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Siddharth's pov!

"Yesterday, I saw a Rakshas." I heard her speaking dramatically and stopped dead in my tracks.

I had an inkling who she was talking about. She had mumbled the word yesterday too. She was calling me Rakshas.

I abruptly turned around and the grin that appeared on Ansh's and Mukul's face on hearing Rakshas froze. I glared at them and they both looked down, getting caught.

"Rakshas? What are you talking about?" The other girl asked curiously.

"Yesterday, we had a catering order from the Raichand family. We took sweets and snacks there. Seeing that place, I thought 'Waah! What a beautiful and peaceful place. Who knew a typhoon was hiding inside. Rakshas of the Raichand family." Parinidhi said dramatically.

"What the!!" I came and sat on the revolving chair and started glaring at the phone imagining it to be the girl dressed in a multicoloured dress with accessories attached to them.

"His name is Siddharth Singh Raichand. But let me tell you, the name Rakshas suits him better. Poor parents didn't know what a monster he was going to grow up into. So, they gave him a nice name." She said and laughed to herself.

"What name did you say? Siddharth Singh Raichand?" The other girl, Deepali, asked and shock was evident in her voice.

"Yeah. You know him?" Parinidhi asked curiously.

"Who doesn't?" I heard the disbelief in Deepali's voice and smirked.

Exactly!! Who doesn't know me?

"Me," came the chirpy reply from Parinidhi and my lips thinned into a straight line.

"In Pali, there was an old tower house, right. The one into which you sneak in often. Siddharth Singh Raichand is the owner of that house." Deepali said.

The damn woman used to trespass into my property!

How dare she?

The building has been neglected all these years and no one ever went in there too..

After my father died of an overdose there, the place was considered almost haunted. Rumors had spread about his suicide, making it a haunted place.

And this chit of a girl used to sneak in there?

"Get the CCTV footage of the property in Pali. Find if there is any evidence of theft. There are lots of expensive artefacts there." I ordered and heard Mukul sigh.

"Owner of the tower house? I knew it. He was a misfit in the Raichand House. Tower House is the right place for him. Scary, just like him." I heard Parinidhi say and gritted my teeth in fury.

If I could get my hands on her now..

"You know Nidhi. You are talking about something other than cookies, cupcakes, Harshad Chopda, Parth Saamthan and your prince charming for the first time." Deepali said with a giggle.

"Oh! Don't remind me about my prince charming. That monster ruined my dream too. Such a beautiful dream it was and suddenly my prince charming transformed into that Rakshas and threatened to throw me into the dungeon of his palace." Parinidhi said in a complaining tone and I heard Ansh snorting trying to disguise the laughter coming out.

They are all amused by this. Damn!

That's what I should really do.

Lock her away in some dungeon and get rid of her..

*****

That afternoon I came home to talk to my sister and inform her about my sudden trip to Pali.

I walked into the house to see my sister lighting the diyas in front of Lord Shiva idol and praying.

I sighed in exasperation.

After everything that has happened in our life, it's a mystery to me that Di could still find it in herself to have faith in god.

"Di," I called out to gain her attention.

"You are early today? What happened, Bubba?" She asked, hurrying towards me.

I helped her sit on the couch and held her hands before talking.

"How many times do I have to tell you to be careful. The first trimester is risky. You know that. How can you be so careless, Di?" I admonished her softly.

"I am sorry, Bubba. I will take proper care from now on." Di said apologetically.

"Di, I am going to Pali this afternoon. I came to inform you regarding that." I said.

"Pali? Why a sudden trip, Bubba?" Di asked curiously.

I sighed.

I have to tell her because one way or another she will know where I have been and I simply didn't want her to hear it from someone else.

"I am going to renovate our Noor Mahal, Di." I dropped the bomb and Di froze.

"Noor Mahal?" She whispered and I could hear the years-old pain in her tone.

Noor Mahal! The house we all had was happy once upon a time.

Noor! That was what Papa used to call Mama out of love. He would always say 'she is my Noor'.

The time when our beloved Momma was alive. The time before cancer killed the joy and life of our family.

The time when we had a loving and attentive papa, who was so much in love with momma.

Once Momma was diagnosed with cancer, Papa shattered. As cancer slowly started eating away Momma, depression started eating away papa.

And within a span of two years, we lost both of them. One to cancer and the other to overdose.

Papa had deliberately taken his life, not being able to bear a world where Momma wasn't there. He forgot us and went to Momma. He needed only Momma.

"Di, I was thinking of conducting our next fashion show there. The theme is Indian ethnic wear and Noor Mahal would be the perfect place for that." I said, putting a break to my thoughts.

Di hugged me and I could see that she was overwhelmed by this news.

We never mentioned anything about Noor Mahal here. The topic was almost considered a taboo..

And here I myself am planning to go to Noor Mahal. I am sure Di is more shocked than surprised.

"I am so happy, Bubba. It was always a thorn in my heart that people consider our home a haunted place because of Papa's suicide there. I never knew how to talk to you about it." Di said and I felt guilty.

"Di, why didn't you tell me if it was bothering you so much? I never thought it mattered so much to you. I thought you didn't want anything to do with the place anymore. That place had seen only loss and our sorrow." I said through clenched teeth.

"Don't say that, Bubba. We had happy times there too. Remember how it was when Mamma was there.." Di said and I forced myself not to remember those days. Because it only hurts to remember them.

"Leave all that. You should have just told me you wanted something done with the Noor Mahal." I said, changing the topic from the past.

"I was worried how you would react, Bubba. Now with this high profile event I hope people will see our home in a new light. Whatever made you make this decision, I am so happy." Di said and pressed a tight kiss on my cheeks.

Suddenly the face of the girl in a multicoloured outfit flashed at the back of my head and I shook my head to dispel her thoughts.

I simply don't want to give the credit to that crazy rainbow.

The idea to visit Noor Mahal must have struck when I heard about her sneaking in there.

But that was only to visit the place and make sure the things there are all safe. There are many expensive artefacts and other things there.

The ideas of renovation and fashion show being held there are my own.

It has nothing to do with that middle class girl.

"I don't know how long it will take for me to return. I might come back in two days or it might take a week. I have to personally monitor the initial work." I informed her and Di was immediately anxious.

"Bubba, I will also come with you." Di said, making me shake my head in no.

"No, Di. I promise to take care of myself if that's what worries you. I won't skip meals and I won't overwork. Alright? It's just a matter of one week. Remember I was alone for years while I was at university," I reminded her. She is overly worried about me. After Mama was gone, she became my Mamma rather than an elder sister.

Once the conversation was over I called Mukul.

"Mukul, get the chopper ready as early as possible. I am leaving for Pali this evening." I said.

"Uh Mr Raichand ,we checked the CCTV footage. There are no signs of theft. The girl is seen walking towards the tower room. There is nothing suspicious in her activity either. As far as I know the tower room is empty." Mukul tried to discourage me.

"Her walking towards an empty room on a daily basis in itself is suspicious, Mukul." I pointed out. Somehow, I want to prove her wrong.

"But Mr Raichand..."

"Mukul, my visit to Pali has got nothing to do with that girl. Do you get me? I just want to see if the place is good for our next fashion event. I will give more details once I visit the place," I said and disconnected the call without waiting for his response.

A/n

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SF ❤️