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haath chhutein bhi to rishte nahin chhoda karte
vaqt ki shakh se lamhe nahin toda karte

Om traced the words with his hands. His mind was numb. He had done the exact opposite no?

Shivaay is here, he will make it alright.

He had grown up listening to his dadi saying that. Not just his dadi but his own family and ended up believing the same. That Shivaay was here, he will handle everything. Whenever, whenever anything went wrong, his first instict was to go to him. But now——

He was here. Then why didn't everything stayed upheld? Maybe because the threads were torn apart now. Twisted by fate, the knots they had made between them obstructed them from seeing the real person.

The tears in Shivaay's eyes were real and so was the anger on his face. And this was among the moments he questioned the reality that he was living in. Was it all true? Hands up on his face rubbing away the moisture that escaped his eyes, he turned the face of the photograph down and walked outside. There was nothing left for them.

<>

Shivaay frowned when he noticed the doctor wasn't there. Where had she gone? He asked Priyanka his hands forming the words that he wanted to speak. She bit her lip in contemplation, "she has gone out. I didn't ask as she must have been getting bored at the manor." She spoke hesitantly.

Shivaay sighed.

He stopped in the middle. Shall he tell her about Neeraj? Or the investigation that he was holding up without her knowledge? He noticed the tired look on her face and decided that the conversation was for some other time.

He walked downstairs towards the pool area, he had specifically asked Aditya to arrange. Though he had warned him that it was deeper than the usual ones. He didn't bother turning on the lights. He sat at the edge.

"Alright, so what is that we had to talk about?" She spoke as she took a seat beside him.

'Do you know anything about who left me there at the hospital?'

Aradhya frowned. He showed her the texts. "You are holding me as a suspect?" She asked quietly. He was about to interfere but she shook her head.

He was worried that he might have offended her, "I don't mind it." She spoke after a while. "You are just doing what's necessary. There's nothing for me to worry about when I haven't done anything wrong." She spoke staring at the waters listlessly.

"Why do you always come back here?" She spoke after a while.

Shivaay looked at her curiously. Maybe I find the memories in here. She looked at his hands when they formed the words before shaking her head.

"You can't——you are just increasing the trauma to your own body like this." Shivaay frowned at that.

"There is no reason for you to be afraid of it, you know." She spoke quietly. "You are at the safety of your home." He shook his head. This isn't home, he wanted to say.

"It is. Your sister considers it one. Don't let her down." Aradhya spoke. He sighed.

"You know if you are so afraid to confront them then why don't you just move on?"

"Forgive them and move on." She spoke, he didn't say anything. "Forgiveness doesn't make one weaker, Shivaay."

He turned around curiously and asked a question that he has been meaning to ask all this time. Why do you keep coming back?

Aradhya didn't say anything though her eyes went hollow. For a while she didn't speak anything but then,

"I won't lie, when I was first assigned the case the reason I didn't back up was because of money." Shivaay scoffed. Her eyes narrowed.

"I was indebted, my elder brother was suffering. The hospital could only reimburse the bills to only an extent, that too I was granted because I had been working there for a long time." At this Shivaay looked up.

"He was the only one I had in the name of the family. Our father had abandoned us and our mother after a year I was born. My brother was ten. He took up my responsibility. While our mother was drowning in her own sorrows, she left behind her two children to fend for themselves." Aradhya spoke without looking back.

"It only lasted for years, until she found another man. He proposed the condition that if she wants to come with him she would have to leave us behind. We were so naive to believe that our mother would leave him but imagine our surprise when we woke up the next morning with the house empty with a single note saying she was sorry."

At this point Shivaay didn't know what to say. All this while he had been expecting that she was here because of the large sums of the money she was paid.

"That time was the last time I had seen my brother cry. He sacrificed his whole being to nurture me. We only had the little sum of money that she had left for us. He started looking out for jobs. Can you believe he was only sixteen at that time?" She spoke turning around, her eyes were shining but her expression remained blank.

"He had to give his education after high school, he wanted to be a doctor. He used the money on my education. All my life had been dedicated to him. I became the doctor he wanted to. When I got my degree, I saw the tears in them for the second time. He said I fulfilled his dream." She spoke as a fond smile took over her features.

"And we were happy. Just us. Me and my brother. Then one day we got into an accident. He pushed me away to the other side of the road while he took the impact from the truck. The driver was drunk. He escaped the scene but my brother—" she froze as if the scene just crossed her mind.

"M-my bhaiya—h-he was thrown over the other car while he finally collapsed a few distance away." She couldn't control her tears.

"The glasses had pierced his vocal cords and he was paralysed waist down." She spoke and he realised that the injuries she was describing was similar to his.

"He was the strongest person I have ever known." She spoke in wonder. Was? Shivaay's eyes widened. "His eyes were filled with pain and sufferings. I tried everything. Provided him every facility that I could. I was drowning in debts but it was okay as long as it ensured my brother's well being I was ready to trade my own life. But his eyes——they were begging me to let him go. I believed that he could recover. He too. Until one day he lost that shine and a few days later I was informed after I had just perfomed a surgery that he surrendered himself to the everlasting peace. My world shattered that day." Shivaay didn't know what to do. He could only imagine what she must have been feeling.

"I felt more betrayed than when our mother left us. He had written me a letter as if he knew that there will come a time like this. He had told me to live for myself, but I couldn't. I then dedicated my life to my patients but the debts were overpowering me. It went on for a year until I was introduced to your case. I signed the contract without hesitation thinking that the money will solve my problems." And Shivaay finally understood.

"But then I saw your file. The injuries——the restlessness and the worry in your sister's eyes——it was all too familiar. I didn't——didn't want another sister losing her brother. She told me how you cared for your family and for some reasons I saw my brother in you. I didn't want another sister grieving the lose of the only person she could turn to——" she stopped her eyes were burning with tears.

"—I'm sorry. I t-thought if you will recover then I will somehow console myself that I had kept my brother's words." She spoke as she hastily wiped her tears.

"As a doctor, a professional I shouldn't be getting attached to anything. But I couldn't help it. The state Priyanka was in when I met her for the first time.had haunted me. It made me remember my older self. I just couldn't. But you kept making it difficult—"she chuckled and he sighed.

"Trust me, Shivaay—Mr. Oberoi. Don't give up. There are people counting on you. Even you are too. I hope you will realise that very soon." She smiled tearfully and left him alone in the darkness to contemplate.

<>

Annika smiled as she handed the cheque to Nandita.

She frowned when she noticed that she wasn't paying attention to her. "Nandita——" before she could ask anything she blurted out.

"You have a meeting at 5 O' Clock tomorrow evening. Listen to me fully before saying anything. The client is very high profile and it's perfect for our image if we are successful in bagging the cheque."

Annika chuckled at that. "Alright, but why are you so nervous? What's the trouble?" She asked as she opened her bottle to drink some water.

Don't drink right now, Annika. Nandita pleaded in her head as she mentally rehearsed the words. "YouhaveameetingatVOID." she mumbled out. "I'm sorry?" Annika asked confused as she took a sip. Nandita closed her eyes, "The meeting is scheduled at 5 O' Clock, tomorrow, with VOID." And Annika choked.

<>

"Cancel the meeting." Annika spoke urgently as she paced back and forth around the room. Nandita followed her movements with tired eyes.

"Why did you even fix this without telling me?" Nandita arched an eyebrow at that. "You only told me to fix the meetings that you consider beneficial for the growth."

Annika shook her head. "I can't do this——he—I-" she frowned. "It's in the past. You shouldn't let the past define your future Annika."

Yes, the deal could bring them advantages but she was planning on staying as far she could. "Don't be selfish, Annika. There are actual people connected to the company. You have to think on their behalf too." She spoke.

And Annika let out a sigh of resignation. Now what she is supposed to do?

<>

"Sir?" Shivaay looked up to see Khanna hovering over the table nervously. He sighed. What's the bad news now?

Nodding that he was listening, Khanna spoke up. "Sir, the meeting with the event manager for the arrangements." Shivaay frowned. He can't have a meeting when he won't be able to speak a word. He should assign someone else.

Aditya? He shook his head, he is assigned the business negotiations.

Priyanka? She is already dealing with the public meetings.

Mr. Raichand? What he will do?

Arjun? He is in Bangalore.

That leaves——he looked up to see Khanna already nodding his head in no. "I'm sorry sir. But I can't handle a meeting —" and guess what? That leaves only him to discuss the meetings.

He looked at the name. Amaryllis.

He needs to manage this one somehow.

<>

Neeraj looked at the message. The data has been retrieved and he was called to review it. He was actually looking for phone numbers from Shivaay's family members, it was kind of sick that he had to look over his friend's family to make sure that they weren't the one who had been trying to kill him. He had asked for all the call records regarding few dates that he had concluded.

But first he needs to go to the hospital, to see what they have managed to find. Or if he will catch up on something crucial from there?

Also I want to clarify that Aradhya in no way will be shipped with Shivaay. I had intended to make them good friends and that is it that will remain at the end of the book. She is the same age as him.