Almost a year later, we are here again😄😄
Hey guys! Missed me😎 I am sure you did🙈😄😂😂
Anyway as I had promised here I am with my birthday gift for you all 😉😉

Yeh lo update my dear  Silent-writerr  Sanyasi_Diksha Aliya598
Inn logon ne mera jeena haram kiya hua tha na jaane kitne din se😂😂😂

Ab pehle hi disclaimer de dun, last time jis high point pe choda tha usse better update nahin hai😄
But kyunki tum logon ne kaafi minnate ki, toh likh diya hai.
Have lost the flow but hopefully this turns out well😎😊
It's also not a very long update but just something I could manage🙈🙈
Chalo badbad band karti hun and let's move on😊😊

Note: Dialogues in Bold

Thoughts in italics.

Narration in normal font

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Flashback continued

(Recap: Sanskar saw Swalak doing ahem ahem😂😂😂)

Sanskar collapsed beside the tree in the terrace garden. He was feeling emotionally and physically drained. His mind was in a haze and his vision was blurred as a fresh batch of tears clouded his eyes.
He still couldn't believe it. Was it real or just a bad dream? Was his wife in bed with his brother ! Oh how he wish this was a nightmare that he could change ! How had it come to this?
He bit his lips willing himself to not cry. He wanted to scream and lash out at someone. But it seemed as though he had lost his voice.
 He tried looking ahead when he felt her presence.

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Ragini was walking aimlessly through the hotel. The sight that had greeted her at Swara's room was something that she had not been prepared to witness. It was her worst nightmare come true. Something that she feared always but never denied the possibility of. Her husband and her sister lying together entangled in bed.
Had she been the old Ragini, she would have been distraught with grief. But here she was, feeling devoid of any emotion towards what she had seen. She waited for the feeling of pain, anger, betrayal to hit her, but it felt like  she had become immune to the pain and suffering Laksh had brought in her life.
Her mind went back to the time she had seen them entangled in the sheets.

Flashback
Ragini had returned to her room to check on Sanskar. The encounter with Swara had left her feeling furious and there was just one thing that could help her calm her mind. Sanskar.
His presence itself was enough to relieve any tension/stress she was experiencing. She was sure his jokes or even his voice would put her mind at ease. And with the kind of day she had had, she desperately needed to see him.

She inserted her key card into the slot walking slowly inside the room so as to not disturb Sanskar's sleep. But as soon as she was close to her bed, she realized that he was not there.
After rummaging around the room and ringing his cell few times, she stood there puzzled. She had tried his number for about 10 times now but each time it went unanswered. It was quite unlike him to just vanish without any messages or calls. She was starting to get worried now. He had been seriously injured and was missing for a few hours now. She had gone back to her room to check on him but he had already left.
Where was he?

She decided to call Swara to check if Sanskar had returned to the room. She really didn't want to speak to her after what transpired at the bar earlier but she was willing to let that go, given the fact that Sanskar's health was her utmost priority now.
After much hesitation, she dialled her sister's cell, willing herself to keep the conversation as short as possible. But even Swara did not pick up her phone. What was it with the couple not picking up calls?

She tried Swara's number again and then sat up frustrated.
Maybe they were together and were having an intense discussion. But he would have informed her if he was with Swara.

She had a sinking feeling that something bad had happened. She just hoped nothing bad happened to him.

As she clutched her saree in an attempt to calm her nerves down, she decided to call the reception desk through the intercom to know about his whereabouts. According to them, he had not gone down.
Unable to sit still any longer, she finally decided to visit Sanskat's room to put her mind at ease.

She started walking to the other end of the lobby where Sanskar's room was situated. Swara had insisted on a room with a river facing view although looking at her antics now, Ragini wondered if that she ever made use of the view considering she was hardly present in her room to enjoy the tranquility of nature.

As she walked across the lobby, she spotted a distraught looking Sanskar using the lift. Before she could call out his name, the lift had shut its doors. As she walked towards the lift she spotted a key card fallen on the carpet.
She quickly picked it up and was about to put it away when she realized that the key card belonged to Sanskar as it had his room number printed on it. She quickly rang his cell but the call didn't connect.
Deciding to give him some space she proceeded to move to Swara's room to give her a piece of her mind.

As she inserted the key card and walked in the room, she was greeted by the sight of her sister and her husband lying snuggled together in a state of undress under the sheets. Ragini's eyes widened and her feet stumbled. Her feet were just about to hit the sofa table when she gathered herself and moved towards the door. As she opened the door with shivering hands, she glanced back at the bed once again before proceeding to leave the room.

As she walked in a daze, her mind still processing the image she had seen, she could only wince at the series of events.

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Few hours later

Ragini walked towards the terrace garden in a haze as innumerable questions and thoughts plagued her mind. What prompted him to do this? Was it her lack of attention or anything else? What prompted Swara to do this? Was it anger or something else? Why had they done this?
Why had she not expected this? She was always going to be the second choice. The moment Laksh got an opportunity, he ran into the arms of his former lover, his first love, her step sister.

Her feet stopped moving almost involuntarily as she spotted Sanskar in the garden.

A distraught Sanskar sat at the edge of the terrace garden.

“Sanskar ! Sanskar !” She called his name out twice but he did not respond.

She slowly walked towards him.

“Are you okay?” She asked.
He finally looked up at her, eyes glistening with tears.

He nodded his head negatively and broke down in sobs. She sat down beside him, as he cried on her shoulder. His body shuddered as he broke into a series of involuntary sobs. Ragini sat there helpless as he broke down. She had never seen him look so pained so lost and she wanted nothing but to help him with his sorrow.
She didn't know what to say or how to console him. What could you say when the one person who you trust more than yourself, betrays you?

She didn't understand why but her heart broke seeing him in this condition.

“I lost her”. He replied, his voice almost cracking.

Her eyes started watering looking at his pained state. It was true that
she had seen Sanskar in a similar state when Swara's accident had happened and had been able to console him. But nothing could compare to the pain he was undergoing now.
Betrayal by a loved one was still one of the most intense pain any individual could ever endure.

As her eyes began to be clouded with tears, she sat puzzled.
Why she was feeling so bad? Was it because her friend was miserable? Or was it because she could see the extent to which he loved her sister and the same devotion was lacking in Laksh's eyes?
She sat amused at the irony of the situation.
Wasn't it strange that today when she saw Swalak together, she didn't feel half as bad as she did witnessing Sanskat's breakdown. The old Ragini would have been shattered to see Laksh cheat on her.

She looked at his state and wondered why she wasn't feeling so distraught. She was feeling numb. Empty. Her heart was devoid of emotions.

“Everything is lost. I cannot believe I didn't realize this. She doesn't love me anymore Ragu.” He whispered

“Maybe she never loved you.” She thought as she cradled his head into her arms.
He looked up almost instantly at her statement
She nodded her head and quickly stood up, deciding to leave him alone.
As she proceeded to move, she felt a pull on her wrist. She looked at his hand holding her wrist and then looked at his eyes which begged her to say.
Sighing loudly, she decided to sit back down and help him. He had always helped her see light at the end of the tunnel and today she would do the same even if it meant hurting him a little.

"She didn't love you Sanskar. She liked you because you had loved her and supported her always. But love involves giving each other the respect and trust they deserve and Swara never trusted you enough not gave you the respect and freedom to do as you choose. She may be attracted to you but she was far from loving you. If she had loved you, she wouldn't have done what she did today." Ragini noted somberly.

Sanskar sat upright as he registered her words. His mind was whirling with questions as he tried to look into her eyes. Did she know the truth? Had she seen them together? He was so engrossed in his own sadness that he didn't realize that she must have been feeling the same. How was she feeling? Why was she so calm and collected when he knew the events must have broken her too?

"Both Laksh and Swara never loved us and it was just a matter of time before they betrayed us." She continued.

"Frankly speaking I am not surprised. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I always knew that Laksh didn't love me and it was only a matter of time before he betrayed me" She spoke with a pained smile.

"You know I am not even hurt at his actions now. In a strange way, I m relieved that I will not have to maintain this facade of a relationship anymore. Perhaps his actions today were the last straw that forced me to rethink and realize the true nature of our relationship. I had been living in denial for a long amount of time and perhaps this shock was essential for me to break me out of my stupor." Ragini spoke with a tone of resignation in her voice.

Sanskar winced at her words. There was no denying the fact that Laksh had broken Ragini's heart more times than one could imagine.
As he looked at her face with a smile, he admired this woman standing in front of him. It was indeed a bittersweet moment for him. He was proud of this Ragini who had steeled herself against any pain but it  still hurt to see her trust in him broken again.

“But I had not expected Swara to take this step. She had such a loving partner who supported her all along that she had no reason to betray you. Or maybe she didn't need a loving partner. Maybe she needed a partner, maybe she needed a puppet who would support her and follow her every decision without having wishes of her own. And the moment she didn't get that, she acted out.” Ragini stated.

Sanskar nodded at her observations with a heavy heart. Deep down he knew that whatever Ragini spoke was the bitter truth. The signs had been there all along but only he was stupid enough to not notice them. He had put his heart and soul into a relationship that had no future.
The relationship that he had always prized upon viewing it as a bed of roses was nothing but a toxic bed of thorns.

“You know what is the funny and ironic part here” Ragini asked him

Sanskar quirked up his eyebrows in question.

“Both of them were the ones to point fingers at our friendship and claim betrayal when in reality they were the ones who were canoodling with each other. Sach mein ulta chor kotwal ko hi daante” Ragini chuckled.

And even in this cloud of sorrows, Sanskar realized that he had found his silver lining.

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This is all that I could manage. I am sorry if it's not worth the year long wait 🙈🙈.
For the longest time, I was stuck at the part of making Ragini witness Swalak.
Didn't know how to approach the situation without making it sound too illogical 😄

Chalo I hope you guys are safe and this update has pacified you a little 😊
Sorry for no major romantic moments between Ragsan or no major dhamaka😄😄

Hoping you guys liked it😊😊

Love you❤️
Dekh Fizo and Diksha maine apna promise poora kiya😊😊

Also a big big Thank you to all those who voted, commented or even liked reading my FF😊😊
Your love and confidence in my ability inspires me to write better😘😘😘