More Than Meets the Eye (An Ishqbaaz FF) ||✔||

1.

"Anika aur Shivaay, bahot guroor hain na tumhe apni Ishqbaazi par. Likin jis din Kalyani Mills ka raaz baahar aa gaya, us din yeh ishqbaazi NAFRATBAAZI mein badal jaayegi!"

Shivaay kept tossing and turning in bed, Svetlana's words echoing in his ears. He couldn't wrap his head around the possibility of Anika being involved in the Kalyani Mills incident. He sat up in bed and gazed at the his wife, who was sound asleep. She could breathe easy now as Veer had gotten arrested the same morning. He caressed her hair before Svetlana's words rang in his ears once again. Frustrated, he stood up, grabbed his phone and car keys and tip-toed out of the room.

He drove straight to the city's jail. He had already called the Commissioner to let him know of his arrival and it's purpose. The inspector in-charge greeted him and escorted him to the area for meeting detainees. It was a long walk through dimly lit corridors and cracked walls. Police officers were patrolling at every couple metres as it was the maximum security containment facility. The inspector led him to a room, dimly lit by a single bulb hanging above a table and two chairs on opposite sides. He sat on one of them, waiting for the person he intended to meet. The door opened and two lady constables walked in with a detainee walking in between. Looking at Shivaay, she smirked.

Shivaay shuddered at this woman's audacity. He lost count of the number times she plotted against them, failed and tried again. Had it not been his own head on the platter, he would've commended her tenacity. Even today, she was still clad in the lehenga she wore while gate-crashing RuVya's wedding, clicking heels long gone due being potential "weapons", wrists handcuffed and a few hair strands scattered on her face while the rest were tied into a loose plait. Despite her pitiful looks, she smiled (read: smirked) at him and sat on the chair opposite to him, crossing her legs and placing her hands over her knees.

"Neend churayi teri kisne, o Sanam? Maine, maine~" Svetlana sang.

"Tumne kyoon kaha ki KM ka raaz Anika aur mera rishta tod sakta hain? Anika ka kya lena-dena hain is sab se? Kya jaanti ho tum?" Shivaay sternly asked.

Completely ignoring his question, Svetlana asked, "Ek baat batao, pyaar khone ke baad kya log sach mein Devdas mode mein chale jaate hain? They go all "maar daala~"?"

"Bakwaas band karo! Jo poochha hain, uska jawaab do." Shivaay yelled.

""Jo poochha hain, uska jawaab do."" Svetlana mimicked him and giggled. "Maine bhi sawaal poochha tha but tumne jawaab nahi diya. Since tumhara almost divorce ho chuka tha, woh bhi 2 baar, tumhe pata hone chahiye ki log Devdas mode mein jaate hain ya nahi."

Shivaay clenched his fists hard under the table. This woman was really getting on his nerves.

"Tum Kalyani Mills ya humare khilaaf hui planning se related mujhe koi bhi information de sakti ho?" Shivaay asked putting his hand on his forehead. If he got another song-related counter-question, he would be out of there, not before breaking a few things.

"Attacks ke poore plan ki mastermind Veer ki mummy, Roop Singh Oberoi hain."

Shivaay wrist fell on the table with a thud.

"What? Kya nayi bakwaas hain yeh?!" Shivaay yelled.

"Arey! Main small-talk karoon ya big revelation, tumhe sab bakwaas hi lagta hain." Svetlana said and twitched her mouth.

"Do you realise tum meri bua ka naam le rahi ho?" Shivaay questioned.

"Do you realise yeh wahi bua hain jisne apne hi ghar mein chori ki, pakdi gayi, ghar se nikalwaayi gayi, phir waapis aayi toh Omkara ko moortiyon mein drugs smuggle karne ke jurm mein phansaane ki koshish ki?" Svetlana said in her signature sarcastic tone, stretching some words.