Three hours later Khushi looked over at her phone and noticed the five waiting messages along with three missed calls. Knowing who it was from, she put her phone away and turned towards Arnav's side to see it empty. Slowly the noise of running water from the bathroom registered in her hazy mind and before she could turn around and go back to sleep, Arnav walked out of the bathroom, towel hanging low on his waist, still fully drenched.

"I know what to do" was all he said before he spilled his plan in front of Khushi.

******

Karan paced his living room madly, almost ready to destroy his phone but the only thought that prevented him from doing so was that that was only number Khushi had and if he was to break that piece of crap, there was no way he would be able to communicate with her. Another message had arrived from Shyam and his anxiousness was increasing by the minute. Before he could call Khushi again, he finally received a text from her with two simple words: Screw off

This time the phone hit the wall with such force that it broke to pieces leaving an indent in the wall, but that didn't simmer down the rage that was building up in him. Karan knew there was only one way out of this.

It was about time he paid a visit to the Raizada mansion.

*******

Shyam restlessly paced his hotel room. It had been over an hour since he had messaged Karan but there had been no response. His men had advised him that Arnav's car was still at home and that nobody had come or gone from the house. Not knowing what was taking so long, he took long strides to the bar and poured himself a drink but before he could drown it, his hands stilled. Being intoxicated was not a good option at this point. As much as he hated to admit his defeat, he knew things weren't going as he had planned. Why couldn't the girl have been a little more stupid? What in hell was Arnav thinking when he had agreed to marry her? Shyam knew all along she was trouble. Khushi was too smart for her own good; hence the reason Shyam had broken her marriage with Karan but he would have never guessed Arnav had feelings for her. The man was too prim and proper and Shyam would have never imagined Arnav to ever have a crush on his best friends fiance. That was unlike Arnav but there was something about that girl that had attracted these two men to her.

As much as Karan loved the girl, Khushi was going to be trouble to have around and today his sixth sense had proven to be right. Looking at her, nobody would guess the smartness that the girl had. She looked like an ordinary, plain girl but Shyam had known better. He could smell an enemy from a mile away. That is how he ran his business and it almost shocked him to think that he was scared of a girl who barely weighed 100 lbs?

What in hell was she still doing at home? Why had Arnav not left for work yet? Had she told him everything? If that was the case, he knew he had to do some damage control. What if Arnav told Anjali everything? Would Anjali confess that she had known everything all along?

She wouldn't. Anjali knew what was right for her and if she hadn't said anything in all these years, now was not the time to do it. None of them had any proof against him including Karan and above all his wife would never agree to any word against him, as she knew what was good for her.

Her dear brother and grandma were at his gunpoint. The day she opened her mouth, Anjali knew Shyam was going to kill them but let her live, let her suffer each day knowing that she was the reason that the two people she loved the most were dead because of her.

Swirling the alcohol in the glass, he walked back to the table just as his phone started ringing and he knew today was not going to be a good day.

********

Khushi sat on the bed looking lost and worried and as much Arnav had said that he was going to take care of everything, something didn't feel right. Catching one of North America's most wanted men could not be this simple. Knowing there was one person that could help them the most, she reached for her phone and called the person who would know what to do. Even though she didn't have any solid proof against Shyam, her dad was not going to say no to her.

Arnav had paced his room, making phone calls to various companies to find audio and video devices that had the capacity to hold the longest voice and video recording and once he was satisfied, he called his manager to pick them up and bring them to his house. At this point, nobody was to be trusted and having any unknown people coming to the house might raise Shyam's suspicion as he was sure that Shyam probably had the house being monitored. The next thing he needed to do was somehow lock his Nani and Di in a room so they didn't come out. If everything worked according to his plan, Karan would be heading over soon enough with Shyam trailing behind. Arnav just hoped that Karan had checked Khushi's message and it had pissed him off enough to make his way over.

Getting off the phone, Khushi looked towards Arnav and told him that her dad was going to put a trace on her phone and that she was going to need to keep it on so that everything anybody said could be heard and recorded. It would raise suspicions if her dad was to come to the house right now and that might keep Shyam away. Her dad was going to bring a private team into town and stay a few blocks away from their house until everything was confirmed. If whatever Arnav and Khushi were saying was right and somehow Shyam admitted it, the team was going to barge into the house and arrest him but until then, they had no grounds against Shyam to arrest him. The man had the cleanest driving record and had no criminal activities on his records.

"You ok?" Arnav asked her as he sat down beside her and gently took her in his arms. All she managed to do was nod before her thoughts went haywire again.

"Stop chewing on your lip. It's going to start bleeding" he laughed as he gently coaxed her bottom lip from between her teeth trying to lighten the mood but he could feel the small tremors from her body.

"I still think you should just stay back in the room. I'll deal with Karan and we'll see what happens after that" he mumbled against her hair as he tightened his hold around her, breathing in the fresh scent of her hair. Even though he knew whatever he was saying was futile, he tried once against just like he had been trying all morning to get her to agree to just stay behind in the room. Karan was probably livid and Arnav knew exactly how he functioned. The last thing Khushi needed to see was Karan in that state and if luck was on their side and Shyam walked in, the sight was most likely not going to be pretty. Karan had probably told Shyam what was going on at this point and the chances of both of them showing up were pretty high. The only question that nagged his mind was what was Karan's involvement in this whole thing? Was he honestly just that jealous that he believed whatever Shyam had told him or was there more to it?

The Karan he knew was not that sensitive. He was a doctor for a living and the guy did have a thick skin so what had Shyam said that had made Karan believe that Arnav had been jealous and against him his whole life? Something in the whole equation wasn't adding up but he didn't want to bother Khushi with that. Khushi's posture told him that she was preparing for the worse and she probably had heard how criminals were taken down by her dad. The last thing she needed was to see anything with her eyes but she was admanant. They both knew Karan was not going to leave till he saw Khushi or till she practically kicked him out. Taking a deep breath, his mind wandered to the past, the good and bad times he had spent with Karan and at this point, if anything, he felt sorry for him. The guy was being used and on what account? That he was in love with Khushi and wanted to be with her? How had their lives turned upside down in the past few months?

He needed to distract himself and her and pulling her towards him, they went over their plan once again, rehearsed everything in the order that her dad had told her and what they had come up with themselves. Today everything was either going to work out for the best or... he didn't want to think about the other option. His sister and Nani were going to be ok but what if something happened to Khushi? He was never going to forgive himself. He had already let her get hurt once infront of his eyes and there was no way he was going to repeat history again but he knew no amount of coaxing was going to back her down. The girl had made up her mind and he did the next thing that came to his mind- he turned her towards himself and kissed her full on the mouth.

"Forget everything for awhile...just feel this" he whispered against her lips as he kissed her slowly, nipping on her lips, taking in her strength and giving her some of his. He wasn't sure how long he kissed her, maybe a few minutes or perhaps it had only been a few seconds before the doorbell rang breaking the silence and Khushi literally jumped in his arms before her wide and almost scared eyes met his.

"You don't have to do this" was all he whispered before she placed her finger on his mouth to silence him. Getting up, she grabbed her phone in one hand and took his hand in her other and walked across the hall, leading the way. On a mission, she stopped briefly infront of Anjali's room to lock the door from the outside along with Nani's.

Turning her phone on, she dialed her dad's number and placed the phone in the front pocket of her hoody before she made it to the door. Arnav watched as she mechanically did everything and his heart soared with love for the woman who had unknowingly got herself into this mess but was willing to do anything to clear his family of this burden. Walking up to the door, she slowly turned the lock but before pulling the door open, she came up on her tiptoes and lightly brushed her lips against his. Pulling back she grinned and giving him a wink, she summed up the reason as to why she was doing this in five plain words.

"Till death do us apart" she whispered before she turned back around and pulled the doors open to welcome the person that they had been waiting for.

"Good morning Karan. What a lovely surprise!" she smiled sweetly at him, infuriating him even more and before Arnav could start with his pleasantaries, Karan butted in.

"If you know what's good for you, go grab your passport Khushi. You don't need anything else and you have five minutes to say your goodbyes" Karan ground out before he looked at Arnav in the eye, waiting for a retort but before Arnav could say anything, he noticed Khushi's hand tightening in Arnav's, indirectly telling him not to say anything.

"Karan, I think you didn't read my message properly this morning. I told you to screw off, which in plain English means get lost. I am not sure what you are doing here, in my husband's house, telling me infront of my husband, to leave him. What gave you the impression that I was going to leave with you?" she asked, buying herself some time just as her dad had told her to do.

"Looks like you forgot our yesterday's conversation Khushi. Your life is in danger in this house. I am sure you have told your husband everything and I am sure your husband would agree on this one with me since your husband is the one feeding the snake under his roof" Karan replied back calmly and it took every inch of willpower for Arnav not to hit him square in the jaw but Khushi's hold on his hand told him that would not be a good idea. They had to be rational right now and above all, they had to prolong this as long as they could till Shyam finally decided to grace their house with his presence and Arnav hoped that he had the strength to deal with the bas***d before things got out of hand.

"Actually Karan, I have a better alternative. Since you seem to know the dirtbag that Shyam is, why don't you help us in getting him arrested hmm?" Khushi asked and despite the circumstances, Arnav almost laughed out loud seeing the innocent eyes that she was using on Karan. If he hadn't know better, he would have thought she was flirting with Karan but as his eyes turned towards Karan to see his expression, his blood almost froze seeing the nervous look on Karan's face but it almost disappeared instantly.

"I don't think so. Are you coming or not?" Karan asked once again, his eyes moving from Arnav to Khushi and Arnav could tell that if they didn't keep this conversation going, Karan was going to walk out any second. Why did it seem like he was scared of Shyam? Arnav looked towards Khushi to see if she was going to handle it but the rage burning in her eyes told him that all her plans of control had went down the drain. Arnav knew he had to keep Karan in the house till Shyam would find out that Karan's car was parked outside. Once the devil found out, there was no way he was not going to walk into this hell.

Karan looked at the two people infront of him that he had loved the most. Arnav was the older brother that he never had and Khushi was the light in his life that he was missing. As tempted as the option was to help them out, he couldn't do it. There was no way he could give everything up that had taken him this long to earn. How did he end up in a spot where he would have to choose between his life and hers? Was he really going to be able to leave her behind as he was suggesting? He didn't think so.

"Why don't we step inside Karan and talk this over. I think there are a lot of things we should discuss before Khushi makes the choice to walk out with you today. And she will not do that till you can prove to me that she will be safe once she walks out" Arnav looked Karan in the face and noticed the hope in his eyes returning while Khushi's head flipped towards him so fast that he thought she probably got a whiplash.

"Why not?" Karan's confidence seemed to be returning but before he walked into the house, he gave Arnav five minutes to ask whatever he wanted.

"Where are you going to take her?" Arnav started the questioning and Karan answered in rapid fire, hoping it would be over soon.

"India"

"Do you have a place there"

"Yes"

"I would like the address"

"I don't think so"

And before Arnav could question any further, Khushi felt her stomach churning and in a flash she ran towards the bathroom to throw up. Karan had actually believed that she was going to leave with him? Somehow, the thought made her stomach boil some more and she heaved again but before she could fall back, Arnav was behind her, his one arm around her stomach holding her up while the other rubbed her back soothingly. He was softly murmuring that everything was going to be ok and Karan stood at the door watching the scene unfold.

All of a sudden, reality hit him like a ton of bricks. These two had been married for so many months now and how had he ever thought that Khushi had never developed feelings for Arnav and was waiting for him instead? How in hell did he become so delusional? Whatever Shyam had told them about their relationship looked nothing like it. Arnav was sitting on the floor with Khushi in his lap, cleaning her mouth with his shirt, gaging her reaction to see if she was going to get sick again. Khushi was comfortably leaning back against Arnav, her hands tightly holding onto the front of his shirt while he helped her clean up and as disgusting as actual scene was, there was something comforting and extremely marital with the way they were both holding each other.

Shyam had used him. For all these months, Shyam had kept him away from any contact with his parents stating that his parents had disowned him and didn't want anything to do with him. Using the excuse that everybody needed some time, he had managed to keep Karan away from everyone. While everybody was against him, the only hope that Shyam had given him was that Khushi was unhappy with Arnav and since she couldn't say no to the marriage back then, she was putting up with Arnav. How in hell had he believed that? Or was it because he had refused to believe anything else that he had seen? The glow on Khushi's face, the jump in her step, how did he miss all that?

She had moved on and as harsh as that was, it was the truth. So who was he to take her away? Karan had always known about Shyam's dislike for Khushi but he had no idea that it was this extreme. No wonder Shyam had broken his marriage to keep Khushi away from the families but his plan backfired when Arnav had stood up and married Khushi. There was no point in thinking about the past and Karan knew he only had a few minutes to fix everything.

"I am ready to help you guys. Let's sit and talk."

Both Arnav and Khushi's heads flipped towards Karan who was standing at the bathroom door, a different look on his face. Before either one could say anything, Karan walked away towards the living area and sat down on one of the couches. His legs were shaking. Was it because all his dreams had shattered within a few minutes? Or was it because of the rage he was feeling for being played? He wasn't sure.

Within a couple of minutes, Arnav and Khushi joined him and he noticed the color returning on Khushi's face as she sat beside Arnav on the couch, who was holding onto her hand. Looking at each other confusedly, Arnav was about to question the change in Karan but he stopped him.

"Don't ask me why I am doing this. You have a few minutes to tell me how I can help you guys and I am willing to do it. I don't have much proof against him. I don't think anyone does but I do have all his text messages saved. I think it's time to get his ass hauled to jail." Karan had barely finished his sentence when the voice from the main entrance shook everyone's world. Shyam stood there, looking smug as ever.

"Not so fast Karan. If I go to jail, so does your ass since I actually have proof that you were the one stealing oxycontin from the hospital and supplying me with it"