Drowning

Arjun and Ishaan were standing behind Manya, as she had not been allowing anybody to come near her so far. But when she started screaming, they ran towards her as she crouched down, resting on her haunches. She was shivering, covering her ears with her hands and had clenched her eyes shut. Both of them tried to comfort her and hold her, asking her repeatedly what was going on. They had not even realised that it was raining until the heavy downpour left all three of them drenched. The tension of Sia’s safety had been bothering them as well, but because she was already freaking out about it, they found themselves unable to express their worry in front of her, which would make her even more stressed.

Ishaan quickly stood up to call the doctor. He always used to carry the medicine for calming down Manya's phobia-induced panic attacks with him, but since she had started to remember things, he hadn't really been able to give her those. If the situation was any different, he would have given her the same medicine which also had the oblivion effect with them, but he knew that if anything happened to Sia at this time, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself- and he couldn't take any risks.

Meanwhile, Arjun was trying to make her open her eyes, as she was continuously screaming that she would drown, because there was water everywhere and it was raining.

“Minnie, Minnie open your eyes! I am with you, look there is nothing here. You won't drown,trust me, open your eyes!” Arjun shouted to draw her attention towards him and shook Manya's body, to bring her back to the present situation instead of whatever scenario her brain had conjured up.

When he noticed that he wasn't getting any response from her even after that, he paused for a second before he remembered the trick from their childhood. He brought his fingers near her ears to tickle the area, and when she lifted her hands to stop him, he pulled her into a tight hug. He held her as he spoke soothingly, “Relax Minnie, nothing will happen to Sia. I am promising you, it doesn't matter how big the lie behind the love is, the truth always wins. It might take time, but it definitely shows you a way. So just open your eyes, we will find Sia. And I believe you, that he is alive...don't panic, because at this moment you are the only person who is still alive and had talked to them before the accident. So please be strong-” He was speaking softly, hoping that at least some of his words were going through to her, when she jerked her head up from his chest and spoke.

“How...how can I be strong? It was not an accident, he killed- he killed everybody. The truck with which the collision took place, he was the one driving that. He lied, he lied to everyone...he killed everyone, every guard, there were no guards which had been hired by us. He replaced everyone, and now he will kill Sia also! Please Arjun...please...Juno, please do something! Help my poor sister, she is too young, she doesn't even know the politics of money, politics of power and politics of love, she is too innocent for everything related to it...Arjun please, he will kill everybody, he will kill me by drowning in the water-”

“Manya Rahal! Collect your senses, you are a gold medalist swimmer, nobody would be able to drown you!!” Arjun yelled again, to bring Manya back to her senses.

Ishaan turned around abruptly, with a shocked look on his face. 

*Had Arjun actually said that she could swim, because he was pretty sure that they were friends just because of the day she had been drowning and he had saved her!* 

It took a few seconds for him to examine what he had heard, but he put the thought aside as this discussion could wait for now. The doctor would take a minimum of half an hour to reach their location and they had to divert her attention till then. 

He stepped closer and spoke up. “Manu, what happened to you? Look at you, aren't you the boldest person to ever exist, the girl who can do everything and anything and has the ability to paint the world in her own favourite colours! Then why are you freaking out? Relax a little, when you can do all this, then finding Sia is just a matter of time. And we will surely find her, okay? Just have faith in yourself.”

Manya looked at him, then quickly glanced at Arjun. She was unable to recognise any of the person's faces. It was like she was seeing two blank canvases in front of her, each one the size of a skull and now she had to paint it into a human face. She rubbed her eyes, but there was still no improvement.

She wanted to try again, when she heard Arjun and Ishaan saying at the same time.

"Just trust us, I also love Sia just like you do, and I promise you that I will not let anything happen to her!"

Both the guys paused abruptly and were looking at each other as they had the same intensity and feelings to blurt out once again. She took a pause and then suddenly started laughing hysterically, saying “Love?! Love is the most beautiful lie anybody can say to fool anyone, apart from their family. And in this case, the kidnapper isn't anyone else- it is her own biological father, the father who abandoned her at the age of five and killed his own wife and the mother of his only daughter. He also claimed to love her, he was the most idealistic lover a girl can ever desire! But what was the truth he had been hiding behind his disguise all along- it was the face of a liar and a murderer!”

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Shambhav was shocked and scared at the same time, because of his father's actions. 

*He did love his father, but he was angry at him, because the thought of somebody cheating his mother was enough to make that person his enemy. So this was the reality of the matter, and the cheater was no one other than his own father! He had not only cheated his mother and hidden it so well, but he was now going to kill someone who was purely innocent!

He was mad at the fact that his father was a cheater, and probably slightly angry at the lady with whom he had been involved as well, but the girl in front of him was definitely innocent in all this. He had always dreamt of having a little sister to pamper, and he had never had a younger sibling or cousin, but never in his farthest imagination had he thought that his wish would be granted like this! He looked at the face of the girl once again; she was indeed his carbon copy. And if his father could kill her, then he surely wouldn't hesitate to kill him someday either! He had listened to his statement, in which he had claimed that he wanted him to be his only son, but why and who did this bungalow belong to? How did this girl know Manya- was she even talking about the same Manya he was imagining?*

There were so many questions, and his mind was devoid of every hint of an answer. There was no possibility of finding any solutions, unless he counted confronting his father as an option! But before he could go in pursuit of answers, he needed to find a way to help this girl escape from there.

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Sia looked at her father in disbelief, as she was unable to process what she had just heard. 

*How could any normal father think of hurting their own child?! And yet, here he was, threatening to kill her because it was the only way for his son to be his only heir! But wait- he had a son? She was busy struggling with the comparison that how Danny got scared by the thought of her getting hurt on accident, and her own dad was not hesitant about planning a murder for her, when the fact that he was talking about a son caught her attention.*

She looked up accusingly and asked with a shaking voice, “So...so this was the real reason that you didn't appear after the accident? You started your new life after abandoning me and getting married again! And as if that was not enough, you want to kill me just so your son can be your one and only heir? Then let me assure you that I am not going to ask for even a penny from you...you are not worth it!” She spat out with a disgusted look on her face.

“No, no, no my little princess! You are getting it totally wrong, I didn’t get married for a second time after the accident, it was actually your mother I married in the second place, just to plan the accident- but that's a story for another day, if you happen to make it to another day, that is. Till then, let me tell you one thing- I was actually considering sparing your mother, but that overdramatic and intelligent Miss.Perfect had to know everything, so she never sat quietly and happened to find out about my lovely wife one day. And the fool was stupid enough to believe that I had married her because I loved her, and now she was going to divorce me because she couldn't stay with a liar! I might still have forgiven her, but her next plan was to expose me in front of my wife, the love of my life! How could I have let her pure and innocent heart be broken?! She is so beautiful, elegant and delicate that she can get hurt just because of a loud voice, so the answer was simple- I had to kill the stupid girl instead! And the second thing is, I know you are not going to ask for even a penny from me, but the fact of the matter is, that everything belongs to me. The entire Prajapati group is mine, along with the Rahal industries- everything is mine! Now this is enough, storytime is over for today. You should rest, and I will prepare something for you to eat as I don't want you to die hungry, like your Nana-Nani, who died of thirst. Who knows, they might have been able to sustain their energy till help arrived, if only they had gotten water. And like a superstar and the best son-in-law that I am, I poured the water I had with me, on the ground by their side.” Shikhawat narrated with a fond smile, as if recounting a particularly happy memory.

“You are sick, you definitely need to seek treatment!” Sia shouted out.

He stepped forward and grabbed her face roughly. Squeezing it hard so that her cheeks were pressed together, he gritted out, “Oh really! I think you are right, I might need therapy…” He laughed at the idea and continued, “But you know what, if you won't shut your mouth then you won't be needing any therapy for your next human life! So, be a good girl and stop shouting, I don't like it!"

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