SwaSan FanFic (TOL)

CHAPTER 38

Laksh sat at the pavilion of the race course, deep in thought. His horse was practising on the track but his mind was occupied with the doctor's prognosis.They had observed Ragini with the girl in the physically challenged home. Ragini believed her to be Swara and was taking care of her. There was a long and scary explanation to Ragini's attitude towards this girl. Laksh had already made arrangements for Ragini to be admitted in the mental institution for treatment. It would take three or four days to get the formalities complete.The doctor had asked him not to disclose this to Ragini. So Laksh waited for Swara to come back from her friend's house and reveal about Ragini's mental illness. He feared Ragini so he decided to inform Swara about it right away. He did not even go home because he wanted to avoid being alone with Ragini. Laksh wanted to explain everything to Swara because the doctor had warned him that if Ragini knew about her real sister's presence, she might get violent.

The bright day gradually darkened to a dull grey and Swara watched the blazing sun concealing itself behind dark clouds.The threatening storm was still at its initial stages. It had not begun its fury. Swara was strumming the guitar, watching the sky, lost in her own thoughts. She was alone at home and the guitar reminded her of Hridoy. She trusted Sanskar more than anyone else but Hridoy's madness was unbelievable. How did she not know about his obsessive behavior all these years? Swara wanted to confront Hridoy about the job he was doing for Sisodia but he left this world too soon. No one deserved a death like his. Was he also murdered like Suraj? Hridoy had always been part of her childhood and he had always been available whenever she needed a friend.She felt sad for the loss of a young soul. His grandparents and parents were inconsolable. She was staring through the window at the fading day when her phone rang. It was Laksh.

'Hello'

'Swara where are you?' he asked urgently

'At home' she said and Laksh disconnected the call. Swara found his behavior weird. As the bright day lost its glow, Swara's mood also dipped. She found no particular reason for this sinking feeling.

The door bell rang and she frowned, wondering who it was....She opened the door to find an anxious Laksh. He barged in and closed the door. He flopped down on the sofa.

'Laksh what is the matter?'............

The sudden shift from a bright day to a dark one made Sanskar restless. The Tempest was slowing taking hold of the city. It would gather speed in a day or two.Both families had left with the priest to temple. He sat in his room pondering over the events of the past weeks. He watched the trees shedding leaves owing to the howling wind. He browsed the net and logged into his Facebook account. He went to Swara's page and admired her profile picture.It was a solo picture of her playing the guitar. He kept gazing at it and sent her a message

'Missing my Angel Face...:) sealed with a kiss'

He smiled and went back to his homepage.He got a shock when Laksh's location indicated the area where Swara was residing.He swore and called Swara's number. It was busy. He tried Laksh's number. It was switched off. Was he at Swara's house? He thought about Adarsh who was absconding, Annapurna whose whereabouts was unknown and Sisodia who was in jail. Sisodia had a huge tribe of gangsters and he was capable of doing anything. Laksh was part of the criminal minded family and who knows what he would do to Swara. He tried Swara's landline number and Laksh picked up the phone. Red hot jealousy went through him. He picked up his car keys, swearing and furious.

Swara's phone showed a message notification. She was in the kitchen to get water for Laksh. She opened the messenger to see a message from Sanskar. She clicked on it and a dazzling smile lit her face.
'Missing my Angel Face...:) sealed with a kiss.' Her mood improved instantly and she messaged back a smiley.The landline phone rang and Laksh answered the call.

'Who is it Laksh?' Swara asked him

'Don't know. Disconnected........'

'So what is it Laksh? You were disturbed when you spoke to me last time .' She asked

Laksh wanted to explain everything to Swara because he did not want Ragini to harm Swara.

'It is about Ragini...' he began hesitatingly

'What about her?' Swara asked, getting impatient with Laksh,

'First you have to promise that you would believe me Swara...This is no small matter. You have to support me...'Laksh informed her and she frowned

'Laksh don't scare me. What is it?' Swara asked

Laksh stood up and paced the floor. He combed his fingers through his hair. His gesture reminded Swara of Sanskar. They were so alike sometimes that the thought made her smile fondly. Laksh stopped pacing and turned towards Swara to tell her about Ragini but his heart skipped a beat at her warm expression. She was so lovely. He knelt down in front of her and took hold of her hands.

'Swara what I am going to say may break your heart but it is the truth....' He watched her face turning sombre and continued

'I know how much you love...' The door was thrust open with force and Sanskar stood there breathing fire and ice....

Swara snatched her hand away from Laksh's hold and Sanskar's eyes narrowed at her action. Laksh stood up and faced Sanskar angrily

'Don't you ever leave her alone?' He asked

'Shut up Laksh. She is my fiancée and I have the right to be here anytime....' he replied not realizing that his possessive attitude was annoying Swara.

'Really Sanskar? Why don't you ask Swara if she approves of your domineering attitude? As far as I know Swara, she is an independent girl.' Laksh spoke making Sanskar more and more angry,

'You don't know Swara. ...PERIOD......So get lost and run back to your wife instead of stalking my fiancée.' Sanskar retorted back with a controlled rage.

'Stop it both of you.....'Swara shouted....Both the brothers looked at her.

'Sanskar what are you doing here?' She asked and Sanskar was taken aback by her question.

'I called you many times but you did not answer so I dropped in to check if everything was OK...'he said watching Laksh's face. Laksh's eyes taunted Sanskar's attitude.

'Ah! The dutiful boyfriend....! Why don't you say that you were checking up on her?' Before Sanskar could reply, Swara urged

'Laksh, will you leave and give us some privacy?'

'But Swara I need to talk to you...' he said

'Didn't you hear her?'Sanskar asked but Swara intervened and took hold of Laksh's arms and directed him to the entrance. Sanskar watched them, their closeness getting on his nerves. He was barely controlling his temper.

'Laksh, I promise I will talk to you. I know it is urgent but till then keep calm..... Now go home.' Swara advised but Laksh was reluctant to leave. He turned back to see his brother watching them with a scowl. Laksh left but not before extracting a promise from Swara that she would call him as soon as possible.

Swara closed the door and turned around to face an irate Sanskar,

'What does he want to talk to you about? He needs an excuse to hold your hands and gaze into your eyes...' Sanskar rasped, not able to get over the way Laksh was kneeling before Swara and holding her hands when he entered. The way Laksh gazed into Swara's eyes raised his hackles.

'Stop it Sanskar. You are behaving like a nineteenth century male chauvinist.' she said

'Like what?' Sanskar asked with disbelief

'You know, like a man who feels that women are under their control.' Swara muttered aloud, getting angry with Sanskar

'Oh, come on Swara...What did I do? I just pointed out Laksh's stupidity.' said an indignant Sanskar

'Really, you were driving him away with your attitude...' she pointed out

'So? What about his attitude Swara? Holding your hands and gazing into your eyes...He is still stuck up on you...' Sanskar said not able to forget the scene he witnessed.

'Sanskar, he had come to talk to me about something important and your arrival stopped him from what he wanted to say...'Swara complained

'Oh then I am so sorry. I did not realise that you too were enjoying his company and his touch...' The words were out before he could stop himself.....Like a turbulent and angry sea, Swara's anger erupted...

She slapped him hard and he lost his cool......He caught her shoulders and kissed her hard with his bottled up aggression. He was hurting her with his anger, his jealousy and his possessiveness. She pushed him hard and he staggered back.

'Get out Sanskar...' Swara turned her back to him and asked him to leave.

Sanskar realized his folly and regretted his outrageous behavior instantly,
'I am sorry Swara...' he said with remorse

'No you are not sorry Sanskar and I hate this domineering attitude of yours. What do you think of yourself? You can't just barge in and interrupt into my personal space like this. I think we need time Sanskar...' she said

'Need time for what Swara?' he asked, his heart skipping a beat at her words.

'We need time to think about this marriage. I cannot cope with this jealousy and possessive attitude of yours. If you can't leave me to my privacy, then I am the wrong person for you.' She said with a dignity and poise that shook Sanskar.

'You mean to say that I should have left you to yourselves even after finding you and Laksh so close?' he asked with a bitterness that was new to him.

'There is something called trust Sanskar. If you are going to get angry every time I speak to a guy or hold his hands, then I am sorry we are not meant for each other.' She said and her words broke the thin thread of control that Sanskar had.

He took hold of her face and gazed into her eyes 'Say once more that we are not meant for each other and I will break your neck.' He enfolded her in his arms and buried his face into her hair.

'I am sorry Swara. I behaved like an ass and you don't deserve an ass like me. I know I got angry unnecessarily but I can't control this fury that takes over me when I see you with Laksh. 'He said apologetically but Swara was fed up of his attitude. She struggled out of his embrace,

'No Sanskar, we need to rethink if we are suitable or not.' Her attitude spoke of an unforgiving stance

'What do you want me to do Swara? I said sorry for losing my cool. Do you want me to grovel at your feet?' he asked exasperated with her stubbornness

'I want you to leave Sanskar...' She said and his eyes widened

'Swara...'

'No Sanskar....Leave'

'Fine....I am not coming back...' He said furiously and marched out, banging the door with a force.

Swara flinched at the sound and sat down on the sofa with a heavy heart. She knew she was obstinate and pigheaded but his words about her enjoying Laksh's company touched a raw nerve in her. She did not deserve to be accused of such vile things. She had her self esteem. She would never allow any man, be it Sanskar or her own father to say such things to her.

Sanskar strode out and drove aimlessly around the city. His blood was boiling but the heaviness that took hold of him showed desperation. He felt like yelling at the whole world. He was wrong. He knew it. He should not have said that she enjoyed Laksh's company or touch. That was cheap of him and it hurt her. He was aware of it. He called Swara but she cut the call. He hurt himself by hurting her. He stopped the car and got out. Swara had been serious when she said that they need to rethink about their marriage. He sat down on a tree branch and contemplated his own mad behavior. No one except Swara invoked such powerful emotions in him. He was never known to be jealous or possessive or desperate. He trusted her but his attitude was really questionable. How could he earn back her trust and love?

He drove to his regular florist and ordered more than a dozen bouquets of red orchids to be delivered to Swara. He sent a cuddly teddy bear also that had SORRY written on its chest. He hoped that her favorite flowers and the soft teddy bear would bring a smile to her face. He planned something else too but that would be later at night...

Dida, Sharmishta and her dad came back from their visit excitedly and hugged Swara, informing her of the date of the wedding. Swara did not say anything and quietly listened to their excited chatter about the preparations. She did not know if she wanted to go ahead with the wedding. But she also knew that she would be miserable without Sanskar. Why does he not understand that she needed space and that she hated his jealousy especially where Laksh was concerned? That reminded her that she had promised Laksh that she would call but before she did, she had a visitor.

A man delivered a bunch of red orchids...An hour later another bouquet was delivered. This went on for almost next three hours. One hour gap gave way to half an hour and then to fifteen minutes and now every five minutes, a bouquet was arriving. She called Sanskar and he answered in one ring...

'Sanskar stop it. There is no place to keep them. So many have arrived...' she pleaded

'Have you forgiven me?' he asked

'No....'She replied

'Then do suffer the outcome...' he replied

'Sanskar, this is not the .....' Before she could complete her sentence, Sanskar had disconnected the call. She was furious but the doorbell rang again. Dida and Sharmishta were laughing out loud. The man delivered a huge cuddly teddy bear on which was written 'SORRY'.

'Ma, lagta hai dono lovebirds ke jagda hua hai..' Sharmishta told Dida teasing Swara. But dadi was enjoying the arrival of flowers and the lovers tiff. She wanted to show off to her dear friend Parvati....

Swara took the teddy bear and ran to her room. She dumped it on her bed angrily but she could not help laughing... The devil.......God she hated him...No, she loved him like a crazy fool, since the moment she set her eyes on that brooding, aloof man who took her breath away. But he made her so angry at times.....

Her phone rang and it was Laksh 'Swara please meet me' he said urgently. Swara wanted to hear what Laksh had to say and end this drama.So they agreed to meet at the Forum Mall Food court.

Swara informed her mother that she was going to Forum to meet a friend....

When she came out of the Baadi, the wind had gathered speed and there were lightening streaks across the sky.There was no auto in sight. Swara walked to the corner of the street. She was standing there alone, waiting for an auto when a van screeched to a halt in front of her. Swara was startled. Before she could react, somebody dragged her inside the car...

To be continued............