Metamorphic Switch

43. Action-drama-thriller

I narrated Badal's story to Praneet. His face was red in anger. He smashed the glass top of the table. He went and held his grandfather's collar and questioned him, "If you are behind this Dada Saab, I swear to God, I will forget you and I are family."

Ragini separated them and pushed Praneet back. "Are you mad Praneet?" She shouted and gave water to her grandfather who threw the glass in anger.

What makes the royals so hot-headed? Can't they settle everything normally?

"Who is this girl who is kidnapped? Your wife is here." Ragini's grandfather questioned and this time it was Ragini who told him the intriguing story of the switch.

Ragini's grandfather marched towards me and with fire blazing in his eyes shouted at me, "I told your father if this time a princess calls off the engagement, your family will have to pay a heavy price. Did you dupe us? How dare you? I will get your head chopped right now."
I was scared but Ragini, my saviour, was there.

"Enough Dada Saab! How long will you keep ruining our lives? If you could not unite with your love that does not mean we cannot. If anything, you should try to understand what lost love means." Ragini stepped closer to her grandfather and whispered, "besides, it's not like you loved granny. You loved someone else and guess what, we know who. So, if you even think of harming Pratima, who was married to Praneet because of your barbarism or Chaya who I love with all my heart, repercussions will not be good, Dada Saab." Ragini held my hand and made me sit next to granny.

Who said a woman needs a man for protection?

"People please find my Pri, we can settle these issues later on. Badal is a psycho and I cannot even imagine what he is capable of doing." Granny's voice teared up towards the end.

"Karma is a bitch, Asha." Ragini's grandfather taunted granny but she didn't reply.

I rubbed her back and gave her hope all will be well.

"Guys look what I found in Pratima's cupboard. She was doing some research." Praneet found a flow chart in the box and studied it. He called up his finance head and asked him a few questions.

"Kareem..." Praneet shouted. "Mr Kareem..." He shouted again and a hulk came to the room. "Kareem, you have been in this palace for years and we trust you but your grandson Azam is a swine. I gave him a job at the office above his ability still he played games with me? Ask him to divulge the plan. Where is his partner in crime hiding my wife, I want to know, now, else he won't see the sun tomorrow." Praneet threatened a guard and he immediately went to act without any queries.

"Praneet, what's going on?" Praneet's father came to the room after hearing all the commotion. No one was in the mood for another storytelling. He was looking for an answer but everyone was too tensed.

Just in time of devil's hour, my parents arrived. A royal staff escorted them to the room. What were they doing here, at this hour? "Chaya, you are here." My mother hugged me? After years or the first time in years, I didn't know. It was hard to recall.

"We got a call saying a man has kidnapped Chaya and we immediately came here. Who can play such a prank?" My father was angry as well? His night sleep got disturbed.

"Everyone please settle down. I will tell you everything." I requested my parents and Praneet's father to sit. They waited for me to start and I again started to tell them the now-famous story of our Switch.
My parents were surprised to see granny. She was now the only surviving member of her generation. My father made a bad face seeing her which she ignored but all the eyes were on her.

"Sir, Azam is missing as well. My son says he has not come home since the afternoon. He does that often so we were not worried. I assure you, sir, if he is behind all this I will kill him with my bare hands." Kareem could be trusted it seemed.