Chapter 13

Devakshi FF: Small Moments

Part 13

Sonakshi's heart almost leaped out of her chest.

Kushal was still a few steps away from her and the balcony was long and it had another door which lead to a set of staircase to the different hotel rooms. She willed herself not to panic. The moment she spotted Kushal she silently started assessing her ways to escape. She could not afford to be alone with him again. So she slowly backed one step towards the other door.

"Hello Sona. Main kabsey tumsey baat karneye ki koshish kar raha tha. Par tumharey paas toh mere liye time hi nahin hai" he called out to Sonakshi in an eerily calm voice. Sonakshi didn't want to irk him. "Tumhey kya kehna hai Kushal? Jaldi bolo."

"Arey arey. Itni bhi kya jaldi hai. Pehley do minute baith toh saktey hai naah?" He asked giving Sonakshi a sinister smile. "Ohh par tumhey toh bohot jaldi hogi naah? Apneye Mr. Dixit ke paas jaaney ke liye?" He spat at Sonakshi. Sonakshi realized that she needed to escape very soon because if she spent much longer in his companionship, she would be in serious trouble, because not only was Kushal slowly losing cool but he seemed to be a little drunk too. Trying to stall the outburst that she knew was slowly building up she said, "nahin Kushal. Mr. Dixit toh Natasha ke saath dance kar rahey hai. Tum bolo, kya kehna hai tumhey?" And she took another step back but Kushal did not seem to notice her escape plan yet. She silently prayed that it remained this way until she reached the door.

"Pata Hai kab seye main iss din ka intezaar kar raha tha?" He said taking one step closer to her. "Jis raat seye tum mujhey chhor ke gayi thi naah, ussi raat seye I'm waiting" he said looking her up and down lecherously. Sonakshi started panicking once again because she knew his control was slipping away slowly. She wanted to scream but she knew it would be of no use because the music in the ballroom was too loud and no one would hear her. "Kushal, tum wahi kadhey rehkey baat karo please" Sonakshi said panicking but kept her tone firm. She didn't want him to realize how scared she actually felt.

"Kyun? Tumharey paas sirf who Dev hi aa sakta hai, main nahin?" He said taking a swift step towards her and gripping her forearm tightly. Sonakshi cried out and frantically tried to break free but nothing seemed to work. "Aha. Sona dear, itna mat fight karo. Ana toh tumhey mere paas hi tha naah. Ab aa gayi ho toh jaaney kaise doon?" He said tracing her lips with the tip of his finger. Sona spit on his face in disgust saying "Mujhmeye jab tak jaan bachi hai, main kabhi tumharey paas nahin aaongi" and continued her struggle as Kushal gripped her tighter in growing anger and dragged her towards himself. "Mujhey majboor mat karo Sona, tumhey pata nahin main kya kar sakta hoon" saying this he started to lean in forcefully for a kiss. But Sonakshi did not give up, screaming and wriggling she continued her struggle.

On the other hand Dev made his way towards the balcony. But when he was just four steps away someone called him from behind. "Dev!" He turned around to find Natasha walking towards him. Annoyed that he was interrupted he asked a bit irritably, "Kya hua? Kahan na aa raha hoon." Natasha, slightly offended by his rude tone said, "Pata hai. Par mere dad ayein hain aur who aapko dhoond rahey hai" she said to him accusingly. Berating himself for being rude he said "Sorry Natasha, thoda stressed tha isiliye aise nikal gaya. Tum jaon, I'm coming. Then we will talk to your dad, theek hai naah?" He told her sincerely. Satisfied, Natasha smiled and walked away. Happy that the situation had been taken care off he resumed his walk towards the balcony.

Sonakshi here had still not managed to break free. Just before Kushal could forcefully kiss Sonakshi, she suddenly found a loophole and kicked Kushal straight in his groin. As he jerked back in pain, Sonakshi took this opportunity to break free from his grip and run towards the door leading to the stairway. She ran for her life, taking two steps at a time and turning right into the hallways on the first landing she found. But it seemed like Sonakshi's hit had not been really hard because Kushal recovered not long after and took off right behind her. As Kushal ran out the door leading to the staircase, Dev came into the balcony through the other door only to find it empty. "Arey, yeh Dr. Bose toh yahan bhi nahin hai. Jabki I swear I felt ki who yahan thi. Kahan ho aap Dr. Bose?" He said to himself feeling dejected. Looking around the empty balcony he sighed. "Pata nahin kahan chali gayi. Batakey toh jaa sakti thi naah" he thought, annoyed. Deciding to go back to the ballroom he started going back out the door. But just before going out he stopped. Something urged him to look right and on doing so he saw the other door to the balcony. Curious he turned and started walking towards it. Reaching the door he looked out and was yet again disappointed to find the stairway empty. But as he turned around to go back his eye fell on something shiny on the ground. As he bent down to get a better look he was surprised to find that it was a earring. And in fact it was the same earring that he had seen Sonakshi wearing earlier that evening.

Picking it up in his hand he wondered "Dr. Bose ki earring? Yahan? Matlab woh aas paas hi hongi. Par yeh earring gira kaise?" Deciding not to waste anymore time he turned around and took the stairs to the next floor and called out "Dr. Bose, kya aap yahan hai?" But Sonakshi was too busy running from Kushal to hear any of that. But she proved too slow for him because just before she could escape into the nearest room and lock the door Kushal once again had caught up to her and had captured her in his vice like grip. Sonakshi pleaded "Please Kushal, mujhey chhor do, what have I ever done to you?" Gripping her tighter and bringing her closer he said, "kya kiya? Mujhey chhor keye chali gayi tum. Dil tod diya mera aur abb uss useless Dev Dixit ke bahon me jaa giri. Usmeye aisa kya hai jo mujhme nahin!' he asked viciously. "You digust me Kushal. Main tumhey chhorke gayi thi because you tried to hurt me. Pata nahin kya hota uss raat agar mee lucky nahin hoti. You are a sick human being Kushal aur tum kabhi Dev nahin ban saktey" she cried hitting him repeatedly. But that angered Kushal to a point of no return. He raised his hand to slap Sonakshi, but before he could both he and Sonakshi heard Dev say from a few feet away "Dr. Bose, kya aap yahan hai? Aapki earring gir gayi thi... Dr Bose? Sonakshi?"

Hearing Dev's voice so close to her gave Sonakshi more strength and she started wriggling with renewed vigour and tried to scream out and answer. But just as she finished screaming "Dev!" Kushal slapped his hand over her mouth and dragged her into the mop closet beside them and shut the door. But Dev had heard Sonakshi. Hearing her voice, he immediately followed the sound and started walking towards it. Her tone had given him the idea that she might be in trouble. Thinking that his voice might put her in greater danger he kept quiet and went towards the direction where he had heard her voice. Finding the area empty he looked around carefully at all the doors. Starting with the door on his right he tried to open each and everyone of them as softly as possible. While he kept checking, he silently called the head of his security team and asked them to look for Sonakshi everywhere and also asked him to send some of his team to the place where he was.

Halfway through his search while coming up the stairs Dev had suddenly realised that when he left the ballroom there was one other person he had not spotted besides Sonakshi and that was Kushal Roy. His senses telling him that his thoughts had taken the right direction he had called out to Sonakshi in panic and that is when he had heard her short reply. Sonakshi continued her struggle. But Kushal was losing patience now. So to stop her struggle all together Kushal pushed Sonakshi against the wall and held her hands on either side of her head and pressed his body on hers. Sonakshi struggled disgusted by the touch and cried even more. Reaching for the zip of her dress he started to unzip it. But in all this he had forgotten that Sonakshi was still making a noise. His lust had made him forget that she was still crying loudly and that proved to be the biggest flaw in his plan. Dev had been putting his ear to each door before trying to open it. Even though he found the closet door locked he heard the small cries that Sonakshi made when he put his ear to the door. The moment he heard her cry he lost what little patience he had and banged on the door. Kushal didn't care. He knew the door was locked and hence made no move. He merely paused for a second and looked at sonakshi cry. But Dev didn't give up. He repeatedly kicked and punched the door and by the fifth kick the door broke down to reveal a crying Sonakshi trapped between the wall and Kushal's filthy body.

Seeing Sonakshi in that state made Dev just lose his entire sense of right and wrong. He lunged at Kushal and threw him to the ground in one smooth motion and then kicked him right on his chest as he hit the ground. Running to Sonakshi he hugged her tight. "Sonakshi! Don't worry main aa gaya hoon. Kuch nahin hoga tumhey" he kept telling her repeatedly and Sonakshi collapsed in his arms in happiness and relief. They clutched each other tightly as the Security team members, who had arrived as Dev broke the door, grabbed Kushal and hauled him out of the room. After Sonakshi calmed down slightly Dev took off his blazer and put it around her shoulders and slowly took her to her and Riya's room. Spotting Sonakshi and Dev, Riya ran to them and hugged Sonakshi tightly. "Sona Di, aap theek toh ho naah, uss digusting leech neye kuch kiya toh nahin?" But without waiting for Sonakshi to answer she looked at Dev and said "Aap wahan time pe to pohuncheye the naah bhaiya?" all the while holding Sonakshi's hand.

"Haan Riya. Theek hai Sonakshi. Filhal andar chal" he said to his sister. Riya quickly ushered them into the room and let Dev settle Sonakshi into the bed. "Bhaiyya aap Sona Di ka dhyaan rakhiye main neechey police se milkar aati hoon." Dev nodded but then questioned "Tujhey kaise pata chala?" Riya looked at Sonakshi once to check if she was okay and the said " Woh aapkey security head ne bataya aur maine jaldi se Police ko call kar diya. Vishwaas nahin hota who normal dikhneye wala isnaan itna gira huya hai" she said making a shocked face. "Shant ho jaa. Theek hai sab ab. Aur Police se baat karte waqt dekh lena ki Kushal ko arrest karneye ke saath saath woh uskey liye ek restraining order bhi bananey ki arrangements kar le taaki woh kabhi bhi Sonakshi ke paas naa aa sakey. Okay? Baaki main dekh lunga." Riya nodded her head rigourously and went ahead to make the arrangements.

Sonakshi, who had been silently listening to everything looked at Dev. He was sitting on a chair beside the bed and she was half sitting, half lying on the bed. "Thank you Mr. Dixit, aap nahin hotey toh pata nahin aaj kya hota, Phirsey bach gayi main" she said looking at him gratefully. "Aisa mat sochiye. Aapko kuch nahin hota. Par aapneye aisa kyun kahan ki phirsey? Kya uss bas***d neye aapko pehley bhi takleef pohunchai hai?" He asked his blood boiling. Sonakshi looked down at her hands and kept quiet but then slowly said "haan" Somewhere deep down Dev knew that would be her answer but he wished it wasn't. He wanted to rip Kushal to shreds, but before that he wanted to know what he did. "Kya aap mujhey bataingi ki usneye kiya kya tha ki aap ussey itna darti thi?"

Sonakshi did not look up but she told him everything. She told him how Kushal had tricked her into falling for him. How he had turned out to be a psychotic possessive lover. How every minute of everyday he would want to be with her and how he would threaten her when she refused to hang out with him. Finally she told him the worst part. "Ek baar jab hum camping trip peye gaye the, raat ko hum ladkiyaan ek tent meye soye the and ladke ek tent me. Uss raat, jab kuch time ke liye main tent me akeli thi, he had...he had tried to rape me." Dev's hand curled into a fist. "Par I was lucky. Uss baar bhi main bach gayi thi. Meri friend right time pe aa gayi thi.  And I was saved. But hum logo ke paas koi solid proof nahin tha aur isiliye hum log police complaint bhi nahin kar paye the. But Ritwik neye apneye friends seye usko bohot pitwaya tha and had asked him to stay away. But I guess apkey office meye mujhey dekhneye ke baad he had found his opportunity to strike again" Sonakshi finished softly.

"Aapneye mujhey yeh sab pehley kyun nahin bataya So-I mean Dr. Bose?" He asked her barely trying to control his anger. Getting up from the chair and sitting beside her on the bed he said "aap ek baar bolti aur main tabhi usko nikalwa deta and would send him straight to jail." Sonakshi was surprised at Dev. "Par maine Kushal ke baad join kiya, why would you believe me over an old employee? Main toh jhoot bhi bol sakti thi naah?" She asked him seriously. "Aap kabhi jhoot nahi bol sakti So- Dr. Bose. Aap aisi hai hi nahin" he said looking at her intensely. Sonakshi's throat suddenly became very dry. "Aap ruk kyun gaye Mr. Dixit?" Dev felt confused. "Matlab?" Sonakshi looked into his eyes and said "Aap mujhey abhi sonkashi kehneye waaley the. Aapney tab kahan bhi tha, toh ab kyun nahin?" Dev didn't know what to answer. He just stared at her. He was so relieved that nothing happened to her.

Making sure that nothing really had happened he touched he cupped her cheek with his palm and said "Tum sachmeye theek toh ho naah Sonakshi?" He would never forgive himself if something had happened. "Nahin Dev, aapneye mujhey bacha liya" she said with a smile and leant into his soothing touch. A strange feeling had come over Dev and he couldn't control it. So he decided the best way was to get rid of the feeling, so he said, "Mujhey tumsey kuch kehna hai." Hypnotised by his spell, Sonakshi replied, "kahiye." Dev leaned in slighty. "Main tumsey..Main tumsey yeh kehna chahta tha ki I.." Sonakshi's heart picked up speed. She looked at him expectantly. "I..."

"Bhaiyya!" Riya said as she stepped into the room and instantly Sonakshi and Dev sprang apart from each other. But before they could move apart Riya realised with surprise that she had actually walked into an intimate moment between Dev and Sonakshi. She was ecstatic when she realised that they had feelings towards each other but before she rejoiced, she had important things to tell her brother. So ingnoring the situation at hand she said "Bhaiyya, Kushal ko police le jaa rahi hai. But before they leave aapseye police milna chahtey hai" Dev slowly stood up from the bed and said "theek hai." But before leaving the room he turned back and said "Riya, Dr. Bose ka dhyaan rakhna. I'll see you two in the morning tomorrow. Kal kaam hai bohot." Turning to Sonakshi he said "take care Dr. Bose. Kal ke liye ready ho jana aap. Don't be late" and with a small smirk her way he left the room.

Going straight to the lobby, he met the Police. Giving the necessary statements and orders he asked them to take Kushal away. The commissioner there was his friend, " Prakash, Dhyaan rakhna ki who jail se bail pe bhi bahar na aa sakey, theek hai." His friend assured him that it will be exactly as he wanted. But before they could take Kushal away Dev stopped them and faced Kushal. Drawing his fist back he punched Kushal straight on the nose, "Yeh Dr. Bose ko do do baar attack karney ke liye." Before Kushal could recover, he drew back his fist once again and landed another punch in the same place absolutely snapping Kushal's head back saying "Yeh punch yeh sochneye ke liye ki mere rehtey huye tum Sonakshi ko aankh uthakey bhi dekh saktey ho" he finished calmly. He watched satisfied as the police had to drag Kushal away to the car as he could barely stand upright.

Sonakshi on the other hand could not believe it. She was sure about what Dev was going to tell her. She didn't know what she would have done if Dev had finished the sentence. She hugged the pillow as she tried to fall asleep. After Dev had left, Riya had given her a sleeping pill and had given her some food so that Sonakshi could sleep and recover from the horrid incident. But the incident had long gone to the back of her mind because her prince had saved her. Her prince who would soon tell her those three magic words.

As she fell asleep, just one thought echoed in her mind. "meri fairytale adhuri nahin rahegi."

The next morning was a blur. Sonakshi woke up to Riya fussing over what she would wear to the meeting. This was her big day, the main reason why she came here. She was nervous yes, but she was excited and confident that she could do this. And to some extent, the happiness that Dev gave her, was a reason for this confidence. She had expected Dev to accompany them to work but was told by Riya that he had some emergency conference to attend and hence would be late. But that didn't sadden Sonakshi. Instead she waited to meet him even more eagerly. She had a feeling that Dev would complete the sentence once they met again.

Her work ran smoothly and she met all the employees that faced health issues. She advised them and also asked them to send in their reports to her through mail and by the end of it the employees and Sonakshi were both happy with the meeting. They would be returning back to Delhi that evening itself and hence Sonakshi and Riya both went back to the hotel to pack. But Dev was still nowhere to be seen. As they got ready to go to the airport, Riya got a call from Tina saying that Dev had flown back to Delhi earlier because of a meeting and that he would meet Sonakshi tomorrow for today's reports. Sonakshi was relieved to know that Dev was okay and now she knew she could talk to him whenever because they would be back in Delhi.

On the flight back, Riya kept Sonakshi entertained so that she wouldn't feel scared and it worked. Sonakshi was really grateful to Riya. In the middle of their conversation and air hostess gave them a newspaper. Riya took it and opened the first page  and quickly shut it back and gave the newspaper back to the hostess saying "We don't want it, thanks." "Kya huya Riya?" asked sonakshi concerned by her behaviour. But Riya blew it away saying that she would rather share stories than reading newspapers. As Riya started another interesting story, Sonakshi let it go and eventually forgot about it.

Reaching home she was given numerous death hugs by her concerned family who had all heard about the Kushal incident which had then led Ritwick to tell the entire story to them. Happy that their daughter was safe, they did not think about anything else. While Sonakshi apologised profusely for not telling them about Kushal before, her family was as usual extremely understanding and forgave her easily. Sonakshi was so touched that she had such an amazing family. Giving the entire credit of her well being to Dev, she told them about how he always protected her.

Asha and Bijoy were impressed and decided to thank Dev by inviting him to dinner. Asha said, "Shona, jakar apney kapdey badal leye aur phir Dev babu ko phone karkey kal dinner pe bula lena." She gave Sonakshi a knowing look when she blushed at Dev's name and escaped to her room. "Ma bhi naah" Sonakshi said to herself as she brought her bag to her room and started taking out her clothes. As she kept the bag on the table, the newspaper lying on it fell to the ground. "Uff yeh dada bhi naah. Kahin bhi newspaper rakh ke chaley jaatey hai." But while picking up the newspaper her eyes fell on the headlines on the first page and it almost stopped her heart. Because on the first page was a headline that said " Shaadi of the year: Aaj seye theek do din baad hogi iss saal ki sabsey hyped shaadi"

And that was accompanied by a picture of Dev and Natasha below it.

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Okay ladies and gentlemen!

Time for flowers, chocolates, tamatars and chappals!

Apni mann ki baat khulkar kahiye!

Waiting!