Hi!

Sorry for the delay.
💐💐💐

Wondering who the new person is? Any guesses?
😉😉😉

Meanwhile, let's see who's hurt, shall we?
😋😋😋

Moving on...💃💃💃

"Words in double quotes" - Talking

'Words in single quotes' - Thoughts

(Words in braces) - Telephone conversations

Chapter 28- Topsy-turvy

Ragini's eyes widened as she saw him bringing up a large glass shard over his head and about to stab himself. At once, she got up as fast as she could. "No!"

"Arghh!" with a scream Laksh brought down the shard.

"Laksh, no!"

In the scuffle that ensued between the two, the small rose on the table silently dropped to the floor.

It lay on the ground, innocently. It would seem almost like the most beautiful thing in the room...only if wasn't smeared with red drops of fresh blood.

Laksh opened his eyes when he felt someone grab his shoulder and pull him back. "Ra-" however, he saw that it wasn't her. It was a guy in black clothes. Another one stood ahead of him with his hand bleeding, no doubt from when he tried to prevent Laksh from harming himself. As he looked around, he saw another two standing near the door.

As far as Laksh remembered, he had only switched on the light in the room they were currently in. 'These men must have switched the lights in the hall. But...but how did they get into the the warehouse? Only I and Ragini were supposed to be here!'

"Damn! You got some strength in ya, boy." remarked the man holding him. "Are you alright?" he asked his injured companion. The other two near the door came near as well.

His companion wrapped a hankie over his wound and nodded. "Yea. A little cut isn't enough to bring me down."

Laksh looked at Ragini in question. "Did you call them here as backup?"

Ragini shook her head and looked at the men in uncertainty. "I...I thought these were your men."

"No ma'am. We sure aren't this guy's followers." answered one of them, looking at Laksh with a sneer.

Laksh looked at the four men as they stood before him and Ragini. They looked like thugs. Looking at them, he felt fear in his heart. Fear, not for himself, but for Ragini.

Laksh now regretted bringing her here. It was because of him that Ragini and he were in danger now. He knew he couldn't take them down by himself. 'Then how will I protect Ragini I'm this situation?!' however, he knew he had to try.

He grabbed Ragini's wrist, pulling her behind him. "Stay close Ragini. Nothing will happen to you. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Lak-"

"Please Ragini. Let me help you." Laksh requested. "And don't worry. I realized my mistak. I know what I did was wrong. I know you hate me, but please. Please let me help you this time. I want to repent for all I did wrong to you."

Ragini could see sincerity in his eyes and nodded, moving behind him.

"Let go of the girl." spoke one of the men.

Laksh felt Ragini clutch his shirt more tightly in fear. He glared at the four men, determined to keep them away. "Over my dead body!"

#With Swara#

Swara looked back to see Mani still following her. She jerked forward as she felt the auto stop all of a sudden. She was about to shout at the driver for it, but stopped once she saw the scene ahead.

Sanskar was in front of the auto on a bike, blocking the way. Swara gulped looking at his eyes. If looks could kill, Swara would be dead in a puddle of her own blood by then. 'Mani no doubt told Sanskar everything.'

"Swara, get down. Tell me where Ragini is!"

Swara felt fear strike her hearing the venom in his voice. 'Shit shit shit!' as she looked back, she saw Mani stop his car and get out, nearing her auto. 'No no no! They weren't supposed to get to me. Damn it!' at once, she got out of the vehicle and started running. 'I'm almost near the warehouse. Once I'm there, I'll be safe.'

"Swara!" Sanskar screamed in rage. He threw away the bike and chased after her, Mani following as well.

"I told you not to trust Swara, didn't I?!"

"Shut it Mani! Let's focus on catching her now."

"Okay." A thought struck Mani. "By the way, where'd you get the bike?"

"Don't know who's it is. Got it in the office parking lot. Why the heck is that important right now?!"

"Geesh! No need to get worked up. I was just saying its a nice bike."

"Once I get Ragini and deal with both Swara and Lucky, you're next on my 'to kill' list." Sanskar bit out as he quickened his pace.

"What did I do?!"

#Warehouse#

"This is the place, right?"

"Yes Shekhar. This is where Swara said she will be waiting." Shramishtha answered as she and Shekhar stood outside the warehouse. "Shekhar, I hope she's okay. What if something happened to her? She sounded so worried when she called. Who is after her? Shekhar I ca-"

"Calm down Shramishtha. Our Swara is smart. She'll be fine. Don't worry." Shekhar consoled. From the corner of his eyes, he saw something in the distance. He squinted his eyes to look more closely. "Hey, look! Isn't that Swara?"

Shramishtha looked ahead. "Oh my! Yes it is!" she smiled in relief. However, her relieved look was soon replaced by a confused one. "But...but isn't that Sanskar and Mani behind her? Is it me, or does it really look like they are chasing her?"

"Maa, Baba!" Swara shouted as she came near them.

Shramishtha pulled her into a hug once she reached her. "It's okay Shona. We're here now. Nothing will happen to you. Just tell us what is wrong."

"Maa, I wa-" before she could complete her sentence, Swara was pulled away from her mother by the wrist by Sanskar.

"Tell. Me. Where. She. Is!" Sanskar shouted in anger. Mani came to stand beside him, huffing and puffing in exhaustion.

"Sanskar, lis-"

"I won't listen to anymore of your lies Swara. Just tell me what you've done to her!"

Swara flinched as his grip on her wrist tightened. "Let go. You're hurting me!"

"Not. Before. You. Tell. Me!"

"Let go!"

"Ne-" Sanskar's words were interrupted as he was pushed back by Shekhar.

Shekhar stood between Sanskar and Swara. "How dare you treat Swara in that way?!"

"Uncle, ask her how she treated Ragini!" Mani pointed out.

Shekhar and Shramishtha looked at Swara in question.

"Maa, Baba, trust me. I haven't done anything to Ragini."

"Lies, all lies! She knows where she is. She and Laksh are the ones who have kidnapped Ragini!" Sanskar screamed.

"What!? Swara would never do that." Shekhar looked at Swara. "Swara, did you do anything to Ragini?"

Swara adverted her eyes. "In a way, I did make Ragini go to Laksh, but it wa-"

"Aha! See, she admitted her crime." Mani shouted. "Now tell us where Ragu is!"

"Shona, why? Why would you do something like that? Why Shona?!" Shramishtha asked in despair.

"Maa, listen to me just this once!" she felt Sanskar jerk her towards him.

"Where is Ragini?! I'm asking you nicely. I won't ask another time."

"Sanskar, first listen to me."

"No! I'm not going to listen to any new story you're cooking. Tell me where Ragini is!"

Swara glared at him. "Not before you listen!"

Sanskar, in rage, raised his hand to slap her. Swara closed her eyes expecting the hit.

However, before his hand could hit her, someone caught it.

All of them looked at the new person in shock. But not as much shocked as Sanskar. "You!?"

"Yes, me!"

"Leave my hand! Swara deserves it!"

"If you land a hand on my partner in all this, I swear I won't spare you!"

Sanskar gasped. "You...you mean you were with her in the plan all along?!"

"Exactly."

#Inside#

Like a wolf trying to defend his pack from hunters, Laksh stood his ground before Ragini, glaring at the men with utmost hate.

"Look dude. We've had enough of your glares and taunts. If you don't hand her over to us, we won't spare you." warned one of the men.

"What do you want with Ragini?"

"Our job is to secure her. We're just following orders."

Laksh was confused by their words. Nevertheless, he tried to look for a way out. Suddenly, an idea struck him. "Okay fine. But you must let me free." saying so, he brought Ragini in front of him.

Ragini looked at him shocked. However, once she looked into his eyes, she knew he was planning something.

And planning he was.

As soon as the men put their guard down thinking he gave up, he pushed them aside with all his strength, grabbed Ragini's wrist and ran out of the room.

It took the men a moment to realize what happened. At once, they started chasing after them.

"Ragini, quick!"

Ragini tried to run as fast as she could. As she ran, she stumbled and fell on the floor. Laksh paused his steps and helped her up. However, he was pulled away from her and pushed to the ground. The men had reached them.

Ragini watched in horror as they started hitting him. "Laksh! Laksh, no!" she got up and tried to pull them away from Laksh. "Let him go! You're killing him!"

Laksh screamed out in pain as they hit him. However, he was more concerned about Ragini. "Ra-Ragini go!"

"No! I'm not leaving you in this state." Ragini stressed. "Stop it! Leave him, please! Stop it I said!"

"Ragini go! Save yourself!"

"No! Never!"

"Ragini, go!"

"They'll kill you! I won't leave you here!"

#Outside#

"Unbelievable! How...how could you be helping Swara in hurting someone?" Sanskar questioned. "How Uttara?!"

Uttara left Sanskar's hand with a jerk. "Bhai , stop and listen to what Swara has to say for a minute, will you? Maybe then you'll know why I agreed to help her."

"You're helping the wrong person Swara. You don't even know what's going on here! A lot has happened since you were gone sis."

"I know enough. And I know you're searching for Ragini."

Sanskar looked at her, shocked. "How do you who Ragini is? I haven't ever mentioned her to you over the phone." he asked in wonder. He and his family hadn't told Uttara of any matters so as to not make her worry. Suddenly, another thought struck him. "In fact, how do you know Swara?"

Uttara opened her mouth to answer. However, she stopped when she saw a car park in front of the warehouse.

Sanskar and Mani looked in shock as Durgaprasad, Annapurna, Adarsh, Sujata and Ram came out of the car.

Except for Annapurna, the rest of the Maheshwaris looked at Sanskar with hate.

Sujata's eyes fell on her daughter. "Uttara, what is this!? Why did you call us here? And what is this guy doing here?!" she shouted, pointing at Sanskar.

Sanskar flinched at his mother's harsh tone. It hurt to see your loved ones hate you. However, he had more important matters to deal with. "Forget about all this. Where is my Ragini!?"

"Bhai, that is why we are all here." Uttara reasoned. She turned to the Maheshwaris. "I called you here on purpose. This was all part of and Swara and my plan. I'll explain how she and I came to know each other. Right now, let's go get Ragini and show you Laksh's truth."

Mani's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Laksh? He's here?"

"Yes. He's inside with Ragini." Swara responded.

As soon as she uttered the words, Sanskar pushed past them and went to open the door to the warehouse. However, it was locked from within. "You locked Laksh with Ragini?!"

"I'm 100% sure Ragini won't be harmed. Don't worry."

"Swara, you left her with that bastard and expect us not to worry about Ragu?!"

"Like I said. We've got it all covered." Uttara replied.

"What is all this?" Shramishtha questioned looking at Shekhar. Shekhar shook his head in response. He couldn't make sense of the situation as well.

Sanskar continued trying to pull the door open. By now, everyone was gathered before the door in anticipation.

Mani checked it as well. "Looks like we need to break it. Daya, darwaja todo!" he gulped seeing Sanskar's death glare. "Sorry! Always wanted to say that. Just didn't get the opportunity."

Sanskar looked towards the sky in frustration. "Never mind! Just help me break it down."

"Hai!"

"On three. One, two, three!"

#Inside#

"Leave him, please!" Ragini tried to pull away the men, but they proved to be too strong. Suddenly, there was a crash and the door burst open.

"Ragini!" Sanskar shouted as he spotted her.

"Sanskar!" Ragini exclaimed in relief. At once, she ran towards him.

Sanskar ran over to her as well. Once near, he pulled her into a tight hug. "Ragini. Oh Ragini! I was so worried about you." he broke the hug and kissed her forehead, relishing the moment. "I'm glad you're okay. You're okay, right? Nothing has happened, right?" he asked in anxiety.

Ragini closed her eyes, feeling his closeness. "Even if something was wrong, nothing can be wrong now that you're here. You're really here, Sanskar." she spoke in happy. Suddenly, remembered Laksh's predicament. "Sanskar, Laksh! He needs our help."

"Ragu! Ragu, are you okay?" Mani questioned as he came near them.

"I'm fine, Mani bhai. But Laksh isn't. Let's go to him!" she took their hands and pulled them along with her to where Laksh and the men were. "Please, help him!"

"He deserves it if you ask me." Mani sneered out in spite as he saw Laksh being hit by the men. Nevertheless, he and Sanskar moved forward to help. However, they didn't need to do anything as Swara's voice was heard.

"Guys, stop. That would be enough. Your duty is done."

On Swara's words, the men stopped and moved away from Laksh.

Laksh dropped to the floor in exhaustion.

The men came near Swara. She looked at them. "Thank you for your help. I'll pay you once I am done here." the men nodded and left the place.

The Maheshwaris and the Gadodias came near Ragini and Sanskar, all of their faces filled with confusion. Sanskar, Mani, Ragini and Laksh looked clueless as well. Only Swara and Uttara had knowing looks.

"Okay. Someone explain to me what the heck is going on here!" Mani exclaimed, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"I guess it is time we explained everything, isn't it Swara?" Uttara remarked with a smile.

Swara nodded. She took a deep breath and started speaking.

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To be continued...

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~ 🌹 Mona 🌹