Behind The Veil Of Lies

CHAPTER 1

"Please ma! You know how hard I have worked for this! I've got a golden opportunity to fulfill my dreams ma. Please understand." pleaded a desperate Ria trying to convince her ever-worried mother.

"But, Ria...", Anita was interrupted by Ashok,

"Ria, no-one will stop you from fulfilling your dreams dear, you pack up and come home fast so that we can celebrate together", spoke Ashok, signalling Anita to keep calm till Ria came home.

"Thank you so much papa! You are the best! Will see you both tomorrow! Bye!", a happy Ria cut the call and turned to see Karan at the entrance of her room, grinning widely at her. The sight of him was enough to double her happiness. Without wasting another second, she ran to him and gave him a big bear hug.

"Karan! I'm finally going to Singapore! To Woodbridge hospital! For my dream course!", she screamed jumping in his arms with uncontained excitement.

"God Ria! Calm down! Will you exhaust all your energy right here or save some for our night out too? But on a serious note Ria, I can't express how proud and happy I am for you! You did it Ri!!", said an ecstatic Karan and kissed her forehead fondly.

"WE did it Karan! My efforts would be nothing without your support! Thank you Karan for being my backbone, my strength", said an emotional Ria.

"Ok now stop with the emotional talks! I'll be waiting for you downstairs, get ready and come down real quick ok?", he winked at her, earning a cute smile from his dear girlfriend in return.

Ria had completed her MBBS and was working as an intern in a well known hospital of Mumbai. But, her dream was to pursue MD in psychiatry at Woodbridge hospital, Singapore. She stayed at the interns hostel of the hospital she practiced in and worked hard towards achieving her goal. Her attempts to get into her desired PG stream had failed twice and she was on the verge of giving up. But, her boyfriend Karan, a B.Tech graduate, had faith in her abilities and stood by her as her strength, encouraging her to keep trying untill she achieved it. Finally after two years of hardwork and sleepless nights, she cleared the Post Graduate entrance exam of Woodbridge medical college.
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*Interns hostel*,

"Karan! 5 minutes! I'll be there! Another call from you and I will head home right away. No outing", huffed an annoyed Ria disconnecting the call. Just when she was about to leave the room, Priya, her roommate, barged in, face red with anger.

"Priya? What's wrong? why are you so angry? Fought with BF?", Ria tried teasing her to lighten up her mood.

"I broke up with that douche, Ria! He was just using me for my money! He has another girlfriend too!", said Priya, trying to calm her temper.

"Oh! That's bad. Umm Priya? I'm sorry that I cannot be with you now as Karan is waiting for me downstairs", said Ria.

"Oh yeah, I saw him at the parking. That's ok, you go and enjoy I'll be fine", smiled Priya.

"Bye Priya"

"Bye Ria"

"Ria, what's wrong? I saw Priya going upstairs and she seemed to be in a foul mood? Ri? Ria!", Karan shook Ria, who was lost in her thoughts.

"huh?", Ria looked up, her reverie broken.

"Ria you ok? What's wrong with Priya? Anything serious?", asked a concerned Karan.

"She broke up with her BF. So, she's upset. Umm let's go now we are getting late", said Ria.

"Ok!"

"Karan wait! I forgot my phone in my room let me go get it! Give me a minute", with that Ria rushed to her room and was back in a few minutes.

"You took so long to just get your mobile?", asked Karan, who was slightly irritated because of the wait.

"Stop complaining Karan, let's go" and they drove off to a night of fun and enjoyment.
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*Meanwhile at Ria's Home, Pune*

"Ashok! How can we let her go so far? What if something happens...?", trailed off Anita unable to complete her sentence.

"Anita, relax!. We cannot let her past overshadow her dreams. Besides, she's a doctor now, mature enough to deal with her past and we are just a call away. We can visit her once in a while", said Ashok trying to make Anita understand how important this opportunity was for Ria.

"I don't know Ashok. I'm a mother and I can never cease to worry about my child", said Anita still unconvinced. Ashok let out a tired sigh as he knew it was only Karan who could convince Anita when she is being stubborn.
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*Mumbai*,

After spending a good few hours at the beach and gorging on some roadside chats, savories and ice-creams, a tired Karan and Ria returned back to the hostel to drop her off.

"Ri, please tell me what's wrong. You had this gloomy face throughout our outing. What's bothering you?", asked a worried Karan.

"Karan, I feel bad for Priya! She really did love her BF but he turned out to be a loser. And, I came with you instead of being with her during her low phase", answered a sad Ria.

"Ria, you're not late. We are leaving to Pune tomorrow morning. You can be with her now and cheer her up. But, for that, you need to cheer up first. Come on now, give me my favourite smile of yours", Karan tried to uplift her mood.

"Ok now go! Will meet you tomorrow", smiled Ria, pushing Karan out of her corridor and opened her room door, only to let out a horrified shriek.

Karan who was waiting for the elevator, ran back to her room on hearing her scream.
"Ria! What's wrong!? Why did you scream? Is everything alright? Answer me dammit!", shouted Karan, shaking a motionless, pale Ria who was staring wide-eyed at something infront of her. When he did not receive any response from her, he followed her gaze and,

"WHAT THE F****K!!!"

There, lying on the bed, was Priya, in a pool of blood, with her throat slit open and head twisted badly.