DESTINED TOGETHER

11. || The Danger ||

Ananya was leisurely savoring her cocktail when she discerned an intense gaze upon her. Pivoting gracefully, she excused herself from Megha’s company. Her eyes landed on the boys from Myra's entourage, their faces adorned with perplexing smirks.

Disregarding their scrutiny, she proceeded to attend to her guests while Myra engaged in an insidious conversation with Debu, seemingly clouding his judgment.

"Your wife is remarkably cool... I mean, quite understanding. She knows we spend considerable time together and harbors no objections," Myra commented with a reluctant smile.

"Doesn't she care about me at all?" Debu pondered, just as a phone vibrated. He retrieved it; it was Ananya's.

"Mayra, pardon me. I must return my wife's phone," he said, advancing towards Ananya. As he did, Ray's name flashed on the screen again, this time with two missed calls.

He closed his eyes, clutching the phone tightly in his palm. "Why would she even care for me? She has her Ray, naturally," he thought bitterly.

Taking a deep breath, he navigated through the throng, locating her amidst the chaos. He approached her, clasped her hand, placed the phone in her palm, and retreated back to Mayra.

Ananya shrugged at the sudden disruption, her nostrils flaring with anger as she observed Mayra clinging to Debu.

"Look at her, latched onto my Debu like a vulgar creeper, and him, laughing like a fool... with me, he always maintains a dour expression," she muttered, nearly shattering her cocktail glass on the side table.

"And where is that wretched Rhea?" she grumbled to herself.

"Perhaps your friend went upstairs to attend an important call, Bhabhi," said one of the boys from Myra's group, approaching her with an audacious demeanor.

"How are you, Bhabhi?" he inquired, leering at her, which heightened her discomfort.

"Excuse me, I need to attend to other guests," she declared, attempting to leave. One of the boys seized her wrist firmly, caressing it inappropriately.

"How dare you!" she exclaimed, eyes blazing with fury as she yanked her hand away.

"Oh Bhabhi, we dare plenty. Our father is a minister, so your chief justice husband can't do much to us," the boy retorted smugly, stepping back.

"But understand this, we hold no personal grudge against you. We merely wished to converse for a while," another interjected.

"If you touch me again, I will remind you of your place, regardless of whether you're a minister's son or the prime minister's," she warned, her voice steely, before striding purposefully towards Debu and seizing his arm. She extricated him from Mayra, ignoring her persistently buzzing phone.

"Ananya, I was in the midst of a conversation with Mayra. Why did you pull me away so suddenly?" he demanded, freeing his hand.

"Yes, I saw how engrossed you two were. But what I have to say is far more pressing," she insisted, gripping his hand once more.

"Fine, what is it?" he asked, exasperation evident in his tone.

"Those boys at the party... they..." she began, her voice tense.