Chapter 27: Arnav

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What have I done?

The blood drained from Arnav's face as he realized that he'd trapped Khushi in the same house as her tormentor. Shyam had been daring enough while he was at home, staring at Khushi, giving her presents, leering at her when he thought no one was looking. He felt sick as he imagined the things Shyam could have done to her, said to her, while he was gone from the house.

He could have protected Khushi if he'd bothered to learn the truth from her. He could've made sure that Shyam never came anywhere near her.

Khushi had been silent for more than ten minutes now. He shifted, pulling her against him to keep her warm. She was still shivering.

"Khushi, baby," he murmured, "You can stop if you want. I don't need to hear this. I believe you, I don't need you to prove it."

She shuddered, a sob escaping her, and she turned into his chest to cry. He held her closer.

Khushi haltingly told him the rest: Holi, the talent show night, Shyam's conditions, the documents, and Khushi's plan when she hid them.

"But everything went wrong. You were coming to London without telling me, and I couldn't get Shyam to the airport in time. You left, and when I returned to Shantivan, I found that the papers were missing."

"The Shyam started to misbehave with me in earnest. He got bolder by the day in your absence, daring to come into our room uninvited. One morning he showered in our bathroom and stood shirtless in our room, forcing me to speak with him before I could get away."

Arnav's vision blurred. He had to get away from Khushi. He was going to destroy something and he didn't want to hurt her. He hurled himself from the bed.

"Arnav-ji," came Khushi's voice from their bedroom a few minutes later, "you're going to hurt yourself."

Her voice did what no violence could. He calmed. He stood in the lounge, surrounded by wreckage. He'd punched holes into the walls and smashed a glass coffee table. His hands were bleeding.

He returned to her a few minutes later. She reacted to his bleeding knuckles with concern, silently wrapping his hand with a strip torn from the bed sheet before caressing his cheek.

"You have to be more careful," Khushi admonished.

Arnav took her in his arms and settled them back against the bedhead. He thought she'd fallen asleep when she spoke again.

"Tonight I had a dream that Shyam was in our bedroom when you weren't there, and he was coming closer to the bed."

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