Meant to be yours

Unexpected twist

Third person's POV:

" What have you decided? I am ready to release all the pictures as we speak." RD threatened Payal ,the moment she picks up the call.
" I will be dropping her to college tomorrow. On the way, I  will stop the car . You send the goons and take both of us to make it look like kidnapping.  After that , when Ishu sees both of us held captive , she wont suspect anything. After a while , you take me some other place and set me free. Sounds fine." Payal said , her voice slipping at the end.
" Yes. Wise decision, Payal." He said as he smiled wickedly . Unknown to her, he has recorded everything in his phone.
After she hung up,
" Boss, how did she agree so easily?" One of his trusted men asked him.
" She's a big star now. Add to that , newly married. She might have thought about what will happen if her pictures leaks . It will be a massive scandal."
" Also I am not planning to leave her alive. I am going to kill her and then release the audio so that people will think Payal did something to Ishika and they won't trace me . "
RD was convinced by Payal's words and decided to wait for another day before having Ishika in his arms forever.
What he didn't know was that his sister Latika has heard everything about his plan . 
She was suspicious of him ever since he found her six months ago. Her abusive husband suddenly vanished as if he doesn't exist and him , her brother came across her as if by co-incidence.
She thought that maybe her brother worked really hard after running away from home. She didn't know what he tried to do with Ishika back then.
She thought he ran away unable to bear their father's abuse whenever he visited them.
Past few days has been shocking to her.
First , she learned that he was doing illegal business behind her back.  He was always a good brother and will definitely a great uncle in future.
But,
He is dangerous to society. He had already ruined many families and in future, there will be many more. She can't get to be selfish. She hate it how she couldn't bring herself to report him to the police.
Her due date is also near. She didn't want Ishu, the girl she know for a year but gave her hope and courage to live her life not to suffer at the hands of her brother.
She was behaving normally around him as she waits his next move. She already know who she needs to warn.

Third person's POV:

Anamika drove with one hand on the steering wheel, the other resting lazily near the gear.
Payal sat beside her, unusually quiet as if she's plotting something big.
Which immediately made Anamika suspicious.
She glanced sideways.
“Why are you smiling like that?”
Payal startled. “What? I’m not smiling.”
“You are,” Anamika said flatly. “That’s your I’m-about-to-do-something-unhinged face.”
Payal ignored her and grabbed her phone.
“I’m going to call Ishu.”
Anamika groaned. “Why do you need my wife for your chaos?”
" Because she's more useful than you for this matter, my grumpy friend." Payal said as she texted her manager Mohit to get her something.

Payal had already pressed the call. Anamika sulked a bit .
📞 The Call
Ishika answered on the second ring.
“HELLO Payu,” she sang. “Tell me you’re bringing my wife back in one piece  . Don't hit her.”
Anamika gave " what the " look as Payal blinked.
" Yes. We didn't fight. I called because"
Payal grinned.
“I need help.”
“Oh.” Ishika perked up immediately. “ does the help involve Riya?”
Payal sighed dreamily.
“Yes.”
Anamika tightened her grip on the steering wheel.
Ishika gasped.
“PAYU, Did you finally  come to your senses and decided to be the wife like she deserves?”
Payal blushed. Anamika smirks at her.
“yes, I want to… confess properly. No jokes. No running.”
Ishika sniffed dramatically.
“ Massive Character development.”
Payal laughed nervously.
“So I need you to distract Riya. Get her out of our room. Keep her busy until I text you.”
Ishika hummed.
“Easy. I’ll lure her with emotional conversation and snacks.”
Anamika shook her head slowly.
“ my family has become a circus.”
Payal whispered into the phone,
“Thank you, Ishu.”
Ishika paused.
Then—completely unaware Anamika was sitting right there—she said cheerfully:
“Also, you need to help me . Because that wife of mine is something unbelievable. She’s a MONSTER when it comes to making me undone..”
The car swerved slightly.
“ISHIKA.”
Payal’s eyes widened.
“ what ? Anu —”
Ishika continued, oblivious.
“yes. So before she pounces at me, you better give me some ideas  to knock her out.  Your idea isn't working out. I gave her warm milk. Any ideas?”
Payal turned crimson.
“ISHU!” she squeaked. “STOP.”
Anamika glanced sideways, her eyebrow raised, voice deadly calm.
“Oh? I am still A monster?”
Payal panicked.
“I—she doesn’t mean—”
Ishika finally heard Anamika’s voice.
Silence.
“ Mika?” Ishika said weakly.
Anamika smiled sweetly.
“Hello, wife.”
There was a long pause.
Then Ishika muttered,
“…I didn't do anything. It's all her idea.”
Payal buried her face in her hands.
“Ishu,” she groaned. “You’re getting me killed.”
Ishika recovered quickly.
“Okay but listen—am I wrong? You saw the marks on me.”
Anamika scoffed.
“You’re going to bear the consequences of this ,Ishi.”
“Worth it,” Ishika replied proudly.
Payal peeked between her fingers, mortified.
“Can we PLEASE focus on my plan?”
Ishika snapped back into strategist mode.
“Yes. Romance first, survival later.”
She lowered her voice conspiratorially.
“I’ll take Riya out of your room . You set the scene. Light candles. Do the soft Payal voice. Maybe kneel—”
“I AM NOT KNEELING,” Payal protested.
Anamika snorted.
“ oh,She absolutely will. My sister deserve the best proposal.”
Payal groaned.
" Says the one who never went on her knees for   me."  Ishika mocked her. Anamika didn't reply as she drove.
“Text me when you’re ready. I will keep Riya busy.”
The call ended.
🚗 After the Call
The car was quiet.
Too quiet.
Anamika glanced at Payal.
“So,” she said calmly. “Knock me out with warm milk?”
Payal laughed nervously.
“sorry, You’re not a monster. Ishu is just messing with me. ”
“Oh?”
“You’re just energetic.”
Anamika smirked.
“Careful there with Riya. She's like lightening . You don't get time to even think when she strikes.”
Payal smiled, her heart racing.
Because tonight—
She wasn’t running.
She was going full romance.
And absolutely no one was prepared for it.
**
Ishika dragged Riya into the home theatre like it was a rescue mission.
“I was BORED,” Ishika declared, flopping into one of the plush seats and kicking her feet up.
“And you looked like you needed entertainment.”
Riya raised an eyebrow.
“You dragged me to watch a movie? At this time?”
“Yes,” Ishika said proudly. “And also because if I stay in the living room any longer, I will start playing guitar again—and we both know how that end.”
Riya snorted, settling beside her.
“End? Ishu, You traumatized the instrument.”
“That guitar started it,” Ishika said defensively. “It screamed first.”
Riya laughed. “Jazz recorded you like it was evidence.”
“I will never forgive her.”
They picked a random movie neither of them planned to actually watch. The screen glowed softly, popcorn between them.
Five minutes in, Riya nudged Ishika.
“So, about Guitar lessons.”
Ishika groaned.
“Do not.”
“You held it like a weapon but a instrument.”
“It was aggressive energy.”
“You nearly declared war on the neighbours.”
Ishika shoved popcorn into her mouth.
“Rude.”
Riya smiled, then grew quiet.
The silence shifted.
Ishika noticed immediately.
“So,” she said gently, “how are you really?”
Riya leaned back, eyes on the screen though nothing registered.
“…Better.”
Ishika waited.
Riya continued softly,
“Hearing from Jazz helped. About the kiss. About Payal.”
Ishika hummed.
“You looked lighter after talking with Jazz. I noticed.”
“I was,” Riya admitted. “It felt like a knot finally loosened.”
Ishika turned to her, more serious now.
“Can I ask you something?”
Riya nodded.
“Do you see a future with Payal?”
Riya didn’t hesitate.
She smiled—soft, certain, unshaken.
“Payal is my future,” she said simply.
“She’s my chaos, my calm, my headache… and my home.”
Ishika felt her chest warm.
“That sure sounded permanent.”
“It is,” Riya said. “Even when I’m mad. Even when I don’t understand her. She’s… everything.”
Ishika grinned.
“Well, good. Because she’s currently with my wife.”
Riya blinked.
“…Should I be scared?”
“Yes.”
“Excited?”
“Also yes.”
" I wonder who gets who first." Ishika playfully poked Riya 's cheeks.
Riya laughed, leaning her head back.
The movie continued playing in the background, forgotten.
And somewhere else in the house—
Payal was setting the stage for love.
**
Payal went inside her room and everything was ready as she requested Mohit. She thanked him on his way out.
Anamika was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, watching her with that knowing look.
“I’m going to my room,” Payal announced suddenly.
“Of course you are,” Anamika replied dryly. “You look like you’re about to combust.”
Payal ignored that and shoved a paper bag into Anamika’s hands.
“You give this to Riya,” she said quickly.
“When she comes to your room. Do it. Like—casually.”
Anamika blinked.
“Parcel?” she echoed. “What am I, courier service?”
Payal refused to meet her eyes.
“Just—give it to her. Casually.”
Anamika peered into the bag.
Inside was a neatly folded note…
and beneath it, unmistakably red fabric.
She pulled the note out first.
Her eyebrow slowly climbed.
“Ohhh,” she drawled. “We’re doing this.”
Payal groaned.
“Don’t read it.”
“I’m reading it,” Anamika said sweetly—and did.
The note was soft, messy, very Payal.
And at the bottom, written in slightly bolder handwriting:
" Wear this and find me."
Anamika glanced back into the bag and lifted the dress just enough to see it.
A red, sleeveless, body-hugging con dress.
Anamika let out a low whistle.
“Payal.”
" Stop,” Payal muttered, face on fire.
“You want her to walk or cause accidents?” Anamika teased.
“Because this is how you cause accidents.”
Payal hid her face in her palms.
“ No such thing happen. I just want
to see her in that dress. Only me.”
Anamika softened—just a little.
Then smirked again.
“And you’re going to confess to her secretly in your room like a criminal mastermind.”
“I AM NERVOUS.”
“You are married,” Anamika reminded her.
“To a woman who worships you.”
Payal peeked through her fingers.
“…You think she’ll like it?”
Anamika folded the note carefully and slid it back into the bag.
“Oh, she’s going to lose her mind,” she said calmly.
“I’ll deliver your scandalous parcel.”
Payal exhaled, relieved—and mortified.
“Thank you.”
Anamika turned toward the door, then paused and glanced back.
“By the way,” she added casually,
“ keep the noise down or else , I’m calling this emotional torture. I am her sister for god's sake. I don't  need those pictures on my head.”
Payal laughed despite herself.
" Take her to your room." Payal texted Ishika.
As Anamika walked away with the bag, she shook her head, smiling.
***
It was well past midnight when Jazz realized where she was standing.
The corridor was quiet, too quiet, the kind that magnified every bad decision. The lights hummed softly above her head as she stared at the familiar door, her hand hovering inches away from the bell.
She was drunk.
Not the loud kind.
The quiet, aching kind.
Before she could change her mind, the door opened.
Rebecca stood there in loose sleepwear, hair slightly messy, surprise flashing across her face before concern settled in.
“Jazz?” she said softly. “Do you know what time it is?”
Jazz swallowed.
“…I didn’t know where else to go.”
Rebecca stepped aside immediately.
“Come in.”
The door closed behind them with a gentle click that sounded far too final.
Jazz stood awkwardly in the living room, swaying just a little. Rebecca went to the kitchen, poured her water, and placed the glass in her hand without a word.
“Sit,” Rebecca said.
Jazz obeyed.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Jazz straightened, eyes sharp despite the alcohol.
“You shouldn’t marry her,” she blurted.
Rebecca’s shoulders stiffened.
“Jazz—”
“Melanie Rose,” Jazz continued, words tumbling out now. “She’s manipulative. Cold. She doesn’t love people—she acquires them.”
Rebecca turned to face her fully.
“This is not your place.”
Jazz stood up, unsteady but stubborn.
“She will control you. She’ll decide how you breathe, who you talk to—”
“Enough,” Rebecca said, voice calm but firm. “At least she wants me.”
The words landed like a slap.
Jazz froze.
Rebecca looked away, arms crossing protectively over herself.
“At least she chose me,” Rebecca continued quietly. “Not as a mistake. Not as a night that shouldn’t have happened.”
Jazz’s mouth opened.
Closed.
Then her face crumpled.
“No,” she whispered. “That’s not—”
Her voice broke completely.
“I did want you,” Jazz said, the words tearing out of her. “ God knows ,how much I want you. I still do. I care more than I admit. I am not used to these things. Everything I got was all my years of hardwork and Anamika. I owe that woman ,my life. But you. You are different. You came to me when I least expected it. I felt home that night in your arms. Far from everything. You felt like a safe haven. It scared me. I never used to people staying in my life. I lost my parents at a young age. Only Anamika and her parents . So, I flipped and blames it all on you.”
Her knees gave out as she sank onto the couch, hands clutching her hair.
“I was scared,” she sobbed. “ It was unfair to you. You tried to talk. I shut you out. I chose my fear, loyalty over love and now—now it’s too late. Isn't it?”
The tears came fast and violent, her body shaking as years of restraint collapsed in seconds.
“I hurt you,” she cried. “And I hate myself for it. I hate that I let you think you weren’t wanted. Believe me when I say this. You are more than enough. You deserve the best . Not the broken me . Not that Melanie. She'll ruin you, Bec. Please, don't marry her. I am sorry . I am really sorry for letting you feel like you didn't matter."
" Please don't destroy your future. I am sorry. I lost." Jazz fell on her knees.
" Please "
Rebecca stood frozen for exactly one heartbeat.
Then she crossed the room and pulled Jazz into her arms without hesitation.
Jazz clutched at her like a lifeline, breaking completely.
“ Jazz, look at me. It's ok. I’m here,” Rebecca whispered, holding her tight.
“It’s okay. You’re not alone.”
Jazz cried into her shoulder, the alcohol, the regret, the longing pouring out in quiet, shattered gasps.
Rebecca closed her eyes, heart aching as she held her.
And then—
The front door opened.
Heels clicked against the floor.
Melanie Rose stepped inside, impeccably dressed even at midnight.
She stopped.
Her gaze landed on the living room.
On Rebecca.
On Jazz.
On the way Rebecca’s arms were wrapped around her like instinct, like home.
Silence stretched.
Melanie’s eyebrow lifted slowly.
“Well,” she said coolly, eyes sharp with calculation.
“This is unexpected. Care to explain ,Ms.Wilson”
Rebecca stiffened.
Jazz didn’t move.
And in that moment, the air shifted—
heavy with truths that could no longer be ignored.