-: Rajeshri :-

"Get down everyone!" A voice hollered from across the stage, guns drawn out by the guards shooting at possible threats. Heavy footsteps all around us, Shamrat ji covered my entire body with his, his breaths heavy near my ear.

"  .. ou okay?" he asked, dust and splinters flying around us from the bullets, cries and shouts making it impossible to hear anyone's word. I nodded mutely, gritting my teeth to keep the pain in my forearm at bay. I didn't know what was wrong with it but there wasn't much time to decipher the reason. 

Several men with wooden bats and daggers drawn out charged at us as Shamrat ji quickly pulled me to my feet. Stars appeared in front of my eyes and I grasped his kurta to prevent myself from kissing the ground. 

"Hold on." That was the only thing I could hear, before two hands dragged me away from the middle of the stage. Senses alert, my eyes snapped open to see Dipak, one of our party members, was trying to pull me down from the stage where Shamrat ji was throwing punches to whoever charged at him. Arnav a few feet away from him was fighting two men with equal vigour.

Within a blink of an eye a hard punch to his face  disbalanced him. My eyes widened but before he could recover, the man kicked him so hard , Arnav toppled back, the wooden barricade splintering from his weight and the force of his fall, as he splashed into the pond.

Everything else disappeared for me as Leila's words rang inside my head .

The fear of water got etched into Arnav's head. Arnav is aquaphobic. He had tried to learn how to swim many times, but didn't succeed.

"Arnav!" A cry broke out of my throat. Pulling my injured hand out of Dipak's grasp, I pushed him away and sprinted towards the pond. 

Another goon charged towards me, his face covered with a striped handkerchief. Before he could decipher I kicked him where the sun doesn't shine, barely able to restrain my rage.

"Get out of my way!" I growled and halted in front of the broken barricade. Arnav was thrashing his hands, his head disappearing and appearing in and out of water, his breaths heavy.

Throwing my dupatta away I was about to jump into the pond when rough hands grabbed my shoulders pulling me away from the steep edge of the stage. 

"Idhar aa tu Ramlal ki chori, humee tu zinda chahiye,"

(Come here, Ramlal's daughter. We need you alive.)

"Get away from me!"  Twisting out of his grip, I slapped him away, blood rushing to my brain. Sprinting towards the pond I dived in as soon as the man fell down on the ground. 

Muscles cramped with pain , I swam towards Arnav whose one hand was barely above the water surface now, water splashing as he tried to tap it.

"Arnav, hold on!" I hollered and swam freestyle trying to use my left hand as little as possible and kicking the water away swiftly. His fear could be felt from across the water.

Dread hallowed my stomach when Arnav disappeared entirely below the water. Without thinking twice, I inhaled a deep breath and dunked underneath as Arnav's body steadily started flowing downwards.

As soon as I was in his vicinity, I gripped his hand with my uninjured one and started swimming towards the shore, momentarily forgetting about the ruckus that had broken out minutes ago. 

Arnav's body has turned pliable as I swam towards the land , my grip strong on his. My lungs burned due to lack of enough oxygen, my knees bending , on the verge of giving up.

Please be alive. 

As soon as the ground touched my feet, I stood up and started dragging Arnav's body out, being careful on the stones. Pain slashed down my forearm as I dropped him on the bank, no sound coming out of his mouth.

Fear slithered down my spine as I felt him not breathing. Interlocking my fingers I pressed hard on his chest, barely aware of what I was doing.

"Come on , come on … " With each passing second the pressure of my hand increased, pushing his chest multiple times. Blood dribbled down from my left arm getting soaked into his wet peach kurta.  As I pressed my ears to his chest, my toes tingle with dread.

Not breathing.  

My blood in my veins turned cold when his lips started turning pale and blue. 

"Shri! " 

"Arnav!"

Voices ricocheted around me but nothing else mattered. I knew I had to save him. 

"No no no, you can't be gone." Parting his lips I pushed air back into his lungs, again and again.

"Shri!" Someone grabbed my shoulders but I pushed the hands away and continued passing air into Arnav's mouth until water splashed out of his. He coughed and choked back on water escaping his lungs.

Relief swarmed back into me as I swiftly turned him on his side as water drained out of his mouth, his chest wheezing  with every breath.

"Thank God … " I drawled, the back of my eyes stinging with tears, as I saw Leila pushing Arnav's back for him to sit up.

As if time has slowed down for me, everything happened in slow motion. My body started falling backwards, a pair of burly arms caged me in, softening the impact of the fall. I coughed water escaping my nose, as my eyes started drooping. 

"Shri!" 

The last thing I remember before darkness engulfed my senses was a pair of horrified onyx eyes staring back into mine.

°°°

-: SHAMRAT :-

Fear wasn't an emotion I was familiar with. In my 30 years of existence, I had rarely ever experienced it. But if it wasn't unadulterated dread coursing through each nerve in my body right now, I didn't know what it was. 

When the fight had broken down in the middle of my speech, it was only my wife who came to my mind. Shri was in the middle of the uproar, in a situation she had never faced before.

And when she had dived into the pond I didn't know whom to be scared for. Arnav could barely dip his feet in water without breaking in cold sweat but Shri had been shot.

Was it possible to have a heart attack when you see your wife hooked on an IV with a huge ass bandage wrapped around her forearms? 

Yes , it definitely was. With the way my heart was beating, I was sure it was seconds away from giving up.

My heart had dropped down to my stomach when Shri had fallen unconscious in my arms after retrieving Arnav's life. And since then, it hasn't been back to my chest. 

Fists curled in rage, I waited , anticipating her waking up. She had been unconscious for the last 3 hours, and when I had carried her bleeding form in the hospital the Doctors had almost refused to treat her injuries, reason being it was a gunshot wound. 

Connections and threats were the only thing that had saved my Shri today. 

Rage boiled the blood in my veins. I didn't know whom to take it out on as I watched my wife lying still, almost lifeless, on the hospital bed, her left cold palm snuggled into mine. 

Sniffles reached my ears, my brain vaguely aware of Leila also sitting inside the room where Arnav was currently resting on another bed. He had passed out within a couple of minutes of coughing out water he had gulped while almost drowning. 

But I just couldn't concentrate on anyone else. My Shri. I didn't know whether to be proud of how she valiantly fought and saved my brother or to be mad at her for putting herself at risk.

Low sounds of coughs broke my gaze which was heavily resting on my wife. Leila sprinted back on her feet and was beside Arnav as his eyes fluttered open. 

"Thank God," Leila sniffled, tears running down her cheeks as she caressed Arnav's forehead which was still damp with water or perhaps, sweat. 

Eyes lazy and unfocused, Arnav gazed at Leila for a couple of minutes , before his eyes settled down on me, recongnozition flashing in them.

"Shamrat?" he called out, his voice barely above a notch and scratchy. Giving him a single nod I passed him a small smile. I knew I should be by his side, but I couldn't let go of Shri's hand, fearing she would slip off if I left her side.

I was so glad and thankful to God that Arnav was alive and absolutely fine after facing his fears. But my mind wouldn't calm down until Shri woke up.

Coughing out, he rubbed his chest, his eyes still fixed at me as Leila passed him a glass of water, her face contorted in worry.

"What happened?" Arnav asked, his voice swarthy and rough. 

Before I could answer him, a hiss sounded and my eyes snapped down. Shri ! Her face crumbled in pain as Shri tried to make sense of her surroundings. I tightened my grip on her fingers which were interlocked with mine.

Relief flooded her features as soon as her eyes landed upon me. Gathering her soft form in my arms I supported her body and sat her up, the weight of her entire frame on my left side  with her face tucked beneath my chin.  

My muscles softened into her, the speed of my heartbeats decelerating.

"Shamrat?" Her voice, so soft and so unsure, made me want to murder anyone and everyone responsible for her condition.

"Not a word. You will not utter a single word." Muscles tensed with rage I snipped, keeping my voice low  not wanting her to think I was mad at her.

" … what?" Clearly confused with my reaction, she gazed up. Why did she have to do that? 

Glancing downwards, I glared at her, my left palm circling her bandaged forearm as my lips hovered above her eyebrows. 

"How could you?" I murmured, frustrated at the situation. She had no right to put her life at risk , to put mine at risk by being so cavalier. 

Shaking her head, clearly confused with the entire situation, she stared back at me with those doe eyes. Interlocking our left hands I dropped a kiss to her temple and heaved a sigh, my brain finally coming to terms with the fact that Shri was fine. 

°°°

-: Rajeshri :-

His lips dropped yet another kiss to my temple and it has been going on since the moment I had woken up. Shamrat ji had tucked me within him, and his right hand had been roving from my shoulder to my waist, the bandaged arm resting on his. 

"The bandage needs to be changed twice a day, and she might feel a bit foggy for the next 24 hours. Other than that, you can take her back home this evening," the doctor advised and scribbled something on her notepad , a tiny smile playing on her lips as she quickly glanced at Shamrat ji who has again nuzzled his face into my neck.

"Sh - Shamrat. Will you stop?" I chided trying to push him, my throat still a bit scratchy and my muscles sore. The pain in my forearm was acute but thankfully the bullet had only grazed my skin and not pierced it. 

"Not a word. You will let me take care of you as much as I want," Shamrat ji admonished me , his face scrunched in displeasure at my behaviour, as he tightened his grip on my hips.

I simply wanted to lie down for a bit but he would suggest lying down on him and I seriously didn't want to give the hospital staff any more ideas.

Gazing up at him, I noticed how his face has turned dull in a matter of hours. Raising my uninjured hand I palmed his check and he nuzzled into my palm, kissing the inside of it.

"You scared me to death today , do you have any idea?" His voice dropped down to a rough whisper as he stared back into my eyes.

"Can you please stop joking, Arnav! I am scared shitless here!" Leila's hysteric voice reached us before I could reply.  But as I tried to sit up straight to look at Arnav, Shamrat ji pushed my face back below his chin.

"How's he?" Facing one's trauma can be terrifying and he almost drowned today. God knew what would have happened if I hadn't … 

"He will live. All thanks to my wonderful wife here who loves to play superheroes." The taunt in his voice was evident, but I simply didn't have the energy to deal with his mood swings right now. 

Would he have preferred if I had let Arnav drown and die?

"I was just … "

"Ma'am, I need you to calm down." The doctor's voice reached us and this time even Shamrat ji turned back to see what was going on.

Arnav has pushed himself up in a sitting position, one of his eyebrows was cocked up as he stared back at Leila, his face mischievous.

"Now, as much as I love a sexy woman fussing all over me, I would still like to know your name, pretty lady." Arnav passed Leila, who was patting his forehead, a charming smile.

"God Arnav! " Shamrat ji scoffed and turned to look back at me. Before I could decipher what happened he pressed his lips against mine, knocking air out of my lungs.

We kissed, in the middle of a hospital chamber, surrounded by God knew how many people. Heat crawled into my face at the mere thought.

"I needed that." Air whossed out of his mouth and blended into me as I exhaled a deep breath, my body instantly melting into his. 

So did I.

Shamrat ji slowly pushed me back on the bed. "Give me a minute, will you? I need to knock some sense into his stupid brain. Is it even the moment to joke with Leila? She is losing it." Shamrat ji murmured and kissed my left eyebrow. 

I blinked , a soft chuckle escaped my throat as he strode towards Arnav whose face instantly turned towards him, his eyes litting up.

"What's going on? What am I doing on a hospital bed with this beautiful woman tending to me? And, were you seriously cuddling a married woman there?" Arnav asked, making me roll my eyes at him. 

Or probably this was his coping mechanism? Was he trying to forget the entire incident and act like it has never happened?

"Are you a nurse?" Arnav smirked at a blanching Leila whose face had started turning bleak. Did he hit his head too hard? Why was he acting so … weird? 

"Arnav? What has gotten into?" Shamrat ji smacked his shoulder making Leila shriek at how much force he applied. Arnav's face twisted in pain, as he passed Shamrat ji a glare.

"Careful," Leila hissed, looking visibly confused. Exhaling a tired sigh, she dropped herself on the chair beside Arnav's bed, massaging her forehead.

"Arnav?" Shamrat ji's face lips curled up in annoyance, as he gripped Arnav's shoulder.

"What? Why are you all giving me such weird looks?" Arnav threw his hand up in the air, turning his face all around the room to look at everyone. At this point, even I had dropped my leg down the bed, as agitation gripped my heart.

His eyes stilled at me and they widened, before his eyebrows furrowed. Shamrat ji and Leila followed his gaze.

"Are you okay, Arnav?" I croaked, passing Leila a reassuring smile. I couldn't even imagine what Leila must have felt when she had seen Arnav dropping down in the pond. She must have been terrified and worried sick, fearing losing him.

His jaw dropped as he opened and shut his mouth, licked his lips, and passed Shamrat looks again and again, barely gazing at Leila.

His gaze settled down on me as he jumped down the bed. The action made him stumble and Leila was on her feet in a second, supporting his weight. 

Arnav, without regard to it, pulled his arm away from Leila and ambled up to me, his eyes staring back at me.

"I am so glad you are fine, Arnav." He however stared back at me with an astound expression, making me squirm underneath his gaze.

"Okay- that's enou … "

Shamrat ji,  whose face was etched into a scowl, was about to pull Arnav back by his elbow when his words stilled the moment for all of us.  

"I … have seen you somewhere."

Both Shamrat ji's and Leila's mouth fell open , a frown appearing on their forehead.

"Okay, I need you all to calm down." The Doctor nodded at the male nurse, who grabbed Arnav and dragged him back towards the bed, making him sit down.

Was he playing a prank on us? But Arnav ain't that kind of a person.  

Shamrat ji stood by his bed and pat Arnav's shoulder, making him look up at him.

"Do you know who I am?" Shamrat ji asked him to which Arnav passed him monotonous look. 

"What kind of qu … ?"

"Fucking answer it!" he growled, barely able to keep his irritation at bay anymore. 

"God, yes!" Arnav exclaimed.

"Okay. Her?" He asked, pointing at me.

He shook his head, sending jolts down my spine. 

He didn't know me?

"I've seen her somewhere. Her face is familiar. But I don't know her personally." Shamrat ji looked back at the Doctor whose lip was pressed into a thin smile.

"And …  her?" He asked, pointing at Leila, to which a teasing smile came back on Arnav's lips.

"I don't. But I would love to know her. She seems friendly." Arnav winked at Leila, making her stumble back, her eyes widened in disbelief.

What in the actual FUCK? 

●~~~~~~~< ☆ >~~~~~~~●

Hello my lovelies ! I am back, after 2 years 🙃😅 to complete Sinister Affairs, finally.

I have missed Rajeshri and Shamrat over these years and I have decided to finish  this story this time .

VOTE 🌟 & COMMENT 💬

cause your encouraging words is one of the reasons I've decided once again to resume writing 🥺❤

You can expect 1/2 per week.

Take care 😘 See you all, very soon.

Babye 😉🙋‍♀️