Match Maker | ✎

10 | swindle

10 | swindle

FACING YOUR FEARS HAD NEVER BEEN EASY, and when you were afraid of the unknown, walking towards it was nothing short of a suicide mission.

That is exactly how I felt while Jia drove through the huge gates of Yadav Villas. My heart beat erratically in my chest, anxious about the consequences for my stupid actions, wary if they will catch onto us, and absolutely terrified of the outcome.

I took a larger gulp of my coffee, my hands itching for the drag of a cigarette. It was neatly stashed inside the cup holder, behind several other things. If I could just reach out and grab-

No.

I willed my heart to calm down, willed my mind to think straight. The sweat that broke out was unintentional and quite uncomfortable but I managed as we came to a stop.

"Think again,"

My head snapped towards Jia, watching her eyes grow wary behind those glasses. You could only catch it if something distressed her heavily.

"There's nothing to think about," I stated firmly, my words coming out stronger than how I felt, "We don't have money,"

"There must be something else-"

"Jia,", I hated fighting her, and hated that she was right. I knew what I was doing was wrong, especially after knowing Mr. Yadav wasn't like the other affluent people I knew. He had been nothing but kind and generous. I felt bile rise.

"This is on me," I got out of the car, and opened the rear door to collect our bags, "You or Neel or anyone in Match Maker has nothing to do with it."

Jia didn't fight me again as we got escorted inside the lavish mansion whose walls seemed to close in on me with every passing second. I clutched my little bag tighter, my knuckles turned white while we waited for them to arrive.

"Samira," the sound of my voice made me stand instinctively as Anirudh approached with open arms. It seemed with each encounter the old man only grew more comfortable and close with us, me.

"Anirudh," I returned the hug heartily, forcing my mind elsewhere as I wore my customer smile for everyone. Thankfully Siddharth Yadav was nowhere in sight, giving me time to prepare myself and spare the embarrassment that would ensue upon seeing him.

"What did you want to discuss?" He asked while taking a seat as Ramu served us tea. Just as I was about to launch into my well rehearsed story, Anirudh stopped me with the raise of a palm.

"Pehle chai," He pushed the cup of tea towards me as Jia slurped loudly from hers. I smiled nervously before taking a sip from my own, the spice of ginger exploding on my tongue. It almost managed to melt my burdens away. Almost.

[Hindi. But, first tea]

"The chai is really good," I told Ramu while raising the cup in appraisal while the other man simply nodded at me with his stoic expression and returned to his place beside the pillar.

We talked over tea, Anirudh proving himself to be a gossip monger of some kind. He was like Santa on a Christmas night, handing out the tales of high society freely like candies from his sack. I listened carefully, remembering to jot down important pieces for the future.