Devaki was sitting infront of the mirror and getting ready for the party. Randhir was sitting behind on the bed and working on his phone.

"Randhir..." Devaki called out.

"Hmm..?" Randhir replied.

"Yeh ear rings kaise lag rahe hai??" Devaki asked showing him the ear rings that she was wearing. Randhir looked up at her. He made a face.

"Nahi acche lag rahe hai? Inhe utar deti hun mein..." Devaki said removing the ear rings. Randhir smiled.

"Aur yeh necklace?" Devaki asked.
Randhir again looked up.

"Nehh" he made a face again.

"Yeh bhi nahi?" Devaki asked sadly. "Inhe bhi utar deti hun.." Devaki said removing the necklace. Randhir got up from his place and went and stood behind Devaki. He kept his hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes in the mirror.

"Waise..." Randhir started saying with an amused smile. "Yeh dress bhi achi nahi lag rahi..."

Devaki became sad. "Acha yeh bhi utaar-wait, what?" She blinked her eyes. Randhir laughed.

"You idiot!" Devaki laughed and playfully smacked his hand. Randhir bent down and began trailing kisses down Devaki's neck. She closed her eyes in pleasure.

"Hum party mein nahi jaate hai na..." Randhir groaned. "Today is our anniversary...humein yahin room mein shaam aur raat bitani chahiye..."

Devaki became tensed. She had specially kept this party so that Aarushi would come. Randhir was about to ruin her plans.

"Arrey? Aise hum nahi kar sakte hai...we have sent all the invites...sab guests aa rahe hai..."

"Toh unko message bhej denge ki mat aao...humein apni anniversary akele mein manani hai..." Randhir suggested. Devaki laughed.

"You're not even making sense, Seaweed Brain." She pushed him away chuckling. He just groaned.

"Challo, mein niche jaaakar sab tayyariyan dekh lun...tum aao niche..." she got up to leave.

"Okay..." Randhir made a funny face. Devaki laughed.

                       **************

Aarushi made a plan to go to the party. Everyone was downstairs. She quickly changed into her gym outfit. She grabbed all her gym supplies and went downstairs.

"Kahan jaa rahi ho?" Siddharth asked.

"Woh..Vedanti aur Nivi keh rahe the na ki mujhe apna dhyaan bhatkana chahiye...I should move on...toh mein isliye gym jaa rahi hun...thoda work out karungi toh dimag hatt jayega..." Aarushi lied.

"Oh...par is it okay itni jaldi jaana?" He asked.

"Ya ofcourse...why not?" Aarushi again lied. She didn't even know. She didn't like lying to Sid...but he wouldn't allow her to go to the party if she told him. She needed to talk to Devaki as soon as possible.

Sid seemed to buy it.

"Thik hai fir mein chalti hun..." Aarushi went from there and sat in her car.

"Phew.." Aarushi let out a sigh of relief once she was in the car.

She drove towards the nearest mall and went to change her outfit.

Dressed in a red dress, high heels and straightened hair flowing past her shoulders with minimal makeup on, she drove her way towards the Mahajan Mansion.

She parked her car in the parking lot and entered the house.

The house was decorated brilliantly. Randhir really seemed to be in deep love with Devaki. Everything was so perfect. Aarushi  just awed at the beauty.

She looked around for Devaki. She spotted her talking to some guest a certain distance away. Devaki seemed to notice her and quickly bid farewell to the guest she was talking to. She smiled cunningly and walked towards Aarushi.

"Aarushi Nigam...what a pleasure to meet you." Devaki smirked. "You look extremely stunning by the way...sabko pata hai...yeh jo humari fashion designer cum neta hai woh itni fit hai ki unpar har tarah ke kapde suit karte hai...how do you maintain yourself? Kabhi humein bhi bata diya karo..." Devaki said with fake amusement. "Waise tum prachar bhi western kapdo mein karti ho...still you managed to get votes and win...Lagta hai male population ko mohit kar diya tumne..." Devaki continued.

"Bakwaas band karo mujhe tumse kuch baat karni hai." Aarushi hissed.

"Haan toh kaho na." Devaki replied.

"Akele mein..." Aarushi snapped.

"Oh..chalo phir hum mere aur Randhir ke kamre mein chalte hai..." Devaki said. Aarushi was not getting a great feeling about this but she followed Devaki upstairs into her room.

The room was massive. Many wall hangings and photoframes were hanging on the wall. The room was painted in a nice combination of red and black.

So sensual.

Devaki shut the door behind her.

"Batao kya baat hai?" She asked.

"Tum uss raat meri gaadi mein thi...I know...Tum ho kaun? Tumhari wajah se meine apna bacha khoya hai.." Aarushi accused.

Devaki stayed calm. She just stared at Aarushi. Sameeksha who had been following Aarushi all along, was listening to their conversation by slightly opening the door. She got shocked after hearing this.

"Matlab mein sahi thi...Aarushi humse kuch chupa rahi thi...aur woh yeh hai.." Sameeksha said softly.

"Chup kyun ho ab? Bolo kuch...Answer me God damnit!" Aarushi said with frustration. Devaki started laughing suddenly.

"Toh tumne mujhe pehchan liya..." Devaki started walking towards the study table. Her back was facing Aarushi.

"Ofcourse." Aarushi  replied.

"Toh ab bhi pehchaan lo!" Devaki said with a graver voice and turned around with an unexpected spin. A sudden burst of energy came hurling towards Aarushi  and she was flattened against the wall. Aarushi groaned in pain and tried to adjust her eyes to the lightened atmosphere. Rain was lashing outside.

Sameeksha clutched at her stomach. She was in a lot of shock. She quickly dialled Yudhveer.

"Hello?" Yudhveer answered.

"Yudhveer!" Sameeksha informed him about everything. "Jaldi sabko lekar idhar aao!"

Inside the room, Aarushi finally calmed down. She looked in Devaki's red eyes with full confidence. She was a mother who had lost her child due  to this spirit. She was not going to let her child's sacrifice go wasted. The mark on her lower back was burning and making it really very uncomfortable for her.

"Tumhari problem kya hai? Kya bigada tha mere bache ne tumhara?" Aarushi asked gravely.

"Tumhare bache ne kuch nahi bigada tha! Tumne aur tumhare doston ne bigada tha!" Devaki growled.

"Aur woh kaise?!" Aarushi shouted. She was finding the spirit's answer very ridiculous.

"Mera beta mar raha tha uss din! Usse Hospital ne sweekar karne se inkar kar diya tha! Poocho kyun? Kyunki humare paas paryaapt paise nahi the! Tumhare woh jo dost hai na CM sahab! Amit Pandit! Meine aur meri bahu ne unhe likha tha ek patra! Par tumhare jo jawan  hai jo tumhari raksha karte hain,  unhone humein uske paas jane nahi diya! Bas kehte gaye ki CM sahab abhi vyast hai aur tum jaise gawaro ke liye samay nahi hai! Mera beta tadap tadap kar mar gaya! Humein kitni peeda hui! Par humari baat kaun sunta tha?! " Devaki said.

Aarushi was panting hard. The spirit's presence was very strong. It was sucking all the energy out of her.

"Humne socha ki tumhe hum fariyad karenge sarkar ke iss anyay ke baare mein! Par hua kya?! Hume wapas tumhare jawaano ne dhakke maarkar bhaga diya! Yeh kaisa nyay hai?! Kahan ki sarkar hai? Apne deshwasiyon ki suraksha toh chodo unki baat tak nahi sunti hai!" Devaki yelled. Aarushi closed her eyes. It was becoming difficult for her to breathe. Devaki realised this and cunningly smiled. She closed her eyes and began to concentrate. Suddenly, Aarushi screamed in agony. The wind was knocked out of her.

Sameeksha couldn't hold it in any longer. She slammed the door open and stepped inside.

"Door raho Aarushi se!" She yelled. Devaki looked towards her.

"Oh...dekho toh kaun aaya hai...nalayak ladki tumhe pata hai iska anjaam kya hoga?" Devaki said  with a very scary expression. However, her concentration was diverted. Aarushi  was able to breathe again. She clutched at her throat as she looked with a shocked expression at Sam.

"Sam...tum idhar kyun aayi?! Bhaago yahan se! You pregnant god damnit!" Aarushi shouted.

"Ab yeh yaha se bhaagkar kahin nahi jaa sakti hai." Devaki grinned evily.

She raised her hands and again a burst of energy was produced which was aimed directly at Sam. The energy slammed into Sam and she collapsed on the ground screaming.

"Nahiiiii!!!!" Aarushi  yelled and ran in between the energy and Sam. She had lost her child. Under no condition, was she going to let Sam lose her child too.

The energy now entered Aarushi. The mark on her back became extremely hot and tears started to fall from Aarushi's eyes. She yelled in pain. Sam was behind Aarushi. The energy was no where close to touching her but the little amount of energy that had struck her was causing immense pain in her womb.

"Ahhhh!" Both Aarushi and Sam were crying out in pain. The room started shuddering. Pieces of the ceiling started falling down. In some time, the entire house was launched into a series of jerks and shifts. Randhir got scared and asked all of his guests to exit the house towards some safe place. He quickly rushed upstairs towards their room. Meanwhile, everyone else entered the house and saw Randhir running up the stairs.

"Dekho! Woh udhar bhaag raha hai!" Rohan shouted. Everyone rushed upstairs.

In the room, Devaki realised that the situation has escalated. She quickly came back to her normal self and the energetic field vanished. Aarushi fell on the ground weakly. Sam was still crying out in pain. Aarushi slowly shifted towards Sam and tried to calm her down.

"A-Aarushi..." she stammered. "I-I think my water just broke." She said in alot of pain.

"Shit." Aarushi  cursed. She looked up at Devaki who was looking at them innocently. Her eyes had changed.

"SAMEEKSHA!!" Yudhveer yelled at the door. He saw Sam doubling up in pain and quickly picked her up.

"SUMEDH! MERA PHONE LO AUR DR. BANDANA KO CALL KARO! JALDI!" Yudhveer hurriedly took her to the car. Everyone followed them. No one stayed behind for Aarushi. She crouched down as her entire body was in splits. Tears were falling like streams down her cheeks.

She stood up somehow and went to the parking lot. Everyone was busy trying to help Sam into the car. Sam was crying due to the labour pain. Aarushi saw Siddharth standing next to everyone. Aarushi went towards him and patted on his shoulder.

He turned around and saw Aarushi.

"Si-" But he didn't hear her. He just took a step away from her. Aarushi's heart broke.

'Maybe its not the right time.' She thought. Everyone got in their cars and drove to the hospital. No one even asked Aarushi.

She went to her own car and drover towards the hospital.

              ******************

Everyone was waiting outside the ICU.  Aarushi was standing away from everyone. Yudhveer was pacing back and forth. Suddenly, the light of the ICU went off and Dr. Bandana came out with a smile.

"Bandana! Sam kaisi hai?" Yudhveer rushed towards her.

"Congratulations Veer! Its a baby girl!"   Dr. Bandana said with a smile. Everyone became joyful. Aarushi gleamed with happiness.

The child was safe. She did it.

"But 1 mahina premature hai...isliye usse incubation box mein rakhna padega..." Bandana said. Yudhveer nodded.

"Kya mein dekh sakta hun?" Yudhveer asked.

"Haan mujhe bhi dekhna hai!"  Nivi said excitedly.

"Yes and no." Bandana said.

"Yudhveer you're the father, you can go...but Mrs. Mehra abhi baby bahut naazuk hai...we can't take a risk..." Bandana explained.

"Oh...it's okay...nevermind...Yudhveer tum uski picture kheech ke lao..." She said.

"Haan okay..." Yudhveer said. "Tum log ghar jao...mein Sam ke saath rukta hun...usse kal-parso mein discharge kar denge..." Yudhveer said. Before everyone could leave, Aarushi hurried towards her car.

                          *************

"Aarushi humse pehle nikli thi na? Abhi tak aayi nahi?" Vedanti asked.

Siddharth was fuming in anger.

"Usne humse jhoot bola...humne usse mana kiya tha par woh nahi maani...har cheez itna carefree attitude se leti hai...samjhti kya hai woh apne aap ko?" Siddharth clenched his fists.

"Siddharth mein tumse sehmat hun...but abhi you need to chill..." Sumedh tried to calm him down.

"Haan, Siddharth...shaant ho jao zara..." Amit said.

"Guys, Aarushi ki gaadi aayi..." Rohan said.

"Yeh kaise chal rahi hai?" Nivi asked.

Aarushi walked inside the house with her heels in her hands. She was walking with staggering steps.

"Bas yeh hi nautanki baaki thi iski...peekar aayi hai..." Siddharth hissed.

Aarushi looked up and saw Siddharth.

"Sid-"

"Aa gayi tum?! Mujhe tumse koi baat nahi karni hai! Tumhe laakh samjhane ke baad bhi tum nahi maani! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! AUR AB DAARU PEEKAR AA RAHI HO?! TUMHE SHARAM NAHI AATI?" Siddharth yelled at the top of his voice. Aarushi flinched.

"Siddharth I can expalain-"

"NAHI SUNNA TUMHARA EXPLANATION! WAPAS KUCH JHOOT BOLOGI, MAN GHARAN KAHANIYA BANAOGI...JHOOTI HO TUM! AUR ZIDDI BHI! ITNI SELFISH HO GAYI HO TUM! SIRF APNE BAARE MEIN SOCHTI HO DUSRO KE BAARE MEIN KABHI SOCHA HAI TUMNE?! MUKHE TOH SAMJH NAHI AA RAHA HAI MEINE TUMSE SHAADI HI KYUN KI?! SABSE BADI GALTI HAI MERI LIFE KI, KI MEINE TUMSE SHAADI KI." Siddharth yelled in the heat of the moment.

Aarushi froze. Everyone else was also shocked to witness Sid's sudden outburst.  Siddharth had never spoken to her like that. Never in her life had she ever felt like someone had slapped her. Siddharth was always the kind of guy who would stay quiet and calm most of the times. Infact, Aarushi had a big mouth. She was never afraid of speaking out.  She always had an answer to every question. Even in politics, this was her biggest weapon. But today, she had nothing to say. Siddharth was regretting his decision of marrying her.

Was there anything worse that he could say now?

Tears welded up in her eyes.

"Thanks for letting me know, Siddharth." Aarushi whispered slowly.  "I'm sorry ki meine tumhe itna dukh pahunchaya.." She turned and left the house.

She went to her car and drove somewhere away from her and Sid's house.