Love Happens

10

Mr. Pandey, being aware of Riya and Ranbir's anger, ordered five men to stand guard outside Shraddha's room as a precaution while he double-checked all the doors in the house to see if they were locked properly. Shraddha was alone in the room as she requested to mourn her mother's death peacefully.

A lady in the disguise of a burka paid the security man a large sum of money to let her into the house. He resisted in the beginning; however, as she kept doubling the amount, he opened the gates for her. She went inside. Another lady appeared too, in the guise of a burka, and offered the man some papers to let her go in. He let her in, and shortly thereafter, another lady came.

"Open the gate." the lady ordered.

"I can't. You can't see or meet anyone at this hour."

She drew him in and slit his throat with the knife she hid inside her burka. When he fell to the ground, she entered. Two more people entered the house in guises of burkas after the other people.

Shraddha was pacing in her room restlessly. The dull silence of the night was interrupted when she heard something fall outside her room. She was already scared, as she was aware there wouldn't be sleep for her in the house because Riya would go to extremes to avenge her daughter's death. She showed her that when she made her go to jail. Her body started trembling as she ran towards the closet and hid inside. After she heard the sound of the door going open, she surrendered, knowing it would be the end of her life. The closet was moved open, and a gun was pointed at her head by a person in a burka. When she tried to shout for help, she saw that the person wasn't alone, but four people were with her. One was with a knife, another with a rope, the other with a bottle of poison, and the two others with guns.

They showed her a paper in which they asked her to choose by what means she wanted to die. If she wanted it by hanging, suffocation, or instant death.

They pulled her out without care like she was some piece of garbage and threw her on the floor.

"I know Riya's here. But who are you all? What have I done to you?" She crawled backwards when one of them, whom she was certain was Riya, approached her and leaned closely, pressing the gun in her hand against her forehead.

Shraddha feared not for her life, but the removal of her soul. Nevertheless, her face retained its courage. She knew her life was slipping away at the moment, and no one would turn up to save her or have the culprit punished after her death. She would become the forgotten page of history. But she was already dead the moment her mother died. Breathing was useless to her.

A tear that sealed and told her everything had ended rolled out of her eyes.

"You will live every second, every minute, every hour," the person's hand touched the sweat that had formed on her forehead, "every duration of your remaining life thinking about your death. I won't kill you today, but I can't guarantee it tomorrow. You can die after eating. You can slip in your bathtub filled with acidic water. You can get suffocated in your sleep. You can be pricked by poisonous thorns in your clothes. You can be hit accidentally by a truck when you go out. Accidents can occur at any time. Be wary. You survived this moment, but you may not survive the next. I'll give you the first and final warning. Kill yourself, because if you let me kill you, you'll die a painful and slow death." The lady banged her back against the wall, which made her head hit it so hard that it knocked her unconscious.

•••••

The next morning, Mr. Pandey saw Shraddha shivering on her bed. When he went closer and touched her, it startled her, and she narrated to him how five people came into the room last night and threatened her with her life.

"When did I gather enemies? I used to be unknown in Ladnun. No one knew about my existence, but today, five people want me dead. Why? Because I was once Anand's wife." her face was full of sorrow, sadness, anger, and grief. Her voice raised as she continued. "Riya was among them. She wants my life."

"Riya didn't leave her home yesterday. I suspected she might try something, so I assigned guards to her home. They said she didn't leave home yesterday."

He defending her informed her she could never trust him, after all, it was Riya he met first before her, even if she was his daughter. She sighed subconsciously and said, "Apart from her, others seek my life. What have I done to them? If I did something that hurt them, I will apologize immediately. But, why are they after me?"

"This is why I wanted to keep you away from India. But, are you sure you were not dreaming? There were guards outside your room, too. They reported that no one entered last night. The security guard said the same thing. No one has entered the house."

"You told me no one is innocent. They must have bought them."

"Freshen up, dear." He got up and left not believing someone entered because his workers who were loyal to him could never disobey his orders.

Her mind was preoccupied when she entered the bathroom to take a bath. When she returned from the hospital last night, she didn't get the chance to, and she desperately needed it to wash away everything that restrained her mind from being calm. After the tub filled with water, she stripped out of her dress.

"You can slip in your bathtub filled with acidic water."

The voice made her step away from the tub and got dressed without bathing. She left the room and reached downstairs to see her father in the hall.

"Have you bathed?" he asked her when he saw she didn't change her clothes.

"Yes."

"Come, let's have breakfast together."

••••

Shraddha refused to touch the food when it was served. She was told she could die after eating food due to poison. What if they wanted to kill her today?

"Eat dear. Isn't that your favorite?" her father said while munching the food in his mouth.

She looked at her friend, who was also fine despite eating the same meal she was served. She proceeded to eat a spoon, but before it reached her lips, she stopped as the voice telling her she could die after eating rang in her head again. She put the spoon back, shook her head, and told them she wasn't hungry.

"How so? It is breakfast. You can't skip this part. It is very unhealthy." Sarah spoke.

"If she doesn't want to, don't force her."

She turned immediately after she heard Anand's voice, and a smile settled on her lips when she saw him with a packet of food. She was actually famished, but she couldn't risk it by making it her last meal. He arrived as her savior.

"Put this aside because my wife will only have food when her husband is beside her."

He changed her plates within seconds, and his food was now on her table, urging her to have the mouth-watering meal.

"Eat Shraddha."

"Why do you return, Anand? The respect between us holds me back from asking you to leave my house. Please, leave." Her father spoke.

Shraddha ate his food while he smiled, and through that, he received the answer from her that there was still hope to rekindle their relationship because she didn't argue when he called her his wife. Watching her savor the food supplemented his mood, and there, he realized nothing had actually changed between them even though five years had passed. He still loved her immensely. His love for her still stood strong.