Chapter 4

Lavanya walked about the garden wondering about the circumstances of Shyam's death. She trusted her brother completely and knew that he would get to the bottom of this soon. She was a little startled to find someone sitting on the wooden bench, mumbling to themselves. She walked up to the person and realized that it was Akash's sister Khushi.

"Umm... Hi, I'm Lavanya."

She looked up at her with large, hazel eyes and smiled brightly. Lavanya instantly felt her heart warming towards her and smiled back.

"Hello, I'm Khushi. Nice to meet you."

Lavanya nodded and sat down beside her. She noticed that Khushi was very slim and delicately built. Her skin was a milky white color and it glowed with health.

"I'm sorry for bumping into you earlier today."

Lavanya shook her head and told her that it was no problem at all.

"Can I ask you something? You're not linked to this case in any way but being the Inspector's sister, you're getting to stay on the crime scene like the rest of us. Tell me, how does this situation look from the eyes of an outsider?"

"Well, I've known Jeejaji for quite some time now and it seems strange that someone would want to kill him. He was a really good man and always fought for justice."

"I know what you mean. Despite what others might think, I had a lot of respect for Shyam ji. Even though he opposed my brother's relationship with Payal, I had no negative feelings towards him."

Lavanya watched the determined look in Khushi's eyes as she continued speaking to her as if she had known her for years.

"I realize that Bhaiya has a pretty strong motive for the murder but I know he couldn't have done it. He doesn't have it in him to harm anyone. In fact I'm quite certain that his death has something to do with professional rather personal reasons."

Lavanya was stunned by this statement. She had heard her brother say the exact same thing to her a couple of hours ago and it was quite shocking to hear Khushi say the exact same thing.

"But how can you be so sure Khushi?"

"Just a feeling I guess. Anyway it was nice talking to you Lavanya. You're really nice inspite of being Arnav Singh Raizada's close friend."

...

"Don't worry Di. No one can dare accuse you while I'm around!"

Anjali looked into her brother's eyes and tried in vain to stop her sobs.

"Di - Di please stop crying. I promise nothing will happen to you whilst I'm around."

"I know Chote. That's not why I'm crying. It's just - just the whole situation is so terrible. I m-mean with your Jeejaji's death and Payal still upset about Akash and the p-police investigation. It's almost too much to bear."

Arnav stared helplessly at his sister. He was very protective of her and she meant the world to him. He couldn't bear to see her in pain or distress. He liked being in control and when he was not; he always vented his frustration on his plants.

...

Khushi was very confused with the events of the previous night. She just could not figure out why anyone would want to kill Shyam. She wondered how she could get some information regarding his current cases. She was walking up the stairs near the poolside when she heard a sharp cry of pain. She rushed in and saw Arnav clutching his hand as it oozed blood.

She ran over to him and took his hand in hers. She looked around for the source of his wound and noticed the gardening sheers lying near him, stained with fresh blood. She knew she had to stop the bleeding or else it would become quite serious. She rushed down and returned with a first aid kit.

First she cleaned the wound gently, blowing into it whenever the alcohol stung him. Then she took a fresh piece of cotton and placed it on the cut. After that she took out the gauze and bandaged his right palm, taking care to hurt him as little as possible.

When she finally finished, she looked up to see whether he was alright and was stunned to see the look in his eyes.

Arnav couldn't believe his eyes as Khushi tended to him to carefully. Her tenderness made his heart melt and he felt himself being drawn closer to her. Feelings which she had evoked in him when he had first seen her returned and his eyes locked with hers in an intense gaze.

His eyes had always mesmerized her and this time was no exception. Khushi couldn't deny that he was much too handsome for his own good. She had developed a small crush on him when they had first met but his horrific behavior had completely put her off. But all that seemed forgotten as she lost herself in pools of molten brown.

The wind started blowing gently and a strand of Khushi's hair came loose from her plait. Arnav instantly reached out to tuck it behind her ear but winced in pain as they wound was still fresh.

"Be careful! What if the wound opens up again? What if it gets infected? It could become serious and something could happen to you!"

Arnav stared at her indignant face and couldn't help his heart from swelling a little. He smirked slightly and leaned in a little closer.

"Even if something happens to me, why does that bother you?"

A blush formed on her cheeks almost immediately and she looked away, trying to come up with a good response.

"Come on Khushi. Tell me. Why does it bother you if something were to happen to me?"

Khushi felt the heat rising to her cheeks as her blush intensified. His penetrating gaze wasn't helping much either and she stood up abruptly before running up the stairs, all the while muttering under her breath.

Arnav sighed as he watched her retreating back. He glanced at his right hand as his thoughts floated over to the girl who had bandaged it so lovingly.

...

Inspector Kashyap put down his phone and glanced at the file in front of him. This was top secret information and he had laid his hands on it with great difficulty.

Apparently NK's father's company, Mehras Inc. was facing a court case due to embezzlement of funds. A private party had filed the case and Shyam Jha was representing them. What was more interesting was that the case was very much tilted towards the prosecution and Shyam's untimely death had saved the company from guaranteed ruin.

A few things were still not clear as Shyam's own file regarding the case had not been sent to him yet. He would certainly be a lot closer to the truth once he read the contents of that file.

...

Payal sat by the window, gazing into the sky. So much had happened in the past forty eight hours. All of it had still not registered in her head. Her brother was dead and she was now all alone in this world. Of course, she still had Akash but she wondered how she could get married to him, now that she had no way of convincing her brother. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes.

Scenes from her childhood played in her mind's eye. They had been a happy family - she, her parents, and Shyam. But then her father had passed away after a long suffering illness and her mother had collapsed shortly afterwards. The shock had been too grave for her and she had left both of her children alone in the world with plenty of money but no one to care for them. Her brother had been her savior, her guardian, her hero. It had been anyway quite difficult to maintain her relationship with Akash while he was so against it. But Payal could not bring herself to choose between the two most important men in her life. She wished that she was six years old again and the cares of the world were not on her shoulder.

She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder and turned around to see Akash standing behind her. She flung her arms around him and wept silently. She had kept herself in check because she needed to take care of her Bhabhi. But now that no one else was around, she completely let herself go and cried for everything. Her brother's death, the police investigation, everyone's disapproval regarding their relationship and the unfairness of life in general.

So how was it? Did you'll get a good dose of romance? 😳 I tried keeping the suspense along with the light stuff. Hope you'll liked it 😊

Chapter Five - Seeing Is Believing