Good job!
You have fleshed out the characters well.
It's better than the show in fact!
Originally posted by: mistofshadows
Good job!
You have fleshed out the characters well.
It's better than the show in fact!
Thanks dear!
Chapter 4.2
As Shashi's body landed on the ground near the main entrance, the front office staff immediately take notice where one of the female staff begins to scream out loud in horror causing a stir. Soon people gather around the casualty including the Singh's and the Rai's.
As Anvay reaches the scene, he approaches the bleeding body lying on the ground and turns it around sending him and the rest of his family in shock.
"Lakshya call for an ambulance" he told his son who immediately dialed up for one.
"How did this happen? He said he was going out for a client meeting, then how did he end up like this" Shipra cried at the sight of her husband lying unconscious and bleeding right before her.
"Get a hold of yourself Bhabhi, he'll be fine" Shipra consoled her while Chandrika faints and nearly falls until Abhay comes into hold and support her, "Dadi!" Abhay panics and then takes her back inside to let her rest.
The ambulance soon arrived and Shashi was driven to the hospital along with Anvay, Shipra and Soumya while Lakshya took his car out to head there along with Rani leaving the rest back at the hotel.
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The red serpent slithered it's way inside a glowing cave which had several glimmering jewels embedded within it, as the serpent reached the end of the cave it entered a hole and slithered through the passage all the way to the other end of the cave which led to a hidden temple whose presiding deity was lord shiva.
The red serpent then assumes it's human form before the shivalingam bowing her head to honor the deity. As she stands up her stoic facial expression turns into a triumphant smile.
She is then greeted by the temple's head priest Mr. Kailash, "I see you've returned and judging by the look on your face it seems you've achieved what you wanted"
"That's right panditji, I did........." she paused recalling how she had taken down her target earlier and began to revel in the moment "it's sure feels good punish a sinner that deserves it" she admitted before breaking into laughter for a brief moment.
"The fear in his eyes at the thought of dying was really satisfying" she thought out loud
"So did you kill him Ashlesha??" Kailash asked her, "Kill him? Of course not, he deserves worse than death. However I can't exactly guarantee he'd survive what I did to him" she chuckled
"Fair enough" the priest nodded in agreement
"I will never forget that night when those vile people came at us like the scum they happen to be" the rage within her began to brim up as she recalled the dreaded night when her world fell apart, "they thought I was dead after thrashing and stabbing me several times......... they just left me there like I was nothing after all that.....they underestimated me and they were wrong which is why they will pay" Ashlesha swore to herself
"They will, but let's call it a day before you're back to carrying out your plan to make them suffer" the priest told her, "Also it's almost time for the veneration, are you ready for it?" he asked
"More than ever!" she answered, "then let's begin" the priest then brought the aarti plate and began with the veneration while all the other icchaadhari serpents joined in and began dancing along with Ashlesha in honor of the Lord. As the veneration was nearing its end Ashlesha began to spin around the Shiva linga until she fell to the ground right before it.
(This is the song they dance on for the veneration from Naagin 4 & 5)
"Are you okay?" The priest asked out of concern, "I've never felt better" she tells him with a smiling face expressing her delight, "please rest for a while before you resume carrying out your plan"
"Don't worry Panditji, Exhaustion would be the last thing to get in my way" she assured him
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Shashi was shifted to the ICU one the doctors were done treating him. The doctors then go and inform Anvay, "the patient had a really harsh fall, however it seems he had other injuries besides that as well, I guess he got into a tussle with someone making this an attempt to murder case hence we'll need to inform the police about this" to which Anvay agreed
"How is his condition now?" Anvay asked the doctor, "Not really good given that he's slipped into a comatose state, also even if he wakes up his body is going to be pretty more or less useless owing to the fall, I'm sorry" the doctor answered with regret leaving everyone of Shashi's family there devastated. Soumya and Rani began to cry while Shipra and Lakshya tried to console them.
"How could this happen? Everything was going well then why this all of a sudden?" Soumya sobbed, "I can't believe dad won't wake up and even if he did he wouldn't be normal anymore" Rani added as she grieved along with her mother, "Dad won't be there for me anymore" she cried as Lakshya held her close and hugged her, "Even if he isn't, you have me, Abhay and your Uncle, so don't you worry as you aren't alone" he told his cousin
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Back at the hotel, the police had arrived an hour after they were informed by the doctors. They carried out their investigation including the inspecting the office from where Shashi fell off.
Abhay was at the lobby tending to Chandrika who was still unconscious on the sofa . Srishti and her family stayed over as well. She approached Abhay placing her hand on his shoulder, "Are you okay? How are you holding up?"
"I'm okay, it's Dadi that I'm worried about" he told her, " it's been a pretty eventful day I'd say, first Lakshya's near death experience, then us almost getting crushed by those boulders and now this" she pointed
"I agree" he held on to his grandmother's hand hoping she'd wake up soon.
"Did you notice anything unusual about your uncle, like anything?" Srishti asked Abhay which led him to recall his brief run in with Shashi, "I mean he did leave out of the blue earlier when we were dining saying he had an urgent meeting with his client, who does that really given everyone knew he'd be occupied with the inaugural function?"
"Actually, earlier he did stop by but he looked really anxious for some reason as if he had seen a ghost" Abhay told her, "he was looking for Dad as if it were pretty urgent"
Srishti then switches sides to that facing him, "Maybe he'd know something" she suggested
"I guess he would, but I can't ask him at the moment given he isn't here at the moment and second we still haven't heard from him" he told her expressing his reluctance, "yeah I get it" she sighed.
Mahima was wrapping up things at the main hall along with her crew members where she had to carry some components of the sound system that was set up earlier back to her van. She walked through and across the lobby where both Abhay and Srishti were till she dropped one on the floor getting the latter's attention. Srishti then heads over to her to help her pick it up "Here you go" as she hands over the mini speaker to Mahima.
"Thank you" Mahima appreciated her help, "Do you need any help carrying all that, it kind of looks heavy for just one person" Srishti asked, "No it's okay, I'll manage" Mahima insisted
"Even if you say that, watching you like that sort of makes me nervous, moreover I could keep myself a little busy for a while" Srishti told her, "so please allow me"
"Okay then" Mahima agreed handing over some of the components as they headed towards her crew van and placed the same inside it.
"Is there more?" Srishti asked, "No that would be all" Mahima confirmed, "and thanks for the help"
"Don't mention it" Srishti told her, "I'll need to get going now" Mahima informed
"Sure" and then Mahima heads inside the Van and drives away as Srishti watches her leave and heads back inside to the lobby area.
Chandrika had just regained consciousness, and Abhay was right next to her, "Dadi are you okay?" he asked her worried over her delicate condition at that moment.
"Where is everyone?" Chandrika asked as she tried to sit upright
"They're at the hospital" Abhay answered giving her a hand to support her.
"Take me there" she tells her grandson, "Dadi you're not in a state to go there right now, let's go home instead" Abhay reasoned
"I need to be there with my son, I need to see him" she pleaded, "I'll take you there, but not right now... so let's go home Dadi, please!"
"He's right Dadi, I think you need to rest and going home would be better" Srishti joined in as she also tried to calm Chandrika down leading her to agree following which they head outside to their cars and leave for home, Chandrika with Lakshya and Srishti with her family.
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Back at the Singh's mansion Ashlesha was back and was administering the medicine on Kamalraj to ensure he stays asleep.
Lakshya was back with Rani and Shipra while Anvay and Soumya stayed back at the hospital. Abhay too had returned with Chandrika much earlier allowing him to put her to rest.
As Lakshya was about to head back up to his room to retire for the night, Abhay came to see him, "What happened? How's Uncle?"
"Not good, in fact terrible" Lakshya answered as he leaned against the railing of the staircase
"How bad is it?" a worried Abhay asked, "He slipped into a coma and even if he woke up he's as good as being dead" Lakshya revealed to him
"Well....we can't tell Dadi about this right now....she's in a pretty fragile state" Abhay cautioned Lakshya, "Of course not! What do you take me for?" Lakshya shot back
"I said 'we', unless you weren't paying attention" Abhay pointed, "now that you know we're on the same page, I'll go and get some sleep" Lakshya told him and then left for his room following which Abhay did the same.
The next morning Anvay had returned home while Soumya decided to stay back at the hospital. Shipra had set the table for breakfast and had asked Ashlesha to join them to which she agreed.
"How is Shashi?" Chandrika asked Anvay which he was reluctant to answer afraid that she might not be able to handle the truth, "he is recovering" Anvay answered
"Yes Dadi, Uncle is recovering" Lakshya added to assure her, "then I want to go see him" she told them putting them in a difficult position.
"But—" Rani tried to tell Chandrika the truth but was given a nudge by Abhay who was right beside her to keep mum.
"We will take you there, but the doctor have kept him under observation and haven't permitted many visitors around, right now Bhabhi is there looking after him" Anvay explained
The doorbell rings and the house staff opens the door to find the police.
"Is Mr. Anvay here?" The police officer asked
"Yes he is" the house staff answered as they cops barge in, Anvay walks towards them, "What's the matter officer?" He asked
"You are under arrest for attempting to murder your brother" the police officer answered.
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That's the end of chapter 4
Chapter 5.1
"Excuse me?" Anvay questioned the officer who came to arrest him, "Are you out of your mind to make an allegation like that?" he continued as everyone at the table stood up and walked towards them.
"Mr. Singh, let me introduce myself, I'm Inspector Jadhav And second I never make baseless allegations, second I have a warrant to arrest you so I expect that you cooperate" The officer told Anvay, "Constable take him" the constable handcuffed Anvay and began to drag him out only to get interrupted by Lakshya, "I think there must be a misunderstanding of some sort, Dad would never do this to uncle" he pleaded
Ashlesha remained seated and smirked without being noticed as she enjoyed the drama unfolding right before her. The sight of Anvay getting in trouble and the kind of stress it caused his family sure was pleasing to her eyes.
"You'll come to know if we're mistaken or not once we get to the station" officer Jadhav asserted before dragging Anvay away to their van and drove away.
"I can't believe this is happening, this is absurd!! Are they crazy to actually accuse dad like this?" Abhay snapped as he walked back and forth before he punched his fist against the wall.
"Calm down! We'll get him out, I'll call our lawyer so just get ready" Lakshya told his brother as he dialed up the family lawyer to explain what just happened and then they all leave for the police station.
Ashlesha who was now all by herself in the living room moved to the kitchen to pick up Kamalraj's foodtray and headed upstairs to carry out her act of nursing him back to health.
As she entered his room where he laid asleep, she placed the food tray next to his table, she then sat on the bed and leaned close to him, "It really is fun ruining your family little by little every other day" she whispered in his ears knowing that he was listening to her causing him to open his eyes and wake up confused.
"Oh, so you're awake now!" She exclaimed as she stepped away, the look on Kamalraj's face gave away his confusion, "oh right, you think I'm your nurse? Sorry to break it to you, so who am I you might be wondering" she snickered, "Okay I'll give you a hint, remember the night you got into that accident..." the minute she mentioned that his eyes grew wide, "judging by the look in your eyes, I guess you've figured it already, that's right!" she grinned.
"How does it feel to be helpless knowing your loved ones going through hell?" She mocked him, "you deserve every bit of this hell, you see when I watched my loved ones die right in front of me that day because of you and your family that very day I promised to pay you back everything with interest" she sneered at him
"you see, I just managed to turn your elder son into another current version of you while your other son who you used to lure our queen into your trap will be rotting in prison" she then picked up the tray and began to force feed him, "Enjoy your hell, because I will unleash more of it"
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Anvay was kept in a cell along with the other prisoners while his family had just arrived along with their lawyer to discuss the case at hand and get him released.
Lakshya, Abhay and the lawyer headed straight to the officer Jadhav's desk to get an assessment of the overall case.
"The reason your father is arrested is because of this" the officer showed them a cctv footage of the hall outside the hotel's office which showed Anvay accompanying Shashi inside alone right before he was hurled outside the window and discovered. "As per this footage and the date and time mentioned in it, Mr. Anvay was the last person to be with his brother Shashi making him the prime suspect in this case" officer Jadhav explained, "therefore we're not letting him go"
"Even if he was the last person to be with our Uncle that still doesn't mean he did it" Lakshya asserted
"It also doesn't mean that he didn't do it" the officer pointed as they continued argue for quite a while with Lakshya and the lawyer
Abhay stared at the footage observantly, "you know even though dad went inside, he never came out. I mean it's been like more than an hour now since I've been staring at this video" he pointed getting the lawyers attention who then begins to go through the footage.
"You're right, he never came out as per this footage, but he did show up where Mr Shashi was found, how is this possible unless there's something wrong with this footage" the lawyer suggested, "that's right, therefore you can't keep him detained for long especially when he's got an alibi" Abhay added
"What Alibi? He clearly was the only person who could have done it, if he didn't leave from the door he could have used the window, who know?" The officer shot back
"Left out through the window? Really? What do you take him for? He's not a superhuman to jump down from the first floor and stay in one piece, are you even listening to yourself?" Lakshya questioned him back, "Release him, you have no real reason to keep him in there unless there's actually something in it for you"
"You better watch your mouth or you may end up joining your father in that cell" the officer warned Lakshya
"Well you have no real reason to keep him anymore now that you understand that it's simply not possible for him to be at two places at a time and your evidence is simply not good enough to lock him up in there, so can proceed with the bail application" the lawyer requested to which the cop agreed and then began with the procedure to get Anvay released. The constable unlocked the cell that held Anvay and ushered him outside to the desk where he was to sign the papers. Just as Anvay was about to do that, "Not so fast!" A man called out interrupting him.
"And who would you be?" The police officer asked him to which the man showed his ID revealing who he was, "Vikram Singh Shergill from the Crime Branch"
"And What brings you here?" Officer Jadhav asked to which Vikram showed him a document that gave him the authority to place Anvay under his custody.
"You're taking over the case?" a confused officer Jadhav asked, "That's right!" Vikram affirmed
"All of a sudden and out of the blue?" Lakshya questioned obviously unhappy with the new development
"Not really, in fact I've been on this case since last year" Vikram answered,
"We're not following, the incident took place just yesterday" officer Jadhav told him, "yes, but I'm not solely talking about this, I'm talking about Mr Kamalraj's case which we believe was also an attempt to murder the prime suspect for which happens to be his younger son" Vikram explained
"How so?" Abhay asked, "On the evening when your grandfather died, your father's car was sent for repairs now wasn't it, turns out the side mirror was found at the scene where the so called accident took place." Vikram told him
"And you concluded that our dad was behind it?" Lakshya asked, "Not at first, but after this incident yes I do, also regarding your flawed video point, here's one to prove you wrong" Vikram handed over a pendrive to officer Jadhav which he plugged into the laptop on his desk. Vikram then accessed and played the video file which to everyone's surprise actually showed Anvay jumping down from the window.
"I received this from an anonymous person but I'd sure like to thank them for it" Vikram told everyone
"That still doesn't explain how he's okay after jumping down from the first floor" Lakshya pointed, "well it was just the first floor now wasn't it, some people manage to stay fine, I suppose your father's one of them" Vikram sneered, "now if you don't mind, I'll need to take Mr Anvay away, so Mr Jadhav can you please hand him over?"
Lakshya turned to the lawyer hoping he could help them out, "I'm sorry, but given the sort of evidence they've produced we're actually in no position to bail your father out..... but don't worry, I'll do whatever I can to help him out" the lawyer assured Lakshya, "however do you know anyone who could have requested the crime branch's involvement regarding your grandfather's case?" The lawyer asked
"We're as clueless as you, in fact today's the first time I've learnt about Dadaji's accident being caused by a person, however I will never believe that our Dad was behind it" Lakshya told the lawyer
"In any case, we'll need to gather evidence to prove your father's innocence" the lawyer reminded, to which Lakshya responds with "We will"
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Hello,
Sorry for keeping you'll waiting, I hope you like this chapter, will update the 5.2 as soon as it gets done. If you like the story then don’t forget to give it your precious vote
Thanks :)
Chapter 5.2
The next day
"So you couldn't get him out" Srishti asked Abhay who was sulking at his desk, their media research session had just ended, "That's correct, we couldn't, someone apparently filmed him jumping out of the window" he sighed
"Are you okay? You seem pretty disturbed" A concerned Srishti tried to console him, "you wanna talk, I'm all ears"
" Why are you being so nice to me all of sudden?" Abhay asked raising an eyebrow to express his disbelief over her change of demeanour
"I may not get along with you but that doesn't mean I'm heartless or insensitive as you may think of me otherwise" she told him slightly offended by his judgement, "So are you gonna tell me what's troubling you?"
Abhay paused to give it a thought before he finally lets it out, "the thing is...... what if the cops are right? That video clearly showed him jumping out and he was the only other person with my uncle that night before he was attacked"
"Oh.... what do you feel?" She asked getting him to think over it for a moment, "I feel he is innocent, but I can't deny what I saw either" he let out another sigh.
"Sometimes what you see needn't always be true" she pointed, "so don't lose hope"
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Mahima was at home where she was preparing lunch in the kitchen. It was a small 2BHK house that sheltered her family of two that included her elderly father. Given that it was the weekend they were able to spend some quality family time together, which otherwise would have not been possible owing to the workload and responsibilities Mahima shouldered. Once she was done cooking, she moved to set the table which was in a corner of the living room close but close to the kitchen.
"Baba, the food's ready!" She called out to her father who then emerged from his room and walked towards the dining table. He pulls out the chair at the centre and sits down allowing Mahima to serve him. Her father Mr. Arvind Dixit had moved to the city along with her more than two decades ago and had recently retired after working as a taxi driver for the same duration. As he took the first bite he was overwhelmed by the flavours that exploded in his mouth, "This is really good, even better than the lady we hired to cook for us" he told her expressing his delight as he enjoyed his meal. "I'm flattered" she chuckled
"I guess I'll miss this once you get married and leave" he sighed, "I will never leave you" she told him, "I may move out but I'll never stop visiting, so you won't have to miss any of this"
"How will you manage?" Arvind asked her, "I will, so don't you worry" she assured him
"That's a relief" he told her as he then turned his attention back to the food. Once they were done Mahima began to clear the table and proceeded to wash the dishes. As she was half way done her phone starts buzzing continuously prompting her to stop and attend it. It was a call from her colleague, she taps on the green icon to attend the call, "Hello, Is everything okay?" she asked her colleague
"Actually I received a call from our client, they apparently wanted to discuss something, so we'll have to meet them tomorrow" her colleague informed, "No issues, just text me the time and venue" Srishti told her, "If that's all, I'm hanging up"
"that's pretty much it, bye" the colleague confirmed allowed Srishti to disconnect the call.
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At the Singh's Mansion, everyone was gathered at the living room still overwhelmed by the recent events that took place over the week. The lawyer was over to discuss the case and their strategy for getting the bail plea approved.
"I have requested the video showing Anvay jumping down from his office to be sent for examination to verify it's authenticity" the lawyer told them all
"Would that really help Mr. Kulkarni?" Lakshya asked, "Well if the video proof appears to be tampered or edited in any manner the bail plea will get accepted" Kulkarni explained
"And if the video is authentic?" Lakshya asked yet dreaded to hear the answer.
"If the video is authentic then that would make your dad a cold blooded criminal" Chetan who was seated right next to his mother Soumya snapped.
"Tell me you don't actually believe that now do you?" Lakshya sneered at him over his remark.
"Who knows? maybe I do" Chetan retorted, "Please calm down and that is no way to speak to your brother" Soumya tried to calm her son, "I trust your Uncle, he would never do that to your father, so please..."
"Exactly, Anvay would never do this, it must be a conspiracy of some kind against us, first my husband met with an accident that crippled him, then my grandson nearly died, my elder son is currently at the hospital and now this!" Chandrika broke down as she allowed everything that happened to sink in.
Ashlesha was watching everyone from upstairs without getting noticed, her lips curled into a smile as she derived pleasure out of their turmoil
"Maa ji is right, this isn't the time to be turning against one another when we should be standing with each other" Shipra told everyone, "I trust my husband and I know that he's innocent regardless of what that video shows" Shipra added who then turned to Mr. Kulkarni to know what they should do next, "So what happens if the video is authentic"
"If it's authentic then we'll have to get him an alibi, that means we'll need to prove the person in that video isn't really him" Mr. Kulkarni suggested.
"Okay then, so we just need to do that right?" Lakshya asked, "it's probably not going to be easy though" Mr. Kulkarni told him not trying to crush his new found hope.
"You guys can try all you want but I won't let you get him out so easily" Ashlesha whispered to herself as she eavesdropped on them.
"I'll still do it" Lakshya told everyone, "and starting tomorrow I'll help out with the family business until dad gets out"
"Since when did you care about that? and what makes you think you can just walk into it?" Chetan asked objecting to his sudden decision,
"You sure don't seem happy given that you're objecting" Lakshya answered, "It's our family business and both our dads are not in a state to manage it at the moment, so it's only likely that we're supposed to take over for them unless you've got a problem for some reason, like something to hide maybe?"
"What are you getting at?" Chetan asked narrowing his eyes at Lakshya who then shrugged, "I don't know, you tell me"
Shipra then gets in between them, "Okay, you'll need to stop! Fighting amongst yourselves won't help you" to which Lakshya nodded in agreement before she pulled him away
" I'm just making sure he understands the same" Lakshya conveyed before leaving out through the main door.
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It was past midnight, the time when everyone was supposedly asleep. Abhay wakes up and picks up the jug at his bedside to fill his glass, however it was empty as well prompting him to step out of his room and head downstairs towards the kitchen to get some water. As he enters the kitchen he walks straight towards the water dispenser to fill his glass. As he did that he began hear the footsteps of another person from across the living room by the stairs.
He quickly gulped down the water and walked out to see who else was awake at this hour but he found no one there, but then heard the main door shut momentarily surprising him. He then walks straight towards it and opens it, to his surprise he saw a lady heading out. At first he couldn't tell who it was but on paying closer attention he realized it was Ashlesha. He then followed and tried to catch up with her but as he stepped outside the main gate there was no one around making him wonder if he was imagining it.
Ashlesha was in her serpent form slithering her way towards the temple, she enters the cave and finds her way through the passage at the end of the cave. As she enters the temple she then assumes her human avatar following which she bursts into laughter.
The priest Mr. Kailash walks in on hearing her laugh, "what's the matter? Why are you laughing?" He asked astounded by her chortling which she continued for a while till she finally stopped.
"Our plan is working. Finally those people are beginning to get a taste of their own medicine yet they haven't been able to guess who's behind it" she told him as she sniggered making the priest wonder what she had been up to, "what did you do?" He asked her
"Moved a step forward towards getting our revenge, I've sent that man to prison and intend to keep him in there for a while, but the fun part is turning them against each other" she told him
"I see.... but you need to be careful given that you're living amongst them, I hope you don't get exposed given the pain you took to get this new identity Seema" he cautioned her.
It took Seema more than 20 long years of penance to attain her new identity which made it easy for her to infiltrate into the Singh's household. It was her who paid the previous nurse to quit so she could replace them and execute her plan of destroying them all.
"I know panditji, they won't find out about me at least not till I'm done" she assured him, "however my only concern is that tantrik, he has our queen's ashes, which means he would have the naagmani as well"
"Then all we need to do is either track him or lure him, whatever works" Mr Kailash answered, "but at the moment you'll need to keep an eye on their every move, so don't do anything reckless"
"As you say panditji" Ashlesha agreed.
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The next morning
Lakshya walks into the royal sky hotel much to Chetan's displeasure and heads straight to the conference room where Mahima and her team were waiting.
He wanted to start the meeting sooner but was waiting for the owner of Shubh events co.
"Where is your boss?" He asked them only to be returned with their confused expressions,
"I mean the owner of Shubh events" he clarified which earned him a frown from Mahima.
"Owner? They're here already" Mahima told him
"Where?" Lakshya asked to which she responds with crossed arms, "I'm the owner"
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That's the end of chapter 5, hope you like it and done forget to share and vote.
Thanks :)
Chapter 6.1
Lakshya stared at Mahima in silence still processing what he heard her say, he remained that way for a minute before he finally spoke up, "You're the owner?"
"That's correct, can we start the meeting?" Mahima told him slightly taken aback by his ignorance, she then takes her seat allowing Lakshya to begin.
Lakshya then briefs her about the latest development, "As you're aware about what happened at the inaugural function and the subsequent events that followed later as a result of which my uncle is currently hospitalised and my dad...." he trailed hesitating to say anything beyond that, Mahima and her colleagues noticed the awkwardness. Taking the hint she continued, "so you'll be taking over in their place I assume"
"For a while, me along with Chetan will be directing this place till my dad gets released" he then continued the meeting where they discussed about the agenda for the week ahead which took around an hour, once the meeting concluded Mahima's colleagues leave while she disconnects her laptop from the large monitor and turns it off. She then shuts her laptop close and places it inside the sleeve. Lakshya was observing her as she did so and when she was about to leave he interrupts her "Excuse me", Mahima who was just a step away from the door turns back to face him, "Yes, did we leave anything out?" she asked confused over why he stalled her.
Lakshya then walked right towards her before he stopped at arm's distance. As he stood right before her, his facial expression softened, "I'm sorry about earlier"
"About what?" Mahima asked surprised by his sudden apology.
"For assuming you weren't the owner" he answered, Mahima lets out a sigh, "It's okay and I understand, you just took over so you possibly wouldn't have known"
He then smiles at her, "thanks, by the way I'm quite impressed, you're quite young and you've already made something of yourself" he told her
"Well a person's gotta do whatever it takes to put food on the table, the rest just comes along with it, that is making something of yourself " she chuckled.
Her words took him by surprise as he never considered this aspect of enterprising before given his focus was to just make a name for himself independent of his family background and support. The realization that he had it easy compared to many others just starting out made him appreciate everything he took for granted till now given that he was responsible for the family.
"I see" he replied as he gazed into her eyes for a moment, for a strange reason he wanted to identify with her over that even though there was no real reason to actually do so and that intrigued him.
"If that's all, I'll take your leave" she told him to which he agrees and she steps out of the room.
Once she left he then got himself engaged with the work that involved managing the hotel, he spent the day at the office with the finance and sales department to discuss an upcoming event that they were going to host on behalf of their client. Once he was done he then visited the surveillance control room to go through the footage of the inaugural day which in itself was a daunting task, part of the reason why he decided to join the hotel was to find evidence that could prove his father's innocence. As he binged through all the video files for around 2 hours he then played the footage outside the men's restroom. He stared at the screen and at this point his eyes were wearied and red, he continued the same for a while till he finally saw his father enter the restroom followed by another man going inside. He then took note of the time and to his relief it was the exact time as the one shown in the footage where Anvay was entering the office with Shashi. He quickly copies the file and saves it in his pen drive which he planned on sending to Mr. Kulkarni as evidence.
He then moved to the front desk office to get a hold of the guest list to obtain the details of the man who was with his father at the time when Shashi was attacked to get the alibi confirmed for good.
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Mahima was back at the hospital to resume her role as a volunteer, a place she would visit after her working hours and whenever she had free time except for Sunday. She was at the children's ward attending the child who's bill she had cleared earlier. Mahima then hands the little boy who laid on the bed a gift bag which he gladly accepted, he then opened it and found a monster truck play set.
"This was the one you wanted right?" She asked him, the young boy was elated on seeing the toy, "Yes didi" he answered
Mahima smiled the moment she heard that, "you didn't have to get him that" the boy's grandmother told her, "you've already done a lot for us" she continued
"Then allow me to do a little more" Mahima smiles at the old woman, walks towards her and holds her hands "You're grandson is like a little brother to me and you're like a mother to me, I've only helped someone I consider as my own so you needn't feel indebted over that" Mahima told her.
Mahima then opened her purse and took out a well sealed box of sweets. She opens it revealing the laddoos which were packed inside to feed the lady and the young boy. "Did something good happen?" The old woman asked to which an overjoyed Mahima answers, "Yes, I got engaged"
The news made the old woman's day, "Congratulations! Who's is the guy and when are you getting married?" She asked
"A good man and the date is yet to be fixed but I'll bring him over some day" Mahima told her. "I pray that you receive all the happiness in life and that you lead a happy married life" the old woman blessed her which Mahima gladly accepted.
"Didi is getting married?" The young boy asked slightly unhappy with the news, "So does that mean she won't visit us anymore"
"Nothing like that, I'll still come over" Mahima assured him. A moment later a nurse called out to Mahima and asked her to head to the administration office.
Mahima followed as instructed, she enters the office and heads straight to the desk. "What's the matter?" Mahima asked wondering if there was something wrong.
"Nothing actually, we called to return this to you" the staff at the desk told her handing over an envelope. As she opened it she found the cheque which she had deposited earlier leaving her confused. "Is something wrong with this, I mean I don't understand why are you returning it?" She asked
"Our management told us to give it back, that's why" the staff member answered and explained that the hospital's sponsors had cleared the dues so she needn't have to pay for it.
"But weren't you'll earlier pushing for a payment because of which you'll had refused to proceed with her grandson's surgery, so why a sudden change of heart?" Mahima asked to which the staff member told her it was a mistake on their part and apologised for it as well.
Mahima took her cheque and then turned around to walk away wondering what exactly happened overnight. As she was about to step out she bumps into her friend from the admin staff who just opened the door to enter the office.
Mahima then asked her friend if she knew about why they suddenly returned her cheque back, "Oh regarding that, actually what happened was...." her friend told her about how the staff was reprimanded for demanding money from an economically challenged patient by their sponsor who right there when the entire incident took place and that they were the ones who asked them to return the money she paid.
"I see, do you know who they are?" Mahima asked her friend, "Not really, it was the first time I saw them here, but I guess they have a family member that has been admitted here recently, so they are likely to visit again" her friend told her, "In that case if you see them again ask them to contact me, I'd like to thank them personally" Mahima requested her friend to which she agreed.
..........................................................................................................................................................
S
rishti and her parents were at the Singh Mansion to discuss the wedding date owing to the events that recently took place. The priest was going through the natal charts to determine an appropriate date, while Lakshya had just walked in to find everyone right before him.
Lakshya walks to his mother and whispered "What's going on?"
She explained to him that they had called the priest to figure out if it was possible to delay the wedding date. Once the priest was done he explained that owing to their unique natal charts it was not possible push the wedding date any further as doing so would mean they would have to wait for another 8 years. He advised them that it would be better if they figure out a way to get married on the date set earlier putting the Singh's in a dilemma.
"Are you sure pandit ji ?" Shipra asked hoping he'd suggest alternative
"I'm sure, there's no other date available unless you'll are willing to wait for another 8 years" he told her.
Her heart sank as she he confirmed that, "so what do you'll wanna do?" Smitha asked Shipra, "Do you want to go ahead with the date or not because 8 long years is a bit too much" on hearing her mother ask this question Srishti got worried which Shipra took note off.
"If there's no other alternative then we'll just go ahead as planned" Shipra assured Smitha on hearing that Lakshya requests his mother to speak to her in private to which she agrees, she excuses herself and heads off to the kitchen with her elder son. "What's the matter?" She asked wondering if there was anything bothering him.
Ashlesha was just passing by the kitchen, when she noticed the mother and son duo she stopped to listen into their conversation.
" Do we have to go ahead with the wedding as planned? I mean how would Tai ji feel about this? And what about dad? We still haven't got him out" Lakshya raised his concern hoping she would reconsider.
"Your Tai ji will understand, and so will your dad, we know he is innocent so he will be released soon but regarding Srishti, it wouldn't be fair to make her wait for 8 years which is why we will go ahead as planned" Shipra explained to her son.
"But mom—" Lakshya tried to object but got cut off midway before he could complete, "I want to see you get married and settled, and there is no better girl than Srishti, if you trust me you'd do as I say" she told him to which Lakshya gave her the nod not wanting to upset her any further while he was actually frustrated deep down for not being able to object to her decision.
"Wow these people really are quite shameless, but don't worry I'll make sure they all have the time of their life during the wedding" Ashlesha thought to herself before transforming into a serpent and slithering away on realising that Shipra was going to walk out.
Shipra then walked back into living room to further discuss about the wedding. "So it's decided then, the date is set for 3 weeks from now" Smitha concluded to which Shipra agreed, "we'll plan on the preparations for the same so don't worry about it" Shipra told the Rai's before sending them off.
Once they left everyone got back to minding their own business, Ashlesha was in the kitchen to have a glass of water for herself as she was done and was about to walk out she bumps into Abhay. "Sorry" he told her as he moved aside to let her leave but then remembered what happened the previous night. As she was about to walk away he calls out to her, "Ashlesha, can I have a word with you" she turns back to face him and asks "Is everything okay?"
"Why did you leave and where did you head off to in the middle of the night yesterday?" He asked
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That's the end of part one of chapter 6, part 2 will be updated once its completed, do read and share your views.
Thanks :)
Chapter 6.1
Lakshya stared at Mahima in silence still processing what he heard her say, he remained that way for a minute before he finally spoke up, "You're the owner?"
"That's correct, can we start the meeting?" Mahima told him slightly taken aback by his ignorance, she then takes her seat allowing Lakshya to begin.Lakshya then briefs her about the latest development, "As you're aware about what happened at the inaugural function and the subsequent events that followed later as a result of which my uncle is currently hospitalised and my dad...." he trailed hesitating to say anything beyond that, Mahima and her colleagues noticed the awkwardness. Taking the hint she continued, "so you'll be taking over in their place I assume"
"For a while, me along with Chetan will be directing this place till my dad gets released" he then continued the meeting where they discussed about the agenda for the week ahead which took around an hour, once the meeting concluded Mahima's colleagues leave while she disconnects her laptop from the large monitor and turns it off. She then shuts her laptop close and places it inside the sleeve. Lakshya was observing her as she did so and when she was about to leave he interrupts her "Excuse me", Mahima who was just a step away from the door turns back to face him, "Yes, did we leave anything out?" she asked confused over why he stalled her.
Lakshya then walked right towards her before he stopped at arm's distance. As he stood right before her, his facial expression softened, "I'm sorry about earlier"
"About what?" Mahima asked surprised by his sudden apology.
"For assuming you weren't the owner" he answered, Mahima lets out a sigh, "It's okay and I understand, you just took over so you possibly wouldn't have known"
He then smiles at her, "thanks, by the way I'm quite impressed, you're quite young and you've already made something of yourself" he told her
"Well a person's gotta do whatever it takes to put food on the table, the rest just comes along with it, that is making something of yourself " she chuckled.
Her words took him by surprise as he never considered this aspect of enterprising before given his focus was to just make a name for himself independent of his family background and support. The realization that he had it easy compared to many others just starting out made him appreciate everything he took for granted till now given that he was responsible for the family.
"I see" he replied as he gazed into her eyes for a moment, for a strange reason he wanted to identify with her over that even though there was no real reason to actually do so and that intrigued him.
"If that's all, I'll take your leave" she told him to which he agrees and she steps out of the room.
Once she left he then got himself engaged with the work that involved managing the hotel, he spent the day at the office with the finance and sales department to discuss an upcoming event that they were going to host on behalf of their client. Once he was done he then visited the surveillance control room to go through the footage of the inaugural day which in itself was a daunting task, part of the reason why he decided to join the hotel was to find evidence that could prove his father's innocence. As he binged through all the video files for around 2 hours he then played the footage outside the men's restroom. He stared at the screen and at this point his eyes were wearied and red, he continued the same for a while till he finally saw his father enter the restroom followed by another man going inside. He then took note of the time and to his relief it was the exact time as the one shown in the footage where Anvay was entering the office with Shashi. He quickly copies the file and saves it in his pen drive which he planned on sending to Mr. Kulkarni as evidence.
He then moved to the front desk office to get a hold of the guest list to obtain the details of the man who was with his father at the time when Shashi was attacked to get the alibi confirmed for good.
..........................................................................................................................................................
Mahima was back at the hospital to resume her role as a volunteer, a place she would visit after her working hours and whenever she had free time except for Sunday. She was at the children's ward attending the child who's bill she had cleared earlier. Mahima then hands the little boy who laid on the bed a gift bag which he gladly accepted, he then opened it and found a monster truck play set."This was the one you wanted right?" She asked him, the young boy was elated on seeing the toy, "Yes didi" he answered
Mahima smiled the moment she heard that, "you didn't have to get him that" the boy's grandmother told her, "you've already done a lot for us" she continued
"Then allow me to do a little more" Mahima smiles at the old woman, walks towards her and holds her hands "You're grandson is like a little brother to me and you're like a mother to me, I've only helped someone I consider as my own so you needn't feel indebted over that" Mahima told her.
Mahima then opened her purse and took out a well sealed box of sweets. She opens it revealing the laddoos which were packed inside to feed the lady and the young boy. "Did something good happen?" The old woman asked to which an overjoyed Mahima answers, "Yes, I got engaged"
The news made the old woman's day, "Congratulations! Who's is the guy and when are you getting married?" She asked
"A good man and the date is yet to be fixed but I'll bring him over some day" Mahima told her. "I pray that you receive all the happiness in life and that you lead a happy married life" the old woman blessed her which Mahima gladly accepted.
"Didi is getting married?" The young boy asked slightly unhappy with the news, "So does that mean she won't visit us anymore"
"Nothing like that, I'll still come over" Mahima assured him. A moment later a nurse called out to Mahima and asked her to head to the administration office.
Mahima followed as instructed, she enters the office and heads straight to the desk. "What's the matter?" Mahima asked wondering if there was something wrong.
"Nothing actually, we called to return this to you" the staff at the desk told her handing over an envelope. As she opened it she found the cheque which she had deposited earlier leaving her confused. "Is something wrong with this, I mean I don't understand why are you returning it?" She asked
"Our management told us to give it back, that's why" the staff member answered and explained that the hospital's sponsors had cleared the dues so she needn't have to pay for it.
"But weren't you'll earlier pushing for a payment because of which you'll had refused to proceed with her grandson's surgery, so why a sudden change of heart?" Mahima asked to which the staff member told her it was a mistake on their part and apologised for it as well.
Mahima took her cheque and then turned around to walk away wondering what exactly happened overnight. As she was about to step out she bumps into her friend from the admin staff who just opened the door to enter the office.
Mahima then asked her friend if she knew about why they suddenly returned her cheque back, "Oh regarding that, actually what happened was...." her friend told her about how the staff was reprimanded for demanding money from an economically challenged patient by their sponsor who right there when the entire incident took place and that they were the ones who asked them to return the money she paid.
"I see, do you know who they are?" Mahima asked her friend, "Not really, it was the first time I saw them here, but I guess they have a family member that has been admitted here recently, so they are likely to visit again" her friend told her, "In that case if you see them again ask them to contact me, I'd like to thank them personally" Mahima requested her friend to which she agreed.
..........................................................................................................................................................
S
rishti and her parents were at the Singh Mansion to discuss the wedding date owing to the events that recently took place. The priest was going through the natal charts to determine an appropriate date, while Lakshya had just walked in to find everyone right before him.Lakshya walks to his mother and whispered "What's going on?"
She explained to him that they had called the priest to figure out if it was possible to delay the wedding date. Once the priest was done he explained that owing to their unique natal charts it was not possible push the wedding date any further as doing so would mean they would have to wait for another 8 years. He advised them that it would be better if they figure out a way to get married on the date set earlier putting the Singh's in a dilemma.
"Are you sure pandit ji ?" Shipra asked hoping he'd suggest alternative
"I'm sure, there's no other date available unless you'll are willing to wait for another 8 years" he told her.
Her heart sank as she he confirmed that, "so what do you'll wanna do?" Smitha asked Shipra, "Do you want to go ahead with the date or not because 8 long years is a bit too much" on hearing her mother ask this question Srishti got worried which Shipra took note off.
"If there's no other alternative then we'll just go ahead as planned" Shipra assured Smitha on hearing that Lakshya requests his mother to speak to her in private to which she agrees, she excuses herself and heads off to the kitchen with her elder son. "What's the matter?" She asked wondering if there was anything bothering him.
Ashlesha was just passing by the kitchen, when she noticed the mother and son duo she stopped to listen into their conversation.
" Do we have to go ahead with the wedding as planned? I mean how would Tai ji feel about this? And what about dad? We still haven't got him out" Lakshya raised his concern hoping she would reconsider.
"Your Tai ji will understand, and so will your dad, we know he is innocent so he will be released soon but regarding Srishti, it wouldn't be fair to make her wait for 8 years which is why we will go ahead as planned" Shipra explained to her son.
"But mom—" Lakshya tried to object but got cut off midway before he could complete, "I want to see you get married and settled, and there is no better girl than Srishti, if you trust me you'd do as I say" she told him to which Lakshya gave her the nod not wanting to upset her any further while he was actually frustrated deep down for not being able to object to her decision.
"Wow these people really are quite shameless, but don't worry I'll make sure they all have the time of their life during the wedding" Ashlesha thought to herself before transforming into a serpent and slithering away on realising that Shipra was going to walk out.
Shipra then walked back into living room to further discuss about the wedding. "So it's decided then, the date is set for 3 weeks from now" Smitha concluded to which Shipra agreed, "we'll plan on the preparations for the same so don't worry about it" Shipra told the Rai's before sending them off.
Once they left everyone got back to minding their own business, Ashlesha was in the kitchen to have a glass of water for herself as she was done and was about to walk out she bumps into Abhay. "Sorry" he told her as he moved aside to let her leave but then remembered what happened the previous night. As she was about to walk away he calls out to her, "Ashlesha, can I have a word with you" she turns back to face him and asks "Is everything okay?"
"Why did you leave and where did you head off to in the middle of the night yesterday?" He asked
...........................................................................................................................................................That's the end of part one of chapter 6, part 2 will be updated once its completed, do read and share your views.
Thanks :)
Awesome story.Kindly continue & conclude the same.
Thanks, I just completed my latest chapter, if you’re interested you can also read this on wattpad where it gets updated earlier. Won’t post the link here since the mods have an issue with it, I could PM it to you if you want.
Chapter 6.2
The question caught Ashlesha off guard, "What are you talking about? Where would I head off to in the middle of the night?" She maintained her poker face as she lied to him confidently.
"I'm pretty sure I saw you last night" Abhay asserted himself before her, "but what I don't get is the fact that you're denying it"
"You must have been mistaken" she tried to convince him however he wasn't ready to budge, "Since you're denying it and it really wasn't you, then I suppose you wouldn't mind if check the surveillance footage"
The minute he mentioned that she began to wonder whether she should take her chance or just admit to his claims. With confidence she then agrees to getting the surveillance footage of the previous night checked, "Sure, why not? If that'll clear your doubts please go ahead"
Her response left him wondering where she got her confidence from, "Okay then as you wish, please follow me" he told her, "Sure, but can I use the restroom before that?" She requested to which he agreed. Once she was done they both headed to the surveillance control room where Abhay asked the security guy to go through the previous nights footage.
As they were going through it, the time frame where Ashlesha leaves the house begins to flicker followed by the screen going blank much to Abhay's annoyance.
"What's wrong?" Abhay asked the security to which he explained that it must have been a technical glitch.
"How strange" Abhay was amazed by the coincidence regarding the occurrence of the glitch and then turns his head towards Ashlesha observing her carefully, when she noticed him do so it got her a little worried, "Why are you staring at me like that? I didn't do anything" she told him.
"I never said that you did, but the fact that the very part of the footage where you leave the house goes missing is quite suspicious" he pointed
"Firstly I never left the house, second let's say even if I did, how can you insinuate that I messed up the footage?" She argued "like when did I ever get the opportunity to even do that given that I never stepped in here until now"
Abhay knew she was right and began to wonder if he were overthinking but his gut told him otherwise. For an unexplained reason he felt that she was hiding something and began to wonder if she had an ulterior motive.
"If you're done, can I get back to work?" She asked him to excuse herself. "Yes, please do" he told her.
Ashlesha then goes back inside the house and heads straight to her room. As she closed the door shut behind she breathed a sigh of relief.
She then takes out her phone and dials up the recent contact from her call list. The phone rings on for a while till the other person received it.
"Thank you so much, if it weren't for you my cover would have been blown off" she told them and then explained all that happened. It turns out that she had earlier called up this person when she was in the restroom and they had knocked out the security guy and impersonated them before she headed to the surveillance control room along with Abhay, hinting they were a shapeshifting serpent as well.
"it seems we may have to take care of the younger son, he might prove to be troublesome and get in our way later" she told the other person
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Anvay was in his cell after being interrogated for hours. Once he was done with his dinner he tried to fall asleep as he tossed and turned every 15 minutes for over two hours. As he laid down he then heard a sound that made him rise up. He then looks around to see what or who it was but found nothing.
"I told you so didn't I?" A voice whispered in his ears startling him. He turns around but there was no one there.
"That you'd pay a heavy price for what you did" he heard the voice again even though no one was around making him wonder if he was losing it. The voice then begins to laugh in the most eerie manner.
"Stop it!" He screams out hoping for the same as he then began to throw things around creating a disturbance following which the constable comes to check on him.
"Keep it down!" The constable yelled bringing Anvay back to his senses as the voice stopped tormenting him.
"Who said you could trash this place, Did you by any chance lose it?" The constable asked
"I'm sorry" Anvay apologized following which the constable leaves and he tries to calm himself down back to sleep.
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The next morning Lakshya paid a visit to Mr. Kulkarni's office to show him the video evidence he found the previous day.
Mr. Kulkarni went through and seemed pleased, "this is good, however it would help if we could get the person in the footage besides him to testify"
"I figured you'd say this, that's why I asked our sales management regarding them and got their details" Lakshya told him to which Mr. Kulkarni was pleased and asked Lakshya whether he had disclosed the same to anyone else. "No I haven't told anyone else about this, it's just between us"
"Good! It's better we get things done discreetly" Mr. Kulkarni remarked to which Lakshya agreed, "Given that someone's trying to frame dad I don't want to give them the opportunity to get in the way"
Mr. Kulkarni then advised Lakshya that besides securing the alibi it was necessary to track the person conspiring against his family as well because it's likely that they weren't targeting just his father alone.
"Could your family and in particular your father have any enemies? For example someone that holds a grudge against him?" Mr. Kulkarni asked Lakshya
"Not that I know of it, but I'll check with Mom for she may know something" once Lakshya was done discussing the case he then left the office. On exiting the building he then walks towards his car and enters the same following which he drives away and stops at his independent office to collect some stuff and then heads walks out and heads towards a cafe nearby.
He steps out of his car and walk towards the cafe. Lakshya enters the same and heads towards the order and service counter, a lady in a yellow Kurti and blue jeans was ahead of him and had just collected her order. As she turns around he is surprised to find Mahima before him, "Hi, you come here too?" he asked her to which she answers, "Yes, I live nearby"
"I see" he muttered
"What about you?" Mahima asked him wondering what made him show up there. "I have my office nearby" he answered surprising Mahima, "you do? I've never seen you around before" she told him
"That's because it was set up just a few days ago" he explained
"That makes sense" Mahima then excused herself and headed towards her table while Lakshya placed his order at the counter and waited there. He collects his order and then scans the place for an empty table but couldn't find any during the breakfast hour. Mahima took notice of the same and beckoned him which he followed and sits down at her table.
"Thanks" he told her, "don't mention it, this place is really popular, if you wish to dine in then I'd suggest you come earlier" she explained
They had their meal in silence, once Mahima was done she picked up her food tray and disposed the contents in the nearby bin before leaving it at the counter and walking out.
Lakshya followed the same once he was done and then walks out as well and heads straight towards where his car was parked. As he walked towards it he noticed Mahima waiting outside her own vehicle seemingly frustrated.
"Is everything okay?" He asked not wanting to make any assumptions.
"Yes, I'm just waiting for a cab to show up since my car stopped working out of the blue" she told him to which he offered her a ride
"Are you sure that's okay?" She asked him, "yeah don't worry about it" he assured her as he got in following which she walks towards his car and joins him inside.
"Thanks" she told him as she fastened her seat belt. He then started the car and drove away, while driving Lakshya couldn't help but notice the awkward silence between them and in a bid to break the ice he asks, "are you usually this quite or is it just me?"
"I'm usually like this" she answered him with a smile to which he responds with an "Okay......" as he continued driving. As they reach the traffic signal which turn red at that moment he applies the brake to stop the car, as he waited for the signal to turn green he turns on the radio. "I hope you don't mind" he asked Mahima to which she responds with a brief yet indifferent tone "I don't" that made her seem pretty distant.
The comedy hour program was going on where by the host would perform on air, the jokes he cracked helped alleviate the mood inside the car to a point where Mahima began to giggle surprising Lakshya, it was a joke about a computer acting like a human when it blamed other computers over its own errors.
"You found that funny?" he asked her with his head slightly tilted to which she replies, "of course, aren't humans exactly like that?" as she tried to control her giggling to which Lakshya found himself getting smitten over. As the signal turned green he pushes down the accelerator and drives ahead for a while till Mahima asks him pull over, "I'll get off over here"
"Are you sure?" He asked to which she replies with a "yes, and thanks again" she then unfastens her seat belt, steps out of the car and waves him a goodbye before walking away herself. As he watched her leave he could feel a void creep up within him for a reason he couldn't explain and brushed it off as he drove away.
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Abhay was in his class during the media research session. He kept brooding over what happened back at home regarding the surveillance footage going blank and simply couldn't get his mind off it.
As the session progressed, the lecturer began to explain about the group assignment to be completed by the students.
"The assignment is all about indian folktales and each group would have to decide on a topic to work on" the lecturer explained following which she began to form groups of 4 based on a draw. Abhay and Srishti ended up together in the same group along with 2 other girls.
As they sat together to discuss over what to work on, one of the members suggested to work on ichaadhaari (wishful shapeshifting) Naagins (female cobras).
"What are those?" Abhay asked to which Srishti and the others gave him a surprised look, "Really you don't know about them?" his group member named Kirti asked to which he responds with a no.
"Seriously? Haven't you watched the movie Nagina?" Srishti asked him to which he shook his head to say no and told them that he wasn't really into old movies. "So what's special about them? He asked them to which the other member Shruti answered, "they are serpents who live beyond a hundred years to attain their shapeshifting abilities, they are powerful and can transform into anyone but most of all they are vindictive in nature"
"You mean they're similar to werewolves?" He asked to which Kirti answers, "more close to the nine tailed fox in East Asian mythology" which got him intrigued.
"So shall we submit this as our topic?" Srishti asked everyone to which they agree and informed the lecturer about the same. Once the class was dismissed Srishti approaches Abhay to discuss how they could collect information however she noticed he kept spacing out.
"Is something bothering you?" she asked him wondering if that were the case.
"Something's fishy" he muttered confusing Srishti "What do you mean?"
"It doesn't concern you" he told you and then just walks away as she watched him leave taken aback by his contemptuous demeanor.
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Chandrika and Shipra went to visit Anvay who was in police custody. Mr. Kulkarni has also accompanied them in order to discuss a few matters with him. After getting Officer Shergill's and the Superintendents approval they headed to the cell where Anvay was confined.
Chandrika's heart broke on watching her Son locked up and behind bars. She wanted to go and embrace him but was not allowed to enter his cell. Shipra held her tears back as she watched him, there was a lot that she wanted to ask and tell but couldn't at that moment.
"How are you?" Chandrika asked her son. "I'm okay" he responded. She noticed the dark circles under his eyes which indicated that he didn't sleep well but refrained from asking about it. She hands him a 3 layered tiffin box feeling sorry and told him, "I know the food here is awful that's why I brought this, have this for today" to which he told her that the prison authorities would not allow it.
"Don't worry about that" and made him accept the food. As the time given to them for the visit was about to end Mr. Kulkarni takes his opportunity to ask Anvay if he had any enemies or someone that held a grudge against him to which. Anvay gave it a thought, the only one who could have done that to him were dead already, "I don't think so, and even if there is I wouldn't know" he answered, disappointed by the response he then excused himself and left. Chandrika and Shipra then bid him goodbye and left as well with Chandrika leaving ahead to use the restroom while Shipra waited for her mother in law to return.
As she waited out a constable started ranting to his colleague about how his night was disturbed by one of the inmates. "That person kept throwing things around the cell and yelling out loud some woman's name in the middle of the night" the constable told his colleague to which they respond "He must be crazy, either that or he's guilty about something"
"I agree, All night he kept crying for some Neelima to stop, I think that person's closed to deranged" the constable remarked which made Shipra realize that he was talking about her husband and peaked her curiosity.
As soon as her mother in law was done and stepped out of the restroom they head towards the exit. As they walk out of the police station and waited outside for their chauffeur, Shipra asks her mother in law, "Who is Neelima?"
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And this is the end of chapter 6. Hope you all like it.
Thanks :)
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