Page 42 of Born in Ruin

“Oh I don’t mind.” Dhrithi’s worried gaze moved from Mayukhi to Virat. “It’s not a big deal.”

“I mind,” Mayukhi said, holding Virat’s gaze. “It’s a big deal to me. Take it down. Please?”

Something a lot like respect darkened Virat’s storm grey eyes and he nodded. “Consider it done.”

“Thank you. And one more thing.” She sounded exhausted even as she paused to take a breath. “I need something that I can tell them, something to keep the lines of communication open.”

“Tell them that Virat is frustrated that he’s hitting dead end after dead end, that the search of Varun’s secret properties yielded nothing as did the search of Dhrithi’s home. Let them think they’re winning,” Amay said, his arm going around Dhrithi’s shoulders.

“At this point,” Virat said grimly. “Theyarewinning.”

TWENTY-TWO

Mayukhi

Sri, my love…Have I got goss for you…

Mayukhi sent the message before she walked into her morning team meeting. Then she put the whole mess aside and worked through her day, ticking things off her to-do list and ignoring the tsunami of messages Naveen’s wife, Sri was sending her. When you wanted to spread misinformation, you always went to the biggest gossip in the pack. And as Mayukhi had expected, she’d taken the bait.

“I want burnt orange not mandarin orange,” she said to one of her designers who had her arms out with fabric samples draped all over it.

Raina nodded and riffled through another fabric book pulling out a swatch. “This?” she asked.

Mayukhi frowned, holding her hand out for it. She fingered the fabric, holding it up to the light and checking the weave. “It’s close,” she murmured. “But there’s a bit of shine to it that I’m not fond of.”

Raina took it back from her and went back to pawing through her mountain of fabric samples. Shawn called out to Mayukhi and she walked around the conference table to where he stood, sketching on a large drawing board.

“What do you think?” he asked, turning the board over to her so she can run her eye down the gown he’d sketched.

“Take the frill off the shoulder and make it strapless.” She was already on to the next task before he’d finished responding.

“We go into production in two days people,” she called out, raising her voice so she could get everyone’s attention. “We have no time to waste. I’ll authorise all overtime necessary but now is the time to hit the ground running.”

Mayukhi stepped out on the heels of the chorus of agreement that rose from her team. She needed a moment before her noon appointment walked in. It was a bridal consultation for a bride who didn’t have a mind of her own. And thanks to the fact that she solicited opinions from her mother, mother-in-law, sister, friends, and assorted random people, her outfit had gone through multiple iterations already.

She called out to Payal to bring her a chamomile tea and her iPad. She wanted to check the latest wedding lehnga she’d designed for the spineless bride before they arrived. Once she was satisfied that she was ready for the appointment, she pulled her phone out and checked her messages.

Fifteen unread messages from Sri. Well, it was time to feed the beast. She opened the messages, ran her eye over them before calling Naveen’s wife.

“Yukhi!” Sri sounded like she was running on the treadmill. “What’s up babe? Dish.”

Mayukhi smiled, leaning against the glass wall of the conference room. Sometimes, this was just too easy. The folds of her yellow maxi dress draped over her legs, the soft fabric feeling like a comforting caress on a tiring day. Mental games were exhausting.

“Do you remember how you told me I could do better than Ishaan? That I shouldn’t fall in love with him?”

“Babe, Naveen told me you’d been forced into it by your parents. I’m so sorry you’re going through this. The way our parents fuck us up, it’s bloody insane, I tell you.”

Mayukhi heard the whine of the treadmill winding down. “Hmm,” she said noncommittally. Sure, her parents had screwed her over but what would Sri say if she knew her husband was a steaming pile of dog shit? It wasn’t only parents who fucked you up…Or did Sri know? Was she complicit in the whole thing? Honestly, at this point, Mayukhi wouldn’t put anything past any of them.

“Yeah,” she said now, watching Payal lead her brainless bride and her entourage into the viewing room. “It’s insane and so stressful.” She did her best to sound sad and pathetic but that was a tough one to pull off, especially for her.

“But I have good news babe.” She forced the ‘babe’ out of her mouth doing her best to meet Sri at her level.

“What?” Sri sounded like she was going to burst from anticipation. Mayukhi rolled her eyes. Did these women not have a life? Sure, it worked in her favour today but ugh…

“I may not have fallen for him but…” She let the sentence taper out waiting for Sri to draw her own conclusions.

“OMG!” Sri squealed. “He’s fallen for you? Babe, this is the best revenge ever.”

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