Making Her Mine- An IPKKND story.

Chapter 33 - Recollections

Akash and Aman came in the morning. It was still early, but Khushi had already gotten off the bed, helped Arnav sit up, and wash and brush in bed.

"Bhai, you look good!" Akash said, giving Arnav a full body once-over. "I came with breakfast. Doctor said you can eat soups and soft food." He held up a large basket. "Khushi-ji, you want to eat here too, or at home?"

Khushi looked reluctant. "I think I'll stay here—"

"No, Khushi-ji, you have to go home for a while. You can come back. Mohan is waiting for you. Please go and rest a little. Payal and Di are worried about you. Aman and I will be here until then."

Arnav looked between them. It was clear this was a conversation they had had before.

"Khushi, I think you should go. Shower and change and rest a bit. I'll see you later—Akash and Aman are here anyway," he said to her.

She looked like she was going to argue, but changed her mind, huffed, and left the room.

The three men watched her leave.

"You really do look better, sir," Aman said, smiling.

Akash placed a bed table on Arnav's lap and began pulling out containers from the basket.

"Mushroom soup—this is nice, Di made it. Mashed potatoes. There's yogurt here. And some boiled vegetables—sorry Bhai. But you have to eat those vegetables, they're soft, and good for you."

Arnav made a face, and started on the soup.

"Bhai..." Akash began, hesitantly. "I don't know if Khushi-ji told you..."

"I've been unconscious for two weeks, someone attacked me on the road, I have head injuries. Yes."

Aman and Akash exchanged a glance.

"She didn't tell me in detail. You two better tell me everything. But I'll tell you what happened to me first."

The two men focused their full attention on him.

"I was driving—" he paused, looked at Akash and Aman, and an understanding passed between them. Why he had been driving around alone in the middle of the night instead of being at Buaji's house was not relevant.

"There was a car behind me—it had high beams on, and I wanted to turn around, so I stopped to let it pass. There was a man. He had a mustache, and he was wearing... a grey polo shirt, I think. He was big, about as tall as me, and had a bit of a pot belly. I've never seen him before."

The two men were listening to him intently.

"He stopped the car and walked towards me. I thought maybe he wanted something. I didn't see any weapon—he opened my car door. I didn't react fast enough—I wasn't expecting it. He hit me on the head. I don't know with what. He pulled me out and hit me again, and I lost consciousness. Then I woke up here."

Akash and Aman wore identical grim looks on their faces.
"Now, you guys tell me."

Akash cleared his throat. "Khushi ji called me," he said. "I think soon after you left. She said something had happened to you."

"What? How did she know?" But Arnav knew, somehow, that Khushi would have known.

"I don't know, Bhai. At first, I thought maybe it was—I thought maybe you two had a fight, and—but she was in hysterics. She was convinced something bad had happened, you were in danger. She insisted we call the police and start searching for you. I tried calling you, and when you didn't answer, I started worrying too. So I did end up calling the police. They found your car first. They found some blood near the car, leading to the bushes, and you... I was there when they found you. Bhai..."

"It was bad, sir," Aman said, seeing Akash struggle to speak. "The man—he must have thought you were...he meant to..." Aman was the one struggling to speak now. "Akash called me, and I got there just as the ambulance arrived. We thought..."

"That's it, Bhai. Police are investigating. The attacker didn't take anything–it was an attempted–you only–" Akash steeled himself. "Someone was trying to kill you. If we hadn't found you so fast Bhai...That's why we have security here, and also at Shantivan and Buaji's house, just in case."

"I told Akash about our investigation—on Shyamji," Aman said. "I haven't shared the details yet. I told him you will decide what to do with the information. But I thought he needed to know that you were looking into Shyam. For... to be careful."

Arnav nodded.

Akash clearly had had time to absorb the shock, but he still looked bewildered. "Bhai, I know you'll tell me in time. So I won't ask. But if you need me to do something..."

"Just keep an eye on him. Is there any update from the investigators, Aman?"

"Not much, sir. He has been home mostly. They didn't mention anyone like the man who attacked you. But I'll give them the description and have them check."

"How is everyone, Akash?"

"Everyone is fine, Bhai. They all wanted to come, but we decided to meet you in smaller groups. We didn't want to overwhelm you. They'll come later. You can imagine what everyone went through, Bhai. Especially Di. But she's okay now. She just saw the doctor, and everything is fine."

Akash glanced around the room and sighed. "But Bhai, Khushiji... she has been in the hospital throughout. She just refused to leave. She stayed here until the doctors said you were out of danger. Even then, we had to force her to go home for a while. Even now, she insists on being the one to stay the night. I was afraid... if something happened to you... I was afraid for her, even more than for Di. None of us could handle her—not even Payal or Amma. Bhai, this has been a terrible ordeal for her."

"She saved your life, sir," Aman added. "We found you in time because of her. And—she told me we cannot leave you alone at any time. I agreed. So there has always been someone by your side these two weeks. Mostly it's Khushiji, but Akash and I have taken turns as well. She insisted it had to be one of us. And— er— I told her about our investigation. Because she tried to warn me about Shyam, and I had to assure her that I understood."

Arnav nodded again.

Shyam may have tried to kill him, but finally, Arnav felt like he was getting somewhere with sorting out the filthy bastard. This was a vastly different feeling from the horrific moment when Arnav had to make cruel decisions–to keep secrets and punish Shyam and Khushi, as his world was breaking apart, on that terrible day five months ago.

This time, it was not revenge that drove him, but the need to protect: himself, his family, his sister, and his wife. And this time, he wasn't alone with secrets–Akash and Aman, and Khushi were with him. And eventually, it would be his whole family, even Di.

On Akash's wedding day, which would  become Arnav's wedding day too, he had stood in torrential rain beside his car, enraged, devastated, and completely alone. But now, even though he had just escaped death, he felt stronger, warmer, more human. And not at all alone.