*** CHAPTER 10 ***

‘No matter what, never ever ignore your instincts for it’s a way your heart connects to you.’

Vidhaan has always been taught this by Father Francis and with the life he has been living for almost one month now has made him realize the same. This gut feeling has been nagging him for a while now tugging at his heart that something, somewhere is wrong. Something that has to be stopped.

With this feeling bothering him continuously, Vidhaan couldn’t help but think of Swara. No matter how hard he is trying to ignore, he feels this urge to stay closer to her today.

He keeps following her everywhere in the mall as the four of them head out for shopping. Even his weird behavior doesn’t go unnoticed by Laksh and Ragini. They scrunch their brows as they find him accompanying her everywhere, even when she is choosing the dresses for herself. Laksh gives a knowing look to his wife to which she just shrugs her shoulders.

Laksh: What does he think he is doing?

Ragini: I don’t know!

Laksh: Look! Ask him to stop being a pervert and following my best friend everywhere.

Ragini: You know he is not like that Laksh.

Laksh: Whatever! Just ask him to stop doing that. Okay?

Ragini: Okay! Okay! No need to be so grumpy. I’m going to talk to him.

She throws a quick glance around the store they are currently standing in and finds Swara and Vidhaan selecting some… t-shirts? Aren’t they here to buy some clothes for Swara and her?

Ragini trudges towards them and as she nears them she chuckles on hearing their conversation…

Vidhaan: Swara, we are here to buy clothes for you and not for me!

Swara: I know, but you are also going to party. So, aren’t you supposed to buy clothes too?

Vidhaan: I don’t need clothes. There are tons of them in the closet. I’ll wear any one of them.

Swara: Closet? You call that thing a closet? I would rather call it a black and white movie! Black tuxedos and white shirts. Tsk, don’t insult the closet.

Vidhaan: It’s a business party, Swara! I can’t wear these t-shirts there.

Swara: Oh God! You and your boring parties. One day I’ll surely die of boredom. I really need to teach you how to live a boredom free life.

Vidhaan: Excuse me! Are you saying I’m boring.

Swara: Aha! Looks like you’re becoming intelligent with me. I’m so proud of myself.

She pats her back herself. Vidhaan opens his mouth to say something but shuts it down immediately hearing Ragini’s chuckle. Swara turns around and giggles as Ragini gives them a ‘what’s going on’ look.

Swara: Ragini, did you select something?

Ragini: Not yet! Vid…

Vidhaan’s eyes widen the moment he hears her taking his real name accidentally and the color of Ragini’s face drain out as realization dawns upon her. Clearing her throat she looks at Swara who is still busy shuffling the line of clothes looking for a t-shirt to her liking. She sighs with relief and turns her attention back to Vidhaan.

Ragini: Um… I mean Sanky. Can I talk to you for a minute?

Vidhaan: Sure! Swara, please wait here for me. I’ll be back in a minute.

Swara: Okay! I’ll be there in the ladies section.

He nods his head and she turns around heading towards the ladies section.

Vidhaan: What is it, Ragini?

Ragini: You guys were fighting like a real couple!

Vidhaan: (shocked) No! We were not. Really! It’s nothing like that.

Ragini: Okay! Okay! I got it. But that’s not what I wanted to say.

Vidhaan: Then?

Ragini: What are you doing?

Vidhaan: (confused) What am I doing?

Ragini: Why are you following Swara like a lost puppy?

Vidhaan: I’m not!

Ragini: Yes, you are. Now, would you tell me what’s going on? I know you are not such a guy.

Vidhaan: (looking everywhere but her) It’s looking weird, right?

Ragini: Very! You know, Laksh is almost on the verge of losing his calm.

Vidhaan: (takes a deep breath) I know. But I don’t know why I am doing this. I’m getting this feeling that something is wrong.

Ragini: What happened? Are you not feeling well?

Vidhaan: It’s not about me. I’m concerned about Swara. I’m not able to ignore this feeling.

Ragini: It’s okay, Vidhaan. All of us are here. Nothing will go wrong.

Vidhaan: I just hope so. Well, I’m going to see her. I don’t think I’ll feel good unless and until we are back home.

Ragini: Okay! Just go to her. I’ll get back to Laksh before he blows up the entire store!

Vidhaan chuckles and nods his head. With that Ragini goes back to Laksh and Vidhaan turns around to look for Swara.

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Swara: Sanky! I’m going to try these dresses.

Vidhaan: Okay! I’ll wait…

Before he could complete Laksh grabs his arm and smiles looking at Swara.

Laksh: Swara! You can go and try the dresses, and if you don’t mind I have to discuss a few things with your husband.

Swara: (chuckles) Why are you asking for my permission Laksh? My husband is your brother as well. You two can have a talk, meanwhile I’ll go and try out these dresses.

Giving them one last smile she turns around making her way towards the trial room. Vidhaan’s eyes keep following her as far as he could see her and Laksh clenches his jaws at his audacity of staring at his best friend right in front of his eyes.

Laksh: (angrily) You’re not planning to follow her there as well, are you?

Vidhaan: W-What?

Laksh: You can fool my wife with your stupid excuses but they won’t work on me. What’s going on in your head? Don’t you dare pull any stunts!

Vidhaan: What? You’re thinking it all wrong Laksh. I’m not doing anything like that. I really…

Laksh: Don’t give me that stupid excuse again. I’m warning you for the one last time, stay away from her. Far away!

Saying this he leaves and Vidhaan takes a deep breath shaking his head trying to get rid of the unremitting fervid nagging still bugging him.

What’s wrong with him today?

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Swara picks up the second dress to try and smiles looking at herself in the mirror. She has never enjoyed shopping so much but with ‘Sanky’ it has become altogether a different story. She loves the way he pays attention towards her. She loves the way he cares for her and puts her before anything else in his life. And above all she loves the way how his body reacts to her touches. He’s definitely the most delectable men she has ever met and his reaction to their closeness is just cherry on the cake for her. This foreign feeling tugging at her heart is euphoric and she couldn’t help but beam at her own reflection.

Trying each and every dress on, the only thought crossing her mind is not this…

‘Whether this dress will look good on me?’

Rather it’s…

‘Will I look beautiful to him in this dress?’

“What are you doing Swara? Trying to woo your own husband?”, chuckling at her own thoughts she strips out of the first dress, which happens to be a magenta floor length gown, and puts on the second one. Twirling a little in another black dress she scrunches her brows in disapproval.

Definitely not his type!

But what’s exactly is his type?

She huffs due to her over anxiousness and leans against the wall mirror to take a few moments to think what he would like. She loves western dresses but at this moment they don’t seem so appealing to her. Should she go for something more Indian?

She has been thinking only when her mobile dings on receiving a new message. Shuffling through the stack of clothes she reaches out for her mobile phone kept on the small stool in the corner of the trial room.

She narrows her eyes on receiving a message from an unknown number and hesitantly opens it only to find a picture in it. One look at the pic and her world comes crashing down to her feet seeing her worst fear right in front of her eyes. Within a single moment her breath goes heavier. She finds it rather hard to breath as if someone has knocked the breath out of her chest. Her vision go blurry. She wants to shout for help but the hoarseness in her throat is not helping in either.

She tries to run out of the trial room but her hands seem to be losing their strength. He legs, too, started giving up slowly and all of a sudden the small trial room starts appearing smaller. She feels suffocated as the walls of the trial room seem to be closing onto her. She tries and tries harder to push the walls away but they won’t budge. Her petite stature trembles as some flashes start coming back to her again…

*****

She smiles looking at Shlok as he drives the car back to the house from airport. She’s exuberant on meeting her husband and best friend after such a long time. He has been away for almost a month on a business trip. He turns his head to smile at her but her eyes go wide as she sees a huge truck gaining upon on them and the next moment…

BAM!!!

Swara closes her eyes and ears due to the loud collision on the driver’s side. The car skids due to the sudden impact and her heart skips a few beats dreading what could happen next. Her eyes jolt open the next instant hearing Shlok shouting at her, “Swara jump! Now!”

But she seems reluctant. She can’t leave him. Not in such a condition. No, she won’t!

“Swara!”, he shouts again breaking her shocked trance. Her hands tremble as she finds blood dripping down his forehead but before she could say anything Shlok opens the door to the passenger side and pushes her out.

*****

“Aaahhh!!!!”

A strangled, heart wrenching shriek escapes Swara’s mouth and instantly the whole showroom freezes. She feels a searing pain at the side of her head as she hits her forehead against the edge of the stool and then everything blacks out.

Vidhaan, Laksh and Ragini immediately run towards the trial room banging the door loudly calling out her name. Vidhaan could feel his heart thumping against his rib cage. Is this what the whole nagging has been about?

Vidhaan: Swara! Swara! Are you alright?

Ragini: Swara, please say something.

Laksh: Open the door Swara!

The door has been locked and no matter what it isn’t opening up. With each passing second their anxiousness starts heightening up and Vidhaan couldn’t bear it anymore. He wants to see her. Now!

Vidhaan: This is not going to work. Laksh, please go and see if there is any master key or something. Or we’ll have to break this door.

Laksh, understanding the gravity of situations, sprints off towards the management.

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Luckily they find a master key that has been saved for some urgent situations. Opening the door they find Swara sprawled upon the floor with blood oozing out of her forehead.

Vidhaan runs next to her and finds her hand gripping the mobile phone tightly. Freeing the mobile phone out of his grip he looks at the screen and the next moment his eyes widen. Shock would be an understatement when he sees the pic.

His own pic!

Or is it Shlok? With his forehead ripped open showing a disturbing amount of flesh and bone, and the face smeared with blood, he couldn’t give the pic another glance.

He takes a few deep breaths closing his eyes and turns the screen of the mobile phone keeping it on the floor. He can’t see it anymore! Laksh keeps a hand on his shoulder and Vidhaan opens his eyes.

Laksh: What is it?

Laksh picks up her mobile phone and the moment his eyes land on the pic the mobile slips down from his hand.

Vidhaan: Is-Is this real?

Laksh: We don’t know. We have to see who has sent this. But we can’t do anything here. We can’t let anybody know about this now.

Vidhaan nods his head. Without giving it a second thought he lifts Swara in his arms and starts heading outside when the manager stops him. His jaws clench as he isn’t expecting any interruptions right now.

Vidhaan: (angrily) What?

Manager: Sir, the dress…

Vidhaan: Is your damn dress more important than my wife?!

The intensity of anger in his voice makes the manager flinch and he stumbles back.

Ragini: Sanky! You take Swara with you. We’ll make the payment and come.

Vidhaan nods his head and without any other words heads outside holding Swara very close to himself. He is here just to protect her!

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An hour later…

The doctor steps out of the room after checking Swara and everyone’s heart sinks seeing the grave expression on his face.

Durga Prasad: What is it doctor?

Doctor: This is the worst panic attack she has had in a while. I have given her a powerful sedative for now. That will help her relax but…

Durga Prasad: But what?

Doctor: Either she’ll remember this whole incident after getting up or she’ll remember nothing.

Annapurna: What do you think would be better?

Doctor: I say it’s better if she doesn’t remember anything. We can’t take risk of putting any mental pressure on her. Or else she might… Um…

Annapurna: (loudly) Or else what, doctor?

Doctor: (sighs) Or else she might lose her mental balance. So, please don’t stress her. For now, it’s better if we let her rest for a while and I suggest Sanky to take care of her now.

Vidhaan: (nods his head) I will.

Doctor: I’ll come back later. Please, let me know of her condition once she gets up.

Laksh: Sure doctor! I’ll see you out.

Laksh leaves with the doctor and everyone else leaves for their rooms asking Vidhaan to take care of her.

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Vidhaan enters the room and finds Swara sleeping peacefully under the effect of sedatives. He gently caresses her forehead mumbling to himself.

‘What are you doing to me, Swara?’

Before he could pull his hand away Swara unconsciously grabs his palm entwining her fingers with his. He tries to pull away but her grip tightens even more. Taking a deep breath he slowly sits beside her on the bed adjusting the comforter over her properly.

He leans against the wall next to the bed and soon enough he too dozes off.

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“So, how are you?”, the voice in his dreams rings again and shakes Vidhaan.

Vidhaan: Do I look good to you? I couldn’t protect her.

Voice: It wasn’t your fault.

Vidhaan: Do you know who did this?

Voice: I know but that’s not my thing to tell. You’ll find it eventually.

Vidhaan: If you are not going to tell me then what are you doing here?

Voice: I’m here to tell you something.

Vidhaan: What?

Voice: Don’t ignore what life is giving you. Welcome it with open arms.

Vidhaan: (scrunches his brows with confusion) What do you mean?

Voice: I’ll be meeting you soon again.

Vidhaan: But…

Voice: Remember! Welcome with open arms.

Vidhaan: Wait!!

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Vidhaan opens his eyes with a jolt but the scene in front of his eyes takes his breath away.

Swara is resting her head on his chest giving him a weak smile with her half open eyes. How did he end up lying on the bed?

Swara flutters her eyelids trying to open her eyes but the effect of sedative hasn’t worn out yet. She shifts her head on his chest and Vidhaan rolls his fists contemplating her next move. He should move away but why can’t he?

Swara: S-So it wasn’t a dream!

The hoarseness in her voice is still evident. Vidhaan furrows his brows looking down at her. What dream? Is it something bad? But her smile seems to be telling otherwise.

Vidhaan: What dream? Was it a nightmare?

Swara shifts her body a bit again resting almost her whole body on his chest. She raises herself and shakes her head in denial.

Swara: It is a good dream. In fact, the best I have had in a while.

Seeing the confusion etched across his features she gives him another weak yet beautiful smile.

“You’re my new dream.”

She whispers and Vidhaan feels his breath hitch as he feels her leaning in towards him.

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A/N (IMPORTANT)

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed reading the chapter. I’m still not sure whether the emotions have been depicted correctly or not!

I just want to tell you that there won’t be any updates the coming week as I have my exam on this Sunday. But yes I’ll post my OS on Wednesday as promised earlier. I’m going to start a new book for my OS / TS and I’m starting it today. Yes! You heard me right. I’m starting the book and I’ll post it by 8:00 pm tonight. I still have to write the introduction for the same. Kindly give it a look as well. That would really mean a lot to me.

So, see you then. Till then stay blessed and happy reading!

With love,
Stella ❤️