The police fished out his body from the river and snapped pictures. The body was decomposed.
'Sir, lagta hai chaar paanch din ho gaya.....'
'Lab bhejo...aur woh gaadi jo mili hume, uske ke saath finger prints match karo..'

The early morning sunlight streamed through the gauzy curtain and Sanskar opened his eyes with irritation.He was not a morning person and only after some cups of black coffee did he settle into the right mood. But this morning, his first thought was of Swara and he grabbed his cell phone to check for messages and calls.There were some but none from Swara. His morning annoyance grew with every passing minute. His coffee and newspaper were brought in by the servant. He perched on the couch with the coffee when his phone vibrated. It was Swara. He let it ring for some time and then connected the call.

'Hello'
'Yes Swara, what is it?' he asked curtly
'I am not coming with you.' She came straight to the point
'Did I give you a choice?' he asked with deflating mood
'Yes, you asked me either to go with you or quit so I decided to quit.' She told him bluntly without mincing the words
He tensed and reminded her about the clause in the contract
'Are you ready with money?'
'What do you mean?' she asked hesitantly
'I told you if you quit midway, you will have to pay one Lakh.' He could not understand why he was being so mean to her. Was it a case of sour grapes?
'By the time you come back, I will keep the money ready.' She replied sharply
Sanskar frowned 'Where will you get the money from?'
'That is none of your business. I will fulfill that bloody clause in your contract. Happy?' And she disconnected the call.

Sanskar stared at the phone for some time and threw it on the bed. He paced the room like a caged tiger.The bloody nerve of her! He didn't expect this from her. He was sure that she would accept the challenge and go with him on this trip....He snatched his travel bag and stuffed clothes in it furiously. His mother entered the room. Oh god! Not now.....

'Mom, I need to leave for a meeting immediately, so please let us talk some other time.'
'Nahi Sanskar..bahut ho gaya..Mujhe abhi baat karna hai..'
'It is not possible mom.' He replied and continued towards the bathroom
'What is going on between you and Mrinal Tarachand?' Sujata asked point blank
Her question halted him and he turned towards his mother 'What do you mean?'
'Seedha sawal hai Sanskar...What is going on between you and her?'

Sanskar was baffled. Where did Mrinal come here? He looked confused and wondered how his mother came to know of their relationship.
'And who told you about us?' he asked his mother, scowling
'So there is something going on...' she mumbled and sat down on the bed as if her whole world was crashing down on her
Sanskar watched her with bewilderment and asked her 'Mom, Will you please tell me what is going on?'
'I will tell you Sanskar...' Annapurna walked in with her saintly expression and explained
'Sanskar, we have found a fantastic girl for you. That is what your mother wanted to discuss with you.'
'What????????'He asked totally stupefied. He looked at his mother who was still in the same posture as if she was talking about doomsday and not his marriage....Seriously, he sometimes felt as if he was living in a circus.

'Badi ma, I am not interested in marriage now. Please, so let us just drop the topic.' He patiently told them. His mother's face shot up and she asked him
'You are not Sanskar?' She looked very pleased with his decision but his aunt was not.
'Sanskar, first hear the girl's name and then decide.' Annapurna said with a glee. Sanskar was looking from one lady to another lady of the house. Were they crazy? Without discussing with him, they selected his bride?

'I am not interested badi ma....And let me tell you that whoever she is, my decision would be the same.' Sanskar clearly expressed his opinion
'Not even Mrinal?' Annapurna asked teasingly
'Mrinal???? Where did she come from?' He looked puzzled
'She is the girl, we have chosen for you...' Annapurna announced, confident of Sanskar's positive response

Sanskar was taken aback. He did not know what to say. There were so many questions going on in his head that he was quiet for a while.

'See, I told you Sujata that he would agree.' Annapurna pointed out to Sujata but his mother was watching his face.
'No badi ma, I have not agreed to anything. But I am puzzled about this alliance with Mrinal.' He did not even know that her surname was Tarachand.
'Well, the horoscopes are matching perfectly and her parents too are happy about this alliance.' Annapurna was little disappointed with Sanskar's reaction. Did Mrinal not tell her that they were going steady? So why was Sanskar looking as if he was going to murder somebody.

Sanskar's brain was working overtime. If her parents knew, then she would also be aware of it. Still she did not tell him anything.
'How do you know that we already know each other?' he asked thoughtfully
'Khud boli aur kya....' His mother jumped up to answer him. She was clearly not happy about this development.
'Badi ma, give me some time.I will let you know.' he made badi ma happy with his reply but his mother was distressed. He hugged her and asked her to keep calm.An idea was forming in his head.

After they left, he called up Mrinal
'Hi Mrinal, Are you in town?'
'What a pleasant surprise Sanskar! Where are we meeting?' She asked unaware of his plans
'What about Hong Kong?' he asked
'What? Oh Wow! We are going to Hong Kong? When?' She asked excitedly
'How about tonight?'
'Awesome. What about my travel arrangements?'
'I will take care of it. I will pick you up at 7.' After making arrangements with Mrinal, he called up his personal assistant

'Book Mrinal also for this Hong Kong trip.' he gave instructions and then added 'Deepa, make sure that Viren and his team know about my whereabouts. Let them know about Mrinal accompanying me so that they will contact me only if it is necessary.....' His smile was devilish.......Plan One accomplished. Now,for Plan Two.....

He went down for breakfast.... He searched for Ragini...There she was....Cutting vegetables in the kitchen. He went into the kitchen casually as if to drink water. She looked up
'Hello Ragini....'
'Hello Sanskar.....' she replied shyly. He wondered how two sisters could be so different...One a mouse and the other a spitfire.
'Do you know about these ladies searching for a girl for me?' he asked gulping down the water from bottle. She nodded her head. How did Laksh manage to talk to her?......
'Have you met Mrinal?' he asked
'Yes we met her. And she is very beautiful.' Ragini answered with a smile
'Well, don't tell anyone but I am taking her to Hong Kong tonight.' He informed her as if she was his best friend. She was surprised then she giggled
'No Sanskar, I will not tell anyone.' She said keeping a hand on her mouth as if to stop from giggling further
'Of course, if you are dying to share the news, you can do it with your sister but not anyone in this family.' He told her wickedly, watching for her reaction
'Oh yes Sanskar, I will not tell anyone here.' She said excitedly.

He left; having accomplished his second plan. Sanskar felt satisfied. Yes Swara Bose, so what if you don't come? There are others who are dying to accompany me. But, there was no more frenzy or excitement. His earlier anticipation for the trip was swiftly turning into desolation.

Two days dragged on for Swara. She was worried about the clause in the contract. She did not tell Viren or any of the team about Sanskar's threat. Why should she tell? Let him come and tell whatever he wanted. Meanwhile she searched for vacancy in other organisations. Where would she go for money? Should she ask her mother? She spent the days working hard on the project but nights were the hardest.The first shock she got was,when Sanskar's personal assistant informed them that he had taken Mrinal to Hong Kong and that he should not be contacted unnecessarily.The second shock was when Ragini called her excitedly to inform her that Sanskar's marriage was fixed with Mrinal and that he had taken her to Hong Kong. Swara was miserable and dejected. Why did he ask her if he was going to take his fiancee? Or did he really want to take Swara officially? Did she make hasty assumptions? Why should his decision to take Mrinal upset her so much? There was nothing between them other than a momentary lapse from Sanskar. She wanted to go to a happening party in town with her friends and forget about Sanskar. He occupied all her waking thoughts and also her sleeping thoughts....Her phone ring jolted her out of her frustrating thoughts. She felt like a tragic queen in a Victorian drama.

'Hi Ma...'
'Shona, where are you? It is 8' Sharmishta asked her
'I am just finishing my work. I will leave in say ten minutes.'
'Jaldi niklo. Is there anybody with you?' her mother asked, worried about the late hour.
'Haan ma, Vivek is here.'

After disconnecting the call, she noticed that Vivek was almost on the verge of finishing his work.They wanted to make the presentation ready before Sanskar came back from his trip. Vivek packed up for the day

'Swara, Are you finished? Let us leave.' He asked her since they were the only ones remaining in the Press room.
'No, I just have to finish one more slide. You carry on....'
'OK, I will tell the security and go. There are still some people working in other departments.' He verified with others and left.

His car picked him up from the airport. Sanskar felt tired and leaned his head back on the cushioned seat.He closed his eyes.The air conditioned interior of the luxurious Porsche would have induced him to sleep if it had been a month ago. But now, there were too many disturbing things going on in his life, the attempt on his life, the pressure from his family to marry and above all Swara Bose. She was occupying every thought in his miserable brain. Whatever happened to his revenge mode? It seemed to have taken a back seat. Where did all his plans of making her life hell disappear? He had genuinely wanted to take her along to Hong Kong but when she refused, he went on a counter attack mode.He made sure to let her know that he went with Mrinal. Was she playing hard to get? Why was he so drawn to her? She was becoming an obsession with him.The trip was total failure except for the official conference. So he returned as quickly as possible.
'Sir, ghar hi jaana hai na?' Govind asked.
'No.Office chalte hain. Kaam hai.' Sanskar did not want to face another sleepless night.

Swara was alone in the Press room and deeply engrossed on her screen that she did not notice him entering the room.

'Hi Swara...' Swara jumped out of her nerves and turned around to see Laksh standing with a silly smile on his face....
'Laksh? What are you doing here?' she asked
He shrugged his shoulders and replied 'The security guy told me that you were here so I came up to see you.' He looked happy and drunk
'I need to finish this so please leave me alone for some time.' Swara informed him and turned back to the screen.He did not leave but took a seat next to her chair and settled down. Swara glared at him
'Carry on Swara. Finish your work. I will wait till then.'
'Laksh,why are you waiting for me to finish? We have nothing to say to one another.' She was getting little worked up over his attitude. Should she wrap up and leave. Something about his behavior troubled her. She wished she had left with Vivek..
'Why do we have nothing to say to one another Swara? We used to be such good friends. Why have you become so rude with me?' He asked her with a puppy dog expression.

Swara looked at him as if he had gone crazy. She decided to leave. She saved her work and shut down her desk top.Then she collected her bag and stood up to leave. Laksh too stood up and blocked her way.
'Talk to me Swara. I have come all the way to see you and you are ignoring me.'
'Let me go Laksh. Move out of my way.' Swara asked him
'I moved out of your way long back Swara but it has not done me any good. I miss you more and more.' He caught her arm and stepped closer

'Laksh are you drunk? Leave me I say....' Swara tried to get out of his tight hold
'No Swara, I know you still like me and you let me go because of Ragini....' he insisted trying to get close to her
'Laksh, leave me....' she almost yelled,panic taking over her
'No Swara, you are mine...'

'Leave her Laksh......' Both of them turned around to see Sanskar standing on the doorway. He walked in slowly and punched Laksh with an exploding fury.....

PRECAP

Will Sanskar let Swara leave the company? Sanskar's investigating team makes progress.....

Note to Readers: I know that many of you are disappointed that Swara did not go with Sanskar to HK but I had to keep Swara's character in mind before making a decision.I did not want to show her as a helpless girl bowing to Sanskar's demands.She is a girl with a mind of her own and makes her own decisions.If it had been a show, I am sure that a trip together would have increased the trp but here I wanted to stick to Swara's bold character. Sanskar was always a man who was indifferent about Society or it's norms.He went by his own rule.If he wanted something, he went for it single minded but Swara was not like that. She would never allow any man to dictate terms to her. Would it not be more exciting if such two strong willed people fall in love? So keeping all this in mind and your comments, I wrote this chapter. Don't worry.You will definitely get a SwaSan trip to Hong Kong :) and their romance..Thank you once more for sharing your views..Love you..