Ishqana Dil

Part 13

Her phone rang. She absently reached for it and answered without looking. A mistake. Such a huge mistake.

A calm eerie voice that was only too familiar, that had haunted her endlessly for the past week spoke up. It was so calm it could have been a recording. But she knew it wasn't. it was him. Dev Agihotri...

He recited every little bit of information about her and her daughters. She should have hung up. She just could not. She stood there, frozen, drinking every word, feeling shivers run down her back, gripping the edge of the table hard, feeling the ground slip underneath her feet. He knew everything. Every single thing about them.

Except for the one most important thing. The one secret that only Rishi and she knew had remained a secret still. Otherwise, he had their hold lives in his ends. He finished with a chuckle. "I know everything about you, Sneha..."

His laughter, that sinister sound, still rang in her ears even several long minutes after he had disconnected. And she remained where she was, unmoving, the phone still glued to her ear. Everything was lost. This was the end. If he had been able to undig all this information, it would not be long until he found out about...

And then? What would happen then? He would create a scene. She was sure of it. He was going to create a big scene. Her daughters would know. They would detest her. They would hate her so much... How would she ever live without them?

Sneha felt herself weaken. The phone slipped out of her hand, crashing on the ground. What was going to happen now? She grew more and more light headed. Her weakness and anxiety grew. When the darkness engulfed her, she accepted it completely...

***

When she resurfaced from the darkness, everything was too bright... Her vision was blurred. There was some commotion. She had to blink several times to adjust. Rachita was sitting by her side, worriedly fanning her.

"Mamma, are you alright?"

She hauled herself up in a sitting position and realised someone had moved her to her bed. "Main..."

"Don't worry, Mamma. Amaya and Mantu must be coming with the doctor, I just called them. You don't move, okay?"

Kaushalya scuttled in with a glass. "Yeh lijiye bhabhiji, pani."

Sneha unwillingly swallowed the water and hoped it would stay down because she was feeling too sick. Dev's phone call... How much she wished Rishi was there... He would have known what to do. He knew how to deal with all situations...

"Mamma," Rachita murmured as she tucked her hair away from her sweaty face. Sneha looked at her eldest daughter's face for a long time and thought. By the time Amaya and Mantu had arrived with the doctor, she made a decision already. She knew what she had to do.

***

"Nothing critical to worry about. The stress levels were probably very high, so I would only suggest to keep her away from that as much as possible. And give her these medicines."

Rachita nodded and took the prescription from him. Rudra accompanied the doctor to the door. Mantu's eyes went back to Amaya's troubled face. He wished there was something he could do to take all of her worried away...

With some difficulty, he finally managed to look away. "I should go, now. I will-"

"Arrey, Mantu beta." They all froze as a frail and rather gray Sneha appeared in the doorway. "Can you come in, please? I have something important to discuss with you."

He automatically glanced at Amaya, who looked even more disturbed now. Uncertain, he nodded and followed her mother.

***