Chapter 64

In the hall, Arun pulled Sameer into the gang as he wished him. Sameer responded to all of them with a smile as he wished back. When his gaze met Ritika, he just looked away without smiling at her. Though Ritika felt bad, she could understand the reason for his cold behaviour towards her and tried to ignore it.  

A little while later, Sid returned and joined the gang. 

"Where is Roli?" Sid asked, not finding Roli among them. 

"Wasn't she with you?" Ruchi frowned at him. 

"She was. Then I went to attend to a client. But, when I got back to the restroom, she's not there. I thought she'd be here" Sid spoke as the uneasiness in his heart grew. 

Sid then ran his eyes across the hall. But, there was no presence of Roli. Then he left to search for her, leaving his friends worried behind. 

He tried dialling her number but it went unanswered, adding to his worry. Sameer too joined him to search. However, even after searching almost every corner of the hall, they couldn't find any trace of Roli anywhere around. 

"Pick up the phone dammit!" Sid literally lost his cool, finding her nowhere as he continuously tried her phone. And the wild imaginations of what probably could happen, making him worried to death. 

"Should we file a missing complaint?". Sameer asked, being equally worried for Roli. The first thought that crossed his mind after knowing Roli's disappearance was that Ritika might be behind it. But, he noticed that she was in the hall all the while with her friends. So, there was no chance she could do anything while being present before his eyes. So, he erased that thought. 

"No. We don't know where's she and who's behind it if it's a kidnapping. We can't take a risk" a lot of thoughts passed Sid's mind while searching for Roli. He could only hope that none of those was true.  

"Then what are we gonna do now?" Sameer understood Sid's concern but he was clueless about what to do. 

Sid's heart was racing. It had been nearly an hour but he didn't know where Roli was. Every passing second made him more and more restless. The helplessness he felt at the moment was stabbing the core of his heart. 

By now, the whole gang of Sid were in the garden outside along with Sameer. They made sure not to inform about Roli's disappearance to her father or to anybody else yet, to avoid making them worried. 

When Sid was trying to call Roli again, he received a message. And it was from Roli. 

"If you want Roli alive, come to the given address alone. If you act smart then it would only cost her life".

Sid's hand shivered and his jaw clenched tightly as he read the message. He didn't react to avoid the attention. But, he was exploding within. Whoever, the person behind it was, he was sure to kill them. But, before that, he needs to save Roli. 

~×~×~

In an abandoned building, Roli was tied to a chair. She slowly opened her eyes only to find herself in an unknown place. Her vision was blurry as she felt drowsy. 

She heard the door opening followed by footsteps. She looked up and found a woman, who felt oddly familiar. It wasn't until her vision became clear did she recognise the woman. 

"Ritika" Roli whispered as she stared at the woman before her. 

"Wow! So, I do look like Ritika, right?" The woman spoke like an excited kid. 

Only then did Roli realize that her voice didn't sound like Ritika's. But, she still felt that the voice was familiar. As she wondered about it, she saw the woman doing something with her face and then peeling off a mask that looked like a layer of the skin. And what she saw the next moment made her eyes widen. 

After taking off the skin mask, it was a different person. The one who was familiar yet stranger to Roli. 

"Naina" Roli couldn't believe what she has just seen. It was Naina, who had a skin mask on her face that made her look exactly like Ritika. She wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't witnessed it with her own eyes. 

"Yes, I'm Naina. But, you really thought I was Ritika right?". Naina smiled as if she achieved something great. 

Roli suddenly felt like gaining all her consciousness back. "Why am I here?". She asked though she could guess the answer very well. 

"Don't worry, Roli. I'm not gonna hurt you" Naina said calmly. But, it didn't sound as calmly to Roli. 

While Naina continued, "I mean I tried to hurt Ritika before because she got what I can't. When I realized that she just got Sid's friendship but, you got his love, I just can't tell you how terribly I wanted to snatch that from you" Naina's words didn't surprise Roli at all as she knew about Naina. 

"And I planned a lot to separate you both. I tried to kill you in Goa back then. But, all my plans failed. Then I'd come up with this idea" Naina lifted the skin mask as she looked at it with pride.  

"I tried to create misunderstandings between you and Sid by using Ritika's face. With this idea, I could separate you both and also break Sid and Ritika's friendship. My plan did execute well. Do you remember what happened in Ruchi and Nitesh's reception?". Naina looked at Roli, who was shocked listening to her revelations. 

"Was that you?". Roli recalled Sameer blaming Ritika and his argument with Sid. So, that was Naina, not Ritika. But, seeing her face Sameer misunderstood her as Ritika. Thinking of which, Roli got reminded of something else. 

"At the resort.. That was you" Roli recalled the incident from three years ago that caused her trauma till the date. The incident made her away from Sid for three years. 

"You figured it out. I'm impressed" Naina smiled, appreciating. "It was really such a great plan and it worked well too. I've arranged everything from a fake phone call to Sid to bring him out of the room to replacing Sid and your photos with Sid and Ritika's. Well, those photos were edited, not real ones. Sid never clicked photos with any girl alone and I really admire that about him. But, it changed after you entered his life. He did everything for you that he'd never done for anyone else" she paused, disappointment lacing her voice. 

"But, you... you left Sid, misunderstanding the whole situation. That's what I wanted to happen though. But, seeing how easily you misunderstood him, made it clear that you never really understood him. And that made me realise that you don't deserve him" Naina's words made Roli feel so guilty that she didn't know what to respond. 

"I saw him breakdown after you left the country. I witnessed everything he did to contact you. And that made me love him even more though I hated to see him hurt for you. I was always around him, watching him without his notice. I wanted him to forget you. But, even with time passing, it seemed like Sid never let you go from his heart. But, I didn't lose my hope until the day you returned" Naina stopped, staring at Roli. 

"Knowing well about Sid, I knew that it won't take much time for him to get you back in his life. And what I dreaded to happen, actually happened. You both got back together. And that made me so mad to the extent I wanted to kill you. But, then I realized that it wouldn't make any difference. I saw Sid living like a dead body after you left. The same will happen even after you die. There's no place for me in his life no matter what happens".

perhaps for the first time, Roli saw sadness in Naina's eyes. She didn't know what the other was up to. But, she had a premonition that made her restless. 

"So, I decided not to kill you. But, thought of some other great plan. I'm sure it will work" Naina finished with a sigh. 

"What did you plan?". Roli could feel the restlessness in her voice as she asked. Naina just smiled but didn't reply. She then turned around and left the room, leaving Roli in her misery. 

When Naina left the room and reached the hall, she saw Druv waiting for her. 

"Thanks for giving me the invitation card to the party and distracting Sid using your client" Naina said, gratefully as she reached him. 

If Druv hadn't shared the invitation with her, she wouldn't have entered the hall. And to their fate, Sid and Druv had common clients, which made it easy to distract Sid from watching Roli. Naina used that as a chance and abducted Roli while Sid was away. 

"Are you sure your plan would work?" Druv was skeptical. 

"Yeah. It will work. I know Sid. He'll go to any extent to save Roli now" Naina seemed confident.  

"That's great then" Druv smiled wickedly as he couldn't wait to see his biggest rival admit defeat before him. 

A little while later, Naina held Roli's phone and wondered whether to call Sid. Her dilemma didn't last long as she spotted Sid entering the building. 

"Sid!" Naina was so delighted to see Sid. 

"Who else could possibly do this other than you?" Sid stared at Naina as if he had expected her to be the person behind Roli's abduction. 

However, he was surprised to find Druv too at the place. "So, you joined her to go against me?". He glanced at Druv in mockery. 

"Where is Roli?" Sid inquired, turning to Naina. 

"Why do you care for her so much?" Naina felt agitated. She really couldn't understand why he cared and loved Roli so much. 

"Where is she?" Sid really didn't have the patience to have a conversation with her. All he wanted was to find Roli safe and sound. 

"Will tell you. But, before that let me make sure that you haven't come here with police or something" Naina said as she signalled her men to check outside. 

After a few minutes, the men returned and informed that there were none around the place. 

"So, you really came alone" Naina smiled with satisfaction. 

"If you're done with your doubts, tell me where's Roli" Sid glared at her, impatiently. 

"Before I let you see her, you have to agree on a condition" Naina said, calmly. 

"What is it?" Sid gritted his teeth as he tried to control the urge of snapping her neck. 

~×~×~

Inside the room, Roli was feeling restless. She tried to untie the ropes around her but failed. 

Just then the door got opened, letting a person in. Roli's face lit up at the sight of the person she was wishing to see at the moment.

Sid felt his heartache to find Roli tied up in a chair. He rushed to her and untied the ropes, helping her to stand. 

The moment Roli got on her feet, she fell onto his arms, burying her face into his chest. Sid wrapped his arms around her, hugging her as tightly as he could. 

"I thought I wouldn't see you again" Roli sobbed on his chest. She truly thought it was going to be her last day and that Naina would kill her. 

Sid broke the hug, cupped her face in between his palms. "Are you alright?". His voice was so gentle that eased all her worries. 

Roli nodded, holding his arms. Now that he was with her, she wouldn't mind even if she died now. She'd be glad to be able to spend her last moments with him. 

"Are you both done with your scene?" They heard Naina speak and turned to look at her. 

"As promised I did let you see her. Now it's your turn, Sid. Remember the condition" Naina looked at Sid. 

"What condition?" Roli turned to Sid, frowning. While he remained calm. 

"Condition to choose his death to see you and let you leave this place alive. And he agreed to my condition" Naina declared, shaking Roli's entire being.