On just the second day of her wedding, Mitra was wondering the entire day, where her husband was.
While she helped Sapna in the kitchen, she happened to see Arjun walk away to their room. Under the pretense of giving him a coffee, she to followed him.
She lightly pushed opened the door and walked in to find him sitting on the sofa, with his head leaned back and eyes closed.
"Arjun?" She called him out lightly after closing the door and walking closer.
He straightened up and looked at her.
"Are you alright?" She asked with concern laced voice and lightly pushed back the hair on his forehead.
He did not waste a moment before pulling her close and hiding his face in her midriff as he wrapped her arms around her waist.
She smiled and lovingly threaded her fingers in his hair but next moment, her foreecreased and she narrowed her eyes.
She forcefully pulled his face up to meet his eyes. She gasped lowly as she found his eyes glossy, ready to spill.
"Tell me." She whispered.
He shook his head and sighed deeply. He left her blinked rapidly to get rid of the unshed tears.
She sat down beside him and held his large palms in her soft dainty ones.
Sometimes, the silence can be satisfying. There is no need to exchange words to express the distress. She gave him a silent moment, until he was ready to talk.
"I am imposing myself on everyone." He whispered with a broken voice.
His turmoil was evident.
She looked at him. She knew, he did not need anything advice or her opinion. All he needed was to vent out his troubles.
When she did not reply, he looked at her.
"I am sure, you have a strong reason to say this." She said when she thought he was waiting for her to reply.
He licked his lips and nodded.
"I met Geet downstairs. I was just trying to spend some time with her. She..."
Mitra narrowed her eyes when Arjun found it difficult to continue.
"She what?" Mitra gently coaxed him.
Arjun let out a sharp breath.
"She said, not to touch her. It was all about good and bad touch her father taught her."
Mitra gulped. She could now understand why Arjun was hurt.
She lightly rubbed his palm.
"It's okay, Arjun. Now a days all this is taught in schools too."
Arjun looked at her and held her gaze.
"What do think, Mitra? Everytime I happen to touch her, will Naren have a perception in his mind? Do you think, he will mind me near his daughter?"
She gasped with parted lips.
"Why are taking this in other way, Arjun? This is very common thing to be taught now a days."
Arjun shook his head.
"You don't understand. He hasn't said a word to me after the incident. He did not even participate in wedding rituals. And... Now when Geet mentioned that, I could not help but think that he was warning her against me. Am I that bad?"
His voice quivered at his last words and Mitra could not help but pull him closer. He hid his face in the crook of her neck and tightened his hold over her, trying to absorb the strength that she was ready to offer.
Arjun appeared calm, but a storm was brewing within him. He refused to come down for dinner, saying he was already full, which was not a lie. The moment of joy spent with Kunal was short-lived and he was back to contemplating about what he lost in his life, without any fault of his.
Previous day when the reports of DNA test had arrived, he had realized that it was all futile.
Naren's anger on little Geet was short lived.
Though he had decided to sever all ties with Richa, he could not make himself distance from the child he had considered his daughter right from she was conceived. Father or not, Naren had made up his mind to have the girl for himself and fight for her custody.
The DNA report which turned out to be in his favor was just a cherry on the cake.
After all this fiasco, he had realized with a start that all this was in vein. He was about to lose the most crucial truth of his life. It was difficult for him to be a part of the wedding festivities when his own life was devastated in the worst way possible.
He had finally opted to leave everything behind and move in with his parents to their native, along with his daughter.
The betrayal of his wife hit hard.
The betrayal of his cousin had shattered him.
His daughter and his loving and supportive parents was all he was left with.
He had already started the procedure to step back from his position at the company.
Arjun walked down the stairs when the family was about to get done with the dinner.
"Arjun? Come, eat something. Mitra told me, you ate with your friends. But join us." Sapna called him out lovingly.
He gave a strained smile.
"Thank, Mom. I am really full."
She nodded with a smile.
He stood behind an empty chair and gripped the back of the chair, looking at his father.
"Dad, I and Mitra will be leaving tomorrow."
His parents exchanged looks while Bansi looked at him wide wide eyes. Samrat too, had his spoon halted in midair.
Naren was the only one who did not pay any heed to Arjun's words. He continued to eat silently.
"Tomorrow? What is so urgent? I knew about Mitra leaving. You too?" His mother asked.
"I am done with my leaves long ago, Mom. I need to report back and take of my work." He replied honestly.
Mitra closed her eyes briefly in annoyance. Why her dumb husband couldn't understand that his parents would not like the fact that he was working in his wife's hotel. This could have been presented in better words.
"We will talk about that, Arjun. Stay for a few days." His father spoke in a gentle tone.
Mitra decided to intervene before Arjun could say something inappropriate.
"Your father is right, Arjun. Stay for a few days. I will come back in a few days to meet you. Don't rush things."
Arjun looked at her flabbergasted and blinked rapidly. He looked at his father and back at his wife. He did not know what to say.
"And... I would like you to consider working in our company. With Naren leaving, Samrat is left alone to take care of everything." Added his father.
Arjun was dumbfounded. He had never thought that his father would consider him important enough to let him in his company. He was rendered speechless for a moment before he turned to look at his wife. She had a small smile playing on her lips.
Arjun did not find himself ready to face this.
There was a baggage of mixed emotions. On one hand while he was still dealing with this new found acceptance from his parents, he was trying to adjust with the reality that Naren had his own share of bitterness towards him. While he was happy that he finally landed with the love of his life, he was trying to deal with the fact that Richa and Naren might face brutal consequences during divorce proceedings and he was the one to blame.
While his father was asking him to take up a new responsibility in his company, he wondered whether it was worth staying far from the woman who had recently taken a new prominent role in his life.
He was not able to decide if staying with his family and helping in the family business was important or going back to Lucknow and finding solace in Himalayan treks was.
The family was taken aback when Arjun went silent. He was standing still with his eyes glued to the floor. A thousand thoughts were numbing his brain.
For a moment he made up his mind and decided that he would need some time to accept everything and did not want to rush with anything. He opened his mouth to voice out his denial but a sudden intrusion took him by surprise.
A security guard barged in, apologizing for the unannounced intrusion.
"Police is waiting at the gate. They want to see you." He said looking at Aniket Mathur.
The entire family was stunned into silence.
Aniket Mathur was the first one to walk out, followed by everyone else.
By the time they came to the living room, police had already entered. An on-duty officer with two constables walked in at the same time as Arjun.
Arjun was taken aback as he recognized the officer. He was the one who had been present at the time when Sahil attacked him in the police station.
"We have an arrest warrant for Arjun Mathur. He has been charged with murder of Sahil Khanna." The officer announced in no-nonsense tone.
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