Siya's life in Chandipur was marked by resilience and solitude, her days consumed by nurturing the vibrant blooms of her flower shop. Abandoned at birth and haunted by the mystery of her parents' disappearance, she had grown accustomed to the whispe...
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I frowned at my phone, the screen flashing Tanishk. Ah, here it comes. I swiped the green icon, putting it on speaker, and before I could even manage a "hello," Tanishk's voice came through loud and clear.
"Today's the day, right? Everything's set up, so hurry up!" I felt a tickle in my throat and faked a cough, all the while giving Siya a sideways glance, praying she wasn't catching on. But the second he said "set up," her eyebrows shot up. She was too clever for her own good.
"Oh, it's today?" I said, trying for a nonchalant tone. Tanishk, bless his obliviousness, carried right on.
"Yeah, the whole thing's arranged! Oh, and we booked the main slot for Malika Queens for tonight—" That did it. Siya's eyes narrowed, her arm shot out, and before I could blink, she snatched the phone from my hand, the faintest smirk tugging at the corner of her lips as she leaned near the speaker.
"Tanishk." Her tone was so icy that I almost felt bad for him. Almost. There was dead silence on the line before Tanishk managed a stammered. Just don't create any blender! I hope.
"S-s-si... Siya bhabhi...?"
"Ah, you recognize me now," she said, tapping her finger on the phone like a judge's gavel, sending chills down my spine. I tried to reclaim the phone, but she swatted my hand away and pointed a finger right at my face, her glare saying all it needed to say: Don't even think about it. I backed up, hands raised.
"Well, please, continue," She settled into near by chair, one leg crossed over the other, the perfect picture of composed wrath.
"I'd love to hear all about this little event of yours. Especially Malika Queens....why does that sound so familiar?" She asked ever so sweetly and we're gone. On the other end, Tanishk made some noises that vaguely resembled words, like a toddler caught with his hand in the cookie jar. And then, because apparently, they hadn't learned, Yuvan jumped in, probably snatching the phone, getting done with this on-going scenario right now.
"A-actually, Siya," Yuvan tried to play cool.
"You see, we just... we figured Adhiraj could use a night out, you know, a last hurrah," Siya scoffed, and I could tell by the flash in her eyes that Yuvan wasn't going to talk his way out of this.
"Last hurrah?" she echoed, her voice similarly to honey laced with arsenic.
"In other words, you're using our wedding as an excuse to pull some amateur-hour nonsense. Really? And with that queen of Malika women?"
"W-what do you mean 'that women'?" Yuvan tried, and then, like the genius he is, he handed the phone back to Tanishk.
