"How is she now? Is she any better?" questioned Sumedh, cupping Shipra's shoulder as she appeared to be every bit of the worn off soul that she was.
"She is a lot more stable than she was a few minutes back, of course, physically. Mentally, I have no idea," she answered, discarding her gloves in the dust bin as she eyed her dear friend with tears in her eyes.
"Couldn't she call me once before taking such a harsh decision? Didn't she consider me to be her friend? Then, why didn't she find it important to discuss such a crucial matter, before acting on her impulse?" complained Shipra, love pouring out from her eyes and her voice as Sumedh took her into his embrace, drawing soothing circles at her back.
"Of course, she considers you to be her friend, Shipra. Maybe she did not have it in her to relate the happenings and relive them once again. She is fine now, relax. I have called Adhrit and he will be here in a short while," informed Sumedh, as he caressed her hair softly.
"It's all because of him and you called him here. Why, Sumedh?" she questioned, looking up into his eyes. She had just wanted her husband to inform him so that the knowledge would kill him, but she did not want him near her friend anymore.
"Because he loves her and that gives him the right to see her. Or in other words, if he is truly guilty, it is his punishment to see her in this state. Do you really think someone who loves children as much as Adhrit would intentionally do something to hurt them? He would have been truly unaware of the situation and maybe someone in his company exploited his trust upon them. He was always very irresponsible, spurning away one responsibility if he was taking up another, he could be responsible for only one thing at a time and maybe that ruined everything in his life, starting from his relationship with his parents, Mohini and now Neysa," he explained as Shipra began understanding the situation logically.
"It's karma, isn't it? Remember, Adhrit did not believe Mohini when she told a producer took advantage of her severely inebriated state and she did not indulge in him? Now, maybe, Adhrit is only partially at fault and Neysa refuses to believe him. And Neysa, bless her love, gave the idea to Adhrit to betray his marriage and she was betrayed by him in something so close to her heart. It's all karma," she mused, realizing that they were nothing but puppets in the hands of destiny.
Before Sumedh could answer further, they heard Neysa turning in the bed, struggling to turn as her skin was still sensitive. The couple were by her side quickly as Neysa opened her eyes weakly, trying to adjust to the bright light and the blinding pain which coursed through her.
"Shipra..." she whispered as Shipra helped her to change her position and rest her back properly to the backrest so that she did not strain her back further.
"Why did you have to take this step, Neysa? Your Mahadev wouldn't be pleased to see his devotee trying to burn herself by invoking him," scolded Shipra as she handed over a water bottle to Neysa as she needed to keep herself hydrated to regain her health faster.
"I was broken, Shipra. I didn't know what I was doing. I loved him so much. His company played with the lives of children who were already struggling with ailments, how could he?" she sobbed, her voice shaking with pain which was both mental and physical, but it was the emotional turmoil which wretched her.
"You really think that he would do it, Neysa? Ask yourself once. The man whom you have loved, the man who loves children so much, would he risk other children's lives? Would he tarnish his company's reputation which he had built from scratch, giving it all that he had?" asked Sumedh, taking his seat beside her feet as he changed the side of the cold pack from her knees which had been scraped badly.
Neysa looked over to Shipra, wondering if she agreed with her husband's words, because she knew that Shipra would always want the best for her friend and was one of her best well-wishers.
"Yes, Neysa. I don't think he is capable of doing it. He is irresponsible alright but a rogue and fraudster, I don't think so. He loves you enough to not do a thing which would hurt you so badly," added Shipra, applying cream over her hands which were burnt by holding the scalding hot water in them.
"I wanted to believe him so badly, but he did not say a thing which would negate what was said in the court. Yes, he could not have informed me of the court case when I was pregnant or when we met after four months but i expected that after our marriage, he would not hide a thing from me. If he felt that somebody in the company had cheated him by creating the wrong drug, why did not he act on his instinct? Why did he not get an investigation done or revealed at the court? My heart still wants to believe him, Shipra, but my soul and my conscience, they are lost. I want answers and only he can give them," she replied, preventing her tears from leaving her eyes, lest the dam of her heart broke.
The doorbell began ringing as Sumedh volunteered to go and open the door, which revealed a very disheveled Adhrit Solanki, panting and pained, fragile and fatigued, full of lament and full of love.
"Where is she?" he demanded, eying round the house as Sumedh pointed towards the room in which Neysa was as Shipra walked out, deciding to give privacy to the couple.
"Nisha..."
A loving yet broken whisper left his trembling lips as his staggered steps dragged him towards the one who ignited the flame of love in him.
"You had wanted to punish someone, it should have been me, why did you take it upon yourself? I am your culprit; I had vowed to win your trust and the unfortunate idiot who broke the vow. It should have been me to burn in that water, blaze in redemption and smoulder in love, not you!" he exclaimed, collapsing on his knees by her side, as the tears in her eyes finally descended down.
"You think seeing you in pain would have given me pleasure, Adhrit Solanki? You are highly mistaken if you think punishing you would have alleviated my pain. It would have instead pushed me into the flames of hell. Please tell me, how did this happen? Who, according to you, has changed the composition of the drugs to form this dangerous concoction and why didn't you do anything about it?" she asked, placing her arm over his, the love which she showered through her eyes acting as an embalmation to his soul.
"Because I have no idea who it can be. Vivek was taking care of the company when I was with you in Shillong. He never studied pharmacology, so he has no idea. I asked him to approve on my behalf while I just manually approved for the heck of it. I have no idea when it was approved and the name under which it was requested. The composition logged into our servers doesn't match the one displayed in court. There was no way I could prove that I was unaware because such a big goofup in the servers meant someone higher up and it would only increase suspicion on me," he replied, raking his fingers through his hair as he pulled it.
"We will find a way to prove that you are not involved in it, Adhrit. Don't worry. I know quite a lot of lawyers and I will meet with them, starting with the legal advisor of our hospital. I can't ask the Committee to take the case back, but you file an appeal and I will make sure that justice is served," she promised, determination lacing her tone, adding to his strength.
"So, you do believe me?" he demanded, placing his arms on her sides, careful to not hurt her as he knew that her skin would be sensitive.
"Believing you is the only path leading to my sanity, Adhrit, so I am walking on it, guided by my heart and its love for you. If I don't, I will lose myself and should you fail in this, I don't think I will be able to survive because my soul will be destroyed in the lament of your love and daggers of my conscience. But I am willing to risk it, in the hope of a beautiful future with you, in the hope of fulfilling my childhood fantasies and in the hope to unite with you, this time once and for all. "