Originally posted by: Sunn_shine
Hello again to all the amazing people here!
I was supposed to post this early morning, but I may not be able to coz of some work.. so to avoid further delay (cassi 😉), here is chapter 2 of this story. Hope you enjoy it and leave us your encouraging comments..🤗
Chapter 2
“I know what ever I just shared isn’t what you must have been expecting. So please feel free to use this cabin for as long as you want.. I’ll go check on him. I will have someone sent to inform you once we shift Mr. Bajaj to ICCU” Saying this he left the room, leaving behind a stunned Prerna and over worried Mehra.
Prerna sat there like a statue and Mehra waited for her to say something, giving her all the time she needed to grasp everything.
“Kukki..”Mehra heard her say something after waiting for about 15 mins. He moved ahead in his chair trying to hear what she was saying.
“Kukki is alone... We must inform Masi and Tanvi.. Mr. Mehra, do you mind calling them. I don’t think I have the strength. Please tell them not to say anything to Kukki, I will tell her myself. Thanks” Mehra nodded and left the cabin to make the calls.
A nurse entered the cabin and informed Prerna that they had shifted her husband to ICCU. Prerna requested the nurse to take her to her husband. Nurse escorted her to the private ICCU, which had a private visitor/attendant’s lounge attached to the patient’s room separated by a glass wall. Patient room had a separate entry for doctors and hospital staff.
“Mrs. Bajaj, your husband is in there," said the nurse pointing towards the bed on the other side of the glass; "but I am sorry we can’t let you in at this moment. You could use this area for as long as you want to. Press this switch and someone will attend if you need something” Nurse tapped her shoulder trying to empathise with Prerna and left her in the visitor’s lounge next to Rishabh’s room.
Prerna moved towards the glass wall, beyond which her husband lied hooked to several machines; breathing through an oxygen mask that covered the face, she yearned to hold in her hands. Only movement she saw in his body was his breathing, assuring her of his presence. She wanted to run inside and ask him to wake up and talk to her but she couldn’t. Though he was right in front of her eyes but she felt it was the widest distance ever between the two of them.
She sat on the couch, her eyes refusing to look at anything but her husband. She got a call from Masi asking about Rishabh. After a brief conversation she disconnected the call and rested her head on her side supported by her hand. She had no idea when she had drifted into sleep.
Morning 7am
She woke up sensing some movements and saw a team of doctors around her husband making quick moves beyond the glass wall, but she couldn't hear them. She got up and stood with her hands on the glass, in an effort to be able to touch him somehow. One of the doctors came and informed her that "there has been a few complications Mrs. Bajaj. He has an internal bleeding in his chest cavity that has been filling his left lung with blood leading to a lung collapse, making it very hard for him to breathe. We had to do Endotracheal Intubation that is he is right now breathing through a tube administered through his mouth and a chest tube is inserted to remove the excess blood or air from the chest cavity. We are also transfusing more blood to make up for the blood loss. We are trying our best to control his bleeding and hoping that his wounds respond well to the medicines. We will keep you updated" he went back and pulled the curtain over the glass from inside obstructing her view.
Mehra came in and joined Prerna offering her a cup of coffee.
“Mam, he will be fine.. You know he is a fighter and doctors are keeping a close eye on him. He survived the attack, he will fight through this too.."
After a short moment of silence he continued "BTW Mam, I wanted to share an update with you. After I left last night, I have been in constant touch with our security agencies and the police department. I have been informed that, the guy who attacked Mr. Bajaj has been arrested and is being investigated by the police. His name is Gopal” said Mehra trying to share every piece of information he could gather in the past few hours.
Mehra continued “Our private agencies have been following and investigating it on their own too and have accessed CCTV footages from home, office and some other places. They told me that the person and his bike were spotted outside Bajaj Mansion about a couple of hours before he attacked. They also have a few proofs to believe that this very same bike has been noticed at a lot of places, especially that of your meetings, over the past month or so. We are not sure...“ Mehra got interrupted by a call from commissioner. Hearing what Mehra said, Prerna’s tired brain retrieved a month old conversation with Rishabh she had in their office over lunch.
FLASHBACK
“Rishabh.. can I share something.. I know it might sound weird to you but” Rishabh stopped her midway and without taking away his attention from the fork and knife in his hands he said “Just say it Mrs. Bajaj, how it’ll sound leave that on me.. So.. just say it”
“Mr. Bajaj, I have a feeling we are being watched .. all of us” said Prerna waiting for his reaction.
“Could you please pass me the water” he looked calm and not affected with what she said, waiting for her to pass on the jug.
Passing the jug she said “Mr. Bajaj did you even hear what I said?”
“Yes, of course I am listening Mrs. Bajaj. But there is nothing new about it. People do follow us all the time, so what’s the matter of worry here?”
“Rishabh this is not like regular people following us.. how do I explain this to you.. I.. I..f..feel we are being followed at office, our home, even Kukki’s school and I am getting pretty bad vibes from it” Prerna's expressions changed to that of worry and uncertainty.
“Mrs. Bajaj ho sakta hai tumhe aisa lag raha hai..darne ki baat nahi hai.. We’ll ask our security agency to look into it, okay. Now stop thinking about it, you have a meeting to attend.” saying so he got up from his chair.
“Go and seal the deal!” he said with his infectious smile that was more than enough to make her feel secure.
She was supposed to leave for a meeting outside the office. She sat in her car and noticed a guard sitting in the passenger’s seat next to the driver. Mehra entered the back of the car from the other end to join her for the meeting. Looking at Prerna's questioning eyes, Mehra informed her that Mr. Bajaj had asked to increase her security and for other family members too. He asked the driver to move and they were on their way to the meeting.
Prerna looked outside the window and smiled thinking about Rishabh who played it so casual when she shared her fear with him. But within minutes he made all the arrangements to ensure his family's security. Car came to a sudden halt indicating they had reached their destination.
FLASHBACK ENDS
“Hello commissioner.. yes tell me.. okay.. no please make sure..okay thank you. I'd be there.. Yes, I am leaving right now” Mehra's voice broke her chain of thoughts and she tried her best to make sense of each and every word that Mehra said on phone.
“There is a new update which I just got. Shooter has been found to be a close man of some KUMARDADA, he was in jail for past few years and has close connection to a certain land mafia group which was active some time back. Attempts have been made to bail the shooter, I have to rush to the police station to ensure he doesn’t get bail under any circumstances. You please take care.. call me if you hear from doctors.. and Mam message me if you need anything, I’ll have it arranged” said Mehra leaving.
“Mr. Mehra.. I don’t know how to thank you!” said Prerna feeling overwhelmed by the support he extended in the time of crisis.
“You don’t have to Mam. Sir ne bhaut kuch kia hai … Yea toh mera farz hai. “ Mehra said with a weak smile and left.
"Kumar, land mafia" just the words were enough to make her restless. She could not find herself to understand what kind of connection did a mafia gang had to do with Mr. Bajaj. She never heard anyone mention about all this; not even once did Mr. Bajaj say a word that she could relate this to.
While she tried to remember any incident that could help her connect the dots and make some sense of the situation; a nurse removed the curtain from inside and she saw Rishabh with a tube running down his chest. He no longer had an oxygen mask on his face, but a thick plastic tube ran down his throat now. He barely looked like the person she met a few hours back. She looked at him and as tears rolled down her eyes, she recalled how she had almost lost him about 3 years ago, all because of her own incapability to see anything beyond her blind love for a man named 'Anurag Basu'.
3 years ago, after Mr. Bajaj and Kukki left, leaving her with divorce papers and a letter; Mrs. Bajaj could not find the peace that she thought she would, if she went back to her love Anurag Basu; only if she had known what life had planned for her. Anurag went missing the night of their wedding, only to come back after a long month, married to a sweet girl Sonalika who did everything she could to save Anurag and remembered nothing about her. He just remembered that Prerna was his childhood friend.
Due to financial crisis that Sharma family was going through at that time, Prerna was compelled to work with Moloy Basu after he requested her several times. She worked as his secretary and he made sure of her comfort as she was around 6 months pregnant then.
Anurag Basu had also joined the business and head a new company named "STAR AND KINGS Media Pvt Ltd." he bought to start something on his own. She often found Sonalika visiting him during lunch hours. They looked happy together. She felt extremely uncomfortable seeing them together in front of her eyes. But never made any attempt to intervene in their lives because that would have ruined Sonalika's life and she didn't want to do that as it wasn't her mistake.
Seeing them together made her retrospect her own actions while she was in wedlock herself. She realised how her husband must have felt every time she decided to be with Anurag leaving him and her daughter behind. But nothing made him lose his trust in her and never did he ever stop her for anything. She felt guilty of her actions every time she went back to those 4 months in her memories, when she was married to Mr. Bajaj.
She heard no news of him ever since he left. He went incognito from any news like before, he had entered in her life. She missed him and every time she looked at her unborn baby she would remember his words, when he asked her to be careful or take care of herself. She missed Kukki, and felt bad for not giving enough love to the little child who had nothing but selfless love for Prerna.
Veena sensed this change in her daughter, as she mentioned about Bajaj family more often in her conversations these days, especially Kukki and Rishabh. Veena knew her daughter was ready to take a leap in her life. A real relationship this time and given a chance she would give her everything to the marriage that she broke. Veena was also happy that her daughter had moved on from Anurag and was carving a new future for herself. She had become a stronger person who knew what she wanted but feared if it was too late already.
Before she could move on in her life, she didn't have any idea that, one of the worst nightmares waited for her just around the corner. In an unforeseen set of events at her work place she met with an accident and suffered biggest loss in her life at that time. She had fallen off the stairs and Basus rushed her to the hospital.
FLASHBACK
Hospital
“Prerna…” she heard someone calling her name. Slowly she opened her eyes and found her mother’s face looking at her.
“Maa..ye main. Kaha.” she looked at all the equipment attached to her body and realised she was in a hospital. Last thing she remembered was falling off the stairs, before everything went dark. Even though she was not under immense pain but something didn’t feel right. It didn’t take much time for her to realise her baby bump was not the same as before. All confused she looked at her mother, who had tears in her eyes by now.
“Maaa.”
“Haan Priyu...” with these two words Veena hugged her daughter and they both cried knowing what they just lost.
“Shhh..Priyu.. chup ho jaao.. Hum jante hain tum kya feel kr rhi ho..” said Veena trying to pacify her.
“Prerna Maa…” Prerna broke the hug hearing a child’s voice and she saw little Kukki waiting at the door. Prerna was elated to see her daughter and opened her arms for her. Kukki was excited to see her mother and ran to be with her.
“Kukki aap yaha.. kaise.. Maa..” She looked at Veena feeling happy and confused at the same time to see her daughter after a long time.
“Humne hi bulaya hai.. jab hume pata chala.. hum jante the jo humne khoya hai uski kami koi poori nahi kr sakta but Kukki tumhari beti hai aur shayad whi ek hai jo tumhare dukh ko thoda baant sake.. islie humne Mr. Mehra ko contact kia.. agar humse koi galti hui hai to maaf kr dena beta” said Veena explaining herself.
Mr. Mehra had also joined them by now.
“Mr.Baja…” Prerna wanted to know if he was here too.
“Mam, Bajaj sir out of country hain. But he is on his way back, kal subah tak yaha phonch jayenge. And don’t worry unhone hi Kukki ko yaha lane ke lie kaha hai..” said Mehra
Prerna felt miserable on the loss of her unborn child but Kukki’s presence gave her little strength to cope up with her immense loss. Somewhere in her heart she knew Mr. Bajaj was aware of this and sent Kukki to be with her.
A little later
Kukki was with Shivani, when Basus and Sonalika came to visit Prerna in the hospital. Veena was in the corridor when she saw all of them entering her room and she increased her pace to be with her daughter as soon as possible. As she reached the door she saw all of them apologising to Prerna. They were genuinely sorry for her loss. Veena entered and keeping meds on side table she took a place on the stool right next to her daughter.
Doctor came in for an examination and asked everyone to go out for some time. As soon as they all came out of the room Veena faced Moloy and with her hands folded she said “Moloy dada.. hum aapki bhaut izzat karte hain... apne humare pati aur humare ghar ke lie bhuat kuch kia hai.. pr ye bhi sach hai ki chahte na chahte hue humari bachi aapke parivar ke wajah se kisi na kisi problem mein fas jati hai.. yaha tak ki is baar usne apne bache ko kho..” she took a deep breath.
“Hume galat mat samajhie pr hume lagta hai ki ab hum apni Priyu ko life mein aage badte hue dekhna chahte hain, wo khud bhi aisa hi chahti hai.. aur iskelie zarooori hai ki wo past se alag ho jaye.. yahi sahi waqt hai.. Dada abse Priyu aapke company mein kaam nhi kr payegi.. sabhi apni zindagi khushi se jee rhe hai, humari beti ka bhi haq hai ek normal life jeene ka… hum asha krte hai aap samjhenge..” Veena concluded and went back inside the room.
At nigh, Veena was feeding Prerna and they both saw a news bulletin on muted TV set in her room. News channel ran a breaking news of arrest of a Vishnu Khatta, brother of Ajay Khattar, who sold Star and Kings to Basus; that's when Kukki came in asking to put some cartoon channel for her to watch.
Next morning
It was around 8 in the morning; Prerna opened her eyes and found her daughter sleeping in her arms in her hospital bed. She kissed her and raised her eyes and saw HIM sitting on the adjacent sofa reading a newspaper, looking tired and sleep deprived. She felt somewhat peaceful finding him right in front of her eyes.
“Mr. Bajaj..” she said in a low voice.. Raising her body she tried to sit straight. Hearing her voice he quickly got up from his place and sat on the stool next to her bed.
“You are here?” asked Prerna.
“Yes, I promised you right?” he said looking at her and consoling her for what had happened just with the way he looked at her.
They didn’t have to exchange a single word to know what each one of them was thinking or feeling. That moment they made a silent promise to be there for each other all their lives. Six months post this incident two of them made another deal to never leave each other’s side ever again, for the world outside it was their marriage.
FLASHBACK ENDS
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Prerna came out of her thoughts when she felt a hand on her; she looked back and found Masi looking at her with teary eyes. Prerna got up from her place and instantly hugged her, finally finding someone she could hold tight and cry her pain out; someone for whom she didn’t have to act strong because she would understand what she was going through.
“Prerna beta, shh… sab theek ho jayega… he will be fine.. chup ho jaao beta” Masi tried to pacify Prerna who was shaking in her embrace.
“Masi, wo mere sath the.. ek chhoti si meeting hai bolke gaye and this..” said Prerna recalling events of last night.
“Kisi ne unke upar attack kia Masi.. 4 bullets.. he is not doing good Mas… he is very critical.. Main unke pass ja bhi nahi sakti..” she said looking at Rishabh with teary eyes.
“Maasi.. Kukki?? Kukki kaisi hai? Ussey kuch bataya to nahi na?” Prerna asked worried about Kukki who had never been away from her for this long, ever since her miscarriage.
“Kukki Tanvi ke sath hai beta, uski fikra mat kro. Tanvi ne uskey friends ko ghar pr bulaya hai to keep her engaged.. So don’t worry about her.. She is very well taken care off” Masi said trying to take away some worries off Prerna.
“Thank you Masi..” Prerna felt relieved as her daughter was safe in their house. She didn’t want to take any more chances until the culprit was caught. Rishabh already made sure their house was secured.
“Prerna hum abhi doctor se milkar aa rhe hain.. unhone kaha abhi Rishabh kal tak under observation hi rhega, hum abhi uske pass nhi ja sakte hai. Tum thoda rest kar lo, hum hai yahan Rishabh ke pass” said Masi caressing her head.
“Nahi Masi.. araam nhi krna hai.. main theek hu.. But Masi aap yaha hain to main thodi der mein aati hu.. koi bhi update aaye to please call me..” Prerna said looking a little worried.
“Ghar jaa rhi ho?” asked Masi.
“Nahi Masi, police station.. Mr. Mehra ne bataya wo attacker arrest hogaya hai.. I want to make sure that person rots in jail all his life for what he has done. Aap yaha rukie main jake aati hu” said Prerna who looked angrier than she was worried and left.
Police Station
“Mr. Mehra.. What is going on. Kaha hai wo attacker.. I hope usne bata dia hai usne ye kyu kia?” she asked him as soon as she spotted him with police officials busy with some paperwork.
“Mam aap yaha.. Main hu yaha, aap Sir ko chhod ke yaha kyu aaye?” said Mehra looking at her Boss who was red with anger.
“Nahi Mr. Mehra.. Masi hai hospital mein... I want to know.. what's the new update ” she asked looking for some answers.
She saw commissioner coming out of his cabin with another inspector; rushing towards him she asked “Commissioner Uncle, did he say something? What do you know so far? Please tell me.. I want to know who is behind this”
“Mrs. Bajaj, he is just a pawn working on someone else’s instructions. He told us he was paid for it. He works for this long time criminal famously known as Kumardada. He had been following your family for the past month or so on Kumar's instructions. But he doesn’t know the reason why Kumar hired him for this. He just did it for money” Prerna was stunned hearing all the details that the inspector shared with her.
In a state of shock Prerna covered her face and mumbled “So I was right, someone was following us. I wish I was more careful then to ye sab hota hi nahi..Why didn’t I .. it's all because of me.”
“Mrs. Bajaj, are you alright? please sambhalie khud ko. Hum puri koshish kr rhe hai us kumardada ko jald se jald arrest krne ka. Gopal, this guy who attacked your husband; we have been able to extract some crucial information from him on Kumar's whereabouts. We are sure we will have him arrested within 24 hours” said inspector, raising some hopes for Prerna.
“But this Kumar… kuch saal se ye to jail mein tha na, Mr. Mehra told me in the morning.. Ye bahar kaise aya?” asked Prerna.
“He was in Tihar Jail for past few years and got bailed out about 45 days ago with backing from influential politicians" inspector explained.
“45 days.. He sent his men to follow us and then this. He has been planning this for a month? But why? Mr. Bajaj never mentioned him, not even once then why did he do this him” Prerna couldn’t believe whatever she just heard. She wanted to kill that Kumar right now.
“Excuse me, Mam, aapka phone car mein reh gaya tha. Aapko kab se call aa rhe hain” said Ram, her driver who came rushing inside the Police station with her phone still ringing; he gave her phone.
“Hello Tanvi, is everything Okay? I hope you and Kukki are fine. Please take care and stay inside okay.. Rishabh is still in ICCU unconscious.. I will update you soon and thank you so much.. Is kukki around? Can I talk to her..” Prerna waited for Kukki to get over the phone.
“Kukki.. how are you beta…. Mumma is missing you too my angel.. I know I know, mumma left you at home, but important meeting hai.. That’s like my girl.. I will be home soon my love, and Tanvi aunt ko bilkul trouble nahi karna hai…I love you too .. I’ll see you soon” she gave her daughter a kiss before disconnecting the call.
“Mr. Mehra, I must go back to the hospital, call me when this Kumardada is arrested, I want to know why he did this. And yes Mr. Mehra, one more thing, right before the accident, Mr. Bajaj got a call for some meeting, jiski wajah se he had to rush… Ohh I wish I had stopped himm.. why did I even allow him to go..” she broke down, before she completed her sentence.
“Mam, please..” Mehra tried to pacify her.
“I am sorry Mr. Mehra” recollecting herself she continued in a shaky voice trying not to cry "I want to know what that meeting was about and who did he go to meet, please have this done for me.. Also you have his phone, right? can I please have his phone?”
“Yes Mam, here is the phone, it’s discharged though. And regarding meeting I will get you all the information you need. As far as I know there was no meeting scheduled for him at that time. But I will check and get back to you asap” Mehra assured her.
"Thank you Mr. Mehra, I am going back to the hospital. Please keep me posted on everything. And Mr. Mehra, do take some rest please, we need you" she said expressing her gratitude for him and left with her driver.
FORTIS HOSPITAL, Late Evening
Masi had gone out of the room to call Tanvi and have some food sent for Prerna with Chandu. Prerna stood alone almost stuck to the glass wall watching doctors examining his vitals and changing his drips and dressing inside the room. She was dying to touch him just once and this distance was only getting unbearable for her every passing moment. Doctors had informed her that there weren't many signs of improvement yet, but that meant things were not getting worse, which was also a good sign considering his condition. She felt her phone buzz in her hand;
"Good Evening Mam.. somebody dropped a packet that has a lot of concrete evidence against him and some hints for the current hide out and this guy Kumardada has been arrested while trying to flee away from the city. He is being brought to Police Station for questioning. Mam the evidences are so solid that he won't be able to escape this time" read Mehra’s message.
She ran out to find Masi and asked her to stay with Rishabh. Without saying much she vanished from Masi's vision leaving her puzzled.
Police Station, 9pm
"Kaha hai wo Kumardada. Where is he?? How dare he harms my family.." police officials were stunned looking at Prerna who stormed inside the police station like a hurt lioness, screaming on the top of her voice. A lady constable tried to calm her but she was not ready to listen to anyone. She demanded to see the criminal who made her family go through all the pain; the pain she felt in her heart right now.
Not being able to reason out with Prerna a constable rushed to investigation room, where Kumardada was being questioned by police personnel.
"Sir, Mrs. Bajaj bahar aayi hai aur wo kisi ki baat nahi sun rahi hai.. Aap please ek baar bahar aake unse baat kijie" constable informed the inspector in charge and Mehra who was there too as a side observer on special permission from the commissioner. They both went out and heard her still arguing and demanding to see that criminal.
"Inspector, thank God, you are here.. I want to see this man once pleasee.. Mr. Mehra please" she requested these men to let her meet this criminal once.
"But Mam, hum aise kisi ko allow nahi kar sakte hain.. It can be very dangerous for you" Inspector tried to reason out with her but all went to vein.
"Mr. Mehra please kuch bhi kijie mujhe andar jana hai, milna hai us ghatiya aadmi se.. Poochna hai Mr. Bajaj se kya dushmani hai uski jiski wajah se, he is fighting for his life.." Mehra looked at inspector, as if he requested him on behalf of his boss lady.
Inspector took a deep breath and agreed. "Okay I can take you inside only for 5 mins and no more"
"5 mins is good, I'll take it. Thank you so much Inspector!" Said Prerna acknowledging the favour that inspector just did on her.
"Alright, give us 10 mins, we need to make sure that it is safe for you to go inside. Wait here and I will call you" asking them to wait outside Inspetor went inside the investigation room.
After a while Prerna entered the room with Mehra and saw a man tied to the chair he sat on; two armed policemen standing on his either sides. This was the first time she had ever seen this man who almost killed her husband and she didn't know why?
"Kumardada, to tum hi ho jisne mere husband ko.. Humara peecha kar rhe the haan, humare upar nazar rakhe hue the. Kyu.. Kyu kia tumne aisa.. kya bigada hai Mr. Bajaj ne tumhara.. kis baat ka badla le rhe ho .. boloo.." Prerna was screaming now, holding his collar.
Prerna expected him to say something but he just gave her a wicked smile. His smile sent a chill down her body and Mehra pulled her away from this man who looked dangerous, even with two loaded guns pointed at his head.
Their moment of silence broke when he took her name “PRERNA BAJAJ”
Sorry for commenting late. The is fabulous! ❤️🤗
No words to describe
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Mangal Lakshmi
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
