***Amogha's P.O.V***

"...I can't believe she still looks so tempting... You know the deal right? She's mine!" I heard a very familiar manly voice.

"Yes bro of course! I remember. But only after you fulfill your promise" came another vaguely familiar voice of a man.

I've heard these voices somewhere before.....but where?

"And you remember the promise you made to me right?" came a third familiar voice, but this was a female's voice. 

"I don't have use for that piece of shit. You can do whatever you want" came the first man's voice and he sounded very very angry.

Where  have I heard these voices before?? And where the hell am I?

I'm pretty sure my eyes are open now but I can't see a thing in front of me. Wait lemme just wave my hands in front of me....

Fuck! My hands are tied!! What...where...Oh God I'm being held captive?

And my mouth.....there's something stuffed into my mouth - cloth I'm guessing - and something is tied around my mouth too...

I tried shuffling and making sounds but I myself can't hear the sound of my voice!!

Who would want to hold me captive? And why??

***Sidharth's P.O.V***

"It's been three days since my wife went missing Rajath! Why have you not found any info regarding her yet?" I asked, very pissed.

"Bro like I told you earlier, we've searched at all the places connected to that guy Prithvi but there's no clue anywhere. We've even tracked his sim-card but there's no funny business there too!" Rajath replied in a calm voice.

"And we've been in contact with Pune police too, no info from there as well" Rajath answered my un-asked question.

"okay, but what about her?" I asked, gritting my teeth.

"No dirt on her too! The last we checked, she was seen in some secluded area at the outskirts of Bengaluru" Rajath said, again, calmly.

"Secluded area?" I asked curiously. 

She's not from Bengaluru and she doesn't even know anybody here to be visiting other places near-by so how could she go to such secluded places all of a sudden?

"I know what you're thinking bro....and even I thought of that angle, but this is the first time she's visiting the place, and Prithvi's phone is not anywhere near that place! Do you think they're involved?" Rajath asked hesitantly, looking at me.

"What am I missing here? Who's this she?" dad asked, air-quoting the word 'she'.

***flashback to the time Sid was in Pune***

I cringed as the memory of my Amogha in Prithvi's arms floated in front of my eyes - the scene that had actually made me decide that I needed to get away from there...

That day Sam suggested that we go back home and maybe think, but once we reached home all that came to my mind was the way how Prithvi was flirting with Amogha, and how he had held onto her. 

I'd felt my blood boil, thus resulting in me smashing almost everything in the house! Sam pushed me into the bed and laid down beside me, cuddling - she suggested that a good sleep would help me immensely.

But no sooner had I closed my eyes, than the image of Prithvi hugging Amogha flashed in front of my eyes. After a lot of walking around my ransacked room, Sam had suggested a long weekend away in Goa or something...but I wanted to be away from Amogha and concentrate on work - and that's why I had straight off flown to Pune!!

Sam has been a great help for me so far! She's been helping me to talk out all my feelings and the hurt I felt when I saw Adi getting close to Ammu, or even Prithvi getting close to my Ammu!!

"Tell me again bro, why are you still here? Even after all the lecture I gave you?" Rishi asked in his pissed off voice, breaking my trail of thoughts. It has been almost a fortnight since I came here, away from Amogha.

We were sitting at the office canteen. We were done for the day but waiting for Priya to join us so we could leave for home. I was staying at a hotel near Rishi's home, although Rishi did insist that I stay at his place but I don't want to invade their privacy!

"I needed to clear some stuff off my mind" I said dejectedly. The scene where Amogha and Prithvi were hugging was being played again and again in my mind and it was not helping!

"So clearing stuff from your mind means running away to a place 440km away from your home? Cool!" Rishi said, rolling his eyes.

"I didn't.....it's not like that" I said defensively, running my hands through my hair.

"Uhu? Then how is it? Dude you saw them hugging, not fucking! And from what you said, Prithvi was the one who pulled her into the hug! So who's to say what that piece of shit had planned in his mind?" Rishi asked very casually.

"Well....he....okay he invited her for lunch!" I said again defensively.

"Oh My God!! It is such a huge offense!! That guy asking your wife for lunch is worse than sleeping together!!" Rishi exclaimed sarcastically.

I just rolled my eyes at him.

"Asshole! Before Amogha could reject or accept that offer, you went off with that bitch Sam!" Rishi said, gritting his teeth.

"I didn't go anywhere with her! You know I'd never cheat on Ammu!!" I said defiantly.

"Well I know she'd have accepted his offer anyways!" I added, dejectedly.

"Bro! This girl likes you a lot and you idiot love her from the past 8 years! For heaven's sake just push all these misunderstandings aside and tell her how much you love her!" Rishi said in an exasperated tone.

"But.." I started speaking but Rishi put-up his palm indicating me to stop. He looked so pissed off!

"Look...Prithvi really sounds like a piece of crap! And I have a gut feeling that all this is a set-up!" Rishi said again in that annoyingly calm tone.

"How?! Why would he do that? Sam has told me everything, how Ammu.." my angry speech was cut off by Rishi banging his fist on the table in front of him.

"Dude! You really believe that bitch Sam over your own wife?!" he asked me in a tone that suggested that he's both annoyed and surprised.

"Well..." I trailed off.

"Fuck you man! You seriously don't deserve Amogha! You only saw Prithvi talking to Ammu, while here you are spending your whole day and even having lunch dates with your ex! I even know that you went to a bar yesterday with her and danced with her! Seriously Sid...bar? From when did you start drinking?" Rishi asked angrily.

He was interrogating me like how a police inspector would interrogate his suspect!!

"Well...um... it's only work relation dude and nothing else! I'd never cheat on Ammu!!" I said defensively, but not meeting his eyes. I am truly feeling guilty of having spent time with my ex, but I would never ever cheat on Ammu! EVER!

Amogha is the love of my life and I cannot think of being with anyone else other than her, now that I am actually married to her!

"You haven't told anything about the going-to-the-bar thingy?!" Rishi said, wriggling his eyebrows.

"I went there yesterday and I swear I only had one beer to calm my mind. I'm going crazy even just thinking about Ammu with that bastard! Sam told me yesterday how Prithvi had been visiting Ammu in our flat" I said. It wasn't a surprise that I was gritting my teeth by the end and had balled my hands into fist!

"Yeah so you hanging out with your slutty ex in a bar and drinking and grinding with her is cool, but your wife having a very strictly professional relation with her childhood friend is a huge sin...it is cheating! I get it!" Rishi said sarcastically.

I just snorted in disbelief.

"You have only your ex girlfriend's word for it! There's no proof that Prithvi is actually hanging out with Amogha" Rishi said coolly. I looked away from him, not wanting to think of Prithiv and Amogha even in the same room.

"So it is true... If a girl just hangs-out with her guy friend, she's a slut, but a guy grinding with his ex-gf is just being professional?!" Rishi asked in disbelief.

"I never called Ammu a slut! And I wasn't grinding with Sam!! She pulled me for a dance but I swear I didn't dance... I don't like her in that way man!! But spending time with Sam actually helps me calm my mind...she helps me talk out all the pent up stuff in me" I said hesitantly, again, not meeting his eyes.

"Can you even hear yourself you hypocrite asshole? You trust your ex more than your own wife!" Rishi said sadly.

I shifted in my seat uneasily. Man he's making me feel guilty!

"Bro Amogha likes you. She told Priya that she likes you a lot. I'm even sure that she loves you. Prithvi is a rat-bastard and he's using this mind-games to just push you out of the game so that he can finally get Amogha!" Rishi shouted at the top of his lungs. He was breathing heavily by the time he was done.

My heart skipped a beat when I heard that Amogha loves me! But then Prithvi?

"But Prithvi..." I was saying but Rishi cut me off by pushing his phone screen into my face.

It took me some time to adjust my vision and realize that he was showing me a photograph in his phone. It was a group photo of my parents and a girl....the one whom I love more than anything and anyone - Amogha.

But she looks so....she's lost a lot of weight even in just 2 weeks!! With baggy eyes and pale skin, she looks so weak!!!

I snatched the phone from his hand and zoomed the picture on Ammu's face. Her eyes lacked their usual charm. Although she was smiling for the pic, but it wasn't her usual smile - not the smile that used to make my heart skip a beat, and not a smile that reached her sad eyes!

As I stared at her pic, I heard Rishi's voice "Look at the state she's in because of you! She spends all her weekends with either your parents or her parents! God knows how alone she might be feeling! And you asshole haven't even called her once in these past couple of weeks!" 

Tears pooled my eyes, blurring my vision. What have I done? But then what about all those things that Sam had said?

"But what if..." I was cut-off as Rishi's palm made contact with my bearded cheek - my best friend had just slapped me.

"You effing asshole! She's miserable because of you! She's in depression because of you, she's all alone all because of you! But you Mister are busy spending time with your ex girlfriend whom you almost married! That slut is filling your ears with bullshit! For once just pull your head out of your butt and see the truth!" Rishi said angrily. His was breathing heavily and his eyes were bloodshot.

Before I could say anything else, Priya ran to us and tugged at my arm "There's something you should see Sid. Come with me please" she said, almost begging.

I and Rishi looked quizzically but followed her to wherever she was leading  us.

A couple of minutes later, we were standing in front of the visitor's waiting room and we could hear faint voices coming from inside.

"..yes he believes me and soon he'll be mine. That bitch will suffer for taking away what was mine" came a gleeful female voice which was very familiar.

"How will that happen?" came a vaguely familiar masculine voice.

"That bitch will be out of his life soon, you shall see! He believes me and I have him wound around my finger like a little puppy! He will soon start obeying my every command. And then..." the woman said in an evil tone.

"And then what?" came the curious voice of the man.

"What what? You can have that slut and I'll have the love of my life. The end!" said the female voice calmly.

"Hang on! Then what about you and me?" came the pissed off voice of the man.

"Darling all this is just a game! This is just lust! But Sid...he's my love" the woman said calmly.

"But.." came the man's voice but he stopped abruptly.

"Look you want her right? You'll get her! My plan has worked so far and soon, this facade will also come to an end and you can do whatever you want with that bitch! Alive or dead, I don't care what happens to her as long as she's out of Sid's life and he is mine" came the woman's voice and she sounded so evil!

Everything went quiet for sometime and the next thing we heard was moaning and sounds of kissing.

My blood was boiling and I knew I had to confront them, so I did the only rational thing that came into my mind - walk into the room.

There I saw something that surprised me, even though I was expecting the same after what I heard from outside the room.

On the sofa they were sitting - the two people, one of whom I had trusted more than my best friend, and the other whom I loathed... Sam and Prithvi.

Both of them were kissing...or eating each-other's face hungrily, their hands running on each-other's body.

I stood there, dumbfounded . That excuse of a human - Sam - she was filling my ears against my wife, for the past few weeks. And I believed her over my wife?!

Sam was all like how Prithvi loved Amogha and Amogha too reciprocated his feelings but she was with me because she was waiting for me to break this marriage and get the alimony!! I didn't believe her at first, but the way Amogha went along with Adi and then Prithvi... I didn't have much choice, did I?!

So whatever I had seen between Prithvi and Amogha - it was all setup! Just as Rishi had said!!

To be continued...