Yay! India won yesterday! Cheers all!
🍻 🎉🎊

This one is probably the longest chapter till now. Hope you don't get bored reading. 😂

Anyways, Onwards!!!

"Words in double quotes" - Talking

'Words in single quotes' - Thoughts

Chapter 18 - Hard Times

Pragya looked on with wide eyes and open mouth at Abhi. She couldn't believe what she had heard. She didn't know how to react, neither could she figure out what to feel. 'Should I...should I feel happy? But I don't love him! Then should I tell him I don't love him? But that would break his heart! Abhi has been such a helpful and great friend. I can't do that to him. Then should I tell him I like him so that he doesn't feel bad? Nooo..that way I would be betraying my heart and him. I should tell him the truth that I can't love him because... because...because why? Why can't i love him? Do I have feelings for another? I don't...do I?'

Pragya closed her eyes and tried to make sense of her feelings. Suddenly, she saw Shabbir's face flash in her mind and she gasped out loud. 'Did...did I unknowingly fall for Shabbir? But I hated him, didn't I?! Then...then how...how did I end up falling in love with him? Or maybe I'm just rushing into things. I mean...it could be that I'm just overthinking things. I maybe mistaking my friendship with Shabbir as love. Nothing else. Maybe this poison has finally gone to by brain. Now I'm imagining that I like that jerk!'

She bit her lip in thought 'But....but what if I really do like him? Ugh! I'm giving myself a headache. I don't want to think anymore!'

Abhi, on the other hand, was looking at her without blinking. To anyone, it would look as if he was calmly waiting for her answer. Although, if one looked inside his mind, they would find what a chaotic mess it was and how hard his heart was beating. He was freaking out on the inside! 'Come on Pragya. Don't stay so silent. Answer me please! If you don't, I might just die from this suspense. In fact, if I was a cartoon, I would be pulling my hair, biting my nails and pacing the entire room until I dug a hole through it. Please answer fast!'

"Pragya... Pragya answer me." He pleaded.

Pragya sighed. 'Maa always says that no matter what, we should always tell the truth. The truth is the best way.'

"Abhi I...I don't know."

Abhi blinked at her "What?"

"I just don't know Abhi. I don't know if I like you that way, or if I like another. I don't know if what I feel for you could ever be more than friendship or not. I don't know if I would be able to love you in that sense. I don't even know if my heart wants another, or its just a side effect of this freaking morphine!" She held her head in her hands "I'm so lost and confused Abhi. I...I don't know how to answer you Abhi. Please forgive me."

Abhi felt disappointed at her answer. However, he didn't want to give up. Pragya said she doesn't know what she feels. That meant that he still had a chance and would only have to try harder. He made up his mind and spoke. "It's alright Pragya. I'm not forcing my decision on you. I'm just telling you what I feel. If you are confused, then I'm willing to wait for you to figure out your feelings. Take as much time as you want."

"Thank you so much for understanding Abhi." Pragya smiled at him in relief.

"But I won't give up that easily. You know Abhishek Mehra isn't a loser." Abhi smirked. "I have some important work to take care of. I'll be back later." when Pragya nodded, he went out, not noticing Shabbir standing beside the door.

Shabbir finally decided to go visit Pragya. She looked up as he entered "Shabbir, hi!"

"How are you?" he asked in a cold tone.

"I'm good. I don't go down that easily." He simply nodded grimly at her response. Pragya noticed that he was acting closed off towards her. 'Why is he acting like this? I thought we had finally become good friends, didn't we?'

"Is...is something wrong Shabbir?"

"Nothing. I was wondering what would happen to our duet now that you're hurt. The College Fest is only few days away." He lied. The duet was probably the last thing on his mind at the moment.

"Meh, don't worry. I'll heal. In fact, I'm almost good as new right now. See!" she joked, flexing her non-existent muscles. She thought he would make a sarcastic comment on her like he always does. However, he simply stood there, looking pissed off.

"I think I should leave. Take care Pragya."

"Shabbir wait! What's wrong? Why are you acting like this?" 😕

"Nothing is wrong. Sleep Pragya. You need your strength."

"No. Not until you tell me what is wrong. I thought we were friends."

Shabbir came and stood before her. He was about to speak, but shook his head and turned to leave.

Pragya was getting irritated "Shabbir! Damnit! Tell me what's the matter or-" whatever she was about to say was cut off by Shabbir.

He had turned abrupty and held her shoulders in a vice grip, almost making her fall off the bed. "You are the problem! You are what is wrong with me! Do you have any idea what you did!?"

"S-shabbir relax." she tried to calm him.

"Relax?! After knowing you purposefully drank the poison?"

"You must have been startled by my bold move, eh?" Pragya joked "At least it saved Bulbul, didn't it? That's a relief!" she tried to lighten his mood.

However, Shabbir looked outright livid. He gripped her harder and looked directly into her eyes, with their faces close to each other. Pragya could feel his breath on her lips.

"You could have died. If we had been a little late, you could have died." Shabbir spoke each word softly. But to Pragya, it felt like loud echos in her ears. "Do you know what would have happened? Are you happy to die? To never to be able to see your loved ones ever again? Are you excited? Why did you have to go so far?!"

"Because Bulbul is my sister. I couldn't let anything happen to her. I would do it again if I need to."

Shabbir gave a humourless laugh and moved away. "You don't value yourself at all, you foolish girl!"

"Funny its you who's telling me that, since you're the one putting your own life in danger for your family!"

"That's different! It's my life. You don't need to care for it."

"Really? How exactly is it different? I can also say that you shouldn't interfere since it's my life. Why do you care so much?"

"Because I...I-"

Pragya held her breath as she waited for his answer. She could feel her heart racing.

However, his answer never came.

"So, what to do about the College Fest?" he asked instead, changing the topic. She felt disappointed, but let it go.

"I don't know. I'm sure I will be alright by then."

"No. You won't be getting out of bed for a week until you're completely fine!" said a voice from the door. They looked towards the door to find Sarla rushing inside, with Sumit and Samay following. "Beta, are you alright now? You don't have any dizzy feelings, right? Are you feeling nauseous? You want to eat something?"

"Maa, don't worry. I'm fine! Don't panic so much." from the corner of her eyes, she saw Shabbir give her a small wave and move out silently. She found his behaviour a bit odd. He seemed more docile and pensive, like something was eating his mind. 'I guess its about the duet.'

She suddenly realized that Bulbul wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Maa, where is Bulbul?"

"Bulbul got an urgent call from Purab. She didn't want to leave you, but he requested so much that she eventually agreed."

"Pragya, you really gave us a big shock. Almost one more than 1000 volts! Even I haven't been able to pull of such a feat!" Sumit exclaimed. "But never do that again Pragya. You almost scared us to death."

"Awww...that is probably the sweetest thing you ever said to me Sumit. Otherwise, the only thing you call me is ugly. Love you cousin." 😊

"You are still ugly." 😂

"I take it back. I hate you jerk!" 😑

"Love you too, cousin!" Sumit spoke playfully. Although he kept joking, he was really relieved that his sister was fine. 'Love you little sis. I'm glad you're alright.'

#With Bulbul#

Bulbul reached the place that Purab had called her to. She looked around at the various decorations. She walked forward to the center where the platform was beautifully decorated with flowers. Purab emerged from behind one of the pillars. "Like it, Bulbul?" He said with a smile.

However, he never expected the way Bulbul reacted. "You selfish, uncaring jerk!" Purab looked at her wide eyed "My sister is in the hospital. Despite that, I came here because I thought you needed help. But you brought me here to show me this!"

"Bulbul, you're misunderstanding me. Its-"

"All I know is that you are a selfish jerk who doesn't give a damn about others!"

"Bulbul please, atleast listen to-"

"I don't want to hear anything! I'm leaving." She turned to leave. However, her steps froze when she heard Purab's shout.

"I Love You!"

Bulbul's eyes widened on hearing him confess.

Purab slowly came near her and turned her towards him. "Bulbul, please. Hear me out, alright? I...I know its not the right time to do all this as Pragya is in the hospital. But...but I couldn't wait. Not after what happened with you."

Bulbul looked at him confused. "Nothing happened to me Purab. Its Di wh-"

"No Bulbul. The poison was meant for you. I know Pragya saved you. But my mind is playing scenerios where Pragya doesn't save you and you end up drinking the poison. Everytime that thought occurs, an unknown fear grips me. I have to call you or text you to make sure you are alright. What happened today made me realize that I can't wait for the perfect oppurtunity to tell you that I love you. Life is a mystery and none of us know what will happen in the next moment. We might live for long, or I may die in the very next mo-" Bulbul placed a hand over his mouth.

"Don't complete that sentence. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Purab smiled softly at her. He removed her hand from his mouth and kissed it.

"Bulbul, I really love you. I promise you that I won't let any harm come to you and try my best to give you every happiness that you deserve. Will you be mine?"

Bulbul could only nod her head, as she could barely talk between her tears of joy.

Purab looked overjoyed. He felt like the happiest man alive.

Purab pulled her into a hug, which Bulbul eagerly returned. She was about to speak, when her phone rang. "Hello, Samay?"

"Bulbul, come to hospital fast. Don't ask any questions. Just get here."

#City Hospital#

Bulbul and Purab rushed inside Pragya's room, fearing that something had happened to her. However, they found her sitting comfortably on the bed. What surprised Bulbul was the fact that her family and cousins, along with Shabbir, Abhi and Aliyah were all gathered there.

"What's going on in here?" spoke Purab, who was as confused as Bulbul.

"We'll explain. Let Karan and Vivek get here."

"We're here" spoke Karan, as he and Vivek entered. Everyone looked at the raw chicken meat that Vivek was carrying.

"Ehehe...you said it was urgent. I didn't get time to keep it anywhere." 😅 Vivek explained.

"Me and Karan had spent the whole day searching the college for clues and we were about to head to the police station to check on Kriti. So I decided it would be good to take something good for her to eat."

"You could have just bought something from a restaurant." remarked Abhi. He looked at Karan, as if saying 'at least you have a brain, don't you?'

"Don't look at me. I told him to do that. But he wanted to cook himself." Karan said in his defence.

"I thought it would make Kriti happy." Vivek murmured. He was blushing as well.

"Aww... so sweet. Kriti is lucky to get someone like you." Bulbul teased.

"Okay guys. Come to the point now." Sumit turned to Aliyah. "Its time you told them Aliyah."

Aliyah looked afraid. Sumit held her hand and nodded towards her, giving her strength. She took a deep breath and started explaining.

Once she was done, there was pin drop silence in the room. However, she knew it was the calm before the storm. Aliyah looked at Pragya and saw the hurt and betrayal in her eyes.

"You...How dare you!?" Samay exclaimed and was about to move forward, when Sumit held him back.

"Bhai please. Don't do anything to her. She didn't know about the poison. It was all Tanu and Nikhil's plan."

"Are you kidding me Sumit?! Bulbul could have died and Pragya almost did!"

"I know bhai. But she wasn't aware that there was poison in the drink. Its not her fault."

Aliyah came to stand before Samay "I'm sorry. I know you're not wrong in blaming me. But trust me. I would have never agreed to their plan if I knew of it."

"How could you be so irresponsible Aliyah? Joining hands with Tanu just to keep Bulbul away? What is wrong with you!?" Abhi asked in disbelief.

"I know I was fool bhai. I realize that now. Please try to understand." She pleaded to her brother.

"Bulbul could have died because of your mistake. Simply saying that you realize doesn't solve things." Purab spoke, while holding Bulbul's hand. He still couldn't shake off his fear of Bulbul dying. Bulbul, on the other hand, remained silent.

"Purab is right. Not to mention the fact that your mistake almost cost my daughter's life!" Sarla accused Aliyah.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I would reverse everything if I could. I am really ashamed for all my deeds. Please believe me!" Aliyah was barely holding back her tears.

"You ignorant girl! The only thing you ever care about is yourself! Because of you, Pragya could have died!" Shabbir screamed out in anger.

He was also furious at Tanu. 'I considered her a good friend and this is what she does?! How could she do this?!' A thought occurred to him 'Maybe, it was Nikhil who made her do it.'

"I think I need to have some words with Nikhil." Shabbir cracked his knuckles and headed out.

"Don't forget me. I want to introduce him to my fists as well." Purab spoke, following Shabbir out of the room.

Karan moved forward to stand in front of Aliyah "Because of you, Kriti is in jail right now. Because of you, her father called her a disgrace. Because of you, she is a criminal in the eyes of the society. Can you reverse it?" he asked, his eyes filled with rage.

"I admit its all my fault. And I want to save her as well. She shouldn't suffer because of me. I...I will go and tell the police that I did everything." They all looked towards Aliyah, shocked.

"But Aliyah, its Tanu and Nikhil who are the real criminals. We need to get them arrested. You didn't even know about the poison!" 😧

"No Sumit. I know it would be hard to find clues against them. I don't want Kriti to suffer for it. That's why, I'll turn myself in and when you find some proof, you could get Tanu and Nikhil behind bars."

Karan looked at her with narrowed eyes "And what if we never find any clues? What if we fail?"

"Then I will take responsibility of the crime and go to jail. At least, Kriti won't have to suffer. She's innocent, not me." Karan could see that she wasn't lying. She really meant it.

"You would do that for Kriti? Someone whom you probably met a few times and is just a stranger to you?" Vivek asked, wide-eyed.

"It is the right thing to do and I will do it. I'm ready to do it Karan" Aliyah spoke with determination.

"Karan, no. I know she made a mistake. But she doesn't deserve to be locked up in jail for something Tanu anu Nikhil did. She just got misguided." Abhi tried to reason with him. Although Aliyah took a wrong step, she was still his sister, his responsibility.

"Abhi is right Karan." Sumit came to stand beside Aliyah.

Karan rolled his eyes "Relax. I was just testing her. I wanted to know if she really changed. I think I can let go of her mistake, just this once." He said with a smirk and smacked her head playfully, to which Aliyah smiled.

He looked towards Pragya, who hadn't uttered a word till then. "I think the best person who could decide if you should be forgiven or not is Pragya. She was the one hurt because of it."

Saying that he stepped back and turned to Vivek. "Since our presence isn't necessary here anymore, let's go meet Kriti."

"Sure. Lets go!" Suddenly, Vivek remembered the chicken meat."What to do with this chicken?" He asked, shaking the plastic bag in his hand.

"Go give it to the hen and tell her to put it inside the egg again." Karan said, irritated. 😑

Vivek looked at him dumb-founded "Eh?"

Karan smacked his head and pulled Vivek out by his collar. "See you all tomorrow. Toodles."

Pragya chuckled at them. 'Who would have thought those two would become such good friends?' She turned to find everyone looking at her intently. They were all waiting to hear her judgement.

Pragya looked at Aliyah in anger "Aliyah...even if you didn't know about the poison, you did want to harm Bulbul in some way." Aliyah looked down in shame "You tried to steal Purab even when I told you the truth. You took advantage of my good nature to distract me. You acted as if you wanted to apologize to me, but in reality, you were just keeping me distracted. Give me one good reason why I should forgive you."

Aliyah shook her head "There isn't any. I know that Pragya, and I don't blame you for acting this way towards me. Its my own fault."

Pragya dropped the act of fake anger and smiled "But I can give you one reason Aliyah." Aliyah looked up to Pragya on hearing that.

"Its the fact that everyone deserves a second chance. We are humans. It is in our nature to make mistakes. We aren't perfect and that's what makes us human. We're imperfect and flawed creatures. Even though you made a mistake, you have realized it now. And I want to give you a second chance Aliyah. I forgive you."

Pragya turned to look at Bulbul "I'm sure Bulbul would too. Right Bulbul?"

Aliyah realized that Bulbul had been silent ever since she told the entire truth. "I accept whatever punishment you want to give me Bulbul."

Bulbul slowly came near Aliyah "You didn't drink the coke. You just acted so that we could help Pragya Di, didn't you?" Aliyah nodded in confirmation.

Pragya gasped when Bulbul slapped Aliyah. "That was for being an idiot to side with Tanu and for harming my sister."

Aliyah expected Bulbul to react that way and wasn't surprised much. However, what surprised her was when Bulbul hugged her. "This is for saving my idiotic sister who doesn't know to take safety measures and for our new found friendship."

Aliyah had tears in her eyes "I mistreated you so much, and yet you forgave me so easily? Thank you Bulbul. I can't believe I ever tried to harm such a good person like you."

"Meh...I'm not so innocent either. I enjoyed calling you a hag." Bulbul joked.

"That's it?" exclaimed Sumit. Aliyah and Bulbul broke their hug to look at him in confusion.

"You two just become friends, just like that? *sigh* And here I was hoping to have see some serious cat fight between you two girls, with all scratching each other with your nails, pulling each other's hair, name calling, and what not! But there wasn't any action! How boring!"

"Jerk!" Bulbul and Aliyah looked at each other wide-eyed, as they uttered the word in perfect sync. They smirked at each other.

"Aliyah, I think we would be good friends." Bulbul smiled an evil smile looking at Sumit.

"Wow there. Now you both are teaming up against me? This is-ow! Stop hitting me on the head bhai! You'll make me lose my brain cells. Gone would be your genius brother!"

"Could you be anymore dramatic?" 😑

#Police Station#

Kriti looked up as the door to her cellar was opened. Karan and Vivek came inside.

"Hey ya Kriti. We got your favorite foods from the restaurant. Although, I wanted to cook for you."

"Did you find out the real culprit?" she asked. Her eyes held hope that they had found the ones responsible.

Karan sighed "Sit down Kriti. We will explain everything."

After sometime...

"I can't believe Aliyah was involved in all of this. But I guess she could be forgiven since she helped us save Pragya on time." Kriti looked at Karan and Vivek in distress. "But how do we catch Tanu and Nikhil. How do we expose their truth?"

Vivek came near her and made her look at him. "Do you trust us Kriti?"

"More than myself."

Vivek smiled at her "Then just know that we will get you out soon. Don't worry, alright?" Kriti nodded and smiled back at him.

Karan rolled his eyes. 'They are in a jail cell, and having a romantic eye-lock. Wah! What a place to start their love story!' 😑

Vivek was broken out of his stare when he noticed a scratch on Kriti's face. He lightly touched it.

"Ouch!" Kriti pulled away and covered it with her hand. At once, Karan was by her side.

"What happened to your cheek Kriti?"

"Nothing much. You know how much irritating I could get. I kind of pissed of a female constable by calling her an overgrown chicken." 😅

"That doesn't mean that they would hit you. I ought to-" 😡

"Hey, its alright Karan. Leave it. I don't want you to get into trouble because of me. I'll just try to be more careful of what I say."

"Well, you do have a tendency to be annoying Kriti. Not surprising that even the police couldn't handle you."

"Is 'annoying' the only word in your vocabulary, Vivek?" 😒

"Whatever. Now eat. I paid a good amount for the food." she glared at him, but began eating.

Karan and Vivek moved to the side. "Vivek, she might get hurt again. We need to get her out of here."

"You're right. I'm ready to do anything to save her. We need to prove Tanu and Nikhil guilty."

"I'm ready to go to extremes. Are you, Vivek?" Karan asked, looking at him in the eyes.

Vivek nodded. "Anything and everything."

*********************************
To be continued...

If you liked this chapter, please consider giving a vote.
Thanks! ~ 🌹 Mona 🌹