Varun sat on his couch, staring at his phone. It was time to maintain the illusion.
His family still thought he was in Mumbai, struggling to find a job.
It was time to give them an update.
He dialed his mother's number.
"Hello, Amma," he said as soon as she answered.
"Varun! Finally, you called. Did you find a job?" she asked immediately, relief evident in her voice.
Varun smiled slightly. "Yes, I got one."
A brief silence. Then she spoke, her voice lighter. "That's good! I told your father you would manage."
"Where?" she asked.
"A finance firm," Varun said, keeping it vague. "It's a decent position, nothing too high."
His mother sighed. "At least you're earning something now."
Then came the real question.
"How much are they paying you?"
Varun knew this was coming. He had crores sitting in his account.
But he couldn't reveal that.
So, he kept it simple.
"Around ₹60,000 per month."
Silence.
Then, a faint hum. "It's not much, but at least it's a start."
Varun chuckled internally. If only she knew.
A Call from the Past
Not long after he ended the call, his phone buzzed again.
📩 Incoming Call: Ananya
Varun expected this.
Ever since their last conversation, she had seemed uneasy.
He picked up.
"Hey, Ananya."
"Hey… I just wanted to ask… Did you find a job?"
Varun leaned back. "Yeah, I did. Just started recently."
She hesitated. "Oh... That's good. How much are they paying you?"
Varun smirked. "₹60,000 a month."
Another pause.
He could almost hear her thoughts.
₹60,000? That wasn't much. Not in a city like Mumbai.
And then, her voice came, quieter. "Varun… My parents have found a match for me."
Varun felt nothing.
"So?" he asked, his voice calm.
"I think… We should break up."
Her voice was uncertain, but the decision had already been made.
She was just waiting for his reaction.
Waiting for him to beg.
To plead.
To fight for her.
But Varun only nodded to himself. "Alright."
Silence.
Ananya was caught off guard.
"Just like that?" she asked.
Varun smiled. "You made your choice. I accept it."
She struggled to find words. "It's not that I don't care about you, Varun… but you know how life is. Security is important."
The same excuse. The same words.
He had heard them before.
And he never wanted to hear them again.
"Take care, Ananya," he said before ending the call.
And just like that, his past was gone.
Cashing In
Varun turned to his laptop.
He had bigger things to focus on.
The stock market had been booming exactly as the system predicted.
Escorts Ltd. had surged from ₹160 to ₹450 per share in just 15 days.
He clicked SELL.
━━━ STOCK SOLD SUCCESSFULLY ━━━
[Total Profit: ₹7,87,50,000]
His trading account balance had crossed ₹8 crores.
"Almost 10 crores now…"
But he wasn't stopping.
He activated Stock Market Prediction.
━━━ STOCK MARKET PREDICTION ACTIVE ━━━
[Scanning upcoming stock trends…]
SEARCHING…
A new company name appeared.
▶ KPIT Technologies Ltd.
Current Price: ₹280 per share
Projected Price in 7 Days: ₹700 per share
Varun's eyes gleamed.
KPIT—an IT and engineering company that would soon skyrocket.
He immediately placed his next investment.
━━━ INVESTMENT CONFIRMED ━━━
[Stock Purchased: KPIT Technologies Ltd.]
[Total Shares: 1,12,500]
[Current Price: ₹280]
[Investment: ₹7,87,50,000]
[Projected Value After 7 Days: ₹19,68,75,000]
Varun exhaled sharply.
"Almost 20 crores in a week."
He shut his laptop and stood up, staring out his apartment window.