The Prodigal Son (Complete)

The Return of Prodigal Son

"Hey, where are you?"
Sidharth asks over the phone.
Shehnaaz replies, "Still at the hospital. Tell Saivi di, I am sorry, couldn't come for dinner."
"She knows it was an emergency. She has packed your favourite parathas. I am bringing them for you."
"Hmm.. have you left?"
"No. I will in sometime. I thought maybe you would come."
"I will be late. I am so tired. My legs are killing me."
"I know. I will give a nice massage after you come. Chalo, see you in sometime. Bye. Love you."
"Love you too."

He hangs up the phone and turns to see Basundhara standing with a sad smile on her face. He smiles back.
"I just came to say bye. I was leaving."
"Oh! Right."
They stand there for a few minutes in awkward silence.
"I never really thought I could be a part of the family again. Felt good tonight."
"You always were a part of this family. It was you who decided to move away."
"I know. Trust me, I love Jia and have immense respect for Di and Dida."
Sidharth nods his head but stays quiet.

"Thank you for bringing me back."
"I should thank you for what you did. Tanushree is hopeful we are going to win this."
She doesn't say anything in reply to that.
A few seconds later she says, "I am talking to my friend, Aisha. She will prepare the documents. She needs to talk to you about it."
"Documents?"
"Divorce papers. I don't want any delay. As soon as the verdict comes, we can.. get separated and then you can marry her."
Sidharth smiles, "Basu, you don't need to prove anything to me anymore."

She just gazes at him..
"I know you are ready to let me go. It's hurting you but you have accepted we can't be together. I know that. You don't have to rush things to prove it to me. My lawyer, Bikash, will take care of everything. Just give Aisha's number to me, I will forward it to him. They can discuss things and will let you know. But first the verdict. We have to wait for the judgement. Okay?"
She nods her head.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"Will you forget me? Leave me alone?"
"You are my friend. Sidharth Dewan never leaves his friends. I will always be there for you, I and Shehnaaz are never leaving you. "

Sidharth is in the backseat of the car, returning home when his phone rings.
"Sid.. help!"
Screams Basundhara over the phone.
"Basu! What happened? Where are you?"
"On the street. They are attacking my car..."
Sidharth instructs the driver to take a turn and go towards Basundhara's place.

He finds her car on the side of the road. It is in bad condition with its windows broken. He could see a police vehicle beside it. He gets out of the car and rushes towards them.
He finds Basundhara sitting on the footpath with her hands on her head.
"Hey! Are you alright?"
She lifts her head, sees him and runs into his arms.
"They.. attacked.. my.. they.. tried,.."
"Sh.. relax.. I am here.. I am here for you."
After talking to police, he takes her and her driver to a hospital for first aid. Then he drops her to her friend's place for the night.

While returning back, his phone rings again.
"Hey. I am on my way home. Sorry I got stuck.."
His words were cut short with a whisper from the other side.
"Sidharth.. help!"
"Shehnaaz? What happened?"
"There's someone in the apartment.. I am scared."
"What? Where are you?"
"I am hiding in the bathroom. Please jaldi aao.. please."
Sidharth immediately calls the police.

When he reaches home, he finds the door ajar. The living room is a mess with things strewn around, furniture broken and curtains slashed. He calls her name and starts looking for her frantically. She comes out a minute later, opening the door of her bedroom. She runs into his arms and starts sobbing.

"It appears to be a case of robbery. The security says there were a few construction workers, working on renovating a flat, two floors below yours. They were the only ones who had arrived from outside. They must have got in somehow and tried to rob things. We need you to go through your stuff and make a list of things that you think are stolen. We will look for them and let you know if we find anything."
The police inspector says to Sidharth and leaves.