Love Happens

12

Shraddha appeared before Anand's father. He never expected he would meet her again, standing strong in a new avatar, looking bolder, and have recovered completely as if she wasn't the person who almost met death. After her cold hand met his skin, he closed his mouth, which was wide open from shock before, and her touch slowly turned into hot lava, which hounded his soul as he recalled how he almost sent her to prison with his fake lawyer. His leg slightly moved, and Shraddha saw that.

"Did you just move? Are you pretending to be bedridden?" Ananya asked.

"Ahh!" the room filled up with his scream, loud, full of ache from the joint that moved his leg as he hadn't lifted or moved it for long. He shouted with a grunt that summoned everyone into his bedroom. Shraddha had stayed miles away from him before he blamed her for doing something, even though she knew the family would reach the conclusion that she had hurt him.

"What did you do to him?" Riya proved her thoughts to be correct. She blamed her for his condition instead of tending to him. She did more by pulling her by the hand and taking her out of the room.

"Where did this care suddenly come from? You used to hate him. You said you wouldn't come into the house again until there was a funeral. Today, you willingly visited. What..."

"Just be quiet. He's my father, and I love him a lot. You can never understand a bond between a father and a daughter because you have never experienced one."

"Let go of me." Shraddha riddled her hand from her grip, hurt by her statement. "You seem to forget, but let me remind you. I'm your sister-in-law."

"You share no relationship with my brother. We have no relation."

"I'm Ranbir's sister. You will behave accordingly with me." Shraddha exclaimed. "Also, I have a father. Your father-in-law is my father. We've spent so many moments together in five years that he filled all the void of the times he missed with me."

"Don't depend on your relationship with Father. The old man will leave the world soon, and believe me, Ranbir doesn't consider you a sister. So do I."

"I will surely pass your message to Mr. Pandey. I will tell him how he's been living with a snake for so long who is waiting for him to pass. Shame." Shraddha walked past her after delivering her speech. Riya changed from the woman she knew. She became a heartless person. It was not from the company she got, because then her brother would have been like her. She chose the life she wanted, and it was making her sink into a pit that has no escape because, after everything she said and did, Shraddha couldn't find it in her heart to overlook or forgive any of it.

•••••

"I'm glad." Shraddha collected her purse, which was delivered to them after they lost it in the airport. She now had her ID, but most importantly, what she needed was her phone.

"Who is downstairs? I heard a voice," she asked Sarah.

"Your brother."

The mention of him provoked her out of the room. She needed answers as to why he shot her. Could it be that he found out since they were related, or was he also under the misconception that she killed his daughter? Whatever it was, she stood before him, and he looked up from his phone as he visited to collect a file from his father's study after confirming if she was home or not because he didn't want to meet her. They may be from the same father, but their mothers were different. He was the legitimate child, while she was illegitimate because her mother never married his father; rather, she was a mere whore who enticed him for his money.

"Must I tell you why I am here?" Shraddha said, overlooking his gaze, which viewed her with shame. He wanted her to feel demeaned, as her mother never married his father, and she got their luxury when she didn't deserve any of it.