44
Finally breaking the embrace, she looked into his eyes, her hands on his cheeks, caressing them with so much love that he thought he would disappear. It was hard for him to understand who this girl was... was she an angel who had come into his life or was he misunderstanding something?
He couldn't control the erratic beating of his heart around her, he couldn't control the attraction, the love or the heartwarming feeling. He was just not sure who she really was anymore.
"I guess I should go," she whispered to him.
"Okay," he muttered. "Bye."
She smiled lovingly at him before getting out of the car and waving. He looked at her through his rearview mirror as he drove away for some reason, unable to get enough of her.
As she was about to enter her house, she felt a bit dizzy again. Deciding that she had to go to the doctor, she got into her car instead of going home, and drove to the hospital for a check up.
"I just haven't been feeling well," she told the doctor. "Throwing up...feeling dizzy, I even passed out last night."
"What were you doing last night?" her doctor asked her.
"I was walking on burning coals," she said, looking down at the ground.
"When did you last get your period?" the doctor asked her, and Sanyukta looked up at the doctor with shock.
"Um... maybe two months ago," she said to the doctor as the realization sunk into her system. "Doctor... could it be that I'm - I'm -"
"You could be," the doctor replied, looking into her eyes. "I just need to take some tests. I will need a sample of your blood."
Sanyukta nodded, agreeing to the blood test. After the blood test, Sanyukta waited outside the laboratory nervously... pacing back and forth.
Could it be that she was pregnant? For some reason it didn't scare her... in fact, she was happy at the thought of being pregnant with Randhir's child. But would he feel the same way? She didn't want to burden him with a responsibility he wasn't ready for.
The doctor finally came out of the laboratory with test results in her hands. Sanyukta looked up at the doctor, her heart thumping, nervously anticipating the results of the test.
45
As soon as Randhir pulled into his building after he dropped Sanyukta home, he saw someone was waiting for him in the lobby. It was Vidhushi... a nightmare he wanted to forget.
"How do you know I live here?" he asked irritably as soon as he saw her face.
Vidhushi just grinned widely at him.
"Oh Randhir!" she said with a pleasant smile. "I came to tell you something."
Randhir found it strange that Vidhushi knew where he lived. Ignoring her, he just went inside the elevator. She ran after him and he pressed the button to his floor.
"I need to speak to you! It's important!" she exclaimed, but he didn't even look at her.
Finally stepping out into his floor, he went towards his apartment, Vidhushi still running after him.
"I'm serious Randhir! It's about Sanyukta!" she pushed.
Opening the door to his apartment, he stepped inside, and was about to slam it on Vidhushi's face, but she had already pushed herself into his apartment.
"What's your problem?" he asked angrily, and she sighed impatiently before walking further inside and leaving the door open.
"Will you just listen to me?" she asked irritably.
"Why should I?" he replied, annoyed.
"I told you it's about Sanyukta! Do you like her at all? You don't deserve her!" she yelled.
He glared at Vidhushi with so much force that he was surprised she didn't melt.
"Randhir, I need to show you something," she said, and reached into her bag before taking out a yearbook. "Look at this."
"Why?" he asked sharply.
"Go to page seven," Vidhushi said. "It's from college."
Why was Vidhushi showing him this and what did this have to do with Sanyukta? He snatched the yearbook from Vidhushi and turned to page seven before looking at the pictures there. He saw Vidhushi, then a few pictures over, he saw Sanyukta. A younger looking Sanyukta.
"What the -" he gasped, shocked. "She was in our college?"
"Yeah, she like a fool loved you since college," Vidhushi said, rolling her eyes. "Look Randhir, I'm sorry for everything I did. My intention wasn't to hurt you or anything like that... I didn't know you'd end up liking me that much."
"Yeah, your intention was money," he said coldly. "Anyways, how do you know that she loved me since college?"
"I've been her best friend since then," Vidhushi snapped back at him. "You don't have to speak so rudely!"
"I'll speak as rudely as you want if you're in my house," he replied darkly. "Now get out!"
Vidhushi took a deep breath, as if trying to get a hold on her anger.
"Look, Randhir," she said, her tone calming down. "I just came here to tell you that she loves you, and not to hurt her because of me."
"Great, you've told me. Now get out!" Randhir said angrily.
"I am sincerely sorry for what happened between us," Vidhushi continued, "But I guess the purpose of our relationship was so you and Sanyukta could meet."
Randhir sighed and turned his back to Vidhushi. She walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Don't touch me," he snapped.
She didn't remove her hand so he turned around to shoot her another menacing glare. Vidhushi grabbed his hand with both of her own and she squeezed it.
"I'm trying to tell you I'm being sincere Randhir! You loved me in the past, but forget all that and move on... please don't hurt Sanyukta," she begged.
Who did she think she was? Did she seriously believe that he couldn't move on from her?
"Look -" he started, but Vidhushi interrupted.
"You have to move on and you have to accept Sanyukta. Don't be so stuck on the past!" she continued, squeezing his hands more tightly.
Just then he heard something fall to the ground, and Randhir looked up to see Sanyukta's face, staring at the two of them with shock. Sanyukta bent down and picked up an envelope before forcing a smile.
"I'll come back later... sorry to just walk in," she murmured and looked down.
46
Sanyukta gulped, holding the envelope tightly in her hand. She took a deep breath and was about to walk out of his apartment to give Randhir and Vidhushi space, when she felt a strong grip on her arm.
Randhir had come to stop her.
"It's nothing like what you're seeing," he said to her seriously. "Vidhushi is just being annoying."
"Hey!" Vidhushi said angrily. "Sanyukta he's so... ugh! He's not worthy of you!"
Sanyukta sighed, feeling like an outsider. How could she even get stuck in a fight between the man she loved and her best friend?
Randhir wrapped his arms around Sanyukta tightly, and nuzzled his nose in her neck, catching her by surprise.
"I love you Sanyukta," he said loudly, as if he was trying to prove this to Vidhushi.
Sanyukta frowned. Why was he even trying to prove anything to Vidhushi?
"Are you trying to make me jealous?" Vidhushi snapped. "It's not working!"
"Please, someone needs to have feelings to be jealous! But you're just a cold-hearted bitch," Randhir retorted, letting go of Sanyukta and glaring at Vidhushi.
Sanyukta grabbed Randhir's arm firmly.
"Both of you, please stop behaving like five year olds!" Sanyukta finally said. "I know you two had a relationship that didn't end so well, but please discuss things like adults."
"Sanyukta I just came here to tell him how much you loved him!" Vidhushi huffed angrily. "He's just being downright insulting! I understand he is very hurt, but he can't treat you badly because he can't get over me."
"You bitch," Randhir snarled. "I've been over you for a long time. Don't think of yourself so highly!"
Sanyukta felt her face fall into her hands.
"Please, please stop arguing!" she begged the two of them. "Stop insulting each other and please discuss your feelings like grown ups!"
Randhir wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head lovingly, glaring at Vidhushi while he did that. Sanyukta didn't like this. Why was he even trying to show her all this? Had he really not moved on? If he had moved on, surely he wouldn't be so bothered to prove anything.
"Gosh so immature!" Vidhushi growled. "I'm leaving!"
"Please do!" Randhir snapped. "You were never invited in."
"Sanyukta come with me!" Vidhushi demanded.
"Sanyukta stay with me," Randhir commanded.
Sanyukta felt like she was a rope and they were playing tug of war with her.
"Vidhushi, I will come and see you later. I need to discuss something important with Randhir first," Sanyukta said sternly.
Randhir smirked.
"She loves me," Randhir said with a happy smile.
"She loves me too," Vidhushi said through gritted teeth.
"Oh please stop!" Sanyukta begged. "Vidhushi please, please go... I'll see you later."
"One second," Randhir intervened, "How did you know where I lived?"
"Oh, I followed Sanyukta here yesterday," Vidhushi said coolly.
"You call that a friend?" Randhir snapped. "What a creepy stalker!"
Sanyukta really felt like she was caught in a trap right now.
"I'm going," Vidhushi said, huffing and turned around before leaving.
Sanyukta shut the door behind Vidhushi and then turned around to face Randhir, feeling nervous at the thought of telling Randhir the truth that she was pregnant.
47
Randhir wrapped his arms around Sanyukta's waist and pulled her into a tight hug, catching her by surprise. "Why didn't you tell me you loved me since college?" he murmured into her ear. "Why did you hide it from me?"
Sanyukta was shocked - so this was what Vidhushi had come here to tell Randhir? But why? Why did she have to tell him all of that? Vidhushi had always interfered in other people's business, but she found it strange that she would come all the way here to stand up for Sanyukta. Could it be that she had feelings for Randhir and didn't want him to be hung up over her?
"Sorry," she murmured, her nose pressed against his neck, inhaling his scent. "I didn't find it that important to tell you when I fell for you."
"But why?" he asked her. "I want to know everything about you."
Sanyukta broke the embrace and cupped his cheeks lovingly.
"I have something to tell you, something important," she whispered to him, her heart beating faster.
"I think you need to know something first," he told her seriously, "I love you so much."
Sanyukta felt her heart flutter and she smiled at him.
"I love you too," she replied softly. "But Randhir -"
He had leaned forward and captured her lips with his in a hungry kiss, and she responded back with just as much love.
Finally breaking the kiss, he pressed his forehead against hers and she smiled.
"What did you want to tell me?" he asked her.
"Yes... I went to the -" she started, but her phone began to ring. "One second."
She noticed it was a call from the hospital.
"Hi Doctor," she said into the phone.
"Sanyukta come back to the hospital immediately. I did some further testing because something looked odd to me and we found something in your test results. I need to discuss it with you urgently," the doctor said with urgency.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Come to the hospital and I will discuss it with you," she said and Sanyukta gulped.
"Yes doctor," she said and then hung up the phone.
"Is everything okay?" Randhir asked her softly.
"I don't know... I need to go to the hospital. I did a check up and the doctor is calling me to discuss the results," Sanyukta explained.
She decided not to tell Randhir that she was pregnant anymore... it could be that she really wasn't pregnant and that was what the doctor wanted to discuss.
"Come, I'll take you," Randhir said to her.
"No," Sanyukta said, shaking her head. "I'll go and then meet you afterwards. I have to meet my father too and now isn't the time to introduce you."
"But our marriage is already fixed?" Randhir asked, sounding confused.
"He heard you were locked in your room for the last two weeks, so he doesn't like you very much right now... but don't worry, I'll convince him. I'll come back later okay?" she asked him softly, and he nodded.
Holding her arms, he kissed her forehead lovingly.
"Come soon," he whispered.
She hugged him tightly.
"It'll be sooner than you know," she murmured and then left to go to the hospital, her heart beating faster with every step she took towards her fate.
48
Sanyukta walked through the rain to Randhir's house, having just met with the doctor. She was in shock... her whole body was drenched, and she didn't know if the water that was running down her face was really rain, or her tears.
She was going to die.
"You have a tumor in your uterus," the doctor had told her. "Right now it is small, you're in your first stage of cancer, so we can remove it... but in order to do that, you will need to abort the child."
Sanyukta had felt her whole body give way at that moment as her breaths were snatched from her.
"What?" she had gasped. "Abort? Cancer?"
Those words were like knives to her. How could she abort her child to save her own life?
"Sanyukta if you don't abort the child so we could treat you right away, then the cancer will spread... either way there will be complications in your pregnancy, but after nine months you will enter a later stage in cancer... and at that point we won't be able to do much to save you," the doctor had explained.
"I... I can't do that," was all she said numbly.
So now here she was, walking to Randhir's place, drenched from head to toe... having already made a decision.
As soon as she knocked on his door, he opened it. Looking at her drenched and shivering body, he hugged her tightly.
"Why did you walk in the rain?" he murmured lovingly.
"Randhir... I have something I need to tell you," she told him, trying to control the tears in her eyes. "I... can't marry you."
He let go of her with shock.
"What happened Sanyukta?" he asked her, cupping her cheeks.
"I - I don't love you," she whispered painfully. "You had it right all along... I... I was never in love with you."
She couldn't tie him down to her, only for him to be hurt later on. She had already healed his heart, and now she herself was going to break it. She wouldn't leave him alone though... she would leave him with a ray of hope.
"What are you saying?" he asked her, sounding hurt. "Why are you saying this?"
"My dad found me someone else," she lied. "His business is more powerful, and... and he lives abroad. I always wanted to go abroad."
"I'll take you abroad," Randhir told her, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. "What is wrong with you Sanyukta? Stop saying such silly things!"
"Stop being so obsessed with me Randhir!" she screamed, tears flowing down her cheeks. "Don't tie me to you when I don't want to be associated with you at all!"
He took a couple of steps back from her and tears filled his eyes. Her heart ached to see him like this, but she couldn't let him be with her just so he could witness her death.
I'm sorry Randhir, she begged in her head.
Randhir then walked back to her and grabbed her arms forcefully before pressing his lips against hers.
"What -" she gasped against his mouth.
"Stop lying!" he told her darkly. "I know you love me."
Then he deepened the kiss, silencing her.
49
Randhir couldn't let her go anywhere... he would die without her. If he didn't have her in his life, he was scared he would just wither away. And this was exactly Sanyukta's fear too. She was afraid he would die if he saw her leave this world.
She couldn't do this to him, and at the same time, she didn't have the courage to get rid of the baby that was growing in her womb.
His lips were pressed against hers urgently trying to show her his love, trying to get her to tell him the truth. There was no way that his Sanyukta was really like that... there was no way.
"Randhir stop!" she screamed and pushed him off her.
He stumbled backwards, shocked that she was screaming at him. Her eyes filled with tears and she stormed towards him, grabbing the collar of his shirt.
"Please stop it! Come to your senses! Love has drugged you up!" she screamed, shaking him, and tears fell from his eyes one by one. "This isn't how to do it! Randhir you can love but you can't hold someone to you when they don't want to be held to you!"
Randhir felt numb... his Sanyukta was screaming at him, telling him that he was holding her to him when she didn't want to be held to him.
"Please Sanyukta," he whispered. "P - Please tell me why you're doing this. Y - You don't have to love me. I - I'll love you. I will keep you happy... p - please you can break my heart h - however you want, but don't do it l - like this."
She let go of his collar weakly and he fell to his knees and pressed his hands together, looking up at her tearfully. She hated seeing him like this, but what she hated more was that it looked like her love had made him weak.
"D - don't be stupid," she sniffled, "I - I don't love you Randhir... how can you still want me to be with you?"
"B - because I don't need you to love me for me to love you," he begged. "Please stay."
"And if I told you I loved someone else? Would you let me go?" she whispered to him. "Would you let me go if I said that I had to leave you because I love someone else? What if their life depended on me being with them? And my life depended on their life? What would you do Randhir?"
She was talking about their baby of course, but she knew that Randhir would misunderstand her for speaking about another man.
"Do you really love someone else?" he asked her and she nodded with teary eyes.
"I love them a lot Randhir, and if I stay here with you then either they will die or I will die or we both will die," she whispered. "I can't part with them... their life depends on me, and my life is with them."
"Do you love me?" he finally asked her, looking into her eyes.
"I... I told you already Randhir, my love for you was nothing but a phase," she whispered painfully.
"If you are happy with him and he is happy with you then who am I to interfere," he said painfully. "You can - you can go."
"Don't blame yourself," she whispered. "It isn't your fault... and I'm not leaving you because I found someone else... I'm leaving you because I have to find myself."
He looked at her with shock.
"Then find yourself and come back to me... I will be right here waiting for you Sanyukta," he said to her seriously.
"But I won't be," she whispered. "I may not ever come back."
"What do you mean?" he asked her.
"You are a great person Randhir," she told him, "The girl you marry will be the luckiest girl in the world to get a man like you, but unfortunately in this lifetime that girl is not me. My fate is not with you."
"How can you say that with such certainty?" he asked her hoarsely. "Sanyukta, please don't say all of this... it's hurting a lot."
She didn't want to ever hurt him.
"Move on Randhir. I have moved on, you move on too... you were able to move on from Vidhushi, you'll be able to move on from me too. Remember, everyone is just a stepping stone to get you to the one you're destined to be with," she whispered to him painfully.
She was not destined to be with anyone in this lifetime.
Sanyukta reached into her purse and took out the bent necklace that Randhir had gifted her. She held it out to him.
"I don't want it," he said to her.
"N - no," she whispered painfully. "I'm not giving it back. I - I want you to tie it around my neck like you said you would. Just - just one final act."
With shaking fingers, Randhir took the necklace from her and she turned around, her back facing him. As Randhir clasped the necklace on her neck, Sanyukta closed her eyes and imagined that it was a mangalsutra, the sacred thread of marriage.
"There you go," he murmured.
"Thank you," she whispered, tears in her eyes.
She considered herself a married woman now, who had to protect her husband at any cost from the harshness of this world.
Randhir just nodded and wiped his tears with his fingers.
"Good night," she whispered, and started to walk to the door, her heart hurting more and more with each step she took.
"S - Sanyukta please wait," he begged.
She had to be strong. She couldn't falter... she couldn't stop. It would hurt him more.
"Please," he whispered, and she knew that he was hurting so much... and the pain that she was feeling was probably infinitesimal to the pain he was feeling.
She stepped outside of his apartment without looking back.
"I'm sorry Randhir," she whispered under her breath. "I am so sorry... but it is for you that I have to leave."
As soon as she went, Randhir collapsed on the ground, unable to breathe before he screamed, "Sanyukta!"
Then he burst into tears, feeling like his heart just got snatched out of his chest.
Why was the one who wrote destiny so cruel?
50
The next day, Randhir woke up with a start after having a nightmare that Sanyukta left him. He realized that the nightmare had already come true last night when his eyes opened and he found himself leaning against a couch, having dozed off on the floor.
"Sanyukta," he mumbled, tears escaping his eyes. "Sanyukta come back."
He couldn't take this. He felt like he was in a situation that was worse than death. He stood up and walked out of his house without a single thought. As he got into his car and sped to Sanyukta's house, he tried to wipe the tears that were falling from his eyes, but they kept on falling, no matter how much he wiped, they just wouldn't stop.
As soon as he got to her house, Randhir noticed a lock on the door.
"Sanyukta," he whispered painfully.
Then he banged on the door and yelled through tears, "Sanyukta!"
How could she have just left without a word? Where could she have gone? Suddenly, he heard a car pull up to the house and he turned around with a hopeful expression on his face, only to see that it was Vidhushi.
"Where is she?" she screamed at him.
"What do you mean? Where is she? You tell me!" he yelled, tears flowing down his cheeks.
"She left me a voicemail Randhir - she said she was leaving the country... she sent it last night and - and, when I tried to call her, her number was no good!" Vidhushi yelled. "Where is she? Randhir where is she? What did you do to her?"
"N - nothing!" he sobbed. "I - I didn't do anything... she - she told me she needed to leave... that - that she didn't love me. I was a phase."
"What?" Vidhushi gasped. "No way! She loved you more than life!"
Randhir collapsed to the ground and Vidhushi fell in front of him.
"Where is she Vidhushi," he begged. "Please Vidhushi, tell me where she is... I'll die."
Tears fell from Vidhushi's eyes and she sniffled.
"Randhir I wish I knew," she told him, her voice cracked. "I wish I knew... I... I love her myself. She's... she's the closest thing to family that I have. She's my sister."
"I need her Vidhushi," he cried. "I can't live... we need to find her, please."
"I - I'll call her dad. One second," Vidhushi said and took a deep breath.
She took out her phone and Randhir looked at her with a hopeful expression.
"Hi Uncle... do you know where Sanyukta is?" she asked, her tone pleading, "Her door is locked here... what? You don't know? She left without a word then? Where did she go? Uncle, please find her! You have contacts... she went abroad somewhere, where did she go?"
Sniffling, Vidhushi ended the call and shook her head. Randhir felt his heart drop again before more tears fell from his eyes.
"P - Please don't cry Randhir," Vidhushi said, "I promise we'll find her. Her dad will look for her. He has so many contacts, it's impossible that we won't."
With shaking hands, Vidhushi held his shoulders and he fell forward, hugging Vidhushi tightly.
"Vidhushi I need her in my life," he begged. "I'll - I'll kill myself. I can't live without her."
She rubbed his back comfortingly and nodded.
"Don't say that... you'll find her... you have to find her. We'll find her. She - She loves you... she won't have left for long. Please - please Randhir be patient and have hope," Vidhushi said. "I - I feel like dying too, but we have to survive... if we don't survive, who will she survive for once we find her?"
Randhir just sobbed even more, and Vidhushi cried too, trying to comfort him, while trying to console herself at the same time.
All Randhir knew was that he had to bring her back... and he would find her, even if it cost him his life.
51
Randhir waited impatiently for Vidhushi's phone call. Sanyukta's dad had got in touch with his contacts to find Sanyukta's whereabouts. They were trying to find out where she had gone.
Finally, after what felt like an entire lifetime, Vidhushi called him.
"Did you find out?" he asked urgently as soon as he picked up.
"Yes, her father got in contact with the airport and they found out that she was on the overnight flight to London, England," Vidhushi gushed and Randhir breathed a sigh of relief.
"Do we know where in London she is?" Randhir asked.
"No, the London authorities are very strict and they aren't telling us where she is," Vidhushi responded. "But Uncle is looking into it... he's getting the London police involved."
"I'm going to London," Randhir responded right away and he heard Vidhushi gasp in shock.
"Wait a few days Randhir, I'm sure they'll find her," Vidhushi replied.
"No I don't trust anyone. I'm going there!" Randhir said decisively.
Vidhushi paused for a few moments as if she was in deep thought.
"Okay I'll come with you," she replied.
"No!" Randhir replied, "You stay here with Sanyukta's dad and pass information on to me."
"Randhir her dad will call regardless. We can both go there and find her. Come on Randhir, we may be able to find her more quickly if it's two of us," Vidhushi replied.
"Fine," Randhir responded, taking a deep breath. "You can come... but don't get in the way of anything I choose to do."
"Deal," Vidhushi replied.
Randhir then ended the call and booked two tickets to London for the same day. He was one step closer to finding his Sanyukta.
52
As soon as Randhir and Vidhushi stepped foot in the airport of London, England, they took a cab to a hotel before dropping off their belongings in their respective rooms. Then they cabbed to a police station immediately.
"We're looking for this girl," Randhir said, showing a picture of Sanyukta. "She's gone missing... we need to know if she is safe. Her name is Sanyukta Agarwal and she is the daughter of a big businessman Kishore Agarwal."
The police took her picture and filed her details away to make a police report.
"We will investigate," the police officer said, "But right now we have a lot of important cases going on. If you have any proof that she is unsafe then we can move its urgency up... otherwise it can take a while before we can get to this."
"She ran away from home," Randhir answered.
"How old is she?" the officer asked.
"Twenty three," Randhir answered.
"Then this isn't even a police report - she can leave her house and go anywhere at that age," the police officer said, shaking his head. "It's her will... unless she's being threatened or is in immediate danger."
Randhir felt his eyes fill with tears and Vidhushi saw this.
"Look officer she is not the type of person who would leave unexpectedly, so maybe she is being threatened," Vidhushi responded. "We have no proof, but we want to make sure she is safe."
"We have nothing to go off of," the officer responded.
Vidhushi grabbed Randhir's arm.
"Let's get out of here. We'll find her ourselves," Vidhushi said angrily.
Randhir then nodded and followed Vidhushi out onto the open streets of the night.
As they were walking they overheard a conversation.
"Sarah, you shouldn't live somewhere like here if you are pregnant. These slums are dangerous," a girl with a british accent said.
"I - I need money," a familiar voice replied. "I can't use my cards... I can get tracked down."
"I have a job for you," the girl replied. "Will you take it?"
"What?" she asked.
"A bar dancer," the girl then replied.
Randhir turned around immediately - that was his Sanyukta's voice.
"I found her!" he gasped and Vidhushi turned around as well, her eyes wide with shock.
53
"Where?" Vidhushi asked, her eyes wide. "I don't see her."
"Them!" Randhir said, pointing ahead into the distance where two girls were talking to each other.
He closed his eyes and opened them again, but he noticed it was two british girls talking.
"Where?" Vidhushi asked, sounding confused.
"I just heard her... she was just here," Randhir said, sounding confused.
"Did you see her?" Vidhushi asked.
Randhir shook his head.
"No but I... I felt her... I heard her," Randhir whispered. "She was just here... it had to be her."
"Nobody's here Randhir," Vidhushi said. "Come on... it's late, let's go back and sleep. We'll find her in the morning."
Could it be that he was missing her so he heard her voice? Somehow his heart didn't believe that... but surely he would have seen her if he had heard her.
What he didn't know, was that Sanyukta had ducked behind a wall and gasped, having seen him with Vidhushi.
"Please Randhir," she begged to herself. "Please leave and don't search for me."
Finally once they left, she stood up tall and looked at the British girl.
"I - I will do it. I will be a bar dancer," she told the girl, tears in her eyes. "I need money, and for the protection of this baby, I can do anything."
"If you want to think about it, you can," the girl replied, but Sanyukta shook her head.
"I already made my decision," she said decisively. "My life is nothing now anyways... the least I can do is give my child some security."
The British girl nodded and then said, "Tomorrow night will be your first show - for now you can rest."
As Sanyukta went inside the small room, she sat down, exhausted and her eyes filled with tears.
"I'm going to die soon anyways. After I give birth to this baby, I will give them to my parents... but until then I need to keep my baby healthy," she whispered out loud.
The next day, Randhir and Vidhushi went everywhere, showing her picture to everyone they came across. Nobody had seen her.
They were exhausted by the evening and it was only when they were on their way to the hotel, when Vidhushi took the picture to someone random.
"Oh her! Yes Sarah!" the girl replied and Randhir's head shot up.
"Sarah?" Randhir asked, his eyes wide.
"Yes, she's dancing here at our bar tonight after ten...you can come and see her performance!" the girl replied.
"B - bar dancing?" Randhir exclaimed.
"We'll come," Vidhushi said affirmatively.
"Sorry it's for men only," the british girl replied. "He could come but you can't."
Vidhushi frowned but Randhir placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'll come and get her. You just stay at the hotel," Randhir responded. "By the way... is there any way we can meet her now?"
"No. You can't meet the dancers before the show," the girl replied. "We won't even tell you where she is staying."
Randhir's eyes filled with tears. His heart was aching to meet his Sanyukta. What had she done to herself? What compelled her to run away from her comfortable life to England where she was now being a bar dancer? Why was this all happening?
Vidhushi touched his shoulder comfortingly.
"We know where is now," Vidhushi said softly, "We will find her."
Randhir nodded. He was finally on the way to meet his Sanyukta, and this thought made him feel relieved.
54
That evening, Randhir went to the bar and sat down. It was ten minutes to ten, and he had a bottle of beer in front of him, waiting for his Sanyukta to enter.
He looked up before she even entered, because he could feel her. She was looking beautiful in a short black dress and a heavy smoky eye look. The only problem was that the dress was way too revealing - it revealed a lot of cleavage and the bottom of the dress was so short that if it was any higher then it would reveal everything. Around her neck was the necklace though - the bent necklace that he had clasped around her neck before she left.
As soon as Sanyukta went to the stage, he saw her force a smile before she started to move her body. He heard some men whistling and he balled his hands into fists.
She got off the stage and danced her way to one of the men.
The general rule was that you were not allowed to touch bar dancers, but this man had a note in his pocket that he had taken out and was about to slip it in her cleavage.
Angrily, Randhir charged towards them, and grabbed his Sanyukta out of his reach.
She fell backwards, but he caught her in his arms. As she looked up at him, her eyes widened with shock.
Randhir didn't even give her a moment to react. He picked her up in his arms, bridal style, and walked out of the bar with her.
One of the security guards tried to stop him, but Randhir was too fast. He had shocked everyone in the bar.
She had tears in her eyes, as he got into a taxi and placed her on his lap, holding her so tightly, that he was afraid of hurting her.
The taxi driver looked at them with surprise, but he didn't care. Sanyukta didn't say a word, and neither did he.
After a few minutes, Randhir took off his jacket and wrapped it around her body, to cover her up, then he went back to silently hugging her.
Once they got to the hotel, Randhir picked her up again in his arms, gathering stares from everyone.
They both had tears in their eyes as they rode the elevator. Sanyukta didn't even struggle against him. She was numb, surprised, guilty, even ashamed.
When he entered the room he kicked the door shut with his foot and sat her down on the bed.
He fell to his knees on the ground in front of her and with tears in his eyes, he let his head fall in her lap.
"Why?" was all he managed to say. "Why - why Sanyukta why?"
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