Making Her Mine- An IPKKND story.

Chapter 18 - Discoveries

It was much harder to come up with strategies to woo Khushi than to figure out how to get businesses to work with AR, that was for sure.

Before he could begin to form a plan, Aman called.

Arnav found Khushi in the kitchen, peeling apples.

"Amma and Buaji have gone out with Babuji," she said when she saw him. "I couldn't go because you're here." Her tone was unnecessarily accusatory.

"I have to go out too. Something came up." Regretful, but it couldn't be avoided. When was the last time he had been alone with Khushi?

She turned away and began slicing apples—dozens of slices piled up on a plate.

"Is there some kind of puja? Why are you cutting so many of them?"

"Don't you have to go somewhere?"

"Yeah. Can I have one?"

She shot him a dirty look but passed the plate. He quirked her a half-smile—Khushi sharing food was surely a sign of thawing. "Thanks."

Aman was waiting for him at the office with a large folder tucked under his arm.

"They have more or less finished their investigation," he said as soon as Arnav had sat down. "There's a lot."

For the next two hours, Aman told him everything the detectives had found about Shyam. Some of it Arnav already knew. Shyam's parents were dead—one of the reasons both he and Di had felt a kinship with him in the beginning. He seemed not to be close to anyone else in his family, although he did have an uncle on his father's side and cousins. It looked like they hadn't treated him well. Shyam's mother's side of the family had been estranged from her before their marriage, even though it had been an arranged marriage. Shyam had been the only child and had left home soon after high school, a year after his parents' deaths, months apart—his mother first, in an odd kitchen accident, and then his father, who had been sick.

He had supported himself through law school and had done well, becoming a government lawyer. He had moved from Lucknow to Delhi for college but visited Lucknow often, although he never went to see his family. Instead, he had a lot of friends and acquaintances, staying with them. Many people owed him favors. He often worked pro bono and didn't make much money. Arnav had known most of this, although not so much about his family.

The detectives also confirmed what Khushi had told him. Shyam had fought off a group of men in Lucknow almost a year ago. The men had been harassing Khushi, and the detectives had confirmed this. They had tracked down the men, who hadn't known Shyam—he had just inserted himself into the situation. Shyam had indeed lived in Buaji's house as a paying guest for several months and was known to the neighbors. All the times he had told Arnav's family he was busy on tour, he had been at Buaji's house.

There had been some gossip about an affair with the younger niece—Khushi. They had been engaged briefly, according to the closest neighbors, although this had not been widely known. Then he had disappeared abruptly and hadn't kept in touch with any of his old acquaintances in the neighborhood.

There was more. Shyam had evidently blackmailed several of his clients, especially those he had done favors for. His work colleagues knew he was married to a rich woman, and some of them seemed to think he had married for money—he had expensive taste and a far more lavish lifestyle than a government lawyer could afford.

That vile snake.

Arnav let Aman hold on to the folder and passed instructions for the detectives to continue keeping an eye on Shyam's activities for now. There was plenty of evidence, but not enough to get him in trouble yet. Maybe Shyam would be able to explain away the paying guest thing to Di. Arnav needed something more. He had to wait, even if he hated Shyam and wanted to evict him from Shantivan immediately. He had no choice.