AHEA Chapter 5: The Therapist

I'm sorry I missed a day, my friend came back from holiday yesterday and I was catching up with her. Anyway, here's the next part. Enjoy :)

Chapter 5: The Therapist

Anjili rushed into the reception, said her name and rushed into the room.

“You’re late.” Said a man in the suit who was holding a tablet.

“I know, I’m sorry. I do have a perfectly good explanation as to why I’m late.”

The man leaned forward in the chair he was sitting on. “Go on.”

“I told my family about the abortion and about me wanting to be independent.”

“This is good progress but you couldn’t have told them last night?”

“I lost my nerve last night. I wouldn’t have told them at all if my brother hadn’t started asking questions about why my doctors haven’t been contacting him recently.”

“Anjili, we talked about this.”

“I know but I was really nervous. I mean, how do you even tell them something like that?”

“We went over than for 2 hours.”

Anjili had run out of excuses. “Ok ok, I just didn’t want to tell them.”

“Anjili, they are your family and they care about you-”

“I know I know, I care about them too but this morning was just so hard and they want to talk more at dinner.”

“I’m very proud of you and I’m glad that you finally told them. I hope you didn’t pin the blame on Khushi?” he asked accusingly.

Anjili looked away. “I tried not to no matter how much I wanted to. I know that she is just as much of a victim as I am but I can’t help but hate her.”

“I know. And I know you wanted to blame her but didn’t and this is progress.”

“I’m moving out.”

The doctor frowned. “What? Anjili, I don’t think that’s wise.”

“Every time I see her face, I just want to break down and cry. I want to hit her. I want to destroy everything. And I know that if I don’t move out, sooner or later, I’m going to do something stupid that’s going to sever the relationship between me and my brother and I don’t want that.”

The doctor sighed. “I thought that we had worked through most of these issues.”

“I thought so too. But as soon as she came back from her honeymoon, all these feelings just crashed into me. I never had such dark thoughts in my head. I didn’t understand why she got to have everything when everything was taken away from me and I just wanted to crush her happiness. This week has been torture to me and I’m having to physically control myself from doing Khushiji any real harm. So I thought I should move out.”

“That’s a very mature decision that you’ve made.”

“Thank you. Now can we talk about something else?”

“Sure, I was meaning to talk to you about your limp.”

“I have it because of the polio I had when I was younger.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Excuse me.”

“Well I’ve been talking to your previous doctors and looking at you prescription and I’m afraid that your limp is purely psychological.”

IAL Chapter 5: A Big Misunderstanding

I'm back! Thanks for all the comments and likes. Here's the new chapter, enjoy :)

Chapter 5: A Big Misunderstanding

Arnav couldn’t feel anything except Shyam’s body as he punched him over and over again. He couldn’t hear anything except Shyam’s cries of pain. He certainly couldn’t see anything except Shyam’s face and body contorting with pain every time he served another blow. He couldn’t think. His mind had gone blank. All he knew was that he had to hurt Shyam as much as Shyam was planning to hurt his sister. He wanted him to suffer as much as she was going to when she finds out about all of this.

Eventually his senses returned to him and he could feel something pulling him. He allowed himself to be pulled off the now unconscious body of his brother-in-law. He smirked in satisfaction when he saw just how badly he had damaged him. He felt himself being shaken and he turned towards Khushi who had a worried expression on her face.

“Arnavji, are you alright.” Her voice was filled with concern.

A part of Arnav was thrilled that she was so concerned about him. But another part could only give her props for being the best actress in the world. Even when he had just caught them red handed, she still had the audacity to pretend that nothing had happened, that she wasn’t the cause of his sister’s oncoming pain.

Arnav grabbed her shoulders in a vice like grip and shook her. “You disgusting home wrecking gold digger. How could you be so characterless? What has my sister ever done to you? I can’t say that I’m too surprised, after all, you are a low class girl.”

Arnav wanted to go on insulting her until she felt the pain that he was in right now. But every time he insulted her, her face would express so much pain that it was hurting him more then it was hurting her. Arnav felt repulsed. After everything he knew, he couldn’t believe that he was still in love with this girl.

He let her go and she fell to the floor. He turned around and took long strides to the garage.

AAD Chapter 5: A Matter Of Pride

Firstly, I apologise for being late on updating. I have written half of the next chapter, so the more comments I get the faster I will update. Secondly, I apologise for this chapter as I whole. I don't know why but I think it's not one of my best pieces and frankly it's a bit crap. Thirdly, I want your opinions on something; should I make a separate blog for this story or leave it in this blog? Let me know what you think. As always, thank you for the comments on the last chapter. Enjoy :)

Chapter 5: A Matter Of Pride

Khushi opened her eyes to find a commotion and closed them again. She didn’t understand what was going on but she knew she definitely wanted more sleep. The background noises were getting louder and she could feel pain all over the back of her body. She opened her eyes to find a teary Payal looming over her. She tried to sit up but Payal gently pushed her back down.

“No Khushi, you need to rest some more.” She said softly.

“No she doesn’t!” screamed Buaji. “Get up you disgusting girl.”

Khushi was hauled to her feet and dragged towards the door.

“No Buaji! This isn’t Khushi’s fault.” Payal said as she ran after Buaji.

Buaji let go of Khushi, who slid to the floor. “How can you say that? After everything you’ve heard. After your father had a heart attack and you’re still protecting her?”

“Buaji, how can you believe a stranger over family?”

“Because there’s too much evidence to show what a filthy girl she truly is. Besides, I always knew her true character.”

“Buaji!”

“I told Shashi babuwa not to take her in and now look what’s happened. I won’t allow her to stay in this house a minute longer.”

Khushi hadn’t said a word all the way through this, she was in too much of a daze. She was hauled to her feet again by Buaji and was dragged to the door. Payal decided to try a different approach to convince Buaji not to throw Khushi out.

“Buaji what would the neighbours think?”

Buaji stopped in her tracks and looked at Payal. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re throwing Khushi out in broad day light and making a big fuss about it. People will start to talk. Imagine if they found out you kicked her out because of this scandal. People might think I’m like that too and then I’ll never get married.”

Buaji thought for a while before coming to a conclusion. “Fine. She gets to stay, for now.”

She let go of Khushi and walked away. Before Khushi could slid to the floor again, Payal lunged and grabbed her to keep her up.

“What’s going on Jiji?” she asked wearily.

Payal helped her to the nearest chair before answering her question. “I don’t know who cast the evil eye on us but you fainted and Babuji had a heart attack.”

That seemed to wake Khushi up. “What?! Where is he? Is he alright?”

She tried to get up but Payal made her sit back down. “For Devi Maya’s sake, sit down. We called the ambulance and they should be here any minute.”

“How did this happen?” she said in a quiet voice to no one in particular.

“Just after that horrible man left, both you and Babuji hit the floor. Thank Devi Maya that you weren’t out for too long, I was really worried.”

Finally, it all came back to Khushi. How that devil from the Sheesh Mahal had brought their house and how he had manipulated everything to buy her too. And now he had caused her father’s heart attack and made her whole family turn against her. At least her sister believed her and that was what was keeping her going.

Don’t focus on what he did. The main thing is her Babuji’s  health.

“I want to see Babuji, Jiji. Don’t argue please, I’m fine now.”

Payal lead her to the living room where her father was. She rushed to her father’s side, ignoring the death glares from Buaji. She couldn’t stand to see her loving father lying there lifelessly.

She burst in to tears. “I’m so sorry Babuji. This is all my fault.”

“You’re right this is all your fault.” Said Garima.

“Amma?”

“No Khushi. As soon as your father starts getting better, I want you to pack your bags and leave. Don’t tell us where you’re going, just leave. This evil has fallen on our family because of you and I’m certain that if you leave it will go away.”

“Amma! How can you say that?” asked a shocked Payal.

“It’s true. Since the day she came here she’s been nothing but trouble. I wanted to get her married off as soon as possible but your father said that she was too young and that you needed to get married first. And now she goes and does something like this. It’s too much Payal. I want her out of our lives.”

“No. I’m not going to let that happen and neither is Babuji. I can’t believe both you and Buaji believe that bastard over our Khushi.”

Before anyone could say anything else, the ambulance had arrived and the paramedics loaded Shashi in to the back of it. Garima and Buaji decided to ride with Shashi, while Payal and Khushi followed behind in an auto.

“Jiji-”

“Khushi, it’s going to be ok. They’re just angry and that’s why they’re saying things they don’t mean. Give them time to cool off and then tell them everything you told me. I promise they’ll see differently.”

Sheesh Mahal

Arnav was feeling thoroughly pleased with himself. He thought he had sold a pretty convincing case for Khushi’s family to give her to him. He was confident that by the end of the week, she would be his. He was about to get himself a drink to celebrate when his phone rang.

“ASR.”

“Sir, you know how you asked me to keep surveillance on that house you just brought.”

“Yeah, why?”

“An ambulance just left from the house.”

Arnav frowned. “Are you sure Aman?”

“Positive sir.”

“Do you know who was in the ambulance?”

“No sir.”

“Well find out and get back to me.” He snapped.

“Yes sir.”

Arnav’s conscious was starting to awaken. Of course he wanted Khushi at all cost but he didn’t want to hurt her family. He knew enough about growing up and living in a broken family to know that he wouldn’t wish that upon anyone. 20 minutes later Aman called back.

“What did you find Aman?”

“Shashi Gupta has had a heart attack sir.”

A prang of guilt passed through Arnav. “Shit!”

“Sir?”

“What’s his condition?”

“I called up the hospital; he’s not stable yet.”

“Crap. Ok, Aman, I’m going to need you to pack and get here as soon as possible. I’ll send over the helicopter.”

“May I ask why?”

“I don’t like to be questioned Aman, but since you asked nicely, I need you to run some errands for me.”

“Yes sir.”

Shekhar Hospital, Lucknow

Khushi, Payal, Garima and Buaji were all waiting outside the emergency room. Garima was crying and Buaji was trying to comfort her as well sending death glares to Khushi. Tears dropped silently from Khushi’s eyes as she sat there staring in to space and Payal was trying to be strong for her entire family. After what seemed like forever, a doctor came out of the ward. They all rushed to see what he had to say.

“Don’t worry, Mr Gupta is perfectly fine. He’s in a stable condition now.” They all breathed a sigh relief. “But he still hasn’t regained consciousness and we’d like to keep him in for observation. Tell me, has he been under a lot of stress lately?”

Buaji and Garima turned to glare at Khushi so Payal decided to answer the question. “Yes he has. We’re going through some financial troubles lately, that’s why he’s stressed.”

“Ok, we’ll take that in to consideration. I only asked because he doesn’t have a history of heart problems. Anyway, is one of you would like to stay with him over night you can. And if he recovers quickly, you should be able to take him home in a couple of days”

They all thanked the doctor and let him go. Garima decided that she was going to stay so Buaji went home to get some things for her and Shashi. Payal and Khushi decided to go to the temple to thank Devi Maya for their father’s stable condition and to ask to speed up his recovery.

Payal and Khushi had just exited the hospital when Payal thought she heard some one call her name. She dismissed it and continued walking until she heard it again. She turned to look for whoever was calling her and found a man walking towards her in a suit. She had a bad feeling about him and just knew that he was some how connected to that Arnav guy.

Payal turned to Khushi. “Khushi, go to the temple without me ok?”

“But Jiji-”

“Khushi go! I’m right behind you.” Payal made sure that Khushi got on an auto before she turned back to the man. “Who are you?”

He looked slightly startled but answered the question. “I’m Aman Mehta.”

“What do you want?”

“I want to have a chat with you.”

“Are you connected with that Arnav guy in any way?” she asked in suspicion.

“Arnav Singh Raizada? Yes, I’m his assistant.”

“Then I don’t want to talk to you.” Payal turned to walk away but he grabbed her hand. “Don’t touch me!” she bit out.

“I’m sorry.” He let go of her hand. “Sir sends his condolences for your father.”

“Thankfully my father’s not dead, so you can tell him to stuff his condolences.”

“He’ll be glad to hear that nothings happened to your father. He has told me to pay for the hospital fees.”

Payal gapped at him. “How dare he?! We don’t want his dirty money! After what he’s done, he thinks money and “condolences” will solve everything? We don’t need his help, we can take care of ourselves. So you can take his filthy money back to him.”

With that Payal stormed away. All thoughts of going to the temple flew out of the window. She now only had one thing on her mind.

HWGA Chapter 5: Midnight

I'm back. Plus there's a bit of swearing at the end, just letting you guys know and there will probably be swearing throughout the story.

Chapter 5: Midnight

Lawson’s Limited

It was midnight and Amba was the only person in the office besides the security. She had successfully completed all the work for the day and for the next 3 weeks. She had even managed to complete her assistant’s work and was contemplating starting on Logan’s work. She hadn’t taken a break since she came back from the hospital because she knew if she took a break she’d over think things and send herself in a dark place. She was just about to take a look at Logan’s work when her desk phone began to ring.

As soon as she picked up the caller said, “I can’t believe you’re still at the office.”

She sighed and put down the file she was holding. “How did you figure that one out?”

“I tried your mobile and couldn’t reach you.”

“You’re a regular Sherlock Holmes aren’t you dad?”

“What are you doing there so late?”

“Playing Monopoly with the security.” She said sarcastically.

He decided to play along with his daughter. “Who’s winning?”

“Dad!”

“Seriously Amba you work too hard.”

“Hard work has got me where I am today.”

“Aren’t you going to come home to see me off?”

“No.”

“Did you visit your mum again?”

“No. I sent Logan over there. You know his dad suffered a heart attack a couple of hours before mum’s accident so I thought he could visit her and his dad at the same time.”

“His dad’s in hospital?”

“Yes dad I just said that.”

“That must be really hard for him.”

“He’s a big boy, I’m sure he’ll survive.”

“Amba can you be more insensitive?”

“Yes, yes I can.” There was a pause and Amba could tell her father was trying to tell her something that was very difficult for him to say.

“I called Nik.”

“Why would you do that?! He’s on his honeymoon for God’s sake. He doesn’t need unnecessary stress!”

“I thought he could come back-”

 “Dad I don’t need a babysitter!” She stressed, “Why couldn’t you just let him enjoy his honeymoon?”

“I’m going to be in America for a long time-”

“I can take care of mum and myself perfectly fine! I’m going to call him and tell him not to come.”

“What about grandma and granddad?” There was silence on the other end and Karan could mentally picture his daughter counting back from 10 to get her anger in check.

“No thank you. Seeing them 4 times a year is enough for me.”

“Why do you hate them so much?”

“Because they’re always talking shit about mum and me!” she shouted.

“Amba-”

“I. Don’t. Need. A. Babysitter! I’m an adult.”

“Fine. I’ll cancel every arrangement I made for you.”

“Thank you. Dad I didn’t mean to offend you about your parents.”

“It’s alright, I know what you mean. Do you think we should inform your mum’s family?”

“You know how she feels about calling them about accident and injury. She didn’t contact them about her surgery last year.”

“This is different. She’s unconscious and she could be a totally different person after she wakes up.”

“Let’s call them after she wakes up.”

“I’ll give you Payal’s number in case she wakes up before I come back.”

“Ok. Have a safe flight dad. How long are you going to be in America?”

“Thank you and two and a half weeks. Go home Amba you need rest and take some time off.”

“I’ll try, love you.”

“I love you too.”

She put the phone down and sighed. It had been a really long day. Her hair was coming out of her perfect bun, her clothes were crumpled and her stilettos were God knows where. She plonked down on her chair and rubbed her forehead when the door opened.

“I knew you’d still be here.”

“How’s your dad Logan?”

“He’s fine.” He said making himself comfortable in the chair opposite her.

“Really? He’s just had a heart attack and now he’s fine?”

“Yep.”

She knew Logan and his dad had their differences but this indifference was just wrong. “Logan-”

He stood up abruptly and said, “Grab your stuff, I’ll wait in the car.”

“Which car?”

“Your car.”

“What about yours?”

“It’ll stay here duh.”

“And how exactly are you going to come to work?” She began gathering her things and followed him out.

“With you.” She gave him a look. “Oh come on, we’re next door neighbours. We’ve known each other since you were 2 and you can’t give me a ride to work?”

She smirked. “That’s how I roll bitch.”

He faked a shocked expression and put a hand on his chest. “I am shocked and appalled at the language you use.”

“Do you want a ride or not?”

He straightened up. “Yes please.”

“Then get in the fucking car!”

“Yes ma’am.” He did a mock salute and got in the car. The drove silently for a while before Logan broke the suffocating silence.

“Want to grab a drink before heading home?”

“I’m dying for one, let’s go.” She made a detour towards the bar.