Love Happens

Chapter twenty-one

Mumbai
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After discussing why Poonam wouldn't leave the house, Shraddha went out to check up on her. Surprisingly, when she went in, Poonam was looking as strong as ever. She was staring out at the window and was aware of Shraddha's presence there. She waited for her to approach her.


"I was informed you were vomiting. Are you alright now?" Shraddha inquired with concern.

Poonam kept quiet. She continued to look out while fuming with rage.

"You look fine. Good." Shraddha replied and turned to leave. Poonam turned and saw her figure going out. She growled in annoyance because that wasn't her plan. She waited for her to be near her so that she could throw her out of the window. She was saved now, but not again.

••••

It neared evening. Anand forgot he was expecting a guest until he showed up at his door.

"Bro!" Sameer, his friend, the same man that saved Shraddha from the fire, called out enthusiastically.

Anand got up cheerfully from the sofa and went forward to welcome him with open hands. He did, and they went into the house together while talking about work and only work. Sameer was a doctor like him. A gynaecologist. They studied at the same school and were best friends. He's like a family friend because he gets along with both his mother and father. He even sees Riya as his sister.

They settled on the sofa. Just after, Shraddha arrived in the living room. She smiled warmly at the man who saved her. He returned her smile and spoke to Anand.

"I know on your wedding day, when the fire broke out, you asked me to go in and save Madam. But I still risked my life by going into the fire to save her. I deserve at least a thank you for obeying you, but my dear Madam...

Shraddha looked at Anand, shocked. Did he really ask him to save her that day? He told her he'd never save her, even if she was about to die. Was he just making false claims about himself?

Her smile made her face glow with happiness. She grinned and spoke. "Thank you. I just didn't get the chance to." She looked in Anand's direction again, not believing what she still heard. She was very excited. The hatred he claimed to have for her on her wedding day was actually not true.

Meanwhile, Anand remained neutral. He didn't want her to ever find out he saved her. He did it because he could never watch a soul die when he could help.

"It's no problem." the man answered.

"Has Riya returned from Delhi yet? I met her two days ago with her children. When I asked her where her husband was, she made random excuses and disappeared."

"Riya?" Anand's face turned astonished.

"Yes. We met at the mall. But immediately after she saw me and we spoke to each other, she left without buying anything. She also seemed uncomfortable when I asked her about our brother-in-law."

Anand gazed at Shraddha. That was the first good news the night brought him. He already knew his curiosity wouldn't let him be in Mumbai without getting answers regarding his wife's death.

Sameer's gaze wandered between them as he asked why they were both staring at each other without speaking.

"Nothing." they said in unison while breaking their contact. Again, they looked at each other and passed a smile to one another.

"Let's go and eat dinner, Sameer." Anand said.

Shraddha excused them and returned to the room because she had already had her dinner. She went towards the portrait of Supriya that faces you whenever you go into the room. As she stared at it, she too began to wonder how she died if her death was not natural. Who would have killed her? And why would they have wanted to kill her? What enmity did they have with her?

She looked innocent in the portrait. Who would have harmed such a pure soul?

Many minutes passed by. Anand returned after seeing his friend off.

"We're going to Delhi tomorrow, Shraddha."

Shraddha's shoulder jumped slightly at the sudden, abrupt voice she heard. She spoke to him. "We?" she inquired.

"To get my answers regarding Supriya's death. You've read the letter. You'll tell her where it stopped so that she completes it for us."

She nodded as that wasn't a problem. What she wanted to know was why he lied to her the first time they met after the wedding, saying he hated her. "Anand!"

Anand hummed while moving towards the bed to rest.

"You saved me through your..."

Before she finished, he cut her off. "Pass me that jug of water." He didn't want to discuss that. It was the past, and the past should remain in the past.

She nodded happily and went to do as she was told. She carried the jug from the table and went to him to hand it over. He collected it and kept it beside him on the table.

"We're taking the morning flight. Get up early to get ready. We have to return by two."

"Okay, but..."

He closed his eyes.

••••

It was past midnight. The door to Anand's bedroom slowly opened, and the person who tried to open it tried hard to avoid its creaky sound, but as the house was guilelessly calm, it still did. The person entered and went towards Shraddha, who was fast asleep. She was holding a syringe with an inserted needle. The syringe stored some colorless liquid. The person took Shraddha's hand and pierced the needle into the vein on her wrist. The unexpected, sudden pain made Shraddha's brows lower, but before she could open her eyes, she drifted to another world where there was only darkness. The person was none other than Poonam. Seeing she completed her task by giving Shraddha her father's expired injection he threw out, she smirked and breathed proudly because, at last, she got rid of her evil stepmother. She was certain she wouldn't see her the next morning.

••••

The alarm buzzed. It woke up Anand. Before entering the bathroom, he told Shraddha to wake up because it was morning and they had to catch the morning flight to make it back to Mumbai by two. He bathed, came out, and saw Shraddha still fast asleep.

He peeked at her through the mirror. "We're getting late, Shraddha." he reminded her as he combed his hair. He continued his business of getting ready and was done, yet Shraddha was still asleep.

"Shraddha!" he voiced a little louder, getting irked. He proceeded to wake her up and touch her body. What he felt scared him to the core. Her temperature was colder than normal. He saw Supriya's face there instead of hers. When he touched her body too, it was cold.

His hands shivered uncontrollably as he took a long jerk back from her.

"Mother!" He shouted. Tears formed in his eyes because he was scared to his core. He didn't want what happened in the past to repeat itself. His heart was throbbing with fear.

His mother went into the room. Her eyes roamed from the bed to her son.

"Is everything....."

"Shraddha isn't waking up." He managed to say it with a broken voice. His gaze was fixed on her. He didn't want to miss any opportunity for a movement from her so that he could rest knowing she was alright. Although everything was evident, she wasn't okay.

"It can't be." His mother went frozen too, thinking of the other possibility.

"Her temperature is cold." A tear struck his eyes. He was reminded of Supriya. He couldn't help but let his tears flow freely. His mother was too scared to go closer to her and confirm whether her son was telling the truth or not. However, she believed him since he was a doctor.

She walked over to him and hugged him to give him comfort.

"Stay strong. Don't worry." She murmured.

"Check her pulse. I couldn't do it."

She went and touched it but remained quiet ever since. Every second that passed for Anand lasted for eternity while he waited to hear the declaration.