Hi all, I am back with the next chapter. I know a lot of you wanted me to post sooner, but unfortunately I have only just been able to complete typing it out. Big big hugs to all of you for your wonderful comments in the last part and all the parts before that! Things are starting to get intense now. Hope you like it as much as the rest of the scenes – Azure
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Ragini gently opened her eyes, as she woke up from her sleep. A soft smile broke on her lips, feeling Sanskar spooning her from behind. So much had changed in the past one week since they confessed their feelings to each other. She gently touched his arm that was wrapped around her, enjoying the feel of being held in his arms, for a bit, before she made to get up. But as she did, she felt Sanskar tighten his grip around her waist.
“You are awake” she said softly
“You know I end up waking up when you do” he said in a sleepy tone, his voice muffled against her neck
Ragini smiled a bit “If you are up, then let go of me, I need to get up now” she told him gently
“Ummmm” Sanskar said complaining “I need to sleep some more. Don’t go just yet” he said even as he pulled her into himself.
“Sanskar, it is already late. You know that Bhabhi has been coming up to wake us up every day these past few days. Everyone has been teasing me” she complained
“So! You can bear some teasing for me” Sanskar said nuzzling her neck, still resisting getting up.
“Sanskar! You don’t know all the things I have been hearing” Ragini complained, blushing, as she tried to loosen his grip on her.
“I am not letting you go so soon. I need to get some sleep. I haven’t had much of it last night” he said
“Why did you need to stay up so late” Ragini told him
Sanskar lifted his head slightly hearing his. He brought his lips closer to her ear, whispering “Do I need to remind you why we were up late, last night”
Ragini blushed “But I am ready to get up on time, unlike you.” she tried to counter
“That is because it is your fault” Sanskar said huskily
“How is it my fault?” she asked confused
Sanskar moved her hair off her neck, before placing gentle kisses along it “When the wife is so blo*dy gorgeous, the husband cannot be expected to control himself”
“Sanskar” Ragini gasped, affected by his kisses
“Ummmm” Sanskar said, but did stop
“I really need to get up. Bhabhi will come and knock the door any minute” she said softly
“Between your internship and housework, I am barely getting any time with you” Sanskar complained, as he ran his hand along her arm
Ragini turned her face a bit, to look at him “You know that if I could, I would want to be in your arms for eternity. Never leave them” she said looking at him
Sanskar kissed his shoulder gently, letting her know that he understood “I think I need to just whisk you away somewhere far, where there is no one else. Just us” he told her softly
“Then why don’t you?” Ragini told him
“I will the moment your internship is done” he said as he continued to plant soft kisses along her shoulder “And then I am not letting you let the bedroom”
“When you whisk me away, then you can” she told him with a smile, before pecking him on the cheeks and rushing out of his arms and out of the bed.
Sanskar leaped a bit to catch the edge of the sheet that she had wrapped around herself
“Sanskar!” Ragini complained even as she blushed
“Here I am making plans to whisk you away on a romantic getaway and you are giving me just a peck the cheek” Sanskar complained “Not happening!”
Ragini smiled and quickly ran toward him giving him a peck on the lips, but he moved his hand behind her head and pulled her in for a deep kiss.
“You have to make up to me because I am losing my sleep” Sanskar told her teasingly as he let go of her
“Don’t I, every night” Ragini said mischievously, before rushing to the washroom.
Sanskar fell back on the bed, ruffling his hair, smiling at her antics. Realizing that Pari Bhabhi might actually be coming over to call on Ragini soon, he got out of the bed and got dressed. He was just wearing his t-shirt when there was a knock on the door. Expecting Pari Bhabhi, he rushed over and opened it “She will be ready in” he started to say, without looking at the person, only to stop when he realized it wasn’t Pari Bhabhi. It was Adarsh bhaiyaa and he had a serious expression on his face.
“We need to talk” was all Adarsh bhaiyaa said. But the expression was enough to make Sanskar realise that it was something that was both important and urgent. He glanced towards the washroom once, before looking back at Adarsh bhaiyaa. He nodded and went with him, closing the door behind him.
Adarsh led him to the terrace. He found Ranveer already waiting there. Sanskar looked between the two.
“What is going on?” he asked
“Just wait for a bit” Adarsh told him
“Are you sure about this?” Ranveer asked Adarsh “It might make things worse”
“I am hoping he will realize the situation now” Adarsh told him sincerely
“What is going on? Will someone tell me?” Sanskar asked concerned
“I am here. What did you want to talk about?” Laksh said
“Why is he here?” Sanskar asked. Things has been tense between them lately and family had been keeping them out of each other’s way as much as they could – or actually, they were keeping Laksh away from Sanskar so that he wouldn’t do something that would make things worse, according to them.
“Will you both stop it!” Adarsh told them “This is important!”
Sanskar looked away from Laksh and towards Adarsh, giving him a nod.
Adarsh sighed and said “It is about Uttara”
“Uttara!” both Sanskar and Laksh exclaimed, worried
“She could be in danger. We have been hearing things. Or more preciously Ranveer has” Adardh explained
“Who?” Laksh asked feeling angry
Sanskar looked at Ranveer, before saying “Aditya, right?” Ranveer nodded “I am not surprised. I was wondering how he could sit by and not do something considering I threatened him”
“What the hell!” Laksh shot angrily at Ranveer “You stay away from my family and don’t create such ridiculous rumors. I know why you are trying to do this”
“I am not trying to do anything. Aditya is” Ranveer told him plainly
“Ady is my best friend. I know him. He would never do anything like this” Laksh shot at him
“Actually, you should be the one not surprised by this considering he is your so-called best friend” Sanskar shot back “Considering his intentions towards my wife, I and not surprised. But then, again, you are no different from him!” Sanskar said angrily
“Don’t talk about something you don’t know” Laksh screamed at him “Ady wouldn’t do that”
“With his cheap and dirty intentions, he can think anything. Just like you do!” Sanskar said angrily
“It is different with Uttara” Laksh screamed
“How is it different?” Sanskar yelled back
“Because she is my sister and I am his best friend. She is off limits” Laksh said
“And you Bhabhi isn’t off limits?” Sanskar screamed “You must be really delusional if you think he will spare one person in your family if he doesn’t the other”
“You don’t know him like I do” Laksh told him
“Are you even sure you know him as well as you think you do?” Sanksar shot at him
Laksh lunged at him ready to attack, but Adarsh held him back. Sanskar was losing his cool as well, anger building in him for some time now. He rushed towards Laksh, but Ranveer held him in a tight grip.
“Laksh, if you are not going to have a sensible talk, leave!” Adarsh told him as Ranveer and Adarsh pushed the two brothers in different corners.
“You are just doing this to make me stop being friends with Ady” Laksh shot at them “But that is not going to work!” he said walking away from there.
Adarsh stood there in the same spot for a minute before walking back towards Ranveer and Sanskar. “I am sorry about that” he told Ranveer
Ranveer nodded “He can make things worse. He will go and talk to Aditya for sure”
Adarsh nodded “You are right; I should have kept him away. I thought it would get some sense into him if he heard that Aditya was targeting Uttara”
“It doesn’t matter. Aditya is not going to give up his quest just because he knows that we know what he is up to” Sanskar told him
“It is not as simple as that” Ranveer told him
“We will deal with it” Adarsh told him
Sanskar had calmed down by then “I was wondering what he was going to do” he said softly “I thought he would target me or Ragini again. I didn’t think he would go after Uttara” he said looking at them “I don’t understand. Why Uttara? He would have to realize that he risks alienating Laksh because of that”
“Uttara is a soft target” Ranveer explained “He must have known that we have increased the security on Ragini. You are there with her most of the time and both of you are surrounded by a lot of guards always. He cannot exactly target Adarsh, your father or your uncle. The rest of the family is usually at home. He knows that targeting Laksh won’t help. Who does that leave?”
“But it isn’t as though Uttara goes out without guards” Sanskar told him
“You are right, she doesn’t” Adarsh said “But he realizes that there are only two people that he can hurt to impact a lot of us, Ragini or Uttara. And between them, he feels Uttara is easy to get to”
“So what do we do?” Sanskar asked them
“You need to ensure that you keep her and the rest of the family in-door, without letting them know why” Adarsh instructed him. Sanskar was about to talk when he cut in “We cannot tell them about it. It was only cause them more panic and things are more likely to fall apart then. We need you to hold the home ground”
Sanskar nodded “What else can I do?” he asked
“Nothing” Ranveer told him “We will manage the rest”
“But I cannot sit by and do nothing” Sanskar told them
“Look there was a time when you didn’t want to be part of the business” Adarsh told him “Today I” Ranveer touched his shoulder, making him pause for a bit “We” he said correcting himself, getting a nod from Ranveer “Today, we are telling you that you are not right for this business. You are impulsive and lose your cool too quickly”
“So! Isn’t that what you do! Killing people!” Sanskar told them annoyed, not that he wanted to be part of that world
“This is real life. Not some movie where we beat someone up in raw anger. Yes, lives are taken. But it is more about being able to live with that decision and be able to move on. In his world, it is the cool minded who survive and those who act rash perish the fastest” Adarsh told him
Sanskar looked away from them. He didn’t want to know this. He didn’t want to know how they could move on after taking a decision to take someone’s life. He didn’t want to look at them and think about every time he saw their face.
“I will do and see if I can talk some sense into Laksh. One final time” Adarsh said, looking at Ranveer before he walked off.
Sanskar and Ranveer stood there, in silence, that weighed heavy because of the words that had just been spoken.
“I need to talk to you” Ranveer said after a few minutes breaking the silence.
Sanskar looked up at him
“It is about what we spoke two days back” he added quietly.
Sanskar’s eyes widened. He walked towards the entrance of the terrace, looking out to ensure there was no one there. He walked back towards Ranveer “Let’s talk about it quietly” he said lowering his volume
Ranveer nodded
“Did you find something?” Sanskar asked him
“I got the call records from my source at the India telecom company” Ranveer told him
“And?” Sanskar asked feeling impatient
“Let just say that there could be some weight to your hunch and reasoning” Ranveer told him before quickly adding “But it is not enough evidence to be conclusive”
“I knew it! I knew it” Sanskar said pointing a finger in the air “What are we waiting for? We need to take action for trying to hurt Ragini”
“Not so quick” Ranveer told him “Not until the evidence is conclusive”
“What!” Sanksar said annoyed “So we are just going to wait around find to find conclusive evidence and do nothing? What is going to be this conclusive evidence for you? Ragini being hit again?” he asked angrily
“That is not what I meant” Ranveer tried to explain
“Then what did you mean?” Sanskar asked him
“Are you willing to take the chance of focusing only on the suspect and attacking them, when there is a possibility, even a small possibility that he could be someone else? Are you willing to risk Ragini’s life because we focused too much in the wrong direction, leaving her open to attack” Ranveer explained
“But I am sure it is this one” Sanskar countered
“Are you willing to bet Ragini’s life on it?” Ranveer asked
Sanskar stayed silent. No, he couldn’t risk Ragini’s life. He couldn’t develop a blind eye, but equally he was sure about his theory, even though that was all it could be in the situation that they were in. Without knowing what Swara knew or even the truth behind Swara herself, they were basically flying blind. He had to find a way to secure the proof. But before that, he needed to protect Uttara from the recent threat.
Sanskar came back to him room to find Ragini had already left to help with the kitchen work, before she went to office for her internship. He rushed downstairs. If he was to keep all the women safe, he needed her help.
“Ragini” he called out as he entered the kitchen. She was there with Badi Maa, his mom and Pari Bhabhi. They looked up at him as he entered. He schooled his expressions looking at them.
“I need to talk to you” he told her neutrally, before adding “alone”
“Go Ragini” his mom told her, in a teasing tone.
Ragini blushed and her eyes widened as if to ask him what was he doing? She was going to get teased even more for this. He just tilled his head to signal her to come out. She lowered her head and walked out of the kitchen, with him following behind. The kitchen erupted in giggles as soon as they left.
“Sanskar!” Ragini reprimanded, even as she blushed
“Come with me” Sanskar told her quietly
“Sanskar” she said softly, sensing that he wasn’t teasing. Something was wrong. “What is wrong?” she asked softly as they walked up the stairs.
He intertwined their fingers together “I will tell you. Let’s just get to our room”
They reached the room and Sanskar bolted the door. Ragini was looking expectantly at him as he turned to look at her.
“I need your help to keep everyone inside the house” he told her
“What’s wrong?” she asked walking towards him and touching his arm
“Aditya has some plans to attack Uttara. We cannot let her go out. We don’t know what this means for the rest of the family, so we need to keep all of the women in the house. And we cannot let them know about this, or they will panic” Sanskar told her sincerely
She gasped “It is because of me, isn’t? He is targeting Uttara because of me” she said, her eyes welling up even as guilt washed over her
Sanskar cupped her face “No, it is not because of you. It is because of me. Because I threatened him” he told her softly
“But you threatened him because of me!” she told him
“He is a cheap bastard. He has been messing around with the family for far too long. It was just a matter of time before I or someone else in the family handled him, trust me on this” he told her gently wiping the tear that had made its way down her cheek “You are not to blame. If there is anyone to blame, it is that slimy snake himself” he assured her
“What do we do now?” she asked softly
“Help me find a way to keep all of them in house, without them guessing what is happening” Sanskar told her
Ragini nodded
“I need you to call you work and tell them you won’t be coming in for a few days. You can work from home if needed” he told her
“Do you think this will hang on her for long?” Ragini asked, worried for Uttara
“I don’t know. I hope it doesn’t, but we can never be sure” Sanskar told her honestly “Is there some way he can find to her while at home? You have been her friend; do you know if they have any common connection that he can use to get to her?” he asked
“I don’t think there is, but I will find out again” she assured him.
He nodded, before looking at her worried face “Everything is going to be okay. It is just for a short time” he told her, before pulling her into a tight hug.
Holding everyone almost under house arrest without letting them know what was going on, wasn’t all that easy. Both Sanskar and Ragini had to school their looks and not let the worry show through on their faces. They had done their best, but there were trace still that showed through. They had managed to tackle the questions and make excuses that day, but they weren’t sure how long them could lie to Badi Maa, Mom, Pari and Uttara enough to keep them from panicking.
Neither had much appetite that day at Lunch. As they sat together for a few minutes in their room, after evening coffee, Sanskar’s phone rang. Sanskar looked at the screen, it flashed ‘Laksh’
“What is it?” Sanskar asked, annoyed from his behavior that morning
“Is this some way to talk to your brother” said the person on the other end
“Who are you?” Sanskar asked, even as his heart raced a bit
“I thought you would have guess by now, considering you see to know everything about what I know and what I intend” the person said
“Why are you calling me?” Sanskar asked Aditya, realizing he was the one calling
Ragini looked at him worried, hearing the tone of his voice
“I thought I would check to see if you care about you brother to want him back” Aditya told him sneering
“What brother?” Sanskar asked, not wanting to fall for any trick that he might pull
“I didn’t realize you had that many brothers, but I guess when you have two, you can get confused. I meant your dear Lucky” Aditya told him
“What about him?” Sanskar asked
“Well let’s just say, he was a bit confrontation and he isn’t in best of shapes right now” Aditya told him maliciously
“What do you want?” Sanskar asked
“It is not about what I want. It is whether you want to see him again” Aditya told him
“Get to the point. I don’t have time for these round about talks” Sanskar told him bluntly
“Fine. Let me make it simple. If you want him back alive, come to meet me. I will be willing to let him go in exchange for you. After all, you are the one I have problem with” Aditya said drawling
“And if I don’t come” Sanskar shot at him
“Well you can be responsible for the consequence then. Considering you claim to know me, you can guess what they would be” he said
“Where do you want me to come?” Sanskar asked
“Now we are talking business” Aditya said giving a vicious laugh “My farmhouse 8pm sharp. Come alone. No bodyguard. No one following you. And I am going to monitor your calls. If your family knows, consequence come into play immediately” he warned
“Fine!” Sanskar said cutting the call
“Sanskar!” Ragini asked concerned, holding his hand
“Aditya has Laksh captive” Sanskar told her somberly.
Precap – Sanskar Aditya & Laksh
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Links to previous chapters
http://www.tellyupdates.com/?s=red+string+of+fate+%28ragsan%29