Yo! Good Morning!!!

Kind of getting bored of the current Kkb track as its going too slow for my liking. But one thing that's awesome is that finally Abhi and Pragya are one! (Yay! Confetti! 🎊 )

Maybe Tanu will become soooooo jealous, she will eventually explode.
😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈 (Mwhahahahahahahaha...*cough* Okay, I'm done.)

Aliyah...well, usually I would say "MARRY HER TO SURESH" as punishment. But I kinda like her character now. So, I wish she would realize her mistakes, as she was almost about to lose her beloved brother, and become good.

And as for Nikhil... Maybe he and Commando would shoot each other by mistake. (*sigh* A girl can dream, can't I? 😩😩😩 )

And my hero Purab! 😍😍😍
Maybe Bulbul will appear saying that she survived and he would have a happy ending too! (Ja Vin! Jee le apni zindagi! Although I don't want to give you up. 😢😭🤧 )

Anyways, Onwards!!!

"Words in double quotes" - Talking

'Words in single quotes' - Thoughts

(Words in braces) - Telephone conversation.

Chapter 29 - Made For Each Other, Forever

He never cared what others thought about him other than his own family. Other people were just strangers who knew nothing but to hiss at others' happiness and gossiping about others' lives. Shabbir just took it from one ear and let it out the other without letting them affect him. But Pragya's words hurt.

She wasn't a stranger to him. She was the one he loved. Yet...yet, she couldn't understand him. He thought that she would understand him, be with him. Being a couple meant that they should take the decisions together. But she couldn't understand that. She couldn't understand his love. 'If she can't understand me, then I don't want to be with her. I don't want a relationship where I give my heart and soul, but I remain only a choice to her. I don't want to be a choice, I want to be her all. Guess that just wasn't meant to be.' He looked at her with a glare. "I hate you Pragya. I hate you!"

He turned to leave, but was stopped by Pragya's hand holding on to him. He was about to shout at her, when another voice interrupted. "Let him go Pragya. Don't forget your promise." They looked towards the voice to find Samay and Sumit standing there. They came near and stood on either side of Pragya.

Looking at them, Shabbir's anger returned full force. "What are you doing here?! Your jobs as technicians are over. You don't have any business over here."

"So what? There is no restriction on visitors." Sumit spoke, while removing Pragya's hand from his and pulling her behind.

"Well, there is now. Its my father's property and you both are restricted."

"Why? When dogs like you can study here, why can't we visit?" Samay taunted.

Shabbir was utterly confused and angry. Confused, because just few days ago they were friends with each other. 'What exactly did I do wrong!?'

"Even dogs are loyal and fair. Unlike douchebags like you. You're those trash who are willing to sacrifice others' happiness for your own amusement." spoke Karan, as he and Abhi came to stand with Shabbir.

Sumit gave a humorless laughs. "You're talking about sacrifice and humanity? Look who's talking. The ones who don't care about anyone but themselves, deceiving others, cheating others, breaking other's trust!"

"Samay, Sumit... calm down. Please don't fight. Stop it, all of you!" Bulbul spoke, trying to play peace keeper.

"We didn't do any such things! Why are you being this way Sumit?" Aliyah shouted as she came near with Bulbul, Kriti and Vivek.

While all of them were arguing, none of them noticed Pragya's distressed state. Each and every moment was becoming suffocating for her. Hearing all of her friends accuse each other, fight with each other, throw insults....'This wasn't how it was supposed to be! I don't want them to fight! Why can't we all just be friends like before? Why ca-' she clutched her heart in pain. 'I can't take it anymore. I..I need to leave.'

She silently came out of the pack and went away towards the gate. In their anger towards each other, none of them noticed her departure. Too busy in arguing, they forgot that their main priority was protecting Pragya, not leaving her to wander off alone. They should have realized that their ignorance could lead to her misery.

Too bad, someone was looking for the exact opportunity to get her alone. 'It ends today.'

Pragya rushed out into the streets, not minding who got in her way. She just wanted to forget everything. All the pain, hurt. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn't forget the sorrowful eyes of Shabbir, asking her 'Why? Why did you hurt me so much?'

As she kept running, she collided into someone and fell down. The person apologized and excused himself. Pragya slowly got up and closed her eyes. She could hear the hustle and bustle of the streets, the loud noises of the vehicles. To others it may be chaos. But to her, it was melody as it was helping her drown out the voices in her head. Her mind was still in turmoil, but atleast now she could think over things. Now that she could think past her anger, she could recall each and every word of Shabbir clearly.

And what about the both of us? What about our relationship? Are you willing to let go of it that easily?

Of course she would never let their love go that easily. How could he even think like that!? It wasn't like she was enjoying being away from him. 'How could he think like that?! Didn't he even try to listen to my side of the story?! I wa-'

Pragya opened her eyes and looked down in thought. 'But then again...did I listen to what he wanted to say? I just went on speaking my thoughts. Did I try to understand him?' His words echoed back to her.

What else do you expect me to do? All of a sudden you decide to leave me, never talk to me again without a valid reason, no explanation, no nothing!? Leaving me hanging like I meant shit to you!?

'No! He means more than anything to me. Choosing between him and my family is like choosing which limb to keep and which to cut off. I can't choose one without hurting the other or myself! Why couldn't he understand that?' Pragya clutched her heart in pain.

Then we'll try together this time. We will convince them. I will convince them of my love for you. Give me a chance!

She remembers how hopeful and desperate he looked. Did she give him a chance? She tried to convince her cousins, but did she give Shabbir a chance to try? She took the decision alone, without thinking that maybe...maybe he was right about it. Didn't she have faith in his love? Didn't she have faith in their love?

All these questions flooded her mind, making her more and more guilty. She was starting to realize how cruel she must have sounded to him. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine a life without Shabbir.

Abruptly, she opened them. 'I can't bear to be without him by my side. I...I can't live without him. If he's not there, there is no me. Only he can complete me! I...I have to go back to him!'

Suddenly, from the corner of her eyes, she saw someone looking at her. She glared at him, thinking it would chase him away. However, he only gave her a sinister smile. Pragya felt fear in her heart looking at him. She backed away and started running, with the man chasing after her.

#Mount College#

"You both are nothing but leeches feeding off of your parents money. Spoilt parents and their utterly spoilt kids." Samay bit out.

Abhi surged forward and held his collar. "Don't dare say anything about my family, or else..."

"Else what? You'll kill my brother too?!" Sumit shouted.

At that, everyone except Samay looked at him shocked. They couldn't understand why he was accusing Abhi of such things.

Their argument was interrupted by Samay's phone ringing. "Hello?"

(Samay, come to my apartment. I can't contact Prasanth. He was supposed to call me half an hour ago, but there is no news from him. I tried tracking his cell, but it doesn't show anything!)

"Don't worry uncle. We're coming." Samay turned to speak to Pragya, but didn't find her anywhwere. He turned to Bulbul. "Bulbul, make sure you stay with Pragya and keep her and yourself away from the likes of these people. Sumit, lets go!"

"You think you can just leave like that without any explanations!"

"Be grateful Shabbir. Otherwise, you won't be in a state to speak." Sumit glared at him.

Aliyah watched as he left after his brother. She couldn't believe that the ever cheerful Sumit could speak with such hatred. His eyes seemed so angry, like her family had stolen something precious from them.

Bulbul turned to them with an apologeitc look. "I'm sorry. But me and Di can't stay around you all. Please understand." She turned to look at Kriti. "I won't judge you Kriti. You'll always be my friend. If you want to work with them, its alright. But I won't have the permission to talk to you then." saying that, Bulbul left to find Pragya.

Kriti was conflicted. On one side, was her best friend and on the other, her love for Vivek and Karan, who was like a brother to her. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to find Karan standing there with a smile. "Go to her."

"But I-"

"Its alright. We'll keep you updated on every detail. But you must go to her. She needs you right now. Vivek agrees with me too, right Vivek?"

Vivek was about to deny, as he didn't want to stay away from Kriti. But Karan's look made him think otherwise. "Y-yes! He's absolutely correct! Absolutely!"

Once Karan looked away, Vivek let out the breath he was holding in relief. 'Damn he's scary!'

"Okay. See you. Take care all of you." Kriti left after Bulbul.

Abhi turned to the rest. "Come with me. I have something to show you."

#With Pragya#

Pragya ran as fast as her feet would carry her. She tried losing the man by taking several turns and alleyways. However, he seemed to find her one way or the other.

She looked back as she ran. However, she didn't see anyone after her. 'Thank goodness! I guess I finally manag-' She stumbled and fell as her foot collided into something. It was none other then the same man, waiting before her. "Finally, got you girl. In fact, I could have caught you long back. But you see, I want my preys to thrash around, struggle for life first. Only then there is the fun of killing someone."

Pragya felt fear like never before. She didn't know what to do. There was no one around that alley for her to scream out to and neither would she have time to call someone. Her mind was in chaos and she felt like she would have a painc attack.

'Stop it Pragya! Its no time to panic. If you lose your mind now, you won't live to see another day! Think Pragya think! Think think!'

Slowly, she formed an idea and grabbed a hand full of sand. She knew for her idea to work, she needed to keep him occupied in her words. "Wait! I...I can't do anything now. So tell me the truth! Why do you want to kill me? Is it because of my sister or is it for the chip? Tell me!"

He let out a laugh. Slowly after he calmed down, he spoke. "Foolish girl. I don't know about any chip and neither am I after your sister. I was payed to kill you! The mission was to kill you from the start. It has been since a year!"

Pragya was about to put her plan into action, but this shocked her to the core. "Wh-what do you mean? Its not me....my sister was the one wh-"

"Hahaha! Its a big joke played on you girl. The target is you. It has always been you! And now you die." He raised the gun towards her.

Pragya broke out of her shock and threw sand over his eyes. He screamed and stumbled back, giving Pragya the chance to escape from there. She took out her phone to call for help. Shabbir's name was the first name she searched. However, she recalled that Samay and Sumit had made her delete all the numbers of the Mehras.

'Damn! Me and my luck!' She dialed the first number that she found.

(Hello?)

"Hey! A beautiful day, eh? Haha! Well, I need some help! FAST!" she spoke in nervousness.

#Mount College#

"Okay. Once we enter, remember not to reveal you names." saying that, Abhi opened the door to the room. It was one of the unused and secluded rooms in the college, which made the others wonder why Abhi brought them there. Purab was already inside.

"Tada!" Purab exclaimed as they all entered the room.

However, their confusion was replaced by shock when they saw Prasanth on a chair, with his hands and feet tied and a cloth over his eyes. Shabbir however, was busy looking down deep in thought. Purab nudged Vivek and pointed at Shabbir.

"Don't mind Shabbir. He's just going through the five stages of heart break. Denial, anger, indifference, sorrow and acceptance. He'll pull through." Vivek spoke proudly, happy that he could sum it up correctly. Purab looked at him dumbfounded.

Aliyah glared at them. "The guy is going through a heartbreak. Can you at least not joke about it?"

Vivek blinked in confusion. "But I was only stating the truth in scientific terms. What gives?"

Purab shook his head and moved away towards Prasanth, along with the rest.

Prasanth looked up when he heard people enter. "Whoever you are, I swear! The moment I find a way to get out of here, I will end you! Hear me?! I will end you!"

"What the heck!? Are both of you crazy?! I knew I shouldn't have left you and Purab together. You guys are an abomination!"

"Relax Karan." Abhi whispered back, being careful that Prasanth doesn't hear their names. "He is the only way we can learn the truth about our enemies. And maybe...maybe even what is wrong with Sumit and Samay. I have a hunch that he is somehow blackmailing them or they may be working with him."

Aliyah looked at him in disbelief "No way! Samay and Sumit love their cousins. They would never try to harm Pragya or Bulbul. Sumit would never do it!"

"Don't let emotions cloud you Aliyah. In this cruel world, you never know who's who. Ev-"

Suddenly Vivek's phone rang. "Hello?"

(Hey! A beautiful day, eh? Haha! Well, I need some help! FAST!)

"Pragya? What happened?"

(Long story short, a man is out to kill me! I'm at the New Market place. Hurry!) Saying that, she cut the call.

Vivek turned to the rest. "Pragya is in trouble. She's at New Market."

Shabbir gasped and abruptly rushed out the door.

"I thought he said he hated Pragya."

Abhi smirked. "There's a very thin line between hate and love Karan. And as for big bro and Pragya, they will always find a way to each other. Now lets go before Shabbir gets himself and Pragya killed with his idiocy."

#With Pragya#

Pragya kept running, but she knew that she won't be able to run much further. Her legs were aching and she felt like fainting. It was only the thought of being killed that kept her going.

She saw the big crowd ahead of her and surged forward. 'He won't be able to shoot me in front of all these people. He won't be able to get an aim and could be easily caught.'

She stopped amongst them and took deep gulps of air. "Finally safe!"

Although she wouldn't have said that if she had seen the man silently approaching with stealth through the crowd. 'Nice thinking girl. I won't be able to shoot you.' He let out an evil smirk. 'But I can easily stab you.'

He silently moved through the crowd and came up from behind her. 'Now, its over. Have a happy after life.' He took out his knife, pulled his hand back and pushed it forward towards her. However, at the last moment, someone came in front of Prgaya and grabbed her in a hug, saving her from the knife. He closed his eyes as the knife went into his side.

Pragya was still unaware of this fact. The only thing she knew was that Shabbir had grabbed her in a hug. Seeing him, she couldn't wait to tell him her thoughts. "Shabbir! Shabbir I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. I know I've hurt you deeply and I'm terribly sorry. I do have faith in our love and I was wrong in not believing in it. Please let me explain!"

Despite the pain, Shabbir smiled. Pragya looked like she realized her error. After the hurt he felt, hearing her say these words were like music to him. He wanted to listen to her speak without any interruptions, even if he was bleeding.

The man was in a shock at what had happened. He had an easy chance of ending the girl, but he missed it. 'If he screams now, everyone here would no doubt catch me. Shit!' Abruptly, he pulled away the knife and disappeared into the crowd.

In such a crowdy place, people had barely any time to look towards Shabbir as they went on about minding their own business. Shabbir himself, refused to acknowledge his pain. "K-keep speaking Pragya." He tried to make his voice sound as normal as posible.

"Shabbir, I'm sorry. I thought I would be able to be without you. But..but I know now that there is no future for me without you! I can't imagine a life where you aren't with me! Life without you will only be a like a slow freeze to death. I'll be surviving, but not living. When... when I was almost about to die, the most thing I regretted was not telling you how much I loved you. I regretted leaving you. I realize Shabbir that the opposite of loving isn't hating, but leaving. I didn't realize how much pain I was giving you by leaving you."

Pragya was in tears by now. "We will try to convince my cousins together! I promise Shabbir. But please don't leave me. Don't ever leave me. Hate me as much as you want, but don't ever leave me. I can't live without you."

Shabbir smiled a solemn smile and rubbed away her tears. "That's all I wanted to hear. Even if I die today, I would die happy, knowing that you feel the same for me as I do for you."

Pragya could hear his voice getting softer and smaller with each word. She thought it was his emotions overwhelming him. However when she touched his side, she felt something slippery.

Pragya looked at Shabbir in confusion, which soon turned to shock when Shabbir abruptly fell down. "Shabbir? Shabbir!? Get up!" Only now did she notice the blood oozing out of his side. "Oh my! Shabbir! Shabbir no!"

Shabbir slowly grabbed her hand. "Don't cry. Smile. I want to see your smile Pragya. Smile for me."

"How could you ask for something like that now?! How can I smile when-" she couldn't continue amidst her tears.

"P-Pragya please. Smile for me." he pleaded desperately.

Pragya closed her eyes to hold back her tears. Somehow, she managed to give him a smile. Although inside, she felt like she was dying over and over seeing his state.

Shabbir gave her a small smile. "You're b-beautiful Pragya."

He could here the shout of his brother and his friends in the background, approaching them. Pragya's tear-filled face was the last thing he saw as the world went black around him.

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

To be continued...

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~ 🌹 Mona 🌹