27Liar
Part 27 Liar
Arnav was shocked to learn that Arvind had another woman in his life.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Yes, he loved a girl in college, but his father disagreed and forcefully married him to Ratna. At first, he wasn't interested in her, but he had to accept the situation for his family's honor."
"After that?" Arnav interrupted.
"I don't know; I ended our friendship."
"Friendship?"
"We were schoolmates."
"You said he was not interested in marrying Ratna madam. His father was the one who forced him to marry her. So why are you angry with him? He didn't intentionally take Ratna madam from you..."
"I asked him to run away from the wedding, but he refused." He said irritatingly.
"Did he know you were in love with Ratna madam?"
"I wanted to tell him. I waited but remained silent, knowing his wedding was fixed with Ratna."
"Then how is he responsible for it? He could have considered your feelings only if he had known..."
"He knows! I sent him a message about my feelings for Ratna the previous day of his wedding. That was why I asked him to run away from the wedding."
"Are you sure your message reached him?"
"He replied, too. He said he didn't care."
Arnav frowned.
"He was uninterested, yet he wasn't ready to give up?"
"He was jealous. He didn't want my love to succeed; he wanted me to be in the same situation as he was. That's why he didn't give up."
Arnav sighed, realising that Arvind might be a cunning man.
"Didn't you get married?" he asked.
"I did..."
Arnav smiled mockingly.
"I know what you're thinking. You only got married because Ratna was married."
"I don't understand."
"I wanted to divert my mind from Ratna, who was married. It's not our culture to think about a married woman. I couldn't until I got married. But unfortunately, my wife passed away after delivering twins."
Arnav felt terrible for him.
"Come to me, Arnav. I like you very much. You seem straightforward. If you're ready, I'll arrange for my daughter to marry you."
Arnav was stunned. Marriage?
"What do you know about me that makes you ready to marry your daughter off to me?"
"Gorakhpur Guruji sent you. What more do I need to think about?"
"Don't you want to consider your daughter's feelings? I don't even know who she is. How can I agree to marry her?"
"I'm one of the big shots in this area. You are the manager of the palace. Why wouldn't you marry my daughter?"
"You're trying to do the same thing as Ratna madam's brothers. They arranged her marriage to Arvind sir, ignoring your love for her. Please don't do that."
"Do you think my daughter would be in love with someone?"
"No, I'm talking about myself."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm in love with a girl..."
"Oh... Is your marriage already fixed?"
"It's going to be... with Khushi..."
"What, Khushi? The one Arvind raised?"
"Yes, I like her..."
"She has no one, do you know that?"
"Yes, I do. She has no one, just like me."
"For Khushi only, aren't you coming over?"
Arnav nodded thoughtfully while Satyanarayana let out a sigh.
"I really need to head out... it was a pleasure meeting you," Arnav said with a friendly smile as he left.
Although he kept a calm facade, a wave of frustration washed over him regarding Arvind's deceit. Guruji had directed him to Sathya Narayana, so his anger bubbled at the thought of Arvind misleading him and taking him to his palace instead.
The worker walking beside him glanced around nervously. Clearly, no one in the village dared engage with Arvind's Sathya Narayana. While Arvind hadn't explicitly prohibited conversation, the villagers had remained quiet.
"Sir..." the worker began hesitantly.
Arnav looked over, genuinely curious.
"Maybe it's best not to approach him next time."
"Why's that?" Arnav inquired.
"He's seen as Arvind Sir's rival..."
"And so?"
"You're his manager. He could take it the wrong way."
Arnav responded confidently,
"My intentions are genuine. If he misreads them, that's on him." He couldn't help but feel a mix of determination and annoyance.
The worker blinked in surprise,
They saw Arvind instructing the workers when they arrived at the Kala Bairava temple. He smiled at Arnav, who looked tense. The worker accompanying Arnav took quick steps and reached Arvind. He informed him about Arnav's meeting with Satyanarayana, and Arvind was horrified. Arnav had already called him a liar, and Satyanarayana had only worsened matters. Arvind tried to maintain his composure and talk to Arnav, but his expression on Arnav's warned him to keep his distance.
Just as Arvind was about to leave, Arnav stepped before him.
"I need to talk to you," he said, his voice tinged with frustration and anger.
Arvind glanced around, noticing the men working nearby had moved away to give them space.
"Tell me, Arnav," Arvind replied.
"You are repeatedly proving how wrong you are," Arnav said, his tone dangerous.
Arvind remained silent. Khushi, who had come with lunch, noticed their serious expressions and hurried over, shocked to hear Arnav say,
"Why did you lie to me, claiming that Sathyanarayana is your friend?"
Khushi looked at Arvind; her shock was evident in how she swallowed hard.
"He is indeed my friend," Arvind replied calmly.
"No, he is your enemy," Arnav countered emphatically.
"That's your perspective... I don't see him as my enemy," Arvind said.
"You mentioned that he appointed his relative as his manager... Wasn't that a lie?" Arnav pressed.
"Yes, I lied... for my wife. She referred to you as her son. For her sake, I lied," Arvind admitted.
Arnav glared at Khushi, who appeared frightened.
"You were there when he lied, right? You're hiding the truth as well."
"His intentions weren't wrong," Khushi defended, stammering.
"So it's acceptable for him to lie... is that it?" Arnav challenged.
Khushi bowed her head, unable to respond.
"Perfect excuse..." Arnav muttered, then turned to leave. Khushi quickly ran in front of him, blocking his path. Arnav stared at her, his expression rigid.
"Yes, he lied. So what? What did you lose? Did he take anything from you? Didn't he provide you with the best? You met me only because of his lie. Why are you getting angry then? Do you regret meeting me?" Khushi questioned.
Arnav gritted his teeth.
"I'm still here only because of that reason. If you hadn't been here, I would have gone to Sathyanarayana's place when he asked me to join the job. On top of that, he's even ready to marry his daughter to me."
Khushi was shocked to hear that.
"I just ended the alliance and am here, answering your questions..." Arnav continued.
Khushi looked taken aback.
"I wish you would understand me..." he said, walking away.
Khushi stood helplessly, glancing at Arvind, who was wearily rubbing his forehead. Clearly taken aback.
"This is why I asked you not to lie..." Khushi said and left the place.
Arvind didn't feel good as the misunderstanding between him and Arnav grew. He wanted to end this. The only way to do so was to tell him the truth about their relationship. He was unsure about his reaction, yet he wanted to tell him without delay. He decided to announce that after the Kala Bairava Temple festival. He could do that at the festival itself, but he didn't want any confusion to occur at the festival.
Arnav headed to the Kali Temple to meet Pasupathi. He was performing Pooja in the Temple and gestured for Arnav to wait. Arnav nodded and waited. Pasupathi came to him after finishing the Pooja. He took THIRUNEERU (sacred ashes) and filled Arnav's forehead with it. Arnav was stuck as he did that without his permission.
"I know you won't wear thiruneeru..." Pasupathi said.
"Yet, you applied it?"
"Yes, you are going to Shiva's place. Then, how won't you apply it? It's Shiva's significant sign..."
Aranv looked at his reflection in the mirror and saw him looking like a saint.
"Looking like a ROYAL saint..." Pasupathi countered.
Arnav chuckled. Pasupathi gave him Prasad.
"We are going tomorrow. Right?" He asked, taking the Prasad.
"Yeah... we will go. Be ready after the lunch."
"Mmm..." Arnav put the Prasad in his mouth.
"By the way, don't your father's death affect your Pooja?"
"He died in the Temple. This is a PREETHI Pooja, which means making the temple pure, which became impure due to my father's death. If I don't do it, who will?"
"Oh..."
"Come here tomorrow afternoon. I will be ready."
"Ok..." Arnav was about to say something, but Pasupathi gestured him not to.
Arnav raised his brows.
"Khushi is coming", he said in a low tone.
Arnav straightened himself.
To be continued...
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