Treacherous Souls

XX. "Who is Rani Padmaja?"

Third Person

The wooden door of the bar creaked open and Aayansh's attention steered away from the glass of wine he was sipping to the little figure peeping inside the room.

"Princess? What are you doing here?" He stood up from the bar stool and approached her.

"Uh- a lady told me to give this envelope to Dhruv Uncle." Her meek voice rang throughout the quiet space, and Dhruv's face scrunched up hearing 'uncle' from the little girl's mouth.

"I will take it from here. We will go home in an hour or so, okay? Will you call Ramesh Ji and ask him to get the plane ready?" He handed out his phone to his sister who quickly nodded her head and walked away, not forgetting to pass a smile at her soon-to-be bhabhi.

"Who is this 'lady' your sister was talking about?" Dhruv stood up from his bar stool.

"Aashika!" Aayansh mumbled the name written on the back of the white parchment while handing out the letter to Dhruv.

"Why is my wife writting letters to you?" Arjun narrowed his eyes in suspicion, trying not to let his imagination of his wife cheating on him with Dhruv get the best of him.

"How will I know? You should have kept a check on your wife." Dhruv's sarcastic remark left a bitter feeling in Arjun's heart, and he tried to curb the desire to strangle his oldest brother's neck.

"Shut up, both of you. Aayansh, give me that letter." Vishakha effectively shut her brothers up and snatched the white parchment from her prospective groom before anyone could even blink. "If you want your wife to give you another chance, you will have to help us unravel the secrets. I am asking this because I know you don't know the whole truth. Do we have a deal, Dhruv bhai? If yes, then meet me in the library at 12."

Arjun's posture visibly relaxed, and instead a confused stance replaced the former stiff one. He raised his brow and wondered if Mishka knew about this. If she did, this would be like a golden opportunity for Dhruv.

"It's a golden opportunity. You shouldn't miss it." Vishal muttered, a thoughtful expression taking over his visage.

Dhruv just shrugged, but he couldn't help analysing the pros and cons of accepting his younger brother's wife's stupid deal.

'Maybe it's not a bad idea.' He thought, glancing at the paper in Vishakha's hands with hope and curiosity twinkling in his eyes.

***

"You did what? This is my life, Aashika. I can't just forgive people like that." Mishka screeched, enraged at the thought of giving him a chance.

"You can't marry anyone else, anyway. Why not try to understand him for once?" Aashika shrugged, plopping down on the couch placed in the library, waiting for Dhruv to herald his arrival.

"Oh, I will say that after Arjun makes a mistake."

"You think we have the most perfect relationship ever?" Aashika narrowed her eyes.

"Considering you are still with him, I guess."

"Well, what do you want me to do? Run away like you?" She didn't mean that, she really didn't. It just slipped out of her tongue before she could stop it.

"Aashika!" Manasvi reprimanded in a stern voice, letting her know that she had crossed the line.

Mishka stood still, her mind revolving the words spoken by her dear sister-in-law. Was it true? Was she really running away? But, didn't she deserve a break? Didn't she deserve to be loved by a man? All she ever asked for was a simple life, full of love and laughter. Was that too much to ask for?