Chapter 12
R – Ved… welcome my old friend. I knew you won’t be able to stop yourself after hearing that your stooge is caught. You have to end this game right? You have to end me. But it’s really low for even you man. Her impersonator, seriously. I thought whatever maybe the case at the end of the day you have some class. But this, disappointed man… highly disappointed with the player.
Sarika looked at Raghav in shock as Ved entered on terrace out of shadows with a smirk. Raghav looked at both one after the other as he sipped his whiskey. Ved walked to him, poured one for himself and joined him. Both gazed the other across the table as a smirk danced on both of their faces.
V – So… you got my plan. Well done Raghav. Didn’t knew that finally after all these years you have grown some brain. Really well done.
R – I was always a step ahead of you Ved. You always tried to caught up to me but I was always ahead. And I am ending this game tonight. Right here.
V – Oh… I am so afraid. Raghav Rao will end it right here. How the hell will you do that, might I ask? You in your over confidence, gave me a red carpet welcome through your security. What did you think I came here empty? I am not Raghav Rao man, I am Vedant ‘The Player’. I have a plan for not having a plan and you think you called me here. No brother. I brought you here to your death. Tonight is the night when great Raghav Rao dies. This here what you are seeing is a loaded gun and the one you will now try to get from your back have empty shots. So once again history will be repeating itself. Circle of life has come back to from where it started. Me with a gun, you standing with edge of the terrace behind you and nowhere to go. It’s so easy man. Damn! It’s so easy.
Sarika stood there still looking at Raghav. Tears welled up in her eyes. Raghav kept his gaze at Ved as he walked towards Sarika.
V – So this time will the new Mrs. also take bullet for you, Raghav?
The grin on Ved’s face extended as he stepped closer to her.
Raghav looked at her as she stared through him. She seemed oblivious to anything happening on the horizon. Her stare was held on Raghav as he again felt uneasy anxiety.
Why is she looking like this? Why is she looking like I did something bad? Like I hurt her somehow. She betrayed me by working with Ved. How can she even…
A strong pain was felt in his chest and the feeling seemed to have aggravated as he saw a tear dropped from her eyes. She didn’t said a word but her eyes were essaying voyages. She was hurt and he understood it. And no matter how much he like to be in control but her pearls were making him lose it.
She cannot do this. I am not wrong here. She is. She planned all this with Ved. She came here to impersonate ‘her’. She tried to take her place. She is wrong. She is wrong. But then this pain… Why suddenly I can feel her pain…. Her pain???
Ved had an ominous grin as he walked towards her.
V – So this is the new one you got for yourself. Isn’t this same as the old one. I never thought you to be the one with type but poor, weak and vulnerable seems to be right in your ally. But as you will be dying soon, I will keep this one. Let me see why you actually like her kind.
A tear dropped and her eyes closed as Ved’s hands approached her face but their journey was halted by a pair of cannons as Raghav held his hand, pulled him, grabbed him from the back and threw him over the bar. Her eyes opened slowly, shimmering as she saw Raghav standing in front of her with all the rage of the world in his eyes. His veins were bulging to burst out and face mirroring the anger of Lord Rudra. His image was setting fear in her eyes. He turned towards Ved who tried to get his gun but Raghav already threw that out and there was nothing left that could have saved him from his wrath.
Raghav grabbed him by the neck as he punches Ved right through his face. Each blow harder than the last one. The blood was pouring out profusely from his face as Raghav thundered.
R – You will touch her? You will hurt her? You want to hurt her again. You know who she is. You know what she is. She flows like a blood in my veins. She is breath to my lungs. She is relief to my pain, she is beat to my heart and you dared to hurt her. You will separate her from me? You dare that much. She is Pallavi Raghav Rao. She is my wife. She exists that’s why I am alive and you want to take her away from me. You want to keep her away from me. You want to keep us away. And you think you can do that. Really? Let me end this. I will kill you once and for all to end this. So that you won’t even dream of it.
The punches kept hitting Ved as he moved like a rag with each blow and waited for death to be his savior. His death seemed imminent and his time to meet his maker looked right in front. The wrath of Raghav Rao seemed to have crossed all its bounds as the kill looked everything but confirmed. Raghav seemed to have let out all his pain in those blows. His nerves were bursting, breath erratic. The chest falling as the anger took over his self and the air became heavy. He was destroying his own self to destroy the reason of his separation to his life. He seemed to be drowning but its fine as he will meet her. Nothing seemed to be capable of stopping the poetic horror except... she shouted.
S – Raghav… stop it. You are hurting yourself. Stop it. He will die. You can’t have his dirty blood on your hands. Leave him Raghav… Leave him.
Sarika dashed towards Raghav and embraced him from the back, placing her hand over his chest and claiming him from his self. Her beats giving rhythm to his. Her calmness shedding the weight of his pain. Her sensation bringing him to the world of living. She seemed to be doing what only she can do, making the beast human again. She calmed him as if only she can. Her light bringing him to the day. He breathes easy. She breathes easy.
S – It’s alright Raghav. Everything is alright. Nothing has happened to me. I am perfectly fine. Calm down Raghav. Calm Down. We will be fine. We will be fine.
His arms paused as he loosen his grip on Ved who drops down to the floor. He turned in a moment and embraced her.
R - You are not leaving me anytime from now onwards. I just can’t be without You. You are not leaving me again. Please… please don’t leave me Pallavi. Please don’t leave me.
He felt pain subsiding. He felt his world in his arms. He felt melting of the frozen trash. He felt two hands holding him like they aimed to bring all the broken pieces together and make him one. He was being healed. He was being made whole again. He was being given his breath. His pain seemed to have been answered.
S – I am here Raghav. I am right here and I am never going to leave you again. I am here. I am right here.
She held on to him, calming him, making him believe that he will be fine, that they will be fine. He was just standing there with his eyes closed and her in his embrace. No thought. No history. No past. No future. He was in the moment. It was his moment. It was their moment. It was the calmness to his anxiety. It was healing of his scars. It was peace to his pain and it was melting of his frozen heart. He didn’t wanted anything else now. Everything was there, in that moment, in his embrace. Him… and her. Raghav and Palla….
His eyes opened in a flash and in next he grabbed her by her arms and pushed her back. His eyes had anger and tears. His pain rose again as he wasn’t able to believe what has he done. He betrayed his life. The rage rained like fire from his eyes as he stepped towards Sarika who stood there in fear as he steps near her one step at a time. The wrath seemed back in his eyes and the impact it might have seemed blur to predict. But Raghav’s moving steps were halted by Ved’s voice.
V – You can’t win Raghav. You can’t win. I will kill you and your this new toy like I killed her. You will die Raghav. You will die.
Ved shouted as he grabbed the gun from the floor stumbling and aimed at Raghav. But with a slip, he hit the ledge and drops from ceiling as he fires the shot at Raghav. Wheel of time reached the past.
Shot fired but ‘The Fire’ engulfed the bullet destined for ‘Ice’. It had to be taken by fire. It had always been taken by fire.
She fell to floor as he held her in his lap. The moment went silent. His world went silent. She went silent.
Edited by lateuser1234 - 4 years ago