Hearts Unfettered💞

3

Khushi sat frozen and watched the doom of her marriage and the utter humiliation of her family with her eyes wide open.
Her skin turned colder and her brain felt numb with each passing minute as she wondered where had she gone wrong and everything seemed meaningless. Breathing became a difficult task and her head felt light and heavy at the same time. All the most intense moments of pain in her life played and replayed themselves in front of her and her only hope of happiness, companionship, and love, Arnav, now seemed to be drifting away from her. Nothing seemed to matter anymore, she knew neither Arnav nor his family will ever want to do with her.

Dadi kept insulting Garima and her family all the while the rest of the family stood statued, helpless and silently crying.

No one could do anything. Neither could she.

She only wished, she could meet Arnav just for once, just to touch him once, kiss him once and make love to him once, for she could never have him or his life this lifetime.

She knew he loved her, more than she saw and more than he himself knew too and maybe that was why he isn't here. It would have been much more painful had he been here.

They were meant to be, maybe in another lifetime, but for now, they were just not made to last.

The guests haven't started coming yet and she realized it would be better if they left before anyone else came, for the only person she could help or save in this circumstance was Garima and her family.

Khushi slowly stood up from the mandap, and dragged herself to where Garima was crying on the floor and sat down to her level and lifted her chin and gently wiped her tears.

"Come on, let's leave.", she said softly.

Garima was stunned for a moment and broke into sobs immediately at Khushi's gesture. The nightmare of her past seemed to be repeating itself time and again and now played with her daughter's life too. Though she knew what Dadi was saying about her wasn't entirely true, she could never prove herself and today Khushi was paying the price.

"Go, get out before I throw you out myself.", Dadi said approaching Khushi and started pulling her by hand and slapping her hard.

While Khushi was too shocked and hurt, Nani and Anjali gasped and immediately approached her, pulling Dadi away.

Nani knew the situation was getting out of hand.

"Enough Subhadra. You had no right raising hand on Khushi bitiya. She is not at fault here and she is not leaving anywhere.", Nani said while Anjali, Payal, and Manorama checked on Khushi and found her hand and cheek bruised.

"Haven't you heard a word I said Devayani? This, this woman is responsible for the death of your daughter.", she yelled now, pulling Garima by hand and shaking her. Nani was shocked at Dadi's rage for she seemed like she is possessed by anger and would kill people in her anger if not stopped.

She is not the Subhadra she knew, in fact, now she felt like she is a different person altogether ever since she came back to Shantivan a few weeks ago.

She looked back at Shyam who was smirking looking at Khushi's crying frame and immediately changed his expression when he noticed that she was looking at him.

She needed to sit down and think calmly in this situation. Just a few days ago, Subhadra insisted they bring back Shyam and hated Khushi since the moment she stepped and now throwing such vile accusations at Garimaji just moments before the wedding.

Dadi demanded they bring Shyam back into the house despite Arnav's protests and now trying to break Arnav-Khushi's wedding, it all seemed like a plan. She can't let her family be on the path to destruction, she knew how much Arnav loved Khushi and what a kind and loving soul Khushi and how down-to-earth and humble her whole family is. She herself is kind but not blind.