A/N: Hey friends! After seeing that recent BTS where Aarambhi approaches Avantika about the burner phone, my writer brain went off. I couldn't sleep until I wrote how things should go from here.
We all know our girl Aarambhi has been through hell with Vishwas, and her rage is justified, but I wanted to see how DC would step up as her partner in crime. He's a businessman and a charmer, so you know he's going to use strategy... and maybe a little bit of flirting to keep her grounded. đ
Please read, hit that like button, and drop your thoughts below!đđžâ¤ď¸
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The clock in the hallway of the Tandon house struck midnight. Upstairs, Vihaan was finally sleeping peacefully, completely oblivious to the fact that the very monsters responsible for kidnapping him weeks ago were sleeping right across the hall.
Outside in the parking lot of Sparkling Heights, DC and Aarambhi sat in the Tandonsâ SUV with its engine and headlights off. Inside the cabin, the atmosphere was thick, suffocating, and charged with an intensity that felt like a ticking bomb.
Aarambhi sat staring at the screen of Avantikaâs burner phone in her lap, her fingers smoothing down the fabric of her cotton kurti to steady her trembling hands. Her breathing was shallow, her heart hammering against her ribs with a violence that made her chest ache. Every time she closed her eyes, she was right back on the jagged ledge of that abandoned buildingâthe wind howling in her ears, her fingers slipping, staring down at the fatal drop below while her arms screamed in agony, praying she would survive just to hold her son again.
To know that Vishwasâthe husband she had loved, supported, and built a life with for ten yearsâhad helped orchestrate that entire nightmare just to frame her, strip her of her medical license at NeoPulse, and snatch custody of Vihaan for a smooth divorce... it didn't just break her. It turned her blood to pure, unfiltered venom.
"I can't just sit here, Mr. DC," Aarambhi whispered, her voice cracking with the sheer weight of her tears and rage. She reached blindly for the door handle on her left, her knuckles turning white. "They are inside. Acting as if nothing happened. I need to go in there. I need the family to see who he really is."
"Aarambhi, look at me. Breathe. Look at me," DC commanded, his voice dropping into that low, steady, velvety anchor that always managed to cut through her panic. He reached across the center console, gently but firmly gripping her wrist, pulling her fingers away from the door handle.
She snapped her head around, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "How can you tell me to breathe?! You don't know what it feels likeâ"
"I know exactly what's at stake, Doctor," DC interrupted softly, his dark eyes locking onto hers in the shadows of the car, completely ignoring the boundary of personal space as he leaned closer. "Which is exactly why we aren't rushing in there. You are reacting purely out of emotion right now, and that is exactly what Vishwas wants. If you march in there with just accusations, he will play the devoted, grieving father. He will claim Avantika manipulated everything and walk away completely clean in the eyes of the law. And then what? Heâll wait for things to settle and come after Vihaan again."
Aarambhiâs breath hitched, the reality of his words hitting her like a physical blow. She pulled her wrist from his grip, masking her pain with a sharp glare to keep from completely breaking down.
"You and your endless chess moves," she muttered, crossing her arms tightly over her kurti. "You know, Mr. Dheet Chawla, if patience were a medical condition, youâd be in a comatose state. Some of us actually want to handle the problem now instead of waiting around."
A devastatingly handsome smirk spread across DC's face in the dark. He leaned in a little closer, his eyes dropping to her lips for a second before locking back onto hers. When he spoke, his voice sank into a low murmur that felt too heavy for the current conversation.
"Ah, but Doc... rushing through the climax completely ruins the payoff," he murmured, his gaze holding hers with an intensity that made the air in the SUV instantly evaporate. "A real businessman knows how to take his time. You have to read the room, build the tension, and wait for the perfect moment to strike. Trust me... the best things in life are always done... nice. And slow."
Aarambhi felt a sudden wave of heat rush to her face. Her throat went completely dry as her mind ran a mile a minute trying to process the heavy, suggestive weight behind his words. She opened her mouth to snap a comeback, but her voice failed her entirely.
"We are going to take away his exit strategy," DC continued, his voice dropping an octave as he leaned back slightly. "We walk through this step by step. Logical. We text the kidnapper from Avantika's phone right now: 'The line is being tracked. Delete it. From now on, coordinate the remaining 50 lakhs directly with my partner on his number.' And then we attach Vishwas's cell phone number."
Aarambhi swallowed hard, forcing her frantic mind to process the strategy. "But... the ransom was settled weeks ago. They already paid him."
"Exactly," DC smirked. "So when the kidnapper suddenly texts Vishwas demanding more money, Vishwas is going to think Avantika is trying to take cash behind his back, or that she ruined the plan. The paranoia will make them tear each other apart."
Aarambhi felt the first spark of cold, ruthless clarity cut through her grief. "And what about the text to his personal phone?"
"Do it now," DC murmured. "Give him the push."
With shaking fingers, Aarambhi sent the message to the kidnapper. Then, switching to her personal phone, she fired a quick text straight to her husband's number: 'Vishwas, a blocked number just sent me a text. It says the truth about Vihaanâs kidnapping is will be revealed soon.'
The psychological trap had begun.
Not even four minutes later, Vishwas stepped outside the house into the humid night air, his face completely drained of color as he stared at his glowing screen. Seconds later, Avantika slipped out behind him, her silk saree rustling frantically in the quiet night.
DC immediately reached to his right and rolled the SUV's windows down just a millimeter, letting their toxic whispers fill the car.
"Are you losing your mind?!" Vishwas hissed as he shoved his phone directly into Avantikaâs face. "Look at this! The text came from him! Why is this criminal texting my personal line demanding another fifty lakhs? Did you try to double-cross me, Avantika? Where is the money?!"
"Vishwas, I swear I didn't tell him to send that!" Avantika gasped, her hands shaking as she clutched his arm in pure terror. "I told you, my burner phone is gone! I can't find it anywhere! Someone took it!"
"Then who is texting him?!" Vishwas growled, roughly throwing her hand off his arm. He paced like a cornered beast, sweat glistening on his forehead under the courtyard lights. "And Aarambhi just texted me. She received a threat, too! If this gets out, I am ruined! I did not orchestrate my own son's kidnapping just to end up in prison because of your carelessness!"
Inside the car, Aarambhiâs breathing turned ragged. Hearing him admit it out loudâhearing her husband call their child an orchestrationâshattered the last thread of her composure. The beast in her woke up.
In one swift, lethal motion, she bent down, grabbed her sandal, and ripped it off her foot.
"Aarambhi! Whoa, hold on!" DC turned sharply to his left, his eyes widening.
"I am going to perform a clinical extraction of his teeth with my shoe," she hissed.
Before DC could grab her, Aarambhi moved with uncharacteristic speed. Driven by pure fury, she lunged across the center console, completely invading his side of the car. Her knee planted firmly on the leather console, her body draped directly over his chest as she reached desperately past him, trying to smash the power-window button on the driver's door.
"Heyâ!" DC gasped, his hands instantly flying to her waist to steady her.
The glass rolled down with a soft buzz, and Aarambhi opened her mouth to scream her husband's name, pulling her arm back to launch the shoe through the opening.
"Vishâ"
"No, you don't!" DC reacted on pure survival instinct.
DC shot his hand forward, slamming his palm firmly over Aarambhiâs mouth to cut off her shout into a muffled gasp. Simultaneously, his other hand reached back along the right side of his seat, hitting the reclining lever.
With a mechanical click, the driver's seat reclined completely back, dropping into a horizontal slope.
Because she was balanced over him, the sudden drop sent Aarambhi crashing down directly on top of him. The shoe slipped from her fingers, clattering onto the floor of the SUV. DC's back hit the reclined seat, and Aarambhi fell flush against his torso, her front pressed completely against his broad chest, her legs tangled across the console.
"Did you hear that?" Vishwasâ voice cut through the dark courtyard, sounding alarmingly close. "There was a noise. Like a shout."
DC didn't move a muscle. His hand remained cupped over Aarambhi's mouth, his fingers framing her jawline. His right arm wrapped tightly around her lower back, pinning her flat against his chest to keep her from shifting or making a sound.
The proximity was utterly intoxicating.
Aarambhi's eyes were wide, locked directly onto his in the shadows. Her heart was hammering a frantic, violent rhythm right against his ribs, and she could feel the hard, rapid echo of his own heartbeat answering hers. The sharp scent of his cologne filled her lungs. DCâs gaze was dark, heavy, and intensely focused, his thumb subtly brushing against the skin of her cheek as he held her silent. Usually, DC was the one who disregarded personal space, but with her on top of him, the tables had turned. He was aware of every breath she took, his muscles tense underneath her.
Outside, heavy footsteps crunched on the gravel, stopping just a few feet from the driver's side door on the right. Aarambhi froze, instinctively gripping the fabric of DCâs shirt, pulling herself even closer into his chest. DC responded by shifting his weight slightly, tucking her head down into the left crook of his neck, using his large frame to shield her completely from view of the right window.
They stayed frozen like that, trapped in a breathless embrace, breathing each other's air in the dark.
"It's just the noise from the street, Vishwas," Avantikaâs voice whined from right outside the driver's side window, her voice shaking. "Come inside. We need to reply before he goes to the police!"
"If this ruins me, Avantika, I will make sure you take the fall alone," Vishwas snarled.
Their footsteps finally retreated.
The danger was gone, but inside the car, the silence stretched for three long heartbeats. Neither of them moved. The heavy weight of their bodies pressed together kept them locked in place.
Slowly, DC eased his palm away from her mouth, his fingertips dragging reluctantly across the soft curve of her lips before trailing down her jawline. His voice was distinctly rougher, deeper, and stripped of his usual playful tone when he finally spoke, his eyes burning into hers.
"Are you done trying to commit assault with a shoe, Doctor?" he whispered, his chest heaving under hers.
Aarambhiâs cheeks burned hot in the darkness. She slowly loosened her grip on his shirt, her hands shaking as she carefully pushed herself off his chest and scrambled back into the passenger seat, smoothing down her kurti.
DC hit the lever with his hand, bringing his seat back into the upright position. He adjusted his collar with his hand, which wasn't entirely steady, staring straight ahead at the steering wheel to regain his composure.
"Right. Phase two complete," DC murmured, his voice still a bit rough. "Heâs replying from his personal line. The digital footprint is now locked to his number. He can't run."
Aarambhi slipped her shoe back on, her heart still doing double-time from the lingering, burning electricity of DCâs touch. A proud, triumphant smile crept at the corner of her lips as she looked out the window to hide her blushing face.
"Fine," she whispered, her voice still a little breathless. "Your slow strategy actually worked, Mr. Dhruv Chawla."
A slow, confident, devastating smirk came on DCâs face as he glanced at her. "Told you, Doctor. Nice and slow. Now let's end this marriage."
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