Forgive me everyone!!! 🙏

I, being my lazy self, was typing while lying on my bed. And well.... I fell asleep yesterday. 😂

And morning when I was about to continue writing, my cousin came and asked me to draw the map of India for his project. (Ugh! Social science. Always hated that subject 🔫🗡🔨 )

Sorry again!

Anyways, Onwards!!!

"Words in double quotes" - Talking

'Words in single quotes' - Thoughts

(Words in braces) - Telephone conversations

Chapter 17 - Crisis

Aliyah was completely restless. She wanted to cry, scream out. She was overwhelmed with guilt, as well as filled with rage at her own helplessness. She wanted to help Pragya, but she didn't know how to. If she went out after her, then everyone would question her how she knew of it and then, she would get trapped.

But Pragya was someone she now considered a good friend and she didn't want her dead. Moreover, she now realized the consequences of her actions. She saw what her obsession has led to. She had continued her silly obsession, even though she knew Purab doesn't like her, and would never will. It almost killed Bulbul and is now slowly killing Pragya. She had realized her mistake of pursuing something that not only destroyed her, but also those around her. However, she knew that it was worthless to think about it now, as the damage was already done.

'No use thinking about past things. The only thing I need to think about now is to find a way to save Pragya. But how... how do I-' suddenly, an idea occurred to her. She pushed her way into the center of the auditorium where Bulbul and the rest were.

"I must say, you were great. Congratulations Bulbul." Aliyah said with a smile.

Bulbul looked upto her and started speaking "You? Praising me? No way! This is just some game of yours!"

"No. I truly admire your talent. And as for hating you" she looked towards Purab "I hated you for getting close to Purab. Pragya made me realize my mistake. I no longer want to pursue Purab" and she really meant it. She understood her folly, although she realized it quite late. She picked up the bottle of coke that Pragya drank from "I want to be friends with you Bulbul. A toast to our new found friendship."

"Um... that bottle is empty." Kriti helpfully pointed out. Abhi and Karan were confused by Aliyah's behaviour, while Purab and Shabbir looked suspicious. Vivek didn't give a damn. The only thing in his mind was that he was hungry 'Why can't we leave now? So damn annoying.'

"There is still a bit left. It will do to celebrate our new friendship." Aliyah replied, although she knew the bottle was empty. She raised the coke to her lips and pretended to take a sip. Suddenly, she fell down on the floor to everyone's shock.

'Time to begin my act' thinking that, Aliyah started coughing profusely. Abhi's eyes widened on seeing the state of his sister.

"Aliyah! Aliyah are you okay?" Abhi came and held her. Shabbir wanted to go to his sister, but refrained himself, as he didn't want to expose himself.

"Bhai! The drink *cough* the drink...I-I think its poisoned!" Everyone gasped upon hearing that. Aliyah thought this would make them realize about Pragya, but they seemed to be frozen from shock. "Bhai Pragya!" Aliyah shouted. At once, Shabbir and Abhi rushed the way they had seen Pragya go.

'Idiots, the lot of them! At least they realized.' Aliyah thought in relief. She looked on as chaos broke out in the auditorium once she revealed the truth about the poison. The others tried to make their way towards the door, but were being pushed back by the crowd.

Shabbir reached the door first and stared wide-eyed at the sight that greeted him. Pragya was lying on the floor, with blood flowing from her mouth, while Ria held her. He couldn't tear his eyes of the sight and was frozen from shock.

Abhi reached a few seconds later. He too was shocked to the core by the sight, but knew that he needed to take action. He rushed to Pragya's side and checked her pulse. He found it, although he could feel it fading. "No no no! You can't die like this Pragya. I can't lose you! Wake up! I need you!"

This came as a second shock to Shabbir. Shabbir had thought that his brother was flirting with Pragya just to spite him. But now...now it looked like he really did have feelings for her. He shook himself of these thoughts as he knew they had much important things to think about, like getting Pragya medical help.

He rushed froward, picked up Pragya bridal-style. Abhi looked at him in anger "What are you doing!? Let her go!"

Shabbir looked at him pointedly "Its not the time to argue Abhi. Scream at me later, but right now she's our main priority. Go bring your car from where its parked. We need to take her to the hospital, fast!" Abhi knew he was right. He nodded and ran away to get his car.

#1 hour later, City Hospital#

They were all waiting outside as Pragya was being treated inside by the doctors. Purab, Ria and Kriti were trying to comfort Bulbul, but she was inconsolable.

Vivek and Karan were dealing with the formalities, while Abhi stood beside Aliyah. Shabbir continued pacing back and forth in front of the operating room, hoping for the doctor to come out and tell them of Pragya's condition. They all looked up when they heard someone approach.

"Where is she!? Where is Pragya?!" it was Samay and Sumit.

Bulbul got up from her seat and ran to them. "Samay, Sumit, Di will be alright, won't she? Please do something to make her alright." she was crying profusely.

Samay rubbed away her tears"Hey, don't cry, alright? You know how strong our Pragya is. Nothing will happen to her. In fact, I'm sure she will wake up in a few hours and start complaining about how much she hates hospitals. Don't worry Bulbul. Don't worry." He tried to smile for Bulbul, but on the inside he was breaking. He felt like a failure for not being able to save his sister. He knew there was no way he could have known that this could have happened. But he still felt responsible. 'I am the elder brother, damnit! Yet I..I failed her!'

"Yes Bulbul. Nothing will happen to her. She will be just fine. She has to be fine. Sarla Maa will get here soon. Pragya never refuses her anything and will have to wake up once she tells her too." Sumit spoke, barely holding back his tears.

Samay took both Sumit and Bulbul's hands and made them sit on the bench. "It will be alright. You both trust me, don't you? I'll make everything alright. Don't worry."

Aliyah and Abhi were standing close beside the bench and she looked towards him. She had seen his goofy self and his fun side. She never saw him so sad before and looked away, unable to see so much pain in his eyes.

"Which one of you is Kriti Sen?" asked a police officer as he came near them.

"Its me officer. What's the matter?" Kriti asked curiously.

"We need to arrest you." All looked at him, shocked. He moved forward to put the cuffs on her. However, before he could put them on her wrists, his hand was caught in a vice grip by Karan. "How dare you arrest her?"

"We investigated into the matter and found out that it was Kriti who brought the drink from the Common Room. Right now, she is the prime suspect."

"Just because she brought it doesn't mean she would poison it!" Vivek spoke, coming to stand in front of Kriti.

"Bulbul is my best friend. Both she and Pragya di are like my own siblings! I would never, ever do something like that to them! Or anyone for that matter."

"We're sorry Miss Kriti. But we need to arrest you. Whatever you want to say, you can say at the Police Station." he motioned for the lady constable to get Kriti.

Bulbul rushed to Kriti's defence "She would never do such a thing! I know her. You can't arrest her! I won't let you!"

Aliyah watched all this from where she was standing beside Abhi. 'All this is happeneing because of me. Pragya's life is in danger, Sumit's sorrow, Kriti's arrest....I'm responsible for everything! How could I have dropped so low?!'

She felt like slapping herself "I'm...I'm sorry." she spoke out quietly to no one in partiular, and silently moved away from there, unnoticed. Well, she thought she was unnoticed. Unfortunately, someone had heard her and decided to follow her.

Few minutes later, the doctor came out of the operating room. At once, everyone rushed to him. "Doctor, how is my sister? Will she be alright? Is she awake to talk to us? She isn't hurt much, is she? You cured her, right?" Bulbul asked in one breath.

"Do not worry Miss. Your sister is a strong person. She's alright now, but is sleeping. She'll wake up in some hours. You can talk to her then."

Bulbul broke out into a smile and hugged Samay "She's alright Samay! Pragya Di is fine!"

"See, I told you chutki." Samay spoke. He felt so relieved that he felt like crying out of happiness.

The rest of them sighed in relief.

#With Aliyah#

Aliyah hurried outside and broke down crying. "I can't believe this all is happening. How could I have let this happen? Why did I agree to help Tanu!?"

She was too busy crying over her mistakes, that she didn't notice someone approach her. He put a hand on her shoulder and turned her towards him.

"Aliyah, you know something, don't you?" Sumit asked her with seriousness. Aliyah had never seen such a dead serious look in his eyes. For the first time, she felt fear grip her while looking at him.

"Sumit I...I made a big mistake. I ruined everything!" She told him everything that she did, that Tanu and Nikhil did.

Sumit couldn't believe what he was hearing. Never could he have imagined that Aliyah was capable of doing something so drastic. "You poisoned Pragya!?"

"No Sumit. Please believe me. I never meant for it to happen. I never thought that Tanu would do something like that to keep away Bulbul. Please believe me!"

She tried to grab his hand, but he abruptly jerked his hand away. "Believe you!? Believe the one who tried to kill Bulbul and because of whom Pragya is struggling between life and death!?"

Aliyah felt guilt grip her and she cried harder on hearing his words."I know it was wrong Sumit. But trust me, this wasn't my intention. I never-"

"Just stop talking. I can't believe you would stoop so low." He turned to leave. However, she held him back.

"Please Sumit, don't do this to me. I... I don't know what to do, how to make things right. I want to make things right Sumit. Please help me."

"You don't know how much I hate you right now. You dare harm Pragya?! If you weren't a girl, I would have hit you right now!"

"Hit me if you want. I deserve it! But Sumit, I really didn't mean to! I didn't mean to harm anyone! I'm fact, I'm ready to drink that poison myself if it means Pragya will be alright after it!"

Sumit looked at her wide-eyed on her statement. He could see it in her eyes that she wasn't lying and would really drink poison herself for Pragya. He sighed. "What have you done Aliyah? You should have at least thought about what would have happened before joining hands with Tanu."

"I know. I was such an idiot and I-"

"Alright. No use mulling over past things. We need to find a way to reveal the truth to the police so that Kriti is released and get Tanu and Nikhil arrested."

Aliyah nodded "I can go to the poilce and tell everything. I...I may get arrested too, but I don't care. I'm going to make Tanu and Nikhil pay for their deeds."

Sumit shook his head. "No. Even if you go there, Tanu and Nikhil might prove you a liar as we don't have any solid proof against them. We need to find concrete proof first. Tell me everything from the beginning."

#Police Station#

After they got the news of Pragya's well being, Kriti wanted to rush inside to meet her. However, the police wouldn't budge from their decision and eventually arrested her, despite the protests of her friends. They wanted to come with her, but she asked them to make sure Pragya was alright first. However, they didn't want to leave her alone and all agreed that Karan and Vivek would go with her. She was now locked up in a jail cell, anxiously waiting for Karan and Vivek. They had gone to get a lawyer for her.

She heard someone approach and looked up to find her father there. He looked disappointed and angry.

"Papa I-"

"Don't. Don't speak. Don't talk. Don't do anything! I can't believe you would do that to that girl."

Kriti looked at her father, wide eyed. "What are you saying father? How could you accuse me of such a thing? I would never do anything like that. Please trust me!"

"I thought you were finally being able to raise the family name of the Sens. But you! You just brought it to the dirt!"

Kriti was in tears. She never thought that her father would react this way. She thought he would understand and was here to support her. However, she couldn't have been more wrong.

"You're a disgrace to the family. Good-for-nothing girl. How co-"

"Watch what you say if you don't want anything to happen to you." said a voice from behind him. It was Karan.

"Listen here boy, I-"

"You listen to me. You're her father. Shouldn't you support her instead of accusing her? Kriti didn't do it and I know it. I'll do everything to prove to the world that she is innocent."

"I know her better. She is my daughter."

"Yes, she is your daughter by blood. That's why you should know better. But I can see that you don't deserve to be called her father. Other than being related by blood, there is nothing that you have done for her that could make her call you a good father. Now leave before I lose control of my anger."

Kriti's father wanted to argue, but decided against it. He gave Kriti one last look of hatred and left the place.

As soon as her father went away, Karan came towards Kriti. "Forget about him. He doesn't matter."

"Karan I....I can't believe my own father, my own family member doesn't believe me. How will the world believe me?" She spoke between tears.

"Hey. Don't cry, alright? And what do you mean family? That guy is simply a stupid excuse for a father. You don't need to care about his opinion." Karan held her hands through the bars of the jail. "Look at me Kriti. Didn't you say I was like a brother to you?"

When Kriti nodded, he continued "Then trust this brother of yours. I promise you, I will prove your innocence. No matter what it takes."

"And I'll help you through everything." said Vivek, as he came near them.

Kriti looked at them and smiled. "Thank you. I must have done something really good in my past life to get you all as my friends."

"Maybe. But I don't know what I did to get someone so annoying as you as my friend." Vivek joked.

"Be happy I'm behind bars. Otherwise, I would have pounded your face with my fists." Kriti warned. 😏

Karan chuckled at their antics "Alright then Kriti. We will be back after we do some digging into the matter. Bulbul and the rest are with us as well. They will do anything for you. Don't worry, okay? No matter what happens, remember that all your friends will always support you."

Kriti nodded and bid them bye.

"So, where are we going first?" asked Vivek, as they got out of the police station.

"First, we got to go the Common Room to investigate."

"Okay Karan. Lets go." He was about to move forward, when he felt Karan grab his wrist.

"One more thing. Like I said, she is like a sister to me. And since I know you like her, I'm warning you. Don't dare to take advantage of her or break her heart. If you do anything without me knowing, even if you hold her hand without my permission, I'll break your bones." Karan spoke, looking at him in the eyes.

Vivek looked on wide eyed but nodded. Once Karan passed by, he let out a breath. "It felt like I was staring at a lion. I think it was a bad idea to fall for Kriti. My life's endangered now!" He shivered from fear "But what to do? This heart rather listens to me."

#City Hospital#

The moment Sarla saw Pragya's condition through the glass, she strayed hyperventilating. She was so anxious that she eventually passed out. Samay and Sumit got her admitted in one of the nearest rooms.

Three hours had passed since then. Now, only Pragya's family, Sumit and Samay, along with Abhi and Shabbir remained in the hospital. Sumit was currently in Sarla's room, while the rest were standing outside Pragya's room.

Pragya woke up groggily. She opened her eyes, but shut them quickly due to the glare of the lights in the room. She slowly opened them again to find herself in a white room. 'Is this my heaven?'

She saw someone push open the door and saw a nurse come in. 'Guess not.'

"Good to see you awake Ma'am. Let me call your family members."

A few moments later, she saw the door burst open and something hit her hard. It took her a moment to realize that it was Bulbul and Samay who had rushed in and hugged her tightly. She smiled and hugged them back. Soon, the others came in as well.

Abhi smiled in relief when he saw her and she smiled back. Shabbir, however, was looking at her with a glare. He balled his hands into fists and went out of the room. Pragya felt hurt on his actions, but dismissed those thoughts and brought her attention to Bulbul.

"Di, I'm so glad that you are alright. I never wanted this to happen to you. That drink was for me. You did it to save me didn't you? How could you do something so risky like that?! Look at yourself! You could have died."

"Bulbul, I couldn't let anything happen to you. So I did the only thing that came to my mind."

"There were other ways Pragya. You didn't have to drink it. You could have just thrown it away."

"You're right Samay. But Kriti would be blamed then. I didn't want her to go to jail, as I know she could never do something like that!"

"Then I guess you risked your life for nothing." Bulbul spoke in sadness.

Pragya looked at her pointedly "What do you mean, Bulbul?"

"Di, Kriti...Kriti has been arrested." Pragya gasped on hearing the news.

"No! No no no. She would never do something like that!"

"We know di. Don't worry, we will do everything to save Kriti and prove her innocent. You just focus on getting well soon."

"But Bulbul, Kriti's career might be ruined because of it. Not to mention her father. What would he think?"

"Pragya! Calm down, alright? We will save Kriti. And as for her father, he will believe her if he really cares for her. If he doesn't, then its no use caring about such a father. We will save Kriti. But until we find proof against the real culprit, we can't do anything." Samay reasoned.

Pragya wanted to shout out that she had a doubt on Tanu. But she wanted to be sure before saying anything. One wrong step of hers could give the real culprit enough time to escape. Besides, she wasn't sure if it was really Tanu. 'After all, there is no way Tanu would go to that extent to kill Bulbul. There isn't any reason for Tanu to try to kill her. If it was me, I could understand. But what did Bulbul do to piss her off that much? Nothing! I must be sure before accusing Tanu, or she might get trapped like Kriti.'

It was so like her to always think of the good in others. Only if she knew the real truth behind Tanu.

"Pragya, how do you feel now?"

Pragya looked towards the voice to find it was Abhi who spoke. Pragya smiled at him.

Bulbul looked from one to the other and smirked 'I think we should give them some privacy.'

"We'll go tell Sumit and Maa that you're awake Di." she grabbed Samay and took him out of there, ignoring his cries of 'leaving my innocent Pragya with a boy!'

Only Pragya and Abhi were left in the room. Abhi came and sat near her on the chair. "That was quite a risky step that you took Pragya."

"But was quite heroic, wasn't it?" Pragya joked. However, she got serious when she saw the concerned look Abhi was giving her.

"Pragya, do you know how we felt when we saw you lying on the floor, with blood flowing out of your mouth? Do you know how I felt?"

"I know you all must have been worried abo-"

"Worried?! Worried can't sum up the feelings that I felt. It was as if I had forgotten to breathe Pragya. I felt like the world was ending for me. My mind was telling me that you were gone, my limbs felt like they wouldn't move, I....I was scared shitless! Pragya, I was even ready to give up my own life if it meant that you would live!" 

With every word, Pragya's eyes widened more and more. She didn't know Abhi cared so much.

"I regretted not looking out for you. I regretted not being able to figure out your pain. But most of all...most of all I regretted that I never told you my feelings." None of them noticed Shabbir approach the room. However, he stopped once he heard them talk.

"Abhi I-"

"You had it easy Pragya. You easily decided to take responsibility of saving Bulbul. But you didn't think what would happen to us. How it would effect all of us. How it would effect me! Don't you know how much I care?"

Outside, Shabbir's eyes widened as he realized what his brother meant. He sighed. 'I guess is should have expected this.'

"But why? Why do you care so much?" Pragya asked, although she could already feel why. Abhi looked into her eyes. To her, it felt like he was opening his entire soul to her.

"Because I love you!"

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To be continued...

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Thanks! ~ 🌹 Mona 🌹