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Shivaay looked at the phone screen with a questioning look. Annika waited for him with an anticipated breath, she watched as he took the phone from her hands, his fingers brushing hers, causing both of them to freeze. He looked at the discretely before turning back to the screen.

He zoomed in the pictures and his expression went more quizzical as he stared at the contents written on the paper.

That's not my prescription. Shivaay thought to himself, he looked at Annika who was looking at him expectantly.

"Gauri found this in the storeroom of the Oberoi Mansion——" Annika paused to look at him, he was listening to her attentively. He nodded to indicate her to go on. And the fear that has settled at the back of her mind, grew. "——the medicine didn't settle well. I thought you should..." Annika trailed off not knowing what to say anymore.

Shivaay's lips parted. He wanted to say something, but he closed his eyes with a pained expression crossing his features, I can't talk. He sighed at himself.

He handed the phone back to her. She was looking at him curiously but she didn't say anything instead she waited. He took out his phone.

Annika frowned when her phone beeped. She looked at the text that arrived on her phone, Shivaay was staring at her phone gesturing her to do the same.

Unknown ; 2:09 pm
Thank you for bringing the matter,
to my notice. I appreciate the concern.
Can you share the pictures over here?

She arched an eyebrow at the text and held back the urge to ask the reason why he wasn't saying anything, she could see it now, as clear as a day. Her fears were now confirmed. And her heart sank as she stared at him, he was looking around the cabin pointedly ignoring her stare.

She was at a loss as to what to say and do.

She didn't want to push him because she remembered how panicked he became when she mentioned his scar. She didn't want him to pressure him to his limits.

She watched as he picked up the glass and took a few sips. A habit when he gets nervous, she had noticed it the last time she visited the cabin.

"Mr. Oberoi?" She spoke hesitantly.

Shivaay looked at her with a confounded expression. I have a name. He narrowed his eyes.

Not knowing what to do now, he simply gestured for her to take a seat. She sat opposite him, and seeing that Shivaay was getting agitated she pulled out her phone and typed something. He blinked when he looked at her confused, who was she texting when she was sitting in front of him?

"Please check your phone, Mr. Oberoi." She spoke with a small smile.

He was even more confused when he saw the text from her number over his screen. He had saved her number, for business purposes only. What else?

Annika ; 2:14 pm
So? You can just type the words here
if you can't find the right words to say.
You can always pass it as autocorrect.

She made the reason for them to text subtle so he doesn't get pressured.

Shivaay was relieved when she didn't question his silence this time. He stopped his smile at the last sentence. As if.

Me ; 2:15 pm
Those medications—
I never took them.
Can you ask Mrs. Oberoi where
she found them and if there
was something else along with these prescriptions?

She knew he hadn't taken those medicines.

Annika's expression dimmed when she noticed he referred to Gauri as Mrs. Oberoi. He had let go of all of the strings that tied him to the family.

Annika ; 2:16 pm
I had already asked her.
She will inform me right away if she finds something or shall I tell her to directly contact you?

Shivaay immediately shook his head, she looked up with a frown and mumbled out a small 'okay'. He set his phone aside.

"I should leave." Annika said as she got up. Shivaay looked at her for a second she thought he was going to say something but he didn't. He nodded and walked her to door.

Once she left he frowned, he was confused as to why she was texting him when she could just talk to him. Did she know? Is that why?——but that wasn't possible, nobody knows his condition except for few selected people.

He looked at the spot where she was standing a few minutes ago. And his expression turned to the one of longing.

<>

He looked at the clock. It has been hours since he had been sitting here trying to remember about these medicines but it was all blank.

He rushed outside grabbing his blazer he texted Neeraj to inform that he is coming to his office. Priyanka stopped him before he could leave the manor. She needed to talk to him about the papers that he had asked Arjun to prepare.

"You are not going anywhere." Priyanka spoke her eyes fierce. Shivaay looked at her in warning.

This is not the time Prinku. His eyes narrowed in disapproval. But she didn't budge.

Priyanka step aside. And she didn't, she pretended as if she didn't hear him at all. "No. You will stay here." And by her tone he knew she won't let him leave anytime soon.

Sorry Priyanka but not this time, he thought as she brushed past her.

Priyanka sighed, he is not going to listen to me. But I am not the one to back down.

<>

Neeraj blinked.

Shivaay slammed the file on the table out of frustration.

"Alright, did something happen?" Neeraj asked as he gently grabbed the file away from Shivaay's hold and placed it in its rightful position.

Neeraj looked through the pictures and hummed. "It's obvious that you have been dragged." He spoke as he looked through the pictures. "Because the hospital that is printed on the prescription, doesn't exist." He said as he scrolled through his laptop.

"These drugs needed prescription to authorise the purchase." Neeraj explained.

"Well, worry not. Oberoi Industries are to be liquidated soon." Neeraj informed him, Shivaay blinked he checked his phone and surely there was a notifications of the confirmed news.

What are they trying to do?

"How are the preparations going?" He asked. Shivaay turned back to him, preperations? He chuckled.

Celebrations were secondary, he will be busy all day because of the auditing of the transactions the whole day and that is the reason he had planned to launch the event a week prior to the establishment but he had postponed the event to buy himself some time for his therapies. But there was no point in them now.

Prinku ; 7:02 pm.
Bhaiya you need to come home.
You missed your therapy session today
Dr. Rana has been waiting for you for over an hour.
This is not done.
You can't give up now.
This is just not you.
And don't bother replying of you are not going to be here in less than an hour.

Where did she get that sass from? He thought to himself as he stared at the text.

He sighed to himself when he responded that he won't be able to reach, the message was left on the seen. Priyanka was pissed.

"Attend those sessions." Neeraj spoke stopping his typing to look up at him from his seat.

Shivaay turned to look at him exasperated, atleast don't you start. He gestured.

Neeraj turned back to his work with a sigh.

<>

"I guess you have calmed down enough for the talk." He looked up to see Aradhya standing at the doorway.

What do you want? He signed tiredly as he turned his gaze to her.

"Can you stop it?" She asked. He blinked. Can you ever mention the topic before you start your nagging? She glared at that.

"Well, I am sorry Mr. Oberoi, if doing my job has caused you inconvenience." She said with an excessively sweet smile. He grimaced.

"You are never going to get the results of you will back away from the therapies. You had agreed to these." She argued but he didn't say anything, did he even hear a word that she said at all.

"Dr. Rana will return back in an hour and you will attend those. Not for Priyanka not for anybody but yourself." She spoke her tone defiant, but he didn't even look at her.

Instead he picked up a paper and handed it to her. What can you tell me about these? He signed as he looked at her. He avoided the topic yet again. But she took the paper from her hands and her eyes squinted to look at the messy scrawl of words what seemed to be names of some medicines.

Aradhya frowned when she looked at the paper that she was handed to, Shivaay observed her reaction carefully. He had written the medicine names on the paper before handing it to her.

"Why do you need these?" She asked all of a sudden. "These are sedatives. Used to reduce the brain activity to be clear cerebrum. In simpler words, they will suppress your thinking and analytical abilities for a while until the effects are worn off." Aradhya spoke seriously. She couldn't fathom why Shivaay wanted to know about these medicines. They were very particular about these kinds.

He silently forwarded his phone to her. She looked through the pictures and her eyes widened.

"What the actual fuck?" He heard her curse silently. He arched an eyebrow, this was the first time he had heard the lady doc curse.

"Were these administered?" She asked him seriously this time. He shrugged, as far as I know, I didn't take them, the rest? No idea.

"They could have cost you your sanity!" Shivaay's lips parted in shock. What?

"I think I know why your memories are gone." And he turned to her.

Aradhya scanned the picture. She was right. The medicines. There must have been prolonged use of it that it must have affected his amygdala as well. That's why the memories have been gone. She can't be too sure. But she knew if it wasn't these medicines then surely the trauma that he had suffered had led him to forget the particular things that happened in the past so that he could be protected away by them.

"These medicines! You must have consumed them! Indirectly or directly! Something was going on, someone in your—" she stopped in the mid sentence when she saw Shivaay's eyes getting unfocused.

Someone in my family. He completed the sentence.

My family? They will not. They can't. Why would they? He knew he hadn't taken these medicines. His breath turned fainter.

"Shivaay!" She called out when he suddenly hurried out of the room to avoid the further talk.

Also, like damn. You know when I looked at the histology slides for the first time they all looked the same to me 😭 also the struggle to choose the right book to read from. Like Gray's or Netter's that's all I got recommended from my batchmates. Though the only good decision I made was that I bought Guyton, and I'm in love with physiology