HIS LITTLE EMPRESS ( It's FORBIDDEN)

( Chapter-16) ( I trust you)

Arriving in front of Centrum Bar, they find a good crowd there. There are reporters from various news channels as well as other people along with them. Everyone gets excited at the sight of Aden. Question after question is rushing. Not just the question; they are trying to spin the issue for the sake of publicity. No one is holding any errors. These are the same people who showered him with praise on the opening day of his art gallery a few days ago and are asking questions today.

"Mr. Paul, what is your opinion about those pictures? That girl is seen very close to you. What kind of relationship do you have with her??"

"You are the owner of this bar. Also, you have many other bars and pubs here. Never before has such a picture gone viral. Is there a huge age difference between you and that girl? Is this closeness with someone just like that? Rumors or some other reason?"

"It sounds that that girl is your stepdaughter! Is that true?? You must understand exactly what these photos of people like you with her are pointing."

"So the wedding ceremony with Srijit Sen, the announcement you made on the opening day of the art gallery was just a show?"

"Mr. Fine Wine, is it finally with someone like your daughter ??"

"That's enough. You all have been talking nonsense for too long. Are you here to know the truth or to smear someone's character to boost your own publicity??"

Ran starts shouting angrily. It is not possible for him to digest these dirty questions for so long. Although Aden gives him a lot of advice when they arrive, not to do anything in the excitement where they muddy things up even more. But he can't anymore. But Aden, isn't he angry after absorbing such nonsense?? Of course it is. But he learned long ago to make phony countenance. And knows very well how to hide the real conflagration behind fake water.

Suddenly he is lost from reality for a moment. The entire scene ahead has changed. A group of people with sticks and torches are running towards him. They seem to blend in with the voice of reality, rekindling those old taboo dirty hints. Likewise, they are shattering his body like arrows. Everything is blurring in front of his eyes like a fusion of cinema and reality.

Amidst all this, a girl from the gathering shouts,

"Exactly. We ourselves were present here yesterday. So we saw everything. Eshna Sen herself, intoxicated, committed the barbarism. Mr. Paul is not to blame here."

Several others agree with her.

"Yes. Last night Eshna Sen got drunk and did all this by herself, and this morning she is trying to gain publicity by making those photos viral. We are requesting the media to take strict action against Eshna Sen instead of making unnecessary trouble here."

And this is where Aden comes back to reality. It has slowly become Aden vs. Eshna. Everyone likes to join their own group and throw mud at others. He knows these boys and girls. They often visit here. This centrum bar is also his favorite. So by spending time here, the faces of the regular customers here have become familiar to him. Everyone is so involved in arguments among themselves that slowly all the blame is shifting towards Eshna.

So his groomed exterior is preparing to break. His gray eyes are flaring up like a hungry, ferocious hyena on hearing one such complaint about Eshana. It's as if the prey is right in front of him, but he is chained. Once released, he will devour the prey's flesh. Realizing can't hold back much longer, Aden sternly replies,

"Just stop this trash. Enough is enough. Please stop smearing someone's character without knowing anything. And I'm saying it for everyone. You came here today to know the truth, not to create an uncomfortable atmosphere by dividing into two groups, didn't you?? Well, I'm opening the gallery right now, where CCTV footage from last night will be on display. I hope you will give me at least that time. And till then, keep peace among yourselves. Then I'll answer all your questions myself."

Amidst the storm of words, Aden's statement is enough to silence everyone. In no time, the long gallery behind the bar is lined with large screens like a cinema hall. Everyone sits in a row of chairs, creating a huge press gathering environment. At Aden's signal, Ran turns on the remote in his hand. And on the big screen, the scenes of last night begin to unfold with noise. As Eshna was drunk too much or started to sway, her conversation with Bria and Ran, everything is witnessed by all. The footage also shows the time on the bar's digital clock. Then the real climax enters. Where Eshna was repeatedly forcing Aden to dance with her. When she entered the dance floor to ask Bria to video them, everything is on display. But the curtain's closed before the last part.

Here, Aden has already told Ran not to show any more footage after this. Because the pictures posted from Eshna's account are only taken from this category. The clock time seen in the photo can be easily verified by matching the clock time seen in the footage. Anyone who sees it will understand. Even if there's such a problem, he will handle it differently. Moreover, the matter has reached a point where, without the footage, Aden will have no problem proving his innocence with a compelling piece of evidence. But it is not at all in favor of Eshna.

And even then, what Eshna did next would be a scandal if everyone saw it. An awkward tug-of-war will begin with her. At least Aden himself knows very well how difficult it is to extricate once gets involved in such a sensitive matter. Yes, his character may have been tarnished again. Some must have said Eshna was drunk, but he was not. So why didn't he stop her??? Of course, none of this matters. Now he is no longer that teenage Aden.

This is where many of you might think of Eshna's conversation or Aden putting his hands on her waist in anger. These are shown. Yes, shown, but very cleverly. From the exact spot where the footage was taken, it seems that she was unable to stand due to intoxication, so Aden tackled her and touched her. And abnormal behavior while intoxicated is nothing new. So there will be no question about conversation. Aden knows that. It is a mistake to think that one will speak normally where one cannot stand due to intoxication. Yes, you can say now, then she can do wrong while intoxicated. Where is the problem to show the next footage?? Then it would have been better to prove how false this allegation is. But there is a problem. First, there is no need for it. Because those photos were not taken from only the first part. And secondly, there is a big difference between words and actions. Be it drunk or normal!!

Seeing everything in front of their eyes, they all start some discussion among themselves. After a while, one of them says,

"We are sorry. It was not our intention to harass you like this. But due to the situations we had to. Everything is clear now. But after everything, one question remains. We saw that Eshna Sen was so drunk that she was not conscious. So this morning, why did she post those pictures herself??"

"Mhmmm....how can you be sure that the pictures posted on her account means she did it herself?? Do we know all aspects of social media?? Many things happen without our concern. And such incidents are not new; they've happened before. Even there was no less confusion about this. But what was revealed in the end!!!" Aden answers affirmatively with conviction.

"But sir, their account was hacked. Did something like that happen here? We just got the news; she deleted the photos a few minutes ago. Does that mean she didn't??"

"Look, it may be like this. May not be. Because, apart from hacking, it's also possible. There are many such applications, with which this kind of misunderstanding may arise if the social media account is linked. This happened to me a few days ago. I also realized it later. Eshna too determined and deleted it."

"So you're sure Eshana Sen didn't do anything on purpose?"

"Yes, I'm quite sure of it; she didn't do it on purpose. She can't..."

The expression on Aden's face as he speaks about Eshna says he believes the truth. And this belief needs no proof. Because he doesn't fail to recognize people. Over the years, he has seen many masks and got to know the face behind the mask. He knows what is intentional and what is unintentional. Just as predicted last night too, Eshna did indeed play the intoxicating drama. Just thinking about her stubbornness couldn't stop her. Also knows that she did not intentionally post those photos in any media.

"Yes, he is right. And I have proof." At this time, Bria says these things from among the crowd of journalists. Everyone present is shocked to see her suddenly.