Chapter 11: Badalte Rishtey
What comeuppance Nakul had in store for her, Barkha would never know. A firm hand caught hold of his shoulder and Nakul heard Manthan say, "Just unhand Barkha." He turned, his left hand still holding her arm. "So you are her knight in shining armour." , Nakul sneered at Manthan. Manthan punched him hard in the face. And the fight began.
Nakul and Manthan had waited long to get a go at each other. To Manthan, Nakul's manhandling of his best friend and his blatant cover up for his sibling after Lakshya's attempted disruption of Bhumi's engagement were reason enough that Nakul should thrashed to the inch of his life. For Nakul, it was all because of how Manthan had slighted his mother openly in the party. A part of his irritation also stemmed from the sudden knowledge of the seemingly intimate association his cousin and his banquet manager seemed to share. He had felt her relief when he had turn to face Manthan and for some reason, that had irked him even more.
For the first twenty seconds of the fight, Barkha stood paralysed. And then she came to her senses. She had enough common sense to know that if she stood no chance whatever to stop those two belligerent men on her own. She ran toward the house, hoping to find someone who would help her straighten this out. She saw Sahil Virani escorting some one to their car. "Sir....Please can you help...Fight ....Stop" , Barkha said breathlessly. Sahil's companion turned and Barkha was surprised to see her aunt. "Where are they?", Sahil asked. Barkha pointed to the second parking lot.
By the time Sahil, Ganga and Barkha reached the scene of action, Nakul and Manthan had inflicted some amount of damage on each other's person. Manthan's hand was bleeding and so was Nakul's nose and mouth. "Nakul...Manthan stop this minute..." Sahil's voice came authoritatively. The fight automatically ceased. "You should be ashamed of yourself.... Is this how you behave?....Mere bete hokar..." , Ganga just stopped herself in time as Barkha looked at her,totally stunned.
Manthan and Nakul walked back to the house giving each other We-will-definitely-finish-this-some-other-time look. Sahil looked askew at Ganga before joining them. Barkha and Ganga stood there for a while, watching their receding figures. "Let's go home Barkha...We'll discuss this in the morning." , Ganga said, sounding totally spent. Barkha did as she was told.
Someone else had been watching the whole escapade, from the initial Barkha and Nakul confrontation to Barkha's unquestioning obedience to Ganga. Tulsi Virani observed the whole milieu with a frown
It was time to take matters in her hand, she thought pensively.
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