Bade Sapne

Part 2

Priya's POV

I was pacing the living room, my phone clutched in my hand, the screen lit up with unanswered texts. Abhishek sat across from me, hunched over his laptop, scrolling through articles, trying to connect the dots.

"Anything?" I asked, my voice tinged with a growing frustration. It had been hours since the match-fixing allegations hit the media, and now, rumors were swirling that someone had planted the idea in Shubman's head. Vira's name was being dragged through the mud in every possible way, and it was making me sick.

Abhi shook his head. "Nothing conclusive yet. But whoever's behind this knew exactly what they were doing. They've timed this perfectly, just when the IPL season's in full swing, and Shubman's under immense pressure."

I ran a hand through my hair, trying to calm the storm of anxiety building up inside me. "What about the people we've reached out to? Any word?"

"I've put out some emails. No one's saying anything definite yet." Abhi's jaw clenched. He was just as frustrated as I was. The whole situation was spiraling out of control, and we needed answers-fast.

I sighed, glancing at my phone again. No new messages from Vira. No missed calls. She'd been quieter than usual today, which wasn't like her. After everything that had happened, I figured she'd need some space, but something about the silence was gnawing at me.

"I'm worried about her, Abhi," I confessed, dropping onto the couch next to him. "Vira hasn't texted me in hours. I'm trying not to panic, but... I have this feeling."

Abhi looked at me, concern flashing in his eyes. "When was the last time you spoke to her?"

I checked my phone again. "This morning. I told her to stay home, and she said she would. But she's not answering any of my calls."

Before Abhi could respond, a thought hit me, and I froze.

"What if she left?" I whispered, dread pooling in my stomach. I knew Vira well enough to know she wasn't the type to just sit around while everything fell apart. If she felt cornered by the media, the public, or even her own thoughts, she might've gone out to clear her head.

Abhi's eyes widened. "You don't think she-?"

I was already dialing her number again, praying that this time she would pick up. The call rang once, twice... and then went straight to voicemail. My heart dropped.

"Shit," I muttered, standing up and pacing the room. "She's not picking up. She never ignores my calls, Abhi. What if something's wrong?"

Abhi quickly grabbed his keys. "Let's not wait. We'll go look for her."

I nodded, grabbing my jacket and bag. Every worst-case scenario was racing through my mind. Vira, out there alone, with all the chaos surrounding her. What if someone recognized her? The media was already brutal, but with the public turning against her, things could get dangerous fast.

We rushed out of the apartment and into the parking lot. As we got into the car, I tried calling Vira again, but still no answer. Panic gripped my chest tighter with every unanswered ring.

"Where do we even start?" I asked, anxiety rising in my throat. "She could be anywhere."

"We'll drive by the places she usually goes," Abhi said, starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot. "The park, maybe that café she likes, anywhere she might've gone to think."

I stared out the window, my mind racing. "She wouldn't just disappear without telling me," I muttered, more to myself than to Abhi. "She wouldn't."

As we drove through the rain-soaked streets, I kept my eyes peeled, scanning every corner for any sign of her. Every shadow made my heart skip a beat. Where could she be?

I dialed her number again, but this time, my phone screen blinked low battery. "Shit," I hissed under my breath. I couldn't afford for my phone to die right now. Not when Vira could be calling me back at any second.

"She's probably just turned her phone off," Abhi tried to reassure me, but his voice wasn't convincing. Even he knew that something felt off.

I kept trying, my fingers moving on autopilot as I hit redial again and again. The same empty ringtone met my ears, followed by silence.

"Come on, Vira. Where are you?" I whispered to myself, chewing my lip in frustration. The city outside the window blurred past, the streets filled with honking cars, pedestrians under umbrellas, and the distant buzz of life continuing on as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile, my world felt like it was spinning out of control.

Suddenly, my phone screen went black.

"No, no, no!" I frantically pressed the power button, but it was no use. The battery was dead. I couldn't reach her anymore.

"Abhi, my phone's dead," I said, panic creeping into my voice. "What if she's trying to call me?"

Abhi's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "We'll find her," he said firmly. "Just hold on."

But I wasn't sure I could. The gnawing feeling in my stomach was growing, telling me something was wrong. Really wrong.

As we sped through the streets, my mind kept flashing back to every conversation I'd had with Vira in the past few weeks. The pressure she'd been under, the stress, the media constantly hounding her. I'd thought I'd been keeping her grounded, but maybe I hadn't done enough. Maybe I hadn't seen the cracks forming until it was too late.

We passed the park. No sign of her. I kept looking, hoping for a glimpse of her familiar figure, but she wasn't there. The rain was getting heavier, making it harder to see through the windshield.

"What if she's somewhere else? Maybe she went to the stadium? Or back to Ishan's place?" I asked, grasping at straws. My mind was spinning with possibilities.

"We'll check it all," Abhi said, his voice steady, though I could tell he was worried too. "But we'll find her, Priya. We will."

I wanted to believe him, but with every passing minute, my worry grew. Where was Vira? Why wasn't she answering?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N:

SORRY FOR THE EXTREMELY LATE UPLOAD, BUT PLS CUT ME SM SLACK IM GOING ON HOLIDAY SO IVE BEEN BUSY 😭

BUT ANYWAYS, WHAT U THINK OF THIS CHAPTER? TELL ME IN THE COMMENTS

and now.

SHUBMAN'S ODI PERFORMANCES AAAHAAHAGAGAHA OMG

GEARED UP FOR CT FR