King of my Heart-Unroyals #1

14 | The deal

'Why the fuck did you bring me to the parking lot?' Ehan asked Samara, out of frustration, who was sitting in the driver's seat. 'It's been fifteen minutes already. Who are we waiting for?' He asked again, after checking the time. 
 
'Why are you so restless? Wait a jiffy.' She said while dialling a number on her phone. Ehan could hear the call being disconnected after a few rings by the other person whom she was trying to contact.
 
'There is that asshole.' She said in irritation as she spotted someone through the car's front glass. Ehan saw the person whom she was referring to, a lean man with a thick beard, wearing a black beanie and a leather jacket over a mustard-coloured shirt. His face seemed oddly familiar to Ehan.
 
'Is that?' Ehan tried to remember his name. 
 
Samara opened the door. The man got in, and settled on the seat behind them.
 
'Hitesh?' Ehan asked as his name clicked in his mind. 
 
It was indeed Hitesh. Ehan remembers him being his sister's paparazzi photographer. Her manager informs him of the places she would show up, whether it be the gym, restaurant or airport. He gets her exclusive photographs, while she gets to stay relevant in public. Profitable business for both parties.
 
'Haanji.' Hitesh exclaimed as Ehan recognised him. 
 
'Now, what do you want?' Samara asked looking back.
 
'Why are you getting so worked up, Samara Ji? I'm not here to pester you. I just need a little help from your brother.'
 
'Me?' 
 
'Him?'
 
Ehan and Samara asked simultaneously, in confusion. 
 
'Yes.' He replied with a wide grin.
 
'What help do you want from me?' His eyebrows formed into a frown. 
 
'Wait, I'll show you.' Hitesh said and fished out his phone. After a few seconds of scrolling, he gave his phone to Ehan. There was a picture open on the Photos app. 
 
'What is this?' Ehan asked, looking keenly while zooming in.
 
The picture was taken in the evening; it was dark, but he could still see the silhouette of the person in the photo who was about to enter a car—a white Ford Mustang, to be precise. He knew to whom it belonged. 'It's Kedar.' 
 
'Kedar?' Samara asked enthusiastically while craning forward to take a look at the photo. 
 
'Why are you showing this to me?' He asked, puzzled.
 
'I know you both study at the same school.' Hitesh said, leaned forward, and swiped to the next photo. It was the name plate of the house. It said 'Arora's'. 
 
'Do you know any Arora?' Hitesh asked.
 
Ehan's breath got stuck at the mention of the name Arora. He only knows one Arora. 
 
'No.' Ehan nodded his head, even though he was one hundred percent sure that it's Himani Arora's house. But he could not possibly think of a reason why Kedar was there.
 
'What do you actually want, Hitesh? You're just beating around the bush, aren't you?' Samara asked, annoyed.
 
'I want to know what the prince is up to. This is the closest I could get to an exclusive picture of him. Ever since he's been sent to that boarding school, it is as if he has vanished from the face of Earth. No paparazzi pictures. And that school has some strict rules regarding outsiders. It's hard to even take a stroll near the school. But this picture. It's a hind. It's not some random place. He was there on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi, when he was supposed to be at the palace. Why would he be there?' Hitesh said it in one stretch.
 
'Why would he be there?' That question was a stone aimed at Ehan's heart, waking up the silent volcano inside him. The heat of it burned his insides.
 
'How would we know?' Samara shrugged her shoulders. 
 
'You wouldn't know, but he would.' Hitesh looked at Ehan. 'You both might be friends since your sister is dating his brother. Now tell me, did the prince go there to meet his secret lover?' Hitesh asked with the eagerness of a hunter, waiting for his prey to show up.
 
His choice of words, particularly the word lover, has stirred Ehan's mental peace again, and that's when he finally burst with anger. 'I don't know, and I wouldn't tell a mutt like you even if I knew something.' 
 
Hitesh remained surprisedly calm even after Ehan called him stupid. A shadow of an evil smile flickered on his lips. 'Oh, honey, you would. You certainly would.' 
 
'What the hell are you going to do to me? Threaten me, strangle me, shoot me?' Ehan scoffed at him.
 
'Not you.' Hitesh's gaze slowly averted to Samara, who was silently watching the drama. 'What would the public say if they got to know that your sister, the goody two shoes, the perfect actress, a non-nepo kid who made a commendable career in Bollywood, is an attention seeker who would pay the paparazzi to circulate her pictures to stay relevant?' 
 
'No!' The word rolled out of Samara's tongue as soon as Hitesh finished his. 'You won't do that.' Samara's annoying voice has now changed into a pleading one.
 
'Yes. I have no remorse for throwing you to the wolves. I am a mutt, indeed.' Hitesh glanced at Ehan.
 
'If anything of that sort happens, I'd be finished. The internet would tear me apart.' Samara said it apprehensively. 'Ehan, tell him if you know anything about him.' 
 
Ehan felt pity at the sight of his sister's suffering. She has brought it upon herself. But he could do something to ease the situation. 
 
'What I told you is the truth. I don't know where Kedar goes or what he does. He keeps everything to himself.' 
 
'So you are friends.' Hitesh grimaced as Ehan took his bait. 
 
'We just know each other.'
 
'Then you can find out his whereabouts within a matter of time.' 
 
'You want me to spy on him?' Ehan asked in disbelief.
 
'Not just that. You take a picture when you see something scandalous and send it to me right away.' 
 
'What the absolute fuck?' 
 
'This or your sister's career down the drain. The choice is yours.' 
 
'Ehan.' Samara called him desperately. 'It's not like he is your best friend. I just don't want to taint my reputation. Just agree to whatever this fucker says and get it over with.' 
 
'Fine. But only once. I'll keep an eye out for him during the upcoming ball.'
 
'Ball? Like gym ball or football?' Hitesh asked in confusion. 
 
'Ball, you idiot. It's a high school dance like prom.' Ehan clarified.
 
'Ball it is, then.' Hitesh grimaced with success.

•
 
'I've told you a gazillion times that I'm not going to the ball.' Himani said to Lily and took another sip from her coffee, leaving a stain of her lipstick on the white rim of the takeaway coffee cup.
 
The annual autumn ball held in the ballroom of Aldridge-Heaton dates back to the colonial era. Now, after its end, they conduct the ball as an opening ceremony to the three-day-long inter school arts-literary championship hosted by Aldridge-Heaton, in which residential schools from Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh compete. 
 
'It's gonna be fun. I swear.' Lily walked fast to catch up with Himani's pace. 
 
'This school is anything but fun.' Himani rolled her eyes and tossed the coffee cup into the bin.
 
'Why are you being so stubborn? This is our only chance to go to the ball. We'll never get to experience this once we get into college.' Lily whined again as she remembered it was their final year at school, and only the final years were allowed to go to the ball.
 
'One, I have to study for the English test next week. Oxford won't turn a blind eye to my bad grades that happened because I spent my time enjoying some ball. Two, I have to practice Kathak. Three, I don't have anything to wear that is ball-appropriate.' Himani said. 
 
She was looking forward to the Kathak competition, as it'd be the last time she, as a final-year student, would be taking part in the school competitions. 
 
'Uh. Those are some trivial reasons. I've got plenty of dresses. I'll lend you some. Plus, it's just one night. I don't think Oxford would mind that.'
 
'I don't know...' Himani stopped walking and gave Lily's opinion some thought. 
 
'Come on, it's going to be like one of those period dramas where you meet a prince charming or a duke or a viscount or an earl...' Lily stopped abruptly as she ran out of titles.
 
'Enough with the romanticising.'
 
'Okay. So, come to the ball. And you love the dresses I sew. You'll look pretty in them.'
 
'I love them. That's why I'm gonna give it some thought later. Now is the time for Shakespeare. I'm getting late for my English class. See ya at lunch.' Himani said and vanished into her class, leaving Lily outside.