Sacrifice And Realisation (BOOK #1) ✔

Chapter 40

Chapter 40

The lifeless body of Dheeraj lying on a stretcher and draped in a white sheet brought Durga back to reality. As the men put the stretcher down on the floor, Durga fell to her knees while Vidya stood frozen in her place. There wasn't a stir on her part and the onset of shocking waves in their lives had rendered Sanchi completely speechless.

The moment Vihaan was brought into the living room, he was already handcuffed by two other policemen from the bureau. Arjun had accompanied the 'arrest' team in disbelief for the loss of his best friend while Virendra leaned against the door of the entrance.

A prominent horde of silence spread across the hallway and nobody showed the courage to utter any word of condolence. Dheeraj's death came like 'a bolt from the blue' to the Bundela family. It affected more when the killer was discovered to be nobody else but his own brother Vihaan.

Vihaan was solely responsible for having taken the life of his beloved brother, the brother who always stood by his side when nobody supported him, the brother who trusted him when his parents wouldn't, the brother who always used to save him from his father's chiding and from other accusations. It was only Dheeraj who had always believed in whatever Vihaan did, ignoring the extreme arrogance the latter possessed.

Guilt was killing Vihaan equally too. Though he knew he was responsible for shooting his brother, but deep inside his heart, he felt vacant. His brother had to face death only once but, Vihaan would face death daily out of sheer guilt and agony for having snatched the life of the most favorite person of his own life.

Tears weren't trying to escape Vihaan's eyes this time but to hide his weakness from the entire world, he had held his head lower and kept his eyes tightly sealed. He was hating to face his family, he was hating to look at Sanchi whom he had hurt before leaving the city but most importantly, he was hating himself.

Vihaan's thoughtful trance was disturbed when he heard Sanchi staving off the silence in her broken voice, "You can ne-ver do this Vih-aan, or did you?"

The emotional attachment of missing each other and longing to meet again was bridged for both Sanchi and Vihaan. They both were standing facing each other after so many days of separation but fate played with Sanchi again. She was dying to earn his forgiveness for whatever she had done before he left the city, whereas Vihaan was hurrying to return home to settle down everything between them.

Why couldn't things get better between them and why was it that hurdles never failed to leave their sides? Why do the situations they faced together always had to be so awkward each time?

Vihaan didn't have the courage to open his eyes or face Sanchi's accusations. When he didn't answer, Sanchi yelled again, tears draining her withered cheeks. "I will never beli-eve that you can kill your own bro-ther! Just tell me the truth, Vih-aan."

Virendra opened his mouth to speak, "Don't you believe us, Sanchi? We were all true witnesses that he had shot his brother deliberately. Won't you even believe your brother Shay, the person with whom you spent a part of your childhood? He was present there too."

Sanchi darted towards Shaurya in a split second and caught hold of his arm. "Why did you go to Ag-ra, Shay? Wh-at were you do-ing there? Vih-aan was suppo-sed to be taking care of so-me case."

Shaurya nodded his head. "It doesn't matter anymore, Vay. I was the one with whom and for whom Vihaan had departed for Agra. He was there to solve my case but when it was getting difficult to handle the case alone, Vihaan decided to take Virendra uncle and Dheeraj's help. We were not supposed to tell anyone anything but the situation ran out of control."