"Bingo!"said Amit in excitement as he pushed another ball into the clean alley "that's a clean sweep!"

"Great" Aman said, watching his brother in amusement "is this why you call me to the bowling alley?
To watch me lose?"

Amit gave a hearty laugh "oh come on! You used to love bowling before...what happened to you huh?"

Aman didn't laugh "lost interest I guess...I don't understand what's so great about it anyway"

Amit came back to sit on the lounge "you should stop painting and concentrate on other things...like going outdoors, trekking and that sort of stuff".

"Like I said, it's not my cup of coffee" Aman sipped his cappuccino "Akhil called about the party on the beach..what's the jerk celebrating anyway?"

Amit chuckled "his big promotion" he shrugged "you're coming right?" Aman thought for a brief moment "I'm not sure..."

"Come on man! All of our old friends are coming...it'll be like a small reunion" Amit coaxed "you're here for the week right? Make the best of it!"

Aman gave a small smile "fine...what have I got to lose?" They sipped the rest of the coffee in silence and then Aman spoke "how's it going with you and Sakshi?"

Amit looked at him "she hates you" he remarked in amusement. Aman didn't mind "it's okay...sometimes I hate myself".

Amit didn't share the joke but seemed to be deep in thought. "What's wrong? Whenever I talk about her, you seem off put...as if you don't want to pursue that topic" Aman pointed out.

Amit bit his lip "she's a nice girl and I like her" he explained "although we hardly meet, we spend hours on the phone...while she talks about her research work and hospital, I talk about mine...that's it. I feel it's so superficial".

"What else do you want to talk about?" Aman winked "kinky bedroom stuff?"

Amit blushed "you asshole!"he blurted "what I meant was...I want to be closer to her..like I want to feel what she's feeling..."

"Then get closer to her" Aman said in a matter of fact tone "hey! Why don't you take her to the party? That way, you guys can spend sometime together".

Amit's face brightened "that's a great idea! But how will I tell her father? Both our parents will eat us alive".
Aman rolled his eyes "you're a certified jerk!"he patted his back "lie to him...tell him anything but the truth".

Amit thought for a moment and then nodded "I've got an idea to convince her father...but promise me you won't rat out to our parents about this party....it should never come out".

"You're such a ninny" Aman teased "fine I promise...they won't know".

◇◇◇◇◇

"Aman?" Ranjit gaped at his daughter in shock "what's he got to do with anything?"

"Amit lied to you but he told me the truth after I sat with him in the car.. Aman was there too" Sakshi explained "it was their best friend Akhil's party on the beach resort..."

After she had explained everything in detail, Ranjit looked shaken "oh my God! So many lies!"he gasped "why the hell did you go there? When he told you everything, why did you go with him?"

Sakshi wiped her tears "I...wanted to enjoy once in a while...I'd never been to a party before so I thought of..."

"This is why I always was strict with you!" Ranjit growled "now tell me who did you sleep with?"his voice rose higher "did you...sleep with Amit?"

Sakshi shook her head "I don't know papa...I'm so sorry..I don't remember anything at all!"

Ranjit gritted his teeth "what the hell? You don't even know? How can anyone believe this story?"he paced back and forth as she watched him in despair.

Soumya held her softly as he came back to sit with her "I'm going to call Shekhar...this has to be settled!"

Sakshi raised her head in shock and pleaded "why don't you call Aman alone? Please don't involve anyone else...please"

Ranjit glared "after making us suffer, now you're worried about your reputation! I can't let this go away... after we deal with that Aman guy, I know what to do!"

Sakshi looked at her mother and pleaded through her eyes to change his decision but Soumya could only stare blankly at her daughter and shake her head. Sakshi understood she had lost.

She had no one...except Aman to save her.

If he could...

◇◇◇◇◇

Aman stared at the empty canvas, brush in his hand but nothing coming to mind. He hadn't been able to come up with anything since his brother's death. Coming to studio had been a routine and he would even attend the exhibits but his heart wasn't in it. It was as if a part of him had gone away with his brother.

When he had told his mother he was going to his apartment for a couple of days, she was furious initially "what's the need? You promised me you'll stay with us!"

"I have to go back maa, it's just for the weekends...Hero needs me" he groaned, missing his cat terribly.

Devaki knew of his attachment to his cat and had to agree "only during weekends" she frowned. He smiled and kissed her forehead.

Shirin was glad to see him back but she too noticed the change in him "you'll be fine...I miss the old you" she had confided in him one day when they were taking a walk.

"I hope so...I miss myself too" he said with a heavy sigh.

He dipped the paint in his hands and scribbled the canvas, his mind blurring.

"Aman?" Debu called him, staring at the handful of paint and the mess "uh..there's a call for you".

"Tell them I'm unavailable at the moment".

"It's a girl" Debu said with a glint of a smile "some Deepa...why don't I know her?"

Aman gave a start and walked past him to clean himself up "because there's nothing to know".

"Should I tell her you're available?" Debu smirked. Aman forced a smile "screw you" and rushed to the counter.

"Aman? Hi" the nostalgic voice said and he realized he missed her even though he didn't want to. It was a closed chapter for them but he could feel a sense of longing.

"How are you?"she asked and continued before he could reply "I heard about Amit...I'm so sorry Aman".

He didn't know what to say to that; he wished people would stop saying sorry that his brother died. It wasn't their fault. "Aman?"she spoke softly "you there?"

"Er..yeah...it's okay" he blabbed.

"I didn't know how else to contact you since I don't have your number" she explained slowly "I got the studio number from Google".

"That was um..nice of you" he said. Silence fell and she spoke again "I'm opening a new branch in Mumbai..so I'm coming back next week for the formalities".

"That's great" he said, happy for her.

"So if you ever feel like talking, call me" she said softly like a whisper. He wondered if she was giving him a second chance with the way they had left things that night. Or she was probably being nice to him because he was...hurting.

He wanted to see her again; she could be a good distraction.

He was on the verge of replying when his cellphone beeped. "Listen Deepa..I'll call you later" he said and hung up, seeing his mother's name on the phone screen.

As he recieved, he could hear his mother huffing "maa? Are you okay?"he asked, worried.

"Can you get home as soon as possible?"she said and it sounded like she had been crying.

"What happened? Are you alright? What about baba?"he asked desperately. Things had begun to go actually well with his father. Although he spoke less, he didn't resent his son like he usually did and Aman was pleased with the development.

"We both are fine but you need to come home immediately!"she cried "something terrible has happened and your father's going berserk. I can't tell you over the phone but you need to get here as soon as..." the line went dead.

Scared and anxious, he pocketed his car keys, said a quick word to Debu and rushed out.

Please God! Let everything be okay, he prayed.

Only nothing was...

◇◇◇◇◇

When he reached home, he noticed the front door was already open and he could hear voices inside.

Devaki was the first one to spot him and rushed to him looking worried and tear stricken.

Before he could ask her, he saw Ranjit and his wife, along with their Sakshi who were seated on the living room.

"How can you accuse my son like that?" Shekhar bellowed "have some mercy on us..we just lost him and the wounds are still fresh..."

Ranjit didn't deter "I'm not accusing him of anything...I want to be sure if my daughter is lying or not!"

Shekhar saw his son who looked confused but Aman's eyes were fixed on Sakshi who was sobbing continuously.

The last time he had seen her was a month ago when she had come with her parents. She appeared dull and there were dark circles under her eyes. She had given a light smile at him which he returned and spoke barely.

But now when he saw her face, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy and fear for she looked emancipated and weak. He couldn't believe it was the same Sakshi who was laughing and enjoying with Amit.

"Why are you crying?"he asked, addressing directly to her. She raised her head to look at him and her eyes widened with what he felt was a hope.

"They wouldn't believe me" she she cried harder "I tried telling them but they wouldn't". He didn't understand and stared at her father "what's going on?"he asked in bewilderment.

"She's pregnant" Ranjit said in a harsh tone "and she's claiming she doesn't know anything about it".

Aman stared at Sakshi, shocked at the revelation. Their eyes met and she looked away.

He walked closer to her "Sakshi?"he called softly "stop crying and tell me exactly what happened...do not be afraid".

She gave a brief glance at him but soon her eyes downcast "I'm two months along..." she explained everything and when she was done, he was beyond surprised.

"Is it true what she's saying?" Ranjit demanded angrily "was it a beach party you and Amit took her to?"

Aman could feel his father's eyes on him, as well as his mother's look of disbelief and realized he was trapped. He could hear his brother's voice clearly in his mind...it should never come out...

He could never betray his brother but things had changed. There were so many unanswered questions lying on the surface.

How can she not know how she had gotten herself pregnant? He couldn't understand.

Amit had told him that he wanted to get to know her on a closer level. Could they have consummated their relationship on the party? Was she lying that she was unconscious or drunk just because Amit was dead? He could never know. But Sakshi had sounded convincing. What exactly had happened then?

"Aman? Please tell us the truth beta" Sakshi's mother pleaded with him "do you know what happened?"

He exhaled deeply "Sakshi is right" he replied finally "we went to the beach party..." he addressed her father "Amit lied to you about it because he knew you would never allow her...he only wanted to spend some time with her".

He noticed the stunned expression on his father's face, probably wondering how on earth his obedient son had managed to lie. Ranjit was still glaring at his daughter with loathing and Aman couldn't help but feel terrible for Sakshi for having to endure all this.

"I'm sorry for all this" Shekhar finally spoke up with utmost patience "but you need to take care of the situation...find out who the guy was.. "

"What do you mean who?" Ranjit snapped "it has to be your son, he lied to us and took her...I know he did something!"he turned to Aman "I'm sure your other son knows it! He's hiding something!"

Aman didn't faze at the accusation "I wish I knew what happened but I came out of the party very early" he explained calmly "I think we should find out instead of blaming each other"

"Shut up!" Ranjit growled "I know you have something to do with this! I don't trust you at all! I knew from the moment I saw you that you're no good...you..."

"Stop it papa" Sakshi yelled "stop blaming him..he doesn't know anything..he left the party early".

"Then who's child is this?" Ranjit demanded angrily "who the hell was with you then? Who did you sleep with?" Sakshi didn't reply and continued to cry.

"Instead of yelling at her, I think we should concentrate on finding out what happened" Aman said, highly irritated at her father.

"What's the point?" Ranjit shook his head and slumped on the couch in defeat "she has left no stone unturned to see me humiliated. I'm not able to face my relatives and the society...never have I experienced such a shame in my entire life!"

Shekhar approached him and patted his shoulder "I'm sorry this had to happen...but I'm telling you for the umpteenth time. My Amit would do no such thing..." he turned to his other son "what kind of a party was this Aman? Were there drinks, alcohol... and drugs?"

Aman bit his lip and glanced sideways at Sakshi who seemed to be waiting for his reply. He took a deep breath "I don't know baba...I left early...I didn't wait to see anything". He prayed they would leave her alone and the whole ordeal would be over.

"Of course there was!" Ranjit slammed "how else she could not know then? I'm sure she was high!"he got up from the couch and paced again like a madman.

"Papa...I'm sorry" Sakshi whispered "I never dreamt something like this happen and I..."

She couldn't even complete the sentence when he slapped her with full force, much to the shock of everyone present.

"Sorry!"he rasped "you shamed me in every way possible and you're sorry?" He slapped her again "you're sorry you don't who the father is, you shameless girl? Do you know what kind of woman is that?"he raised his hand again when Aman caught it firmly "stop it"he said slowly.

Ranjit who was caught off guard stared at him with anger "what did you just say?"

"I said enough" Aman faced him with defiance "stop hitting her". Ranjit met his equally angry eye "who the hell are you tell me? I'm her father!"

"Exactly" Aman said, pulling his hand down "she's your daughter, not your chained slave that you can abuse". Ranjit lost the urge to reply and simply glared at him, his eyes quickly darting towards Shekhar who was too stupefied.

"Aman? Stay away from matters that doesn't concern you" Shekhar bellowed finally "let him decide what to do with his daughter".

"She's pregnant baba" Aman replied calmly "she needs her parents' support, not their deafening insults".

"She's brought it on herself" Shekhar said crudely "let them deal with it".

Aman gaped at his father's indifference and Sakshi who was almost about to faint. She was fighting the battle alone.

He walked past his parents and towards her "come with me" he called out "let's go".

She stared at his outstretched hand and shook her head, gazing sideways at her father "I can't..."

"Come with me Sakshi" he said softly this time. She looked at her father again and took his hand with a slight nod.

"Where are you taking her?" Ranjit demanded "I'm warning you..."

Aman took her hand and led her to the door, facing him "do what you have to..."

Without waiting for anyone's reaction, he walked out of the door with her...

Hi everyone!!
Hope you like the chapter...
Please vote and comment..
Have a great day ahead ❤❤