Gamble

Summary: Nahi maan sakte hum ke woh bewafa hai.

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Amrit goes to sit in the car and lets out a startled scream before clasping a hand to her mouth to muffle it.

Uday is sitting in the driver's place, dressed in the uniform that Shrighar drivers wore.

"Veerji aap?"

"Get in the car Amru, don't show any difference."

Amrit clutches a hand at her throat and nods. She waks around and sits in the back seat. Then asks in whisper.

"What happened Veerji? Where is Vashma?"

"She is hiding in the back of the car. Maaf karna Amru we have no choice. Yahaan se nikalne ka aur koi rasta nahi bacha."

"Kiyun?"

Her question is answered by three guards who March out at the same time, fully armed. Behind them, carrying and checking a long rifle comes Anwar.

Amrit draws in a breath.

"He has caught a wind I guess. Aur tere Kuwar sahab has ordered extra guards on the parameter. We shall leave in the middle of the gala. You can slip out right? Then later we shall take the train and Randheer will drop you back at the gala. Nobody will know the car was moved or that you went? Hmm?"

Anwar approaches them and they grow silent. He pauses and bends down to talk to Amrit.

"Bhabhi jaan," he says instead of Kuwar Rani sahab as he did before.

Amrit looks into his eyes and sees real concern there. Was this man faking it? Was he really trying to take Vashma for himself?

"Where is Kuwar sahab?"

Amrit shakes her head.

"I don't know. Unhe kissi se baat karna tha."

Anwar sighs, and his hand clenches on the rifle.

"Aap kyaal rakhiye. Kuch log ghuss aaya hai yahaan, jinhe yahaan nahi honga chahiye."

"J - ji?"

Anwar tries to smile.

"Kauf ki baat nahi hai. Veer was right you know - you get scared very easily. I will catch them. And when I do, I will teach them a lesson of their lives."

In the front, Amrit sees Uday clenching on the steering wheel.

She tries to smile. Anwar doesn't notice anyway. Instead, he mutters a few polite parting words and leaves.

"Veerji," Amrit says after a moment. "What have we gotten into?"

"Whatever it is," Uday replies. "This is the only way out."

*

"Veer," Nayantara is saying. "Woh ladki aap ko bewakoof bana rahi hai."

"Woh ladki, humari patni hai." Veer replies. His calm tone is a flag of danger.

He turns away from his cousin and back towards guards.

"Humne poocha, kaun gaya tha wahaan? Dulhan Rani ke kamre mein kaun gaya tha?"

The guards of the residential area does not dare meet his eye.

"Aap yeh kyun nahi Pooch rahe ke aap ki Dulhan rani kiss kiss ke Kamre mein jaati hai, Veer? Aap ko patha hai poora mehel -"

Veer holds out a hand gesturing for silence. When he turns to her his face is a mask of fury.

"Think carefully before speaking the next few words Nayantara jiji. You are elder to me issi baat ka maan rakh rahe hai hum.

"Don't forget I out rank you in the line to throne. Don't forget the woman instigating you with all these talk is a mere servant. And the woman you are degrading will be your Rani Sahab.

"If she wants she could very well cut both Yasho and Raghav off the beneficiary list and they will get nothing - nothing to show for their royal names. Do you want to see that happening?"

"Are you threatening me Veer? Me? The only one who was at your side- who took your side all these years? Are you threatening to disinherit my children from a riyasat my mother used to be the princess of? Over a woman who you can't even keep in control?"

Veer steps up to her and stares her down.

"And you know why? She doesn't come collecting debts of all the support she has given when push comes to shove."

"Veer!"

Veer addresses the guards again, still holding her eye.

"If one of you doesn't answer me right now, things will turn nasty for both. You know what I mean."

"It was Dai Ma." One of them finally says, fumbling over his words. "Chote hukum she was the one who went in."

"Aap ko humse poochna tha Veer baba," Dai ma comes over with a box. "Hum bata dete hum kiyun gayi wahaan. Why are you terrorizing the poor boys?"

Veer says nothing only gestures the woman to continue.

"Humein aap ka chinta hai Veer baba, aur rajparivaar ka bhi. I did go to her room. I did go through her stuff. Because I got this letter from one of the staff apartments. Yeh jiss kath ki jawaab hai hum woh kath Dundne gayi thi."

She takes out a carefully folded paper and hands it to Veer.

"Dekhiye, ghor se dhekiye Veer baba, yeh likhawat Dulhan Rani ki hi hai na?"

Veer unfolds the letter, it is half torn from some riyasat letterhead. But indeed the penmanship is Amrit's, spelling out...

Shaam ka ek waada, poore din par grehen laga jaata hai. Main aanken bicheyi kidkipar beithi suraj ke marne ka intezaar kar rahi hoon. Jo kabhi na kiya woh kar rahi hoon. Kudh ko kissi ke naam kar rahi hoon. Main kudh ko tujhe de doon, tu mujhko le jaayenga kahaan?

"This is response to the letter you found Veer baba. That is why you are making all this chaos right? You found that letter? I did not put it there- I only made sure you found it. Thaaki aap ke aankein khul jaaye aur aap dekhein kiss tarah ki aurat ko aap -"

Veer's laughter, mirthless, and mocking booms the hall and draws Dai Ma to a pause.

Nayantara who had read the letter over his shoulder looks at him as if he had gone mad.

"Veer baba are you -"

Veer crumples the paper in his fist right in front of her eyes.

"Hum aap ke Veer baba nahi hai. Hum Kuwar hai yahaan ke. I am the sole heir of your late king. Aap humein Chote hukum bhulayengi. Aur yeh kath - kahaan se mili? Kaha se churayi Isse? Where is the rest of it?"

"You've gone blind Veer," Nayantara shakes her head. "After finding so much evidence against her ..."

"Nahi maan sakte hum ke woh bewafa hai. Nahi maan sakthe!"

"Very well," Dai ma says rather mockingly.

"Woh bewafa nahi hai. Hum chal kar rahe hai unkhe kilaaf. She did not write this. She did not get a reply to this. Then she will surely go nowhere tonight either - right, Chote hukum? Aap apni Rani par nazar rakhiye. Aaj woh kahi nahi gayi toh hum yeh riyasat chhod kar hamesha ke liye Chale jaayenge. Lekin aaj woh gayi...aaj woh gayi toh kabhi laut kar nahi aayengi."

"We both heard her in the afternoon Veer," Nayantara says slowly. "Shaadi karne wali hai woh... tumhare saat itna bada dhoka karengi aur uss secretary ke saath bhaag jaayengi."

"Kahi nahi jaayengi woh." Veer cuts her off. "Dai ma. Let's have it your way. Aaj poori rath woh humari saath rahengi aur kal subha se humein aap yahaan nahi dhikni chahiye."

*

Amrit watches the gala from the upstairs. Not really interested in dancing.

Her nevers are too much hyped up to commit to any conversation. She leans against the railing and tries to untangle a lock of hair that had gone inside the clasp of her choker. The hair tugs at the pins holding her coiffure and Amrit winces.

"Hold this," Veer shoves a glass of wine under her nose as he comes to lean against the railing beside her. "Hum kar denge."

Amrit takes the wine glass begrudgingly and her eyes dart towards the ornate wall clock hanging on the wall opposite. It is nearing time.

Veer's calloused fingers climb along her nape.

"Kissi ka intezaar hai?"

Amrit jumps and looks at him. He is not even looking at her, but the task at hand.

"Ji Nahi."

Veer hums in the back of his throat. The sound makes her insides stir.

"Hogayi baat aapke?" She asks, simply to do away with the silence. "With her?"

Veer chuckles in her ear. His thumb strokes her nape.

"Kiss se?"

Amrit looks at him sideways. She wouldn't waste a word on something they both already know.

The hair comes untangled and peels of her choker chime. Veer runs a finger along it and looks at her. He comes around, takes the glass, keeps it away and instead, traps her between the railing and himself.

"Jealosy suits you," he says, low words stirring against her face.

"Hum aap ko dekh rahe the, waha se. Nazar nahi hatt rahi thi aapki."

"Main aap ko nahi dekh rahi thi."

She tilts her chin in defiance and does not realize how dangerously close it brings their faces.

"Aur bhi kahi nazaare hai yahaan."

Veer lowers his head, shares her exhale.

"I wasn't talking with her. I was talking to her father. He is a team leader of Ma Sahab's party."

Lower yet he reaches, daring Amrit to break their eye contact or pull away.

"Humare liye toh ek aap hai, duniya ka sab se khoobsoorat nazaara."

He hums against her ear, heat of his face presses against hers.

"Dance with me."

Her eyes are drawn to the clock again. She has to slip out any minute now. She had promised Uday. But, Veer is watching her with hawk eyes. There is no way of avoiding him.

"I don't know these fancy dances," she brushes him off and climbs down the stairs, well aware that he is only a step behind her. Maybe the crowd will swallow her.

Veer holds her by the elbow, turns her just so that she ends up bumping against him. His arm comes around her waist. They are at the foot of the stairs now, in the eyes of everyone.

"Oh," he says. "But you are leading me on a very merry dance, biwi sahab."

Was it anger that coloured his tone? There was a certain bitterness. Sharp and acidic.

Amrit shakes her head and turns to leave again. Only Veer doesn't let go of her hand.

The orchestra strikes a new song, one she hadn't heard before. Veer smiles.

"The music of estate gala doesn't leave this hall. It's a hall of fame if you will. You won't hear these songs anywhere else. You won't hear the same song twice. Come," he leads her and the crowd parts.

Amrit feels a blush forming in her cheeks. Everybody was looking at them.

"Aap bohut khoobsoorat hai, issi liye dekhte hai sab." Veer tells her, raising her hand to place it on his shoulder. "Bohut kam aate hai humare duniya mein aap jaise log. Ab aai ho toh jaana Matt."

They grove to the music, the beats slowly picking up. It is a mixture of something ethnic and western - not the usual merry tones you would hear.

Tera jonoon hai sar pe chadda
Mujhe na sukoon hai Kar de reha
Haal yeh mera dekh Zara
Hosh hai bhaki Mujh mein kahaan ....

"Why would you say that?" Amrit's voice is soft, troubled.

She allows Veer to clasp hands with her, raise them and lower them, then turn her around. He breathes against her neck.

"Humse raha nahi jaata Amrit. I want to know what you are hiding from me."

They pull apart and he twirls her.

Tu...tu mohabat
nahi hai toh kya
Tu...tujse rahat
mile kiyun bata

Veer is an exceptional dancer, Amrit had learned over the time. His arms guide her with an ease, that makes her wonder when they had been here before, when had they danced this dance, heard this song? For each of those steps, those turns and twirls feels as if they had been repeated hundreds of times before.

Jo soche tu
mehsoos ho mujhko
Mitt se gaye
jaise farak saare

Her breath comes out in short puffs and her lips part. There is that fire in his eyes and she is burning all over.

And his hands move along her arms, knowing, stroking those flames. In that moment he is everywhere.

Dil mein kahi pe ek darr sa laga hai
Mujhse bhi zaada koi tume na chaahe
Mujase na cheene pyaar mera
Mujhe na sukoon hai
Karde Riha...

"Hum dono ke beech ki yeh deewar humein manzoor nahi hai." He breathes against her, hands on her waist. "Humara jeena aazaan kar dijiye, bata dijiye."

"Veer..." her exhale is a sigh of his name.

Tu hi wajah hai mere jeene ki
Tu chain hai bechain seene ki

She gasps when he lifts her, almost as if she is weightless. He raises her high above him and her hands clench on his shoulders.

Amrit looks down at him, breathing hard. He is all she could see, his eyes and their rippling darkness. Veer brings her down, slowly, dragging her against him in a certain way that she is aware of every inch of his heated being.

"Battaiye humein, hum aisa kya kare joh aap ko bharosa ho jaaye?" He mutters, holding her against him.

Phir dardh kiyun hai iss qadar mujhko
Tu jo mera phir kyun fikar mujhko
Koi tareeka mere dil ko sekha se
Kaise jiyu mein tere bin yeh bata de
Saans chale na tere bina
Mujhe na sukoon hai karde riha ...

She is still an inch above him, and the anguish in his face tugs at her heart. Amrit moves before she thinks it through and her lips touch his forehead.

When her feet touch the ground, and the song continues, neither of them moves.

"Bass aaj ki baat hai," she tells him. Soft words that get dissolved in the music. "Phir saari zindagi aap ki."

"Amrit -"

Her fingers slip through his outstretched ones and Amrit pulls away, holding his gaze, hoping he sees what she cannot yet utter.

Her heart clenches strangely. As if, it is not merely his hand that she is letting go.

"Bass yeh ek raat de dijiye mujhe. Yeh ek raaz rakhne dijiye. Aur kuch nahi maangungi kabhi."

He tries to hold her, but the dancing crowd swallows her. In a moment he could no longer see Amrit and the world starts to crumble around him.

**
Ahh...we are reaching the high point. Tomorrow will be a double updates that would mark the end of one bond and the start of another's forever.

Which is which you'll know tomorrow at 6PM. Unless of course I start having mood swings. But by 6pm definitely, there will be a double update.

This one is posted today, to honour a request, who made it will know it is for her. :-)

Please vote and comment as always, they keep me going despite a broken heart and loads of work at my office.
Hope you enjoyed the surprise!
See you!