A Night on a Highway (completed)

chapter-9

Some of you got confused in previous chapter and hope this chapter clears that. But yes, the man we knew as Shyam Jha is dead and yes, Shashi and Nani had poisoned him.

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To say that Arnav and Khushi were dumbfounded after Shashi Gupta's revelation would be an understatement. It was already shocking enough that Nani and Khushi's babuji had hatched this whole plan to remove Shyam Jha from their lives and now they were being told that Shyam Jha was not even Shyam Jha!

Khushi asked, something which Arnav too was trying to make sense of, "I don't understand this Babuji, you mean the man living with us-"

"Was not Shyam Jha, was never the real Shyam Jha." Shashi Gupta, for the first time, had fire in his eyes, as he told just who that man was- "Shyam Jha is a respectable 50-year-old man, a criminal lawyer whose life got ruined 4 years ago due to the same man who was living with us using fake identity and who had married Anjali bitiya 3 years ago."

Arnav and Khushi were stunned. Too shocked to react.

"Nani, I don't understand anything." Arnav confessed after a while, hiding his tired face in his palms. So, the man whom he detested to the core, whom his di had married and his Khushi almost got engaged to, whom his own nani had murdered was not even living with them using a real name? How?

And he probably said last part loud, as Devyani Raizada sighed sadly before she told them Shyam Jha-real Shyam Jha's story. "Woh ek behroopiya tha chote (he was a doppelganger). A very beastly one, just like his real name, Durjan(evil)."

With that, Nani told them what real backstory was:

4 years ago, Lucknow

Shyam jha was a respectable man whose family consisted of his 2 daughters-22 years old and 16 years old- his wife and his old mother. He had also employed a driver called Durjan Singh who lived in the outhouse with his wife and 2 years old daughter.

Everything was going fine or so he thought until one day a horrific reality came to his and his wife's knowledge. Their younger daughter was found unconscious in her room. Upon medical examination, doctors told them she had been physically abused-almost raped-but she probably protested, and her assaulter flew...

World collapsed around Shyam Jha. It didn't take long for police to arrest the culprit who had dared to come near her again, and he was none other than their trustworthy driver Durjan Singh!

Shyam Jha felt uncontrollable rage within him for this man. And him being a criminal lawyer, he was sure he will ensure maximum punishment for this man.

Only, the law doesn't work that fast. 1 year since the horrific incident and his daughter losing her mental balance along with much more, Durjan was still not given any punishment. He was in jail, but case was going on and on.

Shyam jha decided to take matters into his own hands. And just when he was going to implement his plan to kill Durjan Singh in jail itself, he was informed Durjan tried to escape from jail, was followed into a railway station and was killed coming in front of a moving train. His body could not be found as the fast-moving train probably ensured that. However, Shyam Jha never believed this. He had a feeling Durjan had managed to flee

And thus, he himself went underground, trying to find Durjan.

3 years after that, after living a life of a nomad away from his family, shyam jha finally found Durjan. And to his horror that man had stolen HIS identity!

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Arnav felt uncontrollable rage within him after hearing about that despicable creature they all lived with for 3 damn years! Khushi too had tears in her eyes realizing just how close she was to getting destroyed, but her devi maiyya saved her, in the form of Naniji and her babuji! She could connect the dots now. Naniji said she had received a call few days ago after which she started her investigation...