In the Name of Love – Chapter 42

Those of you who have missed the previous chapter, here is the link :

https://www.tellyupdates.com/in-the-name-of-love-chapter-41/

@Thebhooth18 Thank you dear
@Samistha Choudhary Here’s the update
@Aisha08 Thanks a lot. Dheere dheere karke saara suspense khulega.
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@AarushiSoni Aww thank you so much. You are so damn sweet. (^hearts^)
@Cutuuu Thanks a lot
@KB Thank you so much. I’m glad to see you enjoying the story.
Vansh and his men have already captured Pathak, and you can imagine what he’ll do with him.
My name is Nia btw.
@RiansHLoveR Thanks a lot. Hehe, siblings are like this only, always trying to pull each other’s legs.
@Milee Aww thank you so much! Your words really mean a lot to me. Tbh, I’m feeling very overwhelmed after reading your comment.
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Actually, my exams are going to start soon, so I want to finish this story before that. I know you want me to extend this story further….but I’m really sorry, it’s not possible. I hope you’ll understand.
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@Deepa Thank you so much. I’m happy to see you so invested and enjoying the story so far. Tbh, I feel that nothing can ever come close to that love that parents hold for their children. Of course, we do have exceptions everywhere, but this is the general truth.
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Haha, I think all brothers are like that only. Even I’ve a younger brother and he behaves the same way, or rather I behave the same way with him (^wink^).
Vansh really respects Riddhima’s father and understands that why he did all that.
@Mj Thank you dear
@Qt Thanks a lot. Haha okay, I’ll try doing that!
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@Shreya Thanks a lot. Hehe, Ishaan embarrassed her like hell in front of her father.
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@Jayanthi Thank you so much. You never fail to overwhelm me with your appreciation and compliments.  (^hearts^)
Vansh is a very sensible man and he has always kept Sushant in his high regard. He also knows that whatever Sushant did was out of pure helplessness.
I know that you are wondering why Vansh is suddenly acting so distant with Riddhima. It will be revealed in this chapter, but please don’t kill me when you get to know about it, hehe!

xxxxxxx

When Riddhima entered inside Vansh’s room, she was left shocked.

He was sitting on the bed shirtless. But that didn’t catch her off guard as much as it did when she saw his right shoulder bleeding.

He was trying really hard to bandage it with his other hand. Moreover, his expression showed that he was in much pain.

“Vansh!” Riddhima let out a gasp and hurried towards him.

“How did this happen?” she asked inspecting the wound and getting thoroughly worried for him.

“Nothing much. It’s just a minor wound….”

“Minor? It’s bleeding like anything, damn it! Wait, let me call the doctor.”

But Vansh held her hand and said, “I already showed it to a doctor and got the dressing done too. But absentmindedly, I tried lifting up a heavy item and that’s when the dressing slipped away…”

She started berating him, “You personally take care of everyone around, but when it comes to yourself, you just turn a blind eye towards your health. You call me as childish and immature, but you are the one acting like a child always!”

Riddhima cleaned the wound and applied ointment over it. She then proceeded to pack it with gauze and bandage.

Vansh peeped over his shoulder and found out that Riddhima’s eyes had welled up.

Smiling slightly, he remarked, “You are soon going to be a doctor. If a minor wound like this can make you cry, then how will you handle yourself when you come across the more serious ones?”

“Just because someone is a doctor, doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have a heart,” retorted Riddhima, applying the final piece of tape over the dressing. “Also, there’s a hell lot of difference between watching a stranger and a loved one in pain.”

After she was done, she said, “Let me get you a clean shirt.”

“No, that’s not needed. I’ll go to sleep like this.”

“Don’t be stupid! It can get chilly in the night and you may end up catching a cold or something.”

Saying this, she picked out a white shirt from his wardrobe.

As soon as Vansh saw it, he pursed his lips. “It is not even ironed.”

She impatiently said, “Stop being so demanding. You anyways have to go to sleep now, so there’s no reason for it to be ironed.”
She helped him to put the shirt on.

“I like everything to be prim and proper,” Vansh quipped.

“Oh! Then you must really hate me because I am not at all prim and proper,” she huffed.

Vansh softly said, “Not a day passes by without me reiterating about how much I love you. Yet you say this.”

Riddhima fell silent for a while.
“If you really love me so much, what was that rude behaviour with me all about?”

At this Vansh let out a loud snortle.
“Oh that….I was simply playing around with you, sweetheart.”

“What?” she said in disbelief.

“Yes,” he grinned from ear to ear. “I realized that I was acting way too sweet and romantic with you. So for a change, I decided to feign a little annoyance towards you.”

Riddhima could not believe this man at all. He had just been joking around with her and had nearly given her a heart attack!

She lightly smacked him to show her anger, taking care not to hurt him.

“Ouch!” he winced in pain. “Ishaan was right about your hand being equivalent to a hammer! How can you be so inconsiderate enough to hit a wounded man?”

Riddhima immediately stopped herself and became concerned. “I am sorry. Did that hurt?”

“No, it did not hurt at all. I just wanted to hear a sorry from you, that’s it,” he winked instead.

She shook her head resignedly. “You are impossible!”

“Only for you,” he smirked.

Riddhima helped him to lay on his left side and placed pillows on the other. This would ensure that he didn’t turn to his right, thus making the wound much sore.

Sitting beside him, she held Vansh’s hand and rested her head against it.

“Thank you so much for everything you did for us. My Papa was my whole world. And today, you gave me my world back. I don’t think that I can ever return this favour. You risked your own life to save him, and even got injured in the process.
I always misunderstood you and never trusted you enough….I’m so sorry….”

Vansh sighed and wiped her tears off. “Hey, weren’t you the one who told me that there’s no need for a person to thank his loved one? So why are you doing it now?
Besides, Sushant Uncle might be your father, but he is also my mentor and guide, whom I really look up at.”

He cupped her face and further said, “As for your trust, remember what I had told you few days back? That there might be many instances where you will start distrusting my decisions and actions, but you must have faith that I’m doing all that for a right reason…..
That’s the reason why I acted all weird with you today. Because I wanted to check how much you trusted me….”

“I do trust you Vansh,” said Riddhima. “But I also have this incoherent fear.”

“Fear and faith cannot go hand in hand,” Vansh stated. “You’ll only be able to trust me completely when you let go of all your fears.”

“Okay, Mr. Philosophist. I think that is it for today. You need to go off to sleep now.” She covered him with the duvet.

Vansh grasped her hand. “You said that you could lay your life down for Ishaan and that Sushant Uncle was your entire world. So now tell me, what do I mean to you?”

Riddhima flashed him a not-this-again look.
“Good night, Vansh,” she said instead.

“Come on Riddhima! Why do you have to be such a tease always?” he asked annoyedly.

Riddhima smiled quietly to herself.
“Good night, and sweet dreams!”
______________________________________

Riddhima was woken up early in the morning the next day, by a knock at her door. It was Mrs. D’souza.

“One of Vansh Sir’s employees is here to see you.”

Riddhima wondered about who this person was and why did he specifically want to meet her only.

Nevertheless, she went downstairs and strangelt found that he was waiting for her in the garden.

“Good morning Ma’am! I work as a professional phone mechanic in Vansh Sir’s office. Sir had asked me to repair this phone and personally hand it over to you.”

Riddhima recognized the phone. It was the same one that she had stolen from Kabir’s place. Since it hadn’t been starting on, Vansh had decided to get it fixed by one of his trusted men.

“Did Vansh ask you to hand this over to me?” she asked a little surprised.

“Yes.”

God knows what the phone had inside it. But Vansh, instead of inspecting it for himself first, had asked his man to hand it over to Riddhima before that?

“He trusts me so much…” she beamed.

After the man had left, Riddhima started searching the phone for any crucial information on it.

She gaped at the screen in horror when she came across something. For a moment or so, she could not even understand as to what was going on. But when she finally did, she was shocked beyond words.

“I have to inform all this to Vansh immediately,” she thought in despair.

But when she rushed into his room, she found the whole family gathered around, all appearing grim.

“Vansh is down with a high fever,” informed Gayatri.

Riddhima brushed past everyone and sat beside Vansh. When she touched his forehead, she could feel her skin burning under the high temperature.

“We need to call the doctor at once,” she panicked.

Anupriya who was nearby and simultaneously applying wet compresses over his head, gave her a condescending glance

“We already did. Must be on the way.”

“But I don’t understand, how did he suddenly fall so sick?” asked Gayatri. “He was absolutely alright until yesterday, though.”

Riddhima decided to speak up. “Actually, yesterday while rescuing Papa, a bullet narrowly missed him, but even as it did that, it still managed to graze past his shoulder causing a wound. So….”

Chanchal expressed her displeasure. “It all happened because of Sushant. For saving another random man, poor Vansh had to endure so much pain….”

“Enough Chanchal!” Anupriya shouted at her, not able to control her emotions. “How dare you speak about Sushant like that?”

Realizing that everyone was watching her skeptically, she calmed herself down. “Sushant has also done many favours upon this family before. So it was only fair that Vansh did his best to bring him back, safe and sound.
Besides, I feel that rather than blaming one another, it is better if we concentrate upon Vansh’s health instead.”

Chanchal was however left puzzled. She wondered, “Bhabhi never seemed to like Riddhima and Ishaan enough. Then how come she is showing such sudden cordiality for their father, Sushant?”

When the doctor and the accompanying nurse came along, they immediately gave him an injection to bring his fever down. After prescribing other medicines as well as advising Vansh to take proper rest and enough fluids, the doctor took his leave. The nurse however, was instructed to stay behind to monitor him.

Looking at Gayatri getting very tensed for him, Vansh requested Anupriya to take her away to her room.

“I am fine. Just a minor fever, that’s all. So no need to get worried and deteriorate your health further.”

Even though Gayatri resisted initially, but Anupriya and the rest of them finally convinced her to not over exert herself.

“Ishani and Sia, you both also go to your respective rooms,” said Vansh.

“Come on Bhai! Even in your illness, you want to send us all of out here just so that you can spend some time with Riddhima alone. Is there anytime when you will not think about romance?”

“Shut up Ishani!” he grumbled.

Ishani and Sia went away from there, giggling amongst themselves.

“These girls I tell you! They are getting out of hands. I’d soon have to discipline them,” Vansh said out aloud.

Mrs. D’souza brought a bowl of freshly prepared hot soup for him.

Riddhima saw Vansh making a face at it.

“This soup will help you get better soon,” she said feeding it to him with her hands.

“I don’t know about the soup, but I know what can make me alright. And that is, your love,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

Giving him a pointed look, she said, “You want to discipline your sisters, but tell me Mr. Raisinghania, who should discipline you?”

“Maybe you?” he said with a mischievous smile.

“How is Sushant Uncle doing by the way?” Vansh asked after sometime, continuing to drink the soup.

“Fine. I guess he must be still sleeping by the way. I think it is only after so many days that he is able to sleep so peacefully,” said Riddhima getting a little sad.

She stood up straight as something struck her mind.
“Wait, just few days back, didn’t you tell me that my father is your father too, and you would rather call him as Papa instead of Uncle? So what happened to that?”

Vansh stirred hesitantly in the bed. “Well, I did think of calling him that initially. But to be honest, I was quite weary of how Uncle would react if he heard me referring to him as Papa.”

At this, Riddhima started laughing hysterically.
“Never thought that such a day would come in my life that I will get to see an arrogant, short tempered, tough businessman like you feel afraid of a soft-spoken person like Papa!”

“He might be soft-spoken inside his house, but you have no idea how many scoldings I’ve received from him regarding business matters,” said Vansh.

“I didn’t know that Papa knows how to scold even,” she said sounding genuinely surprised.

“Yes! But of course, even his scolding had that unmasked love and concern in it. That is why I never felt bad at all,” he said with a reminiscent look in his eye.

Vansh finished his soup and was feeling much better with the medicine beginning to show it’s effect. Nevertheless, the doctor had advised him to rest and so Riddhima tried to tuck him to sleep.

“I have already had enough sleep, can’t anymore,” said Vansh.

“Don’t you remember what the doctor said?” Riddhima asked sternly.

“But…”

“Papa…” Nandu popped her head through the door. Carrying her favourite teddy bear in her arms, she scurried towards her father.

“Papa, what happened to you? Are you not feeling well?” she asked worriedly.

“I just have a fever. But I’ll soon get alright,” Vansh tried to reassure her.

Nandu flung her tiny hands around him. “Please get well soon, Papa.”

Vansh felt overwhelmed to see the little girl’s love and concern for him. How had he been so cold-hearted all this while towards her for these many years, he himself couldn’t understand this.

“Nothing can happen to me who has as sweet as a daughter like you,” said Vansh patting her head.

“Nandu, do you want to do something for Papa?” asked Riddhima.

“Yes!” came her prompt reply.

“Why don’t you tell him a story to put him off to sleep?” Riddhima suggested.

Nandu clapped her hands in glee. “Yes, yes! But which story should I tell him? Will ‘Beauty and the Beast’ do?”

“Perfect!” Riddhima high-fived Nandu.

“What perfect? I absolutely hate that story!” said Vansh making a pout.

“Nobody asked your opinion,” Riddhima snapped at him.

In spite of Vansh’s protests, Nandu started narrating the story to him. Initially, he tried to feign his disinterestedness, but gradually, he grew more and more involved in it.

Riddhima adorably looked at the father-daughter duo. This reminded her of the old times when her own father used to lull her to sleep by reading out such similar fairy tales to her…

The buzzing of Vansh’s phone brought her out of her trance. When Vansh saw who it was, he picked it up without a second thought.

Riddhima could see that Vansh’s expression had changed to a serious one. She could only make out a string of ‘okay’s’ that he kept mumbling one after the other.

As soon as the phone call ended, Vansh tried to get up from the bed.

Riddhima stopped him. “Are you mad? Where do you think you are going in this state?”

“It’s important, I need to go.”

The nurse who was also present there, spoke up, “No! I cannot let you go anywhere. You need complete rest….”

“Shut up! Who are you to stop me?” Vansh shouted at her.

Riddhima sensing that there was definitely something amiss, decided to send Nandu and the nurse out of the room, so that she could talk to him about this privately.

After making sure that the door was latched from inside and that nobody was around, Riddhima spoke in a hushed voice.

“What’s the matter, Vansh?”

Vansh took a deep breath. “The forensic reports about those fingerprints have come. I need to go and personally collect them from the lab.”

“Vansh, but you are sick. I can’t let you step outside your room even.”

“What are you talking about? Don’t you realize how important this is for me? After so many agonizing years, finally I’ll find out who my mother’s murderer is,” said Vansh sounding very desperate.

“So why don’t you ask the lab personnel to send the reports to you via post or courier?” enquired Riddhima.

“The culprit is still on the loose. He was able to evade the police for so many years, and this just means that he is very smart,” he remarked. “I can’t take such a big risk. This report has to be collected only in person.”

“So why don’t you send Angre or anyone else to fetch it instead?”

“I’d have sent Angre for this work instead, but he is busy in roughing up Pathak and his gang,” Vansh explained. “Abd as far as someone else is considered, I cannot bring myself to trust anybody else for that matter of fact.”

After a pause, she said, “Fine, I’ll go then.”

Vansh was stunned to hear this.
“No! Don’t be stupid!”

“Why not? Do you trust me?” she sounded a little hurt.

“Do you trust me?” he asked instead.

“Of course, I do,” she said caressing his face.

“Then, I trust you too,” he added.

There was complete silence as they were caught in an eyelock, which broke only when Vansh kissed the palm of her hand.

He now spoke solemnly. “Riddhima, you don’t understand. This is very dangerous. Last time, I had almost lost you to the same culprit when he attacked you in the hospital. I cannot let any harm to befall you.”

“Don’t worry, Vansh. I won’t go alone. I’ll take the driver and the car along. And I promise thst I would die but not let the reports to fall in any wrong hands…..”

She had barely even completed her sentence, when Vansh gave her hair a firm tug, bringing her face dangerously closer to his.

With his hands still entangled in her hair, he whispered, “Don’t you dare talk about dying ever. If I ever hear you speaking about it again, I’ll quieten you up in my own sweet way.”

Trying to cover up her blushing, Riddhima stood up abruptly to leave.
“I’ll call you as soon as I lay my hands on those reports. Bye!”
______________________________________

A person was pacing up and down, all alone in a dark room.

“Vansh Raisinghania! You really are a genius. What a game you have played….Bravo!
You brought out Uma’s doppelganger in front of me, instigating me to take a rash decision in panic. And that is what I exactly did….

“When I saw Uma in front of my eyes, I was shocked thinking how this could be possible. I had myself killed her by my own hands many years ago!

“Going conpletely berserk and losing all of my senses after seeing Uma alive, I made the biggest mistake ever. I tried to kill her, once again.

“But that Riddhima….she saved her. And not only that, but she also managed to get my fingerprints on the syringe that I had been planning to inject into her.

“It was only yesterday that I came to know that the woman whom Vansh is pretending to protect, is actually Uma’s doppelganger.
Uma had a birthmark across her neck, but when I crosschecked the hospital records, there wasn’t any birthmark upon the other woman.

“But now my when the fingerprints reports will be out, my truth will be revealed, and then Vansh won’t leave me alive. No, no, no! I can’t let this happen! I can’t lose all this that I managed to gain with so much difficulty.

“I’ll follow Riddhima and snatch the report from her hands once she manages to get it. If she struggles or tries to put a fight on, I’m really sorry, Riddhima, but you’d have to die!”
______________________________________

“Surprise, surprise!” Ishaan squealed when Riddhima entered Sushant’s room to see if he had woken up or not.

She was amazed to see her father back in his old form. His hair had been trimmed neatly and his beard had been shaved revealing a handsome face underneath it. Of course, the scars were there, but still he looked changed, he looked nice.

“You did this?” Riddhima asked her brother in disbelief.

“Yes! And not only that, but when you were busy with Jiju, I even made Papa have the breakfast as well as the medicines,” said Ishaan looking thoroughly proud of himself.

“Good job, Ishaan! But I wasn’t b-busy with V-Vansh or something,” she fumbled with her words as a sense embarrassment passed over her. “It’s just that he was feeling sick so I….”

“It is okay, Dids. You don’t have to give so many explanations. Besides, you both are engaged to each other, so whether you spend time with each other or do ‘something else’, no one’s going to question you at all,” teased Ishaan.

Riddhima gave him a death stare. Why the hell was he always trying to embarrass her in front of her father?

Sushant, on the other hand, felt elated to see his daughter happy with Vansh. When he had given his nod to this alliance two months back, he had already known that no guy could be more perfect for Riddhima than Vansh himself.

“How is Vansh feeling now?” Sushant enquired.

“Uhm…he’s doing much better than before. But the fever has made him quite weak.” Turning a little serious, Riddhima said, “I need to go somewhere now. Until I return, I want you, Ishaan, to stay by Papa’s side only. You won’t leave him alone even for a second. Understood?”

Riddhima knew that in her absence, Anupriya would definitely try to come up to meet her Papa. And she didn’t want that to happen at any cost. She didn’t want that vile and manipulative woman anywhere near her father.

Her doubts were proved right when she spotted Anupriya right outside her father’s bedroom.

She gave her a strict warning, “I don’t want to see you prowling anywhere around him. Or else, you’d have to face my ire.”

Anupriya hissed, “What a hypocrite you are! You go around clinging to my son, 24×7, and what’s more, you even went a step ahead by getting pregnant with his baby before marriage! And here you are, trying to stop me instead.”

“Vansh isn’t a married man!” Riddhima grumbled.

“Even Sushant is not married anymore! You are forgetting, but Sunidhi is already dead,” said Anupriya coolly.

Riddhima looked at her in disgust. Her insolence, was making her fume with rage. “I’ve never seen as shameless a woman as you! God only knows what Vansh sees in you, that he always tries to defend you.
And what do you think, huh? That Papa would accept you with open arms after coming to know about how you killed his own wife?”

“I didn’t do that on purpose. Itwas just an accident,” said Anupriya getting nervous at the thought of how Sushant’s reaction would be to all this.

“However, your attitude has another story to tell,” snapped Riddhima.

Just then, Gayatri came out of nowhere, taking both of them by surprise.

“What discussion is going on between the to-be daughter-in-law and the to-be mother-in-law?” she said cheerfully.

“Oh nothing, Maa,” Anupriya brushed it off.

Turning towards Riddhima, Gayatri said, “Beta, I am planning to ask the cook to prepare Sushant’s favourite dishes today. Can you tell me what they are?”

“Gajar ka halwa,” Anupriya said out aloud, without thinking. She later corrected herself in time. “I m-meant that gajar ka halwa is everybody’s favourite sweet, so I presumed that even he must like it….”

Anupriya started reminiscing the days of her college, when she would specially make gajar ka halwa for Sushant, and he would relish it like anything. If only, those days came back once again….

“Papa loves chawal ki kheer, though,” said Riddhima throwing a piercing look in Anupriya’s direction. “Papa is a simple man, and his choices are simple too, just like him.”

“Okay then, I will tell the cook to start preparing the kheer immediately,” said Gayatri. “Anupriya, come to my room right now. I have some important work with you.”

Scowling, Anupriya complied with Gayatri’s demand.

Riddhima, on the other hand, decided to leave for the forensic lab as soon as possible.

She suddenly remembered that she had not yet told Vansh anything about Kabir or what she had found in his phone.

“No! First let this matter get sorted out, only then will I tell him everything about that later on.”

Hello everyone! That is it for today guys. Do comment.

Peace out!