How it went

34. Wake-up call

The room was heavy with tension as Myra, Varun, and Vihan waited anxiously for Aranya to wake up. Finally, she opened her eyes, and Vihan helped her to sit comfortably.

"Myra," Varun whispered, "maybe now isn't the best time."

Myra shot him a determined look. "Varun, we can't keep pretending that everything is fine. Aranya needs to hear the truth."

Vihan remained silent, his gaze fixed on Aranya's still form. He had been meticulously piecing together the puzzle of Neha's accusations, and he was close to uncovering the truth. He chose to listen, his thoughts swirling with a mixture of emotions.

As Aranya slowly stirred, Myra seized the moment to speak. "Aranya," she began, her voice firm, "there's something I need to tell you."

Aranya's eyes fluttered open, and she looked at Myra with a mixture of confusion and exhaustion. "What?"

Myra took a deep breath, her disgust evident in her voice. "We called Neha, we know everything."

Aranya's eyes widened in shock, and Vihan looked at Myra blankly.

Myra continued, her tone laced with anger, "I can't believe I was friends with you, Aranya. You should stop using Vihan and start taking responsibility for your actions."

Vihan, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up. "Myra, that's enough."

Myra shot him a frustrated look but decided not to press the issue further. She turned to Varun, silently asking him to leave with her, and the two of them exited the room, leaving Vihan and Aranya alone.

Vihan took a deep breath and walked over to Aranya's side. "Well, that was quite the revelation, wasn't it?"

Aranya managed a weak smile, her eyes still filled with uncertainty. "Vihan I-."

Vihan nodded in agreement. "Don't, we can discuss that later. Now, first things first, let's take care of you."

He rummaged through a nearby cabinet and found the medication Aranya had been prescribed. He handed her a glass of water and the pills, making sure she took them. Then he fetched a tray with a light meal house help had prepared earlier.

"Voilà!" Vihan exclaimed with a wry grin, presenting the meal to Aranya. "Your royal highness, I present to you a feast fit for a queen."

Aranya chuckled weakly, appreciating Vihan's attempt to lighten the mood. "You always know how to make me smile, even in the darkest of times."

Vihan smirked. "Well, someone has to keep things interesting around here."

As Aranya began to eat, Vihan sat down beside her, his gaze filled with a mixture of bemusement and affection. "Aranya, you don't have to worry about anything. We'll get through this mess and I have decided I will give you the money, and we will divorce, I understand where you come from after what Neha said, it must be difficult for you to be alone, I am sorry for not understanding you, you are very brave Aranya standing for what you want and it's not being a gold digger it's being secured, being brought up with the fear of being abandoned can make you a very different person, I am sorry, forgive me if you can  ."

Aranya smiled, her heart warming at Vihan's uncharacteristic show of support. "Vihan, thanks."

That's all she could say from the thousand things she wanted to say to him, they have reached the end and sometimes that's how endings are they are not happy, they are not sad, they are just endings, they happen, they are ought to happen, she thought to herself and smiled.

Vihan shrugged, his playful demeanour returning. "Raghav will be here in a while."

Aranya just nodded in response.