Chapter Thirty Six

Khushi pondered on what the meaning of the ripped photograph could be. It bothered her the rest of the day, and when she spoke to Arnav - being distracted and having turned her phone back on - Arnav had picked it up. Khushi had shrugged it off, though not so easily as she had hoped, but eventually got him convinced. Their little fight was tossed aside, and the couple ended the night happily.

Khushi was walking around the house to make sure everything was locked up tight, feeling paranoid due to the night before. She went to Aryan's study last, since that was the 'scene of the crime' the night before. All seemed well and Khushi didn't get the feeling that there was someone there. She eventually went to bed, tossing her fear away and hoped for her husband to arrive soon.

But little did Khushi know that the figure knew every secret of Raizada Mansion, and it was only hiding in one of the many secret rooms, this time in the secret room behind the fireplace in the living room. The secret panel opened quietly and it came out into the open. It lurked through the halls, once again its goals repeating in their head.

For as long as the shadow had lurked in these halls, it never had any problems. It roamed around freely and did as it pleased. Never once had it been caught and it enjoyed the few moments it had in Raizada Mansion.

This night was different.

Khushi was having a bad dream, the images too blurry to see. It made absolutely no sense and she woke up with a start. She quickly reached out to get a drink of water, but the jar was empty. Resting her head back against the headboard, Khushi calmed herself. Once her breathing resumed to normal, Khushi got up and took her empty jar with her, down to the kitchen.

The dream no longer bothered Khushi as she no longer could remember what it was about. So she decided not to push herself and no longer thought about it. Khushi went down to the kitchen and filled up the jug with water, as well as a glass. She gulped it down, sighed, and leaned back against the counter.

Her mind now could only think of Arnav. Khushi really missed him and she wanted him home immediately.

I should do something for him, she thought. Surprise him maybe. But what should I do?

Khushi pushed away from the counter and walked out of the kitchen, forgetting the jug of water. She kept wondering on what she could do for Arnav's arrival, when she saw something from the corner of her eyes. Khushi turned towards that direction but she didn't see anything. She thought she had seen something in the main hallway, but when she got there, no one was there.

What the-?

But before she could finish that thought, Khushi saw a little light coming from the prayer room. Curious, she went there and was surprised when she saw a dia lit.

Who lit this?

Khushi was about to observe it, when she felt a presence. She quickly turned around, but she didn't see anyone. However she felt it nearby, so she followed her instinct and went towards the stairs. No one could be seen, but she saw a shadow move by the top of the left staircase. Khushi quickly went upstairs and went down the hall. She turned at the corner, but she didn't see anything.

"Khushi?"

Khushi yelped and turned around to see Divya.

"What are you doing here?"

Khushi looked left and right. "I-I was going down to get water."

"But why are you here? Your room is that way," she said, pointing in the opposite direction.

"I know, I thought I saw something."

"Huh... is that so?"

From the edge in Divya's voice, Khushi could tell something was on the woman's mind. What it was, was a mystery.

Divya looked Khushi up and down and Khushi saw the distaste on her face, not happy with what she was wearing: gray sweatpants and Arnav's black t-shirt.

"Is this the type of clothes you wear every night," she asked.

"Yes," Khushi simply replied.

"Huh," was all the woman said, but the distaste was still evident on her face.

Khushi looked the woman up and down, noting the light pink sari she was wearing. "Do you wear this stuff every night?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. After all Aryan likes... decency."

And this isn't? I knew it! I told Arnav- wait, Arnav knows his father better than anyone else!

"Huh," was all Khushi said this time.

Khushi observed the woman more carefully. Something about her style was familiar, but she couldn't put her finger quite on it.

"Wait, why are you awake," Khushi asked.

"Couldn't sleep," she smiled too cheerfully.

Okay....

"I hope you're not putting Arnav on his toes anymore. My son needs a sane mind," Divya said.

Khushi couldn't help herself. "Your son," she blurted.

Divya cocked an eyebrow.

Khushi scoffed lightly. "I'm sorry about my outburst, but... what?"

Divya crossed her arms. "He's my son. Is that a problem?"

Khushi crossed her arms and tilted her head. "I was right," she said, though more to herself.

"About...?"

Khushi decided it was time to confront the woman. "You love Papa."

Divya's eyes slightly widened, but she quickly recovered. However, not fast enough for Khushi to not notice.

"You love him. You always have and do."

Divya said nothing and Khushi began to walk around her.

"You love him. You fell in love with him the day Papa bumped into you back when you both were in school. However, Papa loved Ma, who happened to be your best friend."

Divya remained quiet, looking forward, while Khushi continued to slowly circle the woman.

"You got married, but I highly doubt you got over your feelings for Papa. And when your husband passed away, Ma brought you here because she loved you. You're her best friend, so of course she'd look after you."

Divya glanced at Khushi from the corner of her eyes.

Khushi paused. "It all worked out for you though, didn't it? Ma passed away, and now here we all are today, you living in the home of the man you love."

Divya turned to face her. "And when did you figure this out?"

"It took some time. But it really began when you were smack talking about me and Ma in the kitchen the other day."

"So you heard," and though she said that calmly, her eyes gave her away.

"Yes."

For a moment, Divya was quiet and looked down. But when she met her eyes back with Khushi's, the woman had transformed. It was as if a mask had been removed from her face.

"So now you know. So? Is that supposed to do something," Divya smirked.

To say that Khushi was surprised, was a joke. It just didn't seem surprising for the woman to just flip a switch within her.

Divya scoffed and began to circle Khushi slowly. "You're right, girl. I do love Aryan. I have since that day. I always did, I do, and I always will."

Khushi looked up at her.

"I'm not someone who gives up so easily, girl. Aryan was mine the moment we met. I loved him first, not Shalini."

Khushi scrunched her eyebrows.

"Oh? Confused? Well let me clear it. When Shalini first moved here, I became her friend. She was the new neighbor so the other girls and I decided to check her out. She was a city girl and she seemed okay, so the other girls and I became her friend. She wanted to see the town, but that day I had to go to my Kala's so I wasn't there when she went to the plaza with the others."

Khushi's eyes widened. That's when Papa met Ma.

"When I got home later that night, I saw the others with Shalini and she looked irritated. At the time I had no idea which guy in town she was talking about. When classes started and she saw him again, she was irritated once more. However before she could show me his face, Aryan and I had our little bump in."

"Making you first..." Khushi muttered.

"Correct. Shalini hated him. Hated! Aryan, one of the most gorgeous men ever!"

Khushi looked at her with wide eyes.

"Don't look at me like that. Where do you think Arnav gets his looks from?"

He also looks like Ma, she defended in her mind.

"I always wanted to tell Aryan how I felt. But him? He never even acknowledged me! All he ever cared about was Shalini and she wouldn't even give him the time of day! Yet I....

"Later that day, Shalini was telling me how she saw him again. She broke off because she saw him again and tried to hide from his sight, but he caught sight of her and came our way. That was when I learned that she was talking about Aryan.

"The entire time, I was looking at him. But Aryan? Aryan was busy teasing Shalini while she wouldn't even look at him! This happened every time-!"

"Well that's not surprising," Khushi said.

Divya's eyes snapped to hers as she stilled.

Khushi shrugged nonchalantly. "To tell you the truth, Papa said he barely acknowledged you. It took a while before he understood that you were Ma's best friend."

Divya fumed.

Khushi shrugged again. "Just telling you what he said."

Divya stepped forward, moving up to Khushi's face. "Listen girl..."

Khushi looked her right into the eyes, daring not to look away, surprised by her own fierceness.

"... what happened back then, happened. But now? Now he's mine. I've been taking care of him for years. I've lived in this house for a long time, making it my own. I raised Arnav like he was my own. I love Aryan-"

"But he doesn't love you."

Divya looked at her with wide eyes.

"No matter what Divya," she said daringly, "Papa will always - always - love Ma. And there's nothing you can do about it."

Divya cracked a smirk. "Oh please honey, all men are alike, no matter what. It's just a matter of time and patience. I'm Aryan's everything, just without a title to our relationship."

"If there's no love, then you can't give it a title."

"We'll see about that."

Divya stepped back and turned away, leaving to go back to her room. Khushi just stood there, however, her body began to boil with anger.

How dare she?! Just who does she think she is?!