A/N: Guys, my sincere apologies for the delay. But a lot has happened this past week and I really have not been in a position to update. But thank u all so much for continuosly demanding updates, coz that just shows how much you guys love this story!! I am overwhelmed truly! My apologies again. As a compensation, i have made this chapter into something you all will love, I hope! (As the title suggests)
To all those whose scraps I haven't replied to, please don't mind! I am really busy and if I come to IF, then I do that for some urgent work and then log out!
Safrena (Forevermine), my favorite chapter till date is dedicated to u entirely! Happy Birthday in advance! I adore you totally for being so amazing and lovable! God bless u sis!
Please forgive the typos. Haven't proof-read the chapter due to lack of time.
CHAPTER 13 : Sealed With A Kiss
"Not all things in life come easily. Sometimes you gotta have faith and wait patiently for the right moment! And when that moment arrives, it may just be the best in your life!"
-Anuradha
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Ishita Mittal sat on her hostel bed lost in thoughts.
"Don't fall for me any further than you already have..."
Her jaws clenched as those words crossed her restless mind for the umpteenth time. It had been almost a week since she had witnessed the exchange between her boyfriend and that 'low-lying tramp' as she called her. And yet she couldn't get it out of her head. The words kept coming back to hit her and every time it left a deeper wound!
"You knew Randhir...You knew all along about her feelings...But you never told me..."
She clicked her phone to reveal her wallpaper. It was a picture of her and Randhir on their first date. She had her arms around his neck and her head rested on his shoulder, while he was giving the camera a goofy grin.
"There was a time you always used to confide in me...And now suddenly the tramp knows about your parents' death?"
Ishita sighed and flopped herself onto the bed. She wondered what was going on. How was it that Sanyukta knew so much? Did Randhir tell her? Or did she find out on her own?
"She was in Masjid Road...Why? What was she doing there? Goddd...this is not good...This is getting worse..."
Ishita ran her fingers through her hair, deep in thought, her face reflecting her inner state of turmoil. She knew what she had to do. There was no way she was letting Sanyukta Agarwal get away.
"You messed with me...I'll ruin you!"
It was almost mid-night by then. She got out of her bed and saw Smriti sleeping peacefully. She took her phone and put on a shawl and left her room. Her room was on the second-floor. She quietly came down to the first floor and stopped before room 101. It was Sanyukta and Kaustuki's room. Of course the door was bolted from inside, so the window was the only option. Ishita climbed on the window-sill with care and dropped inside the room with the softest of thuds.
She could clearly make out the sleeping forms of Sanyukta & kaustuki in the dim light. She crept towards the table near sanyukta's bed and flashed her phone to make it visible. Her heart thumped in her chest. One wrong move could trigger a lot of sound and would spoil her entire plan! She couldn't jeopardise this.
She started searching for any hints that she could find on Sanyukta's table that was related to the murder of the Drs Shekhawats. It was too suspiscious to be a coincidence that Sanyukta went to 'Masjid-Road' by chance. She must know something and that thought was enough to unnerv Ishita!
She quietly went through all of Sanyukta's books and notebooks, until her eyes landed on the 'S.Baron' specimen copy. Ishita recalled how Sanyukta had been the only one without the book. She took out the book and opened it. Her eyes fell on the name in the first page and her face faltered.
'Randhir Shekhawat'
"So that's how she has this book...It's Randhir's specimen copy...But how on Earth did she get a hand on RD's book? Did he give it to her?"
Ishita's heart was racing at all the possibilities. She sat down on the floor and started investigating the book while flashing her phone. She carefully turned the pages and scanned through them. That's when she saw all the formulas scribbled across some chapters. She halted and studied the formulas. But they were way beyond her scope!
"What is all this?" she wondered.
She turned to the second last page and gawked at it. Atop the page was a single sentence which read "Decoded formulas - A guide to the research on Alzheimer's and dementia"
Ishita's hands started shaking. This was the book they were searching all along. This was the book her parents had told her about!
"This is the key to the 4th folder...Oh My God! How did this Sanyukta have it all this time? Does she know anything? This is bad..."
Ishita took the book, glanced one last time at Sanyukta & Kaustuki and climbed out of the room sneakily again. She clutched the book close.
"Thank God! Before anything bad happened, I got the book. I got to inform dad first thing in the morning" she thought and tiptoed back to her room and went to sleep.
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Parth Kashyap woke up to the sound of his alarm. He had been waiting for this morning since quite some time. He checked the time. It was 7 AM. He took his cell, typed a message and hit send. he then smiled at the screen and climbed out of bed to get ready for class.
Today was definately the most special day in his life!
Meanwhile, Randhir got a call from his uncle Dr Dinesh Shekhawat. The latter wanted to meet him in his chamber right away. Randhir got dressed and went ahead.
"Randhir beta, well we will be leaving for the board meet at sharp 1PM. Meanwhile, you need to go through these files. You may be asked questions about them. If you need any help, just give me a call ok?" said his uncle.
Randhir nodded and took the files. They read "Confidential". Today was supposed to be his second ever board meet that he would preside over! He left the room while turning the pages of the files and trying to find out what they were all about.
-------
Sanyukta Agarwal hurried out of her room, her hair wet and her bag wide open. She hadn't had the time to get ready properly. Parth's message sounded urgent and she was on her way to meet him. She fished out her phone and read the message again.
"Sanyukta, please meet me at the canteen before class today. Please make sure you are alone. There is something I have to tell you. It's private."
"What does he mean by private?" she wondered to herself and walked briskly through the corridors leading to the canteen. Unnoticed be her, Randhir approached from the opposite direction, engrossed in the files his uncle had given him. Both unware of the other, they bumped into each other, as Randhir's file left his hands and landed on the floor and so did Sanyukta's cellphone.
"I'm so sorry" Sanyukta mumbled as she realized who she had bumped into.
"God Agarwal, are u blind or what?" he muttered.
Sanyukta stooped down to pick up Randhir's file, while the latter picked her cell. His eyes fell on the screen and he saw the message from Parth. A strange sensation errupted with him when his eyes fell on the message. He suddenly felt tense and then angry.
He turned to see Sanyukta arranging the papers that had fallen out from the file. He reached upto her, snatched the papers from hand and placed her phone there and said, "Don't u see it's confidential? Don't meddle in affairs that aren't related to u..."
And he with that, he walked away leaving Sanyukta baffled.
"Why was he being so rude?" she wondered and made her way to the canteen.
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Parth saw Sanyukta enter the canteen and smiled to himself. She spotted him and made her way to his table.
"Hey Parth, suddenly...here...what's the deal?" she asked.
Parth took a deep breathe and started saying, "Please sit Sanyukta..."
Sanyukta sat down looking curious.
"Sanyukta...I have been meaning to talk to u since quite some time...But with ur dad's accident and all, I couldn't find time...I want to tell u something..."
Sanyukta frowned and replied, "Yeah, of course...Go ahead! Is everything ok?"
"Woh...I...Sanyu, I have always wanted a good-naturned and docile girl as my special someone...And in you, i see all those qualities. I love you Sanyukta. And I know you love me too...Will you be my girlfriend?"
Sanyukta stared at him blankly and burst out laughing!
"Parth...Oh God!!! You are so sweet!!! Tell me the name of the girl! Arey, you should practice the right way...Why are u taking my name and practicing?"
Parth's smile faltered at her words. He realised that Sanyukta was taking it all wrong.
"Sanyukta, i am not practicing. I love u...you Sanyukta...I love u!"
It was sanyukta's turn to be fazed!
"WHAT?" she blurted out.
"listen Sanyu...I know this is sudden...And I am not forcing you to make a decision now...Take your time...And whe-"
"No no no...Listen to me Parth" Sanyukta interrupted, clearly panicky, "What are u saying yaar? How can you love me?"
Sanyukta had said the words so loudly, that the few people in the canteen had all turned aroud to witness the drama that was unfolding. Sanyukta realized that she was making a scene and that Parth looked uncomfortable, shocked etched in his face.
Sanyukta mellowed down and spoke in a hushed voice, "Parth, but this is so.."
"Sanyukta" he intervened, "I know u feel for me...I have seen it in your eyes...But I am telling you that you have all the time you need...Give it a thought, please..."
Sanyukta couldn't believe her ears. But then again, she knew what it was like to love and be rejected. She didn't want to hurt Parth the way she was hurt by Randhir.
"Ok...i will think about it..." she murmured, not knowing what else to say.
Parth smiled radiantly. He got up and stuck out his hand, urging her to take it. Sanyukta suddenly felt self-conscious. She hoped that she wasn't giving Parth any wrong signals. She took his hand hesitantly and he walked her to class.
-------
The first thing Ishita did after waking up in the morning was to call her dad.
"I have the book dad...It's a specimen copy which belongs to Randhir..."
"..."
"No dad...it was with the girl who was seen at 'Masjid Road'...I sneaked into her room and got the book..."
"..."
"Dad this has to be the book...It says in the second last page that it's a decoded formula...Plus there are some calligraphed notes...I am positive that those were written by Randhir's dad..."
"..."
"I am being careful dad...No one knows I was there! But I need to give u the book ASAP."
"..."
"Tomorrow sounds good! I will see you and mom tomorrow then. Listen dad, I gotta go now. Smriti will be here any minute..."
"..."
"Yeah dad...I will take care...I love u too!"
And they hung up.
Ishita looked at the book in her hand and decided to hide it some place safe. Surely two copies of the same book, if found with her, would seem suspiscious. And so she wanted to hide the book away from her room, somewhere safe! And off she went.
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Randhir was sitting bored, his mind far away from 'biochem'. He was agitated about the board meet. And to top all that, Ishita was missing from class. Just then he saw Parth and Sanyukta enter the hall hand-in-hand. All thoughts of Ishita forgotten, his eyes darted towards the girl next to Parth, who was clearly looking uncomfortable.
"So that's what he meant by private...he proposed...They are a couple now...But I thought Agarwal loved me...eh...wait a second! Why am I even thinking about what Agarwal wants and what she doesn't? Goddd..."
Sanyukta's eyes found his as she took her place. There was something inexplicable about the look she gave him.
"What are u doing Parth?" asked Smriti as the former took his seat, "Dating Miss Nobody? have you forgotten our standards?"
Karan snickered and said, "Chill Smriti, Parth would never fall for that dumbass! He's just taking her for a spin, aren't u mate?"
Parth didn't reply and concentrated on his books. Randhir knew Parth's love for Sanyukta was genuine. He had known it for quite sometime. But something didn't feel right. He got a flashback of Sanyukta jumping in his arms and shut his eyes at the thought! He recalled how she had hugged him. He jerked involuntarily.
"Randhir, are u ok?" Parth asked.
"Yeah...I'm fine" he said through gritted teeth, trying to calm himself.
Once the class got over, Randhir saw parth hurrying towards sanyukta, Kaustuki and Jiggy. But sanyukta told them something and left the room. On an impulse, randhir followed her. She walked out of the campus and went to the lodge, just across the college campus, where her mother was staying. That's when Randhir recalled that her father was supposed to be released today. He was stable now and was ok enough to be taken home.
He made a call to the FMC authorities and asked them details about how Mr Agarwal was to be taken to Dehradun. They assured him that all arrangements had been made and an ambulance would take Mr and Mrs Agarwal to the airport. After about 10 minutes, he saw Sanyukta and her mother make way to the hospital and wait for Mr agarwal to be brought out. He wanted to go and talk to Sanyukta's mother. But he felt the need to give the family some privacy.
He saw sanyukta hug her mom tight and then kiss her father's forehead and mumble something in his ears. Randhir looked on as Sanyukta's mother wiped her daughter's tears and embraced her and spoke sweet-nothings.
Randhir's eyes almost watered as he recalled his own parents and realized just how deprived he was. The ambulance left the campus for the airport and he saw Sanyukta's face looking broken. He realized that it had been almost a month that her parents had been here in Delhi. And now that they left, she must feel low. He had a sudden urge to console her. But he then remembered that she was now Parth's girlfriend. And that thought was enough for him to turn away and make his way back to college.
Randhir rarely felt lonely for he considered loneliness to be his friend. But today was an exception. He went to the library, only to find it empty. Medical students rarely used the library. He wondered why, when according to him, books were man's best friend!
He took a book from the shelf and ironically it was a book on cardio-vascular diseases written by none other than his mother, Dr Renuka Sanyal Shekhawat.
He sat down at one corner and began reading when he heared the library door creak open. He looked up to find Sanyukta walking in. She seemed oblivious to his presence and went to retrieve a book. She then made his way to where he sat and that's when she saw him.
"Hey" she said in a small voice.
"You are crying..." he replied simply.
She didn't say anything and sat down a few seats away from him.
"Why are u crying Agarwal?" he asked, though he very well knew the reason.
"I am just a little sad..." she replied.
"Care to elaborate?"
"Mom and dad left today..." she said and fresh tears leaked out of her eyes.
"Your dad is fine now...Cheer up!" he replied.
She smiled faintly and then said, "I miss them already..."
Randhir looked down as she spoke those words and Sanyukta realised what she just said.
"I am so sorry Randhir...That is such a heartless thing to say...I am jus-"
"It's ok...Relax!" he interrupted and got up.
"You are leaving?" she asked.
"Yes...library isn't a place to talk...come on!" he said.
Sanyukta's face broke into a smile as she realised what he meant! Randhir Shekhawat was actually asking her to accompany him to some place and spill her thoughts! That was a first!!
They walked out of the library and sat down on an empty staircase. Sanyukta suddenly remembered that this abandoned stairs was the exact place where she had once witnessed Ishita kissing Randhir. The thought made her blush profusely.
"So...talk Agarwal..." Randhir said.
And Sanyukta came out of her reverie and uttered, "Dad still can't walk..."
"It will take time to recover fully...The injuries he sustained were massive!"
"What if he never walks again?"
"He will...with time..."
"Doctors prescribed regular physiotherapy...I wish I were in Dehradun to help mom deal with all that..."
"May be you should concentrate on passing the ensuing exams..." he smirked.
She rolled her eyes, "I am not that bad! I will pass...and with good marks...you wait and watch!"
"Ohhh...that I would love to watch Agarwal!" he teased her.
She smiled and he saw unshed tears in her eyes.
"Ughhh...What now Sanyukta? U seem to have a tear-factory in ur eyes!"
And before he could say anything else, she started sobbing. Randhir raised a brow and looked at her in concern, "Sanyukta for God's sake will u tell me what's troubling u?"
And finally in between her sobs, Sanyukta Agarwal stammered, "My mom is all alone...Dad was the bread-earner...Now mom has to look after him and manage her tailoring shop too...T-the guy I love with all my heart doesn't give a damn...And then there is the guy whom I used to rely on as a friend and who w-went ahead and spoiled everything today..."
Randhir sat shocked at her words. He didn't know what to say.
"Parth asked u out, didn't he?" he asked, not meeting her gaze.
"Y-yeah..." she whispered.
They were both silent for a few minutes after which Randhir asked again, "What did u say?"
She looked at him, but he was looking at the floor, "I said I will think. I didn't want to hurt him the way..." and she didn't go on.
Randhir looked up to meet her gaze, "The way I hurt u?" he asked.
She turned away.
"I have a girlfriend u know..." he said, more like a lamentation and less like a statement.
"A girlfriend whom u don't love..." replied sanyukta.
Randhir's eyes dilated, "How do u know that?"
And he bit his tongue and rectified his mistake, "I mean, how can you say that?"
But Sanyukta had already caught on his first sentence and merely smiled a little.
Randhir looked down again.
"Am i not good enough? Is that it? You think your friends will make fun of you if they find out?" she asked.
"Are you crazy?" he shot back, "It's not about you or my friends...it's...complicated..."
"What's so complicated about falling in love? I mean, there are clearly two options...either you feel something for me, or you don't!"
Randhir sighed.
"I miss my parents every single day...I feel empty when I see other people enjoying with their family. Family is something I never had since i was 10...You are a lucky girl Sanyukta...You have what I don't...Parents...You are studying in FMC...You have a shot at becoming someone worthwhile...Why would u jeopardise all that to be with someone whose life is filled with darkness?"
Sanyukta looked him with a hard face.
"You know very well that my life isn't a bed of roses...You know very well what hardships my family faces everyday...So why would u think that I am risking something by wanting to be with u? I love u Randhir...And that one feeling is enough to douse all other feelings!"
Randhir looked at her with soft eyes and replied, "I can't Sanyukta...I need to find my parents killers..."
Sanyukta sighed in frustration and tried one last time, "So let me help u...Please..."
He looked away. It shattered Sanyukta's heart to get rejected again. But she had gotten his reply. And she realized it was never going to change.
"Randhir, you know, frivolous excuses hurt more...You could easily have said that you d-don't l-love m-me..." she said and turned to leave.
But she abruptly felt a tug at her hand and she turned and took a step forward as Randhir's lips came crashing down on hers. She went rigid for a second before she responed with equal ferocity! Her first kiss and it was like nothing she had experienced before!! This kiss had all the the unspoken emotions, all the turmoil, all the passion!
They broke only when both needed air. Sanyukta was red in the face and Randhir had just pulled her into a hug.
"If i didn't feel anything for u, I wouldn't have done what I did...I don't want you getting hurt...That's why asked you not to fall for me..." he whispered in her ears.
She held him tight and replied, "I love u Randhir...Don't push me away...please..."
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Next update on 12th June. No use demanding before that, because I won't be online🤣
Love,
Anuradha❤️
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
