Going Home
Sagrika couldn't bear to see Manya in such a panicked and disturbed state. Even though she had been allowed to see any emotion other than disgust on her daughter's face after so long, the urge to soothe her was overpowering. She lifted her hands up and patted Manya's head, saying, "It's okay, dear. Don't stress yourself too much, it's all in the past- the person is not in this world anymore…just let it go."
Manya, instead of being soothed, panicked further about how her mother was still so calm!
She screamed, freaking out completely. "No, mom, he wanted to snatch everything from us. He didn't want us to live peacefully, he is a fraudster! He wanted our money, and the precious stone that Nanu and his friends had hidden because of him, so that he wouldn't be able to get it. The code is our-"
"Locket? Isn't it? We have already guessed as much. Don't stress about all this, you still need to rest because you haven't recovered fully yet."
Manya was going to explain that her mother had gotten the wrong context about the locket, but there was a much important thing to discuss, which she didn't know why her mother was still ignorant about. She knew that it was not her mother’s nature to leave the culprit to flee this easily; she reached out and held her mother's palm, which was still on her head. Her mother was still looking at her with all the affection she had, that she had somehow managed to hide from everyone for so long; but now it was flowing freely at last.
She managed to speak between sobs, "Mumma...Mausaji..wanted-"
This time, Sagrika interrupted her with an air of finality, "Minnie,let's end this discussion here. And don't mention any of it in front of Sia, coming across these facts might hurt her. And as Siddhant is no more, there is no need to bring it up, so that we can limit the damage to a minimum! Let's go home- are you comfortable moving back with us?"
Sagrika asked the question, taking a pause. She wasn't completely sure yet, if her daughter wanted to return home or not. And she definitely didn't want to rush anything; or perhaps, she was too scared by the thought of losing her daughter once again.
Manya noticed the pause in her words, and immediately understood her mother's point of view. She understood where she was coming from, and that she didn't want to hurt Sia; but there was still something wrong with the whole thing. She might need to clear this doubt by herself, so that she might finally be able to let go of it, eventually.
"Of course mumma, I will come home with you. But there is one thing that is still bothering me. How sure are you, about the fact that Mausaji is no more? As far as I can recall from the fragments of my memory, he was not there, in the car that day. Actually, he was-"
"I am 100% sure of it. We had gotten a DNA test performed, in order to identify his body, as his face had been badly distorted in the accident. Although we were already sure about it being his body, judging from his belongings and attire; back then, we didn't know what you had been mentioning to me over the phone. So we were just trying to sustain a false hope of sorts, that there might have been a 1% chance that it was not him. But, the reports declared that it was definitely him who had been driving that day."
Now Manya couldn't say anything after this, as it was enough for her to believe that her missing bits of memory might have been lacking this information. That day, he must also have been in the car with the others.
************************
Ishaan and Arjun were both left speechless after Manya left the room in her rage.
Ishaan hadn't waited there even for a minute after that. He had left the building with the expression of a broken teenager who just required a pinch of sympathy, even from a stranger, to burst into tears right that instant.
Arjun hadn't been able to move from his place for so long, that Doctor Maheswari had to drag him out after he had called Sagrika. Yet, there he was, still standing by the door and listening in to Manya and Maenu's conversation. He realised that he was wrong, but there was definitely something about Sia’s dad which still didn't seem right, despite it being confirmed by the test that he was not alive anymore. He was reminded of Shambhav, and how his face perfectly matched with that of Sia- it couldn't be a simple coincidence. He would surely find the truth behind this, and he would not let his bestfriend go through everything alone again. He was an adult now, and he had the opportunity to choose his path this time; he would not be that distraught teenager anymore, who had been lost and unanchored like last time. This time, he would definitely find a way to get back to her; they were tied with the red string of fate for this lifetime, after all.
************************
Ishaan headed directly to his car and pulled out his phone. As soon as the call was received, he shouted "I have given her each and every single dose of the medicine as you had instructed; I haven't let her skip any meal without it! Then how is it possible that she regained her memory? I am telling you- if I lose her, then you will lose your life, along with your family. There will be no point in you living happily if i can't live with my happiness! So you better think of something, or start counting your time backwards. Ten days days...I am giving you ten days to find a solution, as I am willing to let her enjoy her vacation with her mother for that long. And you are getting this duration, because I am happy with the fact that she has started to hate Arjun as well, so I am relatively relaxed for now. But don't you forget that because of your mistake, I- Ishaan Arena, had to ask for forgiveness from this weasel Arjun Chauhan. And now, I have to put up with one more act of being a noble person! Ten days, and I won't be repeating myself again."
************************