OS Amarprem Chapter 98 part 2 Updated page 3

                                                                             Pratigya blinked ... The article seemed regular page 3 stuff , but she could instantly feel what the reporter was hinting at ... That she is a show off n luxury-savy - snob type girl who is flashy even when she is attending a sacred thing as pooja , even its for mere minutes! ... The sole reason she wore that necklace was to hide her neck from the view of the world ! ...whatever the world might say , his love for her is not for the world to see ! they would have written far more than this had she not covered her neck ,commenting on the hickeys !!! ... pratigya sighed in relief , thinking that worse didn't happen ... 'ew... I don't think its pratigya!' malini laughed , pinching pratigya playfully ... 'the pratigya I know hates flashy stuff , but hey , I think I know why she was wearing that hideous stuff  ... She has covered her neck now with her shawl but I happen to know a secret that her thakur sahib likes her in red!' malini roared in giggles n pratigya hit her on her arm , exclaiming shyly 'malini!' ... she struggled to hide her blushing cheeks as she almost ran towards the haveli ... malini kept giggling as she too walked behind pratigya , ignoring gayatri ... gayatri stood there , crushing the paper in her fists , gritting her teeth in anger ... of course she had known why the girl wore such a flashy thing to the mandir , but the photo n the news was a good catalyst for her plans to make the girl feel guilty ... she had thought that atleast the s**t would stop asking him to buy the moon for her! ...  She will have to up the plan a bit , soon... may be its time to use the mail she received yesterday , gayatri smiled evilly ...

                                                                         Pratigya insisted that malini should eat her breakfast first , before they continued with the tour ... He must not be up yet , pratigya thought fondly as all women sat down for the breakfast , with gayatri trying to bring the page 3 news again ... 'don't u have any idea what Krishna will say? After seeing how the media is painting his wife?' gayatri asked , but sumitra clicked her tongue...' oh didi, media writes too much stuff about baba too , did he ever care? ...did we ever care?... forget it! They r just grumbling bec we denied them the marriage coverage !... n as far as I could see the news item came in a 3^rd degree tabloid ... ' ... pratigya felt lighter , listening to sumitra's words ... Gayatri pursed her lips in a thin line of dislike ...  pratigya smiled to herself n then gasped out , frantic ... her neck almost snapped as she looked around at the clock to find its going to be 10 am! ... oh! ... Her phone! He must have tried calling her n she has just left her phone on charging mode , switched off n all! ... uh oh! He must be worried ! ... everybody looked around at her as she pushed the chair back with a haste apology n ran towards the stairs , as if she had some train to catch ... 'what have ur dear son done to our sane friend, maji ?' malini said , her eyes saucers as she watched pratigya running  up the stairs ... sumitra smiled n renuka sniffed in happiness ... gayatri gritted her teeth ... Pratigya barely avoided hitting the cot as she dived for her phone ... she frantically turned it on, praying he is not upset with her , nor was he busy yet again in his meetings! ...

                                                           Krishna was upset will be an understatement ... he was pissed off n worried after listening to switched off' comments repeatedly since the morning... she almost dropped the phone in guilt as he thundered ...'what the hell were u thinking u were doing when...' He stopped short as everybody around the table looked up , mortaza giving him a puzzled look... 'excuse me' he grunted n pushed his chair back n walked out of the conference room , a bit embarrassed... 'I can see that he is married , alright!' the guy named Jacob chuckled n all laughed ... 'what were u thinking when u switched ur damn phone off n just leave it at that! ... u don't even know how suffocating its to not to hear ur voice , not knowing why ...' he snarled , letting out all his worry n frustration  ... pratigya listened , her heart jumping up n down in joy as she listened to the love in his voice , but feeling guilty that she caused him unnecessary worry...'what?' he shouted , not getting any response ...' Krishna ... Krishna I am so sorry ... I ...I was so stupid ! I fell asleep listening to ur ... ur voice last night ... I had kept it in repeat mode n when I woke up in the morning , the charge was used up n ... Oh I am so sorry I upset u ...' she said , her tone guilt ridden n yet full of love ... His face lit up as he listened to her ...'well, in that case I think I kinda like ur stupidity but u  r not  forgiven...yet' he winked , smiling ... she giggled , blushing 'really?' ... 'yes! U will be punished thoroughly for ur stupidity ...i will decide what to do with u tmw morning ...' he said , his voice teasing ... she turned crimson n bit her lower lip ... they just stood there , similar stupid smiles on their lips ...

                                                          'did u eat?' they asked together n laughed ... 'right , so did u get all ur jewels back from my rover last night?' Krishna asked , his tone naughty ...'krishna...' she called him in that sweet reprimanding tone he loved so much ... he chuckled slyly...' well, I have to make sure I won't lose my face infront of the garage workers ...tell me , u got ur necklace , ur ear rings ... Then? ' ...' ufff' she sat down on the bed , her knees weak as she glared in mock anger at the mouth piece area of the mobile ... she heard his chuckle deepen n she knew he has no intension to stop his love games ... she gazed coyly at the bunch of jewelry she had placed on the bedside table last night ...'n bangles ...' she whispered shyly ... 'ah , yes , bangles ... Then ?'...'paayal' she whispered huskily ...'then?' he prompted , his voice hoarse ... 'then nothing ... That's all!' she said , trying not to giggle ... 'na, that's not how I remember ... no , no I am not talking about ur kamarband , u know I love it on u , laying there , twisting around ur navel ...' He said huskily n her palm fisted on the covers , blushing furiously as delicious shiver ran up her spine ... Krishna turned around from the corridor as mortaza called him ...'right , coming' ... he said curtly n mortaza withdrew to the conference , smiling ... pratigya listened breathlessly as he said ...'u have time till evening to find out what u forgot down there ... ...she could hear the underlying challenge n a sweet threat in his voice n she shivered coyly , cutting the phone ...  She rummaged through her jewelry , looking for any missing item ... her mind was determined to win his challenge but her body n heart wanted to fail , breathless to know what's the consequence ... the task was proving difficult as it meant she would have to relive the night , n she was already feeling hot n bothered... 

                                                           Her heart n mind was distracted from the task at hand as she saw a digital album over the other side of the bed ... she hadn't seen it on her way as she was concentrating on her phone ... she opened it excitedly , her heart beat escalating ... it had the photos from his birthday party... she gazed at the moments , a silly smile in her lips ... About midway into the album , she saw one photo of theirs , when they had shared a fierce eye lock , just after he had finished feeding her a piece of cake ... Even she could feel the chemistry' that everyone was talking about , her body blossoming in goose bumps , tingles shooting up her spine ... it seemed like only they existed , none else , not even the world around them ... just them! ... she gazed n gazed at the photo , her heart greedy ... she lay back on the bed , over the pillows , her body feeling tired in a pleasant sensual way , gazing at the photo , her eyes hooded ... she sighed , wishing she was near him , so that she could show him this pic , n cuddle against his chest ... may be ... May be... She shot up from the bed , excited , as an idea struck her ... she closed the album n hugged it to her bosom n ran to chandu's room ...

                                                                         She stopped short as she listened to the tensed voice of iqbal ...'I have looked everywhere , chandu bhaiyya ... can't find it' ... She was going to turn n walk back to her room , not wanting to be caught eavesdropping when she heard chandu click his tongue in frustration ... she listened curiously as chandu said ...'I don't know iqbal ... it has been more than a week since the files went missing n Krishna is bound to know about it soon... We must find them...' ... iqbal sounded frustrated too as he said ...'but where to look, chandu bhaiyya? I think we all agreed to the possibility that somebody stole them that night ... Sir must have left the files in the rover that night at the mandir n u urself saw that the window was half open ...' ... pratigya listened , her curiosity increasing ...mandir? night? What r they talking about?... 'yeah , but who stole them? ...its not shailendra ! he would be ranting already had he got those files ! they r the only evidence against his illegal activities n his involvement in the last riots! ... who stole them? ... N why is no one coming forward with a threat or a blackmail against shailendra ? u very well know that we r keeping close watch of the happening around him... so far no evidence of threats or blackmails against the defense minister! ...'  chandu shook his head , angry n confused ...

                                                                        Pratigya reeled in shock ... The files! the files which defined her fate ! ... N now they r missing?  N what was chandu bhaiyya saying? That shailendra had a hand in the recent riots? Ofcourse , he was such an evil! She thought , fisting her hands...  'may be nobody stole them , chandu bhaiyya... what if the files were blown out of the rover n disappeared into the night or got destroyed ? u know it was raining heavily that night!' iqbal said , his voice hopeful ...  pratigya blinked ...oh she remembered ... that fateful night at the mandir , the night when she felt her world ending n brightening up in joy n again ending ... the night when his anger n hatred at her pulverized her , the night when his love for her made her heart beat again ...the night when her world seemed to end ,pain n fear assaulting her as she held him against her , blood all over his back! NO! ...don't think about it! ... yes... Didn't he tell her that night that he had taken the files with him, just in case she wanted them to save her mother!...'I don't think its destroyed , atleast not naturally ! ... it was protected by a wooden case... I am sure its stolen! Krishna n bauji  r going to be livid! ...that was the only evidence against that bas***d shailendra!' ...chandu said , tensed n angry ... iqbal sighed 'yes! Thakur sahib will be livid! But I don't think Sir will be , chandu bhaiyya, bec we know that he is just looking for an excuse to kill that dog shailendra ! after what he did to bhabhiji n renuka aunty! ...anyway thakur sahib will be ordering for shailendra to be killed soon , if the party wants it... it doesn't matter ...' ... pratigya listened , feeling nothing for shailendra at all , but worried about krishna's reaction if he came to know about the files gone missing ...'yeah , but u know bauji wanted that shailendra to be brought in front of the public n law before we serve him our justice!' chandu shook his head ... iqbal chuckled  'well, I think Sir will be super happy ... he was always against prolonging shailendra's life , especially since he came to know of the truth of bhabhiji ... Sir had only restrained from putting a bullet through that dog's head only bec of the files n now that they r out of the way, he will be eager to have a meeting with his dear FIL once n for all!' ... Chandu chuckled with him too ...

                                                                      pratigya waited a sec before she knocked on the door ... chandu said , 'come in' n pratigya saw chandu n iqbal sharing a surprised n tensed look before smiling at her politely ...'ji , bhabhiji? chandu asked n pratigya giggled ...'now chandu bhaiyya , I think I would prefer pratigya' to bhabhiji' ...' ...chandu smiled...' alright , I will cut the ji from it , but u r n always will be bhabhi' to me,  even though Krishna n u r younger to me...' ... Iqbal smiled too , nodding ... 'ahem ...welll' she cleared her throat , blushing slightly as she fumbled with the album in her hands ...'er ... chandu bhaiyya... could u ... Ahem' she cleared her throat in nervousness n shyness , looking anywhere but at them... chansu n iqbal stood like statutes , so as to ease her n pratigya took a deep breath 'huh... I want u to pls frame this pic n help me put it in our bedroom ...this one...' she said , opening the album n placing it on a table , indicating the pic with her right forefinger ... 'done, bhabhi 'chandu smiled n iqbal suppressed a giggle ... 'er ..yes! ...n  pls , I want it before he comes back tmw  morning...,so ... that's it..' she smiled shyly n made to turn but stopped short ... 'yes, bhabhi? Anything else ?' chandu enquired n pratigya nodded , her face tensed 'er ... sorry chandu bhaiyya , but I overheard some of ur convo just now ... N ... N I just hope the files r found ...one thing, it caused me n my mother great ordeal , we suffered so much for them ... N 2^nd n most important thing , I don't want my Krishna to waste his time on such a ... such a worm  , let the law n the public decide on him...' ...chandu n iqbal looked at her n then smiled politely...' bhabhi , we too hope the files r found ... The truth about the riots must be out ...' Chandu said ... Pratigya nodded n left the room...

                                                                Malini rolled her eyes as she saw pratigya coming towards her to the hall... 'what? Ur thakur sahib didn't let u off the phone for 2 hrs?' ... Pratigya giggled n hit her playfully n malini smiled ... pratigya took her to show the home theater n then the indoor swimming pool ... 

Malini sat down enthusiastically over a long couch near the pool indicating pratigya to sit ... 'so tell me, how is ur would-be?' pratigya asked n malini smiled shyly ...'oh varun is so good ... n caring ... n so polite ...he is super excited that I stayed here for the night ... But was a bit disappointed that thakur sahib was not here though...' ... Pratigya smiled too ...'I can see that u r so fond of him... ... Such a magical thing ...love' she said , her eyes hooded as krishna's face filled her heart ... malini giggled , pinching pratigya over her thigh ...'ouch' pratigya giggled too , blushing ...'I can take a photo here , now, can't I?' she took her mobile n pulled pratigya closer , their heads together as she clicked them , both of them beaming at the camera ... 'janet will be killing me!' she giggled , taking a look at the pic... 'hmm... Sad they all couldn't come ... Hey I will definitely ask Krishna to invite u all , shortly ... I am not sure about getting permission for u all to stay here , but i can guarantee that u could surely spend a day here...' pratigya smiled n malini nodded , thanking her ...

                                                                         'u know pratigya , actually  there's a real good reason I wanted to come with my parents her to attend that good for nothing's wedding, apart from meeting u  ...' Malini said , looking up at pratigya ... 'what?' pratigya asked,  curious ... 'well... Do u know that beautiful girl who danced during the holi celebrations? U know, that girl who served us bhang ?' malini whispered urgently , excited ... pratigya , completely taken aback n tensed,  stammered 'y..yes...why?' ... 'what's her name?' malini asked , her eyes eager ...'meera ...' pratigya answered , confused n tensed ... 'ah , nice name ...is she a maid?' malini persisted , her face apprehensive ... Pratigya pursed her lips , gazing at malini n shook her head a no as she said 'no ...she is not a maid'... malini seemed to let go of a breath she was holding' phew... Thought as much ... She is so beautiful ! ...  He said he don't care even if she is but, just to be sure ...' ... Pratigya stared at malini , confused ...'what r u talking about? Who?' ... malini burst into mirthful giggles ...'haha pratigya! ... our akash! He is gone ...gone ...n gone! I don't know,  anwar says its just an attraction but I have seen his eyes! ...our akash! he is in love with that girl! Love at first sight!... tell me how's she? ' ...pratigya went pale in shock , not knowing what to say ... oh! Akash n loves ...meera? ... oh! How could she say to him about meera's truth ? ... that she is the mistress of the house? That ...that ... her Krishna had ...used her as just as a ...a... oh she can't even think about it ... n then had thrown her to his cousin dog! ... NO! ... don't think... Don't think about that mean... Horrible ...side of him!pratigya! , she heard her heart writhe in pain ...but its his past! She heard her heart defend him... n u know he can be so kind... how do u know that it was him who threw her to angad? ...how could u even think that he would do such a thing! u have seen that he hardly remembers meera or any other thing' , for that matter ...for all u know , he must have moved on n may be ma sahib would have kept meera still in the position of the house mistress by giving her to angad! ... N you forgot? Didn't meera tell u how she never wanted to leave the luxury n was licking up to angad so that she would never have to leave the haveli?... yes! ...  

                                                             oh! Akash , what have u got urself into? Pratigya thought , feeling bad n sad... but he is in love with her, Pratigya! ... Akash loves her! I am sure he won't care a damn! bec look who is talking ... U know u don't give a damn about how brutal n cruel n mean could ur Krishna get , or still is , he is a killer for shouting out aloud! ... well, no that's not completely true , she do care a bit about his ... that side of his personality , but ... but ... No buts pratigya! Ur love for him was n still is n will be prepared to overlook that side' of him , u know it...! may be love will help akash overlook meera's past ...! PRESENT u mean! She heard her heart shout at her ... what the hell r u thinking? Come to terms with it Pratigya! U know that the girl kinda slave-worships ... Krishna... in her own slave-like , screwed up way ! actually, the only , but important, diff between u n her is that all she wants is to be his slave , whereas  u ...u r his everything!...   'pratigya!!!' malini shouted , shaking her n pratigya looked up , startled ...'gosh! what happened? I have been calling u for what? 5 mins? What happened pratigya? Is there any problem ? about the girl? ...tell me, what do u know? Pls... we don't want akash to end up with something worthless ...' ... pratigya started at malini , her mind in a buzz ... come on Pratigya! What r u going to say to akash? Or to ur friends? ... that hey, meera is my husband's ex mistress , n now his cousin's mistress n our family have this tradition n of course , my husband n his father n his brothers r in the business of illegal diamonds too , in addition to spices n real estate n , hey forgot to tell u , they kill once in a while too , u know , one a day or 10 a day, their pleasure ...nothing much!... .. 'pratigya! Say something?' malini shook her again , tensed ... pratigya sighed ... the things which she had to hide from her friends all this time! ...  The real nature of her father! The ordeal of her mother! Her kidnap! Her false marriage! ... n krishna's real identity! N how she being a lawyer n all is head over heals in love with a kind , caring man who also happens to be a cruel , mean , ruthless ruler n a killer! ... She took a deep breath ... Well, akash is her friend n she must take care of his heart n feelings! Also ... Meera is ... a ... wronged girl! ...  she must not demean her further!...

                                                             'oh, ...I am so sorry malini !... its ... I just ... I am feeling so sad for akash right now! ...' pratigya said earnestly , her heart feeling really sad for akash ...  Malini looked at her confused ...' its ... That girl , meera ... she is ... she is with angad now ... krishna's cousin' ... pratigya said , her voice low ... 'oh! She's got a boyfriend!' malini exclaimed , feeling bad n disappointed ... 'yes! Boy friend!' pratigya nodded , feeling ok now , having rescued akash n also meera in a single stroke ...  'oh no ... she was good , that one ... U know , akash wanted me to collect details about her when he phoned after knowing that we r coming to UP ... ... As I said , I don't think its just attraction ... U remember , he took notice of her during that day of holi celebrations ...' Malini sighed , sad ... 'hmm...' pratigya nodded , feeling sad n tensed ... 'hmmmph ... I must call janet now n tell her that meera is already taken ... she n reshma n maya n anwar could discuss about presenting the whole matter to akash ...' malini opened her mobile , dejected ... pratigya stared at the pool , tensed ...  she hoped everything will be fine n akash will be alright ...

                                                            After the lunch , pratigya hugged malini , smiling ... 'don't forget to come to my marriage , pratigya ... I have a genuine fear u will miss it as u hardly will be getting time for anything else once ur thakur sahib is back ... So remember , its after 2 weeks ! at my place in Mumbai!' ... malini giggled ... pratigya giggled too squeezing malini's palms...' oh we will surely come ...' ... Malini folded her hands to renuka n sumitra , smiling politely n then smiled half heartedly at gayatri ... gayatri grimace while sumitra n renuka smiled fondly at her ... pratigya watched as malini waved goodbye , shiv driving off her in chandu's benz ...

                                                                                  Pratigya sagged to her bed , feeling sad n tensed ... she hoped akash will move on ... She looked longingly at her mobile , wanting to hear his soothing voice so that her tensed mind could relax a bit ... she sighed tiredly n opened her mobile , gazing intently at the pic of him he had sent last night ... she jumped a bit as she received a msg , from him ... she opened it , giggling n breathless, every other thought escaping her mind but him ... Just him! ... you have exactly n hour to loose ur challenge ... I know u want to loose ...but ... just telling...' she inhaled , looking around at the bunch of ornaments she got from the rover last night ... did she really miss anything? ... she rummaged  the pile , confused ...  she got everything! ... he is just tormenting u sweetly so that u remember last night all the time ... yes! ... uff , he is so naughty ! ... She giggled coyly n laid back on the bed , her eyes hooded as she bit her lip , remembering the moments ... she stopped short at how he had traced her necklace with his right forefinger , while he flicked her nose ring with his naughty tongue ... OH ! she sat bolt upright , suddenly remembering what she missed inside the rover ... her nose ring! ...

                                      Hope u liked it 😳