6. Scandal & Heels

Linings stretched across Palak's forehead as a bead of sweat trailed down from her temple to her clavicle. Her breath was heavy, her pupils dilating. She sighed before continuing again, "I, Palak Naaz, the Chief Executive Officer of NYX, proclaim that all the scandals against me and Mr. Abhinav Randhawa are false rumors. Thank you."

As she stared at her laptop's screen, a conference was being held due to a scandal. There were several journalists, other CEOs, and Abhinav Randhawa.

A deep voice was heard from the speaker in her AirPods: "I, Abhinav Randhawa, the Chief Executive Officer of ELC, announce that Ms. Palak has nothing to do with me. We aren't business partners, nor are we acquaintances." He trailed off but then added, "...but even if I were dating her, it would be none of your concern."

His last sentence made its way to the headline of the Times of India.

Palak Naaz and Abhinav Randhawa spotted together at the haldi ceremony of Sameer Srivastava, the founder of Dorex (fashion line).

Is the news true? Both of them haven't confirmed anything officially yet. What do you all think?

#AbhiLak

The legendary CEO of an exclusive law firm, the one and only Abhinav Randhawa, says, "But even if I were dating her, it would be none of your concern," leaving the whole business world, including the youngest multimillionaire of India from a law firm, shocked.

Then Palak's P.A., Akshit, declared, "Me and Sarah will announce the news immediately."

"Sure, Mr. Mehra," said Sarah, Abhinav's assistant.

"Thank you for the meeting," Abhinav announced before ending the meeting.

Palak closed her laptop and groaned mentally. This is what you get when you have a dating scandal.

Swastika, who was just straightening her hair, asked her friend, "What happened?"

Palak plopped on the bed. "I got into a dating scandal."

Swastika's eyes widened. "What?! With who?!"

She rolled her eyes. "Abhinav Randhawa."

The straightener dropped, only supported by its wire. Swastika almost screamed. "Abhinav Randhawa, the ELC one?! Tell me everything." She put the straightener on the table. "Let me call Tripti and Veda too!" she added.

Swastika dialed Veda's number, and Veda picked up after three rings.

"Hello?" Veda's voice drawled over the phone.

"Listen, you both, Palak has some really good tea. Get over here, fast!" Swastika said while sitting on the bed.

"Aa rahe hain hum," Veda answered before hanging up.

She stretched her arms. "I've been taking phone calls since morning, I'm exhausted. Mr. Randhawa was surely fed up by the media."

"Wow, I mean, no one has seen his face before, yet he had such a huge impact on them. You must have heard his voice. Was it deep?" Swastika blushed.

Palak replied, "Only his close ones have seen him. From what I've heard, he's quite reserved, and almost nothing except his age and date of birth is on Google."

Just then, they heard a knock on the door. Palak went to answer it and saw Veda and Tripti. They came into the room and sat on the bed.

Veda tied her hair, her face glowing. "What happened? Tell us."

"See, when we were dancing with the guys, I think someone took a video and posted it online, and tomorrow that picture is all over the newspapers. So I think one of the boys is Abhinav. That's why I was so scandalized!" she explained.

The three of them looked at each other while Palak muttered curses. "Trust me, the whole time in the damn meeting, they kept asking him foolish questions, which made my blood boil for some reason."

"I would have paid a huge amount of money just to hear that meeting," Swastika said, while the others chuckled.

"Today's the wedding, yaar. I can't believe Meher is getting married!" Tripti declared.

Veda glanced at her phone. "Chalo, let's get ready, it's already 4 PM."

☆

SWASTIKA

The girls and I stepped out of the taxi and reached a palace.

Rao Mahal.

The most expensive Mahal in all of Pushkar. Rao Mahal is the perfect example of Indo-Islamic architecture, built by Rao Adhirit Singh when the Raos still ruled Rajasthan.

As they stepped inside, they were fascinated by the way the Mahal glinted under the warm yellow lights scattered around, with the moonlight falling over the ground.

In the middle of the hallway was the mandap, where Meher and Sameer sat.

I quickly walked over. When I was close enough to hear their conversation, I heard Sameer say, "...He can't even find it."

I asked them, "What happened?"

Sameer looked at me. "I sent Darsh to bring a family heirloom. My mother gave it to me to give to my wife, and that bastard can't find it."

I smiled and said, "Koi baat nahi, I'll go check for it."

Meher gave me the most heart-melting smile, and Sameer just gazed at her. Bas is tarah ka pyaar.

I nodded and walked towards Sameer's room, which was on the groom's side.

Laughter and gossip filled the air as kids ran around the hallway.

When I reached Sameer's room, I opened the door and saw Darsh sitting on the bed, his head hung low.

My heels clicked against the peach-colored marble floor as I went toward him. "Mr. Darsh?"

He looked up, and my eyes met his red, swollen ones. I quickly bent down to reach his eyes. "Mr. Darsh, what happened? Why are your eyes red? Did you cry?"

His Adam's apple bobbed, and I gulped at the sight. "I..." He hiccupped. "I can't find the heirloom."

I patted his back. "Don't worry, we will find it together. Stop crying."

He smiled softly and wiped his tears. "Thank you, Ms. Swastika."

I reciprocated his smile. "Let's go, shall we?"

He nodded and stood, his body towering over me.

I pulled my lehenga a bit to walk and went toward Sameer's wardrobe. When I was about to open it, Darsh spoke again. "I've already checked there."

I turned back and saw him staring at me.

My lips parted. "So, where should we check?"

His eyes moved to my hair (straightened and open).

"Nice hairstyle," he complimented.

"Thank you," I grinned.

He cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. "I think we should go back and tell them we can't find it."

I nodded. "Sure." As I pulled my lehenga a bit again, I stumbled. The sickening sense of no longer being supported by my feet took over. I heard a crack.

Shit. Before I could process what was happening, I felt an arm prevent me from falling.

Darsh's cologne reminded me of fresh lavender, but with a hint of spice.

I looked down and saw that my favorite YSL heels had broken.

Toota hua saaz hun main.

"Shit," I muttered before sitting down to examine my right heel.

Darsh leaned in. "Your heel is broken. Let me buy you a new pair."

My gaze snapped to him. Eyes wide, I looked up and said, "Oh--shit--no. I mean, I'd really love a new pair of heels, but thank you a lot, Mr. Agnihotri." I stood and bowed to him.

"Shut up, Miss Swastika, you're being way too kind. Take it as a gift," he said and took out his phone. I glanced at his cover-it was cherry red, with "sniper sniper sniper sniper" written in the corner. But when my gaze traveled back to his face, he said, "Hope my future girlfriend or wife will love to match with me."

I cracked a smile. "I'm pretty sure she'd love that."

I glanced at my phone and then looked at him. "It's already been half an hour, let's go. They must be waiting."

He put his phone back in his pocket and straightened his jacket with deliberate care. "Sure."

As we walked toward the mandap and where his friends were, he spoke. "You will receive a Christian Louboutin package the day after tomorrow. Make sure to wear it to university the next day." He winked.

Before I could say anything, he added, "And don't freak out because I know your address."

"You don't," I replied, my voice tight.

A smirk grew on his face before it quickly disappeared. "Oh..." He took a step toward me and leaned in to whisper in my ear, "I do know a lot of things about you, Noor"

-

hi ! I noticed I hadn't gave our darsh and swasti much screentime so yeah ;)

I hope yall love it AND vote it if you want (comments kardo yaar)

Plus this is the longest chap I've ever wrote till now so😭

byeee<3<3