For a long time Arnav and Khushi sat side by side, hands entwined, living this moment of renewed compassion to the fullest. Finally, or what seemed like after a long time, Arnav broke the silence, with a question that had been making its way to the front of his mind, 'Khushi what did you mean about me lying to you about Lavanya and my break-up?'
'Oh yes.' Gasped Khushi, remembering her anger from earlier and the reason why she had stormed over here. 'Why didn't you tell me the truth about your break-up?' inquired Khushi, not with as much anger as before, but with the same determination.
'What truth?' asked Arnav still not understanding the 'truth' Khushi was referring to.
'The fact that you broke up with Lavanya ji to protect her, not because you were bored of her.' said Khushi.
'Yeah, so...' Replied Arnav, matter-of-factly, still not grasping the point Khushi was trying to make.
'Don't "yeah, so" me Mr Raizada,' imitated Khushi, amused and annoyed with his inability to follow her, 'tell me why you didn't tell me the real reason behind your break-up. Why didn't you tell me it was because you didn't want to hurt her? That you didn't want her to be in a loveless marriage, because you felt that she deserved better. That the break-up was mutual and not one-sided. Why did you let me believe that you hurt her rather than defend yourself?' Elaborated Khushi, as Arnav clearly was not following her train of thought.
Arnav just shrugged, 'Why does it matter why or how we broke up? The point is I still hurt her, whether it was for her good or not. I still broke her heart.'
'What do you mean how does it matter?!!' said Khushi turning her whole body towards him and grabbing hold of his other hand too, 'Of course it matters. It makes all the difference.' Stated Khushi, amazed at how he didn't see it.
'How?' asked Arnav still confused as to why him breaking Lavanya's heart for her own good made a difference to him being a dishonourable person.
A sparkle of admiration twinkled in Khushi's eyes, as she let go of his hands and cupped his face to hold his gaze, 'Because Arnav ji, it shows that you care. It shows that you didn't break her heart because you are a womaniser or because you have a black heart, but because you actually care. You care enough to let her go when you know it's the right thing to do. If you didn't you would have married her and trapped her in a loveless marriage, where a piece of her heart would break every day, not caring. But because you cared, because you actually loved her (as a friend) you didn't do that. You broke up and let her go in order to let her find someone who would love her the way you never would. For she deserved that.
'So you see it makes all the difference Arnav ji. You broke-up with her for the right reasons, not the wrong, which shows that you are an honourable person and that I didn't misjudge you, which was what plagued me, resulting in me leaving you. And that is why I was angry at you when I came here, because I was annoyed that you so easily hid such an important aspect of your break-up from me, causing me to think all sorts of bad things about you!' concluded Khushi, her heart and mind finally at peace for they no longer were going round in circles trying to decipher Arnav's character as they had reached their verdict, which pronounced him innocent of the claim she had accused him of.
Arnav just shook his head in dismay. He did not see it, all he knew was that Lavanya had left from his house with a broken heart and he was responsible for it. 'Don't shake your head at me Mr Raizada, what I say is correct, the manner and reason for which you broke-up does make a difference. And it is that difference which I needed to know and now I do.' Smiled Khushi happily.
'Well if it works for you then fine, but I really don't see how this makes me look like the good person.' Maintained Arnav.
Shaking her head, Khushi slipped her hand back into his, where he held it tightly and smiled saying, 'That is because you are Arnav Singh Raizada, you will never see the good you do.'
'No' Arnav contested, 'it is because you are Khushi Kumari Gupta, who likes to see the good in every body and therefore just blurs out the bad in them.'
'Singh Raizada. Its' Khushi Kumari Gupta – Singh Raizada.' Asserted Khushi, as a smile broke on Arnav's face upon hearing her add his name to hers' with such authority. 'And while that may be true, it isn't why I see the good in you. I see good in you because you are good. You have a beautiful heart, whether you admit it or not.'
Arnav opened his mouth to refute her when his phone buzzed. It was Mr Roy. 'Yes?' Arnav asked.'Ok. I'll be up in a minute.' With that he turned around to face Khushi. 'Time to get our answers. Viraj is here.' As he mentioned his name Khushi looked up to scan the lobby, but didn't see him anywhere. 'He is already upstairs. I think we missed him during our conversation.' Suggested Arnav. Khushi nodded in agreement.
Arnav stood up to make his way to the lift, but stopped to look at his hand which was still locked around Khushi's, 'Do you want to come or would you rather wait here?'
'I'm coming.' She said adamantly, 'I want to know why he did all of this, what did he have to gain from it!' Arnav nodded and smiling he began to make his way to the elevator. Khushi was coming with him and that was all he needed in order to walk out of the meeting as a winner, even if in there he found out everything he had believed for the last month had been a lie. Yes, Khushi was right small things, like her joining him, did make a difference. In fact they made all the difference.
'Oh yes.' Gasped Khushi, remembering her anger from earlier and the reason why she had stormed over here. 'Why didn't you tell me the truth about your break-up?' inquired Khushi, not with as much anger as before, but with the same determination.
'What truth?' asked Arnav still not understanding the 'truth' Khushi was referring to.
'The fact that you broke up with Lavanya ji to protect her, not because you were bored of her.' said Khushi.
'Yeah, so...' Replied Arnav, matter-of-factly, still not grasping the point Khushi was trying to make.
'Don't "yeah, so" me Mr Raizada,' imitated Khushi, amused and annoyed with his inability to follow her, 'tell me why you didn't tell me the real reason behind your break-up. Why didn't you tell me it was because you didn't want to hurt her? That you didn't want her to be in a loveless marriage, because you felt that she deserved better. That the break-up was mutual and not one-sided. Why did you let me believe that you hurt her rather than defend yourself?' Elaborated Khushi, as Arnav clearly was not following her train of thought.
Arnav just shrugged, 'Why does it matter why or how we broke up? The point is I still hurt her, whether it was for her good or not. I still broke her heart.'
'What do you mean how does it matter?!!' said Khushi turning her whole body towards him and grabbing hold of his other hand too, 'Of course it matters. It makes all the difference.' Stated Khushi, amazed at how he didn't see it.
'How?' asked Arnav still confused as to why him breaking Lavanya's heart for her own good made a difference to him being a dishonourable person.
A sparkle of admiration twinkled in Khushi's eyes, as she let go of his hands and cupped his face to hold his gaze, 'Because Arnav ji, it shows that you care. It shows that you didn't break her heart because you are a womaniser or because you have a black heart, but because you actually care. You care enough to let her go when you know it's the right thing to do. If you didn't you would have married her and trapped her in a loveless marriage, where a piece of her heart would break every day, not caring. But because you cared, because you actually loved her (as a friend) you didn't do that. You broke up and let her go in order to let her find someone who would love her the way you never would. For she deserved that.
'So you see it makes all the difference Arnav ji. You broke-up with her for the right reasons, not the wrong, which shows that you are an honourable person and that I didn't misjudge you, which was what plagued me, resulting in me leaving you. And that is why I was angry at you when I came here, because I was annoyed that you so easily hid such an important aspect of your break-up from me, causing me to think all sorts of bad things about you!' concluded Khushi, her heart and mind finally at peace for they no longer were going round in circles trying to decipher Arnav's character as they had reached their verdict, which pronounced him innocent of the claim she had accused him of.
Arnav just shook his head in dismay. He did not see it, all he knew was that Lavanya had left from his house with a broken heart and he was responsible for it. 'Don't shake your head at me Mr Raizada, what I say is correct, the manner and reason for which you broke-up does make a difference. And it is that difference which I needed to know and now I do.' Smiled Khushi happily.
'Well if it works for you then fine, but I really don't see how this makes me look like the good person.' Maintained Arnav.
Shaking her head, Khushi slipped her hand back into his, where he held it tightly and smiled saying, 'That is because you are Arnav Singh Raizada, you will never see the good you do.'
'No' Arnav contested, 'it is because you are Khushi Kumari Gupta, who likes to see the good in every body and therefore just blurs out the bad in them.'
'Singh Raizada. Its' Khushi Kumari Gupta – Singh Raizada.' Asserted Khushi, as a smile broke on Arnav's face upon hearing her add his name to hers' with such authority. 'And while that may be true, it isn't why I see the good in you. I see good in you because you are good. You have a beautiful heart, whether you admit it or not.'
Arnav opened his mouth to refute her when his phone buzzed. It was Mr Roy. 'Yes?' Arnav asked.'Ok. I'll be up in a minute.' With that he turned around to face Khushi. 'Time to get our answers. Viraj is here.' As he mentioned his name Khushi looked up to scan the lobby, but didn't see him anywhere. 'He is already upstairs. I think we missed him during our conversation.' Suggested Arnav. Khushi nodded in agreement.
Arnav stood up to make his way to the lift, but stopped to look at his hand which was still locked around Khushi's, 'Do you want to come or would you rather wait here?'
'I'm coming.' She said adamantly, 'I want to know why he did all of this, what did he have to gain from it!' Arnav nodded and smiling he began to make his way to the elevator. Khushi was coming with him and that was all he needed in order to walk out of the meeting as a winner, even if in there he found out everything he had believed for the last month had been a lie. Yes, Khushi was right small things, like her joining him, did make a difference. In fact they made all the difference.
As Arnav pushed the door open to the conference he was immediately overcome with the urge to resume his wrestling match with Viraj, that had halted due to Khushi last time, and this time it was not due to suppressed anger from all those years ago but rather from un-contained anger at what Viraj had put him and his family through this past month. He hadn't realised just how much he despised this man until his eyes rested on his face again. Seeing him converted all the doubt, pain, anxiety, shock into one emotion: anger. Pure, unconditional, unchecked anger. And he wanted nothing else but to act upon it. He clenched his fists ready to attack, but before he could make a move, a sudden warmth spread through him originating from his clenched fist. Startled he looked down to see what it was and found Khushi's hand covering his fist.
She had sensed his anger, seen the change in his stance from calm to combat mode. Thus she gripped his closed fist and slowly began to push her fingers through it to open it up again, reminding him that now was not the time for a brawl, it was the time to get their answers, in a civilised manner, no matter how much he wanted it otherwise. Arnav let her fingers entwine with his and once her hand was in his he gave a light squeeze and then a stiff nod letting her know that he was in control again. With that settled they both entered the room with baited breaths but renewed courage to withstand whatever revelation was left for them to hear.
'What?! You brought reinforcements?! Tsk tsk you disappoint me Raizada, here I thought you were man enough to fight your own battles; clearly not!! Well then again I learnt a long time back that you lacked in what it took to be a man, so I really shouldn't be shocked...' smirked Sheetal, clearly enjoying the way things were going and the change in colour on Khushi's face, going from pale to scarlet and then rouge out of anger.
'His name is Arnav Singh Raizada! And from where I stand Arnav ji requires no reinforcements, reinforcements are for those people who are losing, who have nothing but lies on their side, not those who have their whole family and the truth on their side!!' retorted Khushi, all the sympathy she once felt for Sheetal flushed out of her on hearing her snide comment and the way with which she had uttered Arnav's name. She would not stand by and let anyone say his name without respect, he deserved every respect he got, he had earned it and no one in her presence could slander the name and get away with it.
'Ooo feisty!! I like it. This will be fun. You chose the right person to come fight your battles... Raizada.' She added the last just to spike Khushi's anger.
That did it, how dare she utter his name again in such a disparaging way. 'YOU-' but the rest of her words were muffled as Arnav cupped her mouth with one hand and bound her waist with the other to stop her from attacking Sheetal. For Khushi had leapt like a tigress wanting to ravage Sheetal. 'Khushi...Khush- Khushi...sssh calm down. Calm. What did you just tell me to do at the door? So how will it help if you stop me from fighting but then end up engaging in it yourself?' whispered Arnav soothingly in her ear to tame her down. She relaxed in his embrace but the fire was still in her eyes when she turned to face him, signalling him to remove his hand from her mouth.
'Are you calm now?' Arnav checked before slowly moving his hand away from her mouth. For a moment she remained silent, just panting. Then:
'But Arnav ji, how dare she-' she began, now reasoning with Arnav.
'Sssh. I know. Its' ok Khushi, just let it go. Out of everyone in this world she has a right to treat me with distaste. So just let it go ok?' Said Arnav finally managing to get through to her. 'Let's just get this done and over with, I don't want to be in this room with these two any longer than I need to be, ok?' added Arnav in a low whisper. Khushi nodded and then walked forward and slumped into the chair near her not looking at Sheetal or Viraj. Arnav joined her.
'Oh is your little husband and wife drama over now. Can we resume this meeting which you convened, by the way, not us, so can you stop wasting our time.' Reminded Sheetal, annoyed that Arnav managed to subdue Khushi before things got out of hand. She would have enjoyed taking her to court.
Arnav motioned to convene the meeting, but before him or either of the lawyers could say anything, Sheetal interrupted again.
'Are you sure, Mr Raizada.' She stressed on his name just to lure Khushi, 'You may want to ask your wife she-'
'Seriously Sheetal the jealousy act doesn't suit you, so just drop it.' cut across Arnav, not wanting to start a feud. 'And as you so kindly reminded me I convened this meeting, and I wouldn't want you to think it was arranged to waste your time. So shall we progress, please?' Glaring Sheetal slumped back in her chair too, signalling she was going to quiet down now.
Once everyone was settled, Arnav turned to face both the lawyers, who looked more pale and at a greater discomfort than the rest in the room, as they were not used to being in such a hostile crowd. They had fought custody suits before, and there had been angry parents involved, but this was something on a completely different level: the room was saturated with disputes, disgust and deceit, that unnerved even the lawyers.
'Mr Roy. Mr Deshmuk. If you will please guide us back to where we left off and then proceed with the rest of the questions, so that we stop haranguing each other, allowing us to finish this meeting in a more civilised manner. Thank you.' His coolness and composure was back, he was back to being Arnav Singh Raizada relaxed and in control of himself the way he was during any meeting. Yes having Khushi next to him, made all the difference. He reached under the table for her hand pressed it lightly, thanking her yet again for being there in his time of need. She returned the pressure, not entirely understanding why he had suddenly reached out for her hand when he was in complete control, as he normally held her hand when he felt unhinged, but she still returned the pressure, telling him she had his back.
'Ok.' Took a deep breath Mr Roy, 'Just to update Mrs Raizada and Mr Rao, this case was filed by Mr Raizada to gain custody of his son Aarav as he was under the pretence that Ms Sheetal, Aarav's mother was deceased. However, that is clearly not the case for she is sitting with us, breathing in this room. This fact was deliberately hidden from my client by Mr Rao, which will not be taken lightly and he will have to answer for his motives regarding deliberate fabrication and misinformation to hoodwink my client. Furthermore it has come to our attention that Mr Rao you may have tampered with the DNA report of Aarav to make my client believe he was his father, as Ms Sheetal states Aarav is not Mr Raizada's son. What do you have to say for yourself?' demanded Mr Roy, as the rest of the room stared at him, all wanting to hear his reasons for calling this forced and painful reunion.
'Tampering evidence?!! I did no such thing. Yeah I hid the fact that my sister was alive but I didn't mess with the DNA report, that report is authentic!!' countered Viraj, rather aggressively.
'Don't lie Bhai!! You changed the results, own up to it!! Because Arnav is not Aarav's father!! What even led you to him?!!' cut across Sheetal, before Mr Roy could question him.
'I didn't do that, the report was what led me to him!' replied Viraj, annoyed that his own sister wasn't siding with him.
'Please Bhai. You falsified the tests, the test took place in your lab, your friend did it, and you seriously expect me to believe you when you say you didn't tamper with it?!'
'I didn't, when the report crossed my desk that is when I found out who the culprit was, the man who ruined your life!'
'Bull****!! How can the test say that Aarav's is Arnav's son when he isn't?!! You changed it, stop lying like you lied about me being dead!' exhaled Sheetal.
'I am not lying! And I would like to clarify, that I never actually said that you were dead, all I said was that this man here was responsible for your ruinous end. Now if they took that to mean death its not my problem. All I meant is that 'cause of this sick man's irreparable actions my sister was never the same person again. My innocent sweet baby sister died the day this man raped her!!' growled Viraj at Arnav.
'He did not rape me!'
'He did not rape her!'
Yelled both Sheetal and Khushi at the same time. Their eyes met, surprised how they both defended Arnav. The rest of the room looked at them while their eyes lingered over each other, trying to decipher who would expand on the assertion. Finally Sheetal broke the gaze and looked away, letting Khushi explain.
Confused as to why she had let Khushi do the talking Khushi expanded on their statement, 'from what I understand it was a mutual decision; what occurred between them that night was mutual.' Sheetal stared at Khushi as she made her clarification and then moved her eyes over to Arnav, studying his face to see whether he supported this claim. Khushi watched her as she scrutinized Arnav, she saw something shift in her eyes, but couldn't put her finger on what she saw.
'What rubbish!! This man raped her, my sister would never have sex out of wedlock!' pronounced Viraj, outraged that Khushi had even suggested that.
But before Khushi could open her mouth to reveal to him the details of that night, Sheetal cut across again, this time in a low voice, 'Arnav did not force me bhai. Now can we get back to the real question of why you duped the DNA test instead of arguing over what occurred that night.'
'Yes. Yes. Please.' Came the small but determined voice of Mr Deshmuk, who with Mr Roy had turned pasty again, seeing the argument and questioning get out of hand yet again. Both were desperately trying to hold the reigns, to keep the meeting civilised but their clients kept on taking over by force. 'Mr Rao, did you or did you not manipulate the DNA test?'
'No! For the hundredth time no!! Why would I do that? I didn't even know that the test was taking place. I only found out when the samples came to my lab, which got me interested. I had always wanted to know who was Aarav's father as Sheetal never told me, so when their samples came in I made sure my most trustworthy employee did the test, because I wanted to know if it was Arnav or not, and so I gave it to my friend he tested it and brought back the results to me, that's when I found out that he was responsible for ruining my sister's life and tearing our family apart!' insisted Viraj.
'So wait you knew? You knew when I came to ask about Sheetal ji and when Arnav ji and I came to your house? Then why did you act like you didn't? Why did you make us think that Sheetal ji was dead?' asked a hurt Khushi.
'Because I wanted you to writhe in guilt. I wanted to tear you two and your family apart the way you did my family and our lives. I wanted you to know that you had a son, a son who you would never know, who would hate you, who you would never see. And about Sheetal, well that's a no brainer, I didn't want you or your husband to ever contact her, she has been through enough because of what he did, she didn't need him to enter her life again. What I didn't count on was for him to suddenly grow a pair and file for custody.' Snarled Viraj, annoyed how his plan had backfired leading Arnav right back into Sheetal and Aarav's life.
For a while everyone remained quiet, unsure of what to make of what they had just heard. Then finally Arnav spoke, 'Then this would mean that Aarav is my son, yes? If Viraj did not alter the test, then it is authentic and Aarav is my son, yes?' when no one contested, he turned to Sheetal and continued his train of thought, 'then Sheetal, please, can you drop your stand and let me into his life, please. Look just think about our son, not about you and me or what I did. Just think about him, I'm sure he would want to know who his father is and I'm sure he probably questions you about me or if he doesn't yet then he will. And I'm sure he wants to have my presence in his life so please let me.
'Look, I know I haven't been a good person to you, but I swear I will be a good father to him. I know you're afraid I will take him away from you, but I won't I promise, I just want the chance to know my son and for him to know me. Look, just give me a chance if you feel that I'm not being a good father then fine I will remove myself from his life, but at least let me try to be one. Please, come on you're a mother so I find it hard to believe that you can be hard-hearted, no matter how much you try to show you are. Won't you let our, your son, at least have a chance to put a face to a name and decide for himself whether he wants me in his life or not?' Arnav was now leaning towards her across the table as he whispered the last. There were tears in her eyes, she was affected by what he said, but it still didn't change her response.
'I can't Arnav.' She said, her voice heavy with emotion, and her eyes averting his gaze.
'Sheetal plea-' breathed Arnav.
'No. Listen,' she stopped him, for she could no longer hold back what was in her mind, 'I can't do this to you anymore, I can't let you be guilty for something you never did. What you decided to do to me was wrong, yes, but what you did wasn't. I have made you writhe in guilt long enough for your actions, but not anymore, it is time I owned up to my actions and brought the secrets ensnared in that night's blanket finally out. The secrets that only me and that nights' velvety thick, black blanket know.'
She had sensed his anger, seen the change in his stance from calm to combat mode. Thus she gripped his closed fist and slowly began to push her fingers through it to open it up again, reminding him that now was not the time for a brawl, it was the time to get their answers, in a civilised manner, no matter how much he wanted it otherwise. Arnav let her fingers entwine with his and once her hand was in his he gave a light squeeze and then a stiff nod letting her know that he was in control again. With that settled they both entered the room with baited breaths but renewed courage to withstand whatever revelation was left for them to hear.
'What?! You brought reinforcements?! Tsk tsk you disappoint me Raizada, here I thought you were man enough to fight your own battles; clearly not!! Well then again I learnt a long time back that you lacked in what it took to be a man, so I really shouldn't be shocked...' smirked Sheetal, clearly enjoying the way things were going and the change in colour on Khushi's face, going from pale to scarlet and then rouge out of anger.
'His name is Arnav Singh Raizada! And from where I stand Arnav ji requires no reinforcements, reinforcements are for those people who are losing, who have nothing but lies on their side, not those who have their whole family and the truth on their side!!' retorted Khushi, all the sympathy she once felt for Sheetal flushed out of her on hearing her snide comment and the way with which she had uttered Arnav's name. She would not stand by and let anyone say his name without respect, he deserved every respect he got, he had earned it and no one in her presence could slander the name and get away with it.
'Ooo feisty!! I like it. This will be fun. You chose the right person to come fight your battles... Raizada.' She added the last just to spike Khushi's anger.
That did it, how dare she utter his name again in such a disparaging way. 'YOU-' but the rest of her words were muffled as Arnav cupped her mouth with one hand and bound her waist with the other to stop her from attacking Sheetal. For Khushi had leapt like a tigress wanting to ravage Sheetal. 'Khushi...Khush- Khushi...sssh calm down. Calm. What did you just tell me to do at the door? So how will it help if you stop me from fighting but then end up engaging in it yourself?' whispered Arnav soothingly in her ear to tame her down. She relaxed in his embrace but the fire was still in her eyes when she turned to face him, signalling him to remove his hand from her mouth.
'Are you calm now?' Arnav checked before slowly moving his hand away from her mouth. For a moment she remained silent, just panting. Then:
'But Arnav ji, how dare she-' she began, now reasoning with Arnav.
'Sssh. I know. Its' ok Khushi, just let it go. Out of everyone in this world she has a right to treat me with distaste. So just let it go ok?' Said Arnav finally managing to get through to her. 'Let's just get this done and over with, I don't want to be in this room with these two any longer than I need to be, ok?' added Arnav in a low whisper. Khushi nodded and then walked forward and slumped into the chair near her not looking at Sheetal or Viraj. Arnav joined her.
'Oh is your little husband and wife drama over now. Can we resume this meeting which you convened, by the way, not us, so can you stop wasting our time.' Reminded Sheetal, annoyed that Arnav managed to subdue Khushi before things got out of hand. She would have enjoyed taking her to court.
Arnav motioned to convene the meeting, but before him or either of the lawyers could say anything, Sheetal interrupted again.
'Are you sure, Mr Raizada.' She stressed on his name just to lure Khushi, 'You may want to ask your wife she-'
'Seriously Sheetal the jealousy act doesn't suit you, so just drop it.' cut across Arnav, not wanting to start a feud. 'And as you so kindly reminded me I convened this meeting, and I wouldn't want you to think it was arranged to waste your time. So shall we progress, please?' Glaring Sheetal slumped back in her chair too, signalling she was going to quiet down now.
Once everyone was settled, Arnav turned to face both the lawyers, who looked more pale and at a greater discomfort than the rest in the room, as they were not used to being in such a hostile crowd. They had fought custody suits before, and there had been angry parents involved, but this was something on a completely different level: the room was saturated with disputes, disgust and deceit, that unnerved even the lawyers.
'Mr Roy. Mr Deshmuk. If you will please guide us back to where we left off and then proceed with the rest of the questions, so that we stop haranguing each other, allowing us to finish this meeting in a more civilised manner. Thank you.' His coolness and composure was back, he was back to being Arnav Singh Raizada relaxed and in control of himself the way he was during any meeting. Yes having Khushi next to him, made all the difference. He reached under the table for her hand pressed it lightly, thanking her yet again for being there in his time of need. She returned the pressure, not entirely understanding why he had suddenly reached out for her hand when he was in complete control, as he normally held her hand when he felt unhinged, but she still returned the pressure, telling him she had his back.
'Ok.' Took a deep breath Mr Roy, 'Just to update Mrs Raizada and Mr Rao, this case was filed by Mr Raizada to gain custody of his son Aarav as he was under the pretence that Ms Sheetal, Aarav's mother was deceased. However, that is clearly not the case for she is sitting with us, breathing in this room. This fact was deliberately hidden from my client by Mr Rao, which will not be taken lightly and he will have to answer for his motives regarding deliberate fabrication and misinformation to hoodwink my client. Furthermore it has come to our attention that Mr Rao you may have tampered with the DNA report of Aarav to make my client believe he was his father, as Ms Sheetal states Aarav is not Mr Raizada's son. What do you have to say for yourself?' demanded Mr Roy, as the rest of the room stared at him, all wanting to hear his reasons for calling this forced and painful reunion.
'Tampering evidence?!! I did no such thing. Yeah I hid the fact that my sister was alive but I didn't mess with the DNA report, that report is authentic!!' countered Viraj, rather aggressively.
'Don't lie Bhai!! You changed the results, own up to it!! Because Arnav is not Aarav's father!! What even led you to him?!!' cut across Sheetal, before Mr Roy could question him.
'I didn't do that, the report was what led me to him!' replied Viraj, annoyed that his own sister wasn't siding with him.
'Please Bhai. You falsified the tests, the test took place in your lab, your friend did it, and you seriously expect me to believe you when you say you didn't tamper with it?!'
'I didn't, when the report crossed my desk that is when I found out who the culprit was, the man who ruined your life!'
'Bull****!! How can the test say that Aarav's is Arnav's son when he isn't?!! You changed it, stop lying like you lied about me being dead!' exhaled Sheetal.
'I am not lying! And I would like to clarify, that I never actually said that you were dead, all I said was that this man here was responsible for your ruinous end. Now if they took that to mean death its not my problem. All I meant is that 'cause of this sick man's irreparable actions my sister was never the same person again. My innocent sweet baby sister died the day this man raped her!!' growled Viraj at Arnav.
'He did not rape me!'
'He did not rape her!'
Yelled both Sheetal and Khushi at the same time. Their eyes met, surprised how they both defended Arnav. The rest of the room looked at them while their eyes lingered over each other, trying to decipher who would expand on the assertion. Finally Sheetal broke the gaze and looked away, letting Khushi explain.
Confused as to why she had let Khushi do the talking Khushi expanded on their statement, 'from what I understand it was a mutual decision; what occurred between them that night was mutual.' Sheetal stared at Khushi as she made her clarification and then moved her eyes over to Arnav, studying his face to see whether he supported this claim. Khushi watched her as she scrutinized Arnav, she saw something shift in her eyes, but couldn't put her finger on what she saw.
'What rubbish!! This man raped her, my sister would never have sex out of wedlock!' pronounced Viraj, outraged that Khushi had even suggested that.
But before Khushi could open her mouth to reveal to him the details of that night, Sheetal cut across again, this time in a low voice, 'Arnav did not force me bhai. Now can we get back to the real question of why you duped the DNA test instead of arguing over what occurred that night.'
'Yes. Yes. Please.' Came the small but determined voice of Mr Deshmuk, who with Mr Roy had turned pasty again, seeing the argument and questioning get out of hand yet again. Both were desperately trying to hold the reigns, to keep the meeting civilised but their clients kept on taking over by force. 'Mr Rao, did you or did you not manipulate the DNA test?'
'No! For the hundredth time no!! Why would I do that? I didn't even know that the test was taking place. I only found out when the samples came to my lab, which got me interested. I had always wanted to know who was Aarav's father as Sheetal never told me, so when their samples came in I made sure my most trustworthy employee did the test, because I wanted to know if it was Arnav or not, and so I gave it to my friend he tested it and brought back the results to me, that's when I found out that he was responsible for ruining my sister's life and tearing our family apart!' insisted Viraj.
'So wait you knew? You knew when I came to ask about Sheetal ji and when Arnav ji and I came to your house? Then why did you act like you didn't? Why did you make us think that Sheetal ji was dead?' asked a hurt Khushi.
'Because I wanted you to writhe in guilt. I wanted to tear you two and your family apart the way you did my family and our lives. I wanted you to know that you had a son, a son who you would never know, who would hate you, who you would never see. And about Sheetal, well that's a no brainer, I didn't want you or your husband to ever contact her, she has been through enough because of what he did, she didn't need him to enter her life again. What I didn't count on was for him to suddenly grow a pair and file for custody.' Snarled Viraj, annoyed how his plan had backfired leading Arnav right back into Sheetal and Aarav's life.
For a while everyone remained quiet, unsure of what to make of what they had just heard. Then finally Arnav spoke, 'Then this would mean that Aarav is my son, yes? If Viraj did not alter the test, then it is authentic and Aarav is my son, yes?' when no one contested, he turned to Sheetal and continued his train of thought, 'then Sheetal, please, can you drop your stand and let me into his life, please. Look just think about our son, not about you and me or what I did. Just think about him, I'm sure he would want to know who his father is and I'm sure he probably questions you about me or if he doesn't yet then he will. And I'm sure he wants to have my presence in his life so please let me.
'Look, I know I haven't been a good person to you, but I swear I will be a good father to him. I know you're afraid I will take him away from you, but I won't I promise, I just want the chance to know my son and for him to know me. Look, just give me a chance if you feel that I'm not being a good father then fine I will remove myself from his life, but at least let me try to be one. Please, come on you're a mother so I find it hard to believe that you can be hard-hearted, no matter how much you try to show you are. Won't you let our, your son, at least have a chance to put a face to a name and decide for himself whether he wants me in his life or not?' Arnav was now leaning towards her across the table as he whispered the last. There were tears in her eyes, she was affected by what he said, but it still didn't change her response.
'I can't Arnav.' She said, her voice heavy with emotion, and her eyes averting his gaze.
'Sheetal plea-' breathed Arnav.
'No. Listen,' she stopped him, for she could no longer hold back what was in her mind, 'I can't do this to you anymore, I can't let you be guilty for something you never did. What you decided to do to me was wrong, yes, but what you did wasn't. I have made you writhe in guilt long enough for your actions, but not anymore, it is time I owned up to my actions and brought the secrets ensnared in that night's blanket finally out. The secrets that only me and that nights' velvety thick, black blanket know.'
*****
RSS Feed
