Regarding the poll, thank you for all your opinion. I personally was convinced by some reasoning and it was the majority opinion as well, so I will only be publishing this book for now. If you voted plot 2 in the initial poll, sorry, you'll have to wait a little longer ❤
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Veer parked his car in front of Sharma residence. Bani turned to bid him goodnight but Veeranshu got out first and opened her door. Bani smiled and got out.

B: (thinks: who knew iss time me koi aisa old school ho skta hai, dekh kr toh bilkul nahi lagte) thank you...I had a great time today...

V: (thinks: old school bhi hoon, wild bhi hoon...everything only for you) I should thank you Bani, thank you for coming, mai bore hone se bach gaya..the evening was perfect ...bs vo dhabewala!

B: Dhabewala?

V: vo Mathur!

B: leave it Veeranshu. Let's not think about it...I will go in now, goodnight.

V: Goodnight sweetheart..see you in dreams

B: kya?

V: sweet dreams...tumne kya suna?

B: kuch nahi..bye

Bani went and Veer left after being sure she is inside and safe. He drove his car and thought about their night. A smile graced his lips. He met his brothers at a place. He sat with them and they poured themselves a glass.

V: Makeover done?

P: haan bhai...Party ke baad humne uska peecha kiya and uss phatichar ko khoob dhoya..

D: pr bhai mujhe ek baat samaj nahi aayi..aapne ek-do punch me hi usse kyu chod diya?

V: Bani ke liye..

D: what?

V: jb mai uss dhabewale ko dho raha tha tb maine Bani ko dekha....she was worried for me...uske chehre pr vo shikan dekhr mujhe bilkul accha nahi laga...jb maine usse chor diya and uske pass khada hua, her face showed that she was relieved ...and isliye maine Jai ko kuch nahi kiya..

P: bhai..kahin apko..?

V: haan Ponky...ab to mai bhi sure hoon...

D: lekin phir vo jadoo? Jisse aap mile they?

V: yahi thi..

P: what?!...kya coincidence hai!...

D: coincidence nahi kismat hai..

Veer smiled and was lost in the thoughts of Bani. He took out his phone and texted her.

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Bani entered her room. Manoj and Mahesh, who were awake waiting for her, went into their rooms after that. She changed her clothes and wiped off her slight makeup. She heard a ping on her phone. She checked. It was Veer. Bani blushed slightly at his message and sat comfortably in her bed in baby blue shorts and t-shirt. They began chatting.

(A/N: Please ignore Veer's timestamp, I tried pr vo similar nahi ho paa rahe they)

Bani didn't realize when she fell asleep with a large smile on her face. Veeranshu waited for her reply but understood she must have slept. He too succumbed to sleep, content and happy.

..................................

Jai marched towards his house. His face was badly bruised and he was also sporting a black eye. The eye was a gift from Veeranshu and the bruises were courtesy of his cousins. Jai was really angry when he saw Mandakini sneak out of the house.

J: ye Masi jaati kahan hai humesha? Aaj toh follow krke rahunga...

Jai sneaked after her. Mandakini reached the woods and got out of her car. Jai was confused as to why she stopped there but to add to his surprise, she started walking into the woods. Her fast and sure steps indicated that she knew where she was going. Jai followed after her, careful to maintain his distance and not make her aware.

It was really dark and a full moon night too. His breathing was laborious. He searched for his puff and realized he left it in his car. He somehow tried to manage. Mandakini reached a temple and climbed up its steps. She was stopped by a guard but she told him something and he let her in. The door closed again.

J: ye sb kya hai?...mai toh jaanta bhi nahi...ek kaam krta hoon...ass pass dekhta hoon...koi backdoor bhi toh hoga hi...

Jai started to roam around the temple premises. He breathing getting more and more laboured. He felt a little dizzy and touched the temple's outer walls for support when a vision of a man stabbing a woman in the dark flashed before him. He frowned and touched the walls again. Trying to 'see' again. A lot of visions start entering his mind.

His head grew heavy and he fainted on the muddy floor of the temple backyard.

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Mandakini and a few other people, including the sapera baba and the pandit couple were worshiping Lord Bholenath. Post the pooja, they sat and discussed about the adi naagin and how she is yet to recall it all. They also discussed some important matters of the naglok. They were a part of the elder council and handled matters that needed immediate attention but were not that huge that they need to bother the Nagrani for it. They mostly handled non-violent disputes. Post this discussion and deliberation, they left.

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The morning rolled in, Meera entered Bani's room with her morning coffee.

M: Bani?

B: sone do na..

M: kb tk soyegi?

B: aaj thoda late tk soungi..

M: already 10:30 baj rahe hai...

B: what?!...

She rubbed her eyes and woke up. She quickly freshened up and sat next to Meera, sipping the coffee. Meera tried to enquire about her time at the party. Bani answered point to point only. Meera got frustrated at the lack of details. She rolled her eyes and they fell of a man's dress jacket.

M: yeh kya hai?

B: bikini top hai...dikh nahi raha apko ki suit ka jacket hai..

M: oh oversmart...dikh raha ki ye kya hai..I meant kiska hai?

B: doodhwale ramu ka..

M: bhak!...I know this must be Veer's

B: toh pooch kyu rahi ho?

M: Bani baat kyu ghuma rahi hai?

B: aap direct poochoge toh direct answer milega na!

M: Okay matey, sorry...Veer ki jacket yahan kaise?

B: I felt cold on the way back. He gave it to me and I forgot to return. De dungi..

M: kb?

B: Bye Meera di...kaam karo jakr..

Bani left her to get ready.

..............................

Jai woke up as he felt wetness on his face. He opened his eyes to see a group of jungle monkeys near him. Some were sitting on him, pulling at his hair or jumping on his back. One of them had peed on him, resulting the wetness. Jai got angry and tried to shoo them away. The monkeys kept making loud noises and jumping near him. He opened his nag eyes and turned into a large copper snake. He bit the monkey that peed on him. Suddenly, the chirpy group of animals were silent and ran away for their lives.

J: (turns back human) haha...bhago....go away..

He recalled all he saw last night, the vision.

J: mai!?.mai hriday tha.!!..mere saath Bholenath ne dhoka kia...ek ladki ko mujhse zyada shkti di!!..aur vo ladki bhi mujhe chodkr ek cheel ko chunne wali thi...Nageshwari!!...I will end you in this life...your powers will be mine..yes, mai finally ek powerful Adi Nag banunga apne dum nahi...not because of who my saathi is...ye janam mera issi liye hua hai...but who are you? Where are you? And who is Akesh?...I will have to find it out! Specially before you recall if you haven't recalled yet.

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Jai recalled his past! What do you think will he do now?

Stay safe!

xoxo