Desert Rose

Chapter 23

'Shyamji!' said Khushi, forcing a smile trying to look more surprised than scared. Her heart was beating wildly as a drop of sweat trickled down her back. 'What ....what are you doing here? I thought you were in Delhi.'

'I think we can do away with all this pretence Khushiji.' He sneered. 'I know.'

'Know what Shyamji?' said Khushi hoping that her act of innocence might buy her some more time. 'I just came here to get my cell phone. Now, that I have found it I think I will go back to the Haveli. Mohanji is waiting for me outside in the car.'

'No he is not.' Shyam said as a matter of fact. 'He got called away. An accident of a relative I believe. He was joined by Hariprakash as well because they are all related you know.'

Hey Devi Maiyya! There was no one in the Haveli then. Her cell phone was dead and so was the landline. What was she going to do?

She would have to get to the green house somehow. She would be able to make a call from the land line there. There was only one thing left to do. She would have to keep him engaged in conversation and then try to find a way to escape. If only she could reach the French doors, she could take the stairs leading to the path to the green house. But there was only one problem. There were no lights there. Arnavji......

The feeling that Khushi might be in danger just wouldn't go away from Arnav's heart. He hoped he was wrong and that she was safe and sound in the Haveli. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to her.

Khushi decided to try a different tactic. 'Shyamji,' she said in a soft voice, 'why don't we talk about this peacefully? I .....I will not tell anyone about what you told me in the palace and we can forget about this whole thing and ---'

Shyam's head snapped up, his eyes burning intensely with rage. 'You think I am a fool, Khushiji?' He took out his cell phone and showed her the video clip that Arnav had shown her a few days ago. The only difference was that this one was not doctored, clearing showing the parts where she told Manav about Shyam.

'Oh God!' said Khushi horrified. 'You were the one who sent out the video to Arnavji?'

Shyam's face twisted in an ugly sneer. 'How else would I get the lover boy to leave your delectable body and go away?'

'What are you talking about?'

'That day in Junagarh palace, I saw you run away after hearing Arnav and Jenny's conversation. After my conversation with you, I was so confident that you would make up your mind to leave him. I thought my plan was perfect.

'But none of my advice had any effect on you at all. Arnav had said that he married you as he had no choice. I told you that he would leave you for Jenny. Why Khushiji? Why didn't that matter to you at all? Is it because of all this fortune? Did you think that if you satisfied him with your body he would change his mind? Is that why you let him use you like that ......in the study?'

Khushi eyes went wide with shock, 'What? How did you know that?'

He smiled. 'Really simple Khushiji. A small microphone hooked to a radio transmitter under the study table did the trick.' When he saw the look of derision on her face he continued, 'I didn't do this so I could record your moans Khushiji.' The look on his face was really scaring her now. 'I put that device in Arnav's study a long time ago. 'You see, I get paid a lot to leak out internal information of AR industries. So, if Arnav has lost out to a rival in the last few years it is thanks to me. Unfortunately it hasn't been much because he doesn't work out of Raisar that often.'

Khushi anger's rose up several notches on hearing this, though she didn't let on. There was no way she could allow Shyam to get away with this. Why did he hate Arnav so much? She had to find out.