Retrouvaille: An IPKKND FanFiction

Chapter Eleven: Alone

"Nani?" Arnav knocked on his grandmother's room, "Can I come in?"

It was early in the morning when he had woken up; the sky was still pitch black. He could hear the distant chirping of birds starting to become more pronounced, but it was quiet enough for him to hear his footstep echo in their palatial residence. Knowing Devyani to be an early riser, he had decided to pay her a quick visit. He had made a mental checklist of things he needed to get done that day after having scrolled through his work calendar, and it looked like he was in for an extremely busy day ahead of him.

After their tensed conversation over Anjali's health the night before, he had left the room to be with Khushi knowing she would be alone. But he knew there were some things he needed to talk to his grandmother when she was by herself. He had deliberately passed by Anjali's room on his way to Devyani's to check on her and was comforted to see that she was sleeping.

"Chottey?" the door opened a minute later to reveal a surprised Devyani still in her nightclothes. She looked unusually tired, he noted, but if he was disconcerted that she wasn't yet ready for her routine mini-puja in her room before gathering everyone in the mandir downstairs, he didn't show. "You are up early!" he heard her.

Arnav nodded as he stepped in the room and closed the door behind him, "I just needed a quick favor, Nani," he said.

"Of course, Chottey," Nani's reply was instantaneous, "Anything you need. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, Nani, everything is fine," said Arnav, "I wanted to ask if you can prepare something sweet for Khushi today? And her favorite aloo-puri to go with it for breakfast? I was hoping you guide Rahim Chacha in the kitchen for this; I wanted this meal to be special."

Devyani was visibly relieved to know that the reason Arnav was at her doorstep early wasn't because of an emergency. With the current status of things around the house, it didn't seem like an unreasonable thought to visit when she saw her grandson early morning.

"Sure, I will, Chottey, but what's the occasion?" she asked, curious.

"Umm," he began, "When we were at Khushi's house, Garima aunty mentioned that today is her mother's birthday. I was thinking of taking Khushi to the temple when she wakes up. Aunty said she'll join us as well."

Devyani smiled, "That's a good idea, Chottey. Why don't you ask Garima ji and Madhumati ji to join us for breakfast too? It's been a while since we've met them. Anjali bitiya would feel better too if they come along."

Arnav frowned at her words, "Is Di really alright, Nani? I mean, I trust when all of you said she was fine, and Dr. Sharma's initial assessment leans positive too, although I can't help but be worried – I don't want to impose guests on to her when she is recovering from yesterday. With everything that's going on, I don't want to stress Di."

"She'll be fine, Chottey," said Devyani, "Don't worry. I'll be with her while you are gone with Khushi bitiya. If Garima ji comes for breakfast, I'm sure it will help Anjali bitiya; it'll distract her from what happened yesterday. But speaking of her, did we get to know anything about damad ji? Akash bitwa said he would have his assistant Varun to contact the private investigators. We need to know where he is. Anjali bitiya needs him."

Arnav looked at his grandmother, his eyes skimmed past the wrinkles on her face that seemed to have grown more prominent over the last couple of days. He sighed; Devyani did not deserve another tumultuous phase in her life. He had tried, truly and faithfully, that the family would not suffer due to Shyam, but his kidnap had thwarted his plans to deal with him. Now that he had Shyam under captivity, he knew he had to reveal a few details that he has kept with himself. He had thought he would discuss the matter with Akash and NK first before he spoke to the elders of the house, but he couldn't unsee that his grandmother was extremely worried over that leech of a man. He knew she was right in being worried. While Shyam traveled for his job quite often, he had kept in touch with both, Anjali and Devyani. It was only obvious that both of them were worried that this time wasn't the same.