Bhargavi had her insides churning, she pushed Prabir aside rushing on her way to the washroom in Ms. Nalini's cabin. Prabir slowly followed her, he kneeled down beside the toilet and held back her hair from falling on her face as she kept on throwing up. He gently patted her back once she was done and felt a bit better.

"Is she okay?" Mr. Banerjee enquired surprised, as he glanced over the tiny cuddled up body near her mother's legs.

"Nope! She's been throwing up. I'll take her home," Prabir said. Both of them slowly walked outside the cabin to talk for a few minutes, then Prabir returned tossing a bunch of keys in his hands.

"Come let's go home," Prabir said with a warm smile and held her shoulders.

"Why do you have so many keys?" She quizzed curiously.

"This one's for Paru's room," Prabir said holding out a key, "this one's for Baba's room, and this one for us...I mean for our room," he added softly pointing out the keys. "The main door can't be locked as the nurses who look after Mayank's mother are...you know working in shifts so...umm..."he paused to look at her.

He called up Mayank, who was seated on a bench along with Sachin to come along.

"Why are you taking them with us? And why are you taking me home?" Bhargavi whispered.

"Patience girl! You'll know in time," Prabir smirked.

She was amazed to find them being directed to go to the Ghosh residence, following Prabir. He took the keys of the store room from the caretaker and then asked  Mayank and Sachin to help him carry out two single beds which where burried under enormous amounts of dirt. once they placed the beds in the big drawing room, he handed Bhargavi a clean cloth and asked her to help him clean the cobwebs and dust from the bed. She gave him a quizzical look but followed the instructions.

Sachin questioned him annoyed," What the hell Prabir ?You should have called up Shekhar he's been having a nice time with his girl idling there in the hospital, while she's not feeling well. I mean just look at her?"

"It's fine. I m alright," Bhargavi replied smiling and joined them in their endeavor of carrying the beds to the Banerjee residence.

"Well, we'll have to take one of these beds to my room and the other to Paru's room," Prabir sighed.

"Why are you making us do this?" Mayank questioned puzzled.

"Oh! Come on, I am not making you carry these heavy furnitures for fun. When Maa returns from the hospital, she's going to stay here. Maa and Bhargu will be sharing one room, me and Baba...one room, and one room will be shared by Paru and Bhawani. These furnitures are unused for years since Ghosh uncle married off his daughters. He had these removed from their respective rooms to the store room because now when they come to pay a visit, they are always accompanied by their husbands and children," Prabir said with a tone of sarcasm ringing clear in his voice.

When Bhargavi looked tired and fatigued, Mayank questioned bubbling with anger," You told me once that I do not know to respect women. What are you doing now? Just look at her, she looks so tired and you're making her...She looks like she is gonna drop dead anytime."

"Why is everyone here so damn worried about me?" Bhargavi snapped. "Why are you all accusing Prabir? If I can't help, I won't."

"See. I told you... nobody hates you Bhargu, everyone here cares for you. We are worried about you," Prabir  said calmly. She stared at him blankly. "Yes! You heard it right. I said WE that involves me. You are not helping us anymore, I need you to rest."

"But Prabir I...I am... perfectly fine."

"Unha I know. We'll go to your room upstairs where you'll rest for a while."

"No!no. No. No. Prabir this is...no..please let me stay."

He picked her up in his arms and held her gently like a baby and swiftly ran upstairs. He dropped her on the bed, in his room and gently arranged the pillow below her head. He caressed her face for a while as she gave him a look as if he had betrayed her. He leant next to her right ear and spoke in a very deep and concerned voice,"What are you so afraid of ? When you wake up just call my name and I'll be here with you. I am not going to vanish like I did in your nightmare. I promised you, I will never leave you alone."

This is exactly what she wanted to hear from him. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him close to peck on his cheek. "Don't get sick worrying about me, I just maybe want some rest. Then I will be fine."

When he withdrew from her embrace, she felt his teardrops on her cheeks." Are you cr...? She paused in the middle as he looked away, trying to compose himself.

He came back to her placing light feathery kisses all over her face. All the hurt and pain coiled within her started to heal with the soft chocolaty touch. He wanted to take all her pain away. He chose not to look her in the eye with the hope of not letting his emotions spiral out of control.

When he closed the door behind and slowly paced down the stairs, Sachin enquired," Is she alright?"

Prabir only nodded a no in reply. "She's devasted, I have never seen her in this state before."

"And you made her drag heavy furnitures?" Mayank chirped in annoyed.

"Yeah! I did. I did not want her to sit idle and make a fuzz about not being able to help. She's emotionally drained, and her mental state has nothing to do with her physical state."

"But why? I mean what happened? Is it because of Aunty's accident?" Sachin further asked with curiosity.

"It's a feeling of extreme guilt that's choking her. She has been drowning in a pool of self-hatred and self-loathing. She knew her little sister Bhawani had been smoking since a long time ago but she hadn't informed her mother fearing that she would be brutally beaten up. She chose not to even stand up to prevent her sister from making it a habit. The incident that took place yesterday, was because Maa couldn't bear to live up to the fact that her daughter was smoking seated next to this guy here, who had kidnapped her and tried to molest her," he said pointing his index finger at Mayank in a tone filled with bitterness and sarcasm.

"Why didn't she try to persuade Bhawani when she had seen her smoke earlier?" Mayank questioned.

"I think she's either most probably lying to Prabir or she thinks that should have worked harder on her relationship with Bhawani. She must have tried to stop Bhawani, I mean who wouldn't? Smoking is after all slow suicide but you know kids these days...this is my life you don't tell me what to do. Stop nagging like an oldie, just chill!" Sachin said thoughtfully.

"Yes! You are right Sachin. She's not a person to play such a passive role in Bhawani's life. She's been keeping things from me which is...you know bothering me. Had she been stressed regarding Maa's condition, I would have been heavily relieved. Instead, I think she's been getting serious threats from someone. She instantly paled out after receiving a call from someone and ever since has been super clingy. However, it's not easy to get any information from her."

"There's no reason to be worried. It's just that...that I lost someone close to me, someone who meant a lot. Ziko is no more Prabir... Only when he wanted to start a new life, was his life put to an end. He was murdered brutally. I know he was a bad guy, he did a lot of bad things but he saved my life," Bhargavi said in a coarse voice as she stood leaning on the door outside the room where Prabir had asked her to rest. " And I have more to add here. I... I am the reason why he's dead. I wanted him to work as a spy for the police and he was caught red-handed. They shot him six times in his chest and then beheaded him, not satisfied with slitting his throat apart."

"Oh! Dear! He must have been unarmed. This is probably why you have been wanting to throw up since yesterday but you have been pretending it to be a slight illness," Prabir sighed and rushed upstairs and embraced Bhargavi desperately, trying to comfort her.

"I still remember him smile...still can hear him laugh," she mumbled in his chest, clutching tight onto his t-shirt.
"Bad things...just so many bad things are happening, it is so hard to deal with. I am feeling like I am the devil incarnate. I am always followed by death and devastation. First, Keya, then Raunak meeting an accident, yesterday Bhawani could have been run over, Maa is in such a helpless state, I learnt Baba also had a mild heart attack just two days ago, and now Ziko, he didn't deserve to die like this," she sniffed.

"Why did you not tell me about Ziko yesterday itself ?" Prabir asked softly as he placed his chin on her head and let out a sigh.

Sachin was shattered to the very core, on listening to the monstrosity with which a person had been killed. He silently gazed at the floor unable to utter a word.

"I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't find words to...I myself needed time to come to terms with the news that I had received. With so many people buzzing around, I didn't want to gain everyone's attention either. Nobody knows about Ziko except a few people. Even at dinner yesterday I was gulping hard, as I wanted to shove the reality down my throat, though I had received the news in the late evening. You know Maa was right, when she wanted me to...to not take up a course in journalism. I am a coward and now I am scared stiff that I have really turned my life and everyone's life I care about ...into a curse. I don't have the strength to endure this pain, I can't do this anymore... certainly not at the cost of someone's life, especially the people who are a part of my life."

Though Prabir had always deliberately wanted to persuade Bhargavi  to not put her life in danger anymore, he felt it hard to believe that she was readily giving up on all her dreams. She looked like a broken, fragile little doll in his arms for the first time. He let her cry silently, and looked up at the ceiling not knowing what to do or say that could help her.

Finally, Prabir said softly," Bhargu. If this was easy, everyone would be doing this. You chose not to be a part of the crowd. You chose your own path. It is only because of you... that Mayank's father has been brought out to justice, and his mother is slowly recovering from the atrocities committed on her for several years. I know what happened to Ziko...but it is none of your fault. Sometimes we can't save the people we love. You can't give up now, at least  not untill you expose those people who killed Ziko."

"You don't understand Prabir. This is too risky. I can't put your life in danger. I can't risk Bhawani or Paru's life either. The only way for me to continue this...is if I...if I severe all of my ties with you, with everyone. And I can't live without you," she said shivering with her eyes welling up.

Bhargavi mulled she had always been dreadful that Prabir would try to force her to leave her career as a freaking journalist, if he's unable to know about her whereabouts and make sure that she's safe. But here he was not trying to pull her away in the opposite direction, rather wanted her to accomplish what she wanted.

"It's okay! It's okay! You don't have to do this if you don't want to. Whatever is your decision, I am always with you," Prabir said smiling. That one smile was so comforting that Bhargavi had completely forgotten about everything else. She had already made up her mind. She would give up on journalism, as all she wanted was to see him smile. She raised herself on the tip of her toes and pressed her lips softly on his forehead.

He instantly cupped her face and whispered,"Tell me if there's anything I can do for you."

"I want to be alone for a while," she replied back smoothly.

"Okay! But I seriously trust you to do nothing stupid."

"I...I won't. Cursing myself won't bring him back to life,would it? I can't change what has already happened but I need to chalk out a plan of what I need to do next now that I don't want to become a journalist. I'm in my second year now?  Should I drop out or at least complete my Master's program? Should I enroll myself in something else?"

"I am not the right person to advise you and I am sure you should reach out to your professors' for help. They might be able to guide you better," Prabir suggested and slowly walked downstairs with heavy steps.

As Prabir placed a hand on Sachin's shoulders he was startled," Oh! It's you! I...umm...I think Bhargavi is right, she should leave this profession. Fighting humans is fine but these people are are worse than demons. Today it's Ziko... tomorrow it can be anyone, even her life would be in danger 24*7," he said a bit hesitantly as Mayank gave him an irritated look all the while.

"She has made up her mind I guess and there's no reason why I should be objecting, but still I find it difficult to digest that she's backing off... she's... she's giving up," Prabir sighed.

"Well, giving up on a stupid career is far better an option than losing your loved ones and only regretting later that this is all my fault... I wish I had done things differently in the past. You know I can relate better to Bhargavi right now, more than anyone else. Every damned day, I think how different things would have been had I not broken up with Keya. I thought that I was protecting her...protecting her from my father. I never knew that she could end her life in such a pathetic manner. I couldn't promise her, that I'd be back for her because I wasn't sure about it myself. Why would she have to wait for a trash like me? I believed that with my absence, she would move on in her life," Mayank said with heart wrenching sobs.

Guilt set deep in his chest as Prabir wondered how wrong he had been in judging Mayank's actions and accusing him of being responsible for Keya's death. He had been feeling sorry for Mayank all the while as his father was in lock up and mother paralyzed, but astonishingly now he had been feeling pity for himself. Prabir also realized that the immense excruciating pain Mayank felt was unendurable; Ziko had been his bodyguard since his childhood. He was like an elder brother to him.

Prabir landed himself on the couch with a loud thud. Mayank was already down on the floor on his knees, tears rolling down his cheeks like a dam had been broken. Sachin kept walking back and forth with a very slow pace, as the atmosphere grew heavier with every passing moment. The clouds of despair and agony hung over them. When he looked at the faces of either Prabir or Mayank, they looked pitiable. This eerie and spooky atmosphere rendered to a ghostly town. The buzz of his phone ringing, alarmed Prabir as he received the call only after he had composed himself.

Prabir rushed upstairs to inform Bhargavi that Ms. Nalini's operation had been successful. He knocked on the door and waited for an answer but there was none. He knocked again and again several times. He called out her name. Finally, she opened the door with a jerk and moved aside.

Her eyes were red and swollen, she looked miserable. Her hair was all tangled up and knotty. He cuddled her up in his chest and informed her,
"Maa is alright! She's done with her surgery." She could feel his heart beating terribly fast. He squeezed her harder making her squeal. "Why weren't you opening the door or even replying?"

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I didn't hear your voice or... the knock on the door." She could feel the heat emanating from his body. She grabbed his face and whispered," You look miserable."

"Mmmm...hmm... Yes! I know baby," he said making her sit on the edge of the bed. "You need some water...maybe something?"

"No! I only need you," she said grabbing his t-shirt and pulling him close and resting her head on his heart. He sat beside her and placed her tenderly on his lap. She had a runny nose, a splitting headache as a result of uncontrollable crying for the last three hours.

"Love running away from your problems only because you're scared won't solve them. Remember why you wanted to be a journalist in the first place. You knew that you would have to face this one day. You would have to loose your friends, colleagues or family. Honestly, I don't want you to back off."

"Prabir you... you're saying this when all you do is keep worrying about me all the time? I saw that look on your face when I wasn't answering and  you kept knocking the door just a couple of minutes ago," Bhargavi questioned alarmed.

He smiled warmly and said," Yes! I worry about you and I will... till the last breath of my life. Look I know that you are not an immortal and you don't possess any powers like a super human but you can influence people...you can help change someone's life. Yes! I need you to be safe more than anything else."

"What will you do if I just suddenly disappear and never come back?" Bhargavi quizzed carefully remarking his features. He paled out in shock and horror. He could feel a chill down his spine. She placed her head on his chest and could feel his heart beating at an immense speed, as if banging on his rib cage. His hold on her tautened and she had to struggle to breath.
"I am giving up on journalism...not you and that's final. I don't want to stay away from everyone I care about. It will be worse than...death. I tried concealing my identity and doing my job, but you know it didn't work out."

Her words worked like magic as he released his hold on her and looked at  her still perplexed. He gave her a resigned look after a while, unable to hide the discomfort and havoc those words said earlier had left on his mind. She pressed her lips on his forehead, rubbed her nose on his, then softly kissed his lips. He kissed her back after a few seconds, and slowly deepened the kiss. He went rough on her placing his fingers in her tangled up shiny black tresses. Instead of drawing away from him, she let him do as he pleased. Placing her left palm on his chest, she felt his heartbeat had slowed down a bit. When finally, his lips parted her's, she looked up at him complaining, "Gosh! My lips hurt."

He ran a finger on her lips tenderly and apologized sincerely," I am sorry. We should go back to the hospital. I'll quickly prepare something for lunch."

Instead of giving a reply, she stared at him for a while and then murmured," You are going to the hospital looking like this? You look uglier than a scarecrow Prabu," she said smiling while running her fingers in his hair lovingly.

Half- laughing he said,"Though you had been crying your eyes out for so long, just look at you, your smile is so infectious and beautiful."

"I know that I am definitely a mess right now," she let out a chuckle.

"Yes! And a beautiful one," he replied back.

"Honestly, I want to punish those people who did...this to Ziko but I guess that I am too scared," she sighed.

"I am the one holding you back. You know I'll be a mess without you. Instead of being your strength, I have become one of your greatest weaknesses," Prabir said with plain disgust.

She stood up and walked up to a distant, before turning around to face him.

"Oh! No no no don't give yourself so much credit. I want to stop before things go beyond my control."

"You think things are in control? Will you be able to face yourself in the mirror Bhargu? Ziko saved your life. I owe him...a lot actually. He died and we're gonna do nothing about it? See I don't want you to live a life full of regrets. It's not easy for me to say this but I got no choice. Fight back Bhargu, don't give up. This is not you. You are a Queen and you have to bear the weight of the crown. You need to turn your pain into your power," he said and dashed out of the room as if in a hurry.

Bhargavi stood motionless for a minute unable to register what just happened, then she slowly moved down the stairs closing the door behind her. As soon as she reached the last stair, Mayank suddenly embraced her tight, whimpering," I'll kill those bas*****. You stay away from all this."

She chuckled at his remark and said,
" With your high level of intelligence, you are definitely gonna get yourself killed. Let me handle this." He drew back from her astonished. She had displayed a perfect poker face while she came downstairs but now there was no tell-tale sign on her face, that she had been grieving.

"What? But you just said that you...you don't want to...umm..."

"Yes! You're right Sachin. I think Prabir is right. I must expose those people who killed Ziko."

Author's note:

Okay! So here a new update, hope you enjoy reading 😊.

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Happy reading!!