Chapter 61

Falling in love was indeed easier than holding onto it, maybe for the time immemorial. Such was a weird situation of Vihaan's heart which was beating for only Sanchi. Every time they met or had conversations, those always got converted into heated arguments. Vihaan knew for sure that Sanchi was in love with him but, the cause of her runaway and staying aloof from him was yet not answered.

Standing in a corner of the Patel house like a lonely wanderer, Vihaan was hating the loud music and the crowd surrounding around him. Sanchi was not at all in his sight and it was evident that she had decided not to move out of her room to attend the marriage. With varied thoughts and a cup of cold coffee in his hand, a little raised conversation very near to Vihaan became audible to him.

Turning towards the direction of the voices and recognising the two figures, Vihaan kept the cup of coffee aside for the time being. "Ain't she sister-in-law? Who is she arguing with?" Squinting his eyes and trying to exactly confirm his doubt, he whispered again, "Is he... The... Maahir? Isn't he the one Sanchi seemed so hurt when she was talking to him? What are they both arguing about?"

Vidya hadn't noticed Vihaan's presence near her because of the crowd and noise. Raised eyebrows and expressions of dislike, she was confronting Maahir before her. "I hadn't expected to see you here, especially in the vicinity of Vanya. I don't want her to get hurt again because of your presence."

"I met your soulmate and I apologized to her. She isn't ready to forgive me at all, but at least you should reconsider the fact that I have realised my mistake. I am not here to hurt her or anything." Maahir's voice was full of apology and facial expressions humble.

Shaking her head violently, Vidya replied in a mighty voice, "I am no one to decide whether you should be forgiven or not. You did injustice to her and only Vanya has the right. If she refused to forgive you even today, she has her own limitations. I'm sorry but I can't help it."

"I don't think we should keep drooling over our pasts." Maahir smiled a bit. "So how are you? Won't you introduce me to your husband?"

Vidya folded her arms. "I'm good and the bridegroom is my husband's best friend. He's busy in the marriage rituals, helping his best friend."

Maahir nodded his head, smiling again. "If you don't mind, may I ask if Vanya got married?"

"I shouldn't have spoken to you in the good manners I've been brought up with." Vidya scoffed at him. "Why do you even care after so many years? Do you think I've forgotten the hurtful truth of how you broke your engagement with Vanya only to be with an another girl of her college? You cheated on her for someone else, you got engaged to that proud Kavita and never treated Vanya right."

"I know it was a huge fault on my part but you don't know the complete truth." Maahir stood firmly in front of Vidya. "You don't really know why I did it and... I am still ashamed of my wrong doings."

"I don't even want to know..." Vidya yelled on the top of her voice. "If you were really ashamed of it, you wouldn't have fetched your fiancée here with you to hurt Vanya again. You should have known that seeing the both of you together could dig out all her forgotten pasts once again."

Before Maahir could respond to more of Vidya's accuses, she walked out on him angrily. Maahir waited for a couple of seconds to ponder over the situation before walking out of the doorway.

The corner of Vihaan's mouth lifted the moment he felt a light pinch on his arm. A young girl of nearly Vidya's age and slightly curled brown hair was holding his cup of coffee near his mouth. "Hey man, is this your thing? Are you in the habit of drinking half a cup of coffee?"

Frowning and glaring randomly, Vihaan took the cup in his hand. "Yes because I'm also in the habit of spilling the rest of the warm liquid onto someone who intrudes me."

"You should have thanked me instead of being rude for saving your incomplete coffee from the housefly. Haven't you been taught to be nice to women?" The white-skinned girl spoke again, crossing her arms. She was trying to exhibit her smartness more than she really was. Diamond earrings, perfectly drawn colourful eyes and green lens, mouthful of dark red lip color and exposed cleavage line in between her chest, she was flaunting her glamorous pride at Vihaan.

Clenching fist of the other free hand, Vihaan grunted in his hoarse voice, "I haven't given anybody the allowance to question my moral education. Secondly, I don't see a reason to spend my precious time speaking to strangers. Excuse me."

Vihaan's moving away from the place halted when the girl mentioned from behind, "Hello, by the way it was nice to meet you Mr. DCP. You might not be interested into knowing me but yet I'll like to introduce myself. I'm Kavita Lokhia and a rising fashion model by profession."

"Kavita? Maahir's fiancée I suppose!" Vihaan thought to himself. Sleeveless maroon bodycon dress, slim and trimmed skinny legs, black pencil heels and the amount of makeup over her face were enough to prove that she was indeed a professional model.

Turning towards her once again, Vihaan knitted his eyebrows together. "If you know that I'm a DCP, you must be more careful into signing your fashion contracts henceforth. You mustn't be agreeing to any company's terms and conditions only for the greed for money. It wouldn't be nice if I would have to handcuff such smooth and beautiful wrists of yours."

"I heard that." Kavita rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Jwala aunt told me that you are the DCP of Indore and so I thought to befriend you. I could need your help sometimes and that's it."

"Friendships with the cops are never favourable." Vihaan dropped the unfinished coffee cup on the table again. "But if you need the policemen's help, dial 100. Personally befriending them can put you in more trouble."

"You are judging me as if I'm a criminal." Kavita frowned her forehead. "I was simply trying to have a normal conversation with you."

"Normal conversation doesn't necessarily mean throwing yourself at others." Vihaan glowered with a light smirk. "After all, criminals are the ones who offer policemen their friendship just on the first meeting itself."

"You are giving out a bad comparison." Kavita shook her head. "I had heard of your bravery a couple of times in the news. I was impressed by your personality even without seeing you. And when I saw you today, I thought to utilise the opportunity to talk to you and earn a little friendship. That's it."

"Don't you think you're using your brain more than it's capacity?" Vihaan hollered before widening his eyes. "I'm both least bothered and least interested in knowing you. Instead of wasting your time after me, go and find out what mess your fiancé had created in all these years. Make sure he doesn't get arrested for any hidden past crimes."

"Are you talking about Maahir?"

"How many fiancés do you possibly possess?" Vihaan counter-questioned her.

Inhaling a little breath, Kavita said briefly, "I regret getting him into my life. He seems to not mend his ways of flirting with other girls but then we can't even break up."

"Honestly, you both seem to deserve each other then." Vihaan smirked before departing from the hallway. Digging Sanchi's mysterious secrets and helping her to overcome her pains were his only priority at that time.

*****

Tapping her feet nervously, Vidya sat in a corner of the crowded hallway pondering over the dilemma Sanchi was thrown into. She was scared of her soulmate getting hurt again due to her past and Maahir being one of the strongest reasons for it.

A low voice broke her trance as she caught Vihaan's seeking gaze on her. "Sister-in-law?"

"Vihaan..." Vidya looked up at him. "Did you find a chance to speak to Vanya?"

Purposely ignoring her query, Vihaan uttered with a low groan, "What's the thing with this Maahir and who is Kavita?"

Vidya found the situation totally evident and shook her head. "So you have found out who they are."

"I haven't and that's the reason why I'm asking you." Vihaan raised his eyebrows. "As much as they are concerned, these people are somehow related to Sanchi's hurting past."

"They are, to some extent." Vidya stood upright, folding her arms. "It will be wrong if I still keep you in the dark. I'll tell you whatever I know about them so that you can help Vanya out."

"I'm trying hard to control my anger since the time I witnessed how hurt Sanchi was when she met Maahir." Vihaan was fuming in anger. The thought of seeing Sanchi in pain was unbearable to him. "I will like to see the end of all her miseries and hence, knowing all the truth is utmost necessary to me."

"Maahir is the son of Kunwar uncle's friend Nikunj. Vanya was kind of an introvert girl since childhood and she was only open to me and Shay. When Maahir started visiting the Patel house, he used to run after Vanya for friendship. She continued ignoring him because of his flirtatious nature until we reached high school."

"What happened in high school?"

"Vanya always found it difficult to befriend people because of her stammering. She had to face so much of humiliations every now and then. The day Shay left for Indore with my parents, there was nobody to save her from the evil people except I. Being a girl, it was always difficult for me to face the public as well as Vanya found it hard to survive. When we were in high school, she found a good friend in Tanvir who had once stood up against the students in the school for her. It was when Maahir realised that Vanya had allowed an another male in her life after Shay and he was totally irked about it."

"Isn't Tanvir the same lawyer who was fighting my case?" Vihaan frowned his forehead. "Why was Maahir irked when he wasn't even so close to Sanchi?"

"Yes he's the same lawyer... So Tanvir and Vanya became great friends, from sharing notes to studying together, attending classes daily. I was in the science section and they both were in commerce. We used to chat together whenever we had recess or free classes. I found Tanvir an amazing guy but Vanya told me that she had only friendly feelings for him. Everything was fine until one day Maahir's parents visited the Patel house to ask Vanya's hand for marriage."

"If Maahir was so much into liking Sanchi, didn't he ever stand up against the public to stop all sorts of humiliation on her?"

"He didn't and I think he never found a chance. Vanya wouldn't allow him next to her and so they never fell into such a situation." Vidya shrugged her shoulders. "Vanya was at first shocked with the marriage proposal and then refused instantly. We were under eighteen years and marriage is considered illegal. Also, she couldn't think of marrying someone because she feared his family wouldn't accept her flaw. But when Maahir and his family declared that they were fine with her stammering, her thoughts melted for him."

"Did she agree?" Vihaan found his heart thumping inside his chest. "Did she get married to him?"

"Of course not, Vihaan." Vidya widened her eyes. "Maahir had genuinely fallen on one knee to ask her hand for marriage and she was aware that he had never insulted her stuttering. With mixed thoughts, she had given her consent and their engagement was completed a week later. Maahir's family had decided to get the marriage done once she turned eighteen."

"So what happened after that? How did they break up?" Vihaan was beginning to lose his patience.

"No Vihaan, they were never in such kind of a relationship to break up. Maahir and Vanya used to barely speak to each other initially, but as time passed, Maahir started paying her visits to our school sometimes. More than an engaged couple, they were turning into great friends and Maahir also accepted Tanvir as their friend. The four of us had built a great bonding together and I was beginning to like Maahir for Vanya."

Vihaan lifted his eyebrows in annoyance. "So I can conclude Maahir and Sanchi thought that they can't be anything more than great friends, and hence they decided to break the engagement."

"Will you shut up, Vihaan?" Vidya rolled her eyes. "This isn't the truth. I know the story is annoying you because Vanya only belongs to you. But you will have to bear it till the end of it."

"Continue..." Vihaan folded his arms. "I'm listening..."

"Vanya was slowly beginning to gain her trust on him and they started talking more often. I became little detached from them because of my entrance exam preparation and she used to push me into studies. More than mine, it was her dream that I become a doctor some day."

"Just tell me when did they break their engagement and why?" Vihaan continued ranting with a pestering look on his face.

"After two months of being in college together." Vidya closed her eyes to exhale aloud. "Maahir used to study in the same college as Vanya but he was in the final year. The year Vanya joined his college, I qualified for the medical degree at London and she forced me to pursue it. I had only left her alone due to my trust on Maahir. But in less than a couple of months, Vanya started sounding indifferent to me. She stopped speaking to me frequently over phone and I got worried."

"Then?"

"Upon a lot of insistence, she told me that she and Maahir broke their engagement. The reason was that Maahir had fallen into a secret relationship with a classmate and friend of Vanya at college, her name was Kavita. This new intruder Kavita was a fashion diva and boys used to drool over her. It must be evident that Maahir couldn't help but got attracted to her. Later when I returned to India and arrived here to meet Vanya, she wasn't staying in the house anymore. I heard from Nidhi that Maahir had got engaged to Kavita." Vidya gasped a little. "True love happens rarely at such a young age and Vanya was a sufferer of it."

"This is the reason why Sanchi still refuses to forgive him. She must have been extremely hurt by Maahir's betrayal towards her." Vihaan clenched his fists together. "I won't let this guy Maahir and his so-called fiancée Kavita to hurt Sanchi by bringing up the forgotten past again."

As Vihaan uttered those lines angrily, his clenched fists were grabbed by Vidya. Vihaan eased the tightness of his palms, allowing Vidya to hold his arms properly. "Vihaan... Anger isn't the solution to everything. You need to be beside Vanya during her hard times of facing Maahir instead of shoving down your rage on him. You need to show that Vanya can trust you and that you are the one who will never betray her."

"I know that but your soulmate keeps pushing me away." Vihaan's face was shaped like a little kid. "I want to be beside her always and forever."

Slightly patting his arm, Vidya murmured smiling, "Everything happens for a good reason, Vihaan. Vanya is made only for you and you both deserve to be together for many more births to come."

"And here I'm sulking to even find a day to spend with her."

"You will get to spend your entire life with her once you're done with your confession to her," Vidya said chuckling. "When are you going to do that?"

Before Vihaan could respond to her, a hand rested on his shoulder. Turning about on his high boots, Vihaan came face-to-face with his very new indirect rival Maahir.

"Are you somehow the DCP of Indore? Mr. Vihaan?" Maahir spoke in a disturbed voice.

Nodding his head, confirmation came from Vihaan. "I'm what you are searching for. Vihaan Singh Bundela, the renowned angry young DCP of Indore."

"What did you warn my fiancée about? Did you tell her that I have some criminal stuffs done in the past, I have created a lot of mess and.... She has begun to constantly pester me with her rantings." Maahir narrowed his eyes. "I don't even know you mister. In fact we are meeting for the first time in life. How can you disgrace someone and fake stories about him before his own fiancée?"

Vihaan felt his fists tightening on their own accord when Vidya held his wrist sideways. Gritting his teeth as tightly as he could, he managed to utter something politely at last. "If you can't bear as to what your fiancée is being told by others, teach her not to drool over different guys as and when she likes."

As soon as Vidya heard Vihaan's words, she blurted out angrily, "Was Kavita trying to drool over you, Vihaan? I already knew how this girl has been since her college days. I'd heard a lot about her from Vanya in the past."

"Vidya!" Maahir snapped at her. "I know men stick around Kavita because she is beautiful, gorgeous and smart. She is also way too frank with the opposite gender but it doesn't mean she'll try flirting with other men even after our engagement."

"What do you mean by 'even after'? So you do know that she was a seductress earlier." Vidya crossed her arms on her chest, taking a random step forward. Glaring straight into Maahir's eyes, she hollered again, "You really deserve someone like Kavita for betraying someone like Vanya. Do you know what? You've lost a priceless gem for trying to win over a cheap goblin."

Maahir lowered his voice a little. "I still regret for it, Vidya. I know I had caused injustice to Vanya and I have not been able to forgive myself for it. If I could ever rectify my mistake, I would willingly do it, but... I know it's too late now."

"Don't ever dare to even try it or the consequences will be severe." Vihaan scoffed in his deleterious voice. "Mark my words, Maahir. San...eh Vanya will never give you a second chance again."

Maahir turned towards Vihaan. "What's your problem, man? Why are you trying to create a rift in everything I have or want in my life. You poisoned Kavita's brain about me and now you are speaking on Vanya's behalf. What wrong have I done to you?"

"You have hurt the most important possession of mine, my..." Vihaan trailed off when Vidya pinched him.

"Stop it, Vihaan. You can't keep on arguing with people like Maahir." Vidya reminded him. "Why are you forgetting that you are on a higher pedestal than Maahir? You already have found the reciprocation which Maahir failed to find in any girl."

Maahir took a close step towards Vidya and uttered feebly, "I do still care for Vanya and her happiness in life. You might never believe me but my feelings are genuine. I still feel for her."

"When you had possessed so much concerns for her, why the hell did you leave her for an another girl? Why couldn't you give her the happiness she had once expected from you?"

Maahir's head was hung lower as he rubbed his palms together. "Have you ever seen that Vanya can't go for long hours without food?"

Vihaan immediately remembered Sanchi and her all-time companion in the form of 'cupcakes'. Without wasting a second, he blabbered urgently, "Yes, I have noticed it. She can't tolerate hunger and faints easily."

Maahir nodded his head. "It is because she is suffering from an incurable disease. My parents had refused to get my marriage done with her when her illness was disclosed before us. I couldn't go against the decision of my parents and accept her in my life and bring her in my family."

Vihaan found words disappearing from his mouth and gradual weakening of his senses. Sanchi suffering from a deadly disease was a major bolt out of the blue for him and he couldn't believe his ears.

Vidya found herself equally shocked like Vihaan