Hello everyone,
Here is the next part of this FF.

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Not proofread. Please ignore the typos and mistakes.

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Continued from the last part

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Gupta House :

Khushi was still staring at her husband, thinking about the endearment he used. Why did it sound so familiar? She was trying to remember. A fuzzy picture popped into her head. Seeing her so lost, Arnav tried to draw her attention, clearing his throat.

"Umm... Khushi, what happened? Why were you staring at me like this? I asked you something na? What happened when I wasn't around, and what were you crying about? Tell me at once," his voice was strict.

"Uhh... huh... oh haan, woh Am... amma asked... me... t... to... to... do som..." She got lost again while telling him the truth and then suddenly asked, "You called me by some name sometime back na? Plea... please... please tell me." She looked at him with hopeful eyes and waited for his reply with a shaky breath.

Arnav was in a fix now. What would he do? He now felt nervous watching Khushi's hopeful gaze. She was staring through the corner of her eyes like she was trying to remember something, and he knew exactly what. He had screwed up, and now he had to deal with it.

Oh, he wanted to tell her everything she wanted to hear, but, uh, she couldn't tolerate all of this at once. He knew that Khushi was feeling restless to know his answer. But for the time being, he couldn't give her anything, and above all, he had to know what Garima tried to do with her again.

"Hmmm... Khushi, I need to make an urgent call right away. You get ready, okay? We'll be out of here in half an hour. Alright?" Saying this, he dashed out of the room. Khushi frowned at his back without blinking. She got some flashbacks of her childhood.

---

Flashback Starts:

In a Park (Backside of the Temple):

A little girl was crying all by herself on a bench. That's when, out of nowhere, someone wiped her tears and said, "Why are you crying, baby doll? Mamma used to say that babies don't look good when they cry. So, tell me what you're crying for?" A ten-year-old boy asked her.

The girl took a peek at him and asked, "Who ale you? Babuji chaied don tak to stan... stan... chome jer. I folgo. Cho yu..uu go. I no tel yu tht Amma schol me. Che chcol me an chazd I no goo. Che cal me olpan. Achcha wat iz olpan?" she asked innocently.

The young boy swallowed hard. He realized her parents had gone to God. His dadi told him that when someone's parents go to God, they're called orphans. But how could he say such a thing to the Barbie doll? So he attempted to turn her mind away from these hurtful things.

"You can tell me anything, you know, baby doll. And that's not 'some jer', the word is 'stranger'. But I am not a stranger now. We're friends, right? Look, you're already talking to me." The little girl seemed pretty confused. She scrunched her eyebrows, "Achcha, yu ale no stnjer? Otay. I wil tel yu evlythin," and she started telling him how her amma and didi scold her every day, how her babuji gave her chocolates, how her Buaji called her titaliya, and much more.

The boy looked at her amused and enjoyed every expression on her chubby face. She was no longer crying. He felt agitated seeing tears in her pretty hazelnut eyes. That's what brought him here. "Wat yul name flnd?" she asked him suddenly.

"Arnav, my baby doll," he said with pride. He always took pride in saying his name. "Nannav?" Arnav grimaced when she distorted his royal name. "Not Nannav, it's Arnav, baby doll." Arnav tried to make his baby doll understand. "Nannav... nannav... nannav. Yu no notng," she said stubbornly, and tears began to accumulate in her eyes again upon seeing her friend disagree with her.

Arnav shook his head when he saw her weeping again and said, "Yes... yes... Nannav... Nannav. Okay. Now don't cry, angel!" He wiped her tears with his soft plump hands. Her face brightened up instantly. She waved her head, grinning sweetly. "What's my baby doll's name?" Before she could tell him, her father called her, and she ran away, bidding him goodbye.

Flashback Ends

"Baby doll... baby jaan... why do they both sound alike? And that boy... Nannav... who was that? Kahi Nannav aur Arnav ek hi toh...?" She shook her head with vehemence. "Nahi... nahi... What am I thinking! If that's the case, Arnavji himself would have said it to me, wouldn't he?" she murmured.

Her head started aching. She knew if she tried to think hard, it wouldn't do good to her health. She shrugged her shoulders for a while. Thinking about all this, she completely forgot about Garima and that she was supposed to tell her husband everything.

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OUTSIDE GUPTA HOUSE:

"Pratap! What happened here when I was away?" There wasn't any emotion in his voice. "Sir, Mrs. Gupta tried to get Ma'am to sign some legal papers, but she did not. I'm not exactly aware of those documents, but give me a little time, and I'll give you the details," Pratap assured him.

"No, Pratap, you don't have to give me the details right now. If I need them, I'll ask you. And listen, Garima Gupta has been to the market now. So, I want you to get on with the job right away." Pratap immediately accepted his boss's command and started his work.

He turned off the call after giving instructions and thought, "I want to see, Khushi, whether you tell me about it or not. If you have even a bit of trust in me, then you will tell me. And if not, then I will think I failed to make you trust me." He sighed and walked in.

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MARKET:

Garima Gupta was strolling through the market, thinking of Khushi. She had walked out of the house after her confrontation with Khushi. It was hard to believe Khushi didn't sign the papers. Where did she get the courage to throw those papers on her face and threaten her as well? How dare she?

She was so lost in planning how to take her signature on those documents that she did not notice a truck coming in her direction at full speed. She regained her senses when someone from the market shouted to warn her about the truck.

She turned around and screamed, "AHAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" She went into shock and was unable to move her legs an inch. She was looking at the truck, terrified.

The truck passed by at the same speed but didn't hit her. It stopped at a certain distance, and the driver looked back to see her reaction. He smirked when he saw her shivering and sweating form and went away to give his boss the news. Nobody noticed this because everyone was crowding around Garima.

Garima trembled at the thought of that speeding truck. She would have been severely wounded or could have died if it had hit her. She thanked her god a thousand times for rescuing her. Little did she know, it was not her god that saved her. It was her dear 'damadji' who just wanted to see the fear of death on her face for now. He didn't want her dead that easily. That's why she was saved today.

She assured everyone that she was fine and wanted to go home. As she was leaving, she could feel someone whispering into her ears, "Kaisa laga maut ko itne kareeb se dekh ke?" (How did you feel about seeing death so close?)

A cold chill descended upon her spine, and she looked around madly but didn't see anyone. "Wasn't this just... just an acc... accid... accident? What did he mean when he said 'maut ko samne se dekh kar kaisa laga'? Did someone try to kill me... bu... but wh... why?" She shivered like a fallen leaf, thinking someone tried to kill her.

Sweat broke on her forehead. Her lips trembled, and her heart was beating as if it would come out of her mouth any moment now. She ran as fast as possible toward her house on wobbling legs. She looked back and forth, checking if someone was following her. Those words kept resonating in her ears.

What she didn't notice was that someone in the market was filming her and sending the videos to her beloved son-in-law. She had no idea her damad would be so delighted to see the fear of death all over her face.

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GUPTA HOUSE:

Arnav was watching some videos with rapt attention, sitting in the living room and smirking. Whoever looked carefully would see the blazing fire in his eyes. He would have loved to hear her yelling and trembling voice, but it would be a risk. Khushi or anyone might come in anytime. Therefore, for the time being, he limited his desire to seeing only terror on Garima's face.

Meanwhile,

Garima burst into the house, causing him to startle a little. He sneered as he watched the petrified form of his sasuma. "Areyy arey sa...su...ma, what's the matter with you? Why do you look so scared? Did something happen in the market?" he asked her in a mocking tone, which she didn't notice in her dread.

"Huhh... ha...aan... na... nahi... nahi, ku... no... noth...ing. Woh actually, I am tiii... tired... That's why. I... I... I need... a few res...t." She somehow managed to give him an excuse and ran away. Arnav smiled monstrously and thought, "Rest, Garima Gupta... rest. Who knows if you're going to get rest or not after that."

---

Some time later,

Arnav and Khushi were ready to go to RM, so everybody gathered in the lounge to bid them goodbye. But there was no trace of Garima. Shashi Gupta and Madhumati called her, but she said she was not feeling well and wouldn't be able to come to see them off. Arnav told them not to bother her, for she needed rest.

Khushi's eyes misted when she hugged her father and Buaji. "Dhyan rakhna bitiya aur jo kuch bhi maine tumse kaha hai, uspe amal karna. Thik hai. Ulta sidha kachu mat sochna," Buaji whispered while hugging. Khushi nodded her head, and they left.

(Take care, bitiya, and do whatever I have told you, okay. Don't think anything topsy-turvy.)

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Will Garima come to know who's doing this to her?

Who tried to kill her and why?

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That's it for today.

Take Care and Stay Safe,

Regards,
Dipanwita86
19/10/21