That's not part of the plan!

The maker behind the meme?

Well you know!

Happy Reading!!!

Sonakshi Bose was a well off theatre writer, turning nightmares out of fairy tales. Then, a stranger pulled her out of her comfort zone and dumped her in a different setting with a higher pay as a bait. She worked on somebody else's story and supervised people who did the actual writing. She somewhere sabotaged her own creativity, individuality but she had a nice reason to stick around after all the difficulties - Devrat Dixit. Then everything blew up.

"What a theatre story!"  Sonakshi thought aloud.

"Kuch kaha apne?" The woman sitting next to Sonakshi asked her.

She nodded in a no.

Sonakshi's next stop after Jyotsna - Aneesh Productions was the bus stand. She booked a Volvo ticket to Shimla in a higher price, where her meal and mourning ticket awaited her.
__________________________________

Jyotsna and Aneesh went on a long drive after their meeting. It wasn't before evening that Jyotsna got the time to check her mails and when she did, the floor beneath her feet drifted and the roof over her head blew up with anger.

"What's the matter?" Aneesh asked a visibly infuriated Jyotsna.

"What's the matter? What is the matter! That is what you are asking me?" Jyotsna screamed.

"That is pretty much what I heard myself speaking. Yes." Aneesh replied in a timid husband voice.

"Read this." Jyotsna gave him the phone and made him read Sonakshi's email. "I trusted that girl. Even when she had Daddy issues and caused mayhem on the sets, I knew she would not blow up my show! I knew she cared for her characters. I thought she was passionate about them. We paid her so much! Our show could have been a pathbreaker in her career! How could she leave us for some damned better oppurtunities."

"Jyotsna! Calm down." Aneesh made her sit and gave her a glass of water.

"Our money is at stake!" Jyotsna screamed again.

"I get it. I get it. I'll talk to Bijoy." Aneesh handed her a bottle of water and went away to call Bijoy while Jyotsna kept murmuring curses under her breath.

Aneesh was back in five minutes.

"Did you talk to Bijoy? Did you tell him how stupid his daughter is? Did he tell you that he'll make her apologize and bring her back to work?" Jyotsna was on her toes in tension.

"Apparently, Bijoy knew nothing of this but he told me that he'll contact her." Aneesh said. "And baby, you don't panic, your age starts showing."

"Ohk" Jyotsna calmed down. "My age? What do you mean by that ..."

While Jyotsna continued shouting on Aneesh, Asha woke up in the hospital. She looked at the attendent's bed, Sonakshi was missing. Bijoy wasn't there either.

She dialled Sonakshi's number but Sonakshi disconnected her call. Asha wondered if Sonakshi ever came back to her room after the incident in the afternoon? She had been under the effect of sedatives. She didn't have a clue of what Sonakshi had gone through.

"Bag toh yahi hai." She looked at Sona's clothes.

As soon as she breathed a sigh of relief, Bijoy barged into the room.

"Where is that girl?" Bijoy screamed.

"Which girl? And if you are talking about my daughter then you'll have to be more respectful." Asha said "You've done enough damage to her. There is a way you reveal such things."

"I should have a 'way' in revealing things! You didn't think twice before doing what you did!" Bijoy shouted.

"Stop talking about it like it's a bad thing!" Asha's volume was no less.

"I don't want to talk about your crimes woman! Where is my daughter?" Bijoy asked her.

"I don't know. I was under sedatives ..."

"... As if you'd ever known something."

After a brief pause Bijoy asked again,

"So, Sonakshi is missing?"

"I don't know. She isn't picking my phone."

"If I find her drinking again, I won't spare her." Bijoy said. "Check for some text message."

After around a minute. Asha found Sona's message:

Maa I'm leaving. Baba'll tell you about the penalty I've gotta pay to my PH. Give him my bank details and ask him to pay.

This much you guys can do, can't you?

While Asha was reading the first two messages, the third message dropped:

I am safe. I am not in Mumbai. Don't try to contact me. I wanna stay alone.

And don't come after me trying to act like good parents.

Coz you are not.

I hate you. Both of you.

"What is it?" Bijoy asked Asha. She passed the phone to him.

"Your daughter summed up our relationship in six messages. So much you get for raising an unwanted child!" Asha went from being upset to being angry.

"So much you get for being dishonest."

Bijoy threw the phone on Asha's bed and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

The banging of the door echoed in Asha's head, making her weep. First Aadyot, now Sona! Will anyone she loves ever stay with her?

Bijoy didn't knew how to face his boss.

Back at the PH's office, Jyotsna was out of her mind. She was really mad. A lot of thought had gone into deciding who would be the Creative Head of the show.

"I trusted this girl so much and this is what I get!" Jyotsna threw her hand in the air out of exasperation.

"We'll find Sonakshi. There will be some trace." Aneesh said.

"My daughter is no criminal. Stop talking like that. She broke the bond and is ready to pay the penalty. What is the problem?" Bijoy defended Sonakshi.

"Your daughter, Mr. Bijoy Bose left the city overnight. In a blink of an eye she was gone! Just like criminals do. It is better that she agreed to pay the bond herself or she could be trapped in a law suit." Jyotsna was shouting.

"Jyotsna, let's call the other creatives and try to fix the damage." Aneesh made her sit on a chair.

"In all this mess..." Bijoy stood up. "... I am really happy that you let Sona craft Chahat's character completely because if you guys were what the leads were gonna follow to the T then I am sure 500 episodes could be drafted only about Chahat screeching and Sahil trying to calm her down."

Jyostna went red in the face now. She pushed Aneesh's hand away and said, "You..."

"...You wanna fire me?" Bijoy said with a cool air. He sat back on his seat. "Well if I were you, I wouldn't! I mean how much loss can your show handle? All the cast and crew leaves and the show shuts down! Such a terrible, terrible story!"

Neither of the Malanis reacted to Bijoy's statement. Somewhere they knew that making too many changes in the line up could put a question mark to the show's life span.

Everybody waited for the other four creatives to arrive.

The afternoon gave way to the dusk. The shoot was going on as planned. The news of Sonakshi's resignation hadn't reached the sets but all the writers leaving the set did create some buzz. Sameer saw the distraction as a perfect time to call Naina.

"Hello" She picked up the phone in the first ring.

"Kya baat hai! Pehli hi ring me phone utha liya." Sameer enjoyed the fact that the ease was back in their relationship.

"Haa wo mai na kisi ke phone ka wait kar rahi thi." Naina adored her classic mischeivous smile after years.

"Oh! I'm sorry Miss... Maine aapki phone date spoil kar di."

"Buddhu! " Naina blushed.

Everything in their relationship had an old touch but still a little bit of freshness lingered around.

"Accha Naina, kal hum dono kahi bahar mile?"

"Bahar kyu? Kal toh Tuesday hai na? Tum college nahi aaoge?"

"College? Ab college aane ki kya zaroorat hai aur ek baat bolu? Please mind mat karna par wo Sunaina mujhe bilkul nahi pasand aur wo kitna faltu bolti hai! Chapad chapad chapad chup hi nahi hoti. Soch raha hu iss Rakshabandhan usse rakhi bandwa lu"

Naina chuckled

"Neki aur pooch pooch! Par Sameer mera kahi bahar jaane ka dil nahi kar raha. Asha Aunty hospital me hai, Sonakshi di kahi chali gayi hai. Sona di ke Baba bhi pata nahi kitna dhyan denge Aunty par. Ek baar Aunty theek ho jaaye fir kahi chalenge. I promise. Yeh date tum par udhar rahi. Okay?"

"Date? Maine kab kaha ki mai tumhe date par lekar jaa raha hu?"

The colours of Naina's cheeks deepened. She knew he would tease her about this slip of tongue till the end of their lives.

"Hello? Hello? Sameer? Hello? Tumhari aawaz nahi aa rahi hai! Hello? Hello? Kal baat karte hai." - And Naina hung up on him.
___________________________________

"You may be wondering, why have I summoned you here? Well, it's because our Creative Head, Sonakshi Bose has resigned. Reasons? They are best known to her, all she said was that it's for better oppurtunities." Jyotsna had regained her composure before her meeting.

She looked at Bijoy and said, "I don't know what the better oppurtunities are but I'll make sure she isn't offered work in our industry anymore. She has broken my faith in her."

Bijoy sighed. He could say nothing about it.

"Why will Sonakshi leave? I mean she was all happy, dancing and celebrating for the success of our show?" Sourabh said.

"Yeah exactly! She was so passionate about Chahat and Sahil." Nikki couldn't believe her ears.

"I think." Khatri adopted a serious tone. (Something he seldom did.) "Did you call her? Well you would have! What am I even saying, you must have called Sonakshi. What did she say?"

"We haven't talked to her." Aneesh said.

"Well, you should. If there is any problem, we can solve it for her. We are a team, more like a family now." Radha Rani added. "To be honest, if this is about Ishwari you better fire her. She is always traumatising that poor girl. Sonakshi can't be replaced but you'll get thousands like Ishwari."

Bijoy's chest puffed with pride. His Sona had made a mark among the people she actually worked with. Even if she ran away like a coward, she had achieved something.

"Thank you all for your ideas. See you are a perfect team. You all have each other's back. We can do without a slacker. Radha ji and Khatri I want you two to head the team from now on." Jyotsna ordered.

"But..." Nikki tried to cut her in between.

"See Nikki, we really love the show and want it to be in hands of people who have nurtured it already. That's why we find it best to let RR & KK run your team. As far as Sonakshi, is concerned, I understand your worry but even her parents don't know the reason behind her decision. Even if it is something personal we need to respect it. Okay? So I hope work on the script will not be halted now?" Aneesh tried to reason with the team.

"We have already allowed enough of personal reasons in professional zone." Jyostna looked at Bijoy.

"The meeting is dismissed." Jyotsna said with a show of her hands.

When everyone including Bijoy began leaving Jyostna called him back.

"I would like all the penalty money in my office tomorrow in cash." Jyotsna said with her regular sugary smile.

"K." Bijoy left their office

The entire day went in bearing the brunt of Sonakshi's decision on the people who were left behind.

Sonakshi, on the contrary, was totally unaware of the mess she had created. She kept sitting in the bus waiting for her destination to arrive. She didn't drink or eat anything. She was too absorbed in her thoughts to do so.

Early next morning, Bijoy went to the bank and withdrew 22.5 Lakhs from his multiple accounts and committees to pay the bond to the Malanis. In case, Sonakshi had shifted to a new town, where no one knew her then she would need all the money she could. Bijoy didn't want her to fall short of resources.

Precap - "Sonakshi?"

"How much do you earn?"

"50,000 a month"

"Cool I'm in!"

..........

Sajal's character will be introduced in the next update. If she turns out just the way I want, scripting her character will be the best part of this FF till now. (For me)