Anvi runs out of her car to the pub. She tied her hair in a bun and opened the door of the pub. As she expected the music was paused and the people were interested in the fight more than their drinks and other things.

She quickly took a scan around. Sanjay was drinking his beer looking at the fight. He had grown a beard and looked dead nowadays.

Rehan was punching Sharma and the latter was not backing off too as he punched Rehan in the guts.

Anvi shook her head and walk to Rehan. She was mad that everyone turned into an audience without pulling them away.

"Back off Sanjay!" Anvi shouted pulling Rehan. "Rehan. Stop!"

"You son of a bitch." Sharma screamed grabbing a beer bottle and thrashing it against Rehan's head but Rehan quickly defended it using his hand as the glass bottle crashed against his wrist.

Rehan groaned in pain and kicked Sharma in the stomach. He punched as many times as he could into Sharma's body, wherever he could.

Anvi wrapped her hands around Rehan's torso pulling him back.

"Aadhya--Aadhya" She whispered in his ears.

Rehan's hands froze so does his legs. He screamed kicking one of the chairs and grabbing a beer goes out of the bar.

Anvi sighed covering her face. She held her hand out and helped Sharma to get up. She could bet she felt a hot gaze on her neck.

"Everybody is going through a lot. And it would be so great if you could keep it inside your pants." Anvi said her eyes glaring at Sharma's. Before Sharma could speak she interrupted. "And I know them. Rehan won't miss a chance to kick you, please stay away."

Sharma looked at her, he could not listen to her words, and then walked out of the bar grabbing his jacket. The music played again across the bar and the people continued whatever they were doing.

Anvi pulled Sanjay and dragged him out of the bar. Rehan was sitting in the driver seat of his car with the door open. He held the unfinished beer in his hand and stared nowhere.

"You guys are freaking old. Like old people. Your school teachers have already forgotten your name and I still don't remember the name of some of my friends and you are here fighting with the guy who's a police officer. He's the one who's leading our case. What is wrong with you? Why would you go and fight him?" Anvi yelled grabbing the bottle and throwing it on the floor.

Rehan looked at her for a second and then shook his head vigorously.

"Hey!" Anvi warned. "Do not give me that 'when will she and Sanjay break up so she won't be family' look"

Rehan pouted. "I never did."

"I know you always do!" Anvi gave him her sharpest look and then turned towards Sanjay.

"Your cousin died. Tara died. She's the sweetest person I've ever met. Every day I cry thinking about her. I loved her. And yes she fell right in front of you and died. And then you couldn't save his girl. Yes, you're guilty. Yes, you're feeling guilty because you think it's because you went from home. But hear me out, it is not your fault. It was never yours." Her eyes welled up as she looked at her lover's appearance. The beard, eye bags, unpressed clothes, he was a mess.

Sanjay mumbled a sorry and went to Rehan's car, sitting on the passenger seat.

"You're coming with me. Get inside now." Anvi yelled making Sanjay groan as he goes to sit inside her car.

"I'm going. Bye." Rehan shut the door and Anvi run back to his side and took his car keys.

"You're not." Anvi dragged him out of his car. "You're coming with me. The last thing I want is one more death."

"I won't die Anu, only the people around me."

>>>>>>

Aadhya grabbed her phone and walked out of her room. She only has the memory of running through the stairs never of walking slowly. But this time as she slowly stepped down every single step of the stairs her life flashed Infront of her.

She could see a 10-year-old Aadhya running down the stairs laughing as her brother chased her. She could see a schoolgirl with her book. She could see a college girl. She could see a bride.

She could see Aadhya in them, but not in her.

"Diya do you need anything?"

Aadhya nodded no sitting on the couch. She took the remote and turned the TV on. Her eyes fixed on the screen but her mind seemed to be somewhere else.

"Diya beta." Her Dadi pushes the pillows on the couch and sat beside her. "Drink this. I made this especially for you."

Aadhya smiled grabbing the glass.

"If it's not sweet I'm not drinking this."

"It is," Devki answered from the kitchen.

"Drinking this will give you all your strength and more milk for our boy. Surely he needs to be the firstborn who is the best."

Aadhya chuckled painfully. "He's not the firstborn. He's the second."

"Ha Ha of course. But you know Rehan's family's every firstborn is a boy. That's god's blessings. The god has blessed me, your mother, your sister, you, your mother-in-law--"

Aadhya looked at her Dadi in bewilderment.

"God has blessed my Bhabhi too."

"Sure sure. Let's hope she carries soon."

"Are you out of your mind? You're-----Dadi, with all respect." Aadhya's voice raised along with the rage passing through her.

"Oh my god, you're thanking God for the death of my daughter, so that your god's blessings are upon me. Are you mad?" Aadhya shrieked with sudden realisation.

She always knew her grandmother was old fashioned but she never imagined this.

"Do not raise your voice at me, Aadhya. I'm your Dadi."

"Yes. And you're a woman too." Aadhya stood up raising her hands. "It's not men always, It's women who are still feeding patriarchy to the children. You're so sick!"

"Aadhya." Her mother stopped her, running from the kitchen.

Dadi shouted. "Your mother didn't raise you better. You---"

"She did raise me better. She did. But she never stood for herself, never stood against you and your son, that's where she has gone wrong not with the upbringing of her children."

"If she'd raised you better you wouldn't be shouting at an elder person."

"When an elder is talking absolute nonsense the younger ones have to correct them."

Dadi shook her head and looked at Devki.

"I should have controlled you the moment you stepped in this house. You fed every uncultured thought to my grandchildren."

"I made them stay away from every uncultured thing. I made them see the right and the wrong. I made Arjun know that crying is a boy thing too. I made him learn that helping anyone in the kitchen wouldn't make him less of a man. I made Jhanvi know education comes first. But I failed only in making my Diya do that. I failed as a mother when you and my husband shut me down from deciding for my daughter and I didn't fight for her. I forgot to teach Diya her family doesn't come first before one's self. I forgot to teach my children how toxic you are to them." Devki's tears rushed down her eyes. She glared at her mother-in-law who sat on the couch furiously.

The doorbell interrupted them. Devki opened the door for Jhanvi, her other daughter and her baby, Arjun, his wife Niti and their daughter Samaira.

Arjun with his wife and daughter had gone to pick Jhanvi from the airport.

After hugging her mother and passing her baby, Jhanvi went to hug Aadhya.

Aadhya fisted her hands punching her nails to her palm to smile as she hugged Jhanvi.

"I told you not to come," Aadhya said.

"How are you? Why is the air here giving me bad vibes." Jhanvi questioned.

Aadhya shrugged walking past her sister to hug her nephew.

She decided to let the toxic teaching of her Dadi not run into her rest of the family.

Hours after talking to her family Aadhya went to her room. She wanted to talk to someone and the best person seemed to be her husband.

She grabbed her phone and dialled him. Many busy calls later she texted him.

Where are you? Are you okay? Just text me back to let me know you're okay.

She also dialled Sanjay whose phone turned out to be switched off.

With last hope, she called Anvi. Aadhya thought if Anvi knew where Sanjay he can help in finding Rehan. She was worried about him. He never missed her calls if she's calling him indefinitely.

"Hey, Aadhya. All good?"

"Yeah. Yes. Do you know where Rehan is? Is he with Sanjay or--?

Anvi looked at Rehan in the backseat of her car. The empty bottle of beer by his leg. She didn't know if she wanted to tell the truth to Aadhya.

"Is it anything serious?" Anvi questioned.

"No. I just wanted to talk to him. Is he there? I've been calling for so long. I was getting worried."

"Yes. I understand. There's nothing to worry about. He's okay. He'll call you in the morning."

"Can't he talk now? Where's he?"

Anvi shut her eyes. "He's drunk and sleeping, I'm afraid. He wasn't himself today, had a lot on his shoulders. He had a bad da--"

"Yes. Thank you." Aadhya shut her phone and threw it away on the bed.

Tears rushed out of her eyes. She didn't make any efforts to wipe them. She was tired. She was angry.

>>>>

Rehan woke up with an extreme need to pee. He couldn't sit on the bed straight without falling. Grabbing the headboard he stood up. His vision was blurry.

Rubbing his eyes he went to the toilet to relieve himself. Just as he was about to jump back on the bed, again, he heard noises coming downstairs. It was two people shouting.

He didn't want to know the time, looking at the dark sky through the window he guessed it was too late.

Rehan didn't want to go downstairs but when the noise wouldn't stop he went down, with his wiggly steps.

"--won't you stop this Ved. This is going to get out of hand." Kavya scolded. Her voice loud enough to be heard in the quiet house.

"The only reason why I'm doing this is because of you. You. You alone." Ved said back. His eyes were red and puffy.

"What the hell did I do? You should thank me that I'm the only one who knows you and is protecting you from everybody."

Ved smirked. "Really. I thought it was the other way around. I'm the one protecting you without my knowledge. You're a murderer and I'm your pawn."

"Your words are going out of control Ved."

"I do not have better adjectives to define you other than a murderer for killing Tara."

Kavya gasped her eyes glaring at him.

"Wh-----"

Her words were interrupted as the light turned on of the hall. Rehan stepped down a few steps of the stairs.

"People are sleeping here. Get your drama out of the house. Both of you." Rehan shouted.

Ved rushed to his room while Kavya sat on the couch in the hall. Rehan turned to walk to his room.

Murderer. Tara. Pawn. Knowledge. Ved. Kavya. These linger in Rehan's brain only till his body hits the bed.

i'm truly sorry for being late. i know i've been saying this for the past updates. but school and exams are so hard i'm not getting enough time. today i've my exams starting, once again, and my eyes are closing automatically in between. i need sleep and time. which are so precious to me. i'll try to be regular, insha allah.

thank you so much for the patience. i've been reading every one of your comments and it means a lot to me. please keep on supporting.

hit the star and voice your thoughts.

with love
zoe----

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