Hi! So it's the second part.
The last second part as well. 😉😉

Anyways Onwards!!!

Moving on...💃💃💃

"Words in double quotes" - Talking

'Words in single quotes.' - Thoughts

Part 2

Ragini gasped and stumbled back in shock. 'No...no, it can't be. It...it can't be!'

Her knees couldn't hold her anymore and she fell onto the ground. Her mouth opened in a silent scream. The image of Sanskar hugging the girl was flashing over and over in her mind. She placed a fist over her mouth to stifle her sobs.

With each passing second, she could feel her heart breaking into pieces. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Ragini felt like the air in the room disappeared suddenly. She felt like she was suffocating, but wasn't being able to die to end the pain.

Ragini let out a bitter laugh. 'So she's the reason why Sanskar keeps his distance from me. She is the one who he has moved on to. She is the one he loves. She is the one he spends his time with now-a-days. No longer do I matter to him.'

Ragini chuckled humorlessly. "Of course I don't matter. I should've known this from the start. I can never match up to his world of luxury. I guess Kavita was right. He is embarrassed to have a middle-class, average looking girl like me as his love. After all, when he could get any beautiful girl he wants, why would he choose me to love? I should have known he would find someone better than me. I...I don't deserve him."

Ragini slowly got up and left the room. She took the stairs instead of the lift to avoid Sanskar. She was barely keeping it together. 'If he comes in front of me now, I won't be able to keep myself from breaking down.'

#Outside#

The guard was really confused with everything that happened. He opened the gate for his Sanskar sir to enter and went to greet him once he came out. However, he never expected to see an unknown girl with him. He watched as the girl showed Sanskar a picture of a ring. What shocked him the most was the fact that Sanskar hugged her right after it.

He couldn't watch anymore and moved away to his spot at the gate. 'Why would Sanskar sir cheat on Ragini? She is such a nice person. Sir himself is an honest man. But...but how can I deny what I saw today?'

The guard looked up when he heard footsteps. He saw Sanskar shake hands with the girl with a genuine smile. The girl went away after bidding him goodbye. This brought a smile to the guard's face. 'I guess she is just a friend of is. I was misunderstanding Sanskar sir for nothing!'

Sanskar walked towards him with a big grin.

"Good afternoon!"

"Good afternoon Sanskar sir."

"Kaka, it's a beautiful day, isn't it? Why don't you take the day off and enjoy with your family?"

The guard looked at him in shock. He knew his Sanskar sir was very strict about work schedules of the employees and workers. 'Is he drunk or is he testing me?' He observed Sanskar intently. 'No. His smile doesn't look fake. Which means he's not testing me. Then...then it could only mean one thing. He's definitely drunk.'

"Um... I'll go ask the peon to bring you a glass of lemon juice, Sanskar sir."

Sanskar let out a loud laugh at his words. "Chill Kaka. I'm not drunk. I wa-" Sanskar paused mid-sentence. "On second thought, I think I am drunk. Drunk in love!" He came near and gave the guard a hug. He then turned him towards the street and gave him a light push. "Go enjoy your day Kaka. Bye!"

The guard could only watch on dumbfounded as Sanskar strolled inside the building, humming to himself. 'Should I leave for home or not? If he's allowing me on a sane mind, it's alright. But if he's drunk, then he isn't aware of what he just said. He might scold me later when he becomes sober. Oho! What to do?'

After sometime...

The guard made up his mind to leave. After all, drunk or not, Sanskar gave him the permission to take the day off. He can always show the CCTV footage from the security camera to Sanskar if he doesn't believe him. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Ragini walk out of the building. She seemed lost and...sad?

As she came near, he walked up to her. "Ragini beta. What happened? I thought you wanted to surprise Sanskar sir. Did you not see him entering the office?"

'It was he who gave me a surprise. The surprise of the worst kind.' Ragini thought with sorrow, remembering him hugging an unknown girl. "I saw Kaka. I saw more than I should have. At least if I hadn't, I wouldn't be shattering as I am now."

"Is...is something wrong Ragini beta?" he questioned, confused by her words.

Ragini shook her head and tried to fake a smile. "Its nothing Kaka. Sanskar looked like he had some important work. So I left without meeting him. I'll meet him tomorrow."

"Oho beta! Don't you know how important you are for Sanskar sir? He will drop every work to spend time with you. You should go back."

'Go back where? There's no place for me in his heart anymore.' Ragini shook her head. "Its alright Kaka. I can wait."

And she really would have.

She would have waited for him if he wanted to end their relationship.

She would have waited for him to come back. If he said he wasn't ready, she would have waited. 'If you didn't love me, you should have told me about your true feelings. I would have let you go then. Yet, I would have waited forever for you to come back to me one day. I would have waited for days, months...years even...' she was broken out of her thoughts by the guard's voice.

"Okay beta. As you wish. But be careful. If you leave him alone too much, another might steal him away." He joked.

Ragini let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah, you're right. He might slip out of my love." Ragini balled her hands into fists in anger. 'Why was I even afraid of losing him, when he was never mine to begin with? He didn't love me. I wasn't his true love! If I was, then he wouldn't have lied, cheated or kept secrets. I was a fool to pursue him!'

"Ragini beta, did you see the girl with Sanskar sir? Is she...is she a friend of yours?"

Ragini squeezed her fists harder, until her nails were dug into her palms, making it bleed. "N-no Kaka."

"Oh, I see. Then she must be Sanskar sir's friend." The guard chuckled suddenly. "You know, for a moment, I thought Sanskar sir was cheating on you when the girl showed him the picture. I wa-"

"Picture?"

"Yes, a picture. You see, she showed him a picture of a ring on her phone and..." as the guard explained the facts, Ragini could do nothing but stand there, looking lifeless.

#Sanskar's cabin#

Sanskar came in humming to himself. He tossed the car keys on the table and sat on his chair, twirling it round and round. He had his eyes closed, but a smile played on his lips. "That girl is truly amazing. No, not amazing. Amazing would be a small word for her. I think I need to invent a new word for her."

A beautiful aroma reached his nose. He looked towards the side to see a tiffin on the nearby shelf. Only then did he notice that the room looked clean and disciplined. 'I would rather run a marathon than clean my cabin. If not me, who had cleaned it? And who brought the tiffin? Who cou-'

Sanskar added two-to-two together and abruptly stood up with a big smile. "Ragini!" At once, he left his seat and went towards the shelf. "No use hiding Ragini. I know you're here. There is no way you can fool me." When no one came out, he went to look behind the shelf. "Caught you!"

However, his smile disappeared when he found no one there. 'Eh? Where did she go? I'm sure that this is all her doing. But where is she?' He continued looking everywhere, hoping she was playing a prank on him. As he moved past the window, something caught his eye and he looked down. 'Aha! Knew she was here.'

He could see Ragini talking with the guard. 'But why did she leave without meeting me?'

Sanskar shook her s he'd of thoughts and ran out of his room. 'Meh...whatever! Better get there before she leaves.'

#Outside#

Ragini stumbled back in shock after hearing the truth from the guard. 'So I was right. The ring wasn't for me, but for her. He bought it for her. And I had hoped it was for me.' She let out a bitter chuckle. "How foolish can you get Ragini? You're pathetic. No wonder he left you." she chided herself.

The guard looked at her in confusion. "What are you murmuring Ragini? Is something wrong?"

"Something? Anything? Everything? I don't know anymore Kaka. I just...I just don't know."

Before he could ask more, they heard a voice shout out to her.

"Ragini! Oi Ragini! Heyyy Ragini! Wait!" Shouted Sanskar, as he came running and waving towards them.

The guard sweat-dropped at his behavior. 'Top businessman in the city. And yet, he is acting like a five year old. Why is he so chirpy today?'

However, instead of waiting for Sanskar to reach her, Ragini walked out of the gate.

Sanskar came to stop beside the guard in confusion. "Why is she leaving?"

"I'm as confused as you Sanskar sir."

A sly smile broke out on Sanskar's face. "Heh...I guess she felt shy in front of you."

However, his smile soon turned into a frown. "I told you to leave, did I not? Now look what happened!"

The guard opened his mouth to object, but thought better of it. "Okay okay. I'm leaving. Good day Sir."

Sanskar dismissed him and rushed after Ragini. "Ragini! Ragini wait! Ragini, damn it, wait!" However, she didn't slow down. Sanskar quickened his pace and at last reached her. He grabbed her wrist and turned her towards himself. "Why were you *huff* not stopping? *huff* Don't make me *huff* run so much ever *huff* AGAIN!"

"Leave my hand Sanskar." Ragini spoke, without looking towards him. Her hair kept her face hidden from him as she spoke. Her voice was devoid of any emotions.

"What? No way! I didn't run for nothing. Now tell me why you were leaving without meeting me."

"I think you already know. Now, leave me Sanskar."

Sanskar looked at her in confusion. He couldn't understand why she was acting like this. "How would I know? I just met you now."

Ragini felt anger consume her. Even after everything, Sanskar was acting innocent and unaware. She jerked her hand from his grip and turned to face him. "You know everything! You act righteous and honest. But the truth is that you're just like those other rich snobs!"

Sanskar looked at her in shock and bewilderment. "Are you in your right mind Ragini? You're not drunk or something, are you?"

"I am in my right mind. I wasn't earlier. But now I am!"

"Would you tell me why you're accusing me for nothing?"

"Nothing? Nothing!? You...you're unbelievable! You disgust me!" Ragini walked past him. However, he went and blocked her path.

"Wait a minute! Why are you so angry? What did I do? If I upset you in anyway, I'm sorry, okay? I'll do anything to make it up to you. I...I'm sorry."

"Its to late for sorry Sanskar. Even if I forgive you someday, never will I trust someone like you ever again! Love only grows till there is trust. Once its betrayed, love dies."

"But I never did anything to break your trust. Please, believe me!" Sanskar pleaded, hurt and desperation evident in his voice.

"I did Sanskar. I did believe you more than you deserve. Loved you, trusted you. But you? What did you give me in return? Just tears, pain and betrayal? If you hated me that much, why didn't you just outright kill me!?"

"RAGINI!" It took him everything in him not to hit Ragini for even thinking about her death, let alone speaking it out loud. "I've listened to everything you have to say. You're going on accusing me for God knows what! But I'm listening to you and apologizing, not because I think you're right, but because I value our relationship more than our disagreements. Bu-"

"Value? Ahahaha...what a joke!" Ragini spoke with a sarcastic laugh. "You don't value our relationship and neither do you value me!"

"How could you say that? We've been a couple since two years. After every trouble we've faced, after everything we've been through, you still doubt me? You still don't fully trust me?"

"I tried Sanskar. I tried my best to trust you. Even when the truth was laid out bare before me, I chose to close my eyes and pretend it's not true. When it wouldn't go away, I tried to paint my own reality. Because I had that much faith in you. But now...now I realize how much of a fool I was! Its me who was pathetic enough to think that I mattered to you." Ragini's voice broke as she spoke the words. She couldn't bear to look at him anymore and turned to leave.

However, before she could take even a step, she felt herself being pushed towards the wall, with Sanskar's hands pinning her to the wall on both sides. "Take it back. Take those words back! You aren't pathetic Ragini. You are everything to me. Why won't you believe me!?"

"Believe you after what I saw? How can I?" Ragini spoke in a soft, broken voice. "Why couldn't you just tell me that you don't want me anymore? Why did you have to lie and keep cheating on me? Give me false hopes? Yes, it would have hurt. But I would have been able to spend my life with the memories of our time together. But now...now you've completely shattered my heart into pieces." She let out a wry smile. "I'm so pathetic that even now...even now, each of those tiny pieces still love you."

Sanskar's hands left the wall in shock. "W-what are you saying? I never cheated you! I would never cheat on you!"

Ragini looked at him with pained eyes. "Even now you're lying? Can't you just admit the truth? The truth that you love another? That you love the girl who was with you in the car? The one for whom you've bought a ring. The one whom...whom you plan to marry."

Sanskar just stood there, looking at her with wide eyes.

Ragini chuckled. "Cat caught your tongue Sanskar? Yes, I know the truth. I know about her." She straightened up and stepped away from him. "Did you ever even love me truly? Did you ever want to be together with me till we die? Will you... Will you even feel anything if I leave you now?"

Sanskar let out a shaky breath. "So you saw me with the girl. You saw me hug her, eh? And I guess that brought you to the conclusion that I'm cheating on you?" Sanskar looked away, trying hard to control his emotions.

"Can there be any other explanation to it Sanskar? Can there be any other reason you hugged her with such happiness!?"

Sanskar nodded. "Yes. Its true I was really happy at the moment. Its true that I hugged her with my full conscious as well. And as for your other questions? No, didn't plan to love you till we die. No, I won't feel anything when you leave me."

Ragini looked at him with a bitter smile. "You're really a jerk, aren't you? I'm breaking here and you still don't feel anything. Instead you're making it worse for me. You're such a jerk! I should have known."

"Yeah. You should have known me better." He saw her move past him. "One second." He turned to her and put forward his hand. "You made your conclusions. But don't you want to know my reasons? You deserve to know, don't you?"

"Have pity on me and leave me. Haven't you had enough enjoyment seeing me broken? Why do you want to break me more? Let me leave in peace." Ragini pleaded desperately.

"No." Sanskar remained unmoving.

He kept his stoic tone, while looking at her with emotionless face."Its only fair that you know my reasons as well, no? Don't be a coward now. Take my hand and come with me."

************************************

To be continued...

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~ 🌹 Mona 🌹