Part 15
Khushi raced into the hospital, ignoring the shocked gazes she received for her attire. She rushed to the reception desk, desperate to find him. She knew that Payal had run after her but she didn't care. She didn't care about the hundreds of guests probably gossiping about her, she didn't care that she had just run away from the mandap. All that mattered to her was seeing Arnav.
"I need to find out where Arnav Singh Raizada is." She managed whilst trying to catch her breath. The receptionist looked up at her.
"What relation do you have to him?"
"I'm his-" This threw Khushi for a minute. What was she to him? Why was she here? She hesitated for a moment before she spoke. "I'm his wife - ex-wife." The receptionist gave her directions, and Khushi bolted for the emergency department.
She was met by the entire Raizada family, minus Shyam. A small part of her had hoped it was just mistaken identity and Arnav would emerge from the accident unscathed. Their faces said it all; Arnav was in a bad condition. She slowly approached Nani as she looked the most composed.
"N'Naniji." Nani turned to look at Khushi, her eyes widening at the site before her. Khushi attempted to wipe some of her tears, not even daring to imagine how smudged her make-up had become.
"Khushi bitya? Your wedding'?" Khushi shook her head urgently, grabbing Nani's hands in her own.
"Forget that right now Naniji. How's Arnavji?"
"He-"
"Will be a lot better when you leave." Khushi turned to find a raging Anjali looking back at her.
"Di?" Khushi spoke in disbelief.
"You heard me. Go back to your wedding, Khushiji. Chote doesn't need you." Khushi looked up at Anjali in shock, unable to form any words so Anjali continued. "For the first time my Chote fought with me. He was blaming me for everything that had gone wrong in yourmarriage. He stormed off in anger and now look! If anything... anything happens to my Chote I will not spare you." Khushi couldn't comprehend what was going on. Arnavji fought with Di about me? She suddenly looked up at Anjali and wondered if she knew the truth about their marriage. Arnav had said in his letter that he would tell her the truth, and Khushi was very aware of Shyam's absence from the hospital.
A doctor appeared at that moment and addressed the family.
"We had to operate on him, but his condition is currently stable. We need to keep a very close eye on him though as his condition may deteriorate at any point." Khushi released a breath she didn't realise she had been holding. Arnav was stable. Hearing that made Khushi's heartbeat slow down from its 200 beats per minute, and she yearned to go and see him.
As if reading her mind, Anjali spoke to the doctor. "Is it possible for us to go and see him?"
"He has been in recovery for a while. I apologise for the delay in getting the message across, we had another casualty come in. He may regain consciousness soon, so if a couple of you want to go in to keep him company, it's fine. He's being transferred to the ward as we speak."
Anjali was about to walk towards the ward when she felt a hand on her arm. She turned to see Khushi, her original fury still burning brightly inside her.
"Di, please let me go to see him."
"Are you crazy? Absolutely not. You're the reason he's in this condition! And don't youever call me Di again." Anjali hissed. Khushi looked around at the Raizadas, shocked that not even one of them had defended her.
She turned to Nani. "Naniji'?" Nani just responded with an apologetic look. She quickly turned to NK for support - surely he'd support her. But the silence coming from him was deafening. "Nanheji, you too?" She couldn't hide the rejection, the pain in her voice.
Anjali quickly intervened. "See? No one wants you here! Just leave!" Seeing no other option, Khushi sunk down to the floor, grabbing Anjali's legs.
"Di, just let me see him once." She pleaded. "Just once. I promise, after that I'll leave his life and never return. I just-I need to see him."
"Khushi, stop." Khushi was shocked to see Payal stood in the corridor. "Don't do this."
Khushi rushed to Payal's side. "But Jiji, Arnavji-" She was quickly interrupted.
"Wouldn't want you compromising your dignity like this. Now come on, let's go."
"Jiji, I need to see him! Please..." she whimpered. The Raizadas all stood watching whilst Payal practically dragged Khushi away from the ward. Payal turned once to look at the family, her family, in disbelief. She then led Khushi towards the entrance of the hospital.
As soon as she had mustered enough strength, Khushi released herself from Payal's grip and began walking towards the hospital again. Payal grabbed her.
"Khushi, what do you think you're doing? Stop!" She yelled.
"Jiji, listen to me. Arnavji is in there; I can't leave him. He needs me." She pleaded.
"Why does he need you Khushi? What are you to him?"
"I'm his-" Khushi stopped as the same question haunted her once again. What was she to him? She was the one who was so willing for their divorce, so why did it kill her when she was forbidden from seeing him? Why did she feel as if she couldn't breathe without knowing he was alright? She thought back to Arjun's words. Did she really mean nothing to him? Was she really a bet? But then why was Arnav on his way to see her - was it to see whether his letter had had the desired effect? Khushi found herself throwing her arms around Payal, her tears once again flowing. "Jiji, it's all such a mess." She said, sobbing into Payal's shoulder.
"Stop, Khushi. We need to get you home. You've caused enough scenes for one day." Khushi pulled back, and saw annoyance rather than sympathy in Payal's eyes. Suddenly, something clicked in her brain.
"Oh, yeah, the wedding-"
"All the guests have gone home, Khushi. Not before they all scolded Buaji for firstly allowing you back into the family after you eloped with Arnav and now this. Are you just dead-set on tainting this family's name in everyone's eyes, dragging all our names through the mud? You've done it before - we had to leave Lucknow because of you - and now you're doing it again? First you secretly marry Arnavji and then 6 months later, when we've all come to terms with it, you leave with no explanation. You then get engaged to your childhood best friend within weeks of your divorce from Arnavji, and on your wedding day you hear he's had an accident and come rushing to his side? Why, Khushi?" She shook Khushi, who had still not uttered a word; she was just staring at Payal in shock. "Why did you run away from the mandap just now?" Payal's insistence to know the reason led to Khushi unthinkingly yelling back at her.
"BECAUSE I'M MADLY IN LOVE WITH ARNAVJI! I never wanted to marry Arjun! I only agreed to marry him so our family name wouldn't be dragged through the mud anymore! The only reason I even married Arnavji in the way I did was for you, you ungrateful b*tch!" Payal slapped Khushi as hard as she could, and Khushi looked up at her in shock. Jiji has never laid a finger on me before.
"Don't you dare even think about pinning any of this on me. If you love Arnavji so much, why did you leave him? Why did you not wait to gain permission to marry him? Why did the two of you feel the need to sabotage my wedding day? You call yourself my sister, yet you could do that?" Payal hissed.
"Oh, now I understand! Poor Jiji, Khushi's stolen the limelight from her once again. Khushi's done nothing except bring shame and misery upon her family. The same family she endured hell for." Khushi paused, blood rushing through her veins. "I want to drag my family's name through the mud, right? Tell me this Jiji, who was the one who was misbehaved with whilst trying to save her sister's marriage, you or me? Who was the one who has to resort to getting a job to support the family, you or me? Who had to work like a slave for Arnav Singh Raizada while her Jiji did nothing at home? Who had to work with Arnav Singh Raizada, the man she hated, to bring her Jiji and Aakashji together? Who was forced to marry Arnav Singh Raizada for 6 months to save her Jiji's marriage, you or me?" She paused again, seething. It took her a moment to acknowledge Payal's wide eyes at Khushi's revelation. Payal reached to touch Khushi's shoulder.
"Khushi..." Khushi flinched away from her touch.
"Don't touch me, Jiji. I'm not worthy to be your sister, remember?" Khushi shot back.
"Khushi, what are you talking about?" Khushi noted that Payal's voice was considerable softer. "You were forced to marry Arnavji?" Khushi replied, still fuming, not caring what left her mouth.
"Yes, he forced me because he misunderstood me. He thought I was having an affair with Shyamji, another secret I kept for you I might add, and he said that unless I want your marriage to break again I had to marry him. He made me feel like dirt as he tied the mangalsutra around my neck and put the sindoor on me. He humiliated me in front of my family, he allowed me to be disowned by my entire family, and I endured it all because of you. And you know what the worst part was? Discovering that he had misunderstood me, he hid everything he felt for me under this mask of hatred because he felt I was capable of such a deceit. The man I love didn't trust me, and I made him suffer for it. I wanted him to feel the humiliation I felt, I wanted him to cry the tears I cried. But I never stopped loving him." Khushi's tears wouldn't stop as she recollected their memories. "And now he's in there fighting for his life just because I wanted him to suffer; I wanted him to feel the pain I felt when he got engaged to Lavanya. He could be dying right now and no one's letting me see him! What's the point in me living without him?" Khushi screeched, hysterical. Payal, ignoring her protests, put her arm around Khushi's shoulder and hailed an auto rickshaw to get them home. When they entered the house, Payal softly spoke.
"Khushi, I think you need some rest. We'll discuss this tomorrow." Khushi nodded gratefully, and began to make her way to her bedroom when she was stopped.
"Not so fast, Khushi Kumari Gupta."
Arnav saw a blur of images before him, dazed. His limbs wouldn't move, he couldn't think. He felt trapped inside his body. Slowly, he gained the strength to open his eyes, being greeted by the worried faces of his family. He found his voice, hoarse though it was, and managed to utter the one word that held any meaning for him.
"Khushi..."
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