As RK absentmindedly swirled his tumbler within his hands, the amber liquid within it swirled as well, the ice within it clinking. But the sound of it did nothing to snap RK from his thoughts.
All RK could think of was how the woman with the very filmy name had been crying, that too, because of him. It truly was strange - just the other night she had been yelling at him, calling him insolent and other names. Yet here she was the very next day, crying because she had felt bad about what she had said. Sure, she hadn't been crying over the name-calling, but rather because she had learned about his father.
"I'm so sorry... I'm really sorry."
RK took a sip of his drink, the cool liquid rushing down his throat.
"I didn't know, I'm so sorry."
He refilled the tumbler with more whiskey.
"You didn't deserve to lose your father like that."
RK paused for a moment, then placed the bottle down and looked at the amber liquid within the tumbler. Again, those horrible memories from his past played in his mind, haunting him and making his mostly-stone heart ache. Whatever bit that hadn't turned to stone yet was simply because of the painful memories. It just wouldn't let him fully turn into stone, taunting him with the pain it provided so that he would never stop feeling it.
"RK? RK snap out of it! I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have said any of those things, I'm truly sorry! RK- Rishabh!"
RK snapped out of his memories and looked at the tumbler he had been gripping onto tightly.
People rarely call me that.
"Chief..."
RK glanced at Bittuji from the corner of his eye as he entered the bar area.
"Dinner is ready and it's all been placed on the table."
He simply waved his hand in acknowledgement.
"Um, chief, there was another matter I needed to talk to you about."
"Are you waiting for the moon to come out and then tell me," he said sarcastically. "What is it," and he took a sip.
"Chief, an inspector from the Delhi police called."
RK didn't even need to hear the rest of it to know what Bittuji was going to say next; it was so predictable.
"Apparently, they raided some shady gentleman's club, and once again-"
"Kulbhushan 'Kuku' Bhatia and Sikandar 'Sikki' Bhatia of the Bhatia Group of Badmaash Company were caught," RK completed.
"Exactly, chief."
Idiots. "Well?"
"I handled it already so the media will know nothing happened."
As expected. "Good."
"We're lucky the inspector called me first thing, but how long will we keep getting lucky for? At one point or another they will get caught-"
"Better if they did," RK said, turning in his stool to face Bittuji. "Maybe once my so-called stepfather and so-called stepbrother get publicly shamed, they'll learn. Then again, what shame can you expect from rats? They're attracted to garbage no matter what."
Bittuji pursed his lips as they formed a smile, nodding.
RK let out a sigh. "Not even under the same roof, yet still a nuisance. Well, it's still better than the Bhatia Group of Badmaash Company being here," and he took a swig of his drink.
"How very true, chief," Bittuji chuckled.
"Continue keeping an eye on them. The last thing I need is some stupid gossip column picking up their bullshit and then stringing me to it," RK scowled.
"Of course, chief."
"That's all for tonight Bittuji, go home."
Bittuji nodded, then headed out. Taking his tumbler with him, RK headed to the dining room. All of the food was spread out on the table, ready to be eaten by him. A few workers stood nearby in case he needed anything while he ate, and when he was done, they quickly cleared the table and cleaned up, then went home for the night, locking up behind.
RK made his way into his room and got ready for bed. Once he was all changed up, he made himself comfortable under the covers and turned off the lights. However, RK found himself staring up at the ceiling in thought. In fact, he was thinking of the woman with the very filmy name and how she had been crying earlier.
What an odd woman, he thought to himself. How does one go from insulting a person, and then crying over that very same person? She's absolutely crazy, this Madhubala.
The image of her from the first time he had seen her filled his mind, remembering her each and every expression. He even remembered the way she had tried to admonish him just the other day.
You truly are something else, Miss Madhubala Shamsher Malik. No one else has dared to speak to RK the way you did. And those who attempted to have been completely ruined by me.
A smug smirk took over his lips.
What should I do to you?
But then he remembered the way she had cried to him earlier, bringing back that small pang in his heart.
Fine - despite what people may think of me, I'm not that terrible of a monster. You realized your mistake, so for that, I won't have you fired from my movie... for now.
Another image of Madhu took over his mind, from when he had glanced over at her and seen her smiling brightly with his co-star. In fact, he'd seen her smiling with others on several occasions. For the most part she always had a smile on her face.
That is, except when she was around him.
Why am I even thinking of her? Do I have some form of brain damage? Enough RK, stop thinking about her and go to sleep, and he cleared his mind and dozed off to sleep.
*~*
The following day when RK arrived on set, he had made it a rule with himself that he would not think of the woman with the very filmy name, because unfortunately for him, as soon as he had woken up, the first thing he had thought of was her. It truly irked him that that had happened, and so he had warned himself.
For some time, he was doing just fine, focusing on the script and preparing to deliver his lines. However as soon as his costar came on set, so did the woman with the very filmy name, and his eyes had immediately trailed to her - only to find that hers were already on him. RK inwardly smirked to himself, unable to help it.
It's the RK affect, sweetheart, he thought to himself smugly, as he looked back at his script. Everyone eventually becomes a fan of RK's.
However, that was nowhere near the reason why Madhu had been looking at him. She still felt truly bad about her comment on the topic of his parents. It ended up being a lower dig than she had intended - not that she even liked the fact that she had given a low dig. Normally she wasn't one to say anything, but when pushed to her limit, she was more than ready to stand up for herself, which is exactly what she had done. It was just unfortunate that it had gone further than she had intended.
If I get the chance to talk to him, I'll apologize once more, Madhu thought to herself. Maybe he'll forgive me, and I can give his handkerchief back.
Except the chance never came. Unlike the past few days where RK just kept popping up out of nowhere, now RK was nowhere to be seen - except on set, that is, but that was hardly the place to speak. Days went on by, and since there hadn't been any filming scheduled on weekends, Madhu would have to wait for that to pass so that she could hopefully see him at work the following week. Unfortunately for her, the next few weeks went on by, and she didn't get the chance to apologize to him.
Unbelievable, Madhu thought to herself. Whenever I didn't want to see him, he always popped up! Now that I actually want to speak to him, he's nowhere to be seen? Ridiculous!
"Ah! Miss Madhu..."
Madhu turned around to the sound of her name and saw Mr. Khanna. "Khanna Saab, how are you?"
"I'm good, how are you? I hope you're enjoying the job."
"It's definitely completely different than anything I've ever done before, and I mean that in a really good way," she smiled.
"Well I'm happy to hear that! And finally, after your first two weeks of hard work, you'll finally be getting your first paycheck tomorrow."
Madhu nodded. "It almost feels unreal; like I'm dreaming."
"Not the case at all Madhu; this most definitely is real. Although I must admit, it's a little strange to hear."
Madhu tilted her head with a small frown.
"What I mean is, most people in or out of the industry dream of being on the big screen, and after it happens do they feel something like that. Yet here you are, satisfied with a paycheck from a simple makeup artist job."
"Mmm, I wouldn't say it's all that simple; a talent is needed," she teased lightly.
"Good point," he chuckled lightly.
"And truth be told, I don't care for nor dream of some large sum of money being given from some big contract as some hotshot film star. Making enough to help my family is more than enough for me, and that's exactly what's happening."
Mr. Khanna smiled at her. "Well said, Miss Madhu. Well said."
Madhu simply smiled in return.
"It's truly commendable; I don't think there's many people these days who care so much for their family the way that you you do. Most can only think of breaking them."
Madhu pursed her lips together as she glanced down at the floor.
"Well, let's not get into the negative of things. And oh, by the way, you are aware that there is an overnight shoot tomorrow, yes?"
"Yes, Sir," Madhu nodded.
Mr. Khanna opened his mouth to say something, when he spotted the hero. "RK!"
Madhu turned around to see RK, who had been heading to go back to his trailer. RK looked at Mr. Khanna and immediately spotted Madhu beside him.
"Apologies, Madhu," Mr. Khanna said, "there's some things I need to discuss with RK."
"Not a problem at all," she smiled, and Khanna excused himself, making his way to RK.
Madhu watched as the two men spoke.
I just wanted to properly apologize but I can't even get a chance to speak with him. And then there's other people, just easily being able to.
RK glanced over at Madhu from the corner of his eyes, finding Madhu fiddling with her makeup kit, looking somewhat irked as she looked off to the side.
What has her irritated now, he wondered.
Since there was no chance of her speaking with him, Madhu left, preparing to head home. It was fortunate that she'd be able to sleep in tonight, given that the shift was scheduled at 10 PM. In fact she looked forward to it, given the early days she'd been having for the past couple of days.
Madhu was heading home when she overheard Mr. Mishra talking to someone.
"...good, and we'll need some extras for the engagement sequence, don't forget the dancers for the song sequence either."
Extras? Dancers?
Madhu instantly thought of her sister.
"Check with the agency tomorrow."
The person nodded, then left. Mr. Mishra turned to leave, when he spotted Madhu. "Madhu! How are you?"
Madhu snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Mr. Mishra. "Mishra Saab, I'm good. How are you?"
"So far so good, things are going smoothly fortunately," he chuckled. "Looking forward to sleeping in tonight, lord knows I need it. Excited about tomorrow?"
"Yeah, it'll be my first overnight shift ever."
"Well, there's a first time for everything. The crew will be a little smaller tomorrow, but not like that. You have to make Navisa look absolutely stunning tomorrow, more stunning than usual!"
"Tomorrow's scene is that important, I'm assuming?"
"A declaration of love will be happening, as well as some heartache, so yes, indeed."
"Oh wow, sounds exciting!"
"Hopefully it will be, and hopefully the audience will love it."
"I'm sure it will be," Madhu grinned. "I look forward to it."
"Great! See you tomorrow Madhu- oh by the way..."
Madhu frowned at him slightly.
"By any chance is your sister looking for work?"
Madhu's face instantly lit up. "Yeah, she is actually."
"I'm looking for extras for a future scene we'll be shooting. I'm having a roster compiled; seeing you just now reminded me of your sister."
"I'm sure she'd love to do it!"
"Great! I'll have my people reach out to her about it. Have a good night Madhu, see you tomorrow."
"You as well, Sir," she beamed, then left.
"Oh my gosh, Deedu is going to be so happy when she finds out," Madhu beamed to herself. "She's going to lose her mind-! Wait a minute," and her excitement dissipated, Madhu pausing in her tracks. "I'm talking to myself again. And in the past when I've spoken to myself, that's somehow managed to have been caught by that arrogant asshole. What? Is he not going to pop up this time," she scoffed to herself, humored.
"Ironic, isn't it?"
At this point, Madhu could no longer feel shocked, but she did turn around so she could face the arrogant asshole.
"Somehow, I just manage to catch it," RK smirked at her.
Madhu could only scowl at him.
"Do you always talk yourself," he asked, teasing.
Madhu gave a fake grin. "What are you doing here?"
RK frowned at her, though he was grinning. "I believe I was just leaving work," he said, holding his hands out as he looked around. "Just like you- well, not exactly like you cause I'm not talking to myself like a mad man."
Madhu instantly scowled at him but RK just smirked at her.
"And here I was, feeling bad about that day," Madhu said, still looking at him.
RK arched his brow at her.
"Well, for the comments on your parents, that I do feel bad for," and she looked him in the eye. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
RK just looked at her.
"If I had known about your father.... Anyways, for that I'm sorry. As for the other stuff I said, well, that I won't be apologizing for; you are egoistic and insolent."
RK could only smirk at her, absolutely entertained.
Spinning around on the heels of her feet, Madhu turned to walk away, her long hair whipping around with her and hitting RK. He slightly turned his face away, but he hadn't been able to fully avoid its silky feel against him. RK watched her as she left, watching her hair bounce behind her as she did. It clicked in RK's mind that this was actually the first time Madhu had her hair out. Usually it would be tied back or in a braid, but never had she had her hair fully out like this before, and it was straight today.
I wonder what the occasion was, he thought to himself.
The reality was that there wasn't, Madhu and and Trishna just testing out a new straightener Trishna had purchased, so they had wanted to see how well it worked on Madhu's curls - which turned out be perfectly fine given that a certain superstar had noted it after a full shift of filming.
Why am I even noticing it?
Why indeed?
But that was a question that would have to be answered later in time.
~
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