The restaurant is alive with activity tonight, bustling with noise and commotion. The clattering of plates and the din of conversations filling the air, forming a symphony of noise. The melodic sound of a live orchestra's music adds an air of romance and intrigue to the atmosphere. Amidst this lively setting, a couple sits at their table, immersing in each other's delightful company. They are both enjoying their dinners.
Without any warning, the woman stands up from her chair. She performs a sexy twirl, revealing her tight red dress that perfectly sculpts her body. As she stops, she puts her hand on the table, her long brown hair falling over her shoulders, framing a face with an alluring vision. She meets the man's gaze expectantly, a sly smile playing on her lips as she asks "Naresh, like what you see?"
Naresh, the man, remains silent for a moment. His gaze slowly roams over her body, taking in every inch of her body from up to down. He takes a few seconds to collect himself before nodding his approval.
The woman is not satisfied with Naresh's response, her irritation is showing as she rolls her eyes. "That's it? Just a nod?!" The woman snaps, you can feel her frustration in her voice.
Naresh let out a heavy sigh "What do you want me to say, Iris?" He snaps back. "You know d*mn well how much I enjoy your sexy body and beautiful face, you know how much I like it." He continues, sarcasm in his voice.
Iris feels a pang of sadness in her chest. All she wants is for Naresh to care for her, but no matter how hard she tries to get his love, Naresh seems unbothered. Forcing a smile, she replies "That's the answer I've been waiting for. It wasn't hard, right? I'm spending a lot of time getting ready just for you." Desperate for attention, Iris continues with a playful voice "Do I look prettier than Asha?"
Naresh is taken aback by Iris's question, his expression changes into a mix of shock and disgust as Iris mentions Asha's name. "Enough!" He snaps, his voice firm and commanding. "Don't push your luck, Iris. I only spend time with you just because Asha is busy." His tone turns cold as he continues "So don't even start pretending like it's anything more than that, you'll never replace her. You're just a temporary distraction."
Iris is getting hurt and angry by Naresh's words. She took a deep breath before replying, her tone is full of bitter sarcasm "Yeah, Asha Chandara, the rising star. Her career is at its peak, and you can see her face everywhere in this country. She is so busy filming her films, which leaves little time for her beloved boyfriend." Iris continues, a hint of mockery in her voice "You can keep acting hard to get and act like you love her, but it's me who's enjoying a dinner with you right now, not her." Iris smirks, then she boldly reaches and grasps Naresh's hand, feeling a sense of pride in her accomplishment.
"Naresh?" Suddenly, a voice calls out Naresh's name. The voice makes Naresh feel a jolt of surprise, Naresh instinctively releases his hand from Iris's grasp, his heart rate quickening as he swiftly scans the room, searching for the person who has called out to him.
"What are you two doing here?" The voice continues, the tone is tinged with a hint of amusement. Naresh found a short-haired woman standing beside him, their eyes looked up, his eyes meeting hers.
"Asha?!" Naresh stumbles over his words, surprised to see his girlfriend there. "Why didn't you tell me you were having dinner at this restaurant too?" He questions, his voice shaky.
Surprisingly, Asha still remains calm, but you can hear a pain in her voice "Don't you dare to avoid my question." Asha eyes widen as she turns her attention toward the other woman, her best friend. "Million girls exist on this earth, but you decided to cheat with my best friend Iris?!" Asha covers his mouth because she is so disgusted by the two of them that it almost makes her vomit. "And Iris? I can't believe you do this to me, I trusted you!" Asha hurts so much that her voice starts to shake.
"It's nothing serious, Asha." Naresh is rushing to explain, his voice tinged with anxiety. "We're just casually dining and discussing business matters, nothing more." He tries to downplay the situation. "You know how much I love and care for you, right?" He changes his voice into a sweet and soft tone. His gaze then shifts to Iris's direction, silently seeking validation and support for his statements.
Naresh's efforts to receive support from Iris were dashed. Iris chose to remain silent, she is also getting hurt by Naresh's words. Frustration and disappointment filled Iris, her silence speaking for herself. She avoided both Naresh and Asha's stares on purpose, she couldn't bear to meet either Naresh or Asha's gazes, feeling rejected and embarrassed.
Asha's body trembling as she fights to hold back her tears. Despite already knowing the truth deep down, she couldn't help but ask questions and stay, forcing herself to confront the painful reality. The silence between them was suffocating, broken only by the sound of Asha sobbing, Asha's heart is heavy.
Naresh, driven by desperation, continues to spin a web of lies. He couldn't bear to lose Asha and began to speak without thinking "Asha, my love, please, you're getting it all wrong. You have to believe me! There's absolutely nothing going on between me and Iris-"
'Plak!' The sound echoes through the restaurant as Asha slaps Naresh's face. She has reached her breaking point and is fed up with Naresh's lies and manipulations. She sprints away from the restaurant without a second glance, wanting to escape from everyone and everything in that moment.
Naresh was stunned by the unexpected slap, his hand reflexively covering his cheek. A jolt of surprise and pain washed over him, but his urgency to stop Asha from leaving overpowered anything else. Without a hesitation, he jumps up from his table, calling out her name "Asha!"
As Naresh tries to run after Asha, his hand is grabbed by Iris, forcefully trying to stop him from leaving. "What do you think you're doing?" Iris snaps, her voice full of anger. "Are you seriously planning to abandon me here all alone?!" she continues while staring intently at Naresh.
"I don't care about you!" Naresh hissed, his tone cold and harsh. Then Naresh moves his face closer to Iris, making sure that every word he spoke will be heard loud and clear by Iris "You still don't understand, do you? You are nothing more than a wh*re, you will never be on the same level as Asha. Let go of my hand!" With a firm, forceful motion, Naresh frees his hand from Iris grip and continues to follow Asha.
Frustration and anger consume Iris as she watches Naresh's figure disappear farther and farther away, running after Asha. "Argh, that b*stard!" Iris grumbled to herself. "How dare he waste a beautiful girl like me?" Overwhelmed by anger and embarrassment, her hands violently ruffling her hair in distress.
Unaware of the attention their argument had drawn, the people nearby have been filming their conflict on their smartphones, shamelessly capturing every move of them as if it were a free show. As Iris remained alone at her table, she couldn't help but notice that all eyes were on her, creating an uncomfortable spotlight effect. The weight of everyone's gaze was almost tangible, intensifying the awkwardness and discomfort of the situation. Iris shifted nervously in her seat, trying to maintain her composure while desperately wanting to escape the situation.
On the other side, Naresh is still running after Asha, but he does not run alone. Some people from the restaurant are joining him while their smartphones are still on their hands, trying to capture this special moment. A buzz of questions and accusations is also bombarding Naresh, as they see this as sensational news of the day.
The constant camera flashes are attacking Naresh's vision, creating a blinding light that makes him difficult to see. The nonstop questions from the crowd echoing in his ears, making it difficult for him to focus. All of these distractions slow him down, but he refuses to give up yet. He pushes forward, continuing to run after Asha while shouting loudly "Asha, my love, stop running! Give me a chance to explain everything!"
Naresh's voice echoing through the air, each word striking Asha's heart. Her heart was at war, some part of her wants to stop running and hug Naresh, to find comfort in his arms just as she always did whenever she felt sad. But this time, it was Naresh himself who had caused her sadness. With a heavy heart, she chose to keep running away from him. As tears streamed down her face, she did not pay attention to how fast she was moving and was pushed on by the pain that consumed her.
Naresh is struggling and lost track of Asha because of the stalkers. His patience has reached its limit, and he knew he couldn't ignore them any longer. Desperate for a break, he decides to confront the stalkers, his tone firm yet composed "Hello everyone!" Naresh begins "I would truly appreciate it if you guys could give me some space right now. I promise, I will hold a press conference and answer all your questions later."
There is a brief moment of silence as the stalkers consider Naresh's offer. Naresh's words seemed to have an effect, a lot of them chose to leave and stop recording, but a few others are still persistent in continuing to film him. With newfound determination, Naresh accelerates his pace. "Asha, my love, where are you?" he pleaded, his voice laced with exhaustion. "I'm tired of running. Are you that cruel to me?" Naresh shouts, attempting to guilt-trip Asha.
As Asha keeps running, her legs begin to feel weak. She has reached her limit, and her pace is slowing down drastically. She searches for a place to hide, knowing that her legs can no longer carry her any further. After quickly scanning her surroundings, her gaze landed on a street stall nearby, bustling with customers. Without wasting a moment, she quickly makes her way into the stall and takes a seat among the other customers, pulling her dress outer tightly around herself as if it were a cloak, hoping to blend in and go unnoticed.
The street stall owner, who is busy cooking customer orders, is quite shocked and confused when Asha suddenly burst into the stall in tears. Overloaded with numerous customers, he could only respond with a helpless shake of his head. Just as the man tried to concentrate on cooking once more, he was interrupted again by the arrival of Naresh, accompanied by a crowd of persistent stalkers.
Naresh's strange movement caught the attention of the street stall owner. Naresh burst in, panting heavily and looking around as if searching for something. The owner then shifts his gaze towards Asha's table, where she continues trying to hide. Realization dawned upon him, he decided to intervene. "Hello Sir!" He addresses Naresh with a friendly tone "Is there something I can help you with? You seem a bit lost."
Naresh is scratching his head in frustration as he responds "Yeah, man..." Naresh sighing "Do you see a girl with short hair who ran while crying? Do you know if she's here right now?"
The stall owner pauses for a moment, the dilemma of whether to tell Naresh about Asha's location or not weighed heavily on his mind. What the owner was thinking right now is that he has no right to hide Asha and does not know about the problem that is happening. But on the other side, he is worried about Asha's safety, women running and crying in the night is strange and dangerous. What if Naresh is a stalker or even a murderer and Asha is his victim? His mind is having a war.
After being silent for a moment, the stall owner finally made up his mind. "No, sir." He takes a deep breath, his voice steady as he lies. "I don't see the woman you are looking for." The stall owner tries to convince Naresh. As he speaks, he positions himself to block Naresh's view of Asha's hiding spot.
Unsatisfied by the stall owner's response, Naresh remains skeptical and continues to scan the stall for signs of Asha.
"Sir, I assured you there was no sign of anyone crying in my stall." The stall owner repeats, his tone becoming firmer "In fact, my customers here are all happy because they are enjoying the fried rice I cooked."
Witnessing no trace of Asha, a wave of exhaustion washed over Naresh. "Never mind." He sighs. "Thank you for your help, sir. I will look elsewhere." With a nod of gratitude, Naresh departed, leaving the scene behind, an unresolved mystery lingering in his mind.
Chapter 1, end.