'Not bad Khushi Kumari Gupta,' Arnav thought, smirking.
'After all she's your woman,' a part of him cheered.
Arnav couldn't help but smile at his own words...
Khushi on the other hand, all of a sudden felt her heart racing – dhak dhak... dhak dhak... dhak dhak...
A gust of wind hit her, letting her feel the change in the air...
'He's here!' she thought, her heart rejoicing inside.
**********************************************************
She wanted to look around frantically to seek him out, but she didn't – the last thing she needed was to alert Shyam of Arnav's presence.
But her eager heart didn't let her rest completely – she tried to look for him as subtly as she could, in the name of 'looking around the airport for the first time.'
And after about 10 seconds of searching, her thirsty eyes finally caught sight of him...
They didn't need to exchange words for them to know how much these minutes apart had tortured both of them – their eyes said it all; the yearning, the panic, and now the relief...
The second their eyes met, determination spread across both people's hearts with a force to be reckoned.
Arnav gently blinked his eyes, letting her know that he was with her now and he had everything under control.
And Khushi in response blinked eyes, telling him that she trusted him.
With that she turned back to Shyam smiling with an extra twinkle in her eyes.
And Shyam falling for her trap went on to walk inside, happily throwing a hand over Khushi's shoulder.
Arnav fisted his fingers at the sight; his blood boiling seeing the bast*** trying to take advantage of his Khushi.
Meanwhile the girl in question shot him a helpless look, silently pleading him to free her soon from this torture – and Arnav just gave a slight nod while blinking his eyes, telling her to hold on just a little more.
"All set? Does everyone remember what they have to do?" Arnav spoke into the earpiece.
"Yes Sir," came the replies from all the officers.
"Then let's get started," Arnav said.
Shyam was leading Khushi towards the entrance of the airport, while there were about 5 goons walking behind them in two lines, looking out for any danger.
Shyam was a great manipulator and he had many contacts – which is why until now he hasn't been arrested. And his list of strengths end right there – he may have contacts but other than that he wasn't the strongest, nor the smartest person on earth.
He got all this power from his inherited money – but as mentioned before, that was the only thing he had.
So when the boss himself wasn't very smart, how will his goons be any smarter?
Shyam was walking with Khushi, not looking back even once as he was confident that no one would be coming after him due to the contacts he has within the police force, and he was also sure that his goons would be there to watch out for danger, if any.
But least did he know that within these past few months Arnav had already figured out which officers in the police were under Shyam's control. After all, he was also ASR, and ASR got the information he wanted by hook or crook. And so today Arnav had very carefully contacted specific officers for the mission today and made sure the black sheep were not involved.
Anyways, just like Shyam, his goons also didn't look back – yes they were looking out for any potential threats in front, but it didn't occur to even one of them that it might be a good idea to look behind too.
So it wasn't surprising when a the police managed to silently creep up on them from behind and pull out the three goons at the very back – a few officers smothered the goons with chloroform while the others grabbed the goons' arms and locked them in place, immobilising them completely.
Once they were unconscious the police carried them to a safe place at the side where they were dumped for the time being.
They repeated the same process with the remaining two goons as well – only this time their plan almost got ruined when one of the goons turned back as if by instinct and saw the people following them.
But luckily before the man could make any move or warn the others, the police managed to shut him up with the chloroform, along with the other man who had been standing with him, guarding Shyam. They were outnumbered by far so the goons had no way of escaping or warning Shyam.
Now it was just Shyam and Khushi walking towards the entrance – Shyam was completely oblivious to the events that had happened merely a few metres behind him, and Khushi was occasionally taking quick glances at Arnav for reassurance.
It was time for the final stage of their plan – they were lucky that the goons were easy to get rid of, but Arnav had half expected that anyways from what he'd seen of them already in the past. He knew they were going to be easy to fool – but now it was time for the main catch, Shyam.
Now that it was only him left to catch, it should have been easy – only it wasn't.
Because Khushi was with Shyam and Arnav did not want to harm her in any way – even if it meant losing Shyam.
But there was another aspect that he couldn't ignore, staring at his face – if Shyam escaped today, even if they got Khushi out safely, there would be no guarantee that Shyam won't come after her again. In fact, it was almost certain that he WILL come back to get her, and that was a risk that Arnav didn't want to take.
Of course he will be there for Khushi no matter what – even if everything and everyone turned against her, he will stand as her pillar to protect her till his last breath.
But what he was worried about was the emotional and physical stress that Khushi would have to go through with another attack or kidnap. He didn't want to put Khushi through all this mess again if he could avoid it – and he knew that L75 was still lurking free but at least if Shyam got caught then that would be one less enemy to worry about.
And so Arnav decided that he had to catch Shyam today – no matter what comes. Because that was the best choice for Khushi.
"Everything ready?" Arnav asked into the earpiece.
"Yes Sir – they're surrounded in all directions," an officer replied.
"Great – let's finish this once and for all," Arnav replied.
"Hands up Shyam!!!" Arnav shouted at Shyam, pointing a gun at him and Khushi.
Shyam who was startled by the sudden voice coming from his, tightened his arms over Khushi's shoulders, making her insides tremble with fear.
Shyam swiftly turned them around, ready to run away in the opposite direction to Arnav, but then skidded to a stop when numerous officers emerged, pointing their guns at him, blocking his path.
He then turned them to run away in another direction but again, officers emerged in front of him, blocking his path.
Only then did he realised that, he and Khushi were completely surrounded by police officers, each pointing their guns at them – or Shyam to be precise.
"There's no way out Shyam – you are surrounded. It's better if you yourself surrender – otherwise we'll have to shoot you!" warned Arnav.
"Are yeh aap kya karahein hain?! (What are you doing?!)" Khushi interrupted defiantly.
Shyam turned to Khushi, not having expected that outburst from her.
"Khushiji," he started, but Khushi didn't let him finish.
She put a hand over his hand that lay on her shoulder, reassuringly.
"Aap chintha mat keejye Karanji. Isse hum sambhaalenge. Bohot hogaya! Pehle hamaare raksha karne ke naam me hume sathaathethe, or ab aap par jhoota ilzaam lagaa rahe hain – Kisi Shyam ke galtiyon keliye aap ko, hamaare Karanji ko, sazaa thena chaathe hain voh. Hum unhe chodenge nahi! (Don't worry Karanji. I'll handle him. It's enough now! First he tortured me in the name of protecting me, and now he's putting false accusations on you – he wants to punish you, my Karanji, for the crime of some Shyam. I won't leave him!)"
Shyam was feeling good to hear that Khushi was still supporting him. 'Such a stupid girl, but every inch of hers is going to be MINE soon,' he thought, not realising that he was just fooling himself.
Khushi's outburst wasn't unheard by Arnav and the other officers. The other officers were confused by this action of Khushi's but nevertheless they didn't let this distract them from their aim.
Arnav on the other hand couldn't help but feel the jealousy burn his heart hearing 'hamaare Karanji,' from Khushi's mouth.
Of course he knew that she didn't mean it, but that didn't stop the awakening of the green monster in him.
'I'll punish her for this later,' he thought. 'Now we have more pressing issues to handle.'
"What's wrong with you?!" Khushi exclaimed, glaring at Arnav. "Why are you accusing him for no reason?!"
She took a step forward away from Shyam and towards Arnav.
"I don't know who let you become a police officer! Why are you blaming Karanji for a crime made by some Shyam?!" she yelled at Arnav as she took another few steps towards him.
Shyam was so lost in Khushi's defensive speech that he hardly realised when she was out of his reach and he didn't notice that she now stood merely two steps away from Arnav – in fact he even forgot that there were police officers surrounding him. He was too amused by Khushi's speech and more than that he felt himself grow hard for her right seeing her fighting for him like a tigress...
"YOU Mr Arnav Singh Singh Raizada, need to get your facts right," she said taking those last two steps and poking him in the chest.
Home. She was finally home.
The second her finger came into contact with his chest, she felt a huge burden being lifted off her. She sagged with relief, feeling him so close to her.
She felt secure, protected, and happy being by his side now.
Khushi bunched his shirt in her fist, bringing him closer, "The person standing there is my Karanji, not any Shyam," she said, in a hard tone, her breath caressing his skin.
It had only taken a second for Arnav to understand Khushi's plan when she had started her outburst.
And with every step she took towards him, he felt the darkness surrounding him leave bit by bit.
The moment she closed that one step gap between them, he felt the life come back to him with a whoosh!
He could feel her desperation to be with him in the way she clutched his shirt, the way she subtly brought him closer, the way she leaned towards him further.
And he felt no different – he was so tempted to enclose her in his arms and keep her there forever. He just wanted to pick her up and run away from the world, to a place where it was just him and her; where he could show her how much he'd missed her in these agonising minutes she's been apart from him, where he could show her how much she meant to him, where he could show her that his life no longer belonged to him but HER.
Despite his every urge he controlled himself because he was aware of all the other officers watching their every move. And the last thing he needed to was to draw their attention to the type of relationship he shared with Khushi – because it was forbidden.
But the moment he heard 'my Karanji' from her mouth, he couldn't control the anger that shot through his veins.
At once he roughly wound his arm around Khushi's waist, and manoeuvred her body so that her back was now against his.
"Now!" he ordered into the earpiece, ready to wreak his vengeance on Shyam.
And with that selected officers, including Arnav, shot at Shyam's arms and legs, causing Shyam to let out a howl of pain as his knees gave up on him and he fell to the floor.
Soon they made him unconscious using chloroform and they placed him in a police vehicle and did the same with the other 5 goons too, making sure to put them all in separate vehicles.
Everyone were extremely happy to have caught Shyam – all except one person.
Khushi.
Why, you might ask – well you see, she wasn't in the mind-set to celebrate nor mourn anything.
Because the second her back had come into contact with Arnav's, effectively hiding her view from all the other officers, Arnav's hand had slid over and squeezed her waist sensuously, pulling her into him so that their backs were glued together.
Even while Arnav was busy shooting Shyam, his hand didn't relent and continued with its sweet torture, causing Khushi to breathe hard with the million sparks exploding in her tummy...
To make things worse, every time Khushi placed her hands over Arnav's to try and stop the havoc it was causing within her, Arnav only squeezed harder, pushing her more into himself, increasing the sensations tenfold...
He only let go when Shyam's limp body was being taken into the jeep – because that was when all the other officers moved out of their positions, meaning they could now see Khushi being pressed up against Arnav if they turned in the slightest.
But by the time he let go, Khushi could hardly support herself with her weak knees – she had to hold onto Arnav's arm for support, while Arnav showed no reaction to this action of hers – just like he didn't show any reaction through the whole event.
If Khushi was confused by his expression – or lack of expression I should say – she didn't show it.
Noticing Khushi struggling to stand properly an elderly officer came up to her and Arnav, asking with genuine concern, "Beti aap teek hai? (Are you okay child?)"
The officer took a quick glance at Arnav. The man was truly concerned for this girl who was the age of his daughter – after everything she'd said about Arnav while 'defending Shyam' the officer wasn't sure if she was okay with Arnav or not...
Arnav's face remained blank through this as he knew that the officer was genuinely worried for Khushi, and he was sure that she would answer his question herself.
Khushi understood the officer's concern immediately and clarified, "Haan hum teek hai... Humne vahaan job hi kahaan, vo sab isliye kahaan thaki hum Shyam se dur or aap logo ke paas aa sakon... Uske vishwaas jeethnaatha, isliye hume Arnavji ke baarema bhura kehna pada... (Yes I'm fine... Whatever I said over there, I said that so that I could go away from Shyam and come closer to you all. I had to win his trust, so I had to talk badly of Arnavji...)"
Then she turned to Arnav, still holding onto his arm, "I'm sorry Arnavji..."
Arnav just blinked in response, his face otherwise holding no expression.
Khushi turned back to the officer who was now smiling in relief, "And yes I'm fine, but I'm just tired – I think the whole kidnapping thing is finally taking a toll on me," she said.
Of course that was true but only Khushi and Arnav knew that that wasn't the ONLY reason why she wasn't able to stand properly at the moment.
"Of course betiya, it must be hard on you. Beta, you should take her to the place you stay so that she can rest," he said to Arnav.
Arnav just nodded politely and with that he lead Khushi into his SUV, while making final orders to the other officers to take the goons and Shyam to the station.
Neither of them spoke a word for the first few minutes of the drive.
Khushi was feeling unnerved by his silence – she thought maybe he considered her responsible for all this today and was therefore angry at her. And so she stayed silent, not wanting to anger him.
But then after a few minutes she couldn't control herself. She needed to hear his voice...
"Ar-Arnavji?"
Arnav just accelerated the car not saying anything.
"Arnav-ji? Are y-you angry at me?" she asked hesitantly.
He just sped up even further in response.
Khushi felt like crying seeing him not talking to her.
Only she knew what she was going through every moment she was away from him. And now that she was with him again, she just wanted to jump into his arms and never leave.
But here he wasn't even ready to speak to her – and that rejection hurt. Like hell.
"Arnavji I-I know you're angry but..." she felt tears sting her eyes at that thought. "Talk to me Arnavji," she said.
When she didn't get any response from him, she pleaded, "P-Please Arnavji," her voice breaking.
Arnav braked suddenly, bringing the car to an abrupt stop.
It was only then that Khushi looked around to see that they were on a deserted road.
And before she could register anything more, she felt herself being engulfed into a hug.
Arnav buried his face in the crook of her neck, desperately pulling her closer as he breathed, "Khushi..."
Again the update was late, I know – and I'm really sorry for that. But good news – dad is back home now! He is still very confused and not fully recovered but at least he's home...
Anyways how was the update? I tried to make it long to make up for the late update – hope it worked...? Please let me know how the update was by liking or commenting. As always positive criticism is welcome.
And look out for the next update – you can expect lots of arshi in it... I hope you're as excited to read it as I am to write it... :D