Page 20 of Born in Ruin

In an uncharacteristic move, Virat reached for the cigarette in Ishaan’s hand and took a drag. Ishaan studied the lines of strainetched into his friend’s face. This whole mess was telling on all of them but more on Virat than the others. For it was Virat who carried the weightiest burden from the past and Virat who shouldered the lion’s share of the ability to deliver justice. Both for Dhrithi and for themselves.

“But?” Virat asked again.

“Do you have anything new?” Ishaan asked bluntly, shoving the ball back in Virat’s court.

“I have rumours.” The bags under Virat’s eyes spoke of sleepless nights and tormented days. “Rumours aren’t fact.”

“That’s why,” Ishaan used his cigarette to point towards the trio in the living room. “We need her.”

“That’s not what I asked you, Ish. Do you trust her?”

“No,” he said bluntly. “I don’t. But what choice do we have, Vir?”

“The leverage you have against her.”

“Rock solid,” Ishaan replied. “I’m adding another layer to it as we speak.”

Virat’s hands clenched on the railing as he stared out into the darkness. “Need to know basis only,” he said finally.

“For sure,” Ishaan agreed. “Should we join them then?”

Virat looked out at the nightscape one last time, shadows in his eyes, his hands vising on the railing. Then he took a deep breath and nodded.

“But you guys were the best of friends in school!” Mayukhi protested loudly as Ishaan and Virat walked back into the room.

“We were,” Dhrithi agreed. “Until I fucked it up.”

Mayukhi’s eyes chilled as Ishaan walked in, her earlier warmth draining away like it never existed. Ishaan ignored her hostility and sat down beside her, draping an arm over the back of the couch, his fingers dangling inches from her shoulder. Mayukhi shifted away from him but he just shifted with her, so they were still just as close.

He could almost hear her grind her teeth to dust as she pretended to ignore him and focused on the others.

“How did you fuck it up?” Mayukhi asked now.

“She dumped me and dated Varun.” Amay sipped on his depressing Diet Coke. He was on call tonight so he couldn’t afford to have a drink.

“Ouch.” Mayukhi winced sympathetically.

“Yeah well.” Dhrithi reached for Amay’s hand, holding on tight. “I’m working on my redemption arc.”

“And doing very well at it, it would seem.” Mayukhi toasted her with her wine glass.

Dhrithi’s smile faltered a bit. “Not entirely but we’ll get there.”

The vibe in the room shifted, Mayukhi tensing beside him. “I’ve heard the stories going around,” she said, showing tact that Ishaan didn’t know she possessed.

“Stories?” Dhrithi asked, her eyes going wary. Amay wrapped an arm around her, drawing her close, an instinctive gesture that drew Mayukhi’s eye. “You mean the ones about me killing Varun for his money?”

“That’s one version. The other is where he was trying to kill you but you played the ultimate UNO reverse card.”

Amay snorted, his soda squirting out of his spluttering mouth. Ishaan started to laugh, the whole, ridiculous situation coming home to roost in a way it hadn’t before. Virat just stared at Mayukhi, like he was trying to see right into her. Ishaan wished him the best of luck. He doubted even Virat could penetrate a Kraken’s shell.

“Well,” Dhrithi said between giggles. “That’s one way of putting it.”

“But that’s not your way, is it?” Mayukhi was watching her with that cool, clinical look in her eyes. The same one that always made Ishaan’s skin itch. She turned that gaze on Ishaan. “Or yours. So, why am I here?”

“I thought I’d introduce my fiancée to my friends,” Ishaan smiled, a baring of teeth with enough warmth to freeze the Thar Desert.

“Bullshit.” Mayukhi’s blunt rebuttal had Virat’s first smile of the evening emerging. “I am as much your fiancée as you are a donkey’s ass.”

---