Her Only Saviour

15. One step closer to the veil

We’re all getting ready for Rhea Mallik’s funeral.

Shocking, right?
Trust me, I still can’t believe it either.

This morning started like any other—until I got a call from my P.A. His voice was trembling.
“Sir… you need to see the news.”

Confused, I grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.

And there it was.

𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦
𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝘆𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗝𝗮𝘆𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗸’𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗥𝗵𝗲𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗸, 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝟯:𝟯𝟬 𝗮.𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺.
𝗜𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗥𝗵𝗲𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗸 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲—

I didn’t read further.

My hands froze. My breath caught.
Just yesterday… she was screaming at the top of her lungs, fighting with everyone like nothing could touch her. And now—this?

Dead?
Gone?

It felt like the world had paused but my heart wouldn’t stop racing.

“Ani beta, come. We’re all waiting,” someone called from outside the room.

I silently picked up my phone, straightened my sherwani, and walked out.

Still numb.
Still stunned.
Still searching for a sign this was all just a nightmare I hadn’t yet woken up from.

I saw the Oberoi family walking toward us. Saisha and Rudra came to stand beside me.

“Nandini di… I’m scared. What if her ghost shows up?” Rudra whispered, his voice barely above a breath.