Living in a Mirage

Chapter Thirteen

"If they keep coming back to you, it isn't love. It is because you made yourself an easy option. The moment the thing they truly want becomes less difficult to obtain is when you will realize that your worth was on sale."

- Shannon L. Alder

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Dedicated to lovely sangy1989 who encourages me to do more, to do better with her curious nature and kind words... Thank you for supporting and for being the sweetest one! :)

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Standing in front of the apartment with the nameplate of 'Murthy's', Dhruv Vedant was hesitating to ring the doorbell when suddenly the door opened. The force behind the movement startled him, but he was more shocked when he looked up to find, out of all the people, Nyonika Malhotra standing in front of him. And as he kept looking at her with his eyes wide open, she walked past him, out of the house, in her usual arrogance, without even sparing him a glance.

"Nyonika Ma'am," he called her out while a few men - who looked like lawyers - walked past him.

"Dhruv, you might be just the person I was looking for," she acknowledged him as she turned around to look at him with a cunning smile.

"Sign these!" She ordered him as she indicated one of the lawyers to hand him the papers.

"What are these for?" He asked her as he looked at what seemed like a legal document.

"It's the petition that my lawyers are going to submit for Manik's death certificate!" She stated as if she felt nothing wrong in saying those words out loud.

"I-This. Won't the Court tell you to wait till his dead body is found?" He asked, unsure.

"Oh, please, Dhruv spare me. Don't act like that naive Murthy girl and your stupid friend, Cabir. It has been almost seven months. If it wasn't found till now that means we won't ever find it. If you will not sign the papers then buzz off - don't waste my time. And move on, do not drown in despair," she snapped before turning around to walk away.

"I have!" He screamed out, making her stop in mid-step.

"I have moved on," he said again when she looked at him as if she was making sure he had no doubts. He stood his ground as he kept looking at her in the eyes and did not take his claim back; making it clear that he meant what he said.

"Then you won't have any problem in signing these papers, would you?" She asked him challengingly and smirked when he nodded.

But as he took the paper in his hands, he suddenly felt that what he was about to do meant more than what she was letting on. With a sigh, he looked up at her.

"You can't, right?" She taunted mockingly.

"You are pathetic, Dhruv. You claim something that isn't true. Just a waste of time as you have always been," she looked at him as she was disgusted.

After giving the lawyer on her left side a pointed look, she stormed out towards the gate with her usual grace and elegance.

Just when he was about to walk into Nandini's home, someone called him out.

"Mr Dhruv!" It was the lawyer Nyonika had last looked at.

"Here is my card, if you change your mind, you can contact me here," The man in black told him as he passed him his card.