"Ritu," Gyan called her calmly while she was munching on the pizza they had just ordered.

She looked up and saw him standing beside the bed, his trolley lied on the bed opened wide as he was packing his things. They made eye contact as Gyan beckoned. "Come here."

She put down the piece she was having and got up. Navi and Irfan were still with them as she insisted, she'd see Gyan off at the airport. Knowing Gyan, she knew he would never ask for it even if it was the only thing he really wanted.

After Abhimanyu left, they were talking about the impromptu video shoot, and Navneet confirmed that it had been Abhimanyu's doing. It was Abhimanyu who talked to their music producer along with the label management to arrange for the exclusive video shoot. Just because Ritu asked to see Gyan. They barely had time to process the situation because everything happened in such a short period. When the company offered for an additional music video for their album, they literally lost all their sensibleness and fell into the trap. Gyan called Abhimanyu and asked him for the favor without knowing it had already been done.

When Ritu asked how he did it without hampering his ego, Gyan merely shrugged. According to him regardless of their relationship, they were still blood related. So, Dadabhai was obligated to look after him under any circumstances. But when Ritu pointed out that reasoning worked both ways, Gyan simply disregarded her and kept chomping down the meal like a gorilla. Ritu realized his avoidant persona was rising again. So, she dropped the subject dejectedly. Persuading Gyan to mend his relationship with their elder brother is same as expecting Abhimanyu to give Gyan an affectionate hug. Both were impossible currently.

Ritu walked over to him and eyed the open luggage. "What?"

Gyan picked up a small wrapped box from the corner of his bag and gave to her. "I didn't really expect to see you while coming here. But when I randomly saw that, I knew it has to go to our dumbo's collection. Come now. Open it." He smiled then shifted his crutch and sat down beside his luggage.

Ritu blinked. Her throat suddenly felt closed. It ached so much that she had to gulp down twice in order to stay in control. She opened the wrapper and from inside it a white rose shaped minaudiere came out. A big white rhinestone was adorning the center of it. Her eyes fell on the tag. It was from Zara.

She gasped. Her hands shook slightly as she turned it over and examined it in disbelief. She couldn't talk for a few seconds until her eyes shifted and focused on her brother. He was staring at her with that same annoying smirk on his face. His scars stretching at an abnormal angle while he had leaned back slightly supporting his weight by his hands on the bed. As she made eye contact with him, he wiggled one of his eyebrows, his smirk stretched even more upward.

"You definitely did not see that randomly," she whispered. "Gyan...it's...I..." she faltered to form cohesive sentence.

He chuckled at her response.

She couldn't even form proper words right now. Her stupid twin was becoming more stupid day by day and she didn't even know how to react. Unable to find proper words, she jumped at Gyan and hugged him tightly.

He caught her quickly to prevent crashing on the bed while chuckling continuously. He patted on her back and said, "A simple thank you would've sufficed, y'know."

"Shut up! You intentionally bought this!" She pulled back and looked at the cute clutch again. "You idiot. I love you."

"Mmhm. Now we're talking," Gyan teased.

She shifted her gaze on her brother and questioned slightly annoyed now. "You won't say that back to me?"

"What? Idiot?"

Ritu made a face and tilted her head while putting her hands on her hips. The minaudiere was still held in one of her hands.

Gyan shrugged and focused back on his luggage. "I don't know what you're talking about. Now go away. I need to finish this in ten minutes."

Ritu huffed, then gave up when he actually started putting the items in his bag. She marched back to the seating area and plopped down on the sofa, showing off the new addition to her collection to the other men. She wasn't sure whether she was lucky to have a brother like Gyan or unlucky enough to not be able to help him open up.

10th May

After Gyan left, days at Ishani dragged on tediously. Ritu spent most of her time locked in her room, working on her designs which were coming out just fine. Navneet and Naina had gone back while Jeet stayed behind to deal with the case. Yet, she hardly saw him. Or her father or brother. The men worked, talked, even went out and came in secretly. It was clear they were intentionally leaving the women out of the whole court drama. Their silence was enough to make them believe it was getting serious.

Moreover, Jai had been as silent as the men at the villa. This was eating her up from inside. Perhaps she went overboard. Perhaps he was actually considering the risks involved. And rightfully so. No intelligent man would intentionally engage with a woman with a background like hers. For several times she thought of calling him. But prevented herself. She had to become logical and remind herself, she was a Roy. A Roy. It wasn't just because she was a girl. She shouldn't call first. No matter how impatient and anxious she was becoming. She'd have to wait. And after what happened that day, she was at a great risk of ruining her family's reputation if she acted carelessly right now.

In the meantime, there was an appointment with her therapist which was scheduled online. Because, well duh...she wasn't allowed to leave her home. Somehow Devina's words gave her some strength.

A few days ago,

"So, you're saying, it might not be just temptation as per your understanding." Devina said.

Ritu shrugged. "I'm not sure. I told you about the person I'm seeing. I mean, I thought she was special to me. But after...I mean, what I am currently experiencing, it really made me confused."

"How is so?"

Ritu bit on her bottom lip, searching for the right words to put together. "I thought I loved her. I mean, yeah, I still do. But I cannot see her romantic way anymore. I mean..." She realized she was having trouble explaining her feelings. So, she paused for a while, fidgeting with her shirt's buttons.

Devina patiently waited for her to continue.

After a prolonged moment, Ritu finally said it. "I wasn't even sure about my actual feelings to start with when I accepted her offer. I only saw those potential future prospects that could come my way if we started getting to know each other. I mean, she's really nice and whenever I ask for her help, she helps me going out of her ways. But it makes me feel guilty because I cannot meet her halfway through which is expected in any relationship. It's..." she huffed in frustration. "I don't even know anymore."

Devina nodded, then asked after a brief pause, "I'll ask a personal question to understand it better, okay?"

Ritu nodded her consent.

Devina asked, "How did you realize you were invested in her romantically?"

Ritu thought for a while. "Well, I didn't really, I mean, yeah. I was attracted to her because she has a great fashion sense. Her style has an accentuated classy vibe. I wanted to learn from her, stay close to her. So, I thought maybe that's how you feel when you fall in love."

"Basically, you're saying you saw what you're lacking in her, and that's what attracted you toward her."

Ritu stared at the screen for a moment, pondering on what Devina just said. Perhaps, she was right. She lacked in a lot of things. She lacked in creating a powerful aura around her. An aura that could ward off any low vibrational energies. Sometimes, she truly felt like a disappointment as a Roy. All of her family members had achieved some sort of accomplishments in life. But, what about her? She was nothing without her parents' and brothers' support. All these pretentious bravery and haughtiness, were just a camouflage. She had nothing. No purpose except dreaming. She knew not how to implement them in real life. Ritu knew her family could move heaven and earth if she demanded something from them, but she wasn't anymore sure of that after what happened.

Pihu on the other hand imposed no restrictions. Ritu had always wanted to be recognized as a famous designer which Pihu already was. Pihu was her role model in a sense and the fact she was an independent was so attractive. Ritu wanted all of that, because those were exactly what she was lacking.

But she said none of it and shrugged instead. "Maybe. I'm not sure."

Devina nodded and noted down something on her pad. "Did you experience another attack in the past few days?"

It was true that since that day Jai helped her at the party, she didn't have any more attack. Although she wasn't sure why she thought of Jai the first thing when her mind registered the word "another attack", she definitely was relieved that it didn't happen.

Devina nodded approvingly. "That'll be all for today's session, Ritusha. Take the medicines on time, and never shy away from reaching out to me if you ever feel the need."

That was it. Even though her heart was resisting, her gut already knew the way things were.

Ritu ate the choco-pie and dumped the wrapper when her phone buzzed. She stretched her hand and picked the phone from the table as she was currently sewing the dress materials together in her working room.

A text message flashed on the screen.

'Hey, I hope I'm not bothering you.'

She stopped chewing the pie. It was from Jai. He...he texted her? Was she hallucinating?

Ritu glanced at the time. 9:23 p.m. It was late enough. She was elated nonetheless.

Ritu typed: 'No, it's okay.' And hit sent.

A few minutes passed. Ritu had stopped working already. Now she was just staring at the screen while chewing on her bottom lip.

'Have you heard what happened at the court?'

Ritu stared at the new message that arrived. Her fingers paused on the keypad as she contemplated how should she response. Because she didn't have the slightest clue of what happened at the court. Not because she was irresponsible and ignorant of her family matters, but because her family wouldn't allow her to get involved in these legal matters.

'I'm sorry I have no idea what happened.'

There was a pause for long minute and Ritu understood he was probably wondering whether he should tell her about it or not. So, she texted again.

'Can we talk over call?'

The reply came quickly. 'Yes'

And soon the phone rang. She answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, how are you?" Jai asked.

"I'm alright. Just grounded for two months that's all. What about you?"

Jai chuckled airily. "Grounded? Are you for real?"

Ritu rolled her eyes. "Of course! You have no idea how I deal with my life."

"So..." he drawled for a moment.

Ritu took the opportunity and asked, "How are the yoddhas doing?"

"They are fine. Just..." he sighed then added, "I'm not sure how to..." and trailed off.

Ritu could tell he was struggling to show his vulnerabilities through words. So, she attempted to divert his attention. "What happened at the court?"

"Mm? Oh! Yes, they asked Abhimanyu to disclose about the phone call. But he refused."

"What?" Ritu was taken aback. "Why though?"

"How would I know?" Jai responded in a slightly raised voice. "Your brother is clearly hiding something crucial. It is giving me even more reasons to suspect him."

Ritu sat back in despondency. "Jai, trust me. He acts aloof but he is not the kind of person to cause such harm to anyone."

"How do I know? Without proof how can I trust him? Even when asked in court, he did not disclose anything. Don't you find it suspicious? How can you do blindly trust your brother? Isn't it your-love-for-your-brother talking?"

Ritu bit her bottom lip for a moment then tried to pacify him. "Perhaps, he has some reason to hide it."

"That's what I want to know! What's the reason of such secrecy?" Jai yelled, frustrated. "It costed my grandfather's life! How could he not reveal anything?"

"Jai!" Ritu gasped, startled.

Jai seemed to caught off-guard for a moment. After a pause, he said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I...my mind is...not working these days. I..."

Ritu looked ahead of her and her eyes fell on the organza fabric she was working on. It had that mandala inspired design painted on it. She took a deep breath then before she knew it the words had already left her mouth. "If you want, I can help you find the proofs."

~~~
Author's note: If you see the issues are coming back together, then you know we're halfway through. In the last chapter, I was answering a few questions/doubts to one of you. You can go read the comments section of the previous chapter, you'll find some interesting information on The Roys.