Chapter-3

9 months ago

aakanksha4

@aakanksha4

Arjun pulled the chair next to Riya and sat down for dinner. Riya adjusted in her seat, while Mrs. Wadekar just looked on in sheer surprise. The man who never bothered to talk to her or even return a smile, was sitting with them to have a meal together. She was happy at the sudden change but to be honest, curious a little more. 

The three began eating without exchanging a glance or a word. Arjun, in his mind, was trying to initiate a conversation, but his dead social skills were clearly not helping. 

The oven's beeping timer broke the silent spell in the room. Riya was about to get up when Mrs.Wadekar signaled her to continue eating while she went to get the cakes Riya had baked.

Considering it to be the right time to talk to Riya, Arjun bent towards her and spoke in a low voice,

“Poore din Kahan thi tum?”

Riya looked at him, surprised at his straightforward question. 

Without answering, she went back to eating.

“Where were you since morning?”, Arjun spoke louder in her ear, trying to be as calm as possible.

“Sunai deta h mujhe, behri nahi hoon m", Riya pushed him away, irritated.

“To jawaab kyun nhi de rahi ho?”, Arjun retorted.

“Tumko kyun doon m jawaab? Tumko kya panchayati h?”

Arjun breathed heavily. “This girl…”, he screamed internally. Before he could speak another word, Mrs.Wadekar returned with a tray of cupcakes. Riya smiled childishly at the sweets and was about to grab one, when Mrs.Wadekar slapped her hand and asked her to finish her food first.

Riya made a face but continued eating from her plate. Mrs. Wadekar smiled at her innocence and placed one cupcake each in both their plates. Riya excitedly started eating it while Arjun saved it for the last. 

After his meal, he savored every bite of the dessert. Each bite was heavenly. He had almost forgotten that he loved sweets so very much back in time.

“Kaisa h?”, Riya asked, looking at his face.

“Bohot achcha", he answered without thinking but instantly bit his tongue realizing what he just said.

“Fatafat khaa lo, isse pehle tumhe ye pata chal jaaye ki ye maine banaya hai!”, Riya teased him.

Arjun didn’t know how to react. This girl always got him tongue-tied. Though the cupcakes were one of the best he ever had, praising your enemy isn’t an easy task. He cleared his throat, as if wanting to speak something, but spoke nothing.

 Riya shook her head in disbelief . 

“Sadoo", she muttered under her breath and got up. Just then, her eyes fell on the clock. It is already 10:19. She needed to get out of here. 

Pretending to be tired and sleepy, she excused herself. She ran upstairs and locked the door behind her. She dialed a number and began talking in a hushed voice.

Man: Late again?

Riya: Sorry!

Man: How’s it going?

Riya: All eyes on me.

Man: Yeah, we know that. 

Riya: Arjun is snooping around.

Man: Give him something that keeps him busy for a while.

Riya: And what about them?

Man: They’re following you. Expect some action soon. They will try to confirm before letting him know. Be vigilant.

Riya: Ok.

Riya threw the phone on the pillow and fell back on the bed. She was too tired. Sleep engulfed her in no time.

Arjun, on the other hand, kept tossing in his bed all night. 

“This girl… Had it not been for Roshni, I would not have seen her face again. I need to get into her room, that’s where I'll find what I’m looking for.”, making up his mind, he too drifted to sleep.

Next morning 

Arjun woke up early but chose to stay inside his room and wait until Riya went to college. Till then, he decided to call Rathore to inform him about him being late today.

Rathore: Bolo Raute, koi information mili.

Arjun: Abhi tak nahi. Pr jldi mil jaegi. Jaise hi vo college jaegi, I'll search her room. I doubt k wahan…

“Laash h?”, joked Rathore remembering how Arjun told him about their first interaction.

Arjun was pissed at the remark. 

“Tum mat mano, pr m ye prove kr k rahunga k vo ladki…

“Gadbad h! M ye baat 100 baar sun chuka hoon”, Rathore joked again.

Arjun rolled his eyes and was about to disconnect the call when Rathore spoke again,

“Jokes aside. Tumhe jo prove krna h tum karte raho, bas is ladki ke college ka naam pta kre bina office mat aana. Mujhe Commissioner sir se uski security k liye baat krni h.” Saying so, he disconnected the call.

Arjun looked at the wall clock. It was 9:45 already.

“She must be gone by now!”, he thought to himself and moved out of his room stealthily. Not finding her on her favourite garden swing, he stood in front of her door again, third time in just two days. 

“This damn door stands between me and all that this girl is hiding.”, he spoke to himself.

He took the screwdriver out of his pocket and eyed the lock one more time. Just when he was about to touch the lock, Arjun’s nightmare came true. He heard the same voice again.

“I know my door is pretty. But why in the world do I always find you standing in front of it.”, Riya’s voice changed from sarcastic to irritated in no time.

Arjun closed his eyes in defeat, not facing her while Riya ran up the stairs.

Arjun tried to hide the screwdriver.

 “Don’t bother!”, she faked a smile and he knew that she had already seen it.

“Tum naa…. Mujhse, mere matter se aur mere darwaaze se dur raho warna….”, she threatened him, pointing a finger towards him.

Arjun panicked looking for words. He opened his mouth to speak when she spoke again,

“Careful! Anything that you say right now can be used against you in the court of Mrs. Wadekar.”, she spoke in a breath and pointed downstairs. 

Arjun’s eyes followed her finger and he saw Mrs.Wadekar standing in the garden, looking at them. Arjun lowered his eyes, embarrassed. 

Realizing Arjun’s current state, Mrs.Wadekar tried to change the topic and spoke,

“Riya, you are getting late. Come down for breakfast. Hurry up!”. Saying so, she rushed inside the house, not wanting the matter to stretch any further. She knew Riya was loud and lively, but she knew Arjun too, just the opposite. She had realized by now that they are not going to get along well. 

Riya, too checked her watch and rushed inside her room not before shouldering him aside.

Arjun stood there disappointed.

 “Another attempt down the drain! Rathore will kill me.”, he put the screwdriver in his pocket and went downstairs.

 Mrs.Wadekar was setting up the breakfast table. Arjun watched her silently. She was in her mid sixties, stayed silent most of the times, but since this girl has walked in, she seemed different altogether. She was humming a song, moving swiftly across the kitchen area, smiling. It was as if she was brought back to life. For now, it was only her who, maybe, knew about the girl’s whereabouts. So, this was the right time to gather any piece of information from her, if she had any, at all. He had a plan.

Arjun knocked the door to gain her attention. Mrs.Wadekar looked back and asked him to come in. Arjun seated himself at the dining table, at his favourite spot.

“Riyaaaa", Mrs.Wadekar called her again.

Arjun picked up the newspaper and said in a serious voice,

“ Crime rates against girls are increasing rapidly these days. It’s not safe to be out alone till late.”

Just then Riya walked in. He pretended like nothing happened and continued to read the newspaper. But his plan had worked. Mrs.Wadekar was instigated.

“Riya, where’s this college of yours? And what time are your classes? Be back in time.”, she said while serving both of them with breakfast. 

Arjun expected her to answer her questions, but the stubborn girl didn’t spit out anything.

“I'm sorry for yesterday. Nayi jagah h naa to m raasta bhool gayi thi. I'll be back before time. You don’t worry.”, she pacified her, kissed her goodbye and rushed out of the room, grabbing a sandwich.

Arjun too wrapped up quickly and followed her.

“M chod deta hu tumhe college", he blocked her way and offered her a ride.

“Nahi chahiye! M auto se chali jaungi”, she tried to move away.

“Are m chhodd deta hu, tum raasta bhool gayi thi naa kal. Tum yahan nayi ho, tumhe yahan k raaste nahi pata h.", he tried again, not giving up.

“Auto wale bhaiya ko raasta pata h aur auto unhone chalna h!”, she said pushing him out of her way. 

She quickly ran to the road and stopped an auto rickshaw.

Just before she could get in, Arjun stopped her again.

“Bhaiya ko batao to sahi tumhe kahan jana hai!”, Arjun said hoping that this time she would utter the name of her college.

She again pushed him aside.

“Bhaiya ji, mujhe yahan se seedha jaana h. Fir aage  ka raasta m aapko aage bata dungi, aap chalenge naa?”, she made a puppy face.

The driver agreed instantly and asked her to get in. She quickly took out her sunglasses from her bag and wore them in front of Arjun, flashing her victorious smile. Arjun quickly thought of PLAN-B, “I NEED TO FOLLOW HER”.

The auto rickshaw zoomed away on the deserted road. Arjun’s eyes fell on a piece of paper that Riya had dropped from her bag while taking out her sunglasses. He picked it up and opened it. It was her class schedule.

His lips curved in a smiled.

“You’re not that smart Ms. Riya Mukherjee.”

He folded it and kept it in his pocket.

Riya, on the other hand, smiled and said to herself, “I hope that keeps you busy for sometime, Mr. Arjun Raute.”

Soon, Arjun too went out. He first went to interrogate a couple for the recent case and then visited the crime scene.

 In the evening, he returned to the office, beaming with happiness, afterall, he had something to shut Rathore up with. 

But his smile vanished as soon as he saw his team's tensed faces.

“What’s wrong?”, Arjun asked Chotu.

“Sir, the police control room received a call informing that some students have been held hostage in a college. We are trying to gather information about it.”, Chotu explained.

“Which college?”, Arjun asked.

Just then Shree walked in. 

“We are trying locate the caller. Rathore Sir is on call with Commissioner sir.”

Arjun nodded.

“Sir, what about that girl? Any info?”, enquired Shree, his eyes still fixed on the laptop screen.

Arjun took put the piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it to show them.

Rathore cut the call and approached the conference table.

“St. Thomas College”, both spoke in unison.

Four of them looked at each other in utter shock.

“All of this is for that girl? She is actually in danger!”, Arjun couldn’t believe his ears.

“Team, let’s go!”, Rathore ordered, disappointed at the lost chance.

 The four men rushed out of the ETF Office without wasting another second.