One Step Closer (IPKKND FF | Complete)

Chapter Sixteen

"Stand back! Now!"

Suddenly there was a rumbling sound right behind the wall, and Khushi quickly stepped back. A crack appeared, then another, and then a rotating saw blade emerged through to the surface.

Arnav proceeded to hastily cut out a chunk of the wall and then vigorously kicked at the edges a few times. Bits of plaster shot in all directions as he finally appeared, wielding a circular saw.

Shirt sleeves rolled up, suit jacket nowhere to be seen, he was covered in dust and sweat. Behind him, the room was starting to fill with flames and smoke poured through the opening in the wall as he stepped through.

"Arnav-ji!" Khushi ran up to him. "Arnav-ji, are you ok?"

"Fine," he croaked, coughing from the smoke. "Come on, we need to get away from the wall, EVERYBODY RUN, NOW!"

The next thing she knew, Khushi was being pulled away from the building as Arnav waved at the two police officers to move as well.

Then the world suddenly erupted.

Ears ringing, Khushi stared at the guesthouse. The entire lower ground wall was suddenly gone, and flames were dancing at the edges of the giant gaping hole.

"Petrol, in the generator. I used it to power the saw," Arnav curtly explained. "The back door was blocked with building materials, I couldn't get out that way as we planned."

Something inside her cracked into a million pieces as she heard those words, as she suddenly realised what a close call it had truly been.

With a loud sob, Khushi hugged Arnav tighter than she'd ever hugged anyone. "I thought I lost you, I..."

"Shh... Khushi, it's ok, I'm ok now. Relax," he briefly held her before gently moving her hands away. "What happened? Where's Shyam? Where's Di?"

"Chhote!"

In two short strides, Arnav was by his sister's side. Anjali helplessly slung against him, her pale face stained with tears.

"Bhai, we heard the explosion, we thought..." Akash started.

"It's fine," Arnav cut him off. "Is he arrested as per plan?"

"Yes, Mr. Raizada," the senior officer piped up. He proceeded to say something to Arnav, something about having taken Suresh Jha away, something about paperwork, about testimonials... Khushi couldn't hear the rest as the fire brigade finally arrived and started the busy work of dousing the flames.

Before long, they were making their way to their cars, Arnav carrying Anjali in his arms.

A recent memory washed over Khushi. It had been a dark night, just like it was now.

She'd finally gotten used to the funny feeling of NK's sneakers on her feet. In fact, she was feeling entirely fine and just needed a snack. Busy arguing with the street vendor, Khushi was completely taken aback when a pair of strong hands suddenly spun her around.

Then he shook her, and yelled at her angrily, and shook her some more, and then this:

"Do you even know what I'm going through!? Do you know how worried I was!? I thought...I thought I'd lost you!"

Then, Khushi didn't understand what had come over him, but she understood now. She did know what he was going through.

***

Payal anxiously peered at Khushi in the rear view mirror. They were all going home now, where the family was surely anxiously waiting to hear about the arrest.

ASR had taken Anjali-ji, so Akash was driving the two sisters, followed by a police car. Three of the officers had taken Shyam back to the station in a van, but two more, including the senior officer, were going to Shantivan with them.

"You were really brave, Khushi, talking to him like that," Payal ventured. In the back seat, Khushi looked up and tried smiling at her sister, but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

The silence in the car grew heavier. Payal stole a glance at Akash who stared ahead at the road, not acknowledging her. She sighed, thinking back to the afternoon's events.

"Payal, I know about Shyam."

She'd been waiting in her room after Hari Prakash said Arnav needed to talk to her. She thought it strange that he'd seek her out like this and wondered if he perhaps wanted to talk to her about Khushi.

Whatever she thought her brother-in-law was going to say, it wasn't this.

"You... do?" She uttered, immediately realising how silly that sounded as a response.

"Since your wedding. Shyam cornered Khushi and she finally told me. I waited after the wedding, and then couldn't tell Di while she was sick, and then the Holi party... but it ends today. She has a right to know. My family has a right to know."

Payal suddenly felt the room spin and had to sit down to keep her balance.

"I'm so sorry," she muttered. "Our family kept it from you, we just--"

"Forget it," Arnav interrupted. "Khushi explained everything already. I... I understand. But I think you need to have that conversation with Akash first. He's your husband now."

A chill ran down her spine.

"He should be home in about half an hour," Arnav added. "He's a good guy... He'll be upset, but he'll understand, I'm sure."

Grateful for his considerate gesture - for thinking of her, for giving her a chance to save her marriage - Payal thanked her brother-in-law and was left to wait out the most difficult thirty minutes of her life. At least she had time to get her thoughts straight to tell the story.

She didn't think it possible to be more nervous than she had been on her wedding night, and yet here they were.

Just as Payal feared, Akash was gravely disappointed with her for hiding such a devastating secret, for not even confiding in him, just when they had started a life together. She tried to explain the situation as best as she could while he just silently listened, shaking his head.

Eventually he just miserably withdrew, not having anything left to say to his wife. It was only when he walked out of the room to look for ASR that Payal finally allowed her tears to break free.

Later, when the detective was telling them the unbelievable truth about Suresh Jha, she briefly noticed Akash looking at her with a pained expression.

Payal looked at the dark road ahead and sighed. After tonight, after that insane criminal was finally put behind bars, their families would start on the road to healing. She knew Akash still loved her, and she was ready to fight for her marriage.

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Thank you so much for reading!

Next update: 25 January.

Whew, I hope you liked this one! Just as many of you guessed, Arnav has made his heroic escape, and now everyone is coming to terms with the truth about Shyam... I mean Suresh! Next week, you'll find out who he really is.

Please leave a vote and a comment if you're enjoying this story, it means the world to me to hear your thoughts ❤️