It was time for Vardhan's smile to fall. He looked at the picture and at Sia again. How was that possible?
"How...how is that possible? These are..."
"Twins. I know. I'm a twin. She is my identical twin sister."
Vardhan gulped before asking.
"What's her name?"
And the name she took, took his breath away.
"Ria."
"Ria! Ria! Ria! She's so perfect. And I think I am falling in love with her."
Armaan's voice describing how perfect his Ria was still rang in his ears. He has heard the name a thousand times from his best friend's mouth. That was the reason he felt like Sia wasn't wrong. Because she wasn't. It was Ria. Her twin sister.
"Where...where is she now? She doesn't live with you?"
Ria must know him. Armaan had told him that he showed his picture to Ria. Sia's eyes filled with tears and she shook her head.
"She doesn't. She's.... she's no more."
And Vardhan felt the floor slip beneath his feet.
"I'm sorry. But how...how did that-"
"Car crash."
Her voice was shaky and he seemed to be aligning everything in place now.
"When?"
"About 8 months back."
Vardhan sucked in a breath. The same time around when Armaan died.
"I-I'm sorry."
She shook her head and sniffed. She tried controlling her tears but a sob raked free. And then there was no stopping. Vardhan took steps towards her and engulfed her in a hug.
"I wish....I had stopped her that day...I still remember that day like it was yesterday...I miss her so much."
She sobbed and clutched his shirt. He sat on the couch and held her close. Sia hiccuped and told her about that day.
Ria had come home grinning and blushing. And she never blushed. Well, some things were changing. She had been meeting this man who made her happy and giddy.
He was a nice man. Sia liked him for Ria.
"You're blushing too hard! What happened?"
Sia asked, smiling at her sister. Her smile was infectious.
"I met Armaan."
"I guessed that much. But something else happened, right?"
She nodded, biting her lip and sighed in content.
"We kissed."
"Ria! Oh my God! Really! How was it?"
She asked excitedly. She had never kissed anyone.
"It was...ahh.. magical. He's magical."
She whispered and Sia awwed hugging her sister. The two gossiped the whole night. Ria made a face when Sia told her that she also met Piyush. Ria had never liked Piyush and his always there bestie.
The next morning, Ria received Armaan's call. She picked it up with a wide smile and a blush coating her cheeks but her smile slowly fell as she heard what he was speaking.
"Armaan? There's some misunderstanding. Aap na mujhe milo abhi. Let's talk it out."
Sia looked at her sister with a frown.
"Kya hua? All okay?"
"Armaan thinks I am cheating on him."
"What? Why would he think that?"
"I don't know. His best friend says he saw me with some other man yesterday and he also has proof. I'm so confused."
Ria was grabbing her bag wanting to meet and clear everything with Armaan as soon as possible and Sia realised what could have happened.
"I was with Piyush yesterday. Maybe he saw me and got confused."
Ria looked at her as if understanding everything.
"Shit! Armaan knows I have a sister but he doesn't know we're identical twins. I'll be back by evening."
"Call krna when everything is cleared up."
Sia yelled from behind and huffed. Just identical twin problems. She shook her head with a smile.
Sia looked at Vardhan and cried.
"I wish I had stopped her that day...I wished we called Armaan home and sorted it all here... I wish things went differently that day...I wish she was here."
Vardhan rubbed her back and blamed himself. It was all because of him. Because of the misunderstanding he caused.
"I saw the crash."
He heard her whisper and froze. What did she mean?
"W-what?"
"I was on a video call with Ria. I saw the crash."
Her voice was hoarse and shaking as she narrated him what happened.
Sia was doing her work when her phone rang indicating a video call from her sister.
"Hey! Everything's good."
Ria said with a grin. Sia could see that she was in a car.
"Thank God! How did Armaan react knowing you have a twin?"
She asked and Ria turned the camera to Armaan.
"Ask him yourself."
"Umm...hi."
Armaan said sheepishly and Sia chuckled.
"I'm sorry. We misunderstood. My best friend saw you with your boyfriend and assumed that you're Ria."
"That's fine. Hamare ghar wale hi hum dono mai confuse ho jaate hai aaj bhi. And he was just looking out for you. I would have done the same for Ria. That's what a good friend and brother does."
Ria said something which made all of them laugh and then there was a loud crash. Sia gasped as she saw the world in the video turn upside down. Their car was turned over 180°.
Her heart stopped for a second and then dropped to her stomach.
"R-Ria?"
She heard a whimper of pain from her and her eyes teared up. The video wasn't clear anymore. Maybe the camera broke.
"Ar-armaan? Sia? Armaan!"
She heard Ria's cry as she tried to shake an unresponsive Armaan.
"Mai aa rhi hu. Ria! Mai aa rhi hu. Please stay with me."
She pleaded and rushed out. She reached the accident spot after tracing Ria's location. Their car was a piece of scrap now. It was severely damaged. The police and medical team surrounded it.
"Sir? My sister! That's my sister! Where's she?"
Sia asked one of the policemen. He looked at her from top to bottom and said.
"Their bodies were taken to the hospital. Aap waha pata kr lijiye."
Bodies. The man said bodies. Did that mean-No!
Sia rushed to the hospital wiping her tears harshly to keep her vision. But the tears blurred it. Even thinking about it killed her from inside. What would she do without Ria. She was her soul.
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