They looked at each other like the sun and the moon, the wind and the sky, the fire and the water. They were as opposed to each other as the cosmic elements but as entwined as their harmony. Their love,as deep as the ocean, was destined to fight the tempest and counter every passing ship at night to face the bright dawn. DESTINY felt proud at the radiance of their love but decided to give them some more time to eliminate the dark shadow that marred the radiance.

Sanskar watched the myriad of emotions in Swara's eyes. The priest blessed them with many years of togetherness and happiness. Sanskar thanked him for the blessings but Swara did not react. The priest studied her face strangely and went back to his abode.

Sanskar waited for her explosion. He could have just told her about Hridoy's madness but he was scared like he had never before, for Swara. For, in the letter that he had found in Hridoy's room, he had mentioned the next day as their D-day with a small box of ring near the letter. There was also a tiny folded knife hidden inside the box. This triggered his alarm bells. He needed to do something drastic immediately to keep Swara safe. Marriage was the only option he could think of, to keep her protected till Hridoy and others were apprehended by the police or law. He could not expose her to a maniac like Hridoy. The place Hridoy called his flat reeked of his own blood and people like him would never hesitate to kill or destroy others for their obsession. Every damn place in the room was filled with Swara's images, drawings and pictures. Ishan asked Sanskar to explain to Swara about Hridoy but something told him that she would not believe him without evidence or proof. He didn't have time to go into explanation. He wanted to take her away from this place somewhere far. He wanted to keep her as safe as possible.

'What did you do Sanskar?' she asked very softly, too mildly for her own good.

'I just made you mine forever. Swara Sanskar Maheshwari.' He replied

'It is not funny Sanskar. You think what you did just now will make me take your name? What do you take me for? Some abla naari?' Her temper was slowly rising. He could feel it. It was like the slow build up of hurricane. It would come visiting as mild breeze and then it would rage like there was no stopping. He was sure Swara's fury was going to be like that. He waited for her to lash at him.

'No, I can never take you as abla naari. You are a lioness...'He replied and looked around. Thank god there was no one else here.

'This is no joke Sanskar. You think by putting that vermilion on my forehead, you will make me your wife? That happens only in movies, not in real life. Do you understand?' she asked him

He just shrugged his shoulders, 'Come on, let us move from here.'

'No, I am not budging from this place till you tell me the reason for this mad rush to bring me here and do that stupid thing.' she pointed at the aarti plate.

'Don't call it stupid. It was a life changing moment for me.' he said seriously

'Seriously? Why the hell did you not ask me before this bloody life changing moment for you?'

'Would you have agreed? You were so furious after seeing me with Mrinal that you asked me to fuck off when I proposed? Remember .....Swara Sanskar Maheshwari?' he taunted

'Don't call me that ok?' she yelled 'And you call that proposal? No sensible girl would have agreed to that mockery of a proposal? What do you take me for Sanskar? You know you are trying your best to make me hate you.'

'Do you?' he asked

'Do I what?'

'Do you hate me?' he asked her

'Yes right at this moment I do. And I am going to wipe this thing off...' she pointed at her forehead and continued 'because I don't believe in this nonsense. Marriage is a bond between two people who agree to spend a lifetime together. You and I don't even know if we want to spend together.'

'I do...' Sanskar said

'You want to because I seem unattainable to you and you find me a challenge. It is always win or lose for you. And you know what? I am done with you. I don't care about this life changing moment of yours. Do you hear? I just don't care. You can go to hell. I do not believe in this Sindoor thing. Got it?' She lifted her hand to wipe off the vermilion but he caught her hand,

'No Swara......Don't ...' He pulled her hand down and continued

'Do you really think of me as this shallow person? And by the way who said you are unattainable?' he asked using his fingers to quote her words

'I did not say yes to your stupid proposal' Swara replied marching away in temper. She started climbing down the steps.

'No you did not say in words but...' he did not complete the sentence. She stopped midway and looked at him 'What Sanskar? Complete the sentence. ' she said threateningly

'Well, you want me.' He said bluntly. She flushed and thought 'Trust men to think of in one direction'

'So? That does not mean I want to marry you...'

Now it was Sanskar's turn to stop midway 'What? You mean you desire me physically but you don't want to marry me?' he sounded shocked

Swara did not care to answer him. She sprinted down the steps and searched for an auto. She felt as if the whole world was staring at her like she was some alien. There was no auto on the road. She noticed that Sanskar was not there with her so she pivoted back to find him sitting on a slab. She frowned

'What are you doing there?' she asked

He shrugged his shoulder and said casually 'Waiting for you to take an auto. Then I will follow you and inform everyone about our marriage...'

'No, you dare not Sanskar.' She shouted and reminded him 'Remember, it was you who said that we would pretend to be engaged till the truth is out and then go our separate ways. And now the truth about Adarsh and Suraj is out. So no need for pretence anyway. I am going to tell Ma that we broke up,' she watched him climb down the steps and approach his car. Then he brought the car to a grinding halt beside her. She opened the door violently and slid in. The side slit in the long blue cotton dress parted little bit while getting inside the car. It showed off the smooth skin on her legs. She covered it immediately and looked up at Sanskar. He noticed it and grinned at her. Embarrassed, she turned away to look out of the window. The devil...

The car took off and he watched her flicking the hair away. He remembered the way Hridoy described her hair in that bloody love note and set forth Sanskar's black mood. They were silent for some time, each engrossed in their thoughts. Then Sanskar asked

'How is Hridoy?' he asked casually

'How do you know I was with him?' Swara asked

'I called your mother and she informed me.' he said warily when Swara glared at him suspiciously.

'Are you keeping tabs on me Sanskar? How did you catch me in the auto?'

'Would you believe that I was worried? That I thought something was going to happen to you so I rushed to Hridoy's house and caught you in the auto. Do you believe me Swara?' he asked

Swara did not understand his words. Why was he worried? Did they get clue on the attacker? But before she could find out from him, he went on...

'Do you really think I am after you because you keep saying no to me..?' Did you forget that I blurted out my feelings for you in the office?' he asked tensely

'You were going steady with Mrinal for some months and before that, you had a girlfriend every three months. How can I trust or believe you?' she asked

'I told you I broke up with her in Hong Kong. And about my past, Swara I can't change it. Yes I had many girl friends but I was never serious about any of them' he said sincerely

'What about Kavita?' she asked 'You left your house for her.' Swara finally asked him about one thing that had always troubled her.

'You seem to have done lot of homework on me.' He said but she remained quiet. He studied her profile for some time and then replied 'Kavita was my girl friend in college. Nothing more nothing less.'

'But you left your family for her. Everyone said you loved her.' Swara never realised that talking about Kavita would be painful for her than him.

'I never loved her Swara. It was just attraction and after dating her for couple of times, I got over her. But we attended parties together because we were an item then. It did not matter to me because I started working then in the family business. I was often sent on assignments. When I was in Mumbai on one such assignment, she went home and told the family that we had decided to marry. They had the shock of their lives and tried to pay her off. She took the money and fled.' He said bitterly

'Were you hurt?' Swara asked gearing up for the pain that his answer would give

'Yes I was hurt by the way my family tried to pay her off without asking me. I was hurt that they did not trust me enough to value my judgement. So I left home. I was bitter that they took decision on my behalf.' He explained

'And Kavita?' she asked

'What about her? I never tried to contact her. I never knew that she was planning about our marriage or approaching my family for the same. She did try to call me once after the fiasco but I never spoke to her.'

'You never met her afterwards?' Swara asked

'Yeah once recently but she left me cold.' He described his feelings in one sentence

Swara was in deep thought so she noticed only after a while that he had stopped the car on the side of the road. She looked at him confusingly
'What is cooking in your tangled brain Swara?' Sanskar asked 'How did Kavita suddenly occupy your thoughts?'

'Just like that. But I am not accepting this Sindoor thing till you tell me the reason. I know there is.' She said forcefully. Sanskar sighed 'Fine, I have a reason. But I can't tell you here. We need to get out of this city. Do you trust me Swara?' he asked. Then watching her confounding expressions he said 'OK wrong question. Will you believe that what I am going to do is for your own good?' Swara nodded

'Come with me to Hong Kong. I will tell you everything.' He went on when she tried to speak.' I know you will not agree but I promise you that I won't force you to do anything that you don't want to..' When she opened her mouth, he put a finger on her lip and said 'you can choose to not to come but I will tell the whole world that we are married.' He dropped the bombshell as a last resort to make her go on that trip. Her eyes widened and asked 'Are you threatening me?'

'May be but I don't want to, Swara. Believe me I am desperate. I need you to come away. After this trip, you can make your own decision about this marriage. I will not trouble you again.' He said

She watched his face and looked deep into his eyes. They entranced her and pulled her like waves into the ocean of his eyes. She could not resist the temptation. Just one trip and she was done. She nodded and he caught his breath. He could not resist himself from brushing his mouth over her soft lips. Before she could react, he pulled away and started the car.

The flight to Hong Kong was neither too long nor too short. One more hour to land and Swara would be in a different land for the first time. She closed her eyes and rested her head on the back. Everything happened in a whirlwind. The moment she said yes, Sanskar got into immediate action. He made arrangements for them to fly the next night. Sanskar called her parents and convinced them about the need for them to go away. He did not tell them about the Psycho but told them another story.

Hridoy sat in the room staring at the torn pictures of Swara. He knew only one person who must have had the guts to shred the letter to pieces. Sanskar Maheshwari...And the man for whom he had promised to provide information about Sanskar called him this morning to disclose that they were going away together. It was his job to find out where and when. He would find it. Till Sanskar came into Swara's life, he had accepted the platonic relationship between him and Swara but the moment he saw her with Sanskar, his intentions took a nose drive. He could not see her with anyone else. He would KILL her first before losing her to any other man. Then he would kill himself. Swara was his girl. Fate had made her for him and no one else had the right.

Someone knocked. He opened the door to find himself confronted by a man with a beard and spectacles.

A bright morning welcomed Swara and Sanskar to Hong Kong. The warm rays of the sun infused a positive energy over the tiny island. The excitement of being in a foreign land and that too with a handsome man like Sanskar gave Swara a heady feeling. Chic women glanced at Sanskar covertly and admired his casual arrogance and confident stride. Swara watched him with new eyes. She felt thrilled to have his complete attention. He seemed to have eyes only for her. They walked out of the air conditioned terminal together and a uniformed chauffeur took them to the hotel near the bay. Swara's room was luxurious and the huge window overlooked the curving bay of the sea. Sanskar had asked her to freshen up in ten minutes as he wanted to take her out to some special place.

She called up her mother to inform about her arrival and Sharmishta was amused at her daughter's thrilled voice.

Sanskar knocked on the door exactly ten minutes later and she was astounded. For, he looked dapper in a white suit and cream shirt. He smiled and handed her a single stem of red orchid.

'You look beautiful.' He exclaimed, tingling her nerve ends with his slow study of her red full length dress that was enhanced with delicate lace work. She had left her hair open but it was the glow on her face that set his pulses racing.

'Thank you, I can't look more beautiful than you.' She replied and he laughed at her wit

'Come on let us go...' he took her hand and they left behind the concrete jungle to walk down to the open promenade. They stood there watching the back drop of the ocean.

'Where are we going Sanskar?' Swara could not contain her suspense

'Remember I told you that I owned a yacht here.' Swara nodded
'Do you know what I had named her?' Swara shrugged her shoulders and he replied 'Karma'

'Oh.....Where is the yacht?' she asked

'We are going to meet her.' he smiled and took her down the street. A car arrived to pick them up and they drove down to the harbor. Swara could sense Sanskar's excitement. He looked different here, more carefree and relaxed. He also laughed more.

They got out of the car and walked down to the pier. He took her hand and reached the jetty. Then he placed his hands on her eyes concealing the view from her, 'Sanskar what are you doing?'

'Shhh...Wait..' he said, then he slowly took away his hands and pointed out to a white yacht.

She glanced at the direction and saw a yacht. The mast of the yacht swayed in the wind but what caught her attention was the big letters written in blue on the wall of the boat....

It was written 'SWASAN'

'SwaSan?' Swara asked

'Swa and San of 'Swara and Sanskar'. He replied 'I renamed it SwaSan.....'

Swara stood overwhelmed by the moment. She looked up at him and felt tears stinging her eyes. A powerful and strong emotion gripped her. He gave her a soft smile and she wanted to hold the moment forever in her memory. For, she never loved anything or anyone more than this man in her life.

He was her every breath that she took,
He was her every move that she made
He was her every dream that she wove
He was her every step that she took................

PRECAP

Swara was spell bound...........