Aditi's heartbeat rose as they were nearing Aastha's home. She had not received any reply from Shlok. She just hoped that Shlok had seen the message. She could do nothing but pray for Aastha's safety. Karan could clearly see Aditi's fear, but there was nothing he could do to make Aditi get rid of it. He too was worried for Aastha now. He was thinking of some way to stop Ajinkya from reaching Aastha's home or atleast waste time to delay it.
*****
Niranjan was worried for Shlok. He called his son to check what was going on.
"Where are you beta? You left so suddenly before saying anything..." asked Niranjan.
"Don't worry Baba, I am fine... I will tell everything later. I will soon be back with Dada and Aastha..." said Shlok and disconnected the call.
Niranjan didn't understand what exactly was happening. He just hoped Shlok was alright.
*****
Shlok reached Aastha's bungalow. He could see Varad's car parked near the gate. Shlok parked his car towards the back side of the bungalow such that is could not be seen. He got down the car and stealthily came to the front side making sure he couldn't be seen from the bungalow. He wanted to make sure that Ajikya and the others were not there yet. There was no other vehicle near the bungalow except Varad's car. Shlok just tried to get an idea of what was going on inside the bungalow. He could see the front door was closed. There were no sounds or noises coming from inside. Now Shlok was pretty sure that Ajinkya had not arrived yet. Shlok was about to open the gate and go in when he heard a car coming by. He quickly ran to hide behind a huge banyan tree near the gate and observed the car. The car came to a halt about fifty meters away. Shlok could see two men getting out of the car. Then he could see two more men getting down. He looked keenly but Ajinkya wasn't among them. The pain in Shlok's head had increased now. He could feel his heartbeats thudding in his head. But Aastha's safety was more important now. Shlok tried to ignore the pain and paid attention to the men. He could see the men walking towards the bungalow while looking around. They are searching for the bugalow... thought Shlok staying alert and thinking about the action he needed to take. The men stopped suddenly and entered another bungalow and were welcomed there heartily. What? So those aren't Ajikya kaka's men... thought Shlok as he heaved a sigh of relief. Without thinking much, Shlok quickly opened the gate and went in.
*****
"Please stop the car!" said Karan suddenly and the driver applied the brakes.
Ajikya turned to Karan angrily as Aditi watched in confusion. "What!" asked Ajinkya irritated.
"I need to go to the washroom! Now!" replied Karan trying to seem as genuine as possible. Aditi could make out that Karan was lying just to waste time. Ajinkya didn't seem convinced. "Please! It's urgent" said Karan. Finally Ajinkya agreed. Karan entered a nearby restaurant to use the washroom. "Be back soon!" said Ajinkya loudly as he watched Karan's back. Karan entered the washroom thinking what to do next. He stood near the wash basin thinking about something that could delay Ajinkya more. But nothing was coming to his mind right now. He knew Aditi had sent message to Shlok. He just wanted to give them as much time as possible to get out of the place safely.
It was more than ten minutes since Karan was gone. Ajinkya was angry now. He sent one of his men to look for Karan and bring him back. Karan saw the man coming from a distance. He quickly turned on the tap and showed as if he was washing his hands. "Let's go!" said the man. Karan nodded.
Karan suddenly stopped at the counter to buy water. "Two bottles of water please..." he said as he took out his wallet from the pocket. He wished they took more time to give the bottles but that wasn't the case. He paid for the bottles and was about to leave but stopped again. "What is this? I want cold water!" he said to buy time. He returned the bottles and had to wait some time for the cold water bottles. The man and Karan then returned to the car.
Before Ajikya could ask the reason for the delay, Karan began telling Aditi, "I had to wait as the washroom was engaged. And I also got water for everyone!" he said. Ajinkya took a bottle from Karan's hand and thanked him for it. They left after everyone had water.
*****
"Ready?" asked Varad as Aastha came out after changing. She nodded. "Great... Let's leave" he said.
Aastha took her purse and the keys. She was about to open the door when she heard a hard knock on the door. She skipped a beat. Varad came to her telling her not to worry. He looked through the eye hole and was surprised to see Shlok. He opened the door and before he could ask anything Shlok immediately got in and shutting the door behind him.
"Ajinkya kaka and his men are on their way here!" he said. Aastha was shocked. She was about to say something but Shlok didn't let her speak. "We will talk about it later" he said, "Right now we need to get out of here immediately!"
Aastha was scared and she didn't know what to do. She was not able to understand how Ajinkya knew she was here. "Aastha, what are you thinking?" Shlok asked shaking her. "Pack your things... NOW!"
Aastha quickly ran up to her room and dumped everything into her bag. Meanwhile Shlok pulled the curtains to cover all the windows so that nothing could be seen from outside. Varad carried the bag down. "Let's leave!" said Shlok.
Just then they heard the door bell ring. There were loud knocks and taps on the door. They heard Ajinkya's voice, "Open the door, Aastha!! I know you are in there!"
Aastha gasped in fear as her eyes widened hearing Ajinkya's voice. She was scared to the core. She was about to say something when Shlok quickly held her from behind and placed his palm across her mouth. "Just stay quiet" he whispered in her ear.
Not getting any reply from inside, Ajinkya ordered his men to break the door. Aastha, Shlok and Varad could hear loud thuds on the door. The window glasses vibrated on the strong impacts. Aastha could feel her heart into her mouth. Was this the end of her fight for justice?
*****
Edited by ..optimist.. - 9 years ago
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
