The empty plate slipped off Matt's hands, fell to the floor, and shattered. He stood paralyzed. The entire crowd turned to him when they heard the crashing sound of a plate. A guy rushed to Nina. Kate and Lynda were watching the horrified expression of Matt and were also stunned when they saw Nina alive. John's flight was delayed for a long time due to bad weather conditions. He was sitting in the waiting area of the airport and thinking about the same thing he used to do while having whisky in the garden.

It was eleven thirty when John was returning late at night from the club after celebrating his friend's business party. He was half-drunk. Sitting calmly in the back seat of the car, his phone rang. It was Nina. He picked it up. "Hello dear. Happy birthday! I'm so sorry I couldn't attend it because of my friends. You know that, but your mom was present there." A high shriek came from Nina's side and interrupted him. The frequency was undulating. "Hello, Nina. Are you there?"

"Hello! Hello! Can you hear me?" It was the voice of a man, terribly scared.

"Who's it?"

"Sir, I'm a laborer here at the construction site of the new fly-over." His voice was shaking. "A lady met with a terrible accident here. Her car had fallen from the incomplete bridge and crashed."

"What the hell are you saying?" He was gradually coming out of his intoxication.

"I'm not joking, sir!"

"How can I trust you?"

The man helped John with the car's number and informed him that the car had lots of birthday party accessories.

Sir John was not drunk anymore. He jumped off the seat at once and was breathing heavily. "Nina." He whispered with trembling lips. The man was listening to what he said. John sobbed, "My God! She died on her birthday in such a terrible way."

"Sir, she is not dead, but her pulse is extremely low."

"Then get her to the nearest hospital, damn it!"

"Sir, I'm on my way, and I'm quite near the hospital." He told John the name of the hospital.

"Turn around!" That was the next thing John said to the chauffeur.

He reached the hospital within five minutes. Having inquired at the reception, he reached the room where Nina was admitted. That worker was also standing there. John thanked him a lot, and that man left. Later, a doctor came out of the operation theater and told John, "She is critical. I'm surprised how anyone can stay alive after having such a disastrous fall from such a height. We're trying our best, but I can't say anything right now." John stood there.

The words of the doctor were still revolving around his mind. He sat there on the bench. The idea of calling her wife or Lady Lynda never hit him, and in no time he slept there. A nurse woke him up the next morning and informed him that his daughter was out of danger. John had no words to say. He literally started crying. A thought came to his mind about how lucky Nina was. She was out of the mouth of death twice. "If you want, you can meet her." The nurse said. John rushed inside at once.

The sight of his daughter made him cry more terribly. Nina was covered with tubes, and her face was covered with an oxygen mask. She also began sobbing upon seeing him. John reached for her and brushed his hand on her head. She removed the oxygen mask slowly and whispered sadly, "Matt, he did this to me." He was stunned. "What are you saying, dear?" Nina stayed quiet for moments, gathered courage, and told John everything that happened that evening and that night.

Rage filled John. He tried to control himself anyhow.

"I can't believe that he tried to kill you. I'll make him pay even worse." He looked at her and said, "Don't worry, dear. I'm always with you from now on. You just get better."

"Dad, why did you save me? I don't want to live anymore. My husband tried to kill me, and I'm a cripple now. There is no reason left for me to live." Her voice was devoid of hope and filled with anguish.

"What? What are you saying?" John got even more fretful.

"Haven't the doctor told you? I can never walk again."

Just then, the doctor entered the room and asked John to meet him in private.

"Doctor, is that true? She is really a cripple now!" John asked.

"Yes. She is worse than that." He paused and said, "She has lost hope to live anymore. I'm afraid she has developed suicidal tendencies, which means you have to look after her all the time." John stood there, staring at the doctor. The doctor said, "She is not even agreeing to the surgery on her legs. She has turned into an extreme pessimist. If you can, please try your best to creep her out of this depression. Then, we'll talk about her legs' operation." The doctor left to see another patient. John stood there for a while. His mind was numb. He went to Nina and sat beside her. "I'm going to tell your mom about all that happened. She'll look after you, as you need to be looked after. They're about to discharge you in twelve hours. Further medications can be done at home."

"No, dad, please." Nina begged. "Please don't tell mom anything about that."

"But dear..."

"Dad, I don't want to live." Tears filled her eyes as she spoke. John had nothing to say after that. He left the room. No sooner did he come out, then his phone buzzed. It was Kate's call. He picked it up. "John, where are you?"

"A...I'm at my friend's home. We had a party last night, so I stayed here. Don't worry, I'm coming soon." Something kept him from telling Kate the truth.

"Did you hear the news? Nina's car was found crashed at the bridge construction site, and she is nowhere to be found."

John stood there with no answer. "What? I'll do something as soon as possible. Don't worry." He went to see Nina. "Dear, now there is nothing to worry about. Kate knows it."

"What? You told her!"

"No, I didn't. It's on TV. She only knows that you met with an accident—nothing more than that. She knows nothing about Matt."

"Oh, dad, what am I doing? I'm sick of my life. I'm tormenting you all. Please, dad, get me out of here. I can't stay here anymore."

"But Nina..."

"Please, dad, I can't breathe here." Nina pleaded.

John rushed to the doctor and asked him to discharge Nina as soon as possible. "Ok. It can be done after six hours." He replied and asked the nurse to get her ready. After six hours, they brought Nina in a wheelchair. John took the handle of it and reached her to the window so that she could get some fresh air. "I'm about to tell Kate that you are with me, and I'm bringing you back." He said. He left the handle and took out his phone, surfed through the contacts, and just clicked on the name, 'Kate'. Suddenly, a shriek from a nurse came from behind. "Look out!" John turned to her. She was pointing towards the stairs, and Nina was blindly going towards them in her wheelchair. John threw his phone in the air and rushed for her, but it was too late.

She was stumbling down with her wheelchair. The back of her skull hardly struck against the edge of a stair. Till she reached the end of the staircase, she was covered with blood again, and her head was terribly injured. Doctors and nurses rushed. Someone got the stretcher while someone was ordering for the operating room to be prepared. Nurses rushed with trays of equipment. Sir John stood there, paralyzed. He stopped that doctor when he got out of the operating room. "I told you to look after her. She tried to commit suicide. We're still trying our best." After some time, when John was back in his senses, he thought to tell Kate everything, but he couldn't find his phone. He threw it somewhere. At last, he sat there, praying.

Hours later, the doctor came out. "I must say that she is truly lucky. She had lost ample blood, but we still managed to save her again. She is in a position to talk. Do you want to meet her?" John rushed inside the room without saying anything. Nina lay on the bed, immobile. She was staring at the air. He approached closer. "Hey dear, I'm terribly sorry." John said.

"Who are you?" Nina asked. "Where am I?"

"I'm... I'm your father! John! You don't remember me?"

Just then, the doctor came to her and checked her pulse, which was normal. "Listen, do you remember anything that happened to you in the last two or three hours? A day ago, you met with an accident, and today you have fallen from the stairs. Do you remember any of this?" Doctor asked.

"Who are you, and what the hell are you talking about?"

The doctor took John out of the room at once. "What on earth had happened to my daughter?" John asked.

"The worst has happened." He replied. "She was already lame, and now she has lost her memory." John was about to faint. The physician went on, "It was brought on by the severe damage to the back of her skull. There is one pleasing thing. She would no longer attempt to commit suicide. She knows nothing about that."

"You call it pleasant?" John bolted indignantly.

"I'm sorry, but..."

"She literally lost her entire memory. She remembers no one." Those phrases roused his ire.

"I told you to look after her. If you had done that properly, she would not have fallen from the stairs. You have to blame yourself for that. It was nearly impossible to save her, but we did it anyway. You should be thankful for saving her life." After saying that, the doctor left. John had a horrified look for minutes after that.

*  *  *

The same was the look of Matt when he was staring at Nina, sitting on the wheelchair. There was pin-drop silence. Just then, a man rushed to Nina, grabbed her wheelchair, and apologized, "Sorry, sir. Actually, Lady Nina lost her legs and memory in an accident." Those words made Matt more horrified. That man took Nina away. Kate rushed to Nina, as she had also seen her the first time after her accident. She called John, but he didn't pick up. He had sent Nina to that party as he was leaving town. She was not a toy that he could hide from everyone. Kate hugged her. Matt was still staring at her, making him believe that it was true. Lady Lynda's countenance changed into a horrified expression when she saw the man whom John had hired to look after Nina. That man was Podrick. That gave her goosebumps. "Why did you return?" She asked him.

"I never knew you had a relationship with this family. After all, Sir Eric is dead, and I'm not serving you anymore. So, don't get frightened. I'm not going to tell anyone anything. It's a forgotten past." Podrick said. She nodded and left.

'But I can never forget it.' Podrick thought, staring at her angrily. He put his hand in his left pocket. The crumbled piece of paper was there.

A thought came to Matt to call Victoria, but the battery of his phone was dead. Then another thought came to him. 'Since she has lost her memory, there is no need for fear from her. It's not necessary to kill her again. I will tell her once I reach my heaven.' He tried to shove Nina from his mind but was helpless. Just then, Pablo met him. Matt thought talking to Pablo could make him feel better, but he was completely wrong.

Pablo offered him some drinks, which he took gratefully. "So, why didn't you marry Victoria?" Matt asked.

Pablo looked at him in such a way as if Matt had asked him something preposterous. "Who marries the dead?" He replied.

"Sorry?"

"Oh! Forget it. The fact that the Clarks were reunited with their daughter is actually something I am very happy about, as the weight of two deaths that occurred in their family at the same time severely devastated them."

Matt asked at last. "What the hell are these two deaths? I've listened to what Sir John is also saying about that."

"Oh, you don't know that? Quite strange! Sir John told us that the police reported that Nina had two occupants, including her, in her car at the time of the accident." Matt's heartbeat was outpacing. Fear had engulfed him. 'Am I busted?' he thought. Pablo continued, "Nina was with my love, Victoria. Nina got saved in that accident, but Victoria died that night. Just a week ago, we buried her in the graveyard where her grandparents are buried."

"No. What the hell are you saying? This is impossible!" Matt stuttered

Pablo saw him getting sweaty and started panicking.

"Dude, why are you getting tense? Hasn't Sir John told you? Few days ago, I, Lady Kate, and Sir John went to the morgue room of the hospital to see her corpse."

"It's not true. You're lying!" He stammered even more.

"Why on earth will I lie to you? I have no grudges against you. Man, I saw her dead body in the hospital with my own damn eyes." He finished his glass and left to get another bottle.

After that, Matt sat there with a spooky expression with his eyes unblinking for a long time, which was at least two minutes.