OS - Alternative RR Ending - Closure 28/09

Rangrasiya - Alternative Ending

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I needed to get an ending to RR with PaRud, I needed to forget everything that happened after 30th July and I needed proper closure for strong characters like Tejawat and Laila hence wrote this ending

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Holding Dhruv tightly against his chest he breathed in Paro's fragrance that lingered around Dhruv, remembering her words from earlier, "mhaari jindagi ki sabse badi khushi mere samne hai, mhaare raja aur mhaara nanha sa rajkumar..aaj maar bhi jaun toh koi ghum nahi."

Why did she have to say that? Why did he have to leave her and Dhruv alone? Why had he kept Shantanu alive before? Guilt, fear, desperation and hopelessness pulsed through Major Rudra Pratap Ranawat. Clinging onto his wife's Rudraksh he tried to push the image of her bloody body out of his mind and tried to focus on her radiant face, her chiming laughter and unscathed body.

"tum mujhe chod kar nahi ja sakti Paro...har bhar zidd karti hai toh iss baar bhi kar, kar zidd apne Bholenath se ke tujhe jaldi se teekh karde, mere liye...humare Dhruv ke liye" Rudra pleaded internally to Paro. He'd reached the haveli in the nick of time, shot Shantanu dead and found his Paro fighting for life in a pool of her own blood. He didn't remember how he managed to carry her and Dhruv to the hospital; he somehow had kept Paro alive and handed her over to the doctors to be saved.

After what felt like an eternity the doors to the operation theatre opened. Rudra leapt up from his seat to greet the young surgeon.

"Major Ranawat, we have removed the bullet, fortunately there is no major organ damage but due to heavy blood loss she may be considerably weak upon waking up. All being well she should gain conscious within the next 24-36 hours," Dr. Shekhawat explained.

Relief washed through Rudra, she was alive. His Paro was alive and he would do whatever it took to aid her recovery.

"Kya mein Paro ko dekh sakta hoon?" Rudra asked.

"Bilkul, bas aap jaake ICU mein wait kijiye, kuch der mein unhe wahan lejaya jayega" the doctor informed before leaving.

The other Ranawats who had joined Rudra came to hug him and assure him that Paro would be fine.

"Meine kaha tha na, woh ziddi hai, nahin jayegi tujhe chod ke" Dilsheer tried joking with Rudra. Rudra insisted they all go home and take care of Dhruv, he would stay back with Paro.

4 days later Paro was discharged, advised to take complete rest in the coming weeks and have her nurse come to the haveli to change her dressing daily. Under Rudra, Maithili and Mala's watchful eye all Paro was allowed to do was play with Dhruv and Koel.

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Laila:

Laila stirred in her sleep, she must be dreaming, she was on a much softer mattress than she was used to. Her body ached with pain as she tried recalling last night, she remembered running hard and fast for her life and then there was a flash of beaming headlights of a car which knocked her over.

Eyes snapping open she tried to sit up in bed just as someone held her down.

"Shh...shh sab teekh hai, aap yahan surakshit hai" a deep husky voice of a man calmed her. She flinched away from his touch.

"Main kahan hoon?" she quizzed as her hands examined the bandages on her left hand and forehead.

"Mera naam Dr Karan Shekhawat hai, kal raat aap meri gadi se takraiyi thi aur behoosh hogayi thi, aap behooshi mein kuch keh rahi thi...koi Tejawat apke peeche padha hai isliye mein apko hospital ke badle ghar le aya...bohat gehre zakhm nahin hai, jald hi teekh hojayenge" he explained everything monotonously like doctors did.

(My name is Dr Karan Shekhawat, last night you collided with my car and were unconscious. You were mumbling something about some Tejawat and his men being after you so I bought you to my house instead of a hospital. The wounds are not too deep, they'll heal soon)

Laila looked at her saviour properly for the first time, he was exceptionally handsome she noticed. Her body had been at his mercy all night yet he had respected her, something she was not used to, even now there was no lust in his eyes for her, she felt safe being here.

"Mein nahin janta ye Tejawat kaun hai aur app uss se kyun bhaag rahi thi, aur agar aap baatana nahi chahti toh poochunga bhi nahi-"Karan began but Laila cut him off.

"Tejawat ek gunhegar hai, meine uske saath apne matlab ke liye ek sauda kiya tha aur usko dhokha de ke bhaag gayi...ab uske aadmi aur woh mujhe dhundh ke marna chahte hai" Laila confessed ready to see him freak out and ask her to leave at once knowing she had connections with a criminal, "..iss sabke bawajodh mujhe rakhna chahoge yahan pe?"

(Tejawat is a criminal and I struck a deal with him for my personal gain, and then betrayed him. Now his men are after me...despite knowing all this would you like to keep me here?)

"Haan...kyunki aap mein itni sharafat toh thi ke aap sach bol sake," Karan replied, he was a believer in second chances, after all he himself was here on a second chance. Whoever this woman was, she'd clearly had a troubled past and he wasn't going to judge her on it, he would give her a chance for a new beginning if she wanted, "nashta tayar hai, haath muh dhoke ajayega,"

Over the next few days Laila recovered at Karan's house. She'd established that he lived alone in India while his family resided in London. He had learnt more about who this Tejawat was and the exact interactions and deal struck between him and Laila.

2 months later and Laila was still living in Karan's house, he had never asked her to leave and she never felt like going. She found herself waiting for him to return from the hospital every evening, cooking meals for him and waiting nervously for his reaction. Unexplainable warmth filled her at the appreciation he showed for her efforts. Her admiration for him grew by the day for he was a man who treated her with more respect than she knew she ever deserved. The attention and appreciation she had craved her whole life was being given to her by this stranger, who asked for nothing in return. As dusk approached she waited by the window for his white car to pull into the driveway. She had been wrong, she thought to herself, there were four types of men in this world not three; there was the child, mumma's boys, the animal and then there was the friend and companion - what Karan was to her in this unnamed and unspoken relationship.

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Tejawat:

Gulp. That was his 4^th peg down, he felt embarrassed and suffocated at having to be in hiding. He was a Thakur not a coward, yet that Rudra Pratap Ranawat along with that silly subdued girl, Parvati had forced him into hiding, stripped him off his glory. He who used to rule Birpur and nearby villages was left with nothing, his wife had fled back to her son and his nemesis - Rudra, his men were almost all dead in the number of close encounters with the BSD as they played hide and seek. His money was running out and weapons were also scarce. His dreams were tormented with visits from ancestors who taunted him over his cowardice.

"Hukoom, Bhima ki koi khabar nahin abhi tak...kahin BSD walon nahin usse giraftar toh nahin kiya?" one of Tejawat's last few men suggested.

SMASH Tejawat flung the glass against the far end wall. He knew it as well, Bhima must have been arrested. BSD was winning over him yet again and before Bhima betrayed him like many others had, he had to flee again, get back on the road. It bothered him how that feeble Parvati had been more loyal to him than any one of his men had. Rudra had tried to get Parvati to testify against Tejawat for months but she didn't budge. It was only when Tejawat in a moment of arrogance and overconfidence blabbered all his crimes infront of her did she go against him. Cursing himself for making that mistake, Tejawat barked orders to his men to get ready to leave.

BSD Headquarters 3 hours earlier:

Rudra marched down the corridor, his juniors saluting him as he passed. In Singh Sir's cabin Aman and VK Singh were already present. BSD men had by now got Bhima to blurt out Tejawat's current hideout.

"Sir , iss baar Tejawat bach ke nahin nikal payega" Rudra said, he was rearing to go for some real action and to close Tejawat's chapter for once and for all.

VK Singh, Rudra and Aman had come up with a fast plan on how to encircle Tejawat this time, leaving no room for him to escape. VK Singh insisted Rudra bring Tejawat back alive so he can be put through trial.

Tejawat's Hideout - Present Time:

Tejawat scurried into the car as Amar Singh loaded the jeep with whatever baggage they had left. Loud BSD sirens could be heard as several BSD jeeps surrounded the premises. Rudra wanted to make quick work of this; no beating around the bush this time, this man had betrayed the country long enough, not anymore.

Tejawat stared wide eyed as his worst nightmare enfolded infront of him. For almost two years he had avoided this but the inevitable moment had arrived, his final battle with Rudra Pratap Ranawat. There was no point acting smart, he and his men were outnumber 1 to 10.

Tejawat tried maintaining his swagger as he greeted Rudra with "humari Thukurian, matlab apki maasa kaisi ha,i banna?" his right hand wrapped around the gun in his pocket, he was ready to attack.

"Bakwaas bandh! aaj tere aur maut ke beech kuch nahin aane dunga Tejawat," Rudra barked pulling out his own gun. Tejawat fired first which Rudra dodged before taking aim at Teawat's right shoulder. Tejawat's cry in pain signalled his bullet had met its target. Tejawat's last four allies were easily disposed by Aman and the other BSD men.

Tejawat continued to cry in agony as the bullet wound incapacitated him to fight much longer, he was completely at Rudra Pratap Ranawat's mercy and he could foresee how this would end.

"Sir, Singh Sir ne isko zinda rakhne ko kaha hai" Aman reminded Rudra. He could see the deadly intent in Rudra's eyes as he eyed his prey, who lay withering on the floor.

Rudra picked Tejawat off the floor and looked into his eyes. They reflected fear of death yet no remorse or regret. Rudra pounded him with powerful punches before shoving him back forcefully. Tejawat staggered back several paces. He hadn't lived like a Thakur in the last two years but he sure as hell would die like one, he would embrace death rather than show his back and run now.

"Jai Jagdambe Maa Trisula" Tejawat said to himself, asking his Kuldevi for forgiveness for all the wrong he knew he's done in this life, as Rudra's bullet pierced him right in the chest, once, twice, thrice.

"Sir-" Aman began.

"Ek gunhegar ko zinda chod ne ka nateeja dekh liya...dobara ye galti nahin dohraunga" Rudra explained and asked Aman to arrange for Tejawat's body to be taken to the morgue.

He could not go through living in the fear Tejawat may one day return to harm Paro or his Maasa neither could he let a criminal like Tejawat live and await trial after all the crimes he had committed. A sense of contentment filled him, he had to wait 2 years to draw closure to this chapter, yet there was no regret, after all it had bought him Paro. If it hadn't been for Tejawat he would never have met her, lived with her, love her, marry her, have Dhruv and get back his whole family. Tonight would be a night of celebration of his most savoured victory in battle.

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so what did you guys think? 😳