You Stole A Heart [COMPLETED]

Chapter : Eighteen Rookie?

Chapter : 18  

Ayushmann's POV

"...This truly has been one of the finest covers that we've worked on..." Vishal went on talking to the whole party of celebrities while I totally tuned him out as I looked down at the screen of my phone with a frown on my face.

Aarav: YOU STOOPED TOO LOW ASS#@$$.

"I'm so glad that it's finally releasing today!" Yami's voice brought me back.

I looked up to find her beaming at me with a wide grin. Yami Gautam was an old friend and one of the actresses I had worked with on certain occasions. I passed her a small smile, my mind focused on that text from Tanya's brother.

Yami chatted for a while and left to attend a call on her phone. Once she was gone, I sighed and dialled Tanya's number for the eighth time but it went to voicemail again. I put the phone into my jacket pocket, worried about her.

"You seem lost. Everything okay?" Apar asked as he placed a hand on my shoulder to gain my attention.

I turned to look at my brother and gave it a moment's consideration after which I shook my head.

"Something's definitely wrong with Tanya..." I started but turned to look ahead at the uplifted stage where Vishal was about to play the album for the party.

"Before I start, let's give a big hand to all the cast and crew of this project." Vishal said as he played the visuals and the names of the cast members began to cascade down on the big screen.

Music- Vishal Singh, Ayushmann Khurrana, David Ambers, Jai Kumar

Singer(s)- Ayushmann Khurrana

Lyrics- Ayushmann Khurrana

Production House- Vishal Singh, Ajay Malhotra

I frowned as I reread the name next to the lyricist slot. People began applauding and hooting as the song began streaming. I quickly climbed up the stage which had been dimmed out to allow the audience to focus on the screen. Standing beside Vishal, I pulled him aside by his arm.

"You like the set up?" Vishal asked me with a wide smile.

"I think someone messed up with the credits of the album, Vishal." I told him as the song continued in the background.

"What do you mean?" He asked me with a frown.

"Where's Tanya's name? She's the lyricist. Why on earth is my name up there?" I asked him in an urgent tone.

"Oh, about that!" Vishal said and chuckled. I frowned at his response. What's so funny?

"You see, I added Tanya's name at first. But then David suggested that adding a rookie's name into such a fine album would totally ruin the authenticity of our work which includes such fine gems of the Music and Bollywood Industry, such as you. So I gave it a thought and, well, we replaced her name with yours." Vishal explained.

With every word that he spoke, I felt a weird tension rise inside me. I clenched my fists tight and looked away with a deep breath. I brushed my hair roughly with my fingers, trying my very best to remain calm. A wave of guilt and sadness washed over me as I imagined Tanya's reaction to this. She must've been broken.

"Why the hell was I not consulted before this decision?" I asked Vishal, my voice a mere whisper.

"Consult? What more consultation do we need? She's nobody AK, it doesn't matter." Vishal said with a casual shrug and was about to walk back on stage when I felt like I've had enough.

I passed Vishal and walked up the stage with quick strides while Vishal stood still with shock. I paused the projector while the song was midway and pulled the pendrive out of the computer. All this while the entire crowd looked at me with a confused look.

I picked out a microphone and began to connect it to the amplifiers when Vishal hopped up on stage and stood beside me.

"What sheer nonsense is this AK? Get down the stage now" Vishal said to me in a hushed tone.

I ignored him and went about with the microphone.

"What happened?" Kartik Aryan, a fellow actor, asked from amongst the audience.

"Uh...nothing. Actually AK wants to sing the song to you all now," Vishal made up an excuse as he chuckled to lighten the atmosphere.

"Stop the stunt this instant, Ayushmann." Vishal whispered to me, his voice stern.

"No, you stop fooling the people now," I spoke looking at a wide-eyed Vishal, holding the mic in front of me. My voice echoed through the amplifiers and speakers, reaching every ear.

"Ayush-" Vishal began.

"Stop telling the people that I, Ayushmann Khurrana, wrote the lyrics." I said.

A rush of whispers and gasps ran through the crowds as I and Vishal locked eyes. His eyes portrayed disbelief and hurt. I had known Vishal Singh for over fifteen years and we had worked on several tracks together. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna let him steal all the efforts by Tanya and let him hand it over to me.

"Fine." Vishal said and threw his hands up.

"Fine, what?" I asked.

He looked at me with a glare but I kept a straight face with a blank expression. Sighing, he nodded.

"Fine, I'll tell them. But stop creating a scene now," Vishal whispered to me.

Taking a deep breath, I took a step towards Vishal and held out the microphone in front of his face.

"Tell them all. THIS. VERY. MOMENT." I said.

Sighing, Vishal spoke.

"Yeah, we had put AK's name instead of the real lyricist of this song. It's...Tanya Rathore who wrote the songs of this album," Vishal said, surprising every person in the auidience.

I noticed from the corner of my eye that my brother, Apar, stood at the far end with an approving smile on his face as he clapped along with the rest of the crowd to welcome Tanya through a silent gesture.

Author's Note:-

Hola!
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