Anirudh: Does Nirvan Joshi know who Ruhi is?

Mihika looked down.

Mihika: That is what we don't know yet.

Vidyut's eyes hardened.

Vidyut: I will check every record. His work in college. His family. His movements. Everyone who regularly meets him. Everyone who has access to student records.

Saurav looked toward Ruhi's closed bedroom door.

His voice was calm, but cold.

Saurav: Unwanted sister...

He mumbled.

Mihika: Because of this, I went to check Sarika's maternal records at the NGO.

Silence...

Adrita's phone rang, cutting through the silence.

She glanced at the screen.

Adrita (whispering): Ruhi's friend, Navya.

Vidyut: Keep it on speaker and ask her about Ivana indirectly.

Adrita nodded, receiving the call and keeping it on speaker.

Navya: Hi Bhabhi... How's Ruhi? She woke up?

Adrita: Hiee... Ruhi is feeling better than this morning now. She gained consciousness some time back.

Navya: What is she doing now? She tied Rakhi to her brothers?

Adrita: Yes, she celebrated her festival. Now, she is resting.

Navya: Okay! Okay!! Once she is up. Can you please call me? I will come to meet her.

Adrita: Okay, bacha. I will inform you.

Navya: Thank you, Bhabhi.

Adrita (sighing): Ah! Navya, you know about Ivana? I mean, is she Okay? We were just wondering if everything is okay at her end.

Navya (shocked): She didn't call? That's strange. I mean, she isn't speaking with me, either. I tried calling and texting her, but she isn't responding to anything. I called her mother yesterday. Her mother said Ivana is fine. So, she will ask her to contact me.

Vidyut took the notepad, writing down the points:
Ivana's mother confirmed that Ivana is fine.

Adrita: She called you?

Navya: No... I texted her a good morning and wished her a happy Rakshabandhan. But she isn't responding.

Vidyut knitted his brows.

He quickly added the next point on a notepad:
Ivana is avoiding contact with Navya, even when Navya is trying to approach her.

Adrita: Alright, Navya! Thank you.

Navya's voice turned emotional.

Navya: Bhabhi, why are you saying thank you? Ruhi is my best friend. I don't know if I can support her in any other way, but at least I can be with her.

Adrita's eyes softened.

Adrita: I know.

Navya: Okay, Bhabhi. Call me once Ruhi is awake. Take care of Ruhi.

Adrita: You too, bacha.

The call disconnected.

After a pause.

Saurav (irritated): But this doesn't prove anything.

Vidyut: But definitely raise questions.

Anirudh (nodding): We need to find answers.

Harsha: I just hope she's not in trouble herself.

Vidyut looked at her and nodded.

Vidyut: That's exactly why we investigate first. Not accuse.

Silence lingered for a few minutes.

Vidyut: Mihika Bhabhi, give me the file. I need to investigate Nirvan Joshi, too.

Mihika handed him the file.

Anirudh: Harsha, Mihika and Adrita, thanks to you guys for being smart enough to understand the loops. At least we have something in hand for investigation.

They finally got the direction.

Harsha (sighing): Let's prepare dinner. No one had a proper lunch due to stress.

Adrita, Mihika and Harsha left to prepare dinner.

Saurav walked into Ruhi's room.

Vidyut: I will be with kids. They seemed sad with all this.

Anirudh: I will also come.

Anirudh and Vidyut walked into the kids' room.

As they stepped in. Advika immediately crawled towards her father, calling papa...

Vidyut took her in his arms, kissing her cheek. She gushed.

Niyati (serious tone): Bade Papa, bua uthi hai?
(Bua woke up?)

Anirudh (sitting beside Niyati): Naa gudiya.
(No doll)

She pouted but said nothing.

Khushi (nervously): Papa kya hua bua ko?
(What happened to bua?)

Anirudh and Vidyut glanced at each other for a second.

Advik crawled towards Vidyut, who made him sit on his lap with Advika.

Anirudh: Bua was fighting with a bad man. That's why she got hurt.

Niyati (surprised): Bua won?

Vidyut: She has to win it. She is your bua after all.

Khushi (proudly): Bua is strong.

Khush (joining her): Yesss! Like Yug chachu.

Vidyut (raising his eyebrow): Why, like Yug chachu only?

Khush nodded, as if he solved the biggest mystery.

Khush: Yug Chachu is strong. He is a policeman. Policeman pro- proact us.

He incorrectly pronounced protect as proact.

Vidyut (frowning): Tere Yug chachu, mere bhi orders follow karte hai.

Khush (shaking his head): Yug Chachu is stronger. He is a policeman and catches bad men. Aap sirf office jate ho. Papa jaise.
(You only go to the office like papa)

Vidyut: Accha? Collector ki koi value hi nahi is ghar me? (Oh? So the Collector has no value in this house?)

He said, rolling his eyes.

Twins who saw his action giggled.

Vidyut (flicking Khush's nose): Aana tu career advice lene. Phir batauga tujhe to.

Khush innocently nodded, not understanding.

Anirudh chuckled at his cuteness.

---

Meanwhile,

With Saurav.

He sat on the bed, beside Ruhi, softly caressing her hair.

His eyes fell on the side table, which seemed empty.

He observed the space for a few seconds, as it hit his brain. Ruhi's mother's photo is missing.

Then he remembered-

She pushed it in anger, and the glass broke, shattering around.

Saurav (mumbling to Ruhi): Don't hate your mother, Rooh. She loved you so much. You holding guilt for her actions is already a punishment for her.

He made a mental note to speak with Ruhi about this once her condition is fine.

He sighed softly, caressing her hair.

Her phone pinged.

Saurav's eyes fell on the phone.

He bent a little, taking it from the other side of her.

He checked the text. It was a random message about a recharge.

His eyes caught something else, a text from an unknown number.

Text: How's the surprise?
Tomorrow 5 a.m
Kalyankar Road.
Come alone.
Or you want one more surprise?

Saurav's eyes were wide open.

His heart skipped a beat.

He read the message again.
And then...

A third time.

Saurav (under his breath): Damn! This is how he got her out of the house.

Saurav: We were stressed to figure out how Rooh stepped out of the house! Shit!

He checked Ruhi, pecking her head.

He went out to find the living area empty. He heard Anirudh's voice from the kids' room.

Saurav walked in. He sat beside Vidyut.

Advik saw him and immediately jumped on his lap, from Vidyut's lap.

Vidyut (rolling his eyes): See... phir sab mujhe daantte hai. Iske samne Saurav Bhaiya aayege and unke paas bhaag jata hai.
(Everyone scolds me. But as he sees Saurav Bhaiya around, he will run into his arms)

Saurav (smirking): He knows his father is an idiot. So, spending time with him is useless.

Vidyut made a crying face, making everyone laugh. Advika and Advik too joined them, not understanding the topic, though.

Saurav: Khush, ye chot kaise lagi?
(How did you get hurt?)

Khushi: Chachu, we were waiting for Papa to come. Khush and Niyati were playing with friends, and Khush fell as he was running

Saurav: Someone pushed him?

Khushi: No!

Khush shook his head.

Anirudh: What happened?

Saurav shook his head.

Finally, the kids seemed happy. He doesn't wish to bring up the topic and stress them.

He decided to share this with Anirudh and Vidyut once they get away from the kids.

---

For dinner, Anirudh woke Ruhi.

They all sat together for dinner.

Ruhi's eyes fell on the glass of water.

She sucked a breath.

Ruhi (whispering to herself): It's just a glass of water. I am okay. I won't touch it. I am okay.

Listening to her whispers.

Anirudh took the glass away.

Anirudh (patting her head): You are safe. We are with you.

Ruhi looked at Anirudh and then at the glass of water, which was away now.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded.

Harsha smiled softly.

In the afternoon, when Ruhi was injured, Mihika was helping her with a sponge bath.

Harsha had gently encouraged her to look at the water instead of turning away.

Harsha: Water won't hurt you, Ruhi.

Following Harsha's words. Ruhi, instead of panicking, calmly reminds herself that it's just a glass of water.

For the first time since the lake incident, Ruhi hadn't panicked. Instead, she had repeated those words to herself until her breathing steadied.

Even now, sitting at the dining table, she was doing the same.

It wasn't that her fear had disappeared. She was simply learning, one step at a time, that not every drop of water was the lake that had almost taken her life.

After completing dinner.

Harsha went with the kids to help them sleep.

Mihika went with Ruhi to help her get fresh and sleep.

Adrita went with the twins.

Brothers sat in the living area.

Vidyut: Rooh is facing her fear.

Anirudh (nodding): I still can't believe how he is making her suffer physically, emotionally and mentally. Rooh... vo kisi se bhi lad leti thi. Kabhi kisi ke samne haar nahi Manti...
(She used to fight with anyone. She never accepts defeat)

Saurav (gulping the lump): 10th ka exam deke jab aa rahi thi, and kisi ne chedda tha. Kaise uski road par pitai karke aayi thi.
(When she was returning home, after her 10th exam, someone was bullying her. She kicked him in the middle of the road)

Vidyut (blinking away the tears): That line... My brothers taught me to ignore the unwanted opinions. She always followed this and her principles.

Saurav (looking at Ruhi's photo): I still can't believe she won medals for swimming. Today, she is scared of just a glass of water.

Anirudh (wiping his tears): How easily he broke her.

Vidyut: No, bhai! He didn't break her. She is just wounded, not broken. And she is fighting.

Saurav: Agar vo tut gayi hoti... aaj survive nahi kar pati. Aaj hume Rakhi nahi bandti. Aaj pani dekh, khud ko sambhalne ki koshish nahi karti.
(If she was broken... she wouldn't have fought to stay alive. She wouldn't have tied Rakhi today. She wouldn't have looked at that glass of water and tried to calm herself.)

Vidyut lowered his head.

Vidyut: She isn't fighting with him. Every bat,tle she fights now... is inside her own mind.

Before Anirudh could respond. Saurav remembered the text.

Saurav: Okay! I need to show you something.

He took Ruhi's phone and opened the text, before handing it to Vidyut.

Looking at text, Vidyut's jaw clenched.

Anirudh took the phone, from his hand.

He grip on the phone tightened, turning his knuckles white.

Vidyut: Again a non-traceable number.

He whispers with rage.

Saurav: Still try once to trace it.

Vidyut nodded. He forwarded the number to his cyber team.

To be continued...

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