Fitoor

7 | Take off my mind

Shehnaaz

The phone keeps on ringing on the bedside table yet I ignore it for the 37th time. I was literally boiling with rage. My hands were itching to turn the whole place upside down. I wanted to hurl the phone towards the wall as it started ringing again.

I let out a huge groan of annoyance and immediately search my bag for medications that Anita prescribed me.

I really wanted to call her right now but I knew that now would not be the best time.

Begrudgingly, I check my phone and notice hundreds of texts from Ahaan and Neha. There were threads of apologies. But I couldn't care less. Apparently, those idiots forgot to mention that the Lordly "Malhotras" family will be joining us in Monaco. It was almost like avoiding cockroaches. No matter where you go, they will always be there, in some way or the other.

It was a huge shock for me to see Natasha and Sameer in the lobby. I almost lost it. That duo had the ability to always bring out the worst in me.

They are the reason why I always avoided family dinners whenever they were invited. No matter how much I love my parents, I always hated them for hiding what happened years back. I myself was glad because I always hated being pitied. However, there were times when all I wanted was to smack their faces with a baseball bat for making me go through so much pain. Natasha ruined my social status by being the spoiled attention seeking brat that she is and Sameer ruined my life without even too much effort.

My body shook with anger as I recalled that night's event.

To drown my sorrows, I quickly fetched myself a bottle of scotch from the minibar and took a huge gulp from it. As soon the liquid touched my throat I coughed due to its burning sensation.

I put the bottle back on the minibar and scolded myself mentally.

Anita's words from one of our sessions came back to me "You can't make them affect you. That will only make you the bigger loser in the end. They will keep winning if you continue to let them get under your skin. Someday you have to face them..." I remember her saying.

God! I'm such a mess right now!

I reluctantly head inside the washroom and wash my face in the sink. I also wash my mouth to remove ail traces of alcohol. The last thing I needed was for people to think I was some sort of alcoholic. After that, I stare in the mirror and look at myself.

Sighing, I dry my bare face using the towel and look at the tray of food laid out by one of the maids. Despite my reluctance to eat and go downstairs, Ahaan forcefully made one of the maids to drop this off in my room. I wasn't like this usually but then again it's not every day you see the people who destroy your life and your friends not mentioning you about their arrival because they are too afraid of your reaction.

'Well, at least now they know my reaction!' I think sarcastically.

I know that the only person to put all this out of my head is probably somewhere inside the castle. Probably sleeping, judging from the time since it's 11 pm.

'What if he's awake?' a small part of me asks hopefully.

Without thinking any further, I put on
a burgundy robe over my matching silk nightwear and head outside my room. Unfortunately, as soon as I open the door, I come face to face with one of my other favorite people, Gerard. Kindly note the sarcasm.

"Miss are you headed somewhere?" He asks in a polite tone.

"Yes, to see the man who owns your ass' I think bitterly.

"I need to speak with Mr. Shukla," I say. "Which one of the madam?" He asks

"Sidharth Shukla," I say firmly. Hearing my answer, the butler eyes me warily and says "I'm afraid that's impossible, miss. Sir has strict orders to not disturb him when he's at work" He says each word slowly as if 'm stupid.