Chapter 7
The doorbell wouldn’t stop ringing, no matter how loudly Kashvi screamed at it in her mind.
Long and insistent, the sharp sound cut through the fragile silence of the apartment, pulling her out from under the cosy blanket she had curled into.
Kashvi groaned into the pillow. Her head throbbed faintly as she forced one eye open, squinting against the faint rays of sunlight streaming through the curtains. The bell rang again, longer this time, and her irritation flared.
She shoved the blanket away before pushing herself upright. Her hair fell around her face in tangled waves, and her limbs felt heavy as she dragged herself through the apartment towards the door.
She yanked it open and found Luv standing there, his grin widening at her scowl. ‘Well, hello, Sleeping Beauty.’
Kashvi glared at him, unimpressed by the amusement dancing in his eyes. ‘I’m going to kill you,’ she threatened calmly.
Luv leaned casually against the doorframe. ‘You really shouldn’t. I got you an amazing birthday gift. At least wait until I give it to you.’
‘It’s too early in the day to joke around, Luv,’ she warned him.
He glanced dramatically at his watch before looking back at her. ‘It’s four in the afternoon.’
She huffed. ‘I worked through the night and went to bed just two hours ago.’
He studied her with obvious delight. ‘Is that why you opened the door looking like a ghost?’
Kashvi wished she could shoot lasers out of her eyes.
‘Your wild hair is scary. I mean, I nearly screamed for a second,’ he added, straight-faced.
Her fingers tightened around the edge of the door as she smiled sweetly. ‘Then why don’t you get lost?’
Before he could answer, she pushed the door shut with a loud thud.
Outside, Luv burst into laughter. ‘So should I take away this biryani I brought?’
Her stomach betrayed her, grumbling traitorously. Kashvi opened the door again with an irritated groan. He stood there with two paper bags and a look of smug triumph.
‘I hate you,’ Kashvi muttered, stepping aside.
‘But you love biryani,’ he replied, brushing past her with a grin.
Luv headed towards the kitchen with the bags. Kashvi wandered through the living room and down the hallway to check if Swayam was in his room. The door was open, but his room was empty.
Her mind flitted back to their kiss last night. She should have felt relieved to avoid that conversation, but his absence unsettled her even more.
Kashvi headed to her bathroom and splashed water over her face. The chill chased away the lingering fog of sleep.
When she returned, Luv was pulling plates from a cabinet. Kashvi moved to the dining table and opened the food cartons, releasing the rich, spicy aroma of biryani into the room.
Her mouth watered. ‘Why are you eating lunch so late?’
‘Got caught up with work. I called Swayam to catch up, and he said even you guys hadn’t eaten yet, so I brought food for everyone.’
At the mention of Swayam, she tried to sound casual. ‘Where is he?’
Just then, they heard the click of the lock, and the door opened. Kashvi glanced up, and her breath caught when he walked in.
Swayam wore a plain teal T-shirt, darkened with sweat along the collar and across the broad line of his chest. The fabric stretched just enough to outline the firm muscles beneath.
His loose track pants hung low on his hips in a way that made Kashvi painfully aware of how dangerously good he looked, still flushed from his kickboxing session.
Her gaze drifted helplessly over the broad span of his shoulders and the quiet strength in the way he moved. The memory of him pulling her into his arms surged back, and a sliver of heat rushed through her core.
Suddenly, he looked up and their eyes met across the room. The easy charm in his expression darkened into a burning need when she bit her lip, making her stomach flip. For a single suspended moment, it felt like they were the only two people in the world.
Swayam took a step towards her.
Panic flared, and she turned abruptly to Luv. ‘So, yeah… food.’
She heard Swayam chuckle, sensing him move up behind her.
‘You missed breakfast. You should eat something,’ Swayam said, his breath brushing her cheek.
Kashvi tapped the empty plate with a spoon. ‘That’s the plan.’
‘Will you save some for me?’ he asked, and she could hear the smile in his voice.
‘I can’t promise anything,’ Kashvi warned.
‘I’ll die of hunger if you don’t,’ Swayam pleaded.
‘Then I’ll throw you a kickass funeral,’ she said briskly, which only made him laugh harder.
‘Give me five minutes,’ he said, moving out of the room.
Luv smirked. ‘The two of you argue like an old married couple.’
‘Just shut up and eat the biryani,’ Kashvi said flatly, unwilling to comment on that.
Luv grinned and obediently did just that.
When Swayam returned after a shower, dressed in denims and a navy shirt, he noticed the food strewn across the coffee table as Kashvi and Luv lounged on the sofa.
‘Oh, there’s still some food left,’ he observed with exaggerated surprise.
Kashvi gave him a cheerful smile. ‘We took pity on you.’
Swayam laughed and settled into the seat across from her. The three of them caught up as he ate. Though she tried, she couldn’t shake the warm, restless awareness of Swayam’s gaze on her.
The doorbell chimed loudly, and Swayam pushed back his chair. ‘I’ll get it.’
The moment he opened the door, Kashvi heard the distinct click of heels as Siya strode in, speaking on the phone with frantic energy.
Abhay followed, quietly shutting the door behind him.
He leaned against it, hands slipping into his trouser pockets, his gaze fixed on his wife with concern etched across his face.
Kashvi understood his worry. Siya was not someone who lost control easily, but today she looked dangerously close to it.
‘I don’t understand what gives them the right to do this,’ Siya snapped into her phone, her voice tight with anger. She tossed her black blazer onto a chair as she paced the living room. ‘Doing this behind the scenes for no reason is arrogant and completely unprofessional.’
Not just close. Siya was spitting mad.
‘What’s going on?’ Kashvi asked Abhay.
He exhaled slowly. ‘It might be better if Siya explains.’
Kashvi felt uneasy as she wondered what could have pushed her sister this far.
‘How the hell can he even justify that?’ Whatever Siya heard only seemed to enrage her more. ‘Oh, he’s not interested in doing that? In that case, you tell the man to get ready because he will face me in court!’ she shouted before hurling the phone against the wall.
It shattered into pieces.
‘Jaan,’ Abhay said softly.
She stopped just long enough to throw him a frustrated look. ‘Don’t even think about telling me to calm down. You know exactly what they’ve done.’
‘I’m not telling you to calm down. Break as many phones as you want, I’ll buy you more,’ he said with a faint smile. ‘I’m just asking you to sit down for a moment.’
But Siya heard none of it, lost in the storm raging inside her. She dragged a hand through her hair. ‘I should’ve known they’d pull something like this.’
Kashvi crossed the room and caught her gently by the arm to stop her pacing. ‘Di, talk to me. What’s wrong?’
The rage melted away, and her shoulders sagged as the fight drained out of her.
Siya opened her handbag and pulled out a leather folder. Kashvi recognised it instantly since she had signed those papers just the night before.
‘Weren’t you supposed to submit this today?’
Without a word, Siya held it out to her. ‘I did. It came back already.’
Kashvi took the folder and flipped it open as unease coiled in her chest.
Her eyes moved over the familiar text before settling at the bottom of the page. The word stamped there was impossible to miss.
REJECTED.
The bold red letters sat stark against the white paper, and cold numbness spread through her as the meaning slowly sank in.
The trustee board had rejected her request.
A hollow ringing filled her ears, and it felt as though the world had tilted off balance. Voices blurred in the background, but her mind drifted elsewhere.
Kashvi had been so certain last night.
She thought back to her call with Akshay, one of the organisation heads, who had told her they were just a week away from shutting down without funding. She had promised to transfer the money as soon as her inheritance came through.
‘Thank God. The kids will be so happy to hear that. I can’t tell you how many of them have been crying. They don’t want to be sent to another orphanage, and we aren’t ready to let them go either,’ Akshay had said, laughing with relief.
Her grip tightened around the file as a barrage of questions closed in.
‘How could this happen?’ Kashvi murmured.
Siya spoke, regret hardening her expression. ‘I don’t know. I submitted it as soon as I reached the office this morning. It was supposed to take a week, but within five minutes they sent it back.’
Five minutes. That was all it had taken to shut down something that affected hundreds of people.
The folder trembled in her hands, and Swayam gently pulled it away. ‘Hey, look at me,’ he urged softly.
She turned to see him looking down at her, concern etched deep across his forehead.
‘It might not be as bad as it looks,’ Swayam said reassuringly. ‘Trust boards have complicated paperwork, don’t they? It could just be an error.’
The possibility wrapped around her heart like a fragile hope, helping her breathe again. Until Siya scoffed.
‘Yeah, because I’d risk some intern making mistakes in documents that hold the key to my baby sister’s future. Or better yet, maybe I made an error myself.’
Swayam tilted his head, holding her gaze with the patience he’d built over a decade of friendship. ‘You know that’s not what I meant.’
Siya exhaled slowly, searching her heart for somewhere to contain her rage instead of turning it on her family. ‘I know. God, I can’t tell you how badly I wish it were something as simple as a paperwork issue.’
The resignation in her sister’s voice filled Kashvi with dread.