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Taranya

"Tara, we're going live soon." The assistant director informs. I pull away from the make up artist and nod at him, giving him a thumbs up before sending away the make up artist with a thank you.

"Looking good?" I ask the cameraman.

He confirms with a nod.

The assistant director claps his hands, silencing the studio. "Alright, going live in three, two, and one!"

The teleprompter comes to life. I plaster a professional smile on my face.

"Namaste, welcome to Bharat Newsline. It's 10 am in the morning. I'm Taranya Singh Chauhan. We'll get you all the new stories we are tracking this morning, including the situation on the ground in Kashmir and also the aftermath of the cyclone, but first let's take a quick look at the headlines." I take a breath, before continuing.

"Automatic weapons fired in Kashmir violence. Mobs vandalised the armoury and set houses on fire. Security Forces including Assam rifles and the Army hold flag marches in the capital."

"Chaudhary's Bhartiya Janata Dal to hold mega plenary today. Office bearers to meet ahead of foundation day."

My attention divides between the teleprompter and the Chief Editor who comes rushing in through the double doors. I don't pull my eyes off the screen as I continue giving the headlines, but I'm sure I'm about to need improvisation. As soon as the thought processes in my head, Mr. Khemwal, the assistant director informs me through the bluetooth earpiece about the big breaking news I need to give immediately.

I send him a quick nod and he pats the broadcast technician's back, leaning down to the line of computers they work on. The teleprompter displays the news item I'm needed to deliver and I stop giving the headlines after the fifth.

"We'll resume the headlines shortly after but there's a big breaking news we've just received. Income Tax department raids...... Rajawat Corporation's Rajawat Motors over tax evasion allegations." I finish off in shock, glancing towards my bosses who prompts me to continue through the shock. "The CEO and Managing Director of the billion dollar business empire, Mr. Shourya Singh Rajawat has been taken for interrogation this morning." My heart almost stops. The teleprompter switches back to the main headlines. "We'll keep giving you the updates but for now, let's go through the remaining headlines."

For the next fifteen minutes until the first break, I'm forced to sit through the shock of my husband's arrest as I professionally continue my role of a news reporter.

"What the fuck?" I leap off the chair and leave the desk side, exiting the set as soon as the cameras go off. "Where's my bag?" I demand. Nitya brings me my phone and I unlock the device, ignoring the multiple pair of eyes lingering on me curiously. I dial Rudra's phone number and the call goes through but he doesn't pick up. "Fuck!" I rake a hand through my open hair. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" I pace back and forth in front of the vanity chair, redialling my husband's number. From the peripheral vision, I see Mr. Khemwal approach me. "You're heartless!"

"I'm sorry," he whispers, "I had no choice. Is he picking up?"

I shake my head. "No, he isn't. Jesus Christ, I'm losing it!" My hand trembles violently. The phone slips and clatters to the ground.

"Are the allegations true?" A new, familiar voice questions.

I shoot the Chief Editor, my immediate boss a glare. "Of course not!" I grumble furiously. He holds up his hands in surrender. Scrolling through the endless list of my contacts, I find Yuvraaj's and hit the call button.

Thankfully, he answers on the first ring.

"Bhai-"

"Calm down. It's a part of the plan."

The hunch in my shoulders drop. "Oh,"

"Yeah, I saw the news. I'm sorry you had to find out that way."

I nod, remembering he can't see me and force myself to reply. "Is he okay?" I move to the corner to continue privately. "Will he be fine? Why didn't you guys tell me? I could have been prepared. Do you know how shocking it was to give the news of your husband's arrest live on a tv channel?" I accuse softly.

"He's not arrested. They simply took him for interrogation." He replies.

I lean my shoulder on the wall. "Will the allegations be proved?"

"Maybe, but not against him. He took the position of CEO this year, and the tip they received isn't concrete enough to convict him." Yuvraaj explains, slowly soothing my anxiety back to sleep. "Niharika is there with him as his lawyer. She'll get him out before the sun falls. Don't worry. And don't panic. Everything will be fine."

"Okay, if you say so," I whisper.

"I'm sure your boss will ask you to clock out early today, so head to Veer Mahal. Rajawat Palace has been seized too."

"What about the Chairman?"

"He's there, and I'm sure he's reaching out to higher authorities to dismiss the allegations. The FIA are on their way here. He can't afford postponing the launch."

"But what if-"

"Let's not talk over the phone. I'll be home this afternoon. Finish off your work and return to Veer Mahal. Okay?"

"Yeah, fine," I answer.

"I'll see you later. Bye."

"Bye," hanging up, I push the phone in my trousers pocket and rub my hands on my face, giving my hair a gracious shake so they regain the volume. Turning around, I head back into the sea of questioning faces and curious eyes. "How much time until the break ends?"

"A minute." Mr. Khemwal replies.

"I'll finish the time slot and then clock out."

"Are you sure? You can go now. It's fine." He suggests.

"No, work is work." With that, I reclaim my position back in front of the camera.

I get done with work at eleven thirty. Nitya follows me to the vanity room, helping me pack up so I can leave early. She says something but I miss it.

My eyes flicker towards her through the mirror. "Sorry?"

"I asked, are you really okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I dismiss with a wave of my hand. "Perks of coming from a rich family. You just get used to these things. Did you know we bet on who's getting the next IT raid at their house during our dinner discussions?" I probe sarcastically. She stares at me stunned. I chuckle. "Just kidding. Humor is a good coping mechanism. I'm actually losing my shit." She smiles in amusement.

"You're a strange woman." She puts my cosmetics in my tote bag. "But I'm glad you're holding up. I've seen your husband. And someone as good looking as him cannot do anything wrong." She nods, as though telling herself. "That's just not allowed."

"I know, right? Either you're good looking or you're a bad person. No in between."

She chuckles, slinging the tote bag on my arm. "Go now," she pushes me towards the door. "Call me if you need me."

I glance over my shoulder at her, "You mean that? There's a chance they'll suspect you."

She snorts. "Yes! Call me if you need me. My husband's a great lawyer. He may not be used to handling high profile cases, but I'm sure he'll help as much as he can. Now go!" She ushers me out with the wave of her hand.

"Thank you! Bye! I'll see you later!"

She nods.

Looking ahead, I step out and close the door behind me, ignoring the eyes and lips that gossip about me within their groups as I walk down the hallway. Pressing for the elevator, I grip the tote bag tighter, hoping nobody comes to me for a fresh, unfiltered scoop of the news.

"Uhm, Taranya,"

Spoke too soon.

I look parallel to my shoulder. Rekha stands there, smiling innocently. "Hi, are you okay? I heard the news and-"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I cut her off.

"Good to know," she nods. "Is it- is it true? I mean, of course it isn't but you know, once the public targets the rich it's impossible -"

The elevator dings open.

"I'm sure you'll know whether it's true or not soon. Excuse me." Saying that, I tune her out and step inside the elevator, facing the doors to press the ground floor button. The ladies behind me start to whisper among themselves, pulling out their phones, and I'm sure searching the latest news articles as they speak in my hearing range, as if I'm not standing right in front of their fucking faces.

Once the elevator opens, I stride out, avoiding the onlookers as they stare at me, and almost baulk in front of the glass doors when I see the mob of reporters crowding the entrance.

"Fuck," I whisper.

That's right. I should know I'll be the easy target for these motherfuckers.

Someone yanks me away from the transperant doors. I look down at the hand holding my wrist, and follow the arm to recognise the person. "Agastya?"

"Are you okay?" He asks once we're off the visibility range.

"What are you doing here?"

"Yuvraaj Bhai asked me to bring you back home. Where's your car?"

"In the parking lot." I answer.

His hand slips to interlace our fingers. "Okay, c'mon, my car is at the south exit." He takes the lead and I wordlessly follow. The guard opens the emergency gates for us, standing in attention to salute my brother and I. Agastya drops my hand in front of the car and I go past the bonnet to slide in. He takes the driver's seat and pulls off the car from near the pavement.

We drive in silence. But halfway through, Agastya notices my fidgety hands and reaches over the console to hold my hand in his. I grip it tightly. "Are you okay, short stuff?"

"A little scared." I finally admit.

"Scared of what?" He glances at me. "You know your husband has done nothing wrong. He'll be out before you know it."

I nod. "I hope so." I bring our interlaced hands to rest my forehead on. The restlessness in my stomach makes my heart race wildly. "What if they put the blame on him?" I muse anxiously. "What if they make him the scapegoat?"

"I'm sure that's not what will happen. Trust him and Yuvraaj Bhai. They'll sort it out." He reassures me.

I force myself to nod.

The large gates to Veer Mahal open. Agastya pulls away and I drop my hand to my lap as we enter the gravel driveway. The car stops in the porch. A guard rushes down to open the door for me. Thanking him, I wait for Agastya to join me. Inside the palace, I find the news channel broadcasting the news of the Income Tax raid on Rajawat Corporation.

"You okay?" Peeling my eyes off the screen, I watch Yuvaan get up from the couch and reach me for a side hug.

"I'm fine." I wrap my arms loosely around his waist. He presses a kiss to the crown of my head before steering me towards the couches. Janet picks up the remote to change the channel, but I hold up a hand. "Don't. I want the updates until Bhai returns home." She nods and drops the remote, pulling her knees back to her chest as she settles back in Ayush's arms. I sit down next to Arush. He pats my knee as a gesture of support. Yuvaan comes over and sits on the sofa chair while Agastya plops to my right.

"Do you think this will be enough to bring them down?" Agastya inquires.

"Nope. Not at all." Arush replies confidently. "Tax evasion charges are easy to brush off by showing loss reports and investment statements. Let's not forget who we're dealing against. It's the Rajawats. Something like this won't put a dent on their stock prices. But it's a good blow to begin with, that is if this doesn't end at it alone."

We all look at him in awe.

"Guys, I'm a businessman now." He reminds us in a deadpan.

Right.

We nod and look back at the screen.

Yuvraaj returns home in the afternoon. Vivaan tags along, with a man that looks very similar to Shourya with that mask and glasses. He removes his glasses, proving me right. "He'll be staying in Dad's room until everything goes back to normal." Yuvraaj informs us, nodding at Vivaan as a signal. The second eldest escorts the man to dad's room. Shourya follows, ignoring my presence like I'm not even there.

I don't let the thought bother me. Though Rudra told me to break every contact with the man, I cannot just forget he exists. Through the time we spent together, I formed a platonic keenship with him and I really treasured it.

"To my study," he glances at me and Arush. We both look at each other in confusion.

"Why can't we join?" Yuvaan gets up from the couch.

"Yeah, don't keep us out of the loop." Agastya states.

Yuvraaj shoves a hand in his pocket, regarding Yuvaan sternly. "What's your profession?"

"Ar- Artist," he stutters.

"And you?" Yuvraaj's attention shifts to Agastya.

"Uhm- uh, a wannabe lawyer?" He shrugs indecisively.

Janet snickers.

Agastya kicks her on the shin.

"That's right. None of you are qualified enough to join me for this discussion. So sit back down and watch the news for every new update." He instructs before stalking past us. Arush and I exchange hurried glances and follow him in a jiffy.

Arush lets me enter first and then closes the door after him. We both stand in front of my brother's desk, and I get reminded of all the times I've been here before, realising nothing except my age and relationship status has changed. This man still unnerves me when he goes into his elder brother slash ruthless businessman mode.

"Here you go," he takes out a pair of glasses from his pocket and puts them on the desk.

I lunge forward to grab them. "Yara?" I put them on and tap the right hinge. Neon blue glows across the borders as the AI activates itself. I push the ear bud into my ear and we connect wirelessly.

"Rudra wants you to keep them until this ends." Yuvraaj tells me. "Yara has been scheduled with multiple tasks, and he needs someone stable, someone responsible to keep him charged and connected with the database. You'll do that?"

I nod.

He picks up the manilla folder from the desk and removes a bunch of documents. "Arush, sign these papers for me."

Arush sits down on the chair and grabs the pen from the pen stand, reading through the pages carefully. "What-" he looks up at our brother in shock.

"Sign them." Yuvraaj repeats.

Arush sighs and starts signing in the signature boxes.

"That's all. You two can leave." Taking the papers back, he puts them in the manilla folder and reaches for the receiver. "Zoya, to Veer Mahal, now." Putting the receiver back, he looks up at us since we still haven't moved. "Go."

Arush and I usher each other out, pulling the door close.

"He still scares me." I mutter under my breath.

"Same." Arush shudders.

"What were those papers about?"

"In his absence, I'm to be considered as his replacement and given the equal power and responsibilities." He answers, throwing me a worried glance. "You sure he's fine?"

I shrug.

Arush rubs his nape frustratedly.

"Tara,"

I spin around in surprise. Shourya stands at the doorstep of my father's room.

"Can we talk?"

I glance at Arush. "Go, I'll join you guys later."

He nods and resumes walking. I enter the room with Shourya who closes the door and turns around to face me. Silence prevails. To avoid breaking the ice, I glance around the room, and stop at my mother's painting on the wall. My heart clenches.

"Are you going to apologise? Because I want to move on from this. You were a good friend."

I go stiff. "I-" I look at him, and the guilt thickens at the way he stares at me, like a vulnerable, lost, little kid. "I'm sorry, Shourya. I'm really very sorry. I had no right to play with your emotions like that. I'm so very sorry."

He nods. "He told me everything. So I understand why it happened, I just can't forget it. I can't forgive him."

I lick my dry lips, wringing my fingers together nervously.

"But I want to forgive you. Because through it all, you were there for me, and I felt the sincerity in your care for me." He adds, surprising me.

"Thank you,"

He shrugs.

"And I know we cannot be friends, considering the weird dynamics we three shared in the past. But I'd appreciate it if you don't severe the contact completely. You're the only person I still trust."

My heart warms at his confession. "Thank you so much. And I'm really sorry for everything that I did to you."

"It's okay." He whispers. "That's all I wanted to say," he adds after a beat of silence.

"Oh, okay, then I'll leave. You should rest." I move towards the door.

"I'm actually hungry," he shares, stopping me.

"Of course, I'll send someone with food. Just give me five minutes." I reply enthusiastically, "Excuse me." He smiles, and I smile back, stepping out of the room and closing the door after me. I exhale a deep breath of relief. Bless him for having a considerate mind. I cannot believe he wants to forgive me. But I'm not the one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

I head to the kitchen directly but frown upon seeing no staff.

"Where's the househelp?" I ask my brothers in the living room.

"Bhai sent them off on a paid holiday this morning. They're not returning for two weeks." Agastya answers.

"Who's gonna cook?" I ask no one in particular.

"You and Janet."

"God, you've such a sexist attitude!" Janet grumbles. "I'm not cooking for anyone." She declares.

"Agastya, out of everyone, you know cooking the best. Please help me in the kitchen. Shourya is hungry. It's almost two in the afternoon and we haven't had a grain in our stomachs."

He groans but gets off the couch, storming past me in the kitchen.

"Janet, to the kitchen now." I command.

She smacks her lips in irritation but doesn't put up any fight.

"And you three, arranging the dining table and washing the dishes will be your job." I tell the remaining three.

Ayush sends me a thumbs up. Yuvaan nods. Arush grumbles but doesn't say no.

While Janet chops for the gravies and salad, I prepare the dough for rotis and Agastya gets started with the two types of curries, both veg and nonveg to suit the food preferences in the house. It takes us two hours to prepare everything, and by the time we're done, the lunch might as well be the last meal of the day considering it's five thirty in the evening when we all sit down to feed ourselves. Yuvraaj doesn't join us. So I fill two plates, deliever one to his room, and the other to Shourya's room.

As I fill a spoonful of the soup, Vivaan's "What the fuck?" resonates across the dining hall.

We all stop eating. "What's wrong?" Yuvaan leans in worriedly.

Vivaan flips his phone screen to show us. My eyes pop out in disbelief. A video recording of Mankind Medicare's third floor plays on a loop.

"I thought Inayat destroyed that proof?" Ayush's head snaps to me.

I shake my head, having no idea myself. The tense silence breaks when we hear the sirens go off outside. Without a word, all of us leap off the chair and stride outside, stopping short at the sight of the cops that flood in, and my brother who stands in the middle of the living room.

"Mr. Yuvraaj Singh Chauhan, as the director of Mankind Medicare, you're under arrest for unethical human experimentations, child trafficking and organs smuggling." The senior inspector states. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?"

Yuvraaj nods.

Cuffs snap.

They drag my brother out.

I stand rooted to my place in shock.

What the fuck just happened?

Ooh, things are getting interesting

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