A few hours later the fog cleared and she was in shock. That was the official diagnosis from the doctor. She didn't want to go to the hospital so Ratan called their private concierge physician to take a look at her. Ronobir refused to leave her side all through the examination. She was wrapped in a fleece blanket on the bed with him pressed to her side. His arms around her slowly brought her mind back to stability.
The party was dispersed not too long ago. The police came asking questions and making inquiries. Ratan called the family solicitor. Avish tried to kill her. He tried to kill her because he was jealous. Mishti left out the details of his accusation but told them how he wanted to kill her because he felt she was cheating on Ronobir. just when she thought her life was forfeit, Ronobir came and saved her. He rushed in like an avenging angel reliving Avish of his life at the very last moment.
Ronobir said he came up to look for Mishti and heard the struggle. The gun belonged to Avish. It was the one he always carried and had a license for. During the struggle, he dropped it on the ground and Ronobir found it taking the opportunity to defend his girlfriend. It was all in self-defense.
"I told you there was something wrong with him," Avantika snapped after the officers left. "He was too clingy. Too crazy. Even with Swati and Mallish, -"
"That's enough Avantika," Ratan chastened sternly. "Passing blame helps no one. It was unfortunate we all thought Avish was trustworthy but no one knew the extent of his psychosis."
"I'll get you some tea Mishti," She said softly to her before leaving the room. Ratan sighed and turned to the couple on the bed. Mishti had her head on Ronobir's chest while he stroked her arm in comfort. She was still trembling.
"I believe you two should take the next week off. It was a traumatic incident. I'll deal with the lawyer and police," he said sympathetically.
"Thank you, dada."
"Thank you, Ratan," Mishti whispered. After he left, she cried into Ronobir's chest. Her entire body was wracked with sobs while he soothed her.
"I thought I was going to die," She cried clutching his shirt.
"I'll never let anything happen to you," Ronobir promised, kissing her forehead. "Never." The fear of nearly dying, the pain of her still sore neck, and the realization that he killed his closest associate for her all come rushing in at once. She held his neck and pushed his mouth on hers in a desperate kiss. Mishti needed to feel something. She needed to feel him.
"Mishti, no. You need rest," He tried to discourage her from worrying about her mental state.
She licked her lips positioning herself on his lap, "No I just need you. Help me forget please Ronny. I want to forget everything but you."
"Alright, sweety. I'm here, I'm here for you." Their clothes came off in a hurry. The moment he sunk into her tears spilled from her eyes and she held his shoulders tight, burying her face in his neck and riding him with all that was within her. She begged him to bruise her body with all his might. To replace the memory of Avish's hard slap with his soft touch. Her nails dug into his back as their hips snapped together and she cried harder feeling her peak just moments away.
"I love you, Ronny. I love you, I love you so much," Mishti cried and chanted, holding him as if he would disappear if she let go.
Ronobir kissed her with a gentleness she had no idea he possessed, "I love you more than anything Mishti. I would kill again and again for you."
They climaxed together and fell on the bed in a tangled mess of limbs. This was it. This was the end. Mishti Khanna loved Ronobir and there was nothing more she could do. Nothing but to wait for the disaster awaiting them on the other side.
Avish Dutta was a disturbed man. He was obsessed with his employer Ronobir Chatterjee. So much that he hated every woman who came around him. None were serious enough to draw his ire but those who were got the raw end of the deal.
"He had diaries. It's so sick," Avantika said over tea. Ever since the incident she'd been staying longer at the manor. Mishti herself hadn't been to her flat in weeks. Something about sleeping alone gave her panic attacks. She and Ronobir declared their love for each other and became closer than ever. The investigation was speedy and the Chatterjee were cooperative. Ronobir's use of the gun was authorized because it was to save his girlfriend.
Mishti sipped her tea, "I guess he couldn't deal with any of it." They stormed Avish's flat and found plenty of disturbing material on Ronobir. Details from how he took his coffee, to poems about his blue eyes and how he hated every woman who touched him. There was also a very large twist.
"I can't believe he killed Mallishka in Germany," Avantika whispered. "That one just boggles the mind."
"Who was she?" Mishti successfully kept the tremor from her voice.
Avantika shook her head, "She worked with Ronny in some capacity. I'm not sure. I know she was in charge of his antiquity department. She traveled around buying art and selling it for his private collection. Anyway, they slept together once or twice. Nothing serious since she was a snake but I know Avish hated her for it. Apparently during their trip to Germany, a year and some months ago, he snapped and stabbed in the street. The police ruled it a mugging but he wrote down all the details in his diary. I don't even want to imagine it. I mean she was always such a bitch but poor Mallishka. I always just thought she'd finally quit you know? After Ronny divorced Swati, I guess she thought he'd turn his attention to her but he never did apart from the occasional shag. I remember walking in on them arguing one time. She kept telling him how he'd be sorry."
It felt like a spray of cold water on her person. Mishti watched the other woman intently to find any hint of dishonesty but Avantika truly believed she was telling the truth. Later that evening Mishti met Ratan wanting to see the report for her. He was hesitant understandably but relented when she pleaded to say she needed to understand why he came after her.
And it was true.
Avish was the one who killed Mallishka. He killed her because he was jealous. And Ronobir had absolutely no idea. None of them did until now.
The very foundation of her mission is torn in half. Was it all just a coincidence? Was the reason Mallishka gave Mishti those documents because she was just heartbroken and vindictive? But the information on the guns was there. The suspicious shipping manifest is on Avish's computer. The evidence she'd been searching for since she made contact with Ronobir. All of it. Was it even real?
"Are you alright?" Avantika asked with a concerned look.
Mishti plastered a fake smile, "I'm ok."
"I know this has been very hard on you. But I promise it'll get better. It'll be ok. Avish's dead. He can't hurt you anymore," She places her on her in a comforting gesture.
"He can't hurt me anymore," Mishti repeats numbly, unsure of who she's even talking about anymore.
She wore a black long-sleeved dress to their meeting. It was more formal than anything she'd ever worn to come and see him.
Ruhaan waited for her to sit for no less than a second before tossing the folded-up paper on her lap. It was a copy of the police report. "That bastard tried to hurt you and you didn't tell me?"
"How did you find out?" Mishti didn't seem surprised that he did.
He huffed, "Viraj has contacts in the station. Anything with the name Chatterjee comes to us. When were you going to tell me?"
"I'm guessing you read the journal entries then," She sounded devoid of any emotion whatsoever. Ruhaan noticed for the first time how tired she looked. The dark circles under her eyes. Her normally curly hair was in a straightened ponytail. Something about her was tied into place. Like a puppet just destringed. He couldn't let this go on any longer. She'd already had one brush with death.
"It doesn't matter. Ronobir had a hand in her death one way or another and it doesn't Excuse the company papers, -"
"He's innocent Ruhaan," Mishti whispered. "I'm not doing this anymore."
He blinked in abject horror. For a moment he was certain he'd heard wrong. He misconstrued her words. But the tears that fell from her eyes let him know that this was no misunderstanding. No, no. All his fears are coming to life. They'd gotten to her. They did something to her. This is not Mishti. This is -
"I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore," She sobbed and stood up from the bench walking away. She ignored Ruhaan screaming her name until it was nothing but an echo in the distance.
"Where are you taking me?" Mishti tried to keep the giddiness from her voice. Ronobir had come home with a blindfold and told her to wear something pretty. He remained tight-lipped about where exactly he was taking her. It was weeks since that fateful day in the park when she told Ruhaan that she couldn't do it any longer. That she believed Ronobir was innocent. She ignored their every attempt to contact her. She moved away from the flat to the manor. She still kept the phone but ignored the messages.
At the back of her head, Mishti knew she was playing with fire. Ruhaan wouldn't just let her go. But if he truly still believed Ronobir was a gun dealer, he wouldn't risk revealing her involvement and his part in it. Not to mention the lead she gave him on the shipping manifest was months yet they'd failed to find anything worthwhile on it.
That was it.
Ronobir was innocent.
Her role was a secret for now but Mishti prayed once the dust settled, she would be able to tell him and take whatever reaction he doled out. For a man once lauded as the worst man in the world, she'd seen through his hard exterior to see the parts not fit for public consumption. The sweet, compassionate, and loving part of him.
"You are so bloody impatient," He complained, keeping his hand on her waist to steady her. Her heels clicked on wood. She tried to guess where they were. They came to a stop.
"Ronny?"
The blindfold came off. "Surprise."
She gasped. "Oh my god!"
Ronobir grinned from ear to ear, "Do you like it?"
Mishti jumped throwing her arms around him in a tight hug, "I love it! Thank you so much I love it! This is too much!"
In front of them, floating in the harbor, was a 100-foot yacht aptly named Mishtidoi. It was a gift for her. Ronobir held her hand and led her on board where the friendly sailor Ram was waiting to show them around. It was opulent as could be with the large bedrooms, staterooms, and deck. There was a bottle of champagne waiting for them on the deck. Ronobir poured her a glass of the bubbly sweet champagne he knew she loved.
"This is nothing like what I expected," She confessed taking a satisfying gulp.
"At first I was worried you wouldn't like it since your tastes happen to run in fear at the prospect of the finer things," Ronobir teased.
Mishti rolled her eyes, "And to think someone thought I was a gold-digger the first time we met."
He shrugged, placing a hand on her lower back, "I can admit I was a fool. Now I know better."
"Me too. I love it because it came from you, doesn't matter if it's a yacht or a ring pop," She said to his lips. They kissed languidly savoring each other's company. The last few weeks were nothing easy. Mishti's dreams of Mallishka were replaced with dreams of Avish, only Ronobir took her place instead and didn't get saved. But she didn't want to focus on all that. She wanted to focus on the man before her and how much she loved him with all her heart. One day, she'd be able to tell him everything.
"There's another reason I wanted you here," Ronobir muttered into her hair.
She hummed with her head on his chest, "What else? Is there another yacht hiding?"
He chuckled breathlessly, "You remember my trip to Cairo last week?"
Mishti nodded holding his lapels tighter, "Did something happen?"
"Nothing bad at all. I went to acquire something, and dare I say, I was quite successful," He pulled away and removed something from his jacket. It was a small box. Her heart thumped in her chest. "There was a ring rumored to belong to Diane de Poitiers, the chief mistress of King Henry II. It was made from the largest emerald ever seen, fashioned on a white gold band, and adorned in tiny diamonds. It was gifted to her by the king. Rumor had it that she was the one he truly loved. During the second world war, it got stolen and somehow found its way to Egypt. I went to confirm that rumor."
"And?" Mishti couldn't keep her voice from shaking.
He opened the box and her breath was snatched for the second time that night. "I could only ask you with a ring fit for royalty. When I got married the first time, I did it to tick a box of accomplishments. I didn't care for her the way I should have. With you Mishti, I've realized that having you love me is an accomplishment and one I seek to maintain for the rest of my life. Mishti Khanna, will you marry me?"
She nodded so rapidly it was a wonder her head didn't fall off, "Yes, yes, yes!"
Ronobir smiled with genuine mirth as he placed the ring on her shaky finger. Mishti cried joyously kissing him with all the energy she had. "I love you so much. I do."
"And I love you even more."
Nothing could take that away from them.