A Heart That Loves... (Arshi FF)

Chapter 34

"On Di's wedding day, Sheetal came to meet Maa... She told Maa that she was pregnant with Papa's child... She had a doctor's report and even a recording of a conversation between herself and Papa discussing their baby..."

Khushi held in the gasp that nearly escaped her, as tears streamed down her cheek. She couldn't even imagine how much pain Maa would have been in, hearing another woman claim that her husband's child was growing in them...

She still remembered the feeling when that Lavanya had walked in, saying she was Arnav's PA the day after their marriage. Nothing could describe the way her heart had ached, thinking that she was being replaced by another woman in Arnav's life. And that was just a result of one moment. Hearing that her mother-in-law had endured that pain for an entire year, with no support... Khushi couldn't imagine the impact it would have had on Maa...

Especially for a woman to whom her husband and children were her entire world, there was nothing more tormenting and agonizing than knowing that her husband, her other half was in another woman's arms. And even worse, hearing that the woman was carrying her husband's child... Khushi felt her heart break for her mother in law.

"That was her b-breaking point Khushi," Arnav's voice shook. "I had come upstairs looking for Maa but I was too late... By the time I found Maa, she'd already locked the door and hanged herself."

"I screamed, shouted, and tried to break through the door, but I was helpless Khushi," Arnav's voice broke. "I saw her Khushi... I saw her through those bars... I saw her struggling in front of my eyes... But I couldn't save her..."

Khushi sobbed as she heard the desperation in his voice. She knew that Maa's decision was wrong considering she had two children who needed her, but her heart cried out for the woman who had lost the anchor in her life... The woman who had desperately tried to hold on for her children but gave up to the misery.

"Do you know what the worst part of all this was Khushi?," Arnav finally pulled back to meet her eyes, his own completely bloodshot.

"He never cheated."

***

Khushi gasped.

"He never cheated on Maa, Khushi. It was all a blood setup by a rival company to bring him down."

"The photos?" Khushi asked.

"Morphed," he replied.

"The doctor's report?" she asked

"Fake," he said.

"But the recording...?"

"They used a voice artist to do the job. Being his PA, Sheetal was in more than a good position to collate enough recordings of his voice and style of speaking for a voice artist to imitate his voice for the recording."

Khushi felt her head reeling with this information

"Papa was genuinely just busy with the business and Di's wedding preparation. His only crime was negligence, Khushi, but it was enough to take two lives."

"Two?" Khushi questioned.

"When Papa saw Maa like that, it destroyed him completely. He yelled, screamed, begged for her to come back, but it was too late..."

"That day it wasn't just a mother and a wife that was lost, we all lost our anchor. Maa was not just Papa's wife Khushi – she was his love, his partner, his soul mate. And you know what? She wasn't just his soul, but ours too. When she left, it ripped out a big piece of all of us too."

"We found the recording and doctor's report next to mum's body. That's when Papa understood everything. It didn't take long for him to find all the photos and letters that Maa had received over the course of that year. When he realised that his negligence had led to the love of his life taking her own life, he couldn't take it Khushi..."