Author's pov 

"Aratrika is missing." 

Saptarshi sat up straight on the bed. 

"If you are trying to joke around me, I swear Akash that I will kill you." He warned Akash.

"Do you really think I will joke on such a sensitive topic? She is seriously missing. Kanika called me just now and told me." Akash said to him ,making Saptarshi freeze in his place.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down as he needed to control himself for Aratrika's sake.

"Can you take Kanika to the conference...I need to ask her some questions. " Saptarshi told Akash. 

Akash sighed in relief to hear him calm and composed as he knew that this news was going to freak him out. But luckily he controlled himself which was more than enough. 

Soon Kanika joined them in a conference call.

"Kanika, it's me ,Saptarshi..tell me everything in detail. " Saptarshi said to her hurriedly as soon as he heard her voice.

"Yes yes, actually we all slept today at around 12 am tonight. After everyone slept I went to her room after an hour..with food." Kanika said. Panic was evident in her voice.

"Wait wait..why food? I mean why so late?" Saptarshi couldn't control himself from asking her.

"Um..actually there's something big which happened today..that's why she didn't eat her dinner. That's why I thought to give her food. " Kanika at first hesitated but then replied as she knew it's not the time to hide something. 

"Then?" Saptarshi asked her.

"As soon as I entered her room, it was empty. I searched her bathroom...later I searched the whole house but she wasn't there. " Kanika said.

"You came to know about her around 1 am and it's 2am now. You should have informed us within half an hour...now every minute is important." Saptarshi burst out on Kanika. It was hard for him to check his temper. He was already being hypertensed thinking about Aratrika. 

'I didn't know who to say...whom to ask for help. Her room was as it was. Only her purse was missing. She didn't take anything except that.
 I was confused. There wasn't anyone who could help Me. Dada isn't here so I was more helpless. And others...well..they won't help me to find her either. So I called Akash." Kanika said. It was the first time she was hearing an angry Saptarshi so she got startled .

"Rishi, calm down.. you need to cool yourself before starting anything. " Akash took the matter in his hands as he understood how tense Saptarshi was right now.

Saptarshi cut the call without saying anything and immediately gave Aratrika's number to his men to track it. He already knew that it was only Suporno who gave her the mobile, hiding it from everyone . Aratrika told her once while chatting. When Kanika didn't mention about the phone which would have definitely been a surprise to her if she saw it in Aratrika's room.....he understood that Aratrika took her mobile.

" I hope you didn't switch your phone off...otherwise I don't know  what I will do. But I have to find you..at any cost and conditions. " He said to himself .

Without wasting a second he left his house in search of her.
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Saptarshi was driving his car towards New Alipore so that he could look around the place before getting any news about her whereabouts when suddenly his phone rang. 

"Yes ," he answered it through his Bluetooth. 

"Sir, we find the location. It's near Babughat bus stand." Thanking his informer, he started to drive towards Babughat. It took him only 10 minutes to reach there as he drove as fastest as he could.. And by 3 am he reached his destination. 

After reaching there he started to look around the place but unfortunately he found the whole bus stop empty. He was about to call his informer to confirm the location when a figure near the ghat of River Ganges caught his attention. It looked quite familiar to him. 

He walked towards it. As he started to get closer to the figure, his doubt got cleared. But in the position he saw the person , he started to sweat out of fear.

"Is it actually that which I am thinking?? No...no...no.. " Murmuring to himself he ran towards the person.

As the person was about to jump on the river, he immediately pulled her back and they fell down on the ground due to the impact of it.

He immediately stood up and pulled her up along with him.

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD? WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU TRYING TO DO, ARATRIKA? " He shouted at her ,shaking her by her shoulders to bring back some senses in her mind.

When he saw Aratrika trying to jump on the river, he felt as if he was going to get a heart attack. The last thread of his patience broke with this act of hers. 
Never in his dream imagined that Aratrika would take such a step. His heartbeat stopped for a second thinking what if he was just a minute late !!! The thought itself made him shudder and a shiver of fear ran through his spine. 

Unable to control himself he hugged Aratrika to his chest. He was hugging her as if he was afraid that if he let go of her for a second, she might disappear. 

Aratrika was in a trance. When she felt someone pulling her and she fell on someone ,she realised her surroundings.

As soon as Saptarshi's words reached her ears, she realised what she was about to do and what would have happened.

When Saptarshi pulled her in his chest, the last thread of her self resistance broke. The amount of pain ,grief and agony which was crushing her soul started to pour in the form of tears from her eyes.
She was sobbing in his arms helplessly with both of her hands by her sides.

Saptarshi's heart pained seeing her sobbing like that. He kept her to his chest and started to pat her head in order to console her.

After some time, her sobs died down a bit and she regained her senses . Immediately she entangled herself from him.

"I...umm…." She was about to say something when Saptarshi stopped her.

"Sshh...come with me." He said and took her along by holding her by her shoulders towards a bench which was kept on the bank of the river.

He made her sit down and said, "I am coming, Don't leave from here." 

Aratrika nodded her head. Saptarshi ran towards his car to bring the bottle of water. 

Soon he came back and made her drink some water. He sat beside her.

After remaining silent for a minute, he asked her ,"What happened? " 

Aratrika remained silent.

Holding her hand, Saptarshi asked ,"Aratrika, what happened? Why were you going to take such a drastic step? Please tell me… if you don't share your pain with someone, you won't be able to free yourself from it. You need to let it out...just for your sake." 

Hearing his soft and comforting voice, a few tears slipped from her eyes. Something inside her guided her to open up her deep wounds to Saptarshi. 

" Three days back, because of me there was a verbal fight in my family. Dada always wanted me to join for my Masters course. Some Days back when he asked me about it, I just casually told him that I wanted to study again. Later I came to know that he was planning to admit me for my Masters course. 

Somehow this was heard by my Jethu and Dada ,Jethu, Maa had a big fight regarding it. They said..they said that I...I was instigating...my brother against his...his family….

Isn't...isn't it my family as well?" She said, breaking down into tears.

Hearing her family's indirect indication of outcasting Aratrika, Saptarshi was surprised. He couldn't understand why they were being so insensitive towards her? 

After controlling herself Aratrika continued, "That night I couldn't sleep.. I was so hurt ...It was the first time they said something like that on my face. 
Next day my Pisi came to our house. She was informed about the argument regarding my further studies .
She said...she said that I was nothing but a burden on them. I...I should be grateful to them that they were feeding and wasting money on a...an ungrateful girl like me. 
Pisi always said things like this to me before as well but those didn't affect me much . But that day it affected me...you know why…
My family...my parents  didn't protest to her. I...I thought they..they would object to her but ..but they didn't. 

Though their silence hurt me to the core, I tried not to mind as I thought it was their anger due to which they were silent.

Then they told me to tell Dada that I didn't want to study and if I didn't do as they said, they wouldn't give Dada the money or help him in his business, which was a dream for him. He wanted to start the business next year.

 In fact they won't allow him to marry the girl whom he loves. 

Actually she is an orphan and working as a teacher in a primary school. I have met her once, she is a sweet girl. Jethu doesn't want her as Dada's bride as she is an orphan and poor.

 So if I don't do as they say, they will be an obstacle in the path of Dada's most important phases of his life.

I always want his happiness. He is God to me ...he never left my side in any situation. 
And for his happiness I agreed to them. In no way I was going to snatch his happiness away. 

For me his happiness is the most important thing. I will do anything for that.

So the next day when Dada came ,I thought about telling him my decision that I didn't want to study. But before I could say something to him, he kept the form in my hand...the form of my admission. 

I was happy seeing his concern but I denied him saying that I didn't want to study.

He asked me if I was forced to do so. I remained silent. I didn't want him to fight with our family . I told him that it was my decision. 

After that Dada got very angry . I didn't mind when he told me that I was a coward...I also didn't mind when he said that I was being foolish to get instigated by others.
But What broke my heart was that when he said he didn't want a sister like me who was a coward…. Who got easily influenced by others.

He didn't want….he didn't want to see my face." Aratrika said. Tears didn't stop flowing from her eyes.

It is a shock for Aratrika. Hearing these kinds of words from a person who has always been there for her has shook her to the core . 

She was already being manipulated, mentally tortured by her family. And being a sensitive girl these words of Suporno broke her fragile heart more. 

Saptarshi was unable to form a sentence. It was new to him. He didn't expect this.

"Next day  I tried to talk with him later… I wanted to apologize to him and make everything better between us but he didn't talk to me.  The very next day he left for Chennai due to his meeting. I tried to call him but he never received my calls. " Aratrika said. Pain was evident in her tone.

" I thought I would talk to him when he comes back. But everything changed yesterday. " Aratrika said meekly. 

"What happened?" Saptarshi asked her softly.

Aratrika wiped her tears.

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Next update on Saturday.

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