The Raizada dining room was a frozen tableau, Khushi’s haunting smile and deliberate clap echoing like a war drum. Her eyes, red with tears and rage, held the family captive as she leaned forward, her voice steady but laced with a bitter edge. “So, let’s start the story of Khushi Kumari Gupta’s ruin,” she repeated, her words a challenge, a blade cutting through the silence. The faint creak of the front door and the unnoticed footsteps faded into the background, irrelevant against the weight of her truth.
Khushi’s gaze swept across the Raizadas—Nani’s trembling hands, Anjali’s tear-streaked face, Payal’s desperate grip on her hand, Akash’s bowed head, Manorama’s pale shock, and Arnav’s clenched fists. Her bandaged foot throbbed, but her resolve was iron. She began, her voice low, raw, each word a piece of her shattered heart laid bare.
“It started in Sheesh Mahal,” she said, her eyes distant, reliving the moment. “I crashed into Arnav Singh Raizada’s world, a small-town girl in a lehenga, ruining his fashion show. He humiliated me, called me a nobody. I thought that was okay , fine just another bad day and a accident .” She paused, her lips twitching with a bitter smile. “But Devi Maiyya had other plans or should i say arnav singh raizada had other plan . He gave the video of me crashing in his arms and made it viral , result , kushi got exposed and became the target , Shyam saved me from goons that night, a hero in my eyes, agood man then I came to Delhi, worked for ASR, challenged , humiliated and tortured at every step , Shyam entering Gupta Sadan as a paying guest Payal and Akash fall in love, their engagement a flicker of hope. Me getting engaged to Shyam, believing in his kindness, then exposed to his truth . my doubts. But then…” Her voice cracked, her eyes locking onto Anjali. “Your mangalsutra broke, Di. You lost your mind, and I saw your obsession, with Shyam, she looks at Anjali bitterly and said " whatever is the condition of my babu ji , is a doing of your believed husband Anjali Jha. "
Anjali’s breath hitched, her hands clutching her shawl, Khushi’s gaze hardened, shifting to Arnav. “And you, Arnavji, you saw it too at the terrace You knew Shyam was a snake, but instead of telling Di, you blackmailed me. A six-month contract marriage to save Payal’s wedding, to protect your sister’s perfect world. You caged me, broke me, forced me to lie at every step .” Her voice trembled, tears spilling, but her fire burned brighter. “I carried your secrets, your guilt, your family’s honor , saved your life , and what did I get? Insults, blame, Phatti Sari!”
The room was a graveyard of silence, her words a thunderbolt that stunned the Raizadas.
Kushi looked at arnav with a moch in her eyes " actually , what did you get arnav ji ?" Arnav looks stunned at kushi with confusion . Kushi nods and asks " yes , arnav ji . " what did you get ? " doing all the six month marriage contract , protect your di , earlier working hard to make sure your di has a nice princess life , then almost dying , shyams doing and then your DI calling you a lier , not believing a single word , not giving you a benefit of doubt ."
Nani’s cane slipped, her eyes wide with horror at the web of secrets woven under their roof. Payal’s tears fell, her hand squeezing Khushi’s, her heart breaking for her sister’s sacrifices. Akash’s face reddened, his silence a heavier burden, his mother’s accusations now a mirror of his own failure. Anjali’s sobs quieted, her mind reeling with the truth about Shyam, the contract marriage, her brother’s role in Khushi’s ruin. Arnav’s head remained bowed, his knuckles white, his guilt a suffocating weight he couldn’t escape.
Manorama, her usual bravado shattered, found her voice, but it lacked her signature accent, her tone uncharacteristically serious. “Khushi, you’re getting very offended about everything today. Why should anybody believe you now? Yesterday, you exposed your own truth, admitted to seducing our Damadji. Is this just another drama to clear your name?”
The room held its breath, the weight of Mami’s question a dagger aimed at Khushi’s heart. Khushi’s lips parted, a hysterical laugh bubbling up, sharp and jagged, filling the silence with its raw edge. She laughed until her chest heaved, her bandaged foot trembling, her eyes blazing red as she locked them onto Manorama. The laughter died, replaced by a chilling intensity, her voice a low, venomous hiss. “I so much hate you Raizadas.”
Arnav, his head bowed, his knuckles white, felt the sting of Khushi’s words cut deeper than any blade. Her hate, her pain, his guilt—it was suffocating. He couldn’t stay silent anymore. He raised his head, his eyes glistening with unshed tears, his voice low but steady, cutting through the tension. “Khushi’s not lying,” he said, his gaze locking onto Manorama, then sweeping across the stunned family. “If Khushi’s lying, then I’m lying too. What do you think, Mami? Am I lying?”
Manorama’s lips parted, her usual bravado faltering. “Arnav, bitwa…” she began, her voice weak, lacking its usual accent, but Arnav’s sharp glare stopped her cold. “No, Mami. Enough.” His tone was final, his eyes burning with a mix of guilt and resolve. He stepped forward, moving from his place behind Khushi’s chair, his presence commanding the room. He looked at each Raizada—Nani’s trembling hands, Anjali’s tear-streaked face, Akash’s shameful silence, Payal’s clenched fists—before speaking again, his voice steady but heavy with truth.
“Things were always wrong in front of us,” Arnav said, his words deliberate, each one a crack in the family’s façade. “But we never pointed it out. Why? Because it was easier to ignore, to pretend everything was fine.” He turned to Anjali, his expression softening but his voice firm. “Di, Shyam claims he’s a big lawyer. But where’s his office? Have any of us seen it? He’s always on ‘business trips,’ but why hasn’t he ever taken you with him? Wives accompany their husbands, Di. They do.” His eyes held hers, pleading for her to see the truth she’d buried.
Anjali’s breath hitched, her hands clutching her shawl, her eyes wide with a dawning realization. Arnav pressed on, his voice growing sharper. “This house, Di—everything here is yours. Shyam claims he earns so much, but has he ever handed you cash, any property, anything concrete? It’s *your* house, Di, but why don’t you have any record of his money? Why is there no trace of his so-called success?”
The room was stunned into silence, Arnav’s questions a bombshell that shattered the illusion of Shyam’s benevolence. Nani’s cane trembled, her eyes wide with shock, the truth she’d ignored now glaringly obvious. Payal’s grip on Khushi’s hand tightened, her own anger mingling with disbelief at how much they’d all missed. Akash’s face reddened further, his silence a louder confession of his complicity. Manorama’s hands fidgeted, her gold bangles clinking faintly, her earlier accusation now a hollow echo.
Khushi, still seated, her bandaged foot throbbing, stared at Arnav with one brow arched, her blazing eyes softening with a flicker of surprise. *Where did this man get a tongue?* she thought, stunned. *And sense?* She’d never considered these questions about Shyam—his office, his trips, his money. Her own rage had been fueled by her pain, her sacrifices, but Arnav’s words were surgical, slicing through the Raizadas’ blindness with a clarity she hadn’t thought to wield. For a moment, her hate wavered, replaced by a grudging respect, though her heart remained guarded, her wounds too raw to forgive.
Kushi then sighed and got up , and then she held payals hand and said ," jiji , let's leave from here , these people don't deserve you. Kushi held Payal hand about to turn towards the door but Payal is stuck at her palace as Akash hold her at palace.
Kushi looks at Payal, Payal looks at Akash. Akash is looking at kushi .
While the spectators near the door still ignored , not seen but a whirlwind of emotions is stirred there.
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The guest at the doors are still a secret .
So , what's gonna happen next , Payal gonna move or not.
Is kushi proposal to Payal right.
After a boring episode comes a lot of drama ).
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