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“Ayaan, don’t do this,” she almost pleads.
“Don’t make me do this then. You have already seen yesterday’s chaos first-hand at your father’s party office. Another one with double the intensity will happen at the Walia House today if I leak this evidence to the media directly. And you know I can do this. So, don’t you dare take my warning lightly? I don’t need to remind you to come alone and not get your guards with you. You have thirty minutes to reach the address I have texted. If I see that Vishnu or any other guard accompanying you, it’s game over for your father. And your time starts now…”
“Ayaan….”
I end the call, my focus shifting back to the road ahead as I keep driving. Meher will come, not for me, but for the evidence I have enticed her with. There was a time when Meher would do anything in her desperation to meet me, but now I find myself having to resort to threats just to have a moment with her. The thought sours my mood once more, intensifying my frustration. Tightening my grip on the steering wheel, my knuckles turn white as I press my fingers forcefully, unable to contain the anger that simmers within me.
*****************
“Sir, your coffee,” the server announces, carefully setting the cup down on the table. I’m at a charming café tucked away in a secluded corner, far away from the bustling city. It’s the perfect spot for our meeting, shielded from prying eyes and unwanted attention. Taking every precaution, I generously compensated the staff to reserve the entire café for an hour, ensuring complete privacy for me and my esteemed guest—my Queen!
I take a puff of the cigarette, inhale deeply and exhale. The smoke swirls around in the air, and my senses kick in.She’s here. I can feel it. Turning my gaze towards the entrance, I lock eyes with Meher, her expression a mix of surprise and disapproval. This is the first time she’s seen me smoking. Her penetrating stare carries a silent warning as she strides toward my table.
“I had no idea you smoked!” Meher exclaims, her jaw tight with indignation as though she’s preparing for a verbal battle to make me quit smoking. And I would, for her. But only after I have her by my side again. For now, I temporarily stub out the cigarette in the ashtray without breaking eye contact with Meher.
“You’ll know a lot about me in the coming future. Now sit.”
When she refuses to comply, I hold her wrist and guide her to the chair across from me. Meher reluctantly takes a seat, but her body tenses as her gaze falls upon the bandage on my right palm. Realising that I intentionally hurt myself for choking her by grabbing her neck with that same hand yesterday, she reaches out to touch the bandage, but I quickly withdraw my hand. I don’t want her sympathy.
“It will heal,” I say, “unlike the bruises you left on my heart.”
Meher shakes her head in disbelief as I continue to observe the expressions on her face.
“You don’t hate me as much as you like to show off,” she mutters.
“Wrong. I don’t hate youat all,Meher,” I say. “I never would. I just hate whatever reasons you are standing against me for and defending a murderer. I hate the fact that you conveniently used me for your own agenda to save your family’s ass.”
My repeated allegation reminds her of the real reason she came here to meet me.
“Where is the evidence you called me here for?”
“What evidence?” I shrug.
She stares at me in disbelief.
“You told me you have proof that my dad...” Her voice trails off as she realises my words were just a ploy to bring her here. “Damn you, Ayaan. How could you manipulate me under the guise of evidence?”
Frustration courses through me as I slam my fist on the table between us.
“Just like how you manipulated and played me in Dalhousie, sabotaging my plan.”
Meher recoils, her eyes searching mine as if she hadn’t expected me to bring up this confrontation.
“Aksh told me that you deliberately foiled my plan in Dalhousie by not swapping the phones. Because, at the end of the day, you’re aWalia! Your loyalty will always lie with your family. The phone you handed to Krish was a decoy, not Rima’s, which held the evidence I needed against the bribe paid to Tripathi for not approving the Mashaal Project. The bribe paid to him by none other than the Walias themselves.”
She opens her mouth to respond, but no words appear.
“You involved Vishnu and Aksh in this scheme of yours. You cleverly called Vishnu to Dalhousie to come get you, knowing Krish would soon discover your deception. You even emailed and leaked our private Dalhousie pictures to the media, creating that scandal. The same scandal Vishnu once suggested to you to break your marriage alliance with Niraj.” I grind my teeth together.
She looks furious, but to be honest, I don’t care.
“I refused to believe all this until you showed up at the press conference yesterday to support your father. To defend the man who openly threatened my father and attempted to kill him.”
“He didn’t do it,” Meher scowls. “I’ll repeat this infinite times, Ayaan. My father is innocent. You have a big misconception in your head. It’s high time you stop blaming him for things he never did.”
“He never did?” I push the ashtray off the table. “Then where is his Black Audi SUV? The same car which rammed my father’s vehicle on the ghats, causing his accident. Why has your family filed a complaint that the car has been missing ever since my dad met with that horrible accident? Why are they hiding it?”
Meher looks shaken on hearing this, as if she is hearing it for the first time, but as I’d expected, she remains tight-lipped about it.
