Tere Liye | ✔

Chapter Twenty-Six - The Solution

Sheetal breathed in relief and laid herself comfortably on the bed - her skin feeling much better after the ointment her doctor gave. The itching sensation was still there but the medicine was doing its work slowly and effectively. She was also prescribed medicines for her stomach ache, much to her own relief after a whole day of sheer agony. 

She was laying on the bed with her eyes closed when her parched throat stared irking her out of her relaxation. Gulping, she was about to call out for someone when she refrained, suspicion creeping in her mind.

Should she take the risk of trusting anyone else with her food arrangements?

She remembered Khushi telling her that she was way too oblivious of her food and not wanting to repeat her mistake, she shook her head and started getting up from the bed to fetch her water herself. She was in no way looking forward to another misery right now. 

Her feet however slipped and she fell on the bed again, groaning as she felt her organs turning upside down - just like her life. She groaned, staying unmoved for a few seconds to let her body rest.

"Look like the stars are no longer in my favor. Even a glass of water seems so out of reach nowadays." She grunted loudly and tried standing up on her feet again, this time, slowly.

"But it's better to endure this pain than to trust someone else and then finding poison in the water later." She huffed, concentrating on where she was putting her feet as she finally started walking.

Payal who was about to enter the room with fruits, halted at the door which was left ajar. An idea was what she felt instantly creeping up on her as Sheetal's monologue fell into her ears. A smirk bloomed on her face when the said Sheetal started moving towards the door to exit her room and fetch water to avoid further accidents - and at once, Payal turned on her heels and scurried downstairs, thanking her stars for Sheetal's tortoise speed.

She rushed into the kitchen, kept the bowl of fruits back and poured some oil in a smaller bowl. Making sure there was no mess, then she ran upstairs and hid behind the pillar. She patiently waited for Sheetal to appear lest someone else ends up falling victim to her plan.

When she heard a familiar groan, she chuckled and lifted her head to see Sheetal almost limping due to her condition. 

"She is so fond of touching my sister's husband, right? Now I'll see how she touches anything else." She mumbled to herself as she started pouring the oil on the stairs in the welcome of Sheetalji. 

She deliberately chose the bottom stairs to execute her idea, wanting to break Sheetal's bones for sure but not wanting to commit the crime of murdering her straight. Though she would love to do that, she did not have the heart to kill someone no matter how much she detest their very existence.

A hand landed on her shoulder as she stood up after completing her task and feeling a rush of adrenaline, she whirled around, thankfully to find Anjali and no one else.

"Payalji, what are you doing?" Anjali's question was heavied with bewilderment. She looked at the glistening oil on the stairs, then at her sister-in-law, her eyes wide. 

"Why are you pouring oil here?"

Arnav, who witnessed every action of Payal, also stood at a distance, confused but wanting to know what was going on in his naive sister-in-law's mind.

Payal looked around and put a finger on her lips indicating Anjali to stay quiet. Taking hold of Anjali's hand, she then pulled her behind the pillar and peeped outside to find Sheetal approaching the stairs.

"Payalji?" She turned around to see her Nanad raising her eyebrows in a confounded gesture.

Payal snickered, and pointed towards Sheetal.