LOVE, LIFE, SECRETS: Answers lie within – CHAPTER 42

CHAPTER 42: Joining the dots

(Day after Arjun-Pankhuri’s engagement)

Anika: It’s been more than two weeks and we have still not found any strong evidence that can lead us to Tia’s murderer.

Ranbir: You are right Anika, we found many clues but all led to a dead end.

Prachi: Yeah, like Tia’s call records, I thought those would be helpful but in the end it was just a mere employee.

Omkara: Wait a minute, what call records and what employee?

Anika told Om, Rudra and Soumya about Tia’s call records…. How they found out that she was talking to someone from the Ranas Industries…. Then when Shivaay and Ranbir talked to Siddharth Rana, he looked into the matter and found out that it was some employee, who was giving Tia inside information about the Ranas….

Shivaay: And that clue also led to nothing.

Omkara: How is this possible?

Anika: What has happened Om, why do you look so surprised by this?

Omkara tells them about his meet with Dushyant…. He tells them about how Dushyant revealed about Tia’s and his relation…. And when asked about the call records, Dushyant told that he was using the number to contact Tia so that no one finds out….

Shivaay, Anika, Ranbir and Prachi looked at each other…. Rudra and Soumya are surprised learning the new information….

Prachi: That means….

Shivaay: Siddharth Rana lied to us and tricked us.

Soumya: But why would he do all this?

Ranbir: Only to keep his family name and family members away from getting involved into the case.

Anika: So, if Mr. Rana lied to us to protect his family, then does that mean….

Prachi: Someone from his family is related to the case.

Rudra: But who can it be, Dushyant Bhaiya or Siddharth Bhaiya himself?

Omkara: I don’t think it is Dushyant, he loves Tia a lot.

Anika: And many a times this love only makes us do things that we regret later.

All others looked at Anika surprised by the change in her voice as well as the words she spoke…. Prachi squeezed her hand and Anika realized what she said…. Prachi signed her to calm down while Anika nodded her head…. All others looked at the two and were surprised by their small silent conversation…. Ranbir looked at Prachi, he could see concern in her eyes for Anika…. Shivaay was looking at Anika, he could see some unknown pain in her eyes…. He also noticed the thin layer of water that collected in her eyes and how she quickly composed herself…. Rudra and Soumya also exchanged some looks worried seeing Anika…. Om could feel that Anika said the words not in the context of the case but about herself….

Prachi: You are right Anika; maybe Dushyant’s love only became his weakness.

All others decided to play along…. They did not wish Anika to feel uncomfortable….

Soumya: You are right, it can be true.

Shivaay: Maybe Dushyant did not like Tia’s decision of getting married to me, he may have asked her to back off but when she did not listen, he may have done something in his anger.

Omkara: Even if we assume something like this happened, then also we don’t have any proofs to prove this.

Rudra: Then let us directly talk to Dushyant Bhaiya.

Prachi: And it’ll be of no use, why will he agree if he has done something like this?

Anika: Yes, we cannot confront him without any proofs.

Rudra: But then where will we find the proofs?

Ranbir: We have to find out where was Dushyant Rana when the murder occurred, if we get any clue as to where he was, we can get some clues.

Shivaay: I know someone who can get us the information at the earliest.

Shivaay quickly makes a call to his private investigator to get the information about Dushyant Rana and all his activities in the previous weeks….

Soumya: Well, there is something else also that we have found.

Soumya takes out the cuff-link with the letter S from her bag…. She forwards it to Om…. He examines the cuff-link while others look on….

Rudra: Bhaiya, we found it near the window of Tia’s room.

Ranbir: Maybe when the killer entered or exited through the window, this fell down. Anyways Tia ma’am’s room was on the ground floor, easier to access through the window.

Soumya: Also the window’s lock was broken, maybe done by the killer.

Omkara: It has the letter S engraved on it looks like someone got this customized.

Anika: S…. Does this S mean Siddharth or….

Shivaay: Shivaay….

All looked at him shocked…. He looked at Anika….

Rudra: What are you saying Bhaiya, we know this does not belong to you.

Shivaay: You will say this only Rudra, but other people, they will obviously doubt me.

Shivaay said looking at Anika…. Anika felt hurt by his words and the way he looked at her…. Before anyone could say anything Anika moved out of the room…. All others understood that she was hurt….

Prachi: Sir, Anika didn’t mean it like that.

Omkara: What is wrong with you Shivaay? Do you even understand that you have hurt her with your words?

Shivaay realized that he had said something he should not have and moreover how he misunderstood Anika…. He looked at the others and then walked out of the room…. He had to talk to Anika before she was hurt more….

Rudra: Bhaiya ka kuch nahi ho sakta, bichaari Didi ko kitna bura laga hoga.

Omkara: True.

*****

Anika was standing on the terrace at the end of the floor…. She needed some fresh air to clear her mind…. First she said something she should not have and then the way Shivaay talked to her…. “And many a times this love only makes us do things that we regret later”…. Her own words ringed in her ears….

Love….

It is very simple yet so complicated….

She sighed as she remembered her own time…. The time when she was madly and deeply in love…. The time when she was so much in love that she did not pay attention to where it was leading her to…. Just like all people fallen in love, she too did some stupidities and some grave mistakes, she regrets till date…. Tears formed in her eyes as she recollected those memories….

Memories….

Why don’t they leave you just like people….

Why don’t you forget them….

Why are they so hard to erase….

Tears flowed from her eyes…. One after the other…. They were unstoppable…. Some wounds never stop hurting…. Even after years the pain is still fresh inside you….

Anika was jerked out of her thoughts when she felt a hand on her shoulder…. She quickly wiped her tears and turned around expecting it to be Prachi…. She was surprised seeing Shivaay….

She looked the other side as she removed his hand from her…. He could easily understand that she was crying…. He felt a pang in his heart seeing her hurt because of him…. She was not even looking at him…. How could he say things without thinking…. He cursed himself for hurting her….

Shivaay: Anika, I….

Anika: It’s okay Shivaay, I don’t want to hear anything.

Anika did not look at him and moved the other side…. She did not want to get involved in another battle of emotions…. One going on inside her was enough…. She was about to go when he held her arm firmly and pulled her towards himself…. She landed near him looking at him surprised….

Shivaay: You forgot so soon, I had told you no one walks away from Shivaay Singh Oberoi. Kaha tha naa never ever walk away from me.

Anika: Yaad hai, sab kuch ache se yaad hai.

Shivaay: Then why were you going away from me?

Anika: So what do you expect me to do, stand here and get hurt again or this time you wish to insult me.

Shivaay: Anika….

Anika did not give him any chance to say anything…. She pulled her hand out of his grip and moved away…. Shivaay looked at her as she turned around and walked away….

*****

It had been four hours…. Om had gone to his art gallery as he had to deliver an important statue…. Rudra had gone to drop Soumya as she had to help Gauri with the work…. Prachi and Ranbir were sitting on the couch looking at Shivaay and then Anika…. Shivaay acted like he was busy working on his laptop…. Anika was standing near the long glass window looking outside lost in her thoughts…. They were waiting for the investigator who said he was bringing the information about Dushyant Rana….

Prachi: After the engagement yesterday, it felt like today we would witness some lovely moments but yaha toh….

Ranbir: I had told you it is too early to talk about love.

Prachi glared at him and the smile from his face vanished seeing her angry glare….

Prachi: Here we have a problem and all you care about is taunting me.

Ranbir: Are, I did not taunt you.

Prachi: I’ll deal with you later. First we need to do something about these two.

Ranbir: What can we do? If we do something and Bhai comes to know, he’ll not spare me.

Prachi: Oh God Ranbir, don’t act like this. We have to do something.

Ranbir: Okay, but what will we do?

Prachi thought for a while and then told something in his ears…. He looked at her surprised…. She signed him to talk to Shivaay…. Ranbir looked at Shivaay, being very well aware of his anger he gulped down…. He looked at Prachi again and she hit her hand on the forehead…. She got up from her seat…. Ranbir looked on…. She called Anika…. Anika looked at her….

Prachi: Anika, I have to make a call to Maa, I’ll come in sometime.

Anika nodded and Prachi walked away from there…. She signed Ranbir to come after her….

Ranbir: Sir, I’ll also come in sometime. I have to give some files to Shakti Sir.

Shivaay did not look at him and just nodded his head…. Ranbir sighed in relief and walked out of the cabin…. Once Shivaay saw Ranbir leaving, he turned to look at Anika…. She was looking outside the glass wall…. He quietly got up from his seat and walked towards her…. He was about to call her when the lights went off…. He looked around surprised as this was a rare event in Oberoi Industries…. He took out the phone from his pocket to call the service department when Anika hugged him tightly…. He stumbled because of the sudden force and took a few moments to stable himself…. He could feel her shivering with fear…. She must be afraid of the darkness he thought….

Shivaay: Anika….

Anika: Don’t leave me…. Please don’t leave me….

Shivaay: Anika, I am not leaving you. I am there with you.

Shivaay pulled her closer towards him…. He caressed her back softly and planted kisses on her hair…. Anika closed her eyes as she snuggled closer to him…. He could feel her getting relaxed…. He continued caressing her back….

It was not just a hug….

It showed her that Shivaay would protect her….

It signified that she was safe and secure in his arms….

It showed that nothing could hurt her….

It showed that he cared for her….

Anika: Never leave me Shivaay….

Shivaay: Never….

*****

Prachi and Ranbir opened the door slightly and peeped inside…. Things were not clear but they could see Anika hugging Shivaay…. They smiled at each other and closed the door quietly….

Prachi: I knew it this had to work.

She smiled feeling the success of her plan…. Ranbir smiled seeing her smile…. Her smile was so infectious…. Every time he saw her smiling, his lips curved into a smile…. Prachi’s happiness made him happy too….

*****

After some time the lights turned on…. Anika realized what she was doing and moved back breaking the hug…. She did not look at Shivaay…. Shivaay was about to say something when the door of the cabin opened…. Ranbir and Prachi entered along with the investigator…. Shivaay sighed losing his opportunity to talk to Anika….

Ranbir: Sir, he has brought the required information.

Shivaay: Good.

Investigator: Sir, I searched and found every possible detail about Dushyant Rana. He has been quiet busy with a deal for the Ranas and spends most of his time at his office and then at Rana Mansion.

Shivaay: And what about the date I told you, where was he that day?

Investigator: Sir, on that day, a day before your wedding, Mr. Rana was neither in his office nor house. He was at the hotel where the wedding was being held.

Anika: Are you sure he was there, at the hotel?

Investigator: Yes ma’am, I even checked with the hotel security, Mr. Rana’s car was parked there the whole day and also at night.

The four of them looked at each other shocked…. What was Dushyant doing in the hotel at the time of Tia’s murder….

*****

Hello dear readers, I hope you all are doing well.
Here is the next chapter of the story, do read and share your views.

Shivaay hurt Anika unintentionally, will he be able to pacify her? Dushyant was present in the hotel on the night of Tia’s murder, does he have a link with whatever happened? Do the Ranas have something to do with Tia’s death?

Also, I am once again telling you all that, please wait for the main plot of the story, that is Tia’s murder to be solved, the other sub plots will be revealed slowly with time, and I assure you all, you’ll get enough scenes and chapters about all characters. There is a reason I have introduced the characters, and their stories, you’ll get enough content to read about all of them. Please have some patience, even I am a Mishbir and Pranbir fan, that’s the reason I included them in the story along with the Ishqbaaz couples, so please don’t leave reading just because there is less of some characters for now. Let the investigation about Tia’s murder move ahead, you’ll get the reason why I am not writing all stories at once, things will be revealed at their right time. I hope you all will understand and continue giving your love and support to the story.

Keep reading and smiling!!!
Take care and stay safe!!!