Hi ya! Back with another chapter. Hope you like!

"Words in double quotes" - Talking

'Words in single quotes' - Thoughts

Chapter 5 - Heart strings

Ragini swallowed hard in Udip's presence. She still remembers his words to her. 'He said he would destroy my career. Is he here to tell Ram uncle that he should cancel my role? What if he told them lies about me?!' she could feel panic settle in her heart.

Udip, on the other hand, stood there looking at Ragini in awe. He couldn't believe what he was seeing before him. It was as if the ugly duckling became a white swan for him.

When Ragini came to him, she was in her casual look. But now...now with all the makeup and wearing the expensive dress for the scenes, she looked like an angel.

"Nice to meet you as well Ragini. Ram uncle, your choice for a heroine is really nice."

Ragini was confused as to why he has being so polite. Nevertheless, she decided to go with the flow. "Thank you."

"I'm gl-" Ram heard someone call for him. "You two chat. I'll be right back." saying that, he left.

An uncomfortable silence reigned after he went away. Ragini felt uneasy standing there in front of Udip. His gaze made her feel exposed.

He was looking at her like he was undressing her with his eyes. His sly smirk and hungry look made her want to puke.

Gritting her teeth, she balled her hands into fists in anger. She tried to move past him, only for him to grab her by the wrist. "And where do you think you're going beautiful?"

"I-I need to practice my lines. Let go of my hand please." Ragini tried to jerk her hand away from his, but without success.

"You can practice with me. I can teach you privately and maybe...maybe even give you some tips." he dralled, pulling her closer.

Ragini felt fear grip her. She tried again to break free, but couldn't stop him from pulling her closer further. He brought his other hand to brush away a strand of hair from her face, and ran his finger down her cheek. She tried to resist by facing the other way. Ragini used all her strength to push him, but wihotu avail.

Udip brought his hand around her waist. She could feel it ghosting around her, making her feel disgusted.

Just when he was about to put his hand on her waist, he felt someone grab his wrist in a strong hold.

That someone grabbed Ragini's arm and gave Udip a solid push, making him let go of her. The newcomer pulled Ragini away from Udip and hid her behind him.

Udip was furious. He wanted to shout at the person, and turned to do so after recovering from the force of the push. However, he stopped seeing who it was. He faked a smile. "Hey cousin! What are you doing here Lucky?"

"I'm fine." he answered in a clipped tone. All Laksh wanted was to punch him. However, he didn't want to create a scene.

"Long time no see. How have you been?"

"I'm doing fine. Business is going well." he replied curtly.

"Ah! Good good. I was just chatting with Ragini about the film."

"I see." Laksh uttered. Oh, he knew what Udip might have been doing. Udip's behaviour with beautiful young women wasn't unknown to him after all. 'He doesn't know to respect women. They aren't commodities to use! They are individuals who should be respected!'

"What brings you here anyway?" Laksh questioned. "Weren't you out of town?"

"I came back yesterday. Just thought of visiting when I heard about Uncle's new film. So? What brings you to your father's shoot by the way?"

"This is my film too. I'm the main male lead."

"Ah! I see. Everything going alright?" Udip asked. He was hoping for a no. 'As if he can act! Laksh is nothing but a prude. If I was the hero, I would have used every opportunity to be near Ragini. Oh, that body!'

Ragini saw his look from behind Laksh, and hid further behind him. Laksh too stood up straight, as if to hide her completely from view. He definitely didn't like how Udip was watching her. It made his blood boil. He didn't know from where the urge was coming from to kill Udip or beat him up bloody. He was usually a peaceful and tactical person.

"The shooting of my first film is going good and ev-oh wait! One thing went wrong. I got scolded yesterday by Dad for beating a man to a bloody pulp." Laksh said with a dangerous smirk. "Poor guy. He thought he could be a filthy jerk and escape! I hate such people. Infact, if I find another one like that, I'll beat him twice as hard!"

Udip, however, didn't understand the hint and smiled at him. "Nice one, cousin. I bet the guy you fought with wishes he never met you."

"I know another one who would wish the same." Laksh spoke in a polite voice, making Ragini look at him in uncertainty.

Laksh might look calm. However, after working together for a month, Ragini knew it was his 'I'm about to punch you into oblivion' tone. She just hoped it didn't lead to consequences for Laksh or hamper the film's production.

Without much thought and as if on instinct, Ragini laid a hand on Laksh's arm. This seemed to snap Laksh out of his anger. His shoulders relaxed and he let loose his balled hands.

"He's not worth it." she whispered to him. "Please don't fight. Let's just go."

Laksh let out a breath. He turned away from Udip and towards her. "I was waiting for you to arrive. We need to finish the scene remember." he said as an excuse, presenting her with a look that made butterflies flutter in Ragini's stomach.

"Y-yes."

"Then let's go." Laksh moved forward, hoping she would follow.

However, he rethought and paused his steps.

Laksh turned back to grab her wrist and pulled her along with him.  All the while, Udip couldn't do anything but watch them leave together.

Unbeknownst to them, three individuals had seen the entire thing.

"How dare he do that to my Di!? I should have hit him harder last time. Ooooo that monkey Udip!"

"You're right Swara. Infact, I should have broken his teeth!" Nikhil grit out, punching the nearest thing, which happened to be a caravan.

"I hate that guy as well guys. He may be our cousin, but he's disgusting!" Uttara confessed. "If it wasn't for his mother, I would have throw him out of here!"

Nikhil nodded. "I may not like Laksh, but now I'm glad he is there to defend Ragu. He would be able to protect Ragini, and also beat up Udip if the situation calls. I could see that anger in him." Nikhil reasoned.

Both Swara and Uttara gasped looking at him. It was as if he gave them some idea.

Nikhil backed up. "Oh no! No! I don't like those looks. If you think I'll involve myself in whatever ridiculous thing you both are about to do, forget it!"

However their faces only changed from excited to over excited.

'I wonder what could they be thinki-*gasp* ohhhhh no, oh no!' Nikhil could feel a sense of doom.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking Shona?" Uttara asked with an devilish smirk.

"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking, Uttara Di?" Swara questioned back, grinning from ear to ear.

"If you both are thinking what I think you are thinking are thinking, then you two better stop thinking!" Nikhil exclaimed. "There is no way you both are doing this!"

"Oh, but we will. Mwhahaha..." Uttara cackled.

"Yep. I agree with Uttara Di. Huhuhu... Thanks for the idea Niki bhai."

"But I didn't give any!"

"You didn't. Bit your words made it possible for the idea to emerge in our heads." Uttara chuckled darkly and walked off, with Swara following.

Nikhil watched them go with wide eyes. 'I gave the idea, indirectly? Oh my! Why do I feel like I just created two monsters?' he swallowed hard, hoping they don't end up creating a storm.

#Makeshift tent#

Laksh sat down inside one of the tent they had set up for the day. "Come inside." he called out when Ragini didn't follow.

"I...I kind of don't like tents. They make me feel suffocated." Ragini confessed.

Laksh looked at her for some moments, and then smiled. He extended his hand towards her with a smile. "I'm your friend. And I'm here with you, aren't I? You don't need to feel uncomfortable."

She bit her lip in indecision. "But I..."

"Alright. Do one thing. Close your eyes."

"Eh?"

"Go on. Close them for a bit."

Ragini didn't know what he was up-to but did she told.

She waited for some moments, wondering what was happening. After a moment, she felt a hand hold hers and pull her forward. She had the urge to open her eyes and move back.

"Don't! Not yet."

His voice stopped her from doing it. Something in his voice seemed to hold power over her. She seemed to trust his actions more than her own.

After a moment, she felt the back of her knees hit something. As he slightly gave her a little push, she realized it was chair he was pushing her onto and making her sit.

"Now open your eyes."

As she did so, she saw herself inside the tent. Not just inside, Laksh infact closed the zip of it, making it dark. She could feel the onset of a panic attack. "No! N-no no! Let me out! Le-let me out!"

"Shh. I'm here, I'm here. Don't wor-"

"Let me out! Please!" she was panicking.

Laksh grabbed her hand in an effort to make her look at him. However, when it didn't work, he himself got in front of her and made her look at him. "It's okay. It's alright."

"No it's not! I mu-"

"Hey, it's okay! Trust me." he smiled at her and put his hands on either side of her face. "It's okay. It's alright. See? Nothing will hurt you or harm you here. Believe in me."

She could feel herself shaking with the urge to move out. However, his closeness made it impossible for her to look at anything other then his eyes and face. As she kept looking at his smile and confident look, she could feel her anxiety slowly ebb way.

Ragini's breath which were coming out rapidly slowed down gradually as she kept gazing into his eyes. The tears of fear and desperation that had escaped her eyes ceased their flow. It was as if the roaring tornado of emotions that she felt a second ago had moved past her into oblivion. She could feel calm settle in slowly.

"There. See?" Laksh let go and sat down beside her, still holding her hand. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

She could still feel her heart thump I'm her chest from fear. However, it seemed to settle down. Although she still felt apprehensive, his presence gave her strength. His solid presence made it possible to break through her fear. "Never. Never do that again!" she chided.

Laksh looked guilty, but not apologetic. "It was the only way to break you out of your fear." he went to open the tent, letting light flood in.

Ragini sighed as it was bright again. "I...I know. But damn! It sure shocked the heck out of me!"

Laksh looked surprised at hearing her say 'heck' and 'damn'. 'Guess it was the spur of the moment.' he cleared his throat. "Okay then Ragini. I think I'm going to take a short nap. There's no shot to act for now, right?"

She nodded. "I'll go wake you up when there is. You can rest."

He nodded and left. As he walked away, he couldn't help but look at his hands in diabelief. 'I refuse to talk to girls, to be close to them. And yet, I went so far as to hold her face in my hands. If someone else saw, they would have thought we were about to kiss. That close I was to her! What is wrong with me?!' he chided himself.

However, he couldn't help himself at that time. All he could think about was removing the fear he saw in her face. He felt like he would do anything to remove that look. He wanted her to be her smiling self. Not her teary eyed self. He couldn't stop himself from moving close to her. It was as if he acted without thinking. It was pure instinct.

He sighed to himself. "Only one girl was able to create this much unrest in my heart and make me change. Now, there's another? What is going on?" he ran a hand over his hair. "I wish you were here Mansi. I miss you."

************************************
To be continued...

If you liked this chapter, please consider giving your vote. Thanks
~ 🌹 Mona 🌹