Beginning the chapter by thanking all my viewers 😊 , voters 🤗 and commenters 😘

Anyways, Onwards!!!

"Words in double quotes" - Talking

'Words in single quotes' - Thoughts

(Words in braces) - Telephone conversations

Chapter 13 - What? What! What?!

The moment Pragya and Bulbul reached their house, they could hear the sound of laughter.

They entered their home to find their mother chatting with a man and a woman. Sarla got up and brought them near the guests.

"Pragya, Bulbul, this is my brother and your Mama, Sashi and that is his wife, Sujata."

Pragya and Bulbul said 'namaste' to them. Their Mami stood up and came to them. "You girls have grown up so quickly. The last time we came here, you were only 3 Pragya, and you were only a few months old Bulbul. I guess that's why you both couldn't recognize our faces. But I'm glad to hear that you both are close to my sons."

Bulbul suddenly remembered "Oh! So you both are the parents of  our cousins that abandoned them for your business!"

Pragya quickly put a hand over Bulbul's mouth and gave a nervous laugh "Ehehe...she has a tendency to joke a lot. Excuse us please." She dragged Bulbul to her room.

"What is wrong with you? How could you say such a thing to their faces?"

"Its not like I was wrong Di. Didn't Samay and Sumit say that their parents never cared for them? They always gave more importance to work. That's why Samay and Sumit left America and came to work in India, away from them. Besides, they never mention about their parents, neither have we ever seen their parents call them."

"Yes. I kind of find that a bit odd. No matter what, a parent would never abandon their children like that." She glared at Bulbul "But that doesn't mean that you would insult them like that Bulbul. Now, you will go apologize to them."

"Fine fine." 😔

Pragya looked at the clock. It was 1pm already. "Shit! I need to go get ready. I promised Abhi that I would take him to my favourite cafe."

"Oho Di. Is it a date?" Bulbul wriggled her eyebrows at Pragya.

Pragya rolled her eyes "Its nothing like that. I just want to thank him for something."

"That's how love blooms di." 😆

Pragya just threw a pillow at her. 😡

#Mount College#

Prasanth had dragged both Samay and Sumit with him.  However, he was interrupted by some new teacher named Akash. He was informing Akash of the rules of the college, when the two escaped to who knows where. He tried searching for them, but gave up eventually.

#1 hour later#

Prasanth was passing by the auditorium when he saw Samay and Sumit there, taking to Tanu. Well....more like arguing with Tanu.

"The green lights would look good over there and I demand you put them there!"

"But these yellow ones would look much better there." Sumit objected.

"Listen here! You're not in charge here." Tanu bit out in anger.

"But neither are you." Sumit responded with a taunting smile.

"I'm the College Cultural Secretary. And you should listen to me."

"So go manage the cultural duties. This all lightings and everything are none of your business."

"Don't irritate me. I can fire you both!"

"You never hired us. Purab did. Besides, there are no technicians you would find at such a low rate like ours." 😏

Tanu looked like she would explode in anger.

Samay sighed "Sumit, stop annoying her and let's get to work."

"But bhai, its so much fun. She loses her temper too easily. Not to mention she's a total airhead." 😆

Before Tanu could argue, Prasanth interrupted.

"That's enough. Tanu, I'll deal with them. You can go."

Tanu smirked. 'Good. Now the teacher will teach you a lesson.'

Once She left, Prasanth turned to them. "So?"

Samay was about to speak when his phone buzzed.

"Hello?"

(Beta, why were you not picking up my calls?)

"Sorry Sarla aunty. I was a bit distracted. Did you need something?"

(Yes. I need you both to come home quickly. I have a surprise for you two. Leave everything and come quick.)

"What kind of surprise?"

(You'll know once you get here.)

"But Sa-" he heard a beep as Sarla cut the call.

"Did you say surprise bhai?"

"Yes. Sarla aunty wants us home. She says we must go right now."

"You're not going anywhere. Not until you both explain why you two are here." spoke Prasanth.

"We're here to work as technicians. As simple as that. Now, if you would excuse us." Sumit gave him a salute and moved past him, followed by Samay.

However, Prasanth caught Samay's wrist. "Don't play games with me Samay. Tell me your true purpose. You weren't supposed to come to Delhi." He spoke sternly.

Samay jerked his hand away and glared at Prasanth "We're here because you can't do anything right. Neither were you able to do your job at the library, neither at the pool. So just shut up and let us handle everything from here." saying that, he and his brother moved out of there.

Prasanth sighed and he too left the auditorium.

However, unknown to them, Akash was standing in the corner, looking confused. He had been exploring the new College, when he heard them argue. 'How does he know those technicians so well? What does he mean by their true purpose? Library, pool incident....what were they talking about? I must find out more about it.'

#Arora House#

Sarla and Bulbul were talking to the guests, when Pragya came out all dressed up. "I'm sorry uncle, aunty. But I really need to leave for an important matter."

"Its alright beta. Besides, we will be staying here for some days. We will have a lot of time to talk. Go dear."

"Thank you aunty. See you later."

She hurried outside. Abhi didn't know where she lived. So, she told Abhi that she would be waiting near the Central Park.

After sometime...

Pragya watched as a car stopped beside her at the entrance of the Park. Abhi got out and smiled at her. 'Wow, she looks amazing.'

He went around the other side of the car and opened the door for her.

"You don't need to be so formal Abhi. I thought we were friends, aren't we?"

"True. But a gentleman always treats a lady with respect. Besides, I'm Abhishek Mehra. I do everything in a grand way." he joked.

Pragya rolled her eyes "You Mehras and your superiority complex."

Abhi chuckled and started the car.

Pragya gave him the directions to the cafe and finally they reached there. Abhi looked around the cafe. It was indeed beautiful.

"Lets go inside. I can already smell the delicious food." Pragya grabbed his hand and pulled him with her.

Once inside, they sat in one of the booths at the corner.

"Pragya, good afternoon!" spoke a waitress as she came near.

"Hey Tina. How are you?"

"I'm fine. What would you like? The usual?"

"Yes please. But I want to place two orders of the same." Tina nodded and moved towards the counter.

"You seem to know her well. Are you a daily customer here?" Abhi asked curiously.

"Yes. Me and Bulbul come here often. And once you try the pastries here, you'll fall in love with them too!"

Abhi chuckled at her childish glee. It felt good talking to her. He could be himself, without trying to keep up a formal front.

Whenever he went out with any other girl, they mostly talked about something that involved cars, luxury, riches. Some even tried to impress him by talking about some science stuff. No matter how much he wanted to tell them 'Please shut up, stuff your face with food and leave!' he controlled himself and acted like a gentleman.

However, with Pragya, he didn't have to put up any act. He was genuinely happy to spend time with her.

He looked at her smiling. On Pragya's questioning look, he answered "You look beautiful."

Pragya blushed at the compliment "Thanks. You look good too." And she wasn't just saying it on reflex. Abhi really did look dashing.

'He looks great in black. If it wasn't for his hair, I would probably think he was Shabbir. He would look good in black too I guess.'

Pragya's eyes widened 'Where did that thought come from? I'm with Abhi, why the heck am I thinking about Shabbir!?'

"So... you already know enough about me and my family. Tell me something about yourself."

This broke Pragya out of her thoughts "Me? There isn't much to tell about me Abhi. I'm just an average girl who lives with her mother and sister, believes in living in the moment and tries to make every day memorable."

"What about your likes and dislikes?"

"I like almost everything. But singing is my passion. And as for hating things, I really hate it when they delay the food." She huffed out looking towards the counter.

"Hahaha...looking at your petite figure, no one would believe that you love eating so much."

Pragya pouted "I'll take that as a compliment." 😔

Soon their order arrived.

"Try it Abhi. Its great!"

Abhi took a bite of the pastry and closed his eyes in delight. "You weren't kidding. This is really great."

"Yep!"

There was a pause in their conversation. However, it wasn't awkward. It was more of a comfortable silence.

"Abhi, although you told me all about your family, I still don't know much about you. Tell me more about yourself."

"Well, like you,there isn't much to know about me. People expect me to be highly sophisticated. But I'm just a normal guy who loves having fun, hanging out with friends....and in some days, just stuffing my mouth with food and spending all day sleeping."

"Being the heir of your father's company would obviously make people expect a lot from you." Pragya spoke 'In this case, Shabbir is getting a relief since he doesn't have to handle the company an- Ugh! Why do I keep thinking about that jerk!?'

"Hey, there's something stuck on the side of your mouth. Right there." Abhi pointed out to Pragya.

Pragya tried to remove it, but missed. Abhi leaned over the table and removed it with his thumb.

"Thanks Abhi. I-" only then did she notice how close they were. While Pragya felt nervous, Abhi could only think of how pretty her eyes were and her beautiful face. Unconsciously, he leaned in closer.

Pragya panicked and stood up, accidentally bumping her head into his.

"I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry!"

"It's alright. It was just an accident." Abhi tried to calm her down. 'What the heck was I thinking? I scared her. I hope she didn't guess what I was about to do.'

"I'm sorry! You were only trying to help and I hit you. I'm sooo sorry!"

'Guess she didn't. Thank goodness!'

"Its alright Pragya. You were just startled that I got so close to you. I should have warned you first. Sit down please." she nodded and sat back down.

'Damn. He was only trying to help. It's only me who misunderstood him and thought that he was about to' she shook her head to rid her of those thoughts. However, she couldn't help but feel that by letting Abhi get so close, she was cheating on someone. 'But....But I don't even have a boyfriend! Neither do I love someone. Then why do I feel like I'm cheating on someone? ...Why?'

#Arora House#

Samay and Sumit got off their bikes and went inside the house.

"Sarla aunty! Where's our surprise?" Sumit screamed as they came in.

"Arre... you got here so soon?"

"You dare underestimate Sumit, the great?" Sumit joked.

"Anyways, come here." Sarla took them towards the living room and showed them the guests. "Your parents are here to visit you." Bulbul was there as well, sitting beside them.

At once, Samay and Sumit froze seeing their parents. Their parents stood up as well and looked on wide-eyed.

"Sarla Jiji....Jiji these aren't my kids!" exclaimed Sujata.

"What do you mean aunty? These are your sons, Samay and Sumit." Bulbul spoke in confusion.

"No Bulbul. These aren't my sons. And their names are Arav and Raghav. Not Samay and Sumit."

Samay and Sumit nodded towards each other and looked at Sarla "Sarla aunty, these aren't our parents. Trust me Sarla aunty. These are just some frauds!" spoke Samay.

"But..But that's my brother. How could I mistake him!?"

"Think about it Sarla aunty. You haven't seen your brother for over twenty years. You could make mistakes. But we? We have helped you, been with you through three years. Why would we lie to you?"

"Sarla Di. Believe me. I'm your brother. Those are the frauds! They are probably after your money!"

"We have always come and helped you Sarla aunty. Do you really think we would do such a thing for money? And most importantly, we have our own successful business. Why would we want your money?" reasoned Sumit.

Sarla's mind was in turmoil. She looked at Bulbul who looked shocked as well. Sarla didn't know what to believe, who to believe.

"Sarla jiji. Believe me, these aren't my sons."

"Sarla aunty. Please believe us." Samay pleaded. "These aren't your relatives and neither are they our parents. We are your true nephews. If we weren't, then why would we help you? Who would we be if we weren't your nephews?"

"You would be my nephews." spoke a voice from the door. They all looked up to find a man standing there, glaring at Samay and Sumit.

He came inside with a file and stood before Sujata. He handed her a card "Go to this address. You'll find your sons there. Don't worry, they are unharmed. Keep silent and go if you want to meet them."

Sashi wanted to ask more questions, but Sujata pulled him outside, fearing for her children and left the place.

He turned to the two brothers, who looked like two little scared children caught stealing from the cookie jar. "Are you going to explain yourself or not?"

"But...But how did you know we were here?" 😓 Samay stuttered out.

Shekhar motioned for the door and they looked to find Prasanth standing there.

"Prasanth Sir? Someone please explain what's going on!" exclaimed Bulbul. 😲

'Well, guess the cat's out the bag' Sumit sighed and turned to Bulbul. "Hello Bulbul. I'm Sumit Pratap and this is my brother Samay Pratap."

Bulbul and Sarla gasped "But...but you said Pragya Di was the only Pratap heir left."

"She is. She is the daughter of Raj Pratap and Shikha Pratap."

"Then what about you two?" asked Sarla, still in shock.

"We're not their own sons. A doctor told them that Shikha may not be able to have kids. So, we were adopted by them. However, with proper treatment, Shikha Maa was able to give birth to a beautiful girl child. She is our Pragya." Samay said with a smile.

"We may be adopted, but both Raj Baba and Shikha Maa never made us feel less loved. They would argue with anyone who dared to call me and bhai adopted or as anything other than Prataps."

"That still doesn't explain why you two lied to us and created this entire drama of being our cousins!" accused Bulbul. 😡

"Patience balika, patience." 😔

"Sumit, stop joking and let your brother explain." Shekhar glared at him. 😡

"I'll explain from the beginning. As I was saying, we were adopted by Raj and Shikha. Baba was a computer genius and seeing our curiosity, he taught us everything he could. It is he who told us about a project he was working on with two other friends of his. We were too small to remember their names. Anyways, it was called project 'Xcaliber'." Samay took out a picture from Shekhar's file and kept it on the table. "Baba told us that this chip would be able to hack into any security no matter how complicated or unbreakable it was. It was his masterpiece! I still remember how happy he was the day he told us that he and his friends finally made it!" Samay smiled, remembering his adoptive father.

Sumit placed a hand on his shoulder "Bhai and me were really excited to see it. So, Baba took us to the gathering where the chip was to be revealed. That's where....that's where everything went downhill."

Both Sumit and Samay looked unable to continue. So Shekhar spoke in their place "Everything was fine, but suddenly, one of his associates pointed his gun at the other and soon, chaos broke out. I was with the boys, while my sister and Pragya was at the table. It was almost impossible for me to reach my sister. So I decided to get these boys to a safe place first. Once I got them out, I went back for Shikha and her child. But I couldn't find them anywhere. However, what I found I....I still remember how I froze seeing Raj's dead body. I tried to move towards him, but the security guards held me back and took me outside to keep me away from danger. I cried, begged for them to let me go inside and find my sister. But they told me that the only ones inside were the guards and the dead persons."

Shekhar rubbed his moist eyes. "I couldn't find my sister and niece, my brother-in-law was dead. I....I felt like breaking down! However, I knew I had to keep these boys safe. So I decided to take them away, to hide them. I decided to leave for U.S, forever."

"Then how did you come to know about Pragya?"

"I didn't know about her. It was only three years ago that I found out the truth. And for that I'm thankful to Pragya's enemy."

"He is trying to kill Pragya and you are feeling thankful to him!?" Sarla shouted in anger.

"Yes. Because if he didn't attempt to harm her, then we would have never found out about my niece being alive." On seeing Sarla and Bulbul's questioning looks, he explained "Ever since the chip was lost, me and a few other officials have tried to search for it before anyone else does. We only knew that some gang was after it, not their identities. However, we found out they were not only searching for the chip, but also the Pratap treasury. For that he needs Pragya, dead or alive. The chip can bypass every security of that treasury, but the last code can only be broken with Pragya's finger print and eye scan. Only Raj was capable of creating such a lock. Too bad such a genius left us so early." He looked down in sorrow.

Prasanth spoke up "These three years, Shekhar's agents and I have kept watch over Pragya. But the danger to her life was increasing. So I asked Shekhar to transfer her to Mount College, where I could keep and eye on her. Shekhar told me that Samay and Sumit would do it through their agents. I was to report everything to him or Samay and Sumit."

Shekhar glared at the boys "However, I guess we didn't need to, since they had been living in Delhi, watching over Pragya themselves! Why did you lie to me saying that you both were in America? I never expected you two to be playing your own games behind my back! Why were you two pretending to be their cousins? Explain!"

"We...we couldn't keep away knowing that our sister was alive! Baba and Maa gave a home to us two orphans. How could we abandon our little sister like that? We wanted to protect her, help her."

"But didn't you know the risk of doing that? You could have exposed her true identity."

"We know and that's why we did this. We found out about Sarla aunt's brother who had left India forever. We never expected them to return and so pretended to be Pragya and Bulbul's cousins. Never thought that they would come here out of the blue."

"Aha! I always knew there was a reason they acted so overprotective of Di." Bulbul shouted in realization.

"We had everything under control." spoke Prasanth.

"Control?! We did the right thing by interfering! You aren't a capable of doing anything. You failed to catch the enemy at the library, you failed again at the pool!" Samay shouted.

"Try doing my job for once! You'll know how tough it is." Prasanth bit back.

Sarla stood up "So basically you both are Pragya's elder brothers who were pretending to be my nephews just to protect her and this is your uncle, Shekhar?" they nodded "And this guy, Bulbul's teacher, he's helping you?" they nodded again.

She sighed "I miss the days when the only thing I had to worry about is getting a free day from work or getting first in the line for water. All this adventure will slowly kill me soon."

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

To be continued...

Really sorry if you wanted Abhi+Pragya. Forgive me? 🙏😭🙏

Abhigya is an eternal jodi! 💖💖💖

But I guess this will be Shabbir+Pragya. (Trying something different 😉 )

I'll try to write Abhigya fics, but this will probably be Love triangle, and Shabbir+Abhigya (Shabhigya? 😂 ) at the end.

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Thanks! ~ 🌹 Mona 🌹