"Yeah! I had no idea either. You should've seen his arrogance while telling me. He was completely enjoying the whole show. And you know what, you are forgetting one major thing here, Sam. Someone who had access to my medical records could've only done it. Which was My dad, brother, Dhruv and I. If my family is also the victim here, then it logically makes sense, that it was Dhruv, right?", Riya sighed deeply. "I know this can be unbelievable to you, but I'm trying to come to terms with it", she said.
She massaged her temples with frustration. As usually, it all now came down to her, going on the ground to solve this issue, and find out what actually happened. Rationally, logically and emotionally, Dhruv was the best answer. But, her heart was the only culprit which was not ready to accept the best answer. Her heart constantly wanted to blame someone else.
"See.... I will find proof if Dhruv was the one. But, I'm sure it's him.... Let us better not talk about it anymore.... So, I think you need to talk with Rohan and clear out your misunderstandings. Rohan would also be in the same state as me right now. Nothing better! Maybe that's why he didn't pick your calls...", she assured Sam.
"But.... Riya.... If it was Dhruv ?!? You guys were.... You were...", Sam stammered because she wouldn't utter anything right now, which would irritate Riya more than what she was actually going through.
"Yup! Everything was fake! It was all fake from the beginning. It doesn't matter now.", she chuckled dryly.
Her heart pained, but truth must be put out many times, so that her dumb brain would finally believe and go back to hating Dhruv.
Sam pursed her lips as she expected something else but this was much worse.
And she still wanted to believe that Dhruv would've had his own reasons. Because, he would never do that to Riya, would he? He had feelings for her, right?
"Sam.. I'm having severe headache and fatigue. I didn't sleep for the past few days. Would you mind?", Riya asked slowly. Riya had never been this polite. Everything automatically ran on a command system around her. This felt unusual and completely new to Sam. But, if Riya was being this calm, it meant she was actually going through big shit.
"Sure. Sure! I'm sorry for wasting your time. I'll talk to Rohan first and update you, Riya. Take rest!", Sam got up from the couch to leave.
"Sam?", Riya called her when she was almost at the door.
"Keep the Dhruv thing confidential. I'm not ready to face my family yet.", she said in a shrill voice.
Sam nodded and left. It was hard. Painful than when she entered the house to meet Riya. Riya's tired and pitiful face haunted Sam.
She sighed.
Riya walked straight to her bedroom and lied on her bed. She closed her eyes, counted to three and immediately fell asleep.
************
Dhruv was going berserk with the amount of diligence and paperwork involved in acquiring Riya's Choice. Although his
Whenever he thought about his conversation with Riya, he distracted himself with more works. That was why he came down to his office, to concentrate on the acquisition more than anything. Because if this went well, everything in his life would change.
He sighed out loud when his phone rang. It was his brother.
"Hello", Niranjan spoke.
"Hello! Yeah Niru. Tell me!", Dhruv replied.
"How are you, Dhruv?"
"Fine!"
"How is Riya?", Niranjan asked in a cheerful tone.
Dhruv bit the inside of his cheeks and answered, "Everyone's fine, Niru. Tell me!"
He was impatient and wanted his brother to get to the matter he wanted to discuss.
"Nice to hear that! Anyways, we were actually booking tickets for the wedding and I wanted to know how many we should book? Because I hope Riya's family would also be accompanying us, right? Or are they coming separately later?", he spoke nonstop and Dhruv was getting annoyed.
Of course, he wouldn't reveal what happened between him and Riya. That was personal to them, right? It was okay if it came out from Riya's side, he would face the consequences by then.
"Dhruv?", Niranjan checked, doubtful on the network connection.
"Yeah... there!", Dhruv ran a hand through his messy hair.
"Um.. I think you can just book tickets for me and Riya for now. I think her family would prefer coming later?", Dhruv suggested with so much trouble.
It wasn't like Riya would be coming, but currently that was all he could come up with.
"Oh, okay!", Niranjan said taking some time to note it down on his wedding journal.
"Fine, Dhruv! I'm planning on inviting Riya's family in a couple of weeks. Will you come along?", he asked.
"No!", Dhruv immediately shot back and then calmed himself before continuing, "I mean, I think I'll be having works. I have an international trip planned during the same time".
"I see. No worries. I'll ping you before meeting them. And... I'm booking the honeymoon suite for you both, okay?", he confirmed with Dhruv.
Dhruv was dying a slow painful death. His heart was breaking into a million pieces, but he had to force himself to say, "Okay", to his brother.
Once the call was done, he called out for his secretary.
"I don't care about the diligence process. I know about Riya's enterprises more than anyone. Let's just go ahead and acquire the damn company. I want the papers to be signed today.", he said curtly. He was getting sick of this and wanted the process to get completed as soon as possible.
If anybody was buying Riya's Choice, it must be Dhruv. He was already known in the market for his impulsive acquisitions, so his secretary was well prepared for it.
"But Sir.. The recent news...", she started but he stopped her by raising his hand.
"I just said I don't care. Do whatever you can and let's finish it off by midnight. Encash the investments, pull whatever you can. I don't want further delays. I'll convince our investors as this is a more strategic acquisition than an usual one.", he told and dismissed her off.
If Dhruv decided on attaining something, there's nobody in this world who would hinder it! He saw the time and it was around 8pm which would give the team enough time to complete the transaction.
By next morning, Riya's Choice should be his!