Charade (IPKKND AU)

Chapter 14: Crescendo

Khushi

For the first time since she'd left Lucknow for Delhi, Khushi climbed the steps to her Bua-ji's house feeling as though she didn't belong. It had only been a few short days but Shantivan already felt dangerously like home. She trembled with trepidation as she pressed the doorbell.

Amma opened the door with a smile that faded away almost instantly. For a brief, horrifying moment, she thought her mother wasn't going to let her in, but Amma stepped aside after a quick glance around the neighbourhood. Inside, Jiji was spooning water from a glass into Babu-ji's mouth. Her father's smile soothed some of her fears.

"Who is it, Nand Kishore?"

Bua-ji froze in the archway, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "You? Why are you here?"

"Bua-ji, did you think that I wouldn't come just because you didn't take me with you?" Khushi kneeled in front of her father with a pout, "Bua-ji always does this, Babu-ji! She left me there because I was a little late!"

Her father closed his eyes as a tear spilled over, his trembling hand moving a few inches to cover hers. She didn't try to hide her own tears, "Babu-ji, I miss you so much. I miss you all so much."

She crossed the room to stand with her mother, "Amma, I want to apologise for what happened, for how it happened."

When Amma didn't look at her, she tried her aunt, "Bua-ji, you always forgive me, so this time—"

"—No!" Bua-ji stepped away, "Not this time. Your apology won't change what's happened. I'll never forget it, the way you stood in front of us as a bride without any explanation or permission. No Khussi, there is no forgiveness for you after this!"

"But Bua-ji—"

"Do you think this is a joke, Khushi?" Amma spoke for the first time, "Do you think you can come here, apologise, and we'll forget everything?"

"She thinks it's a joke," Bua-ji seemed to shake with fury, "She didn't have to listen to what people were saying, she didn't have to answer the questions about how many girls we married off in the same night."

A hollow opened up in her tummy, threatening to swallow her whole. She stumbled into a chair, barely listening as Jiji tried in vain to calm everyone down. Bua-ji paced the floor as the raged.

"No one needs you in this house, Khushi, no one. Leave. Call your husband and ask him to get you this instant. Go!"

Standing on unsteady legs, Khushi placed Babu-ji's phone on the dining table before using her new one to make a call. Arnav-ji answered almost instantly.

"Khushi?"

"I'm ready to leave," she tried to keep her voice from cracking, "Can you ..."

"So soon? Is everything alright?"

"No, it's ... it's fine. I thought I would go to the temple. Can you meet ... meet me there?"

"Yeah, sure," his tone lowered, "But Khushi, are you sure everything is okay?"

"Yes. I'll see you ... see you when you get there."

Brushing away her tears, she ended the call and turned back to her family. Jiji placed a hand on her shoulder and faced their family defiantly, "Amma ... Bua-ji ..."

"Don't defend her, Payaliya," Bua-ji growled, "what kind of a sister elopes with your jeth-ji on your wedding day?"

"It's okay, Jiji," Khushi tried to smile, "I'll see you at home this evening."

She turned to the door, barely holding herself together. A part of her hoped that someone would stop her but no one spoke as she crossed the threshold. Her heart seemed to break anew as she closed the door behind her.

The short walk to the temple passed in a blur.

"Do you think this is a joke, Khushi?"

"No one needs you in this house, Khushi, no one."

She slipped off her shoes before entering, standing as close to the dais as possible.

"I miss my home," she told her best friend, "I miss Amma and Babu-ji. How could they ... they just ..."

She lapsed into silence as her phone lit up and her husband's name scrolled across the screen. Some part of her noted that he'd put his name in as "Arnav", not "Arnav-ji". Instead of answering, she worked her way to the temple entrance to find her shoes. When she looked up, she saw his car pulling up to the front of the temple and watched as he parked it.

He slid out.

Some part of her broke when their eyes met.

She ran, holding her sari in one hand and her phone in the other, and crashed into him. Her tears wet the fabric of his waistcoat.

"Ssshhhh," his hand found her hair, "Khushi, calm down."

Somehow, his gentle comforting only made her cry harder. "They said," she hiccuped, "they said that they didn't need me anymore. That they would never forgive me."

"Come."

Arnav-ji scooped her up, waiting until she gripped his collar before carrying her to his car. Once there, he helped her into her seat and handed her a handkerchief. Khushi smiled at him wanly, grateful for the small kindness.

It wasn't until they stopped, not even five minutes after he slid into the driver's seat, that she realised they weren't going home. He'd parked the car in front of Bua-ji's house.

"Arnav-ji?" she questioned.

He paused in the middle of alighting from the car, "It's time we ended this charade once and for all."

She tried to reason with him as he led her up the steps on the porch, "Arnav-ji, you can't ... they're very upset ..."

"Trust me."

Bua-ji opened the door at his knock, "Payaliya, did you forg—"

"Namaste," he greeted, "May we come inside, Bua-ji?"

He stepped over the threshold, not waiting for an answer, and her aunt was forced to allow him inside. Khushi trembled as her mother and father froze at the dining table.

"I'll tell you what I told her," Bua-ji spoke after closing the door, "we have no need for you either of you here. Payaliya was so upset that Aakash-babua came and collected her. They didn't even eat lunch."

"I know you're angry," Arnav-ji began, "but this is hardly necessary."

"What did you expect, after what you two did?" Amma stood, "You eloped with our daughter. She, and you, have shamed us. We have nothing to say to either of you."

"Shamed you?" her husband's tone was ice, "Tell me, would you have disowned Payal if she'd done the same thing?"

"Payal would never—"

"Don't presume to tell me what Payal would or wouldn't do," Arnav-ji interrupted Bua-ji, "I know exactly how far she would go for her family."

"Arnav-ji," Khushi yanked at his sleeve, "What are you ..."

He ignored her, "Her marriage to my brother is based on lies. You, all of you, were so eager to marry Payal into the Raizada family that you put Khushi's safety and welfare on the line."

"What?! How dare you!" Amma screeched.

"Leave, leave now!" Bua-ji demanded.

"Arnav-ji ... please ... let's go ..."

But he remained where he was, deathly calm.

"Tell me about Shyam Manohar Jha."