She shifted her eyes on Abhimanyu expecting some kind of reaction. There wasn't any. His unwavering blank stare was still on Gyan as the paramedics lifted Gyan up on to the stretcher. Shreya glanced at Gyan and noticed him wincing from pain. Her heart ached seeing him suffering like that. She reached unnoticeably and tugged on Abhimanyu's sleeve to gain his attention. He turned his head and made eye contact with her.

She whispered, "Say something."

He blinked then averted his gaze as the paramedics took Gyan away, but said nothing. They cleared the room and came out of the building after the police officer confirmed they have taken all of Rishi's men into custody. There were three ambulances parked in front. First one immediately left after they got Tiyasha out of her confinement. Gyan and Ritu were taken to hospital immediately after. Ritu was still unconscious.

Shreya saw Neil and Rehan on the spot. Both of them had their black sunglasses on. So, she couldn't really tell what were their reaction was about her and Ritu's escapade. She checked the time. 6:20 a.m. The east sky had only started to clear up. The darkness slowly subsiding.

Her eyes darted towards Abhimanyu who was standing very still with keen observation of everything happening around. Both of his hands were buried inside his pants' pockets. His right sleeve had completely changed its colour from white to dark crimson.

"You are still bleeding?"

He took a quick glance at his arm before focusing back ahead. Some media people had already reached the scene. Photographers flashing at them every now and then made her extra cautious of their circumstances. Some of them shouted their queries at them randomly which he avoided with his usual stony demeanour.

She mustered the courage before asking, "Why didn't you say anything to Gyan? He thinks you don't care for him."

"It makes no difference what anyone thinks about me. Gyan is no exception."

"He is your brother!"

Abhimanyu turned his head and gazed at her. The cut above his eyebrow was covered in dried up blood. "It's more important that he's now out of the criminal charges against him. I expect nothing from him. Just him staying out of danger is enough for me. If something happened to him, maa-papa would've never forgiven me."

She observed him closely before opening her mouth. "Don't your parents want you to keep a lively relationship with your siblings? Aren't you deterring their love and admiration for you?"

"Shreya," he said without breaking eye contact, "They know it already and you should also know this. Don't keep much expectations from me. It makes me uncomfortable."

She blinked and looked down.

She reminded herself Devina Mukherjee's warning. 'If you want to stay in this relationship, simply accept the fact that your significant other is a weirdo. And love him like that.'

A small sigh left her as he turned back and signalled Sriram to bring his car. They got into the car as he instructed him to go to the hospital.

"Do maa-papa know about this?" She quietly asked.

"Not yet. But they'll soon know. However, not through us."

Of course. The media. She nodded.

A few minutes passed in silence until he asked, "Did they hurt you?"

His sudden enquiry startled her. She glanced at him in perturbation. Doubtlessly the question was an unexpected one coming from him. As a response, she shook her head lightly.

He abruptly grabbed one of her hands and squeezed it gently. His eyes were down cast, specifically on the exact spot where their skin made contact. Her brows curled in concern as she observed him closely. Although his indifferent expression never changed, his eyes wavered for the first time. Her heart beat increased in an instant. Was he blaming himself for everything? She turned around hastily and touched his cheek. He didn't raise his eyes. Her guess was right. A pang erupted in her heart as she blurted in a whisper, "It wasn't your fault." Her thumb grazed over his cheek while her eyes welled up. "Listen to me. Abhi," she scurried closer to him, "Everyone made mistakes. Everything happened there, was... the amassed consequences of individual deeds. No particular one is to be blamed alone. Do you hear me?"

He said nothing and yet, didn't raise his eyes.

She didn't know why she did what she did next, but it was all she thought of to make him feel less burdened. She reached forward and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, then rested her forehead aligned with his before whispering words of assurance. "My love for you hasn't fazed even though I don't entirely support your indifference. But I don't want you to beat yourself up for some unreasonable assumption. What happened to me wouldn't have happened if I wasn't willingly involved. Just know, your family is my family too, and I'd pay any cost to protect them."

He said nothing but pulled away. As the car sped up, the gloomy atmosphere inside it only grew with time. Abhimanyu turned his head away and looked out the window the entire time until they reached hospital.

All the while, he didn't let go of her hand.

~~~

8th January

Shuffling through the newspaper, her eyes searched for the news she was intending to read. On the third page, they have covered the story in detail. Permabell Tea Estate was reopening on 7th of January. Along with the 586 old workers, they were recruiting another 70 workers to compensate. The issue of wages of the workers had been resolved.

Dev sat nearby Shreya, while his new governess was helping him get ready for school.

Dona came and served tea. Shreya noticed there was another cup on the tray and realized it was for Priyasha who was upstairs.

"Dona di," Shreya said, "Give me the tray. I'll go to maa."

Dona gave her the tray and went back to kitchen. Shreya turned towards Dev and said, "Don't forget to say bye to mum-mum before leaving for school, okay?" Dev nodded. Shreya smiled at him then told his governess the same, to take him to Tiyasha's room. Then she went upstairs. To Ritu's room.

The door was closed. She knocked on it twice before turning the knob and opened it. The sterile atmosphere welcomed her with the perfectly intervaled beep sound. The scientific machines were lined up at both sides of the bed, continuously checking on the body vitality. Shreya's eyes shifted to Priyasha who was sitting beside the bed on an armchair, reading a book.

"Maa," Shreya softly called out.

Priyasha looked up from her book.

"Your tea."

Priyasha didn't say anything but folded her book and put it aside. Shreya walked into the room and offered the former the teacup before straightening up. Her eyes instinctively found their ways to the fragile person lying on the bed. A deep sigh left her unnoticed. Ritu slipped into a coma due to the heavily traumatic blow her brain suffered that day. Her consciousness still hadn't returned and it had been a month. According to doctors, it was almost impossible to predict when she'll regain her consciousness.

"How's she doing today?"

"The usual," was Priyasha's clipped response. Due to the excessive mental pressure, she looked worn-out, and ten years older than she already was. Shreya felt sorry whenever she watched her mother-in-law. She had suffered too much turmoil to count in her life.

She sipped from the cup once before returning her gaze to Shreya. "Has Gyan left already?"

"Not yet. I think his flight is at 10 p.m. There's still an hour left for him to get ready."

Priyasha nodded. After a brief pause, she said, "I won't be able to come down. Please see that he leaves with everything necessary."

Shreya nodded. "Don't worry. I'll help him."

"Has your father returned?"

After the incident, Shyam resigned from Permabell. So, Abhiraj had to take up double charge and only returned home at night.

Shreya shook her head.

Priyasha sighed and shifted her attention back to her daughter. "You may leave. I'll rest for a while."

Shreya had no words to comfort her. Her mother-in-law was becoming more and more reserved. The family was scattering, and it was unavoidable. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't hold them together. The burden on her shoulders kept getting heavier as days passed by.

She left the room without another word.

That traumatic day changed everything. Although Rishi was serving lifetime imprisonment, no damage caused by him would be back to their original state.

The scars were permanent.

As she came down, she saw Gyan was leaving quietly, uninformed, unnoticed. She called out hurriedly, "Gyan."

He halted. His elbow-crutch stopped at his side.

Ram was tackling the luggage. Upon Gyan's gesture, he went ahead with the big trolley bag and Gyan's duffel.

Shreya hurriedly came running towards Gyan as he turned around. His hazel eyes settled on Shreya.

"You're leaving without saying anything to anyone?" Shreya scolded him mildly.

"Who's there to see me off anyway?" He asked gently. There was a certain kind of sadness in his voice.

Shreya's eyes wavered for a moment as her gaze dropped. She mumbled, "You know, I didn't mean it that way. I was just..."

He snorted softly. "It's okay Shreya. No need to explain. I don't want you to carry the burden forsaken by everyone else. I was just leaving so that I could reach airport some time ahead."

She blinked and let his response settle in. Then she asked quietly, "Have you packed everything?"

"I did."

"When is your term starting?"

"Classes are starting from January 17th, but college opens on 12th. I need to reach before to be able to adapt to that extreme atmosphere."

Shreya nodded understandingly, then asked, "You'll inform me after reaching there safely. Won't you?"

"Do you want me to?" His searchful eyes studied her carefully.

"Of course! What kind of question is that? I'll be worrying otherwise."

One of the corners of his mouth lifted up. His eyes intensely observed her for some moments before blurting, "How are you doing, Shreya?"

That unexpected question startled her. She looked at him nervously. A pang settled in her heart all of a sudden. She blinked as her gaze wavered as she looked down. "Why? I'm very happy. Why are you asking me that? Don't you see me every day?"

"The same reason why I'm asking," he said seriously before averting his gaze. After a momentary pause he added, "I'm sure you're telling the truth. Aren't you?"

She didn't respond immediately but after a few seconds, nodded obediently. Her throat suddenly closed in.

"Good. I'll take my leave now."

He turned to leave and found Abhimanyu entering along with Sunny. Their eyes met for a fraction of second before Gyan proceeded to leave with the help of his crutch. Abhimanyu suddenly broke the silence, "Take care."

Gyan halted. He turned his head towards Abhimanyu who was already facing Gyan. They gazed at each other for a moment before Gyan dropped his gaze and nodded once. After that, he didn't wait and left right away.

Abhimanyu averted his steady gaze and focused it on Shreya who responded with an encouraging smile along with a softest nod; the meaning of which was only comprehensible between them.

The ache in her heart subsided suddenly.

Everything is okay. There's always hope if you believe it.

~~~

Author's note: Should I lend you a tissue? XD 

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