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“Meher,” Asha Devi’s voice greets me as soon as she answers the call.
“Asha Devi, my apologies for missing your previous call. I was...”
“No need for formality, Meher,” she interjects pleasantly.
The warmth in her tone fills me with hope, contradicting Ayaan’s claims. Perhaps he’s toying with my mind, planting doubts that may not hold true.
“I called you to share that I’ve spoken with the other ministers in my party, and we are all ready to join the NEP party. In fact, after our conversation, I will personally reach out to your father and deliver this news to him.”
I breathe a sigh of relief, reassured that things are falling into place. Asha Devi, as planned, is joining my father’s political party. So why does Ayaan have that infuriatingly knowing grin? And wait, is he writing something on a piece of paper? What is he writing? What am I missing? Ignoring these thoughts, I redirect my attention to the call.
“Ashaji, I cannot express how grateful I am,” I say with heartfelt gratitude. “You have no idea how much this means to me and my family. It’s a relief to see my father’s tireless efforts to secure the majority for the CM’s position finally bearing fruit.”
A profound silence hangs in the air after I finish speaking.
“Ashaji? Can you hear me?”
“I can hear you, Meher,” she replies. “But I think you didn’t hear me properly.”
Ayaan approaches me while I stay on the phone, my voice trembling with anxiety as he hands me the paper he was just scribbling on.
‘King-7, Queen-4!!’
My heart almost explodes reading it. Ayaan giving himself another point on the scoreboard just symbolises that he has done something to foil my plans with Asha Devi.
“Did I misunderstand something?” I ask, tension creeping into my heart and mind.
“I said myself and two-thirds of my party ministers are prepared to merge with the NEP party, but I never promised that your father would secure the majority for the CM’s position,” she clarifies.
What! It feels as though the ground has been suddenly yanked away from beneath me.
“What... what are you implying? You know that was the entire purpose of having you join the NEP party,” I tell, my voice filled with concern.
“Oh, Meher,” she sighs. “The position of a Chief Minister is not something I can simply give away like a piece of candy, especially not for the sake of my late best friend’s husband, just because her daughter came and tried to emotionally manipulate me.”
My heart clenches.
“I’ve been in politics for the last two decades, Meher,” she continues. “I can sense the motives behind people’s approaches. Your father needs a stepping stone to reach the role of the CM, and I am not willing to be that stepping stone. If I merge with your father’s party, taking my majority of ministers, I would want to contest for the CM’s role myself. Why would I leave it for someone else?”
What is she saying?
“In fact, Ayaan and I had discussed this matter last week, anticipating Pratap’s attempt to approach me in the coming days, trying to persuade me to join his political party.”
Ayaan met Asha Devi two weeks ago? How did he know about it when Dad shared his plans with us only three days ago? But I push those thoughts aside as Asha Devi continues speaking.
“Anyway, my dear, I will convey my terms and conditions for the merger to your father. If everything goes well, we will soon find ourselves on the same side. Take care.”
The call abruptly ends, leaving me disoriented and struggling to make sense of everything I just heard. Ayaan reaches out to hold me, but I push him away, tears blurring my vision.
“How did you know Dad would approach Asha Devi?” I snap at Ayaan.
Ayaan’s anger resurfaces.
“There was no rocket science behind this, Meher. If politics is messy, it’s equally predictable too. One man’s failure is another’s success. When my accusation against your father, linking him to my dad’s accident, started gaining widespread attention and hindering his political ambitions, I knew he would go to any lengths to regain majority support in his party. It made perfect sense for him to seek out someone like Asha Devi, who already had the backing of numerous ministers, and try to entice her to join the NEP party. When I heard the rumours that Asha Devi was considering leaving her current party and wanted to merge with another, all I had to do was find a way to dissuade her from accepting his invitation if he ever approached her.”
My jaw tightens at Ayaan’s foresight and his calculated mind at play. Just like a master chess player, he anticipates every move, even of his adversary, before the game even begins.
“Yesterday, when you, and not your father, showed up here in Panchgani to meet Asha Devi, I realised that Pratap Walia can try any dirty trick to make sure Asha Devi joins his party. But then why send you? So, I sneaked into your room, suspecting that he might have sent a bribe or some other bait to persuade Asha Devi to join his party. I wanted to find out the truth, and by sending you instead of coming himself, he cleverly masked any suspicions that you might be the mediator between them. Your air of confidence made me dig further into the background of the Walias with Asha Devi, and that’s when I realised that once upon a time, Asha Devi was your late mother’s best friend. And everything became crystal clear. Knowing the affection, Asha Devi still had for your late mother, I realised your father had used you as the pawn in his manipulative game and sent you to emotionally blackmail Asha Devi. So, I informed her the same before you met her for dinner last night.”
