~Sadka kiya hai ishq ka~ SS chap30 updated pg147:) - Page 102

J and Udayveer both stood up hearing Manyata's voice. "jiji, main toh-"

"Apni gandi zaban se jiji mat kaho mujhe, chalo jao yahan se!!" Manyata dragged on her arm.

"Manyata, ruko..isko bahar nikalne se pehle iski baat sunlo" Veer said.

Before he could complete the sentence Manyata had almost dragged her to the door and was about to close the door on her face.

"Jiji, main yahan tum dono ko bachane aayi hoon..Veer ise samjhao na..please" J pleaded.

"Tumhari himmat kaise hui ise Veer bulane ki? Yeh mera pati hai mera!! samjhi tu? Apni zindagi toh barbad kar chuki hai, ab mera ghar toh chod de" she spat out in disgust.

"Manyata, chup bilkul chup..ab ek aur shabd nahi bologi tum, isne jo kuch bhi kiya ho; yeh tumhari behen hai..tumhe ise ek aur mauka dena hi hoga" Veer said sternly.

"Pata nahi tune mere Veer par kya jadoo kar diya..Veer mujhe tumse yeh ummeed nahi thi..mujhe kisi ki koi baat nahi sunni..im going" Manyata said and ran to the guest room and banged the door. Veer knew that Manyata wasn't the one to listen to anyone but herself when she was miffed.

"Jijusa..mujhe maaf kardeejiye..main na chate hue bhi aap dono ke jhagde ki wajah ban gayi..mujhe yahan aana hi nahi chahiye tha..main chalti hoon" J said and left without a further word.

That night no one had dinner and both slept in different rooms; perhaps for the first time in their marital life.

****************************

The night was damp and cold and a owl hooted in the distance. There was eerie silence all around and the atmosphere was scary. A girl dressed in a yellow salwar adjusted her dupatta to cover her head. There were no houses around; perhaps she was going somewhere and lost her way. She looked at her watch which glowed in dark. It was 12.30 pm. suddenly she could hear the footsteps of a horse coming towards where she stood. It scared her and she tightly held on to her dupatta which was flying in the wind.

The horse stopped when it was 2 feet away from her. "kya chehra hai bilkul phool jaisa..aur hume phool bade achche lagte hain" he jumped down and pulled her dupatta.

All her efforts went in vain and he devoured her, deflowered her like an animal feasting on its prey. Her screams went unanswered and soon she had no voice left to scream anymore. When he had had enough, he threw her ravaged body into the nearby bushes and got back to his horse, which was a mute witness to the ghastly act that had just taken place.

"Yudhdhaveer ko jo chahiye use woh haasil karke rehta hai.." he threw his head back in laughter.

The torn piece of the cloth that was covering her face flew away and Manyata let out the loudest scream.

'No..NO no..J..JAINANDINI! IT CANNOT BE!'

She opened her eyes and someone touched her arm. Phew! It was Veer and she drew comfort from his nearness. Perhaps he had heard her cries and come to check. The dream kept reappearing again and again and she hardly got sleep that night. Only Veer's arms around her kept her assured.

Next day Manyata went to meet the man who was in charge of the cottage where they were staying currently. After exchanging pleasantries, she asked him about the previous occupants of the cottage. She didn't want to sound too curious but at the same time she wanted to find about Mihika.

"achcha uncle, humare aane se pehle us ghar me koun rehta tha, kuch pata hai aap ko?" she asked.

"Jee, us ghar me ek pariwar rehta tha apni jawan beti ke saath, jo kareeb apke umar ki hogi.."he looked like he wanted to say more but something was stopping him.

"ab kahan rehte hain woh? Yeh ghar kyon choda unhone? Unki beti ka kya naam tha?" Manyata didn't attempt to conceal her curiosity.

"unki beti ka naam Mihika tha..bada hi sundar pariwar tha..na jaane unko kiski nazar lag gayi" he looked about to cry.

"Mihika...achcha toh Mihika unki beti hai, kya aap mujhe unka naya address de sakte hain?" she asked

"Mihika ji..ab hum kya batayein unke baare me..bechari unke saath itna bada hadsa(tragedy) hua aur us hadse me woh chal basi(she died)", jawan beti ka dard maa baap se bardasht nahi hua..aur woh log chale gaye yahan se"

"uncle..aap mujhe sab kuch sahi sahi batayiye ki kya hua tha?" Manyata asked.

"ek din Mihika bitiya apni kisi saheli se milne gayi thi, jungle ke raaste..aate waqt bohot raat hogayi aur woh raasta bhool gayi..kisi jungli janwar ka shikar ban gayi..aur agle din jhadiyon me unka..." He couldn't say more.

A scene was building in her mind. 'Dark night, the forest, lonely girl..her body found in bushes next morning...was it Mihika that she saw last night? Did Yuddhaveer have anything to do with this? Manyata could feel her eyes tearing up seeing the images her mind was bringing up.

Now she had one of hell of a task infront of her. Armaan was waiting for her. Waiting to hear about the love of his life. What would she tell him? before that she had to meet J...

***************************

"Tu chal mere saath, is hotel ke kamre me tu ek minute aur nahi rahegi...chal" Manyata forced her.

"Jiji..aap bhi kamal karti hain..kal aapne mujhe apne ghar se bahar nikala aur ab.."

"haan woh mujhse galati hogayi..abhi tu hamare ghar me rahegi..chal mere saath" Manyata said again.

"Jiji pehle meri baat toh sunlo..main shimla-" "hum dono ko agaah (alert) karne aayi thi" Manyata completed her sentence. "Veer ne mujhe sab bata diya..kal jo maine kiya woh mujhe nahi karna chahiye tha..abhi chalte hain"

After a little pursuation J agreed and both sat in the car.

"achcha jiji..kal toh aap Veer ki koi baat sun nahi rahi thi..phir aaj achanak?" J asked.

At which Manyata told her all about last night's dream and also all which had happened due to the mistaken identity; about Armaan who was yet to know about the tragedy. If she was the old J, this tale couldn't have affected her in the least bit but now she couldn't but shed a few tears of her own.

"Armaan ko yeh baat batane me main bhi aap ki madat karoongi, aap chinta mat keejiye" J promised her.

***********************

Hey guys..this was the twenty ninth chapter...i really hope that you all would like it😊 im noticing that my readers are gradually reducing one by one, its not like they are busy or anything, they are simply not interested anymore..very well..i don't wish to bore anyone so i have decided that i'll end this SS soon, may be in 2-3 parts..i could change my mind if i get the number of 'like's that i deserve😊 sorry if i sounded too harsh..but im serious..

a big big Thank you to all wonderful people who have stayed with me and this SS since its beginning🤗