Parinidhi's pov!

As soon as we returned home, Bhadra Bua shot us with innumerable questions specifically asking if I created any trouble.

If I tell her I created a huge mayhem there, she would bury me under the house without a single evidence left. So, I pasted a wide smile on my face and looked at her.

"Oh my darling Bhadra, everything was perfect. Completely chill. Why fear when Nidhi is here?" I asked dramatically, throwing my arms around Bhadra Bua's shoulder and giving her a tight squeeze.

"That is my biggest fear, you little troublemaker." Bhadra Bua said, and pushed me gently before walking towards the kitchen and I sighed in relief. But my relief was short lived when I realised my darling sister was scrutinising me.

"Hey Priya darling, what happened to your pretty little eyes? Why have they shrunken like this?" I asked, wiggling my eyebrows, earning a wack in return from her.

"Now that Bhadra Bua is out of earshot, tell me the truth. What mayhem did you create there?" Priya di asked sternly and I chuckled nervously.

"Trouble? Me? Little innocent me?" I asked, widening my eyes in mock shock.

"Yes, you. Now stop your dramatics and tell me." Priya di didn't relent with my acting.

"There is no trouble, Priya di. When I realised that Bubba is not a little kid, but a Rakshas.. Er.. I mean a grown man, I apologised profusely for the misunderstanding and the big hearted man that he was, he accepted my apology gracefully." I said, gritting my teeth as an image of Siddharth Singh Raichand formed in my head.

I didn't want to hear another lecture from my sister on what a trouble maker I was and how I should behave, so I refrained from telling her the truth.

I am actually starting to get bored with the same old lecture every day. They know very well that I am not going to change. Then why waste their energy with this useless advice and lectures?

"Really? Then why did he scream when you were upstairs with him?" Priya di asked, raising an eyebrow.

Uh oh! What do I say now?

"Oh that! That was out of surprise.." I said, adopting a shy smile on my face and Priya di narrowed her eyes once again.

"Surprise? Why?" She asked suspiciously.

"An outrageously gorgeous girl was standing in front of him and he couldn't believe it wasn't a dream. So he called his sister to confirm that I was real and not a dream." I said cheekily.

"Nowadays you lie a lot, Nidhi. Don't think that I believed every single word you uttered now." Priya di warned before walking into our room leaving me alone in the living room.

I let out a sigh of relief, but soon it turned into fury as an image of Siddharth Singh Raichand breathing fire at me formed in my head.
And I started pacing the room, cursing the Rakshas.

"How dare he call me a thief? Blo*dy Rakshas! If I ever see him again, I will teach him such a lesson that he will never forget in his life ever." I spoke to myself as I walked into the kitchen and opened the container that had cookies and cupcakes in them.

My stress buster. Whenever I am angry, sad, nervous or happy, I want to eat. And I eat a lot when stressed.

A while later Bhadra Bua came to the kitchen and gasped seeing the almost empty cookie containers.

"Hey Bhagwant! This girl! What am I going to do with you? You finished a whole box of cookies?" Bhadra Bua bellowed and I started biting my nails nervously.

"Now, why are you eating your nails? Didn't your stomach get full with the cookies?" Bhadra Bua glared at me.

"Uh! Bua, we had extra work today and I really got exhausted doing all the work. So, I was a little hungry.." I said with a sheepish smile.

"Little hungry?" Bhadra Bua asked, her eyes pointedly looking at the empty cookie box.

"Uh, very much hungry." I said with a pout.

"Cookies are snacks. You don't eat it like a meal. If you are hungry, you should have eaten some real food." Bhadra Bua scolded me again and I made puppy eyes, which I knew would melt her for sure. And it did.

"Where is your chain?" Bhadra Bua asked with a frown.

"Chain? What chain?" I asked in confusion.

"Your chain and pendant. Where are they?" Bhadra Bua asked and I looked at my neck and realised they were not there.

"Oh no!!"

It was my favourite. The one Divya Aunty gave me all those years ago, before they migrated to the US.

And I had lost it.

That night I couldn't sleep. That pendant was a source of strength for me. Divya aunty was our neighbour in our village. She was very dear to me. And her son, though a few years older than me, was my best friend. In fact, I had been in her house more than I had been in mine.

Though Mama gave birth to me, it was Aunt Divya who brought me up until I was thirteen.

Mama and Aunt Divya have been best friends since they were little girls.

Divya Aunty's second child died during birth. She was born a few days before me. And when I was born, Mama had low milk supply, so it was Divya Aunty who breastfed me mostly. She is like my foster mother.

Then Aunt Divya's husband got a job abroad and they migrated to the US. We are still in touch through occasional phone calls. And just before leaving Ratnagiri, she had given me that chain and pendant.

When I wear it, it used to feel like Aunt Divya was always there with me.

And now I had lost it out of carelessness.

****
My prince charming rode towards me on a white horse.

He looked regal in the Royal dressing and the mask on his face hiding him from my vision.

"Prince charming, please take off your mask. I am dying to see your handsome face." I pleaded with him.

And slowly the man removed his mask and I gasped in shock.

The man laughed evilly at me.

"Thief. You are a blo*dy thief. You stole my designs. How dare you? I am going to throw you into the dungeons of my palace?" The man laughed evilly making me shiver in fear.

"No! No! No! I am not a thief. Leave me, please. I didn't steal anything. Somebody save me." I cried in desperation.

"Nidhi! Nidhi! Wake up!" And I woke up with a start and looked around in fear.

"Where is that Rakshas?" I asked, frantically looking around.

"Rakshas? Who? And what did you steal?" Priya asked, frowning at me.

I huffed in annoyance.

"That Rakshas spoiled my dreams too. I was about to see my prince charming's face, Priya di. At that right time that monster came and spoiled everything. I will kill him." I complained in annoyance.

"You and your prince charming. Go and get ready." Priya di said and left the room, shaking her head in disbelief.

"You wait and see, sis. My prince charming will come soon. That too in a white horse."
*****
Third person's pov!

Meanwhile at Raichand mansion, Siddharth's phone rang.

"Yes, Mukul?"

"Mr Raichand, collecting details of Parinidhi Vyas's phone calls is illegal. Tapping her phone calls is impossible without court orders" Mukul said.

"You got her number?" Siddharth asked.

"Yes sir,"

"Which company's connection is it?"

"Air Voice," Mukul replied and Siddharth smirked.

"Great. I will talk to Sanjay Singhania. Things can go further without court orders if the CEO himself gives the green signal, wouldn't it." Siddharth said and disconnected the call.

Then he made the necessary phone calls and enabled Mukul access to the things he needed to track Parinidhi Vyas.

"Parinidhi Vyas! You are not going to get away scot free! You challenged Siddharth Singh Raichand. I will make your life hell!" Siddharth spoke loudly to himself as flashes of his encounter with Parinidhi passed through his head.

A/N

Here goes the next shot!

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SF ❤️