Song of the chapter is
Soldier By Fleurie

-38-
-Kartik Malhotra-
-Present-

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Malhotra Mansion
26 November, 2030
4:30 pm

As I sat in my dad's study, my mind wavered through several layers of worries.

I glanced at the paperweight under my palm and then at the clock as it struck 4:30. Dark clouds gloomed over the Delmore sky like an overbearing mother, coveting any shade of sunlight from peeping through. The rain had slowed down, leaving it's imprint on the single window in that room.

I sighed as my mind played the events of the past few days again and again.

How had I let this get out of hand?

Siya valued promises a lot. She often put her faith and trust in people if they promised to be good to her. She believed in people. And that's what I loved about her.

I was never very big on promises. Alishka had always said, 'Promises are meant to be broken,' and to some extent, I believed that. I believed people only if they could show that they really were deserving of my trust.

But since Siya, I had started looking at the world through a different lens. It was her who had changed me into the version of me that I was today. And I was grateful for that.

The day I had asked her to marry me, I had promised her that I'd be good to her and be deserving of her.

The day we had tied the knot, I had promised her that I'd make sure that I'd be her guiding anchor if her ship ever got lost at sea.

The day that incident happened, I had promised her that no matter whatever happened, I'd protect her from any harm that would ever come her way.

And today, as I sat alone in this empty room, I felt like an utter failure.

Siya....my love, she was going through hell. And there was nothing I could do to help her.

I loathed myself at that moment for being a failure at having fulfilled any of the promises. She had always been my guiding light, then why could I never be hers?

For the past few nights, she had neither slept nor ate properly. I often caught her fiddling with her food until everyone else was done and then she would just throw it out. She would wake up in cold sweats every single night, screaming from nightmares. Her helpless screams made my skin crawl as I would hold her until she was calm.

My heart was in pieces and yet there was still war in my mind.

I needed more than anything to fix this. I needed my Siya back.

Picking up my phone kept next to the paperweight, I scrolled through a list of names on my contacts until my eyes spotted two familiar initials.

R. S.

Rohit Sahay.

I pressed on his contact and put the phone to my ear. It rang for about a minute before Rohit's voice echoed on the other end.

"Kartik, man! It's been a while! How are you?"

I chewed my lips as I answered, "I'm good, Rohit. How are you?"

"Arey sab barhiya hai yaar (everything's good)! Aaj kaise phone lagana hua (how come you called today)?

"Uhm...." My voice quivered slightly before I cleared my throat and spoke, "Actually, I needed to talk to you.... about.....that incident....two years ago?"

There was a vehement pause at the other end.

"Um...achanak (all of a sudden)?" His voice came in all nervous.

"Um... actually....Siya, my wife....has started having nightmares regarding that incident again. I just.... wanted to confirm something because of that...." I answered.

"Ha bol...(tell me)."

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat for the longest time and spoke, "By any chance.....can you.... confirm whether....the person....the man from that night.....whether he's still alive or...?"

Again, a vehement pause prevailed.

I heard as he cleared his throat.

"I know.... I'm asking for a huge favor...but I wouldn't have, if it wasn't absolutely necessary." I added immediately. "It's just.... there's something going on in Delmore......and I think it's all somehow connected."

"Yeah...Mr.Malhotra did express his concerns about the whole situation the other day." He said, in a low undertone.

"Yeah." I exhaled. "Please, Rohit. I really need this."

He breathed in before answering, "I'll see what I can do."

I sighed in relief. "Thanks, man."

"Don't worry. I'll get back to you ASAP." He said and cut the call. I slowly put the phone down.

Rohit was my dad's right hand man. He had been with my dad's firm ever since I could remember. My dad had a lot of trust in that guy and he truly was one of the most diligent employees my dad has had over the years.

My dad and Rohit were the only one other than me and Siya to know about the incident that had taken place three years back. I had called my dad in a moment of panic and he had responded to the news almost immediately, by sending one of his most trusted employees to take care of the situation for me.

I knew back then that it wasn't the right thing to do. But I was clouded by my judgement to protect Siya.

I knew, growing up, that my father was an incredibly important person who had a lot of power. Alishka would often use that to her advantage, getting people to work for her because of the status that she had. She often encouraged me to do the same. But at the time, I was too consumed my anger against my parents for neglecting me and so my ego often made me often refuse to do such a thing.

My name, my career, who I was today was built by myself. I had managed to make something out of myself without the help of my father. And I was proud of that.

But that night, things were different.

It was like that incident had made me so scared that I had shrivelled up like a tall child. I had succumbed to tears and watching Siya break down as well had just pushed things over the edge.

And so, I had been forced to call for my dad's help, knowing that he was the only person who could stop this nightmare.

And fortunately, it had. That was until now.

I clutched strands of my hair as I buried my face between my knees. My head felt like it was about to burst.

A minute later, my phone rang.

I picked up and asked immediately, "Did you find anything?"

"Hm." His good natured voice came in loud and clear on the other end.

"What is it?" I asked again, as fear seeped into my veins. I breathed slowly in anticipation.

"The man....he has been in a coma....for the past three years." He answered and I paused in my place.

"What?"

"Yeah, after the incident, he was admitted to the Eden Hospital in Delhi, where he's still admitted to this day.... not having moved an inch." He continued.

Guilt crawled under my skin like a snake, sedimenting a layer of unease in my mind.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, a hundred percent. One of the nurses at the hospital is my informant. She sent me the details a minute ago." He answered. "His progress reports, medications, visitors... everything."

"Wait...wait....visitors?" I asked. "I thought you said he didn't have any family."

"As was reported back then." He answered curtly. "There's no record of any family members."

"So who's visiting him then?" I asked, my brows furrowed.

"No idea." He sighed. "I can send you the visitor's list if you need it."

"Yeah, yeah that'd be great. Thanks." I said as I disconnected the call. A second later, a notification lit up the phone screen.

As I tapped on it, my eyebrows knitted. I zoomed in on the picture of the visitor's list to check the signatures.

All of them signed by just two initials.

G.D.

_____________

initial game has begun again
and this time it might just be someone we already know-

*think think*

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love,
Bosedisha