CHAPTER 15: Tit for tat
(Day after Ranveer and team questioned the families)
Shivaay was sitting in his cabin going through the documents Mrs. Kapoor had given him the previous night…. He was reading each and every line carefully not to miss any point…. He had got them checked from his legal advisor to ensure that they were original…. After being told that the documents were hundred percent original, he was relieved…. But to be completely sure he was going through it himself…. He was busy with his work when there was a knock on the door…. Without looking up from the file he asked the person to come in…. Anika entered the cabin and looked at Shivaay who seemed busy…. She had made up her mind that today she would show him what arrogance and rudeness is…. He had tested her patience enough…. Now it was her chance to show him how cold she could be….
Anika: Looks like you are too busy to even see who has come.
Her voice reached Shivaay’s ears and he immediately looked up to see her standing near the table…. He looked at her and it seemed to him that today she was looking something different…. She was standing with an expressionless face and he was unable to read through her façade…. He was about to say something but she interrupted him….
Anika: Shivaay, I have other important works also, so it would be better if we get to work rather than wasting time.
Shivaay looked at her surprised hearing her talking like that…. She was not only looking but behaving differently…. He could sense the coldness in her voice as she talked to him…. He who behaved the same way with almost everyone was feeling uncomfortable and irritated when she spoke to him in the same way…. The previous day’s incident flashed in front of him when he too had behaved rudely and coldly with her…. Seeing him lost in his thoughts Anika snapped her fingers and he looked at her….
Anika: If you are done day dreaming, shall we do some useful work.
Shivaay: You came alone, where is Prachi?
Anika: She is with Ranbir, I asked her to get some information about the case from the police station.
Anika said while settling on the couch…. She kept few files on the table and picked up one about the Kapoors…. She was going through the file when she saw Shivaay sitting in front of her…. She was surprised by this but decided to remain unaffected…. He took a file from the table and started going through the pages…. She looked at him once and then lowered her gaze back to the file….
Shivaay: I’ll also help you.
There was total silence in the cabin…. Anika was busy reading the file while Shivaay was only looking at her after every one or two minute…. He did not like this silence between to them…. For reasons unknown it was making him feel uncomfortable…. He had met her a few times and she was so different from what she was today…. An hour passed but Anika did not look up from the file while Shivaay was losing all his patience…. Finally unable to take it anymore he kept the file in his hand on the table with a loud thud…. Anika was shocked and looked at him….
Shivaay: What is wrong with you, why are you behaving like this?
Anika: What did I do, I am doing my work. Isn’t this what I am supposed to do, this is why you hired me?
Shivaay: Really, I don’t think so; all I can see is that you are ignoring me.
Anika: So, how does it matter to you? I am doing my work, what difference does it make if I ignore you or not?
Shivaay: You are right, it doesn’t matter.
Saying so Shivaay got up from his place and left the room…. Anika looked at him banging the door as he went out…. She gave a smile as she saw him walking away through the semi-transparent glass door…. He deserved this she thought and got back to her file…. He had earned this behavior from her because of his arrogance…. What did he think that she would just keep quiet and he would behave like he pleased…. He had messed with the wrong person…. She would teach him many things and today was the first day….
*****
Prachi and Ranbir got down from the car as they had reached the police station…. Throughout their journey they had kept quiet only talking about a thing or two…. They were walking towards the entrance when Ranbir’s phone rang…. He excused himself and walked to the other side while Prachi stood there looking around…. After a few minutes Ranbir came back looking confused and worried…. Prachi asked him the matter….
Ranbir: Nothing much, I don’t know what happened to Shivaay Sir, he was sounding completely irritated and angry he asked me to complete the work and return soon.
Prachi understood what must have happened as she remembered Anika’s words about teaching Shivaay a lesson…. She mentally face-palmed herself as she shook her head…. She knew how stubborn Anika would become when she decided to teach someone a lesson…. Shivaay was going to have a tough time she thought to herself….
Prachi: Don’t worry, he must be stressed because of the case. Let us go and get the information we want and then we can go back sooner.
Ranbir nodded at her and they both walked into the police station…. This wasn’t the first time for either of them to be at a police station…. They looked here and there to find someone to ask about Ranveer or someone from his team…. They both were thinking when Prachi saw a familiar face…. She said excuse me and Mishti turned to look at her surprised…. Mishti then remembered she had seen them the previous day during the questioning…. They walked towards each other and Prachi quickly explained the purpose of their visit…. Mishti then called a sub-inspector and asked him to get the necessary documents…. Prachi thanked her and Mishti just smiled and left….
Ranbir: You have a good training at this, how quickly you got the work done.
Prachi: If you are forgetting, I am lawyer and this is just one of the things to do in my profession.
Ranbir: So how long have you been working with Anika ma’am?
Prachi: We have been working together since our graduation, Anika and I are college friends.
Ranbir: Oh, that means you both have a long history together.
Prachi: Yeah, a history worth remembering and treasuring, she is not only my best friend but my family.
Ranbir: Even Shivaay Sir makes me feel the same, in the three years that I have worked with him, he and his family have always treated me like their family.
They were talking with each other when the sub-inspector came and handed the documents to Prachi…. They thanked him and walked out of the police station…. They sat in the car when Ranbir remembered something and he got out…. Prachi looked at him confused and she too got out…. She asked him the matter and he told her to wait while he’ll come in some time…. Prachi couldn’t stop him as he quickly walked back inside…. She had no other option then to wait for him….
*****
Ranbir again entered the police station and looked around to find the sub-inspector…. He saw him sitting at the table and walked to him…. The sub-inspector looked at him surprised and asked him the matter…. Ranbir asked about Tia’s postmortem reports that were going to come that day…. The sub-inspector stood up from his place and asked Ranbir to follow him…. Ranbir agreed and followed him…. They reached a cabin and Ranbir entered along with him…. He was surprised to see Ranveer, Abir and Mishti there with few other people…. The sub-inspector told Mishti about Ranbir’s query…. She told him to leave as she would handle the matter…. Ranveer and Abir were looking at them….
Ranveer: What has happened Mishti, why is he here?
Mishti: Sir, he is here to enquire about Tia’s postmortem reports.
Ranbir: Shivaay Sir is waiting for the reports, everyone wants to know about it.
Abir: The reports have arrived some time ago, we were checking that only.
Ranbir: So did you find anything other than what everyone knows?
Ranveer: Yes, we did. We were going to tell the family soon, the reports reveal that Tia not only died because of the stab of the knife but also because she was being poisoned over the past month. She was already on the verge of dying; the knife and the blood loss only quickened the process.
Ranbir looked at them shocked by the revelation…. He had not expected anything other than the information they had…. He had thought that it was the stab and the blood loss that had killed Tia but the slow poisoning was something beyond his thinking…. He composed himself and requested for a copy of the reports…. Abir gave him one and Ranbir walked out of the room….
*****
Ranbir was lost in his thoughts when Prachi saw him coming out…. She was confused seeing him lost in deep thinking…. She saw that he was about to fall from the steps as he missed one step…. Before he could fall, she ran to him and held him…. He stopped with a jerk as she stopped him and he came out of his thoughts…. He looked at her and she looked at him concerned….
Prachi: Where are you lost, if I didn’t see you, you would have surely broken your nose.
Ranbir: Nothing, we should get going, Sir is waiting for us.
Prachi: Why did you go inside and why are you so worried? You seem a little shocked also.
Ranbir looked at her surprised…. How could she read so much about him with just a look at him….
Ranbir: Nothing, I had gone to get a copy of the postmortem reports.
Prachi: Thank God, you remembered, it had completely slipped my mind. By the way, anything new other than what we already know.
Ranbir told her what Ranveer had revealed about Tia being poisoned…. She looked at him shocked….
*****
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Hello my dear readers, how are you, I hope you all are doing well. So, how was Anika’s attitude towards Shivaay? Why was Tia being poisoned? Think and guess who could be behind the poisoning, is it the murderer or is someone else also involved?
Also, I will be writing the day with reference to the events that have happened earlier so that you all have no confusion with the timeline of the story.
Keep reading and smiling!!!
Take care and stay safe!!!