Prejudice

26. Lost Forever

Dejected and helpless, Pranav left his home, in the hope of gathering some help.

He called up the only name he could remember at the moment.... Siddharth.

With a mind to bring Diya out of the house, to a safe place, before the planned arson takes place, both friends found a small bud of hope blooming up.

The question was, even if Diya was saved from this arson, there was no way, she could be brought in broad daylight. Gautam Agarwal would strike more ferociously if he found his plan crumbling down. He would never forgive Pranav for messing around with him, and Charu Villa will no more be a safe place.

But the priority was, the life of young innocent and pregnant vulnerable woman.

Everything else will be taken care of, thought Pranav.

Little did he know, his father had it all planned.

Pranav's car was met with an unexpected encounter while he tried to speed towards the banglow. A street fight happen to take place, blocking the road and making it difficult for him to reach on time. Siddharth felt utterly helpless as he was following Pranav in his own car, on the same road. It took some time to get the streets clear and that drained out Pranav of his patience.

Jay was busy wrapping up the final documents, when his phone rang to indicate a call from an unknown number. He received the call with furrowed eyebrows.

"Is this Jay Agarwal, I am speaking to?" Came a professional voice.

"Yes. How may I help you?" asked Jay.

"I regret to inform you that your banglow in Agarwal Estates has encountered electric short circuit. We are trying our best to get rid of the fire. Please came at the earliest." The voice informed Jay.

The phone nearly slipped from his hands, but the tear drops did.

Jay left everything in the messy state and rushed to his brother's room. He knocked impatiently only to be answered by a confused Shraddha.

"Where is Dau?" he asked within the stream of tears.

"He did not come back from office." she replied getting more worried.

Jay was taken aback. He turned around and stormed off, without replying to Shraddha's worried calls.

Jay maneuvered his car at an insane speed towards the banglow. He was more worried for his timid wife and the unborn child.
The road in front of him turned blur amidst his tears. He could not stop the broken whimpers as the face of his smiling wife wavered in front of his eyes. He tried to trust his fortune with all his might. He tried to stick to the belief that nothing could go wrong.

He needed to keep his mind calm.
He needed to prove to Ajay, that he can take care of his wife.

The fate can't be that cruel... Can it?

His car skidded and he struggled to step out of the car that had hardly stopped. The scene in front of him made him die a thousand deaths that night.

All he could see was blazing fire. The red and orange angry flames had gulped down his beautiful home. His face and eyes could reflect the red hues.

"Diyaaaaa... " He screamed and was immediately held in two strong arms as he tried to leap towards the burning house.

He looked at the familiar face and was met with two worried eyes. It was the moment that he realised that there were other people beside him. Pranav's shoulder length hair were disheveled. His clothes were crumpled and he was trying his best to keep his struggling brother, from risking his life too.