Arnav was ready to explode. At Lavanya's insistence, they had kicked the plan up another notch.
For the rest of the week, he and Khushi didn't have a second alone. If they sat next to each other, somebody would make one of them get up. If he even said her name, someone would interrupt, preventing him from speaking. One night, they even took her away from his room so that the girls could have a "sleep-over."
It was driving him insane. He wanted nothing more than to be closer to her, to share moments like that night in the kitchen. But they weren't letting that happen.
Damn you, Daksh, he thought.
But hopefully, this wouldn't last much longer. Lavanya was coming to the house so they could implement the next step.
Arnav pushed his hair back as he thought back to what Lavanya had told them all in his office yesterday. "This is absolutely crucial. Subhadra must not suspect a thing."
Damn it. The pressure was on. What if he stumbled? What if he let something slip?
"Are you nervous?" Khushi asked, bringing him back to the present.
"Don't worry," Arnav said stiffly. "I won't mess up."
Khushi rolled her eyes. "I wasn't implying that. You've been doing a good job of acting up until now, and I'm sure you'll do fine."
He smirked. "That's because I haven't been acting."
She smacked his arm lightly. "You never give up a moment to flirt, do you?"
"Why would I? Especially when it's so much fun to see you blush."
"I don't blush."
"You should look at your face now," he said. "Even your nose is red." He reached out to tap it, but she dodged and stuck her tongue out at him.
"Bhai," Akash called from outside. "Lavanya Ji is here."
Arnav scowled. He was getting really, really tired of being interrupted. But in a way, it was good because these were the exact emotions he needed to channel.
"Officer Lavanya, what brings you here?" Anjali was saying as they walked into the living room.
"I called her here," Arnav said.
"Why?" Devyani asked.
"Because I'm sick and tired of not getting a moment alone with my wife. All of you are so overbearing!"
"Arnav Ji," Khushi scolded.
"Hello hi, bye bye," Mamiji exclaimed, offended. "What have we ever done to you? Payal and Akash are in this house also. You don't see them complaining."
"What do they have to complain about? They got to go on a honeymoon. They work together in the office every day."
"Well, what do you suppose we should do?" Anjali asked sarcastically. "Hire Khushi Ji in our office?"
"No, but you could at least let us go on our honeymoon."
"Arnav bitwa," Manohar pacified. "We don't want to stop you from going. But you know what the situation is right now; it's not safe."
"Actually Mamaji, that's why we called Lavanya here," Khushi said nervously. "We were hoping we could find a safe way to do something. Not much–just a few days alone."
"Unbelievable," Subhadra muttered. "Now the bahus of the house will shamelessly decide when they go on honeymoons themselves."
Everyone ignored her.
"No," Lavanya shook her head. "I can't risk your safety–"
"Please Lavanya," Khushi pleaded. "Just a couple of days. We won't go far–"
"There's no need to beg," Arnav interrupted harshly. "I've already decided. We're going on a road trip to Nainital. We'll leave tomorrow night and be back by Sunday morning. We're only letting you know so you can help us with any safety precautions. But no bodyguards. We need alone time."
"Chote, be reasonable," Anjali exclaimed, but Lavanya held up hand.
"Actually, it could work. You haven't mentioned it to anyone outside of the family yet, right?"
"Right."
"Fine. But I'll map out your trip. And even though you won't have bodyguards, I'll set up police checkpoints along the way where you'll be checking in every few hours."
"Okay," Khushi said, relieved. "We can work with that."
"Where are you planning on staying when you get there?"
As they hashed out the details, Subhadra listened carefully, before silently slipping out of the room.
Akash waited a few moments, then tiptoed out. "She went upstairs," he reported back to the others.
Anjali scoffed. "Didn't even waste a second, did she? I bet she'll call him right away."
"Hopefully," Manohar said. "That means the plan is working."
Lavanya nodded curtly. "I'll let you know when the next steps are in place."
Khushi walked her to the door. "Lavanya?"
"What?"
"Thank you."
The police officer was irritated. "Don't get emotional. I'm only doing my job."
"Yeah, okay. You know you love me."
Lavanya rolled her eyes and left, ignoring a laughing Khushi.
***
Barun was late again the next morning. Khushi scoffed as she glanced at the time. He'd been punctual the last few days but today, he'd gone back to his old habits.
She knew it wouldn't last long. Even though he wanted to, he wasn't able to change.
Leopards didn't change their spots, and men didn't change their natures.
Angrily, she opened the file she was going to work on.
"I'm sorry," Barun stammered as he rushed in, hair wild and shirt buttoned incorrectly. "I overslept and–"
"I don't want excuses," she said sharply. "You're half an hour late, so please, don't waste any more time. Finish reviewing the cases–"
"I did," he said, pulling out a set of printed and stapled papers from his laptop bag. "Here's my report."
Stunned, Khushi skimmed it over. It was actually very well done. "When did you do this?"
"Last night. I finished at like three; that's why I'm late now. But it won't happen again, I swear."
"Why?" Khushi asked, still unable to wrap her head around it. "Why did you stay up until three to finish it?"
He stared blankly at her. "Well, you said we should look up precedents for the case before we started preparing the witnesses. So now we can move forward right?"
"Right," she said faintly. "Good job."
You see, her heart whispered. He's redeeming himself, just like Arnav.
It's not the same, her fears argued. Don't give in.
Don't fall again.
***
Daksh wasn't quite convinced. As he finished cleaning his gun, he thought about what his mother had told him. Were Arnav and Khushi really going to leave the house? With no bodyguards?
It seemed a little too convenient.
Or perhaps a golden opportunity really had fallen into his lap. Would he be a fool to let it go?
His musings were interrupted by a phone call from the mole.
"Boss, you won't believe what's happening. Officer Kashyup is letting ASR and his wife go on a road trip." As his inside man explained the exact details, Daksh's smile grew wider. It was true after all.
"Get me a copy of the map," Daksh ordered. Pointing the gun at an imaginary Arnav, he chuckled.
The time for revenge had at last come.
Finally.
***
"At least take the driver with you," Anjali begged.
"We'll be fine, Di," Arnav said, taking Khushi's suitcase from her and placing it in the trunk. "Officer Kashyup took safety precautions, remember? Daksh won't get to us."
Standing in the background, Subhadra almost defended her son. They were afraid for no reason. Daksh never wanted to hurt them. Sure, he had been greedy in the past, but he had changed.
It's only a matter of time, she consoled herself. Daksh had said that he would find a way to meet up with Arnav during this trip. He'd clear up their misunderstandings, and Arnav would understand that Daksh wasn't his enemy. Her family would be whole again.
Miles away, Daksh and his men gathered in the darkening forest. He glanced at the map one more time. This was the largest gap between the police checkpoints that Officer Kashyup had set up, and therefore, the best place for him to lay his trap.
In a few hours, Arnav would drive by here and Daksh and his men would descend on him.
He'd make Arnav watch as his wife was slowly tortured and killed. Then Daksh would find a way to get to Anjali and do the same again.
He'd drive Arnav to madness, and only when life became utterly meaningless for him, would he allow him to die.
***
The sun had fully set now, and the only light on the road was from their own headlights.
It was eerie, and in the silence, Arnav wondered if Khushi could hear his pounding heart. Lavanya was confident that they would be safe, but he couldn't help feeling as if they were entering a den of wolves.
"Arnav," she said, her voice barely rising above the quiet.
He inclined his head towards her.
"After this–if this plan works, and Daksh is captured–"
"He will be," Arnav said, trying to instill confidence in her that he didn't have.
"If Daksh is captured, and we're safe, then...then there's no reason for us to stay together any longer."
He slammed down on the brakes, and if it weren't for their seatbelts, they would've been thrown against the dashboard.
"No reason?" he stared at her. "Is there still no reason?"
"You knew from the start–"
"At least let me finish the list–"
"And then what? I told you not to have hope. No list is going to change anything."
"Don't do this to me, Khushi." He reached for her hand, but she pulled it away. "Don't be so cruel."
She looked out the window.
"Screw this plan. I'll drive back right now; I'm not–"
She scoffed, still not looking at him. "So much for respecting me. My choice doesn't matter, does it? You'd rather keep us in danger so you can force me to stay with you than let me go free."
"Am I imprisoning you, Khushi?" he asked softly. "Is that how you see my love?"
She didn't answer, and he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. The power was in his hands. He could easily turn back, and like she said, force her to stay with him.
The phone rang. "What's wrong?" hissed Lavanya. "Why aren't you two moving?"
"We're..." turning back. The words were at the tip of his tongue.
"What? You're what?"
"We're going. My apologies for the delay."
He hung up, ignoring the fierce ache in his chest.
If their relationship was imprisonment, then he wouldn't hold her back from freedom.
And if it took his last breath away, then so be it.
***
As the black Mercedes drove into view, Daksh signaled his men to be ready. This was it. The moment that he'd waited so long for, that he'd risked everything for.
When the car was in the middle of the patch of the road, a small group of his men roared out of the trees on motorcycles, blocking the way forward.
Arnav attempted to reverse, but another group blocked the way there. Jumping out of his hiding spot, Daksh went straight for the car, the rest of his men following his lead.
He pulled the driver's side seat door open, gun in hand. "Long time, no see nephew."
The man looked up to meet Daksh's eyes, and his feral grin faded as he realized that it wasn't Arnav. Before he could process this further, the man knocked the gun out of his hand and pulled out his own weapon. "Daksh Malik, you're under arrest."
Behind him, chaos had ensued. His men had gathered around the car, but now they were surrounded by police vehicles and had no escape.
"What do we do, boss?" one of them screamed.
Slamming the car door shut, he yelled, "Shoot! Everywhere; don't stop until you're out of ammo!"
He knew it wouldn't help, that in the pandemonium that ensued, his own men would be more likely to get injured than the prepared police officers.
But he also knew that chaos would be his only chance to escape.
As gunfire went off blindly around him, he dropped to the ground, avoiding stampeding feet and ignoring the yells and splattering blood.
It was pure luck that he managed to get to the woods unscathed. He did not pause to look back as he walked forward, could not allow himself even think of anything but escape.
The night was exploding behind him, and if he hesitated, it would take him, too.
***
"You're back!" Anjali enveloped her brother and sister-in-law in her arms, relief bringing tears to her eyes.
"You were worried for no reason," Arnav said, gently untangling himself from her. "Remember, Lavanaya told us that we would be switched out long before we got to the place where Daksh would be hiding?"
"Lavanya also said that she didn't know for sure that was where he'd be."
"But she'd taken measures to make it the most attractive option," Khushi reminded Anjali.
"I know, but I still couldn't help worrying."
Arnav helped his sister to a seat. "Well, you don't have to worry anymore. We've done our part and we're back home safe. Now it's up to Lavanya and her team."
"Yes. Hopefully, Daksh will be caught and we'll be rid of this worry forever."
Khushi smiled weakly and Arnav turned away, afraid his sister would see his distress.
They'd be rid of Daksh, but Arnav would also lose Khushi.
"I'm tired, Di. I'm going to bed."
"Chote?" she asked, concerned. "Are you alright?"
"I'm just tired. You should go to bed, too; I'm surprised that you're still awake."
"Do you really think I could have slept while you two were out there? In fact, everyone is still awake. They're all in their rooms, though, because we didn't want Dadiji to realize we were all waiting for you."
"Okay. You should let them know, then. Good night."
As he walked upstairs, he could hear her and Khushi talking in low voices. But he didn't care what they were saying or how Khushi was trying to explain away his behavior.
He had failed. His love was left unproven and soon, she would walk out of his life forever.
Unthinkingly, he sat at the vanity, where she often sat and conversed with her Devi Mayan statuette. He always found it cute, but silly when she did so. Up until now, he wasn't much for religion himself, but desperate people tended to find faith.
"Make her stay," he said. "Please, just...let her stay. I'm not ready–I'm not strong enough to let her go.
"Please."
***
It was dawn when Daksh got back to his hiding spot. Unlocking the door, he nearly collapsed as soon as he entered and had to crawl up the stairs to get to his room.
It was a two bedroom house, in a shady part of town where no one questioned why twenty men would be living together. One of the bedrooms was his to sleep in, and the other he'd set up as his office. That left his nineteen remaining men to spend the nights scrounging in the living room, kitchen and pantry. On warmer nights, he'd seen quite a few of them sleeping on the porch and in the yard, too.
He'd never worried that they might resent this treatment and turn on him. After all, he could blindly trust each and every one of them. He'd handpicked them all carefully, choosing those that had lost everything and would have no qualms of devoting themselves to him. Many of them used to be orphaned teenagers that roamed the street, committing petty crimes until he'd caught ahold of them. Some were older men, who'd been estranged from their families due to drug addiction or some crime they committed.
When Daksh found someone he thought would serve him well, he'd test them not only for physical strength, but loyalty and intelligence. He wanted them to be smart, but not too smart. After that, it was only a matter of time and manipulation before they were ready to put their lives on the line for him.
Everyone needed a purpose, and in the case of his men, he'd simply shifted their purpose from surviving to living for him.
Once, a man had tried to break loose from him, claiming that he didn't want to be a member of Daksh's cult.
After killing the would-be rebel, Daksh had grinned, liking the sound of that: Daksh's cult. Yes, he was a cult leader, wasn't he? Strong, powerful, adored by his pitiful followers.
But Daksh wasn't thinking of any of that now as he dragged himself into bed and fell asleep for a full twelve hours.
When he awoke, the fear of being caught and the exhaustion of escaping had both disappeared. Now he was angry.
Infuriated.
He'd been baited and trapped like a mouse. The last of his men were in the hands of that Officer Kashyup. And that arrogant Arnav was probably puffed up like a penguin, pleased at having defeated him once more.
He moved systematically through the house, from his bedroom to his office to the bathroom to the kitchen, picking up things and destroying them. The destruction did nothing to soothe his rage.
All his mistakes seemed to taunt him, reminding him that if it weren't for them, then this wouldn't be happening now.
His first was letting the two brats live. He'd made up a plan, back then, to move into their house, pretending to be a doting uncle, only to have one die in an "accident" and the other one "commit suicide" after losing their sibling.
But the thought of even pretending to love his brother's children was too much. Instead, he kicked them out and figured they'd die on the street or something. How was he to know that those brats were more resilient than they looked?
Then there was that whole Khushi kidnapping fiasco. He'd trusted the wrong man. Yes, Shyam had gotten the girl, but he'd refused to kill her the way Daksh wanted. The man had some twisted sense of morality that wouldn't let him simply stab or shoot the girl. After all, he'd claimed, he wasn't a murderer.
Psycho.
Once the girl was in his men's hands, Daksh should've removed Shyam from the picture and taken care of her death himself.
But instead, he'd figured that death was death and as long as her body was found in Arnav's farmhouse, it wouldn't matter how she died.
Yet, she'd managed to escape.
He should've killed Shyam then.
Then he wouldn't have been able to reveal his hideout's location to the police.
But he did, and Daksh had lost the majority of his men.
And then there was the matter of his mother.
Daksh had thought that having her on the inside would give him a way to get to Arnav, but somehow, she'd been used against him. Her and the mole from inside the police had both fed him false information and now he had nothing.
It was over. It was all over.
All his men had been captured and he was here, hiding away like a rat.
All the time spent scheming, meticulously gathering resources, carrying out his plans...only for them to fail.
He stared at the destruction he'd created, and decided that it was fitting.
Because he had lost everything in the name of revenge.
Revenge against his brother for marrying rich and leaving him behind. Oh how meticulously had Daksh planned his downfall: helping keep his affairs a secret until it was the right time to reveal them, using a maid to replace Ratna's antidepressants with placebos, instigating Garima so that she called Ratna on the day of her daughter's wedding.
And he'd won, only to lose it all a handful of years later when Armaan's spawn hurtled back into his life, destroying the empire that he'd built up.
He'd started again, with only Raju by his side, and again, had waited years until he was strong enough to take his revenge.
Only for it to end like this.
For a moment, the thought that seeking revenge was his biggest mistake flitted across his mind, but he dismissed it.
No, if a man forgave those who wronged him, then what kind of man was he?
But now what?
He couldn't do it; couldn't raise his empire another time.
I've lost everything, Arnav. But as I go down, I swear on all the blood on my hands, I'll find a way to take you with me.
***
Khushi leaned her head against the pool side door, watching as the sky slowly lightened. She knew that Arnav wasn't asleep, either. But he had his face turned towards the wall, and wasn't acknowledging her in any way.
What was left to say anyway? she thought miserably as she hugged Devi Mayan to herself. Nothing he could say would make her stay. It seemed like he finally understood that.
Her phone buzzed with a text from Lavanya: Call me when you're awake.
Khushi stared at it. This was it. Lavanya would give her news of Daksh's capture, and then the last reason would be gone. For a moment, she wanted to throw her phone into the pool. If they didn't know, she wouldn't have to leave.
Pride reared its ugly head. How dare she hesitate? How dare she not take the opportunity to escape the man who'd insulted her so?
Strengthening her resolve, she replied, I'm awake if you want to talk now.
Lavanya immediately rang. "He escaped."
"Who? Daksh?"
"Yes. I think we got all his men, but he somehow slithered out like a snake." Lavanya bit back a curse. She had underestimated Daksh. She thought that he'd give in once he was surrounded, but he had no qualms of starting a gunfire match to give him a chance to run. She only had a few injuries on her side, but three of his men had died.
"Hai Devi Mayan. What's going to happen now?"
"Mark my words, I will find him. It's just a matter of time. Anyway, I'll drop by your place tomorr–later today to give you guys a security debrief. Until then, keep your security measures in place."
"Here? But what about Dadiji?"
"It doesn't matter. Daksh isn't an idiot; he'll know that his sources of information have been compromised. He won't be using his mother as a spy anymore."
"Okay," Khushi said faintly. "See you later then."
Still staring out the glass door in shock, she didn't realize that Arnav had moved until he came to sit in front of her. "Khushi?" he asked, touching her hand to get her attention. "What happened to Daksh?"
"He–he escaped."
The revelation left Arnav reeling. "What? How?"
Khushi shook her head. "I don't know. I can't believe it...Lavanya's going to come by tomorrow to explain everything."
He sat back on his haunches. Despite all that planning and effort, Daksh had still managed to slip out of their reaches. He was still a danger to all of them. To Naniji, Mamaji, Mamiji, Akash, Payal, Aarav, Di...Khushi.
Which meant that Khushi had to stay.
Their eyes met as the realization dawned on them at the same time.
"Oh well," Arnav said, trying to keep his relief from showing on his face. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure he won't be able to escape for long."
"Yeah," she said. "Everything happens for a reason after all."
He tilted his head. "What reason?"
"I don't know," she said flustered. Maybe so that I can get strong enough...but for what?
To leave you or to forgive you?
"Maybe it's a sign," he said quietly. His eyes dropped to her Devi Mayan. "Maybe you're not meant to leave me."
"Don't start that. I've already made up my mind." But her trembling voice belied her words.
He got to his feet, offering her a hand as well. "We'll see."
Annoyed, she ignored it.
When she went to the bathroom, he grinned at Devi Mayan. "Well, what do you know? You pulled through after all. Not the way I would have liked, but beggars can't be choosers, can they?"
Author's Note:
I'm too tired to think right now, but please enjoy the chapter and you can expect the next chapter on Saturday, April 9, iA.
Until then,
take care
-Noor