26. Mayukhi
TWENTY-SIX
Mayukhi
She woke the next morning, her head surprisingly clear and her heart unbearably heavy. Mayukhi pushed herself out of bed and padded into the bathroom to brush her teeth and shower. She’d just stuck the toothbrush in her mouth when she remembered something she’d forgotten to tell Shawn about yesterday.
She went back into the bedroom, toothbrush still sticking out of her mouth and hunted up her phone from the depths of her bed. She had over sixty five notifications from work and assorted friends. She scanned through them cursorily checking to see if anything needed immediate attention. She was typing out her message to Shawn when the phone vibrated in her hands. A new message from Tech Whisperer as she’d saved his contact now.
Heist was a no show. Do over tonight? Doc Bandit on shift. Significant other will be asleep by nine.
She stared at the phone. He’d kissed her to prove a point yesterday, turning her inside out for no reason other than to further his goal. She’d thought…what had she thought? That they were friends now? That they were possibly going to be something more?
She was the biggest fool in the Universe. All Ishaan and she were was what they’d always been. Two people who disliked each other forced to pretend otherwise for a common goal. Mayukhi stared at the old scar in her palm. She was doing this for a reason. She should remember that, keep it front and centre in her mind. It was best not to make it into something it wasn’t.
It was best to remember that Ishaan Adajania wasn’t for her. They were just two ships passing in the night amidst some turbulent waters. And if she didn’t want to drown or be lost at sea, she’d better keep her head about her.
Sure.
She didn’t add anything to the message beyond her basic agreement. She’d offered to help him steal the trophy. She’d stick to that. She’d never gone back on her word before and she sure as hell wouldn’t start with Adajania and his stupid lips. Stupid, kissable lips.
Attire: Black. Makeup: Nil. Important to not draw attention.
Mayukhi stared at the message that had just come in. Makeup: Nil? Ishaan had lost his everloving mind if he thought she was going anywhere without makeup. She gave her teeth one last, aggressive brushing before spitting out the foam and rinsing her mouth. She stared at her reflection, the gears in her head turning as she contemplated her next move.
Finally, she typed out a reply.
Will not draw attention.
It took only a few seconds for a reply to buzz through.
Don’t think that’s possible. Anyway, Tech Whisperer Over and Out.
Mayukhi shook her head, an unwilling smile tugging at her mouth as she pushed her unruly hair out of her face and shrugged out of her tank and shorts in preparation for the shower. Say what you wanted to about the idiot, he could always make you smile. She took a deep breath and faced herself in the mirror. Smile, fight, whatever she wanted to do with him, as long as she remembered that this was temporary, she would be fine.
She stepped into the shower, allowing the scalding hot water to cascade down her body. She tipped her face up, eyes shut as she tried to get the water to rinse out her muddled thoughts and emotions too. But nothing worked.
All she saw was those dark, intense eyes boring into her, his lips moving on her own. A dull ache started between her legs and she snapped her eyes open on a gasp. Refusing to give into this rampant desire, Mayukhi soaped herself quickly before stepping out of the shower, towelling herself dry and getting into a lavender maxi dress. She allowed her hair to air dry into a mass of waves that rippled down her back. Grabbing her purse, she left her room, intending to head to work.
“Yukhi.” Her father’s voice stopped her.
“Good morning Baba,” she said in greeting, stepping through the door and into the living room. She came to an abrupt halt when she saw who sat there, sipping green tea with her father.
“Sahay Uncle,” she greeted Dhrithi’s father with a fake smile. “Hello.”
She’d never liked him and she’d never known why. He was a cold fish, ice in his veins. Her father was many things but he’d always been a somewhat decent father to her. Arindam Sahay, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care if his daughter lived or died. And that in Mayukhi’s eyes was unforgivable.
“Beta, Sahay Uncle has good news for us,” Baba said when it was clear Mr. Sahay had no intention of returning her greeting.
“He does?” Mayukhi sat down in the chair across from their unexpected morning guest and crossed her legs, waiting for Baba to get to the point.
“He’s going to bail our company out.” Baba was ecstatic. “And then we are not beholden to that crass upstart anymore and you can get on with your life, happily. We are so grateful to you, Sahay Ji.”
Mr. Sahay took another delicate sip of his green tea. Mayukhi suppressed the urge to upend it on his crotch.
“Nothing to be grateful about, Chatterjee,” Sahay responded after swallowing his miniscule sip of tea. “After all, we old money, old school folk have to band together against these vulgar social climbers right?”
“How?” Mayukhi asked, the single word cutting through their mutual back scratching.
“How what?” Mr Sahay looked at her quizzically.
It was amazing that this cold blooded lizard had contributed the sperm that made Dhrithi. She was the warmest, most loving, most exuberant soul Mayukhi had ever known. Mayukhi had never questioned why Varun had wanted Dhrithi so desperately. Being around Dhrithi, knowing her, meant wanting to bask in her reflected sunlight. Being loved by her meant allowing the same sunlight to warm you from the inside out.
“How do you plan to bail my father out?” she asked, her voice crisp with disdain. “Aren’t you bankrupt?”
Mayukhi’s father stilled in his chair. “What are you talking about Yukhi? Sahay Saab-“
“Is as broke as a dog scrounging in the trash. So, how are you going to bail us out?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Sahay matched her disdain for disdain.
“Don’t you?” A thin, mirthless smile stretched her lips. “Your daughter didn’t inherit the money you were desperate to use to settle your debts. All she got was that massive house which even if she sells…I doubt you’ll be the first beneficiary of her ridiculously large heart. So, how? Where is your money coming from? Who is funding you?”
“I don’t need to explain myself to you.” He stared at her like she was a cockroach that had wandered over to play with him. “You want the money or not? It’s simple enough.”
“Not.” Mayukhi tossed out casually. “We’re good, thanks. We don’t need your financier’s money. We have my fiancés.”
A red flush tinged his cheeks as he looked from Mayukhi’s father to her. “You’ll regret this. How are you going to get out of marrying that bastard?”
“I’m not going to get out of it,” Mayukhi said cheerfully. “I’m going to ride this money train to kingdom come baby.” She flashed a grin, a shark’s grin. “And I do mean ride.”
“Yukhi!”
Her father’s scandalised shout had her rising from her seat.
“That social climbing upstart that you all despise,” she told both men. “Is worth ten of you. He has more class in his little finger than you could embody in ten lifetimes.”
“How dare you?” Dhrithi’s father got to his feet to face her, his anger chillingly vicious.
Mayukhi watched his fingers flex at the side and she wondered if he was thinking about wrapping them around her throat. When she directed her smile at him, it was a razor blade that promised infinite pain.
Mr. Sahay was about to find out she was nothing like his daughter. She wasn’t everything good and kind and sweet. She was a thorny cactus who would take pleasure in drawing blood if he came for her and hers. And she was starting to realise that this little bunch of people were also inexplicably hers.
“I dare so much more than this,” she answered over her own father’s spluttery noises. “Thank you for your offer of help but please, focus on your own problems. Ours are mine to handle.”
“You’re going to marry that trash for money.” Mr. Sahay’s mouth twisted with disgust.
“Well.” Mayukhi shrugged, allowing her own disdain to show. “You married your daughter to filth for money, so it does seem to be a bit of trend at the moment, doesn’t it?”
“You’ll regret this,” he snarled, his Ice Man mask slipping, as he stormed out of her home.
“I already do,” Mayukhi murmured as she watched him go. “Just not for the reasons you think.”