FF-Time and Again[Book 3]COMPLETE!Epilogue now up.PM list page 74* - Page 7

Piya was shivering. Alina noticed it, but said nothing as she drove on, well past the speed limit. It was almost 11 pm.She would have to think of something to tell the Dobriyals...but what explanation could she give? She slowed down to a stop outside the Dobriyals' house and helped Piya out. Piya clung to her like a child. "Alina- what have I done?" she choked. "Alina, I-" "Shh, Piya,please," said Alina, holding Piya, almost entirely supporting her . "We've come home. I'll take you to your room."

Just as Alina had expected, the Dobriyals were wide awake and waiting in the living room. There was another boy there, one she recognized as Kabir-Misha's friend. But now, watching him hold her in an embrace, she was almost positive they were more than that.Mr Dobriyal was the first one to notice the,, and he sprang to his feet. "Piya?" he said , shocked. Misha, Kabir and Madhu all looked up at them. Piya swallowed. "Can I take her to her room, please?"said Alina, attempting to keep her head cool as she formulated an explanation in her head. She led Piya to her room, followed by Piya's family. "Change and go to sleep,Piya," said Alina soothingly. "It will all be better soon." "Please don't leave me," said Piya pleadingly. "Just gimme a sec, Piya, I'll be right back," said Alina. "OK?"

She hurried outside. "I'm very sorry, guys,"she said. "You see- a gang of drunks almost got us today. Thankfully Abhay was passing by and he came to our rescue, but Piya fainted from shock-" "What?" said Mrs Dobriyal, holding on to her husband, who had gone very pale. Misha gasped out loud.

"-so we took her to my home, till she regained consciousness, and then I drove her here. Please don't bother with questions asking for details now. She is in a delicate condition.."

The Dobriyals and Kabir were all staring at her , stunned. "We have to meet her," Misha and her father said together. "I don't think that's a good idea," said Alina firmly. "She is in shock right now. I think I should stay with her- just for a while. Just calm her down a bit?"

Without waiting for a reply, she went back to Piya's room, locking the door from inside. Piya was hunched over the basin in the adjoining washroom. Alina hurried to her, holding back her hair as she finished vomiting and splashed water on her face. She looked up at Alina. "Alina-" she started to say. "Please, Piya," said Alina. "Please change and lie down. Don't think. Just concentrate on changing and getting into bed." She walked over to the cupboard and pulled out a nightgown. "Here," she said, handing it to Piya, who took it silently and retreated into the bathroom.

When she emerged five minutes later, her face was tear-free, but it was swollen, her eyes red. "Hey,"said Alina, going up to her. "You did nothing wrong, all right?You did the right thing."

She gripped her shoulders comfortingly. And Piya burst into tears on hearing her words. "Oh God,please stop crying," said Alina hurriedly.Holding Piya in awkward embrace, she sat her on the bed. "Look-you did the right thing."

"Get it?She would have killed him if you hadn't made your move." Piya stared at Alina. "How can you be so cool about it? I killed your mother? I know you dislike her but she was still you mother-" Alina went very still. "You're wrong Piya. I don't dislike her. I hate her. There is nothing I have left to feel for her." Piya stopped crying, still staring at Alina, who stood up and paced the room.

"I understand you are freaking out over what happened, but think of the alternative, and think of how it would feel to see Abhay die in front of your eyes.Think how it would be if you would never be able to see him again. Think about-" "Stop!" cried Piya. She too stood up. "Just stop it! Don't you dare talk about Abhay like- ever-" Alina looked at her almost pityingly. "You see?" she said calmly. "Think of what you stopped." Piya glared at her, and then turned away. "I want to sleep," she said slowly and clearly. Alina nodded wordlessly. "Goodnight," she said finally as she left the room. "I think she really needs to sleep," she announced at large. "Please don't bother her for details or anything-" "Of course not, " answered Kabir. "Thank you- Alina." He held out a hand to her; Alina shook it. "Well, I must be going," she said, and left.

"Go home, Kabir," said Misha finally. "Mom, Dad, you guys, too, please. It's late in the night." She walked Kabir outside the door. Kabir turned and looked at her. "Do you want me to stay?" he asked, his eyes concerned. Misha shook her head. "No, you don't have to do that. Meet you tomorrow, Kabir."

Kabir smiled slightly. "Just don't forget you don't have to be formal with me just because we're going out now. I'm still your best friend, you know?" He reached over and kissed her lightly on the lips. Misha blushed in embarrassment. "Goodnight, Kabir. I'm going in."

Alina inhaled deeply in the night air. She felt more tired than ever. She'd gone through too much exertion in one day. She walked toward's Sid's car slightly in a daze and took out the keys from her pocket. "Excuse me," Sid's voice cut through the wintry air as Alina's head shot up. "May I drive my car?" "Oh."Alina handed over the keys. "Sorry." She turned , walking away, but he caught her wrist. "I didn't tell you to go, did I?" said Sid. "Get in." "No thanks," she replied almost automatically. She didn't want to deal with him right now. "Alina." She had turned away again, but the tone of his voice made her stop. She looked at him. He was staring at her, his eyes dark, his mouth twisted into a dangerous line. As if he was daring her to defy him... She shivered in spite of herself. "Get in the car," he said slowly, quietly. "If you don't I'll pick you up right now and deposit you in the seat myself.And don't you dare start your idiotic I-can-take-care-of-myself nonsense. Get it?" Alina didn't have the energy to argue. She nodded. "Fine."

"So..are you the clan leader now? " said Sid as the car purred smoothly past trees and houses. "Why are you interested?" snapped Alina. He shrugged. "I just wanted to know if it would affect your working hours." Alina said nothing. "I've seen her before, you know," he said after a short pause. "I didn't know she was the clan leader. It was about...a decade or so, perhaps?" Alina stiffened. She knew exactly what he was talking about... "How?" she asked, in what she hoped was a disinterested tone. He glanced quickly at her and away again. "I don't remember the details, but I do believe there was a young girl involved. I think she was being punished for something...no offense, but that was the time I realized your kind was more like animals than humans." He glanced at her again. She was sitting still and rigid, gazing straight ahead. He pressed the brake and the car screeched to a halt. Alina didn't move. And Sid knew instinctively, that something was wrong. Very, very wrong. Unfastening her seatbelt, he caught her arms and turned her around to face him. Her eyes bore into space, looking but not really seeing. He pushed back her hair, cupping her face. "Alina," he said urgently. "Alina, look at me. For God's sake,look at me!" he said fiercely, shaking her slightly.

The glass of his dashboard shattered. Sid paid it no heed, staring at Alina, willing her to come back to her senses. And then...she blinked.

Awareness of her surroundings - and Sid- hit her, as well as what she had just done. She moved away at once, colour flooding her face."I-I'm sorry," she said awkwardly. "I-lost control. I'm sorry about the car-" she didn't dare meet his eyes. "Was that because of what I said?" he said carefully. "About your kind?" She shook her head. "No- it was just-you spoke about my mother-" she hardly knew what to say. There was a silence, then Sid started the car again. Alina turned away and pressed her face to the window, pressing down the wave of memories that threatened to engulf, fighting the urge to start bawling. Surely she was stronger than this. "You're obviously- not completely a werewolf, are you?" he said casually, as if the moment had meant nothing to him. For a few seconds, she wondered why she was feeling so surprised. Did she really think he would cuddle her a-la a film scene- while she cried into his shirt? The imagery sent a shiver of disgust through her. What was wrong with her? "Should I take that as a yes or a no?" queried Sid coolly. "Because, as you are no doubt aware, silence has a lot of ambiguity."

"None of your business, actually," said Alina, her tone icy. "Don't poke your overlarge nose in other people's affairs." Sid smiled. "Sure. Why don't we talk about how you know Piyali instead." Alina turned to him, not liking the tone of his voice. "What do you mean? You told me about her." "Hmm, yes, so I did," said Sid. "I did tell you about her...but I never told you her name." Alina's eyes widened in shock as she realized her slip. "I...I don't think I can tell you..." she hedged. Sid's mouth twisted. "Do you know why I came to the fight today, Alina?" Now she looked at him with mild surprise. "I thought Abhay called you." Sid snorted. "Hah. He wouldn't admit he needed any help from me if he was getting his throat ripped out. Bit hard in the head, my baby brother. Actually...kind of like you." Her eyebrows had knitted together. "Then why...?" "I saw you going, so I simply followed. And after that, it was easy to guess what was going on." Alina digested this in silence.

"So I ask myself," continued Sid coolly, "Why did I even bother? And I get my answer-because I don't want you to die without getting my answers from you. I want to know what you're hiding to me about Piyali, Alina. I want my answer. How do you know Piyali?" His voice had gone from calm to dangerous, even though he had not raised it. Alina bit her lip. Rapidly editing out several things and making up some of her own, she answered quickly, "Because she contacted me- she was asking me about you. She told me what she was- and well, about you, I guess." Sid raised an eyebrow. "Piyali came to you first? But why would she do that?" Alina glared at him. "Because she wanted to know if you were with Maithali. I told her I didn't know. And what's with all the questions?" Sid answered with a shrug. "Maybe because I love trying to pick you apart." Alina rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right." "If you lie to me, you can't expect me to tell the truth," he answered coolly. "And you're lying to me about Piyali. Never mind," he said, as Alina started to defend herself. "I'll ask you some easy ones. What does the R in your name stand for? What's your favourite colour? What do you most like shopping for?"

Alina groaned. "What are you, ten? Fine . Reina, purple, books and watches." "Wow, " commented Sid. "You can actually give straightforward answers. What a nice surprise. I expected at least one lie from you...but voila! She surprises me again." "How do you know I'm telling the truth?" she bit out. "I could be lying. You know nothing about me." He laughed shortly. "I know you better than you think. And so I know you're not lying, because I checked your file. You filled your full name in the application. And I've seen the tomes on your desk, and the watches you wear-like right now," he gestured to the one she was wearing then. "And the colour?" she asked, almost afraid of what he would reply. "Easy," he said. "You always wear something purple. Either it's in your dress-" he gestured to the coat she was wearing- "or it's in your hairband. Or your shoes. Or the frame of the spectacles you wear..." he trailed off. "See? Easy."

Alina couldn't speak. He was observant...and far more intelligent than she had given him credit for. She would have to be very careful around him. "You know, the whole I-don't-give-a-damn attitude will knock you senseless one day," saud Sid quietly. Alina laughed, her voice brittle. "Pot calling the kettle black, Sid?" Sid raised an eyebrow. "You really don't understand, do you?" he said condescendingly. "People like you-like my dear brother-who are used to caring for everyone besides themselves-you think you're fooling the world, but in the end, you're the only one who gets taken in by the lie. And when you have to come to terms with that..."He paused, turning the car into a steep U-turn. Alina was thrown against the door. "...that's what happens," finished Sid. "As for pot calling the kettle black...I don't think you realize that I am incredibly, incredibly selfish. I care only about myself and what I consider mine. Much better this way, don't you think?" Alina stared at him. His face was inscrutable as he stared straight ahead. "I really wouldn't want to be in Abhay's shoes right now." "And why is that?" snapped Alina. She felt exposed, naked, by just his words- because she knew they rang true. Sid spared her a glance, looking slightly surprised. "Because he's not completely dumb. If a human isn't reacting to fangs and blood- what is that supposed to mean? Obviously, that she has an idea of it. She knows about it. And how does she know? Because she got her memories back!" Surprised elation filled Alina. "Excellent," she said in a satisfied tone. "Finally."

"Impressive on her part though, " said Sid. "I'm quite surprised that she held out for so long. Of course, I suppose she could be quite...quick when the occasion demanded." Alina smirked. "I heard she attacked you once. With her own necklace, I believe?"

"We've reached," said Sid colourlessly, braking suddenly. He got out of the car, opening the door for her. Alina got out, but she had overestimated her own strength : she swayed slightly, but Sid caught her arm at once. He walked her to the door and rang the bell. Alina freed herself and leaned against the wall. "Thank you," she heard herself say,in her best distant' voice. "I guess you should go now." She missed the sudden fury that flashed in his face as he turned away from her, his hands clenched into fists for a few seconds he was still. Then he turned back to her. Faster than a blink of her eyes, he was gripping her face, and then his lips were on hers, clashing aganst hers fiercely : a ruthless staking of his claim. And before she could think, she began to respond... till he pulled away. Alina stared at him in shock, hardly noticing that the door had opened. It was only when she saw the triumph in his eyes that she pulled herself back to reality. Shame filled at what she had let him do- what she had done. Tears stung her eyes and she lowered them, not wanting him to see. "Good night, Miss Khurana," said Sid in as unaffected a tone as ever. Then he leaned in closer and said in a low voice only she could hear "I won't be playing this game by your rules, anymore. Now, the rules will be mine." And then he moved away from her walked back to his car. "Are you going to come in?" came Dishu's voice. She raised her head to see her best friend standing in the doorway. She felt herself blush inside. Dishu closed the door with a soft snap. "My mother is dead." Alina's voice reverberated around the dark living room. She felt Dishu's arms wrap around her in an embrace. "Let go," she said quietly. "Let it out." And Alina began to cry. Later, she was never very sure how she had made it to her troom, but she knew that Dishu had been helping her. "I hate her," she sobbed softly. "I still hate her, Dishu. What kind of a person am I? Why can't I feel bad that she's gone? I'm ...happy. I'm happy that my mother is dead." "You're a very good person, Alina," said Dishu quietly. "Don't you ever doubt that. You don't have to feel bad about her. What she did to you...she injured you so badly. If you had died, do you think she would have regretted it? It's all right. It's all right, Alina." Alina looked up through a haze of tears. "There's more, Dishu. Sid...he...he kissed me. Again." Dishu snorted. "I guessed that," she replied. "Why don't you lie down and tell me all about what happened. I'm glad you're fine, by the way. " "I told you I'd be fine," grumbled Alina. "Yes, yes," said Dishu, sounding amused. "I'll go get some hot chocolate for you. You get in bed." She got up and went out of the room.

Abhay walked into his house in a daze. His eyes fell on Chand and Haseenam who were glancing at each other as they looked at him. "Abhay," said his mother. He turned to look at her, and he read the truth in her gaze."When did you know , Mom?" he asked, his voice sad and soft. "When?" Haseena bit her lip as she glanced at her mate. He too, was regarding Abhay closely. "The day she returned," said Haseena finally. "She- she begged me to keep it a secret. I could not betray her. The girl trusted me..." He flinched. "How did you come to know?" she asked. "I could ask you the same thing." Abhay's voice was flat. "

Well, I got a message from Sid."

"She trusted Sid more than me," he said softly, as though forcing himself to believe it. "Of course she did," snapped Haseena. "With all the stupid tricks you've been playing, does it come as a surprise?" She regretted her words the moment she saw him close his eyes briefly and turn away from her. Chand rose to his feet. "In my..opinion," he said slowly, "I think you should not blame her for it. We all have our own..." He glanced at Haseena, "..secrets." "Of course," said Abhay, in the same flat tone he had used earlier. "You were on it too, weren't you? All this while?" "Not all this while," Haseena interjected. "I only told him the day she came to give you her blood-" Abhay went very still. Ever so slowly, he turned on the spot to face his mother. "Come again?" he said slowly. "When she came to give me her blood?" Haseena shook her head. "I know we made you believe it was our doing that night you came home after the werewolves' attack. But the truth is that we were hours away from losing you when suddenly she came- and agreed to give you her blood to heal you." "Courageous for a human, " commented Chand. "I would have expected her to run screaming, but she was quite calm about it." Abhay said nothing. He turned away and headed upstairs silently. "This should be interesting," said Haseena very quietly, once he was gone.

Chand raised an eyebrow. "And Sid was with them? Why is that so hard to believe?" "We-el, yes," said Haseena, " but he didn't send me that message." Chand nodded. "I knew that he didn't. Who did?" Haseena shrugged elegantly. "Someone." Chand nodded. He didn't question her further.

Piya closed her eyes. She could not shake of that feeling of having killed someone. Yes, she had wanted Dipannita Khurana dead. But she had never thought that she would be doing it.

"Don't be such a hypocrite," snapped a voice in her head. "You've killed people before for him. How different was it? Even Alina wasn't particularly upset. Why are you so sad? You saved Abhay's life!"

"If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't have needed that in the first place!" she argued. "You didn't ask to be kidnapped!" "If I'd stayed well away from him, he wouldn't have to deal with me," she retorted. "If I could just learn to hate him, if I hadn't gone snooping into his life, if you hadn't forced him to save you all the time, if you hadn't-" "Rubbish!" snapped the other voice. "You didn't force him to save you. You tell me a way of overcoming your feelings for him, and I'll agree you're right. Go on, Piya. Tell me you can move on?"

"It was my fault he lost everything the first time! I have to stop this. I have to get over him- somehow!"

"Good luck with that."

Piya let out a sign. It was hopeless. She had officially lost it- no wonder she was arguing with herself. She groped in the dark on the bedside table next to her, finding the sleeping tablets she had recently started taking. Taking a gulp of water, she swallowed one and then lay back on her pillow, waiting for sleep to claim her. The pill as usual worked it's magic and within half an hour, Piya sank into a dreamless sleep.

When she awoke, it was half past nine in the morning. She shifted in her bed, wishing that her toes weren't so cold."Good morning." It was only when Piya heard Misha's voice that she noticed her sitting in a chair at the foot of her bed. "Morning," she replied, stifling a yawn. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to apologize," said Misha bluntly. Piya blinked several times, sitting up. "What...for?" she asked, confused. Misha frowned at her. "Oh, you're going to drag this out, aren't you? Fine. I want to apologize for yesterday." Yesterday. The word sent shock waves through Piya as the events of the previous night all came back to her. "Look," continued Misha, "I'm not good at this. I just wanted to say...yeah. I'm sorry." "What for?" said Piya again. "Fine, fine" grumbled Misha. "Drag it out. Right, so- I've been a jerk to you for a few days- and because of Kabir- and that was really mean of me-" "Oh," said Piya. With all the supernatural things turning her life upside down, normal matters had slipped her mind. "No, that's okay," said Piya. "You were supposed to get jealous. I mean, that was like, the whole point of it, you know? Even I felt horrible doing it. But- well, all's well that ends well, right." "And..there's more," said Misha uncomfortably. "Abhay and I- " "Can we not talk about him, please?" interrupted Piya, pushing off the covers and sliding off the bed. "Please, Piya. I don't know what the deal between you two is- but I only pretended I was in love with him because I thought he was wrong for you-" "Well, you were right," Piya snapped, pulling on a dressing gown. "No, honestly," said Misha. "He wanted you away from him, I wanted him away from you...and because I never knew, did I?None of us knew what happened. You said you had to go to him, and then-we found you in the snow, and he was nowhere to be seen...we thought it was him. We didn't know anything-" Piya paused on her way to the bathroom. Oh, she remembered that night well. Pushing away the rock in her throat, she choked, "It wasn't Abhay's fault. He did the best he could have done..."

Misha went very still, and then whipped around. "What?" Piya blinked back tears. "Don't blame him, Misha." She went into the bathroom, while Misha stood stunned. "Freaking hell," she whispered to herself. "No- freaking- way." Her senses catching up with her, she banged on Piya's door. "How the hell do you know that?" she almost shouted. "Piya- how do you know that?" There was no answer. Her voice almost breaking, Misha yelled again. "When did you get your memories back?" Piya , who had gone still in the bathroom, choked on her toothpaste and spat it out in the basin. Shit. What was she supposed to say? Misha didn't wait for an answer. She went careening downstairs. "Mom! Dad! Piya's got her memories back!" Piya rinsed her mouth and hurried out. Picking up her phone, she texted Alina. "Alina, Misha realized I got back my memories, and she's asking me questions. Help!" She paced the room, biting her nails. Her phone pinged. "Tell her what happened last night must have been the catalyst. And refuse to answer any more questions." She frowned as she texted back. "How can I do that? This is my family!" She could hear Misha running back upstairs as Alina replied to her. "You have to.
" Piya braced herself. "Here goes..."

Six hours later.

Piya was lying on the bed, reading. She had skipped college that day, saying she had to rest.

She really didn't feel like going to college, what with all the drama last night. Her phone rang, and a smile formed on her face as she saw the name on the screen. "Hi, Nick," she said, answering the call. "How are you?" "Ah, bon jour, ma belle fille," answered Nicholas. "How are you doing? Ah, you have forgotten us all completely, have you not?I was telling Pierre the other day- Mademoiselle Piya has taken up a desk job. He was horrified, too. Such a waste of beauty and talent-" Piya started to laugh. "Come on, Nick," she said. "I can't be a model forever, can I?" Nicholas sighed exaggeratedly. "La belle dame sans merci." "Shut up!" Piya laughed. "C'est la vie, Nick.And stop quoting Keats. By the way,you've improved your accent. Good work!" "Merci, merci,"said Nicholas. "Well, I must be off. You keep happy, Piya."

Piya was in a much better mood as she put down the phone. And then she looked up and saw Alina sitting on the edge of her bed. "Hi," she said. "How are you feeling?" Piya frowned. "I was just feeling better a few seconds ago." Alina looked amused. "Meow. Someone's feeling catty." "What do you want?" snapped Piya. "I know you've come again for something you need-" "Yes, I have," said Alina seriously. "I need Piyali to meet Sid." Piya looked at Alina in undisguised trepidation. "No. No more. Piyali is dead. I can't do this anymore." Alina's eyes flashed.

"Oh,I see," she snapped. "One test, and you chicken out. You haven't really got any guts, have you? The minute life throws something at you, your first instinct is to race away from it. You didn't have the guts to accept that Abhay was a vampire. You didn't have the guts to tell Abhayendra you were in love with him. Oh , I forgot, you don't even have the guts to tell Abhay that your memory's back. Or that you used to be his best friend. You're such a coward. You sit around and cry that life is unfair. Well, breaking news! Life isn't fair to anyone. And you I guess fall in the category of people who lose without ever having fought at all-" "Stop it!" Piya burst out. "Just stop it, okay? I'm not a coward! If I were, I would have used these tablets to end everything forever! Do you think the thought has never crossed my mind?" Alina rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's an excellent way of proving how brave you are." "Shut up." Piya interrupted. "You want me to be Piyali again? Fine. I'll do it. But don't you dare say I'm a coward." Throwing her a look of intense dislike, she got off the bed and pulled out one of Piyali's dresses from the trunk.

Half an hour later later, she was standing in the forest with Alina, her veil firmly in place and the charm to disguise her scent in place. Alina's eyes were closed, her face scrunched up. Piya waited, biting her lip nervously. "Are you sure he'll meet us here?" "Not us, you," said Alina, opening her eyes. "And yes,he will. He should be arriving here in a few minutes. I'll leave now. Be very careful. Don't give away anything, all right? And make him ashamed. You must know that only you can do it." Piya nodded, swallowing. She was too nervous to be angry. "And , Piya?" Alina's voice was soft. "What?" said Piya quickly. Alina smiled slightly. "You're very brave person, you know. One of the bravest I've ever had the fortune to meet." Piya stared at surprise , but Alina raised a hand in farewell and melted into the forest. Piya's nerves increased tenfold once she had gone. Taking a deep breath, she attempted to calm herself down and sat down on a fallen log.

Piya did not remember how long she had been sitting there till she heard his voice. "Piyali?" She stood up shakily and turned around. Sid had arrived at last. She searched his face or anger or suspicion, but there was none. He was smiling. "Thank you,Piyali," he said. "I'm grateful that you-" he broke off, then came forward and pulled her into a hug. Emotion clogged Piya's throat. Why was it so easy to trust Sid? It had always been too easy to trust him. Even the knowledge of his repeated betrayals hadn't hardened her yet. Blinking, she stepped away from him and cleared her throat. "Siddharth..." "Look, I can explain," said Sid hurriedly. "I swear. It's not what you think." She looked up at him sadly. "What is it them? I hoped, after everything, that you and Abhayendra could learn to put your differences aside. But you- you will never change, will you?" She caught a flash of guilt in his eyes eyes. "Please, will you sit down. I will try to explain all I can." She sat down once again on the log. He came to sit next to her. "You have no idea how much I regret everything that night, Piyali. I thought I had won- but in the end, I lost it all. I had nothing left- not your trust, not my brother's affection, not Maithali's love. You were right- you were always right. She was never mine- and perhaps...she never will be." Piya looked at him, and could not help but feel sympathy- even though she knew he had plotted to kill her. "Perhaps, I should have let her go to him. But I couldn't, not then. And I know this brings you pain, but...I hated my brother. I hated everything he stood for, everything he represented. Everything I had lost and everything I was not, could never be. So I became obsessed with making his life as miserable as I could, making him hurt as much as I did." "You're sick." The words burst out of her, real fury in her voice. Piya crossed her arms, turning away. "What else do you have left to say?" she said, her tone hostile. "I have to go as well, soon." "I don't know if you know," said Sid. "But I was human...for a while." Piya raise her eyebrows. "What new lie is this?" She was proud of herself for not betraying anything. "Well- Abhay killed me, you see," said Sid, glancing away. "And Maithali brought me back to,life...I was happy, so happy, that she was truly mine at last...I had won." His mouth twisted. "But then I realized I was hardly in the game. I was a pawn- to be used and sacrificed. It was never about me, it was always about him. But he didn't want her, anymore." A strange sense of foreboding welled up in Piya. Sid laughed harshly. "We've changed so much, Piyali. Or perhaps, we haven't really changed. I don't know. Sometimes, I don't even know myself anymore. But you...you haven't changed at all, have you? It's like you're still the same person." But Piya's forehead was creased. He saw the worry in her face. "But..Siddharth, you sound like you hate her. Then why are you doing this? Plotting with her? Is Abhay's misery everything that matters to you?" Sid smiled at her words. Piya saw it and suddenly felt afraid afraid. There was a sinister gleam in his eyes. "Oh, no, Piyali. Abhay's misery isn't my obsession now." "You're lying," said Piya, standing up. "All you care is making him hurt. Maithali would never have left him if you hadn't twisted her head. If you hadn't fed her lies just so you could keep her- you sentenced Abhay to a lifetime of loneliness. And now, you're saying that you don't care about it anymore. Guilt flashed through his face and Siddharth opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. His face went back to neutral, and he said softly, "Two centuries is a long time to be in love with someone." Piya looked at him, wondering exactly what he meant. "What do you mean?" "You're still in love with him, right?" said Sid. She looked away. "Right. I'm sorry." "I think you should leave now," said Piya. "I really want to be alone." "I understand. I'm sorry," said Sid, sounding genuinely contrite. "I hope we will meet again. Goodbye for now, Piyali." She heard him walk away, the sound of his tread becoming fainter and fainter. Exhausted, she sank down on the log. Sid had left her worried. She couldn't get rid of the strange sense of foreboding. She was afraid...for Sid. It was a full ten minutes before Alina finally returned. "Hey," she said. "Why so glum?" "There's something fishy going on, Alina," said PIya. "Sid...there are times he seems like the one I used to know, and at other times...he scares me." Alina frowned. "We have to-" she began, but stopped as Piya's phone vibrated. She picked up the call . "Hello?" "Piya, is that you?" Haseena sounded almost panicked. "Can you please come over to our house please?" "Auntie- what happened?" said Piya, alarmed. "Abhay," said Haseena. "He's gone. He left."

PS.I really, really wanted to a POV on Abhay. However, somehow, it didn't quite fit here.

Anyway, have a very happy new year everyone.🤗