Bela looked at her reflection in the mirror and for a moment she tried to find the traces of Ruhi in her. Though both her faces are examples of exceptional beauty, but Bela had something that Ruhi had dreamt of. The vermillion in the partition of her hair and the mangalsutra tied around her neck. But then again, Ruhi had one thing that Bela could never have. Love, Vikrant.
Dressed in a white saree with silver sequins border Bela had accessorized it with silver metallic bangles, the khandani kada that Sumitra Maa had given her, silver anklets, large diamond hoop earrings and a silver nose ring but what added to her beauty was the vermillion in her hair partition and the mangalsutra. Two things that are most important for a married woman but were meaningless for Bela.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror and promised herself that she will make this day Mahir's last. Today is the day that Mahir Sehgal will breathe his last, she will make him pay for what he did, slowly and mercilessly.
"Bela are you ready? she heard Mahir call. Bela closed her eyes trying to rein in her anger and walked out of the washroom. Mahir was waiting for her with a smile on his face.
Had it been some other day in a completely different situation Bela would have taken the time to admire the attractive man in front of her. Dressed in black trousers, a white band collar shirt and a black blazer over it, Mahir was looking extremely handsome with his usually styled hair and that charming smile over his lips. Bela couldn't help but wonder as to how can a man so dangerous, merciless and corrupt man appear so much innocent. His eyes, those sinfully black eyes had something that seems to captivate Bela all the time.
"Chalein? and once again Bela flinched slightly as Mahir placed a hand on her arm. His touch made her feel so many emotions out of which disgust was the one to triumph.
She nodded in reply and walked ahead of him. Sumitra had already assembled everything that she would need for the prayer and offerings. They took blessings for the elders and drove towards their destination. First being the lake whose water she had to collect in that kalash that Sumitra had given her.
Mahir's concentration was on driving the car as the weather worsened, he had always been the safe driver. All that fun, that rash driving and stuff were Yuvi and Adi's thing, not his. Seeing that, Bela started messaging Vish asking her if everything was going by their plan. They had hired some goons to attack Mahir because later Bela would need some evidence that she wasn't involved in Mahir's death. Though it will be those goons who will attack Mahir first but she will be the one to take his breath.
****************ACP Dhruv Singh Shekhawat crouched down and pulled the cloth away from the dead body's face. His fellow officers flinched seeing the unrecognizable face that had turned blackish blue in color and was swollen rotten. "From the looks of it, it appears that he was poisoned. He said as he stood up and walked towards the area where the dead body was found.
ACP Dhruv Singh Shekhawat played by Eijaz Khan
"You may be right sir, we have noticed a bite mark that looks like that of a snake on his forehead but I am not sure if a snake killed him. The potency of the poison is highly dangerous. Poisoning looks like the main source of death but we have to wait for the post-mortem to detect any other cause or injury. said an investigating officer.
"Hhhmm..did we find anything that could help us identify him? Dhruv asked.
"No, nothing as of now. But our search team is looking around. Hopefully, we will find something. The other officer replied.
"Okay. Dhruv then turned around and called for, "Jadhav!
"Ji sir? asked the said called the constable.
"Mujhe ek doosre case k liye kahin jaana hai, you stay here and keep a check on everything and message or call me in case something of substance is found, okay?
"Okay sir. The constable nodded his head in positive. Dhruv gave him a nod of acknowledgement before walking away. He sat in his car and drove away unaware of a pair of in-human eyes watching him.
****************Bela and Mahir arrived at the temple after 2-hour long drive, it took them half an hour extra as they had to stop by to collect the water from the sacred lake. It had started raining on their way but it suddenly got worsened. As they stepped out of the car Mahir gave Bela the blazer he was wearing to cover her up as the rainwater was making her saree quite see through. Bela accepted the blazer without any argument and they both walked inside.
Inside they were greeted by the priest who guided them to perform the ritual. Bela did everything that Sumitra had asked her to do. After paying offerings to the kul-devi, she sat on the tiled floor beside Mahir as they both prayed. While Mahir was wishing for his family's and Bela's happiness, Bela, on the other hand, wished for Devi-Maa to give her the strength to kill another of her culprits.
As they were praying a breeze flew in which caused the vermillion in the pooja-thal to scatter around, especially over Bela and Mahir, coloring them in the same color. Some of it went into Bela's eyes and she winced in discomfort. "Ah! she raised her hand to rub her eyes but Mahir stopped her hand in mid.
"Don't rub it, it will only make it worse. Mahir took out the handkerchief and started to clear the area around Bela's eyes slowly and softly, "Okay, now try to open your eyes slowly. Tell me if it still hurts hhmm? he said gently and kept wiping the vermillion off her face.
Bela opened her eyes slowly but immediately closed her eyes because of irritation, "Aaaraam se, sshh. Mahir used the clean end of the handkerchief and started wiping the vermillion off her eyes again. Bela once again tried to open her eyes, though her eyes still sting but the irritation had lessened considerably.
All this while the priest was looking at the couple with wonder in his eyes. He took the incident as a hint, an indication from the goddess herself. The happy looking priest said, "You should not worry beta, this is a good omen. Devi-Maa has blessed you two with the color of a happy marriage. May all your wishes come true and your dreams fulfilled. The priest kept his hand over their heads and blessed them.
Bela and Mahir stared at each other for a moment before Bela turned her head away. They walked outside the temple after taking the Prasad and were greeted by a very old, almost ancient looking woman. She was wearing tattered clothes and had was bare feet.
The kind man that Mahir was melted into tears looking at the old woman's injured feet. He pulled out his wallet and gave her a few thousand rupee notes but the old lady didn't take the money instead she held Mahir's hand in hers.
"There are many who take birth every day, many die every hour but there are only a few like you, my son. I wish for your happiness. the woman raised her trembling hand to bless Mahir who with a smile on his face bowed down his head to make it easier for the woman.
"Maa ji aap yeh paise le lijiye.. Mahir offered but was denied once again. The old woman smiled and said, "I don't need your money son but can you give me something to eat? Please bring me something to eat till then I will talk to your pretty wife.
Mahir gave Bela an awkward smile before rushing towards his car to fetch some snacks that his mother had packed for him and Bela to eat during their journey.
"Beta what we see is not always the truth, hhmm. You should learn to differentiate between those who are good and those who are bad. Don't let your mind judge the matters of your heart. this was what the woman said before Mahir came back with a tiffin box in his hand.
****************Vish transformed into a burly looking man, a face that she remembered from her past. She had transformed so that no one would be able to find their involvement in Mahir's death. She gave instructions to the goons that she and Bela had hired. All of them hid around as per the plan and waited for Mahir and Bela's car to come so that they could surprise them with the sudden attack.
****************"Uuummm Bela.. Mahir said initiating a conversation. Bela didn't turn her face to look at Mahir but just hummed in response.
"Thank you.
That caught Bela's attention, she turned to look at him and asked, "What for?
"For everything. Mahir replied immediately, "A Lot of things happened in past few days. You were set to marry Yuvi but he.. he paused for a moment, "Itna sab kuch ho gaya but you.. he wanted to continue but he couldn't complete his sentence he noticed a man lying on the road. He immediately applied breaks to avoid an accident.
"Bela are you okay? he asked in a frantic voice. "Main theek hoon she replied. Mahir then went out of the car to see if the man on the road needed some help. Just as he was out of the car, a goon hit on his head from behind.
Mahir winced in pain and turned around to look at the person who had hit him. His was about to retaliate but once again he was hit on the back. Soon enough he was surrounded by a few more goons who started attacking him. Among the goons were Vish and Arvind as well in their transformed forms.
Bela as per the plan started acting like a distressed woman in need of help. She mockingly tried to help Mahir but got really hurt as a goon pushed he away with great force. Bela hit her head on a huge rock by the side of the road. Blood started oozing out of the wound. Bela's nostrils flared in anger, she could have reacted to it but didn't do a thing as it would make the whole thing more real that not only Mahir got injured but Bela was wounded as well. Perfect ploy.
But that scene made Mahir's blood boil, his heart started beating at a much faster rate, jaw clenched tightly, his body began shaking in anger. A fierce growl emitted from his mouth as he stood up and started hitting back. Uncontrollable anger surged through him as he fought back.
****************I hope that you guys enjoyed reading the first chapter and like it as well. I will post the next chapter in a few days.
Precap: Bela and Vish dealing with Adi-Anu situation.
The attack on Mahir is being investigated.
Cricket
