Shyam arrived in RM to a different environment than he was accustomed to.

The women were no longer fussing over him like they had in the past ten years, not even Anjali, who appeared preoccupied as she conversed with an unknown woman dressed in a suit.

Mami and Nani were also talking to an elderly couple who were taking notes on everything they said.

"Shyam bhaiya, may I take your bags?" HP's voice alerted everyone to his presence, which bothered him, but he remained composed.

He greeted Nani and Mami, who smiled back at home and resumed their activities.

Anjali dragged him to sit with the woman she was chatting with.

"Rani Saheba, what is going on?" Shyam inquired, and Anjali glared at him, which perplexed him, especially when Nani and Mami joined in, looking surprised, but their gaze returned to Anjali.

"Hello, hello, bye-bye. Have you forgotten Akash and Payal's wedding is in three weeks?" Mami exclaimed in shock, but her voice was tinged with anger.

"I had no idea..... I thought the wedding was supposed to happen in four months." Shyam responded as Nani and Mami appeared more perplexed.

"Anjali, did not you tell damadji that panditji had found a more convenient and auspicious date for the wedding next month?" Nani asked, her gaze fixed on Anjali, who sighed.

"Nani, I could have told him if he would answered any of my calls in the last two weeks." Anjali responded nonchalantly, and Shyam's eyes widened in shock as he saw Anjali throw him under the bus in front of Nani, Mami, and the guest, and she did not seem bothered by her actions.

Nani and Mami looked at Shyam, disappointed, and he was surprised by their reaction and the overall atmosphere.

"I am sorry, Rani Saheba; my phone was mostly out of range because the case was in a rural area in the South." Shyam explained in the most innocent tone, making Nani, Mami, and the guest melt. They smiled at him, but Anjali glared at him and returned to speaking to the woman, who smiled, feeling awkward about being caught in the middle of a family squabble.

Shyam sighed and stood up and walked away looking pissed which made Mami and Nani felt sorry for him and glared at Anjali who looked nonchalant.

Shyam was pacing back and forth in the room, dissatisfied with the changes he had encountered since returning home.

The door opened, and Anjali walked in, folding her arms and watching him glare at her.

"Would you mind explaining what that stunt was for?" Shyam asked angrily, but Anjali ignored him and walked past him to the bathroom, only to be yanked back by Shyam. "I asked you a question, Anjali, and I expect a response; stop playing mind games with me." Shyam yelled, and Anjali yanked her arm free of his grip and rubbed the spot to relieve the pain.

"You are upset because I ignored you for a day and you did it for two weeks...... Now you understand how that feels." Anjali responded angrily, and Shyam closed his eyes to contain his rage.

He approached her and hugged her, planting a kiss on her shoulder, but Anjali pushed him away because she knew he was attempting to seduce her so that she would not reprimand him for what he did.

"It will not work....... I am not one of your whores who melts at deception." Anjali said sternly as she walked to the bathroom, but she paused and turned to face an angry Shyam.

"Short version: Mami has now wholeheartedly accepted Payal, Payal's world-famous designer sister has returned, and Chote is smitten with her, as the entire family knows and supports, and he is also pleading with her to join ARD....... If my plans work out, she will be Chote's wife, and he will be eternally grateful to me, and my control over him will never fade, as you believe."

Shyam was taken aback by Anjali's revelation, and she smirked before entering the bathroom and locking it from the inside.

Anjali could hear Shyam calling her name and banging on the bathroom door, but she ignored him.

She could not tell Shyam that Arnav and Akash had declined her first offer to choose Akash's sherwani for both the wedding and reception.

She cursed herself for being so gullible and thanked God that Shyam had answered her call.

After she came to her senses, she knew Shyam would have mocked her, proving Shyam's point about losing control over Arnav and the family.

"Everything will go as planned, and I will soon have Khushi and Payal under my control alongside the rest of the family." Anjali whispered, unaware that she was delusional, and her control over the family vanished permanently the day Khushi arrived.

Khushi's arrival will not only bring an end to her control over the family, but will also expose her hypocrisy and sins.

Akash walked up the stairs to the terrace and was surprised to see Arnav there.

"Bhai, you here?" Akash exclaimed, alerting Arnav to his presence, and he smiled at him, which surprised Akash, but he enjoyed seeing the new version of his brother, and he knew the reason for that was his soon-to-be sister-in-law.

"What exactly are you doing here?" Arnav inquired while Akash sat beside him.

"I just finished speaking with Payal." Akash blushed in response, causing Arnav to chuckle.

"How did you realize you were in love with her?" Arnav inquired as to whether this was also true for Khushi.

"I have been thinking about her constantly since I met her at the party two years ago. I feel safe and comfortable with her to the point where I do not feel awkward being myself........I want to spend a lot of time with her, but I know I need to learn to prioritize her needs and make her happy........ She is willing to make sacrifices for me, accepts my quirks, and envisions a future together.......I know we have a long way to go and much to learn along the way, but I only want to do it with Payal." Akash explained, and Arnav smiled briefly before his expression turned serious.

"Akash, we need to have a serious discussion about Mami." Arnav spoke with seriousness, and Akash sighed.

"I understand, bhai....... I know you are concerned about Maa intruding on my marriage, but I have trained her to do so without consequence, and if I confront her now, she will claim Payal is to blame....... I love Payal and do not want her to be harassed by Maa, which is why I have been wanting to ask you for a favor." Arnav was taken aback by how Akash took the words out of his mouth and simply nodded. "Can you transfer me to Noida when the new branch building is completed?"

Arnav looked stunned when he heard this because he had not expected it from him.

"Akash, do you realize that distance will not prevent Mami from interfering in your relationship with Payal?"

"Bhai I know, but it is a step toward my independence from Maa; the reason she despises Payal is more due to my standing up to her than her status...... She is losing me to Payal because of her own twisted mind...... Payal and I are unfortunately pushovers, and we only talked about it before I came here..... She is afraid of causing a schism in the family after I told her not to submit to Maa's whims...... I am prepared to stand up to Maa........ I know it is late, but I am not giving up..... Please, Bhai, do this for us."

Arnav sighed and nodded, making Akash happy, but he knew this was not going to end well, and he was willing to do anything to help him.

"We need to prepare for Mami's tantrums and emotional blackmail..... She is not going to go down without a fight." Arnav cautioned.

"I am prepared for anything. " Akash replied, and Arnav nodded and smiled at him but unknown to them, someone had heard everything and was displeased with it.

"I can't let Akash leave this house....... Everyone has be under the same roof and I will do whatever it takes to make sure Payal and Akash never leaves or else I will also lose control over them. " Anjali thought as she quietly left the terrace.

"So, what is going on between you and Khushi?" Akash asked making Arnav chuckle as he had expected it.

Akash smiled as he adjusted his glasses on his nose.

"She is definitely different from all the women I have met; she is stubborn, does not take nonsense from anyone, is hardworking, successful, but also kind and caring...... She is the type of woman who will send anyone, no matter who they are, to hell if they hurt those she loves. " Arnav smiled as a stunned Akash looked on, but the smile faded after a few moments. "I am not sure what it is, but she seems guarded around us, especially me."

"Bhai, she just met you, so she has to be guarded." Arnav shook his head in response to Akash's defense.

"Akash, we have known each other for two weeks, but she seems guarded around me; however, look at her reaction to Nk; she was so relaxed and carefree...... They seem to have known each other for a long time. I am not speaking out of jealousy, but rather out of observation.... Call me an idiot, but I wish she could be half as carefree around me as she was with Nk."

Akash smiled and tapped his shoulders, while Arnav sighed.

"I do not think this will help, but I believe you should show Khushi that the true Arnav is not the ASR or Chote she knows...... The real Arnav, the old bubbly goofy Arnav I knew...... the one he was before he became the Arnav he is today." Akash advised Arnav, but Arnav stood up, causing Akash to sigh.

He was aware that returning to his former self would imply weakness, which Arnav despises.

"I can't, Akash.... I do not want to end up heartbroken again. What if Khushi rejects me and leaves me heartbroken, as Arvind Malik did...... He was the best father, but look at what he did: he destroyed our family........ He could have divorced Maa, but instead he chose to cheat and permanently scar us and Maa, while Maa chose to leave us....... I can not go back to being so vulnerable...... I do not think I can handle another heartbreak." Arnav confessed, and Akash sighed, understanding his point of view.

"So, what are you planning to do?" Akash asked.

"Just go with the flow......If Khushi is meant for me, she will be with me..... If not, I will not fight it." Arnav responded with a frown as he looked down.

"Bhai, are you okay?" Akash asked as he stood up from the bench and approached him.

What he saw confused him, and they both stared at each other before returning their attention to the scene in front of them.

Manohar dashed to his car, looking frantic as he drove away from the mansion.

"Where is papa going at this hour of the night?" Akash asked, as Arnav shrugged.

Two days later, Arnav observed Khushi as she meticulously pinned all of the textiles for Payal's outfits onto the board.

Arnav had arrived in Laxmi Nagar to pick her up for the selection.

The ride to the factory was silent, with Arnav stealing glances at Khushi, who pretended not to notice.

She was surprised by Arnav's choices; it only took one look and a swipe of his fingers on the textiles to determine what was good and what wasn't, and this made her understand why Arnav was the best in the field.

He may be an idiot when it comes to applying basic common sense to his personal life, but Arnav could never go wrong in business, which irritated Khushi because a lot of the pain in their past life could have been avoided if he had been as vigilant in his personal life as he was in his line of work.

She jerked, feeling a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Arnav staring at her with concern and a soft expression in his eyes.

"Khushi, are you all right?" Arnav asked, worried.

"Where was this tenderness when I needed it?......Where was this concern when it counted the most?" Khushi glared at him and pushed his hand off her shoulder.

Arnav was surprised and perplexed to see her turn cold in seconds, and he was hurt and saddened by the experience.

"Is this how people felt when I did the same thing?" Arnav thought as she watched Khushi go back to her board and sighed.

He walked away, leaving Khushi alone in the fabric room. Khushi closed her sketch book, annoyed with herself for her reaction.

After she finished choosing the fabrics, she went out to the office and handed the manager of the textile company their selection.

She left for the parking lot and found him smoking a cigar, which surprised and irritated her at the same time.

"When the hell did he begin smoking?" Khushi whispered to herself before approaching him, yanking the cigar from his grasp and throwing it away.

Arnav's eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights, and he gave an awkward smile to hide his embarrassment.

"That is not something I do very often." Arnav blurted out in defense, which was true because he rarely smoked and needed something to calm his nerves after what happened in the fabric room.

Khushi gave him a sceptical look, and he realized she did not believe him.

"I am telling the truth."

"Never smoke again...... You have diabetes, which will cause your system to deteriorate more quickly. " Khushi warned sternly, and Arnav nodded like a child before halting and turning to her.

"How did you know I have diabetes?" Arnav looked suspiciously at her, as his diabetes was a well-kept secret.

Khushi realised her mistake and quickly made an excuse.

"Your dietary habits." Khushi said, and Arnav frowned. "When we were invited that day, I noticed you had sugar-free chocolate cake for dessert...... Your breakfast bowl was also free of sugar, and you were constantly munching on granola bars, the brand of which is specifically designed for diabetic patients."

Arnav was stunned but impressed by her observation, and Khushi averted her gaze as he threw his sexy smirk at her.

"Please come to lunch with me." Arnav asked but Khushi shook her head no.

"No, we should not be seen together...... I do not want to be included on the media's list of your flings." Khushi replied sincerely.

Arnav was enraged when he realized Aman was correct about people viewing him as a promiscuous man because he failed to refute or take legal action against the blogs and media outlets that linked him to models, actresses, and socialites who modeled for ARD.

He despised not taking Aman's concern seriously because Khushi was not like those women; she was a saint who did not deserve to be included on such a list.

"I know the media and bloggers associate me with all of those women, but I swear I have not spoken to them in more than five minutes.......I am not that type of man." Arnav countered, and Khushi smiled.

"I know you are not promiscuous, but the world appears to believe so, and your silence has fueled bloggers and media to write all that nonsense about you...... I want to live a quiet life, and being seen with you will disrupt that...... I hope you can understand."

Arnav nodded, Khushi smiled, and they drove away, unaware that they were being photographed together.

The person reached for his phone and dialed his boss's number.

"Mrs. Jha, the pictures are ready."

To be continued.

Don't forget to hit the ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ button, comment and follow for more.

٩(ര̀ᴗര́)ᵇʸᵉ.

Xoxo xoxo.