The Life Changing Bet

5. 'Camping Trip'

Ritwik was starting to get suspicious about Dev and Sonakshi's relationship. He thought he knew Sonakshi well- she would not fall for Dev's smooth tactics, but he was not sure of Dev now. He had seen Dev use his charm, power and money in the past to lure girls, which in normal circumstances would have no effect on Sonakshi. Lately, he had seen a subtle change in Dev- he sang a song for Sonakshi on her birthday, he was showing interest in her interests, like playing carrom with her. He had heard about Dev's singing from some friends in Mumbai, but he had no idea about his talent. Sonakshi was very fond of music since childhood and was gifted with a beautiful voice. Was Dev going to take advantage of their mutual interest in music?

Ritwik did not want to talk to Dev about calling off the bet, as that would be admission of his defeat, and give Dev a chance to gloat over the fact that he had won Sonakshi over... "nahin main aisa kabhi nahin hone doonga...mujhey Sonakshi se baat karni chahiye...usey bet ke barey mein toh kuch nahin keh sakta par Dev ke intentions ke barey mein toh warn kar sakta hoon..."

NEXT DAY:

"Namaste maasi, Sonakshi hai?" Ritwik came to the Bose's house right after work. Dev was out at the construction site, as they had started laying the foundation for the hotel job.

"Aao beta...andar aao...Sonakshi bahar garden mein hai...jao mil lo..." Asha welcomed him

Asha was still hopeful that one day Ritwik and Sonakshi would get married, although she had noticed that Dev seemed interested in Sonakshi too. Dev seemed like a nice polite boy, but she was not sure whether getting Sonakshi married into a rich family was a great idea. She knew her daughter was very simple and down to earth; she did not want her to get stifled in an affluent environment. She thought, "time ke saath sab pata chal jaayega ki Sonakshi ke liye kaun sa ladka theek hai..."

Sonakshi was sitting on the large wooden swing in the backyard and writing something. Sonakshi had always been fond of writing poetry and songs, but for some reason these days, she could not stop herself from writing incessantly... "pata nahin aaj kal mere andar itney ideas khud ba khud hi aa rahey hain... kya wajah ho sakti hai?" she wondered.

Love is a wonderful thing- Sonakshi had not realized that since she was falling in love with Dev, her flair for poetry had taken a new turn-her poems and songs were more romantic, were full of joy and happiness-just like she was these days!

Dev had also started humming and practicing on Rahul's guitar more regularly these days- a latent talent in him had started surfacing again- is that what love was doing to him??

"Kya likh rahi ho?" Ritwik interrupted Sonakshi's chain of thought

Sonakshi startled at the intrusion, "Oh Ritwik! Kab aaye?"

"Abhi aaya...par tum toh apni notebook mein itni involved thi ki mujhey dekha hi nahin..."

"Sorry...bas ek line likhney jaa rahi thi..."

"Tum apni poems ki book kabhi kisi ko dikhati nahin? Main bhi padhna chahta hoon..."

"Sorry Ritwik...yeh haq kisi ko nahin hai..." Sonakshi shut her notebook and kept it aside, "accha batao chai peeogey?"

"Nahin...main chai peene nahin aaya...actually mujhey tumsey ek zaroori baat karni hai..."

"Bolo?"

"Sonakshi...main tumhey Dev ke baare mein kuch...," Ritwik was barely able to complete his sentence, when they heard a familiar voice, "Dev ke baare mein kya bataaney waale the?" Dev completed the sentence and came and sat down on a chair next to Ritwik.

Dev gave Ritwik a look, as if warning him against telling Sonakshi the truth about the bet. Dev feared that if Sonakshi found out about the bet, she would really get upset and feel betrayed. When Dev was sure about her feelings for him, he would tell her about the bet himself. He did not want her to learn about the secret from someone else.