They all turn to see Arasi holding Ruaan at gunpoint. Jaimi moves closer to Aarush and eyes the others who are equally shocked. 

Vishnu: Arasi, kya kar rahi ho? Ruaan ko chodo!

Arasi: Nahi! 25 saal se aaj ka intezaar kar rahi thi toh aaj khaali haath toh nahi jaungi. 

Nikita: Kaki please Ruaan ko chod dijiye!

Chandani: Tumhari jo bhi dushmani hain woh inn dono se hain toh humare bacche ko kyu chot pahocha rahi ho?

Jaimi has flashbacks from her past seeing Ruaan crying and screaming. 

Jaimi: Aap ko jo chahiye woh mein de dungi aap usko chod dijiye!

Arasi: Mujhe tumse kuch nahi, tum dono hi chahiye. 

Aarush: Bakwas karna band karo!

Abhishek: Arasi! Ruaan ko jaane do. Inn dono baccho ne tumhara kya bigada hain?

Arasi: Inn dono ne hi sab bigaada hain! 

Anil: Tum kya bol rahi ho?

Arasi: Ved ki mujhse shaadi hone wali thi aur uske bacche ki maa bhi mein hi banane wali thi par woh Daksha ne sab bigaad diya!

Avantika: Tum kya bol rahi ho?

A man comes from behind and wraps his arm around Arasi. They smile at each other and give them an evil smirk. 

Arasi: Jab surrogacy ki baat shuru hue thi tab surrogate ke liye mein ek choice thi. 

Anil: Toh phir?

Arasi: Tumhari behen Daksha ne humara plan sun liya tha ki mein already 2 weeks pregnent thi aur usne Ved ko bata diya. That bitch! Hume Patel Industries tak toh kaise bhi jaana tha. Pata chala ki Ved ki jaan Daksha mein hain toh usko hi target banaya. Abhishek ko nasheeli davae de ke sab ko yeh dikhaya ki humara affair chal raha tha. And, all of them actually believed that bullshit! Like, jo aadmi apni biwi ke alwa kisi aur ko dekhta nahi usne mujhe pregnant kar diya. 

Arasi laughs while the colors are drained from others' faces. 

Arasi: Avantika ne mera kaam aasaan kar diya! Usne Daksha ko nikal diya aur divorce ki maang ki taki mein Abhishek se shaadi kar sakhu par mein toh woh nahi chahti. Toh meine Ved ke saath ek deal ki thi ki woh mujhse shaadi karega aur iss bacche ko apnaega like his own and in exchange mein sab ko yeh bata dungi ki mera aur Abhishek ka koi chakkar nahi hain. Par, Daksha phir se beech mein aa gae and this time with Krishna! Daksha ne divorce le liya aur mujhe Abhishek se shaadi karni padi. I feel bad for you Abhishek! Tumhari khud ki maa ne tumhara ghar tod diya aur tumhare bete aur the love of your life se durr rakha. 

Abhishek looks at her and grits his teeth. 

Khushi: Yeh baccha Shraddha hain? Woh Abhishek uncle ki beti nahi hain?

Arasi: Woh meri aur Raghav ki beti hain! Divorce ke baad bhi families contact mein thi. Ved inn sab ke baad bhi Shraddha se nafrat nahi karta tha toh mein usko aur Shraddha ko paas rakhti thi par woh ek saal ke liye gayab ho gaya aur ek bacche ke saath wapas aaya. 

She looks at Jaimi in disgust. 

Arasi: Meine puri koshish ki isko raaste se hatane ki. 

Sangeeta: Aarush ko kyu?

Arasi: Jaimi ko kuch hua toh sab kuch Aarush ke naam pe chala jaata. Tum logo ko toh Ved ek phuti kodi na de. Yeh dono marr gae toh Ved Shraddha ko adopt kar leta aur sab kuch Shraddha ka hota par nahi humesha yeh dono bach nikalte the! Bastards! 

Ratan: Ab iss sab ka kya karogi? Paise toh tum dono ko aaj bhi nahi milenge!

Arasi: Ved ke will ki jaise hi ek will banake rakhi hain jisme yeh likha hain ki woh sab Shraddha ke naam karta hain! Duniya ke liye toh yeh dono 7 saal pehle hi marr chuke hain. Inn Patel ka toh koi yakeen nahi karega aur the great Singh Family hume galat kaise saabit karegi? Duniya ke liye Ved Patel sirf ek businessman hain aur kuch nahi! 

Raghav: Wilson ke Raja toh humesha aap ko hi bataya gaya hain. 

Arasi: Ruaan chahiye toh inn dono ko humare hawale kar dijiye warna iski khopadi mein uda dungi!

Jaimi: No! Usko kuch mat karna. 

Aarush: Kya pagalpanti hain Jay? Yeh inka matter hain wohi solve karenge. 

Jaimi: He's a kid! 

Aarush: Unka baccha jisne puri zindagi hume dukh ke alwa kuch nahi diya. 

Jaimi: Doesn't change the fact that he's in danger because of us! Mein aap jo chahe woh karungi par usko chod dijiye. 

Arasi: Good girl!

Jai(JD): Jay, no!

Darshan looks at her in panic. 

Jaimi: It's ok. 

Raghav: Iss taraf aa jao!

Jaimi moves towards them with her hands raised. Aarush follows behind. They are a few feet away when Raghav tries to grab Jaimi by her shoulder. A gunshot is fired and it pierces through Raghav's hand. He screams in pain. Arasi lets go of Ruaan for a minute and Jaimi grabs him. Arasi points the gun toward Jaimi and has her fingers on the trigger when another shot is fired. The bullet hits her hand. Jaimi and Aarush are shielding Ruaan. They all are looking around frantically for the person who fired the shots. Their faces turn pale like they have seen a ghost. The two individuals walk over to them. Jaimi and Aarush freeze seeing their faces. 

Ved: Jaan?

Jaimi unconsciously takes a step back not believing her eyes. The others are too distracted to notice Arasi standing behind Jaimi. She holds the gun against Jaimi's temple while wrapping one arm around her neck. 

Arasi: Koi bhi aage aaya toh isko maar dungi!

Shraddha: Mom? Kya kar rahi hain aap?

Arasi: Tumhara future banane ki koshish jo ab fail ho chuki hain!

Shraddha: Mera future banane ke liye aap kisi ki jaan legi? That is ridiculous! Aur, aap ne puri zindagi mujhse jhooth bola! 

Arasi: Don't be stupid! Humse pucho ki struggle karna kya hota hain. Daulat ki aadat ho gae hain issi liye pata nahi hain ki local bus aur train ke dhakke kya hote hain. 

Shraddha: Woh bhi chalta par kisi ki jaan lena nahi!

Arasi: Shut up brat! Kabhi bus mein safar kiya ho tab pata chalega. 

Jaimi and Aarush are just looking at the two individuals in disbelief. The security comes in and takes Arasi and Raghav hostage. The police arrest them and inform everyone that they were able to find the guards that were kidnapped. Ved walks over to Jaimi and cups her face. 

Ved: Jaan? You ok sweetheart? Look at you, you're all grown up!

Jaimi: You're alive?

She looks over to Aarush to see him standing like a statue as Daksha tries to talk with him. 

Jai(JD): Jay? Aarush? Kuch toh bolo!

Aarush: Aap ko pata tha? Mama? Mami?

Jai, Ratan, and Aarna nod. Aarush moves back and walks towards the gate followed by Jaimi. They are escorted to the hospital by their security and police. The others reach the hospital after a while. They move towards Jaimi and Aarush's room to only be stopped by a nurse.  

Nurse: Aap sab andar nahi jaa sakhte abhi! 

Ved: Woh dono thik haina?

Nurse: Abhi check kar rahe hain. 

Vikraant and Kiara are looking at Ved and Daksha like they have seen a ghost. 

Ratan: Tumhare Ved Kaka aur Daksha Bua hi hain!

They snap out of their trance and look at their father. 

Vikraant: Par aap ne toh kaha tha ki-

Aarna: Sab ki safety ki wajah se hi jhoot bola tha. Jaimi aur Aarush pe hospital mein bhi kahi baar humle ho chuke the aur unko door le gae tabse hi sab ne maan liya tha ki woh dono marr gae. 

Ved: Doctor ko meine hi kaha tha ki hum dono ka mara hue zaahir karde taki hume koi dhoondhe nahi. 

Kiara: I don't believe this! Aap ne Jay aur Aaru se saat saal tak chupaya ki aap dono zinda hain? This is ridiculous! 

Daksha: Unn dono ki safety ke liye hi durr reh rahe the! Hum nahi chahte the ki unko kuch ho. 

Ayesha: Aap dono ne ek baar bhi nahi socha ki unn dono ka kya reaction hoga jab unko pata chala ki aap dono-?

Ved: Ayesha mein jaanta hoon par uss waqt jo sahi laga wohi humne kiya. 

Vikraant: Koi aur raasta bhi toh ho sakhta tha!

The doctor steps out of the room and they all turn to him. 

Doctor: Rani sa aur Aarush sa ko chot aae hain par dono thik hain. Aap chahe toh mil sakhte hain aur yaha bheed na kare tohi behtar hoga. 

Jai is the first one to enter the room. They all go one by one except Ved and Daksha. The others are escorted home by the police. Darshan, Jyugal, Hardik, and Siddharth enter the room. They see that Aarush has already fallen asleep.  

Jyugal: Tum thik ho?

Jaimi nods not being able to utter a word. Darshan looks at her to see bandages on various parts of her body. An IV drip is attached to her arm a pulse oximeter is on her finger. She is wearing a powder blue hospital gown. He sits on the stool beside. 

Darshan: Jay?

She slowly turns her head towards him. Her face is blank and emotionless. He looks into her eyes to see them empty. She was cold when he first saw her, but this is something different. A corner of his heart pains to see her like this. A few minutes later, they hear a knock on the door. Ved and Daksha enter the room. 

Siddharth: Hum chalte hain. 

Hardik: I hope both of you get well soon!

Darshan gets up to leave when she holds his hand. He looks down at her surprised. There is a strange fear in her eyes. He looks down at her and smiles. 

Darshan: Mein bahar hi hoon. 

She tightens her hold on his hand and shakes her head. The three leave and tension settles in the room. 

Ved: Jay? I'm sorry, love! I hurt you a lot. 

She tightens her hold on Darshan's hand.

Daksha: Jaimi? Bacche, tum thik ho?

Jaimi leans towards Darshan. He rubs circles on her hand in an attempt to calm her down. Ved sees her holding his hand. 

Ved: Tum abhi aaram karo. Hum kal baat karenge!

He kisses her forehead and gives her a warm smile. He looks at Darshan at nods his head before giving him a death stare. Daksha kisses hers and Aarush's forehead before following Ved out of the room. Darshan sits beside her and sees tears running down her face. 

Darshan: Little Warrior? Hey, it's ok! Shhh. It's ok!

He embraces her in a hug and rubs soothing circles on her back. She cries for close to half an hour in his embrace. Darshan continues to rub soothing circles on her back. After some time, she falls asleep in his arms. He lays her down properly and kisses her forehead. He tucks Aarush in as well before leaving the room. He sees two guards standing outside. 

Guard: Sab Bhavan chale gae! Aap bhi chale jaiye. 

Darshan nods and walks out of the hospital. He glances down at his watch to see it's 4:30 in the morning. He moves towards the gates in hopes that he will find a cab. A car pulls up beside him and he jumps back in fear. The window rolls down and he is stunned to see the person. 

Ved: Young man, get in!

Darshan stares at him for a minute. 

Ved: Mein bhoot nahi hoon aur bite bhi nahi karta so toh tum safe ho. Get in!

He slowly moves towards the car and takes a seat in the passenger seat. Ved pulls away from the hospital and starts towards the Bhavan. Darshan is tense and on the edge. 

Ved: Thank you!

Darshan: Huh?

Ved: Jay ko sambhal ne ke liye. That should've been me, but she doesn't trust me. I don't blame her though! She and Aarush had to go through a lot because of me. 

Darshan: Usko thoda waqt chahiye. She loves you a lot! 

Ved: I know, but I was never able to be with her when she needed me the most. 

There is silence for a few minutes before Ved speaks again. 

Ved: Just because I am being nice to you doesn't mean you will hurt my little girl! 

Darshan: No sir. I would never!

Ved: Young man, I was once your age! I have been there and done everything you are doing. Just know one thing, if I can fake my death to protect her then, think about what I would do to you if you hurt her! 

Darshan: I will keep it in mind, sir. 

Ved pulls into the parking lot of the Bhavan. Darshan opens the door when Ved's voice stops him. 

Ved: Tumhara naam kya hain?

Darshan: Darshan Raval, sir!

Ved: I have my eyes on you, young man.

Darshan: Yes sir. Good night!

Ved nods in response as Darshan scurries away from the car. 

**********