61. Corporate War #2
Yugant stopped pacing and laughed once bitterly. "Men like Kingsley don't care about truth. They care about ego."
The anger in his voice felt sharp enough to cut through the room.
"He thinks Yugant insulted him publicly," Ishaan added. "And now he's trying to hit back where it hurts the most. Business."
I frowned. "But this is insane. He knows the actual reason."
"And if rich people started behaving logically after rejection," Yugant muttered darkly, "half the corporate wars wouldn't exist."
Silence fell again.
"What happens now?" I asked.
Ishaan answered this time. "Now legal teams will fight, the media will sniff around like hungry dogs, investors will be stressed for a few days, and Kingsley will try everything possible to shake the Raizada jewellery emporium publicly."
"But he won't succeed," Yugant said firmly.
He stopped pacing completely now and walked toward the table calmly, though the anger in his eyes still hadn't disappeared.
"Call Mehra Sethi immediately," he told Ishaan. "I want the entire corporate litigation team involved before evening."
Ishaan nodded once. "Already contacted them."
"Good." Yugant picked up another file from the table. "Also get Arora involved for media management. If this leaks outside before we're prepared, investors will start reacting emotionally instead of logically."
"I'll handle it."
"And one more thing," Yugant added coldly, "freeze every pending international partnership discussion until legal clears the situation. I don't want anyone using this mess against us later."
Ishaan stayed silent for a second before speaking again.
"We should also bring in Senior Advocate Ms. Arora."
Yugant looked up.
"She handled the Malhotra corporate fraud case last year," Ishaan continued. "Kingsley has strong international influence and expensive lawyers. If this goes to high court or turns into a media spectacle, Ms. Arora will know exactly how to corner them legally before things escalate."
Yugant thought for a moment before nodding slightly. He walked towards his chair and sat down. "Set up a meeting with her tonight. Prepare every document from the last five years. I want complete transparency before they even ask for it."
Ms. Arora?
Are they talking about...
Huh. No, Dhwani.
She is known as Mrs. Udayveer Ranawat now. Stop overthinking.
I immediately pushed the thought away before my brain could start creating unnecessary connections again.
To be honest, I barely understood half the legal discussion happening in the cabin, and honestly, I didn't want to disturb them either. The atmosphere already felt stressful enough.
A few minutes later, Ishaan quietly walked out of the cabin with other employees.
As soon as the door closed, I slowly moved toward Yugant and placed my hand over his shoulder gently.
"Are you alright?" I asked softly.
He held my wrist immediately and pulled me closer until I was standing between his legs. His arms wrapped around my waist automatically as he buried his face in my stomach.
"Yeah," he murmured. "I'm fine."
I looked down at him carefully. My fingers toying his hair. "No, you're not."
His eyes lifted toward me. " Maybe."
"Is this happening because of me?" I asked quietly. "I swear I didn't know Kingsley would do this after the marriage..."
He didn't even let me finish.
His fingers came up and rested lightly against my lips, stopping me.
"Stop overthinking," he said firmly. "This is not your fault."
"But-"
"No buts. No ifs." His tone softened slightly. "Kingsley would've created problems sooner or later anyway."
I stayed quiet.
Honestly, hearing all that legal talk scared me more than I wanted to admit. Not because I doubted Yugant.
But because powerful people destroying each other publicly was never simple.
And somewhere inside, guilt still tried crawling in.
Maybe he noticed that too because his hand gently slid along my arm before he stood up.
"Come," he said. "Let's eat first."
He walked me toward the couch area near the window.
Though honestly, the moment I heard about the case, my appetite practically disappeared.
Still, I sat down because knowing Yugant, he probably hadn't eaten anything either.
I quietly served a little food onto a plate before picking up a small morsel and forwarding it toward him.
He leaned closer without saying anything and opened his mouth slightly.
I placed the bite carefully into his mouth.
We had lunch quietly after that. Not complete silence. Just enough small conversations between bites while we fed each other absentmindedly.
Sometimes he forwarded food toward me. Sometimes I did.
And honestly, if someone saw us from outside, they probably would've thought everything was normal.
But it wasn't. Not completely.
Because even while eating, Yugant's phone kept vibrating nonstop on the table. Calls. Messages. Emails.
A little later, Ishaan entered again with more files, followed by two employees discussing something about investors and legal documents. Then someone else came regarding media handling. Then another regarding international meetings.
People kept entering and leaving the cabin every few minutes. And slowly, I started feeling out of place there.
Like I was disturbing something important just by sitting quietly on the couch.
Yugant tried involving me between conversations occasionally, touching my hand, asking if I wanted coffee, checking if I was bored.
But I could see it clearly now.
His attention was divided in ten different directions.And My presence wasn't helping him at all.
So after almost an hour, I finally stood up.
"I think I'll leave now," I said softly.
Yugant immediately looked up from the document in his hand. "Hm? Why suddenly?"
I forced a small smile. "I'm feeling tired."
His eyes stayed on me for a second longer than usual. Almost like he knew I was making excuses.
Still, he didn't call me out on it.
Instead, he stood up immediately and walked toward me. "I'll drop you home."
I shook my head quickly. "No, no. You already have too much work."
"Dhwani-"
"I'll go myself," I interrupted gently. "Seriously. Focus on this first."
For a second, he looked like he wanted to argue..Then he sighed quietly and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Message me after reaching home."
I nodded.
His hand rested briefly against my waist before he leaned slightly closer. "And stop stressing yourself unnecessarily."
I gave a small hum in response because honestly... I wasn't sure if I could.
As I picked up my shopping bags and walked toward the cabin door, my eyes unconsciously moved toward him one last time.
Who was Ms. Arora they were talking about?
What if she turned out to be... her?
The thought alone made something uneasy twist inside my chest. Because some people don't leave your life completely.
They stay hidden somewhere in the corners of your mind like unfinished storms, quiet for years... until one day a single name is enough to bring all the fear back again.
And I was terrified.
Terrified that the past I had been running from all this time was finally preparing to stand right in front of me.
Because if that happened...
I didn't know what it would bring into mine and Yugant's life.
Peace?
Truth?
Or destruction strong enough to change everything between us forever.
??
I took some blue color onto my palette and dipped the brush into it carefully.
I had to send this painting to its owner soon. I had already taken the advance payment, but somehow I still wasn't able to complete it. And now only a few days left.
Honestly, I had no idea what I was going to do.
Exhaling slowly, I forced myself to focus again, but the ringing of my phone broke my concentration.
Samarth Bhai.
My fingers paused over the screen.
I wanted to pick it up. I really did.
But I couldn't.
One reason was his parents. They probably already knew about my wedding by now, and if the call continued too long, they would definitely want to talk to me. And honestly, I still didn't know what I would even say to them.
The second reason was worse.
If I picked up, I knew I would somehow end up mentioning that Ms. Arora thing and Samarth Bhai would immediately start digging into everything leaving his life, and I don't want that.
So I silently turned the phone onto silent mode and focused back on my painting.
I don't know how much time passed after that, but my concentration finally broke with a knock on the door.
"Who is it?"
A servant opened the door carefully and stepped inside.
"Dadi ji called you downstairs for dinner."
"Did Yugant come back?" I asked immediately.
"No, not yet."
I looked toward the clock unconsciously before shaking my head lightly. "Alright. Tell Dadi I'll wait for Yugant. They can eat."
She nodded politely and left after closing the door again.
I focused back on my painting after that.
And strangely, for once, there was no stress inside my head.
Just colors, brush strokes, shadows, details, and the constant question of which shade would make the painting look more alive.
I shifted my weight from one foot to another when my feet started hurting slightly. Thankfully there was no swelling though, otherwise Yugant would've become stressed all over again.
I was adding the final touches absentmindedly when my eyes suddenly moved toward the clock.
11:36 PM.
I bit the inside of my cheek.
Yugant usually came home by eight. Nine at most.
But today it was too late... and I hadn't even realized how much time had passed.
Sighing softly, I placed the brush down beside the color palette and cleaned my hands carefully with wet wipes before picking up my phone and dialing Yugant's number.
The ringing continued.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
Then voicemail.
Uff.
Rich people and their obsession with iPhones irritated me for absolutely no reason sometimes.
Not always rich. My mind mocked.
Just as I was about to call again, the bedroom door slowly opened.