Arnav while dressing up for office, looked at himself in the brand new mirror of the dressing table. Money can buy him a new mirror but what about love? He thought wistfully.He observed his face for some time. Has he grown thin or his stubble had grown thick and shady. He needs to shave. He needs to sleep more. His looks screamed his tragic life. ASR had an image to maintain. He won't let people pity his tired,sunken eyes, depressed face. He won't let himself wither away into nothingness for that heartless, wicked woman. I m not dying without her. I ll survive. She means nothing to him. It was a good payback to leave her at altar. She and her family deserved it. Infact more for all they had done to Raizadas. 

He wanted to shout at his family when they glanced at him in pity. He doesn't need sympathy. Who the hell told them he was grieving? He was happy,very happy to be free man now. Period. Bloody dumb people chose the wrong side. He would wait for the day when they will regret. Regret for not taking his side. He could sense their hostile behavior no matter how much everyone tried to normalize things. And where the hell was that rat who perpetually leeched on his sister. He seemed to hide a lot behind his sister these days. One day he will get hold of him and run his SUV over him again and again.   

Arnav reached for his cufflinks when his eyes fell on mangalsutra (a necklace worn by a Hindu woman to signify that she is married) kept on dressing table. HP while taking his sherwani(male attire with long shirt and slacks) for laundry had given it to him. Arnav had wanted to slap him at his silently accusing eyes and morose face but restraining himself coldly told him to keep it on dressing table. The nerve of him! Had been serving him for years but sided with that bewitching woman. He picked up  mangalsutra and sindoor(vermilion) and angrily shoved them both in his locker.Her face flashing before him. How beautiful she looked, adorned in them. His wife! (It was rich coming from a man who didn't believe in all these things.) Couldn't she value how much he had changed for her. He did every damn ritual to see the smile on her face.Memories of their pre-wedding functions flashed before him. How stupid he was to dance for that pretentious woman, proposing her on his knees. She must have had a great laugh at his foolishness. Their poolside kiss, teri- meri dance on Payash sangeet, how he made rose-path to surprise her and many more memories flooded in. He leaned against the cupboard and wiped his tears helplessly.  

Kitni baatein yaad aati hain
Tasveerein si ban jaati hain
Main kaise inhein bhooloon...
Dil ko kyaa samjhaaoon

Kyun poori ho na paayee daastaan
Kaise aayee hain aisi dooriyaan...

He composed himself after sometime and then left for office. His schedule has become monotonous like earlier. Equation with Akash was fragile but not bitter. None of them broached the sensitive topic. Arnav didn't want his brother on the other side of the river. They both wanted to avoid this issue for as long as possible. Office staff had no idea of broken marriage. He hadn't invited anyone for re-wedding and all his relatives too had left by the time he had reached the venue. Arnav fiercely guarded his privacy and thus kept a tight leash on media through his PR. Nothing about his personal life had ever come into media.His personal life was not for entertainment section like Bollywood stars. He was a thorough businessman using media for AR. Whatever was out there, was always approved or circulated by his team. Like the Sheesh Mahal video.

********************

Anjali and Nani were supportive of Payal, they appreciated how she stood for her family in this hour of need.They helped her with whatever they could. They were reluctant to conclude everything based on a photograph.They constantly enquired after Khushi from Payal and wanted to visit her. Payal requested them to wait for some days. Understanding that it was difficult time for Guptas, Nani decided to wait for some time before asking Garima, her side of story. She didn't believe in any of the things Arnav has accused Khushi of, for he himself had confided in her after his kidnapping and cleared Khushi's name.

She always knew Arnav's anger will one day affect his future but she was helpless now. She has always guided him wherever she could, correct him whenever possible but there is limit to her role as his guardian.He was a grown up 28 year old man. A successful businessman should be capable of taking wise decisions in personal life too. If he goes wrong then she can only rebuke him, protest against it and in the end take his punishment with him as his grandmother.

Anjali unlike what others took her to be,firmly believed in evidences. She took person as innocent till proven guilty. She tried to be non-judgmental most of the times. She still believed that her husband and Khushi were innocent. Arnav or Mami have never showed her any proof.It could be true or a very big misunderstanding.And different versions of Shyam and Khushi didn't help either. But her husband's eagerness to save Khushi from Arnav at mandap was something, she wasn't able to settle with even after days of the incident.Something was not adding up right. She had seen something else in his eyes that day. His behavior these days didn't help either. She finally decided to go deep into all this but away from the eyes of everyone. She needs to observe her husband's activities very carefully over the next few days. She planned on hiring a detective if she found anything suspicious, she will deal with Khushi later as she knew the girl was not well and it seemed wrong to subject her to spying in vulnerable condition. She was unaware of the fact that she had finally started using her brain.

**************************

 After weeping her heart out for days,  Khushi felt tired and pessimistic towards life but when she saw Guptas worrying over her, the efforts they made, she felt guilty, Payal was right. She was being selfish drowning the house in her misery. Everyone had become so gloomy because of her. She wiped her eyes herself for the first time after the disastrous wedding day. "Bas! Hum aur nahi royenge. Sab kitne dukhi hain. Jisne humare saath itna bura kiya uske liye hum aur humara parivaar aansoo kyun baha rahe hain? Jise rona chahiye vo to nahi ro rahe honge, khush honge vo humein chod kar. Fir hum kyun apni zindagi barbaad kar rahe hain unke piche? Hum khush reh sakte hai, unki wajah se nahi unke bavjood bhi. Haan. Humara naam khushi hai...hum khush rahenge. Humara parivaar khush rahega...humesha"(Enough! I wont cry anymore ! Everyone is so sad. The one who should be crying must be enjoying after throwing me out of his life. Why should I and my family suffer for such a man?Why am I wasting my tears for me? I wont ruin my life, mopping after him. I can be happy. Yes! My name is Khushi and I am born to be happy, not because of him but in spite of him.My family will be happy. Always!)

Inner Peace begins the moment you choose not to allow the other person or event to control your emotions.

*********************

Her pep talk with self, improved her mindset towards the situation. She realized that while her family was doing everything to cheer her up, she had not even talked to her Amma about her past which the older lady must have been wanting to clear to her daughters. Why hadn't she told me anything till now? She couldn't be thinking us to be judgmental like that Arnav Singh Raizada.

She remembered she had not asked Payal how she was coping up in RM with all that has happened. Devil must be breathing down her neck,torturing her sister. "I have become so selfish!" Khushi lamented. She asked Payal to come back to Gupta House urgently though Payal had left just two hours before.

They all then sat down. Khushi finally told them something that they have been desperate to hear from her. She said that she had cried enough and wanted to move on.Finally after 15 days of that ugly incident, she was in a better shape. Buaji and Garima mentally thanked Devi Maiyya for her blessing on their child. They would go to temple and thank her tomorrow morning. Garima then explained to her daughters about the past, when Khushi broached the topic hesitantly. Khushi and Payal were relieved to know that their mother was not guilty. They thanked DM that Garima escaped from evil just like Khushi had. Guptas learnt the lesson to not trust strangers so easily and also share their mistakes, bad experiences  so that they are not repeated again. Had Garima told about Malik fiasco to other family members, Buaji would have exercised some caution in Shyam's case.

Payal assured Khushi of her safety at RM. She herself hated Arnav, so him ignoring her didn't bother her and others were usual in their behavior.She didn't mention about Nani and Anjali as she wanted to give her space. In nutshell Payal had nothing new to complain about. Guptas vowed to forget this bad incident. Khushi was more than ever determined to move away from all the pain that she had herself inflicted upon herself in past days. Others were happy to hear that. Celebration that night was in signature gupta style - aloo puri, jalebis, golgappe and chat. Khushi's and Buaji's dance was add-on tadka. Though Khushi was still not her bubbly self but they knew, she will bounce back in no time.

Khushi didn't disappoint herself and started on path of self-construction immediately. She determinedly stopped mourning and was mentally ready to bring her life back on track. She gave a long lecture about her being strong and moving on to Guptas, who though impressed, rolled their eyes at her dramatic speech. She sounded like she was preparing for a war. She started searching for a job which was need of the hour. Middle class people needed to be practical in life. They can't afford the luxury of been perpetually drowned in pain. You can't feed your stomach with pain, it needs food which comes from money which comes from work. Doctor had already suggested them to start Shashi's physiotherapy sessions in a month or two; so it wasn't feasible to go back to Lucknow, their hometown. In the last year Guptas had somehow become comfortable in Delhi.

Aur bhi gham hain zamane mein mohabbat ke siwa,
Rahatein aur bhi hain wasl ki raahat ke siwa

Financial problems now loomed over them. Khushi had already asked Shukla to outsource food for 45 days (during her marriage preparations and a month after that) as she had planned to take a break and spend some quality time with Arnav. She scorned at the thought now. Quality time with cruel man like him! 

Now with things changed so drastically between them, she was not in mood to go back and work for ASR,  ever. It wasn't even wise thing to do. She didn't want to face that man, fight with him, turn things uglier and complicate her life further. She was no match to him in monetary terms. So why provoke the Shaitan. She could do without more drama in her life. The more she stays away from him, the less stressful life will be. 

Moreover Dabba business gave her just 40,000 per month. With transport expenses for containers from Laxminagar and their increased expenses when Babuji's physiotherapy starts, it wont work. And going by her previous experiences with Arnav Singh Raizada, she knew he wont allow her to set foot in his office. Especially now. He may even make another attempt on her life. And why should I lock horns with a mad bull? I need to think something else. She decided.

In the evening, she chanced upon Mishra Uncle, a retired teacher of her colony at the grocery store. He inquired about her education when she wanted to know about potential students for tuition in their colony. She was surprised to know that she might be allowed to teach in a private school without B.Ed degree. 

In some days, with Devi Maiyya's blessings, after running from pillar to post and Mishra uncle's help, she got the job of teaching in a private school hardly 5 km from her home. The school was not very good  but her Masters degree in Maths with distinction throughout, her accuracy, simple teaching methods which she efficiently demonstrated in interview, impressed the school authorities. They had an issue with her English accent which she promised to improve and pleaded about her subject being Maths...little concession with language can be allowed, about how she required this job earnestly. She got an immediate joining but salary was an issue. They were willing to pay only 40,000/- per month without B.Ed degree. Looking at her scores, they were ready to sponsor 70% of Distance Learning B.Ed course fees but only if she signed a bond of 5 years/1.5 lakhs. On completion of degree, she would be promoted and her pay will be increased, equivalent to what  other teachers got. Khushi needed more money as of now,  so she asked for a day to reply and after weighing pros and cons,she decided to take the job but not the contract. She was a bit skeptical of it. She knew they had a good bargain. With working hours of 7 am-1 pm, it was her best option as of now.She had to work even on Sunday once per month. Extra classes! Clerical job at office wont fetch more than this. Also this schedule allowed her to take up a part time job that she needed now.

Things looked brighter for the family now. Guptas were relieved to find Khushi genuinely happy about her job. It will help her divert her mind. Payal was so happy for her baby sister. She informed Anjali and Nani about it but requested them to not bring it before Arnav. She didn't want to take chances. Nothing should jeopardize Khushi's happiness or her job. Nani and Anjali agreed with her and after talking with Payal, they decided to meet Guptas next week.

Khushi was searching for part time jobs now. Her catering disaster from Anjali's anniversary party scrapped catering idea. She was determined to go for catering only after saving the required minimum initial capital or Buaji will have her skin this time. Chikankari(embroidery) was labour intensive and low income. Already Buaji and Amma did it whenever they had free time. It fetched only 5k at maximum. Another 12k will start coming from the rent of their palatial home, the Gomti Sadan which was lying useless as of now. Guptas after a lengthy discussion had put aside their emotions and put it on rent as a girls  only PG. Rent was meagre for the 6 huge rooms of the ground floor. But immediate need of money, broker's fees, location of the house, poor furnishing not on modern lines, fetched only this much.

"Kya kaam karein hum?"(Which job should I take up?) Khushi was brainstorming but nothing concrete came up. After several days, she finally got a 4 pm- 7 pm job at a local coaching classes of Aptitude for Competitive exams. It added a paltry sum of 20k to their income. Khushi had to agree though that she had never thought of earning this much with her local college degrees from Lucknow. Their total income now went about 85k including minuscule pension that Buaji received. Khushi hoped that her father's physiotherapy sessions,house rent and other expenses will not spill over. She would save the remaining if left at all for emergencies. She had learnt some good things from Arnav. Money though not most important but was  a crucial thing to live with dignity. 

Things had started to fall in place, it looked. Nani and Anjali planned to meet Guptas but failed when Arnav(they had no idea how), came to know about it and big showdown happened in the house. All their determination to meet Khushi faded when Arnav threatened to make Guptas suffer dire consequences if they went to meet them. Payal who was at GH, came to know about it from Radio Mamiji. She consoled Nani and Anjali. For the first time, she felt that they truly cared for her family. She assured both of updating them with everything going on in GH and fearing Arnav requested them not to go against him.Her family's safety was her first priority.She knew she can't fight the monster but can avoid the damages as much as she can. They shouldn't have come in a mile of this devil in the first place. They would have been so happy today.

Unchi Imaaraton Se Makaan Mera Ghir Gaya,
Kuchh Log Mere Hisse Ka Suraj Bhi Kha Gaye...

NOTE :

I AM SORRY FOR UPDATING SO LATE. WILL TRY TO POST NEXT UPDATE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

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22-09-2019