Fragile Hearts❤️[Completed]

Chapter-37

(Manik and Ridhaan reach Ridhaan's cabin and settle on the couch.)

Ridhaan- Okay, so Manik. Kya baat karni hai tumhe mujh se?

[Ridhaan- Okay, so Manik. About what do you want to talk to me?]

Manik- It's about Riya. I want to discuss something with you and ask you about things.

Ridhaan- Of course. Tell me. How can I help you?

Manik- It's about her family. Her parents especially.

(Ridhaan's expressions change from jolly to plain, and this doesn't go unnoticed by Manik.)

Manik- Your expressions tell me you know what I will talk about.

Ridhaan (sighing)- Main aur Riya ek dusre ko bachpan se jaante hain Manik, which I am sure ki Riya ne tumhe bataya hoga.

[Ridhaan (sighing)- We have known each other since childhood, Manik, and I am sure Riya must have told you about this.]

(Manik nods in a yes, and Ridhaan continues speaking.)

Ridhaan- You know Manik, hum 3rd-grade mein the tab. Aur achanak ek baar Riya 05 din lagataar school nahi aayi. As any normal person, for 04 days, I thought she was sick, so she was on leave. But after that 05th day, I grew worried, so I tried contacting her, but it was of no use. I even asked my Mom to visit her once. But Mrs Dixit sent her away, saying that Riya was out with her dad because she was not attending school. And after 02 days, she came to school with a big bandage on her forehead and a bruised hand. Her face was pale, and she was all quiet. And she was scared, Manik. Uss waqt to mujhe kuch samajh nahi aaya par ab jab main uss ka vo chehra yaad karta hoon, her eyes depicted her pain, Manik. She needed someone. Her eyes showed fear.

[Ridhaan- You know Manik, we were in 3rd grade then. And suddenly, Riya did not come to school for five consecutive days. As any normal person, for 04 days, I thought she was sick, so she was on leave. But after that 05th day, I grew worried, so I tried contacting her, but it was of no use. I even asked my Mom to visit her once. But Mrs Dixit sent her away, saying that Riya was out with her dad because she was not attending school. And after 02 days, she came to school with a big bandage on her forehead and a bruised hand. Her face was pale, and she was all quiet. And she was scared, Manik. I understood nothing, but now when I remember her face, her eyes depicted her pain, Manik. She needed someone. Her eyes showed fear.]

Manik- Tum ne usse pucha hoga usse chot kaise lagi?

[Manik- You must have asked her how she got hurt?]

Ridhaan- I asked her. She told me she slipped down the stairs and had an accident. But in the later years, when Riya told me the truth about her parents and her family, she told me she drew a family picture and wanted to show it to her Mom. She was not home, so Riya waited in her room and slept on her bed. But when Mrs Dixit came home, she got angry at her for entering her room and sleeping on her bed. She pulled her out of the room and pushed her away on the floor without noticing the stairs behind her, and that 08-year-old slipped from the top stair and injured her head. Then also, her mother didn't take her to the doctor. Instead, she warned her never to enter her room again. The servants took her to the hospital, where she got 06 stitches on her forehead.