Red Wine
Jai
The Mahalas’ plane was wheels-up early in the evening. I’d worked so hard in the past week that Ananya convinced me to take the rest of the day off. Only as we were exiting the office did it sink in. I just closed the biggest, most important deal of my career. I freaking did it.
And now it was time to celebrate. We could go out on a nice date later. Or a weekend getaway. Maybe Koh Yao Noi or even the Maldives. With how busy I’d been, we hadn’t spent quality time together in weeks.
I toyed with the idea of a trip on the way home. By the time we arrived, the sun hung low on the horizon. I keyed in the apartment pin and pushed the door open.
Soft music welcomed me. A large vase filled with roses and white alyssums sat on the coffee table. Next to it was a chocolate cake covered with a glass dome, a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses.
Warmth seeped in. ‘Did you do all this?’ I murmured.
‘I had some help.’
A white envelope lay on the table. I picked it up and removed its contents.
A Polaroid of us smiling ear-to-ear stared back at me.
‘I thought we could start our own collection,’ Ananya said, looking a little shy.
‘I love it.’ I kissed the top of her head.
Then, I looked at the card. It said ‘A toast to you’. Next to it was a toaster with a piece of toast popping out.
I laughed as I opened it.
In her neat, cursive handwriting were the words:
Congratulations, Jai. You deserve all the success that comes your way. I can’t wait to see you achieve your dreams.
Your biggest cheerleader,
Ananya.
I couldn’t remember the last time someone had done something like this for me.
‘This is so thoughtful. Thank you.’
A gentle curve of a smile appeared on her face. ‘It’s my pleasure.’
‘I want you to witness every moment and milestone of my life. It might be hard to do physically, but this should help.’ I pulled out my wallet and slid our picture into the clear slot. ‘Now, I’ll always have you with me.’
Ananya’s eyes locked with mine, a multitude of emotions swirling in them.
The bond tying us together thrummed. The air thickened with something sweet and sensual.
Ananya. She was all I needed.
‘May I have a dance?’ I extended a hand.
She took it. I tugged her closer, and her body pressed against mine. Her warmth seeped through my clothes. I placed my hands on her waist while hers encircled my shoulders. A floral scent wrapped around me.
The tips of her long tresses caressed my hand as we swayed to the music.
I lowered my head and kissed her.
Her fingers played with the hair at the nape of my neck, softly tugging, pulling me closer. The world shrank to the taste of her lips, the feel of her body against mine and my deep-seated desire to always have her close to me.
She pulled back and rested her cheek on my shoulder. Her breath teased my neck.
The dark sky had turned the floor-to-ceiling windows into a mirror. The city lights beyond blurred into streaks while our reflections stayed sharp.
What I saw wasn’t just us swaying. It was everything I wanted in a single moment. Love. Home. Her. The warmth unravelled into yearning. My heart pattered. ‘Ananya, I … I lo—’
‘Jai.’ My name came out in a shallow burst of breath. She took a step back. One trembling hand rose and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes darted away.
Unease rippled through me. ‘Is everything okay?’
Her lips parted, then closed. Finally, she whispered, ‘I have something I need to tell you. I … I interviewed for the position of Suraina ma’am’s assistant. Not yours.’
‘Oh.’ Why was she bringing this up right now? ‘So, HR made a mistake. I might need to fire someone again,’ I joked. ‘But I’m particularly fond of its outcome, so maybe I’ll let them off with a warning. Save us another disagreement.’
She smiled, but it looked strained. ‘It wasn’t a mistake. I was given this job on purpose. By your mom. Rekha.’
‘What are you talking about?’
Ananya’s throat bobbed as she swallowed. ‘When I came in for my final interview, I found out that the job was already given to Krisha. I was crying in the bathroom, complaining to Rhea on the phone, when Rekha overheard me. She offered to … fix it.’
That didn’t sound too bad. While it wasn’t her place to do it, Mom was trying to do the right thing, especially because it was her actions that cost Ananya the job she deserved. ‘By handing you this job?’
She nodded, her chin trembling. ‘And promising me Krisha’s once it’s available.’
This was still outrageous. But not earth-shattering. Then why did Ananya’s eyes glisten as she looked away?
‘And ...’ Her voice trembled like a leaf clinging to a branch in a storm. An eerie sense of foreboding seeped into my bones, cold and unshakeable. ‘And in exchange, she asked me to keep an eye on you. And report to her.’
The words detonated. A ringing erupted in my ears, drowning the music, the room, everything except Ananya. For a moment, I thought I’d misheard. ‘What?’
‘She said there were problems within the company. Delays, leaks. Money going missing. She feared it was you. Said you were inexperienced. Reckless.’ Her voice shrank with each word until it was barely a whisper.
‘Me? Reckless?’ My hand raked through my hair. ‘The only thing I’ve ever cared about is this company. I’ve worked there for eight years. She knows that. Why would she—’ She hates me that much. It felt like I’d been cracked open from within, left aching and exposed.
Yes, there were delays, hiccups, the usual chaos of running a business. But theft? Sabotage? It never even crossed my mind that someone was behind it. And for her to think it was me … to go so far as planting someone to watch me … Raw hurt clawed into my chest.
I forced my eyes back to Ananya.
Her lips quivered. She was picking at her cuticles.
‘Tell me you said no.’ My voice sounded rough. Foreign. ‘Tell me you weren’t fucking spying on me for the last seven months.’
‘I’m sorry.’ A strangled sob escaped her throat.
‘I didn’t know what I was doing at first. I didn’t even know you. And she was your mother. I thought she had good intentions.’
‘But then you stopped?’ My voice sharpened, desperation bleeding through. ‘After The Masala Box dinner, we started over. You saw me. And realised I wasn’t … I wasn’t that person. Right?’
Ananya’s shoulders shook as she cried. She couldn’t even meet my eyes.
‘Goddammit, Ananya.’ A wildfire of rage blazed through my veins. ‘When did you stop? Tell me you weren’t in my bed, weren’t in my arms, and reporting to her at the same fucking time.’
Her lips quivered, no sound coming out.
Suddenly, a terrifying thought gripped me. Dark tendrils of dread wrapped around my ribs. ‘Did you seduce me to spy on me better?’
‘No!’ she cried, her voice cracking as tears streamed down her face. ‘That was real. I fell for you, Jai. How could I not? You’re … perfect.’
And yet, she betrayed me. My fury boiled over, scorching every good memory of us to ashes. ‘When did you stop?’ I ground out, every word splintering against my teeth.
‘The weekend of our fashion show,’ she whispered. ‘And I never gave her anything important. Not about the new line. Because you asked me not to.’
A laugh escaped me, bitter and jagged. ‘Well, how fucking noble of you. Let me get you a medal for your loyalty.’
‘She was threatening me, Jai,’ she cried. ‘She said she would blacklist me from the industry if I didn’t obey. And when she found out about us, she used that to blackmail me. She wanted details about Rivaayat. And I risked it all because I couldn’t betray you like that.’
The serrated edges of Ananya’s decisions sliced across my heart. ‘You already did, Ananya.’
‘I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner,’ she sobbed. ‘But I was scared. Of losing my future. And then I was terrified of losing you.’
Something in me grew heavy and still.
‘Why are you telling me now?’
‘She gave me until Sunday to deliver everything. And I think she is trying to sabotage the line. I … God, Jai, I couldn’t live with myself if I let that happen.’
Her words set my heart on fire. ‘So, you came clean to me because you were worried about Rivaayat. Not because you owed me the truth.’
Her head snapped up, eyes red and frantic. ‘No. No, Jai, that’s not—’
‘If you had just told me the truth sooner,’ I cut her off, my voice low, ‘I would have put a stop to it.
I would have protected you. I would have given you the job you wanted.’ My throat burned. ‘I would have given you the world.’
Her cries grew harsher, spilling out into the silence between us.
My hands twitched. For one reckless, brutal moment, I wanted to forget everything. I wanted to gather her in my arms, kiss her and promise that it would be okay. We would be okay.
But it would be a lie.
And it wouldn’t mend this wound. Not when the truth had already poisoned it.
‘But it’s too late now.’ I dragged in a ragged breath, exhaled. ‘I can never trust you again.’
She lurched forward. ‘Jai …’
I stepped back, unadulterated pain filling every fracture in my heart. ‘You need to leave.’
‘Jai, I’m sorry. I swear—’
I ached to hold her close. But I couldn’t.
‘Leave ... Please,’ I said, my voice breaking on the word.
Her face crumpled in pain. Her frame quivered with every violent sob. Then she turned and slipped out the door.
The silence she left behind was deafening. My pain was a living, breathing thing inside me, ripping me into shreds. Without thinking, I yanked the bottle of wine and hurled it against the wall.
The glass exploded with a thunderous crash, a thousand shards scattering across the floor. Wine rolled down the wall in rivulets of red, forming a dark, bleeding pool on the floor.
I drew short, strained breaths. My muscles trembled with tension, every nerve ending screaming.
Ananya was gone. Forever.
Pain flared anew. My heart cracked, revealing a hollow pit that no amount of rage could fill. My knees buckled. I collapsed. Silent, ugly sobs burst out of my throat, shaking my body.
My hands curled into fists on the floor, trying to grasp at the shards of life we’d built, at the person I thought she was. But only the haunting truth stayed with me – Ananya, as I loved her, never existed. Only the mask she’d worn like skin.