Rehaan's POV

Silence! Deafening Silence!!

Usually silence was comforting. I hated to make small talk and preferred to keep quiet unless necessary. At least that was what I found out about me in the few days I have been awake. However, today this silent room felt itchy as if bugs were crawling all over my body. Everything was uncomfortable. And this was all because of the absence of a certain someone.

Although I didn't remember our past, and made our every conversation awkward, there was still some strange kind of comfort when Muskaan was near. Even if we stayed silent, engrossed in our own thoughts, it felt good to have someone present for me.

I really took her for granted. I stupidly thought she would stay for the entire time I was in the hospital. I totally forgot that just because I was her boyfriend, her entire life didn't revolve around me. I totally ignored the fact that she might have something important to do rather than just sit here silently with a boyfriend, who doesn't even remember her.

Who told you to act like it didn't matter to you when she asked if you could manage being alone for a few hours?

Damn, I really wanted to stop her. Tell her to not go. But with what right? She was just getting tired and bored while tending to me 24x7. It wasn't like I could ask her to put her life on pause just because I was scared to be alone.

Alone. That was something I felt since I had woken up with no memories. I never thought that I could feel lonelier than I already did.

Who would have thought that I would miss her each and every small action? That too so intensely. Her subtle sarcastic remarks, her cute expressions when she was annoyed, the way she fussed over little things, the way she took care of my health. And last but not the least, the way she stood beside me as a silent support when doctors and nurses came around to check up on me. The checkups were so scary without her.

Even if she was still a stranger in my mind, other strangers seemed less frightening when she was near.

★★★★★

Why wasn't she coming back?

~Is she not coming back?

~After going out did she realize that it wasn't worth wasting her time with me?

~Did something happen to her?

~Is she hurt?

So many bad thoughts ran through my mind as I kept waiting for Muskaan to open the door and come in. More than a few hours had passed and Muskaan still wasn't here. The time she had given me was long gone. It was hard enough to wait until then, but now each second felt like a ticking bomb.

"Muskaan!" I perked up as I heard the creak of the door, but my mood instantly went down when I saw it was just a nurse.

"Calm down lover boy, she will be back soon," the nurse said as she placed the tray on the side table.

I silently took the medicines she handed me, not bothering to respond to her teasing.

"It's not even dark yet, why are you worrying so much? Nothing is going to happen to her in broad daylight."

"Who said I was worried?" I scoffed.

"Oh please, don't even try to lie," she said, while pointing towards the monitors that were going crazy along with me.

She heaved a sigh, before taking out a page from her notepad and writing something on it.

"Here," she muttered, while handing me the note, "I was only told to give you this in case of emergency, but it seems you will create an emergency yourself with all this worrying."

"Mobile number?"

"Muskaan's number to be exact," the nurse said cheekily.

"Th... Thanks." I didn't know if I was able to express the gratitude I felt, but it finally felt like I could breathe again. Even if she cannot come on time, at least I would find out if she was okay or not. I was just about to request the nurse to lend me her mobile when a knock came, before the lady police officer from last time entered the room.

She greeted the nurse and me, before questioning, "Is it alright to talk with you for a few minutes?"

I nodded at her, as I folded the paper in my hand and put it safely in my pocket.

"Press the button in case you need any help," the nurse said, before leaving the room.

"Did you find any lead?" I asked the officer, thinking she came to speak about the case.

She shook her head, having a small frown on her face. "Unfortunately no. I am just here to give back your mobile and watch, which we took to see if there are any other fingerprints, and also to tell you....'

"Tell me what?" I questioned as she paused midway.

"That we are closing off the case." It seemed like it took a lot of courage to spit out those words. Probably worrying about my reaction, and rightfully so, because I was furious.

"Why? Someone bribed you? How can you close it off so early without doing anything?" I didn't shout but my words were enough to cut her through as she lost her temper on me.

"Listen here mister, I don't know what you think of the police force, but everyone is not as corrupt as you believe. Bribe you say, not doing anything you say, do you even know how hard we were working; do you even have any idea about our sleepless nights while we tried to figure out what would have happened? Especially with no CCTV in your building and no other suspects that could be narrowed down.

"The only and only reason this case is being shut down is that there is simply no lead to go further. And the possibility of it being just an accident is too high if we go by girlfriend's testimony."

The officer's breathing was heavy by the time she finished speaking. Her demeanor seemed too different than last time.

Looks like my words hit her Achilles heel.

Wait a minute! Girlfriend's testimony?

"What do you mean by Muskaan's testimony? When did she..."

"Today itself. We wanted to speak with her for the last time before we concluded the case. It was nice of her to come at such a short notice. Didn't she tell you?"

So this was the reason why she was late.

Ignoring the officer's question, I asked her my own set of queries.

"What did you ask her? And what did she say that made you believe that what happened to me was an accident?"

"Mr. Rehaan, it was clear that even if you got hurt near the door, it was impossible to hurt you from outside. It happened inside the house. If we were to assume that someone did come to harm you;

"Then One- it was someone who has the keys of your house;

"Or two- someone whom you knew and personally led them inside."

I raised my eyebrows at that fact. In both cases, it was someone I knew.

"The only way strangers could enter your house would be in case of repairs and maintenance. However, your girlfriend denied any electronic or appliance being defective. Neither our officers found something that needed repairing in your house while we were investigating. So that's out of the question."

"What about someone having the duplicate keys or me knowing someone?" I asked.

She sighed, before asking me to brace myself for the long answer she was going to tell me. "Just hear me out completely without interrupting, so we can end this conversation once and for all.

"As per your girlfriend, other than you, only she has the house keys. And in case, someone does have the keys without her knowledge about it, then that person hasn't come to visit you since the time you started living in that apartment.

"And you didn't have any other visitors as well. No friends, no colleagues and no relatives. There has been no other person she has seen you interacting with except the driver. But he too has an alibi.

"The building watchman too didn't see anyone suspicious entering the building.

"So if we conclude everything, it can only be an accident as no other person could enter your house. Except of course, if we consider your girlfriend."

"Mind your tongue," I growled. They couldn't just pin the blame on someone innocent, just because they couldn't find anything.

"Relax; I am not saying she did it. She doesn't really seem suspicious. I am just saying that other than you, only she had access to your house."

"Please get out," I whispered, as my head started to hurt.

"Sure." She nodded, not taking my response negatively.

"One more thing," she called out as she was just about to move out of the room, "The case can be reopened. Let us know if you find any evidence."

Yeah, now I should do your work for you and hand it to you on a silver platter.

"Sure. If not me, who will investigate my own case," I replied, smiling sarcastically.

Lightly rubbing my forehead, I removed my mobile from the plastic pouch the officer handed me.

Muskaan really needed a scolding. What was she thinking about going to the police station without informing me? Wasn't she scared at all while going there alone?

"I should warn her. These people can easily manipulate words. Poor girl must have been harassed by these cops," I muttered to myself as I scrolled down the contact list, trying to find her number.

"Is my phone not working properly?" I scrolled hurriedly in panic, not once or twice but seven times.

But I couldn't find Muskaan's contact number on my phone.