(🚨 Long chapter ahead 🚨)

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Ever since we came back from the sports tournament, Ved was busy, really busy - so busy that he didn't have even a second to spare me. He would attend lectures, zoom off to the basketball court, again attend remaining classes, practice after college hours and then leave god knows when.

I wasn't stalking him, but I just had a very special gift which I wanted to give him for all the care and support he had shown me without asking for anything in return. I got the idea of gifting instead of just saying 'Thank you' from none other than Sahil and Gauri.

I had already given Payal her farewell gift and only Ved was left for my mission to get completed. But there was no sign of that guy whenever I was looking for him. A few times I spotted him with his gang, or Tanya or his team members, but when it was my turn to have a talk with him, he vanished in thin air.

Just like other times, I was searching for him today also and caught him chatting with Girls basketball team near the staff room. I shot him a murderous glare when I saw him giving those girls his sweet smile and address everyone equally.

Why are you getting so possessive, Sandhya? He isn't even your boyfriend.

I kicked off my annoying inner voice and headed towards him. But instead of blowing off on him, I tapped his shoulder and once I got his attention, I gave him an accusing look.

"Are you busy?" I asked.

"No," he replied plainly.

"Can you give me a minute out of your busy schedule?" I taunted in a masked angry tone.

"Jelly belly," one of the girls commented and high-fived with her friend.

"Do you have any problem if I talk to him?" I grunted at her.

"Whoa, easy there, girl. We ain't interested in playing in your territory after knowing that the prey is already hunted before the chase even began," the same girl said, making her team members burst out laughing.

Okay, I might be good with proverbs, but what she said was a complete bouncer.

"Stop already," Ved complained and shook his head at the girls who kept pointing that he was turning red.

"Are you free or not?" I questioned him and ignored the girls who were rolling on the floor now.

Can they tell me the joke already?

"Is it something urgent?" Ved queried back.

"It is... but we can talk later; you finish off whatever you were talking about. I won't disturb you," I said.

"Thanks, Sandy Pandy." Ved smiled.

I took my leave after glancing at the girls who were still laughing their asses off and teasing Ved even after I left. Actually, I was happy to meet him and wanted to take him away, but the gift I had for him was really special but not conventional. I wanted to personally see his reaction and record it because I knew he would have surely loved the surprise.

But as he said, I must learn to have patience - I really needed it.

I trudged through the corridor and reached the cafeteria. I sat down beside Surbhi and took out my lunch box. I told myself to stop sulking over such a small thing, but my inner voice was echoing Princess' name in my mind and telling me to search for him again.

"Sandhya." Surbhi poked me and moved her plate in front of me.

"Huh?" I replied in a daze.

"Would you like to have some Medu Vada?"

"Vedu Vada?"

Surbhi put her plate down and exchanged a glance with Parth who was staring at me with wide eyes and open mouth. None of them said anything for what seemed like decades and suddenly, they broke out chuckling like maniacs.

"She is a gone case now," Parth commented.

"Didn't I tell you already?" Surbhi added and clutched her stomach, trying to control her laughing fit.

I glimpsed at Tanya, Divya and Rashi who were snickering themselves but didn't comment directly. I narrowed my eyes at my best friends and told them to stop making fun of me or I would not talk to them ever. They ignored me and continued laughing at the two words which slipped out of mouth accidentally.

(Medu Vada👆)

I huffed and finished off my lunch along with the Medu Vada which Surbhi had ordered for herself. For the first time, I sighed in relief when the bell rang signalling the end of recess and dashed out of the diner before Parth and Surbhi came with more jokes on me.

Since I had a free period, I decided to cure my boredom in the library and maybe sleep if I couldn't concentrate. I was walking really slowly as my mind was clouded with a lot of thoughts when my phone rang and broke me out of my reverie.

I picked up the call after reading the caller ID. I opened my mouth to greet Zoya but after hearing her panicked voice, all colour drained out of my face.

"Didi, please come soon. Ammi is in hospital; she got a heart attack," Zoya cried.

"I am reaching there in a few minutes. Don't panic, okay?" I hung up the call and zoomed towards the parking lot to get my scooter.

I was on my way when I noticed Karthik entering on his bike through the gates and showing his ID card to the security guards. Without wasting any more time, I ran to him and asked him to give me his bike.

"What's the matter, Sandhya?" he enquired.

"Can't explain now. Can you please land me your motorcycle? I promise I won't break it," I told him in a hurry.

He didn't ask further questions and hopped off his vehicle. Within seconds, I mounted his bike and drove out of the college at lightning speed. I already knew the hospital's address since there was only one multi-specialty clinic where Zoya lived and considering the severity of her mother's condition, they would have gone there only.

I wanted to reach there as early as possible, so I didn't care about the traffic and even broke a few signals too. I reminded myself to stop worrying about that and just focus on my top priority at the moment. Ten minutes later, I was outside the hospital where Faiyaz's Mom was admitted.

I hurriedly parked Karthik's bike in the parking lot and stomped towards the reception area. After getting the information, I headed towards the ICU no. 7 but bumped into someone. I apologized to a girl in a burkha who also looked in some kind of emergency.

I didn't pay much heed to her but somehow her eyes caught my attention - her whole face was covered under a veil, revealing only her light brown orbs which seemed a lot familiar. But I shook my head and continued on my way.

"Sandhya Didi!" Zoya jumped from her chair and hugged me.

"Is Aunty okay?" I asked.

"Doctors are operating on her right now..." Zoya whimpered.

"Everything will be alright, Zoya," Katherine came beside her and patted her back. "Nothing will happen to your Ammi."

I smiled at Katherine and thanked her for helping Zoya in such a hard time. She nodded and told me to relax and gave me some water. All three of us sat down outside the operating theatre and waited for the doctors to give us the news.

"Did you inform Faiyaz?" I asked Zoya.

"Bhaijaan will be here in an hour," she informed.

"Okay. Now stop crying or else you will get dehydrated." I side-hugged her.

Soon, we were engulfed in a calming silence minus the usual hospital noise. We didn't realise when one hour past by and Faiyaz was standing in front of us, asking Zoya about their mother's condition.

Zoya launched herself in his arms and told him the same thing she told me. Faiyaz hugged her tightly and gave me and Katherine a grateful smile over Zoya's head. Katherine gave her seat to Faiyaz who kept her sister's head on his shoulder for support and tried to cheer her up.

I crossed my fingers and prayed for everything to turn out alright. After a few minutes, I noticed the same girl I bumped into earlier come and sit beside Katherine. I tilted my head at her and was going to ask Faiyaz if she was a relative, but at that moment, the doors of the ICU opened up and two doctors walked out with blank expressions on their faces.

"How is my Ammi, doctor?" Faiyaz questioned in panic.

"Please tell us. I want to see Ammu," Zoya begged.

"Wipe your tears, kids; your mother is safe and sound," one of the doctors announced and smiled.

Faiyaz hugged him and asked if he could meet his mother or not. The other doctor nodded but told him to take care of the bill as soon as he met his Ammi. Faiyaz's face paled for a second but he masked it quickly and went inside the operation theatre with Zoya in tow.

Katherine and I waited for our turns and when I confirmed that Faiyaz's mom was out of danger, I sighed in relief. When I exited the room, I noticed that Faiyaz was gone; Zoya told me that he went to the reception area to get the medical bill. I exchanged a glance with Katherine who seemed to be sharing the same doubt as mine.

I told Zoya to wait for us and left with Katherine to discuss something important.

"I have some savings left in my account," I said and checked my bank balance on my phone.

"I will take care of the rest," Katherine added.

We nodded after a small discussion and went back to our earlier spots. Faiyaz was back, and he was staring holes through the white sheet of paper in his hands. He was thinking hard while Zoya kept asking him why the bill was so high.

"Don't stress, Faiyaz," Katherine consoled.

"I know the bill is pretty big but if we pool money together, we can take care of it," I suggested.

Faiyaz shot up his eyebrows at us. "There is no way I am taking money from both of you."

"It is not about money, dude, and you are not taking a loan or something; we are your friends - you can rely on us."

"But-"

"No arguments. We are doing this together, and I don't want to hear any objections," Katherine concluded and dialled a number on her phone.

After a few minutes, Faiyaz received a message on his phone of money being transferred to his account. I also did the same and told him to quickly pay the bill so the doctors can take care of the next procedures as soon as possible.

I saw Faiyaz's eyes become glazed, and a tear slipped out from his right eyes. He wiped it and thanked us for always being there for his family. We smiled back and waited for him to return. I turned my head to my left and saw the same girl in burkha sitting in one spot and staring at me continuously.

Okay, I don't know what was going on with her, but she was surely creeping me out.

"Sandhya, I want to talk to you about something. Can you come with me please?" Katherine asked and took me to the garden after I agreed.

Zoya also followed us after checking on her mother, and I was happy to see her face adorned with a small smile after knowing that her mom was okay. Katherine thought for some time and then dropped the bomb on me.

"I want you to come to Ishaan's house for the Holi Party."

(Holi is a popular ancient Indian festival also know as festival of colours and joy signifying the win of honesty over immorality.)

"What?" I shouted in surprise.

"Yes, I know it is sudden but I have been planning for days to bust him and clear out this situation for good."

"Have you gone mad, Katherine? I know he is your boyfriend but he is damn scary, you know. And if he got to know what's cooking in your mind, he wouldn't hurt you but he would surely murder Faiyaz," I reasoned.

"At least listen to her full plan," Zoya scolded.

"How could you be so calm? And wait a minute! Why didn't you tell me anything?" I accused.

"Relax, Sandhya. I know it is a lot to take in, but don't worry; I have everything under control." Katherine grinned.

I was going to open my mouth to protest, but that girl in burkha arrived and stood exactly in front of my face. Honestly, I was scared but when she removed her veil, I was scared to the core.

"Rashi?"

She stared at me with teary eyes and I thought that I was going to get slapped again - for what reason I didn't know. But instead of repeating the history, Rashi jumped on me and wrapped her arms around me. She began sobbing and squeezed me so tightly that I was sure that my bones got broken.

"I am... I am so sorry," she cried.

I glanced at Katherine and noticed that Faiyaz had arrived and he was busy looking at his girlfriend with a sad look. Rashi broke the hug and shook me vigorously.

"How could you... How could you," she hiccuped, "How could you be so selfless?"

How was I supposed to reply?

"I don't deserve a friend like you. I slapped you, insulted you in front of everyone, and here you are, helping Faiyaz and his family without caring about yourself. I misjudged you, Sandhya." She wailed loudly.

"I... I actually don't know what to say," I confessed.

I was really surprised! She came out of nowhere and now she was apologising to me for something that happened three months ago. What exactly was going on nowadays?

"I am such an idiot to blame you for something so cheap," Rashi said and began slapping herself.

I grabbed her hands and told her to come out of her trance; she was hurting herself without realising it. I told Faiyaz to console his girlfriend, but he shook his head. He told me that Rashi did wrong to me and he wouldn't forgive her even if she apologized a million times.

"She will bruise her face at this rate!" I yelled.

Zoya pushed her brother forward, who took a deep breath and held Rashi by her arms. Rashi's lips trembled as she tried to speak but she couldn't utter a single word and looked at her boyfriend with a hurt look.

"You can be mad on her later, but she really needs you right now," Katherine told Faiyaz.

He stared at Rashi and hugged her after a few seconds. Rashi collapsed in his embrace and started rambling while clutching onto him with full strength. While Faiyaz consoled and lectured her at the same time, Katherine continued with her masterplan.

"I am still not sure." I shook my head.

"You don't have to do anything, Sandhya. Just be there and watch the fun. I want you to see Ishaan learning his lesson with your own eyes." Katherine smirked.

After a lot of contemplation and convincing, I agreed and glanced at the couple in front of my eyes. I wondered if their suffering was finally going to end and they could be together again with the help of Katherine.

It was the first time someone had asked me to put no efforts and just be an audience. I was doubtful but I knew that Katherine must have thought thoroughly before taking such a big step. The only thing I had to do was to be present in the Holi Party and support my friends.

Let's hope Katherine's efforts don't go down the drain.