RiKara SS - You and I Collide [COMPLETE] pg 63(19/4) - Page 35

The closer you go to the finale, the heavier your heart gets. I swear the day this ends I'm going to cry buckets.

Anyway, here's a new chapter for you, hopefully you will enjoy!

Note: There are no three Svetlanas in my version, there was only one and she was not wearing a mask.

Chapter 16

Pieces of the puzzle

"What is this?" Although she tried to keep it casual, her tone was nervous and Rudra smirked. "Proof against you," he said shortly and Svetlana snorted.

"So you're going to get me arrested Rudy boy?"

"No my dear never - would - be - Bhabhi," He smiled. "Then you'd vanish and return in few years with some new drama right?" He said darkly. "Itna busness toh mujhe aata hai, that I won't reveal all my aces at once. Instead how about you and I make a deal?"

"What deal?"

"You're going to vanish from this side of earth, never to return or look back. And if you ever get tempted to, I'm going to make sure this evidence reaches relevant people." He did not wait to hear her reply and turned to leave, with Soumya at tow. "Think about it, you have the entire night, in the morning either you go out, or you go in for the longest term I can manage."

They stopped at the center of the hall and Soumya stepped back, her hand slipping from his hold. The moment she let his hand go, Rudra felt cold. His eyes shifted from Soumya's to the man in front of them. Taj Oberoi tried to smile, his arms reaching out to hug his son.

"Rudra!" He said. "You've made me proud."

He stood there, unmoving, unfeeling and numb. There was a tiny part of him that hoped he would feel a tiny flicker of happiness at being finally acknowledged by his father, but to his astonishment none came. That Rudra, belonged to a different age; a child he had long left behind.

"Why did you do it Dad?" He was not as hard as O, to stop acknowledging their relationship, but he could not ignore the truth anymore either. Tej's smile slowly faltered.

"Why I did what?" His brows were frowned in confusion.

"I know Svetlana stole that video from your locker, why did you keep something like that? Why didn't you destroy it right away?" Tej shook his head, as if saying you - are - too - young - to - understand. Rudra pressed on. "You kept it to use as a trump card, to remove Shivay from that race you kept talking about."

"Rudra!"

"Don't raise your voice at me Mr. Tej Oberoi, you are the root cause of all we've been through. You trusted that woman, brought her into this house, gave her all the means of breaking us apart. Everything you've done, I had forgiven you every time. I tried to make peace each time. But not anymore, not again. Your mistakes made O take decisions that could have ruined him, your actions almost made me lose my brothers. This time, I'm not forgiving you."

His father did not meet his eye. Rudra breathed in, his hand reaching to take Soumya's once more. She let him, gently squeezing his fingers in return.

"Earn it for yourself, make amends." His tone was brisk, he almost walked away but stopped at Tej's shoulder. "Grow up dad!"

**

Ragav Khanna could not control his temper as he sent another set of bottles down to the ground.

"What do you mean it's not here?" He growled, shaking in anger. "That one document, just one piece of paper, are you telling me you lost it Kali?"

"Keep your voice down, in my house!" The other man matched his tone. "Don't think you can order me around Ragav, you and I both know that if I open my mouth, you'd be behind the bars."

"And just how long do you plan to threaten me with that?" Ragav barked. "It's almost twenty years now."

"But the truth is the same. Had I not finished your wife off, she'd have thrown you out like a beggar!"

"That can still happen, if that last will gets to Gauri. Don't stand here watching my face man, go find her! Find it!"

Kali Takur laughed.

"That's the difference between you and I. I don't run after anyone. My dogs do that for me. In a matter of hours, the entire village would be after her, not to mention the police who think she is the reason for my wife's death. Don't fret Ragav, you will get your document."

Ragav inhaled deeply, fisting his hands.

"This time, I'm going to teach her a very good lesson."

"That can be arranged."

The two men shared a laugh.

**

The Bareilly railway station was relatively empty. There was something ominous about the entire place. He tried not to dwell on it much as he boarded the train. His mobile battery was down, after a lengthy call to Rudra, who assured him that everything was under control. What mattered most was that Mr. Oberoi was finally privy to Svetlana's reality and there was no longer any need to carry on with their engagement. Rudra held the ace of filing for defamation against Svetlana, plus a couple of other charges that were enough to force the woman out of their lives. His brother was almost jumping when he talked. Omkara wondered why he did not feel the same emotion.

All was well, was it not?

The metallic beast gathered speed, the sound of its wheels starting to move on the rails rhymed with his pulse. Something was wrong, his heart kept telling him, its beat was uneven; each breath heavy in his throat, until his lungs protested with lack of air. The dusk was falling, stars popping up ahead, that peace felt fake, just like the silence before a storm.

Omkara closed his eyes leaning against his compartment door, the night air slammed against his face, brushing his hair against his neck and jaw. In a different reality she was in front of him, those espresso eyes burning with a brand of fire that was unique to her. Each memory he had of her were so vivid that he would unconsciously stretch out an arm to touch her. The dancing straps of light on her skin, the warmth of her breath, the taste of her lips - his eyes snapped open, disgusted with the way his thoughts were running.

Gauri Kumari Sharma was a part of his past, he was leaving her behind, literally.

Sigh! Who was he lying to? Himself?

He had never fell that deeply to any emotion, neither love nor hate, with the intensity she made him feel both those edges. That girl could set him ablaze with one glance under the thick curtain of her eyelashes and destroy the entire foundation of principles he lived on. The mere thought of her made his throat burn with yearning.

"So you hate me?" He recalled her sarcastic smile, looking up at him, completely unfazed by their close proximity and his grip on her waist. "Careful Mr. Oberoi, nafrat bhi ek rishta hota hai...phass jaonge!" Her eyes shined as always, a little too defensively, but that seductive smile was in place, enough to fool the world, even him for a moment.

How long it had taken him to see through that act of indifference. To know that she was bleeding within that mask of glamour.

He could have told her that her sister was alive, that she was not as alone as she thought she was. A tiny voice suggested in the back of his head. No; he argued with himself. That would not have changed anything. It would only burdened her more, added one more wound to her already bleeding self. She would have to crush the need of seeing that sister and walk to the mandap to marry that man who did not deserve her, who would not deserve her.

Had he known earlier, he felt like cursing himself. They had wasted so much time, both here and in Delhi. They could have talked more, explained each other, had been there for each other. Perhaps, he could have saved her. She would have been here, with him. After all Ragav was after money, what better could have happened to him, than getting an Oberoi son in law?

But he knew she would not have agreed. He knew it from instinct. She might have married him, but they would never be happy. Gauri would never love a man Ragav had chosen for her. He wanted her love, not her presence. And it was the one thing he would never have.

He sighed again.

The entire life laid before him; empty of her, and those espresso eyes. And he realized she was right. He was trapped, with no possible escape; trapped in the enchantment called Gauri Kumari Sharma yet cursed to a life void of her presence.

"Omkara!" And that voice was calling, from the darkness he was leaving behind, weary and full of pain, with no trace of hope left in its tone. "Omkara! OMKARA!"

For a moment it felt like a dream, she was running towards him, parallel to the train that was slowly pulling out of the station, dressed in her navy blue bridal, the skirts swirling. There were people chasing her, there was a bleeding wound on her head. She reached out for him, a hand that was too far to catch.

He felt he was too slow, as he stretched out his arm, her fingertips touched his and then slipped. Again, and again he tried to grip her. Her eyes were wide with fear, the pain simmering in their depths. He could not fail her, not again.

"Please!" Her voice sounded distant, griping the handle of the compartment door he reached out and gripped her wrist, pulling her with him against the train that tried to break them apart. There was a moment of struggle, rushing wind and imbalance before both fell backwards into the compartment and away from the imminent danger, tangled in each other's arms and breathing a sigh of relief.

It was not over, but at least they were together. And the battle had just begun.

**

Was that too DDLJ? If so, sorry!

Open to your views as always I'm keen to hear from you!

Sorry if you were disappointed.

Thanks a ton for reading!

Love,

Sakura