Ruin In Royals (Royal #1: Book 2) | ✔

67

someone special (not a bf, I'm eternally single) made me incredibly happy today. so wanted to make you happy now <3

-• we're over •-

Atharva never answers my phone.

I try calling Anagha.

"Tara, we're running late -" I hold up a hand at Janet, pacing back and forth in my room. Anxiety wrecks me from within. If Shourya is right, if Atharva did what he said, I'm ruined. My relationship with my brothers is ruined.

She walks in before closing the door behind her. "What's wrong?"

As I go to answer her, Anagha answers the phone. I breathe in sharply. "Anagha, hi,"

"Hey, sorry I was in class-"

"It's fine." I cut her off. "Atharva- where's Atharva? Is he at the University?"

"I don't know. He was in his room when I left the house." She answers. "Actually, he's acting a little weird since yesterday. He returned home from University and locked himself up in his room. He didn't even come out for dinner. I thought he's sick. Why? Is something wrong?"

"No," I whisper. "I'm sorry for disturbing you." I hang up without hearing a response from her.

"Tara, you're trembling," Janet holds my shoulders. "What's wrong?"

"Atharva went to our teacher with the evidence."

She gasps. "What!?"

A knock on the door startles us. She gestures me to calm down. I wipe the sweat settled over my lips and nose and take in a deep breath, nodding at her to open the door.

The twins stand at the doorstep. "Shourya told me what happened." Arush walks in first, followed by Ayush immediately after. "Did you guys talk about it? I thought we were keeping it under wraps for a while?" He questions me.

I shake my head. "We didn't. He made his own decision."

I place a hand on my hip and rake the other through my open hair, the panic resettling. I feel my chest get heavy. Something weighs me down mentally. I can just imagine Yuvraaj's reaction to everything. He'll lose it. Everyone knows how carefully people tread around the Chairman, and Atharva potentially declared us as his enemies.

"This is not good," Ayush mutters, cupping his face with his hands before he sits down on my desk chair. "The Chairman is not a good human being. And he has proved it. But our family still maintains a good relationship with them. If Bhai finds out, God I can't even imagine what will happen."

"But maybe this will work out for good?" Janet raises a brow.

"If it had to work out for good, she'd have handled it the legal way. Why did she go to the Chairman?" Ayush asks rhetorically.

"You don't mean...." Janet's mouth falls open in shock. "Fuck."

We don't go to the university. We just sit in my room, waiting for the doom to knock on our doors. Nothing happens in the outside world. What we find out never reaches the press. People continue with their life as if a horrid crime isn't happening just under their noses. The mighty sun falls, night blankets the bustling city.

Juyi knocks on my door at seven thirty in the evening. "The dinner is ready."

I nod at her. "Go, we'll be there in five."

She bows and retreats.

"God, I'm scared," Ayush drops his forehead on the tip of his joint hands. "What if Bhai knows?"