Chapter 15

arshiforever123

@arshiforever123

A Twist of Events chapter 14

[NOCOPY]

He put her down and got off the bed. He went to stand at the French windows which revealed a beautiful lush garden...one which couldn't be seen right now due to the night. But little shimmery lights shone brightly and that was beautiful in itself.

He put his hands in his pockets and looked out. He took in a big sigh and began

"We lived in a big home, me di, my mother and my father.  We were wealthy. Many kids would look at me and think I had everything. But I was 8 years old when I heard my parents first fight. I was in my room reading a book as usual when I heard some yelling from the other room. I couldn't make out what they were saying but I could hear my mothers cries. I didnt know what was going on at the time. So...being 8 years old and scared I clutched my blanket and went into my Di's room. She moved to make space for me and clutched my shivering form until I fell asleep. That continued for almost another 3 or 4 months until the screams become constant in the household and I was no longer scared any more..." he took a pause and then continued.

"My parents would never show that they fought of course. The daytime would be normal...my mother would get us ready for school and give us our lunch. We would come back from school and eat then do our homework. Our father was never there in the day...he would leave early in the morning before we left and he came home late at night after we slept. Or so he thought. I never really slept. I just stayed in my room in silence. Doing nothing. But you know something Khushi? Though our day routine never changed...there was something so different in our house. Like this...this constrained atmosphere. My mother had large bags under her eyes and I swear I could even see some dark green and purple areas on her arms before she quickly covered it. I could do nothing. Nothing to comfort  my beloved mother and nothing to stop my non existent, wretched father. I never really loved the man...he was never really in our childhood..the only proper time I saw him was in photos as he was always away on trips or doing who knows what with his friends."

He took another long pause and continued,

"This continued as I grew up...it got worse though...the screams were louder every night and I could hear smashing of glass and other things. My mother became more depressed up to the point that..she never even really acknowledged us. She stayed in her room most days and would never hear us calling to her. Di and I were basically raised by our maid. God..I missed my mother in those day.. I wanted her back. I wanted her back so badly...I was 13 when I realized something was really wrong in my house. My father came home one day and he was visibly drunk. He had a bottle in one hand and he chanted my mother's name repeatedly as he slurred into the house...AArttiii...Arttiii I can almost hear him say. I stood at the top of the stairs watching the events play out...My mother rushed out of the kitchen and ran up to him worriedly..I couldn't really see her face but by her steps..i could tell she was scared. Then the man threw his bottle on the ground and spoke viciously and cynically

ARE YOU HAPPY NOW AARTI? SHES GONE?! HA! I KILLED HER! I KILLED THE BABY TOO! DO YOU LOVE ME NOW AARTI?...I had no clue who he was talking about. And to this day...I never found out"

He turned to face a crying Khushi who sat on the edge of the bed looking upset and distrught.

"My mother stood there and cried, and then slapped him and yelled,

You?! You killed her?? YOU KILLED THE CHILD?! YOU EVIL bas***d! YOU DISGUSTING CREATURE! YOU VILE MAN. GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME! IM GONNA CALL THE POLICE! but before she could do anything, he held her harshly and slapped her. Then he hit her some more while he laughed threateningly... he was way out of his senses. As he hit her, I heard him say,

You bitch! You?! You will call the police on me?!! I will kill you! I will kill you and the disgusting creatures you have brought into this world!"

At this point Arnavs voice was cracking as he recalled his darkest memories.

"I knew he was talking about Di and I...but before I could register anything else, I grabbed a shovel from my garden and ran up to the beast that was mercilessly kicking the unconscious woman on the floor who happened to be my mother. He looked at me with a surprised expression seconds before I hit him with the shovel right on his head...the last thing he said to me was...You'll regret this boy..."

Arnav was by now, visibly shaking and Khushi walked up to him and carressed his arm, triying to console him...she didn't want him to go through this.

"Arnav stop " she tried

He shook his head...

"no...you need to know Khushi"

So he continued,

"Once he was unconscious, I went to my mother and started crying seeing her state. I hugged her tightly and screamed my heart out. Soon the ambulance came...thank God for my Di for calling them. She was 15 at the time and thankfully much more mature than I was. As they loaded her into the stretcher, I wouldn't move...one of the paramedics had to pull me off her. I sat still in the ambulance with her, crying to myself. But thankfully..the doctors were able to save her. I never went to see my father. At the time, I didn't know if he died or if he was still alive. And quite frankly...I wanted him dead."

He looked at Khushi once again and made  his way to the couch. She stayed by the windows, standing, looking at him.

"After the surgery..I visited my mother in the recovery room...I slept with her until she woke up. When she did she called me and Di into her room and spoke seriously. That day...my whole life changed.

She said to us,

"I have to tell you something. That man...the one you have been calling your father...he is not your real father. He is you chacha. Your father died a few months after you were born Chotey. Your father was a loving and wonderful man...but his family was not unfortunately. I had to marry you chacha due to family pressures. They would not let me stay in my sasural and take care of my children with me being widowed. My only choice was to marry your chacha. He...he has destroyed all our lives.

Khushi gasped at this.

"Khushi...I never knew my father. I had only just learned that day that the man was supposedly my father' was nothing more than a spiteful uncle. ...A few days later the three of us returned home.Me di and my mother. But in that moment...everything was gone. We saw my chachaa in the lounge with a gun in his hand. My mother hid us behind herself to try and protect us."

My uncle spoke menacingly as he walked up to us with the gun in his hand.

"So Aarti...you made me kill my own child...so I might as well kill yours"

My mother instantly froze and tried to hide us.

"NO please...Kavindra! These are your own brothers children! They are blood to you!"

The next thing I remember was my mom signaling us to go. She tried to push us away subtly and even Di got the message. But I was too stubborn. Instead I dashed at my uncle and tried to take the gun from him. I shot him in the leg and he let out a bunch of curses at me.  As he tried to get up, my mother took our hands and ran. But before we could leave the place, she froze. She looked at us apologetically before collapsing on the ground in a heap surrounded by dark blood. Her hold on my hand went loose. I screamed and was about to kneel to help her when I saw my uncle advancing and limping towards us. But before I could go and wipe that smirk off his face and kill him, my sister looked at me worriedly and shook her head. She basically dragged me out of the house. We ran for ages before I finally let it out. I cried so much. My mother was dead. And all I could do was run like the coward that I am."

Khushi looked at him with a pained expression and walking up to him, hugged him close. He cried onto her chest, letting himself go in her comfort. A while later she broke the hug and ruffled his hair.

He moved out of the hug and noticed her ripped kameez...what he did earlier. She was still wearing that. He slowly ripped the kameez even further and took it off her. She looked at him in surprise. He took one of his shirts out of his closet and helped her into it, covering her exposed chest. Khushi's heart melted at this gesture and she smiled thankfully at him.

He sat on the bed she sat close beside him.She took his hand in hers and spoke after a while,

"Your not a coward"

He looked at her confusedly

"At the age of 13...look at what you did. All you have done. Your business empire. You took care of the family. You've done more in a few years than one could ever do in their entire lives." She smiled at him

"After that fateful day, as I grew up I wanted to know more about my own father. So I spent a lot of my time researching, trying to look for any clues in his past. I had no idea how or why he died, I never really knew anything about my relations or my fathers family's background and why they forced my mother to marry my chacha, I realized that I never even knew any of my mothers relations. I didnt know how my mother and my father met and married. I never knew why my uncle hated us so much. All I knew was that I had a father. One who wasnt' the scoundrel that was my uncle.

I couldn't find much information about the man that was my father but I found that his name was Raghav Malik. His father owned a huge business empire - one that was passed onto him and not my uncle. This sort of explained my uncles dislike towards us but nothing more. I tried for many years after that but couldn't find anything. So eventually...I...I just stopped."

Khushi looked at him with an unreadable expression on her face. She clutched his hand tighter.

"Khushi...by telling you about my past tonight I...Im not trying to justify my behaviour towards you...for everything I have done. But...I ...just needed you to know." he said

SHe hugged him, a huge sense of relief flowing through him at the gesture. Many minutes later he spoke.

"whats gonna happen to us now Khushi?" he whispered with a glint of hope in his eyes

She knew he was talking about them. About their relationship. She inhaled deeply and spoke quietly

All original work belongs to arshiforever123. Please do not copy.

[MEMBERSONLY]