Flashback

A few minutes ago, Dhruv was losing his shit over the phone call. He called his friend Harsha from the police department and hastily recited the whole deal. Dhruv identified the kidnapper's voice in an instant. Dipankar!

He wandered the living room nervously waiting for Harsha to trace the location of the bastard.

He regretted not running after her. If he had chased her down, this would've never happened, and she'd be sitting in her room eating ice cream. He chided and blamed himself for letting her go.

As soon as Harsha sent him the location, he drove like a maniac breaking almost every traffic law. Although his friend asked him to stay put, how could he do that with Riya's life on the line? He rashly pressed the accelerator without an ounce of care for his own life.

In a matter of minutes, he reached the old government building, abandoned and partly torn down.

Dhruv took out his licensed revolver just in case, and stomped into the building. He needed to find the room as soon as possible.

What if he was too late? He fussed over it and prayed every god for her to be alive.

The building stunk of stale urine and alcohol. He twisted and turned every corner only to feel disappointed of not finding anything anywhere.

He was about to climb the next floor when he heard a click emanating from the corner. He slowly moved towards the sound, loading the revolver with the racing beat of his heart pulsating under his fingertips.

He pressed his ears towards the wall hearing nothing.

After dusting up the soil and dirt deposited on the wall, he came to the apprehension that it wasn't a wall, it was a door!

He quickly wiped the sides to find an opening, when a thin ray of light emerged from the doorsill.

'This must be it!' he told himself.

At last, he found the lock and thumped on it. No response. He bashed it repeatedly with his shoulder when rust gave away and the door opened with a bang!

A guy lied down spread-eagled with a river of blood surrounding him. He noted it was his ex-employee Dipankar. Riya squatted in a corner holding a bloody knife and covering herself with her arms, eyes shut.

"Riya?", he crossed the man to reach her, just in time to catch her slumped body falling down.

"Riya…. Riya", he tapped her cheeks with no response. He was calling the ambulance when Harsha arrived on scene.

"Dhruv! Is everything safe? Is she fine?", he hovered near Dhruv to examine Riya first. Thankfully, she wasn't hurt.

He moved towards Dipankar and checked his pulse. "Did you call ambulance? He's alive!", Harsha asked him.

"Yes.. They're on the way…", Dhruv hugged her limp body with a silent promise of never letting her go.

~~*~~

After a while, the doctors announced that Riya was doing fine, diagnosed with fatigue and dehydration whereas Dipankar was in critical condition. But neither of them woke up.

"Who was he?", Harsha sat near Dhruv handing him a coke he bought from the hospital vending machine.

"Thanks… He was my ex-employee. He asked me to give a job after quitting but I denied. Loser!"

"Did he know Riya? I mean, personally."

"No", "I have a restraining order against him. He started a scandal about my company and was sending some threatening emails."

"Oh… Please send me those.. Will be helpful for the case."

Dhruv was uncertain but still asked, "Harsha… Tell me frankly… If he dies, will Riya be charged?"

"No….Maybe she'll be imposed with a small fine but we can plead not guilty with self-defense.", "Please ask your lawyer to meet me later in my office."

"Sure… Thanks a lot Harsha… If you hadn't traced his location…. I can't imagine what would've happened."

Harsha patted Dhruv on his shoulder, "Make sure to repay my kindness with a dinner", he kidded to lighten the mood.

"But I should say…. Your wife is quite brave. I don't know what happened, but from the looks of it, she's a fighter! You're lucky to have such a strong lady behind you.", Harsha marveled.

"I know…", Dhruv smiled in awe, well aware of what she was capable of.

~~*~~

Riya woke up in a hospital bed wearing a depressing blue jumpsuit with a drip hanging at her side. Her hand was being held by someone. She craned her neck and found Dhruv sitting on a chair resting his head on the bed. She brought her free hand to stroke his hair when her eyelids felt heavy again and she drifted back to the dream world.

When she woke up the next time, nobody was nearby. She slowly sat up by herself dragging the hairs behind into a bun.

Dhruv walked in with a smile on his face upon noticing Riya conscious.

"Hey….", he greeted softly and took the chair. "How are you feeling?"

She nodded uneasily. "Okay…"

"Any pains?"

She shook her head.

"Doctor has informed you are good to be discharged. Can we go home?"

She pursed her lips and nodded again.

"I'll help you get up", he offered his hand and gently held her. "I'll take care", she reassured him after getting up and warmed her numb body parts.

"Where are my shoes and phone?"

"All here", he displayed a bag full of her stuffs. She grabbed her phone first and started reading through office emails. He decided not to nag her about it as he'd have done the same thing.

He opened the passenger door for her and took the driver seat himself.

"Drop me at my father's house", she said tugging the seat belt in.

"Riya…."

"This is not because of.... That fight… I want to talk with him about something."

"Then please let me come too."

She pondered over it for a moment, "Fine!" she turned her face towards the window and sat quietly throughout the entire journey. Dhruv worried that she might still be in shock, hence let her organize her thoughts.

They reached her father's house and was showed to the living room.

"Riya! What happened? Are you okay?", he hurriedly entered the room shocked to see Riya in a hospital suit. He came closer and scanned her for injuries.

"I'm fine! Where's Sharan?"

"He's at the company taking care of something. What happened Riya?"

"Please sit, dad. I want to ask you something. But promise to be honest with me.", she ordered with authority.

"Okay…. But what is this about?", he exchanged unsure looks between Riya and Dhruv.

"Did I kill mom?", Riya asked.