“But then why did you pretend to abide by her plan chotte?" Anjali asked

"Because he didn't trust me. He was skeptical of my intentions with his Khushi." Shyam said

"Why would he?"

"Because I.. gave him the reason. As much as I regret having to say this, But there was a point in these last few months where I had deviated, I was.. Indeed unfaithful to you. To myself.” Shyam said solemnly

Anjali frowned

“Anjali, Today.. I'm not going to hold anything back, So you'll have to be prepared for more than the worst. Just remember, that I really love you” Shyam said “Although some of my actions would force you to conclude the opposite”

“Shyam-ji” Anjali whispered

“Where had I stopped?” Shyam asked

“Khushi's parent's death.” Arnav and Anjali spoke in unison.

“Right, After Mr. and Mrs. Vardhaan died, Khushi shifted with Bhoomika Mam and later with Mr. & Mrs. Gupta, She was safe and secure, away from Mrs. Mallik and Ayush Mallik, In Dehradun.” Shyam said

“How do you-?”

“You were my father's most loyal employee's only daughter. I felt responsible for being part of the reason your family was.. not with you and thus, I kept a watch on you for my satisfaction that at least you are safe” Shyam said.

“You were keeping a watch on me?” Khushi gasped

“Not really, I got occasional updates about your well being.” Shyam said “While you were.. happy and settled and safe, I concentrated on my life”

“Papa died three years after jiji’s death, I was 24, My uncle and I jointly handled business, And then, Some three years later he shifted to texas, leaving Indian branches on me. I was good, Not happy but living. And then.. One day, Out of the blues I went to the temple on jiji’s birthday, And there she was, Dressed in an peacock-green salwaar-kameez. Anjali Singh Raizada!” He spoke as if in a daze

“It wasn't exactly a meeting because the two of us didn't meet that day, I saw her and I knew I fell in love with that innocent smile.”

“You fell in love with me even before we met?” Anjali asked surprised

“You have no idea what you made me go through Anjali, That day I just went inside the temple, Did my prayers and came back. Got to know everything about you and I'd never thought I'd get to know that you're Arvind Mallik's daughter.” Shyam whispered

Anjali gulped, “Not that I blame you even now” Shyam spoke quickly

“I.. know that whatever your father did, the two of you had nothing to do with it, but it still took time, a hell lot of time for me to come to terms with the fact that I was indeed falling for Anjali Singh Raizada.” Shyam smiled at Anjali fondly

Anjali blushed

“After Two years, of patiently waiting, watching her from a distance like well behaved one sided lovers I finally gathered some courage to approach her, But not as DK. I couldn't live as DK anymore. I lied to her, to you and to everyone after that because I somehow couldn't tell her the truth. One of the reasons being.. That I was scared that Anjali might recognise the Kharbanda last name. I was not sure if you knew the real truth about your father's death or not. I wasn't sure if your grandmother had manipulated the two of you and if she had manipulated you, You would've held my father and myself as your parents’ killers which we weren't.”

“We were.. kicked out of Sheesh-Mahal after we returned doing the last rites of Mumma and.. and him” Arnav said quietly

“I got to know.. later of course. The second being that I hadn't really used that name for a long time in public. My staff obviously knew me and as you can well make out I'm well protected and very well hidden so no one really knows who DK is.” Shyam shrugged

“We got married, You asked me to stay back at your place, I saw no reason to deny. I knew how much you both loved each-other and I didn't have a family to take her back to. And this way I also got the family I was so craving for” He added

Anjali and Arnav smiled.

“Everyone accepted me and I almost forgot that there was a past connecting us with each-other, Of course my family was constantly on my mind and so was Khushi's safety.” Shyam  said “2 years ago, Khushi came back to lucknow after her graduation and my security became on high alert.”

“Why would she need all this security years after all that happened?” Anjali asked

“Lucknow is the place where all of that happened, While she and Payal were in Dehradun for their studies, I was only getting occasional updates from my staff, But Lucknow is a sensitive place, and it wasn't safe for her to be unprotected there besides the security went on high alert only after we got to know that Khushi could still be on Mallik radar for reasons, 1. She was A Vardhaan 2. She was Garima gupta's daughter, Who was also one of the girls Arvind Mallik had tried to lure into his charms, although he couldn't succeed completely 3. The thing that no one in the room except Payal knows, She was a practising lawyer before the Fashion show Fiasco happened, and she was closely associated with a case involving Avinash Mallik's only son” Shyam explained.

“Although the first two reasons had a very  low chance, The last one made me worried”

“You are a lawyer?”  Arnav asked

“I have done my graduation in law but.. I have discontinued my practice.” Khushi told him

“Why?”

“No one wanted to marry a working woman, back in Lucknow. After my alliance came, I left my Fashion internship in the middle because my in-laws didn't want me to work. The same family I was going to get married in, asked for Khushi's alliance too and thus she had to discontinue practice” Payal explained

“It was Anirudh Mahanth, Not Mallik. Shyam-ji” Khushi corrected Shyam.

Shyam smiled “Avinash and his wife had parted ways when Gauri Mallik, His wife got to know of her husband's vile nature. Gauri remarried while Anirudh was still an infant. Her second husband, Vivek Mahanth is Anirudh's father in official documents and thus Anirudh Mallik is Anirudh Mahanth, Gauri Mahanth passed away a few years back due to a cardiac arrest, Vivek Mahanth is alive but Aniruth is not attached to his step father for some reason, He is more inclined to Avinash Mallik and the influence that Gauri wanted to protect her son from, is getting better of Anirudh. He's yet another spoilt Mallik, who's making a full use of his birth family's influence.”

Khushi looked surprised at the piece of information “I didn't know that.”

“So yes, The security was on high alert. And it eventually came handy because how else could I have reached the market when those boys were molesting you in the market in Lucknow? Although the securities were there as well, But I didn't want to scare you by deploying trained security personnel and I was luckily closeby and hence reached just in time.” Shyam said

“You got molested?” Arnav asked shocked

“Your 'Airing the clip' stunt had to have its repercussions on her.” Shyam said.

“I.. I am sorry Khushi” Arnav apologized.

“And that was when I met her for the first time, I told you about her when I came back Raani-Saheba” Shyam said, Anjali nodded.

“Although I didn't know it was Khushi-ji” She said

“I didn't know you'll ever know her, Anyway.. Lucknow wasn't a safe place for her anymore, For two reasons, First: The people wouldn't have left the Guptas especially the girls to be in peace after your stunt, Second: Avinash Mallik. He was humiliated beyond words by you and thrown out of Sheesh Mahal by you and he was frustrated beyond everything. Malliks aren't known to be very good decision makers when overwhelmed by any emotions, Anger, restlessness, even love. It could turn dangerous for Khushi.” Shyam spoke meaningfully glancing at Arnav

Arnav sighed, looking apologetic as ever.

“Then, Her parents decided to send both her & payal-ji with Buaji to Delhi. In a way, It worked in my favour as I could keep a better watch on her from Delhi.”

“Is that how she landed in AR? You helped her?” Arnav asked as comprehension dawned upon him

“Exactly, But I immediately realised that it was a bad idea after the Guesthouse mishap and then-”

“The resignation” Arnav mumbled.

“Why did you stay with us when you had a house in the same city?”

“Turns out, Avinash Mallik was under the illusion that the Whole Mallik family had died after their stunt of Fourteen Years Ago but after the clip became viral, Avinash recognised Khushi because she shares many similarities with her mother. Avinash Mallik followed her to Delhi and I followed him trying to keep Khushi away from his reach.” Shyam said calmly

“Why would you take so much pain to protect me?” Khushi asked softly

“I owed your father that one. The only thing, that was more important to him than my father was his family. It was our problem that ended up killing your family and-” Shyam spoke

“You felt obligated to protect me” Khushi completed for him

“Initially, yes. It was an obligation, But later it became instinctive. I just wanted to protect you from anything that might cause you harm and so I always discouraged your meetings with Arnav because I knew that his attempts of pushing you away from him resulted in catastrophe. Even on Diwali, I knew something major had transpired between the two of you when you agreed for the engagement without any fuss.” Shyam said

“Engagement?” Anjali gasped

“No one knew I was married to you, or I would've lost the reason to stay close to Khushi, And about the engagement, Some people in Laxmi-Nagar had started to badmouth Khushi and Myself. Buaji liked me for Khushi and announced that the two of us should get engaged. It came as a surprise even to me. But.. what was even more surprising was the fact that Khushi agreed. I had counted on her to disagree with the said proposal, but when she didn't I knew my dear BIL had messed up big time, And Anjali's call solidified my conclusion.” Shyam said

“Shashi uncle asked Khushi if she really wanted to get engaged, and after clearing her head when she gave the whole situation another thought, She denied.” Shyam added

“So we didn't get engaged” Khushi said

“But then..” Shyam spoke

“I saw him at your place, When you introduced him as your husband, I.. confronted him.” Khushi whispered

“I told her that whatever I am doing is for her own good, But I had still lied and thus Afterwards, I was out of Gupta House and.. It was Okay. But not for me, After staying in that house for quite a few months with close proximity with Khushi.. I developed an instinctive behaviour which I misinterpreted as.. as love” Shyam said and instantly felt Anjali stiffen beside himself.

She deserves to know everything

“Di..” Arnav whispered.

“It was my fault, of course. I started to behave strangely with Khushi almost started to stalk her. And that of course made Khushi alarmed and uncomfortable, She told me to stay away from her, Tried every single day to maintain her distance. Every single time I approached her she found one excuse or the other to stay away from me.” Shyam spoke “But I was acting like a jerk that I had been back then.”

“I had called her at the terrace on Payal and Akash's marriage day, She came thinking that it was Arnav who had called her. I tried to convince her, that I will always keep her happy more than Arnav could. I tried to convince her of my non-existent love for herself but like always.. She shunned my advances and left, But my ego was bruised and I.. just couldn't help but blame Anjali for my so called unrequited love. I was crazy! It was all my fault.” Shyam confessed

“It was all my fault and once again, Khushi and Arnav bore the brunt” Shyam spoke guiltily.

Anjali was looking at him with a million questions filled in her eyes, looking at her Shyam couldn't meet her gaze

“Why?” She whispered, tearfully.

“I'm sorry Anjali, I am sorry for thinking like that.” Shyam apologised sincerely “But I never tried to hurt her or do anything by force.”

“He's right. He didn't try to force himself on me he stayed in his limits, But.. He said that he didn't.. didn't..”

“I told her that I didn't love you anymore” Shyam confessed

“You don't?”

“I do Anjali. I love you, But I was blinded in that moment, In that moment I couldn't see how much I loved you. All I saw was that.. that Khushi was dismissing me because of you” Shyam berated himself mentally for making her go through all this, Only if.. He had realized earlier.

“So you did plan that accident to kill me? Chotte & Khushi-ji were right. You wanted to kill me.”

“I just.. I have no explanations to offer for that, I am sorry for doing that. I did it. Yes! But the brake failure wouldn't have killed you and I Knew that. I didn't want to kill you Anjali but I know that isn't explanation enough. It could've been catastrophic and I didn't pause think of the consequences of my one silly action. I didn't want to kill you Anjali, I swear I didn't.” Shyam was sobbing softly Recollecting the horrendous day.

Anjali took in a deep, shaky breath. Khushi gave her a glass of water which she gulped down greedily.

“You were so happy about the pregnancy” Anjali whispered through constricted throat.

“Of course I was happy, I loved you more than anything else in this whole wide world. I loved you enough to ignore the fact that you were Arvind Mallik's daughter. I loved you enough to change my name, I loved you enough to.. to completely discard my old self. My love was overshadowed by a temporary one-sided infatuation for a little while, but I never stopped loving you. When I realised that you had left taking that car, all I wanted to do was to.. to run behind you and.. and stop you, But you were long gone, and for the first time in my life I loathed myself for becoming a jerk and pursuing someone/something which was never going to be mine and in the process, hurting you. I'm sorry, I committed a sin” Shyam apologised over and over again.

“I realized that I had become like the man I have hated all my life, I became another Arvind Mallik, I didn't.. I didn't want to Anjali.. I have loathed that man for a lifetime, But I became like him and the thought made me want to kill myself. I thought I'd never have the courage to confess to you about whatever happened, But you deserve to know. And you deserve to decide for yourself.” Shyam said

Anjali sighed, “What can I even.. Say?” She asked

“I already told you that I'm not going to hold anything back, I don't want to lie to you Anjali. It was a dark phase and I'll never forgive myself for doing that to you even if you do.” Shyam said “I admit that I wanted to, But I never cheated on you Anjali. I never could”

“Why didn't you stop me and offer this explanation when I showed everyone the proofs of your being responsible for the accident, or when I asked you to leave the house?” Arnav asked

“Because I knew and understood what you were going through, It was your sister I Had wronged and it.. it was fair on your part to react like that. And I would've offered this explanation to when the time was right and you were in a better and calmer state of mind.” Shyam said calmly

“When were you going to talk to me?” Arnav asked

“I was coming home to talk to you the day Mrs. Mallik came home, And I wasn't ready to make it a little show for her to sit back and enjoy.” Shyam said firmly

“Mrs. Mallik was always defending you, even on Di's baby shower we were having a full fledged argument about bringing you back home, before that accident happened.” Arnav informed

“She came home because she got to know of your marriage with Khushi.. and through Avinash she got to know that.. she was Vardhaan Sir's daughter and of course she couldn't digest that so easily. Upon that your rude behaviour from the time she came here to stay. She didn't want the people to question her so called family's name when they saw Anjali alone during her pregnancy. She wanted Anjali to either move in with me, or bring me back to this house.” Shyam said

Arnav nodded.

“What time is it?” Khushi asked after a little while

“Uh.. It's 3 in the afternoon” Anjali told her.

“We became too engrossed in our conversation to notice that its way past lunch time, considering there are two pregnant women in this house, We shouldn't act irresponsible with our meal times.” Arnav said

“Two?” Anjali uttered confused

“Khushi?” Payal looked surprised at her baby sister who blushed

“Khushi-ji? Chotte? Oh my God!!” Anjali exclaimed happily

Arnav smiled while Khushi blushed even deeper a shade of red.

“I'm very happy Khushi-ji. Many many Congratulations to the two of you.” Anjali patted her head affectionately.

“Thank you di!” Khushi said softly  

“Come on, let's have our lunch.” Arnav said and led Khushi towards the dining table while Shyam took Anjali.

suryakavi0912 Here's your most awaited update

All the confusions cleared?

Shyam Manohar Jha clears everything. Anything left out? I hope finally I've cleared Jija-ji's image.

From the first till the last meet I hope I've explained everything satisfactorily. I'm kind of skeptical of how this chapter came out. I so hope I've done justice

Let me know.. what you think of this chapter.

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