Chapter four
"I wish I could say I felt guilty for what I did.
I don't."
-Veronica Roth, Divergent
The gray strokes of the first light broke in through the windows as Ishana shut her laptop and yawned. She felt like a deer chasing a mirage in a red hot desert. The destination seemed well within her reach, but when she leaped towards it, it was to bite dust. The goal would blink at her, from a distance not so far, urging her to keep up, until she was out of breath.
She rubbed her eyes, leaving the last of the sleepiness behind. She was Ishana, and Ishana did not lose her breath that easily. If Tej Oberoi thinks she will accept her defeat if he sets a task out of her reach; he is in for a sorry disappointment. Thinking along those lines, her eyes narrowed again. But he was the one in the win - win situation here. If she succeeds he would get what he wanted, if she fails, he would get rid of her. Knowing the man, as well as she did, Ishana knew Tej would love both the scenarios.
Stumping a fist in her mouth to stop another yawn that she felt was coming, Ishana legged towards the bathroom and stood still half asleep, in front of the mirror. A girl with a mop of dark brown tousled hair, stared back at her. She looked like a scare - crow, more than a public relations manager. With her index finger, she tapped the mirror sleepily.
"You are going to do it," she told her reflection, firmly. "You are the best."
Those words have a nice ring to them. She thought, as she showered and went through the process of getting dressed and applying make - up. It was better than glaring at the zombie reflection of herself after all. Giving herself one last brief check out in the mirror, she walked out, already pressing a number into her mobile.
"Done?" She asked briskly. "Hmm," she said swinging her handbag and gathering her laptop as she listened to the voice from the other side. "Okay, I'm coming."
"Back to square one," She muttered to herself and with a click she closed the door and walked out.
*
He felt like the kid who caught sunlight in a box, so he would no longer have to be afraid at nights. The child who had later opened the box one day; only to find it was completely empty. Until that moment, when he had opened the box and peered inside, he was under the impression that there was sunshine in it. But a moment later, he knew how worthless his most treasured box had been. Omkara felt the same, as he looked back at his love life and suddenly realized it had not been love to begin with.
He had been betrayed. Every emotion he invested on her, thrown to the winds in a way. Before the moment of confrontation came, he thought such a situation would leave him bleeding dry, but now, from the other side of the spectrum, he could feel nothing but a shallow satisfaction that it was over. She was gone.
"You were right about Riddima," he said mildly, as he looked at Bela who was toying with her half finished tea cup. He felt stupid, now he recalled how frustrated he was with her, when she first raised the topic.
"It ended the day before."
"I'm sorry to hear that." She said in a small voice. "I thought you two will talk it out, to be honest."
"I shouldn't have trusted her again and again."
"You shouldn't trust me either Om," she shrugged her shoulders. He watched her for a moment, not grasping what she meant.
"How did you know, she just wanted to use my name by the way, how did you find out?"
"Because I was pretending to be Mala, her fan turned friend?" She said abruptly.
"Excuse me?"
"That is the truth. I did follow her, put up quite a charade so that she would be exposed."
She watched him calmly, her coffee brown eyes hardened a little. She was expecting him to be angry, he himself expected the same. But again, the emotion did not come. Instead, he watched her, a tad bit curious.
"Why?"
She shrugged again, this time with a little humorless laughter.
"Why do you think?" She said bitterly. "Because I want you for myself, the name, the money, the power?" She suggested then. "Or because I think you don't deserve it?"
There was a pause, in which he let her continue.
"It was a bit of both actually. Former was my initial plan, later the real reason I went through with it."
He could not yet say anything. Her words were too sharp, too raw for a response.
"I need money Om, I need a large sum and I need it right now. From my corner it seemed you were that treasure chest waiting to be robbed. That was before I started seeing you as a person. And you are a person someone should treasure..."
She stood up abruptly.
"I was going to leave a long before. But you deserved to know the truth before I go." She shrugged again, attempting a smile which did not go well with her pale face. "I think now I should go."
"Wait," he called after her, before he had analyzed what he was doing. "I haven't finished my tea yet."
It was too curt a response, too guarded, after the transparent way she had laid out the truth. He never said he had forgiven her, but from the way her eyes softened as she reassumed her seat, he knew she understood.
*
That Bela; who did not use him even when the opportunity was in her bag, would the same girl betray him in this manner? Omkara thought for the umpteenth time as he paced his cell, still immersed in the bluish darkness. Straps of silvery light littered the floor, but not enough to light the corridor ahead of his cell. He had thought, judging from his previous experience, that this betrayal also would not hurt. That he had finally crossed that threshold of pain, which blurred his other senses. But no; imagining Bela a crucial piece of this game made him choke. She was too perfect. The only perfect thing in his otherwise imperfect life. She cannot be a pretense. No; there has to be a reason. There has to be an explanation, one he could understand; one he could someday forgive. Too perturbed with his doubts and fears, he ignored the clicking sound of heels that broke the silence.
"One diagonal, three horizontal," a soft voice muttered to herself, as with a distant tick, the Rubik cube clicked in to place. "Yippee!" She whisper - cheered for herself, before stopping in the edge of the faint light in his cell and the darkness outside. The last string of faith he was holding into jerked rather roughly as his eyes fell on the familiar, yet unknown figure.
"You?" His voice was sharp. As she looked up, shoving the cube into her trouser pocket. There was a pause, as her lips curled slightly.
"Who are you?" He said then.
"Are you sure that's the correct order of questions, Mr. Oberoi?" She asked him in an all too smooth tone, which had none of the innocent mildness of Bela's. She took a step closer as she continued.
"Shouldn't you first ask, Who I am, and then recognize me and exclaim, You!" She said, as she stepped even closer to the bars that separated them and pointed herself with her index finger. "But to begin with, I'm not sure if you know who I am."
The morning had brightened by then. The grayish silvery light was enough for Om to see the short haired, sharp eyed girl opposite the bars and for Ishana to see the way his jaw clenched as he took a step backwards, folding his arms. It was odd. She had to accept. She was hoping for a shouting match, a raised tone at least. But none came as Omkara watched her, his figure completely rigid against the cool darkness.
"What is your deal with him?" He said shortly. His voice was colder than a gust of wintery wind and for a split second, Ishana flinched. Om crocked and eyebrow. "What? Surprised? Well I know my father has a way with women." In his eyes there was a cold fire, one that would burn but not kill, a torture that would never end; an anger that was venomous beyond human capacity. It was that moment Ishana knew, why Tej Oberoi so desperately wanted to crown his son. But he had gone a tad too far with his accusations.
"Look Mr..."
"Save it up for him," Om said dismissively. "I don't wish to chat around with the likes of you..."
It was then he realized that his cell was being unlocked as they spoke.
"Yet, the likes of me are needed to get you out," said Ishana, tapping her chin with her fingers in a mock pretense of thinking. She felt the thrill of playing with fire, one that flared her senses. She was pocking the dam of Omkara's wrath, still the thrill urged her on, and she continued. "I had to come up with proofs that you were nowhere around Mumbai when that video was shot."
"You did what?"
"Shh!" She said, leaning in and placing a finger on her lips, as she watched Om brush his clothes with his hands. "At the end of the day...Your truth dragged you in, my lies pulled you out!"
"You don't want me angry," Om stated plainly. "So get lost."
"What?" Ishana raised her eyebrows. "No sorry, no thank you?"
"It's my misfortune that I can't put you behind bars for all the disgusting stuff you did..."
"Try if you must," Ishana scowled at him. "If I can get you out, I can most certainly come out as well."
He grabbed her arm, pulling her smirking face close enough to glare her down.
"I need to know why you did this, I need a reason god damn it!"
There was a pause, as she pushed him; he stumbled and she caught him, in the process bringing their faces nose to nose and their gazes boring into each other. His eyes were slightly bloodshot, that fire of frustration from earlier, still burning in the brown orbs, her eyes, as cold as ever.
"And then what? Then you would understand me, forgive me, help me overcome my difficulties and be a good person and then thump! Happily ever after right?" Ishana continued in her sarcastic tone. "But you know what the problem is; I'm not the damsel in distress to begin with."
Om stepped away from her, shaking off her fists on his jacket.
"So you were playing with me all this while? Everything between us, they meant nothing?" His tone was bitter, like a man forced to drink a concoction.
Ishana gave a humorless laugh.
"So this is where I should accept, that I had feelings for you? Or you would indirectly find that out?" She laughed again. "Then, sorry to disappoint you Mr. Omkara Singh Oberoi, it really was a game for me...that I enjoyed playing, nothing else. Absolutely nothing else." He crossed the gap between them once more, effectively blocking her against the wall. Ishana coldly crossed her arms again, meeting his eyes with a direct chilly gaze. "This isn't intimidating me. And trust me; you're not the first to try."
"Then what was that on the railway station," he asked her slowly. "Why did you warn me to stay strong? That surely was not a part of your job, why?"
Ishana sighed.
"This is where you and your mother both fall hard. Life is not a fantasy Omkara, you can't fit everything into your fantasy and have it your way. I know you loved Bela, she was really your type. But wake up, she is not real. I am far from her. You can't fit me into your dream girl who doesn't exist. It will only end with you hating your life, just like your mother does now."
"Don't bring my mother into this," he interrupted flatly.
"Accept it." She snapped. "You mother loved what she thought Tej Oberoi was, rather than who he really is...she tried her level best to keep the fantasy intact. When the dream wore off, she could not take it. She is still trying to drown her reality in alcohol, is that untrue?"
There was another pause. This one was heavier than the earlier silence.
"You are doing the same thing." She said pocking her index finger into his chest. "And I am no part of anyone's fantasy."
"Then why?" He growled. "Why do you make me believe it?" As he said it his mind uneasily recalled the last words he spoke with Shivay. "Why are you breaking me over and over again?" His brother had asked then. Was not he doing the same thing with her. Asking her for a reason to continue living this illusion?
"I did that because I thought you deserved a chance. A chance to fight for what you really need, instead of having everyone chart your life for you...I was simply cheering you on for that, nothing more. It is time for you to understand this. There are ways to get what you want, you just need to be strong enough to tread there."
"You will put everything right," Om said after a moment. "You will correct everything you messed up."
"I won't. I never will." Ishana replied in equal firm tone. "And that doesn't change anything either, your dad will find another Ishana to plot for him. It won't stop until he gets what he wants."
"Lastly, you wanted to know why I did this right? I did it because I have a personal score to settle with Shivay Singh Oberoi. You know that video of your father and Svetlana that went viral? Well, it was not only your sister in law who suffered the consequences." She took the advantage of Omkara's distraction and pushed him away, freeing herself. "You brother snatched my job from me, as I could not stop the video from leaking. I mean why? Tej had an affair. Svetlana failed to keep it private. Shivay couldn't keep the chip safe. Annika lost the chip in her hand. And I the innocent PR who played no part in the scandal lost her job? It was then your father approached me, offered this deal that I help him get what he wants and he returns my job."
"You could have got another job."
"I could have. But why should I?" Ishana shrugged. "No Mr. Oberoi, that's not what I am. I pay people the same coin they do. Shivay started this, I simply refused to go down without a fight."
"And you think this justifies everything you did?"
"No." Ishana grinned mechanically. "You see that's the beauty here. You need a justification so that you can continue to fool yourself, I don't. I simply did what would ease my mind."
"You are..."
"Evil, I know." She smirked at him. "And I would prefer it no other way. Because at the end of the day I get what I want."
Om watched her for another moment, unblinkingly and she stared back, unflinching.
"You tried to kill Annika..."
Their eyes locked into each other. His brown eyes were ablaze with fury, and her black gaze cold with confidence. It was then he realized, her eyes were different from Bela's. She must have worn contact lenses then.
"I did not." Ishana said shortly.
"Don't. Lie." He almost spat the two words.
Brushing a crease from her dark brown shirt, she looked at him again.
"I kidnapped her; I made him sign those papers. I pretended to be Bela. I set up Asthra and bought the shares. But I did not, I repeat, I did not plan her accident."
He did not say anything.
"I was supposed to trap you into this golden cage Mr. Oberoi, which I have. My work is done here. At the end of the day I have nothing against you or your brothers. I was doing my job, and what my boss orders me. But," she added. "Don't ever mistake me for Svetlana."
With a glare that could have set fire on her trail, she walked off, her heels ticking as she went. Om stared after her, wondering if it was possible for someone to feel so much of disgust, hatred and anger at once, when that person was already suffering a severely broken heart.
*
This is where we say good bye to Om for now. He has a lot to think about. In the meantime, what do you think about the chapter? Good?😊 Bad? Boring?😕
Do drop in your views, I'm keen to know.
Anyone who is disappointed with the developments, I'm truly sorry.
Thanks for reading.
We'll meet again after the exams!
Love,
Sakura
Channel V Dil Dosti Dance
Arjun
