"If you expect the world to be fair with you
Because you are fair, you are fooling yourself.
-
-
-
That's like expecting the lion not to eat you because you didn't eat him."
Riddhima was beyond angry at Sejal. She always knew Sejal was ambitious, competitive, and stubborn from the start. And Riddhima was okay with it though most times Sejal's behavior hurt her; she had learned to adjust. As long as her sister was happy. Riddhima had an inkling why Sejal was doing it. She was aware of Sejal's attraction toward rich men and money. But there is a limit to everything and this is unacceptable. She must stop this nonsense.
"What is taking her so long?" Riddhima stopped her pacing and faced Vansh who was leaning on the wall casually browsing through his phone. He shrugged and again returned his attention to his phone. He looked relaxed and least bothered by the news. She looked at him suspiciously. Did he already know?
"Boss, they are coming!" Angre entered the room with Ishani in tow
"I am here just for some good entertainment" Ishani smirked and settled herself on the couch.
"Ishani leave" Aangre bit out
"Let her stay," Vansh ordered. Angre was shocked but he recovered quickly and nodded.
Her eyes narrowed, before she could say anything Sejal entered the room along with that creepy man followed by his son and daughter.
"Vansh" the old man greeted Vansh jovially.
"Mehta" Vansh nodded his head, his stance rigid once again. "Thought, I clearly told you that we wish to speak with just Ms. Sejal Shastri."
"What Sejal Shastri, she is soon going to be MRS. Mehta. We are going to be family Vansh. Don't be a stranger"
"What is it Riddhima? Can't you see I was enjoying the party thrown in my honor?" Sejal leaned on Gagan's arm
Riddhima closed her eyes in exasperation. She wanted to chat with her sister one-on-one but if this is what she wants...
"Stop this madness Sejal." Riddhima pulled her away from Gagan.
"What madness? I love Gagan, he loves me. I know this is quite a shocker for you. Regardless you have to accept that your sister got a lover who is as rich as Vansh"
"Ha" came a short, derisive laugh from none other than the queen of insults "As rich as my brother? Are you smoking marijuana these days? Mehtas can never be as rich as Raisinghanias. Didn't Gagan's uncle inform you properly, Sejal Aunty?"
"A..au..Aunty?" Sejal spluttered in anger
"What? I call him Gagan Uncle from my childhood days now that you are going to marry him, that makes you our aunty. Actually Gagan Dada and Sejal Dadi would be more apt"
This is why he let her stay, Angre thought with amusement. Vansh knew Ishani would never dare to insult Riddhima again, at least not with the ongoing punishment which has lasted for more than a month now. His boss would not want to upset Riddhima and if he decided to act, well he won't sit and insult and his methods may not be agreeable with his lady love.
Gangan frowned as he noticed Vansh standing there calmly. He expected threats and outbursts. He should have put two and two together by now that he is going to lose this project instead he just made a move and stood behind Riddhima.
Clucking his tongue with a disapproving "tsk, tsk" he started "Ishani, let them speak"
Riddhima didn't say anything, her gaze was focused on her sister. For the first time, Riddhima didn't mind Ishani's insult.
'Let Sejal hear this. This is what people are going to say,' she thought wildly.
"Are you listening to this? This is what everyone is going to say about you"
"Really now Riddhima? Even if they do, I don't care. Just as you don't. Do you know what people say about you behind your back? You did everything else under the pretense of treating Mr.Raisinghania's sister. That is why..."
"Sejal" Vansh's gaze was spitting fire. It was a clear warning which promised retribution.
Sejal gulped in fear and turned quiet.
"Vansh, please let's talk calmly" Mehta tried to reason even though he was worried looking at Vansh's tensed posture. Ready to strike.
"Listen, sweety," he tried to appease Riddhima.
"She is Ms. Shastri for you Mehta" Vansh took one step ahead now he was standing beside Riddhima
"Alright alright" Mehta chuckled nervously "no need to get so offensive"
"Umm... Riddh...I mean Ms. Shastri, please try to understand we love each other" he took hold of Sejal's other hand and kissed her knuckles who gave him a wide smile
"We will keep each other happy. Your sister is one amazing person who knows how to keep me happy and in turn, I want to keep her just as much happy. I request you to please accept our union"
"Baby you do keep me happy" Sejal purred
Riddhima wanted to puke.
"Are you planning to give us a sneak peek at your bedroom performance? Because trust me no one is interested and that is disgusting, not sexy what you just did there Dadiji" Ishani made an action of vomiting.
"You have a daughter around Sejal's age. Don't you have any shame? How can you lead her on?" Riddhima snapped at him in angry disgust.
"Don't speak to him like this" Sejal was angry
"I don't understand why you are making such a big deal out of it? Even we got to know this yesterday. This is the biggest embarrassing moment for me. Still, we are accepting the news. What is the fuss? If anything you should be happy considering both of you managed to get hitched to these influential men"
For the first time, Riddhima faced Mehta's children. Both his children stared angrily at Sejal and Gagan.
"I mean that is your sister who decided to whore herself out otherwise we would never be in this situation" Mehta's daughter continued
"Just like your father who likes to whore himself to every other girl he comes across right? What with three wives and countless affairs?" Riddhima snapped at her.
There was a stunned silence. No one spoke. Vansh was shocked at Riddhima's reply. He never imagined her saying something so nasty. He must say he was proud.
Mehta's daughter flushed and Gagan's face turned puce with rage and frustration, nothing was going as per plan.
Riddhima wanted to shake her sister and make her see sense. 'The man will not marry her. Even if he does, he will make Sejal's life miserable and look at his family, they will never accept Sejal. She knew that she was fighting a losing battle. Still, she will make one last attempt'
"Sejal" she pressed her sister's hand. Her eyes turned glassy.
"For once think what Ma and Papa would have said about this if they were alive...They would never accept this"
Sejal's face crumbled for a moment before she snatched her hand back.
"Well they are not here Riddhima! And this is my life. I will make decisions that will benefit me. You are just jealous because I got the rich man and now you can't flaunt all the gifts before me"
"So this is your last decision?" Riddhima's gaze hardened when Sejal pressed herself closer to Mehta
"Fine. Don't call me your sister till you decide to dump this crap. You don't have a sister anymore. I am coming home tomorrow. I will take away half the possession that we own. And whatever investments we have together, I want my half share back. Also, I want one of the gold chains left by our mother" Riddhima declared
Sejal gaped at her, wanting the share. 'She is asking for her right in all the family possessions?' She had not expected this, agreed they did not have much, to begin with, but whatever they had it was always hers. Riddhima never claimed anything if Sejal wanted something...She never thought Riddhima would take such a drastic step.
"Riddhima" Sejal called her in disbelief
"Mark my words Sejal.You are going to regret this." Riddhima slammed the door behind her. She didn't see if Vansh was following her. This place was suffocating her. She wanted out...
*****
'What is taking her so long? She should leave to collect her belongings by now,' Vansh thought restlessly.
He could not sleep with her last night because she didn't sleep at all. He tried to sneak into her room two times. Both the times she made him leave asking if he frequently visited her room at night? He was stumped. What was he supposed to say? After that, she locked her room. Agreed he had a spare key and he can easily enter her room but he didn't wish to upset her more. She was sad and angry, and he didn't like to see her sad. Still, he tried to console her.
"Don't be sad. Sejal is not worth it. You have me" apparently it was the wrong thing to say.
"She is my sister! How can you say this? What would you do if your sisters decided to act like this? Will you sit and watch while she destroys her life?" Riddhima questioned him but even as she said this he saw understanding dawn on her face, he didn't care. Didn't he prove that already with Ishani's matter?
He shrugged "Exactly"
Relationships, he had never been one to believe in relationships, and family for him had been nothing but an extra nuisance. Something that he has to showcase before the world but doesn't care if they leave him alone as long as they do not interfere in his work.
Even for Angre, he won't care if Angre decides to leave him and go away with Ishani someday. He had built his team from scratch and he would do that again. As long as he was concerned everyone in his world was replaceable except Riddhima.
It's not like he didn't care for Aangre. He did. Aangre was the only one who has reached somewhere close to the friend category. He and Pasha were one of the most trusted and loyal men he had ever come across. And he respects that...
Last night after getting locked out of her room he took out her phone which he had hacked. He was sure she was going to reach out to her friends. As expected she called Nia at 2 AM. She explained what all happened at the party.
He had to admit they were good friends, always ready to help his Riddhima and he would have appreciated that if they were not trying to help her get away from him. Nia pulled Sahil on the call. Riddhima was not speaking to him. Obviously, because the last time they had spoken to each other, Sahil had tried to tell her to accept the current circumstances and move on...Vansh was impressed but Riddhima didn't share the same sentiments. He had dropped several texts after to apologize but she ignored them.
He heard their call, Nia being the voice of reason for once trying to calm his doll, which worked. This girl, Nia had some sort of invisible hold on Riddhima and Vansh didn't like it.
Nia agreed to let her keep her stuff at her father's apartment...He scoffed as if he would let her do it. If Riddhima wants anything then he is going to provide it. No one else is allowed to do that period.
He waited in the living room. He had to postpone his plan with Ahana because he realized if both the truth were presented to her back to back. Kabir's acts may take a backseat in her mind as her focus will only be on her sister.
Finally, he saw her. She wore simple blue jeans and a halter neck top. Her eyes were red from a sleepless night and the long hours of crying. He felt a pang of guilt realizing she was yet to get hit by a few more storms.
'I am sorry Sweetheart' he thought silently
*****
He came out of DCP's office and slammed his hand angrily on the chair. Few of his colleagues looked at him bewildered but refrained from commenting.
Kabir went out and ordered tea from the tea stall. Sawant stood beside him, giving him silent company. Being called in the early hours of the morning, just to get antagonized for his lack of dedication to this case had left him feeling bereft. His lack of dedication? How dare he question his dedication to this case? This case meant everything to him. Maybe his one and only chance to get closer to Riddhima.
The one mission he had failed miserably at. He wanted to interrogate Riddhima just for the heck of it. He was sure if he could meet her, he can calm her anger. Though he was not sure, why didn't she want him to work on this case? That made him suspicious, was she hiding something?
He recalled the discussion he had with DCP,
"Mr. Sharma, it's been two weeks now, you don't have any solid lead in this case. Are you sure you can handle this?"
"Sir, I found out about kidnappers"
"Who is dead now. So that is not useful anymore. We have received a call from Mr. Raisinghania, he wanted to know the update on the case and expressed his concern that we might not be focusing our attention on it"
With huge efforts, Kabir stopped himself from lashing out at his DCP.
"Ragini and Sunny are on the run. We had their location confirmation but somehow they ran away. It's almost like they have some external help" Kabir frowned, remembering the Agarwal duo evading him for the fourth time in a row.
"I don't care if they have help or not. We want them to get caught or else I will have to assign this case to someone else." His DCP looked at him pointedly
Kabir gave a stiff nod. When he started to leave DCP called out
"Kabir, I don't know what interests you have in this case. you brought a recommendation letter from one of the VIPs so you can work on this case. Regardless, I have some advice for you. Do whatever you want as soon as possible because even if you have a recommendation always remember MR Raisinghania has connections with higher-ups. And he can throw you out of this case as and when he feels like it"
Kabir nodded and left. He had tried to get in touch with Riddhima but Vansh gave him a medical letter from a doctor which stated she needs rest and should not face something that may cause her distress. With no option left, he decided to question all the men who were there to save Riddhima.
He met Vansh, Angre, and Pasha in their office. Everyone had the same story to share except Vansh and Angre who were at the hospital.
"We followed Ragini and Sunny, but they were in a possession of a gun and shot one of their guards, and ran away"
He had interviewed each and every guard present there. He even interrogated the guard they claimed to have shot.
No this was a setup. He knew as much. No guard was shot. If anything he was sure, Vansh Raisinghania knew where the culprits were. He just couldn't point it out directly without any proof.
Then there was the matter of Sejal. He got the news from one of his men, Sejal getting engaged to Mehta at first he thought it was Rohan Mehta, but was shocked to learn it was Gagan Mehta. God what is wrong with that woman, he thought with disgust. Riddhima must be worried sick for her sister even though she does not deserve it. He wished he could take her in his arms once.
*****
None dared to look at Vansh as he stood on the executive floor. His face is deadly calm. This is the reason why no one should dare to lift a finger against VRS. Few gazed at Sejal in pity, few in glee, her friends stared at her fearfully but no one dared to help her...
"Please, I am not at fault. I didn't do anything" Sejal screamed
"Vansh you will regret this" Mehta threatened Vansh.
Police dragged them away...
Vansh relaxed in his chair as Angre locked his cabin
"Boss...Madam..."
"Not yet. You don't need to worry about this. Just work on other things. I would like to get that in motion as soon as possible"
"Sure Boss" Aangre left
It's been three days now since Riddhima begrudgingly brought her stuff to VR Mansion. Her possession was nothing extraordinary, he had given her more expensive things, so he could not understand her love for a few silly things. Riddhima said they were invaluable to her, so he offered her the room on the second floor to keep her stuff. Her bed, clothes, a few photo albums, old books, etc. In short, the room resembled her room in her previous flat...
She declined the staff's help to arrange the room and spent her whole day there arranging everything. Looking at her somber expression he gave her the key.
"This is your room, only you have access to it. But don't sleep here. Your bedroom is upstairs" he reminded her gently. Of course, she didn't need to know that he will always have a spare key.
She thanked him in a low voice and they started arranging the remaining stuff. At least she did not object when he tried to help.
She was out like a bulb by the time he took her in his arms...as it is she was a heavy sleeper on the top of that, he had specifically asked Mrs. D'souza to add a sleeping pill in her water. He didn't want her to spend any more sleepless nights.
He could not resist as he saw her peaceful, innocent face. Her lips parted a little. She wore the same pajamas. Sad he would have preferred that nightdress today. Regardless it did not deter his perusal of his beautiful fiance. If she woke up at the moment she will scream bloody murder he thought as he hovered above her body peppering kisses along her jaw and neck. He was hard. He opened the second button of her shirt. His hand wrapped around his dick over his shorts and his other hand moved to touch her waist under her shirt, as he pecked her lips lightly. He groaned wishing she was awake. He never did something like this ever in his life, he preferred bed partners who were more willing and definitely not sleeping. This was a new low for him. Did he regret touching Riddhima inappropriately in her sleep, hell no? This was his guilty pleasure. One he intended to enjoy till the time she accepts their relationship.
He fell above her as he found his relief, mindful of not crushing her completely under his weight.
"Look Sweetheart what you made me do. Why won't you accept me already? Then I won't have to touch you in your sleep" he grinned with a mad glint in his eyes imagining her reaction just in case she woke up suddenly.
'Fuck his life! he was hard again, just thinking about last night. He was acting like a horny teenager since Riddhima entered his life. The only difference, he didn't need to watch porn to get his relief. Only staying with Riddhima can achieve that goal
He can't wait to get married to her, but he was postponing that day, hoping that when he finally sets the date of their marriage, she will be a happy bride...
*****
It has been three days since she brought her stuff back albeit reluctantly, but she was grateful to Vansh that he gave her this separate room just for her stuff. He even helped her arrange the stuff and even though she was uncomfortable with him looking at her private possession, she didn't say anything because she knew he wouldn't listen and she didn't have the energy to fight.
This room had become her sanctuary for the past three days. It made her feel closest to the life she had...
She took out the photo of her mother's family which she had kept hidden in the pillow cover. Yesterday, when her gaze was riveted on this picture, Vansh had asked her what she was looking at. She had hidden this photo. He had looked at her suspiciously but didn't comment anything and she was relieved that for once he let go...
She had seen her mother crying sometimes when she missed her family. Sejal didn't wish to keep this one and only photo. Sejal hated them, and she was right in doing so, she could never forget those days when her Mama came to visit and insult her mother for being a disgrace to the family. Neither can she forget her own grandfather screaming at his mother or calling colorful names to her father. The last she met them was on the third day after their parent's death and that was...the chain of her thoughts got broken by a loud knock.
"Riddhima" Sia knocked urgently
Riddhima hurriedly kept the photo away and opened the door
"What's wrong, all okay?" Riddhima asked her hurriedly
Sia looked at her with worry and sadness. "Maybe you should see this for yourself"
"What? What's wrong? What happened?" Riddhima followed Sia towards the lift, continuously questioning the latter. They reached the living room.
"This happened" Ishani drawled out in a bored tone and gestured at the TV
The TV was on, everyone including some staff was watching the breaking news
"Industrialists and businessman Gagan Mehta and his fiance Sejal Shastri are arrested for fraud, theft of a company project."
The next line followed "Sejal Shastri also known as VRS's to be sister in law was caught for stealing the amount of RS 5 cr. She transferred the company money by unethical means to her personal bank account"
The next line followed " Will VRS still marry Dr. Riddhima Shastri. We tried reaching him but he was unavailable for comment"
"Rohan Mehta assured that someone is trying to blame his father and he will get his father out of this mess"
"We have one more breaking news. Videos viral" the TV reporter was saying forcefully. A video was played "Here we can clearly see Sejal Shastri handling over VR corporation documents to Gagan Mehta"
She could feel Sia pressing her palm silently. Maybe she was trying to assure her everything will be okay but She was numb...
Vansh walked in, his cold gaze softened as he saw Riddhima's shocked and scared face before he masked it. He gave her a long searching look for a minute and left for his own room. Riddhima will find him after her shock wears off...
*****
Note:
Hey All! How are you?
I know I know, I said the update will be on 3rd, but it got delayed, sorry for that.
Let me know your views on this update. I like reading all the comments.
Hope you enjoy the update
Next Update: Definitely not on Sunday, I will try to update by next Wednesday