Thank you for reading, voting and commenting everyone. ♥️

Sorry for any error, mistakes and inconveniences 🌹.

Chapter 30: It's More To It Than It Seems

Uday and Lakshya, followed by Ragini and Ananya watch Nikhil talking to the girl, known as Palak at a distance. He was coping her face while explaining to her and she held onto his hand.

"What the hell?" Uday uttered in disbelief, inching closer to the with Lakshya.

"What's going on?" Lakshya asked, sounding confused.

Palak and Nikhil face Lakshya and Uday, who charge at them with questions. Nikhil looks on as he realised, he was exposed, in front of his friends.

"Who is she Nick?" Uday asked, crossing his arms across his chest, waiting for an answer.

"She. . ." He gave it a thought, deciding to risk it as a sigh escaped his mouth. "My girlfriend."

"When?" Lakshya asked. "How?" Uday continued. "Where?" Lakshya added.

"I. . ." He trailed off, looking at them feeling helpless as he couldn't hide the truth anymore.

x

Sat in the cafe, Nikhil and Palak were opposite Swara, Ananya, Ragini, Uday and Lakshya.

"So you've been going out for FOUR years and we find out now? Like this?" Uday questioned, sounding angry as he glared at Nikhil.

"Wow. . ." Lakshya scoffed as he continued "Four years and we haven't had a clue. You weren't planning to tell us right until you had a baby."

"Nahh, I was going to tell you two but. . ." Uday slammed his hand on the table, getting flustered in heat and anger as he stared at Nikhil. "As if!" He clenched his jaw as he exclaimed. "This is it. I'm done. I've had enough. You crossed all your limits. This is a new level. I've never seen anyone so snaky like you. You probably would've settled down and had a family and still WOULDN'T have told us that you're in a relationship."

"I'm sorry. . . We had to keep it a secret. . ."

Lakshya interrupted this time, "what are we? CBI? Police? News reporters? Your parents? Why did it stay a secret from us?"

"Because I didn't want anybody to know." Palak spoke, sighing afterwards. "I know you two feel offended but I. . . I wasn't ready to be public about our relationship. Not even to my own friends." She added and the two blinked at her.

"Why? Are you like some underworld mafia's daughter or something?" Uday questioned, sounding slightly harsh as he raised his eyebrow.

"No." She replied bluntly and continued, "but my father is a business tycoon and an old school traditional type of guy who wouldn't hesitate to marry me off if he found out I have a boyfriend."

Lakshya scoffed as he continued looking at Palak, more like passing her discomfiting glares. "We've heard these type of excuses so many times, it's nothing new!"

"Exactly, all three of our fathers are the same. . . This isn't strong enough to justify your secret. We've dated so many girls under our fathers noses, you're nothing new for Nick." Uday uttered harshly, offending her and Nikhil looked on.

Swara, Ragini and Ananya dropped their mouths a little, feeling the same tension Nikhil was feeling as they felt it wasn't right for Uday to reveal that information in front of Palak. 

"He may have done it easily, since his friends won't tell anyone but how could've I trusted you two? I don't know you two do I?"

"And what worse could happen if we knew. Four years isn't yesterday!"

"Honour killing." Palak lashed out as he stared at an insensitive Uday who continued blabbering in annoyance. "Doesn't look like it. . ." He trialled off as he glanced at her clothes, "if he was really about the honour killing then you wouldn't be out here in that mini dress."

"Uday!" Nikhil yelled his name out as loud as he could, starting to get angry and Palak blinked her moist eyes at him.

"You know what. I'm done!" Uday exclaimed, standing up from the chair. "One doesn't value my friendship and the other kept me in dark because he didn't trust me. I'm done with both of you!" He added in anger and stormed off.

Ragini, Ananya and Swara look on, trying to register what just happened and how to understand this situation.

Nikhil looked at Lakshya who also stood up. "You should've told us." He uttered, answering Nikhil's unasked question as he began walking away.

"Let's go. We're wasting our time here." Nikhil uttered as he sounded bitter, standing up while holding Palak's hand.

"Hang on a second." Ananya spoke, standing up as she faced Nikhil and Palak. "We didn't receive our apology. . ." She trailed off as she flapped her eyes at Palak, crossing her arms across her chest.

"I'm. . . Sorry." Palak apologised and swallowed, allowing the tears that were held in her eyes drop down.

Ananya merely passed her a look before walking away, Nikhil dragged Palak and headed in a direction. Ragini faced Swara.

"What just happened?"

"That's what I'm trying to understand." Swara sighed as she replied to Ragini, who stood up.

"Let's go." Swara nodded and stood up. "Yeah, come." She responded and the two started walking.

X

Swara had joined the ladies once again while Ragini was searching for Lakshya and Uday. While walking towards the exit, she saw Ananya with Uday.

"He looks fine. . ." She trailed off and sighed a relief, turning around to see Lakshya drinking a can of juice while coming out from a shop.

"And so does he. . ." She added, sighing as she approached him. "You're here drinking juice?"

"Yeah. . . Why?"

"I thought you'd be upset over what just happened between you and your friends."

Lakshya rolled his eyes, "why would I waste my time trying to sort it out when they don't give a shit? It's better I move on."

"Then at this rate you'll never be able to clear your misunderstandings with them."

He shrugged, "who cares. That'll be two stress creators off my head."

She stared at him in disbelief, surprised to hear him say that. "Do you not care if you never meet them again?"

"No." He replied and took a sip, ready to confine "they're not going to leave me."

"What if they do?"

"They won't. Mine and Uday's problem would be sorted out by the end of today but what Nikhil did was snaky. . . He won't get an easy way out."

"You don't know the full story Lakshya. Maybe her father is really strict and would actually kill her if he found out. . . You can't blame her for not trusting you two if she never met you."

Lakshya stared at Ragini, "you're seriously taking their side?"

"Suppose I went out with a guy and I knew my Daadima would kill me if she found out. Then I wouldn't wanna tell anyone. . ."

"But would you tell your sister?"

She flapped her eyes at him, "yes."

"There you go then. . ." He trialled off and took a sip from the juice. "We're like brothers."

"But if he made me swear not to tell Swara then I wouldn't." Ragini added and he looked at her. "Now you're trying too much Ragini. Forget it. . . We're not making up with him."

"It's not even about that. . . It's about understanding the full side of the story before holding grudges. What if they were actually helpless?"

"Helpless, how? She said her Dad would kill her but. . . She's a flipping model Ragini. Palak Akkenni. If he was really about the honour killing then he'd never let her do modelling in those short clothes."

Ragini became silent, not having an instant reply to Lakshya as she thought about his words.

"Maybe it's about who she marries and who she doesn't. . . She's a South Indian right?"

"Why would that even matter?"

"It does, it matters everywhere and that's the sad part. Her father might not let her marry out or caste or something which is why she decided to date him in secret. Like they said, the first year they weren't serious about it until the end of it, when they wanted to continue giving each other a chance."

Lakshya gave it a thought but stayed rooted on his question. "But why didn't he tell us? We wouldn't have gone and told her parents about them."

"He trusted you. . . There's no doubt in that. But she didn't. . . Because she wasn't close to you and didn't even know who you were. He loves her which is why he must've valued the promise he made to her about keeping it a secret."

"Cringe. . ." Lakshya trialled off, finding it weird as she spoke about love. "And 4 years is not 4 hours ago Ragini. Besides he only told us because he was caught otherwise it would've went on for another 4 years."

She sighed, giving up. "You'll only understand once you're in love."

He scoffed, "you wish!" He exclaimed and took a sip from the juice.

"Love won't ask for your permission Lakshya, it'll just barge into your heart and there won't be anything you can do to get rid of it!"

He swallowed and tapped her head with his finger. "Watch less serials and movies! You're making me cringe!"

She blinked at him, "there's no way you'll be able to block it."

He rolled his eyes, "I'm not getting myself into this drama. It's too compromising and hectic. For me it's Love Impossible!"

She scoffed, "we will see."

"Watch!" He challenged and blinked into her eyes while she stared into his. "Make sure you don't fall for me." He uttered in a low tone and she shook her head in disbelief.

"Don't worry, I won't."

"I won't blame you if you did. After all my charms and looks are irresistible."

She chuckled, "what looks?"

His smile faded as he stared at her, feeling offended. "It's okay. I know it must be awkward for you to admit to that. . . So I understand, you don't have to."

"Once you're finish dreaming then I'll come back because I don't want to be a part of your delusion. . ." She insulted and his expressions changed as he glared at her. "I'll go check up on Uday and Ananya till then." She added and started heading towards the exit.

"It's okay to be angry at times. I don't think you said anything wrong so don't feel bad or blame yourself. It's better to let go than hold on if it's hurting you." Ananya assured and Uday looked at her, shaking his head positively while reflecting on her words.

"Thank you." He replied and she passed him a small smile, feeling her heart fluttering. She felt anxious and awkward around him yet wanted to stay right by his side.

"One things just bothering me. . . If her father really was going to kill her and if they did keep it a secret. Then why did she create a scene now? Despite knowing she's a public figure, she's out here openly letting herself be seen with him by people? I mean, someone probably took a video by now and uploaded it. . . So, does this mean she lied?" Ananya raised a question to keep herself talking to him, not wanting the awkwardness to spread and the conversation to die down.

Uday thought about her words, agreeing as he looked at her. "You're right. If they dated in secret for 4 years then why did she create a drama in a public place today?"

"Maybe she was ready. . ." Ragini uttered as she joined their conversations, standing next to Ananya, followed by Lakshya who stands next to her, creasing his forehead.

"Ready for what?" Lakshya asked as he blinked at Ragini.

"To tell her father about Nikhil." Ragini replied while thinking about it, concluding her opinions.

"She kept it a secret and if they wanted it to remain a secret then she wouldn't have risked it by creating a scene, she brought a lot of attention to herself . . . I think she wanted to get through to the public, media and her father by allowing herself to be seen." Ragini added as she looked on, slowly starting to understand while explaining it to Lakshya, Uday and Ananya, who start thinking about it in the same way Ragini was.

"Oh shit. . ." Ananya trialled off as she caught onto what Ragini was thinking. "And if she did reach out to us publicly, does that mean she's asking for help?"

"Which means she decided to reveal it to you guys by doing this drama so that you two could help her! Maybe she was ready to trust both of you by letting herself meet you. . ." Lakshya and Uday stared at Ragini as she stopped speaking, looking on after realising something along with Ananya.

"Wait. . . What if her Dad already found out about her relationship and she's in danger? Is that why she reached out for help?"

Ragini nodded at Ananya, "that's what I think now. . . I think she wanted help from Lakshya and Uday. Maybe her motive wasn't only to pull off a public stunt but to introduce herself to Uday and Lakshya as soon as possible otherwise why would've she done that? She could've told Nikhil and arranged for them to meet. . . But she chose to do this stunt before they met, as if she was in a hurry."

"Oh gosh. We must help her if she's really in danger." Ananya remarked and looked at Uday and Lakshya, who were understanding Ragini and Ananya's points, starting to feel a little guilty and scared.

"And about her saying her father would kill her in the name of honour killing. . ." Ragini trailed off while looking at Ananya, who understood and nodded.

"Yup, she's pregnant. That's why she feels as if he's going to kill her."

Uday and Lakshya look on shocked, "so, what do we do to help them?"

"We need to meet them." Ragini suggested while looking at Lakshya and he nodded, sliding his phone out.

XX

"I can't believe this!" Her father screamed at her as loud as he could and she swallowed, standing in front of him with Nikhil by her side.

"Uncle. . ."

"You shut up!" His father exclaimed, with the same anger her father held. "I can't believe you brought our reputation down like this!" He roared, disgusted and disgraced to see his son.

"I want to marry her." He firmly uttered as he held her hand right, disgusting their parents.

Apart from Nikhil's mother, who sympathised with the two and accepted their relationship, his father, her father and mother were totally against it, as if she was committing a murder by wanting to marry Nikhil, who belonged to a different caste.

"I can't believe this. . . Is this how we raised you? To turn out like a hoe and sleep around?" Her mother questioned her character in disgust, feeling embarrassed and ashamed while she started crying.

"You disgust me! How can you ruin our respect like this?" Her father yelled again, feeling immense anger boiling within him. He felt as if he could literally strangle her to death right this moment.

"I want to be with him. . . I want to marry him." She cried and closed her eyes, starting to sob while squeezing his hand.

"Abort the child." His father heartlessly uttered and Nikhil looked at him shockingly.

"What?" Nikhil couldn't believe what he had heard and his father blinked at him with seriousness. "I don't want my image to be stained."

Nikhil scoffed as he stared at his father in disgust and disbelief. "I want to marry her, I'm willing to give our baby my name so what's the fucking problem?"

"I agree." He father heartlessly uttered, gritting his teeth as he glared at the two. "Either abort the baby or I will kill it myself!"

"No. . . Please. Can we just accept them and let them live together with their child?" Nikhil's mother finally spoke up as tears seeped down her eyes.

"Stay out of this Anupriya!" His father shouted and she sobbed. "Please don't do this to them. . . Please."

"Have you forgotten that he's a Bengali and she's a Telugu? How can this mix ever happen!"

"So what!" Nikhil yelled as he stared at his father in disappointment. "Move on Dad, this is the 21st century, if you can be friends with other caste people then why can't I marry one!"

"Because it's goes against our traditions!" Her father yelled as he glared at the two.

"Tradition or image?"

"Just abort the baby and end this humiliation for us!" Her father lashed at Nikhil again, this time clenching his fists as he suppressed the urge to kill him.

"You have put all of us in awkward position! To avoid this embarrassment just abort the baby and end this relationship!" Her mother shouted, declaring her decision and she shook her head. "I won't."

"Abort it!" Her father sternly exclaimed, pressuring her to reconsider her decision and she shook her head again while sobbing. "No."

"Then we will simply kill it. . ." Her father harshly and ruthlessly trailed off, firm about his decision and she held onto Nikhil's hand tighter, timid and scared.

XX

"Are you sure they're here?" Uday questioned as he faced Lakshya.

"That's what his location is saying."

"Why. . . Would he be at his own house?" Uday confusingly asked, not really believing Nikhil would be at his house. "Maybe the location is set from when he started in the morning."

"It says 20 minutes ago. Which means he's still in there." Lakshya replied and the two watched guards outside the gate.

"They won't let us go inside. . ." Lakshya trailed off with a sigh, failing to recognise some of them.

"We have our way in." Uday reminded and Lakshya understood.

"How?" Ragini asked as she and Ananya stood behind them confusingly.

"It's nothing too adventurous. We know the code for the back door." Uday replied to Ragini and started heading in a direction, followed by Lakshya, Ragini and Ananya.

"That door is basically for us. We use it all the time to sneak inside when we're not supposed to." Lakshya further explained and they stopped outside a gate, opening it.

As they headed more forward, Uday lifted the cover and tapped the code, successfully managing to open the door.

"If he's just sleeping there and laying around. . . Then I'm done with both of your theories." Lakshya made clear while heading inside.

Ragini and Ananya were more worried to even react on Lakshya's words, rushing inside too. Uday slid his phone out, opening the camera app and tapping the record app, being prepared for any incidents that could possibly need a lot more than just words to help them.

To their shock, they watched Nikhil being pressed down by three guards on top of him. Nikhil's mother trying to get out of his father's grip and Palak being forced to drink by her father while her mother held her down.

"Drink this now!"

"No!" She refused and closed her mouth, moving her head side to side, trying to get out of the grip.

Her father had enough and yanked her by the hair. "This humiliation that you brought will end once your illegitimate child dies! If you want to live then it needs to be killed otherwise both of you would be killed by me!"

"No!" Nikhil yelled, trying his best to get out of the grips but he's failing to.

"I said I'll marry her, don't do this to us."

"I won't let you bring face darkening act into my house and our lives!" His father sternly warned, pulling onto Nikhil's mother. "And you Anupriya, just behave!" He screamed but she managed to push him away, instantly rushing to save Palak.

She slapped the glass out of Palak's fathers hand pushed him away from her. The glass fell onto the floor and in a matter of seconds shattered into pieces. Nikhil's father got angry and charged towards her, pulling her by the arm and giving her a slap across the face.

"Maa!" Nikhil yelled, starting to feel bad for his mother who started crying.

"Enough is enough. You can't kill the child without the mothers permission and if she's willing to marry her then let them marry!" She cried and he held onto her arms tighter. "Keep your mouth shut Anupriya!"

"I guess both of you would have to die!" Her father yelled and placed his hands around Palak's neck.

"No." Her mother finally disagreed, "you can't kill her."

"I will."

"No, she's a public figure. After the stunt she pulled, they would know we did something to her. . ."

Palak wasn't expecting anything from her so called mother either, knowing how heartless she was towards her as she isn't even her birth mother, her father remarried after her biological mother passed away. Leaving her responsibility to him, which he couldn't handle alone.

Unable to see all this, Ragini rushed forward and towards Palak. Wanting to comfort her. She could see the pain and distress Palak was in, as it was evident. She seemed shattered and tired of all of this, merely wanting to live a happy stress free life.

Uday finally spoke up after realising, "Wow. This would make a perfect news. . . Families killing their children just for falling in love. . . Is this really 21st century?" He brought all the attention towards himself, as he paused the video.

Her father, mother and his father were shocked while Palak, Nikhil and his mother were relieved and grateful for their appearance. Ragini freed Palak from her father and mothers grip, taking her to the side.

"This is disgusting!" Ananya exclaimed as loud as she could, truly disgusted to witness what just happened.

"I can't believe this. You two are worser than my father and still I was crying over how strict he was!" Lakshya exclaimed in shock and disgust. "Now I know, he would never kill me to save his honour."

"Guards. . ." Nikhil's father trailed off as he signalled them. The three on top of Nikhil nodded their heads and charged towards Lakshya and Uday.

Uday instantly started running, while tapping on his phone. Knowing they were coming after him only because of the video he just took.

"Are you okay?" Ragini asked Palak and she shook her head negatively, not okay at all.

"We will take care of this situation. . ." Nikhil's father trailed off, indirectly assuring Palak's father that he could continue what he was doing.

"No." Ragini jerked his hand away from Palak, protecting her. Her eyes moistened and anger filled her. "What type of parents are you? Do you not have any sense of love towards your children at all? How could you be so heartless!"

"Who are you? Stay out of this!" Her mother yelled moving forward to drag Ragini to the side but Ragini pushed her away.

"I'm not doing to let you touch her!" She exclaimed, standing in front of Palak as her shield.

"Parents are meant to be the people we trust and can rely on no matter what happens, but both of you have failed as one."

"We don't need lectures from you!" He yelled at her and she scoffed.

"Why is it so hard to let them breathe freely?" She questioned, starting to get emotional too. "They just fell in love. You can't kill them for that!"

"Stay out of this!" His father exclaimed but she continued. "At first I thought they were exaggerating when they said their fathers are worse. . . Now I know why they hate you and why they can never love you the same again!"

"This is none of your business so stay out of it!" Her father shouted and he held onto her hand. "No. I will not stay out of it! Enough is enough, I will protect her no matter what."

He pushed her to the side and she fell onto the floor. Lakshya stepped in and stood in front of her and Palak, glaring at her father.

"You'll have to go through me to get to them." Ragini lifted her head up from the ground, staring at Lakshya's back.

To Be Continued. . .

Up Next - Embarrassing moment. . .

______

Please kindly leave your votes and drop down your comments, if you liked this chapter ♥️✨🌸.

I love you all ♥️😘