Dheera FF -[TOGETHER FOREVER] part 18 updated - Page 4

Dharam looked down at Bhavani lying on the floor unconscious. The was a bump forming on her head where he had hit her. What the hell was she doing here.?  He had assumed the goons had come back and opened the door prepared to surprise them. Meera and Vidhya had heard Bhavani's scream and came running out of Vidhya's room. For once , Meera had listened to Dharam and stay in the room and as soon as the goondas had left she had run to Vidhya's room to check on her and the kids.

" Dharamji.! What happened?"

" Someone knocked on the door, I thought the idiots had come back for more. How was I supposed to know it was her?"

They picked Bhavani up and took her to her room. Vidhya made tea for all of them.      

   " Don't worry Papaji. First Shravanji, now you. Looks like everyone is taking their turn hitting her on the head. What happened? Who were those people?"

" I don't know Vidhya, but I get the feeling they are from Bhavani's village. Whatever, I managed to chase them away. They were trying to attack Meera. You should have seen your sister , she was a tigress. She helped me fight off those people"

" They are Bhavani's people. I remember seeing them when I was staying there. But why were they here Dharamji?"

" I don't know Meera, but the fact that they were after you means Bhavani suspects about us. We need to be careful. I just need a a little bit more time to get her to confess the truth"

" Dharamji, you had better be careful. She pretends to love you but had no problems sending her people to attack you

" Don't worry about me. And I think she is after you, Meera. Vidhya,you too  be careful when you are dealing with her. And Meera, I think it best if you stay else where for a few days"

Meera's face fell when she heard that. Dharam took her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. " Meera , I can't bear to let anything happen to you. It's not safe for you here any more. Bhavani is becoming crazier by the day. Earlier she was talking to me about people killing for love. I thought she was talking about her husband but she must have been hinting about hurting you. I will not let that happen. I will book a suite for you in Hotel Presidency. And I will come and see you everyday" He hugged her close to him. Vidhya went to her room, to give them some privacy

Dharam saw the tears well up in Meera's eyes and he wished he could keep her with him always but it was not safe for her to stay there any more, not after what happened that night.

" Meera, Bhavani has proven to us that she will go to any lengths to hurt you. You need to stay away for a few days. She has become a psycho but is bound to make a mistake soon. Till then, we need to be careful"

Meera just nodded her head. She didn't want to leave and she was tired of hiding but there were no other options. She wanted to start living with her husband her babies in peace, but Bhavani needed to be removed from their lives once and for all. 

Dharam arranged for Meera to go to the hotel straight away while he waited for Bhavani to wake up with a massive headache. He wondered how she would react in the morning. Well, Bhavani's reaction was as expected. She was angry, upset and wanted to know why Dharam had hit her. 

" I am sorry Bhavani. I don't know if you heard all the noise in the house yesterday. We had a group of people enter the house and attack me and M.." He stopped just in time. He couldn't mention Meera's name just yet. He had to let her tell hi, what she suspected first

" You and who else , Dharamji?"

" Vidhya, I meant say Vidhya. They tried to attack her as well. I managed to beat them up but they all ran away. I have complained to the police and hopefully they will be caught soon."

Bhavani was furious that Dharam would put his life at risk for Vidhya but she pretended to be concerned. She told Vidhya to take rest and that she would take her of the housework.  Dharam left a little while later as well. He couldn't wait to see Meera. Vidhya also had made plans to go and see her sister and take the twins with her. So that afternoon she took them and left to see Meera but what she didn't realise was that Bhavani was following her. Bhavani saw Vidhya go to Hotel Presidency and take the lift to the top floor. Now what is this girl up to and who is she meeting here? She decided to sit in the lobby and wait for Vidhya to come back. She took a newspaper and pretended to read it. And she almost fell out of her chair when she saw Dharam walk out of the lift. THEY WERE MEETING IN HOTELS NOW. Maybe because of what happened last night . Bhavani made up her mind, Vidhya will not go back to Suryavanshi house. She will finish off what she started yesterday and she knew just the right man for the job. She made the call.

...

Vidhya opened her eyes slowly. She was in a dark room and her hands and feet were tied and her mouth was gagged. She tried to piece together what had happened. She had taken Ahem and Medha to Meera, Papaji was already there but he had to leave urgently for a meeting. She had spent a long time tallkng to Meera. She was also looking forward to that evening, Shravan was going to take her out for a romantic dinner and he had surprise planned after that. Meera and Dharam were going to look after Priyal. Dharam would pick her up from school and bring her to the Hotel. Dharam and Meera had planned this as a gift for Vidhya and Shravan , for all they had done for them, especially by looking after the twins. Today, it was Vidhya and Shravan's turn to have a romantic night out. Vidhya had got ready in Meera's room and had come to the lobby to wait for Shravan when he had called her to say that he was running a bit late so she was supposed to go straight to the restaurant. She had walked out of the hotel and remembered someone coming behind her. The next thing she remembered was waking up in this dark room.  She hoped this wasn't the surprise Shravan had planned because so far she was hating this. She tried to loosen the ropes but without success. And then she heard footsteps outside..

" Meera Ma, I want to feed Medha," Priyal tried to grab the bottle from Meera.

" No beta, not today. Medha is cranky today. I am struggling to feed her. Why don't you help Bade Papa to feed Ahem?"

Priyal was excited to be spending the night with Meera, Dharam and the kids in the hotel. Dharam had picked her up from the school and taken her to Modi house first as she wanted to spend some time  playing with Jay and Veeru and then he had  brought her to the hotel. She was hoping to see her mum there but she had already left. Dharam decided he would leave a little later and go home. Bhavani would be waiting for him. He would spend some time with her, try to get the truth out of her and then make some excuse and come back to the hotel.

" Dharamji, can you call Shravan and check if everything is ok? I am a bit worried that Vidhya is not answering the phone"

" Meera , stop panicking and leave them alone. They need a night to themselves and the last thing they want is us calling them every few minutes. " 

" But Dharamji, Vidhya had asked me to phone her when Priyal got here. That's why I have been trying to call her. It's unusual for her not to answer her phone."

" Ok Meera. I will call Shravan when I get back from the house. I need to go there now and confront Bhavani"

" Be careful Dharamji. I think she will be very suspicious that Vidhya is not there. What will you tell her?"

" I will tell her that Vidhya is at Modi  house with the kids today. I will pretend that I arranged it to spend some time with her alone. That should make her happy. I am leaving now, I will see you in a couple of hours" 

Meera was concerned about Dharam spending time with Bhavani but she knew it had to be done. She tried not to think about it and got herself busy looking after the kids.

... 

 

Bhavani was confused. Where were the twins? The friend she had called to abduct Vidhya had been told that once his men  nabbed Vidhya, they were meant to bring the kids to her, Bhavani. That way she would show Dharan that not only was Vidhya not to be trusted but she ,Bhavani would  look after the twins as if they were her own. But she had received the call two hours ago to say that they had Vidhya but Ahem and Medha were not with her. She was dressed up, apparently on her way to meet Someone, most probably Dharam. But where did she leave the kids?  If they were still in the hotel, who was looking after them.! And also, why was Dharam not getting worried about Vidhya's disappearance.?

Bhavani had expected him to be sick with worry when Vidhya didn't turn up wherever he was going to meet her. But he had walked in a few minutes ago and told her that Vidhya was spending the night at Modi Bhavan with the kids. This could only mean one of two things. Vidhya was genuinely meant to go to her mum's house or that she was cheating on Dharam. Bhavani felt like laughing. Dharam had Betrayed Bhavani and now his lover was  betraying him.  She went to his room just  in time to see him rush out looking worried. He was on the phone, to Shravan and it was clear he was trying to calm him down. 

" everything Ok Dharamji?"

Dharam  didn't know how much to tell her but Vidhya might have called her. " Did Vidhya call you?"

" No, why would she?" 

" Nothing. I can't get her on the phone. Listen , you stay in, I need to go out. I have an urgent meeting"

Meeting. At this time! Bhavani knew he was going to look for Vidhya and smiled to herself.

...

Shravan paced the room and kept looking at his phone, willing it to ring. It had been almost 12 hours since Vidhya went missing.  Meera sat huddled holding Priyal close to her. Dharam could see she was trying hard not to cry and worry the little girl. He himself was trying to hold it all together.  When Shravan had phoned him last night to say Vidhya never made it to the restaurant he knew Meera's worries had been right and he was blaming himself for not taking her seriously enough. They had gone to the police station and given a missing person report but he knew he didn't have to look far to find the culprit, it had to be Bhavani but why would she want to hurt Vidhya? It didn't make sense.   Dharam wanted to phone Gopi and tell her the truth but Meera had stopped him saying that she had enough worries of her own. Now they needed to wait for Bhavani's next move. . He would watch her and follow her.

...

 Bhavani was tired of the waiting game as well.  Shravan and Dharam had come home and told her that Vidhya was missing and she had pretended to be concerned. She volunteered to look after the kids but they told her the kids were at Modi house. Dharam was consoling Shravan as if he had no part in it. It was time to expose his duplicity. Bhavani had agreed to meet the kidnapper and discuss the next step. They were going to meet in hotel Presidency where he had booked a room. 

...

Karan came out of his room and looked up and down the corridor. He didn't want Bhavani in his room but it was safer than meeting her in the lobby. He would have preferred to do all this in her village but Bhavani wanted a neutral territory so the hotel it was. He cursed himself for having fallen into her trap. She insisted on calling him her friend but the truth was she was blackmailing him and he hated her. But where  was she? He was looking down on his phone and didn't pay attention when one of the rooms opened and a guest walking out bumped into him . She lost her balance and he caught her. And in that instance his life changed. He was looking at the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and Bhavani, Vidhya and the kidnapping all seemed history. 

" What is going on here?"

They both turned at the voice. Dharam was walking towards them and his face looked thunderous " What are you doing to my wife?"

"Dharam? Dharam Suryavanshi?"

Dharam took another look at the man he had almost punched and realised it was an old friend of his, Karan Shah. They hadn't seen each other for a few years now but Dharam had done business with Karan in the past. 

" Karan, you are in the city and you didn't let me know? What are you doing here? 

Karan looked at the beautiful woman standing in front of him. This was Dharam's wife?

He remembered that Dharam had told him that he had remarried, but he never thought that it would be to such a beautiful young woman. He felt immensely jealous of Dharam. " I am here on business Dharam. I didn't want it bother you. I would have called you after it was all settled."

"And Meera , why were you raising  your voice at him? This is my friend Karan. ."

" it's nothing Dharamji. " Meera decided to hold her tounge. She didn't like Karan but if he was Dharamji's friend she would try not to judge him too harshly.

Karan followed them to their room on Dharam's insistence and was surprised to see the babies there. Something stirred in his brain. Bhavani asking about the twin babies, there can't be that many people staying in the hotel with twins. Did that mean Bhavani and Dharam were connected? 

" Dharamji, any news about Vidhya?"

Karan stood still. Vidhya! Wasn't that the name of the woman he had been asked to kidnap? Bhavani had told him that Vidhya was her husband's mistress and needed to be removed from the scene. He didn't even know who Bhavani's husband was and what was his connection to the Suryavanshis. But the coincidences were piling up. And why was Dharam and his wife living in hotel? 

"Who is Vidhya? " He asked Dharam 

" Vidhya is my daughter in law. Also Meera's sister. She has been missing since yesterday. We are really worried. She was here with Meera and was supposed to go out with my son but we don't know what happened after she jest the hotel"

" Dharam, but why are you living here and not at your house?"

" It's a long story, I'll tell you later. But I need to go to the police station now. Meera , please don't stress yourself. I won't let any harm come to Vidhya."

Meera hugged Dharam tightly and Kai's her head on his chest. Karan looked away. He couldn't bear to see Meera with Dharam. The moment she had fallen into his arms, he had decided that he wanted her and he was going to get her. And Vidhya was going to help him. 

Karan followed Dharam out of the room and walked with him to the lobby. He could see Bhavani coming in. Bhavani too had seen them and immediately hid behind a pillar.

As soon as Dharam left, Bhavani confronted Karan. He told her about his friendship with Dharam . " But how do you know Dharam?" He asked her.

" Arre, he is my husband."

Karan looked at her wondering if she had gone mad. A few minutes ago Dharam had introduced Meera as his wife and now Bhavani was claiming to be his wife? He wondered what he had got himself involved with. Karan had gone to Bhavani's village to invest in a factory there , but Bhavani had caught him in bed with his business partner's wife and had been blackmailing him , threatening to release photos to his wife and his partner. He could not antagonise either of them . He needed his wife's money to support his extravagant life style. He knew he wasn't that brilliant a business man.  

But now Bhavani seemed delusional and he wondered if he could prove her mad , he might finally be off her clutches. 

" But Bhavani, isn't Dharam married to someone called Meera?"

Bhavani's face darkened. " Do not mention that name" she hissed. " He was married to her, but she ran away from home days ago and is out of his life. He is all mine now or will be once that blight Vidhya is also out of our life."

Karan was confused. Did that mean Dharam was married to Meera and living with her in the hotel while keeping another wife at home and also having an affair with Vidhya?

Now he was truly jealous of the guy.

" Listen, you need to get rid of Vidhya quickly. Do what you have to do and once she is dead, send the photos to me and Dharamji. "

" And if I do this , you will hand over all my photos to me? "

Bhavani agreed to do so. "You know, this  hotel was their secret meeting place. He had been coming here to meet her , away from me. I bet, he still keeps the room hoping she would be back soon."

Karan tried hard not to laugh. Finally, Bhavani had met her match.  . Bhavani, who thought that she was really smart didn't know that she had been outwitted by Dharam and Meera. Karan didn't know why, but Meera and Dharam were pretending to be separated. It was Meera he was seeing in the hotel, not Vidhya. He needed to plan and use this knowledge to his advantage.One stone , two birds - get rid of Bhavani and get closer to Meera. 

...

Vidhya heard those footsteps again. The person who had kidnapped her was out there.  He had been in yesterday as well . But she hadn't seen his face. He was wearing a mask . He was tall, over six feet and and he leaned his head to the right while talking. His voice was muffled under the mask. Vidhya  had tried to learn as much about him as possible. She raised her head when  she heard him enter the room. He still had the mask on. She saw him take out a syringe and knew what was going to happen. She tried to loosen the ropes, but they just seemed to tighten. She could smell his aftershave when he came close to her and saw that his eyes were slightly greyish . But that was the last thing she saw before her eyes closed.

...

Dharam stroked Meera's hair as she lay with her head on his chest. They both found sleep hard to come. The babies were fast asleep and he had taken Priyal to Modi house earlier. He didn't want her telling Bhavani about Meera. Shravan was out looking for Vidhya but he had stayed in to comfort Meera. He could feel the tears flowing down her cheeks . Dharam wiped the tears away and held her tightly to him. " Dharamji, you won't ever leave me again, will you?,

" Meera, I never left you. You were the one who..Any way let's not talk about that.  I promise I will never leave you.  Not in this life, not in any of our future lives. I will find you Meera. Even if we are in two opposite corners of the world, I will find you. We are destined to be together- forever". Meera raised her head and looked into his eyes. She knew he meant every word of what he said. 

And just then the fire alarm went off. 

...

The phone ringing at two in the morning woke up Bhavani. Once again , she was alone in the house. Dharam had said he was doing out to look for Vidhya. She answered the phone and heard Karan's voice. "It's done. He will get the photo soon " there as afire alarm going off in the background and Karan disconnected the call. And she saw the photo that he had sent to her. Vidhya, lifeless, her throat slit, blood pooling around her head. Bhavani threw her head back and laughter. And she stopped as soon as he saw the next photo that came through. It showed Dharam with one arm around Meera and the two of them holding their kids . They were snapped outside the hotel and Bhavani could see a fire engine next to them. The alarm going off when Karan called! This was taken minutes ago! She stared at the photo for ages and then threw her phone in anger against the wall. And she let out a blood curling scream. But there was no one there to hear her. 

" Let's go back home, Dharamji". He was startled to hear her voice. He thought she was sleeping. But his Meera was standing right next to him and it was almost as if she had read his mind.  She moved closer to him and put her arms around him. She looked up at him and smiled and looking into her eyes, he knew he had made the right decision. She will stand by him and that was all that mattered. Dharam held her close to him and buried his face in her hair. He could feel his chest tightening, with fear but also hope. They will survive this. As long as they were together, they will get through this.

...

Karan closed his laptop and drained the whiskey in one gulp.   He hated to see Meera in Dharam's arms. What was happening to him? He had known her for less than 2 days and already she had become an obsession. He wanted her to be in his sight every minute and that's why he had planted the camera in their room after setting off the fire alarm. Now he had to sit and watch this! It was time to put an end to all this romance. Dharam needed a shock , something to take him away from Meera and he had the right medicine for that. Karan looked at the phone , selected the photo and pressed send. He opened his laptop again and looked at the scene unfolding before him. Dharam picking up the phone, looking at it, almost Dropping it, the look of horror in his face, Meera shaking him, trying to get the phone off him, Dharam trying unsuccessfully to hide the image from Meera, The pain in her face when she saw the image, Meera slowly sinking to the floor, Dharam supporting her and finally holding her against him. Ok, he didn't want to see that last bit . Karan started laughing. He had set a plan  in motion and soon, he would get the result he wanted. Dharam and Bhavani face off , with one or both of them dead, Meera in pain after losing both her sister and husband , Karan- her knight in shining armour and then two of them will be together . Just a few more days.

...

Bhavani looked at the photo again. For the first time since meeting him, she was overwhelmed with hatred. He had betrayed her, Bhavani, and all for that brat Meera. She was home pining for him and he was playing happy family with Meera and his kids. Even in that photo , it was clear how much he cared for Meera. The way his arms were around her as if he couldn't bear to be away from her. While she had no reason to doubt Karan, she needed to see with her own eyes. She left the house, determined to finish this game. If Dharam was indeed with Meera and had been cheating on her, he will have to pay the price for that. Now it was becoming clear to her why he wasn't more concerned about Vidhya . All that sneaking around- it had to be for Meera. Looked like Vidhya was helping them and had ended up being collateral damage. Oh, well. If her suspicions were true, then She will make sure that Mr Dharam Suryavanshi joined his late daughter in law soon. 

...

" Jaggi Bhai, please don't tell anyone where you are going, just come here with Urmila Maasi. No one else should know anything for now"

Jaggi wondered about the cryptic call from Dharam so early in the morning. He had woken up Urmi and told her that they needed to go and see Dharam and Meera straightaway, in their suite in the hotel. 

They were so worried they didn't pay much attention to the woman with her face mostly covered who got in the lift with them. They didn't see her clench her fists when Jaggi said he hoped Meera and the twins were OK. They didn't care that she got out on the same floor as them. They didn't notice her hiding behind a pillar when Dharam opened the door .

Dharam didn't know how to break the news . Jaggi and Urmila were surprised to see his red eyes and knew something was horribly wrong. They were proved right a few seconds later when Meera rushed out of the room and threw herself in Urmila's arms.

" Naani, our Vidhya... She .. She is.."

" what happened to Vidhya? Meera, Dharam Kumar, arre! Will someone say something?"

Dharam wordlessly showed them the photo he had received. Urmi felt the ground slip beneath her and had to be supported by Jaggi. He didn't know what to say. How was he going to break the news to Gopika? The sound of the kids crying brought them all to their senses and they went inside the room. Bhavani, hiding behind the pillar , had seen enough. She quickly went downstairs and made her way back to the house. She looked around at the place. Compared to her house in the village , this was a palace and she had dreamed of ruling the household as a queen. " I will remain as the queen of this house, not as Dharamjis wife but as his widow. This is mine, all mine. Vidhya is gone. I will kick Shravan out and Meera won't dare to come back" She ranted to herself. She took her phone and made the call. It was finally answered...

" Meera, be hopeful beta. It's possible Vidhya is still alive. Let's not rush into any conclusions. "

" Nani, why would anyone want to kill her? It's me that Bhavani has problems with. Vidhya was kinder and sweeter than me. I was angry with her for a long time and did so much to hurt her but she never gave up on me. If it wasn't for her, I would never have been with my Dharamji."Meera sobbed. Urmi didn't know how to console her. 

Meera lay back in bed and closed her eyes. She thought back to the time when she had first realised she was in love with Dharam. He had beaten himself up to protect her from Gaura's punishment and Meera had stopped him. She didn't know why she had hugged him that day but Vidhya had seen what she herself was trying to hide. That she was finally falling in love with Dharam. It was only after speaking to Vidhya that Meera herself realised that she was probably in love. 

Urmi looked in wonder at the smile on Meera's face. She wondered what she was thinking about now. Little did she know that Meera was thinking about her first Valentine's Day after her wedding and the surprise Vidhya had arranged for her.

...

Meera came down the stairs as if in a dream. It had been weeks since Ahem passed away but she was still in shock. And she blamed herself for her dad's death. It was only because of her stubbornness that he had to go out that day and if he hadn't...

She knew Dharam blamed himself as well. Wishing he had acted sooner to stop Meera. Since their wedding their mutual guilt had stopped them getting closer to each other. Dharam was supportive, kind and loving but there seemed to be a barrier between them and Meera didn't know how to break it either.  They had been sharing a room but hadn't consummated their marriage yet. Meera was mourning her dad and Dharam was not going to rush her into anything till she was ready.

She saw Vidhya setting the table for breakfast and wanted to turn away. She didn't want to eat but Vidhya would be hurt. Even at this late stage in her pregnancy Vidhya was doing all the work.  Meera sat down at the table and played with the food rather than eat anything. She kept thinking about her dad and tried hard to block her tears. 

" So what are you getting Bhabhi for Valentine's Day tomorrow?" Nayya's question to Shravan brought her back to the present.

"It's a surprise  " Shravan said

So it was Valentine's already. Last year Dharam had given her a hand crafted wooden heart which she cherished. She looked up and caught Dharam's eyes. He looked a bit embarrassed. Meera knew he had forgotten about tomorrow all together. He will probably buy her a last minute gift. 

After breakfast Meera was about to go back to her room when Shravan stopped her.

" Meeraji, I need your help. I have got Vidhya's gift but I want to get something unique and special for her. Will you help me choose it? You know her tastes very well."

Meera reluctantly agreed. The last thing she wanted to do was choose Valentine's Day presents but she couldn't say no without seeming to sound like a brat. Shravan had been really good to her in the last few days and she hadn't really been out of the house for days. Dharam had tried but she had made excuses all the time. 

Dharam was on the phone when she went to the room. She didn't want to disturb him so she just took her handbag and was about to leave when she felt his hand on her shoulder. " Meera, I need to go to Ahmedabad urgently for a meeting. I need to get some documents from the office and then I am going to drive there straight .  I'll be back in a couple of days' time." Meera was disappointed. Even though she didn't feel like celebrating anything, it would have been nice if he could at least spend the say with her.  Dharam saw the look on her face and added" Don't worry, I have arranged for your gift to be delivered tomorrow." 

Meera was really upset now. Is that what he thought about her, that she only cared about some stupid gift? She felt her face flushing. " You know what  Dharmaji, you can be so thick headed sometimes. You are acting like an old man now. If you think buying gifts will keep me happy! You don't know me at all." She  saw his eyes widening in shock at her words and walked out of the room. She didn't want him to see her pain. 

Meera was quiet on the journey to the mall and Shravan let her be. They spend the next three hours looking for that something special for Vidhya. Even though Meera felt a bit frustrated, she was also less agitated  than she had been in days. She had always enjoyed shopping, especially buying gifts for others. And Dharam hated shopping. She gradually relaxed and started enjoying the shopping experience with Shravan. Finally after about three hours, Meera found something that he liked and they went to have coffee. 

They were just about finished when he saw some message on his phone. " Meeraji, I'm sorry but we need to leave. I need to collect some papers from Mr Mehta and take them to the bank urgently. " 

Meera felt her eyes closing,she was tired  mentally and physically . she could hear Shravan on the phone to Mr Mehta. Her thoughts turned to Dharam and she felt bad about shouting at him that morning. He probably didn't mean it in a bad way about the gift and she knew he was really hurt by her . As soon as they reached home she will call him and apologise. She felt the car stopping and Shravan saying he will be back soon. They were on their way again soon and in a few minutes , Meera dozed off. She woke with a start when the car stopped this time. It took her a while to realise where they were and she was surprised. Why were they here? She saw Dharam a few yards away and he was looking at his watch impatiently. What was Dharamji doing here? Wasn't he meant to be on his way to Ahmedabad? 

 

" But Shravan, why are we here?"

" I am here to drop you off. You are here for your Valentine's Day surprise." Shravan smiled. " I cant stop the car here long. Here , Meeraji, take these. You will need this." Shravan gave Meera the documents he had collected from Mr Mehta. Meera got out of the car , still in a daze.

" Enjoy your surprise," Shravan drove off. Meera looked around, at the people coming and going , wondering what she was doing there. Dharam had seen her and waved at her. She walked towards him. 

" Meera, hurry, we need to go in now. Otherwise we will miss our flight. You have the tickets, don't you?" Meera looked down at the papers Shravan had given her and noticed that they were indeed flight tickets. 

Meera still wasn't sure what was happening. Dharam pushed the the trolley with their luggage towards the entrance . " Dharamji, wait, where are we going?"

" Let's go in first and you will find out soon." He seemed in a hurry and Meera followed him. Once inside, he started walking towards the Singapore Airlines counter. 

SINGAPORE! They were going to Singapore? Meera looked at Dharam in shock. How did he know that she was dying to go there?  Ahem had promised to take her and Vidhya there but before he could, Gopi had come back and other things had taken over their life. she had often told Vidhya that she wanted to have her honeymoon in Singapore. 

They barely had time to talk while they checked in and cleared immigration and security. Their flight will be boarding shortly.. Finally , still in a bit of shock, Meera found herself seated in the business class lounge next to Dharam and taking the glass of champagne offered to her.  Dharam settled back in his seat and looked at her and smiled. 

" Will you Atleast tell me now what's going on?" Meera asked him

" We are going to Singapore. Haven't you always wanted to go there?" 

" Yes, but how did you know?" She had never spoken about this with him. 

Dharam took her hands in his and when he spoke his voice was tender . " Meera, I have see how upset you were in the last few days . I know I can't bring your dad back and I would give anything, anything to change what happened, but I cant. But what I can do, what I really want to do is make you happy.  I'll do anything for you Meera. When I see you in so much pain, it breaks my heart. I wanted to give you a special gift for Valentine's Day but I wasn't  sure what to do. It was Vidhya who told me that you would feel better if you went away for a little while. She was the one who told me that you would love to visit Singapore. In fact, she actually helped me organise the trip , while keeping everything hidden from you. Hope you like it , Meera. look, you don't have to treat this as a honeymoon, just a vacation. In fact, I'll keep away from you if you want. You can go and do all the things you want to do."

Meera was speechless. She had been so lost in her world , she hadn't noticed her husband and her sister trying to make her happy.  Vidhya had lost her dad too and as older sister she should have been taking care of Vidhya but it was the other way around here. And while she wasn't  always rude , she had not always been very nice to Dharam either. But all he wanted to do was make her happy.  She took her hands away from Dharam's. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She covered her face with her hands . Dharam couldn't see her face behind her hands but he saw her whole body shaking with each sob. He slowly put his arms around her scared she might push him away.  But suddenly she turned to him and hugged him tightly. She rested her head on his shoulder. She was still crying and Dharam decided to let her cry her heart out. All those pend up tears , they needed to come out. They didn't care that some of the other passengers were staring at them.  Meera held on to Dharam till they were ready to board. They didn't say much to each other but somehow in that silence between them they seemed to understand each other better. 

By the time they were seated in the plane, Meera had calmed down. And staying away from home for a few days was the perfect solution. She felt that all the pain , unhappiness and sadness has been washed away and she looked forward to starting her new life with her husband.  But before that there was one person she needed to talk to. When Vidhya picked up the phone, Meera could only say Thank you before she started getting emotional again. Dharam took the phone away from her. 

 " All that can wait till we get back home . You just relax and enjoy your holiday."

" I don't think I am going to enjoy it much." Meera put on  a sad face. " You said you are going to keep away from me. So how am I suppose to be enjoying this trip on my own.?"

" But Meera I thought that's what you want. Look, I will do anything to make you happy."

" Oh really! " 

" Yes! Just tell me."

" Fine. So you have to promise me that you will not leave my side even for a minute. You will stay with me and whatever we do , we do it together. Understand. You better understand."

Dharam looked at Meera, trying to be stern and serious and started laughing.

" I understand really well. And I promise to stay by your side, not just for this holiday but for  the rest of our lives, for all our lives."

That Valentine's Day, Meera finally got to know her husband and lying in his arms, contended, she was happier than she had ever been in her life. She never got to see much of Singapore on that trip because they barely left the room but she was ok with that . .But she didn't forget to get presents for Vidhya , for helping her get closer to her Dharamji.

...

And now Vidhya was gone. She had see the photos and how much blood had been lost. She didn't believe that anyone could be alive after that. Meera started crying again. Urmila held her close and tried to console her but Meera couldn't stop the tears. And then the door bell rang. 

" I just had a call from Dharam.  He wants me to take Meera to the temple in the village. He said he will meet us there." 

" What temple and why is Dharam Kumar phoning you and not Meera or me?" 

Urmi didn't like Karan at all. There was something fishy about the way he kept looking at Meera and trying to get close to her. 

" Look aunty, we don't have time for all this. Whoever did this to Vidhya has been in touch with Dharam and he wants me to take Meera with me. Dharam said that Shravan's life was at stake, so let's go quickly."

Meera tried to call Dharam but he didn't answer. Karan already knew that Dharam wouldn't pick up his phone as he had been warned by Bhavani that if he tried to contact anyone or answered his phone other than from her Shravan's life would be over.   Karan didn't know how she had done it but he knew that she had got her goons to kidnap Shravan and he was being held captive in the hilltop temple in her village. Now she wanted all the Suryavanshis there . She had phoned Karan and asked him to bring Meera there as well. Karan was only more than happy to oblige. This was the final showdown and he definitely wanted a ringside seat, preferably with Meera, so he could watch Bhavani finish off Dharam.  He knew Meera was never going to find out that it was Bhavani who wanted her there, not Dharam.

Meera turned to Urmila.  " Nani, please keep an eye on the kids. Let me go with Karan and find out what is happening. If something happens to Shravan, Dharamji wouldn't be able to bear it" ...

Bhavani sat in her throne like chair and looked at Shravan . He was tied up to a pillar and was unconscious. Even Vidhya had put up more of a fight but Shravan had been easy to kidnap. It also helped that he was worried sick about Vidhya. Obviously no one had told him what happened to his wife. She tried Karans phone again, but he was not picking up. He should have been here with Meera by now. She wanted to finish them all in one go. Dharam, his lovely wife and darling son. She looked at the pistol in her hand. It would be so easy to shoot Shravan now, but she will wait till Dharam reached there. Because it wasn't her who was going to shoot him , it would be Dharam. Today he will have to choose between his wife and son and kill one of them  with his own hands to save the other. And she would sit and watch the fun.

...,,

Dharam drove as fast as he could. When he had got the call from Bhavani and seen the photo she had sent, his bold had frozen. First Vidhya, now Shravan. This was all his fault. He had trusted Bhavani and she had turned out to be even worse than his mother. Why did this keep happening to him? If it was money that she wanted, he would give her all his wealth. He would take Meera and his kids and go somewhere far away. But he knew that Bhavani wanted revenge and she will not stop. As soon as he thought about Meera he felt a pain in his chest. He felt his heartbeat rise, because He knew that he would never be able to have his life with Meera now. For this  to end Bhavani needed to die.  Or else, she would target Meera and  the kids next.  He needed to send them away,far  away from all this mess. And he will have to get rid of the dark cloud hanging over their lives, Bhavani. He felt the weight of the pistol in his pocket. 

But what next for him, except go in hiding or give himself up to the police. Either way, he will be separated from Meera. He wished more than anything to hear her voice, her silvery laughter when she to feel her arms around him , her lips against his. His eyes tarted tearing up but he wouldn't cry. Today he will put an end to this. 

...

Meera closed her eyes and tried to ignore Karan while he tried to talk to her as he drove. She wished this nightmare would end but it seemed to get worse by the minute. Karan hadn't specifically said the name but she knew it was Bhavani behind all this. Bhavani will do anything to get Dharamji but now that she knew he will never be hers, she will go on a rampage and destroy everything close to him. But Meera will not let that happen. She will end Bhavani's reign of terror today. She felt inside her bag and felt relieved to feel the handle of the knife that she had hidden there. She could feel the knife plunging in Bhavani's heart. If she had to die in the process, so be it, but this ends today. Her only regret, she will never again be able to be her Dharamji's Meera. 

...

Karan looked across at Meera and wondered what she was thinking, probably about Dharam. Only a little bit longer. He thought about the poison he had hidden in his pocket. A very discreet weapon. .There would be no point in taking guns or knives there as Bhavani's goons would search them . All he needed was to get close enough to Bhavani , but first he had to wait for her to finish off Dharam.  And Vidhya, what should he do with her? When should he bring her in? He almost laughed out loud when he imagined Bhavani's face when she saw Vidhya alive. He had to time this perfectly. " Meera, we are there. I am going to let you go by yourself, there is no point in both of us getting captured. As soon a s I get a chance I will come and rescue you."  Karan was in a hurry to go and get Vidhya for his final surprise. 

...

Bhavani looked aoutside and saw Karan parking his car and getting out with Meera. Meera started walking towards the temple. She saw Karan trying to drive away but She also knew where he was headed, to get Vidhya. But he was in for the shock of his life. Bhavani was happy for him to go all the way to where he had hidden Vidhya and she wishe d she could be there in person when he realised that Vidhya, who he was supposed to have killed , had disappeared. What an idiot! Thinking he could defeat Bhavani in her own game! She will wait for Meera to come to her. Bhavani returned to her chair

... 

Meera faltered at the entrance to the ancient temple. She remembered coming here to pray when she was living in the village. Now there will be blood shed here. She took  another step and felt rather than saw the presence. She almost shrieked but no sound came out as she felt a hand over her mouth. She tried to struggle but gradually the world turned dark for her.