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Recap: Khushi’s effort to escape and she being rescued by Arnav & Rithik.
She had knocked his door thrice but hearing no reply she had banged it as she had called out to him. She had entwined her fingers in her hair as she made frantic efforts to reach him. Finally, with the help of people she had entered the broken room as she saw him lying on the bed. She had moved in closer as she had stumbled due to the table and the glass on it had fallen breaking into a number of pieces. With terror evading her, she had moved in closer and kept a hand on him. She had felt herself crumbling as she had kneeled on her knees and had crouched. After a few moments, she had kept her hand on the bed side table as she stood up. She had then noticed a pen lying open and a paper beneath that. She had unfolded it as she had read out the contents, the words which were still ringing in her ears.
Khushi,
I am not able to handle all this anymore. You know I have not done anything and I’ll not let this effect you all. That Arnav Singh Raizada will not leave anyone. I would have handled it but I’ll not be able to handle it if he troubles you all. I’m sorry that I’m leaving you all. But this seems the right way.
Your bro Rahul
She woke up with a jerk as she saw herself on a hospital bed. She held her forehead with her hands as she remembered all the incidents. It was this dream only that had made her restless the previous night and then everything followed. She leaned on the bed as she saw them entering the room. She smiled as she saw her buaji and held her ears, making an apologetic face. She reassured her buaji and Rithik as they showed their concern. Her eyes went towards a corner as she saw him standing. He moved forward as their eyes met. ‘Khushi,’ he uttered softly. She remembered seeing the outside view from the broken window pane and realized it to be the same building on the land owned by Arnav.
He slowly moved towards her but was stopped by them as they threw cold daggers at him. Sensing the tensed atmosphere, she asked them to wait for a while outside. Her buaji and Rihtik left them alone in the room.
‘Khushi’, he uttered again as she turned her gaze away from him.
‘I don’t need any clarification’, she said as she somewhere knew what he about to speak was.
He felt a certain coldness in her voice and he tried to remove that coldness with the warmth and concern in his words. ‘Are you alright?’ He was not sure whether to ask this or not but he still questioned her, ‘Do you trust me?’
‘I neither trust you nor doubt you’, she uttered in her reply.
“Neither trust you”, these words were hurting him somewhere but soon after these words, “nor doubt you” followed. A hope glistened in his eyes as his heart smiled. Although she had asked them to wait outside for a while, yet the tension in the air was unchanged. He had a last glance as he moved towards the door. She looked at him moving away as she felt the need to trust him. “Stop”, shouted her mind to her as she controlled herself. She saw him opening the door and turning towards her. Before he could look at her, she again reverted back her gaze.
***
[Lavanya]
She was moving front and back as she rocked the chair she was sitting on. She had clenched her fist as she pursed her lips. She clenched the armrest as she started rocking the chair in an increased speed. She suddenly stopped it as she heard her phone ringing. She stood up from the chair as she moved in dreading manner towards her phone. She picked up the phone bringing it closer to her ears. She closed her eyes as she heard the other person speaking.
‘Ma’am he has been caught by the police’, the voice on the other side spoke.
She opened her eyes as she paused for a second before uttering, ‘My name should not crop up in this. I’ll pay you triple the amount. Do anything but make sure that he doesn’t utter my name.’
‘Ok Lavanya ma’am.’ She heard the conformation from other end as she dropped herself on the bed, raging due to her plan falling apart.
She remembered the way she had hired two goons to kidnap Khushi. Luck had knocked her door when she had seen her coming out of her house. She had then instructed her goons to lock her in that dilapidated building so that she dies there. A painful end… that’s what she wanted. But her plan had started falling apart when Arnav had decided to start the work then only. Perplexed at what to do, she had sent one of them to move her out of there. But unfortunately Arnav had reached there before him, followed by some policemen.
‘How stupid! How did the policemen catch him?’ She just hoped for the other one to work efficiently and do as directed.
***
[Rivanya]
The sound of the swaying leaves had filled the environment. This soft music was interrupted by the occasional barking of the dogs. He was standing down here waiting for her Rapunzel to throw down her hairs. He sighed as he came out of his imagination and gave a flying kiss, directed towards her apartment. He geared up for what he was trying to do. He rolled up his sleeves as he climbed up the pipe. He looked upwards as he thanked god for letting him land safely in her balcony. He took out his phone as he called her.
She was sleeping when she heard her phone ringing. She saw his name flashing as she picked it up. ‘Balcony’, she heard him utter as he kept the phone down. She threw the sheets off her as she hopped off the bed and went out into the balcony. They went in for a tight embrace as they stood there lost in each other’s arms.
‘How is Khushi?’ she asked with concern in her eyes.
‘Like always. Always troubling me.’ He smiled as he quipped.
‘It means now I’ll have to join her.’ Hearing her say this, he sulked as he crossed his arms in front of him. She controlled her laughter as she gave him a peck on his cheeks. He took out a box from his pocket as she grabbed it and opened it hurriedly. What lay inside was not something expensive but what touched her heart. There lay a paper rose in the box specially made by him with their name written in red on each and every petal calligraphically. Her eyebrows became heavy as droplets formed on them.
‘I…’She interrupted him as she said, ‘I know you made this by your hands. Now don’t question how I knew.’ They both smiled as he stood behind her. He entered his hand in his pocket as he retrieved out something and kept it on her palms. He touched the back of her palm as they brought it towards their mouth. They lifted their gaze as they saw the moon standing as a testimony to their love. They both uttered, ‘To my love’ as they blew the rose petals kept on her palm. The petals flew scattering more love into their relationship. He brought her hand closer as he hugged her and they both immersed themselves in that moment.
*****