Till Death Do Us Part

Part 5

"I swear I never wanted to hurt her, Mumma. It never even crossed my mind that I would be hurting her. I was just doing my duty and suddenly I lost my senses in between. Yes, I should have gone back to look for her but Commissioner started assigning all the tough cases to me. What could I do?" he demanded, hanging his head in shame while trying to make his point for one last time.

Guilt washed over his conscience in waves stronger than he had known to exist. The chords of his heart were plucked painfully to sense the disappointment in his mother's tone for his behavior. It was true that Khushi was hardly the same woman he had married; neither did her eyes possess the lustre which had captivated him nor did tinkling laughter reverberate anymore in his ears anymore. Her name meant happiness and it seemed that it was the only form of happiness she possessed.

"You say you didn't want to hurt her? But did you try to not hurt her? Both are two different things, Arnav. You had time for partying after the success of your cases, you had time to take us on trips but not to look for the woman who submitted herself to you in every sense. Now when your own actions made her meet you again, because the job was offered to her as a compensation, you want her to forget everything and tell the whereabouts of the child of which you had no knowledge or concern before this? Was this ever about her or just about you or her father and his connections?" questioned Sunita, her eyes tearing up, wondering how had her son turned so insensitive to others' sufferings when she had considered him to be exceedingly empathetic.

"I am sorry, Mumma. Please don't cry. I cannot see tears in your eyes," requested Arnav, moving towards her as he tried to wipe her tears away, only to be pushed away by his mother.

"You say that you cannot see my tears, Arnav, but at least your mother can cry, can show her emotions but what about her mother? She can never emote. She is half-alive to be optimistic and half-dead to be practical. She needs your apologies and concern much more than me, Arnav. I don't think that your father or I can forgive you till she does," exclaimed Sunita, staging a walkout, ignoring her son's attempts to stop her.

It required more determination and integrity than she could imagine to walk out on her son but she knew that it was required. Love did not mean supporting loved one's faults but helping them correct their mistakes and she consoled herself by reiterating that she was just abiding by the duty of a mother and following the principles of love.

Her son, on the other hand, was devastated to see his mother's retreating back, with no signs of coming back. It agonized him more to realize that it was his own doing that she was walking away from him, a suit his father was going to follow. Being the beloved and doted upon son of Raizadas, rejection and distance was the worst punishment he could receive and it surely had the effect which Sunita desired.

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The Next Day,

Lack of mere acknowledgement from either of his parents hurt Arnav to the core and it had also helped him realize the pain of Khushi since she had been brutally snatched from her parents' love, thanks to his actions. Regret churned his insides as an urge to correct his wrongdoings compelled him to think and act as soon as possible.

The same urge had brought him to the room occupied by Khushi and her mother. He curtly knocked at the door, which was opened by Khushi after a few moments. Her polite expression turned to that of distaste when she identified the visitor to be her so-called husband.

"Khushi..." he began but he failed to string words together. He had wanted to explain several things but as soon as he noticed the ashen complexion of hers, her under-eyes tarnished by the darkness of her heart and lips torn apart by her attempts to restrain her emotions, he felt the ground beneath his feet snatched.

The last time he had felt attracted for her, he had felt that she was an angel but as he stood in front of her this time, he was felt that she was still an angel, albeit a broken one. The way her eyes were flared with passion and fury ignited the same attraction he had felt for her years ago.

"I don't have all time in the world to stand here and allow you to stare at me, Mr. Raizada. To what do I owe this displeasure?" she derided, sarcasm never leaving her tone as she rolled her eyes at him.

"Uh..I just wanted to ask, what would you like to have for breakfast? Any preferences? Does Maaji, I mean, your mother require anything?" he asked, changing his question, realizing that she would not accept his way of addressing her mother.

"So much concern, Mr. Raizada. Tsk Tsk, no matter how much you try, I am not going to divulge the details. Better luck next time!" she said, closing the door behind her as she began walking towards the washroom when Arnav fell in step with her.

He felt a dagger stab right through his heart when she voiced her thoughts which believed that he was trying to coax her into revealing her secrets, when the truth was much different from that.

"I genuinely asked, Khushi. Do you want to have anything? I know that you have food in the canteen everyday and honestly, that food is barely satisfactory. My mother is an excellent cook and she will gladly cook whatever you desire to eat," he offered, hoping that she accepts his gesture.

"Planning to mix truth serum in it, Mr. Raizada? Or planning to make me undergo Narco test? So that I reveal whereabouts?" demanded Khushi, placing distance between them when he immediately covered it and stopped her in her path.

"Please! Why can't this be about you for once? Not about your father and my duty like in the past or about our daughter and my wishes till now? From now, why can't it be about you?"

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