Forrest even when Ange was in custody cannot rest. For some reason, he cannot take out that puzzling thought out of his head about someone else being behind all this. If it was his parents then he was still in trouble and if it was not, then they aren't out of the woods yet. He didn't wish to alert Reva but she had already started to catch on to all that.
"Art, come on, go to sleep. You are awake for straight forty- eight hours. You are going to hurt yourself this way." He didn't wish to worry her about anything. But she was a very clever girl and sooner or later she was going to find out. "Sorry, just a case in hospital. I do not wish you to worry my love. Worrying is not good for your heart." He said to her as he tried to calm her down.
"So, the gun you carry and put close by always is also a part of the case?" She asked getting up. "you were dead set against firearms anywhere near you Forrest but you going and getting a license for the same doesn't indicate you are worried about a case." "I took it just in case, you know I do not wish to end up in a position where I cannot protect you or my family. But we have more than that to care about. Have you come up with an idea of how you are going to get Disha and Valentino close?" She looked at him as if he has grown two heads.
"Those two will kill each other being in a room together even if they are unarmed. And it was your suggestion so, deal with it Mr. Heart specialist." She told him pulling Forrest closer. "Now tell me love what is really bothering you." Forrest sighed thinking he had no way out of this now. "Remember the video? It got me thinking if it all was the product of Ange's brain. She never seems to be smart enough to formulate all of it. So, even in theory if she had help, I wish to know who."
"Forrest, it is in theory, we really do not have a way to know. Ange had confessed to everything. She told the police how she formulated all this to her benefit even after your mother and father paid her just to stay with you and eventually bring you back. That was the original plan but then she wanted your property so, this was how she thought she will get it." Reva tried to make him understand but Forrest can feel it inside. Something doesn't feel right.
The next morning Reva thought that the only way to distract Forrest was to give him the answer to the question he was seeking. So, she pulled her old album the one she kept hidden from his eyes till now. Then she walked to Forrest's home office. She knocked and he looked up from his files. "Do you have a spare moment Art?" She asked him. "For you my love, I can spare as many as you wish me to. Tell me what is that you wish to know and I will tell you the answer to your query."
"It is not me, I want to show you something." He stood up and walked out with her towards the sitting area. He pulled her down on the couch. "What are these?" He asked pointing at the album. "Your answer to why I do not wear Indian attire as much as my other friends. My old life was much different before you, before them. Apurva was selected by my parents. We had known each other for so long, they thought it would be a good idea to pair me with him." She told him.
"But what Apurva was to them, was very different than how he behaved with me. He is this perfect dream of son-in-law to them. But their dreams were very different than the reality of the situation. Apurva resented me. He called me old-fashioned. He said I wasn't beautiful, I don't know how to dress and I was fat, got no personality of my own." She pointed to an old photograph.
"This is me just when I decided to join medical college. I defied his views of having a perfect silent housewife whom he can exploit for his own good. But I refused to be part of it anymore. For him, I had changed myself fully. I started dressing like he wished me to. Started eating what he wished, tried to be as he wished to see me. Then I realized that no matter what I do, he forever will shun me down. He will never respect me, or my profession. He feels happy showing he is better than me to everyone." She turns silent and met Forrest's eyes. "He never going to accept me because I was something he can mock, something he can break, something he can keep under his thumb."
Forrest held her hand. "My mom dad didn't wish to believe it. Not until they saw you with me. When you told me you are imagining me in my baggy t-shirt, big glasses and with a book in my hand, it was shocking for me how someone like you want me in that. I mean..." Forrest kissed her in response.
"You know little birdie, you can wear a sack and I will find you sexy. For me, it is not the clothes, or your looks, that make you sexy. It is your heart, your beautiful eyes that make you look attractive. And it will forever be that. You put heart in the phrase, the heart specialist. That can never ever change."
Suddenly, the alarm blared in the house. Forrest became very alert. Something didn't feel right to him. Something was very wrong he can feel it. Then he saw Disha enter. "Disha, what a pleasant surprise? I was thinking about meeting you." Forrest looked at her expression and she looked frightened.
His body became alert as he can sense the impending danger on his family. Reva started to get up when Forrest held her hand forcing her down something Reva had failed to understand why. "Let me go Forrest what are you doing? You are being paranoid for no reason." Reva told him. He didn't let go.
"Reva doesn't something isn't right here," Forrest told her. Reva looked at him very confused about what was happening. "Forrest she is Disha why there would be anything wrong?" Reva asked frantically. "Trust me Reva, do not move an inch from here." Reva was still very confused. Disha wasn't moving an inch from her position and Forrest wasn't letting her go near Disha as well.
Finally, Disha took the first few steps towards the couple. Forrest was still very much alarmed. He knew something was very much wrong and that Disha was afraid. "Disha, are you alright?" Reva asked her friend.
"I..." Disha paused not moving for a while and then said to Reva. "I am very sorry Reva, she made me do it. I didn't want to do it." That sentence made Forrest far more alarmed than before. He pulled Reva back and then someone came from beside Disha. That made Reva and Forrest stiffen more.
"Move back and join your friends," Ange said pulling the gun on them. "Ange, what are you doing here? Who had bailed you out?" Ange laughed. "You think only you have friends in higher up? You are so very wrong Forrest Arthur Lyte." She told him. "Ange let's talk about this, what is that you need?" Forrest asked.
"Time for talk is over Forrest, you have done everything you can to protect her. You have left me, destroyed my well-laid plans. All because of her. She is the one who needs to go. I am here to do that, take her out of this world permanently." Disha looked at her with surprise.
"But you said you will not harm them; you will only make Forrest sign on those papers and leave." She pointed the gun at Disha. "Shut up, you insignificant nonexisting person. You were only there to get me inside. Now, what I do with them afterward is not your concern to keep your mouth shut or I will shut it for you." Disha immediately stopped. She knew this is an impossible chance to reason with a person mad with a feeling of vengeance.
"What do you want from me? where I need to sign. I will do anything please leave my family alone." That made Ange chuckle more. "You are talking about family? You of all people Forrest? You do not know what family is about. You do not know what love is about. Otherwise, you haven't left your real family and came here to be with her. And your family wouldn't have come to me with a proposal like this. They wanted me to seduce you, keep you under my control and then take you back to them. If only it was easy as they made it sound." She sounded so bitter it almost hurt Forrest's ears.
"I will sign you my property, you can have my apartment and..." "Shut up" Ange shouted. Then she begins to laugh hysterically. A shrill cry broke her lips afterward. "You think you will sign up a paper and all that you and your family had put me through will be undone? Who will heal my mental scars? Who will heal them? I was happy you know, for once in reality I was happy that you were there with me. But then you begin to annoy me with the baby talk." She pulled the gun towards Forrest.
Reva came in front of him taking the protective stance. "Reva no, don't." Forrest tried to push her behind him. "What of the phrase does not move, is that you do not understand?" Ange asked. "Do you want me to shoot her?" Forrest moves back. "Sorry, I am very sorry, but please do not hurt her." Ange placed a finger on her lips.
"Shhh... I am narrating a story here, you must give me a chance to tell you that, stop interrupting. You and your baby talk, what could I have done? I couldn't tell you the truth. There was no baby Forrest. If I have told you this, you have left me. And I would have been alone once again. So there was really only one option left. I have to fake the miscarriage."
Ange looked at Forrest enraged. "But you are one nosy..." Forrest's eyes went behind her. And he saw Valentino he nodded at Forrest and his gaze shifted towards Ange. "You Forrest Arthur Lyte drove me to fake my accident." She said to him.
"You were the reason, I am in this position now, when I told you to leave Christopher you didn't. We could have been happier and I would even be giving you a baby, instead, I had to all this, all of this."
"Ange, we can still settle this. We can still..." Valentino tackled her from behind and they begin struggling for the very live gun in her hand. "Reva run" Forrest urged her knowing that Reva was the one who was in danger. Valentino manages to subdue her for a while rendering her unable to fire her weapon. Ange played her last card.
"You think even if you take me out you will be safe? That is not how it happens, You, your precious Christopher, and even Valentino aren't safe from her. She is out there, watching and waiting. Sooner or later you all will pay for what you did to all of us. To her, to Kelly, and to me."
"Shut up you psycho, you are nothing but one of those obsessed little girls who think they can do anything and win. That doesn't happen." Valentino said angrily. "You are telling me this? You weren't even part of her plan until very recently. You are mocking me. You are not even significant enough to become a part of her master plan. She never thought you were important enough. You are not important to anyone. Not even your brother. They only consider you as the comical relief. That is the sad truth Woodland, about you." "Shut up you..." His hold falters enough for her to get out of the bounds.
Before anyone can do anything about her, she picked up her gun and pointed towards Reva, and shot. Everything slowed down as the bullet made its target. All of them watched in horror the things that had unfolded in front of them. Disha pushed Reva out of the way and the bullet hit her back. "Disha" Valentino screamed rushing for her just as Ange shot again this time hitting Valentino and Disha both once again. Then she targeted Reva almost immediately.
Forrest too pulled out his gun and shot her rendering her useless just as Christopher and Eros arrived with the police. They got a hold of Ange and dragged her away. Valentino was holding Disha, she was bleeding badly. "We need to get her to hospital. And we need to do that as immediately as possible." Christopher said looking at the horrific scene in front of him. " Chris, she isn't breathing. Why she isn't breathing?" Valentino asked. "She is, just very sallow," Eros said checking her.
"Don't touch her, don't touch her anyone of you." Valentino cried. He was also injured over his shoulder. "Valentino, we need to take her to hospital otherwise we cannot save her. You are a doctor, think like a doctor." Christopher said in a harsh tone.
"No, it was my fault. It was all my fault she got hit because of me." She cried again. Eros put his finger over the back of his neck and render him unconscious. Christopher looked at him angrily. " Didn't have a choice he would have bled out with miss sunshine here. Now let's get them to the hospital stat." And that was something all of them agreed to.
Word Count: 2360 Words