RagNa SS: Demons [Last Part, Page 41 updt Dec. 16th] - Page 24

"Arre Kalpi, sun zara! Dekh kaun aaya hai - Prem Baba lene aae hai tujhe!" her aai called out as Kalpi picked up her bag and the required files.

"Ji aai! Main bas abhi aati hoon. Just sit him down for a bit!" she called back as she looked at herself in the mirror to do some final touch-ups to the mute make-up.

The fact that Prem was here, in her living room, would never be not-weird for her. Who could blame her? A year and a half ago, she didn't even entertain the idea of being on good terms with him, let alone being reluctant-friends. Few months ago, she had seen him at a cafe, while she was having lunch with Sammy, and she had yet another clash with Prem. So, yes, no one could blame her for being surprised at the reluctant-friendship that they were sporting these days. Notably, it was usually for his clients and her project but that never did stop Prem from investing in small-talk with her. Why? She had no clue. She had initially thought that he had hated her very existence, which was alright with her since he, himself, was a bane of her existence. However, she had noticed off late that he was actually trying to make effort at being civilized towards her. As weird and unexpected as that was, she couldn't exactly be completely unprofessional and shoot his efforts down. If he wanted this project to go smoothly, then she would oblige and keep her snipes to herself. She was professional, after all.

That also didn't mean that she had stopped being careful around him. She still was keen on watching his every move, because it would be completely absurd not to. Her aai, though, was a very different case. Her mother had always made sure that Prem had been fed before he left their house. Imagining, let alone seeing, Prem in the middle of all of the hospitability and domesticity had been a very comical sight. She would need to reprimand her mother about stranger-danger again.

She sipped the last of her morning coffee (because tea wasn't strong enough for the early exhaustion she felt), and turned to leave with Prem. That was the exact moment when she heard an abrupt knock at her door. Wondering who would come so early to their house, she opened the door to reveal her very own boss - Raghav Singhania. Never let it be said that Kalpi's life was not full of dramatic entrances. She sighed, and pulled Raghav aside (outside of the door) so she could have a private conversation with him.

For a minute, she just folded her arms in front of her chest defensively and fixed him with a glare. Because, seriously? How obvious could a person get?

When Raghav merely stared back without saying anything, she threw her arms up in exasperation.

"Sir, why exactly are you here?"

Raghav looked at her dubiously, as if trying to figure out the exact words for what he wanted to say next.

"For the project?" he finished weakly.

"I thought you were already getting all the details from Sammy. I updated him with everything," she glowered quietly.

Raghav looked onto her, unaffected by her obvious anger. "Yes, he did. I just wanted to check-in firsthand. You know, to make sure that everything is going well."

This didn't seem to lessen her popped nerve. Seriously?

"Why? Was setting Sammy as a spy behind my back not enough for you that you had to walk all the way here just to see how I was doing?"

Raghav shrugged. "I drove here."

Kalpi gaped at him. Of all the times to build a humor, Raghav Singhania picked that moment to try at being funny. She sighed.

"That's not the point and you know it."

Raghav still didn't seem to say anything further, other than looking at her with a carefully blank expression.

"So you're not even going to deny the fact that you told Sammy to tail me every time I went with Prem to discuss about the project or about the location."

"Would it make you feel better if I did deny it?" Raghav asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"No it won't," she sighed frustrated, "but could you please trust me a little with this?"

"I do trust you," Raghav says with conviction. "I trust you and that's why I sent Sammy to only watch you from afar." After a moment of silence between them, she heard him sigh in frustration.

"I seriously don't get you sometimes, Kalpi. You're alright with Sammy tailing you and watching you, but you've a problem with me sitting in with you as you discuss this project with Prem?" his voice bristled with something she couldn't really put a finger on.

She shook herself again, snapping her out of her thoughts where she seemed to be paying too much attention to the intonation of Raghav's voice instead of the main point of the conversation.

"It's not that I mind you sitting in with me. When you sent Sammy, I knew that you were just trying to keep a closer eye and I don't blame you for doing that as long as it doesn't interfere with me doing my job. But when you're here in person, it makes me re-think your confidence in my capabilities to handle this project. What else am I supposed to think?" her voice came out a little softer, more vulnerable, than she had intended. She cleared her throat and looked away from his prying eyes.

"It's not you, Kalpi. It's Prem. I don't trust him. I have full faith in you doing your work punctually. But I just don't want him to take advantage of that in anyway."

Before she could ask what exactly he had meant by taking advantage,' her mother had told her to invite Raghav baba inside. She nodded at Raghav and gestured for him to come in.

It will definitely be a long day ahead.

----///----

Raghav was impatiently waiting, when Sammy strode in like a breeze. His smile disappeared as he caught Raghav's expression. He gulped audibly and sat down to brace himself for the onslaught that Raghav was going to bestow upon him. Nothing happened. After few minutes of tense silence, Raghav placed a big stack of files in front of Sammy.

"Sammy, I am not going to be in for the whole day today. So, I need you to look at all of these files and choose our next project client carefully. Since, it seems like we're done with this project soon."

He paused a little so Sammy could look up at him in horror.

"Also, I am going with Prem and Kalpi to meet with the property owner so we can finally come to conclusion about the pricing."

Sammy abruptly stood up, "You don't need me to tail Kalpi today?"

Raghav shook his head negatively. "No, because you will be dealing with Mr. Saxena today!" he exclaimed with an evil glint.

Sammy was already looking terrified at the prospect. Good. Mission accomplished. He may not have a lot of time to deal with Sammy's "slip of tongue" about going on a date - or non-existent date - with Kalpi but he can definitely still take his revenge in small doses. At least, that's what he would have to make-do for now. Yes, he knew Sammy's intentions - the jerk - but that didn't stop all of his previous thoughts, about how he felt when he thought that Sammy and Kalpi were together, from being very unpleasant. No, he deserved to suffer, a little.

"But Raghav! You know that Mr. Saxena always had a problem with me. He seems to have the absurd idea that I am actually leading his daughter on! Like what?"

"And wherever did he get that idea from, Sammy?" Raghav muttered as he rolled his eyes. Sammy's playful, and unintentional, flirting came to bite him. It wasn't the first time, and it certainly won't be the last. Raghav didn't blame Mr. Saxena for being short with Sammy. He would be too, if he had a daughter.

"I am sure you can handle it, Sammy. I have full faith in you," Raghav smirked at him again as he saw Sammy pout.

Before Sammy could say anything else, he left from there. He really had to hurry up if he was planning to catch Kalpi at her home, so he could just tag along with her. That would be less suspicious.

He pulled up in space in front of the chawl, when his phone beeped. He parked his car, and took out his phone to read a text from Sammy.

It said, "Not to foil your plans of having an intervention in Prem's evil plans for Kalpi, but Kalpi may have already noticed that I was tailing her for the past few days. Also, you need to be more vocal about your undying love for her. Else, she would get swept away by Prem. I have been tailing her for quite some time. So, listen to me this time."

Raghav rolled his eyes again. Leave it up to Sammy to always tell important details, like Kalpi already knowing and probably seething in anger due to the fact that Sammy was tailing her, at the last moment. He really needs to have a talk with Sammy about priorities, since Sammy was clearly confused about them.

He steeled himself and made his way upstairs to her door. He could hear familiar voices from inside. Kamla Ma, Kalpi, and...Prem? What was Prem doing here? Raghav scowled as he heard the familiarity with which Prem spoke. It was as if he had visited them more than once or twice. Yes, that was unacceptable. Again, he felt an irrational jealously burning through him as he gave a firm knock at the door.

Of course, all the thoughts of curses and violence went out of the window when he saw Kalpi again. It was rather surreal. It's not like he hadn't seen her after Sammy had told him that they weren't dating. However, it was never at an intimate setting. So, he took all of her in.

Her hairs were still damp from shower, and she had a distinct smell of jasmine. She still had her hand in mid-air from adjusting her bag on her shoulder, and she looked at him, with parted lips, in shock.

Her expression was what shook him out from drinking in her appearance like an addict. It's been far too long since he had last looked at her, like really looked at her. It was a bit overwhelming. He was still slightly shaken when he felt her dragging to the little space right outside of her door towards the right, in order to get some privacy.

When she had merely stood there, looking at him expectantly, he hadn't known what to say other than to just look at her. What exactly could he have said? The way she held his arms as she guided them towards some privacy did funny things to his heart. Her firm and confident grip at him, as if she knew that he wasn't going to shake her off, made his insides bubble with excitement. He knew that she probably didn't even realize, but she was acting like she was staking her claim. On what? Even he had yet to figure out. When had this happen? How could he miss the fact that she wasn't intimidated by him anymore? How could he have missed that it wasn't just all an act to look tough in front of him? She actually had stopped looking to him like a boss she should be weary of, and instead looked onto him as a boss who she could be straightforward with. That was rather...unexpected.

After Kamla Ma called both of them in and sat them down, he could still feel Kalpi's gaze at him. He tried his best to remain calm, but it had seemed impossible. When did he start letting her affect him so much? How could she have so much power over him with just a gaze in his direction? Did she even have an idea of the power she seemed to hold on him? Probably not.

They left the house approximately 20 minutes after he arrived there. Prem had offered Kalpi a ride to the location, where she would meet his client, but Raghav had rebuffed his offer by abruptly claiming that Kalpi will ride with him since he had to discuss some project details with her. Kalpi had remained quiet, thankfully, and walked to the car with him.

The ride to the location had started off very tense. Raghav hadn't known exactly what to ask her about the project, since he already knew everything, and Kalpi seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. After few of his futile attempts at breaking the tense silence, he had also kept mum.

Finally, they were at their destination and Raghav pulled up at the parking spot reserved for "guests." He unbuckled his seatbelt, and was about to get out but Kalpi hand stopped him.

"Raghav, you can't protect me from everything, or everyone. Neither Prem. Nor the world." She removed her hands from his shoulder and went to open her door. "Let me handle him for you. I got this."

When she left, he suddenly felt his insides turn cold. It was as if his gut wrenched as he realized why she offered to handle this project to begin with. For her, it wasn't an opportunity to prove herself to him. It was merely a way of showing that he could depend on her, that he didn't need to deal with all of his problems alone. For how long had this been going on? With her, pursuing things that were in his best interest and with him, avoiding all of that? That realization, right there, was what made it all the more worse.

He got out of car and shook himself out of his reverie. Apparently, his life had chosen that day for him to mull over his past choices. Fine. He could definitely handle those revelations.

They met with the owner of the property and discussed the right price for the investment. They went over the contract that Raghav's company made to make sure he understood the terms and conditions before finalizing the deal. While this went on, Raghav tried his best to let Kalpi have the leash for the project, because he was only there to observe Prem. Everything seemed to have gone without a hitch. The property owner wanted to talk in more details with Raghav privately, so he had separated himself from Kalpi and Prem.

The lunch had been provided, with Raghav and the owner (Mr. Rowther) at one table and Kalpi and Prem at another. When he finally finished talking to Mr. Rowther, he looked up to see what the other two were up to and he soon wished that he hadn't. Prem had said something and Kalpi seemed to have slightly smiled at that. To others, it may have been a casual gesture but he knew her well enough to know what her private smile looked like. They were definitely talking about something intimate.

That gut-wrenching feeling came back to him again and he got up to walk towards them. He felt Kalpi's gaze fall on him as he got in the vicinity, but he only looked at Prem with a tight smile.

Prem turned and gave him a professional smile as well. Huh. When had Prem turned so mellow? He still remembered the sneers thrown at him during their interaction merely a year ago. He sat down on an empty chair, while Kalpi took her last gulp of water before excusing herself to go the bathroom and leaving Raghav alone with Prem. That wouldn't be such a big problem, if Raghav didn't feel angry every time he looked at Prem's face. It was like Pavlovian's conditioning where Prem's face acted as a stimulus to his responsive anger. Of course, that made perfect sense seeing how the Kapoors ruined his family and tried to take advantage of his wealth when he was young. On top of that, he was acting suspiciously friendly around Kalpi as if they had always been on good terms before.

"Raghav, I would really appreciate it if you stop giving me the look that you want to eviscerate me," Prem said, his voice trying (and failing) at being playful.

Raghav smirked. Yes, his plan to keep Prem on his toes was working if he could feel Raghav's glare.

"And I would really appreciate it if you just tell us what it is exactly you want with us," Raghav finished off with a fake smile.

Prem raised his eyebrows at him in confusion. "I thought that was obvious. I mean, you are here to finalize the deal, aren't you? You guys already did your research. There's nothing for me to gain here, other than my normal paycheck. There is no hidden agenda, if that is what you're implying."

Raghav kept his face calculative, void of any other emotions. He didn't want to give Prem any advantages.

"So you're telling me that you're acting so cozily with Kalpi because you're trying to sweeten the deal? Because that is probably the worst way to sweeten any deals with us," Raghav said threateningly.

"Look, I know that my parents haven't been the greatest people. But I am done with them. I don't even live with them anymore. I have my own job, my own life and friends. And Kalpi is one of those friends. We used to be childhood friends, Raghav. I would not want to take advantage of her like that."

Raghav was startled at the sincerity, even though he still kept his expression carefully blank. The last thing he was expecting from Prem was his genuine feeling of camaraderie with Kalpi. He had automatically assumed that he had a hidden agenda and he didn't even realize that Prem could actually just be trying to be friendly.

"Right. Of course, Kalpi was your childhood friend. That would actually sound like the truth if I wasn't around when she went to school. She never even mentioned you as a kid," Raghav finished off skeptically as he saw Prem's smile fall a little.

"Yeah, I wasn't the greatest of friends back then. I hurt her. I said some things to her that I hadn't meant to and that broke our friendship," Prem finished off evidently sad. Which universe did Raghav wake up in, in the morning? Was this real, seriously?

"Look, I don't know what your deal is and I don't know if you're telling the truth. But I have my eyes on you. One mistake Prem and I will ruin you. Without hesitation."

Prem smiled at that. It was a small smile but it was definitely there. Well, that was an unexpected response.

"I know. Don't worry, I already knew that I would get the best-friend' talk from you. Kalpi had mentioned how close you both are. Well, actually she only said that she considered you a close friend but I can tell by the way you're so protective towards her that you really care for her. And don't worry. I am not here to hurt her. If anything, I wish to always cherish her too. I lost her once before. I don't want to lose her again," Prem finished off with a wistful smile on his face as he looked onto Kalpi coming towards them.

Raghav had felt his body jerk in shock. What? Had he just heard Prem confess subtly to him? Was that what was going on? He was interested in Kalpi?! Of course, he was. All of the evidence was right in front of him. The way he always taunted Kalpi was unnatural. If her existence was so insignificant for Prem before then why had he always acknowledged her? It never did make sense to Raghav. Until now. When Kalpi was coming with a casual smile towards them. When had his world become so overwhelming?

"Sir, I hope you don't mind but can we please leave? I have a doctor's appointment that I need to take my mom to. So, if we're done then can we please go?"

Raghav nodded at her and shook Prem's hand before walking towards his car. He opened his car and watched Kalpi's and Prem's interaction. A new realization came to him at that moment. The universe was seriously out to get everything he cherished. He never had asked to get attached. How did he end up getting so territorial about Kalpi, then? He had made sure to not let anyone close to him, because he knew that it would be taken from him. That is exactly what seemed to be happening now. She was slowly being taken from him. This time, however, he had no one to blame but himself. He was the one who pushed her away. He had done the wrong, so he would also have to be the one to right that wrong.

Kalpi made her way and sat in his car. He drove towards her house in silence, old memories slotted in right place and made more and more sense.

They stopped in front of her house, and Kalpi unbuckled herself. Before she could even reach out to open the door, Raghav held her forearm gently. Kalpi looked back at him in surprise.

"You told me in morning that I can't protect you from people or the world. You're right. I can't. But I can still try. I can still watch out for you. Like you do, for me. I can do that, right?" he finished off cautiously. He didn't want to give too much away. Not yet.

Kalpi's eyes widened. "Why?" she whispered.

He wanted to say: Because I don't want anyone to take you away from me. Because I have finally realized that you were always there. Always looking out for me.

Instead, he asked, "Why do you?"

He watched as her face contorted in anger. "Stop doing that!" she said.

He looked at her, perplexed. Doing what?

"Stop deflecting! You know exactly why I do all of this. Raghav, I am not ashamed of admitting that I care for you. I am not the one who's always pushing people away, even when they're only trying to help."

He could hear the "unlike you" that wasn't said in her sentence.

I am not ashamed, he wanted to say, I am just afraid.

"Kalpi," he whispered instead. He wanted to continue further, to speak out his thoughts but he felt his voice get stuck. How was he supposed to tell her that it was more than "care" for him? That he had actually developed feelings that went beyond friendship. What if she didn't feel the same way about him? All of their hard-earned rapport will be for nothing because he would be the one who would've to deal with the aftermath. Amid the dilemma, he momentarily forgot that he was supposed to answer Kalpi.

Her jaw was set and she was looking at him with disappointment.

"Don't do this, Raghav," she whispered so softly that he had strain his ears to hear it. This was the first time she had called him by his name after he hired her, and she looked miserable in that instant. "You already pushed me away once, so don't act like you care all of a sudden. Don't meddle in my life and in my business when you've already made it clear that you don't want anything more than our professional relationship. You don't even call me a friend. I do. I call you a friend and I am willing to go the extra mile. But why are you?"

Raghav had felt a punch to his gut. If only she knew how much he cared. What exactly was he supposed to tell her? He couldn't exactly lie to her about his feelings. That would be unfair and disrespectful towards her when she was trying so hard to be honest. But honesty wasn't exactly an option right there.

Because I can't lose you too, he wanted to say.

"Kalpi, you know why I am doing this. I just want to keep you safe. Why does it have to be more complicated than that?"

Kalpi looked enraged. "Complicated?! You think this is complicated? No, Raghav. This isn't complicated. Project ideas are complicated. Keeping our clients happy with their unusual demands is complicated. Losing your parents at a young age is complicated. This, right now, is not complicated!"

She opened the door of his car, and turned towards it.

"I don't need a knight in shining armor, Raghav. The only ones who have any right to do me favors and protect me are people who consider me their friend at the very least," she hissed at him before getting out and slamming the door behind her.

He jumped at the sound as he saw her make her way towards her house. Once he saw her getting inside the safety of her home, he drove towards his house as his mind reeled with thoughts.

He could feel something being broken. He could feel something being said that he couldn't put his fingers on. He could feel her looking for answers that he wasn't willing to give yet. What could he tell her? How could he tell her? He was older, broken, and with enemies waiting for his demise at every turn. Was he ready to bring her down with him just because she was someone he had come to rely on? Was he really ready to become vulnerable to his enemy, when she had become the one good thing in his life for a very long time? Was she really safe from his enemies?

No, he would first need to take care of his enemies so he could make sure that no harm ever came to her.

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