Fichain #5 (start date 20 Jul '23) - Page 7

Great going guys! I am taking up on 11th (Monday) after whichever part comes up.

I liked this part...so both of them don't wanna marry each other

Edited my bad. 🙈

Originally posted by: MochaQueen

I liked this part...so both of them don't wanna marry each other

Segment #9

"That's very generous, beta. Two helpings of kheer?"

Suyash smiled at the wizened old man. "I know you have a sweet tooth, kaka." Then he bent towards him and whispered, "Come back later when everyone's had their fill. I'll save some for you to take home." The old man's eyes crinkled as his gnarled hand tightened its hold on the plastic cup.

He then served the young boy who had accompanied his grandfather next and his heart clenched with a strange emotion, memories from a distant past flooding him. The same sordid, smelly surroundings. The squalor, the starvation, the helplessness, the anger. When misery had been a bottomless pit and hope had been non-existent.

He added an extra helping of daal and gave him another roti.

"That is a good turnout, don't you think?" Amyra came up behind him, wiping her hands on her soiled apron.

Suyash continued serving the long queue of slum dwellers, waiting restlessly for their turn. This had been his Sunday routine for a few weeks now. He had been instrumental in convincing his bosses to do this as part of their corporate social responsibility initiative and it had been a huge success so far. Several NGOs had now joined hands.

He had happened to mention it to Amyra recently and she had insisted in joining him despite his reservations. The Kurla slums were no place for someone like her. She represented everything that was aristocratic and classy and as far removed from this sordid world as possible. Her family came from old money. Narayan Rao Dikshit, one of the country's most respected entrepreneurs and politicians was her maternal grandfather. And her father, Arvind Roy's PR firm was counted as among the most prestigious ones with celebrities and wannabes clamoring to get on their roster. If Amicomm had signed them on, they had made it.

"Ams, you should go, you've been here all day, you'll have other things to do," he said, resorting to his old nickname for her.

He had used My since the night of that party but he had sensed Amyra did not like it because she had withdrawn from him a little since then. Almost as if she was ashamed of herself. That had surprised him.

Didn't she know she was literally perfect? He continued to use it, not because he wanted to hurt her, but because her withdrawing from him was exactly the side effect he was aiming for. Even if it killed him inside.

Images of them dancing, her soft body pressed against his, her sweet scent pervading his senses, the little sounds she made driving him to distraction played in his mind over and over. He had to put a stop to it. Tutu had proved to be a good distraction but unfortunately, she couldn't make it today, and Amyra had never been good at taking orders.

She turned her nose up at him. "I'm here to help and I'm not going until it's finished."

He knew it was pointless to argue with her when her mind was made up.

He scooped a ladle of daal onto another proffered plate, adding rotis as she handed out the rice.

"So. You never told me how you met Tutu."

"She's part of the design team at work. We had a crucial project deadline approaching and the tech team and the design team had to put their heads together. We worked day and night all week. Tutu and I got close."

He had just gone home to shower and change and had been back. It had been a shitty week.

"So, you've only known her for a week?"

"I knew her as a co-worker. She became a friend over that week," he shrugged as he felt Amyra stiffen beside him.

"But y'all seem to be so up in each other's space."

Was that jealousy he detected in her tone? A month ago that might have made him happy, but now?

"We're just exploring to see where this goes. What about you and Vikram?" He knew she was conflicted and deep down he was happy about it. But he couldn't interfere.

"The parents want us to get together...." Her voice trailed off.

He didn't push further, and neither did she offer. They continued to serve food in silence.

"You've only known her for a week. Huh. That's pretty fast progress."

She wasn't going to let this go easily.

"And we've only known each other for four months," he replied, his voice tight.

"And yet you've never made a move on me."

His ladle clattered as it dropped into the container of daal.

Did you want me to? he almost asked but stayed silent. What would be the point?

"Has she been to your house, Suyash? Met your parents?"

He nodded stiffly. "Briefly. She picked me up for work one day."

The hurt in Amyra's voice nearly destroyed him.

"We've been friends for 4 months, you've come over plenty of times but I've never gone to your home or met your parents or your brothers. Why?"

Because the woman I call Amma isn't really my mother. Neither is the man I call Appa my father. Nor are Nikhil and Nitish my real brothers. My real name isn't Suyash Nair. My real parents weren't people you would ever want to associate with. You deserve better, Amyra. Not a lowdown scum like me.

"Ma has been unwell and it's been a little chaotic at home. I'll invite you home soon," he said, deflecting, knowing he never would.

He couldn't. Not after that conversation he had with Arvind Roy the day he had naively headed over to the Amicomm office over a month ago to meet Amyra. He had thought his past was dead and buried but he was mistaken. Arvind Roy knew everything about him.

His jaw clenched as he recalled Amyra's father's words to him that day....

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I wanted to do a segment from Suyash's point of view since we haven't really heard from him and I dislike single PoV stories.

I also wanted to draw out Suyash's character since he's the other main in the story.

This segment hints at Suyash being fostered by the Nairs and later (possibly) adopted since he uses their last name. His real parents' background and his backstory is left to you to develop as you want to. It's implied that Arvind Roy sensed something brewing between Suyash and Amyra and put a stop to it by bringing up his past which is of course, murky. It's also in his interest (and the Sehgals' interest) that Amyra and Vikram marry. The reasons for this need to be defined too.

I hope I haven't made this too melodramatic, but I wanted to bring in some conflict on Suyash's side too.

The PR company is named Amicomm.. probably after Amyra.

T, over to you or anyone else who wants to do a segment before T does.

Nice one mumma, really loved the setup

Wow Liz, Nice twist

Can I take the next one?

Originally posted by: MochaQueen

Wow Liz, Nice twist

Can I take the next one?

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

Sure! Will you do the next one and then T after you? Or you wanna do the one after T?

I'll do the next one hopefully tomorrow, if I'm not able to post by Monday night then Tia can write it.

Segment 10

You’re the son of a murderer! Do you get that? Stay away from my daughter. I don’t want her anywhere near you…

The words still echoed in his ears. The words that had shattered his world. Murderer? That could not be true. Even if it was, what was his fault? How could he possibly distance himself from Amyra? His Amyra? But the truth was that he didn’t know how she would react after knowing the truth. Would she still treat him the same way like she did now? Or would she also hate him? No, he could not bear her hatred, and so he had set her up with Vikram in hopes that she would not figure out his hidden feelings for her. All was going well until she had told him she didn’t want to marry Vikram.

I don’t get a good feeling about him, he is so different from me, she had confided in Suyash. Suyash himself had started to feel odd around him after she had said that, so he decided to find out more about him.

***

"Listen Tutu. I need your help. Do you know anyone who could be helpful in finding someone’s background?" Suyash asked on the phone.

"Is this about that girl again? The one you introduced me to as your 'girlfriend'?"

After getting no response on the other end, Tutu carried on. "You really like her, don’t you? Why don’t you just tell her instead of playing these mind games?"

"I can’t answer that right now, but I’ll tell you one day for sure, once I figure things out."

***

"Tutu! It’s been so long! Where have you been?"

Harry, short for Harvinder, was Tutu's childhood friend. They had grown up together, but had drifted apart after becoming busy in their own lives. Harry had shifted to Europe and become a private detective.

"I know, it has been incredibly long! We need to catch up soon! Also, I was wondering if you could help out my friend find some information about someone?"

"Sure, send me the name along with his parents name and address."

Tutu did as she was told.

***

A few days later, Suyash got a call.

"Hey Yash, Harry is willing to help us. He has asked us to somehow bring Vikram to Europe and meet him. Could we possibly plan a trip to Europe with Amyra and Vikram? Will they agree?"

Suyash thought for a moment. "I have a plan."

***

Harry stared at the names in front of him as his mind went haywire with the memories.

Vikram. Gautam. Jhanvi.

Could it be the same family? There was only one way to find out - he had to meet Vikram face to face. It was about time to set things right!

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Okay, sorry if it's too dramatic. I hope I didn't get too carried away. Let me know if I made any mistake with the names or story!