Being assured about Arjun’s confinement, Aarav comes to his bedroom. It’s a lazy afternoon. Ideal for unwinding at home. However, he can’t afford this luxury. Aarav feels a bit jealous of Arjun. How peacefully he is sleeping.

“Lucky chap…”

He mumbles with a satisfied smile and sits on the stool kept in the bar corner. He turns a glass upside down and pours some whisky into it. Sipping on the liquor, he starts contemplating something.

“Arjun…it’s good that I got you before you reach Aditya, but that’s not enough, Bro. I know someday Aditya will find out who is behind all this. From you or any other source. I don’t doubt his smartness.”

A lopsided smile adorns his face. He murmurs,

“That’s why I have to be smarter. I can mute you anytime, Arjun, but I don’t want to. At least not now, because you can be useful to whom I can put all the blame if needed in future. You can consider yourself my safeguard whom I can use in need. Phew…”

He makes a pretentious tired sound and rounds on the stool. His eyes are flickering with a cunning smile.

“But right now, I have to shift my focus a bit to other people. Nandana and SP Apoorva Bhosle. It’s been a long time, Nandana; I haven’t heard from you, Sweetheart. I know how desperately Aditya is trying to keep you away from Bhosle. But what to do? This meeting is needed for my next plan.”

Aarav raises the glass and looks at the floating ice cubes in the alcohol while concluding in a hissing voice,

“Try, Aditya, try! But…this time you will lose this game. Nandana will slip from your grip…slowly…slowly, and I will enjoy your defeat…ha…ha…ha…”

He laughs and takes out the mobile from his pocket. He searches for Nandana’s number. He saved it as ‘Pawn’. A pawn to checkmate his friend Aditya or to destroy an enemy. Who knows? Aarav chuckles slyly. It didn’t take long, and Nandana picked the call up. They exchanged their numbers on the day they met at the mall. Or at least, that's what Nandana thinks. In reality, Aarav had already obtained her number. How else could he be the unknown admirer or the villain in her life?

“Hello!..”

Aarav makes his voice sugar-coated.

“Yeah…Nandana…I am good…what about you?...Good…good…No…no…I wanted to talk to you only. Aditya and I talk almost every day…and to be frank, he is very boring…ha…ha… okay, jokes apart. Actually, Aliya wanted to meet you. She always complains that after that party, you both haven’t met again… Oh, really? Then she would be the best option for you. As you know, she is a nutritionist, and trust me, I am not praising her because she is my fiancée. She is really good. You can’t believe I lost 7 kgs in 3 months without any exercise, just by following her diet chart. You definitely should consult her… Oh, come on! You are like family. You don’t need an appointment. I am sending you her number; just call her and land up there…right…and don’t delay…go today only because she is going out of the city tomorrow for a week…yeah…what’s the need to tell Aditya? You know him…how hyper he is. He will ask so many questions and will put so many conditions. It’s better if you just show him the result. I am sure after following Aliya’s diet, you will be more fit, healthy and attractive…enough to attract Aditya more…ha…ha… forgive my lame jokes. I am sending you her number. Meet her…yeah…Anytime…anytime…bye…all the best.”

Aarav cuts the call. A triumphant grin creeps on his lips. He forwards Aliya’s number to Nandana and utters to himself,

“Women are always dissatisfied with their weight. Now, who will tell Nandana that men love voluptuous women more…tch…tch…okay, now, the next step. Let me call Bhosle.”

He connects SP Bhosle’s number.

“Hello, Mr Bhosle! How are you?... I am good…I am good. Actually, I called you as you asked once if I could remember anything important about that party night…Well, I have almost told you everything, but one thing slipped my mind. That night, Nandana, I mean Aditya’s wife seemed very disturbed, and Aditya, as usual, was pressuring her to tell the reason. However, she didn’t say anything, and after that, Aditya and Aryan got into a verbal fight that I told you about already. Actually, that day we all met Nandana for the first time, and naturally, none of us considered it correct to ask her anything personal. In fact, Aliya noticed her perturbation…but… anyway, today Nandana is meeting Aliya in her clinic…maybe they will open up to each other…you know, it takes time to be friends…Anyway, I think it helped you to figure out that we friends are very close, but still we maintain a line. Look, Mr Bhosle, it’s true that we are childhood friends and we know each other inside and out. But now we have grown up. Our lives have changed, and our priorities have changed because some new people have entered our lives. So, we stopped entering into each other’s lives unnecessarily. In a crisis, we stand with each other, but in private matters, we prefer to stay aside. Hope you understand…yeah…one more topic?...In Panchgani? And what is that?”

Bhosle’s words form deep lines on Aarav’s forehead. He tries hard to keep his tone normal and mouths,

“No problem…I will meet you tomorrow at your place. Fix the time and confirm. I will be there…sure…I will be happy to help you and your force…hmmm…have a nice day.”

He hangs up the call and keeps mum for some seconds. Every line of his face indicates that it was not expected at this moment. Aarav slowly rises from the stool and mumbles with a deep frown,

“Why are they reopening Mukti’s case?”

......................................

It’s 4:30 pm. Nandana is driving along the busy road of Manhattan. Her expression is mixed with myriad feelings: curiosity, independence, self-reliance, yet slight anxiety and guilt. Today she literally sneaked out of her home and disobeyed Aditya’s instruction for the second time. The first time, she went to the mall without guards. However, at that time, Aditya didn’t know about it. He instructed her to go anywhere with bodyguards and drivers. And today she avoided both. The irony is that once Aditya taught her to drive, but today, he will surely regret his decision. The thought brings a temporary smile to Nandana’s lips. In the next moment, she feels sad to take advantage of Aditya’s trust. However, it was necessary. For a few months, Nandana has been experiencing a lack of appetite, yet she is gaining weight. She knows that after childbirth, these kinds of problems are very common. She consulted her gynaecologist too, and she tested her hormone levels as okay. She only suggested consulting a nutritionist or dietician. Thankfully, Aarav suggested Aliya for this. Sometimes Nandana thinks Aarav shouldn’t belong to the Notorious 5 gang because he is too sober and grounded, unlike his other friends. Secondly, Nandana feels suffocated by the bodyguards who follow her everywhere. Third and most importantly, if she had taken the driver and guards, then Aditya would have known her destination, which she doesn’t want to expose right now. Aarav was right. Sometimes wives should surprise their husbands. The GPS girl announces,

“After 200 metres, take a left.”

Nandana glances at the GPS map and calculates that it will take another half an hour to reach Aliya’s clinic. Suddenly, the car gets a jerk on a speed breaker due to her lack of concentration and Mini, who was sleeping in her portable cot fastened to the passenger seat, wails. Nandana got Mini with her because she didn’t want to leave her at home. After that Lakehouse incident, she became a bit timid. Stretching her hand, Nandana touches her daughter, but Mini doesn’t get pacified. Being concerned, Nandana pulls up the car aside and unfastens herself to reach Mini properly. She must be hungry. Suddenly, a voice distracts her. She turns to the driver’s window glass. A person is tapping on the closed window. Nandana lifts Mini in her lap and rolls down the glass. The person bends to meet her face.

“Hello, Mrs Malhotra. We met again.”

His baritone voice makes Nandana’s breath hitch for a second. The person is smiling at her. Nandana presses Mini more tightly to her breast and greets the person meekly,

“Hello!”

“Can you give me a ride? I have something to discuss with you.”

The person utters. It sounded more like a command than a request. He gets into the car without waiting for Nandana’s permission. Being seated in the back seat, the person again instructs,

“Any café. I won’t take much time.”