So as promised, here's the next chapter! I made you guys wait, sorry! (I chucked the evilness for next time.)
Yuvi giggled as he ran around Chakor. "Yuvi, you'll get hurt if you keep running like that," Chakor said, worried. Yuvi could care less, and knowing this, she sighed.
The three of them, Yuvi, her, and Rishab, were on their way to Chakor's house, to tell the owner they were moving out, as well as to shift all their things, the necessary ones at least, to Suraj's place. It felt like such a big milestone for Chakor, moving to his place, that is.
She felt a bit sad Suraj wasn't with them today. He had been wary of sending her alone, in case 'those two' were to come again. He was stuck with work, even during the weekend. Rishab had cheerfully said he would accompany them, but really, he just wanted to play with Yuvi. The same went for Yuvi as well, who was now prancing around with Rishab following close behind.
Idly, she thought of an agreeable excuse to tell her owner, were he to question her about the sound of gun shots from above. She gulped, shivers running down her spine when she remembered how Suraj had been that night. Her line of thought was broken by Yuvi shouting and another squeal... by a girl?
She looked up and saw Yuvi's friend, Suvreen, and her mother, walking up to them from the other direction. They had barely reached the front gate when Yuvi ran towards Suvreen. The kids shared a bear hug as Chakor smiled up at Mrs. Guggal who was coming her way.
"I'm sorry, I came over without calling since Suvreen was making such a fuss to meet Yuvi. Were you heading out somewhere?" She asked in an apologetic tone. "No, no, in fact, we're arriving." Chakor beamed. "Oh, that's great. And this is...?" Mrs. Guggal tilted her head towards Rishab, who smiled at her.
"Yuvi's soon to be Uncle, Rishab. Nice to meet you!" "Oh I see. Wait... soon to be?" She looked at Chakor, all confused. Chakor smiled nervously at her, opening her mouth to explain, when someone called out to her.
"There you are, Chakor dear! We were so worried about Yuvi and you! Where did you disappear, child?" It was the owner's wife, running out of the house to meet them at the gate. Suvreen's mother looked at the both of them, more confused than ever.
Chakor exhaled slowly. "Why don't we all go in and I'll explain everything?"
***
Chakor sat on the sofa, fidgeting and not daring to meet anyone's eyes after her explanation. She had just briefed them about Suraj, his arrival, and their marriage. She had left out details like the other reason for the marriage, to get full custody of Yuvi legally, in a way that eliminated all chances of Vivaan getting close to him. She also didn't have to worry about explaining the gun shot sounds, since the house walls were soundproof, and moreover, Mr. Bhat was a bit hard of hearing.
Not that she had to hide these facts from these people around her. The Bhats, the owners, as well as Suvreen's mother knew about Yuvi. Maybe she just didn't want to worry them, but she felt it better to leave those facts out. Especially the incident of KN coming over.
Mrs. Bhat smiled kindly at her, coming to sit down next to her. She held both of Chakor's hands in her own, squeezing them lightly.
"I'm so happy for you, dear." She said, almost on the verge of tears. Somewhere in the few years of her stay, both of them had come to think of each other as mother and daughter. Chakor felt tears roll down her cheeks, for she really felt like a daughter going away from her parent's place.
Suvreen's mother came and sat beside her as well. "I feel the same. You look so happy, Chakor, and I pray this happiness stays forever with you." She smiled at her, and Chakor smiled back at her, in between her soft sobs as tears trickled down her face.
"You're planning to get married... soon, I believe?" Mr. Bhat spoke up. He looked at her in a way that said he knew all the things she had left unsaid. He might be old and his limbs may be softening, but his brain was as sharp as ever. "When?" He added.
Chakor gulped. "I do plan to get married soon, but..." She stopped abruptly.
"Tomorrow." Rishab said all of a sudden. "I mean, it's not good to delay things such as these, right?" He shared a look of understanding with Mr. Bhat, who smiled at him, as if he took the hint. What they spoke without words, only they would know.
"I agree." He got up slowly and walked to a room inside, and came back a minute later, carrying a box with him. He placed it in front of her, pushing it toward her. "You know, every time on New Years, I would give you a saree, hoping that that would be the year you would get married, and also with a slight hope somewhere that you would wear the saree I had got." He smiled fondly at her, "And now it's finally happening. I don't know what to say," he sat down on the recliner, urging her to open the box.
Slowly, Chakor lifted the top, and she gasped, drawing in a sharp intake of breath the minute she saw the saree. Inside was a beautiful mauve saree, a silk one, with a golden border and an almost invisible checkered pattern through out. It looked so rich and grand, Chakor was wary of asking the price. And moreover, it seemed so ironical, that Fate would present her with a mauve saree.
The colour she had been wearing the day they separated. The colour she would wear on the day they united.
Though the colour was completely different than her graduation Saree, since it was, after all, on silk, the minute she had seen it, she had, in her heart of hearts already thought of herself, standing as a bride in that Saree. She felt her eyes grow moist yet again as Mrs. Bhat hugged her from the side.
"You're going to look so beautiful dear. I can't wait for tomorrow."
Mrs. Guggal looked questioningly at Rishab. "But will everything be done by tomorrow?" She asked. Rishab beamed. "Why to fear, when I'm here?" He winked at Chakor, and she burst out laughing.
"Then let's go shopping! Yuvi! Suvreen! Come down!" He shouted.
***
"Are you sure you want a simple wedding though?" Rishab almost pouted. "Yes, I discussed it with Suraj last night. We... don't have many people to celebrate with us, and moreover, we don't have our parents with us, so... a simple marriage would do." On hearing Chakor's answer, Rishab made the face of a kicked puppy. "Please Rishab," she whispered, and he consented.
"Fine, but a BIG temple, okay? Not any small one." She giggled at his stubbornness. "Okay," she replied, nodding her head.
It was almost 1.30 now, and Chakor seriously couldn't believe the amount of work they had finished in the matter of a few hours. Rishab had called for the movers and packers, and they had, as planned, taken only what's necessary, giving away the rest. Chakor took the couch though, since she couldn't forget the scenes of Suraj sitting, sleeping and even kneeling next to it. She felt some emotional connect with the couch. She didn't want to let it go, even if Suraj had one back at their place.
Not only that, Rishab had booked a temple for the wedding, God knows how, on such short notice. Suvreen's mother had left, promising her that she would arrange for the food. She knew a lot of caterers who would surely oblige to her request, even if it was the weekend. She also had taken the responsibility to stitch her bridal blouse, and Chakor had been grateful a hundred times over. Suvreen had hugged her and Yuvi, and the kids had parted cheerfully, knowing that they would be meeting tomorrow.
Presently, they were all shopping in Orion Mall, the Bhats accompanying them. Chakor, oddly, wanted to have a full fledged South Indian wedding, no one knew why. Rishab supposed it was because she had mostly grown up here, coming to Ahmedabad only for studying. The women separated to buy jewellery, while the two (and a half) men set out to buy their clothes. Rishab didn't know much about what to buy, and Mr. Bhat had led him around, mindful of the young man's situation.
Rishab was a bit down about the wedding not being a grand affair, he had always dreamt of one for Suraj. But nevertheless, he would be sure to make whatever little ceremony they were having, a grand one.
They had finished buying new clothes for Yuvi, and Rishab had quickly picked up a suit, another one for his already huge collection of them. They met the women half way, Chakor fidgeting nervously and asking whether she was spending too much.
Rishab stared at her with a poker face till she took back her words.
They were all now headed to the main destination, to buy Suraj's clothes and a few more sarees for Chakor.
"This one," Chakor beamed, picking up a cream coloured veshti (dhoti), with golden borders to the side. "They all look the same to me," Rishab complained. Chakor glared at him. "You wouldn't know." She said slowly, and Rishab gulped. Never interrupt a woman who's shopping.
She picked up a *shalya* along with the veshti, pondering over something. "Though I would like him to wear a short kurta top, I think he would be more comfortable in a shirt," she said, as she picked up an off white shirt to finish off his attire.
"I bought his reception dress," Rishab said suddenly and Chakor looked at him, surprised. "What? We are going to have a grand party at least, and I'm not taking No for an answer." She chuckled, letting him do as he pleased.
Presently, the man at the counter billed all their purchases, her ready-made blouses being added at the last minute. It was half past 6 now, getting quite dark too. They dropped the Bhats back home, after which Rishab drove toward Suraj's place.
"I still feel like I went overboard," Chakor said softly. "It's okay. I'm sure hubby darling won't mind. His savings finally came of use."
"OhMyGod! I don't even know how much i spent! Shit! I need to return..."
"Return it back to your husband?" Rishab stared at her like she was being an impossible brat. She was. "Nice idea. Though I think he'll prefer something else over money, coming from you, of course."
Chakor almost hit him with the necklace box she was holding, and Rishab outright hit the steering wheel as he laughed. He continued to tease her till he drove the car into the driveway of Suraj's place, and that's when they fell silent, noticing a person standing at the doorway, a few travel bags to their side.
The person, a female it appeared, turned at the glare of the headlights, and on seeing the silhouette of the person, Rishab stilled and the car came to a screeching halt.
Chakor turned sharply, with a face of pure shock, toward Rishab, only to see him gulp down twice, his face turning pale.
"Oh shit."
***
"What do you mean she wasn't there?! Where else could she have gone?!" KN roared from his side of the table, before kicking it away. He held his gun up at the men, infuriated. "You can't do a thing properly! You're useless! It's better to rid the Earth of people like you." He threatened as he held the gun to one of the men's forehead.
"NO! No saar, I swear, we waited for hours but she never came. The people down below were nowhere to be seen as well!" The man uttered, folding his hands, backing away in fear. KN kicked the man to the ground, turning away.
"That girl... she has ruined my life! NO, I will never let her get away so easily!" He roared.
"Then why didn't you kill her that day, Papa?!" Vivaan asked, irritated by his father's insanity. KN walked toward him, menacing. "You think I wouldn't have?!" He screamed at his face. "You think?! I had her cornered, but then some bloody idiot decided to show up."
He paused, gulping once as his fingers shivered thinking of Suraj. "That good for nothing, God knows what he's been brought up with to shoot like that."
"There was another person?" Vivaan asked, surprised.
"Yes. Probably just someone visiting her, I don't care." He wouldn't say it, but he didn't want to think of Suraj at that moment. He could never forget those eyes of his, like a lion chasing its prey.
He closed his eyes, and exhaled deeply.
"So she thinks she can run away from my clutches? I'll grip her ten times as hard. Forget her house. Day after, Monday. She would obviously report to her work place. I'll personally drag her out from there." He spat out each word, brandishing his gun at the end.
"This time, I'll be sure to make her pay. And pay dearly."
He laughed as if he had turned insane. He couldn't wait for Monday to arrive.
***
Suraj was exhausted. It was half past 7, and he was still bent over his files. It hadn't even been a week, and here he was, working overtime for the second time. He sighed, closing the file and rubbing his eyes. He was alone in the office, even Rishab wasn't there today. He was pondering on whether to just continue his work on Monday or stay back for a few more hours.
At this instant, his phone rang. It was Rishab.
"Hello?" Suraj answered, clearing his throat afterword. He was parched.
"WAHAHAHAHA."
Suraj drew back his phone and looked at the caller ID. It was Rishab, all right. But then why was there a WOMAN on the other side, and that too an evil one? And wait... that voice.
"Ragini?!"
"WAHAHAHAHA."
"Speak or I'm hanging up."
"WAHA... what? Wait, wait! Where are you?"
"In office."
"Come back home."
"You're at my place?!" He gasped.
"Uh huh." He could feel her smirking.
"What have you done to Rishab?"
"He's sitting petrified on the chair but otherwise fine. Won't you ask about your Daaarling?" She sing songed.
He furrowed his eyebrows.
"What about her?"
"Nothing~ till now. If you don't come soon, I might end up cooking for her. You wouldn't want her to taste THAT, would you?"
"Ragini," he smirked. "The kitchen isn't set up yet. So I don't have to bother about that."
A pause for a couple of seconds.
"I'll use your card when I go shopping next time."
"Sure, I'm not going to go bankrupt any time soon."
Another pause.
"I really have to work, you know," Suraj sighed. He did want to go back home and meet his sister, and see Chakor and Yuvi and probably bring Rishab back to life, probably, cause 'let him suffer a bit more for troubling me.'
"Come back home this instant or I show your baby pictures to Bhabhi. The really embarrassing ones, too."
.
.
.
"Roger."
Back home, Ragini ended the call. Rishab was still in the same state as before and she rolled her eyes. He had gone stiff the minute he had seen her. Honestly, she had tried to look presentable for him, even after the day long flight. And the guy had reacted like he'd seen a ghost.
She turned and saw Chakor coming from the other side. Yuvi had been put to sleep in Suraj's room, and Chakor had managed enough courage to walk out to the hall and talk to Ragini. She didn't know why, but she was a but nervous to talk to her. All the Rajvanshis seemed so intimidating.
'Shut up Chakor.' She mentally berated herself. Chakor had stood at the same place for a minute or more, and Ragini decided to cover the distance between them. In a flash, she stood right before Chakor, looking her up and down. Chakor shifted her gaze side to side, not knowing what to do or speak. All her thoughts flew with the wind, when Ragini just abruptly hugged her.
"I'm so glad you're back in Bhaiya's life," she whispered. Chakor, not knowing what to do, hugged her back, only to feel her tightening the hug.
"I knew that there must have been something else when he said you had run away that day. Bhaiya can never be wrong in knowing people, and I'm so glad he decided to wait for you... Bhabhi."
Chakor gasped as she felt Ragini loosening the hug. "How did...?" And Ragini giggled. "Rishab called me on Tuesday, or should I say Wednesday because of the time difference, and told me all about you both. The minute he mentioned your name, I packed my bags and booked a flight back home. All I had on my mind was to get you two together, but it seems like Rishab did that work for me." She looked back and smiled fondly at Rishab, who seemed to have come back to normal, and was presently on his phone.
"Oh, by the way, can we watch this?" Ragini asked as she held up a random CD. "I found it in one of the boxes."
'Yuvi's first steps and words.' The CD was labelled.
Chakor smiled, and nodded her head. She proceeded to insert the CD in the music system, switching on the TV. Seriously, that was the only thing set up except the bed and the couch. Talk about priorities.
"He's a really cute kid. It's sad that both his parents met their end so soon."
Chakor turned sharply at her statement. "Both...?" She was interrupted by Rishab sitting down next to her. "Yes, both the TV and the system are connected. Let's play the CD now."
"Ooh ooh! It's playing! Come, sit!" Ragini squealed, jumping on the couch. Chakor meanwhile, got up slowly, a bit frazzled by Rishab's behaviour. She sat down next to Ragini, while he sat away from them on the one seater, in a pensive mood.
They giggled as they saw Yuvi fall over and spitting out his cerlac, and Ragini sighed dreamily when Yuvi smiled.
"I can't believe he's not Bhaiya's kid." She suddenly said, and Rishab turned sharply. "What do you mean?" He asked hurriedly, and Chakor was convinced some thing was up.
"I mean, just look at him! He reminds me of Bhaiya when he was young... okay, I saw only the pictures, but STILL. Especially his eyes. They're like typical Rajvanshi eyes," she sighed, pausing at a particular close up of baby Yuvi. "So similar. They're just like his, filled with love but also a kind of burning passion."
"You're just imagining things, making them up." Rishab waved it off. "I told you before, he's Chakor's sister's kid." Rishab, somehow, seemed desperate to change the topic.
"Chakor BHABHI." Ragini said sternly, correcting him. "Yeah, yea..." Rishab was interrupted by the door bell.
Ragini jumped up, squealing. "That must be Bhaiya!" She ran to open the door. Rishab got up and sat down near Chakor, opening his phone. It was Suraj's text.
'She must not know Yuvi's truth, about his father.'
It read.
Chakor gaped up at Rishab. "But why...?"
Rishab swallowed.
"Ragini... doesn't know about her father. Suraj has always kept her from knowing about KN... and his extra marital affair, and about Vivaan."
A pause.
"To Ragini, KN is dead. That's what Suraj has made her believe."
***
Precap: *Band Baja Baarat!*
Shaadi special!
EXTRA: Suraj was quietly sitting in his cabin when his phone buzzed. Ignoring it, he continued his work, when it buzzed again, and again, till he finally picked it up.
His eyebrows shot up looking at the numerous messages from his bank, stating that he had been spending money (huge freaking LOADS of it) via card.
He immediately called Rishab, since he knew he was the one who had his card.
"What on earth is happening?!" He barked into the phone, not even waiting for Rishab to say 'Hello.'
"What are you even doing? On some kind of shopping spree?!"
"RAAAHUL," Rishab had dragged, and Suraj stared at his phone to see whether he had called Rishab, and indeed he had.
"Don't be so mad. Your Meenamma is shopping for your wedding."
.
.
.
"Wait, what?!"
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