After the guests had dispersed, Veer brought Ishita to her room while Aryan helped Nani (Grandma) as they followed worriedly.
Veer locked the door once they were inside, prohibiting anyone else from entering or listening to their conversation. The room was soundproof. So, nothing they spoke inside would go out.
"Bhai (Brother), are you angry?" Ishita asked tentatively. Although she loved her brother, his unreadable face made her antsy and fearful.
"No, Ishu. Why would I be angry?" Veer smiled helplessly and cupped her cheeks. "I was just... I was just worried. Are you alright?"
Ishita nodded and Veer sighed in relief.
"I'm so sorry, Ishu. I didn't know what kind of a scum Rohan was. I should have been careful."
Veer was infuriated, more with himself. If he had been more careful, they wouldn't have had to see this day. A strong intent to kill filled his heart and he clenched his fists tight.
The Khanna family was done for sure. He'd make sure of it. After what they did, they didn't deserve to go unpunished.
"Bhai, how would you know that Rohan was such a disgusting person? He hid himself well," Ishita comforted him softly.
"Yes, Veer. Rohan hid his true face well. Don't blame yourself." Aryan too agreed, flashing Ishita an assured smile.
"No, Aryan. I should have checked his past well. I was careless." Veer continued to blame himself. In anger, he kicked the vanity ottoman, which toppled over with a thud and rolled towards the wall.
"But Bhai, Rohan hid his trails well. Yes, we were tricked by now. Aren't we safe now?"
"Ishita is right, Veer. Don't hold yourself responsible." Nani beckoned Veer to her side.
Sighing deeply he approached her and squatted before her as she held his palm and patted it lightly.
"Ishita is now safe. Isn't that good? Things could have been worse."
"I understand, Nani. Don't worry." Veer smiled faintly before returning to Ishita's side. "Ishu, please tell me all that happened today. I want to know everything."
"Yes, Bhai." Ishita licked her lips and started recounting all that had happened some time ago.
"I was alone after the make-up artist finished my makeup. I was hungry and thought of calling one of you to bring me something to eat. But before I could, a strange woman entered the room. She was dressed as one of the staff from the event management company. I thought she was here to fetch something or relay something. But..."
Ishita paused to take a breath while the others waited.
"But she wanted to tell Rohan's truth to me. I didn't believe her at first. Yet, she remained adamant and I had no choice but to verify the truth myself. I tried calling Aryan and you. But your phones weren't reachable and time was ticking. I had to leave to verify the truth."
"Couldn't you have told anyone among us?" Veer still couldn't comprehend why Ishita hadn't approached him. His phone was unreachable, but she could have still looked for him.
"Bhai, Rohan had already arrived by then and I didn't want to raise any suspicions. What if he found out what I was up to and tried to silence Divya?"
No one said a word this time. Ishita made sense.
"How did you leave this place without anyone knowing?" Aryan asked skeptically.
Ishita smirked as if she was jubilant about her achievements.
"Would you believe me if I told you I left from the back entrance and there wasn't even one guard nearby?" she asked, quirking her brows gloatingly. "And why would I inform any of the guards when there is a high chance that some of them might not be working for us anymore?" she scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"What do you mean?" Veer's eyes narrowed dangerously and gave her a look that promised death, not hers of course.
"The woman I met, Priya, she couldn't enter the place. It's understandable because she didn't have the invitation. But when she told the guards that she had some important information about Rohan and that he was a criminal, shouldn't they have brought her to you or me?"
Veer nodded while Aryan held his breath, dreading where this was going.
"Instead, they tried to silence her. They dragged her to a remote corner and she had a hard time running away from them."
"How dare they!" Veer was fuming mad. It was one thing to have been betrayed by others. It was a different scenario altogether if his own employees betrayed him. His eyes were blazing with fire and he was close to killing people who helped the criminal to hide his crimes.
"We should thank the woman who risked her life to protect, Ishita," Sarita said and Veer was instantly reminded of the lady he had fired in his anger.
"Yes, Veer. It's our fault this time. We misjudged her." Aryan too agreed, feeling bad for the woman they had deemed guilty without even knowing the truth.
"What woman?" Ishita asked, not understanding where this was going.
"The woman who informed you about Rohan. We misunderstood her and fired her," Aryan explained.
"Wait a minute! What do you mean you fired her? How could you fire her? She was with me all the time until I returned."
"What!" Aryan was taken aback and his eyes darted towards Veer who looked as stunned as him.
"Yeah. She was with me until I found all the truth. When did you fire her? What's happening?" Ishita looked at her brother for clarification. But all she got in return was his silence.
Aryan pulled out a video recording where Saanvi's face was visible and showed it to Ishita.
"Isn't she the one who you met? Divya's sister?"
Ishita looked at him as if he were a fool. "No, she isn't. This isn't Priya. Who is she? I don't know her."
"Oh, no." Aryan held his forehead, unable to believe how they had made this blunder.
"Veer, I think we made a mistake here."
"I told you we were doing that child wrong," Sarita admonished Veer without holding back. She was already against how Veer had behaved with her and now, with the truth lying bare before them, she felt all the more terrible.
"Veer, we did her bad." Aryan too was depressed. The poor lady had taken the brunt of Veer's wrath for no fault of hers. She was just doing her job.
Veer's state was no different than Aryan's. Saanvi's tear-filled eyes flashed before him, reminding him of his unjust actions. He was already livid with himself for not investigating Rohan thoroughly, and now, he started to despise himself for what he had done.
Tugging his tie loose, his frown deepened as he walked out of the room. "I'll handle this matter. Nani, Ishita, get some rest. Aryan, come with me."
