Khushali stared at the person, who had just entered the living room of Mayera's apartment. The person, a guy, who was well acquainted to Khushali, was still standing on the entrance of the living room, near the small corner showcase rack, with an expression which Khushali couldn't understand was of shame or disdain.

Just too shocked to see this guy, Khushali even forgot that she had asked this man a question and he still hadn't answered it. Not knowing what to do, Khushali sat down on the couch, trying to get control over herself and silence the shouts and cries of her brain, which was now nothing but a maelstrom of mayhemic emotions.

The guy, who had joined Khushali and Mayera just few minutes back, came and sat in front of Khushali, on his knees, trying a way to explain the reason for his arrival. A minute later, when he was sure, his explanation had a valid point, he, with a very soft tone, said, "I know, what you must be wondering Khushali and your astonishment on seeing me here is completely justified. Because I am the same person who has forced you into this situation, where you don't know what's really happening and can't differentiate between the real faces and deceptive facades of the people whom you trust blindly."

Looking up from the floor, Khushali shot him a glare and bitterly said, "Yes, you're the only person to blame for this situation I am in now, Vivan. And just as you're talking about the deception, I wonder if you're also among those people who goes around with a facade, because just yesterday you said you hate Sidharth and he's this double faced guy. But today you're here with just one call from his alleged girlfriend."

Vivan shook his head and with embarrassment, said, "I know, what you're assuming Khushali, but let me first explain myself. Yes, I hate Sidharth for what he did. But Mayera, I was wrong about her. It's not just me or Sagar, that bloody Sidharth had wronged. He has wronged Mayera and her brother Rehaan too. He has wronged everyone, from the girl he loved, to the woman he's married, to me, to my deceased cousin, to his own best friend. All this, only to save his own self from the sinful and unforgivable deed, he had committed. And I being amongst those people who even after knowing that facts are more truthful than what our eyes see, preferred to believe what I saw yesterday then what was the real fact, the real truth, I happen to know well about."

He halted in his speech and turned to look at Mayera, who had this look of hurt and vanquish on her face that sort of confused Khushali, who was already bewildered to know that there was something about Sidharth, so dark and sinful, that he was trying everything in his power to safeguard himself.

And the way Vivan was staring at Mayera and vice versa, Khushali wondered, what were these two trying to communicate through those looks. So taking a deep breath, Khushali spoke up in a firm yet frustrated voice.
"Vivan, I'd be more happy if you get straight to the point and tell me what you're doing here? And why did Mayera say that you can tell me the truth better than anyone else? What are you all hiding from me? I WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING!" The last part of her sentence louder than usual, simply because Khushali could no longer hold back her frustration of being the only oblivious person.

Vivan sighed and getting up from the floor, he went and settled on the couch on the right side to Khushali. Mayera too followed Vivan's action and settled on her previous place, next to Khushali.

Khushali looked from Mayera to Vivan and waited for either of them speak something. They both were resonating the same expression of hesitance and dilemma, trying to think from where to start and what or what not to tell Khushali. But neither of them noticed the anger building up in Khushali, for keeping her waiting. Getting up with anger bursting out from her, she warned them for first and the only last time.

"What do you two think you both are doing? Is this some sort of joke? A new way to amuse and entertain yourselves? I'm warning you both, if in next five minutes, you guys don't tell me what's the matter then I swear, I'd leave from here and confront Sidharth on my own!"

Both Vivan and Mayera stood up from their seats instantly and Mayera tried to keep her hand on Khushali's shoulder, which Khushali jerked off angrily and Mayera didn't try to repeat her action as it was pretty clear Khushali was in no business of letting Mayera comfort her and only wanted the truth.

Vivan closed his eyes as he knew the truth would break Khushali but, then it was she, herself, who was demanding the truth. He pressed the temples of his forehead. A few seconds passed in silence and looking at Khushali, who was glaring at him with tear filled eyes, he said in a calm tone, "Fine, I'll tell you the entire truth. Everything that has been hidden from you, shall be revealed to you in its exact form without any alteration or manipulation," he paused for a second, before continuing, "But first calm down, because whatever I, and Mayera are going to tell you, is.... unpleasant and heartbreaking as well. And I know, it'll be indigestible for you. So please cool down."

Sighingly, Khushali sat down again and took deep breaths to cool her temper, which pretty much was new to her soft spoken personality. Staring down at her feet, she did see Mayera passing a glass of water to Vivan to forward it to her, which Vivan did and reluctantly Khushali accepted it as she was feeling really weird with her own anger, which she wasn't used to.

She gulped the entire glass of water in one go and once again feeling relaxed, she looked at Vivan and with much calmer tone, said, "Can you please, now tell me what's going on and what I'm being kept in dark about?"

Vivan gave a nod and took one quick stride to reach over to her from the place near the centre showcase rack, he was standing at. He settled beside Khushali and Mayera occupied the right side sofa.

Fidgeting with his fingers, with nervousness and hints of uncertainty, Vivan said, "Yesterday, after you left, some minutes later, Raima went home too, leaving me alone to ponder over my thoughts. While I was doing so, I saw Mayera going to Mr. Pathak to talk about something and I don't know why, but I wanted to talk to her about.... something, to which I'll get later on, so I waited for her to finish talking to Mr. Pathak.

"Around few minutes later, her conversation with Mr. Pathak ended and she was about to leave when I cornered her and confronted her about what was going on between her and Sidharth as I knew she had left Delhi, some months before you and Sidharth got married."

"How did you know that? I mean, I thought you weren't in contact with any of Sidharth's acquaintance as you hate him and he's of no concern of you," asked Khushali, doubting Vivan as his actions and words seemed contradicting, perhaps because he said he hated Sidharth, yet still had intimate information about him.

"True, I hate Sidharth and all but I do know many people. And from one of my such friends, I learnt about her relocating to Mumbai. Anyway that's not important, right? What's important is, why is she back here and what's going on between Sidharth and her. So I asked her that. She didn't answer me, for some minutes and tried to dogde the questions. But, at last, when she knew, I wasn't backing out, she told me the truth. And I think, Mayera, you, yourself should tell her, what you told me," said Vivan, looking intently at Mayera.

Mayera shook her head affirmatively and looking at her hands, slowly said, "It's true that before Sidharth married you, he had broken up with me because of which I shifted to Mumbai as staying in the same city as him and seeing him get married to someone else would've been really hard for me. Our breakup, wasn't amicable or mutual. It was like.... One fine day he just decided that there was something wrong in that relationship and he couldn't continue it anymore, though that seemed totally absurd to me because a day back, he had told me how happy he was with me and our relationship.

"So it was like a blow.... but anyway, I shifted to Mumbai, continuing my work as an event manager. All those months, that I was there in Mumbai, me and Sidharth weren't in contact and neither of us even tried to get in touch with the other. But three months back, I was contacted by one of my former associates, who wanted me to take this literature festival project as she couldn't manage her dates. As the event seemed really big and the situation crucial, I took it up and came back to Delhi, without my parents, who, weren't very happy with me coming here after my breakup and all those things that happened to my brother.

"Yes, I'm not an only child of my parents, that you must've guessed Khushali. Rehaan Shah, is my elder brother, who, to my own bewilderment, was framed in a gruesome crime, an unforgivable sin, by someone, I couldn't have doubted that time. Because of the fear of punishment which was hovering over Rehaan, with proofs strongly stating his involvement in that crime and with enough evidences to prove him as the sole culprit, my brother had no choice than to leave this country and live in isolation in London."

Wiping the tears, which covered the majority area of her face, Mayera stopped speaking for some minutes. While she sat quietly, trying to stop her tears from falling down, Khushali, forgetting every bits of anger toward Mayera, felt sympathetic for her as the Mayera infront of her was just a pitiable girl, who, Khushali assumed, couldn't be lying about such a big thing.

Feeling slightly better, a few minutes later, Mayera continued from where she left. "After I came back and I decided not to get in touch with Sidharth as I really never wanted to keep any friendship or any sort acquaintance with him after our breakup. I took the up project and came to meet Mr. Pathak, and then he introduced us as you were assigned for the event. I swear I didn't know that time that you're Sidharth's wife. I only came to know that while we were in the cafe. And while we were talking, I saw Sidharth enter that cafe, and that's why I left from there abruptly, to avoid any unwanted meeting with him.

"But my fate, Sidharth did see me and couple days later, he contacted me, to just talk about my sudden arrival in Delhi etcetera. Though I wasn't very keen on maintaining any contact with him, he told me he wanted to meet me, to talk about something important. And I agreed because he had told me, one time when were talking that, he knew who was Rehaan's culprit yet he didn't told me who.

"So just to get the truth, I reluctantly, went to meet Sidharth in a hotel, where first he talked all normally and then told me that he isn't happy in his marriage as his wife, as in you, haven't accepted him yet and is still in love with your ex. And then he told me that he still loved me and all and requested me to take him back and rekindle our romance. I wanted to decline but he promised he would tell me who's Rehaan's culprit and also help me collect proofs against that person.

"And I said yes, though I know it was hell wrong and I should've stopped Sidharth from cheating on you but I had no choice. I wanted to know about the culprit and get proofs, and only Sidharth could've helped me, as you know he's a lawyer, though he mostly works for businessmen and entrepreneurs but still has contacts with cops like Jay."

Mayera again stopped as the look on Khushali's face was heartbreaking and she couldn't make herself to continuing speaking. Wanting to comfort Khushali, Mayera was about to get up from her place but Khushali stopped her and in a dead voice, said, "Don't waste either of ours' time on this comforting and pity drama. Just continue with your story."

Even though Khushali was deeply hurt and was completely breaking from inside after knowing what her husband had done, she still wanted to know the entire truth, so with all her might, she told Mayera to continue with her story, as there was no use of wasting time on comforting, since comforting doesn't end our pain, rather it only increases our pain further by the constant remainder of our wounds by the very person who's trying to console us.

Mayera glanced at Khushali and then resumed speaking, with her voice turning bitter and disdainful.
"So, me and Sidharth rekindled our romance and started dating behind your back. I used to call him with a different number, that you didn't have so you don't get to know about it, as Sidharth wanted to maintain his reputation infront of you, obviously out of pity, probably because he didn't want you to go through any pain or maybe because he didn't want to ruin his image in front of his family and you. I don't know that. He had told me to act all oblivious infront of you so that you never doubt me to be Mia.

"Anyway, after we got back together, things didn't go the way Sidharth had promised. Whenever I asked him about the mastermind behind all this game, he always made excuses for misleading me and never answered my questions directly, which at first I couldn't understand why. But then one day, I figured that out."

She paused and then said quietly, "Around three weeks back, one afternoon, Sidharth was over my house for lunch. While I was arranging our food, he got a call and went to attend it in my balcony. Even when I was done arranging the table, he was busy on the call, so I went to call him. But then, what I heard next was like... was like as if someone swept the land from beneath my feet."

A lump formed in Mayera's throat, and she couldn't continue anymore. Fresh, warm tears started cascading down her cheeks and Mayera tried to stop them, but failed miserably. She wiped the tears from the knuckles of her hands and then took a deep breath to calm herself.

Seeing her this weak, Khushali wanted to comfort her, but then she didn't know how to do that because her own pain was using its full potential to shatter her heart and soul into pieces. Still, to comfort Mayera, she tried to find her voice, yet her lips didn't open, her lumpy throat wasn't ready to let out even a sigh.

Vivan wasn't reacting to all this at all, probably because he was trying his best to not break down. He knew the part that Mayera had narrated so far was painful for her, but the part that he had to speak about was enough to kill any sane person, emotionally.

Much to Khushali and Vivan's relief, Mayera calmed herself and finding her voice back, she again started speaking, this time in a much broken voice, which Khushali was starting to sympathise with again.

"When I went to call him, I heard him say Rehaan's name and I decided to eavesdrop his conversation. He was talking to Jay, I heard him speak Jay's name. They were talking about some proofs and evidences, I first assumed to be related to one of Sidharth's cases and thought maybe I misheard Rehaan's name. But then, when I thought it was not important, I heard him say:
'You know, I can't just tell Mayera the truth. She thinks I'm helping her find the real culprit behind Rehaan's case. But the truth is, the person who's behind all this mess, Rehaan's culprit is me. Mayera, like I said, trusts me blindly, like my wife Khushali, and would never think that I'm the one, who has plotted everything and framed Rehaan as the culprit. And not just Mayera, even my stupid best friend Rehaan thinks I'm trying to save him, when the truth is, I've called him here to only hand him to the cops by proving all the charges against him, which is why I saved him last time from all the punishment, even though I did only frame him as the culprit. And once that happens, I'll be free from this problem for the rest of my life. No one would get to know about my crimes, not even Mayera, who I have to keep fooling till Rehaan's arrested, or my wife Khushali, who thinks I'm this really good guy, who has done a big deal of favour on her and her parents by marrying her.'

"This was shocking for me, as I believed that he was helping me but instead, he was just fooling me. But I couldn't do anything. I had to continue with whatever was happening, even though I knew Sidharth is the main culprit."

Mayera paused and then looking at Khushali, added, "I know, you aren't gonna accept all this, that easily and I won't blame you either because even I relied on y the proofs to make myself accept that Sidharth's the real villain. But anyway, I have proofs which will prove everything to you. And I'll show them to you, after I finish my story.

"So anyway, after I got to know about all that, I continued to act and also pretended that I don't know Sidharth whenever you mentioned him, because he had told me to. I kept collecting proofs against him and even met with Jay, who after much persuading, told me the Sidharth's plan and agreed to give me the proofs but for a hefty sum of money, whose only half amount I had and my parents couldn't even help me much with it since after my brother left the country, my father was suffering from loss due to rash decision of my brother who had sold his major shares to one businessman, who took over our company after Rehaan left India.

"The day of the final event arrived and me and Sidharth acted like stranger infront of you, as per Sidharth's instructions. I thought to ask him for money over the pretext of buying back my father's company. As we couldn't discuss it in front of all those guests, we went to the back area of college and Vivan had seen us going there. Once in the back area, I asked Sidharth for his financial help but he said he couldn't help me as he was spending a good some of money on Rehaan's safety, which I know was only to safeguard his own self. And I think after that when he was trying to soothe my worries over our secret relationship, you saw us."

Khushali nodded with her blood shot red eyes which were again watering. Mayera pressed her lips and again began quietly speaking.
"Sidharth left from there after he received your call and I also left from there, without getting any help from him. I was stupid to think that he would ever help me when he was the man who had got my brother in this mess.

"When I was walking toward my car after meeting Mr. Pathak, Vivan met me and started firing questions at me, which I tried to dogde but he didn't stop and then I thought maybe he could help me and narrated all this to him yesterday and he agreed to help me, only on the promise that I'll tell you the truth and save you from Sidharth."

Both Mayera and Vivan turned to Khushali, who was sitting with absolute silence and awfully broken look on her face, both of them were scared seeing her like this. Thinking, she needed emotional support, Vivan gave her hand a small squeeze but Khushali didn't react.

Vivan and Mayera exchanged worried looks but Khushali didn't pay attention to them. She was trying to numb her thoughts and brace herself as she knew this was only the quarter of the truth she was here to know. There was a bigger chunk of the truth, she was yet to know and if she won't get grip over herself and her emotions, then she won't be able to go through this ordeal without breaking down.

But then again, she was shattered, because the man who had taught her how to love again, was nothing but a liar, who had been fooling her since day one and she like an idiot kept on believing him. Yet her heart still wasn't ready to believe it. Her heart was screaming to her, telling her not to doubt Sidharth and his love for her. But maybe, her trust was anyway supposed to break, along with her wounded heart.

Fisting her hands, without looking up, in a blank voice, she said, "In what crime had Sidharth framed Rehaan, because of which Rehaan had to go into isolation? What are the sins, Sidharth wants to be free of? I want to know that! Now!"

Vivan nodded and with much hesitance, asked, "Do you... do you know, how Sagar died?"

Hearing his question, Khushali immediately looked up at him perplexed, and with annoyance, said, "What the hell? Is this the time for asking me this? Are you nuts, Vivan?"

"No, I'm not! But I want to know, if you know how Sagar died. Please answer it," said Vivan plainly.

"Fine! He died in a car accident. I know that and even that the driver of the other car was intoxicated and h-had collided his car with Sagar's car and both of them had di-died on the s-spot," Khushali chokingly said. The memories of the last time she had seen Sagar, playing in the back of her mind, weakening her already doleful self.

"That's all you know, right? But what if whatever you know is, is only the half truth? What if all that you know is fragment of someone's imagination, a made up story to cover up the real, crueller, haunting truth? What if the driver of the other car was already dead and someone else was driving the car? What if Sagar's death wasn't an accident? What if his death was well planned murder? What if he was killed by his heartless enemy rather than an intoxicated driver, who already was dead?" said Vivan in a cold voice, nearly the same tone with which he had spoken about Sidharth, a day before.

A fear crept up in Khushali's bleeding heart as somewhere an extremely depressing thought was growing stronger and bigger, by feeding on her fears. Not wanting to let her fear empower her, she gulped the lump in her throat and silencing all her thoughts, said in perplexed voice, "You mean to say, Sagar's death wasn't an accident, instead it was a murder? Really? Then who was his murderer? Who had killed my Sagar? Who?"

Vivan hesitated for a minute before replying to Khushali. With every attempt to hold back his own tears, in a lumpy voice, he said, "Sidharth Mehra!"

"WHAT?" shouted Khushali immediately, unable to accept this piece of truth. Her Sidharth, her husband Sidharth, a killer, a murderer? Sidharth, the murderer of her first love, Sagar Malhotra?

"NO!" No, she couldn't believe this. She accept that he could cheat on her, she accept he could lie to her, she accept that he could fool her, she accept he could fake his love. But she could not accept that he had killed her Sagar! She could never accept it, not even in a million years!

"No, no, NO! Sidharth can never do this. I can believe whatever Mayera told me about him cheating on me and all but I can't accept this. He can never kill anyone. He's too good to even hate anyone. He's not some freaking murderer. He's just my husband who's cheating on me with his ex because of my lack of feelings for him," she glared at Vivan, "And you're just accusing him out of your hatred for him! You're blinded by your hatred, Vivan!"

"And you're blinded by your love, Khushali!" retorted Vivan.

With his voice, loud enough for scaring the silence of the entire house, Mayera stood up from her place and went over to Khushali, who had a look of mixture of emotions from disbelief to denial to anger on her face. Holding Khushali by her shoulders, Mayera softly said, "Khushali, baby calm down! Please control her yourself. Please!"

"Mayera, he's lying right? RIGHT? He can't kill anyone! He just can't do that! Right? Say something! SPEAK DAMN IT!" Khushali yelled, completely overwhelmed with emotions and denial obvious in her tone and body language.

But Mayera didn't reply, her quietness frightening Khushali. Finally, a minute later, cupping her face, with empathy and care, Mayera said, "Khushali, Vivan's right. Sidharth is the main culprit. He had killed Sagar and framed my brother Rehaan in this, though he also saved Rehaan that time and manipulated the story by placing a dead man's body in place of Rehaan on the driver's seat. Even I couldn't believe it at first, but I do, now. It's the only truth. Please try to understand."

"Try to understand what? That, two people who hate my husband are trying to defame him and degrade his image in my eyes, by using Sagar's name? Look you two, neither I'm going to listen to your bullshit for even a second more nor I'm gonna stay here. I'm leaving from here and will tell Sidharth everything! Every damn shit you both have told me about him. He isn't a bit like what you have described him to be. I'm leaving and don't you dare say a word more about my husband!"

Saying so, Khushali jerked Mayera away from herself. She picked her bag up and made her way toward the main door. Just as she touch the knob of the door, Vivan in a very bitter voice, said, "Seems like it's not just Sidharth who's love is fake. You are just like him. Your love for Sagar was fake, Khushali. It was totally fake. Because if it wasn't, then you wouldn't have so easily forgotten my brother and accepted this Sidharth as your lovely husband. You and Sidharth both are made for each other, I must add. He's a liar, and you're nothing less than him. It's good that my brother is dead already or els.."

And then, before he could complete his speech, his words trailed off into thin air as Khushali's hand smacked hard him across his face. Her slap, which echoed in the whole house, made Mayera gasp as she had never seen Khushali this angry.

"YOU ARE NO ONE TO JUDGE ME OR MY LOVE FOR SAGAR. YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS TO CALL MY LOVE FOR MY SAGAR FAKE. WHATEVER I SHARED WITH HIM IS SACRED AND YOU HAVE NO FREAKING RIGHT TO RAISE A FINGER AGAINST MY LOVE FOR YOUR DECEASED BROTHER. AND COMING TO MY HUSBAND, I TRUSTED HIM, STILL TRUST HIM AND WILL ALWAYS TRUST HIM. I HAD ENOUGH AND IT WAS MY STUPIDITY TO THINK YOU GUYS COULD TELL ME THE TRUTH. TO HELL WITH YOU AND YOUR SO CALLED TRUTH. I'M DONE WITH THIS!" shouted Khushali with her temper getting the best of her.

Glaring one more time at Vivan and Mayera, she again turned to go and when Vivan, who's one cheek had imprints of Khushali's fingers, walked upto her. Standing in front of her, with eyes burning with humiliation, he rudely grumbled, "Fine! You believe your so called husband, na? I'll see how long will you keep trusting him when I'll show you the proofs." He paused and turned to Mayera, "Get those photographs and voice recorder that Jay gave you this morning. Mrs. Mehra needs to see how great her husband is!"

Mayera nodded and ran toward her room. While she was inside her room, Khushali stood glaring at Vivan, who was in turn, glaring at her. Mayera came back after five minutes and Khushali saw her handing over a small brown envelop to Vivan.

Vivan took the package and instantly opened it. He took out some photographs and a small voice recorder. With a grimace, he passed them Khushali, who didn't accept it. Calming himself, he again forwarded those pictures and grimly said, "Take a look at these pictures, Khushali. Who knows if they'll change your view about your husband and also towards the truth."

But still Khushali didn't take the pictures and for a minute contemplated whether she should spare a look at those pictures or not. Her heart told her not to see those pictures and just leave from there, yet her mind asked her to see the pictures and for once and all clear her doubts.

Her mind, obviously won the battle and she, unwillingly, accepted the photographs and without any interest or thought, looked at the pictures. The first picture, that Khushali's eyes viewed, made her eyes go wide in shock. Hurriedly, she saw the second, then third, then fourth, then all the pictures at once.

She couldn't believe what her eyes were showing her. The first picture that she saw, was of Sidharth pushing Rehaan inside a car, on the driver's seat. Second picture of Sidharth and Arhaan taking Rehaan out of the damaged car and third was of them making an already dead looking man, sit inside the car on the driver's seat. And the other pictures just added some more details into it, like Sidharth making Rehaan sit in a different car or Arhaan helping him clear evidences like blood stains and fingerprints.

But the two photographs which got Khushali's maximum attention were of Sidharth and Sagar, in which the first image, Sidharth was hovering over, what seemed blood covered body of a dead Sagar and other of him checking Sagar's pulse, hands covered in Sagar's blood.

The surge in her emotions, made the droplets of salty water roll out of her red swollen eyes. Her knees too gave up and she slumped down on the floor. The pictures were enough to shake her trust in her husband, but this wasn't the reason for her crestfallen self. What had affected her the most, wasn't related to Sidharth, but Sagar. The dead, blood covered, motionless body of her ex fiancé, her first love, was what had affected her this much and broken her shattered soul completely, certainly bringing back her awfully painful past.

Witnessing Khushali's this woebegone state, Mayera shifted next to her, trying to think of a way to ease Khushali's pain. She never thought Khushali would be this shattered with the truth. Regretting all the things that happened now, Mayera guiltily looked down while Khushali tried to numb her untolerable pain and haywire going thoughts as the pictures had given rise to some awfully important questions, whose answers Khushali needed to know.

Vivan kneeled beside her as well, but didn't dare to look at Khushali, simply because he didn't have the strength to do so. He knew somewhere he too was responsible for Khushali's current state but then again, it was for her own good to know the truth. So picking up the voice recorder, he pressed the play button and the recorded voices of Sidharth and Arhaan from an apparent phone call, filled the room's deadly silence.

"Now that Sagar's dead, Rehaan's needs to leave this country as soon as possible. Because if he doesn't, then the cops can get to know about our involvement too, Arhaan. And I can't afford that now. Not before I get all the evidences and destroy them. We need to destroy those evidences to prove our innocence and keep all of us out of jail. I don't want anymore risks now, prepare for Rehaan's departure, it's necessary for him to stay hidden, isolated, until the right time or else we'll be in trouble too." Said the recorded voice of Sidharth Mehra.

"I agree with you Sidharth. Neither I want to get into any trouble. I'll make every arrangement for Rehaan's departure. Don't worry about it." Arhaan Bajaj's voice replied.

"Good! Once Rehaan will be out of this scene, it'll be easy to handle everything and cover up the damage. And that cop Jay, he's ready to help us. That's great he's on our side. We'll be safe till he's there with us. He has promised to proof in the closure reports that Sagar's death was just a mere accident and not a planned murder and that dead driver was the one who collided his car with Sagar in an intoxicated state. So Rehaan's gonna be safe now, until next time. Or when we..," the voice of Sidharth Mehra faded, leaving whatever he said in mid sentence.

Once the voice recorder stopped playing the recorded phone call, the room was again swallowed by desolation and only the sound of suppressed sobs of Mayera, was audible along with the sound of the three pairs of lungs, demanding for air.

Some minutes passed in silence and Khushali, with all her might, asked the questions, whose answers mattered a lot to her, now.
"I-If you knew Sidharth k-killed Sagar, then why did you stay quiet? Why did you not tell anyone or inform the police? Why didn't you get Sidharth punished for the crime he committed? Why Vivan, why did you stay mum? WHY?"

"Because Sidharth had removed all the evidences. Haven't you heard in the recording? He wanted to destroy all the evidences and he did it! I knew that day he was the one driving the car that collided with Sagar's car. And then he made Rehaan sit in the driver's seat and took those pictures to blackmail Rehaan later. And as he wanted to keep Rehaan out of the trouble till the right time, he made it appear as if that already dead man was the culprit. I knew everything because he had told it all to me when I confronted him later but I had no damn proofs. The businessmen who bought Rehaan's shares was me and that's how I grew suspicious of Sidharth and Arhaan because in any case they wouldn't have allowed Rehaan to sell his shares because Arhaan had an equal share in that company. But just to make Rehaan go away, they made him do that and Sidharth had destroyed each and every evidences that could've confirmed his crimes. And his brother-in-law cum sidekick, Arhaan, he too helped Sidharth cover up his crimes. Maybe the reason why Sidharth saved Rehaan that time was because he knew this case would open again after I get the proofs. And now I have some of those proofs, which Jay gave us today, though I still need more evidences to prove Sidharth guilty of Sagar's murder. Unlike last time, this time I won't stay mum. Sidharth would get punished now, for killing my brother," said Vivan, with a very bitter tone.

"Why didn't you tell me all this before? Why? If you knew Sidharth was Sagar's culprit, then why did you never tell me anything? How could you do this to me and your brother? Why did you let me marry my own Sagar's murderer? Why?" cried Khushali, with agitation and anger.

"Because I never thought he would set his eyes on you. And honestly, I don't know why he married you and even the reason for killing Sagar. But I have this wild hunch, that maybe, just maybe, Sidharth had a fight with Sagar over some petty issue, which might have hurt Sidharth's gigantic ego and just to take his revenge, he wanted to trap Sagar into some fraud as Sidharth was our company's legal attorney that time. Sagar got to know about it and wanted to expose Sidharth. But before he could do that, Sidharth decided to kill him and end the matter. And then he clicked those pictures of an intoxicated Rehaan in the driver's seat to use them later as an evidence and then put the body of a dead man there. This is just a guess and I don't know the real reason. And as for marrying you, I think he thought you might have some information or proofs, that might get him in trouble," Vivan thoughtfully said.

Khushali cried more as Vivan shared this piece of information. Her mind was completely unhinged and chaotic now, not in the condition to think anything, only replaying all those pictures, recordings and all the things that she heard in last some minutes. Her husband, if relying on the proofs shown to her, had killed her Sagar, for just a petty humiliation. It seemed unreasonable to her, Sidharth didn't even have a temper, then how could he murder someone so gruesomely?

Yet the evidences clearly showed his crimes. They showed he had killed an innocent guy, destroyed the life of his innocent friend and ruined the happiness of Khushali, 'then soon-to-be Malhotra' Kapoor.

Even then her heart wasn't ready to believe any of this. It was like as if her heart, which had been through a lot, had turned blind and deaf to every piece of truth, keeping itself together, and not break all over again. Yet, Khushali could not deny the truth, seeing it herself and knowing all the facts, which were all stating toward Sidharth's unforgivable crimes, including him cheating on her. But then something Vivan said, about the reason for Sidharth marrying Khushali, puzzled her brain, which certainly was trying to work again rationally.

And so what seemed endless, Khushali at last managed to stop her tears and standing up on her feet, in a very weak voice, said, "I don't have anything that could help or trouble Sidharth. I don't have anything."

"Maybe you don't. I don't know if this is true, but were you attacked before your marriage to Sidharth?" asked Vivan, with his brows furrowed and and creases on his forehead.

Mayera looked astoundingly at him, as she didn't know anything about all this. And since she didn't know anything regarding this matter, she stayed quiet, sensing the situation, which was nothing less than a roller coaster ride because one moment it was all miserable with a broken Khushali unable to grip herself together, and the very next moment, it was sensible again with Khushali talking all logically.

Khushali, with her mind getting stable again, subsiding her pain and suffering, thought about the attacks and tried toto decide if she should tell Vivan about it or not. But then, she sighingly said, "Yes, I was attacked and Sidharth only saved me that day. Are you sure, Vivan that Sidharth did all this. Maybe it's all some sort of deception or maybe someone's trying to frame him and Rehaan both."

"Don't try to say that it's all deception or some misunderstanding, because facts prove Sidharth's crimes and are enough to get him behind the bars. Maybe you're just too gobsmacked with the truth, which is why you aren't able to think anything straight," Vivan said coldly, with his back to Khushali now.

Khushali stared at him and then at Mayera in silence and a few seconds later, replied to him in a very calm yet heavy voice, "Maybe. I should go home now. Thank you both for telling me the truth."

She picked her handbag again and making her appearance fine, walked upto the door, when Vivan turned to face her retreating figure and a concerned Mayera said, "Khushali, I know you're not okay, please don't act all fine. Let me drop you home, you're not in your best state to drive to such distance at the moment."

Before Khushali could reply to that, Vivan interrupted and said thoughtfully, "You're gonna talk about this with Sidharth, right?"

Hearing this, Khushali turned back to face him, and quietly said, "I have questions, whose answers only Sidharth have. But I don't wish to disclose those questions to you as it's my and my legally wedded husband's matter, even if you know the details of most of my life's matters." She turned to Mayera and with a small smile, said politely, "I'm fine, Mayera. And I'm not covering up my pain, I've already shown enough of my vulnerability today. Not more, please. I can manage everything on my own now. Take care, I'll see you soon."

And then she didn't stop for even a second and walked out of the apartment without looking back. As she left, Mayera wondered whether Khushali's eyes really showed concern for her or not and turned to look at Vivan, who too left from there. But before leaving, he did tell her to keep those evidences safe and her own self as well.

Khushali went down in the elevator and walked upto her car. Keeping her bag on the passenger seat, she settled on the driver's seat. And as she closed the door of her, a sob escaped her lips, followed by a flood of unstoppable tears and she allowed herself to mourn now.

She didn't want to show herself as weak, though Mayera and Vivan did see her weak self, yet she wanted to keep her most miserable state hidden from their sight because she couldn't let me see this extremely desolate and doleful state of herself.

And after what all she had learnt about her husband today, she wanted to cry out her heart, but knew this wasn't the right place. So wiping her tears off her face, she turned the key and zoomed off to that one place, where she knew, she could find solace now.

But where's this place was? And what were the questions, Khushali wanted Sidharth to answer?

Stay tuned!