Song of the chapter is
Alps by Novo Amor

-50-
-Kartik Malhotra-
-Present-

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Malhotra Mansion
7 December, 2030
11:34 a.m.

Scanning my eyes across my phone screen, I took a sip of my morning coffee. December had descended on the town like an old friend, the cold seeping through the few leaves still left up in trees. The winter sun shone bright across the windows of my living room, casting a beaming shadow upon the old marble tiles.

I watched as Zoya came down the stairs, rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning, Zoya." Siya greeted her with her cup of tea as she came and settled on the couch beside me.

"It's almost afternoon." Zoya said, taking the cup from her. "How did I sleep so long?"

"When do you not sleep for long?" I asked.

She paused for a few minutes before giving me a curt nod. "Point."

I shook my head slowly.

"But then again, V's always there to wake me up in the morning." Zoya continued, giving us a puzzled look.

"Speaking of her, I haven't seen her since morning." Siya stated and I exchanged a look with her.

"Yeah, where is she?"

As soon as the question left my mouth, a sudden flicker happened in Zoya's eyes and some sort of a realisation dawned on her. I watched as she took a sip of her tea, a slow smirk creeping up on her face as she did.

"You know something, don't you?" I raised a brow.

"I might know something." She responded, giving me a side glance.

"So you know where she is?" Siya asked.

"Yep." She responded, popping the 'p'. "And I also know who she's with."

My brows knitted but before I could ask her to elaborate more, the doorbell rang. I got up from the couch and went to open the door, only to find Veronica standing outside.

"Hey." A shy smile graced her features as I opened the door wider to let her in.

"Hey, where have you been?" I asked, taking off her coat for her. She avoided my eye and went and sat down on the couch.

I watched as Zoya gave her a teasing look as I walked back towards the couch and took a seat next to her.

"So V," Zoya began, the smirk on her face widening as she spoke. "You didn't come home last night."

Veronica licked her lips and hugging her body, answered, "Yeah...um... about that...."

"Where were you, Veronica?" Siya asked.

"Yes, V. Tell them where you were last night." Zoya teased, giggling.

"Shut up, Zoya." Veronica gave her a side-eye.

"What's going on? I'm confused." I spoke, not getting any of what was happening in front of me.

"I'll tell you, Kartik." Zoya spoke before Veronica could. "V went to Himanshu's house last night."

I furrowed my brows at Veronica while her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"He called her and told her, only her, to meet him at his house at around ten-thirty-ish and needless to say, madam went there and seems like she had a greaatttttt time." Zoya explained, all the way continuing to tease Veronica.

"Shut up, Zoya." Veronica widened her eyes at her.

"But isn't his fiance living with him at the moment?" Siya asked, a puzzled look on her face. "I thought she didn't like you much."

Veronica managed to look up at her. "Well...."

"Oh just give us the good news, V!"

".....Moose kind of....broke off the engagement."

"Yesss!" Zoya exclaimed.

"Why are you getting so excited about Himanshu breaking off his engagement?" I asked her.

"Because you idiot," she began in an obvious tone, "this means that these lovebirds finally got it on yesterday."

"Oh my god." Veronica muttered under her breath as she buried her face in her hands.

"Got it on?" I looked between Zoya and her. "You mean....?"

"Yes, Kartik! They slept together." Zoya chortled. "Finally!"

"Wow..." I chuckled softly, looking at an almost red Veronica, who still had her face buried in her hands.

"God! After all of these years of seeing them pining for each other, this honestly feels like a victory!" Zoya continued, oblivious to Veronica's embarassment. "I need the details, V."

"There are no details, Zoya. Now will you please shut up?" Veronica deadpanned as she looked up at her. Siya and I exchanged a glance.

"Say all you want, V! Because if not you, I'd have to drill Himanshu about it and trust me, you don't want that." Zoya teased.

"Zoya!" Veronica nagged. The rest of us chuckled.

"So where is he?" I asked.

"Um....he needs to pick up some groceries for his house. He'll be joining us in an hour probably." Veronica answered, avoiding any eye contact.

"Gosh! I can't wait to see the look of victory in Himanshu's eyes." Zoya exclaimed, sipping the last of her coffee. "He's probably listening to some Taylor Swift song and smiling to himself right now."

Veronica smiled shyly while Siya and I chuckled.

"Well, I guess there are always silver linings to everything." I enunciated as I finished my coffee. "I'm happy for you, Veronica."

She glanced at me and gave me a thin lipped but wide smile. "Thanks."

A moment passed before she asked, "Has anyone checked on Saina since morning?"

Siya nodded negatively. "She was sound asleep when I came downstairs this morning. I figured I should let her get some rest after what happened yesterday."

Veronica nodded.

"I'll take her breakfast upstairs." Zoya insisted but I interjected. "No, don't bother. I'll do it. I need to talk to her anyway."

Zoya gave me a sympathetic nod.

Once everyone was done having breakfast, they all scattered to their respective rooms to get freshened up for the day. I took Saina's food from Siya and made my way to Alishka's room where Saina was staying.

As I knocked twice, a soft voice echoed from the other side asking me to come in. Slowly unbolting the door, I opened it and found Saina sitting on the bed, her hair a casual mess and eyebags evident in her eyes.

She gave me a smile that didn't meet her eyes.

I sauntered towards the nightstand and placed the food tray on it. Taking a seat next to her on the bed, I turned my head to get a good look at her.

"Thanks for bringing me breakfast." She said in a low hoarse voice. "I didn't really want to....go downstairs."

"I know." I said, adjusting the pillow behind her. "I know this is a stupid question to ask right now, and you can slap me if you want to, but....how are you feeling now?"

She smiled painfully, as her eyes trained down to her hands. "I honestly don't have an answer to that..."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know how....to feel about...all of this, Kartik." She said, her eyelids flickering twice. "I'm just.... I feel like I'm at odds with myself. One part of my brain is saying that I should be sad....that my...husband....is dead. I should be inconsolable."

I placed my hand over hers and squeezed it slightly.

"But....on the other hand...." She continued. "I feel....free. It's like this burden has been lifted off my head. I feel like I don't have to live in a constant state of worry anymore. That I don't constantly have to be afraid.... of.... upsetting anyone, of messing up something."

Her eyes glistened as she looked at me. "Then why do I feel so guilty, Kartik?"

As I heard her voice break, a deep pang resonated within me, shattering my heart into countless fragments.  I instinctively moved towards her and enveloped her delicate frame in the warmth of my embrace, holding her gently yet firmly, as if to shield her from the pain that had enveloped her.

Her tears soaked into my shoulder, dampening the fabric, as her body quivered with a mix of sorrow, vulnerability, and the weight of her emotions.

"Saina, it's okay to feel conflicted," I reassured her gently. "Abuse is a terrible thing, and it's only natural that you have mixed emotions about his death. Your feelings are valid, and you don't have to force yourself to mourn someone who caused you so much pain."

Saina's eyes welled up with fresh tears as she listened to my words.

"When Alishka passed, I was at the exact same place you are now."

She looked up at me as I moved away.

"All my life....she had never been nice to me. My parents....they had always favoured her in everything. So it was quite natural....that I would grow up to hate her."

As I spoke, Saina's grip on my hands tightened.

"But then.....when she...when I saw her....lying lifeless on that stretcher...all those years back.....it was like someone had taken a part of me away from me." I said, reminiscing that awful October night. "I felt alone....and angry. But.... I didn't feel sad. It was almost like.... I was glad....that she was gone. That I could finally live a life without being in her shadow all the time."

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat as my eyes welled up.

"But I failed to realise.... that even if she was gone, the world around me...would still continue to favour her more than me."

"Kartik...."

"Detective Gomez once asked me during an interrogation session....why I didn't seem very sad at my twin sister's death....why I almost seem....normal." I explained. "And back then, even I didn't have an answer to that question. That is why I was angry with myself for so long..... because I couldn't figure out why I wasn't crying enough or being sad enough at her loss."

Licking my lips, I looked back at her. "It took me long enough, Saina....but slowly and gradually I realised that.... I couldn't mourn someone I never loved. Yes....Alishka might've been my sister and yes.... I might've loved her like one when we were kids....but that was long gone. When she died, I was left with nothing but anger.... towards her. Because she had once again....managed to fuck my and everyone else's life....and I was,...again... the one left cleaning up her mess."

Saina squeezed my hand and slowly rested her head on my shoulder.

"So it's okay to feel at odds right now, Saina." I said, holding her hand. "That man caused you a lot of pain when he was alive. And his death doesn't invalidate that pain."

She nodded, weeping silently.

"You're allowed to be angry. You're allowed to not feel any remorse for him." I assured. "You're allowed to feel whatever you're feeling."

Wiping the tears staining her cheeks, she gingerly looked up at me. She seemed to find solace in my words, a glimmer of hope breaking through her inner turmoil. The weight on her shoulders began to ease, and I knew that I had made a small difference.

"Thank you, Kartik," she finally whispered, her voice filled with gratitude. "I needed to hear that. It's hard to let go of the guilt, but I know.... deep down that I deserve to heal too....and move forward."

I smiled at her, offering my support. "You're strong, Saina, and you don't have to carry this burden alone. We all here for you, okay?"

"I know." She sniffled and smiled weakly.

A solid moment passed before I said, "Come on, you should have your breakfast now."

She nodded as I extended my hand to get the glass of juice from the tray when suddenly, a knock at the door startled both of us.

We turned our heads at the same time only to find Zoya, standing at the door, all out of breath.

"What's going on, Zoya?" Saina sat up at once.

"Zayn texted V a minute ago." She muttered between breaths. "He found the killer's lair."

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the conversation between saina and kartik was long overdue, wasn't it?

anyways, better late than never-

don't forget to vote, comment and share the book as much as possible!

love,
Bosedisha