Part 17
Arjun stared at Khushi in disbelief, trying to gauge her thoughts and figure out exactly what she had been led to believe.
"What do you think, Khushi?" Khushi's thoughts were jumbled, and she couldn't make sense of anything that was occurring around her.
"Arjun, I-" She stopped as Arjun turned away from her, lost in thought. He slowly turned back to face her with a steely gaze.
"It all makes sense now. You thought of me as nothing but a cash cow, right?" Khushi was taken aback at this outburst.
"Arjun, what are you-?"
"No, Khushi, there were no feelings involved in my decision. God forbid I should actually give a sh*t about you and want you to be happy! I just decided to marry you so you could legally have access to half my wealth, because I know that's all you're interested in!" His tone was dripping with sarcasm, yet Khushi couldn't help but feel a stab at hearing such words coming from Arjun. She had heard such words uttered about her before, but that was before Arnav even knew her. There was a long, tense silence between the two of them.
"Are you done yet?" Khushi whispered, not meeting his eyes or daring to raise her voice incase it betrayed the fact that she was close to breaking down. Arjun just shook his head in reply, his anger reaching boiling point at her short replies.
"Do you think you're a martyr or something, sacrificing yourself for the benefit of others? Do you think t-this little-miss-innocent act makes people think highly of you? Newsflash, Khushi Kumari Gupta! People take one look at you and think 'victim', 'pathetic'. I, on the other hand, actually give half a crap about your feelings and want what's best for you. But you can't see that, can you? All you're used to is being kicked to the ground and scrambling back up again. Tell me now; has there ever been a time where Arnav hasn't done that to you? Has there been any time when Arnav has actually shown he cares for you? Would Arnav have done what you just did to me?" Khushi immediately thought of all the times that Arnav had taken care of her when she was ill or had been hurt in some way. Even in the most difficult stages of their marriage, she knew that he still cared; it was evident in his eyes when he rushed to her side as soon as he saw her in any form of pain.
Somewhere deep inside her Khushi had found her voice.
"Arnavji would have done that and more! Arnavji would have fought with anyone standing in the way of him seeing me. He's done so in the past and he'd do it again! You know why?Because he loves me. Yes, we had obstacles in front of us & yes, our marriage was laced with misunderstandings and half-truths, but one thing that has never changed is how we feel about one another." She paused. "The irony of what you're saying is almost laughable. Arnavji kicked me to the ground and left me to scramble to my feet? What about you?!Granted, I was the one who had convinced you to study in London, yet I didn't hear a word from you for 5 years; I didn't encourage you to stay away from me - I begged you to not forget me and stay in touch! Then you come waltzing in here expecting nothing to have changed, expecting me to have waited for you. I put my grievances aside when I saw you because it didn't matter that I hadn't seen you in such a long time because I thought I had my best friend back!" Khushi laughed humourlessly. "You want what's best for me, right? You care about me, someone as pathetic as me, more than anyone else does? You have a really funny way of showing it, Arjun. How can my best friend expect me to marry him only weeks after my divorce - a divorce you knew I was so torn up about? And how can you then be disappointed and angry when you discover that I'm not marrying you out of love? What gives you the right to feel this anger, Arjun?!"
"Are you hearing yourself, Khushi? Do you even realise what you're saying? If Arnav loved you so much and your marriage was 'laced' with misunderstanding, then why did he make no attempt to clear it? If he loved you so much, surely he would've asked you what your version of events was rather than almost driving you to suicide before he told you the truth!" Khushi was stunned, unable to comprehend that this was the same Arjun she had been so close to years ago speaking. "He says the only reason behind marrying you for the six months was because of his sister's pregnancy - I beg to differ. He wanted you to be his wh*re for six months, and once he was bored he'd dump you! He-" Arjun was cut off with a tight slap from Khushi. Her voice shook from the fury she felt.
"You know nothing. Nothing!" Khushi took a deep breath, still reeling from the blow she had just delivered. "If anyone wants me to be a wh*re for them, it's you!" Arjun had felt some of his sense returning after the initial rage of the slap and instantly regretted what he said. His voice softened.
"Khushi, that's not what I-" He took a step towards Khushi, but she held a hand out to stop him.
"Don't. Touch. Me. If you value our friendship at all you will turn around, walk out of that door and never speak to me again. You've become a monster, and it disgusts me to even look at you." Arjun turned around and silently left without a backward glance. She may not have married him, but he wouldn't give up on their friendship that easily.
Khushi sunk down onto her bed, exhausted, the weight of her lehenga and jewellery dragging her down. She began removing her jewellery in a daze when she heard Payal calling her.
"How are you, Khushi?"
"Please Jiji... I don't have the strength to fight anymore." Payal walked over to a dejected Khushi and wrapped her in a tight embrace, stroking her hair soothingly.
"You don't have to do this alone Khushi. I'm here now. Your Jiji will help you through this." She cradled Khushi, comforting her, when she remembered the reason for coming into her room in the first place. "Khushi, your phone's been ringing like crazy for the past half hour. I don't know why, but Di's been phoning you." Khushi immediately got up and snatched the phone away from Payal's grasp, dialling Anjali's number. When her phone went to voicemail, Khushi quickly made her way towards the front door, panic emerging from within her.
"Jiji, I need to go to the hospital. I have to see Arnavji, now more than ever. There must have been a reason for Di calling this much, especially after the fiasco in the hospital!" Rather than following her gut instinct to stop Khushi, Payal decided to allow her to go.
"We have a lot to talk about when you get back, Khushi. We need to explain everything to Buaji and make her understand. Just be careful, okay?" Khushi nodded gratefully and raced out of the house.
Khushi once again found herself in the hospital, only this time the waiting room was empty. She was greeted by a nurse.
"Madam, I'm sorry. Visiting time ended an hour ago; I can't allow you to enter the ward." Khushi pleaded with the nurse, her words coming out at a hundred miles an hour due to the panic and anxiety she was experiencing.
"Please there's a huge mess and my ex-husband Arnav Singh Raizada was involved in an accident and I need to see him because I need to tell him that I don't care about all the crap that's happened anymore and all that matters is that I love him and I want to be with him and I can't live without him and I need to know he's safe and I want him to be happy and I want what's best for him and I just really really need to see him and this was the only time I had because I left my fiance at the mandap and we had a fight and Arnavji's family wouldn't let me see him before and I really need to see him." Although the nurse couldn't make out half of what Khushi was saying, her heart went out to the helpless, heartbroken woman in front of her. She put a hand on Khushi's shoulder and sighed.
"Okay, you can see him. But if the ward sister appears or any other patients wake up, I will have to ask you to leave." Khushi burst into a huge smile and nodded.
"Thank you nurse, thank you so much!" The nurse smiled at Khushi.
"I will have to warn you, though. Due to the extent of his injuries we have had to give him a substantial amount of morphine to numb the pain. He may not be conscious when you speak to him, but I'm sure he would appreciate the fact that you're there." Khushi nodded as the nurse escorted her to Arnav's bed. She slowly pulled back the curtain, and her heart began racing at the sight of Arnav in front of her. He was bruised and there were wires attached to various parts of his body, but she didn't care. Arnav was safe, and that's all that mattered to her. She gingerly held his hand in her own and stroked his face with the other.
"Arnavji..." She whispered softly. She didn't say anything after that; the two of them didn't need to use words. Their hearts were connected, and she felt peace overcome her entire being as she watched the delicate rise and fall of his chest. She didn't care about the events that had occurred prior to this - she was at home. With Arnav, where she belonged. Khushi allowed relief and happiness to wash over her as she watched her Laad Governor fighting for his life. She said a quick prayer for him and hurriedly returned to her original position, knowing that anytime now the nurse could walk in and ask her to leave.
Too soon, the nurse emerged and asked her to leave. Although she had been sat at Arnav's bedside for an hour, it felt like seconds. Khushi reluctantly rose from her position and, after gently placing a kiss on Arnav's forehead, left his bedside, constantly glancing back at him. Once he was sure she had left, a smile slowly emerged on Arnav's lips.
"Nurse, before I leave I need to ask you a question regarding the accident. Do you know anything about it?" The nurse looked up at Khushi, concerned.
"We don't know a lot, but the police are currently treating it as a suspicious case." Khushi felt as if the ground was falling beneath her.
"Y-you mean, someone intended to hurt Arnavji?"
"We don't know yet, but there was another casualty at the scene. Once he regains consciousness, we will ask him what he remembers." Khushi nodded slowly.
"Nurse, i-is there any way I can come back and see this other casualty tomorrow? I'd really like to speak to him."
"We will have to ask for his permission, but I don't see why not." The nurse left Khushi alone to reflect on what she had just heard. Who would do this to Arnav?, she thought. Suddenly, a scary thought popped into her mind. Oh dear God, Arjun didn't arrange this did he?
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