Hell Bent, Heaven Sent

Darkest Depths

"I.... I don't really." Piyush stammered.

"Piyush!" Arshi threatened.

"Bhai, save me from her. Please tell her. She's old enough to handle it now." Piyush started begging Aarav.

Arshi left his collar. "And when did you find out."

"Woh.. I have..."

"Piyush", she came at him again.

"I found out in bits, mostly overhearing. But I saw the signs when you started college. Any trouble you had vanished automatically when you couldn't handle it. Then I remembered everything and put the pieces together."

"But what is this thing?" Naveen asked. His mother being close to Arshi's parents he had grown up being extremely protective of Arshi.

Aarav sighed and sat up straight. "First tell me who else knows things the way Piyush does."

Everyone raised their hands.

"What?" Arshi screamed.

"Come here." Aarav ordered Arshi. He knew she would need him once he started the story.

"No."

"Angel, please." He needed her presence to relieve those days too.

Arshi realised he was begging her.

Aarav held his sister and remembered everything he knew.

"24 years ago, Shyam Manohar Jha married Mom. She is the only sister to Mama, and he pursued her for the wealth as Mama didn't believe in love and marriage. He expected to get all his wealth. For three years he lived with them at Shantivan.

Then he met your mother, Angel. He fell in love with her. But he was married and not ready to let go of the Raizada property. So when Khushi Mami and Payal Mami moved to Delhi he duped them as a bachelor, leading Madhu Nani to fix his alliance with Khushi Mami. But he did not know she was Khushi Agnihotri. No one did. The plan was to let them get engaged and later tell him that Khushi Mami ran away as she was an adopted kid.

You see, that summer Mami had come back from college and an ex was stalking her like crazy. So, she had gone to Lucknow to stay with Payal Mami's family as they were the most disconnected from her Agnihotri name.

Then Mami was working at Shantivan and Mama fell in love with her too. He would go to drop her home many times and one time he saw Shyam. He hired a PI and found out that Shyam was cheating on Mom and was a fraud. So our family cut all ties with him.

When I was adopted, he visited us on New Year's, trying to lie and manipulate our family again. He hadn't divorced Mom then. That was the only time I saw him. I was taken inside as he was saying that your parents marriage was not right because you.... you were conceived before they got married."

Arshi stilled in his arms.

"I don't know if it's true Angel, I never had the courage to ask them or Mom. But Dad told me some years back that your parents were married legally first. The big fat Indian wedding happened because Chhote Mama was to be married and no one knew that your Dad was already married. That was one dramatic day. You should ask your Maasi, she was there."

"Mom always knows more than she let's on." Parul complained.

"Dad was the one who got the marriage license for your parents. Aarav told Arshi. It was Dad who was the first person your Dad told that your Mom was Khushi Agnihotri. He says he still remembers it because he had a mini cardiac arrest when he was told."

Arshi giggled at the image.

"Mami had everyone fooled. She was acting like a villager in Lucknow and Delhi to not let any suspicion arise."