FLAMES chapter 10 *UPDATED* by Ghost Hale - Page 4

She saved his mother once. Why would she hurt her next time? Unless there was some agenda.

He is getting her arrested. What evidence do they have?

Good question. U r a good question.

Chapter 9

The cabin door closed behind the police officers.

Silence settled over the room.

The file Aditi had been working on remained open on Aryan's desk. Her notes stopped halfway across the page, the pen still resting where she had left it.

Aryan reached for the next file.

Ishita looked at him.

"...That's it?"

He opened the file.

"The police arrested a suspect."

"A suspect?"

A quiet, disbelieving smile crossed her face.

"You already had the statement prepared."

"I had the evidence prepared."

"No."

She shook her head.

"You had your conclusion prepared."

Aryan finally looked up.

"I heard enough."

"You heard part of one conversation."

"I saw enough."

"You saw one moment."

"You saw her standing inside the flames."

Her voice remained calm.

"That cannot be the whole truth."

"It was enough."

"It was enough for you."

Silence returned.

Then Ishita spoke again.

"She was my friend."

"So was my mother."

Neither of them looked away.

"I know."

Her voice softened.

"I want answers too."

"I've wanted them for three years."

"But I can't let someone stay behind bars simply because your anger has decided the rest of the story."

Aryan's expression never changed.

"The law will decide."

"The law only knows what you gave it."

Another silence settled between them.

Then she picked up her bag.

"If you won't do anything..."

"...I will."

She walked out.

Aryan remained where he was.

A few seconds later...

He quietly turned the page.

---

The police station smelled faintly of damp paper and disinfectant.

A constable unlocked the visitors' room before stepping outside.

Aditi sat quietly on the other side of the table.

She looked up as Ishita entered.

Neither of them spoke immediately.

Ishita pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down.

For a long moment...

She simply looked at Aditi.

Then—

"Why are you behaving as though you don't know us?"

"I'm sorry, Ishita ma'am..."

"...I don't know what you're expecting me to say."

"You don't know me?"

"No."

"You don't know Aryan?"

"No."

"You don't know anything about the Dance Academy?"

"No."

"You don't remember the fire?"

"No."

"Then why are you here?"

"I was brought here by the police."

"They believe you're connected to the fire."

"I know."

"If you're really who you say you are... how can any of this be happening?"

"I don't know."

Ishita held her gaze for a few seconds before reaching into her bag.

She took out a folded sheet of paper and placed it on the table.

"I'll read it."

Her eyes dropped to the page.

"'My name is Aditi Sharma.'"

"'I have never met Aryan Malhotra or Ishita Kapoor before joining Malhotra Infrastructure.'"

"'I have no connection to the Dance Academy, the fire that took place there three years ago, or the people involved in that incident.'"

"'I have been wrongly identified and falsely accused.'"

She lowered the paper.

"If you're really who you say you are..."

"...every word on this paper is true."

"I'll submit it before the court."

"I'll get you bail immediately."

"You only have to sign it."

Silence settled between them.

Aditi lowered her eyes to the statement.

Her fingers slowly reached towards it...

...then gently pushed it back across the table.

"I won't sign it."

The words settled quietly between them.

Ishita didn't reply.

She remained where she was, her eyes resting on Aditi. A moment passed. Then another. The silence stretched between them, unhurried, as though both of them were waiting for something only the other could give.

A faint smile slowly found its way to Ishita's lips.

Then she said—

"Save him, Aditi."

Aditi slowly lifted her eyes.

Their gazes met and held.

The silence lingered for another heartbeat before Aditi looked down.

Without a word, she drew the paper back towards herself.

Her fingers closed around the pen.

The tip rested above the empty line for the briefest moment.

Then...

She signed her name.

Did she not want to sign because the statement was not true? What did Ishita mean by saving Aryan? How does her signature do that?

Aryan believes she is guilty. Ishita thinks there is more to it than what they know. Aditi is not giving much explanation. Not that Aryan will listen. But Ishita will.

U r asking all d right questions but i think i hv answered all in chapters till now. U might have read my older work. I always give all answers mostly before hand itself. Its just comes to light when people read it again once fiction is complete. But i can confirm dt all ur questions are already answered.

Just so you know, I just ask the questions. I don't expect them to be answered. The story will answer in due time.

Usually feels u hv all answers. If u get time do read my other work. U will get wt i meant.

Hi Members,

Before starting on my new OG fiction, do spend a subscribe to my new fan fiction and OG fiction channel. U will surely like it. Do support and enjoy Flames.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIYDrSSAotc

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CHAPTER 10

The meeting ended the way it always did—not with an announcement, but with silence.

Aryan closed the last file and set it aside. Around the table, drawings disappeared into folders, measuring scales were pushed away and lunchboxes quietly took their place. Over the past few weeks, it has become a ritual. Nobody suggested a break anymore. Work simply gave way to lunch.

Karan opened his lunchbox first and frowned.

“I think the canteen has finally defeated itself.”

Ishita did not bother looking up.

“You say that every day.”

“Because they prove me right every day.”

Aditi smiled as she unfolded her lunch. Across the table, Aryan had already pulled another file towards himself.

Karan stared at him.

“We're still working?”

Aryan turned a page.

“We're still talking?”

“I don't know why I expect anything different.”

“You don't.”

“I don't.”

Ishita laughed and shook her head.

Lunch settled over the room as conversation moved from one subject to another. Karan complained about the food while Ishita argued back out of habit. Aditi listened more than she spoke, joining them whenever something amused her. Aryan remained bent over the file beside his unopened lunchbox, turning pages while the others ate.

By the time he finally closed it, everyone else was halfway through lunch. He pulled the lunchbox towards himself, lifted the lid and picked up the spoon.

“Aryan.”

He looked up to find Aditi setting her own lunch aside.

“The food's cold.”

“It'll do.”

She held out her hand.

“Give it to me.”

“I've eaten worse.”

“I'm sure.” Her hand remained between them. “But you're not eating this.”

Neither moved for a moment.

Then Aryan placed the lunchbox in her hand.

Aditi walked towards the pantry without another word.

Karan waited until the door closed behind her before looking back at Aryan.

“You know, one of these days she's going to stop asking.”

Aryan leaned back in his chair.

“And?”

“And she'll simply take your lunch.”

“That sounds efficient.”

“It sounds married.”

A smile appeared on Ishita's face.

“I've been saying that for weeks.”

“You've been saying it too quietly,” Karan replied. “Aunty has been saying it properly.”

Aryan picked up his glass of water.

“My mother says a lot of things.”

“About business. About life. About you.” Karan grinned. “And lately, about one architect.”

Ishita laughed.

“I don't think your mother has made it a secret.”

“She never does.”

“I'm telling you, if she had her way, she'd probably have the wedding planned before the Academy inauguration.”

“I wouldn't even be surprised,” Ishita said. “She's already dreaming about it.”

Aryan looked at her.

“You sound unusually supportive.”

“I like seeing your mother happy.”

“And free food,” Karan added.

“That too.”

The pantry door opened and Aditi returned with Aryan's lunchbox. She placed it in front of him before sitting down again.

“Careful, plate is hot.”

“Thank you.”

She opened her own lunch and resumed eating. Karan waited until Aryan took the first bite before pointing his spoon towards him.

“There. It begins.”

Aryan raised an eyebrow.

“What does?”

“The caring.”

“I warmed his lunch,” Aditi said.

“Exactly.” Karan nodded as though she had proved his point. “Today it's lunch. Tomorrow it'll be the rest of his life.”

Aditi smiled and shook her head.

“I think you're giving one lunchbox too much importance.”

“I don't know.” Ishita looked at Aryan before smiling at her. “His mother certainly doesn't.”

Aditi lowered her eyes with a quiet smile and reached for another bite.

Aryan continued eating.

“I've changed my mind.”

All three looked at him.

“If marriage means warm food every afternoon...” His eyes settled on Ishita. “...it doesn't sound like a bad deal.”

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then Ishita stared at him as though he had said the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard.

“You've finally lost your mind.”

“I said warm food.”

“You said marriage.”

“I said lunch.”

“You meant marriage.”

“I didn't.”

“You absolutely did.”

Karan was already laughing.

“I knew we'd get here. Ishita’s mom will love to hear this. She wants this for the longest time.”

Ishita pointed her spoon at Karan and then at Aryan.

“If you ever say something like that to me again, I'm jumping out of the nearest window.”

Aryan looked at her with complete seriousness.

“I wasn't asking.”

She pressed a hand against her chest.

“Thank God. I've spent twenty years tolerating you.”

“And I've survived twenty years of you.”

“Barely.”

Laughter moved around the table.

Aditi joined them, her smile lingering as she lowered her eyes to her lunch.

The laughter had barely settled when Aryan's phone vibrated across the table.

He reached for it.

Ishita was quicker.

She picked it up before his fingers reached the screen.

“It's locked,” Aryan said.

Without even looking at him, she replied,

“Do you really think I don't know your password?”

Her fingers moved across the screen. The phone unlocked almost immediately.

Karan looked from one to the other and shook his head.

“I still can't decide whether that's impressive or terrifying.”

“Both,” Ishita replied, her eyes already on the screen.

She typed a short reply, locked the phone again and placed it beside Aryan's lunchbox.

“There.”

Aryan picked it up.

“What did you tell them?”

“The same thing you would've.”

He glanced at the screen before setting the phone aside and returning to his lunch.

Across the table, Aditi's fingers found the glass beside her plate. Her eyes lifted to Aryan for a fraction longer than she intended before she quietly looked away. A slow breath escaped her. By the time she lifted the glass, the conversation had already moved on.

Lunch came to an end as quietly as it had begun. Lunchboxes disappeared, files returned to the table and the room slipped back into work without anyone needing to say a word.

Karan stood first.

“I'll see you both at the site.”

Ishita gathered her files and followed him towards the door.

“And don't start another file before finishing your coffee.”

The cabin grew quiet again.

Aditi collected the last of the drawings, stacked them neatly against her chest and turned towards the door.

“Aditi.”

She stopped.

Slowly, she looked back.

Aryan met her eyes.

“I know.”

Neither of them moved. A heartbeat passed.

Then she lowered her gaze, turned and walked out without another word.

Present

The revised drawings lay open across Aryan's desk. He moved through them without hurry, correcting a measurement here, marking another line there and pausing only when something required an answer. Across the table, Aditi waited quietly while Ishita worked through a file of her own, an untouched cup of coffee resting beside it.

The last drawing came to an end.

Aryan closed the file and slid it towards Aditi.

“It'll work.”

She gathered the sheets into a neat stack.

Aryan reached for his coffee.

Instead, he lifted the cup, placed it beside Ishita's file and opened the next one without another word.

Ishita looked at the cup, then at him. A smile appeared almost immediately.

“Thank you.”

Across the table, Aditi's hands remained resting on the drawings for a moment before she spoke.

“Anything else, sir?”

Aryan turned the page.

“No.”

She gathered the files against herself.

“Coffee?”

The single word had barely left her lips when Ishita burst into laughter. The sip she had just taken went down the wrong way, sending her into a fit of coughs as coffee spilled over the rim of the cup.

Aditi was beside her instantly.

“Are you okay?”

She slipped a napkin into Ishita's hand, picked up another herself and quickly wiped the coffee from the desk before it could reach the file. Ishita nodded through another cough, still trying to suppress her laughter.

“I'm fine...”

Aditi waited until her breathing settled before returning to the drawings.

When she looked up, Aryan's eyes were already on her.

For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.

“Excuse me.”

She gathered the files against her chest, turned and walked out.

The door shut behind her with a hard thud.

The sound lingered in the cabin for a moment before silence returned.

Aryan turned the next page as though nothing had happened.

Ishita looked towards the closed door, then back at him.

“What was that?”

He didn't answer.

“You've known me for twenty years,” she said after a moment. “You've never offered me your coffee.”

Another page turned.

The silence remained unchanged.

A quiet sigh escaped her.

“I should've known.”

She leaned back in her chair, picked up the cup and took a slow sip before setting it down again.

“I went to the police station yesterday.”

Aryan uncapped his pen and marked a correction in the margin of the file.

“I went there to arrange her bail. The inspector told me there was no need.”

He signed the page and pulled another file towards himself.

“He said the evidence wasn't complete.”

This time Ishita said nothing more.

She simply watched him.

A second passed. Then another.

Aryan opened the new file and continued reading.

A slow breath escaped her.

“I know you, Aryan. If you had wanted her to spend another day in that cell, those papers would've been perfect.”

Silence settled between them once again.

She held his eyes.

“So, Aryan... what was all that for?”

Only after reaching the end of the page did Aryan speak.

“To remind her that she isn't fooling anyone.”

He closed the file.

“Now…”

“She knows…”

His eyes turned towards Ishita.

“that I know.”

The cabin door flew open.

Aditi stood at the entrance, one hand gripping the frame as she struggled to steady her breathing. Her eyes searched the room until they found Aryan.

“Aryan...”

She drew another breath.

“Your mom...”

“Karan called...”

“...the hospital.”

The chair struck the floor behind him.

Aryan was already out of the cabin before the last word had finished echoing.