EVERYTHING'S PERFECT!

2

BEDROOM - NIGHT

Heart pounding, breathless and a little sweaty, Aadi shudders out of another one of his recurring nightmares.

A gust whistles through the open windows, fluttering the curtains. No signs of an intrusion. No signs of vandalism either. Everything is perfectly normal. Thankfully!

He lets out a relieved sigh and sinks into the soft mattress. He's grateful to have a normal life and a quiet and peaceful night to sleep through. It wasn't the case two years back.

Beating the shit out of Mehul and Bharat seemed like the best bet at that point of time. He would have in any case. They'd crossed all limits.

But what followed in the coming days and nights was sheer horror.

After the fight at Mehul's residence, Aadi was restrained by the guards and arrested by the cops. He was slapped with a variety of charges: (1) vandalism (2) attempt to murder (3) criminal force and assault being some of them.

What followed was a series of hearings at court and then around 3 months behind bars... Three months because an aggressive, able lawyer from Anuj & Sanjana's connection bailed him out.

It didn't end there. Rumours, one that instigated fans made its rounds on social media and elsewhere – on walls, on buses, anywhere and everywhere.

Henchmen and rabid fans of Mehul vandalized his property, mauled his family. Burned down their sweet and farsan shop which was in the family for ages. Threw sewage on his posters. Spread lies. Had him banned from the film fraternity in a way he could never work again. Blocked his residual payments from his movies. Crippled him financially and emotionally. But the most painful of them all was the death of his father.

THAT NIGHT...

... The intruders pelted rocks at the Vardhan's residence, damaging wooden doors and smashing windows. The members, just like Aadi and Neha weren't prepared and got hurt at places. In the case of Aadi's father, it caught him squarely on the head, causing mortal injury. A few days was all he could manage to push through with whatever was left of him.

AFTER THAT...

... it shattered Aadi, more so when Dadi and his mother showered him and Neha with curses.

DADI: I'd warned you not to get into all this! But you never listened! You paid heed to her advice instead! (Pointing at Neha) She instigated you! Now, look what has happened!

MOM: I'm a widow now, Aadi, I didn't deserve it.

DADI: Do us all a favour and just leave before inviting more trouble. You have caused more than enough damage already! So just get lost and go someplace far away and live your life. Get into films or serials or prostitution, whatever!

PRESENT TIME

With that, Aadi and Neha split from the family, breaking all ties, forced to leave feeling incomplete, shunned, unloved, guilty...

Thanks to Aadi's residuals from his film, that which he'd earned before the panel banned him from the Association, they were able to purchase a decent house in the city, a quaint one with a kitchen, a living space and a bedroom with an attached bathroom. Aadi never felt the need to buy a bigger house, after all, they're on their own now, forever perhaps...

A shriek from the kitchen snaps him out of his thoughts. He sits up, much alert, realizes that Neha is not beside him.

His heart pounds so much that it blinds him. He realizes that he did, in fact, really hear the noise of smashing glass.

***