The sunlight peeked through the curtains, casting a golden glow on her as she slept. Her hair spilled across the pillows, shimmering in the light. The ringing of the phone shattered the silence, rousing her from slumber. She groaned, reaching out to grab her cell phone, still half asleep.
"Hello?" Her voice was thick with sleep, sounding nasal.
"Yo, still asleep? I thought you'd be ready in your battle armor," Neil joked from the other end of the line. She gasped suddenly, realizing the time. After returning late the night before, she had been too excited to sleep, tossing and turning until the early hours of the morning. She had completely forgotten about their plans for the day.
"Oh, I'm up," she exclaimed, throwing off the blanket.
"Relax, Love, I've got everything under control," he teased. Preeta yawned, rolling her eyes.
"I know I can count on you. How come you're awake so early?" she asked, glancing at the wall clock, which read 7:10 AM. "Seems like you've finally become responsible," she teased him.
"I was always responsible, in case you forgot," Neil retorted.
"Yeah, sure," Preeta teased back. "Anyway, what's up?"
"Finally, we have that scum in custody. Oh man, you should've seen his face when we took him in the middle of the night," Neil said, a hint of laughter in his tone. Preeta laughed.
"What are you going to tell your family about Ms. Janki?" Neil asked.
"Don't worry about that, my family is easy to fool. I'll distract them, and we can follow up on our plan," Preeta suggested.
"Roger that. Do you want me to pick you up?" Neil offered.
"Nah, I'll come in a while. The most important thing is that Sherlyn should never know that her lover boy is compromised."
"Yeah, I know, but we can also arrest her," Neil suggested, curious about her plans.
"We can, but let's play a bit with her," Preeta said, an evil glint in her eye.
"Preet, what are you planning?" Neil asked, shivering, and Preeta laughed.
She quickly showered and dressed in a black net anarkali. Today, she decided against wearing big jhumkas, opting instead for a wristwatch and her rings. As she joined the others for breakfast, the atmosphere was solemn.
"Preeta, you're awake. Did Prithvi tell you anything about Janki?" Sarla asked, her eyes red and her voice filled with sadness. Preeta suddenly felt a pang of pity for her mother, but she steeled herself. Her mother needed to learn this lesson.
Her mother was in the business where she met all kinds of people; she owned a marriage hall and had seen countless weddings, families, and the dynamics of relationships. Despite all her experience, she was so naive when it came to her own daughter. She had decided Preeta's fate over a bet. After two decades, she met her daughters but didn't bother to truly know them; instead, she simply wanted to marry them off. Preeta had been foolish too, but her foolishness stemmed from love for her mother. She had thought she needed to do something for her mother, but it seemed she had once again made a bad choice. She had forsaken logic for love, and now she saw where it had brought her.
"He did, Ma," Preeta replied sweetly. "He said Janki Aunty is in the hospital. He stayed with her the whole night. He said he would pick us up after catching some rest. Janki Aunty is all right, so we should not worry." Everyone sighed in relief. Sarla and Dadi began to praise Prithvi, extolling his virtues and how lucky Preeta was to have him as her betrothed. Preeta shook her head.
