Chapter 9 link: Channel 9
*****************************
The mandap was ready, so were the bride and her groom. The guests were all in attendance to be a part of their big day. Girls in vibrant lehengas and sarees and men in exquisite suits were all set for the big event. Laughters and giggles filled the place musically. Everything was joyous. Perfect.
“Wow Aaku! Your groom’s quite handsome! I’m getting this feeling that I should lock you in some room and marry him right away!” Swara giggled.
“Swaraaa! I’ll kill you!”
“Kaatil Dulhan! Not bad haan! Jiju ko bachke rehna hoga!”
“Swaraaaa! Stop it!” The bride gave an angry look to Swara which made her giggle more than ever.
“Swara beta, where is Tripti?”
“She might be here somewhere! Wait, I’ll bring her right now!”
“Haan beta, I don’t know what to do of this girl! Behen ki shaadi hai aur wo gayab hai!”
“I’ll be back in a jiffy! Don’t worry!” Swara smiled at the bride and her mother.
“Mehendi laga ke rakhna.. Doli saja ke rakhna.. Hmm hmm hmm hmm la la la.. Aayenge tere saj.. Whaaat the fu..” Swara screamed amidst her humming as someone held grabbed her hand tightly and pulled her towards a corridor. The man held her tightly, one hand still grabbing her right hand, while the other covered her mouth to avoid her screams. Swara struggled hard to release herself, but in vain. She widened her eyes as she saw his face. Soon, she began to relax, slowly. She could feel his breath. His copper-brown eyes fixed at her charcoal-black ones. For a moment, both stood exactly in the same position- close enough to hear each other’s fast-pacing heartbeat and eyes fixed at each other.
“I’m releasing my hand. Just don’t shout. Okay?” A husky voice brought Swara to her senses, at once breaking the eyelock that had made her mentally-paralysed a moment ago.
“Tu.. Tum.. Ye.. Umm.. Ye k-kya kar rahe ho?” Swara tried to appear as bold as she could, though she knew it very well that she was just pretending. The intense moment had actually made her weak in the knees and she could feel goosebumps all over her body. Her heart pounded so fast and heavy that she felt it would come out just like that. As she spoke, she felt her words melting inside her mouth before they could come out. Nevertheless, she thought, carrying out a bold pretense will keep her at a safer side, though she knew, one gaze at those eyes and all the pretense shall be over.
“I’m sorry Swara, I know this was something.. Actually you’re not safe.”
“What? Are you in your senses? Or wait, are you drunk?” Swara narrowed her eyes as she spoke. “Very bad haan! Drinking is so very off Alok Nath! Naam Sanskar aur kaam aise! Chi chi chi!”
“O hello! I’m not drunk! I’m very much in my senses! Actually, I heard some.. Swara, look over there. Do you recognize them?”
Swara widened her eyes as much as she could when she saw them. “Durga maa! What are they doing here?” Swara mumbled.
“I don’t know. Perhaps they are searching you?”
“Wow! Mujhe laga tha ab tak toh ye log bhi sab bhool gaye honge, but no! Now what will you do Swara?!” Biting her nails, she worried. All the while, Sanskar simply stared at her with a light smile on his face. He thought his doubt was proving to be true. “So it was Swara that day! I should have known it!” He thought.
“Hey Sanskar, how did you find them?”
“Actually, I was just roaming around like that, when I saw them. I thought I knew them and hence went closer to have a better view when I heard them talking about a girl.”
*FLASHBACK*
“Are you sure she was here?”
“Yes sir. I saw her with my own eyes! She’s here. And if I’m not wrong, it’s her friend’s wedding.”
“That’s great! She won’t think of creating a scene here and spoil her friend’s big day! Usey blackmail karke le jaane mein aasani hogi.”
“Yes sir.”
“What is she wearing by the way?”
“Azure-colored lehenga.. Curled-up hair..”
“Bas bas! Kaafi hai! I still remember her face. Us din bhaag gayi thi wo, but today she won’t! Chalo!”
Sanskar tried hard to recall who they were, but in vain. He could only feel that he knew those faces, but couldn’t fathom how. “Azure-colored lehenga.. Curled-up hair.. Uhmm I think I know this. But who must she be? These men didn’t seem with good intentions.” Sanskar tried to think over the whole conversation while also simultaneously tried to recall who these men were and how he knew them. “What? It’s her? Oh damn!” Suddenly, Sanskar rushed towards the wedding venue to search for the girl. He saw her going towards somewhere and hence ran towards her and pulled her towards the nearby corridor just before those men were about to see her.
*FLASHBACK ENDS*
“Thank god Sanskaaar! You’re saviour!” Swara sighed.
“But why are they after you? I mean, they look like rogues from some village, so how come they.. You..”
“Arey yaar! Actually one day I had helped a girl elope from her wedding. I didn’t know she was carrying all the jewellery and cash with her and realised it too late. By then, these people had seen me helping her elope. That’s why!”
“Amazing!” Sanskar exclaimed sarcastically.
“Arey, they wouldn’t have seen me. It’s all because of that guy who bumped into me and because of which I fell. That whole thing wasted my time and that’s how they saw my face! That idiot! Dikh jaaye bas kahin mujhe! He even took my book which had some office stuff of mine! I just hate that person! Urrgghhh!” Swara’s eyes were flaming red in anger and Sanskar somehow felt uneasy. When he saw those goons go away, he signalled Swara that everything was safe and that she should now go for the wedding. Swara nodded and smiled at him as she proceeded while Sanskar seemed lost in his own world of thoughts.
Precap: Sanskar looks at a book deep in thoughts and later Swara finds Sanskar at her workplace.