Arshi: Aashiqui | ✓

Prologue

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It was night time. Arnav Singh Raizada stood near the poolside looking at the stars. It had been four years since he had forced the love of his life to get into a contract marriage. And she had obeyed. She had left on the completion of the proposed six months. He had failed miserably in understanding her. She was one of a kind, a gem of a person, who only knew to love. She had love and care filled in her heart for everyone around her. It was his mistake that she was no more with here, he was the cause that she ran just after the contract marriage ended and he knew he was repenting it big time.

She had told him the truth, multiple times and it was him who failed to believe her albeit he had wanted to. He had followed his mind instead of his heart.

Khushi probably figured out why he hated her and forced her into the contract marriage from the hateful glances he threw at her when Shyam was around. That was possible how she put two and two together and decided Arnav needed to hear the truth about his brother in law. She had cried when she told Arnav how Shyam had integrated himself into the Gupta household. She had told him how she was forced to engaged to the vile man and how she had finally said yes on that Diwali night when she was at a low point. It had hurt him, the relevance of the Diwali night, but he was determined to not trust her when she said she decided against revealing the truth about Shyam due to the fact that Anjali would be heartbroken if her husband's true face was revealed to the world.

And now, as he stood looking at the sky, he remembered every single word Khushi had said. He used to believe that it was him who wrote his own destiny. Khushi had once told him that one day he would come to know that he is wrong, that her Devi Maiyya will make him realise that it was her who had been making him write his destiny and then Khushi would be nowhere near him. She was right. It had always been his mistake.

He understood his mistake only after Shyam had let the truth out. Shyam was successful in one of his missions as he took over all of Anjali's assets before abandoning her. Arnav clearly remembered his words. Shyam has decided there was no point in playing the role of the caring husband to Anjali since Khushi was gone. He got what he wanted and he would search of Khushi on his own. There was no point staying with the Raizada family anymore. That was the day after Khushi disappeared. And then, Arnav had started looking for the love of his life. He had decided to put his best man, Aman, in charge of the search for Khushi as soon as she disappeared. But when Shyam's truth was out, he took over. He needed to do it himself. He trusted no one other than himself to find her.

Shyam's actions had deeply affected Anjali. She lost her child and was borderline depressed. But, Arnav decided he wouldn't lose another woman in his life to an unfaithful man. He handed the reins of AR to Aakash and focused on his Di and soon enough Anjali recovered with her brother's help. Aakash decided to join the fight for his sister. They filed multiple cases against Shyam Manohar Jha including divorce, mental trauma and fraud. Soon enough they were successful in all the cases. Anjali had decided she needed to work in order to move on and soon enough became a pillar of the company along with her brothers. She was now engaged to Arjun Malhotra, a good friend of Arnav, a successful businessman himself, who Anjali had met during one of the conferences she has represented AR. Aakash and Payal were parents to a two year old son whom they named Akshat. Maami , Mama and Naani were still supporting the thoughtful decisions the children of the family made. Khushi's disappearance had come as a shock to the Gupta family. What shocked them more was when Shyam's truth came out and Arnav revealed the reason behind his and Khushi's sudden marriage. Madhumathi and Garima felt ashamed thinking back to how they treated Khushi, when she was acting in their best interest. Aakash had made arrangements for Shashi to be treated in an Ayurvedic facility in Kerala. The treatment performed wonders and he was back to normal. Well, he had a small stutter while speaking and a small limp. But, other than that, he was okay. They had soon enough moved back to Lucknow and restarted their business. Shashi hoped one day Khushi might come back to him.

Khushi on the other hand after the six month contract marriage had moved to Mumbai. This was the one secret she was hiding from everyone in her life. She knew the existence of her brother Khushal who had ran away, at the age of 15, before they were to be taken in by the Gupta family. Khushal had told her to stay back as he knew he wouldn't be able to achieve what he wanted if Khushi was with him, holding him back. Once he had set up a good life for himself, he had informed Khushi asking her to join him. That was the night before Payal's wedding in Lucknow. She had called him up and asked him to be there for her from a distance, because at that point, the family who took care of her needed her help. From there, her life had taken a drastic turn.

After leaving Delhi, she decided to call her brother, asking him if it was okay to show up. Khushi now lived with her brother Khushal Verma and sister in law Riana. Khushal had set himself up a good life. He was the proud owner of Verma Designs. She had been with them for the last three and a half years. They only knew that Khushi had married someone in Delhi for six months. Who was it or why she did such a thing, she didn't say and they didn't ask. Kushal was just happy to have his sister back.

It was February 14th and if everything had gone right she would have been celebrating her 4th wedding anniversary with her Arnavji. She was standing near the window looking at her parents whom she believed to have become stars. She was missing her parents even though her brother was there with her. She missed Naaniji's love Anjali Di's care, Buaji's taunts and the thing she missed the most was her Arnavji's taunts. But she kept aside her thoughts and decided to move on. Khushi was not the old Khushi Kumari Gupta anymore. At the age of 24, she was now Khushi Verma co-owner of Verma designs, along with her brother and sister in law. She had officially changed her name back. She had taken up fashion courses on Kushal's existence and started as an intern at Verma Designs. She now went to office and tried to remain busy so that she was not reminded of her love. She never thought about Arnav normally, but today was obviously an exemption. But no. Not anymore, she thought as she wanted herself to be independent and happy.

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