The cupid's mistake

Prologue

"Seventy lakhs."

A sly smirk appeared on the left corner of Ehan's lips as he watched everyone go dumbstuck for a moment.

The auctioneer had been bidding fifty two lakhs when Ehan decided to annouce this price, a value almost twenty times the original. The other bidders were not at all prepared for this. They didn't know if the white washed villa located on the outskirts of Dehradun, was even worth the money or not.

And honestly, neither the business tycoon Mr. Ehan Ranawat had any idea about it. He just knew that he was there to win and so he claimed a price that was enough to make people get confused or jealous, or feel like losers at its best.

People's emotions mattered to Ehan. Their failures, their loses- everything mattered to him.... and that was totally because he wanted to see himself superior than all of them. Superiority was never a choice for him, it was a goddamn necessity and he ensured to maintain this superiority inact for as long as his breathes were on.

"Seventy lakhs one.. seventy lakhs two.. seventy lakhs th...."

"Eighty lakhs." Out of nowhere, a female voice interrupted the auctioneer to stop.

The voice as crisp as the afternoon sky and yet as sweet as melted marshmellows, grabbed everyone else's attention as well and made them turn their heads to look behind.

Only Ehan was the exception amongst them. He didn't, or rather couldn't, turn back his head. He was way too numb for that. The voice had started paralysing him in ways and his eyes got shut, hoping and praying so that his assumptions turned out wrong.

Little did he know that fate had some other plans today... that it had decided to play harsh upon Ehan... harsher, than he could have ever imagined.

"Ms. Nivedita Bhattacharya, you are late."

Chills ran down his spine as soon as the auctioneer's words hit his ears.

Nivedita Bhattacharya? My Nivi? He squeezed his eyes tighter, the muscles of his forehead throbbing painfully. But Nivi and business??

"But the auction isn't over yet!" The female voice came chiming again.

"It hasn't, but..."

"You know what? I was planning to apologise for my late arrival but now I think that I should better take back my apology."

"Ms Nivedita.."

"EIGHTY LAKHS, I said."

This can't be my Nivi. For once I can imagine her joining business, but mistreating people like this? No, my Nivi can never do that.
Ehan breathed in a sigh of relief.

"Eighty lakhs one.. eighty lakh two....."

-Won't you turn back and see her face? Ehan's subconcious asked him.

He smiled at him wryly and replied- I still don't have the guts... maybe she isn't my Nivi.. but the similarities in name.. and voice.....

-Are you sure she isn't your Nivi?

Ehan gulped. A thin stream of sweat trickled down his forehead. He touched that sweat bead and noticed in awe that how badly he was perspiring inspite of this cold temperature around.

-Atleast turn back and bid a higher price. Remembered, you are here to win and not to lose?

'Yes, Ehan Ranawat can't lose to anyone.' He murmured to himself and got up from his chair.

But just before he could open his mouth, he heard the auctioneer declaring truimphantly- "Eighty lakhs three.... and this beautiful house finally belongs to the very beautiful Ms. Nivedita Bhattacharya!"

He heard a row of applause after that. Applause, admiration, greetings- he heard them all. And yet he couldn't understand that why did he loose.. that how did he loose.... this business deal and his self confidence.. he wasn't suppose to lose everything just like that!

"Thank you everyone. Thank you so much... But Mr. Karthik, will you please mind telling me that whom did I defeat in this auction?" The female voice questioning the auctioneer, broke Ehan's reverie in a jiffy.

He felt his nerves hardened at that. So much of sarcasm, so much of pretence, he felt digusted at the way that women spoke. Though he was nothing less than her, he too had been accustomed to insulting people using the sweetest words possible, yet when he was shown his own mirror he couldn't stand the truth even for a second. He took a deep breath and clenched his fists and with his insides growling with severe loath and rage, he turned back to face the women... to fulfill her desire or to give her the right answer.. Whichever seemed suitable!

"Yes?" He grumbled in his doomy, husky voice.

He wanted to intimidate the women with that voice. He had always been intimidating everyone like that. But today, fate was seriously against him. Today, he was the one to get intimated and not the other way round. For the woman standing opposite to him, had none of his impacts harboured into her. She was just as calm and composed as before and was smiling at him with all her delight.

Surely she was immuned to this terror of a man.

And why won't she? She was Nivedita Bhattacharya afterall, Ehan's very own Nivi, trapped inside the body of an arrogant damsel, who knew Ehan for too long to be not immunised from him already!

"Ah.. Business tycoon Mr. Ehan Ranawat!!" She chuckled ruefully, sarcastically and stretched her right hand towards Ehan. "Nice to...."

"Defeat me?" The heaviness of Ehan's voice had rumbled into a tone which he couldn't identify anymore. He despised himself for that, but continued maintaining his facade somehow.

"You know me so well!" Nivedita chuckled again. And if Ehan was not wrong then he had seen her gasping too. The gasp was a small, inaudible one. So was the gulp that followed next. The movement inside her throat was too subtle for anyone to notice. But Ehan wasn't anyone. He was someone who knew this woman by every cell, every fibre of her body. He knew her beyond measures... beyond infinity... beyond life.. for this was the only person who ever happened to define life to him.

"But I wasn't going to say that Mr. Ranawat." She cocked her brows and shook her head sweetly. "I was just saying- nice to meet you.."

..Again. She added inside her head.

Irony was that she didn't know herself if the last sentence she spoke meant sarcasm or genuine happiness. She was confused, lost and maybe a little more broken than usual. Yet, she didn't drop a single tear... just the way Ehan had sucked back his own tears. Amazing actors they were, both of them. And more than that they were two stubborn souls, determined to not to cry for the mistake that Cupid had made some seven years ago.

The undeniable, unvalidatable, irriversible Cupid's mistake...
____________________________________

Author's note:P

Hey peeps, am back again.

Its going to be a short story this time. Maximum number of chapters will be 10 perhaps and updates will be slow. I am not asking for your cooperation, which I know, won't happen really even if I ask. So.... you people are kinda free. I will be happy if you people find the story good and keep sticking to it till the end.

P.S- TCM is going to be an intense story with certain touch of freshness. Its nothing like a love story next door, yet I hope you'll find similarities beyond yourself and these two star crossed lovers- Ehan and Nivedita.

Stay tuned to know more. Happy reading.

                                ~