The Prince's Indentured Bride

scandals

There was a rectangular box, wrapped with a red ribbon on my table when I came inside. Yesterday was eventful but useless; I didn't get a kiss, nor my answers from Julian. We should set up a meeting soon to discuss the things we have been hiding from each other.

What makes you courageous is not standing alone and fighting a war by yourself, but asking for help, and believing in the people you say you trust. That's what father has thought me, but I was being a coward I guess and miserably wretched for the unknown which I was desiring to find, fight and defeat, all alone.

Taking a vitamin pill from my medicine box I put my handbag on the table and opened the mysterious box; hopefully it was not some other magazine set sent by another company for advertisement collaborations.

Wow, now I wish Rashmi was here to sort all this. Why did I even say fired to her? I must be going crazy, or maybe I was too anxious to see her getting dragged into this unknown game. If she were here this box would never reach my table in the first place, she is the best human filter for my work priority.

Maybe I should write her a good letter of recommendation and a viable enough bonus to let her buy her a car; would it be too obvious? But I did trouble her a lot with all my nonsense and mood swings!

Ah! Argh! This is so frustrating.

Me: I want a new PA. SOS. I messaged to Yash.

And, Wire ten lakhs into Rashmi's account, I messaged Rosa, to forward it to the responsible person at the finance department.

Maybe it looked too shady but, do I care?

Enough was enough, I am going to clear things with Julian, either if he is also being threatened or anything and then present all my evidences to Abhishek, and seek help from the police department to put an end to this sick game against the unknown.

My phone rang and it was Husna, "Hello." I greeted.

"Did you see the news?" She asked urgently. "No. I did not. Why?"

"Then see it. I am going to report the same thing in today’s 8'O clock slot too." She said, and sent me a video link.

Cutting her call I opened it, Disgust of actresses’ trying to sell drugs: Deepthi Shayna arrested in alleged involvement for drugs distribution.

Deepthi was a very old client we have been agenting for; this must be despondency's laugh on me, out of all times this scandal needed to break now?

And why wasn't I informed about this earlier: of course, everything reaches from fast forward through Rashmi for the past two years. What am I even going to do without her?

But I have to let her go at some point, which shall be now. And feigning a rest on the matters on hand I finally got to open the box, it was quite a ghostly surprise.

"What the hell is all this?" I murmured to myself as I saw the same seal, a rose and an eagle, printed in red on the two separate envelopes.

I cautiously opened the first envelope, Gabriel was now being stingy and clingy with his tactics to win me, so he is still pursuing his proposal to me. He must desperately be needing me. But how can I be a help to him?

There was an invitation card reading,

To,

VHREA DESTINY ASHTRICK

Please accept the hospitality of Nicoman State and have an enormous time here; enjoy the beauty of my palace and royalty of my people. Beforehand of making a decision. I hope you are still considering my proposal.

Yours' Sincerely,

Gabriel Mendel Nayak.

That's it. No further explanation and just a phone number. What was he on and on about? Nicoman State, I did hear the name somewhere, but what was this place?

Does he really think that I am still planning to consider his offer? I have other good things to take care of, starting from finding out who was this Spider, behind my back trying to sabotage my life. I don't need Gabriel, his mysterious club, and his help.

Relentlessly I teared the next envelope; did he already send marriage documents to sign? No.

There rested a bunch of pictures; one which had Mom meeting Tiara Raikar in a restaurant from the back door, while the other one showed Julian meeting Tiara. Even he was meeting her?

Then the next one had four of them meeting, where I couldn't see who the fourth person was, but it was a girl, was it Husna? She was spending much time with Mom these days.

But why did Jules lie to me on the memorial day, not exactly lying, but he didn't feel the importance of mentioning that even he met Tiara Raikar when I mentioned about Mom meeting her in secrecy. What the f**k was happening?

Then Julian's answer for Father's paper company is also going to be a lie. I am stuck in the loop of doubting my dead father, angry for even suspecting him and thinking in this way, and then assuming what if father was really involved in a shady business, I wasn't aware of.

What if father wasn't the man he was, that I thought he was? And what if actually someone else is a victim because of his actions while I am playing the victim card when in reality, I must be apologizing to them?

The Courage, Anxiety and Despair: Watching the Battle painting, stared at me with wide open eyes. It was showing exactly how I felt which wanted me to dislike it as much as I am hating its owner at the moment. Taking the oval paper stopper from my table I walked straight to it with the zeal to smash the glass into breakable pieces and then s***h the painting into tattered clothes, it couldn't laugh at me then.

But my hands stopped the moment I reached to hit it, I was feeling empty with emotions and full with emptiness.

I slouched against the painting and slowly dragged my spine to the ground with tears brimming in my eyes, smudging my eye makeup and erasing my red lipstick.

I let my voice break into harmonics which can break the glasses of the room. After sometime when I still couldn’t calm down the door opened and I saw a pair of familiar black heels.

“Why did you come back?” I asked between my sobs, not wanting to see the face and show my reddened face.

“When did I even leave?” She asked in her usual confused voice as if my words of firing her never carried any meaning in the first place.

“But I said you were fired.”

“The one who hired me is no more there to fire me.” She said referring to father, which brought me another round of unbreakable sobs of tears.

“Stop being a baby. We have a scandal to take care of!”

“Rashmi.” I spoke. “Yes, now what?”

“Please don’t leave me.” I begged.

“Oh goodness. No, I am not leaving unless your father can come back alive and ask me to get lost.” She said and pulled my hands to coo it awkwardly.

And I realized I was becoming human again.

I was being courageous, less anxious and trusting someone. I hope that’s good. Isn’t it?