Reyansh

Over the course of the next few days, I was busy with work and did not meet Kyra, I needed to give her time to process what had happened in the club.

The ball was in her court now, regarding Abhay. Though she had kept a very low profile in the past few days and mostly stayed home, in her room.

I wanted to wait it out for a few days to see what she would do, she could very easily publicly humiliate him and reveal to the world of his affair, or demand a meeting with the Singhania family patriarch to leverage/blackmail and get a better deal for herself and the company. She could've even told her family about this and let them do the dirty work for her, as I'm very sure they would be capable of doing such things.

My EA (Executive Assistant) Dhruv came running in to the office and announced in one breath that, "Sir, sorry to barge in without knocking, but the matter is extremely urgent, Mr Javier from the New Mexico Cartel (Mafia) has called and he requires your immediate assistance, his daughter has been kidnapped and they require your computer and technical expertise to help find her. They have tried every other option, but have failed to locate her and are very desperate for your help. They've sent a private jet, to take you to New Mexico, immediately."

The moment he stopped speaking, I said, "Let's hurry then, there's no time to waste, every minute that the girl is  missing is a higher chance that we might not find her alive. I want you to initiate Autopilot protocol in the office and initiate the necessary procedures. While I'm gone you are incharge and also, inform Krish that I needed to leave India for some urgent work and will be back ASAP. Also keep an eye on Kyra, I don't want anything to happen to her in my absence."

He replied saying, "Yes Sir", and ran to do my bidding. I trusted Dhruv to handle things in my absence and moreover the "Autopilot" initiative invented by me, would ensure that things ran smoothly in my absence, I specifically designed it for this purpose.

I had found Dhruv in desolate conditions as a young man, and decided that he deserved a chance to prove himself and make something of his life, I gave him the necessary training and now Dhruv was one of my most or rather only trusted Employee. Dhruv was very loyal and hardworking, and he was aware of the morally grey work that Katech Inc. did from time to time and he had come to terms with it.

I quickly packed my laptop and collected my necessary things. I always kept a packed suitcase in my office which had the bare essentials required for any emergency trips.

In my line of work time was of the essence, with one last thought of Kyra, I entered my professional work mode and focused on the important task ahead.

I had a feeling by the time I would return, Kyra would've made her decision.

Kyra

Fate, what a funny thing it was, it weaved and entangled you in such a way that would leave you flabbergasted and gasping to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Abhay was gay and he had betrayed my trust from the very beginning, true that I had cheated on him with Reyansh the other night. But but...........

I couldn't even explain my feelings and behaviour to myself. Karma was surely teaching me a lesson.

I decided to cocoon myself in my room and hibernate there for a few days.

Plus Bridgerton, my favourite series was returning with a new season after so very long, so I decided to binge watch it and catch up on some trending movies and books that I had missed, being so busy in work.

I saw Bridgerton, My Fault, Red, White and Royal Blue, Laapata Ladies (Hindi movie) and the evergreen F.R.I.E.N.D.S and gorged on endless snacks.

After a few days, I finally started to feel like myself and arranged for a meeting with Abhay and decided to confront him and get the truth once and for all.

We met for Lunch and spoke for hours, I revealed to him all that I knew and he told me about how he suffered a drug addiction from his teenage years and how he was admitted in various rehabilitation programs and centres, For a long period he had it under control and was thriving, but he was unable to get it fully under control, from time to time he would lapse into old habits.

Then we spoke about him being Gay, I told him about, how I had found him in a compromising position in the club in the men's washroom specifically. He profusely apologised for deceiving me and he admitted that he had realised that he was gay when he was 18, and he had met the love of his life - Roman, they had an epic love story and he helped Abhay with his drug addiction. They were madly in love for over 5 years.

But unfortunately Roman died of cancer 1 year back and ever since Abhay was not the same, his drug habit came back with a vengeance and he was never himself after that. Roman had taken Abhay's heart and soul with him to heaven.

I asked him if his family was aware and he mentioned that yes they were and they couldn't tolerate it at all and would not let the news about him being gay ever be Public, they were the ones who would force him (by threatening Roman's life) to take scandalous and inappropriate pictures with models and then they would get the articles of his alleged affair printed in various media reports and articles.

They were also the ones who coerced Abhay (by freezing all his accounts and finances) to agree to get married to Kyra and never reveal the truth to her. So that the business deal could get signed and No one would suspect the truth about Abhay being gay (Homophobic Assholes). They had also made him sign a separate deal saying that if he got married to Kyra then they would give him a share of his fortune back and he would get independence from his family.

After listening to all this I was flabbergasted, but extremely sad about the life Abhay had led, especially with his horrible controlling family, his drug addiction, and the worst is having the love of his life taken away from him so soon.

Talking to him made me remember all the good times that we had spent with each other and how he was my only real friend and would often console and help me during our childhood, whenever I felt lonely or was in trouble with my family. Abhay was suffering a great deal now and there was only one way to save him.

I realised, that I had to marry him to help him get his money back and get freedom from his horrendous family, also I wanted to get out of the house and make a new life for myself. Plus it would be beneficial to the business as well, also according to the Will left by my Grandfather, only 2 months were left for my 24th birthday and if I was not married before then, I would lose my current inheritance and would not become the legal heir of the Oberoi Empire, so time was of the essence for me as well.

They could mutually help each other by marrying and starting a new life together of friendship, most marriages usually never start off based on true love and even if they do they never lasted happily or peacefully and I knew that we would never love each other in a romantic way, but we would have something better in our marriage- friendship and respect for each other, and Kyra realised that she could live with that.

Thoughts of Reyansh suddenly plagued me, but I had sensed some hidden deep hatred of his towards me and my family and he had even threatened me awhile back. I had deep desires and passion towards him, but that was not enough of a reason to be with him and I didn't know if he even genuinely liked me.

Moreover, my childhood best friend Abhay needed my help and support right now.

I decided that, we will get married and according to the contract signed by us, we had to be married for a period of at least 5 years, we could manage till then and then get divorced and live our lives on our own terms. I told my plan to Abhay and he agreed but said that, "Thank you Kyra for your kindness and support, but I'm morally obligated to tell you that, Roman was and will always be a part of me, and I will never be able to love you but will always try to treat you with respect and dignity, throughout our marriage."

I became misty eyed and nodded my head saying, "Let's do this, let's get married and earn our freedom from our toxic families."