CHAPTER 3
Khushi turned to retort but froze! There in front of her was a demi god! "Did i get hit by a car 'n sent straight to heaven? " ,she wondered.
Arnav Singh Raizada couldn't say more.... how could he? An angel stood before him! You dont shout at angels...right? right. In his 28 yrs of existence never had Arnav thought twice before acting but today he couldn't bring himself to utter a word.
They both stood there in the middle of the road staring at each other!
Payal couldn't help her sister either 'cause she had just laid her eyes on the man of her dreams....not that she knew then.... Aakash Singh Raizada sat staring straight at her.....spellbound! The four were least aware of their surroundings. Cars honked at them... Men were hurling abuses...but to no avail!
One of the men who had followed the sisters took the opportunity and came forward. He had caught Khushi's name from Payal.
"Arre Khushi.... What are you doing in the middle of the road. Don't you know its dangerous?" He smiled at Arnav and said,"Sorry bhaiyyaji... my wife gets a bit careless at times!"
"Wife?? Whose wife?...I'm not your wife. Get away from me!" shouted Khushi, backing away from the man who was trying to grab her arm.
"Is this one of your jokes again Khushi?" asked the man.Turning to Arnav he added,"You see we just got here from Lucknow . And Khushi thought of playing a trick on me on her way out of the station...right Khushi?" said the man smiling mischievously at her.
Khushi looked at the man disbelievingly . "How could anyone have the guts to make up such false stories...that too in front of such a big crowd? Did people really get away with these things ", she wondered.
She turned back to the man and said," Listen mister, neither do I know you and nor am I your wife. So stop lying and let me go."
"Yes ", said Payal. " She is no wife of yours!! Who are you? get away from us!" she shouted.
Somebody from the crowd shouted," Dude .. whoever you are..get this fight of the road...people have to travel!"
A chorus of yes' turned up....
Khushi looked around and then turned her gaze to Arnav in silent plea!
Khushi didn't know why making tis demigod understand was so important to her but she felt that even if the world didn't believe her...he definitely had to!!
Meanwhile Arnav was going through a roller coaster of emotions! When the man claimed Khushi to be his wife Arnav was heartbroken! But when she denied it the broken pieces just got back together and cello taped themselves!! For a moment he was mourning like a lost lover and then his heart was giggling like a child! To top it all off he couldn't understand his emotions and the adult in him was getting frustrated...or rather the ASR in him was! His heart wanted to believe this girl but his mind wanted an explanation as to why he should do so.
Aakash on the other hand had made his decision of believing Payal. Unlike Arnav he wasn't afraid of admitting that this woman had stolen his heart in just one meeting!
"Get away from the ladies!" he said. "I know people like you very well. Leave or I'll call the police!"
The man stared at Aakash and said,"Arre saab...what are you saying? She is my wife . How can I leave her? Janam Janam Ka saath nibhanne ka vaada kiya hai na....right Khushi?" He gave her his ugly grin!
Khushi just stared disbelievingly.
"Look don't act smart!.. You can never be her husband. Anyone with eyes can make out your age disparity. Its better you leave or else..."
"Or else what saab?" said the man. He knew his position was weak but he kept up the tirad of lies...."Arre if I can just get them away from here it will be worth all the effort!" ,he thought.
Arnav had had enough! So had the other passengers on the road.
He stepped out of the car and walked upto the man.
Khushi looked at him expectantly...her hopes raised. The man on the other hand backed away a bit fear playing in his eyes.
Arnav glanced over at Khushi and then back at the man,
"Listen I don't care who she is to you. Just the hell off the road! Arnav Singh Raizada does not wait for anyone! So get MOVING!!" ,he shouted the last part making the man and Khushi jump. Khushi looked at him defeated all her hopes shattered. Her demigod had proven to be a devil at heart!
The man took the opportunity to drag Khushi from there. A stunned Khushi just stared at Arnav , gaping!
"Khushi! Khushi!" shouted Payal running after the man. She turned once to look at Aakash pleading and then turned away to help her sister. As soon as they were off the street the traffic began resuming their journey onwards.
"Aakash , get in the car!" said Arnav
"But bhai! ..." retorted a heartbroken Aakash.
"GET IN THE CAR AAKASH!!" bellowed Arnav
Aakash nodded his head in denial . "No bhai! We have to help them. I have to help them!", saying he left in pursuit of the three.
"What the!... " swore Arnav. He closed his eyes in frustration. "Dammnit!!!" ,he said balling his fist and banging the hood of his car. Then with long strides he got in and drove off!.....
Meanwhile the man had dragged Khushi towards a maze of roads most of which were deserted. Payal who had tried to follow Khushi and her captor had been caught by one of the other men involved and was in a similar state as Khushi! Aakash on the other hand had followed the men in the right direction initially but had ended up losing them in the maze! He looked around helplessly and scratched his head. After a moment of reflecting he placed a call and then moved on to continue his search.
The men had dragged Khushi and Payal towards a deserted highway . Khushi was trying hard to free her hands from the grab of her captor, but he seemed to have a fist of iron, and Khushi was failing miserably. Finally , she kicked her captor below his knee . The man buckled and Khushi took the opportunity to bite his hand. He let go of her due to pain and clutched his arm instead.The other man holding Payal captive let go of her to tend to his friend. Seizing the moment, Khushi grabbed Payal's arm and dashed towards the Highway. But the men were fast to recover. They caught up with the girls right in the middle of the road. As they were struggling, a pair of headlights flashed ,blinding them.
Arnav had driven out of there ,but he couldn't drive out the thoughts about Khushi from his mind! He closed his eyes to clear his head but ended up seeing her face in his mind! Her worried face!
As always Arnav Singh Raizada had let his head rule over his heart! His head had found his heart weakening and had taken an immediate decision..... GET OUT OF THERE!!! He had not thought twice about it. But now he couldn't bring himself to erase the thoughts, or the scene which he had witnessed...which kept replaying in his head!
As he reached a fork on the road he made yet another hasty decision......one that he wouldn't regret! He swiveled the car around at the the last moment and headed in the opposite direction!
The blinding headlights were making Khushi lightheaded ,so she thought she was seeing things, when Arnav stepped out of the car . Arnav walked slowly and deliberately towards the group , his jaw set.
Meanwhile Aakash had managed to find the group and had reached just in time to see Arnav get out of his car!
Saying Aakash was shocked, would be an understatement! His brother never did things like this. ASR's life was planned..... nothing unexpected ever happened in his life! But today was proving to be different. Aakash smiled at the thought. He put his phone to his ear and said,"Haan, I found them!"
Arnav was now only inches away from the man who had caught hold of Khushi's hand yet again.
He looked down at the hold and so did the man. Arnav looked up again and said firmly but softly,"Let go!"
The man pretended not to have heard.
"I said LET GO!!!", he bellowed making the duo jump for the second time that day!
The man slowly withdrew his hands from Khushi. She immediately began rubbing her sore arm and backed away from the goon, only to be taken by surprise when a vice like grip held her other arm! Khushi looked around into those chocolate brown eyes and was taken by surprise to see the anger in them. But she was glad that it was not directed at her. It was directed at the other man in front of them.
" The other one too", said Arnav.
This man easily complied and let go of Payal, who ran to hide herself behind Arnav. Arnav gave her a sidelong glance and said, "Get in the car!"
They moved silently towards the car and Arnav gave a final look at the men before turning around.
He hadn't gotten very far when he felt a sharp object poking him on the side of his neck.
"Itni bhi kya jaldi hai?" ,asked the first captor.
Khushi gasped and Payal began sobbing. Aakash who had been watching silently , compromised his hiding and came out. "Bhai!..." he said.
Arnav clenched his fists and gnashed his teeth. Then with a quick move he raised his hand and wrapped it around the blade, unmindful of the fact that the knife was cutting through his flesh! He then turned around and punched the guys face, knocking the breadth out of him, and causing him to fall backwards . The mans grip on the knife loosened and Arnav flung the blade out of reach. The other men tried to grab him and hit him but Arnav was too fast for them.
He punched the first guy in his gut, kneed the second and rammed the third one's head against a nearby tree. The men got up all groggy and tried to have a second go at him, but they failed miserably.
By this time the police got there in their jeeps, sirens blaring! Aakash had placed the call earlier and had told them the location.
The men on seeing the police tried to run , but were too slow and battered and the policemen too quick!
The inspector walked over to Arnav and Aakash," Thank you sirs. These men have been wanted for harassement for the past few months! Thank you again."
Arnav nodded and he and Aakash were about to turn when they heard Payal scream,"Khushi!!!!!!!!........."
Khushi couldn't take the intensity of the drama that was unfolding before her. She fainted! And was just about to slump to the floor when Arnav caught hold of her. The last thing she saw before closing her eyes was her demigod's worried face....and then the world went dark!
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