80

Sanyukta wanted to get closer and closer. Her body was pressed against him with as little distance between them as possible, yet it wasn't enough. She wanted him completely.

His tongue was fighting with hers, waging a playful war. Her hands were on the nape of his neck, pulling him even harder against her mouth. Randhir's hands had moved down her back, under her shirt, and ran up her bare back, causing her to tremble against him.

She moaned against his mouth as he got closer to her chest, lifting her shirt up in the process.

Randhir broke the kiss and looked at her with so much hunger in his eyes that she was shivering.

He fell to his knees and lifted her shirt up to just under her breasts. Then he pressed his mouth against her belly button and sucked on it. Her hands grabbed his hair, pushing him even closer, his tongue running down to her navel.

She tried to move his head down towards her desire, but he wasn't having it yet. He pulled his head off and looked up at her, a glint in his eyes.

He let go of her and picked her up in his arms in one swooping movement, carrying her to the bed. He placed her in a seated position and he sat down next to her, holding her hand in his, and bringing it up to his lips, kissing it.

Sanyukta climbed onto his lap, facing sideways and kissed his cheek.

"I love you," she whispered to him, glancing down at his wet lips. "But I want you now."

Randhir reached under her shirt and moved his hands up her body to her breasts. He breathed more quickly as he felt her breasts under her shirt, his thumbs caressing her nipples.

Sanyukta buried her face in the crook of his neck and started to breathe more quickly too. She then started to kiss his neck, making him go even crazier.

"I don't know why you're waiting," she told him as his hands kneaded her breasts. "A girl is saying she wants you, but you're not giving yourself to her?"

"I want to love every part of you," he told her honestly. "I don't want to rush into it without exploring your body first... I know it sounds cheesy but I want to see every part of you and kiss every part of you before anything."

"What kind of stupid crap!" she snapped. "Watch, by the time you finally want to, we'll be interrupted."

"I think your mom's fast asleep and your dad has been asleep for a while," he murmured. "Let's take it slow."

Then he kissed her lips lovingly.

"Randhir," she moaned, "What if we won't get to do it tonight?"

"Then we'll do it another day," he said to her.

"What happened to wanting to fuck me hard?" she asked, now annoyed.

"You don't know how badly I want to be with you right now," he said, looking into her eyes, his hands still massaging her breasts. "But I want to do this out of love, not out of desire."

Sanyukta's eyes filled with tears and her lips started to tremble.

"What did I do to get such an amazing husband," she cried, and he removed his hands from under her shirt, holding her body against his tightly. "I love you Randhir."

Randhir smiled and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you too," he told her. "It's taking so much control right now... but I want every moment to be meaningful."

"What happens if something comes in the way?" she then asked, tears falling from her eyes.

"Let it come in the way, but nothing can stop us from being one," he told her firmly.

Words were easy to speak, but hard to act upon.

The real test would be when a circumstance would be thrown forward to test the validity of words once spoken.

Soon, this test was going to be handed to Randhir and Sanyukta, testing just how stable their love for each other was, and the only way to pass this test, would be to fail.

81

They started to kiss again, and Sanyukta gripped the back of his hair tightly. His hands moved her shirt up, and he broke the kiss, only to remove it from her body.

Then he attacked her neck, planting wet kisses on the exposed skin, his hands running down her back. Sanyukta grabbed his shirt and pulled it up. He moved back slightly so she could take it off him.

Randhir then laid her down on the bed, getting a good view of her breasts. As he looked at them, Sanyukta blushed.

"Stop staring," she said shyly.

"You're making it harder for me to control," he told her seriously, still looking at them.

"Shut up Randhir," she replied shyly.

"Why?" he asked, looking into her eyes.

"Just shut up," she whispered. "And don't look there."

"I will look. What will you do?" he teased, causing her cheeks to burn even more.

"You don't know how embarrassing it is," she whispered.

Randhir just smiled and leaned forward as he kissed one of her breasts and held the other one gently in his hand.

"You don't know how beautiful you are," he then said, causing her to smile at him with admiration.

Before she had a chance to reply, he buried his face between her breasts and planted a wet kiss there. Then he showered kisses on each of her breasts, one by one, licking each of her nipples seductively.

Soon she forgot about her self-consciousness because the feeling was so good.

He licked his way down to her navel until he got to the hem of her pants. Then he started to pull them down slowly, causing her to grip the bedsheets tightly.

"Randhir, I'm so wet," she moaned. "I just keep getting wetter and wetter."

Randhir chuckled and pulled her pants off completely, exposing her panties. Black lace.

"Someone was prepared," he told her, looking up with a smirk.

Sanyukta blushed.

"Obviously, I knew something was going to happen tonight," she replied.

Randhir rubbed her over her panties, causing her toes to curl.

"Shit," she gasped.

He slipped his hand inside her panties, rubbing her wetness slowly, making her moan with her eyes closed.

Removing his hand from inside, his eyes widened.

"Ummm..." he said out loud.

"What Randhir?" she asked, wondering why he stopped.

"Sanyukta... ummmm..." he said.

"What?" she asked, now irritated. "Say it!"

"You know how you're so wet?" he asked her, and she opened her eyes. "It's because... because there's blood."

Sanyukta wished she could disappear from the spot.

This was the most embarrassing situation any girl could ever face - that too, on their wedding night, when they were trying to have sex for the first time.

82

Sanyukta got up and gulped, feeling really embarrassed, unable to look Randhir in the eye. Randhir looked around awkwardly too, trying to look away from both the blood on his hands and from Sanyukta.

"This is weird," he finally said.

"I know," she agreed. "Sorry."

Then tears filled her eyes and she started to cry.

Randhir didn't know what to do... he felt awkward, but he hated seeing her cry.

"Umm let - let me go and wash my hands and you should probably wear something too," he told her awkwardly.

Sanyukta nodded, sniffling and put her clothes back on.

"I - I will come back," she whispered, then she went back into her room.

When she entered her room, she saw that her mom was still fast asleep. She disappeared into her bathroom and cleaned up. She changed her clothes and then went back to Randhir's room quietly.

Randhir was sitting on the bed, his shirt back on.

Sanyukta sat on the bed with him and hugged him tightly from the side.

"I wanted our first night to be special," she sobbed. "I wasn't expecting it to come today."

Randhir wrapped his arms around her, not knowing how to react. He had never faced this situation before. He never had a girlfriend, a sister or a mom.

"It's okay... it isn't your fault," he told her reassuringly. "We'll wait for it to finish and then we can do it."

Sanyukta nodded, then she glanced up at him.

"Do you find it disgusting?" she asked him.

"No!" he replied right away. "I just feel awkward. I never faced this before."

Sanyukta started to hiccup through her tears and he used his fingers to lightly brush away the tears that had fallen from her eyes.

"You still love me right?" she asked him.

"What a stupid question," he said, now irritated.

"Yes or no?" she asked him dramatically.

"No," he said sarcastically.

"I hate you," she snapped.

"You're just fishing for compliments," he retorted.

"So? Your job as my husband is to give them to me," she responded.

"Fine. I still love you. Happy?" he asked her.

"Good, now I'll give you a reward," she said with a smirk.

"What?" he asked her, confused.

"I can still please you," she whispered seductively and ran a hand up his thigh, towards his crotch.

"Sanyukta," Randhir warned. "Stop it."

"No," she refused.

"You're sick - just relax on me," he told her.

"Sick?" Sanyukta then asked, sounding pissed off. "I'm sick?"

As he saw the fury in her eyes, he knew that he had probably just started world war 3.

83

"S - sorry!" Randhir said right away, scared by how intensely she was glaring at him right now.

She was looking at him, incredibly pissed off by how he called it a sickness.

"I'm on my period, I am not sick!" she responded angrily.

"Yeah because bleeding nonstop is not a sickness," he muttered under his breath.

"I heard that," she said, sounding irritated.

"Okay good. Then answer this question. How can you girls bleed for a week without dying?" Randhir said to her. "Isn't that an illness?"

"You're such a jerk!" Sanyukta said loudly, her eyes filling with tears. "What did I see in you?"

Randhir kissed the top of her head quickly, causing her to calm down a little.

She placed her hand on his thigh again.

"Let me pleasure you," she said sternly.

"I thought that you were just wondering what you saw in me?" he asked her lightly.

"Yeah I am wondering that... but I want to pleasure you," she said with a pout.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked her.

"A wife has the right to please her husband," Sanyukta said simply, her hands sliding up towards her destination.

As she rubbed him over his pants, he groaned.

"Stop it," he told her.

"Let me," she persisted.

"Let you what?" he asked her.

She blushed.

"I won't tell you," she said shyly.

"You can't even say it," he pointed out.

"L - let me... l - let me," she managed to say, then brought her voice down to a whisper. "Let me s - suck y - your dick."

Then she took her hand off him and covered her face with her hands shyly as Randhir's heart nearly popped out of his chest as she said it in such a dirty tone.

This girl was crazy.

84

Sanyukta was blushing so deeply that she was surprised that the heat on her cheeks hadn't burned her alive yet. Randhir used his hands to try and remove her hands from her face, but she shook her head like a little kid, leaving them there.

"Look at me," he said firmly.

"N - no," she refused, hiding her face.

"You're going to do it by hiding your face?" he asked her.

"Yes!" she said, and Randhir chuckled.

She was so cute.

Randhir finally managed to pull her hands off and he looked at her with admiration.

"I love you, but I don't want you to please me without me getting the chance to please you back," he told her seriously. "I want to give you equal if not much more pleasure at the same time."

"You're a nut case," she pointed out, now sounding irritated.

"Coming from you?" he questioned and Sanyukta grinned.

Randhir then laid down on the bed and pulled her down on top of his chest.

"Sleep here for a bit," he told her.

"B - but -" she started.

"Shut up," he interrupted. "You have to listen to your husband. Haven't you learned?"

"And a husband has to listen to his wife," Sanyukta replied.

"Shut up," he repeated.

"Fine," she mumbled and then smiled, leaning into his chest. "Either way, this is comfortable. Wake me up before mom wakes up. Like before six."

Then she closed her eyes and fell asleep right away. Randhir did too... and he forgot to set the alarm.

85

In the morning, Sanyukta was woken up by screams. Screams of her mother and father.

"What the hell!" Kishore was yelling, clutching his hand to his chest, and Sanyukta's head shot up along with Randhir's.

He was standing by the doorway, Anju beside him, Kishore's expression having a shocked expression.

Sanyukta groaned - she must have forgotten to lock the door when she came back in.

Anju slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. When she noticed that Sanyukta wasn't in bed that morning, she knew right away that she had to be with Randhir. She had gone herself to make sure, and opened Randhir's door slightly, but Kishore had already come down and saw her opening Randhir's door.

Kishore peeked behind her and saw Sanyukta sleeping in the paying guest's arms and looked livid.

That was when he screamed.

"Kishore!" Anju screamed back at him. "Let's go out from here. There is something I need to tell you."

Sanyukta's eyes filled with tears.

Kishore stormed into the room and grabbed his daughter's arms, pulling her off the bed. Then he raised his hand and slapped Sanyukta hard.

"I'm sorry," she cried. "Dad, please listen to me..."

"I didn't expect to raise this kind of girl!" Kishore yelled, and Sanyukta was sniffling. "Sleeping with the paying guest at night!"

"Kishore!" Anju interrupted, and grabbed her husband's shoulder. "Listen to me. This paying guest is -"

"I don't care who he is. Her marriage is with Sameer on Friday, and she is here sleeping with someone else?" Kishore snapped.

Randhir got up and walked up to the three of them.

"Uncle, I love her," Randhir said firmly.

"And I love him," Sanyukta said just as firmly.

"Get out of this house," Kishore said through gritted teeth to Randhir. "And never show your face again."

"Kishore!" Anju then yelled, "This is Randhir! Our Randhir! Renuka's son Randhir!"

Kishore looked at Anju with shock.

86

Kishore looked from Anju to Randhir with shock.

"What?" he asked, his voice now more calm. "How?"

Anju explained how Randhir had gone to Canada with his father. She told him that Sanyukta had seen his passport. She explained how Randhir and Sanyukta loved each other and wanted to be together.

Kishore looked livid.

"He's been living with his father his whole life. You think I will give my daughter in his hands?" Kishore bellowed. "Someone raised by that man?"

"Hey -" Randhir now interrupted, but he saw Anju's glare and kept quiet.

"Kishore, let's step outside and talk," Anju said to her husband.

Kishore followed Anju outside, glaring at Randhir on the way out.

"Why doesn't your dad like me? Why is he calling my dad 'that man'?" Randhir asked Sanyukta.

"I don't know," Sanyukta admitted. "But mom will convince him... she has to."

Outside the room, Anju was trying to convince Kishore but in vain. He was a stubborn man.

"You know how Harsh used to beat Renuka Anju. And Randhir has grown up living with Harsh. I don't want my daughter to suffer the same fate," Harsh said darkly. "I don't trust that man's upbringing. I don't trust this Randhir. He's not a child anymore. Even Harsh used to say he loved Renuka, and then you know what happened? One day he lost his temper and raised his hand... then it grew worse."

"I know, but I've spoken to Randhir. He's a good boy," Anju explained.

"It's all an act!" Kishore spat. "You think Harsh wasn't good too? It takes one point to lose control. Sanyu is marrying Sameer and that's final."

"Kishore, listen!" Anju said, but he walked away.

Anju sighed and went back into Randhir's room.

Randhir and Sanyukta were sitting on the bed, her hand on his shoulder.

"Your dad isn't going to agree," she told Sanyukta. "He doesn't trust Randhir."

"But why?" Sanyukta gasped. "I thought you both loved him!"

"Yes, we loved him when he was a kid. But your father thinks he's influenced by his dad now," Anju said seriously.

"My dad?" Randhir asked.

Kishore stormed into the room as soon as Randhir asked that.

"Pack your bags and get out," he spat at Randhir. "I don't want Harsh's upbringing, Harsh's blood in this house."

"B - but what did my dad do?" Randhir asked.

"He killed your mother!" Kishore bellowed. "I don't want my Sanyu to face the same fate. Get out of here!"

87

Randhir started to shake and Sanyukta placed her hand on his shoulder reassuringly. What was happening? How could Sanyukta's dad say that so confidently? His father killed his mother?

"Don't say that uncle," Randhir pleaded, feeling his heart ache. "My dad couldn't have killed my mom... my dad loved my mom a lot."

"He killed your mom!" Kishore bellowed. "He abused her and then he ended up murdering her. I don't want you to do the same to my daughter... after all you have his blood, his upbringing in you. You will do the same. Get out of here!"

"Stop it... please uncle," Randhir begged. "Don't make things up to get me to leave Sanyukta."

"You fool, you think I'm making this up?" Kishore bellowed. "Your father is a cruel, heartless man. I've never seen a horrible person like him in my life."

Randhir's hands now balled into fists and his eyes grew red with anger.

"Enough!" Randhir yelled. "Not another word against my father! I respect and love my father a lot and I won't tolerate it if a random person says nonsense about him!"

"R - Randhir," Sanyukta whispered, begging in her tone. "Please calm down."

"I won't calm down!" Randhir snapped. "Nobody gets to insult my father like that. He doesn't want me to be with you? Then fine! I don't want to be associated with someone of the same blood of this man either!"

Sanyukta's heart shattered into a million pieces.

"Randhir," Sanyukta said, grabbing his arm with both of her hands. "You stop saying nonsense."

"I'm getting out of here," Randhir said, glaring at Kishore Agarwal. "I don't want to be associated to a house where there is a negative view about my father."

Randhir shrugged his arm off from Sanyukta's grip and then threw his suitcase on the ground before throwing his belongings in it.

"Dad, please stop him," Sanyukta begged, running to her father and falling to his feet. "I can't live without him dad... please!"

"You're better off without him Sanyu," Kishore said sternly. "Your future is with someone who grew up in a respectable household like Sameer. Not the son of a criminal!"

"Dad!" Sanyukta screamed. "Stop it!"

Kishore then grabbed Sanyukta's arm and pulled her out of Randhir's room. Anju had tears in her eyes as she witnessed this. She walked towards Randhir and placed her hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"I - I will try some more," she said to him.

"Don't bother," Randhir said darkly. "I don't want to have anything to do with such a man."

"Randhir, for me? For Sanyukta?" Anju said.

"For my dad's respect, I can leave anyone," Randhir said firmly.

Anju then ran out of the room, to try and plead with Kishore as well.

As Randhir was packing his belongings, his hands landed on the mangalsutra and the red dupatta that he had got for Sanyukta. Crushing the mangalsutra in his hands, Randhir's eyes teared up.

No. He couldn't do this. He couldn't think about her right now. He threw the mangalsutra in his suitcase with the rest of his belongings and closed it.

He left the red dupatta on top of the dresser.

As he lugged the suitcase out of the house, Sanyukta ran up to him and hugged him tightly from behind.

"Don't punish me," she begged. "Please don't punish me. I love you."

"I love you Sanyukta, but you are the daughter of that man," Randhir then stated angrily. "I have the genes of a so-called criminal according to him. I respect my father more than anyone else."

"Randhir," Sanyukta sobbed, but he pushed her backwards with such force that she fell to the ground.

"See!" Kishore bellowed.

Randhir's heart started to hurt as Sanyukta screamed, "Fine go! But I will never forgive you Randhir Singh Shekhawat."

Without looking back at her, he walked out of the house, with his heart aching, and his body begging him to turn around... but his mind forcing him to continue walking.

Randhir fell victim to his mind.

88

Sanyukta spent the next few days like a zombie at home. She tried to call Randhir, but he didn't pick up. Kishore didn't make any changes to the wedding plans, and in fact, invited more guests to the wedding.

"Move on," he kept on telling Sanyukta.

But Sanyukta couldn't.

How could she move on?

Her father didn't even know that she was married, and even Anju gave up, unable to go against her husband any longer.

Soon the day for the wedding arrived and Sanyukta tried calling Randhir one last time. He never picked up her calls, but the number was still in service.

She sent him a text.

Sanyukta: Idiot, I'm getting married today... can you see your wife marry someone else?

Then she sniffled and threw her phone on her bed. She was supposed to get dressed, but she had locked herself in her room and began to cry. Anju was in her own room, getting ready herself, and Kishore was outside at the venue already.

In about twenty minutes, she had put on her red wedding lehenga and sat on her bed, holding the red dupatta from the marriage she considered her real one... the one that Randhir left behind. Then there was a knock on her door.

Sanyukta rushed to the door to open it, expecting it to be her mom.

It was Randhir.

Her eyes widened with shock, and without another thought, she threw her arms around his neck, pulling him towards her and engulfing him in a tight hug.

"I knew you'd come," she said happily. "Oh Randhir, I knew you'd come back for me."

89

Randhir had been staying at a hotel for the last week, trying to kill time until the wedding... because this wedding would be the last reason for him to stay back. He was supposed to call his uncle this morning, but he stopped caring about his mother's death. Ever since Kishore said something so outrageous, he chose to believe that it had indeed been a suicide. He didn't want to interfere anymore. He didn't care enough.

He needed to show everyone who he was, and this wedding would do that for him.

Breaking the embrace, he cupped Sanyukta's face lovingly, looking into her tear-filled eyes.

"You trust me that much?" he asked her softly, and she nodded, wrapping her arms around him again and hugging him much more tightly.

"I trust you more than I trust myself," she told him. "I knew you couldn't let your wife marry someone else."

"You're only mine," he told her firmly. "I would never let you become anyone else's."

Sanyukta smiled serenely and broke the hug, looking up into his eyes. Then she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips lovingly.

One of his arms wrapped around her waist and he kissed her back hungrily, his free hand reaching into her hair and caressing it lovingly.

She broke the kiss and sighed contentedly.

"Now what do we do?" she asked him softly.

"Now you leave it to me," he said with a smile. "What time is your wedding?"

"Six," she told him, her heart beating quickly.

Randhir looked down at his watch.

"Two hours," he murmured and then he smiled. "Don't worry, I will be there. You just go ahead with things as they are."

"The wedding won't happen right?" she asked him fearfully.

"Of course not," he replied. "I'm here. Don't worry."

Then he hugged her tightly, kissing the top of her head.

"I love you," she said to him. "I missed you so much."

"I love you too," he replied, and held her even closer.

What Sanyukta couldn't see was that he was smirking, because he had something different planned from what she was expecting.

90

Randhir left her to finish getting ready, and he snuck out of the house, avoiding Anju, who was still in there.

Sanyukta was sitting on her bed, combing her hair and smiling, because she knew that her Randhir was going to come and save her from this wedding.

She knew that he wouldn't ever let her marry Sameer.

He had come to rescue her, and he wouldn't go without saving her.

Anju entered her room, only to see Sanyukta smiling, and shock took over her features.

"Sanyu? You're happy?" Anju asked.

"Yeah! I mean... no... I don't know," Sanyukta said, and Anju sat down on the bed.

"I know you must be in a shock. I know you love Randhir, but you might be able to move on with Sameer. He's a very good person. I'm sure that you will find happiness there too," Anju told Sanyukta. "And in a way your father is right. Randhir was raised by Harsh."

"Did Harsh uncle really kill Renuka aunty?" Sanyukta asked.

"He was only ever a suspect. It wasn't ever confirmed... but we believe he did, because he abused Renuka," Anju told Sanyukta. "He used to hit her and she was always crying over him."

"Hit her?" Sanyukta gasped.

Was it possible that Randhir's marks hadn't been given by his uncle, but by his own father? But how could Randhir not know? Surely that wasn't possible.

"Anyways Sanyu, let me finish getting you ready," Anju said.

Sanyukta nodded.

Soon Sanyukta got ready and then Anju went with her to the venue. Sanyukta waited and waited for Randhir.

The clock struck six and the pandit started to chant his mantras, and Sanyukta bit down on her lip anxiously.

Where was Randhir?

Just as they were about to stand up to take the wedding vows, Randhir stormed into the venue, wearing a sherwani.

Kishore looked up and his eyes widened with shock.

"What is he doing here?" he hissed to Anju.

Sanyukta breathed a sigh of relief and Sameer looked up at Randhir with shock.

Randhir stormed up to Sanyukta and grabbed her arm, pulling her away from Sameer.

He took out her mangalsutra from his pocket and tied it around her neck in front of everyone.

"She's already married to me," Randhir said loudly to the whole venue. "We got married already. She can't marry anyone else."

Then he grabbed Sanyukta's waist and smacked his lips against hers in front of everyone.

Kishore's eyes widened with shock.

He broke the kiss as Sanyukta looked up at him, looking disturbed.

What was the need for him to do that?

"And she's very good in pleasing her husband," Randhir said with a wide smirk.

Sanyukta felt like collapsing into a heap on the ground, and Kishore clutched his chest tightly.

"S - Sanyukta are you married to him?" Kishore managed to gasp.

Sanyukta's eyes filled with tears numbly and she nodded slowly.

Kishore then collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest painfully.

"Kishore!" Anju screamed.

"Dad!" Sanyukta yelled, about to rush to her father.

But she paused and then glared at Randhir.

"If anything happens to my father, I swear you will pay," she spat to him darkly. "I will never forgive you."

Randhir grabbed her hand and pulled her to the empty hallway, where he pushed her against the wall and trapped her in between his arms.

"This is the last time I'm ever going to speak to you because I'm leaving forever once I walk out of these doors. So listen carefully," he spat venomously, meaning every word he said.

91

Randhir looked into Sanyukta's eyes and he felt his heart ache, seeing how much pain there was hidden in them... but he couldn't succumb... not even in front of her, because one day, she would leave him and go, if he didn't leave her first.

He was sure of it.

--

FLASHBACK

Randhir was pacing back and forth in his hotel room nervously. He knew Sanyukta's wedding with Sameer was today. It had been a week since he left the Agarwal house, and now he didn't know what to do... so he called his dad and decided to tell him the truth.

His dad always guided him, and surely he could guide him now too.

"Dad," Randhir said, as soon as his dad answered the phone. "I have to tell you something. Please don't get mad."

"What is it Randhir?" Harsh asked, sounding impatient like he had to go somewhere.

"Sorry for wasting your time... but what do you know about Kishore and Anju Agarwal? And their daughter Sanyukta?" Randhir asked.

He heard silence and quick breathing on the other end of the line for a few seconds.

"Why are you asking?" Harsh asked.

"I'm in India and I met them," Randhir confessed quietly.

"India?" Harsh bellowed. "Didn't I forbid you from going there?"

"Sorry," Randhir mumbled.

"Stay far away from those people!" Harsh warned.

"Why?" Randhir asked. "Dad, they're saying that you killed mom and - and you beat her."

"What nonsense!" Harsh screamed. "To cover up their own crimes they're placing the blame on me? Let me tell you what happened Randhir. They were connected to our family because your mom was friends with them."

Harsh inhaled sharply.

"But that Kishore Agarwal liked your mom," Harsh spat, "And they were friends from their college days, so your mom liked him back... then they had an affair."

Randhir's eyes widened - Kishore Agarwal had an affair with his mom?

"When I found out, your mom begged me to not leave her," Harsh said, "I was hurt because I loved your mom a lot... then your mother committed suicide... or so I told you. I lied to you to protect you from this brutal truth son, that your mom was killed... she was killed by Kishore Agarwal because he was scared that her truth would come out in front of his wife."

Randhir gasped loudly, his eyes filling with tears.

"Your mom is not innocent," Harsh continued. "But she didn't deserve to be brutally killed by those monsters."

"B - but their daughter Sanyukta is innocent right and the mom Anju?" Randhir asked, his heart aching.

"It runs in the blood," Harsh answered. "Stay away from them all, because they will hurt you... I haven't faced a more deceitful family. Anju knows this truth but she will protect her husband until the end. I bet even their daughter knows this truth."

"B - but dad, I love Sanyukta," Randhir confessed.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Harsh spat. "Come back to Canada quickly and marry Sanaya. Stay far away from that family."

"I - I will," Randhir said, his voice cracking. "I'll come back in a few days."

Then Randhir hung up the phone and he cried for the first time in his life over his mom's death. He had chosen to believe it was a suicide for the last few days and didn't want anything to do with finding out more about his mother because he told himself he didn't care anymore... but it seemed like destiny wasn't on his side and revealed a truth that he wished hadn't been true.

After the sadness wore off, he was filled with only anger and vengeance. He was going to make that Kishore Agarwal pay for what he did to his mother.

He wasn't sure about whether love could ever be true, but he knew that anyone who was connected to Kishore could not be true... and he would hurt all of them, even if it meant that he had to rip apart his own heart to do so.

--

"I hope your dad dies," Randhir spat, pushing Sanyukta harder against the wall. "For what he did to me and my family."

Sanyukta looked at him with shock.

92

Love. What a joke. Sanyukta couldn't believe that she could have ever fooled herself into believing that she loved this guy. How could she love someone so cruel, so disgusting? She was now shivering with disgust at herself for ever having feelings for this guy... she couldn't believe she could have loved Randhir. There was no way. Her mom had been right... it was childish obsession. Not love. Just infatuation. Nobody could love someone as despicable as Randhir.

"Don't talk about my father like that," Sanyukta hissed. "He didn't do anything to you or your family."

Randhir had her pressed against the wall, his eyes red with anger. He looked like he was about to lose any cool he had left at any moment.

"You don't know what kind of a horrible man your father is. I hope he dies a brutal death... because there is no way he deserves to live easily after what he has put me through," Randhir retorted coldly.

Sanyukta tried to push him off but he grabbed her arms tightly, causing her to wince in pain.

"Let go of me," she snarled. "You disgust me."

"You disgust me more. Just looking at you makes me wonder what I ever saw in you," Randhir spat. "Be grateful that I only embarrassed you and left... I could have done so much more."

"Oh yeah? What more could you have done?" Sanyukta screamed and tried to push him back, but he was holding her too strongly.

"What if I slept with you, then discarded you?" Randhir asked her, causing her to gasp.

"You fucking -" she started.

"Hold it - I wouldn't want to dirty myself by sleeping with you," Randhir snarled. "You got off the hook... this time."

"You said you were going right? You won't ever come back here? Then why are you still here? Why aren't you gone yet?" Sanyukta asked, her eyes now filling with tears. "You'll leave me here and go right? So go!"

"I will, but first you listen to me," Randhir told her darkly, now shaking her. "If you have any self-respect left then you will take what I say seriously."

"What the fuck do you want to say now?" Sanyukta screamed.

"Your father killed my mother," Randhir told her seriously.

"You've gone insane!" Sanyukta screamed, her eyes wide.

"Shut up!" Randhir bellowed over her screams. "Just listen to me!"

"No!" Sanyukta yelled, tears falling from her eyes. "What are you even saying! You can't just blame my father like this and expect me to keep quiet and listen!"

"Great. So you know why I did what I did then," Randhir told her darkly. "When your father was blaming my father, now you know how I felt when I left your house."

Sanyukta felt like she got punched in the stomach... how could Randhir accuse her father like this?

"Randhir just stop talking!" she screamed.

"Just shut up!" Randhir yelled more loudly. "Listen, you don't have to believe me. I don't give a damn if you believe me or not... I'm only telling you because you should know about your dad's true nature!"

"You're fucking crazy!" Sanyukta yelled, tears falling from her eyes. "Leave me alone! Just get out! I really don't ever want to see you again!"

"Trust me, you won't see me again," Randhir spat. "I'm going back and getting married to the girl that my dad chose for me... and you'll stay back here, forever alone, because nobody will want to marry you."

Her eyes widened with shock as Randhir pushed her back hard, finally letting go of her. Then he reached around her neck and jerked the mangalsutra off with so much force that it left a red mark around her neck.

"Your whole world has collapsed Sanyukta Agarwal, because you have come into my life," Randhir told her darkly. "Unfortunately your fate is connected to mine... but let's end this now. This so-called game of destiny, this connection of our families. I vow to move on from you and never look back."

She started to shake with anger.

"Then listen to me Randhir Singh Shekhawat!" Sanyukta bellowed. "I will also make a vow today. I, Sanyukta Agarwal, vow to you Randhir Singh Shekhawat, that I will never ever return to you, even if you fall on your knees begging. I will also move on in my life and be happy, because I deserve better than a loser like you. You know, my dad called you a criminal's son... but for me, you are no less than a criminal. I have no place in my life for criminal's."

Randhir glared at her as she called him a loser and a criminal.

"Have a wonderful life Sanyukta Agarwal. Have fun being the daughter of a murderer," he told her, this time smirking sarcastically.

"I hope you live a life full of misery Randhir Singh Shekhawat. I hope you have to pay for every sin that you have committed. I hope that you pay a price so grave that you will regret this moment, that you will regret everything... and you know what, even if I have to lose everything to make you pay, I will gladly do so!" Sanyukta cursed. "I will lose everything I have because I want to see you in so much pain that you will beg for mercy, but I hope you never get it. If I have to go down with you, I will too!"

Randhir just laughed sarcastically, then turned around and walked out of the hall, without sparing a glance back at her. She stood firmly rooted to her spot, glaring at his retreating figure, wishing ill upon him in every possible way.

This was when they parted ways, yet again, for the third time in their lives.

First, as children. Secondly, as Akshay and Aahana. Now, as Randhir and Sanyukta, who had fallen for each other, but had let circumstances come in between their love for each other.

Quite possibly, separation was what was written in their fate, and they were never destined to be one.

This was not their last meeting nor was it their last separation, for they would meet again.

Their paths only crossed again when it was time to bring Sanyukta's curse to life, for the intensity of her curse was so strong, that it was going to come true in a way that neither of them would have expected.

The next phase in their lives would teach them a very important lesson about love... but would they get a chance to try again, or had they completely cursed their lives to a point where their union was no longer possible?

93

Randhir returned to Canada the same day that he left Sanyukta, with no regrets. After all, why would he regret leaving behind someone who would eventually hurt him? Why would he regret leaving behind a girl who was so influenced by her criminal father? Why would he regret leaving behind the daughter of his mother's murderer?

As soon as he got home, his dad was waiting for him, awake in the living room, watching television. It was about eleven at night there.

"You're back?" Harsh asked.

Randhir nodded.

"Good, I'll fix a date to meet with Sanaya sometime this week then," Harsh said.

It was like Harsh hadn't even realized that Randhir had been gone for so long... it was like he hadn't missed him at all, and Randhir's heart ached for his dad's love. Any concern that Harsh showed Randhir was not the same concern he would see another father showing their child.

Harsh hadn't asked how he was, where he went, or how he felt. It was straight to business for him. Regardless of that though, he knew his dad loved him... his way of expression was just very different.

"Yeah, okay," Randhir mumbled.

Then he lugged his suitcase up to his room and placed it on the ground. Once he got ready for bed, he laid down and reached for his phone. Instinctively, he logged on to Akshay's messenger, too tired to even realize what he was doing.

As soon he logged in, his eyes widened when he saw that Aahana was online too and she had already seen him and messaged him.

Aahana: Thank you for coming online

Aahana: I desperately need someone to talk to right now

Aahana: I'm going insane

94

Randhir stared at his phone for a few moments to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him.

How could she run back to Akshay the moment he left her? Was she really that cheap?

Akshay: I logged on by mistake. Logging out now.

Aahana: No

Aahana: Please wait

Aahana: Please I'm going to die

Randhir felt an ache in his chest as Sanyukta as Aahana told him she was going to die...but no, he had to control himself. He couldn't fall weak to her.

Akshay: Then die

Randhir then logged out, knowing that what he said was very mean, but that was the only way he could cope with himself right now. He didn't have it in him to be nice and listen to her... all he knew was that he hated her, and if she wanted to die, then why would he stop her? Why would he fall for her emotions? Her drama?

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep, but it was difficult. When he finally fell asleep, he had nightmares... but this time the nightmares weren't just connected to his childhood, but connected to Sanyukta.

This time, he started to dream about her leaving him forever. Even though he had already left her, it was like his subconscious mind was still holding on to her strongly and giving him dreams about her going away... how could it think that way?

This was the first of many nightmares involving Sanyukta, but they began to fade slowly... it was only two years later, that the nightmares finally left his dreams, but had come to the forefront to become his reality.

95

Two years later, Sanyukta was on her lunch break at work, listening to music on her phone, when her colleague Aryan Harshwal joined her.

"You okay?" he asked her, and she removed her earphones before smiling up at him.

"Of course. Why?" Sanyukta asked him.

"No, I was just asking because the boss seemed irate today," Aryan explained. "When you told him that you didn't want to go to Canada."

Sanyukta breathed sharply.

"It's my choice! I refuse to go there," Sanyukta replied. "He needs to understand that."

Canada only reminded her of Randhir. The one man who had broken her heart and left her... why would she deliberately go there?

"I mean he wanted us to go together," Aryan told her. "But because you're not going, he won't send me either."

"Why not?" Sanyukta replied. "Of course he will. Just tell him that you'll take another colleague."

"He thinks I only work well with you," Aryan responded and Sanyukta groaned.

"Fine! I'll talk to him," Sanyukta replied.

"Why don't you want to go there anyways?" Aryan asked her.

"I just have bad memories there," Sanyukta responded, trying not to think about him... thinking about him only made her heart hurt. "But I'll talk to the boss and see if he can send you with someone else. I'll go now."

Then before Aryan could say another word to her, Sanyukta had walked out of the cafeteria and went to find her boss in his cabin.

"Vardhaan sir, can I come in?" Sanyukta asked, knocking on the door.

"Yes of course. Come in," he replied, and she walked into the office, sitting down on the chair across from him. "You've changed your decision?"

"No! I don't want to go to Canada, but I want Aryan to. I think that he'll be really good," Sanyukta pressed on. "You can send someone else like Krittika or Joy with him."

"Sanyukta, I know what I'm doing," Vardhaan sir said, narrowing his eyes at her. "I know who I have to send. It's either you and Aryan going or nobody at all because if anyone else goes, this deal will flop."

"But sir -" Sanyukta started.

"If you care about the last few years you've been with the company even a little bit Sanyukta, then you will agree to go to Canada," Vardhaan sir interrupted.

Sanyukta looked down on the ground and pressed her lips together tightly, knowing that she was bringing her personal problems into her professional life.

Perhaps she could go to Canada, get the job done, and then return. It wasn't even like she was going to see him, then what was the problem?

"Fine," Sanyukta muttered. "I'll go."

"Great," Vardhaan sir said coolly. "I'll get all the arrangements made then and you and Aryan can depart next week."

Sanyukta nodded slowly and walked out of the office, back to the cafeteria numbly.

"I'm going to Canada," she confessed to Aryan. "And you're coming with me."

"Great!" Aryan responded, a smile on his face. "We'll have a lot of fun there."

"I'm not going there to have fun. I'm going there strictly for work," Sanyukta informed him. "Then I'm returning as soon as it's over."

Sanyukta still hadn't realized that she wasn't the one who decided who she would run into, or what circumstances she would be thrown into... it was destiny who decided, and destiny was about to send her crashing into her deepest fears. The one man she wanted to avoid more than anything else, would be the one man that she was going to be forced to see.

96

"Randhir, where's your attention?" Nirmaan, his boss bellowed. "I'm telling you something important here. Forget about the promotion if you won't focus!"

Randhir had been smiling and thinking about Sanaya Jha, his fiance. He was twirling his engagement ring on his finger, remembering how she told him that she would cook for him tonight. Sanaya and cooking just didn't go together... she was the last person who knew how to cook. In fact, just her telling him that she was going to cook, was enough to put a smile on his face for the entire day... it was such a joke.

"Sorry," Randhir said right away.

He had just been put in a new role, a high level position where he had to make fundamental decisions about the business. It was a step up from his previous IT job.

"We have a few meetings lined up next week and you will have to attend them all. There are a few countries from abroad that want to pitch their services to us and may be seeking partnership. Go over their proposals and do the correct negotiations if they're worthy... if not, reject them," Nirmaan informed. "Got it?"

Randhir nodded.

"Great. Now you can go back to doing your work," Nirmaan said, and then left Randhir's cabin.

Randhir picked up his phone and called Sanaya.

"Randhir, the roti is so hard!" Sanaya whined as soon as he picked up the phone. "You make better food than this."

Randhir started to laugh. He couldn't help it. It was just too funny...he couldn't imagine Sanaya ever going through the labour of kitchen work.

"Why are you laughing at me?" she asked, sounding upset.

"Sorry," he laughed, his stomach hurting. "Don't cook Sanaya. Please."

"Randhir I'll kill you!" Sanaya replied, now sounding irritated. "I'm just trying to make food for you and instead of being grateful, you're taunting me?"

"Okay okay sorry," Randhir replied, trying to control his laughter. "Thank you for trying, but Sanaya you really don't have to... spare us today."

Then he burst out laughing again.

"Randhir!" Sanaya whined.

"Alright, sorry!" he apologized again. "I'll order take out and bring it home."

"No, you're eating what I am making for you and that's final!" Sanaya huffed.

"Fine, whatever," Randhir replied, rolling his eyes. "I'll see you tonight then."

"I love you," Sanaya said to him.

"I love you too," Randhir replied, feeling a sick feeling in his stomach as he said it.

The way he meant it and the way Sanaya meant it were two completely different ways. Sanaya had been a great friend to him in the last two years, and he loved being around her, found her attractive and liked her genuinely... but there was not that weird sensation that he used to have when he had been with Sanyukta. He couldn't even describe how strange that sensation was... and Sanaya just didn't replicate it for him.

Regardless of that though, he knew his future was with Sanaya so he was trying his hardest to make it work, for his father. Randhir and Sanaya got engaged a year back, and Sanaya and Randhir told their family that they were in no rush to get married, but would get married to only each other.

In the last year, Randhir had moved out of his father's place and got his own apartment with Sanaya. They got along really well, and Randhir was happy with her. When he got his nightmares, Sanaya was always there for him to comfort him... but she was never able to make the nightmares go away like Sanyukta had once been able to.

He avoided thinking about Sanyukta. She was a past that he never wanted to recall... the biggest regret of his life. He wished he hadn't come close to her or become emotionally vulnerable to her, because she had only ended up hurting him. Sanyukta meant the past for him, and Sanaya meant the future.

Randhir didn't think he would ever meet Sanyukta again, but his whole life was about to change once again in a few days, when she would run into him, and make him question everything he thought he felt in the last two years.

97

Sanyukta was packing for Canada when she came across the beautiful red dupatta that Randhir had once got for her for their wedding. She looked at it and tears filled her eyes as a nostalgic feeling took over her body.

She clutched the dupatta to her chest and sniffled, trying her hardest to not cry, but the tears fell from her eyes.

Sanyukta hated him a lot. She really did... but once he had been a beautiful part of her life, and she wished that it would have stayed that way. Unfortunately, Randhir had to unleash a side of him that she would never be able to accept... and for that, she was glad that he left her.

Throwing it into the suitcase as well, without realizing what she was doing, her hands landed on a diary.

After Randhir left for Canada, Sanyukta went to visit the uncle that Randhir was supposed to visit, because she wanted to know what secrets her past held. He hadn't told her much, but he had given this diary. It was a diary written by Renuka Shekhawat, and the uncle told her that whatever she was seeking, she would find it there.

Sanyukta never had the heart to open the diary, but she thought that maybe, she would finally gather the courage to open it and read through it in Canada. It was a change of environment, so possibly, it could help her.

Sanyukta packed the diary as well.

After she finished packing, she fell asleep. She only had horrible nightmares... it was a ritual in the last two years to be attacked by nightmares about Randhir. Randhir coming into her life. Randhir hurting her. Randhir leaving her... again.

The next day, as she was about to leave the house, Anju caressed her hair and hugged her tightly.

"Call me as soon as you get there," she told her daughter lovingly. "Don't stress out too much... eat on time and take care of yourself."

Sanyukta nodded.

"Bye mom," Sanyukta replied, feeling her stomach roll anxiously. "You take care of yourself."

She hated leaving her mom behind, because her mom was alone. Her father had been sitting in coma for the last two years, and nobody was here to take care of her mother apart from her.

Finally, she left.

When she met Aryan at the airport, she was already feeling jittery at the thought of what was awaiting her on the other side.

"I have something to tell you," Aryan told her on the plane ride.

"Hmm?" Sanyukta asked him, half-asleep, her eyes closed with her head against the window.

"Actually, I wanted to tell you for a while now... but never had the courage," he admitted. "Sanyukta I - I -"

Sanyukta fell asleep and didn't catch the rest of his words.

98

Aryan and Sanyukta were given separate rooms in a lavish hotel in downtown Toronto. Their first meeting was the next morning, and she was sitting in his room, trying to prepare the presentation for the company last minute.

"We should have done this in India," Sanyukta groaned.

"Don't worry. I trust you. I know you can do it," Aryan replied supportively and Sanyukta smiled up at him.

"You're equally part of this," Sanyukta said to him with a grin. "We're going to crack the deal. Once we crack it and we get their partnership, we can go back to India."

"Why don't we go out for a while after we make the presentation?" Aryan asked her. "I mean, we can visit the CN Tower and it's downtown Toronto... there's so much to see here."

"We'll see tomorrow," Sanyukta said with a yawn. "Let's just finish making the presentation."

They got back to work.

After a few hours, Aryan broke the silence, by asking her a question.

"Did you hear what I said on the plane ride?" he asked her.

"Yeah," Sanyukta said with a smile, remembering he told her that he had something to tell her.

"What do you think?" he asked her quietly.

"Think about?" Sanyukta asked.

"What I told you," Aryan responded. "Yes or no?"

Sanyukta thought back to the ride. He told her he had something to tell her, and obviously he could tell her.

"Yes of course," she replied with a shrug. "Anyways Aryan, this is done. I'm going to my room and getting some sleep now. See you in the morning!"

Aryan looked up at her with shock, but then smiled, realizing that she just said yes to the proposal.

Sanyukta gathered the files and left the room, ready to crash in bed... she was jetlagged and so tired. She didn't know how she was going to make the presentation tomorrow with her body so sleepy.

Little did she know that tomorrow, she would be shaken awake not by the presentation, but because she was going to run into the one person she was praying not to see ever again.

99

Sanyukta got ready the next morning. She was still so tired, that she had to put on a lot of concealer to cover her dark circles. Finally, after she decided that she looked presentable, she left her room and met Aryan next door outside his own room.

"Ready?" Aryan asked her and she nodded. "Let's go then."

Aryan took her hand in his and Sanyukta looked up at him with surprise. Maybe he was nervous so he was holding her hand. That had to be the only logical explanation. She didn't leave his hand until they got into the car that the company had hired to take them around.

"Do you want to practice?" Sanyukta asked him in the backseat of the car.

"Practice what?" Aryan asked, his eyes wide. "Sanyukta you're fast!"

"Huh?" Sanyukta asked sounding confused. "I'm talking about the presentation."

Aryan turned red and muttered, "Oh."

"So do you want to?" Sanyukta asked.

"We're almost there. We'll get more nervous if we practice," he mumbled.

"Okay," Sanyukta said, her heart hammering loudly. "I hope we can make boss proud."

"You will be able to. Vardhaan sir loves you," Aryan told her reassuringly. "And I trust that you can."

"Thank you," Sanyukta said and took a deep breath.

Finally, they got to the building and walked inside. Aryan disappeared into the bathroom and Sanyukta waited for him in the reception area.

As she was waiting, someone bumped into her and nearly fell back.

"Sorry!" the girl said right away, and she was holding a wallet in her hands. "Ran - my fiance left his wallet at home and I was just going to give this to him."

"Yeah of course," Sanyukta replied with a smile.

The girl then beamed at her and ran past her. Soon, Aryan came out of the bathroom and joined her. As they were about to go to the reception to ask for directions to the meeting hall, the girl from earlier rushed back out.

"Oh hey!" she said with a grin to Sanyukta. "I'm so sorry for being in a rush earlier."

"Yeah, it's no problem," Sanyukta told her with a smile. "We're actually here for a meeting."

"Oh, my fiance was saying he was meeting with people from out of the country. Let me guess, India?" she asked, sounding enthusiastic.

Sanyukta nodded.

"Oh! The meeting hall is on the third floor to the left," the girl said with a grin. "And my name is Sanaya!"

"I'm Sanyukta," Sanyukta introduced. "This is Aryan."

"I won't hold you back any longer," Sanaya replied. "He should be waiting there."

"Thanks," Sanyukta said and then went upstairs with Aryan.

When they finally got to the meeting hall, they paused outside. Sanyukta took a deep breath before entering the hall with Aryan behind her.

It was like a bullet hit her in the chest when she saw that the one conducting the meeting was none other than the person she had been begging to avoid.

It was none other than Randhir Singh Shekhawat who was sitting behind the desk.

Who knew that the one who fired a bullet into your heart so many years ago, could come back into your life so easily, firing many more bullets into a heart you already thought had broken?

100

Randhir and Sanyukta looked at each other, shock on their faces, frozen on their spots. It was like they were trying to understand the reasoning behind this silly game of destiny.

Why was destiny after them? Why couldn't destiny let them be? Why couldn't they just stay happy, far from each other?

Aryan walked past Sanyukta and leaned over the desk, holding his hand out.

"Aryan Harshwal," Aryan introduced.

Randhir was shaken out of his reverie and he stood up too, shaking Aryan's hand, yet looking at Sanyukta over Aryan's shoulder.

"Randhir Singh Shekhawat," Randhir replied.

Sanyukta slowly walked towards them and gulped, trying to control the emotions that she was feeling right now.

Randhir turned to her and held his hand out.

Her hand was shaking as she took his hand.

"S - Sanyukta Agarwal," she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

Aryan looked at Sanyukta with shock. It was like she had lost all the confidence that she had in just a moment.

"Sanyukta will give the presentation," Aryan explained.

"No you do it," Sanyukta mumbled.

Aryan looked at her inquisitively, but she avoided his gaze. Randhir and Sanyukta sat down across from each other, avoiding each other's gazes as Aryan started the presentation.

Randhir was engaged and living with that girl named Sanaya. If he wasn't living with her, then how could she run after him into his office to give him his wallet?

Randhir glanced at Sanyukta out of the corner of his eye.

So Sanyukta was not married. Her surname was still Agarwal. It wasn't like he expected her to get married, nor did he care, but for some reason, he felt a bit light when she introduced herself as Agarwal.

Sanyukta turned to look at Randhir, her eyes glossy.

He had moved on in life. It was good. He said he was going to move on, and he stuck to it. She had moved on too... just because she hadn't found anyone else, didn't mean she hadn't moved on. She didn't care for him anymore. Why should she?

Finally, Aryan finished the presentation.

"What do you think?" Aryan asked Randhir.

"I don't think our company's can work together," Randhir responded right away.

"Why?" Aryan responded, sitting down beside Sanyukta.

"It's not feasible," Randhir responded.

Sanyukta looked up at him with shock. It was completely feasible. In fact, there was no reason for Randhir to turn them down. She knew that it was just because he had history with Sanyukta that he wanted to keep it away.

"It is very feasible," Sanyukta then pointed out, "What don't you find feasible?"

"I don't have to explain my decision," Randhir replied coldly.

"You're just taking out anger over something else on this," Sanyukta responded, just as coldly.

"Sanyukta if he says it's not feasible -" Aryan interfered.

"Be quiet Aryan," Sanyukta said rudely. "Let me talk to him."

Randhir raised his eyebrows at his tone to her colleague.

"Is that a way to talk to your colleague? If your company has such rude employees, then I won't want my company to associate with yours," Randhir pointed out.

Aryan's hands balled into fists.

"Don't call her rude!" he snarled at Randhir. "She can talk to me however she wants. She's my girlfriend, not just my coworker!"

Sanyukta and Randhir both looked at him with shock.

101

Randhir felt something burn inside him as Aryan called himself Sanyukta's boyfriend. His own hands balled into fists, but before he could react, he reminded himself that he didn't care. She was free to do whatever she wanted. Why did it bother him?

"Good luck," Randhir told Aryan coolly, and then turned to glance at Sanyukta, "You'll need it."

Sanyukta firmly pressed her lips together and stood up.

"Let's go Aryan," she snapped and grabbed his hand, purposefully, to show Randhir that she didn't care about him.

Of course, she was confused with Aryan's sudden declaration that she was his girlfriend, but she didn't need to prove to Randhir that she wasn't his girlfriend. In fact, she wanted to show him that he wasn't able to hold her back, and just like he had moved on, she could move on too.

Randhir's eyes filled with a hint of anger upon seeing them holding hands, but he didn't react. He sat still on his chair, like it didn't bother him.

Sanyukta pulled Aryan out of the room and picked up her phone to dial Vardhaan sir's number.

"Vardhaan sir, we didn't get it. I'm sorry," Sanyukta said right away. "We'll come back to India tonight."

"Hold it!" Vardhaan sir said. "How did you not get it? Surely you must have made an error in explaining it to the company."

"They just don't want to give it to us!" Sanyukta replied, feeling irritated. "I don't want to beg them either. I have self-respect!"

"You don't need to beg them. Just convince them. There's no way they could say no," Vardhaan sir said.

Sanyukta breathed deeply.

"But sir -" Sanyukta started.

"Come back only when you've got the contract signed with them... otherwise I don't want to see yours or Aryan's faces in my office ever again," Vardhaan sir said sternly.

"But sir!" Sanyukta argued.

"I'm only saying it because I know you can do it. Take as long as you need. Do whatever they ask. Amend the contract if you need to... I expect you two to work very hard to get this," he pressed on. "I'll call you later."

Sanyukta hung up and nearly threw the phone out of frustration.

"He wants us to get this deal at any cost," Sanyukta said with irritation. "He told us not to come back until we get it."

"I'll make him say yes," Aryan responded, his hands balling into fists. "Just wait."

"You won't be able to. He's too stubborn," Sanyukta told him.

"How do you know?" Aryan asked her, and Sanyukta looked up at him with surprise.

"I mean... I can just tell," she covered up quickly. "Let me handle it."

Without allowing him to say anything further, she had stormed back into the office, right up to the desk. She placed her hands flat on the desk in front of him and glared at him, with Aryan following behind her.

"Agree to this deal," she ordered.

"You want it that badly?" he asked her.

"I'm not allowed to go back to India until I get this contract signed," Sanyukta told him simply. "So just agree and let me go back!"

Randhir leaned back on his chair and smirked.

"Interesting. So that's how it is. Alright. I will sign the contract, but I have a condition," Randhir told her.

"What?" she snapped.

"Until I feel confident in your company and their employees, I cannot sign. So you have to show me that the employees of your company are worth partnering with. Meaning, you two have to prove yourselves to me," Randhir stated, glancing from Sanyukta to Aryan. "In order to do that, I expect you to come to this office and assist me in whatever I tell you to do."

"Are you crazy?" Sanyukta snapped. "We're already hired by another company."

"I'm not hiring you. It's just a test to see how capable you two are as employees. You are the face of your company anyways. Tell me if you accept. If you don't, then I can't sign the contract because I don't trust the company. Simple," Randhir told her.

"You just want to make this difficult," Sanyukta argued.

"Should I outright deny?" Randhir asked darkly. "You're the one who is desperate. Not me."

"Fine!" Sanyukta agreed, irritated. "I agree and so does Aryan!"

102

"What?" Aryan gasped, "Sanyukta don't do this!"

Sanyukta glared at Randhir, while muttering the next words to Aryan, "If you're with me then I know we can tackle this. I just need you by my side Aryan."

Randhir looked with shock and disgust as Sanyukta said those words to Aryan. The poor guy probably didn't even know what he had committed himself to.

"Sanyukta it's a matter of your self-respect," Aryan pointed out.

"I know nothing will happen to me Aryan. As long as you're here," she told him, now turning to him with a smile.

"Come in tomorrow. I'll have work ready for you two," Randhir said, rolling his eyes. "And please no PDA here. It's a workplace."

"PDA?" Aryan asked.

"Public display of affection," Sanyukta responded. "Don't worry. We don't need to be public to show our affection. Let's go back to the hotel Aryan."

Then she looked at Aryan with a flirtatious expression. This really made Randhir's blood begin to boil, but he ignored it. It was good for her if she moved on and found someone else. He didn't care.

"Yeah let's go," Aryan replied, seemingly mindblown by Sanyukta's sudden affection.

Sanyukta slid her hand inside Aryan's, and then walked out of the office with him, as Randhir remained in the room, his hands rolled into fists.

That bloody Aryan.

He didn't know why he already hated him. He had no reason to, but he hated him.

That evening, Sanaya had gone out to meet a few friends. Randhir opened his wardrobe and dug deep inside his belongings to pull out the mangalsutra from two years ago that he had married Sanyukta with.

He sat down on the bed with the mangalsutra in his hands.

It had been so long since he had looked at this, but today for some reason he felt compelled to pull it out. Almost as if he were convincing himself that their marriage had indeed happened.

Randhir sighed loudly and put the mangalsutra away. Why did he care if she moved on? He had moved on too. He was happy, so she should be too.

When Sanaya came home, it was two in the morning, and she had stumbled in drunk.

"Sanaya!" Randhir gasped.

"Randhirrr," she slurred, "Sorry my friends made me drink tooooo much!"

Randhir held Sanaya steady, but she started to gag.

"I told you to stop drinking," Randhir snapped. "You can't handle alcohol."

He took her to the bathroom, in case she was ready to throw up, but she just fell to the floor in front of the toilet.

"Sorry Randhir," Sanaya slurred.

Randhir just sighed and took her to the bed. He hated when she drank... in fact, he hated the idea that any girl drank. Perhaps it was backwards thinking, like Sanyukta used to always call him out for, but it really annoyed him.

Girls were so easy to take advantage of as it was because they were not as physically strong, and while drunk, they made themselves more vulnerable.

"Don't do it again," Randhir warned.

"I won't," Sanaya said as she laid down in bed, then she closed her eyes. "Sorryyy."

"Whatever," Randhir muttered, and got in bed next to her, closing his eyes too.

Sanaya had always been a good friend to him, but when she did things like this, it just didn't settle with him. It made him always question whether he really wanted a girl like this in his life... but then he reminded himself that he did, because his father had told him to marry her.

His father's command always trumped.

103

As soon as they got to the hotel that day, Aryan looked at Sanyukta with awe.

"My room?" he asked her.

"Yeah okay," Sanyukta told him, expecting to hang out.

As soon as they entered his room, Aryan pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly, causing Sanyukta's eyes to widen.

Did he really take everything that she said seriously?

"Aryan..." Sanyukta mumbled.

"Yeah?" Aryan asked, holding her more tightly.

"Um... what I said at the office -" she started.

"I know, it was to show him that we are inseparable," Aryan told her.

"Wait - first of all, what did you mean when you called me your girlfriend?" Sanyukta asked.

Aryan let go of her and looked at her with surprise.

"On the airplane I told you I loved you... and then last night you said yes," Aryan reminded her. "Remember?"

"Oh..." Sanyukta mumbled.

So that was what it was. How could she kindly tell him that she didn't feel that way for him?

"You look nervous. You want to take things slow I guess," Aryan told her. "It's okay. We can take our time."

Sanyukta gulped. She didn't have it in him to break his heart when he already had so many expectations. He was a sweet guy.

"I'm going to go to my room," she told him. "I don't feel too well... I have a bit of a headache."

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern. "Should we go to the doctor?"

"No!" she replied right away. "I'm fine."

Then without another word, she went to her room and locked herself in it, sitting down on top of her bed.

What was this weird game of destiny? Why was she face to face with Randhir of all people again? Why couldn't she just be happy away from him?

No. She was not going to let destiny win this game.

She could be happy away from him. Aryan loved her. Surely she misunderstood his proposal for a reason... maybe she was supposed to say yes to him. Maybe she was supposed to move on with him.

Aryan was a nicer guy than Randhir could ever be.

"I will move on," she said out loud. "I will accept Aryan."

She would show Randhir Singh Shekhawat that he wasn't the only one who could move on in life. She could too. That too, with someone who was better than him.

104

Sanyukta avoided Aryan until the next morning when they were supposed to go to the office. She felt a little uncomfortable when she met him that morning, especially when he took her hand, but she ignored the feeling.

Finally, when they entered Randhir's office, they both sat across from him.

Randhir tossed two separate files to them.

"Aryan, you will work with my colleague Parth," Randhir said coolly. "He's across the hall from me. He will be evaluating you. You can pitch your presentation to him again."

"Evaluating me?" Aryan asked, sounding disturbed.

"Yes, evaluating you. He will see if you're a well-mannered employee, if you can do office work with expertise, if you know what you're doing. He will ask you questions about your company," Randhir said simply. "And Sanyukta, you will work here with me."

Sanyukta glared at him. What made him decide to keep her and not Aryan?

"Why does she have to work with you?" Aryan interfered and Sanyukta smirked up at Randhir.

"I make the decisions. That's why. Now, stop dancing to your girlfriend's tunes and go to the end of the hallway on the right. You'll meet Parth Kashyap," Randhir said simply.

"Bye Aryan," Sanyukta said, her tone purposefully sounding upset. "I'll miss you."

"Didn't I say no PDA?" Randhir snapped.

"That's not PDA!" Sanyukta argued. "It's freedom of speech!"

"I'll miss you too Sanyukta," Aryan replied, sounding genuinely upset.

"We'll spend lots of time together in the hotel room tonight," Sanyukta said to him flirtatiously.

"Get to work!" Randhir bellowed angrily. "This is not a place to flirt with each other!"

Aryan glared at Randhir and then disappeared from the room.

"Are you jealous?" she asked him as soon as Aryan left. "Why won't you let me talk to my boyfriend how I want to talk to him?"

Randhir ignored her and turned on his laptop.

"Just sit there quietly," he told her. "I'll tell you when I have work for you to do."

Then he started to work on his laptop and Sanyukta glared at him with irritation. So it seemed like he was keeping her here for the sake of it, with no real reason to.

If he was going to make this difficult for her, she decided that she would make it just as difficult for him.