CHAPTER XLV
Tears streamed down my face as I turned to my sister, my voice trembling with pain.
"I… I never did anything to Rama. You know that, don't you? That night—everything that happened—it was all an accident."
My chest tightened as I forced myself to speak, and then, with a shaky breath, I confessed the truth I had been carrying for eight long years.
"Kanika… Rama is alive. She's been alive all this time. She's in a hospital in England… and she's been in a coma for the past eight years."
Kanika froze, her expression shifting from fury to disbelief, her eyes wide and glistening with tears.
"What? How? When did this happen?" Her voice cracked with a mixture of shock and anger, trembling as if the weight of eight years had just been dropped on her shoulders.
I lowered my gaze, unable to meet her piercing eyes. "I… I can't tell you any more than this."
The silence that followed was suffocating. I could feel Kanika's fury radiating like fire, the tension between us sharp enough to cut through air.
Finally, she spoke, her voice shaking but loud enough to pierce the room.
"Vedehi, I am furious with you. Furious. But as much as I despise you right now, I need to see my sister. It's been eight years—eight years since I last saw her, spoke to her, touched her. And now I find out she's lying in some hospital bed, in a coma?!" Her voice cracked as tears spilled over, but her resolve only grew stronger. "I don't care what you say, I am leaving for England immediately. And when you arrive there… only then will the truth about you and Sita be decided."
Her words struck like thunder. My heart pounded in my chest, knowing this confrontation was only the beginning.
Jasmine, who had been silent all this time, stepped forward and placed a trembling hand on my shoulder. Her voice was low but urgent, her eyes filled with fear.
"Vedehi… tell my family that I left with Kanika. Don't tell them anything else. Don't tell them where I've gone. They can never know… not now."
Her request felt like a chain binding me tighter, the weight of her secrecy pressing down as heavily as Kanika's rage. The room seemed colder, heavier, and for a moment, all I could feel was the crushing guilt I carried—guilt that neither tears nor words could wash away.
I turned to my sister, my voice trembling with the weight of all the secrets I carried.
"Sister… do you think Sita will still love me? She won't… she won't hate me after she finds out the whole truth, right?"
My sister cupped my face gently, her eyes soft yet filled with worry. She let out a shaky sigh and whispered,
"Oh, Vedu… don't burden your heart so much. You've always been strong. I know you'll find a way to handle all of this. You always do."
Her faith in me felt like a fragile lifeline, but deep inside, I couldn't shake the storm raging in my chest. I forced a small smile and said softly,
"Yes… that's why I've already told Sasha to arrange a brand-new apartment for me and Sita. A fresh start. A home just for us."
I hesitated for a moment, my voice dropping lower, darker.
"And I've also told Mia to move Rama… somewhere no one can find her. Because until Sita truly loves me—until she chooses me—I won't let Rama wake up. I won't let anyone reach her."
My sister's eyes widened slightly at the steel in my tone, but I didn't stop. My hands clenched at my sides as I continued, my voice trembling with both fear and obsession.
"I've kept Rama's laptop with me… safe, locked away, guarded like it's my own life. But this time… when I return… I'll set it on fire. I'll burn it to ashes. Because no one… no one… will take Sita away from me."
The room felt heavy, suffocating, as those words slipped from my lips. My sister just stared at me, torn between fear and sorrow, while I sat there consumed by my love, my desperation, and the terrifying lengths I was willing to go to for Sita.
My sister just stared at me in silence, her expression unreadable, as if she didn't know what to say—or perhaps she was afraid of what I had become. The heaviness of her silence wrapped around me, suffocating and cold. Without another word, I stood up, brushing away the remnants of tears that clung to my lashes, and walked out of the room.
My feet carried me to Sita. She was sitting there, her head bent slightly, the soft glow of her phone illuminating her face in the dim light. She looked so serene, so far away in her thoughts, and for a moment, just watching her made my heart ache in a way I couldn't explain. I quickly wiped my cheeks dry, forcing a fragile smile onto my face, and sat down beside her.
Gently, I reached out and wrapped my arms around her, resting my chin on her shoulder.
"Sita," I whispered softly, my voice trembling with a quiet vulnerability, "is there something you want to tell me?"
She turned her head slightly, puzzled, and shook it.
"No… why are you asking me that?"
I smiled faintly, though the heaviness in my chest wouldn't fade.
"I don't know," I admitted, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear, "I just… I feel like you want to say something today. There's a light in your eyes. It feels like… you're happy."
Sita's expression softened, a distant warmth filling her gaze. She hesitated for a moment, her fingers tightening slightly around her phone, before she whispered,
"Ved… I don't know how to tell you this. But yesterday… after three long months… I got a call from her."
My heart stopped for a second.
"Her? Who…?" I asked, my voice quieter now, almost afraid of the answer.
Sita's lips curved into a faint, almost shy smile.
"The person I love," she murmured, "the one I've never even seen in person. She called me… asking if it was true that I had gotten married. She wanted to know if now… she would never get to meet me. If… if I would never love her back."
Her words stabbed through me like a thousand knives. I tried to keep my voice calm, steady.
"And what… what did you say?"
Sita smiled, her voice trembling with excitement.
"I told her about us—about our marriage. I told her everything. And, Ved… after all these years… she agreed to meet me. In just a few months, I'll see her for the very first time. Ten years I've waited for this moment. Ten years… and finally, she's coming to me."
I forced a smile, the corners of my lips trembling.
"I'm… happy for you," I said softly, even as something inside me shattered into pieces.
But in that moment, a memory came crashing back like a storm, sweeping me away from reality. My mind pulled me into that night—the night I had secretly stepped out of the room, leaving Sita behind. The night I had dialed that number… Rama's number. I had spoken to her, pretending to be someone else, trying to understand what Sita's heart truly wanted.
And when I heard it—when I heard the truth—that Sita didn't love me, that her heart belonged to someone else… I felt as though my world had collapsed. That moment… that revelation… was the most heart-shattering pain I had ever endured. And now, sitting beside her, smiling like nothing was wrong, I felt the same pain clawing its way back, sharper than ever.
To be continue...