Tujhe shaq hai? Dil toots!

One year from Sonakshi's cinderella show. Clearing it again!

Happy Reading💜

"Sonakshi's a responsible girl. Wo aa jaayegi."

Believing in Bijoy's words everyone had decided to wait for Sona's return. They waited for half an hour which slowly turned into one hour. The clock striked 11 but there was no sign of Sonakshi. They were taking turns to call her but she didn't pick a single call.

"Mujhe tension ho rahi hai." Asha told Bijoy.

The passive attitude of everyone was frustrating Dev. The moment he heard about Sonakshi's mysterious disappearance he wanted to go out and look for her but Bijoy insisted that they wait. He had a sick faith that nothing wrong could happen to Sonakshi.

"Kuch nahi ho sakta hai usko." Bijoy said for the umpteenth time.

"How are you so sure?" Dev got up on his feet. "She's an alone girl in the middle of the night! She said she had a meeting. We've called the Malanis and her agent too. She's not at the theatre even! Where do you think she has gone for this meeting?"

"I know Sonakshi is safe." Bijoy said

"How can you say that?" Dev felt irritated.

- Because Bijoy had seen the worst of times in his life and he was so sure nothing bad could happen now. Not when he had finally got his daughter back! It was this mad hope that was keeping him from losing his mind in these tensed hours.

"Fir bhi humein ek baar dhundhna chahiye." Asha said.

"Bhagwan jhooth na bulaye bhaisahab kya pata kuch anhoni-"

"Kuch nahi hoga usse." Dev cut Bela Chachi's sentence. Even he was not ready to associate any mishap with Sonakshi.

"I.." Nisha began speaking. She had kept quite all this while out of guilt. She was the one to let Sona wander off without taking any exact details. She felt like a culprit and didn't had the courage to speak till now. "I think we should start looking for her."

"That's sorted now." Dev said immediately as if he was waiting for just Nisha's permission. He knew she had been more of a parent to Sonakshi than the other two.

"Jatin, Sameer, Sourabh, Arjun, Khatri Sir, Bijoy Sir take your cars and let's start looking for her. Munna-Pandit you've got a car? Good. You guys get moving too." Dev began ordering everyone.

"Hum bhi chalenge. Mai cabs bula leti hu" Preeti said immediately.

"I am not allowing that. If Sona gets to know that I allowed you guys out of the house at this hour she'll kill me!" Dev said.

Except Nisha, everyone was surprised to see Dev in action! He hadn't helped in a single chore to arrange the party and now, he had taken charge of an entire battalion to find Sona.

"Why don't we get her phone traced?" Naina suggested.

"We'll have to involve the police and they won't file a missing complain before 24 hours of her absence." Bijoy said.

"Ahaan's got a friend in the police. I think we should tell him." Nisha said.

"Good. Call him and keep me updated. Everybody move! move! move!" Dev set everyone in action.

In less than 10 minutes, 8 cars were on the roads of Mumbai searching for Sonakshi. Ahaan had called his friend and he had assured him to go out of the way to help them.

Dev's heart was picking pace with every second. Every time when he had tried to tell her to move on flashed in front of his eyes. His resolve of pushing Sonakshi far and farther away seemed to falter in the moment of crisis. He reminded himself why he had rejected her - for her own happiness. He was satisfied in just being in her vicinity but when the assurance of Sona's constant orbiting around him was gone, he began questioning himself.

He closed his mind to all the self doubts and questions. It was time to search Sonakshi and then scold her for her kiddish behaviour. Where could she be? He looked at all the parks nearby and her favourite coffee shop. He went to the filmcity for no specific reason. He tried calling her. He skipped many traffic lights. Railway stations, bus stops, airport road - Dev checked them all. He went to all the tourist spots too. He checked at the closed gates of Siddhi Vinayak, Haji Ali and Mt. Mary. There was no sign of her. It was like she had disappeared into thin air!

He couldn't think straight anymore. The fear of losing her forever was growing inside him. Like a beast, all the negative thoughts were clutching him.

She's dead.

He heard someone say. He looked around there was no one around him. He knew it his was his head playing tricks on him but his heart was trying to keep him sane. He had to focus on his mission.

He called Nisha.

"Sonakshi ka kuch pata chala?"

"Uska phone switch off ho gaya hai. We can't trace her."

Dev needn't listen to anything more. Reality faded for a while. There were only two images in front of his eyes - one was of Sonakshi clutching his poster and crying at the Production House's office. The other was of Sonakshi actually hugging him and requesting to hold on for just one minute at his place.

She's dead. You forced her to commit suicide. You have no right to live. Everyone who comes in your contact dies. You're worth nothing. Die.

Dev could hear the voice getting louder in his head. It had taken the distinct pitch of his cousin Vicky's voice. He hadn't taken his medicines that night. It took a lot of will and control to not believe what the voice was saying. There was no chance he was going to give in, not now when there were chances that Sonakshi was in danger.

There were so many times she had tried to talk to him and he had ignored her. He felt like punishing himself. He felt like a fool to lie to Jatin. If only he had let Sonakshi know the truth on the night of her mother's accident!

He couldn't take the pain and burden anymore. He parked the car on the road and broke down. The uncertainity of the moments was killing him and he could only sob in regret.

Right. Cry. That's what you do when someone dies.

Dev kept on crying helplessly. He couldn't tell if it was on the voices command or it was on his own will but he kept crying. If only once he met Sonakshi again he would rectify all his mistakes. The longing and yearning for Sonakshi, which was there in his heart from a year, now broke all chains and he felt it with a strong intensity. In that moment he forgot the righteousness of his decision to stay away from Sonakshi. All he needed was her presence. She could slap him, scold him, reject him. He wouldn't complain.

Smash!

Dev heard some noise outside the car. There was no one visible.

Thud! Smash!

He looked again. There was no trace of anyone. Accidentally, he looked into the rear view mirror and saw three men fighting.

He ignored it as some street fight.

Smash

He saw one of the man rise a little high into the air and crash on the ground. He got out of the car and noticed two other men lying on the ground. Dev hurried to the actual fight sequence.

Sonakshi was there! Sonakshi's car was there!

She waved and Dev waved back. One of the two men standing ran in Sonakshi's direction with a brick in his hand. Sonakshi took a few steps forward and kicked in his stomach. He lost balance and the brick fell a few steps away from them.

"Way to go girl! Wuhooo!" Dev cheered.

The man regained his balance and tried to punch in Sona's face but she was too quick. She bent down to dodge the blow and then clutched his fist in her palm. She kicked on his stomach, left his fist, punched his chin from below. The man tried to grab her arm but Sonakshi twisted that arm and turned him, she kicked his back and he fell forwards with the rest of his gang.

"Waaah! Waaah! Maza aa gaya!" Dev exclaimed.

The last man standing tried to hold Sonakshi's waist from behind but she twisted on her toes, turned around and kicked his cheeks. He lost a tooth. She picked the fallen brick from the ground and began juggling it. The man started running backwards, he tripped over his fallen mates. All of them struggled to get up and ran for dear life.

"Too good! Too good!" Dev was still clapping.

"Seriously? You were just standing here! You couldn't help? I broke a nail!" Sonakshi said.

"Ummm"

"Never mind." Sonakshi adjusted the sleeves of her dress.

"Who were they?" Dev asked.

"Mere chacha ke damad the, khatirdari karwane wane aaye the!" Sonakshi said

"Oh!" Dev nodded his head in agreement.

"Dimag bech ke aaye ho kya? They were goons!" Sonakshi said.

The truth was Dev couldn't think straight because of his happiness and relief.

"Why did you get out of the car even?" Dev asked her.

"If you can see, they were rubbing their bikes against the car's door. If I would have increased the speed, we could have all died in a fire! If they had just circled around the car I would have ran the car over them." Sonakshi said. She blew air over a minor cut near her wrist.

Dev looked at the car and noticed someone sitting inside it.

"Who's that?" He tried to see but it was dark inside.

"That's a gift for you. Go have a look." Sonakshi said

"Why are you looking at me like..." Dev saw Sonakshi's moon kissed face. She looked serene and victorious a minute ago, in a second her face became dull and gloomy.

"Like?" Sonakshi asked.

"Like it's the last time you are ... Never mind." Dev said and walked towards the car.

"Don't make it so dramatic! Walk faster!" Sonakshi clapped her hands to show urgency.

He walked faster and opened the door for whoever was inside the car. He stepped back to let the person come out and when she did, Dev was taken aback.

"Surprise." Sonakshi said with eyes glistening with tears.

Dev looked from Sonakshi to Pragati.

"I'll give you some privacy!" Sonakshi walked away. "I'll be in your car Dev."

As Sonakshi left the couple behind, hundreds of emotional sad songs were playing in her head. Specifically a song from Parinda.

Pyar ke mod pe chodoge jo bahein meri
Tumko dhundhegi zamane me nigahein meri.

Even the male lead from that song said

Koi ban jaaye mera aisi taqdeer nahi
Dil ke aaine me ab koi tasveer nahi
Ye haqiqat hai asar kho chuki aahein meri

The female voice keeps on giving courage to the male lead and the same is the case in the song Aa Meri Jaan from Chandini. Sonakshi had used these songs in the show and every time it pierced her heart to see how the lyrics matched her situation.

She on the other hand, was living in reality. A reality that was singing songs of the demise of her love. Why had she loved Dev? It was an infatuation earlier. There were no major happy moments in their story or adorable turning points but maybe their hearts had recognized a mutual pain and as it is said, a relation bound with pain goes on forever.

Sonakshi had published a set of short stories for children. One day she recieved an email that had changed the course of her ideas. Her love story had turned passive after Dev's final rejection but the fan mail made it active. She could finally do something for Dev. The mail read:

Hey Sonakshi Bose,

I am a teacher in Australia. I came across your short stories for children. I read all of them to the kids at my school. They were heavily inspired. I wish you all the love and luck. I hope we could meet each other someday.

The sender's email was [email protected]

Pragati Dixit, the name rang a bell in Sonakshi's head. She stalked the sender. It didn't take much time to realise that the fan was actually Mrs. Pragati Devrat Dixit.

Sonakshi had wanted to do something for Dev but the fear of him losing his health stopped her from taking any steps. Meeting Pragati all of a sudden felt like destiny's game. If she could reunite them, Dev would be happy and she could bid him a goodbye on a happy note! She could finally do something for Dev's happiness!

She had been selfless and strong till that minute but when she looked at the rear view mirror and saw Dev and Pragati talking she realised the magnitude of her actions. She couldn't control herself and cried as silently as she could. There was no way she would draw attention to herself.

Her thoughts reminded her that her fate was turning out exactly like Bijoy. Like her father, she was ready to sacrifice her love and accept a lonely life.

We tend to forget the count of our blessings but the universe keeps an accurate account of our deeds. Sonakshi didn't knew that she was loved more than she thought she was. In the minutes she was crying miserably there were many hands folded in prayer. Everyone at her house was wishing for her safety. There were people searching every corner of Mumbai for her. In her own house, a few hours back her divorced parents were ready to celebrate her success together. There was an entire gathering of people who loved her. These people were nothing but strangers earlier but now were more than family to her. She had earned their love. That was Sonakshi's triumph.

Her stories had reached out to a small section of the reading population but wherever they went they helped people fight their demons and the universe was listening to her problems and it was time for a breakthrough.

The conversation Dev and Pragati were having was going to change the course of Sonakshi's life.

"Pragati? You? After all these years?" Dev couldn't collect himself.

"Me. Yes. After all these years." She replied.

"How?" Dev's voice was barely a whisper with shock.

"That's a long story but what you need to know is Sonakshi brought me here. She brought me back to you." Pragati said

"Sonakshi? Why will she? She ..."

"She loves you. I know." Pragati smiled. "and I know you love her too."

Dev looked at his feet.

"She told me how you defended me in front of her. You took her by the neck to show her what you were capable of? You wanted to show her what I've been through?" Pragati asked him.

He nodded. He couldn't meet her eyes.

"Thank you. I didn't deserved it but you did for me. Thank you." Pragati said.

"I ... I understand that our relationship died in those years of my illness and when there was time to mend it, when we were finally out of it together I didn't consider your need to be out and focus on your career. I was too self absorbed, I didn't realize how tough times would have been for you." Dev said.

"They were very tough times. You have defended me from yourself too but I know I shouldn't have left you. When I decided to not leave you after all of my family pressure I should have known that the disease and it's after effects would haunt us for the rest of our lives. I had done so much for you, for us and I began expecting the same from you."

"But I didn't fulfill any of your expectations, I was a bad husband."

"And I went to Australia and never called." Pragati sighed. "I was ashamed of my decision and couldn't face you."

"You're here now." Dev took her hands in his, hesitantly.

"I am." Pragati smiled. "I am here and so is someone else."

Dev knew who she was hinting at but he stayed quiet.

"Sonakshi brought me here because you were constantly rejecting her love. You asked her not to persuade you? Dev, look at me. You told her it could affect your health and that girl didn't bother you again. She found me and thought that it's a chance for her to do something for you. Do you understand that?"

Dev didn't knew what to say.

"I have no right to come back to your life as your wife after what happened." Pragati took her hands out of Dev's hold. "Will you accept me as a friend? We can not be life partners but we will always be crime partners."

"Pragati, what are you saying? You are my wife. You are Mrs. Pragati Devrat Dixit, I can't leave you like this ... I used to love you so much." Dev said.

"Used to. Exactly. The girl in that car loves you and you love her. Her love is so selfless and pure and you're an idiot because I have to point that out to you! You will never find a girl like her. What we had is over now. None of us have the same old feelings." Pragati said.

"You did so much for me."

"Don't make me sound like a saint! I know even if you look like a jerk sometimes, you have a heart of gold. You will never dump someone. So, I have a little gift for you." Pragati said and looked for something in her hand bag.

"Divorce papers?" Dev took them from Pragati's hands. "You've signed them!"

"You'll sign them too and send them to me. Sonakshi knows where I'm staying."

"Divorce?" Dev murmured

"There is no point on keeping a relation just for the sake of it. What we had was wonderful but it's time for both of us to look beyond it. It is time to move on. You are a lucky man Dev but you'll be the unluckiest person ever to reject a girl like Sonakshi. Do you get that?"

"I ... I do. Yes." Dev grinned like a fool. The divorce papers in his hand felt so good. His eyes had a hint of sparkle. "Do you have a pen?"

"Huh" Pragati laughed. "The sooner the better?"

"No. I'm sorry. I ..."

Pragati took out a pen for him and Dev signed the papers then and there.

"This is my card." She said handing him a business card. "There's my number. Keep in touch."

"I will." Dev said.

"Oh and can I borrow your car? I don't think it will be a great idea to hire a cab at this hour." Pragati said.

Dev fetched his car keys from his pocket and handed them to her.

"See you soon." Dev said

"Sure." Pragati replied and left with the car keys.

Inside the car, Sonakshi had consoled herself with the idea of Dev's happiness and was wiping her tears when Pragati tapped on her adjacent window.

"I think I'll need this car." Pragati showed Sona the keys. Sonakshi immediately got out.

She looked miserable with the fight's wounds, tear stains, puffy eyes and red nose. Pragati bid her a warm goodbye and left.

Sonakshi looked at the fleeting car with confusion. She turned back and started walking towards her car. On a footpath near it, Dev was sitting with some papers in his hand. He looked simply elated.

"Sonakshi!" Dev almost jumped towards her. He handed her the papers. She strained her eyes to understand what they were.

"Divorce papers?" She looked from Dev to the paper and then at the former couple's signatures. She couldn't believe her eyes so she pulled Dev below a street lamp and read the papers again.

She looked back at him and he nodded vigorously. For a second, Sonakshi was scared that his neck would fall off.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry Sonakshi. I couldn't realise your worth till the fear of losing you didn't creep in. Now everything will be fine." Dev grinned.

"Yes." Sonakshi forced a smile.

She handed the papers to Dev and bent down.

"What are you looking for Ms. Bose?" Dev asked her. She got up with a brick in her hand.

"Aaahh!!" Dev screamed and ran.

Sonakshi threw the brick away and followed him.

"You idiot! You're such a rascal! You needed someone and something to make you realise my worth! You have no clue how much I've cried and suffered. You heartless jerk! I'll kill you. You'll die today." Sonakshi was screaming and running behind Dev.

Dev was running as fast as he could for dear life. He looked back and saw Sonakshi take a sandle out!

"Deva!" Dev cried and ran faster.
Sonakshi was close behind but she was out of breath. So she screamed "Statue."

Dev stopped, turned and said, "What?"

"You stop where you are or I'll punch you right in your nose!"

Dev stopped.

"Now, bend down on a knee!" Sonakshi was panting.

Dev too was breathing heavily but he did as Sonakshi told him to.

"Happy?"

"Now tell me how much you love me!"

"What?" Dev said in between long breaths.

"Yes you will bring up an exceptional, spontaneous proposal and I will reject it RUTHLESSLY! Do you even know how much you have hurt me?" Sonakshi began childishly slapping Dev's shoulder.

He got up on his feet and held her attacking hand. With the other hand he pulled her closer by her waist.

"Even if I tell you that how much I love you it will be nothing in front of what you were ready to do for me today." Dev's voice was huskier than usual. His eyes were fixed on Sonakshi's face.

"I can't thank you enough for not letting your ego or self esteem come in between us. Sonakshi, you know everything about me and still you're sticking around. You have seen me at my worst yet you've loved every part of me."

"Don't you make me emotional! I've got to break your heart. You moron." Sonakshi said with puppy eyes.

"Awww. So Ms. Kharghosh-"

"Kharghosh?"

"That's how you're looking right now." Dev cut her gasps and said, "Then let's not waste time now and come straight to the point."

He released Sonakshi's hand and waist. He bent down on one knee and put a hand forward.

"Ms. Sonakshi Bose will you marry me?"

Sonakshi acted as if she was thinking for a while.

"Yes."

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