Hello everyone,
Here is the next part of this SS.
* N. B :
Please don't get angry or upset with me, as this part was also bereft of our Arshi. But the last part and this one are needed for the story.
Many readers asked me about Shashi Gupta's behavior towards Sheetal. Why does he always support Khushi instead of his own daughter? So, I hope, this chapter will clear your doubts. So friends, please bear with me and this one more chapter without Arshi.
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Not Proofread. Please ignore the mistakes.
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Continued from the last part
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Gupta House ( In the evening ) :
Garima Gupta's contemplation was broken by the doorbell. But to her surprise, there was nobody there. She was about to close while looking back forth, her eyes had fallen on a package held underneath. Strangely, her name was inscribed on it. She looked around to see if someone was there or not while picking up the package, but saw no one.
She quickly opened the package and saw that a smartphone was kept in it along with a letter. She opened the letter with shaky hands and a thudding heart. She had a feeling that something bad was going to come out of it for her. "Open the gallery of it and enjoy the movie made of your precious daughter Sheetal, Mrs. Gupta" was written within the letter.
Garima Gupta did as said and remained there shocked, astounded, petrified and what not. She yelled in agony and fell down with a loud noise. "Ye....yeh....yeh sab kya hai? Yeh sab kisne...kaise"? Her heart came out of her mouth seeing the video. She fisted her palm, outraged.
"I'll kill whoever did this to my daughter, but... but first, I had to get my Sheetal out of here. Afterwards, I'll see them. They don't know Garima Gupta yet", she gnawed at his teeth in a rage. Her eyes were red, but not from weeping, but from anger and vengeance.
She got up with trembling legs and called someone, "hello, sometimes back I got a video. Our Sheetal has been abducted. I need you to get her back. I want my girl back". She stopped for a while and heard the other one...
"WHATTT! What do you mean, you can't do anything? Don't forget who Sheetal is", she tried to use emotional blackmail on this person. "What? What's Arnav Bitwa got to do with that? Hel...hello...hello...HELLO? Uhuhhh, phone cut diya mera! MINE? GARIMA GUPTA'S? How dare he"? He tried to ask for something else, but this person turned his phone off.
"What was Arnav bitwa's relation with this house that mattered in this? Why was his throat quivering while taking his name? What's happening"? She went into a self-contemplation zone. If only she knew what her bitwa was and why people peed in their trousers when they heard his name.
She wiped away her tears, "no, I would've to do something for my girl. Everybody else was a bunch of imbeciles. Kisi se kuch nahi hoga. I should speak to Arnav Bitwa. No matter what should be done now, he would do it for his love".
She went out hurriedly for RM to talk to Arnav.
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RM ( Same Morning, Study )
"Arnav bitwa, you called me in haste; what happened? Khushi's alright, isn't she"? He asked impatiently. Arnav and Aman looked at each other, then at him. Arnav raised his eyebrow, "yes, Mr. Gupta, what will happen to her? And as long as I'm alive, I won't let anything happen to her. So, you don't need to worry about her anymore". His voice was inflexible and sincere.
"But, you tell me something, were YOU okay, Mr. Gupta"? This time, Aman asked him, which made him frown. But, the gravity of Aman's voice told him (Shashi Gupta) that he meant business. He couldn't figure out why they asked him anything like that.
"Why bitwa? I mean, what would've happened to me? My Khushi bitiya is happy. She has an affectionate and compassionate husband, like your friend. What else am I supposed to need? If my daughter is happy,, then so am I". He replied to them with utmost honesty and fatherly love. A gentle smile played upon his lips.
"Hmmm! And what about your other child? I'm talking about Sheetal! Weren't you concerned about her? Aapko uske liye fikar nahi ho rahi hai? How is she, where is she, doesn't it matter to you? And as a matter of fact, you betrayed your OWN BLOOD for your adopted child? You made our way easier to stage this marriage drama, even after knowing that it would snatch your own daughter's love from her". Arnav insisted on 'own blood' again and again consciously so that they might get a reaction from him, and Shashi Gupta did not disappoint him at all.
"SHE IS NOT MY OWN BLOOD, samjhe tum! She's not my daughter. Sh...she is...she is... Garima's", "She is Garima Gupta's illegitimate child with Khushi's uncle, right, Mr. Gupta"? Arnav finished the sentence that Shashi Gupta was unable to because of the ignominy and disgrace. He (Shashi Gupta) looked upon his son-in-law, mortified.
He (Shashi Gupta) hid his face in his hands. It made him feel ashamed. He just couldn't handle it. His eyes turned cloudy. Arnav sighed as he looked at her trembling hands and shoulder. He knew that his father-in-law was weeping, and that these tears were due to shame and humiliation.
Arnav and Aman sat next to him and put their hands gently on his shoulder to make him a little better. "Uncle, please! We know everything from before", said Arnav quietly. His (Shashi) head snapped at him. "How could Arnav possibly know that"? He thought and looked at them in shock.
"Wh...wha...what? Ho....how"? His voice suffocated from shame. "You didn't know something, uncle. When Khushi went to the Gupta house for the pag phera, Garima Gupta wanted Khushi to sign documents, stating that she should leave me when Sheetal returned". Arnav ground his teeth, when he remembered Khushi's crying face.
"WHAT? HOW DARE SHE"? He (Shashi Gupta) bellowed. "Calm down, uncle, calm down. They will pay for hurting her. In fact, they already began to get their punishment". Shashi Gupta stared at him blankly.
"Yes, uncle. When Khushi said that to me, I decided that now is the time for them to be punished. Although they started having them, it wasn't enough for me. I wanted to put Garima Gupta on display across the world. But before that, I wanted to speak to you because somewhere I had the impression that you already knew something, if not completely". Arnav brought up his suspicions.
He (Shashi Gupta) nodded his head in an understandable manner, "when did you learn about this bitwa"? He asked shamefully. "I asked my PI team to investigate Sheetal and Garima, that's when I learned to know about it". Arnav told him earnestly. Mr. Gupta tilted his head in embarrassment.
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They knew he felt humiliated before them. He was a great man. Even knowing all those awful things about his wife, he protected the honor of his wife and daughter for so long. Now, when these shameful things came out in broad daylight, he must have felt shameful and cheap. But he wasn't to be blamed.
Seeing his hunched shoulder, they felt compassion for him. Arnav didn't know how to console him, since he never consoled anybody in his life. Obviously, Khushi was an exception. But for this man, who was most important to his Khushi, he attempted. "Uncle, please, you don't need to be ashamed. It is Garima Gupta who ought to be ashamed of herself."
"Uncle, in fact, you should be proud that after all this you have tried everything in power that her bad deeds have not been revealed. You kept her honor intact until now. You gave her illegitimate child your name. What could one man do other than this"? Aman spoke and lent his support to the emotionally worn-out old man, so did Arnav.
They sat there silently, not knowing what to say. Arnav made up his mind to break the disturbing silence. "Well, uncle, you wanted to talk"! Aman watched his friend, confused about why he wanted to know what they already knew. He looked at him, but Arnav beckoned him to hold his peace.
"I was a poor man when we got married. We had an arranged marriage. I didn't have any problems as I liked her from our first meet and I thought the same about her too. But after marriage, I came to know her real face. She was actually money minded bit**. [pardon me, for my language, if I hurt anyone's sentiment, then please forgive me] who only wanted money and for that, she could go to any length" He started to tell the past slowly.
"I started to work hard to give her the life she wanted, but she was never happy with me or my effort. She always humiliated and insulted me for being poor. She didn't even let me touch her and used to feel disgusted by my touch". His eyes started to get misted with unshed tears as he remembered his painful and humiliating past.
Arnav was listening to him cautiously so that he could collect some more information about Garima Gupta as he didn't want to miss anything against her. Maybe, their past could reveal something important which they missed. He didn't want to take a chance.
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"After some time, I noticed that she started going out somewhere without my knowledge. When I asked her, she dismissed me, saying that she got a job as she wasn't able to manage
in my very little income. All of a sudden she started to be very happy. At first, I was suspicious but then let that go, thinking that maybe it was because of the job. But little did I know the real reason behind her happiness". His voice choked. Aman clasped his palm with his to soothe his pain. But Arnav remained emotionless.
"Then suddenly, she began to behave well with me and started to do her wifely duties. This drama went on for a few days, much to my surprise. Then one day she asked me to give her the rights as my wife, but I was very skeptical. I said, I needed time. But, when I woke up the next day, noticed that I was naked and Garima was sleeping next to me in the same condition. I was shocked to see that. But I wasn't able to remember a thing". He swallowed hard to gulp down his torment and agony.
"Let it be uncle, you don't need to share all this with us if you're not comfortable, or it was giving you so much pain", they both (Arnav and Aman) said simultaneously as they could understand how much painful it was for him to reminiscence all the past again after so many years. Shashiji shook his head in negation and said, "no bitwa, let me out with it. I have borne this burden since ages. If I don't say it today, then maybe I never would be able to and would die with this burden on my chest".
They nodded and let him say his heart out today. "When I asked her, she just banished the topic, saying she couldn't wait for some more time as it was already more than a year now and her parents wanted grandchildren. So, she made me unconscious and had sex with me. I felt ripped off at that moment. I felt like someone snatched my everything. I felt betrayed and used". The pain in his voice was palpable. They silently supported him as it was not going to change anything even if they say anything now. So, they did what they could do to him now.
"For some days, I didn't go to work. I got into a shell. But when I came back to my senses, I tried hard to remember at least one moment between us of that cursed night. But it was all blank. And guess what! After some days, she came to me and said that she was pregnant with my baby. That's when I started to join the dots. Her sudden job, money spending like water and asking me to have sex with her. Everything was making sense to me". His voice held no emotion. His eyes were blank. There was not an iota of emotion in there.
He continued, "she was pregnant with someone else's child and wanted me to believe that it was mine. So, after she gave birth, I went for a DNA test and the result was what I thought it to be, negative. But I didn't say anything, thinking about mine and her family and her honor. I thought, maybe she had gone astray and someday she would come back. And in this hope I drank this poison as well. But at that time, I didn't know with whom she had an affair. I came to know about that much later. Not only that, I came to know her one gruesome secret". He paused to breathe some air to go ahead.
"What more secret, uncle"? Arnav asked him impatiently. Shashi Gupta stared at Arnav in such a way that he couldn't help but flinch. "That she was not only money minded bit** but also a murderer". Arnav and Aman gasped at the same time, "murder? She has murdered someone in the past? Whose murder"? He (Shashi Gupta) nodded and dropped the bomb, "Khushi's parents" and they both looked at him with disbelief.
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That's it for today.
How's it? I hope it is not that bad, boring or disappointing. Hopefully, you will like it.
Achcha, I want some advice from you, so please read the note below. Please, it's an earnest request.
Author Note :
Do I make you understand the situations, emotions, and reactions through my writing? Are my descriptions of any situation, emotions etc. okay?
Please let me know.
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Thank you,
Take care and stay safe,
Regards,
Dipanwita86
30/11/21