Page 48 of Born in Ruin

“The person who wants you to be happy?” Amay asked, shutting the glass doors behind him and stepping into the living room with him.

“She’s no Goody.” Ishaan ran a hand through his hair, a burning heat coursing through his veins. He felt like he was coming out of his skin.

“She doesn’t have to be,” Amay countered gently. “Is that what you want though? Another Dhrithi?”

No. He wanted Mayukhi Fucking Chatterjee. God help me. She was going to chew him up and spit him out and he would be on his knees thanking her for it.

Shit.

“Mayukhi isn’t a festering boil,” he said hoarsely, his desperate gaze meeting Amay’s sympathetic ones. “She’s the bloody plague itself and I have a feeling I’m her Patient Zero.”

Amay sighed. “Only you would fall for someone and compare it to getting the plague.”

Ishaan stared morosely at his reflection in the mirror that hung on the far wall of the living room. He looked like hell and felt like it too.

“This,” he declared mournfully. “Is going to be the death of me. I know it.”

TWENTY-SIX

Mayukhi

She woke the next morning, her head surprisingly clear and her heart unbearably heavy. Mayukhi pushed herself out of bed and padded into the bathroom to brush her teeth and shower. She’d just stuck the toothbrush in her mouth when she remembered something she’d forgotten to tell Shawn about yesterday.

She went back into the bedroom, toothbrush still sticking out of her mouth and hunted up her phone from the depths of her bed. She had over sixty five notifications from work and assorted friends. She scanned through them cursorily checking to see if anything needed immediate attention. She was typing out her message to Shawn when the phone vibrated in her hands. A new message from Tech Whisperer as she’d saved his contact now.

Heist was a no show. Do over tonight? Doc Bandit on shift. Significant other will be asleep by nine.

She stared at the phone. He’d kissed her to prove a point yesterday, turning her inside out for no reason other than to further his goal. She’d thought…what had she thought? Thatthey were friends now? That they were possibly going to be something more?

She was the biggest fool in the Universe. All Ishaan and she were was what they’d always been. Two people who disliked each other forced to pretend otherwise for a common goal. Mayukhi stared at the old scar in her palm. She was doing this for a reason. She should remember that, keep it front and centre in her mind. It was best not to make it into something it wasn’t.

It was best to remember that Ishaan Adajania wasn’t for her. They were just two ships passing in the night amidst some turbulent waters. And if she didn’t want to drown or be lost at sea, she’d better keep her head about her.

Sure.

She didn’t add anything to the message beyond her basic agreement. She’d offered to help him steal the trophy. She’d stick to that. She’d never gone back on her word before and she sure as hell wouldn’t start with Adajania and his stupid lips. Stupid, kissable lips.

Attire: Black. Makeup: Nil. Important to not draw attention.

Mayukhi stared at the message that had just come in. Makeup: Nil? Ishaan had lost his everloving mind if he thought she was going anywhere without makeup. She gave her teeth one last, aggressive brushing before spitting out the foam and rinsing her mouth. She stared at her reflection, the gears in her head turning as she contemplated her next move.

Finally, she typed out a reply.

Will not draw attention.

It took only a few seconds for a reply to buzz through.

Don’t think that’s possible. Anyway, Tech Whisperer Over and Out.

Mayukhi shook her head, an unwilling smile tugging at her mouth as she pushed her unruly hair out of her face and shrugged out of her tank and shorts in preparation for the shower. Say what you wanted to about the idiot, he could always make you smile. She took a deep breath and faced herself in the mirror. Smile, fight, whatever she wanted to do with him, as long as she remembered that this was temporary, she would be fine.

She stepped into the shower, allowing the scalding hot water to cascade down her body. She tipped her face up, eyes shut as she tried to get the water to rinse out her muddled thoughts and emotions too. But nothing worked.

All she saw was those dark, intense eyes boring into her, his lips moving on her own. A dull ache started between her legs and she snapped her eyes open on a gasp. Refusing to give into this rampant desire, Mayukhi soaped herself quickly before stepping out of the shower, towelling herself dry and getting into a lavender maxi dress. She allowed her hair to air dry into a mass of waves that rippled down her back. Grabbing her purse, she left her room, intending to head to work.

“Yukhi.” Her father’s voice stopped her.

“Good morning Baba,” she said in greeting, stepping through the door and into the living room. She came to an abrupt halt when she saw who sat there, sipping green tea with her father.

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