Me: I can explain.

Readers : *rolling eyes* We won't listen.

Me: It was a joke.

Readers: Pathetic joke!

Me: This is my very own 'December Fool' moment like Amar from our story, 'The Friendzoned Husband'.

Readers: Okay. You are forgiven because you mentioned our favourite, Amar.

Me: *grins shamelessly*

---***---

"Where are you Shubha? Naveen says you went with your uncle. Is it true?" asked Pragathi.

"Did Vikram ask you to call me because I am not picking up his call?" asked Shubha.

Pragathi was annoyed. "I don't need someone telling me to call you. I am your friend. I don't understand this newfound hatred for Vicky. He is in pain. Can't you feel it?"

"Do you even know what he said?"

"I don't know what he said. Even if I knew I don't care. He is not able to think properly. He lost his father recently. His mother is ill. He might have said some rubbish out of frustration."

"He asked me to leave. I pleaded with him to let me stay. But he asked me to go home. What else could I have done?" Shubha raised her voice.

"I don't know. Maybe you could have gone back home rather than returning to your evil uncle's house. Get out of that place right now."

"I can't. I have a meeting scheduled with Dr. Gupta this evening. My uncle will tell him that I wasn't wrong. That will clear my name. I have to stay here" said Shubha.

"Are you mad? Your uncle offered this? Is there any point in telling you that he is doing this for his personal gain? Don't trust him." Pragathi warned her.

"He has been searching for me since the day I left. He is willing to give me another chance. I need it very badly right now." Shubha said loudly and clearly.

"Do whatever you want. Remember. He will betray you again. Don't come back crying." Pragathi ended the call angrily.

"Who is it child?" asked Ramesh.

"My friend. Pragathi." Shubha answered. "She reckons I shouldn't have come here."

"What did you say?"

"I told her I'm where I'm supposed to be. With my family."

"Good. Now listen carefully. When we meet Dr. Gupta this evening, I will tell him that it was a small misunderstanding which should have been kept within the family. It was a mistake that we dragged it to the lab." Ramesh suggested.

"And what after that?"

"After that he will ask you if you still wish to work with me. You say yes."

"Won't it look odd if I agree immediately? Dr. Gupta might think you threatened me." said Shubha.

"Don't agree immediately. Make it look like you are reluctant."

"Okay. I'll tell the enquiry committee that I will work alone. After a few weeks, when everyone forgets this issue, I will let you join me."

"Sure. As you say. I am glad you agreed to accept my help. Your father will be proud."

She was visibly distressed. "I should never have left, uncle. I should have stayed here. Vikram..."

"It's alright. You would never have known. Men like him target girls with no family support and take advantage of their helplessness. These film stars can't be trusted. He never intended to marry you. I am glad you got to see his true colours soon." Ramesh caressed her forehead.

"Thank you for not giving up on me uncle."

"Anything for you princess."

"Princess? Nanna used to call me that." She smiled.

---***---

"Mom? Can you hear me? It's me. Your Vicky." Vikram knelt beside Latha so that she could see him properly.

Latha tried to sit. He helped her. She didn't object. She saw Dhwani, Chris and Naveen. "Leave us alone." She ordered. They obeyed.

"Mom. How are you feeling now? I'll inform the doctor. She said I can take you home once you wake up."

She held his hand and stopped him. "Why Vicky? Why did you do this?"

"I... I d-didn't have a choice. They love each other. As a friend it's my duty."

"A very noble thought. I agree with you. My question is, why did you hide it from me? Why did you lie to me for a year? Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

He didn't answer. She continued. "All these days I was planning your wedding with Dhwani. You never once told me that it cannot happen. Did I ever force my choice on you? I have given you complete freedom in choosing your life partner. I never tried to control you. I only tried to protect you. Where did I go wrong as a parent?"

"No mom. You were never wrong. I hid the truth because of guilt. My biggest problem is my love for you. I love you so much that I can't even bear the thought of you getting hurt. All these days I thought I was protecting you by hiding the truth. But now I see I was protecting myself. I am selfish man, mom. I want all my loved ones to be happy. I never thought one's happiness will bring distress to another. I'm sorry mom. I don't deserve to be forgiven." He wept like a child. She felt his teardrops touch her hand.

The last time she saw him weep was when his father left them forever. "Stop crying Vicky. I should have provided you the assurance that I will support you as long as you are not wrong. If I had done that, you wouldn't have hesitated to tell me."

"You are a good mother. Only I wasn't a good son."

"I guess we both are wrong. We need to start trusting each other and share our feelings. Who else have we got?" She held his hand. "Except Shubha." She added. He smiled at the mention of Shubha. And then he remembered her distraught face when he blamed her. He felt like slapping himself for being rude to her.

"Let's try to mend our relationship. Without any lies this time. Is what I saw last night, true?"

He closed his eyes and said in a timid voice. "I love her mom."

"Are you telling the truth?"

"Yes."

"You better be. I don't want to plan your wedding again, only to hear that Shubha is another friend you helped in getting married." She said sternly. He chuckled. "Where is she?"

His smile vanished. "She left."

"Left for home?" Latha frowned. Shubha wasn't someone who would leave when someone from the family was ill.

"She left with her uncle." Vikram told her everything that happened the previous night.

Latha was furious. "You moron! What have you done? Her uncle is a twisted old lunatic. He will harm her. He is a dangerous man. Call her. Ask her to come back."

Vikram was alarmed. "She is not answering my calls. Pragathi talked to her. She is fine. I will try to bring her back." When he thought about it again, he felt it was so foolish of him to ask her to leave and expect that she would go back to his home. She was a self-respecting woman after all. He cursed himself for quarreling with her.

"Right. And one more thing. Don't think for a minute that I have forgiven you. I still haven't" said Latha.

---***---

"Shubha. How are you?" Dr. Gupta asked her.

"I'm fine sir. Thank you."

"Dr. Ramesh talked to me this morning. He said he regrets making a complaint against you. He is willing to take it back. He said it was supposed to be a personal problem which should have been confined to family. What do you have to say about it?" He asked her.

Ramesh smiled at her and nodded encouragingly. "Dr. Gupta, may I have my colleague Rukhsar here please? She was the one with whom I started this research." Shubha requested his permission.

Dr. Gupta agreed. Rukhsar entered the hall. Most of the scientists from lab were present in the hall. They were now Shubha Narayan's fans.

"Now tell us Shubha. Are you willing to make peace with Dr. Ramesh? He wants you to come back."

"I am not sure. If I have to come back to this lab, I have a few conditions." She winked at her uncle. He smiled at her. He knew her conditions were nominal.

"What are those?" asked someone from the committee.

"I should be the one to lead this research without his supervision" Shubha made it clear. Everyone agreed.

Ramesh smiled at this. He knew she would come back to him in a few weeks like she promised. He had made sure that she depended on him emotionally. She was completely in his control.

She continued. "Now, I request my colleague Rukhsar to explain in detail, how he has deleted an entire month's data because of which the research had to be shut down temporarily and has to be started again from the scratch." Shubha nodded at Rukhsar who stood up. Ramesh was surprised.

"There will be no need for that, Shubha. We all know he is responsible for that" said Dr. Gupta. He didn't forget how Ramesh ruined everything and wasted the funds and resources provided.

"Thank you sir. Now that we all agree Dr. Ramesh is responsible for this, I would like to make it clear that I will never allow him to be a part of my research again. Is it okay, Dr. Gupta?" asked Shubha.

"No problem." He replied.

Ramesh was shocked beyond words. Before he could say something, Dr. Gupta continued. "Shubha, as you made it clear on our phone call this afternoon that you won't be available for a few months, I would like to offer this to Rukhsar. She will work in Dr. Vidya's lab on this subject."

No one paid attention to Ramesh's protests. Rukhsar accepted the new offer. Once everyone dispersed after the meeting, he approached his niece. "Shubha! Why did you do this? Why did you betray me?"

"Betrayal? This is justice. You are unfit for this job. So, it is only fair that you are thrown out. Be grateful, I didn't make any complaint against you."

"After everything I did for you, is this how you repay me?"

"You seem to forget what you did to me. I will never forgive you for that."

"I told you it was a mistake. Please Shubha. I care for you. I am your uncle. How can you go away leaving me alone? Your father would have wanted you to stay under my protection." He tried emotional blackmail.

"Not going to fall for that again. What's that saying? Yes. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." She smirked.

"Where are you going? Back to that Vikram? He doesn't love you. He is a two-faced bas--"

"KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT, YOU VILE, HEARTLESS, MONSTER!" Shubha's anger was so intense that he took several steps backwards.

"When you backstabbed me mercilessly, it was Vikram, who took me in and gave me a job. He looked after me all these days and took care of all my needs. He always treated me like a member of his family. While you made sure that I was disgraced and shunned by everyone I knew, it was Vikram who helped me gain respect. He made everyone look at me in awe. He is my friend. If you speak another word against him, you will regret it." She warned him and walked out of the hall.

Rukhsar took her to her house. "Are you going back to Vikram garu?" She asked after dinner.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Shubha sighed. "This is real life. We may want it to be a fairy tale. But it will never be. We might meet someone who will look like a prince sent to solve all our problems and give us the happily ever after we deserve. They will make us feel alive. They will make us feel cheerful. We will start dreaming again. But the truth is, they will leave us someday and we are left to weep alone. It's better to weep for a few days and move on rather than going back to a person who doesn't value your presence."

----***---