A Promise Broken! (Completed)

Anjali - Malik, Raizada or Jha?

(This is the last flashback before the showdown - It takes place a week before the events of the present timeline)

Everyone was eagerly waiting for Anjali and Khushi to return. Lately, it was fairly common to see them together but today was a special occasion because of the place they had visited. Standing on the stairs, Arnav was the first one to spot Anjali and Khushi entering home - the former looked irritated and the latter, dejected.

Arnav could very well comprehend the reason behind it. He signaled Khushi to come to the room at the earliest and left from there. After a while, Khushi met him and narrated the day's events, confirming his suspicions.

Arnav: Khushi, I am telling you again - Di will not be open to the idea of adopting from an orphanage. So please drop the idea. Anyway, at this stage, you should be taking care of yourself and staying happy, not trying to fix Di's issues.

Khushi: Arnavji, Di is miserable and seeing her like this, the whole house remains gloomy. How can I be happy in such circumstances? And you had promised you will not interfere, are you accepting defeat by any chance?

Arnav knew Khushi was trying to change the topic and was amazed at how selfless a person can be. He admired her for not only trying to get Di out of depression but also fill a child's world with love. Unfortunately, he knew his Di's stubborn nature and belief system all too well.

Arnav: Khushi, everyone does not have a golden heart like you. No matter how much I love my Di, the truth is she does get influenced by lineage and status at times.

Arnav recalled how Anjali sometimes had treated Khushi akin to a house help when she had come to train Lavanya. In fact, in order to employ Khushi's services, she had nonchalantly taken advantage of Khushi's financial conditions and debt owed to Arnav (a shocking detail he discovered later).

Anjali may have reprimanded Arnav for disrespecting Khushi and may have had a genuine soft corner for the latter but at the same time, she expected a lot in return. Like when she asked Khushi to forgo Diwali celebrations with her family and be present at Shantivan instead.

Maybe no one else had noticed it and Khushi also had considered it as part of her duty but Arnav knew better. Although during that phase, he was more focused in masking his true feelings for Khushi and pushing her away by all means available. He inwardly cringed at those memories but quickly overcame his self-loathing.

This was not the time - his focus was Khushi. He had failed his love then but won't repeat his mistake. He was going to talk to his wife and express his feelings rather than running away. Getting a grip on his emotions, Arnav tried to explain the basis of his assumption.

Arnav: As I had told you a few months back, we were born Maliks - an old family name in Lucknow. Along with wealth and power, Maliks were known for their Royal blood and old-fashioned practices. Since childhood, our Dadi drilled into us the importance of money and status. Being thrown out of Sheeshmahal, by our greedy uncle, after our parents' death and Di's wedding being called off were indicators to us that there was some truth in this preaching.

Arnav: After Nani adopted us, we were exposed to a different set of values. Nani tried to inculcate in us the importance of love, family and relationships. As I grew older, I struggled between the two sets of ideologies. I had a promise to keep, an uncle to avenge, a destiny to write. At that time, having money and power seemed to be the only way to fulfil my mission and that's what I strived to obtain. That became my obsession until the day a certain doe-eyed beauty fell into my arms and changed the course of my life.

Khushi smiled at this statement. Their first encounter was the opposite of an ideal meet-cute but considering the bond they share today, the past seemed less significant. She was happy that nowadays Arnav was more open about his feelings and even the past and patiently waited till he resumed his talk about Di.