STAY IN MY ARMS.

CHAPTER  13

FLASHBACK

Raghav tucked Kalpana in  bed  as  though  she was a  child......he  pulled up the fleece blanket right up to her chin  .
"I can be  your  teddy bear....if  you want''Raghav said   ...when he saw  mischief in Kalpana's   eyes
''come on in   she invited  , pushing   the  blanket  away from her  to  give  enough space  for  Raghav to slip in beside her,Raghav did  but it was short  lived  as  the  shadow  of Rubina  began to appear  ,,Raghav   shot out of bed....before his  mother  walked in....
Raghav  ,    Kalpana needs to rest.......now    go  to  bed..i will stay  with  her  for  a while..:
Rubina  sat  beside  kalpana  stroking   her   head.." go to sleep  girl......you are safe  here''
Kalpana smiled  and  settled back in bed.......Rubina  left  the room...after  switching  the  lights  off.
kalpana  slept for some  time  then woke  up startled.........the  window was open  and  there was someone in the room....'she  was about to scream..when a  hand closed over her  mouth..."'Shhhh   sweetie.....it;s  me   Raghav.........".oh  Raghav  you scared  me......''
I  just want to hold  you......,Raghav slipped in beside kalpana  and  held her close to him and she slept soundly in the crook of his  arm
in the morning  Raghav  woke kalpana up and  hurried  out through the window  before his  mother  arrived..
Kalpana sat at   the  dining table  ..waiting for Rubina  and  Raghav  to  come  down,...they  both  arrived  together.....Kalpana watched  the  mother and  son,,Raghav was  the  exact copy of  his  mother..............
Raghav   rubbed  the  ointment  on kalpana's  arm  and   sat beside her  ..and  he  made  sure   that  she  had  her breakfast
Meena   and  Joshua visited  her   everyday until   4 days  before the wedding.....they  wanted to  make  the  final arrangemet  ,,the  wedding  invitations  were distributed......all  was a smooth  flow.......kalpana was  at the   shoe store   to get  new  shoes  for the  wedding reception.........Raghav  was  at  work.........when  he  received  a  call from  his  old  chauffer...
"Raghav sir  i am  not  sure  what  it is  all about  but  i  heard  someone  say''Finish  her off'''i was  shocked to see   a photo which looked  like  Miss Kalpana  sir....please  hurry  sir........someone  is  out  to   do  no  good
Raghav  droped  his  laptop  and  hurried  out,,he tried  calling  kalpana  but  her  phone  was switched off..he  drove   to  the  shoe  store  kalpana had  gone  with  Meena   but  kalpana was  no where to be seen........"Raghav ..please  help kalpana.....they  came  in  a van  and  just  took her  away,,,,they  hit  me  with a base ball  bat....i  tried  to save  kalpna.....but they were  so strong....Meena  wept  holding her  head....Raghav  went  wild  with  anger  .......his  heart was beating so fast............"Mother  kalpana  has  been kidnapped.........Inform  the  police.....Raghav   called up  his  mother   and  hung up
Raghav   found Kalpana's  handbag  just outside  the  store...her  mobile phone was in it.............a little  further  her hairband  ,her  left sandal  and  her  watch with blood stains on  it...."..Kalpana"........" Kalpana".......Raghav  ran frantically   towards  the  road  where he  found  kalpana's  belonging.....she was nowhere to be  found..  kalpana........''  Raghav   searched  the  old dilapidated   shack......nearby...but   no  one  was  around....... Raghav  ran out of the shack when he hurt a scream  coming from a nearby bush...he  ran  towards it..........he saw  Kalpana  tied to a tree......a  masked  man aiming a gun to kalpana's  head......fingers on the trigger........Raghav  lunged forward...and    hit  the  man with a rock   he fell with a thud......."'oh my  god  kalpana"'    Raghav   cut the ropes binding Kalpana....and freed her..her wrists were bleeding  ......Kalpana fainted in his arms.......Raghav  carried  her  ...and  walked  towards  the  shoe store   ..the  police  arrived   and  took a statement from Meena who was send to the hospital.........Rubina  huried  to Raghav  and  consoled  him''  
Rubina   got a wet towell   and   wiped the dust off  kalpana's   face.....while  the  maids  called for the doctor....Raghav  was  locked in the library with the police....he  will get to the bottom of this.......someone  wants  Kalpana   out of his life.......
Rubina  made Kalpana  drink a cup of camomlile  tea  to calm her down.......kalpana   sat  in bed  looking  out  for  Raghav......and when he finally walked into the room,,she  got out of ..bed and rushed to him and hugged him and cried......her small frame  shaking with fear''Raghav  held  her  close  to  him
Raghav  i need to  go  for an urgent meeting...i will be  back  shortly ..i  just  left  the  meeting abruptly  .....Rubina   said  and  went  out'
The police  arrived     half an hour  later .,with information that a lady was involved in Kalpana' kidnapping  and  attempted  murder..Raghav  was  shocked....
''we are  still investigating,the  man we arrested   refused to talk.....we  will get  him to  talk  soon......he  will reveal  the  name soon....the  police inspector  reported......Mrs  Meena  Joshua  is  doing  fine, a nasty bump on her head  thank
god  no  concussion.
'you are  engaged  to  be  married  to  Miss  kalpana.,the  officer  confirmed  this  information  ''Raghav  nodded  .....
the wedding is   4 days  away ,,i  need to  find   the  person responsible    as soon as possible....''Raghav was extremely  worried'
'' we  have  deployed our  best men on this  case   MR gupta.......we will get to the  matter  as  soon as possible
Rubina   opened her briefcase  and   kept  her  documents in the safe  before going to the  library  to  meet the poilice inspector   investigating  the case
Mrs Gupta  we will nab the  culprit  soon......Thank you for your  cooperation........as soon as the  police inspector left  Raghav  went  up  to  Kalpana  once  again.......she  was  calmer  .........''Mother   ,i cannot  understand  who  wants  Kalpana  out of  my  life......kalpana is  a sweet  innocent   girl  ......and  i  love  her  so  much  .....i will not  spare  the  person    responsible  for this evil deed.
Rubina  put a reasuring   hand  on Raghva's  shoulder''
"' i want  to  marry  Kalpana  as soon as possible  Mother...''  Raghav   made  his  decision.....
i  know  this  is  a difficult  time  Raghav  but  the  proper muhurat  for  the  wedding  is  important..........Rubina  said
it  is  just  a few  days...........Kalpana   won't  leave  the  house.....it  is  all my  fault  to have  sent  Kalpana  without   protection....we  have  security personel  ..and  i  should  have  gone  with  them
"Mother ,,please  don't blame yourself  for  what  has  happened.......Raghav   pacified  his  mother
"why  isn't  Sunil  here  mother......Raghav  mentioned  his  younger brother..
"he  is  busy  with  his  exams.......he  will be  back  soon.......
Raghav   refused to leave  Kalpana's  side after her harrowing experience......he  even slept  in the same  bed  ignoring  his  mother's  words.......
''can you recall anything  of   what  has  happened   ;;kalpana''......Raghav  asked  gently......Kalpana  shook her  head but  stopped  suddenly''
i remember  seeing  a car  outside  the  store,.....i  think  i  saw  this  same  car   on the day  the  boutique  worker  accidentally  knocked into me....yes  i  remember  clearly......''Kalpana  said  in between  hic ups
"what,!......exclaimed  Raghav....sitting up  straight  in  bed.....his  was  begining to  put  two and two  together........the  first   accident  wasn't   an  accident  after all  but  was  intentional.........Raghav  did not  mention  this  to Kalpana......he  did not want to  alarm  her........he  needed to act  fast,,,,Raghav  made a maid  sit  in the room  all day    ,he  had   information to  give  to  the  police........to  be  continued  Evelyn