Ishq~e~ulfat.

chapter -11

"That night, after dinner, everyone was in Ryan's room. They couldn't go to the terrace since Deepti still had a cough. 'So, what have you guys decided to play?' asked Nilay. 'Truth and Dare,' replied Ryan. 'What are the rules for it?' Kunal asked. 'The rules are simple: either answer the question sincerely or, as a punishment, take a shot of bitter gourd juice,' Deepti clarified.

Soon, the arrangements were done, with a glass bottle between them and the five of them sitting around it. The hunched-up shoulders, curious and calculative eyes, were fixed on the bottle, as if staring would save them from their fate. The bottle was spun, and it landed on Kunal. The gazes met, and minds raced with the same question: 'What to ask him?' 'Truth or Dare?' Ryan asked. 'Truth,' Kunal replied.

All of them looked at him, and before anyone could come up with a question, Nilay, who had been eyeing him with a calculating gaze, asked, 'What's your scene with your P.A.?' He asked directly, raising eyebrows and sparking curious glances. 'She likes me, that's it... and I'm not interested in her,' Kunal replied nonchalantly. All of them made a face, disappointed that the question wasn't more exciting.

This time, Kunal spun the bottle, and it landed on Ryan. 'Truth or Dare?' 'Truth,' Ryan said, receiving weird stares. 'Whom do you hate the most?' Kunal asked. 'No one,' Ryan replied. The turn continued, and finally, the bottle landed on Aditya, who was unusually quiet. He looked up at everyone, but the spark in his eyes was gone. 'Dare,' he replied without hesitation. Ryan and Deepti exchanged a look, hinting that something wild was coming as a dare. 'Get single malt whiskey from Papa's room,' they said in unison.

Aditya didn't show much emotion and got up to do the dare, with the others following behind him. 'Would he really do it?' 'If Uncle finds out about it, he'll for sure ban our entry to his floor.' 'Nothing will happen... Papa would be in his bedroom... or maybe he would notice it, as it's one of his favorites...' (For common knowledge, a single bottle costs around 5 lakh for 700 ml.) For now, they all forgot about the game, and the only thing they had in mind was Aditya succeeding in his dare.

All of them came to Kaushal's study, where he stored his liquor. The room was locked. After a lot of searching, 'Hey! Look what's there...' Ryan motioned towards a thick rag with pots on it. Nilay took out the metal, and it was the key to the study room. They entered inside, and were about to open the particular small bar room, when they heard footsteps (the perks of having strict parents). All of them looked at each other in horror. If their father came to know about this, it would be the end of them. 'Fuck it,' Deepti said, pulling them back.

All of them were looking at each other, blank. She looked at them to do something, but seeing them act like mannequins, she slapped her forehead for having these dumbs with her. 'Ryan, throw the keys at the porch.' She turned off the light and pulled them under the table. It was a small table, and fitting all five of them was just not possible. 'Why are you over me?' Aditya roared. 'For your kind information, we are hiding here, not on an office romance, so f*cking manage,' Deepti whispered, huffing.

Just when they thought everything was normal, Deepti's payal made a noise. She was going to take it off when they heard their father's voice. 'How is this room still open?' He questioned himself. 'Maybe I forgot to lock it...' He entered the room. They all stayed under the table, sticking to each other. Deepti coughed a little, and it was loud in the silent room. As soon as she coughed, Kunal covered her mouth from the other side with his hand. She looked at him questioningly, while he also looked at her the same way.

The table was small enough to fit all of them. Kaushal turned on the light to look for keys and saw them lying near the porch. He came into the room and turned on the room's light to check if there was a thief or someone inside. He checked everywhere and came towards the desk, which was hollow from one side. He looked from above, and all of them shifted back. Deepti tried to hide herself behind Kunal.