Priyanka was pacing back and forth in the garden, restlessly, waiting for Ranveer. He should have arrived by now. What was taking him so long when shehar explicitly told him that they needed to talk. Was he fine? On the heels of that thought, her mind procured the image of the threat she had received not long ago and she could feel fear slither down her spine.
...Not a word will you breathe of the secrets you keep,
Else in loverboy's grief, I may see you weep.
No! Nothing ccould happen to Ranveer. He could take care of himself. He would take care of himself. He was an officer, after all!
As her thoughts continued to wreck havoc on her mind and her heart continued to refuse the possibilities of an attack on Ranveer, she finally saw the man walking down the cobbled path in the garden, leading to the bench where she stood.
"Ranveer!" She gasped in relief on finally seeing him. "What took you so long?"
"Some developments in a case that I'm working on," he replied ambiguously. As he spoke, her gaze travelled over him, frantic in their scrutiny.
"You're... fine," she said.
"Shouldn't I be?" He queried.
"No, Aa-I mean, yes," she replied flustered. "Shivaay bhaiyya said that there had been an altercation between you and Dev."
"Yes, and he's been placed in custody," Ranveer replied, his tone quite matter-of-fact.
"You're going to arrest him?" The words escaped her in panic, unaware of the affect they would have on him.
Ranveer merely shrugged.
"You can't!"
His eyes narrowed, "Why not?"
"Please don't arrest him, Ranveer!" The plea in her voice annoyed him.
"What's wrong with you, Priyanka? Dev was found stealing the security tapes from the Oberoi Grand hotel and you - "
"What tapes?" She interrupted, the words coming out as a croak. The color drained from her face and she stood white as a sheet.
Ranveer folded his arms, his eyes pinning her. "I thought you would know."
"Ha-How would aa-I know?" She stammered.
"Are you sure?" He prodded. "Because Dev thinks otherwise."
She refused to meet his gaze and he saw sweat break out on her forehead despite the cool night. "I do-don't know wh-wha-what you're ta-talking about."
He held her by the shoulders and forced her to look at him. "Priyanka, what is the matter? Why are you suddenly so worried?"
She pushed away his hands and said, "Nothing is the matter. I'm fine."
"Did you receive more threats?"
"No. But you really should not arrest Dev," she said, no longer stammering but there was a slight quiver in her voice.
"Why? Why the sudden concern for Dev?" Asked Randhawa, his voice laced with irritation.
"Because I care about him," she simply replied.
"Your care doesn't exonerate him of his crime. He was found stealing security tapes from the hotel," Ranveer said, his voice hard.
"How can he steal what's his?" She asked incredulously.
At Ranveer's confused look, she continued, "He is the co-owner of the Oberoi Grand hotel along with me. It was our engagement gift from Papa. Shivaay bhaiyya isn't aware of it because he would never allow our alliance due to Dev's illegitimacy, but Papa saw how much Dev and I loved each other and so he has helped us keep our relationship under wraps for the moment."
"What about Neha Bhatia?"
"She's just a very good friend, and a foil to our relationship."
"Bravo! How interesting! Who knew Priyanka Singh Oberoi, the meek little mouse before the world, could take someone for such a royal ride!" He said, clapping his hands. "I'm impressed."
"Though let me tell you that the tapes Dev was trying to take are actually crucial evidence in a hit-and-run case. Tapes that show you, Priyanka Singh Oberoi, responsible for the hit-and-run," he said through gritted teeth.
"I have already told you that I didn't kill her!" She cried. "It was because of Svetlana!"
"You never told me that you were driving under the influence of alcohol. Nor did you tell me why Svetlana had anything to do with it. The way I see it, Papa's prodigal princess turned eighteen and thought she now owns the world," he sneered. "She kills one person, no problem! She can turn another into a scapegoat to create a sob story and save herself."
"That's not true! I did not kill that girl. It was Svetlana. I don't know why she did it, but she did," Priyanka tried to explain, the panic threatening to overtake her.
"That story has no truth in it," he snapped.
"You have to believe me, Ranveer. You saw the threat notes!"
"They're the perfect foil to put the investigation off your trail. I can't believe I almost fell for them," he replied, the disgust evident in his voice.
"I would never do that!" She sobbed.
"And Dev's sister would?"
It was Priyanka's turn to look confused.
"Svetlana is Dev's sister. Quite a love you have where your boyfriend's family is a secret that needs to be unravelled by outsiders," he mocked.
When Priyanka didn't respond, he continued, "If you're still insistent that Svetlana has a role to play in this case, bring me one evidence that points to the fact. If satisfactory, I will do the rest. If not, you will be arrested and charged for Ipshita Singh's murder based on the evidence in the tapes. You have until tomorrow afternoon."
With that, he turned and started walking away. However, a few blocks down, he halted and turning around called out, "And Miss Oberoi, this time don't dare to run away because you know how easy it is for me to find you."
***
Shiv Shakti
