At night, the doorbell rung and Ishwari went to open the door thinking it's Dev but found no one and was returning but then saw a letter in an envelope. "What's this?" she said and picked it and closed the door. She pulled out the letter and unfolded it. It read, "Your husband is a cheater, he is cheating on you and your children, get away from him as soon as possible." Ishwari got shocked and opened the door and ran outside the house and looked around to see if someone is there but she found no one and returned inside.

Alia came to her. "Who was it?" she asked. "No one," Ishwari replied hurriedly and rushed to her room. Alia shrugged and went back to her room and closed the door. "Firstly bhai is missing and no one is trying to find him and then mumma is acting as if she's hiding something, whatever. So what if they aren't doing anything? What would have bhai done if I would have gone missing? He wouldn't have been sitting quietly, he would have been searching me, but I am also not a coward, tomorrow in lieu of going to school, I will go to police station and file his missing complaint. If he is my brother and is very close to my heart, then even I am his sister and even I am his jaan, I won't give up, I will find him," she said.

She turned on the bed and picked his photograph from the bedside table and caressed it. "I am missing you a lot bhai, I wish you were here, I wish you are okay, come back please," she said and hugged the photo. She got an idea. "I will print flyers by myself and take permission from police to paste them, no no, they will do it themselves, but I should do this printing work myself," she said. She opened her laptop and began to work.

************************************

Mauli came to Ishita  and sat by her side. "Job done?" she asked and Mauli nodded. Ishita  rejoiced. "Now whatever he already has will be taken away from him, and whatever I am doing isn't wrong and isn't a lie, so I am not guilty, plus I am damn sure that this accident was done by Shashank  himself, he can go to any extent to make me quiet, or anyone else quiet, lesson has to be taught sooner or later," Ishita  said.

Mauli nodded and showed her the bloody handkerchief shocking her. "Is it yours?" she asked. "Where did you find this?" Ishita  asked. "In the coat you were wearing at the time of accident," Mauli said. "That coat I was wearing doesn't belongs to me but Shashank , he himself gave it to me before throwing me out of his house, so of course the handkerchief also belongs to him, but this blood, I don't know where it might have come from, I really don't know," Ishita  told her. "You sure Ishita ?" Mauli asked. "Of course, I am sure," she said. "No, you do know something about it, tell me," Mauli said. "Mauli, I really don't know," Ishita  said. Mauli frowned.

************************************

Ishwari sat in front of Shashank  and snatched his phone from him. "Ishwari?" he said in a shock as she kept his phone aside and hugged him. He hugged her back. "What happen?" he asked. "It was a nice joke Shashank ," she said. "What was a nice joke?" he asked cluelessly and she showed him the letter shocking him. "I didn't write this Ishu," he said. "Oh come on, silly, it's you only, you're checking my trust on you, right? And you know I am worried about Dev so you are enlightening my mood, right?" she asked.

"Yeah yeah, I did it," he said and kissed her forehead. She rested on his chest and slept within seconds. "Dev, Dev," she whispered in her sleep, he looked on and made her lie on the bed.

************************************

Dev woke up restrained to a chair and tried to untie himself but in vain, he coughed badly. A man entered and offered him food but he refused to eat. He stuffed the food in his mouth and Dev coughed throwing up. The man made him drink excessive wine and he coughed up blood. The man opened second bottle to make him drink but he refused to drink. "Enough! Please!" he begged but the man continued making him drink and he coughed blood again. He took out his handkerchief and wiped the blood. Dev went unconscious. The man caressed his hair and went.

************************************

Next day, it was time for Ishita  to get discharged and Mauli had called Raman  for help. He helped her stand, she lost her balance and he held her in the nick of time. She gasped.

"I am sorry," he said. Mauli and Raman  helped her and took her to Mauli's house for time being. They made her sit on the bed. The duo began to leave. "Dr. Raman ?" Ishita  called and he turned. "I want you to prescribe me some antidepressants which won't affect my pregnancy, my depression may affect my child and in these nine months, it's very necessary for me to be happy," she said. "Sure sure, no need to explain," he said and then went and came back with a prescription and gave it to her. "But I can't go by myself," she said helplessly.

"I will bring," Raman  said and took the prescription and went. Mauli sat near her. "What's next? What are you going to do next?" she asked. "Continue sending anonymous letters, and you know what, please ask your friend to give that handkerchief in forensic lab, it can be something against Shashank , and when it's three days while sending letters, I will send those photos, the biggest proof of my and Shashank 's relation and then the pregnancy report, everything would be snatched by him, he will have nothing left besides money, rest I will tell later," Ishita  said and Mauli nodded and went and brought milk for her, Ishita  smiled and drank it, Mauli went. Raman  came back and gave her the pills and explained her how and when to consume it. "You will become a very good husband, in fact, you are one to your wife, right?" she asked and he became dull. "I am a divorcee," he said. "Sorry, but surely your wife was blind, and what about children?" she asked. "I can never become a father," he said and went. Ishita  looked on.

************************************

At morning, around 7:00 am, the doorbell rung and Ishwari opened the door and saw a girl standing there. "Yes? " she asked. "Aunty, I am Nalini, Dev's girlfriend," replied the girl. Shashank  came there and she hesitated seeing him. "Dev is missing," Ishwari replied. "Then why aren't you finding him?" she asked. "We are, we complained to the police already," Ishwari said and invited her inside and gave her water, she drank it staring at Shashank . "Aunty, whenever Dev is found, please tell me as well," she said and Ishwari nodded and left for office. Nalini too began leaving but Shashank  fisted her hair, she writhed in pain as he pulled her back and grabbed her neck and dragged her to his bedroom closing the door. "Stop finding Dev, understood? Idiot girl," he said and threw her over the bed. She panted heavily and sat up.Shashank  threw money on her face and then opened the bedroom door and dragged her till the main entrance and threw her out.

Nalini cried endlessly. "Dev, where to find you? I love you a lot, I don't care whatever this stupid man says, I will find Dev at any cost," she said and went to police station and gave Dev's photo to the policeman. Alia too came there and gave Dev's flyer. "You both want to find the same person?" the inspector asked. "Yes," Alia and Nalini answered in unison and noticed each other and told their names to each other. "Fine, Alia and Nalini, we will post them, we will get even more of them printed, you don't worry, just focus on your studies, your mother complained about it already, don't worry," the inspector assured. "Alia, come, I will drop you to school," Nalini said. "No Nalini didi, I miss him even more over there," she told. "But you can't miss your studies baby," Nalini said. "Please, I don't want to go," Alia said. "I understand but we will find Dev together, he is lucky to have a sister like you," she said and hugged Alia, they both were emotional.

At afternoon, the doorbell rung and Ishwari went to open the door once again thinking its Dev but as she opened the door, she found no one and began to leave. Her gaze went on the envelope on the floor, she bent and picked it and closed the door. She pulled the letter out of the envelope. “Looks like you didn’t understand at once. Your husband is a cheater, get away from him immediately. He has been cheating on you all along. Your marriage and your kids are a lie, leave him else it will affect you badly. PS: your well wisher.”

She chuckled and rushed to her room and saw Shashank  sitting with his back towards her. She smiled and hugged him from behind kissing his cheek. He got shocked and looked back at her. She sat in front of him. “How come you did this much big favor on me today?” he asked and she showed him the letter and he got shocked. “I trust you bubba, stop testing me and my trust, I know Dev has disappeared and I am worried so you are trying to enlighten me but all this won’t help,” she said lovingly at first but suddenly her tone turned into stern.

“Then what will help?” he asked and she tore the letter. “Bring our son back at any cost, he must be in a very bad condition, my daughter suffers daily and eats nothing, she can’t study, she skips school and all you care about is enlightening me? Go try to enlighten her pain, I am not a little girl but she is, and when she needs you, you don’t give a damn?” she asked angrily. “Ishwari?” he said in a shock. “Look, I trust you, but, I am worried for our son and our daughter, Dev is lost, Alia is so much disturbed, his girlfriend is also missing him so much, do something, if Dev dies then I will leave you forever,” she threatened and left.

He sat in a trance. “F*ck, is this done by Ishita ? I don’t write these letters, then who the hell does? Dev? Nalini? Who? Damn it,” he said and stood up and went to Alia’s room and knocked on the door. She opened the door for him and let him inside. He came inside and sat on her bed, she sat beside him and waited for him to speak.

“Look Alia, the thing is that we love Dev even more than you do, and we both are trying equally, punishing yourself and being on hunger strike and thirst strike won’t solve anything, you even skip school, you miss your studies, your whole life is disturbed. I just want to say that please have something, don’t bother yourself so much, I understand that school makes you miss him even more but one day he will be back and you both will go together and come back together. Look he will come back, but for that you will have to eat and drink, and also go to school, okay?” he said.

“Your and my level of loving him is different, neither your love is less nor mine, I don’t know if you are trying or not, but I am punishing myself because bhai also would be hungry and thirsty wherever he would be, so he and me both should be equal. Yes I miss school, I skip studies, because its not more important than him, yes my whole life is disturbed. You aren’t a brother yourself, do you know what bhai would have done if I would have disappeared? He wouldn’t have slept at all, not returned home till he wouldn’t have found me, I won’t have anything. I will wait for the day he comes back and then only everything will be normal,” she said and picked his photo from the bedside table, he looked on.

“His smile enlightens me but at the same time if he cries or is in pain, it can make my heart heavy, so please don’t expect me to eat or drink or go to school before he comes, because he is my jaan and I love him more than I can love anyone else, because an elder sibling automatically becomes a third parent. When he can think about me like a parent, then why can’t I?” she said and he hugged her.

“Bacha, I never knew you love him so much and think so much about him, see he will come back, eat less but please eat, for your brother,” he said and picked the untouched food plate from the bedside table and gave it to her. She frowned and took it and ate some of it and kept it back. He smiled and went from there. Alia peeped outside her room.

Just as she saw he wasn’t there, she rushed to the kitchen and filled a glass full of water. She mixed some salt inside and rushed back to her room. She drank the salty water and felt the urge to vomit. She went to the washroom and puked and came back outside. “Sorry papa, anything for bhai, and anything for you too, I ate when you forced but then I puked because I can’t discontinue what I once started,” she said and wiped her mouth.

 ***********************************

Raman  came to Ishita , they sat together. “What really was the problem between you and your wife?” she asked after waiting for some time. “We were happily married, but when we want to have a child, she turned out fertile but my sperm count was not enough, I got myself treated a lot but got tired by it and didn’t want it anymore, I gave up thinking that I can’t become a father, she left me, and now here I am. I help women in giving birth but who can help me with this? Infertile men are equal to transgenders,” he said and began to leave but she stopped him, he looked back at her.