Second Wife, Second Love.

20. Solutions.

***Ramya's POV.***

"On my!" I say tenth time as I see the disaster in front of me.

"Ramya, ‌stop crying." Reyansh says.

"Easy for you to say. It was not your precious outfits that were burned to ashes." I say and look again to see my jewelry stained with soot, "Or jewelry looking black with it."

"It is gray, actually." He says.

"Do you think this is funny, Reyansh?" I ask.

"No. But it is also not something to shed so many tears for." He says and brushes away my tears. His hand stays longer on my cheek.

"Still, it is a disaster." I whine.

"Oh dear, what happened here?" Mum asks.

"Mum." I say and rush in her arms and cry my heart out while Reyansh explains the situation.

"Oh, no." She says, "But how did this happen?"

"They have yet to find the cause." He says.

"We will talk about this later, but first let's take out what is salvageable." Mum says.

"Nothing is left, Mum. I was so stupid to put all of my outfits in the cupboard. Why did I become so manageable all of a sudden? It is all my fault." I whine again.

"Don't blame yourself. How would you have known something like this could have happened?" Aunty says. And I didn't even realize she was here.

"Where is the beautiful bride-to-be? Her bridal party is finally here." I hear a familiar sing-song voice and look up with teary eyes to see Arlo and my other two friends.

"Wow! Whose funeral is this?" Aisha asks.

"Aisha, don't say stuff like that." Kate says.

Arlo walks up to me and looks in the room, then looks at me, then back at room, then again me and says, "Who murdered our babies, Ramu? Tell me the names. I will kick their asses for sure."

"Arlo, you are the only one who can understand my pain right now." I say and spread my arms for him.

"Of course I do, Ramu." He says and goes to take me in his warm embrace, but there is a wall between us.

"And who would be this guy, Ramya?" Reyansh asks me.

"That's not the question here. What happened, Ramya?" Aisha asks me and gives me a side hug.

"Yes, Ramya. Is everything alright? Please don't cry." Kate says and takes me in her embrace from the other side too.

"Why am I the only one excluded?" Arlo asks.

"Because I don't know you." Reyansh says.

"I am Ramu's childhood friend. Let me through. We have to mourn for our babies together." He says.

I get out of Kate and Aisha's arms and meet him halfway and say, "We spent hours and hours together to choose the best of all."

"Yes, I rejected dating for two months and bought another phone just to not miss any calls from you." He says as he holds my hands in his.

"We even spent hours arguing about which color suits me the best and tried on hundreds and thousands of dresses." I say.

"Oh, Ramu. I am devastated. You are the only friend I have who has a passion for fashion." He says.

"What about us?" Aisha asks.

"We shop with you." Kate says.

"That isn't the same. One groans half the time, and the other is lazy and clueless. Ramu is my soulmate for shopping. No one can compare to what she means to me." Arlo says.