Since last time worked so well, I'm gonna bribe you guys again.
Comment if you love gulab jamun.
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Chapter 5
You are next.
I should've been next. Aghanya kept thinking about it inside the taxi. She wasn't allowed inside the ambulance and it was driving her crazy. Her hands shook and her heart hadn't stopped hammering from the past hour. Her hands were bloody from applying pressure to Viren's wound. She informed Paro and Dhruv, telling them to inform others as she had no idea how to barely even function.
If only, she hadn't bent down, she would've been in that ambulance. That clearly said that someone was trying to kill her. But why? She had done nothing. The threat from Varun's phone also told her that the same person had killed him. Finally reaching the hospital, she walked towards his surgical room but she was stopped. They handed her a couple of forms and Aghanya felt her head swinging.
"Aghanya what's wrong? Where's Viren?!" Dhruv was the first to come.
"Oh! Thank God, you're here. Can you handle this....I can't..." She muttered and sat down on the side chair. Soon Paro cams too, Aghanya felt sorry that she had to call Paro late at night. But she was grateful her friend was here.
Hourly; nurses came to inform her of Viren's condition. She didn't even know how many hours had passed since the incident. Soon, Viren's dad arrived too and was a great help with the formalities. Her parents came too. She almost lost it as she watches her mom shed fake tears. She knew it, because she had watched her movies previously. She kept calm and let her mother act her melodrama.
After a while, Viren was shifted to the recovery room. Finally, the police had arrived. Her mood dropped as she saw it was the female cop.
"Dee?!" Paro stood up from beside her. Aghanya looked at Paro with surprise, she did remember Paro telling her that her sister was in the force. But she never expected it would twist and end up in her lap.
"What are you doing here? Is Ma alone at home now that you're here?" Paro's sister questioned Paro.
"Yes and she's fine. I came here only after informing her." She said to her elder sibling, whose eyes then snapped towards her, "Mrs. Raizyada...We need to enquire you and Mr. Raizyada."
Aghanya just nodded, "He's still unconscious. But we can talk."
They found a corner of the cafeteria and sat down.
***
"So you're saying, the killer wanted to kill you but instead shot Mr.Raizyada?" Her eyebrows frowned.
"Yes, I was standing right in front of him and a second later after I bent down, he was shot."
She shook her head as if she couldn't believe it, that surprised Aghanya, "Why do you think so?"
Aghanya kept quiet about the text she had received from Varun's mobile phone.
"Exactly! You have no proof whatsoever to believe you were the target! Stop making assumptions." She said in a rude tone. Aghanya's lack of sleep, Viren's shooting and all other factors made her snap, her anger was now raging.
She stood up banging her hand against the table, "Excuse me?! I am not making baseless assumptions! I have co operated with you very kindly and I'm sorry," Her eyes snapped to her badge, "Janvi! I'm sorry but don't you think your tone is a little too rude? If you don't want to believe anything I say then why did you question me in the first place?!"
All the cafeteria had grown silent and was watching them. Aghanya didn't care, Jhanvi always looked at her like she was the perpetrator, when she was not.
"Do you have Princess Syndrome?" She calmly started, "No, I want to know, do you think you're a protagonist of a movie or something that everything and everyone should revolve around you? You're saying Viren was shot because you were supposed to be shot but you bent down and he got shot. Do you know how fast a bullet travels?! He clearly saw you bending down then fired the gun. Fine, if he had shot Viren by chance, then why did he not shoot you the second time? You were there for about 15-20 minutes then why were you not shot then? So, Mrs. Aghanya Raizyada, don't think you're the sole reason for everything happening in the universe, because you're not." She stood up and left.
Aghanya slumped against the chair, her mind in chaos again. If Viren was the target, then who and why did they shoot him? Her headached from the thoughts buzzing through her mind. So, now they both were targeted by the same person cor by different persons. She was pulled out of her thoughts when a phone on the table buzzed. It was her phone. She picked it up and saw that she had a text,
Bullet shot from service balcony, Diana Hotel.
The phone them clicked to a black screen. Aghanya was very well aware of Diana hotel, it belonged to a very close friend of her father. They visited the place a lot of times previously. But why would the shooter go there? She thought. Maybe, because it was in shooting range or maybe he had some connections. She left the cafeteria.
She met Paro and gave her the phone, telling her to give it back to her sister, she went to visit Viren.
***
She sat there for the longest time looking at Viren. He looked peaceful, like he was in a deep sleep. The day's exhaustion weighed her eyelids down. Her mind buzzed with questions - Who killed Viren? Did the killer text her? Or was it someone else? Did the same person shoot Viren? Or was it a completely different person?
"Getting shot sucks by the way."
She raised her head and saw him turned towards her, a faint smile on his lips. For a few seconds, she just stared at him, to relieve her of doubts of hallucinations. Her slippers skidded as she walked towards him.
"Are you okay?" Her voice came out dripped with exhaustion.
"Well, I am technically on a hospital bed now, so you decide." He chuckled.
Then it happened, her bottom lip trembled, she gulped the knot in her throat, her breath hung in despair and tears flowed out of her eyes. And soon it turned to sobs. Her legs had lost strength as she squatted down, covering her face with her hands. Tears streamed down her cheeks, wetting her hands in the process, her breath wheezed as she let out louder sobs.
"Stop that!" He snapped.
His sudden anger made her stop as she lifted her head to see him, staring straight at the ceiling, burning holes through them. She wiped away the wetness on her cheeks and stood up slowly. Ofcourse, Aghanya, you idiot. He just got shot and you're being a whiny baby, obviously he's irritated. She consoled herself and rolled her eyes, so that the tears that threatened to pour over would burn away, her heart stung at his words but she sniffed and brushed it off.
"Don't do that. Don't cry....especially when you're not near me. When I can't console you," He turned to look at her, his eyes in all seriousness, he carried on, "When I can't hold you, hug you, lend my shoulder to cry on, don't cry incessantly."
Aghanya felt her emotions shook to the core. Her heart that tugged in pain, a moment ago, now thudded ferociously against her chest. He lifted his torso in an attempt to sit up but she rushed towards him and pushed his shoulders down, "Don't. Just rest..." She muttered.
"Then don't make me miserable. You know that I can't get up, then why would you cry that like that? And for me?" His words made her skin hot and her breath itch, so much so that, she couldn't bear to look at him straightly. She was scared she'd drown in his cess pools, that she'd fall harder than she already had, so, she kept her eyes down. He held her hands firmly in his, she tried to move away from him, he he tugged her closer, that she almost fell on his wounded chest.
She felt her cheeks warm up with him cupping her cheeks, he swiped her cheek bones with his thumbs wiping away residual wetness. Her breath hitched again as he pulled her head closer so that their lips brushed against each other. Aghanya felt herself melt in his hold anticipating what was to come.
The door clicked open, and in an attempt to push him away, Aghanya had pushed herself back and her slippers skidded against the floor, suddenly she had fallen flat on her bottom.
"Hahaha...Ah...I can't even laugh, it hurts...ah! Please Miss Janvi, can you help my wife up?" Viren's laughter rang around the room.
To save herself from further embarrassment, Aghanya got up herself. "I! I am going to leave. You said wanted to enquire him. Please go on." She said to officer Janvi, she stumbled back when she saw a hint of lipstick on her lips. But she brushed it off, she was a woman too and women wear make up, she consoled herself. She walked out of the room.
As she peered through the glass door, she saw them laughing together. She frowned, when were they so close? Someone tapped on her shoulder, she looked back to see Dhruv holding two paper cups. He lent her one cup and she sipped coffee which rejuvenated her senses.
***
"Thank you, for coming as soon as possible. I'm so grateful, I thought I'd collapse."
Breeze tickled her hair, Aghanya cupped her palms around the warm cup. The hospital had a spacious balcony, she seeped in the night view that looked ethereal. She sighed.
"You don't have to thank me. Here," He put her jacket over her shoulders, "you look cold."
"Thank you..." Aghanya sighed as déjà vu hit her. A memory from nine years played in front of her. A barely teenage her on New Year's eve, on a balcony, crying her eyes out, there was one guy that advised her and lent her his jacket. She never knew how he looked like, she just found a pen with initials D.K on it.
"You have a very weird smile on your face. What are you thinking, huh?" Dhruv asked her.
"I wonder how he's doing, whether he grew up well, whether he's living here in India or abroad, whether he's married or found love?" She muttered honestly.
"Who's he?"
"My first real love..." She chuckled.
"Hmm...and why are you thinking about him now? Thinking about another man while with very charming yours truly? I'm taking offence Aghanya." He rubbed his chest where his heart was, feigning pain.
Aghanya chuckled and hit his arm lightly, "No, just something reminded me of him. On New Year's Eve, on a balcony like this, I met him. I didn't see his face but he was kind to me that night. No one was then, so yeah....that's my embarrassing story of my first real love." She started laughing and stopped only when she saw him looking at her in a strange way.
"What?" She teased.
He nodded sideways, "Nothing." But he started laughing after that. "It just made me think about some girl."
"Ooh, player Dhruv had a crush? Tell me, who was she? Tell me!" She prodded him, tugging his arm.
"She was just one of those girls that leaves an impression. That's all you're getting today." He chuckled.
She hit his arm harder, stood before him with her arms on her hips, "Not fair! Tell me! Tell me!" She hit his arms playfully.
Aghanya didn't know but he had caught both of her arms in an instant. Shivers went down her spins as she tugged her closer, "What will you do if I say she's right in front of me?"
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A/N: I'm sorry I didn't upload last Wednesday. My phone broke and I write on my phone so I couldn't write. Anyways vote, comment, check out my other stories.