Famous film producer, mother of superstar Vikram Varma, Latha was admitted in hospital, day before yesterday. The 50-year-old lady, reportedly experienced sudden fluctuation in Blood Pressure. Sources close to the family report that it is nothing life threatening and she was discharged from the hospital the following day. 

Vikram Varma was seen spending the night in the hospital taking care of his mother while his alleged girlfriend Shubha Narayan helped him...

"Since when am I his alleged girlfriend? Until last week, Dhwani was his fiancee to be." Shubha remarked.

"You don't know?" Rukhsar frowned. "Since the release of your blockbuster movie your relationship has been the talk of the town. There have been reports of your future mother-in-law, Latha garu, requesting you to stay at her house to plan your wedding. And you gave up your career as a scientist to star in this film alongside your husband to be--"

"Let me just stop you there." Shubha interrupted her. "I agree our pair is good. But how come everything changed so suddenly? Where is this news coming from? Don't they care about authenticity?"

"News channels and authenticity?" Rukhsar chuckled. "Nope."

Shubha shook her head. "Naveen says Latha aunty has been taken home. I will meet her this afternoon. I'm going to sleep."

"Let me give you medicines." Rukhsar forced her to gulp down a tablet. "I won't let you go anywhere if your temperature doesn't decrease."

"Okay madam." Shubha went to sleep.

Rukhsar started searching for a flat online, when she heard the doorbell ring. She opened the door to find Vikram and Naveen standing there. "Hello Rukhsar garu." Vikram greeted her. "Naveen told me Shubha is here."

She smiled at him. "Do I know you?" 

Naveen burst out laughing. Vikram checked whether he was wearing sunglasses. To his dismay, he wasn't. "It's me, Vikram. Your favourite actor."

"Currently you are the man who hurt my best friend. Ideally, I shouldn't be talking to you."

"Rukhsar garu please. My mother has a message for Shubha." Vikram requested very politely. "Please. Let me in, at least for her."

She nodded. They went inside. "What do you have to talk to her?"

"I'll ask her to forgive me if possible--"

"Excuse me! You are expecting too much. Don't expect McAloo Tikki from KFC." Rukhsar said angrily. Naveen whistled and clapped his hands.

Vikram didn't find it funny. Yet he forced a smile. "Excellent dialogue. I'll use it in my next movie."

"Stop praising her. It won't work." Naveen remarked, grinning. Vikram glared at him.

"She is sleeping. She's got fever. Talk to her after she wakes up" said Rukhsar.

"Fever?" Vikram took a deep breath. "It's because of me. Right?"

The look on his face was so miserable that her expression softened instantly. "Vikram garu, it's not because of you. A lot has happened in last 24 hours. She won the battle with her uncle yesterday. Yes. We have been planning this since the day I tricked him into deleting the data. After that incident, I submitted a confidential report to Dr. Gupta describing how Ramesh uncle was responsible for wasting resources and money. Dr. Gupta was convinced that Ramesh uncle is the culprit and Shubha is the victim."

"Cleared of all charges?" 

"Yes. We were expecting that evil man to come to her and we were ready with a plan. We would trick him into taking the complaint back and giving us complete rights on the research. After that we will throw him out and never let him work with us again."

"Excellent! I'm a big fan of intelligent women like you" said Naveen.

Vikram felt happy that Shubha finally got what she deserved. "Here I was, thinking she believed her uncle's lies. I was so worried for her safety."

"She would never believe him again. In fact, when he tried change her mind by speaking against you, she defended you fiercely. She said you are the one, who has been with her when she was going through testing times. She warned him not to speak against you if he knew what's good for himself. She respects you a lot" said Rukhsar.

"I don't deserve her respect." Vikram said weakly.

"It's not-- wait. I think she's awake." Rukhsar heard a noise from the bedroom. She asked Vikram to follow her. "Shubha. Look, who's here."

"Who?" Shubha asked groggily. She found Vikram standing behind her friend. Their eyes met. She instantly looked away. "Ask him to leave."

"He's here to deliver a message from Latha aunty." Rukhsar asked him to move forward. 

"How is she feeling now?" Shubha asked him.

"She is fine. She's at home now. It's nothing serious." Vikram replied. Rukhsar sensed things were about to get awkward. She held Naveen's hand and led him out of the room, ignoring his silent protests.

"I'll meet her this afternoon." Shubha announced. "And you can't stop me this time. I don't need your permission."

"I won't stop you. I have no right to stop you. After everything you have done for me--"

"What's the message?" She interrupted him.

"Well, mom asked me to tell you that no matter what her idiot of a son thinks about you, she will always think of you like a member of her family. And should you choose to return, she will feel a lot happier and she will be ready to welcome you back home." Vikram repeated his mother's words.

"Okay. I will thank her personally for her kind words." Shubha replied coldly. "You may leave now."

"Subbu, I have somethin--"

"It's Shubha. Shubha Narayan." She said angrily.

"I know you are angry." Vikram tried to pacify her.

"Angry? No. We are way past that. After what you have done, I have decided not to waste my anger on you. We are strangers now. I would like to keep it that way." She said without looking at him. "Now leave. Before I make you leave."

He didn't speak for a long time. When he spoke again, his voice carried deep regret. "I deserve this. I deserve to be punished. I messed up everything so badly that I don't deserve to be forgiven. After what I did, I can't even look at my reflection in the mirror without feeling intense dislike. How can I expect you to love me when I hate myself?" 

She tried to see if he was saying it in a desperate attempt to take her back. His regret was genuine and straight from the heart. Sure, she was angry. But she never expected him to feel so disappointed with himself. He was the man who motivated her always. Seeing him like that, hurt her. "Stop it, Vikram. It's not because you quarreled with me in the hospital. Anyone would have reacted the same way if their mother was ill. I would have done the same."

"Then why are you angry?" He asked timidly.

"You know what your problem is? You love everyone around you. You love everyone way too much. You are ready to shoulder all their responsibilities without thinking about consequences. These responsibilities are bound to clash somewhere. And when they do, instead of facing them, you choose to run away. That's exactly what you have been doing in Dhwani's case. Had you told your mother earlier, this wouldn't have happened." She said sternly.

He nodded in agreement. "Not just this. You wanted me to be with you. You wanted me to marry you. But you were not ready to make our relationship public. How is that possible? Were you expecting some magical solution?" She spoke the last part so loudly that he flinched. 

She shut her eyes and took a deep breath to calm down. "You are not a bad man, Vikram. You are one of the finest persons I have ever met. You are the perfect definition of a gentleman. You have always been kind to me. This nature of yours gave me a right to expect. No one expects an abusive man to respect his partner. It's in his nature. But a gentleman like you, when he disrespects someone, he loses them instantly."

Vikram's brain wanted to argue. But his heart stopped him. He knew she was telling the truth. "You are right." He managed to say.

"It was suffocating. Ever since we started our relationship, I always felt that I am not your first priority. Don't deny it. Your family, your friends, your reputation, your dreams, your problems, your lies, everything. Everything was about you. Where am I in this? You wouldn't even hold my hand, fearing the media. I had to wait till everyone's asleep to meet you. When I overheard your assistants call me a gold digger, when I saw you holding Nisha's hand, when I heard news about you getting engaged to Dhwani, I wanted to yell and announce to the world that you are mine. I never asked for palaces and diamonds. All I wanted was some comfort. You couldn't give me that." She clenched her fists to control her tears.

"You are in pain Shubha. If I can do anything to help you, please name it. I am ready to do anything for you. If you feel like slapping me please don't hesitate."

"I'm not so cruel." She answered. "There's no use slapping you. Everything will still be the same."

"No. It won't be. I asked mom to help me. She is mad at me. But she agreed. She invited Dhwani's parents to our home this afternoon to tell them everything. If Suresh uncle, I mean her father, threatens Chris, we will in turn, threaten him with secrets we know about him" said Vikram.

"Are you serious?" Shubha couldn't believe her ears. "Since when did you get so brave?"

"Since the moment I realized I need do something more, to make you happy." He answered. "I would have liked you to be there. But considering your health, I don't think--"

"Excuse me! I think I made it clear that you can't stop me. I am coming." She stood up and walked towards the door before turning around. "No need to feel happy. Remember. I am not doing this for you."

He sighed. "I know."

---***---

"Look at them. They quarrel somewhere else and come here to resolve their issues. What will happen when I move to another house?" asked Rukhsar.

"You are looking for another house?" asked Naveen. 

"I am looking for a house nearer to my lab."

"I know a perfect place for you." Naveen gave her the details.

"Whose flat is that?"

"My grandparents own that flat." He answered. "They gifted it to my mother few years ago." 

Rukhsar wasn't sure how to respond. She felt partly happy and partly apprehensive. Before she could speak, she saw Shubha and Vikram come out of the room. "I'm going to meet Latha aunty."

"With him?" Rukhsar was surprised.

"No. With Naveen. Vikram won't come with us. He will travel alone."

"But we both arrived in the same car" said Vikram.

"Not my problem." She waved at her friend and walked ahead. 

---***---

They reached home to see the security trying to stop few reporters from entering the building. "Vikram sir is here" said one of them. 

"Shubha ma'am too" said another one.

"Am I invisible?" asked Naveen. They laughed.

"Shubha ma'am. Can we have a small Q&A session with you? Please." They asked her.

"I would love to. But now I'm in a hurry. I have to visit Latha aunty. Please don't mind. Some other time" said Shubha.

"Just one question please. Vikram sir. Is it true that Latha madam was stressed because of your wedding preparations? Is that why she is ill?"

"I know there are many rumours floating around. I request you to not believe them blindly. Currently we are not in a position to think about our wedding. Please don't report anything without confirming. If we are getting married we won't hide it. We will inform you. Thank you." Vikram joined his palms in a formal Namaste and led Shubha inside.

"Why would you say that?" She asked him.

"What?"

"They asked if it is because of your wedding. You answered saying our wedding.You almost confirmed our relationship." She said in a serious tone.

"Only this morning you said you wanted to yell that I am yours." He couldn't understand what she was angry about.

"That's when we were together." She glared at him and entered the building.

Naveen placed his hand on Vikram's shoulder. "Ideally, I shouldn't be supporting you. But we are friends. I'm so sorry that your girlfriend dumped you. If you feel like crying, go ahead. I won't judge you."

"I'm happy you are on Shubha's side." Vikram smiled at him. "She needs all the support she can  get at this moment."

"You are not a great partner. But you are selfless. You always think about others before yourself. I can give you that." Naveen patted him. "I'm glad you didn't cry. It would have been horrible if you did. I don't know how to console crying men."

"Okay. This is awkward. Let's put an end to this conversation right here and get inside." Vikram suggested. Naveen gladly obliged.

---***---

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