(IPKKND AU) In love with his brother-in-law's mistress, Arnav Singh Raizada is torn between his duties as a brother and his feelings for a woman who could destroy everything he loves. After giving his wife a final chance to explain herself at the ai...
His voice echoed all around her, calling her name with a desperation she'd never heard before. Khushi was in an alien place, a mess of dead trees, fog, and shadows that confused her. She tried to follow Arnav-ji's voice but the sound came from all around her, everywhere at once.
"Khushi ..."
She turned and spied her payal on the floor, the same payal that Arnav-ji had returned to her on the night of Diwali.
What is it doing here?
Khushi looked around for clues and spied something reflecting light a few steps to her right. A small key, she realized as she approached it. The same key she'd kept with her for months, a memento of the second time she'd met Arnav-ji, and returned when he'd announced his intent to marry Lavanya-ji.
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"Khushi ... Khushi ... Khushi ..."
Panicked, she looked around frantically for any clue to her husband's whereabouts. She thought she saw a shadow of a man in front of her and ran towards him. He kept eluding her, seeming to slip away just as she came near. She chased him through fog and endless woodlands for what felt like hours, and then finally, he stopped running. Khushi approached him cautiously, suddenly afraid to see his face.
"Khushi ..."
He slowly turned towards her and her heart rejoiced when she recognized Arnav-ji's face in profile. To her horror, his features melted, morphing into Shyam's face in front of her eyes.
The world tipped, and then Shyam was cornering her at the poolside and asking her to trust him, to betray her Arnav-ji and get his signature through guile. Shyam was holding her by the poolside while Arnav-ji stood mere feet away, his fingers digging into her arms as he growled at her, calling her out on her empty threats. Shyam was forcibly holding her to him on the terrace, claiming to love her and vowing to leave Di.
Shyam held red roses as he leered at her from across the room, his hands red from the powder he'd tried to smear on her cheeks.
Shyam tried to touch her while Di sat right there, her eyes closed as she indulged in a head massage.
Shyam stood in front of her mirror, shirtless and having clearly just emerged from her shower.
Shyam stalked towards her in the total darkness of her bedroom as she sat cowering on the bed.
Khushi awoke, screaming for her husband in terror.
She felt movement on the bed and a hand touched her shoulder. Frightened beyond coherent thought, Khushi screamed once more and flung herself from the bed, heart hammering.
"Don't touch me. Don't come near me. Don't even dare," she yelled into the darkness, convinced that Shyam had dared to sleep in Arnav-ji's place on their bed.
"Khushi?"
Arnav-ji's voice, edged with concern, cut through Khushi's fear. She remembered where she was and who she was with.
The lights came on and she saw Arnav-ji approaching her slowly, hands held palm up in front of him to show he was no threat, worry casting shadows on his face.
Almost dizzy with relief, she ran to him, burying herself in his arms and sobbing as the worst of the nightmare left her. He held her tightly and stroked her hair, whispering words of comfort.
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Author's Note:
If you're enjoying Forgive Her Anything, you may want to check out my Secret Romance series (completed), in which Khushi and Arnav are in a secret relationship they're hiding from everyone. Also Rishtaa: An Arranged Love just began :)
