SwaSan FanFic (TOL)

CHAPTER 23

The letter fluttered down from Swara's hand but Sanskar caught it. He read it again. It was so touching and beautiful. They were the words of a tender lover to his woman. There was so much depth in the words. Both of them were still kneeling on the floor, lost in their own thoughts. Ishan knocked on the door and came in,

'Are you guys done with your fighting?' he walked in questioning them but seeing them on the floor, he burst out laughing
'Oh my god, I thought you would be still fighting and here, both of you on floor....Jeez! What are you doing on the floor?' his quirky sense of humour was not appreciated by either Swara or Sanskar. Swara rolled her eyes and stood up. Sanskar gave an irritated look at Ishan
'Don't be a pain in the neck Ishan. Keep your humour to yourself. God knows who finds your humour funny.'
'Swara, what do you find in this guy? Seriously he has no sense of humour, such an ill mannered man....' Ishan could see Sanskar's annoyance growing so he shut his mouth but Swara could not control her laughter. Her eyes were bright and she looked as if she would crack up anytime. Ishan noticed that Sanskar was scrutinizing the words in the letter and he asked
'What is it Sanskar? You look disturbed by it.' He pointed at the letter and asked 'Does it have anything to do with this case?'
'No...Remember Suraj?' Sanskar asked his friend
'Yeah,was it not that cousin who committed suicide some years ago?' Ishan asked Sanskar. He remembered how Sanskar was traumatised by the incident.
'We stumbled upon this letter he left in his wallet just before his death...' He gave the letter to Ishan because he was his closest and dearest friend. He trusted him more than his cousins.

Ishan read the letter not once but twice and looked at both of them questioningly 'Why did he not give the letter to her?' he asked Sanskar
'Because he did not see her after he wrote it....' Sanskar replied
'Oh....'
'She would have been so happy to see it....' Swara mused
"Do you know her?' Ishan asked
'Nivedita is my step sister.' Swara said quietly
'Good Lord! So you two are already connected.' He exclaimed and showed the letter 'This means that he did not commit suicide'
'No, it means it was an accident.' Swara said, giving a meaningful look at Sanskar
'No, it was not an accident. ' Sanskar contradicted both of them.
'But Sanskar, this letter says it all. It does not seem as if he was depressed.' Ishan replied
'I know Ishan. What I am saying is that it was neither accident nor suicide. It was plain murder.' Sanskar concluded and they were dumbfounded.
'What do you mean?' Swara asked
'The Police got a letter when he died and it said that he was depressed. He also blamed your sister for his decision. But this letter which I know for sure was written by him does not seem depressed. He seems happy that she was going abroad to study and he clearly says that he would wait for her.' Sanskar explained his suspicion
'Did you see that letter the police got? Ishan asked. Sanskar denied seeing it but he remembered his mother and aunt reading it.
'May I take this letter to Nivu Di Sanskar? It belongs to her.' Sanskar nodded but Ishan had other things in his mind. 'Swara, we need to clear this matter with police. If it was not a suicide but murder we need to reopen the case. So we need this letter.'
'You can take it from her. She is here only.' Swara explained but Sanskar interrupted 'She is here? You mean she is not in Sydney?'
'She came down last week from Sydney. '
'Swara, I would like to meet her...Can I?' Sanskar asked Swara but she was in two minds. What if Sanskar got aggressive with her for his brother's death?
'Don't worry Swara. I will not be rude with her. I just want to get some facts from her. We seem to have blamed her without reason. Would you allow me to meet her if I promise to apologise?' he asked her. Swara agreed and told him that she will ask her sister and confirm. Three of them left the house together.

Viren was getting ready to move his stuff when Swara joined them. They moved to SM24 by mid afternoon. It was a familiar arena and Swara was happy to board the Metro in the evening for home.

Nivedita was working on her laptop when Swara reached home. Nivedita was an architect and she worked for a firm which specialized in landscapes in Sydney.

'Hi Swara, how was the day?'

Swara shrugged her shoulders and asked Nivedita to join her on terrace after dinner. Nivedita was curious but she thought it had something to do with her boss. So after dinner Swara and Nivedita met under the moonlit sky. There was soft breeze blowing, as if it was whispering a message from the heaven. A partially hidden moon playing hide and seek in the clouds looked down on them as if it was curious to know what was happening. An air of melancholy pervaded on the terrace. Nivedita felt a strange intuition as if Suraj was standing somewhere on the terrace.

Swara watched Nivedita's face trying to study her.

'Yes Swara, what is it? Did you confess your feelings to your boss?' she asked excitedly. Swara shook her head and gave Suraj's letter to her. Nivedita took it silently and opened the fold. She read it and looked up at Swara's face.
'We found this letter in his belongings today. It was in a bag that he left home before going to the boat club that day.' Swara explained to an emotionally moved Nivedita. Her sister read the letter again and again. She caressed it with her fingers and started weeping softly. It was the first time that Swara saw her strong and beautiful sister completely broken down. Nivedita slid down to the floor and buried her face in her hands. Her pain was something that tore her whole existence. Swara put her arms around her sister and tried to comfort her. No words could have soothed her sister's pain. She was utterly crushed. Swara prayed to god to give her sister strength. She hoped and wished for someone to bring warmth and sunlight into her sister's life again. She did not think that her sister would ever fall in love again but prayed fervently for someone who would take away her pain and bring back joy and happiness into her world.

'Shhhh, Di, please don't cry. It is now clear that he did not commit suicide. He never blamed you...' Swara tried her best to console her.
'I know Swara but the pain and anguish have been buried inside me for so long.' She showed the letter and said 'This is my Suraj who promised me that he would wait for me. Can you imagine the torment I went through when everyone blamed me for his suicide?'
'I know di but you have to be strong now. We want to find the culprit now.'

'What do you mean Swara?'
Swara explained Sanskar's theory to Nivedita. She was shocked.
'But Swara, Suraj was one of the nicest human beings. Who could harm him?' Nivedita asked Swara with frown.They talked for some time and Swara explained about her and Sanskar and Ragini's relationship with the Maheshwaris. At the end of their conversation, Swara managed to convince Nivedita to meet Sanskar.

That night Swara got a call from Sanskar
'Hello'
'Hi' Sanskar's deep voice drawled at the other end
'Hi, we will come to your office tomorrow evening after my office hours so that you and di can meet.' Swara told Sanskar of her plans the next day.
'Cool, I will wait then. 'He said
'See you then...' Swara was going to end the conversation when Sanskar continued
'Swara...Did you speak to your mother about our wedding?' Sanskar asked with laughter lacing his voice. Swara stared at her mobile and cursed it
'Yes I spoke to my mother about MY wedding and not yours. Get it? BYE...' Swara told him angrily
'Seriously Swara... How is that possible? A wedding is not complete without a groom. Are you planning to marry the pillar or maybe the priest himself?'

Swara could not help but find his words funny. She disconnected the call as if she was angry. Sanskar was a born flirt. He could charm a bird with his smile. It was going to bring heartache. Nivedita's sorrow and tragedy taught her to be wary of the whole feeling called love. She doubted whether she was as strong as her sister to withstand the pain and anguish of lost love.

Nivedita met her after office hours and they took a cab to Salt Lake to Sanskar's office.

Sanskar was waiting impatiently for Swara and her sister. Being a Friday, most of his people left office quite early. It was a long weekend with Monday being a holiday. There were just one or two people still winding up. He had dismissed his personal assistants and secretary. Ishan was still in office, probing and working like a madman on his case. He wanted to find the person who was responsible for the two attempts on Sanskar's life as soon as possible. He was worried for his friend's life. The intercom on his desk buzzed and he was informed of Swara's arrival. He felt his blood rushing and a current shot through his veins. An unexplained pleasure tinged with excitement lit up his mood.

As soon as Swara knocked on his door, he rushed ahead to open it. Their eyes locked for a second and a slow heat ignited deep inside him. The way she aroused him was sheer madness. He wanted to possess her physically and mentally. He wanted to know every thought of hers, every feeling of hers and every pulse of hers. He was losing his senses over her. He was crazily and deeply in love with this spirited and beautiful witch. God save him....

He ushered them in and only then did he notice Nivedita. The first thing that struck him about Nivedita was the haunting sadness in her eyes. He remembered seeing her with Suraj though he was quite young then. He was shaken with the awareness that blaming her for Suraj's death was the biggest folly he made. She was clearly affected by the loss.
'Hi Nivedita...'
'Hi, how are you?' Nivedita asked him politely remembering the day when he barged into the house demanding to know the reason for his brother's death. He had grown up into a handsome and sophisticated man. No wonder Swara was crazy about him, she thought.

'I am fine. First of all I want to apologise for the way I blamed you for Suraj's death. It was the confession letter which made us believe like that...' Sanskar tried to explain and Nivedita listened quietly.
'I am really sorry Nivedita for the entire trauma that it caused.' He apologised formally. Swara watched him carefully. Nivedita nodded and said
'It did create trauma Sanskar but like they say time is the biggest healer. I hope it will bring down my sorrow. But nothing can compensate the loss.' She said with a catch in her voice. Sanskar reminded her of Suraj so much. The mannerisms, the way they carried themselves.....

A new found respect formed in Sanskar for Nivedita. Her grace and strength made him admire her. He told her about his suspicion and asked for her opinion
'I don't know Sanskar. He was such a polite and well mannered person. He never spoke a rude word to anyone. I just can't imagine anyone wanting to kill him.' Nivedita told them thoughtfully
'Hmm, I have gone through his friends and acquaintances list but I just can't come across any person who wanted to harm him.' Sanskar said
'Maybe you should trace them and speak to them.' Swara added 'Di.....was there anybody else attracted to you?' Swara asked as an afterthought. She remembered her mother telling her that boys always chased Nivedita.
Nivedita shook her head and continued 'I was never close to anybody else.'

Sanskar indicated that he would try to contact some of Suraj's friends and get information. They were served tea and snacks. Sanskar noticed that Swara kept checking her messages on the phone. She seemed to be distracted. Somebody was messaging her nonstop. He wanted to know but prevented himself from intruding into her personal space.

Swara and Nivedita were finishing their tea when Ishan knocked on the door and barged in. He greeted Swara warmly and then his glance fell on the beautiful woman sitting beside her. He felt as if someone punched him on the stomach. He gaped at her. She was so damn beautiful! He could not take his eyes away from her. Nivedita was embarrassed. She looked away. Swara and Sanskar found Ishan's reaction very funny. They looked at each other and laughed silently.

It was Sanskar who coughed aloud and distracted Ishan from Nivedita. Ishan blushed and Sanskar was surprised. He had never seen his cynical and world weary friend so smitten by a girl at first sight. Swara and Nivedita were just leaving his cabin when Nivedita suddenly stopped. She turned to look at Sanskar with troubled eyes
'I just remembered Sanskar. There was a guy senior to all of us. He was in some way related to Suraj. I met him during Freshers's party. He used to trouble me a lot initially by sending me messages to meet him. Then he left college but he would often appear at places where Suraj and I used to meet. He even met me before I left for Sydney to tell me that he wanted to marry me...I think he told Suraj also but I am not sure...' She narrated trying to remember the past.

Sanskar and Swara stared at her confusedly. Sanskar asked 'You said he was related to Suraj. Do you remember his name?' he asked..
'I think it was Adarsh...' Nivedita replied without realizing the storm she was unleashing with that one name.

Swara and Sanskar were stunned. Ishan was bowled over by Nivedita.......

That night, another shock awaited Sanskar at his house. His mother informed him during dinner that Swara had turned down the marriage proposal. He remained calm about it though he noticed Laksh and Adarsh being very happy about it.

Like the calm before the storm, a tempest of fury was brewing inside Sanskar over Swara's refusal.

PRECAP

Was there a connection between Suraj's death and attempts on Sanskar's life? Was there a dark secret tearing the family apart? Why did Swara turn down Sujata's proposal?