It had been a month since Tara's whole world came crashing down. Shekhar brought her to their family home, where her mother, her uncles, and her brothers tried to help her recover and grieve. She was the baby of the family, always had been. Everyone loved her and was very concerned for her well-being. But she refused to speak to anyone, locking herself up in her bedroom.

'Mitra' Leela, her mother called out to her. She was the only person who called her 'Mitra'. It meant angel. It broke Leela's heart when Shekhar told her about what happened. She was at the Capital and couldn't get there in time to comfort her daughter.

Tara didn't respond.

Bo, their family dog came and started licking her. But nothing. No response. The dog had been a present to Tara from Tej, when they were young and only dating. He told her that she was the first woman he loved and even if they didn't work out, he wanted her to always remember him. The bloodhound was supposed to remind her of Tej when he was away. The dog loved his mistress and was extremely loyal to her. When the bloodhound saw that his mistress wasn't responding to him, he sadly curled up against her on the bed.

'Mitra, sweetie, I know this is hard, but you can't stay quiet forever' Leela spoke softly. Still no response, Tara continued to stare into space. Leela was afraid she might have lost her daughter forever.

'Mitra, look I brought you food. Waffles topped off with raspberries and some pomegranate juice. You like that don't you?' no response 'I'll just leave it on the table'

'Mitra, your brothers are here. You could all work in the shed, on that monstrous thing you call a bike.' Leela tried again, faking a laugh. She couldn't understand why four grown men and woman would want to ride a four-person bike, but it seemed to make them happy to work on it.

She wasn't eating or sleeping, she just stared into space. It was worrying her family.

Her godfather Lalit, Shekhar's best friend came.

'Hey Tara, how are doing? he asked, placing IV bags on her nightstand. He looked at Leela and Shekhar who stood at the end of the bed. 'Have you tried feeding her, getting her to drink at least a sip of water?' he whispered.

'Nothing works' Shekhar shook his head and whispered.

'Let me try. Shekhar, let me try to help.' He said as he sat down on the bed.

'Tara, sweetheart talk to us. Let us help you.' He placed his hand on her shoulder. Nothing, absolutely no response. She didn't even blink. 'You have to eat something, sweetheart. You can't be on fluids for long, this is not a permanent solution.' He pleaded.

Shekhar rubbed his hands over his face and breathed out, leaving the room.

'If something doesn't change soon, we're going to have her admitted' Shekhar told Lalit as he came after him.

'Shekhar, she is in a kind of pain that neither of us can even begin to comprehend. She just lost everything.' He argued.

'Don't you think we know that? She hasn't spoken, she hasn't eaten. She isn't even sleeping. I am afraid if we don't do something now, we might lose her. And I cannot lose my daughter.' Leela told him and went back to the room.

'Mitra, Lalit is going to hook you to an IV drip. Alright?' Leela said as she ran her fingers through her daughter's hair.

'This might hurt a little, but you feel better later' Lalit said as he hooked her up to the IV.

Tara doesn't even flinch at the pain. Shekhar sighed and left.

...

Shekhar walked into Tara's bedroom and sat beside her on the bed.

'Tara, you are not the only one who has lost their daughter here. There are two other parents who have lost their daughter. Their daughter is alive but has stopped living. What you have suffered, don't inflict that on others sweetheart. Don't inflict that on your mother and me. Please don't kill our daughter. I am begging you' his deep voice shook as he spoke. He controlled the tears that threatened to make their way out of his eyes. He caressed his daughter's face lovingly, pushing the hair out of her face, he kissed her forehead. He stood up and left.

...

It finally happened. Something everyone feared. Tara had stopped sleeping at all. Her body wasn't able to absorb dopamine, its glucose processing had shut down, and finally, her neural connections short-circuited.

Her family had started taking shifts, to keep an eye on her. It was her uncle Shakti's turn. Tara was lying on her bed in a fetal position. Shakti had switched off the lights, hoping it would force her to sleep, get some rest.

She suddenly sat up in her bed, bringing both her hands to her neck. Her heart was racing and her breathing tensed.

Shakti shot out of his chair and sat next to her on the bed. 'Tara, what's wrong?' he asked as he pushed the hair out of her face. Shakti tried to tune out Bo's barking and concentrate on his niece but it was too dark, he couldn't see anything.

He ran and switched on the lights. He found her choking herself. 'Tara, what is this madness? Stop it.' He yelled at her as he forced her to release the grip on her neck.

'bastards' she whispered under her breath.

He held her tight, holding down her arms so she didn't try to hurt herself. She threw him off the bed and he fell on his back. She got on top of him and started to choke him. 'Bastards killed my Tej, they killed my Ayesha' she yelled as she suffocated her uncle.

'Get off me, Tara' he yelled as he tried to stop her 'Get off me. Control yourself, Nayantara' he yelled as he rolled her over, pinning her to the ground. She grunted beneath him.

'BHAI SAHAB! BHABI SA! KABIR! ZORAWAR!' he called for help as he held her down.

'Tej! Ayesha!' She got out of his grip and ran out of the room. She ran down the hallway. Shekhar, Leela, and Kabir came running. They found her trying to jump off the balcony.

'TEJ! AYESHA!' she yelled. Everyone ran to her and pulled her off the railing, holding her down.

'TARA, STOP' her brothers tried to stop her from fighting them.

'Shakti, grab her legs.' Shekhar ordered.

'They'll kill them, papa' Tara cried.

'Nothing. Nothing will happen, Mitra' Leela tried to soothe Tara as they forcefully carried her out of the house.

'Zorawar, get the car around' Shekhar ordered him when he saw the man running towards them. Zorawar did as he was told. Bo ran after them as they took his deranged mistress away.

...

Tara had a psychotic breakdown stemming from her PTSD and sleep deprivation. She was sedated for over 50 hours, her parents never leaving her side.

After she woke up from her sedation, Tara was starting to recover. She was still in pain but she was dealing with it.

'Tara' Shekhar said as he entered her room

'Hey, Dad' she whispered. It killed him to see his daughter in so much pain, but he was glad she was trying to get better. He placed an envelope in front of her.

'This package contains all the information of your new identity.' He said without looking up at her.

Tara couldn't understand what her father was trying to imply. Shekhar could see the question mark on her face. 'You are not safe here, not anymore.'

She didn't know what to say, she stared blankly at him.

'I have contacts in London. They have made arrangements for your stay. You can start your life all over again as Tara Matthews'

She couldn't speak. She cried, her eyes pleading with him not to send her away.

'I know it hurts. I know you don't want to go. I don't want you to go either but this is the only way I know to protect you. I'm sorry. I am so so sorry' He cried as he held his daughter close, not being able to control himself any longer. There was no other way. He had to send the apple of his eye away, for her own good.

...