felt herself tremble. Her limbs giving away & her determination falling weak which she can't afford at this stage.

She pushed him hard, releasing herself from his tight embrace & shouted at the top of her voice.

Why Arnavji?? Why will you stop breathing Arnavji?? Why will you die without me when I am the biggest mistake of your life?? Tell me Arnavji. Why?? Tell me.

Because I LOVE YOU DAMMIT & CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU.

To be continued......

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Phewww.... 3900 words. Hope worth the wait.

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Love - Kavita 💝