Trusting heart - ArShi - show based

1- The hurtful truth

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Arnav was numb. He could do nothing but stand still, searching for answers in Khushi's expressive eyes.

Khushi was still shaking, not able to bring the words out of her mouth. No matter how she turned the words over in her mind, she still couldn't find a way to tell the story without hurting him. She sighed heavily and gently took Arnav's hand and led him to the recliner, gesturing him to sit down and he obliges, unable to process anything. She kneels on the floor beside him, taking one of his large hands into her small ones.

"Arnav, do you remember when Di and the family made fun of the fact that my fiancé's name is Shyam, like your brother-in-law, and how he was also a lawyer like him"

Arnav's sharp brain connected the dots easily, but he didn't wish to jump to any conclusions before listening to the entire story. He just nodded his head slightly and Khushi continued,

"Like everyone, I thought that it was a coincidence. And I so wish that it was" she added the last sentence in a feeble voice, tears flowing from her eyes. She quickly wiped them and resumed the story of her meeting with Shyam in Lucknow, how she met him again in Delhi, how he helped her to find a job and how he managed to trick her Buaji into taking him in as a paying guest in her house. She sighed heavily when she told him how she got engaged to him on Diwali night because of her father's health and her neighbours' insults. But Arnav saw the additional spark of pain in her eyes at the mention of that fateful night when he had told her she meant nothing to him. Khushi blinked the memory away and so did Arnav when she told him how she finally discovered that the two Shyams were one and same.

"I promise you Arnav, I didn't know about it until I saw him at the terrace on that day, I had been having doubts for some time then, but I had no chance to meet Anjali ji's husband to confirm them. He was hiding every time I came to the house, and there weren't any pictures of him in the house. When I saw him at the terrace on the function, I cut all ties with him by throwing the engagement ring on his face..."

She stopped, giving him time to process everything she had said to him. She knew how broken he would be. After all, Shyam was his brother-in-law, the one man with whom he had trusted his sister, the most important person in his life after his parents' death, with. She could feel his pain, but she knew she had to tell him everything. Shyam would not change, and, from what he told her at the terrace, he was also dangerous for both the families. Arnav's rage filled voice brought her back from her thoughts.

"Why didn't you tell me on that day, Khushi? Why did you keep all this to yourself? Didn't you think that I, Di and the family had the right to know that the loved and respected son-in-law of the Raizadas was, in real, a two timer?"

His words hurt Khushi, but she knew he was right in his place. She should have told him, but she also knew that the reasons that had held her back from telling the truth at that moment were completely justifiable.

"I wanted to tell Di immediately after that, but when I saw her shattered because of her broken Mangalsutra, I couldn't bring myself to tell her and break her heart."

He saw the sincerity in her eyes, this girl really cared for his sister, that thought managed to calm his raging heart, but he couldn't stop himself from asking:

"But why didn't you tell me? I know we were not on best terms but I would have listened"

"I tried ..." both of them remembered how she wasn't acting like her self on that day, but then she had to leave.

"That's why you were looking so disturbed on that day?"

She nodded, her eyes still locked with his.

"But why didn't you tell me after that?" he asked, with disappointment evident in his tone.

"I know I should have, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it and cause you pain as I know how much you care for Anjali ji, and I knew that the truth would shatter you and I didn't want to hurt you," she averted her eyes from his at the end, not ready to let him know the depth of her feelings for him.

He sensed her uneasiness, but he wasn't in the right state of mind to inquire about that now. All he wanted right now was to know why she and her family kept such a tremendous secret from his family.

He knew that what she said could never be a lie. Nobody would come up with such a twisted story, involving two entire families. But he couldn't comprehend why the Guptas said nothing about this.

"But why didn't your family tell anything to my family? Your buaji could have spoken with Nani, how could you let us all be fooled by that man, Khushi?"

She knew it hurt him; and the questions he asked her were absolutely correct. But the one thing that lightened the darkness surrounding her heart was the fact that he trusted her. He did ask why she didn't tell him before, but he didn't doubt her words and it caused her great relief to know that he believed her.

"Buaji didn't know how to tell this. She was helpless, and with jiji and Akash ji's alliance, we all thought that HE would repent and be faithful to Anjali ji. We thought that he would try to mend his ways, with the families being related, now."

Arnav was still angry, his mind was being hammered by a thousand thoughts, but he was glad that Khushi didn't utter his brother-in-law's name, and that somehow soothed his wounded heart. But he still had one question that was bothering him, more than the thousand other ones in his mind:

"But why now, Khushi, why are you telling me all this today, just before our siblings' wedding?" He was sure that she didn't see him on the terrace as both she and Shyam had been in the middle of a heated argument, unaware of their surroundings, so he wanted to know why she didn't wait for her sister's wedding to be over before she opened up to him about everything.

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So here's the first chapter, hope you'll like it.

Thanks for the support you gave to the prologue, I didn't expect even a single vote since it's my first works so I'm a little overwelmed. To thank you all, here's the first chapter, and the second one will probably be up by the end of the day since I was quit inspired this morning.

Stay safe and take care every one !

Lots of Love !

Ps: please feel free to give me your thoughts on my work to help me improuve the upcomming chapters :)

And a huge thank you to my friend @RoshaneeGayathri who accepted to edit this story !