Happy New Year Guys!
Ahh yes I didn't forgot about this. And I know I'm not even in position to ask for you forgiveness. do if you have lost interest in this story; i completely understand. But I'm going to complete this story.
For those who are still reading, I'm grateful to you guys. And enjoy this one.
I might reupload the precious chapthers correcting the error, after reading them now i feel foolish how those were return; just to let you know I'm changing anything major - spellings and grammer is all. Thats It!
Happy Reading!
Recap:
Ishita married to son of her father's friend, and was off to live with her In-Laws. Dushyant on the other hand was devastated and had lost all the interest in living.
Later Aishwarya joins the team replacing Ishita. After helping Aishwarya fight off her sister and her boyfriend, she finds out her parents were also killed, the incidence bringing closer to Kavin. When Dushyant mother forces him to agree to marriage, he lies that he is already married. Meanwhile Ishita finds the horrifying truth about her husband and instantly leaves him and comes to Mumbai. The gang again cross path, and after learning about her husband Dushyant insists Ishita to stay with him and Kavin. As Dushyant's family arrives, Ishita fills up the place of Dushyant's imaginary wife.
Things were going on as normal as they could, when on the girls night out Tasha was shot and nearly died. Tracing Tasha's attacker team reaches a house only to later find out a bomb implanted.
Then...
"Sir vo notes ko aachese check kiya, khoon k alaava unpe kuch bhi nahi hai, not even a single fingerprint" Vineet said as he placed the report file down.
"Iska matlab khooni ne ye sab soch samaz k kiya hai!" Sachin said as he went through the report.
"But sir ek baat abhi bhi samaz nahi aa rahi hai, vo Raj ek sharpshooter that ho vo isey aisey syringe se kyu marega?" Shreya said.
"Baat tho tumhari sahi hai Shreya, issmai kuch tho bohot badi gadbad hai. Muzey tho lagta hai iss sab k mastermind ne jaanbuj k ye laash aisey jagaha rakhi ki vo hamey aasanisey mile, tabhi tho vo Monu ko bhi hamarey samney hi mara and ab ye." Daya said his mind racing for various possibilities.
"Sir, agar vo khooni itna carefull hai ki ek bhi note pe fingerprint nahi hai tho fir uss syringe pe kaisey fingerprints reh gaye? Ye baat kuch hajam nahi hui sir." Kajal said
"Wahi tho baat samaz nahi aa raha hai kajal, itni laaparvahi tho vo nahi kar sakta…."Daya was thinking a million miles an hour & suddenly it hit him like a brick in the face
"Itni laaparvahi tho vo nahi kar sakta unless ye laaparvahi nahi balki uski chaal hai!" He said gritting his teeth.
"Sir agar aisey sach mai hoga na tho Abhijeet sir, Rajat sir, Freedy sir and Purvi sidhey unke jaal mai chale gaye hai." Vineet said
"Mai Abhijeet sir ko call karta hu." Saying so, Sachin went to call Abhijeet.
"Mai Purvi ko call karti hu." Shreya said & others called the remaining two.
"Abhijeet sir ka call nahi lag raha" Sachin said.
"Purvi ka phone band aa raha hai" Shreya informed
"Rajat sir ka bhi band aa raha hai" Kajal added
"And freedy sir ka out of range hai" Vineet said.
"Kuch tho karna hoga, ek kaam karo gadi nikalo ham abhi waha jatey hai" Daya said as he picked up his gun and rushed out, others following his lead.
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When they reached where Abhijeet and co. had been, they were shocked to say the least.
The house behind was ruined to pieces, small fire burning everywhere, the smoke blocking almost everything visible.
"Oh my god! Abhijeet!." Daya called out and all of them rushed to find their co-workers.
Abhijeet looked back from his crouched position, and sighed in relief after looking at the familiar face.
Daya and co. looked passed Abhijeet to be shocked yet again.
There was a body laying limply a bit away from where the officers were. Freedy and Rajat were tending to a badly injured Purvi, but neither of the former was unscratched either.
"Ye kya hua yaha sir? Aap log thik tho hai naa?" Sachin asked as they reached the battered officers.
"Ghar mai bomb rakha gaya tha, usey pata tha ham log aa rahe hai. Vo tho aacha hua Freedy ne sahi time pe dekh liya. Uss Raj ki body bhi mili hamey." Abhijeet briefly explained.
"Purvi ko kya hua sir?" Shreya asked as she and Kajal rushed to her side.
"Arey kuch nahi, bahar nikalte samai uska pair fisal gaya, thoda girneki vajahase chot aayi hai." Rajat said as he finished wrapping her head that was bleeding. She had already a bandage on her hands and ankle too.
"Tumhey tho bohot laga hai purvi" kajal said checking her hand
"Nahh, koi nahi. Itna bhi nahi laga hai. Do teen din mai thik ho jayega" Purvi said smiling at the girls.
"Sir aapko bhi dressing karni chahiye." Vineet said
"Arey uski koi zaroorat nahi hai" Rajat said dismissing the topic.
"Aisey kaisey Rajat , tumhey bhi tho lagi hai. Dressing kar lo" Sachin said.
"Ha,Abhijeet, Rajat, Freedy tum log dressing kar lo" Daya said and they started tending to the injuries of the officers.
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"Kavin Dushyant, kya mila uss folder mai?" ACP sir asked as he entered the beauro. Kavin, Dushyant, Ishita, Aishwarya, Nikhil and Ruhi were present around the table going through the folder Rajat had found in the house.
"Sir issmai kuch pictures hai aur ek note hai" Kavin said as ACP sir made his way to where the contents of the folder were laid out.
"Ye teen pictures Monu, Wardboy – Jayesh aur Raj ki hai,inn pe ye bada wala red cross kiya gaya hai. " Kavin explained.
"Inke sath hame aur teen pictures bhi mili, check kiya tho pata chala in sab ka koi na koi criminal record zaroor hai; Monu aur Raj sharpshooter the aur ye Jayesh choti moti choriya karta tha, bohot baar jail bhi hui hai isey uske liye" Dushyant informed.
"Aur sir ye baki ki teen pictures, ye pehela wala – Moti naam hai iska, sir ye Mumbai ka supari killer hai. Bohot logoki jaan le chukka hai ye. Panch saal pehele police ki raid mai pakda gaya tha aur almost ek saal pehele jail se bhag gaya hai, tab se iska koi atapata nahi hai. " Kavin pointed at one of the three pictures, a buff looking man with wild long hairs and a scar running down one of his eyes.
"Aur sir ye hai Paresh bhai, gang leader hai. Mumbai mai dangal ya koi bhi badi gadbad mai aadmi yahi supply karta tha. Par kareeb 8 saal pehele pakda gaya, fir che mahiney pehele kuch medical emergency k liye isey hospital mai admit kiya gaya tha, tab ye vahase doctor ko maar k bhag gaya. Police ka manna hai ki kisiney iski bhagnemai help ki hai, but abhi tak iski koi khabar nahi" Dushyant explained pointing at next picture of a well-built man with soft features. One would not believe such a man could do any serious harm, but as it is said – looks can be deceiving.
"And lastly ye, iska naam Pratik Shinde hai. Expo Laboratories mai ye senior researcher tha, aisey hi experiment karte kartey isney ek harmful gas produce kiya – some carbon monoxide compound. Ye uska test insanope karna chahata tha, Jab iske senior ko pata chala tho isey turant naukari se nikal diya gaya aur uss compound ko demolish karne ka order mila. Dusrey din isney lab k sabhi researchers and staff ko ek kamremai band karke unpe ye experiment kiya, log buri tarahase uss gas k changul mai phas gaye the aur maut ki kagar par the, but somehow they escaped. Uske baad isey pakda gaya aur jail ho gai. Kisi ki jaan nahi gai thi isliye isey 7 saal ki saja hui. 10 mahiney pehele hi ye saja puri karke bahar aaya hai." Kavin said pointing at a man clad in a white lab coat wearing specs.
"Aur ye teeno abhi bhi bahar hai, uss khoni k mohore ban k ghoom rahe hai" ACP sir said "Dhund nikalo inn teeno ko, ye hamareliye badi mushkil badha sakte hai agar aisey khule mai ghoomte rahe tho." He ordered.
Ishita nugged Dushyant, when he looked at her she forwarded him the letter that was present along with the pictures.
"Aur sir ye letter bhi bheja hai, isey newspaper k alphabets cut karke banaya gaya hai." He forwarded the letter, which composed of various alphabets cut from newspaper making it appear like words.
ACP sir looked at the paper and read the message.
'Inhey dhund ne ka soch rahe ho,
Sochna bhi mat, nahi milenge – kyu ki ye mere paas hai;
Muzey tumhara ye har baat pe tang adana pasand nahi hai
Agar apni kheriyat chahate ho tho muzey dhundna band kardo
Jo koi bhi muzey rokne ki koshish karega,
Tasha k baajuwala bed uske liye book karna padega.
Aur ha – muzey jo chahiye vo tho mai karke hi rahunga
Tum mai se koi kuch bhi nahi kar sakta'
"Dhamki de raha hai CID ko, janta nahi kis se pala pada hai iska" ACP sir said as he threw the paper.
"Sir meri madad kijiye koi!" A distressed voice entered the beauro followed by an equally distressed lady. "Meri bachi ko kisiney kidnap kar liya hai!"
So just as the case was reported, finding the culprit of theirs was pushed aside.
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Three Weeks Later….
Owing to cases and more cases the Team was always on the run, sometimes they even had to split in two teams to solve cases that had been reported simultaneously. Purvi, Rajat, Freedy and Abhijeet had recovered from their bomb trauma in next three days only, Purvi being last to recover from all her injuries. Two weeks later Tasha was given a green signal to join back too. But everyone could notice the obvious nightmarish shadow that was now always present in her eyes. She wasn't the same.
Others had tried to track down the remaining three of the folder, but none were found. It was as if they went missing in air.
The beauro was constantly on run for those three weeks and so when finally the rush reduced the officers were more than ready to take an evening off & just live in the moment.
"I think ham sab ko aaj dinner pe jana chahiye." Aishwarya said as they strode in the parking area.
"Exactly! Pichle kuch hafte itni bhagdaud hui hai ki I really need some normal time." Ishita said.
"Thik hai tho fir, well go home get fresh and meet at around 8:30 by Gala's; is that all right?" Kavin said as he opened his car door.
"Yup!"
"Sure"
"Done." Came simultaneous reply of others
"Sorry guys, but I won't be able to come, not feeling well" Tasha said in a barely visible voice.
All stopped where they were and turned to face her. Now-a-days that's how she had been. Speaking less, avoiding any kind of socialization, keeping things to herself, basically everything that she was not.
"Kya hua Tasha, koi problem?" Dushyant asked
"Kuch nahi, vo mann nahi hai. Bye." She hurriedly said and went where Vivek's car was.
"Mai dekhta hu. We'll meet you guys at 8:30" Vivek affirmed and followed after his wife.
Others looked at each other not sure if they should be concerned about Tasha or believe that Vivek will handle it.
"Kab tak aisey rahegi ye? I don't like this" Ishita sighed
"Dinner k time dekhte hai. Mai aur Aishwarya directly tum logoko Gala's k yaha milte hai." Kavin nodded and started the car, Aishwarya taking the passenger's seat.
"See ya guys!" She said as they drove off.
"Shall we?" Dushyant motioned towards his car; Ishita nodded and they both headed to their place.
"Do you think Tasha is undergoing PTSD?" Ishita asked while looking out of the window.
"Maximum chances are yes. Par kuch kaha bhi nahi jaa sakta, she might just be in shock for all we know." He said without taking his attention off the road
"Kab tak chalega aisey dushtant, kisiko tho ussey baat karni chahiye. Ham aur wait nahi kar sakte ki vo khud normal ho jayegi karke" she was frustrated to say the least. Seeing one of her bestfriend like this was not on her to-do list.
"Ofcourse karni chahiye! But hamey nahi, Vivek ko. They both have a bond that cannot be explained in words. So agar Tasha se koi baat karke usey iss unnatural mode se bahar laa sakta hai tho vo sirf vivek hai" Dushyant said
It was silent after that, both having a number of things on their mind. Suddenly a thought went through Dushyant's mind & he smirked
"When do you think they are going to make it official?" He asked, smirk never wavering. When ishita gave him one of her infamous confused look he added "Kavin aur Aishwarya."
After realizing what he was trying to say her mouth turned into a smirk of her own
"Not till the time sasu mom interferes or Dadi for that matter." She replied
"Nahh…I think a few more weeks. Kavin is a gonner, he won't be able to survive without telling her any longer." He shook his head
"Bet lagate ho? Sasu mom yaa Dadi k bolne tak ye dono ka kuch nahi hone wala." Ishita forwarded her hand.
"Lagi, 2-3 weeks, that's all kavin will take" He agreed and shook her hand while other carefully handling the steering wheel.
"What will you do if I win?" she raised her eyebrows
"Pure ek week k liye jo tum kahogi vahi karunga, par agar mai jeeta tho?" he gave her a sideways glance.
"Tho mai tumhari pure hafte bhar ki files complete karungi, without complaining." She answered satisfied with the bet.
"Deal!"
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The ride home was silent for Vivesha, it had been like this for quite some time now. If vivek was not wrong; this had been the case since Tasha returned from the hospital. He first thought she might need some time trying to adjust to the happenings and all; but it did not result as he hoped, on the contrary Tasha grew more distant because of it.
When they reached home, again without saying a word Tasha went inside and directly in their room, Vivek sighed and followed after her. As usual he heard the water running signaling that Tasha was having a bath. Any other day he would have went to the kitchen to fix them a dinner but he didn't, he had to talk to her at all cost.
15 minutes later Tasha emerged from bathroom with her nightgown on and damp hair. She completely ignored Vivek and opened her wardrobe doing a few things Vivek could not see.
"Tasha" He softly called out, the response remained the same – silence.
"Tayar ho jao, ham dinner k liye nikalte hai thodi der mai" He again said. This time though she turned around and shook her head 'No' as a response
"Tumey jana hai tho you can go. I'm not coming" She said, her voice barely audible.
"And I'm not going to listen to that." He stated firmly.
"No" She repeated, this time a bit more loud.
"Par kyu? And don't give me the bullshit reason of not being well or something like that, we both know that's not true." He got up from his place and walked towards her. Unconsciously she took two steps back, which didn't go unnoticed by him.
"Har baat ka reason hona zaroori nahi hota" she replied
"What's the matter?" he asked as he stood directly in front of her, by now her back was pressed against the wardrobe and she had no place to escape.
"Nothing" She looked away from him.
He sighed and raised his hand to cup her face when she flinched away from his touch. He was surprised to say the least, that's when he knew whatever the matter is it runs deeper than her being shot. He had to be careful, otherwise things may get worst.
"Okay" he raised his hands in air in a surrender motion & took a step back.
"Can we please sit and have a talk for few minutes." He asked. She thought for a few seconds before slowly nodding 'Yes'. He signaled her to sit on the bed and took a chair from study and sat down there.
"There is something you are not telling me Tasha." He started looking straight in her eyes.
"Your dinner - "
"That's not important." He cut her off. "You know you can tell me anything right. Before anything else I'm your best-friend; no matter what I won't judge you."
"It's nothing serious." She said looking yet again away.
"Sure it is. You are behaving all kinds of nervous around me; you won't talk to me unless absolutely necessary, don't hang around us or joke with us anymore. You are behaving like a walking dead Tasha, so whatever the reason is, it is serious." He said
"You are looking too deeper into it. I'm just tired is all." She tried to dismiss it.
"For god's sake! You flinched away from me a few minutes ago! That's not at all normal." He countered.
"What will you take to leave me alone?" She asked; irritation clear in her voice.
"The Truth." Was his simple reply
They stared at each other for a minute, when she did not answer he softly brought up the topic again.
"Is it because we lost our - "
"No its NOT!" She exclaimed cutting him off. The vigor with which she replied confirmed his suspicion.
He got up from his chair and kneeled in front of her. This time despite her protest he took her hand in his and looked up at her.
"It's okay love. I gotcha" he tried to assure her.
She shook her head, tears started to roll down her cheeks. She hadn't cried since she received the news, but now her tears won't stop.
"No you don't. You'll leave too." She was sobbing by now.
"Hey hey hey" He cupped her face "where did you get such an idea from? Nothing like that is going to happen" He told her with utmost sincerity.
"It will, that always happens." She cried harder. She took his hands from her cheeks and held them tight. "Please don't leave. I don't know how I'll live. I tried to convince myself that I won't be affected that much if you left, but that's not the case. I'll be miserable, I can't lose you too; please don't leave."
He pulled her closer and hugged her tightly; she in-turn buried her head in his chest and continued to cry.
"I'm right here, I'm going nowhere" He whispered continuously in her ears. It took her five minutes to calm down.
"You better?" He asked and she nodded her head. "Please tell me where did you get that idea from."
She sniffed a bit then told an incident from hospital.
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Tasha was feeling much better that when she was first brought in this hospital, she was going to get discharge soon, just few tests here and there and all was okay. Her In-Laws and mother had been by her side constantly as Vivek was busy in beauro, and she had no problem with that either, she knew exactly how the investigation can get.
She was at one of those last test – she didn't bother finding what exactly; that's where she met another patient, a lady around her age – a year or two older maybe. A man – her husband perhaps, said something to her; he looked angry and then he stormed off. Tasha thought for a moment and decided to check up on her.
"Hey I'm sorry if I'm intruding, par sab kuch thik hai na?" she asked
"Kuch thik nahi hai, kuch bhi nahi" The lady started to sob.
"If you want you can share." Tasha gave her a small smile
"I had a miscarriage – third time" And she started to cry again
"I'm sorry" Tasha felt an undefined connection to the lady.
"Don't be. Kyu ki ab aisa kuch hone ka mauka hi nahi aayega" she sobbed
"Aisey kyu bol rahe ho aap?" Tasha was confused
"Mere pati ko divorce chahiye, vo tang aa chuke hai muzsey." She replied "Unhey apna vansh ka diya chahiye, aur har baar vo baccha…." She couldn't complete.
"I'm sorry" She wiped her tears and looked at Tasha "Mai aapko apney problems bataney lagi."
"Koi baat nahi… Muzey aacha laga aapney mere sath share kiya." Tasha smiled again.
"Aisey nahi the vo pehele. We used to love each other. Love marriage tha hamara; peheli bar jab ye hua tho unhoney muzey promise bhi kiya tha ki chahe kuch bhi ho jaye vo hamesha mere sath rahenge. Par nahi" She started talking looking into distance.
"Peheli baar hi meri Chachi ne muzey kaha tha, apney pati pe zyada bharosa mat kar iss mamley mai, par mainey unki nahi mani; bohot bharosa tha muzey apney pyaar pe. Phele mainey notice nahi kiya, but then vo muzey avoid karney lagey, der tak office mai rehene lage. Dusri baar aisa hua tho vo aur distant hone lage, roj ghar peeke aate the, and then ek do baar tho muzey mara bhi. Aur ab… ab tho muzey chod k kisi aur se shadi karney wale hai, aur unke ghar walo ko bhi koi objection nahi hai. Hogi bhi kyu, meri sasu maa ko mai kabhi pasand hi nahi thi." She chuckled humorlessly.
Tasha was speechless. She didn't know how to react; but somehow the fear of the same happening to her started to build up in her stomach, and as much as she tried – it didn't go away.
The lady turned to look at her
"Bhagwan na kare, par agar aapke sath aisa kuch hua, tho please mere jaisi galti mat karna apne pati pe bharosa karne ki. Because all men do is lie!" she said.
Tasha shook her head to rid all the forbidden thoughts that had entered her mind, Vivek would never do anything like that.
"I can understand what you are feeling; but meri chinta mat kijiye, I know my husband. Vo aisa nahi karega"
"Yahi problem hai ham Hindustani aurto ka, bohot bharosa karte hai ham aapney patiyo pe. Agar itna bharosa hai apney pati pe tho vo hai kaha? Aapko akele chod k kaha gaye hai vo?" she asked
"Vo busy hai. Ham logoko chutti nahi milti aasanisey" Tasha replied.
"Kaam wife se bhi zyada important kaisey ho sakta hai? Aisey konsa kaam hai jo unhey yaha aapke sath rehene nahi de raha, with you – who just underwent a miscarriage and was shot not even a month ago." she chuckled. "sirf bahaney hai ye sab. I can tell you now, aapke pati aapko ignore karney lage hai. Soon enough he will also behave like my husband. After all; officer or not, men will be men."
Saying so, she got up and left.
Tasha on the other hand was dumbfounded, her mind racing in all directions. Since then that thought won't leave her mind. As she kept on observing, Vivek's absence became more and more prominent. After her Mom and In-Laws left, she felt completely alone. Vivek didn't once brought up that topic again neither anyone else. She was making up her mind for worst possibilities. But the only conclusion she came to was that she can't live without him; not even in imagination.
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"Tasha!" Vivek was utterly shocked as he listened to it. "Tum ek number ki pagal ho. Seriously! You believed whatever the hell that lady told you, you know that's utter bullshit." He said.
"You were ignoring me! It wasn't made up by me!" She punched his chest.
"Oww! That hurts."
"It was meant to." She huffed.
"Tasha I wasn't ignoring you, I just thought you might need some space and I didn't want to bother you, that's all. Agar muzey pehele pata hota ki tum aisey kuch soch rahi ho, I swear I won't have left your side even for a minute." He said as he yet again hugged her.
"Guess I could say I know that, par mai kya karti. That lady's words were constantly playing in my mind. Every single time I tried to think otherwise vo yaad ata hi tha. I was paranoid, and ye jaante hue bhi mai kuch kar nahi paa rahi thi." She sighed.
"You should have told me love, we could have sorted it out way too earlier." He looked at his watch. "Tho ab dinner jana hai, yaa sach mai cancel karna hai?" he asked.
"You told them we are coming right?" she looked up at him and he gave her a sheepish smile. "Tum fresh hoke aao tab tak I'll get ready." She chuckled and got up. In all the mess of crying they both had ended up on the floor. He followed her and stood up too. He cupped her face and kissed her forehead.
"I love you, and nothing in this world can change that. That means we are stuck together forever weather you like it or not." He said seriously then smiled "Aur firse aisey socha bhi na tho mai sabko Malaysia wali story bataunga."
"You won't dare!" She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Try me." He laughed as he entered the bathroom just before the pillow hit him.
Tasha couldn't help the smile on her face. She was being stupid all this while. It would have never even been a problem if she would have talked to someone about it atleast once. Now that she repeats their conversation from the hospital in her head, she finds it too idiotic.
"I should have never doubted Vivek" She muttered to herself vowing to never do that again.
It was then that she noticed something she was missing all this while; it was like she was having her own little epiphany.
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"Vo busy hai. Ham logoko chutti nahi milti aasanisey" Tasha replied.
"Kaam wife se bhi zyada important kaisey ho sakta hai? Aisey konsa kaam hai jo unhey yaha aapke sath rehene nahi de raha, with you – who just underwent a miscarriage and was shot not even a month ago." she chuckled. "sirf bahaney hai ye sab. I can tell you now, aapke pati aapko ignore karney lage hai. Soon enough he will also behave like my husband. After all; officer or not, men will be men."
Saying so, she got up and left.
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"Uss aurat ko kaisey pata chala mai vaha pe kyu thi and vivek ek officer hai… Mainey to usey kuch bataya hi nahi tha." The wheels in her brain started functioning.
"Kuch tho gadbad hai Tasha, bohot badi gadbad hai! Iski teh tak tho jana hi padega." She thought.
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"Kab aane wale hai ye dono… Dush ek baar vivek ko fir se call karke dekh na." Ishita said for Nth time that evening.
Dushyant sighed and turned to her, his irritation slowly increasing.
"Chup ek dam chup. Har do minute baad call karneko bol rahi hai. Thoda tho dhiraj rakh" Dushyant scolded her and she instantly shut up.
"Guys cool down. Dushyant ye le pani pee le." Kavin forwarded him a glass of water "And Ishi unsey bola na ki vo aa raha hai, tho vo aayega. Time tho lagega hi na, vo teleport tho nahi kar sakta na." Kavin laughed.
Aishwarya rolled her eyes at the trio and looked at the entrance and smile.
"Lo aa gaye vo dono…" She said diverting everyone's attention to the entrance. Tasha and Vivek entered, Tasha trailing a bit behind.
"They are so going to ridicule me for the reason how I behaved all this while." Tasha muttered
"That's what you get for being an Idiot." He chuckled and in turn was awarded a hit on arm. The others saw this little exchange and smiled realizing that Vivek had managed to break through Tasha's walls yet again.
"Told you!" Dushyant whispered in ishita's ear and greeted Vivek and Tasha. After exchange of Hi's & Hello's they settled down on their seats.
"I'm so glad you came today tasha… I was missing you." Ishita said after they had ordered their food.
"We were together hardly two hours ago" Tasha rolled her eyes at her dramatics.
"Now that's not a nice thing to say." Ishita pouted
"And you think I care because?" Tasha countered giving her a smirk.
"She's completely normal! This calls for party…" Kavin exclaimed.
"Ha Vivek aaj ka dinner sponsor kar raha hai" Dushyant nodded in agreement.
"Tho hua kya tha tuzey?" Aishwarya asked Tasha. Tasha sighed as she began narrating the incidence, keeping her last minute revelation to herself; she had a few things to confirm before she told anyone about this. After she was done; she looked around at the others. Vivek had laced his fingers with hers under the table after she started talking, providing the comfort she desperately needed. Kavin had his eyes wide – she had an idea why. Aishwarya looked concerned as she kept staring at Tasha. Ishita had slumped in her chair a look of utter disbelief on her face. And Dushyant…. He was sitting with a blank expression on his face – completely unreadable.
"So let me get this straight -" He started, leaning on the table looking directly in her eyes "Koi random aurat, who you know nothing about – literally nothing; vo tumehy apna experience batati hai and you relate to her and then jo doubts vagara hai unko apney aap mai hi rakh ke jo man chahe conclusions bana liye and uski vajaha se tu itney din shant thi" he gave her a cynical look to which she nodded 'yes' in response. "You definitely claim the award for being the most Dumb person of the decade."
"I mean he is not wrong" Kavin started. "Darlo, you should have atleast talked to one of us. Itta misunderstanding hota hi nahi na." he smiled at her to tell her they were not mad – a gesture she gladly returned it.
"I can understand what you might have been going from. But that's completely okay. Vo bura time tha hamara, ab jo kuch bhi hoga aacha hi hoga." Aishwarya nooded at her.
"Ha. But tu abhi promise kar, iske baad se koi bhi baat tu chupayegi nahi, naa hi agar kisi bhi type ka doubt ya query ya suspicion kuch bhi ho tu kisi na kisiko tho zaroor batayegi please." Ishita begged her
"Aisa firse nahi hoga, I promise."
"Tho ab khana khana hai, ya tum sab ka pet bhar gaya and ham log ghar jaaye." Vivek joked.
"Itna saste mai tho tu nahi chutne wala. Abhi tho ham shuru bhi nahi hue hai." Kavin let out a mock evil laugh.
"Let the Feast begin!" Dushyant announced just in time as the waiter returned with their starters. The rest of the night was spent with loads of laughter and teasing. Things were truly coming back to normal once again.
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"When are you going to go next time?" Kavin asked as he took a turned to Aishwarya's lane
"This Saturday probably. I'm not yet sure." She shrugged "He said he had made a few new friends since the start of the school and he wants me to meet them all."
"I'll come too, I miss my buddy man" he said
"Sure you do." She rolled her eyes "I won't be slightest bit surprised if you two come up with another one of those 'Annoy-Aishwarya' tricks while we are there"
"Ah! Thanks for reminding me; I had almost forgot about it." He smirked
"God; kill me now" She sighed and then looked at him "On second thought, I'm not taking you there."
"Hey that's so not fair." He whined.
"You talk about being fair" She glared him.
"Alright! Be that way, I'll go meet him on my own" He pulled his tongue out to tease her.
"You have mental age no more than jai." She told him
"I'm flattered." He laughed and parked his car in the parking area.
"So are we going to end today with an argument or –" he trailed off, she only laughed in response at his obvious attempts. She leaned in and kissed his cheeks.
"Good Night" She softly whispered & smiled.
"I will never get tired of this." He held her hands.
"You don't know for sure." She flicked his nose.
"Is that a doubt I hear" he raised his eyebrows
"After learning what doubts can do, I am not going to just doubt things and keep to myself; we were lucky the misunderstanding got cleared now otherwise things could have got a lot worse." She placed her head on his shoulder he in turn wrapped his hands around her. They sat in silence for a while.
"When do you think they are going to notice something happening here?" She asked slowly.
"In normal circumstances; I would have said the first day itself. But now I'm not sure." He answered
"I think they have their suspicions." She said
"Suspicions, predictions, bets they can have all of them; but none of them could point out the real deal." He laughed and she joined in.
"Chalo bye, gotta go." She pulled away and picked up her bag
"Hey; aren't you going to invite me in?"
"You won't stay even if I asked you to" She gave him the look.
"Fair enough. Good Night." He kissed her cheeks and she got out. After a final good bye he left.
"How did I get so lucky" She muttered with a big smile on her face.
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Ishita opened the empty house and switched on the lights. She was still getting used to coming home to an empty house after spending so much time with Dushyant's family.
"Andar jana hai, ya yahi khadi rehene wali ho raat bhar?" He asked as he came after parking his car.
"I miss them yaar! Kab aane wale hai vo firse?" Ishita entered and collapsed on the sofa, dushyant rolled his eyes and took a place beside her. His Parents, Dadi & Pari had retured to their home a week ago and since then Ishita hadn't stopped whining about how much she missed them. It amazed Dushyant how much she had grown attached to his family and vice versa – and she wasn't even his real wife.
That brings him to an altogether different matter, he had known from the start this should end somewhere, but now that he had spent – like every walking minute of his day with her for past two-three months – he is sure separating will be the end of him. Their situation had done nothing to help lessen his feelings either; if anything they have grown stronger; if that was even possible.
"Seriouly! Dush! Atleast jab ham dono hote hai tab tho khayalo mai mat khoya kar!" she hit his arm.
"FYI tera hath lagta hai" he said as he moved to the opposite corner of the sofa, away from her reach.
"Kaha khoya tha?" She asked
"Nothing much, just vahape bhi sab tumhey kitna miss kartey honge ye soch raha tha." He chuckled
"Umhmm…. Call karke dekh na, baat ho jayegi tho aacha lagega." She nugged him, he nodded and called his mom
"Speaker" She said and he obliged.
"Hello" Came his mother's voice
"Hey mom, kaise ho aap, and baki sab?" Dushyant asked
"Yaha sab thik hai beta. Pari ka college kal se hi start hua, and dadi aur dad dono bilkul thik hai. Vah ape sab kaisa hai?"
"Yaha bhi sab thik hai mom"
"Kavin aur Ishita kaha hai?"
"Kavin Aishwarya ko ghar drop karney gaya hai, and Ishita yahi hai"
"I miss you sasu mom. Sach mai, ghar itna shant hota hai naa, aap jaldise aa jao na yaha" Ishita said, Anita laughed in response.
"Hamara bhi man nahi lag raha yaha beta, Dadi tho ab har baat pe Ishita ye – Ishita vo karte reheti hai. Unke committee k saare aurtoko tho vo itna kuch bata rahi thi tere baaremai, keh rahi thi lakho mai ek hai hamari Ishita." She said
"Sasu mom! Chane ke jhad pe mat chadhao muzey." Ishita buried her face in her hands "Itna bhi kuch nahi hai."
"You don't know the extent beta. Mai jab wapas aai tho office ka bhi sara staff tumhare hi baaremai puch raha tha; rumors and all yaha bohot jaldi failte hai. Logoko laga tha hamara vo typical gharo jaisa scene hoga jissey unhey juicy gossips milenge" she laughed again "And they still are waiting for me to talk one wrong word about you, par aisa hoga nahi"
"Mom! Aapney pure neighborhood mai dhindora pitwabhi diya" Dushyant was looking at his phone with utter disbelief, situation for him was not getting any better; it was talking a turn for worst.
"Of course I'm going to brag about it, kaunsi saas nahi karegi agar uski bahu Ishita jaisi ho." He can tell his mother was beaming with happiness. What surprised him more was that there was not even a slightest bit of discomfort on Ishita's face like he anticipated; on the contrary she was beaming too.
"Accha bacho, mai rakhti hu; papa ki dawai deni hai and then dadi k pairoko massage bhi karna hai."She said and then added "By the way Sonia chahi puch rahi tho dussri bahu kab laa rahe ho tho Kavin ko bolna jaldi kuch kare or else I'm personally going to see he gets hitched to someone I would want." Anita chuckled.
"Sure mom, Good Night. Love you" He laughed
"Night sasu mom, love you and miss you" Ishita said giving Dushyant a 'told you so' look.
"Good night bacha log, we miss you guys too; bye." Saying so, she ended the call.
"Be ready to lose the bet." Ishita smirked and went to her room – that she had again claimed after Dushyant's family left.
"Fresh ho ja. Or else no massage today." She called out.
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After a long day, as soon as he entered the house Vivek had gone to sleep almost instantly; Tasha on the other hand was finding it hard to get even a wink of sleep. She finally gave up and got out of bed heading downstairs. She had a clear idea why she was not able to sleep and she even knew – till the time she does something about it she won't be able to sleep. And in that case she didn't want to disturb Vivek's sleep.
As she settled down in the living room she kept scrolling through her contacts finally halting on one she desired. She knew it was a difficult task to get help from this specific person, but it was the most reliable source. So taking a leap of faith she dialed the number.
"Tasha? Itni raat ko, koi problem?" The female asked
"Saru I need you help" Tasha breadth out.
"You know right; I'm no longer in the business?" Saru was skeptical; Tasha was the only one who understood her situation when she decided to take a break from the crazy life. So Tasha calling with that phase – not a good combination.
"I'm well aware & even you know won't call you if I wasn't desperate." Tasha said
"I'm not sure Tasha, why call me. You could have contacted Maddy for whatever it is." Saru hesitated.
"Okay let me explain this. I was attacked around a month ago, shit went down from there. The one who had shot me was shot by other and even that person was shot. While in hospital, they tried to mess with my IV almost sending me into cardiac arrest and nearly killing me, it's a miracle I'm still alive. Point being, the one who fiddled with my IV was also killed." Tasha took a deep breath as she recounted the events of past month. Saru was patiently listening.
"During this time I has a miscarriage. A vicious plan was plotted leading CID officers to a trap almost killing them with a bomb. The one who is behind all this dared to warn us, saying if we look for him things won't end good. He has three criminals as his puppets – that are dangerous to many innocents. And we have no idea where they are; this mastermind is wickedly brilliant to be honest"
"I really don't think I can help you here anyway." Saru said
"I don't need your help for any of this. This was just some background info." Tasha looked at the stairs to confirm she will be alone while she continued.
"When I was about to be discharged from hospital, I encountered a lady. Clamming to have her third miscarriage, having a background quite similar to mine; I have a doubt it was deliberately made to sound that way, so it gets stuck in my head – the kind where psychology works. She insisted I don't trust my husband; which almost happened. She even knew details like – why I was there and about my husband's profession and all. Things I never told her." Tasha paused, letting Saru take in all the info.
"And you think that was a set-up too. Like staged to lure you in & create mistrust and then hit on the right time." Saru completed, getting where this was going.
"That's my theory. I won't put it past this mastermind to pull such a stunt. If Vivek hadn't knocked some sense into me things would have turned worst in near future."
"And you want me to do here is?" she asked
"Check the lady, her records. If she was genuine, we'll get all the details. Otherwise things will be fishy." Tasha said
"Why me?"
"Because he keeps an eye on us- he has proved it before. So anyone regular is too obvious, making new one is easily detectable plus not that reliable. You are my only hope Saru. I would have done it on my own, but he may get a whisk of it and that won't be good." Tasha said
"I so hate you for this." Saru sighed. "No names or anything I assume." She said
"Obvio. I haven't suspected her till this evening. You could go through your normal way though." Tasha suggested.
"Give me 18. I'll revert back." Saru affirmed.
"Thanks; I owe you yaar." Tasha smiled. "Good Night."
"Btw Tasha" Saru softly called out "I'm sorry to hear about the miscarriage and the attack."
"It's okay"
"Good Night."
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Somewhere unknown
"Boss sab tayyariya almost ho chuki hai, aap bas ishara karo." A male said as he faced his senior.
"Puri tarahase tyaari karo, iss baar vaar khali nahi jana chahiye" he said looking at the plans he laid out.
"Hamare mutabik do din aur" the man said
"Do din. Bas. Tab tak vo relaxed honge, aur hamare pas element of surprise hoga" The boss laughed.
"Ek baat puchu boss, agar aapko koi aitraz na ho tho" he asked hesitantly.
"Pucho" Boss said turning to face him.
"Aap usko sidhey sidhey maar kyu nahi dete? Aap chaho tho kal hi aapke samne laake khada karta hu usey" he said.
"Issi liye mai yaha aur tum vaha ho" Boss chuckled. "Ek time tha jab mai usey ek zatkemai maarna chahata tha; par ab nahi. Ab mai usey tadpa tadpa k maarunga. Itna tadpaunga, ki maut ki bhik mangegi fir bhi maut nahi milegi usey." And he chucked a nearby knife at a target present in the room, that hit it at bulls eye.
"Jaldi se jao aur iske aage k bhi plan ki bhi tayyari shuru karo. Jab rapid fire shuru hoga tho unhey saans leneki bhi fursat nahi milni chahiye." He again turned at his plans.
"Yes boss" saying so the man left.
Boss looked at the scattered pictures and grinned evilly.
"Tumney socha bhi nahi hoga vo kar raha hu mai tuhare sath. Just you wait and watch."
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Here it goes.
What happens now?
Tasha ka shaq sahi hai ya nahi?
What will she find out?
Aur dushyant kaisey sab handle karne wala hai?
What is planned for them?
Things may start getting clear in the coming chapters. Sorry for any mistakes or errors.
I was just going through the recent updates, and found none on my OTP's. So i wanted to update. I might write an Vivesha or Ishyant os, not sure though.
To all those who reviewed and PM'ed - Thank you very much for keeping up with me.
Love You Guys.
Keep Reading.
Keep Smiling.
Once again,
Happy New Year.