Frames of Destiny

Chapter 17

A few days later...

Sidharth is having his lunch break when his manager, Madhu, knocks softly on the door of his vanity van..."Sir...?"

"Haan Madhu?" ...he responds..

"Sir kuch baat karni thi..."...she says hesitantly.

"Hmm come in".. he nods, waving at her to enter..

Madhu steps inside the vanity being a little cautious and nervous at the same time! Sidharth can tell from her face that something is bothering her..

"Lunch kar liya na tumne?"..he asks while trying to sound casual as he chews..

"Sir meri bhook ud gayi jab maine Ayesha ka interview dekha.."...she replies being all concerned..

Sidharth becomes aware at the mention of Ayesha, the new actress in his film..

"Kya interview?" he asks with a serious tone now..

Madhu continues..."Sir, Ayesha ne ek interview diya hai jismein usne kaha ki even though she is a celebrity kid, she has faced harassments like casting couch and body shaming in this industry. Now that you are all set to give her the first break, people are assuming that it could be you she is hinting at..!"

Sidharth lets out a frustrating sigh while running a hand through his hair.."Why is she such a dumb fuck?!" he mutters being all irritated!

She tries to match his expression.."She is! It's viral.. kaafi log iske baare mein baat kar rahe hain..!"

"How viral is it?" he asks..

"Kaafi articles ban chuke hain us interview ke baad. Sir mujhe lagta hai yeh uski brainless PR stunt hai.." Madhu states quite obviously..

"Hmm ho sakta hai... par jaane do.." ..he says while pushing the matter aside..

"Right Sir but I guess it's high time for her to act according to the contract..should I have a word with her in this regard?"..she asks to seek his approval..

"Hmm...I think you should!" he agrees..

"Sure Sir..! Enjoy your lunch..".. Madhu says before leaving the van, closing the door softly behind her..

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Sidharth's phone rings on his way back home... it's his mother..

"Haan Mom?"..he answers by switching the call to the bluetooth speaker..

"Haan beta kaha hai abhi?"

"Baas..heading home Mom. Kya baat hai? Everything alright?"...he asks sensing something is off..

"Haan sab theek hai lekin woh Shehnaaz k Dadaji bohot bimaar hai..her father called in the afternoon and informed her about this...Kafi restless thi tou maine puchliya if she wanted to pay a visit to Punjab, she nodded immediately..So I got her tickets done for an immediate next flight, which is at 10 pm.."...Mom narrates the instance..

Sidharth tries to process this sudden news, however lets his guard down to ask..."Ok so her flight is in 2 hours..hai na?"

"Hmm lekin driver bhi nahi hai, Airport kaafi door hai yahan se. Woh keh rahi thi ki Uber book kar legi..but I thought I should atleast ask you.." his mother adds..

"Theek hai Mom, ask her to get ready. I will take her to the airport..".. Sidharth replies with a steady voice..

"Ok but are you sure? Tu kaha hai abhi?"

"I am just around the corner Mom"..he reassures her..

"Alright then I am asking her to get ready.." she agrees..

"Hmm.."..he replies before ending the call..

As he hangs up, he thinks from the stress of Ayesha's reckless interview to Shehnaaz's family emergency, everything seems to be spiraling out of control!

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They are almost approaching the airport parking zone..

Shehnaaz remained quiet the whole way from home to here and did not engage in any conversation with him..

After parking the car, Sidharth glances at her intently to pick up a conversation..

"Tumi theek ho?"..He gazes at her, leaving the engine running to keep the AC on..

"Hmm..aapne mujhe terminal par kyun nehi chora?"..she asks wondering..

"Kyunki you still have almost 1 hour and I thought I should be here with you till then.."..he gives an honest reply without much hesitation..

She doesn't react much, rather returns back to her quiet phase again..

"What is it Shehnaaz? Is it just your Dadaji or is something else bothering you?"...he asks sensing something off about her mood.

She closes her eyes, takes a pause and looks at him sternly..."You should not work with Ayesha.."

"Huh?!"..he was least expecting this..

"Why are you so surprised?! She has almost shattered your image on social media! Main aur aunty is bare mein baat kar rahe the as I got really off hearing this and she thinks in the same way..!

"I can't na? She has signed a contract with us!"...he states calmly..

"To hell with your contract! She is sabotaging your image and aapko contract ki pari hai?!"...she almost tones up looking at him in a rage..

Sidharth glances at her with a soft chuckle escaping as he notices her0 adorable grumpy expression..

"Aap has kyun rahe ho? I am serious!"..she gets irritated..

"Baas aise hi..!"..he replies smiling softly at her...

"Mujhe yahan aana hi nehi chahiye tha aap k sath!"..she reaches out to open the door in order to get out of the car when he grabs her arm to halt her back..."Arehh..! Shehnaaz come'on!"

"What come'on?! Usko detain karo, kuch karo warna main baat nehi karungi aap k sath!"..she almost tones up..

He smiles again at her innocence..."Relax! This is totally common in our industry. I don’t even know why we are discussing this! My manager and team are there to handle it. Don’t burden yourself with extra stress, you are already dealing with enough..!"

She gazes at him without blinking, and tears begin to fill her eyes now..

Sidharth feels a sudden sting in his chest seeing her tearing up suddenly! That unspoken bond between them compels him to gently cradle her face in his hands..."What is it? Batao..?!"

"I can’t stand when someone degrades you like that..!"..she replies..

"Tou karne do na! You trust me, don’t you?!"

"Of course I do! I am not upset because you are being linked to some crazy woman! I trust you completely! But she is trying to damage your reputation and it is driving me insane!"...Her voice carries a deep sense of belonging that touches him deeply again! Once again, he is all content but he knows that he needs to calm her unsettling mind as well..

"Theek hai baba relax! I promise I will speak to her very sternly tomorrow. Happy?"

"Hmm… better."

He adds further to lighten up her mood..."Now tell me, who is going to give me company all night? Who am I going to have chai with at 3 a.m.? When are you coming back?!!"

She looks at him closely and her eyes well up completely now! She is unable to hold back any longer and she breaks down, collapsing into his arms..!

He quickly wraps her in his embrace, holding her tight. They don’t say another word and the silence between them says everything that needs to be said..!

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Do Dil Mil Rahe Hai, Magar Chup Ke Chup Ke! 🤫