Swara was staring around the room, she had been here before, but everything was different now. Now she wasn't here as the 'would-be' Mrs Swara Laksh Maheshwari, no, she was here as Mrs Swara Sanskar Maheshwari.

It still didn't feel real that it had only been a few hours before that she had entered the Baadi with Sanskar as her husband. To say that her family, and for that matter Sanskar's family, were shocked by this devolvement was a gross understatement. They had been livid. However, Sanskar had expertly convinced all of their situation, going to extra lengths to draw parallel on Laksh's wedding with Ragini. He had claimed that Swara wanted to kill herself, just as Ragini had, for the sake of family reputation. Adding that he had followed his younger brother Laksh's footsteps this time, and tried to replicate the very same good thing that he had done - of marrying the girl in question and saving her life. While his mom had lost her cool, Sanskar's Bade Papa, had announced that Swara was now the bahu of the family. A glance at Sanskar had made it clear to her that he had predicted this very thing.

Her entry into the Maheshwari Mansion had been a somber affair and the dinner that followed quite a tense one. The tension around her sister, Laksh, Bade Papa and Sanskar's Mom was palpable. Sanskar though was cool as cucumber, completely unaffected by the brewing tension around the table. Anyone looking at him could not have made out that the family had been through a plethora of surprises that day. While she knew she should keep some pressure on Ragini by being around, inside her head, she was dying to get away from the table.

And now here she was, in his room or rather their room now. She was filled with another form of tension thinking of being in the same room as Sanskar. It wasn't as though they were best of friends. They barely spoke before and when they did, it wasn't at all pleasant. She glanced at the bed and the sofa in the room, mentally deciding to sleep on the sofa. She was about to make her way there when Sanskar came out of the bathroom. He looked at her once as he made his way to the left side of the bed, near the window.

"You can take the right side; I usually sleep on the left side" He said as he sat down

Swara's eyes widened at this comment "Ummm...I think I will sleep on the sofa"

"Swara" He had taken to calling her name instead of Miss Bose, it would have obviously seemed odd to everyone around if he had continued to call her Miss Bose now "This is not going to go down overnight, despite what you may wish. I have told you before, you will need to have patience and you will need clear mind. Sleeping on the uncomfortable sofa for days to come, isn't the answer" he added will putting in some pillows in the middle creating a wall of separation "Let me make one thing clear, I have no interest in pursuing any form of relationship with you or getting close to you for that matter. Unless you are worried because your intentions are something else. If that is the case, I need to know right now" he stated firmly, looking straight at her.

"No, I have no intention of pursuing anything outside this plan with you"

"Get some rest in that case" he said getting up.

She took a deep breath and sat on the other side of the bed. He passed her a quilt for her to use. She looked at him questioningly since it seemed as though there were already two sheets on the bed, one for him and one apparently for her.

"I like to sleep with the AC turned to fairly low temperature, you might need it" he explained, going back to his side and switching off the lights "Good night"

He had almost been about to fall asleep with he heard her sobs. Unsure of how to react, he had remained quiet for a while. A few minutes later, she had gone to the bathroom, he could imagine why. He understood the need and had drifted off to sleep. When he next woke up again in the middle of the night, it realized it was already 2 AM and Swara wasn't still in the bed. The lights in the bathroom were on. He slowly went there and could hear her sniffing from where he stood. He knocked the door gently. She came out in a few minutes, apologizing for blocking the bathroom, she had clearly washed her face but her eyes were still red. She quickly went back to her side and lay down, looking away from him.

He settled back in the bed "Take this, you might need it" he told her quickly passing on a handkerchief

"Sorry"

"It is good to have a good cry sometimes; let the pain out with the tears" he added quietly, before turning around, facing away from her too "But don't let it happen so often that you are left overwhelmed, because then your tears wont help you, they will only weaken you even before you take your first step towards your goal"

"Don't worry, I wont let them get in the way of my goal" she stated, still facing away from him "It is just that, it isn't easy to reconcile the loss of someone you dreamt a lifetime with and the betrayal of those that you once held close to your heart. I guess you wont understand it"

He was quiet for a long time. Swara assumed he had fallen asleep. But then she heard him say "I was in love once"

"What?" she asked startled, her tears had stopped by then

"I was in love once" he repeated again in a neutral tone "My family didn't approve of her. I lost her"

Of all things she had expected him to say, this wasn't it. She took a while to process what he had said. His tone had been so emotionless that she wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or just bluffing her. She had a lot of question in her mind, but all she could ask was "Does the pain go away with time?"

She had to wait a while before she heard him reply "It becomes dull with time. It becomes a part of you, so much so, that you forget that it something out of the ordinary"

"Sanskar, I.." She started, wanting to tell him she hadn't realized he had probably been through what she was going now

"Go to sleep, Swara. You will need all the energy tomorrow. Today we sprung some surprises on everyone. Tomorrow, it will be their turn to attack."

Sanskar had been right in his prediction. They had just finished the morning aarti, when Ragini in with her innocent expressions had made an announcement that she believed Swara's marriage with Sanskar was a farce, a mere plot to get back at Laksh and her. It had resulted in quick comments from everyone. Swara too had been ready to give it back to Ragini, but Sanskar held her back pressing her hand and shaking his head. She had been surprised by his message but had complied all the same.

Ragini had then claimed she had the proof of this and quickly fetched a camera, claiming she had left it in Sanskar and Swara's room. Swara had been more than shocked at this and glanced at Sanskar again, he hadn't looked fazed at all. Despite the reprimand from Bade Papa, Ragini had convinced them to have a look at her proof.

"Sanskar" Swara had called him, trying to get his attention, but he remained stationed leaning against one of the pillars. Swara was ready to charge towards Ragini, giving her a piece of her mind when Sanskar finally spoke up, his demeanor unchanged.

"Laksh, I didn't realize your wife had voyeur tendencies of this nature" he stated addressing Laksh rather than Ragini. "Don't worry though, I have deleted the recording"

Swara's head snapped back looking at him. Sanskar pushed off the pillar by now, walking comfortably towards Ragini, Laksh and rest of the family who were headed towards the entertainment center.

"I didn't want to corrupt an innocent mind, but in hind sight, I must admit may be Ragini isn't as innocent as all of us had assumed her to be"

Laksh, who till now had been ready to support his wife in her accusations of Sanskar and Swara playing games, was agitated hearing the comments against his wife

"Sanskar! Watch what you are saying. That is my wife you are talking about"

"If you don't want anyone to say anything about your wife, ask her to mind her own business" He turned to look Ragini in the eye and warned "MY private moments" he said adding emphasis on each part "with MY wife, in OUR bedroom, on OUR wedding night, are NOT for public display. Make sure you remember that."

Sanskar took Swara's hand and pulled her next to him, before adding "Do not dare to infringe on our private moments again" Sanskar's look had been fierce enough that Ragini had taken a few steps back and had an apprehensive look on her face.

Sanskar's mom may not have been happy about seeing her son marry a Bengali girl, but she too was unhappy with this stunt and stood besides her son, giving a disgusted look to Ragini "Jiji, looks like you have been cheated. This girl isn't the docile innocent traditional Marwari bahu that you had thought she was"

Bade Papa had stepped in at this time, wishing to put an end to this entire drama "Enough! I don't want to hear another word" he had said, looking at every single person, stopping at Sanskar's face a bit longer before finally resting on Ragini "Ragini, what has happened is unacceptable. This is not how things work in this house. Ensure that this does not happen again"

Duly warned Ragini had rushed off to her bedroom in tears, followed by Laksh. The others had left too leaving just Swara and Sanskar in the hall. In mere minutes, Sanskar had turned around what was supposed to be an attack on them, into questions around Ragini's innocent nature, at least with some in the family.

"Sanskar" Swara had called softly

"Not here, lets go back to the room" he warned

"What just happened there? How did you know about this?" Swara asked as soon as they got inside their room

"This was Ragini's first attack. I found the camera today morning, while you were away bathing. I did suspect Ragini to be behind it, but I couldn't do anything until I was sure"

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked surprised by this

"I wasn't sure you would be able to control your reactions knowing this" Sanskar added with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Next time, tell me!" Swara commented annoyed

"Next time, I would like you to be the one finding such things!" looking at her firmly, Sanskar added "You have to be extra vigilant going forward. You need to have your eyes and ears open all the time, if you want to stay ahead of Ragini and achieve your goal"

Swara nodded, giving a small smile "She was really worried today, wasn't she?"

"Don't be happy yet. You entered this game of chess yesterday. Today we have moved your first rook. Now it is her turn. Remember, in the game of chess, you will not win in each move, you have to be prepared to take losses as well" Sanskar added seriously.