Chapter 27: chapter 27

"I have a few new potential buyers lined up…" Isha said, the aroma of the delicious dinner filling the air as Imara set the table for them.“Could we possibly arrange a meeting with them tomorrow?” Imara asked, her eyes gleaming with anticipation as she settled herself into the chair, ready to enjoy her guilt-free meal. The food before her, after all, was bought with her hard-earned money.“Absolutely! Let me send an email and find out the best time,” remarked Isha, swiftly typing away on her keyboard.Imara nodded in agreement. “Eat first, Ish,” she reminded her friend, her mouth still full of delicious rice.Isha savoured the aroma of the fragrant rice and dal before taking a mouthful, and a satisfied moan escaped her lips. She couldn’t help but comment, “I can imagine that once your mother-in-law tastes your cooking, she’ll have you busy preparing all three meals. By the way, how is she?”Without much thought, Imara shrugged and casually responded, “She’s nice. Cute. Understanding. Sweet.”Although Imara never mentioned it, Isha was well aware of the strict and orthodox nature of Dheeraj’s mother. Whenever she was brought up, Imara’s demeanour would turn serious, and even in her presence, Imara remained cautious. However, when Imara finally mentioned Adhiraj’s mother, Isha observed a subtle change in her expression.She herself held deep resentment towards the Rathores, much like Imara. Yet, Neel’s words lingered in Isha’s mind, persuading her to believe that Adhiraj could be the anchor that Imara needed. Perhaps he could fill the void that Dheeraj had left behind. Maybe he had the power to ignite the love Imara once had for herself.Therefore, Isha probed, “How is everybody else?”Imara was completely focused on food, feeling as though she hadn’t eaten in days. While greedily consuming another spoonful of rice, she responded, “His grandfather likes me for god knows what reason, even when I told him he was behaving like someone on steroids.”Amused, Isha chuckled, prompting Imara to continue sharing, “His father doesn’t like me. I can sense it. I haven’t had the time or desire to find out what his brothers think of me. Besides, they’re always too busy ogling my sisters whenever they are around.”Nodding in understanding, Isha waited for a while before asking, “How is Adhiraj?”“Asshole! Headache! He threatened me.” She paused abruptly, realising she had revealed more than intended.“What?!” exclaimed Isha, wide-eyed. “What did he do?”“He went as far as saying he would destroy Little Tyke if I tried to jeopardise his family’s reputation by moving out of this arrangement,” Imara clucked her tongue in response.“What? And you bought it? For God’s sake, Imara!” Isha exclaimed, her voice filled with a mix of anger and uncertainty as she reconsidered her thoughts about Adhiraj and her bestie.Imara rose from the chair, the worn wood creaking beneath her weight, and set aside the used dishes. She walked over to the sink to wash her hands. As she dried her hands on a faded dish towel, she looked at Isha and replied, “It wasn’t just about me, Ish. Little Tyke is your baby, too. It supports the livelihoods of several people. If he had threatened me with something that only affected me, I wouldn’t care. But I can’t risk other’s lives.”Isha shook her head, her words dripping with disbelief, “That’s such a dumb thing to do,” she said, placing her plate in the sink. “You are just too stupid for words. Seriously, start thinking about yourself for once.”Imara shrugged, her mind still consumed by the events of that day, replaying them over and over. The day was horrible. Ironically enough, her wedding day was horrible.Breaking her trance, Isha asked while rinsing her used plate in the sink. “And for how much longer will you continue with this?”“Until we fulfil our current and only order and receive the payment,” Imara responded.“Why does it even matter?” Isha asked, her voice filled with doubt.“That company, the one that promised to place our toys as freebies in the malls for children, is actually Shekhawat’s subsidiary. And those malls belong to him as well. I looked it up online. He has the power to cancel our order and leave us with nothing. So we have to deliver the toys and get paid first. But we also need more orders to sustain ourselves,” Imara explained, causing Isha to groan in frustration and mutter a curse under her breath.“Fine...” Isha reluctantly nodded, suppressing the urge to scream, fully aware that they were left with no other choice. How she despised these privileged brats. But she also knew it was only a matter of time before Adhiraj pushed Imara to her breaking point and she wouldn’t hesitate to give him a well-deserved boot to the booty.“What’s the deal with you and Neel Bhaiya?” Imara popped the question out of nowhere, leaving poor Isha speechless.Isha’s grip faltered, causing the plate to take a slippery nosedive in the sink. In utter astonishment, she managed to gasp, “What are you talking about?”Imara locked eyes with Isha, determination etched on her face. She fired away, “There is something, isn’t it? Or there was something? Tell me, Ish!”Isha vehemently denied, shaking her head like a maraca. “Why would you think that?”In an attempt to evade the situation, Isha sauntered towards the living room and grabbed her laptop, hoping to divert her attention back to work. However, Imara was hot on her heels, refusing to let the topic slide. She plonked herself down on the chair next to Isha and unabatedly pressed on, “I noticed how Neel Bhaiya was practically begging to see you when you came to pick up Babli. And the moment he showed up, you left.” Imara threw a knowing look at Isha and continued the interrogation, “Tell me, Ish.”Isha shook her head, forcefully pushing her emotions into the depths of her heart. She gently told Imara, “Don’t take it otherwise, but I don’t feel like talking to any of your family members after what they did. Neel is one of them.”She chose to share only a part of the truth with her friend. She understood that Imara had her own struggles to bear, and she didn't want to add her own pain to the load. As an orphan, she blamed herself for falling in love with someone as wealthy as Neel. She should have stayed within her limit. She should have known better, should have known her place. It would have saved her from the heartache she now faced whenever she saw him.Imara nodded, realising she may have misunderstood the situation. She went back to working on the designs, the hurtful words Neel had said were still ringing in her ears.—————Adhiraj sat at the chair behind his desk, absentmindedly spinning a pen in his left hand while flipping through a file with his right. Inside the file was the address of Imara’s apartment and the location of her factory. He had asked Sanchit for some background information on Imara before marrying her, and his PA had quickly provided him with details, including a recent business deal Imara had made with one of his subsidiaries.With this information in hand, Adhiraj felt a sense of power over Imara. He knew he could use it to keep her from leaving again.But now, as he delved deeper into the details, he couldn’t shake off the worry about why Imara was putting herself through this. Her rent payments for both her apartment and workplace had been late for the past three months. The salaries for her staff were also delayed for the past two months. Her bank account had almost nothing in it, with no cards to rely on except for a business loan she was paying diligently. The realisation that his wife was practically broke stirred a sense of urgency within him, pushing him to go to her immediately and demand an explanation.Unknowingly, it was eating away at him, the realisation that she barely had any funds to survive even through this month.With his jaw clenched, he turned the pages and observed a few toy designs. Many were intricate and well-thought-out. Crafting custom toys was no easy task, and in his opinion, she was excelling at it. Judging by her talent displayed in the designs, he believed she could easily be making ten times as much as she was. Yet, she charged minimal, barely making a profit. It seemed as though she was punishing herself, or perhaps she was so deeply hurt that she even lost herself.“What could it be?” He pondered as he browsed through the designs. There was no mention of any family conflict in her history. For the first time, he regretted not paying attention to the rumours. If he had, he might have had some insight into Imara’s past.“Should I ask Sanjay Uncle? No! The truth would likely be biased.” He whispered to himself.Putting the file aside, he casually leaned back in his chair, pondering ways to help his wife without her catching on to it. He wasn’t trying to show pity, but he was genuinely concerned and worried. He knew if she found out he had helped, she would have no qualms about dumping the entire breakfast on his head. He was dead sure about it.“Raj...” Adhiraj’s daze was broken by Virender’s voice as he entered the home office. Leaping from his chair, he walked over to the couch where Virender had taken a seat. Adhiraj always held deep admiration for the hard work his grandfather and father put into building the business empire he now oversaw. As a gesture of respect, he could never bring himself to stay seated in the chair designated for the head of the company. It was his way of expressing gratitude, always offering them his place or joining them on the other side for discussions.“You could have called me,” Adhiraj expressed as he noticed Virender’s thoughtful face.“I’m still fit enough to climb stairs,” Virender joked, causing Adhiraj to grin and remark, “Seems like you were missing Dadi.”Virender shrugged, “I always do. She is here in everything I have been able to make. Without her by my side, I would have been nothing.”Adhiraj gave a solemn nod, his eyes filled with longing as he whispered, “I miss her too. Especially when I remember the day she called me to attend some children’s fair at the orphanage she frequently visited.”Virender nodded in agreement, saying, “She mentioned it. She wanted you to meet a girl she thought was perfect for you. She thought the girl was like an angel.”Adhiraj, having forgotten that childhood incident for obvious reasons, carried on with, “And the girl proposed to some other boy the same day. Dadi told me even before I could see who caught her attention. It was rare, you know, to see her impressed by someone. She was too selective.”“Impressing her wasn’t a walk in the park for me, either. It took months to prove my love was real, not just a marriage of convenience.” Virender chuckled, getting emotional as he looked back on those days.Adhiraj grinned and leaned in, whispering, “She used to joke that you even fainted while fasting on her first Karwachauth to win her over.”Virender let out a hearty laugh, shaking his head at the memory. “It was fun. She was a firecracker. That’s how your generation describes girls like her. Stubborn as a mule but with a heart of gold. She had this way of putting everyone else before herself that just made me fall for her.”With a reflective expression, Adhiraj’s gaze shifted to Imara’s file on his desk. She had the same fiery spirit, but it was her unruly behaviour that ticked him off.“Missing your girl?” Virender quipped, giving Adhiraj a playful pat on the shoulder.He scoffed, rolled his eyes, and shook his head in disbelief, retorting, “I have better things to do than to miss a petulant child.”“Child?” Virender chuckled, “That’s a new one. Children are cute. Do you find her cute?”Adhiraj shot his grandfather a look of shock at the teasing tone. “What? Are you the only one allowed to tease?” Virender raised an eyebrow.Shrugging off the teasing, Adhiraj redirected the conversation. “Why did the proposal not work out then? A year ago?”Virender flashed a smile at Adhiraj’s concern and smoothly changed the subject, quipping, “I am happy you are trying to make it work.”“Oh, come on, Dadu!” Adhiraj expressed, annoyed. He stood up from the couch and restlessly paced back and forth across the floor as Virender teased him, “What? You wanted her sooner?”“Seriously Dadu?” Adhiraj exclaimed, causing Virender to rise from his seat as well. “You wouldn’t find her at Rathore Mansion tomorrow. She is not there.”Adhiraj paused, giving Virender a skeptical look before confusion crossed his face. “What do you mean?” he questioned.“What do I mean? She’s your wife. Shouldn’t you know where she is?” Virender shot back, clearly in the mood for a back-and-forth.“She went back...to her home,” Adhiraj stated, “With Anika and Tarushi.”Virender nodded knowingly, “Exactly, she went where she feels at home. Just fetch her from there tomorrow, son.”“What?!” Adhiraj exclaimed in absolute disbelief. The sheer nerve of her. She didn’t bother to inform him, let alone ask, about going to her apartment, where she would be living alone, all alone.He clenched his jaw and instinctively reached for his car keys while Virender intervened, “Tomorrow, Raj… not now. She needs some time.”“She has her own space in this house to have all the time she needs. I refuse to leave her alone in that god awful place. And what kind of family does she have to leave her alone like this?” With those words, Adhiraj stormed out of his home office, tightly gripping his car keys.