Marrying my Opposite

53- Shaken to the core

Raghav's POV:

The longer it took for Tanya's parents to pick up the call, the more uneasy I felt. But I had to stay calm and collected for Tanya. If I panicked too then I will be only increasing her worries.

"Dad has a habit of forgetting and leaving the phone on silent. I will try to call mom", Tanya told me but it was clear that she was actually trying to pacify her own self.

I nodded and tried to call her father once more while Tanya called her mother. Even after 10-15 tries, none of the calls where going through.

"I am sure that they must have left their phones in the other room. Let's wait for them to call back", I suggested.

"What if...what if Mom's health deteriorated? Do you think there's a chance that she had to be hospitalized? I mean so much money has been taken out plus they aren't picking up the calls. This wouldn't happen unless there was an emergency.

"Raghav, what do I do? I need to know what's happening. Please do something. Can you ask someone to check up on them?" She asked in a pleading tone.

"Hey hey, ssshh", I held Tanya as she broke down in front of me.

"Tanya, ssshh, let's not panic until we know the actual thing. For all we know, nothing of that sort must have happened. Let's not make scenarios in our head, okay", I tried my best to be a shoulder Tanya could rely upon.

"I will go and ask Sia. She might have some idea about Mom's health", Tanya spoke suddenly, while wiping her eyes.

She had just taken a step forward to go into the room when I stopped her by her elbow.

"I don't think we should inform her about this topic. She is a kid, worrying her about these matters doesn't seem right to me", I said with concern.

Tanya looked at me incredulously, "Sia, maybe younger than us but she is not a small kid. Moreover, she seems to have more maturity than me. So please let me ask her if she has any idea", Tanya retorted, gently removing my hand from her elbow.

"Why are you two arguing about asking me something? Just ask away, at the most, I won't have the answer that's it", Sia spoke, standing at the entrance of their room.

"How much did you here?" I asked hesitantly.

"Oops, were you talking about some hush hush topic?" Sia giggled. But then waved her nonchalantly, "I just heard the last bit, when you were discussing whether to ask me or not".

I sighed in relief, while pleading Tanya with my eyes to not drag Sia into this situation.

I guess, I was expecting too much from my wife. Tanya being Tanya, ignored all my gestures and hints and questioned Sia.

"Sia, was Mom too ill? Did you all lie to me, saying she was feeling better so that I would be at ease?" Tanya asked bluntly.

"Did something happen to Mom?" Sia inquired, automatically understanding the hidden meaning beyond Tanya's question.

The girl was too smart for her own good.

"We aren't sure. They aren't picking up the calls so I just assumed", Tanya responded.

"You directly assumed she was ill, just because she didn't pick your call...And why the hell are you calling her right now when we are supposed to go and enjoy on beach?" Sia asked with annoyance.

"Will you just answer whether Mom was ill or not?" Tanya asked in a much more annoyed tone than her sister.

"She was fine. Just a little body ache, nothing else", Sia answered with a huff, not liking Tanya's tone.

"But seriously, how did you even come up with an idea that she is sick?" Sia asked with a chuckle.

"She doesn't know about the money", I whispered to Tanya, before she could burst out on Sia. It wasn't Sia's fault. She didn't know the whole story so it was obvious that she would find all this weird.

Apparently I needed to learn how to whisper.

"Wh..what money?" Sia stammered.

My eyebrows furrowed, looking at her. I could understand her getting curious about the money I was talking about. But why did she looked nervous?

"Umm...actually I left my debit card with Dad. As Raghav received a message that two lakhs have been debited, we were worried that something happened to Mom", Tanya explained the situation to Sia.

Although I really didn't want to involve Sia into this matters, there wasn't much I could do after so much was spilled out.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Sia yelled, startling both of us.

"Seriously, have you lost your mind? Why did you give away the card to Dad? Didn't you have any fear? Shit!" Sia cried, clutching her hair tightly.

"Sia, why are you behaving like this? I gave him the card so that he can use it for Mom's medical expenses. What's so wrong about it?" Tanya questioned, looking out of element.

Sia pinched the bridge of her nose, before responding, "You are right. There's nothing wrong in giving money for Mom's medicines".

"Exactly. Then why...", Tanya trailed off.

"It's not your fault. How would you know anything? You aren't crazy, I am. I didn't even warn you. How are we ever going to repay Raghav?" Sia spoke, loosing it totally.

As she panicked, Sia lost her balance but thankfully Tanya and I managed to save her from fall.

"What is she talking about?" Tanya asked in a low voice, looking worriedly at Sia.

"Let's take her inside first", I said.

Neither Sia was in position to stand upright nor did it seem like the topic we could discuss out in the corridor of the hotel.

Tanya made Sia sit on the bed and offered her a glass of water. I went towards the sisters after latching the door.

We kept quiet until Sia got a little better.

"Do you think you can talk?" I asked gently.

"I can but there's no use. The money is already gone and no one is going to believe me", Sia spoke in a self depreciating tone.

"Why wouldn't we? What is it that got you so unstable?" Tanya questioned worriedly.

"No you wouldn't. No one is going to believe me. Mom too didn't trust my words when I told her the truth. Heck even I wouldn't have believed this, if i hadn't seen everything with my own eyes".

This was bad, very bad. I knew that whatever it was, a hurricane was coming on our way. If Sia was so bothered about it then it was something that was going to shake our ground.

"Sia, I promise that I will trust you. Whatever it is, I will trust your words", I promised, knowing that whatever she spoke would be the truth. The pain and panic in Sia's eyes couldn't be a lie.

"Dad...", Sia choked before trying again to continue.

"Dad used up all the money to give it to the victim's father. I knew he spent all our savings on that settlement but I didn't realize that he would use Raghav's money too.

"I am so sorry Raghav, I should have warned you".

"What are you talking about? What settlement?" Tanya asked, looking confused.

"Don't you remember today's date? On this very date, Dad was released. And on the exact date, he pays the settlement amount every year", Sia answered.

"Sia, stop spewing nonsense. Dad was found not guilty. He was innocent then why would he pay any settlement amount?" Tanya spoke loudly.

I too was shocked by the turn of events. What Tanya was saying was right. We all knew that her Dad was proven innocent in the court. Then why was Sia...

"I told you, you wouldn't believe me", Sia chuckled bitterly, like she was aware of the outcome.

Tanya and I stood stumped as Sia stood firm on her relevation.