Part 13 [MEMBERSONLY][NOCOPY]
She turns her head away as he tries to force the tablet. He tugs her hair sharply making her scream. Just as he was about to pop the tablet into her mouth, the door broke down.
Arjun: SHREEE!!!!!............................
Everyone froze. Time ceased in that moment.
Shree, Riya, Riddhima are shocked to see Arjun alive. Sameer and Chotu are shocked to see Riya alive. The girls were shocked to see Shree holding someone captive. There was a stunned silence in the room.
Taking advantage of the moment of surprise, Arjun shoots two men behind Riya. Sameer jolts out his trance. Shree raises his gun but a bullet hits his hand before he could fire. Another hits his leg dropping him to the ground.
Riddhima: Shree!!!!
Ayesha grabs hold of her as Sameer finishes the other two guards. Riya falls to the ground.
She didn’t know what was happening around her. Her eyes were just fixated on Arjun.
Riddhima screams: SECURITY!!!
Arjun: unhe toh humne pehle hi sula diya, woh nahi aane waale
Shree: Tum Zinda Kaise Ho?!!? Maine Tumhe Apne Haathon Se Maara Tha!!!
Arjun smirks: Unlike you, mere paas back-up plans hote hai Shree
Shree’s mind raced. He screams in agony as he recollects Arjun’s informer following him.
Shree: Aapka Admi!!!
Arjun: well woh toh tha hi lekin tumhari pyaari behen jab raaste mein behosh thi tab maine uske kapdo mein transmitter fit kar diya tha
The brother-sister look at each other in shock and then to him.
Arjun turns to Riya. She was sitting on her knees. Her eyes were red, tears stains covered her face even as fresh tears continued to flow. His heart ached to see her in such a condition. He hastened to her and sat on his knees in front of her.
Arjun(softly): Riya?
Rathore too felt like running to her but he knew he had to keep an eye on Shree. Chotu on the other hand was still in shock. Ayesha and other girls looked at each other quizzically. However, neither of them had any answer. They shrugged and tried to make sense of what was going on with the boys.
She gazed at him in a trance. With shivering hands she cupped his face, surprising him. She wanted to scream, wanted to rant but her throat went dry. All she could do was let out a whisper.
Riya: Arjun sir?
Arjun held her hands: ha Riya, main yahi hu
Riya: aap… aap zinda hai?
Arjun smiled lightly understanding her dilemma: ha Riya, main zinda hu
It took her a few seconds to register what he said. She blinked her eyes to make sense of her surroundings. However, her eyes stayed on him.
Riya: aap sach mein zinda hai?
Arjun assures her again: ha Riya, main bilcul theek hu
She is jerked back to reality. Her vision blurs as she throws her arms around him.
Riya: aap zinda hai!!
He hugs her back, comforting her. She holds onto him for dear life. Her body was shivering, still trying to grasp the truth. She thought that he would disappear if she would let go of him. Arjun caressed her back to soothe her. She wasn’t crying anymore, just holding on to him afraid that it was all but a dream, afraid that if she opened her eyes, Shree would reappear in his devil form.
Shree bored holes into the image in front of him. The mere thought of him touching her burnt him from within. And now? Now they were hugging each other like there was no tomorrow. The pain in his heart was a thousand times greater than on his hand and leg. He didn’t care about the blood flowing from the injury. All he could feel was the blood flowing from his injured heart. Unable to control himself any further, he shouts.
Shree: RIYAAA!!!!
His voice brings everyone back to earth.
Her eyes shot open and she saw him on the ground with Rathore pointing a gun at him. Chotu was standing nearby. Arjun broke the hug but continued to hold her close to him. The shift made her look at him. There was fear on her face. He nodded negatively. She clutched his shirt.
Sakshi could no longer take the suspense: guys! What the hell is happening?
Rathore: hume bhi nahi pata (facing Riya) Riya…
Arjun finally lets the cat out of the bag: ha Riya, Riya zinda hai aur Shree ne use kidnap karke rakha hua tha
Chotu: What?!!?
Arjun glanced at Rathore: ha aur main usi ko dhundhne ki koshish kar raha tha, isliye maine tumhe team ko na batane ko kaha tha
Ayesha: Shree, tumne kisi ka kidnap kiya? lekin kyun?!!?
Shree glared at all of them: Kyunki Main Usse Pyaar Karta Hun!!!
His words stun everyone in the room except Riya and Riddhima. Arjun flares up. He feels a new found anger for Shree. He couldn’t bear that he was soiling something as pure as love by calling it a justification for his actions.
Arjun: Pyaar?! Tum Usse Pyaar Karte Ho?! TUM EK PSYCHO HO SHREE!!
Shree: Shut Up!!! Woh Meri Hai Aur Meri Hi Rahegi!! Woh Meri Wazir Hai!!!
Arjun: safed rani kabhi kaale raja ki wazir nahi banti Shree, Banti Hai Toh Bas Uski Maut!!
Sakshi(irritated): oh god! Koi saaf-saaf batayega ki kya ho raha hai? kidnap hui, uska kya? Kaun hai ye Riya? Arjun tumne mujhse isi ka pata mangwaya tha na?
Rathore: tumhe pata tha Sakshi?
Sakshi: Mujhe Pata Hota Toh Puch Kyun Rahi Hoti?!!?
Chotu: par abhi toh tumne kaha ki…
Ayesha scolds the lot of them: OK ENOUGH! I think hume office jaakar baat karni chahiye, Arjun sir aur (glaring) Shree ko bahot saari explanation dene ki zaroorat hai! Rathore sir get a grip on yourself!
Rathore sighs deeply. He glances at Riya. She was still holding on to Arjun. It was probably for the best that they give their minds respite and get a hold of what all was going on. He nods.
Rathore: Chotu Shree ko arrest karo, Liza unke saath niklo immediately, uski goliyaan nikalo! Ayesha Riddhima ko le chalo!
Chotu teared up: sir?
Rathore: Chotu please, control karo
He gulped the lump in his throat. He looked at Shree then at Riya and back to Shree. He couldn’t believe his best friend could do such a thing to another of his best friends. He was holding her captive all these months for love? He even tried to kill Arjun for the same. A tear rolled down his cheek as he handcuffed Shree.
Rathore would have sent Shree to the hospital but he was yearning to know the truth in its entirety. Besides, they were just hand and leg shots. They weren’t very serious.
Arjun: aao Riya
He helped her stand, supporting her by her waist. That’s when he saw blood on her jeans.
Arjun: Riya tumhara khoon beh raha hai
She looked down at the wound and then glanced at him.
Riya: ha woh… thoda
Arjun: thoda?! Had hoti hai Riya!
Arjun picks her up in his arms and brings her outside. Placing her in the back of the SUV’s dickey, he gets the first aid kit. He kneels on the ground and removes his pocket knife. He rips the jeans at her knee and throws the blood stained cloth away. There was a gash on her skin. To his relief, it was not very huge or deep. He starts cleaning the blood.
Rathore arrives and sits beside Riya. She looks at him tearfully.
Riya: Rathore sir
He places a hand on her head: Riya, tum.. tum theek hona?
Arjun answers without looking up: tumhe ye kaunse angle se theek lag rahi hai Rathore? Shakal dekho uski! Aur fir bhi samaj nahi aa raha toh lo, iska pair dekho!
Rathore(irritated): Shut up Rawte!!!
Riya (innocently): aap dono abhi bhi jhagda karte hai?
Arjun was about to apply antiseptic when he heard her words and burst out laughing.
Riya stares at him, half surprised, half entranced. She had never seen him laugh before. Smile yes, but laugh?
Rathore: Rawte agar tune apna muh band nahi kiya toh main tera sar fod dunga! Already mujhe tum par bahot gussa aa raha hai!!!
Arjun: dekha Riya? tumhare Rathore sir kaise khadoos ho gaye hai?
She comes out of her trance. Rathore is about to chew him out when Sakshi comes to them.
Sakshi: woh log nikal gaye, Ayesha bhi Riddhima ko lekar unke saath chali gayi
Rathore nods: hume bhi nikalna chahiye
Arjun: bas 5 minute… Riya davai laga raha hun, thoda jalega
She nods lightly. Rathore holds her hand. Arjun presses the cotton to her leg. Rathore feels her nails dig into his skin as she clenches her eyes shut. Riya winces in pain. He places his hand around her shoulder to comfort her.
Arjun: sorry Riya
He blows over her wound to soothe her pain as he pressed the gauze.
Sakshi catches Rathore’s eye at Arjun’s behavior. He raises his eyebrow. She glances at Riya and wiggles her eyebrow. Rathore recalls Arjun forming a soft corner for Riya. His mind flashed to his desperation in the past few days. Connecting the dots, he nods in response.
Sakshi: oho!!
Rathore: shh!!
The other two did not pay attention to them. They were both occupied with each other’s thoughts. Arjun dressed her wound and stood up. He offered her his hand. She placed her hand in his and he took her to the back seat. He got in beside her.
Sameer sat in the driver seat while Sakshi occupied the one beside him. Arjun held Riya’s hand. She comes out of her thoughts and glances at him. That’s when she processes the stains on his shirt. Her eyes widened in horror.
Riya: ARJUN SIR!!!
Rathore breaks with a jerk hearing her scream. They turn behind.
Arjun: kya hua Riya?
Riya starts getting hyper: khoon…aap…
Arjun glances at his shirt: are ye? Ye khoon nahi hai, ye toh sauce hai (she looks at him quizzically) main bas Shree ke saamne drama kar raha tha
Riya(tensed): aapko chot nahi lagi na?
Arjun: nahi Riya, mujhe kuch nahi hua, tum daro mat
She heaves a sigh of relief.
Rathore shakes his head mv “ye ladki bhi na!” He exchanges a playful smile with Sakshi and starts driving again.
Arjun shifts closer to her wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She closes her eyes as her head rests on his shoulder. The rest of the journey remains silent as he lovingly gazes at her. Rathore and Sakshi were still in the thoughts of Shree and him being guilty. A tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped it off and tried to compose herself. Nevertheless, they continued to flow. Rathore placed his hand on hers. She glanced at him. He nodded a no, squeezing her hand in assurance. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, resting her head against the headrest..............................
A widow, Gauri met her long lost friend Omkara in a family function, who still ...
Life Journey of two people poles apart in career, status and style. One is the ...
Drabbles for Shrimad Ramayana Contest
Comments (1)
View all
Jai Shri Ram @SoniRita
+ 32
2 years ago
Yay Arjun ne bacha liya Riya ko. Poor Chotu had to arrest his best friend Shree. Loved ariya moment.