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Moving on...💃💃💃

"Words in double quotes" - Talking

'Words in single quotes' - Thoughts

Chapter 12 - These Grim Circumstances

"She'll end up telling Laksh. I'm sure of it!"

"No she won't beta. She knows you will reveal the truth about her and Lucky to everyone if Ragini speaks about you." Sujata tried to reason with Sanskar.

"Ugh! That pesky little 50 pound girl! She's ruining my plans!"

"You know Sanskar I...I haven't seen you show such strong emotions towards anyone for quite a long time."

Sanskar turned to look at his mother in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"There's a fire in you. A passionate desire to destroy."

"Of course there is! I have to take Kavita's revenge!"

Sujata shook her head. "No. Even if revenge was your motive, you seemed dead from within. Like...like revenge was just an excuse for you to justify why you were living." Sujata looked at him with sincerity. "Now though, the way you talk about Ragini...the way you say her name, the way you speak about her...it's like you're obsessed with her."

Sanskar looked at his mother in disbelief. "Are you mocking me? This has got to be a joke. I hate her!"

"You may hate her. But love and hate have the same passion, the same madness, the same obsession. Be careful Sanskar. The more you try to harm her, the more control you seem to want over her. The line between hate and love is quite thin Sanskar. Mind it."

"Maa, wh-"

"Sanskar! Sujata Masi!" they heard Swara's voice.

Both mother and son got into their roles as she approached.

'Ugh! Here comes this other menace.' Sanskar thought in irritation. His annoyance soon turned into anger when his gaze met Ragini's, who was standing behind Swara. His mother's words came ringing back to his mind. 'I'm not obsessed with her. She doesn't matter to me at all!'

Yet, he couldn't explain why he didn't feel right as she looked at him with hate in her eyes. He wanted her to look at him the way she did when she was his 'dost'.

"Sanky! Ragini is here to play with you!" Swara exclaimed, treating Sanskar like a child.

"Yeah! Dost, come inside!" Sanskar knew how to fulfill his role, which only served to irritate Ragini further.

All Ragini wanted to do was run as far as she could from there. However, Swara pulled Ragini inside with her. "Sujata Chachi, let's go find Lucky. These two can spend some time together." without waiting to hear what the others might want, Swara pulled away Sujata along with her and out the corridor.

Sanskar looked at her with a grin. 'What's he up-to?'

"Welcome dost!"

Ragini gritted her teeth as hard as she could. Since she couldn't reveal Sanskar's truth to the others, she felt helpless and weak. 'I let myself fall weak before Laksh. I let his betrayal break me. But I won't fall apart again! I won't let myself fall weak! Sanskar doesn't scare me!'

"Don't have anything to say? I thought you would be itching to get some words out of your mind. Don't you want to curse me to oblivion?" Sanskar teased with a dangerous smirk.

Ragini kept quiet and turned around to leave.

"Awww...leaving so early dost? Don't you want to stay with your friend? I'm getting lonely." Sanskar mocked.

Ragini knew he was just trying to get a rise out of her. She took deep breaths and walked towards the door.

However, before she could get out, a hand slammed it shut in front of her face.

"Move. Away."

Sanskar chuckled and came to stand in front of her fully, blocking the way to the door. "No."

"Move!"

"You do realize this is my room, don't you?"

"And you do realize it is my will to leave, don't you?" Ragini bit back.

"My room. My rules." Sanskar walked forward, making her step back. "Scared kitty?"

"Get out of my way Sanskar. I'm warning you!"

"Hahaha...I'm so terrified. Please don't kill me with your tears. Or maybe you plan to scar me with your tiny nails?"

"Sans-oph!" Ragini exclaimed in reflex as her knees hit the bed behind her. She had no where left to go.

Sanskar was having fun teasing her. He had the upper hand. He held power over her and he liked it. "I'll let you go if you say 'please'."

"Let me go or else!"

Sanskar chuckled without backing down.

'All for one. One for all.' with a battle cry in her mind, she brought her head back and then swung it forward with as much force as she could.

Sanskar stumbled back and fell on his behind from the force of the head butt. "Damn! Are you freaking crazy!?" he groaned clutching his head.

Ragini herself saw stars in daylight from her move. She blinked to clear her vision and glared at him. "Serves you right!" she kicked him on the arm for good measure and ran towards the door.

Sanskar sat up slowly as she escaped the room. He glared at the door.

Slowly, the corner of his lips twisted up. "That...that girl..." he shook his head and let out a hearty laugh at what just happened.

Even though she was his enemy, he couldn't help but admire her courage rising out of her fear. "She's unbelievable! That's all I can say."

#Laksh's room#

Laksh peeked over with anticipation at his elder brother. He had just told Adarsh everything from the start. However, Adarsh hadn't uttered a word till now.

Laksh was unsure how he should take the silence. Was it a silent avoidance? Was it Adarsh's way of acceptance? Did he do right thing by telling him or did he make matters worse? All these questions were making his head spin.

"Bhai say something already! If you think I did wrong, then I accept it. I know I was wrong. I'm sorr-"

"Shh! Don't disturb."

Laksh blinked in confusion. "Eh?"

Adarsh sighed. "I'm not mad at you Lucky. And yes, you did wrong. You and Ragini both were wrong to hide such a big thing from us."

"Don't blame her!"

"Shut it! Everyone has their own burden of wrongs to bear. You can't take responsibility for her actions. Both of you are equally guilty."

Laksh flinched as his brother reprimanded him like a child. "I...I'm sorry."

"But that's that. What's done cannot be changed. All you can do now is look forward practically." Adarsh concluded.

"That's what I don't know what do! My head feels like it will burst from all these thoughts! I can't think of a way out. It's like all the solutions are part of the same labyrinth from which I'm not being able to get out!"

"Do you know who's the monster in this labyrinth that's preventing you from getting out?"

"Who?"

"You, yourself."

Laksh looked at him in surprise and worry. "Wh-what?"

"It's you Lucky. You already know the best solution out of this mess. But you're too afraid to take the step."

Lucky knew what Adarsh was hinting at. "No. Absolutely no! I can't!"

Adarsh glared at him. "See what I mean? You're the monster who's stopping yourself. Because you're too afraid of what awaits in the othrside. You know the way out and yet...yet you refuse to take the plunge!?"

"I'm not taking that road Adarsh. How could you even suggest that...that I go and tell Baba the truth!"

"It's for the best."

"Are you crazy?! He will throw me out! Not to mention he might insult Ragini too! Once that happens, Ragini's Dadi will never let her come to the Maheshwari household again. Sanskar bhai would be inconsolable then! Everything will fall apart bhai!"

"And I'm willing to take the risk." Adarsh stated with a grim face. "Look Lucky. I've seen the world more than you. I can understand your train of thoughts and I too think it might turn out so. But one thing I've learnt in my life is that no matter what, when you look back...the truth is the best course of action when it comes to family."

"But bha-"

"Listen Lucky. You're right. For Baba, honour, respect, reputation...all these matter a lot. But he's your father. Our father."

"But...but Adarsh I..." Laksh looked down at his shaking hands. "What if he doesn't understand? What if he never wants to see me again? Baba believes so much in me. What if this breaks all his trust in me?"

Adarsh laid a hand on his shoulder. "That's what family is all about. Family doesn't only mean happiness and safety. It means having arguments, fights, throwing harsh words at each other, trust-mistrust, betrayals even. There are highs, there are lows...just like in a song. But just as in a song the high and low notes combine to form a beautiful melody, family is the same. And at the end of the day, you're his son and he your father. He will understand."

Laksh looked up with a hopeful face. "You really think so?"

"I know so." Adarsh assured with a smile. "Besides, you still have to win Ragini back, don't you? Let's solve this first."

Laksh sucked in a deep breath and let it go out slowly. He smiled a shaky smile and nodded. "Then let's go tell him."

"That's more like it! Oh wait, one more thing." without giving Laksh a chance to ready his reflexes, Adarsh punched him square in the nose. "That's for your lies. Now, I won't hold it against it you anymore."

"Ow!" Laksh held his throbbing nose in pain. "Well, I guess I deserved that."

"What was that? All I heard was some new's humming."

"It's your fault for breaking my nose!"

"Honk-peee-hong-ping?"

"Shyat up!"

#With Ragini#

"That good-for-nothing Sanskar! Ugh! That...that Donkey-kong!"

"Donkey-kong?" came a voice from the side. "Something wrong Ragini?"

"Bade Papa. Good morning."

"Good morning beta. I saw Swara outside with Sujata as well. What brings you and Swara here so early?"

"Actually Swa-" Ragini cut her sentence mid-way. 'I can't possibly tell him Swara wanted to see Laksh.'

"Yes, continue."

"Um...Swara...Swara wanted to meet Sujata Chachi for...for some...for some recipes! Yeah, that's it. S-she wanted to learn some new recipes from Sujata Chachi. I accompanied her here,"

"Ah. I see." Durgaprasad nodded. "Are you free right now Ragini?"

"Yes Bade Papa."

"Come with me please." he led the way to his and Annapurna's room and opened the drawer. He took out a stack keys and showed them to her. "See these? These are the keys of this mansion. The Maheshwari Mansion."

"But...but Baba, why are you showing me these? I...I don't understand."

"You're going to be the younger daughter-in-law of this house once you marry Laksh. Hence, I wanted to show you these. You see Ragini, our family shares a unique tradition." he sat down on the bed while Ragini sat on the floor beside him. "Ragini, don't sit on the floor."

"Its okay Bade Papa. I don't mind. Please continue."

Durgaprased nodded. "The Maheshwari family always sees women as the main force that binds the family together. While the men are to work to maintain the family's reputation, it's prestige and manage it's business, the women are to take care of the family's needs and make sure there's peace. Do not think that we do it to supress them. But we do it because we believe only women have the power to build a strong family. They are the ones who can keep it binded, can nurture it into a place which we can term home. Otherwise it is just a house."

Ragini nodded, listening to him sincerely. However, at the back of her mind, she felt she was betraying him. After all, Laksh claimed to love Swara, didn't he? And Swara was showing signs of liking him back. No way would she ruin her sister's happiness. Which meant that...'It would be Swara who shall marry Laksh.'

"The women are allowed to have jobs if they want. But they aren't excused from their home duties. And the men are to make sure they fulfill the needs of their wives and children with hard work and toil. That's how the Maheshwari family works." he raised the keys to his eyelevel. "These keys you see? The same set of keys are with Annapurna, Sujata and Parineeta. And once you marry our Laksh" Durgaprasad looked at her sincerely. "You shall own these as well."

"I...I see Bade Papa." Ragini nodded guiltily, looking down, unable to meet his eyes. 'How do I tell you about Laksh? How do I tell you when I myself am confused about him? Do I still love him? Do I hate him? I just don't know!'

As he reached towards the drawer to keep the keys, Ragini noticed another set lying there. "Um...who are those for?" Ragini couldn't help but ask.

"Those?" Durgaprasad smiled and picked them up gently. "These are for Sanskar's wife, whoever she would be."

Ragini looked at his face and noticed how his smile seemed to be genuine, without any trace of mockery. "You love Sanskar equally as your own sons, don't you?"

Durgaprasad nodded. "I do. In fact, before Sanskar went away from us, he was my pride. I would tell Laksh and Adarsh to be like him. He was so dutiful, intelligent, but also humble and kind."

'Then why did you kill Kavita? Couldn't you let him get the love of his life? If you had done so, he would be the same person back then.Sanskar wouldn't be the villian in this story!' She wanted to shout out, but kept quiet. "Do you miss that Sanskar?"

"I do. But at least we have him back, however it may be. It was harder when he was lost to us."

'Then why did you let him go in the first place!' Ragini gripped her dupatta with her fist to control her thoughts lest she say them out loud. "I wonder why we do somethings we do, even though we know it might hurt us in the long run."

Durhaprasad nodded with a tired sigh. "I ask myself that question all the time. Again and again I question my past actions, although I know it would bring nothing but regrets."

Ragini dared to ask what had been bothering her. "Are you...are you talking about Sanskar?"

"Yes indeed." he rubbed a hand over his face and put down his glasses.

As Ragini looked at his face, she noticed how tired he looked. He suddenly looked a whole lot older and his age showed. He didn't look like the patriachial ruler of the house, but rather like a old parent unable to reconcile with their children.

She placed a hand on his arm, making him look up at her. "Bade Papa, I know it's only been some months since you came to know me. I also know that I can never be able to understand what you or Sanskar had gone through. But I see you as a father figure. And...and I want to help. It's okay if you don't want to share. But if you want, you can share your thoughts with me if you see me like a daughter. I promise I'll listen and try to help."

Durhaprasad kept looking at her for some minutes. When she thought that maybe he didn't trust her enough, he placed his hand on her head. "Alright child. I'll tell you why Sanskar went away from us."

Ragini nodded and began to listen carefully. 'The world isn't always about good and evil. There's no white and black, I know that now. Even light needs darkness to show it's glow. And shadows needs light to survive. Sanskar told me why he wants to seek revenge. But he refuses to see what might have made Bade Papa do what he did. There's two side of every coin. Maybe after hearing it, everything will be more clear. Maybe I'll find something which will help figure out Laksh's new feelings for me.'

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~ 🌹 Mona 🌹