Before he could say anything more, his cell phone rang. Sameer stood up and took the call. It was Natasha. As he spoke to her, the conversation around him became silent when theyall realized whom he was talking to. He had filled in Rishi and Kabier earlier in the day and that’s why they were here now.
He disconnected the call a few minutes later and turned to the three of them.
“Natasha says it wasn’t her father.”
“And we’re supposed to believe that?” Rishi asked.
“She says that her father swore on his deceased wife that he had nothing to do with Raashi’s accidents and she believes him.”
“What about Natasha herself?” Kabier asked carefully.
Sameer knew that Kabier had gone through something similar with Keya before they got married and that’s why Kabier understood exactly how Sameer felt at this moment.
Sameer shook his head in the negative. “No. It’s not like her to do something like this.”
“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned! Isn’t that the saying?” Rishi remarked.
“No,” Sameer shook his head, “I can’t see her doing something like this. She was never in love with me in the first place and that night of Sheena’s party she understood that. It’s not her for sure.”
“Which leaves us where exactly now?” Raashi asked.
Before Sameer could reply, the door burst open and Rhea strode in, her eyes brimming with tears.
28
“Rhea,” Sameer said, rushing to his sister. “What has happened?”
Rhea wiped her tears and pressed a manila envelope in his hand.
“It was all about me. He was trying to hurt me and Raashi got caught in the middle. It’s all my fault.”
Sameer stared at her speechless and then glanced at Rishi and Kabier, who looked just as shocked as he did.
Raashi took Rhea’s hand and guided her to the sofa.
“Come on, honey. Explain to us. What exactly is going on?” Raashi asked her gently.
“I met Krish six months ago at a night club in London. A common friend introduced us and I liked him immediately. He was funny and sweet and knew how to party. I was enamored by him. He belonged to an affluent political family from Delhi. We started dating soon and it was so good. Then Kabier got married and I came to India and although I invited him, he couldn’t make it to the wedding. We kept in touch though and he checked all my pictures on social media. They showed me dancing and posing with other friends and he started to get jealous. Everytime I posted pictures he would call and fight with me and then make up soon after. I didn’t think too much of it then.”
She paused for a moment, and continued, “When I returned to London, he was different. He behaved difficult about everything. He became possessive. He would question me all the time... where I went, whom I spoke to and whom I met. We fought a lot. It was annoying after a while but I dealt with it because I thought...”
“Go on,” Sameer urged her.
“I…I thought I was in love with him and that I could make it work. When we weren’t fighting, everything was absolutely perfect. He was perfect. But with time he became more and more obsessive and I couldn’t deal with it any more. Shauna noticed him following us twice when we were returning home from college. He denied it when I confronted him. It reached a point where I couldn’t even go for a simple coffee with friends without him showing up there. I just couldn’t take it anymore. It was hard but Shauna encouraged me to break up with him. I was heartbroken but I knew he was wrong for me. He kept messaging me and calling me to work it out with him. He promised he would change. And even though I wanted to believe him, I knew he was trouble. I didn’t want him back in my life. It hurt a lot to break up with him and everything there reminded me of him. So, I left everything and came home.”
A tear ran down her cheek.
“I thought leaving London was the right decision for me. I never imagined that…that he would follow me here.” She covered her face with her hands and wept.
Sameer crouched down next to his sister and took hold of her hands.
“I’m so sorry, Rhea. I’m sorry you had to go through this all by yourself. We should have been there for you and we weren’t. I’m sorry you didn’t have faith in us to confide all this. It’s notyour fault. I promise never to judge you in the future ever again. Please never go through something like this by yourself. We are all here for you. Every one of us.”
She nodded giving him a teary smile.
Rishi started to say something, but choked, unable to speak. His brother looked as devastated as him. They hadn’t been there to help their sister when she had needed them the most.
Rishi cleared his throat and said, “Why did you say he’s trying to hurt you?”
