Fateful Contract

Shockwaves

"I trusted her completely. How could she hurt me like this?"

At present, with Shivangi's revelation about Aneri and Kunal, Tejasswi fumed, hobbling around the room in frustration.

"That little troublemaker thinks she can keep things from me? She's in for a rude awakening."

In a fit of rage, Tejasswi rambled on before snatching her phone and punching in Aneri's number.

"Where the hell did this brat go? Why didn't she answer her call?"

Her words spilled out in a torrent as she tried to get through to Aneri, but all her calls went unanswered.

"Today, she is going to be dead by my hands." Tejasswi mumbled and called her again.

"Teju, why are you calling so frantically?" Aneri's voice came on the line.

"Where are you, and why were you not answering my call, you hellion?" Tejasswi rebuked angrily.

'What's gotten into her? She rarely loses it. Has she had a fight with Mr. Kundrra? Nah, she doesn't vent her anger on innocents. Did I annoy her?'

"Teju, chill, I was driving to take your call. I got out of the elevator just now and I'm going to your room." Aneri said in a calm tone that she was coaxing a little kid.

"Move your butt fast and show up."

"Ahh, what's wrong, ouch, my phone..."

Tejasswi was in the midst of giving Aneri a warning when she picked up strange sounds from the other end, and the call went dead.

"Aneri, what just happened? Are you alright?" Tejasswi muttered to herself as she redialed, only to find it switched off.

Tejasswi sensed something was wrong and hurried out with the help of the IV pole.

"Aneri, can you hear me?" She repeated her name several times as she limped down the corridor.

"Where did she go after exiting the elevator?"

Despite her thorough search, Tejasswi couldn't locate Aneri in any of the rooms on the floor. She eventually found herself at the end of the corridor.

Consumed by worry, she was on the brink of making her way to the administration office to request access to CCTV footage when she heard faint sounds. She double-checked meticulously and discovered a door right beside the stairwell entrance. It turned out to be a linen room.

"Jai, why did you drag me here? Have you gone nuts?"
Tejasswi's ears caught the familiar sound of Aneri's voice.

'Jai? Is she conversing with a different guy in there? Who is this Jai person?"

Just a short while ago, Tejasswi remembered hearing a couple in a treatment room having a heated argument about their breakup. The girl was repeatedly calling him Jai.

'I wasn't hallucinating Aneri's voice back then; she was Aneri.'

"Yes, I have gone insane because of you."

The sharp and clear sound of Kunal's voice hit Tejasswi's ears, prompting her to shake her head in disbelief. "Oh, for heaven's sake, what a peculiar couple to keep on arguing in a hospital," Tejasswi said under her breath.

"Regardless, today there's no getting away until you either cease pestering me about a breakup or provide a realistic reason to let you go," Kunal declared firmly, pressing Aneri against the wall.

Tejasswi was about to knock on the door but stopped. 'Even I want to know the reason, should I eavesdrop? No, this is ethically wrong.'

'They both put on a nonchalant front for everyone else, but Kunal's tone was strained.' Tejasswi couldn't help but wonder, "What's up with Aneri?" Unable to resist, she gave in to the temptation to eavesdrop.