RagNa SS: Demons [Last Part, Page 41 updt Dec. 16th] - Page 28

"It's just what we feared, Raghav."

Raghav pursed his lips and looked at Sammy. "Are all the documents ready for the takeover?"

"Yeah, they are," Sammy said as he placed a file on Raghav's desk.

"Good! We need to do it as soon as we can. Today, it was just one scrape on Kalpi from the accident. They can do even worse things to her next time, Sammy. And I can't take that risk!"

"Raghav, have you ever thought that maybe this isn't because of you? That maybe this time it could be because of Prem? Maybe Kapoors don't want Prem, their only son, to get involved with some girl from a chawl? I mean you did ask Prem how that happened, remember? Even he didn't remember anything else except the plate number of the car that hit them over the curb. It was registered to the Kapoors. You saw how furious Prem himself was."

Raghav sighed. It didn't matter what the reason was. It didn't matter what Prem's reaction was, or if Prem was doing any retaliation to his parents for their misgivings. The important part was that the Kapoors were slowly getting to him, hurting everything and everyone he cared for.

"Doesn't matter! We've finally been able to come to final step of this hostile takeover. Kapoor Industries will be ours in no time," Raghav said triumphantly.

"Raghav, it does matter. Don't you see? Prem has clearly made it obvious to his family that he's considering Kalpi. You need to take some sort of stand too! Even Pakhi seems to think so."

The idea of Pakhi actually taking Raghav's side on this was shocking to Raghav himself, but that just made the situation all the more intense. He could feel Kalpi being taken away from him, slowly and tactfully. That's why he had to do this soon. If he couldn't have her, he had to make sure that she would be safe with whoever she was with - even if that person was Prem Kapoor. And even if that meant that he would have to always live with the fact that Kalpi wouldn't ever be his. However, he couldn't take the risk of any other harm coming to her because of her proximity to him.

Deep in his thoughts, Raghav barely even heard Sammy saying, "Alright, I will start getting the lawyers ready!"

-----

"Sir?" a wrecked voice of kalpi jolted Raghav out of the work he was engrossed in on his laptop.

He sat up straighter in his chair, only to realize that the building had been long emptied by the employees working there.

"Kalpi? What are you doing here?" he asked worried, as he completely stopped working and started to stand up. She should be home, resting and healing from her injuries.

He could tell that Kalpi was limping towards his table, so he quickly went to her side to support her. When he moved to guide her towards the sofa, she shied away from his touch.

That stung. He moved his hands away, but still hovered nearby as she limped towards his comfortable couch. After she sat down, he walked and sat on the center table in front of his couch, facing Kalpi.

"Hey, what are you doing here? It's late. You shouldn't be here."

"Sir. Raghav sir. Listen to me." His worry strengthened when he heard the quiver in her voice. What had brought upon this change? She was fine earlier when he last saw her at the hospital. He nodded at her and gestured her to continue on.

"Aai wants me to say 'yes' to Prem. She is already making all these plans. And I can't seem to say 'no' to her, seeing her so happy after such a long time. I.." she hesitated.

Why was she telling him this? Wasn't she more open to Sammy about these things?

"I tried contacting Sammy but I can't get in touch with him for some reason," she said on instinct, as if answering his question. Of course, that was entirely his fault since he did send Sammy to get some important documents and an airtight contract, which contains no loopholes to be taken advantage of, for the takeover that they were going to do in few days. Of course, that also meant that Sammy had his phone turned off, being momentarily disconnected from the rest of the world.

"Yeah, he went to take care of some business for me."

Kalpi exhaled a sigh, sounding defeated. "This is stupid. So stupid! I mean, it's very unprofessional of me. I apologize again." She began to get up quickly but winced right away. Her leg wasn't exactly in the best of positions right now. She sat back down, almost by reflex, to avoid the pain shoot up again.

"Sorry, sir. I will just leave as soon as the pain goes down a bit. I only came to see if Sammy was in the office right now. You can go back to work now. I promise to make myself scarce. You won't even know that I am here."

In that particular moment, Raghav's heart ached. The girl that he had wanted to protect so much only misunderstood him more and more. She took his care for kindness, his speechlessness for cowardice, and his love for indifference.

He lightly brushed his hands on the side of her face and slowly caressed her cheeks. She looked into his piercing gaze with her reluctant chocolate brown ones. For a second, he was just staring at her with all the care and affection that he felt for her. He had never been a man of a lot of words.

"Kalpi, it's okay. For god's sake, stop bringing professionalism in this!" he said exasperated. "There's seriously nothing professional about our relationship," he muttered.

Kalpi's eyes widened but she didn't say anything, as if waiting for Sammy to pop out from any corner only to declare all of this a joke. Of course, that didn't happen. Sammy wasn't even in the office.

"Stop looking at me like that! I am just so tired of this. I just can't do this anymore," his voice came out sounding softer and more helpless than he had intended.

"Do what, sir?"

"Stop...for just one second, stop calling me 'sir,' Kalpi." He exhaled loudly and looked at her surprised expression. "Is that all I am to you?" he regretted those words as soon as they came out of his mouth. He wasn't supposed to reveal so much so soon. He hadn't even gone through with his plan, to takeover Kapoor industries and put the Kapoors behind bars for embezzlement from their own clients, yet. They were still a threat. For all he knew, the Kapoors would take yet another person from him. However, he could feel emotions bubbling inside of him - emotions that he had tried so hard to keep at bay.

After a moment of stunned silence, he cleared his throat and closed his eyes.

"Kalpi, you're wrong, you know."

"Wrong?" she questioned a little defensively.

He kept his eyes closed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to look at the rejection or horror in her eyes, if she were to figure out his feelings, after what he was about to say next.

"I am not ashamed of admitting that I care for you," he whispered as he pressed his forehead to hers for support. He felt her breath hitch but he couldn't find it in himself to move away, at least not for few more moments.

"Raghav," she whispered. "Will you honestly answer something for me?"

"Yes," he eventually replied, his heart leaping to his throat with anticipation.

"Do you think I should say 'yes' to Prem?"

Raghav could feel his insides tighten, and he wanted to recoil from her in horror. However, he couldn't begin to do that after he finally got up the courage to be this close to her.

"He will be good for you and your family," he replied cautiously, trying to avoid bringing his feelings into this.

"Raghav, no. Stop deflecting! I know what would be good for me and my family. You don't need to iterate that for me. Answer this for me: What do you think?" she asked with more conviction.

"You should do what you want," he said in a hushed tone again, fearing that any louder would give away what he was pleading from her.

"You know exactly what I want, Raghav. Tell me. What do you think I should do?" she asked again.

He didn't say anything in reply. He only pressed closer to her, until he could feel her breath ghost over his face. The proximity wasn't helping his brain cells, so he slowly moved away to look at her. Oh, how he wanted to tell her everything. How he wanted to use this particular moment and tell Kalpi how unsuitable Prem would be for her, regardless of Prem's prolonged childhood crush on her (because Sammy had let his brief conversation with Pakhi known to Raghav - if only to make him insecure - before leaving for Raghav's work).

"From the moment you entered my life, all of my plans got ruined one by one," he said a little louder, breaking the blanket of private moment from few seconds ago.

Kalpi furrowed her brow in confusion, but he continued. "I was supposed to come back to India and work towards bettering my company with Sammy's help. I was supposed to ruin all of my enemies who destroyed my family and took all that I held dear. I was supposed to be ruthless."

He exhaled again, to say the next part, knowing that the next sentence may make his feelings clear. "And I was supposed to fall for Pakhi and marry her. And don't get me wrong. I never intended to hurt Pakhi. I was going to be a good husband to her and keep her happy, after revealing her parents' true colors to her. I wasn't planning to make her suffer in any way. I was going to be good to her."

He saw Kalpi's eyes widen in horror. He saw her gulp and avert her gaze from him. She probably felt disgusted by his feelings for her. Why wouldn't she? She merely saw him as a friend. However, he wasn't going to stop without finishing what he started. It was already in the open. It was better that she knew and kept her distance.

"But then you came in the picture. Every time I tried to value Pakhi more or make better connections with my enemies, one thing or another would bring me to you. You were always there, standing in my way towards my goal. To be honest, I felt so frustrated with you!" Raghav could hear the fondness in his voice, remembering the night she had gotten stuck in the storeroom and he had been in the office after a disastrous date with Pakhi.

He saw Kalpi look crestfallen and outright guilty. That wasn't exactly what he had been expecting at all.

"You were always there, like a constant force, waiting to step in my way. So, I tried everything to get what I needed without encountering you in my way." He paused and reached for Kalpi's face again. He gently nudged her chin upward so she could look him in the eye. "When I started finding different ways to get the same things I wanted, I realized that there was a better way. I realized that I didn't exactly need to involve Pakhi. Everything was going smoothly."

"Was?" Kalpi questioned, even before he could catch himself. Of course, he couldn't lie to her at that moment especially with the open expression she was looking at him with.

"Yeah, was. You asked me if you should marry Prem. I think he's good for you and you have all the right reasons to marry him," he saw her expression turn blank when he said that. He gulped.

"Prem will give you things that I don't think I can. He will give you a life that I don't think you can have with me. I have a lot of enemies. A lot of people looking to hurt me at every corner. I have a lot of people waiting to hurt the people I care about. You will be happier and safer with Prem. So, I think you should go to him for all of those right reasons."

He couldn't keep on looking into her eyes again, so he started to get up but she held his hand and made him look at her.

"Then, tell me one reason why I shouldn't. I don't care if it's a right one or wrong one."

"Kalpi...please just--" Kalpi put a finger on his lips in determination.

"Raghav, for one second, just for one small moment, pretend that there's no one else you have to think about. In this moment, pretend like you've no baggage or enemies or any sort of past that deems you unworthy of me. Pretend like we're just two people talking, existing. So, let's try again. How do you really think I should reply to Prem?"

"Kalpi, that doesn't matter. That's not going to change anything!"

"Raghav. Just for my sake." He inhaled again, and closed his eyes.

"No," he croaked. "Don't go." And his nerve skyrocketed at the sensation of her tightening grip that was holding him down.

"Why?" Kalpi whispered, her voice closer than he had remembered her being few seconds ago.

"Because," he took a shaky breath, "I don't want to lose you too."

He felt her trace her finger from his hand to his cheek. She slowly settled into a caress against his jaw and he held his breath.

"And?" she prompted, as if not wanting to leave anything up to imagination.

"And...I love you," he whispered, shaky and terrified.

He felt her release a relieved and tremulous breath as well. Before he knew, he felt her breath ghosting against his forehead.

"Did you know what was the last thing I thought of when I fell unconscious right after the accident?"

He gulped and gently pressed his thumb in soothing circles onto her waist. "What?" he asked softly.

"That the last few moments that I spent with you were spent on fighting. I don't want to fight anymore, Raghav." He could feel the quiver in his voice. He had heard the same in his as well.

"I know. When I heard that you got into an accident, I broke out of the office so quickly. I almost forgot to take my car because I was running in such a rush. I was so scared that I was about to lose you. That it would be the last time I would get to see you," he chuckled humorlessly.

He could feel Kalpi's grip tighten on him. It was a nice assurance. After another few brief moments, she spoke up again.

"I love you too. I have. For a very long time now," she said as she sighed contently, gently pressing her lips to his forehead.

"Yeah?" he found himself saying, completely caught off-guard.

"Yeah," she huffed out a soft laugh.

He slowly brought up his arms and wrapped it around her small frame, bringing her even closer to him. After few moments, he felt her arms snaking around him as well. He could feel her weight on him, and he realized that she was shaking. They were both shaking, overwhelmed with the emotions that they had just spoken of. He pressed her closer, adjusting her in a more comfortable position so she doesn't hurt her legs any further.

"Why did you never say anything?" Kalpi asked after few moments.

"What if something happened to you because of me?" he said scared. He buried his head in the crook of her neck and inhaled her heady scent.

They just stayed like that for few more moments.

"Nothing will happen to me, Raghav. And even if it did, it won't be your fault." She pressed her right hand in his hair and massaged it gently. That was when he realized that that her neck was damp as well as his cheeks. He hadn't even thought about the extent to which he was terrified of losing her.

"You don't know that," he breathed out. "We can't do this Kalpi. You're not safe with me."

"Raghav, stop it!" Kalpi told him firmly. "I wasn't going to say 'yes' to Prem anyways. I only came to ask Sammy how to gently turn down Prem and explain it to Aai so she doesn't feel completely broken about it. She's been so disheartened when you stopped coming. Prem made her laugh and she was beginning to get over the fact that you were not the same anymore. That's why I didn't know how to turn him down."

She took a deep breath and broke out of the warmth of his arms. "Prem is a great guy. He has changed so much for the better and I am proud of him. But I am not leaving you. I have never left you alone before, so what makes you think I will do that now?"

Before Raghav could say anything further, she continued, "Don't push me away again, Raghav. Let's do this together. The safest place for me is not with someone else. It's with you. Because no one will ever think of my safety as much as you. You know that. I know that. Sammy knows that! You've always come to me when I needed you, even when you didn't want to. So, what gave you the absurd idea that I will be safer somewhere else?"

As self-destructive as Raghav was, he knew when he was losing the argument. And, really, this was one argument he didn't mind losing at all. He smiled affectionately at her and beckoned her to come even closer.

"Thank you," he quietly mouthed as he felt a grin splitting on his face. For once in his life, he wasn't left alone to battle his demons.

Some clarification: Raghav's and Sammy's conversation with Prem about the accident isn't explicitly shown in the part due to its already long length. However, what happened was that Raghav and Sammy both confronted and asked Prem in detail whatever happened that caused the accident when Prem was driving Kalpi to work. Prem only saw the car's plate number, the one that hit them and ran. Raghav and Sammy dug really really deep and found that Kapoors caused the accident. They pressed charges against the Kapoors regarding that, along with the embezzlement charge to put the Kapoor seniors in jail for good!

Lastly, The song "Demons" by Imagine Dragons (you guys should totally listen to it!) has always seemed so perfect with the initial description of Raghav that I am so glad that we ended up writing a story loosely based on it!

Thank you all for sticking to this story so far and for liking and commenting on it. We're sorry if this was not to your taste. Maybe we will write an epilogue?? No promises. Depends if we have inspiration for it. For now, thank for sticking this far and please do leave your last comments. We would love to read all of them!