Accidents happen when something inevitable takes effect, but crime has a totally different aspect. It is not unavoidable, but it could be to blame, and it could be to punish. However unfair it might sound, one's sinful deeds are written by oneself only.

Priyanka was one of the reasons that Monica took her own life, as Krishant claims it to be. If anything, she had always considered Monica unhappy, and it was really the case. Priyanka couldn't forget her rueful expression, even if it were just a glimpse, but Monica was actually in pain. Did Krishant really not know about what was really happening in his ex-girlfriend's life? Or did he choose to ignore it because he broke all ties with her? Monica was not his responsibility in the end, just like Kajal.

Priyanka almost resonates with his cruel response towards Kajal the day before when she barged in and accused Krishant of killing Monica. After all, she knows Krishant more than she knows Kajal. That also questions if he was also the reason why Monica killed herself just like her. Ruby was no exception in the case either.

Was Monica jealous that her ex-boyfriend chose Priyanka over her, or did Krishant misunderstand her depression for heartbreak? It was hard to comprehend, and Krishant was not making anything easier either. She could remember nothing. Her therapies were not enough, and neither were her medications.

No more, it was not just hard to fall asleep for Priyanka now, but it was also hard to not think about the two sisters. Did they deserve the endings they had? But without knowing the truth about any of the person's stories first, it was an obnoxiously foolish move to assume anything. Krishant might turn out to be an untrustworthy person, but no doubts were pointing at him as he was as much involved with Monica's death as Priyanka was. Though Priyanka got involved through him, she still generously acknowledged the involvement.

The mansion she once considered the most beautiful residence she had ever stayed in was suffocating her now. The thoughts of dark mysteries buried within the same walls terrified her as if they would swallow her too into their darkness. Due to that, she started taking walks around the town, ending the custom of spending her evenings with Krishant.

Her long, thoughtful walks after the rain showered the town would take her to the places familiar or make her explore the roads to the lowest portions. She would stop at the public benches, think about all the events that recently turned her life upside down, and worry for the people related to the issues. Only a handful of the civilians could recognize her.

Krishant was surprisingly calmer after the events, as if nothing really had changed about their relationship. She wanted to come clean to him about her sequestered past that he was clearly unaware of, but previously, she was only using her past as an excuse to leave the mansion. He sharply asked her about it, and she dismissed it. No matter how close she had grown to his companionship, it was a secret she could never reveal to the world after watching her mother's cruel reaction towards it for years. She was not scared to confront people or their judgments - Priyanka never cared about such insignificant perspectives. She did not want to explain. If her own blood never tried understanding her, she highly doubted if society would ever accept her.

Her father would have understood her. He would have embraced her every flaw. Neither did he ever contact his eldest daughter again after leaving the house more than fifteen years ago, nor did they make an attempt to bring him back. They all just gave up. Ironically, they were all drowned in the sea of their remorse for neglecting their duties towards each other that they realized that a simple apology would not suffice. But their generous hearts would have forgiven any heinous crime of emotions if they had tried. Priyanka knew her mother still loved him even after so many years of separation; hence, she never remarried.

Her father, Atul Naik, dated a few times to forget the stinging absence of his one and only love, Sarangi, after staying more than hundreds of kilometers apart in his hometown. But he never met someone special who would flabbergast him with love enough that he would forget his beloved wife and wed her instead. He was not a cheater.

Priyanka had significant issues to deal with at the moment, but no worries were ever more grandiose than her grief. She had lost her dearest father, after all. It changed her drastically, in a way that Priyanka never expected. She started forgiving her loved ones more, letting go of grudging she didn't know she held. She begins to bond with them. It was peaceful to comprehend that people actually cared for her, loved her, and accepted her for what she was. She had started to see things more clearly.

The therapies were not curing her amnesia but they were healing her heart. Krishant's character stayed swinging back and forth in her life as her debate upon his untrustworthiness swelled.

"Good Evening, Faruqui." She greeted the husky voice.

"I can't believe you're still alive."

"Ha ha ha. You're being so funny." Priyanka started ascending the stairs after coming from an evening run.

"Well......yeah. I was joking only." She heard him sigh from the other side of the call.

She paused. "What is it? You don't sound like you're joking."

"Not after meeting Kajal Sawant." She quickly scans the house before she starts running to her room and locking the door. Her companion was nowhere in sight.

"You met her? How is she? Did she tell you anything?"

"Hold your horses." he complained, "You think your calls are getting tapped?"

"What?"

"That was out of context. Anyways, I was saying that I have something of Monica to give you."

"Monica?"

"Yes. Kajal gave it to me. It is the only thing of Monica that she took with her to the institute, but she wishes to pass it to you."

"Sounds like her legacy, is it?"

"There's nothing to joke about, Priyanka. She had kept it hidden from the watchful eyes for months now."

"Shit. I am so sorry. It just feels so--. Never mind, that is not why you called."

"It's alright. I will listen to you." Priyanka sighs as gratefulness swells her chest.

"Thanks. Anyway, I'll come to see you soon."

"No. You'll only come out of the house to leave the mansion, now. It's a Diary. I'll send it over. Make sure Sanghvi doesn't get his hands on it."

She nods, "Roger that."

"Child." He huffs after mumbling, "I have something else to tell you."

"Yeah?" Priyanka stopped her pacing.

"I got the lab reports this morning." He states with a thick voice.

"The bloodied jars match the blood samples I collected from the families." Faruqui had expected the result, but Priyanka still had her doubts.

"What?" she asked after a moment of silence. The truth was too thick for her to swallow. "He painted the portraits with their blood?"

"That's what it explains. Are those painting back in the office?"

"I-I don't know, Faruqui. I haven't checked." the chills were running down her spine as the eerie feeling kept striking her.

"Hmm..." after a minute, "Just pack your bags. I don't trust him anymore after what he did with Sawant. Ask Vijay to collect you after midnight."

"Why?"

"Don't ask any questions. Your safety is the priority. I am not saying that Sanghvi would immediately do something or he might not even do anything, but precautions are necessary. You don't have a reason to stay there anymore, Alright?"

"Okay." Her heart thumped.

___________

She only got a few hours to prepare herself as Faruqui had told her not to inform Krishant about her departure before morning.

She didn't understand the reason to do so but complied to sneak out of the house redardless. The mansion was nothing like a maze, as it had simple routes if remembered. Priyanka remembered all.

Under the pitch darkness and the soul of the night, Priyanka quietly made her way to greet the twilight. With a bearable weight of her bags and an unbearable thumping of her heart, Priyanka, with dreadful steps, passes Krishant's room.

She stops but, without a glance, continues. She didn't bother with lights, as usual, moving on with regret for not having a last goodbye with him.The after-rain earthen smell hits her nose with wasps crying happily. Upon nearing the pond-structured fountain, realization draws upon her. She hadn't called Vijay to pick her up. She groans in annoyance before smacking herself on the back of her head in self-disappointment. In utter hazard of leaving the mansion without Krishant finding out took a toll on her memory.She settles her two bags before registering the risk of stopping. She again starts walking through the driveway, sensing the eerie surveillance capturing her movement. Passing the brown servant's cottage, she stops near the entrance and looks at the midnight sky before fidgeting with her jacket pockets for her phone.

The reason for being so quiet felt exaggerated as if she was robbing him. She was only following the friendly advice from Faruqui, but there was the need to sneak out. She was only glad about the situation because she could escape without explaining it to her loyal companion face-to-face.

Before she could hit the send button of the text to Vijay, the twitch of a twig from behind, startled her. Emptiness upon spinning around to investigate alerts her more as she looks through the dark-empty garden. Dead quietness amplifies her furious heartbeats. Accepting that her paranoia was speaking for her, she failed to notice the approaching footsteps until it was too late.

Retreating from the garden and mansion view, in a matter of two seconds, she was lying unconscious on the cold hard earth with only a thud sound reaching her senses with a piercing pain at the back of her head.

____________