72. Their Little Moments
Next will be the Epilogue3
The case had finally come to an end.
The court convicted Ruben Kingsley for criminal intimidation, blackmail, recording and possessing intimate content without consent, the court sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment and imposed a heavy fine. His bail plea was also rejected.
Edward Kingsley couldn't appear before the court today.
As informed by his lawyer, he had met with a serious road accident on the same day as our previous hearing and was still undergoing treatment under police security.
The judge directed that, after his medical discharge, he would be taken into custody to serve the sentence awarded for criminal conspiracy, fraud, filing a false case, intimidation, and attempting to manipulate judicial proceedings.
As for Olivia Kingsley...
The court held her equally guilty for concealing material facts and she was also sentenced to imprisonment along with a monetary penalty.
Though I never wanted any of this. I was ready to return every single penny they had invested in my company two years ago. Even double the amount if they wanted.
But they chose revenge over peace. And in the end, they destroyed themselves.
Anyways, after the hearing, I thought Dhwani would finally come back home.
At least that's how I imagined it.
Instead, she packed Dhrithika and Vedika along with her and left for Ms. Arora's flat, saying Mysha would be happy to meet them.
To my surprise, both of them agreed.
Mostly because everyone thought the change of surroundings would do good for Pihu and Dhrithika too
And honestly...Ms. Arora had a way of convincing people that was almost impossible to refuse. Now it has been another two days.
None of them had returned. Not that I was complaining..They all needed this because all of them went through a lot. But...the mansion felt unusually quiet without them.
Even Daadi complained twice that the house no longer felt alive.
I barely had time to think about it anyway. For the past week, work had completely buried me.
Because of the court proceedings, I hadn't been able to visit the office regularly.
Several important meetings had been postponed, a few investors had backed out after the negative publicity surrounding the case, and some international clients had temporarily put their projects on hold until the legal matter was officially resolved.
Thankfully, after countless meetings, explanations, and rebuilding confidence... Things were finally settling down and the remaining investors stayed.
Most of the clients resumed their projects and new deals had started coming in again.
After a long time everything finally felt under control. It was already night.nI leaned back in my chair and rubbed my eyes. Back-to-back meetings had drained every bit of energy from me, yet I still didn't feel like going home.
I didn't even know how Daadi and Daadu were managing without all of them around.
Lost in my thoughts, I kept staring at the laptop screen without actually reading anything.
The sound of the cabin door opening pulled me back.
I looked up. Ishaan walked inside with two cups of coffee in his hands.
Without saying a word, he placed one in front of me before dropping into the chair opposite mine.
He looked just as exhausted as I felt. His tie was loosened, the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows, and he pinched the bridge of his nose before taking a long sip of his coffee.
I wrapped my fingers around the warm cup, letting the heat settle into my palms.
"Why didn't you go home?" I asked before taking a sip.
He let out a tired chuckle. "You mean my house?"
Yeah, as I said before he didn't call that house-home. Maybe because it's just a house for him. Made of bricks and cement. There is no warmth in that house. And it made me realise I also used to call Raizaada Mansion like this, not home.
"I've been busy finishing the project."
I frowned. "There's no need to kill yourself over it." I leaned back in my chair. "We still have months before the deadline."
"No, we don't." His answer made me stop midway through opening another file.
I slowly looked up at him.
He seemed to realize what he had just said and cleared his throat.
"I mean..." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly before taking another sip of his coffee. "Our contract is also ending in the next five months. I just want to make sure I leave this company at the same height you always dreamed of."
The words settled heavily between us.
I groaned under my breath and leaned my head back against the chair. "Damn..."
I had completely forgotten. The court case, Dhwani, Dhrithika, everything happening at home... it had occupied my mind so much that Ishaan's contract had slipped out of it entirely.
Rubbing my forehead, I let out a long sigh. "I really forgot."
A faint smile appeared on Ishaan's face. "I figured." He shrugged lightly before taking another sip of his coffee. "You had bigger things to worry about." His tone was casual.
"You've already decided to leave, haven't you?" I asked.
He stayed quiet for a few moments before nodding. "Yeah. It was always meant to end like this, wasn't it?"
I frowned. "Can I know why you want to leave?" I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table. "Are you not getting something from this job? If it's about salary, I'll increase it. If it's about your position, we can discuss that too. And if-"
"Yugant..." His calm voice stopped me. "Enough."
The cabin fell silent. He looked straight into my eyes. "I already told you. I would've never accepted this job if I wasn't forced to."
His fingers tightened around the paper cup.
"If my mother's life hadn't been hanging by a thread... I would've never signed that contract."
I lowered my gaze.
"You helped me, I know that. And I'll always be grateful for that. But..." His jaw clenched. "You're not very different from Kingsley."
The words hit me harder than I expected.
"Just like he took advantage of your worst phase..."
His eyes never left mine. "...you took advantage of mine. Maybe your intentions were different. But the result wasn't. Just like you don't want any thread connecting you to the Kingsleys..."
He slowly stood up from the chair. "...I don't want one connecting me to the Raizaadas either."
He picked up his coffee and walked away while his words kept ringing in my ear long after he disappeared.
He was right. Absolutely right.
Maybe I never intended to break him but that contract had done exactly that. And somewhere along the way... I had buried the human inside him just as surely as someone else once tried to bury mine.
I dropped the coffee cup back onto the table and stood up.
Suddenly, the cabin felt suffocating. Every word Ishaan had spoken kept replaying inside my head. Without saying another word, I pulled my overcoat from the back of the chair, grabbed my car keys and walked out, slipping my phone into my pocket on the way.
The drive back home felt unusually long. I thought about calling Dhwani countless times.
Just one call.
One "Come home." One "I miss you."
But every time my thumb reached her name, I stopped. She deserved this time with her mother. Seven years couldn't be compensated in just a few days.
After parking the car, I walked into the mansion.
The entire house was swallowed by darkness. Without their laughter, without Dhrithi's voice, without Dhwani running around... the mansion didn't even feel like home anymore.
I climbed the stairs and reached upstairs pushing open our bedroom door.
Dark.
Just the way I expected.
I didn't even bother switching on the lights.
I wasn't in the mood to look at myself in the mirror tonight.
I threw my overcoay somewhere across the room.My tie followed then my shirt.
I unbuckled my belt and tossed it in the same direction before kicking off my shoes and socks.
Without another thought, I dropped onto the mattress.
One minute.
Two minutes.
I stared into the darkness.
Ishaan's words kept replaying inside my head like a broken recording. I shut my eyes tightly.
Then... A soft arm slid across my bare chest.
"Eww..." A familiar voice reached my ears. "You're sweating the worst."
Just like that every thought vanished. Like salt dissolving into water. My lips lifted on their own.
I reached towards the side table and switched on the lamp. Warm golden light filled the room.
Turning my head, I found Dhwani lying beside me, blinking sleepily with those honey-brown doe eyes that somehow always managed to calm every storm inside me.
My eyes went back to Dhwani. "You're back?"
The surprise in my voice made her giggle.
"Of course." She folded her arms. "What did you think? I'd stay there forever and let you enjoy your peaceful bachelor life?"
"Yes... I mean..." I immediately corrected myself. "...No."
She narrowed her eyes. "I knew it."
A pout formed on her lips. "You were enjoying yourself so much that you didn't even call me."
I smiled helplessly. "I didn't want to disturb you."
She hummed dramatically. "Fine. Then wrinkled her nose.
"Now go."
"Where?"
"Bathroom." She pointed towards it. "Take a shower first."
I nodded obediently. "Yes, ma'am."
Leaning forward, I placed a small kiss at the corner of her lips before walking towards the closet.
Ten minutes later, I stepped out after a cold shower. The water had washed away the exhaustion.
At least a little. I left the towel on the balcony before looking around for Dhwani The bedroom door was slightly open. I walked downstairs. A faint light escaped from the kitchen.
As I entered, I found her standing in front of the induction stove, carefully stirring something inside a pan.
Without saying anything, I walked behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist Burying my face in the crook of her neck. I breathed in her familiar floral fragrance.
Home.
"What are you doing?" I mumbled.
"Heating food for you."
"You don't even know how to do this." I kissed her shoulder. "You don't have to."