Prithvi...(Vol. 6)

Chapter 157

Prithvi carelessly tossed the phone to the person standing to his right. As Inder made an awkward, futile jump to catch it and then picked up the phone from the grass with a grimace, Prithvi indifferently gave him instructions for the schedule for the rest of the day and the next couple of days.

"We'll see if you're actually going to do all that work," Inder said disparagingly. "These days you appear more interested in gallivanting around town than completing the work the queen wants you to do," he said with disapproval before ambling away superciliously.

Prithvi continued to sit for a few minutes so he could get a handle on his temper before getting up, or it was very possible that he would catch up with the ****** and break his spine.

And yet, as much as he hated to admit it, there was a grain of truth in what the vermin had said.

For the past five years, he had handled the business with the same dedication and zeal that he accorded to every task he took up, closing out all his emotions towards it. He'd never let his work be affected by the memories of how his mother had thrust the responsibility upon him, or the fact that it was a business empire created by Rajyavardhan, whom he still despised – or by the knowledge that he was being forced to handle work that would usually have been dealt with by multiple teams spread across the globe.

But he was finding it increasingly difficult to maintain that impersonal attitude towards the business. Old memories and emotions were resurfacing frequently, and a deep anger was building up, which didn't bode well for anyone, particularly the queen mother.

After a few more minutes of troubled contemplations, Prithvi got up and walked unhurriedly towards the main entrance of the house.

Hopefully, Nandini would be in Rajeshwari's room right now. Or at least in some place where he wouldn't come across her. He was beginning to get tired of the constant stream of turmoil and confusions that she triggered in him each time.

He could now hear dim murmurs from the living room. As he approached the door, the voices became more audible, and he realised Rajeshwari and Grishma were speaking, and if Rajeshwari was here, Nandini would be around too.

With his steps quickening unconsciously, he entered the house and then paused a couple of feet from the wide doorway to the left that opened to the living room. Inside, Nandini was sitting between the two girls, who were fully absorbed in a conversation.

Barely a minute ago, he had hoped to avoid running into her. And now he was so pleased and relieved at seeing her again that it seemed as if he had half expected her to vanish somehow from the house... and his life.

Then his expression sharpened as multiple impressions struck him simultaneously in a matter of seconds.

Rajeshwari was trying to speak with Nandini, but Grishma was interjecting with questions of her own and not letting Nandini respond.

Nandini, however, didn't seem to be irritated by it at all. In fact, she didn't really seem aware of what was happening.

With a polite smile on her face and tapping her toes discreetly, she was doing her best to seem involved in the conversation even though her mind was clearly far away, looking very much like a child whose parent had forced her to sit between grown-ups and appear interested in boring chitchat.

Then his attention was unexpectedly drawn to the threads of silver around her ankles. He hadn't noticed until now that she was wearing those things. He hadn't heard their infernal noise, and that wouldn't have missed his attention, given the power it had once held over his emotions. He had heard it in Shamli on that morning when she had worn it to irk him, but not after that...