PRESENT TIMELINE
(Continued from last Part)
Raizada Mansion, Delhi:
Once the call with Sameer was complete and Aman left, Dadi walked back to her room deep in thought as Arnav sprinted up the stairs to see his wife and son. He needed to make sure they were safe...
"Khushi", Arnav called entering the nursery.
Khushi turned back with her index finger on her lips, "Shh..", she said, "...Arvin just fell asleep"
She was gently rocking the baby with his little head on her left shoulder.
Arnav moved near his wife & son, curled his left hand around her waist, and pulled her closer. With a content sigh, he gently placed a kiss on her forehead lingering his lips for a while.
Closing her eyes, Khushi smiled, "Is everything okay Arnavji?"
"Now it is"
Arnav smiled looking at his son sleeping peacefully.
Once Khushi lowered the baby into his crib, Arnav took a step forward and hugged his wife from behind, pulling her into him.
Lowering his head, he kissed her lightly on her neck. His left hand slipped under her sari touching her warm skin. Arnav's hand moved lower as Khushi drew in a sharp breath.
"Arnavji"
"Hmm"
"What are you doing?"
"Don't you know?"
She tried stopping him half-heartedly, even as the friction increased between them, "Remember what Dadi said. We can't...ah.."
Lifting her up, Arnav carried her over to her bed.
"Baby, I can't wait anymore", Arnav rasped as he tugged her sari off, ignoring her protests, "I am about to burst"
"But...anyone can see.."
"Dadi is downstairs", he murmured as he opened the buckle of his belt and pulled it out.
Khushi flushed deep as she turned her head to the other side. She could hear the rustling of his pants; in a second he was beside her on the bed.
Khushi gasped as she felt his phallus, naked & large against her thin inner skirt.
He held her right hand with his and turned her towards him.
"Sweetheart..." he mumbled incoherently as he nuzzled her neck, moving south, "...I am ready, are you?"
Khushi's breath hitched as his mouth found her bosom. He bit her hard over her blouse. Involuntarily, her hands and body rose up pulling him closer.
Arnav slipped his hand under her and released the strings of her blouse.
Khushi realized how much she desired him as his ministrations on her body increased in intensity.
Moving north, Arnav kissed and teased her on her chin and jaws, without touching her lips on purpose.
"Arnavji, please"
"With pleasure baby", Arnav finally closed her lips with his.
Once they were short of breath, Arnav pulled back a bit and yanked his shirt off his body. He went back to her mouth and breasts, as he slowly and completely disrobed her.
With firm pressure on her hips, Arnav plunged into Khushi again and again as they reached the pinnacle together.
He watched his wife tenderly as she slowly slipped into deep slumber owing to their strenuous activity.
The next Afternoon:
Arnav stepped into his cabin along with Nishant, as they discussed their upcoming project with the Neils.
Once Nishant left, Aman hurried to Arnav.
"Sir", Aman spoke, his brow wrinkled in worry, "Did you miss Sameer's call?"
"What?" Arnav extracted his phone from his pocket, while he spoke, "Why would I miss Sameer's call?"
Arnav's eyes enlarged, "F*ck, yes I did"
"Please call him sir", Aman urged, "Right away"
"Is everything okay Aman?" Arnav dialed Sameer even as he questioned Aman
Aman shook his head
"ASR", Sameer picked up on the first ring, "Are you okay?"
"Everything's fine here" Arnav responded, "Did something happen there?"
"A gas leak happened at Dr.Vade's house in Nagpur"
"What.." Arnav was stumped, "Are...are they ok? Did anything happen to them?"
"They are fine sir", Sameer said, relaxing Arnav, "Mrs.Vade acted on time"
"What happened?"
"Mrs.Vade sensed something different today morning as she stepped into the kitchen. Feeling uneasy about the smell, she opened the window to let the gas diffuse", Sameer continued on speaker, "When she called her husband to check, he noticed multiple pin point areas on the tube leaking gas. It didn't look normal, hence they stepped out of the house and Mr.Vade called me right away. I shifted them to a hotel for now; and sent one of our men to their house to inspect the kitchen. He mentioned that it looked like the tube was poked at certain places with a sharp instrument like a needle or a safety pin. Definitely an attempt on them sir"
"That means he knows about them"
"I believe so sir"
"So he has tracked Khushi to Nagpur"
"How did he get inside their house?", Aman was intrigued
"We are not sure Aman if he did it himself or through someone else", Sameer said, "but they had a delivery guy who changed their gas cylinder earlier today morning. I am assuming he is the one who did it."
"Track him right away", Arnav barked, "Run his picture through the database"
"Already on it sir"
"He is watching them sir", Aman said as they cut the call, "Do you want to tell this to Khushi Mam?"
"Yes Aman", Arnav sighed, "I must. The more she is informed, the better prepared we will all be. But I will tell her in person, not on phone, so I can reassure her better"
"In that case sir, I can deal with the meeting today with Mr.Neil", Aman suggested, "Please get going home"
"No Aman, Neil is very particular about these things. If I am not present in the meeting today, he will assume that we are not serious about this project. I will talk to Khushi once I go home today evening. Let's get to work now."
A couple of hours later at RM:
Khushi got back to her room in the second floor to fold the baby clothes and sort them in their places. It was a cloudy day with occasional drizzles, and pleasant breeze; Dadi had taken her great-grandchild to the shaded patio in the garden.
As Khushi was slowly arranging Arvin's stuff, she noticed familiar figure on the adjacent cross-road. Khushi was shocked. Dropping her stuff, she sprinted downstairs and ran through the living room. She crossed the main threshold and ran along the long front walk through the garden to the huge iron gate guarding the premises.
"Open the gate", Khushi ordered the security, panting due to the rush of adrenaline
"Mam?" the guard was flummoxed
"I need you to open the gate right now"
The security guard looked at his senior for help. A thick muscular guy with average height stepped forward, "Mam, is there a problem?"
"I want you to open the gate right away", Khushi repeated, looking at him
"I am sorry Mam, but that is not possible"
"What?" Khushi's voice was a notch higher. Her anger was beginning to show.
"I am sorry Mam, but we are under strict orders from ASR to not open the gate for anyone except him"
"I am his wife"
"Still, I am not at liberty to proceed without Sir's instructions", the security head apologized, "Please ask sir to call me. If he consents, I can do what you ask me to"
Before Khushi could say something, she heard Dadi calling her, "Khushi, what's the commotion about?"
"Dadiji", Khushi complained, her face red, "I asked him to open the gate but he won't"
Subhadra Raizada looked at the guards.
"Sorry Mam, we need sir's permission before letting anyone out of the premises"
"Okay", Dadi said, "Khushi, let's go inside the house and talk"
"But dadiji..."
"Arvin is feeling cold beta", Dadi smoothly diverted Khushi, "What if he falls sick? Let's go in first"
Dadi and Khushi walked into the house carrying a tired & sleepy Arvin.
Dadi led Khushi into the family room.
"Roma", she called the domestic help, "close the main door and then take Arvin to his nursery"
Once Roma left to put the baby down for a nap, Subhadra turned towards Khushi, "Now tell me what exactly happened"
"Dadiji, they refused to open the main gate for me"
"I understand that beta", Subhadra was soft, "but why did you want to step out of the property?"
Khushi looked down, trying to reign in her emotions.
Subhadra placed a hand on Khushi's shoulder, "Khushi, Arnav has guards securing the entire perimeter. It is for our own safety. Please tell me why you wanted to step out all of a sudden"
"I saw..." Khushi stuttered, "my parents walking down the cross-road from the second floor balcony"
"Your parents?" Dadi was stumped, "As in the Vade couple from Nagpur?"
"No", Khushi gulped, "my...my parents from Nainital"
"The Guptas? But they don't know that you live here Khushi"
Khushi nodded.
"Are you sure that is them? Did you see their faces?"
"I...I..", Khushi pondered for a while, "I couldn't see their faces clearly Dadiji, but I'm sure it is them"
"How do you know?"
"The exact same height and personality, their dressing style, their gait..", Khushi explained, "everything is the same"
Dadi gasped in horror.
Taking the phone, she called Arnav right away, "Arnav I need you home- urgently"
"Dadi, are Khushi & Arvin okay?"
"Yes, they are", Dadi affirmed, "but I need you here right away"
"I started a few minutes ago. I am already half way through. Will be there soon"
As promised, Arnav was in RM within twenty minutes.
He entered the family room where Dadi was walking to & fro, deep in thought.
"Dadi, what happened?"
Dadi had not let Khushi out of her sight since the phone call.
"Khushi thought she saw her parents walking along the cross-road near our mansion from our second-floor balcony", Dadi dropped the bomb, "a couple looking similar to her parents, including dressing and walking style. She couldn't see their faces though"
Arnav inhaled sharply, "What the heck", "Let me call Sameer first"
"I already did Arnav", Dadi was crisp
Nobody spoke for a few minutes. The silence was broken by the shrill ring of Arnav's phone.
"Yes Sameer"
"Sir, your Dadiji called me about the incident that happened a few minutes ago", Sameer continued, "Our guys in Nainital reported back- Khushi's parents are in Nainital- hale & healthy"
Khushi raised her palm up and closed her mouth in shock.
"So, these were decoys", Arnav ground his teeth in anger, as he disconnected the phone.
"Now you see Khushi why I didn't let you step out", Dadi chided Khushi gently
"What?" Arnav looked at Khushi in anger, "You wanted to step out?"
"I.." Khushi couldn't form the sentence, "I...I thought they were my parents. I thought..I was seeing them after such a long time...I..."
"Do you know what would have happened? Dammit, you were this close to getting kidnaped today", Arnav thundered in rage
"Enough Arnav", Dadi was stern, "It is not her fault. She thought she was seeing her parents after a long time"
"Exactly", Arnav tried taking deep breaths, anger getting slowly replaced by fear; fear of losing his love, "that's exactly what he was banking on. Someone else was probably waiting to abduct her the moment she stepped out"
Arnav quickly explained to Khushi and Dadi about the gas leak that morning at Vade's house in Nagpur. Khushi burst into tears. Her body shook in fear.
"Shh Khushi", Arnav pulled her close, "Nothing will happen sweetheart, please don't cry"
Khushi hugged him back tightly, as sobs racked through her body.
Arnav held her in his embrace until she was able to calm down. Realizing Dadi's presence, Khushi slowly disengaged herself.
"Can I....can I speak to Vanitha Ma?"
"Not now Khushi", Arnav explained patiently, "their phone lines might be tapped. Let's wait sometime before we talk to them baby. Let things settle down a bit. Sameer assured me that they are doing fine"
Khushi nodded; a ton of guilt was weighing her down, "what if Vanitha Ma had not noticed the gas leak? They would have been kille..It's all because of me". She burst into tears again.
"Khushi, no", Dadi consoled her, "don't think like that beta. This is not the time to fall weak. Nothing happened, right? We will fight this Khushi. We will take this guy down"
"Arnav, take Khushi upstairs, she needs to rest"
Nodding, Arnav lifted Khushi up in his arms and started walking towards the stairs.
"Arnav", Dadi called him from behind, "come to the study later, I want to talk to you"
Arnav nodded.
Fifteen minutes later, Dadi was still lost in thought, when Arnav walked into the study.
"Dadi?"
"This is close Arnav", Subhadra said, "today we had a narrow escape"
"Yes Dadi; I have tightened the security. Even the incident at Vade's house in Nagpur...."
"You don't understand Arnav", Dadi shook her head, her heart beating fast, "he is watching us. This guy is extremely cunning & dangerous. Today's incident at Vade's was supposed to be a distraction. He knows exactly where Khushi is..." Dadi said, her voice apprehensive, her words chilling Arnav to the bones, "He is here.."
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Phew, a very long update.......How was it? Now it's your turn to comment ... :-)