Now it was the elevator that was engulfed with an uncomfortable silence. Dhiraj just waited for the elevator to reach the parking lot so that he could get done with this lady. He quietly waited, trying to distract himself by the thoughts of what he would do next with his baby. It was Avanti who broke the silence.
"You know why I am here right?"
"No. I don't. I don't want to concern myself with anything that you do." Dhiraj remarked in a deliberately arrogant tone. Of course he knew why Avanti was there. 'You are just here to see if the man I'm seeing possesses any threat to your image and reputation.' He was utterly furious at her attempt to barge into his private matters.
'God!! Why is this child so frustrating to deal with?' Avanti tried to regain her calmness back and decided to get straight to the point. "Look. Now that I've met Nakul I do think he's pretty harmless. But at the end of the day, he still is a Monochrome..." She paused for a brief moment to emphasize the seriousness of what she was saying. " Don't get involved with him too much."
And hearing that Dhiraj lost it. 'How dare she tell me I should stay away from him?!' So out of spite, he snapped, "Did you do a background check on Nakul? Don't you understand how messed up that is?"
[A/N: Ahhh...n u r the one to talk to Dhiraj?! U did the same!! N u stalked ur "baby" as well?!]
"And you haven't done that?!" Avanti knew Dhiraj very well. She knew he would've done the same. She just had the upper hand this time.
"No I didn't" Dhiraj shamelessly lied.
She certainly had a hunch that Dhiraj will be adamant. "Ha, Do you think I am so naïve?!" She didn't wait for his reply as she jumped on the question that was NEEDED to know the answer of. " I don't care if you lie to me. All I want to know is....Are you his chrome?"
"I'm not." Dhiraj was well aware of what Avanti's reaction would be if he told her the truth. No one should interfere in our lives. 'All I want from Nakul is for him to love me. And I will not let anyone get in the way.' So he decided it was best to hide that detail.
'WHY ARE YOU LYING?!!!' "Do you really expect me to believe that? I am well aware how obsessed you are with monochromes. " She nearly screamed. Never in her life had she felt so infuriated before. She just wanted this stupid child to understand where she was coming from. Was that too much to ask?
"I am not lying!!"
"Please don't lie to me..."Now the only option Avanti was left with was to plead. "I'm worried about you"
"Hahaha. Let's be honest here. You aren't worried about me. You are worried about maintaining an image and protecting your reputation." hissed Dhiraj is the most hurtful tone. 'You just are embarrassed to let people know that I can be in a relationship with a man. So much for being a "modern" understanding woman.'
Dhiraj's preferences of people weren't hidden from Avanti. After all, time and again, it was Avanti who controlled the press when they wanted to publish about Dhiraj's scandalous behavior. So it most definitely wasn't a lie that she was trying to protect their image. "Yes. That's a reason too. It's not just my reputation we are talking about here. Its the empire that you and your father build as well."
Avanti was the kind of person who wouldn't shy away from talking about things that usually were considered awkward. She knew the efforts her husband put into building what they have now. There was no way she would let that get destroyed. She knew the reasons why she was doing what she was doing. She never expected Dhiraj to consider her as his mother. But she did everything that a good wife would. But now this child was trying to question her intentions. How could she not get mad at him?
"Tell me Dhiraj, how can I not protect the things that the man I love spent years building. One mistake and it will all crumble into dust."
~Silence.
Her body was burning with anger and frustration, as she simply wanted Dhiraj to understand that he might be getting himself into something dangerous. But he just didn't want to look at things from her perspective. She knew lashing out at that man-child would be of no good. So she gulped down her anger and calmed her voice.
Taking a deep breath, she continued, "the only thing I want you to understand is that monochromes can be dangerous. So all I want you is for you to be a bit careful"
The elevator stopped and chimed open as it reached the parking lot. The heavy air around the mother-son duo could still be felt. It wasn't that Dhiraj didn't understand Avanti's worries. He too was aware of the malicious nature of the dynamic between a monochrome and his chrome. But what didn't allow him to say even a simple : ~Okay, I'll be careful~, was his mind and his ego. His mind that finally got what it always craved for, a person who will need him, love him and only look at him. And his ego that disliked the world wanting to pin down him and Avanti as a brilliant mother-son duo. He rather keep his distance from her than to accept her concern.
"You aren't my mother to worry about me" He said that as if he hit the final nail to the coffin. Without caring to see Avanti's face, he simply got out of the elevator while leaving a dumbstruck Avanti on her own.
That was it for Avanti. She was done with trying to be concerned about Dhiraj. And so she lashed out, "Yes. I'm not. And I don't want to be the mother of a literal man-child either."
She passed him and walked towards the car only to stop after a few steps. That was because despite being utterly frustrated with Dhiraj she remembered she still had to convince him for something else. She knew how important it was for Dhiraj to do that. So she kept aside her frustrations once again and turned to Dhiraj.
With a calm voice, she began, "And I might not be your mother. But Raghav?! He is your father. And he misses you. He needs you."
Dhiraj caught a hint of what request Avanti was going to make and unconsciously his body started to prepare him for a flight mode. He didn't want to face that situation.
Avanti took Dhiraj's palm in her hand. Looking in his eyes, she pleaded, "Especially now. You know your mother's death anniversary is just 2 days later....."
'Fuck. I don't want to listen to this.' Dhiraj removed his palm from Avanti's hands, not wanting to listen to what she was going to say next. But an adamant Avanti held his palm once again.
"You know how your father is on that day, right? Can't you be there for him? Just for that one day?" Avanti's eyes begged Dhiraj to listen to her request for that one time. But as much as Dhiraj loved his father...he didn't want to face that situation.
He didn't know what it was, but he just wished that that day didn't arrive. That that day should just seize away from existence. Or maybe forgotten. He repeated to himself what he had been repeating for nearly 20 years now, 'No. That day doesn't matter to me. It's just another regular day. It means nothing to me. I don't remember her. I don't even miss her.' Dhiraj's body grew cold and he felt as if there was something choking him in his throat, not allowing him to breathe. 'I don't want to feel this way.'
In desperation to stop himself from feeling that way, he shook away Avanti's hands. "I'm busy that day. I've got meetings lined up. I won't be able to make it"
'He's at it again. Making excuses for not being there on that day for his father.' She was pissed. "Why is it that you are busy every time on this day?"
"Look Avanti. Important stuff comes up. You know it better than any one" Dhiraj tried to deflect the topic.
"So attending these meetings is more important than being there for your dad? What are you so afraid of?"
~Silence.
Avanti was trying to point out something that even Dhiraj didn't dare to face. All he wanted was to escape the situation. So he did what he always does when he doesn't want to face a situation; lash out and hurt the person in front.
"I'm not afraid of anything. And I don't care what you think abt me. If you are done you can leave. I have better things to do." Dhiraj said in the most venomous tone. He turned his back on Avanti and left, without caring about what she felt even for a second.
Avanti just stood there watching Dhiraj as he turned his back on her. Her body was burning with rage, ready to blast at any second. She was enraged beyond her wits that Dhiraj didn't even take into consideration his own father's feelings before running away. 'AHHHHHHH. I want to curse at him so bad!!! I wish I could. But he's the child of the man I love. Ahhhh!!! Dhiraj!!! You are so frustrating!!!'
She strode off to her car and got inside, banging the door closed. With no other option to deal with her anger, she started massaging her temples to calm herself. Slowly she cooled off. But the previous interaction with Dhiraj left her thinking, 'I bet Nakul has no idea how much of a self-centered, arrogant person Dhiraj is. The way he behaves with Nakul is way different than how he behaves with others. I kind of feel sorry for you Nakul. I hope he treats you well. And I hope you treat Dhiraj well too.'
She instructs her driver to head to her office while thinking about what she should do next. She still will have to keep her eyes on Dhiraj. And an outsider wouldn't know if everything was fine with Nakul and him. She needed someone on the inside. And only 1 name came to her mind.
Rajat.
But the only issue was that Rajat would never let Dhiraj's matters be known to anyone. Not even Dhiraj's own father. He was a loyal dog of his employer. But again, she had no other option but to try. She listed Rajat's phone number and gave him a call. 2 rings later he picked up.
~"Hello Ma'am?"~
"Hello Rajat. I...have something that I would like to discuss with you."
`"Ma'am if its about the offer you gave me last time. My answer is still the same...."`
Not long ago, Avanti had offered Rajat to work as an MD[managing director] for a new subsidiary. But Rajat straight up rejected it stating he only had the intention to follow Dhiraj. She was greatly impressed by how loyal he was.
"No Rajat, it's not about that. Its....about something else. Quite important if I must add. Can we meet?"
~"....Okay. I'll schedule an appointment with you in some time."~
"Great. I really look forward to discussing this matter with you."
* * *