Kissing A Devil (Complete and Continuing In The Sequel)

Chapter 48

Richa, you came to meet me?"
"Rucha?"
"Yes, it's me. Did you miss your elder sister?"
Richa stays silent, staring at her.

Rucha smiles,
"You came to meet me. You couldn't leave me. You couldn't forget me. After all, we were sisters."
Richa asks, "You remember that?"
"Oh yes. How could I forget that? My younger sister. I missed you."
She starts to laugh.
Richa then asks, "I was your sister. I loved you. Then why? Why did you do all those? He loved you very much. Why did you do it? Why?"

She starts to laugh, "I did? No. It was always you. You did it. You were the good daughter, the wife of the mafia king, you were the great mother. You.. you won every time. And I had nothing. So I decided to snatch it from you. I decided to take things away from you, one by one."
She starts to laugh and then stops..
"Raghuvir! Is that you?"
Richa turns back to see Sidharth standing still.
"That's not Raghuvir."
Rucha tilts her face,"He looks so much like him. He looks like Raghuvir. Who is he?"
"Rucha, tell me.."
"Who are you?"
Rucha screams at Sidharth.

Sidharth stands there still, staring at her.
"Rucha! Answer me? Who was with.."
"Who are you? Raghuvir, he looks like you. He is.. your son. Is he your son? But how is it possible? I killed him. I killed him with my own two hands."
She starts to laugh.
"Sweetheart, remember me? It's me .."
She continues to laugh and suddenly she stops.
"Who are you? What am I doing here? Meet, where is my son? Get him. I need to talk to him. Tell him everything. He has to take revenge for me. Kill Raghuvir and Richa. Yes.. Meet.. Meet. "
"Whose son is Ashmit? Rucha please tell me?"

She starts slamming her palms on the glass wall.
"Meet! Get Meet!"
She goes and tries to pull out things that she could lay her hands on. But they are bolted, so gives out a high pitched scream, banging her hands on the floor where she sits down.
A few men get inside the room and grab her. They carry her on the bed and pin her down. A nurse comes in and injects something on her arm. She keeps screaming until she faints and then falls into a deep slumber.

Richa returns to the door and holds Sidharth's arm. Her face is still, devoid of any emotions. Her eyes however are filled with water. Sidharth wraps his arms around her, pulling her close. She leans on to him clutching his shirt. They turn towards the door and find Sana standing there with an expression of shock on her face.

"But I knew mum was the only child of Satadev Singhania. Then who is she?"
Sana asks as they sit in her room. Richa is quiet after returning from the basement. Before Sidharth could answer, Richa says,
"Papa's brother Rajdev Singhania and his wife were killed in their house by their enemies. Their only daughter saw everything with her own eyes. She was hiding inside the wardrobe. Papa brought her home to raise her like his own daughter. She was 5 years older than me. She was Ruchika Singhania."

"So she is your cousin. But where was she all this time? Didn't you know where she was?"
"No. I knew she was dead. I never knew she was alive and that she had a son."
"Was she always like this? I mean.. crazy."
Richa takes a brief pause and says.
"I knew Rucha was different the moment she arrived at our house. After she came, I found my toys broken, the dolls had their heads ripped off, books burnt and everything destroyed. I knew it was she who did those things but I never complained to Papa. She appeared loving and caring when he was around. Did she hate me or was she jealous? I don't know. One day our puppy was not found. Papa looked for it and discovered Rucha burying it in the backyard. It's head was twisted."

"Paranoid Schizophrenia. She suffers from it."
Sidharth adds without lifting his head.
Sana says, "It must be dangerous to live with her under one roof."
"We didn't really live together much. There was an attack on our car while we were returning from school. Papa couldn't let anything happen to us. He knew about Rucha's actions so he wanted to keep us separated. She was sent to Dehradun and I was sent to Mussoorie. Later she went to Canada and I went to study in England. Years later when I returned from London after completing my Masters at Oxford, she had moved to her old house. However when we met, she appeared like a different person, more normal. One fine day she declared she wanted to marry a rich businessman from New Delhi, Goutam Malhotra. Papa was initially against it, but he eventually gave up and said yes. They got married within a few months and she left Mumbai."