"Is everything ready? Okay, I will get there within half an hour, and what about Garima Gupta? Alright!" Arnav dashed out of Shantivan with Aman, leaving a baffled family behind.
"Where have these two gone?" Aditya Raizada asked his mother, perplexed. She shrugged, clearly unaware.
"I am scared, Mom," Ratna said worriedly. Dadi looked at her bahu in confusion.
"The way Chote is getting entangled in all of this, the way he's handling things, I'm scared he might do something wrong. You all know Khushi isn't just his love anymore-she's his obsession. If we don't stop this soon, then-"
"Bahu! Nothing will happen. Don't you know your Chote? Whatever he does, he does after deep thought. He won't do anything you fear," her mother-in-law reassured, stroking her hair.
"Even then, why doesn't he leave everything to the police? As far as I know, the police already have some leads."
"Enough, Ratna! Have you forgotten what those people tried to do to Khushi? Even after knowing everything, you're still saying this? Didn't you see Chote's pain when he found Khushi in that hellhole? And you want him to leave everything to the police? If it had been Anjali instead of Khushi, would you have said the same thing? Would you still ask Chote to forgive her culprits without giving them punishment? Just because it's Khushi, how can you be so selfish? I'm disappointed in you, Ratna. I didn't expect this."
"Adit! Stop it. Bahu is just worried about Chote. It's natural to think this way. That doesn't mean you should speak to her like that," his mother scolded him after seeing Ratna's tears. Aditya looked away, guilt creeping in.
"I... I didn't mean it, Aditya. I'm worried about both of them. I'm scared for Khushi too. If those women learn that Chote tricked them for Khushi, they might become even more vengeful. That's why I said let the police handle it."
She ran off, sobbing. It was the first time her husband had misunderstood her. How could he think she'd differentiate between Khushi and Anju? They were both her children.
Aditya felt guilty for misinterpreting her words. He glanced at his mother, who was glaring at him.
"Go and pacify her. You're too much sometimes. Just because your name starts with the same initial as Chote doesn't mean you need to act like him. Remember, there's only one ASR," she added with a small giggle.
