Third Person's POV
Anjali hung up the call with Arnav and threw the phone to the wall, breaking it into pieces.
Her face contorted in anger and stormy rage started rising within her when she recalled what he had said to her.
Unable to control herself, she took a showpiece from the table and threw it to the floor, breaking the object.
With the anger coursing through her veins, threatening to consume her, she felt like breaking everything within her reach.
She took a vase from the table this time and was about to throw it when Ridvansh stopped her, holding her wrist.
"What are you doing? Have you gone mad?"
"Yes, I have gone mad, Ridvansh. I really have gone mad."
Concerned seeing her condition, he took the vase off her hand and kept it back on the table.
He then walked her to the couch and made her sit there.
"Take deep breaths, baby. Please calm yourself." He kept rubbing her back as she took deep breaths.
After a while, when she calmed down, Ridvansh kneeled in front of her and held her hands. "Now, tell me. What happened that you became so out of control in your anger?"
"It was Arnav who called me, Ridvansh. He told me to reach Rathore Mansion soon because he is bringing Khushi back there."
"What? How can that happen? Hadn't you convinced Arnav to keep her alone in that house and keep torturing her to break her? Then, why did he change his mind now?" Ridvansh was perplexed.
"Apparently, Khushi has agreed to give him a second chance," she replied to him, and he frowned upon hearing that.
"Even after Arnav raped her and tortured her? How?" Ridvansh asked, fear making its way within him.
Their game would be over if Arnav and Khushi united and if Arnav started trusting Khushi over his sister because Khushi knew too much about them. Enough to send them to prison for life.
"It is all Vivansh's fault. I knew I should not have trusted that dumb head to execute our plan properly. I had instructed him to convince Khushi to run away with him so we could kill her later. But no, he executed our backup plan instead, making Arnav believe that she had been planning to run with him," she said, standing from the couch and pacing back and forth, trying to calm her bubbling anger.
"You, too, had praised Vivansh for doing that. And don't you dare call him a dumb head. He is my brother." Ridvansh also stood up from the floor and walked near her.
"I don't care if he is your brother or whatever. I cannot keep any loose ends, Ridvansh. We need to remove Vivansh and Sabita before they expose us.
"I can't help but smell something fishy here. Why hasn't Khushi said anything about me to Arnav? Why did she suddenly decide to give Arnav a second chance? And why is she returning to Rathore mansion when she has gotten nothing but humiliation and disrespect from that place?
"I can feel she is planning something, Ridvansh. That is why we need to be extra careful from now. I guess it is time to make Vivansh and Sabita our numbers 31 and 32," she finished, and Ridvansh was shocked, hearing her.
"What the hell? You want to kill my brother? How can you even insinuate something like that?" Ridvansh fumed.
"I already said I don't care if he is your brother. You know me, Ridvansh. I am too selfish. When it comes to choosing between me and everyone else, I will always choose myself." She folded her hands over her chest, looking at Ridvansh in a way as if daring him to go against her.
Looking at her haughty demeanor, Ridvansh understood she would not back down easily.
But he will have to think of another way. He cannot sacrifice his own brother to cover up their crimes.
***********
Khushi
Entering the Rathore Mansion, I looked at the stoic faces of everyone as they welcomed her and Arnav.
Ishwari Rathore, Arnav's maternal grandmother and matriarch of the family, looked as if she swallowed something bitter. Her wrinkly face clearly showed the disappointment she felt from within on seeing me walking inside her house as the eldest daughter-in-law of the family.
Prativa Rathore, Arnav's aunt, did not hesitate to voice her opinion about me. "I hope you know what you are doing, Arnav. Bringing the filth back into our house will only bring misfortune to us."
"Prativa, what are you saying? Khushi is Arnav's wife now and a daughter-in-law of this house. Also, Arnav has already explained to us she had been innocent the whole time. It was Niranjan who had done wrong, not Khushi. And now, instead of apologizing and welcoming her into our house, you are taunting her?" Mahesh Rathore, Arnav's uncle and Prativa's husband, said, and I almost opened my mouth to answer him back.
They want to apologize to me now because they know I am innocent. Had they not known that would they have realized the extent of their crime?
I did not have to think about the answer even for a second because I knew no one would have realized it.
How can these people be so shameless? Just how?
They had heard their son abusing me in this same house but had remained mute because they thought I deserved it for doing what I did.
Yes, it was false blame on me. But even if it was true, how could they let that happen to me? Instead of calling the police and doing things correctly, they condemned me to hell, where Arnav kept torturing me.
And now, even when they know I am innocent, no one except for Mahesh looked sympathetic toward me.
Although I did not want anyone's sympathy, empathy, or love, I had thought this bunch of fools would at least look remorseful for misunderstanding me and misbehaving with me. But these shameless idiots looked anything but sorry, not even a tiny amount of guilty expression marring their faces.
When Prativa called me filth, it definitely raised my anger. But her other statement made that anger dampen a bit because she is not entirely wrong.
I will indeed bring misfortune to each person living in the Rathore Mansion. I will not spare anyone.
Ishwari Rathore's voice brought me out of my reverie.
"I agree it had been Niranjan who was wrong. But Khushi must have done something to provoke him. Who knows how she used to dress and behave in the university?" She said, and I fisted my hands to curb my anger.
It is not the time to lose my senses in anger and ruin my plan. I need to tread carefully for now.
"Your grandmother is right, Arnav. Agreed that Khushi did not do anything wrong in Niranjan's case does not mean her character is pure and she is virtuous. How can you bring her back here? What if she started to seduce my son and ruin his married life?" Prativa, the kiss-ass daughter-in-law of Ishwari, spoke.
I controlled my urge to roll my eyes and shake my head at the thoughts of these ladies.
What people say is indeed true. Sometimes, a woman is another woman's worst enemy.
Instead of supporting me, these ladies are trying to justify Niranjan's crimes by throwing dirt on my character.
Well, at least Prativa and Ishwari are outsiders. They do not know me so well. When my sister, oops, ex-sister, who had known me for many years, did not trust and support me, how could I even complain about outsiders not sticking up for me?
Even now, as Priya stood behind her mother-in-law, with her husband, Aashish Rathore, by her side, I could see the hatred for me on her face.
She had nothing but contempt for me written all over her face as she kept staring at me.
"I don't care what you think about Khushi. She is my wife now, and she will stay with me here. I don't want any arguments in this matter.
"And please tell the servants to inform me when Anjali returns. I need to speak with her." Saying that to everyone in the living room, Arnav turned to me.
"Let's go to our room, Khushi," he said and started walking ahead, expecting me to follow him.
Giving a fake small smile to everyone standing there, I followed Arnav mutely.
To make Rathores fall to their knees, I must first make Arnav dance to my tunes.
This time he did not stand up for me, did not defend me in front of his family, and did not berate them for badmouthing me. But that will change soon.
After all, they, too, need to see how it feels to be on the receiving end of the blow.
They have scathed me to the point of it being intolerable, so it is now their turn to face my wrath.
But for all that to happen, I need to start the first part of my plan.
Looking up at Arnav ascending the stairs, my lips curved into a slight smirk. 'Time to start my plan so you and your family can get what you all deserve, my not at all dear husband.'