Hey!

Hope you all are safe and healthy in these dire times. Yeah, the times are tough. Yeah, the times are depressing...

But hope is the light at the end of the tunnel and this will end too...

Stay safe, healthy and happy!

Moving on...💃💃💃

"Words in double quotes" - talking

'Words in single quotes' - thoughts

Loving you was a Losing Game
Part 1

His eyes scanned the room filled with people. Not just any people. They were the rich entrepreneurs of the country, famous celebrities, models, artists, painters.

Laksh snorted into the glass of cocktail he was drinking. 'I won't be surprised if she would even invite Queen Victoria I if she was still alive! Swara is such a show off!'

"That she is!" came a voice from behind him, making him look up in surprise.

"I was talking out loud again, weren't I?"

"Ahahaha! Yep boss. Even after 10 years, you still haven't lost that habit. It was fun though in high school when you accidentally blurted out things in front of the teachers. Especially the Gym teacher. You called him a bully in his face! That was epic! It made our day!"

"At MY expense! While you laughed, I was made to run 2 laps mind you! And I didn't even get lunch!" Laksh spoke with a glare, shivering at the memory.

His friend, Amar, snickered, which soon turned into a full blown laughter. "Well, sorry, not sorry." he clapped Laksh on the shoulder and gave a salute. "Well, better go to my lady. Or else she will be pissed at home. See you!" with a parting grin, he walked off leaving Laksh to stare at his back.

Laksh envied him in a way. It wasn't because he was more rich. Oh no. Laksh was twice as successful in their line of work. They were both the chart toppers when it came to music. They were the best vocalists in the country!

But what he envied was Amar's ability to be carefree, to carelessly chat away about the past. And most importantly...be happy reminiscening it.

Something which he never could and probably won't ever be able to.

Laksh shook his head and headed towards the classy shelves lined at the end of the hall. Placing the glass on the side table, he pulled out a book on a hunch and flipped it open.

"Let's see what is written...hmm...'It was the best of times, it was the worst of the times'...the heck man!" at once he closed it in anger. "Great! Even the Universe wants to play a joke on me now!" Looking at the cover which read "A Tale of Two Cities" he couldn't help but feel it mocking him. 'Place "lovers" in place of "cities" and wala! It becomes a story about me and her...'

Shaking his head, Laksh placed the book back in it's place and moved back. "I need a more powerful drink."

"Is that so? Have you finally destroyed your liver enough that even the best of wine doesn't make you feel even a little hazy?"

'And here comes another pest to worsen my mood.' Laksh felt his eye twitch. Nevertheless, he turned around with a chuckle. "Sanskar, the only reason I'm not punching you in the face is because Swara is a very good friend of mine. Other than that, there's nothing holding me back from hitting you."

"My, my, please don't. My face is worth more than my money to me. Not even all your money could afford it!" Sanskar teased with a smirk.

"Pompous snob." 😑

"Come with me Lucky. I'll help you destroy your liver by providing you another drink. The best there is!"

Laksh rolled his eyes at his snobbery, but nevertheless followed. He watched as Sanskar spoke out a name to the maid who nodded and passed the said drink to Sanskar.

"Try it. You won't regret."

Laksh took it with suspicion. "It's surprising that you're here chatting with me when we basically hate each other."

"Well, I'm helping you destroy yourself, aren't I? Its passive aggressive technique óf mine you see. Moreover, Swara would give me another rant on how I should be more civil to her friends if I'm rude to you." He snickered. "No matter how ugly you are."

Laksh barked out a laugh and sat down beside him. "The models here would probably say otherwise. Is it your envy speaking or your jealousy?"

Sanskar sighed. "Common lets be civil for once okay. I'm trying from my side here. Despite the fact that Swara was smitten with you for years, used me as a means to get to you and at last, even after she got over you, it took me two more years to make her completely fall in love with me. Now, would you stop being a royal ass and call it a truce?!"

"Wow! You sure learnt a lot of vocabulary. Weren't you weak in the language paper?"

"Laksh Maheshwari!" Sanskar breathed in a deep breath to calm himself. "Look! I'm not speaking to you only as your friend's fiance, but also as your cousin. Your mother is worried about you, which makes my mother worry about her sister, that is, your mother! Hence, to rid my mother of worry, I want to help you."

Laksh let out a dry chuckle. "It's always like this with everyone, isn't it? Everyone worries for me, but it's just so that their precious ones aren't burdened with my problems. It's always about someone else in the end. No one truly worries for me...just because its for me."

"Well, maybe...MAYBE that's because you let the one that would care solely for you go. Because you abandoned her!"

Laksh banged the glass on the counter with a thud. His face was red with supressed rage. "Watch your words. Don't speak about things you do not know."

"Then tell me why. Tell me why you ruined it for Ra-"

"Don't! Don't. Take. Her. Name!"

"Whose name? Ragini's?"

"Sanskar, stay in limits!"

"Okay I won't take her name. The one that loved you. The one that cared for you. The one that would do anything to see you happy. The one that even argued with her parents to defend you. The one that protected you, took your side when no one believed you...shall I go on?"

Laksh breathed in a harsh breath and grit his teeth. Shaking his head, he faked a grin. "Thank you for inviting me, but I think I'll take my leave now." Laksh tried to walk away, only to be held back by the wrist.

"Oh no. You can't leave until you meet the special guest."

This turned Laksh's anger into confusion. "Special guest? There was no mention of any 'special guest' in the invitation. It only said it was a celebratory event where Swara wanted the presence of all the elites. That's the only reason I attended or the tabloids would make a scene." Laksh narrowed his eyes at Sanskar's smirking face. "You and Swara planned this, didn't you?!"

Sanskar nodded innocently. "Yep! You don't show up at reunions, at gatherings, at festivals or anything else. So we made it a gathering that you can't avoid because of your image as a music artist."

"Why you...what did you do!?"

Sanskar straightened his suit and put his hands in his pocket, smiling like he knew something that Laksh couldn't possibly imagine. "Now, that would ruin my fun, wouldn't it?"

"Sa-"

A clink of glasses interrupted whatever Laksh was going to speak. They looked towards the stairs where the maids stood with empty glasses, thus the clinks. They slowly moved to the side to give way to Swara.

Swara smiled at everyone and made a bow. "Welcome everyone! I hope my preparations meet your taste. I've given my best in making it royal and classy by selecting the best of..."

As Swara went on boasting about the grand planning and the costly decorations, Laksh tuned her out and turned to continue his conversation with Sanskar.

Or where he had been a minute ago. Now, there was only thin air. Sanskar was on the other side of the room by then.

"Now, as to why I have invited you..." these words from Swara pulled Laksh's attention once more. "This was the surprise. You see, there is a friend of mine who recently turned twenty eight and I've realized that its been five years since we turned friends."

Laksh could feel a cold sensation crawling up his spine.

Swara giggled. "You all must be wondering why this is such a cause of celebration, right? You see, she and I used to be the biggest enemies in college. But now, we're like sisters!"

'I...I need to leave. I need to leave now!' Laksh thought in his mind in desperation.

"She and I have shared the deepest of secrets and she has helped me in ways even my own family couldn't. She has pulled me out of my deepest moments. And...and I've realized that I never did much for her. Hence, I wanted to celebrate the completion of our five years of friendship in a grand way! It is a thank you for all these years that she helped me piece myself together."

'Need to leave. NOW!' Yet, as Laksh' mind commanded him to leave, his feet refused to move. Perhaps the need to confirm that it was her, to see her with his own eyes after all these years, the want to get just a little glimpse of her was so great that he couldn't make himself move away. His mind knew he should leave as watching her would only make him more miserable. Yet, his heart won which wanted him to see her, to see her smile...even if it was for someone else.

"And ladies and gentleman, here she is...my lifeline, my sister from another mother, the one whom I care more about than my own fiance (ignoring Sanskar's indignant 'hey' in between) Ragini Gadodia!"

Laksh's breath hitched as he watched Swara move out of the way and reveal Ragini.

Ragini Gadodia. The love of his life. The one that held his heart. His light, his everything.

His happiness.

But also the cause of his tragedy.

Ragini smiled at the audience and nodded. "He...Hello everyone. Its really overwhelming standing here in front of you all big names. I...I don't know how to react..." she spoke shly, a tiny blush covering her cheeks.

"Just smile! That will make my day! You're so beautiful my lady!" came a voice from the crowd, making everyone laugh. Even Ragini giggled at the compliment, letting out a soft 'thank you'.

'Those same charms. If I stay any longer, I'll fall all over her again. But I can never forget her betrayal. Watching her smile is like drinking poison knowing it will harm me. I must leave fo my own good!' Laksh, with all his strength, made himself turn around.

However, he was only able to take a few steps when he heard his name being uttered.

"And to entertain this wonderful moment, I would like to request my cousin Laksh to sing us a song with his amazing vocals!"

'That brat! Sanskar damn it!' Laksh turned around to give him a piece of his mind. However, his words disappeared when his eyes met with the shocked ones of Ragini.

Both stood still, lost in each others eyes. They were motionless, but the storm in their eyes was devastating. Their eyes, like mirrors, seemed to reflect the unexpressed emotions in them towards each other. The past tales of love, the present uncertainty, the existing hate, the sorrow, the pain, but most of all...their loneliness.

An eternity seemed to pass between them, although it was only a few seconds. Laksh broke the eye contact first, coughing into his hands.

"I'm afraid I didn't prepare for this event as much you would expect considering you didn't give me the details." Laksh spoke looking directly at Sanskar with suppressed fury.

However, Sanskar was unfazed. "You're the best of the best vocalists! You do not need practice for something like this. You're born with talent!"

'He's enjoying making me miserable! Is this his revenge on me!?' Laksh fake smiled with difficulty. "Bu-"

"Oh no, no, no! Don't be shy because of our guest's beauty. You shouldn't feel insecure." Sanskar teased, making the people chuckle. They were unaware of the pain that was tearing at Laksh's heart.

He turned to look at Ragini, but his look only held hate. "Yeah, you're right. Her beauty is enchanting, isn't it? Much like the sirens in the ocean that lure sailors in and later hunt them." he commented. The guests were confused but the implications of it was something Swara, Sanskar and Ragini understood well.

Ragini clutched her dress with her fists and her smiling face turned hard. However, she soon faked a smile and looked at him in the eyes with confidence. "Well of course that might be. But I guess my beauty won't fool you as you seem like someone who would only want a beauty that gives you all her undivided attention like... like a hypnotized maiden, am I right?"

Laksh could feel his anger rising at her comment. However, the pain that her harsh words accompanied was much worse. "Well, perhaps I only hypnotize those who are deserving of my love. I wonder if you would have those or your beauty is the only humble thing you have."

"Ahahahaha...oh you two!" Swara interrupted with a nervous laugh, panicking because of the confused looks people were giving. The news reporters were ready to note down some probable controversy material. "Don't worry everyone. They used to be college friends and hence, this banter is just friendly teasing." this seemed to calm the audience witnessing the exchange between Ragini and Laksh.

Swara walked upto Laksh with a guitar. "Here you go Lucky!" moving closer, she whispered. "Please Laksh, this day means a lot to me. Please just one song. For me, your best friend?"

Laksh looked at her with pained eyes. "You knew about our past. Why would you ask me of this Swara? How could you?"

"I'm sorry you have to go through this, but I'm not sorry for inviting you here." Swara spoke with a genuine smile. "You both need to face your past."

"And solve your unrequited past love which we both have no idea of where it went wrong." Sanskar spoke coming near and holding Swara's hand. Outloud, addressing everyone he spoke. "Now, sing us a song to dance and for everyone's entertainment. Shoo now!"

Without giving him a chance to counter his words, he led Swara away and the lights went off. There was only one spot that the lights turned on. And it was on him.

Having no choice, Laksh sighed in misery and sat down with the guitar in hand. Closing his eyes, he decided to forget about everything and concentrate on music. It was the one thing that always brought him peace when everyone else left. He tried to think of some romantic songs to sing. However, even his music didn't offer the escape he was looking for. Ragini's face kept flashing in his mind.

"🎶 Easy come, easy go, that's just how you live, oh
Take, take, take it all, but you never give
Should have known you was trouble from the first kiss
Had your eyes wide open
Why were they open?"

He opened his eyes to look directly towards where he knew Ragini was in the darkness of the hall. Even in the darkness, he managed to look directly into her eyes, pleading her with his eyes to answer him...to tell him why she betrayed him, his love.

"🎶Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash
You tossed it in the trash, you did
To give me all your love is all I ever ask
'Cause what you don't understand I..."

He could feel her breath hitch, as if it was paining her to listen to the lyrics. Like she was equally unhappy and suffering because of the rift between them. This made Laksh angry. 'It was you who made me suffer. It was you who smiled at my pain. It was you who betrayed me! How dare you be sad? You have no right to play the victim card!' Laksh struck the strings of his guitar louder in anger.

"🎶 I'd catch a grenade for ya
Throw my hand on a blade for ya
I'd jump in front of a train for ya
You know I'd do anything for ya
Oh, oh, I would go through all this pain
Take a bullet straight through my brain..."

He glared at her. The darkness of the room reflected the gloom in his voice. Her eyes seemed to hold tears, But he didn't care. The sympathy that her eyes held couldn't match the years of pain and loneliness he suffered while she probably enjoyed in peace with her husband. Was the sympathy even real?

"🎶Yes, I would die for ya, baby...
But you won't do the same...
No, no, no, no...
You won't do the same..."

Laksh stopped his song and took in a sharp breath, making all the people dancing pause and look at him. The lights turned on as well.

"I'm sorry man. It's just that I'm not feeling good these days. Just recovered from fever a day ago, so a little short of breath."

"We understand bro." spoke Amar from the crowd. "Why don't we all help ourselves with some of the delicious meals and desserts, ladies and gents? Shall we?"

Laksh smiled a small smile. "That would be good. Tell you what, I'll sing another song for you all. Let me freshen up a bit. After all..." he looked pointedly at Ragini. "My music is my love. And I won't let anything distract me or take me away from it!" He turned to the audience and gave a bow.

"That would be wonderful!" Swara exclaimed.

However, Laksh's eyes were focused on Ragini who still kept to the shadows. He watched as she drew in a breath and swallowed a lump in her throat.

Faking a smile at him she stood up. "Your performance was on point as usual. You're amazing Laksh. You always have been." she clapped for him. It was soon followed by cheers and applaud from everyone else there.

But Laksh was more confused as ever. He thought by venting out his anger through his lyrics he would make her angry and speak out against him. He expected her to taunt him or mock him for his unprofessionalism. However, the praise that she gave him seemed genuine. And her tears felt real. But her eyes seemed hollow. What was going on? Why would she be sad when she had all she wanted? A rich husband that she loved, money and even the talent to paint. It was he who should be sad and miserable.

Before he could analyze more of her emotions, Ragini turned around and left the hall leaving him to seek the pieces of the puzzle that he didn't know where to find.

To be continued...

Hope you like the chapter.

🌹 ~ Mona🌹