Saahil Gupta as Hardhad Chopra

The bright flashes of the camera were visible from all the way down from the terminal. The media was constantly clicking pictures while I maintained to be calm and composed. I went quickly to the exit where the whole crowd of media was waiting. I took my sunglasses away and stood there. It has no use to go away from them.
"Mr Gupta, why are you back in India?"
"A new project is on the way with new sponsors. It's like a fresh start here. More details will be up soon."
"Didn't you move to America?"
"Of course. You know it right? I mean I am still from India. I can visit my hometown?!"
I was really stressed. Question like these made me mad.
"Do you have a family? Why are you hiding it?"
"Not your business. I am the CEO so talk about me."
"Mr Gupta tell us about Ms Gadodia."
I looked at the reporter and was burning inside. "Who asked this question?" A soft looking woman raised her arm and to be calm yet I saw the fear in her eyes. I tried to compose myself.
"Ms Gadodia is a great women, an inspiration to all the women in all ages out there." I tried  to be cool but I felt how everything was burning inside me.
"A talented person. That's it."
With these words I made a way out of this crowd, put my sunglasses on and went to the car where I finally could breath in and breath out. Finally my space where I could calm down.

I was in my apartement looking outside the big window where I watched everything. I felt that it might rain tonight. I saw the heavy clouds building and the color changed as well into a dark grey. It was night still I could see the difference. The dark grey shade was impuslive on it's on way.
I took my champagne and drank out of it. The taste of bitter and sweetness was visible, the light burning sense in my mouth was the pure highlight.
"Like you and me."
I drank the wine completely and felt how the basement was sowly getting weak.
My eyes were ready to witness everything. First from far and very soon very close. I let out a very rough laugh and touched the window and turned my hand into a fist.
"I am back."

Laksh

It was night and I was at the balcony looking at the big heavy clouds. The soft cold breeze made me slightly to shiver yet I liked it. Today was such a crazy day with answers many new question. But all my thoughts were by Ragini. After she read the name on it her expression changed completely. It was like she was fighting with herself and trying to cope with the name.
Saahil Gupta. I knew him years back. He partnered up with us years back. That gave me finally my own name in the industry. The partnership did not last forever. Eventually he wanted to part away and I accepted it. There did not develope a friendship. We were partners and that was it. End of the story. So what was the connection of Ragini and him. Did he partnered up with her? I went to the edge of the balcony and was looking up and was frustrated.

"Ragini..." I whispered her name and felt relieved and so calm. She was my medicine and yet my drug. I needed her right now. I wanted to hear her voice and want to smell her soft fragnance of roses. I wanted to look into her deep hazelnut brown eyes and wanted to get lost into her deep eyes. I wanted to touch her soft chin, and burry my face into her soft black hair and close my eyes.

I closed my eyes and felt something heavy in the air till I saw someone in white outside the gate. There was a flash of lightning and smelled the rain. I looked down and I knew it was her. She was standing outside the gate and looked up to me. I did not waste any time and started to run.
I opened the gate and I saw her with red eyes, in her hand a bottle of strong wine. Her other hand was covered with blood. I just kept starring at her and took a step forward.
"Ragini?" But I just heard nothing, she sipped heavily from her wine and looked at me. She tried to smile at me and I was shocked seeing her like this. I saw her once broken but not like this. Her red swollen eyes were looking at me, suddenly I heard how she dropped the wine and it splitted in many pieces.
"Laksh..." I could not hear her but I knew that she was calling me. She started moving and ran towards me and I was just starring at her till I felt a heavy crash on my upper body. I felt her tears on my shirt and felt how she sobbed. She clutched her hands on my shirt and pressed her body towards me and kept pouring her feeling out. Without any hestitation I put my arms around her and pulled her closer to me. It was just me and her.

It started to rain and I kept my arms around her. It was me and her against the world. "Laksh... Don't leave me alone." "Ragini what happened?" I was worried for her and didn't know what to do. I was holding her close and felt the drops dropping down the earth and giving a spine chilling feeling. She kept pulling me to her, and her pull made me weaker. After sometime I felt how her legs got weak and she just went to the ground still holding me and I was just doing the same. We were holding each other on this rainy night, seeking for each other.

"Laksh... He is back..."
I was just silent and listened to her words.
"He is back... Saa- Saahil is back. Why Laksh?"
"We will put him behind the bars. I am with you."
She was laughing and searched for something. "My wine?! Where?! Where is my wine" She kept searching and stopped abruptly. "I HATE EVERYONE!" She pushed me away and stood up and kept searching for her broken wine and and looked at me. "You know what first I lost them and next him and I don't know whom I'm gonna loose next."

She came to me and looked into my eyes. She touched my cheek and kept her hand on it. She closed her eyes took a deep breath. After sometime she looked at me I felt how she softly pulled my head to hers. Our forehead touched and I felt her how lonely she was. Her eyes were fixed on mine, her eyes were sparkling with so much guilt and fear. "I cannot loose you as well Laksh. I cannot bear another loose." She was whispering these words to me to make me feel wanted. She let go of me and swayed slightly. I could not see her like this. I wanted the strong woman back. Where was she? She came up to me and held me, she held me so tight that I could see how the blood was just running out her hand.

"Ragini you're bleeding? Are you crazy!?"
She just laughed and kept looking at me. "I can't loose you Laksh. I need you."
These words made me happy but somehow I knew that she was drunk and was not in her sense. Yet I felt that slight happiness hearing these words from her.
"You will never loose me Ragni. Look I am here right now with you and I swear I will never leave you alone."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
I had a fainted smile and could not believe that she was asking me to promise.
"Ragini. Let me look at your hand."
"Laksh, I had the best childhood."
"Give me your hand." I took her hand and we were back on the wet ground and the rain did not stop. I felt how her head was on my chest and I just felt those butterflies in my stomach.
"I had the best childhood. Maa, baba and my little brother. A perfect family everyone made a big eye. They were jelous. Who wouldn't. They were perfect as husband and wife, as mother and father and had the perfect daughter and son."
I kept handling her hand while I listened to her and I could not believe the fact that she had a brother.
"Everything was smooth until that one night. Like today." A sarcastic laugh was hearable and I was just waiting her to continue it.
"Laksh that one night changed everything. I lost everyone."
I looked down to her, stopped what I was about to do and didn't had a clear mind.
"On that night I felt for the first time loosing everyone. I can still see it Laksh. It's like it's happening right now in front of my eyes."
She looked at me and I saw how her tears mixed up with the rain.

"It was raining, a small storm... yeah... I heared how someone was ringing the bell it was late night. Maa was pushing me and my mother to our perspective rooms and we kept waiting. I was back then 6. I was young but I understood everything. I heared maa screaming and pleading to someone 'Leave my husband. 'I heard her yelling, I knew something was wrong and I opened the door to search for my little brother, but he wasn't in his room."

She was holding her hand infront of her mouth and looked here and there. She was in her trance and the more she told me everything the more fear and pain was visible around me.

"He was not in his room and I saw he was with maa. He was looking at her up and suddenly everything went real quick. I ran to the rear exit to the main entrance where I saw those goons in black with their weapon. Maa, baba and my little brother were pushed outside and I saw a man, I couldn't see his face, this beast was looking at them. He took that weapen out and told something till I heard these three shots. One for my brother, the other one my maa and the last one my baba. He shot my entire family and I kept looking at them lifelessly. God, the were murdered and I couldn't do anything, just watching them and beeing silent. I swallowed the pain my grief and on that point I was sure I would take my revenge. I promised myself and my family that I would take a weapon and kill every single person in that family. I will make sure that I would not kill that beast, the murderer of my family. He should be alive griefing for the rest of his life. He should feel the pain." My eyes got wide and I couldn't believe what I heared from her mouth. Shou would take revenge. She would kill everyone. I just hold her in my arms and made her to stand up. I did not say anything. I carried her in my arms to her car and placed her on the seat. I was sitting on the drivers seat and looked at her with so much pain. She murmured to herself and was lost in her own world.

I was opening the door and saw a lost Ragini. Her red eyes, starrig into the blank and her red bloodstained hand gave me a queasy feeling.
"Ragini, we're at your home." She did not react and I tried it again but in vain. I went to her and I carried her again to her house where my jaw dropped down. Geetha was trying to clean everything and looked up at me. Her eyes were dry and swollen, I could see she had cried and I saw how she stood up and ran towards me.

"RAGINI!" Her voice was broken yet strong in that midnight and I could see her relieve. She touched her cheek and looked at me. "Bhaiya." She whispered like a small child and was about to cry again. "Psshht. Nothing happened. Do not worry." She nodded lifeless and followed me to Raginis room where I laid her down. "Geetha I need the first aid box." She ran to the cupbourd and gave it to me. I patched up her cut. Geetha gave me the towel to dry my hair but instead that I did her. I went close herand dried her hair with the towel and felt her look at me. I looked at her and the second I was just mesmerized about her beauty. Even in this state she looked stunning, beautiful yet completely broken and I wanted to show her just with my eyes that I would be her medicine.

"Geetha. What happened?" Ragini was in the bathroom and getting ready for bed while I waited with Geetha outside. I took the time to ask her everything. "Bhaiya, I don't know." She was speechless and kept looking up to stop her getting the tear but her tears won. She wiped her tears and looked at me. "I never saw her like that. I was just blown away, did you see the house? She broke everthing that was visible in her eyes and was easy to break. She came home like nothing happened and suddenly - oh god- She just started to scream and kept saying the name Saahil. She went here and there and took a wine bottle out of the fridge and started drinking. After a while she started to scream and break the things near her. I could not cotrol her." "She ran out with her bottle." I nodded and looked at the tired Geetha. She wiped her tears and kept looking inside the room and tried to be calm.
"Hey everything is gonna be fine. I am with you." She nodded and came to me and hugged me whispering a thank you. I hugged her back and felt that that she was the backbone for Ragini. Her little sister and for me as well.

She was right infront of me and was looking at me her injured hand was trembling. "Laksh..." Her soft voice was like a sweet melody in my head, I nooded and waited. "Can you stay here please?" She swayed back because of the alcohol and tried to hold something. I caught her and looked deep into her eyes and I felt that she was pleeding me.

"Look I am here right now with you and I swear I will never leave you alone."
"Promise?"
"Promise."

"I am wearing wet clothes and I don't think so that you would be happy the next morning. I have to face the strict Ragini."
She made a face of a little child and denied.
"NO! Please... I will be nice to you. Don't leave me here alone."
"You have Geetha."
"Stop arguing."
She got loud and I knew that the alcohol was the reason.
I heard a chuckle in the background.
"She is here alone, I see."
I looked around to see an amused Geetha looking at the scene infront of her. Two people, one drunk the other one holding the drunk woman in his hands who was about to fall and keeping a small argument. I rolled my eyes but I found it funny as well.
"Well Ragini it is getting late. Come on I will help you to go to bed but I cannot stay here."
"Shut up. Just shut up Laksh. You promised me." Her hands were raising up and stopped at her head to show me that she remembered the whole conversation. "Okay you've won but my clothes are wet." For the first time I saw a drunken Ragini who grinned at me. I made her to stand and followed her to the big closet just to find a whole bunch of white clothes and few of her pajamas. I looked at the sizes and lord they were bigger than my size. That was the comfort level she was seeking for. A XL pajama. Noted.
"Here take this."She gave me oneof the XL Pajama and told me to wear it.

"What the hell!" I was looking at the big mirror and couldn't believe that I was wearing a women pajama in XL and that from the tycoon Ragini. Wow! Why not?! I heared the both laughing extremly loudly and I was just thinking to burry myself into a grave but no choice. I had to accept it.
"You're looking so cute."
I looked at her and was so stunned to hear these words from her.
It's the acohol not her Lucky.
I know it. Just let me admire it all. I saw how Geetha walked away closing the door and leaving us both alone. I went to her and she just hold my hand. Her mood changed quickly from the shirpy and chilled Ragini to the depressed and saddened Ragini. She was holding my hand and pulled me softly to her and made me sit on the bed.
"This world is cruel. Every person thinks only about themselves. Every single person is a loner." She looked at me and had tears in her eyes. My heart was bleeding seeing her like this. I hold her hand and showed her that she was not alone. I was with her.
She took her hand away and was hiding her face.
"It feels surreal Laksh. I cannot believe.... I told you everything."
I was thinking the same but I kept in mind that she was drunk and that not very less.
"Yeah you told me everything. I don't know what to say but I can partly understand you but for sure I cannot understand how you cope everything on your own. Seriously I can't take away your pain and grief completely..."
"Thanks Laksh."
I felt something on my shoulder and saw that she had placed her head on my shoulder. She was playing with her fingers and didn't talk for a while. I kept talking. "Ragini the revenge in your heart I can totally understand it and I want to help you, I mean killing is really another level, why don't you just do something with the culprit?" "No Laksh I want him to suffer the same way I did." "But Ragini why killing... innocent people." I heard her laughing. "I asked the same. Exactly the same question and I couldn't answer it. Why did he kill my family, I mean they were innocent." "I understand." "No you do not understand."
She was right, I could not understand it. Nobody in my family was killed by someone. That was another level of pain.

it was silent for a couple of minutes and I was just feeling her clam and her breath was even. I looked down and saw a sleeping Ragini holding my hand. I had a fainted smile and couldn't believe that I was in her room with her even in this condition. I placed her on the bed, covered her with the blanket. I was about to go to the balcony but I felt her hand on my wrist, looking down to her made me realise how broken this woman was. She was coping with soemthign big and is battling as a single warrior. I went to her and laid down next to her, when she came closer to me and snuggled up.

"Ragini, whoever it was I am read to do anything for you and whatever that Saahil did he will pay his price for sure. I will be your soldier... It is my promise." I pulled her close to me and kissed her softly on her forehead.

OH MY GOD! That was a long chapter HAHAH I was just in this mood I had to do it. So I hope you loved it!
Do you love the montage? This id the new montage for now. Welcome our new character Saahil aka Harshadh. I thought he was perfect for this role but you can imagine whoever you want.
In the last chapter I wanted the target f 25 but we did not reach it so I was really nice and yeah I posted this
So back to the target. Let us try again.
Target: 25
Much love
Your Maha