-• that forsaken night •-

It was the first time Sara was personally overlooking the cover page photoshoot. The employees of Muse weren't really surprised. Leigh Jamison is one of the top celebrities they've interviewed in the last ten years of their successful history and their deputy chief editor shares deep friendship with the woman. However, she had the studio staff on their toes. She wasn't doing anything. She simply stood in the corner, dressed her best in a linen blend crop top, trousers and a blazer, arms crossed on her chest, modestly fashionable, exuding beauty of a kind that isn't loud or attention seeking, rather exquisite, appealing and quiet.

Leigh is exactly the opposite on the set. She is fun, she plays around, cracks jokes and loosens the tense atmosphere Sara had tightened upon her unexpected arrival. She's wearing a business suit too, black from head to toe. It's a classy double breasted suit, the jacket sleeves pushed up until her elbows. The backdrop is off-white, with shades of grey thrown here and there. A stool is placed in the middle as a prop. Leigh leans against it, sitting on its edge, right foot propped on the footrest, her arm resting on the elevated knee, the other shoved deep inside her left pocket as she looks intensely into the camera.

"Her vibe is so cool." Shweta stops near Sara, murmuring under her breath as she stares at the woman on the set.

Sara looks down at the young girl. Her focus shifts back to her best friend. She hums in agreement.

Shweta startles, realising she had accidentally blurted aloud near her boss. She scurries off hurriedly, joining the rest of her team as they work on unloading the tiffins delivered by the studio cafeteria.

"I received a call from our chief editor just now," Shreeja starts in a low voice, slowing down the multiple pairs of agile hands. "She read the draft, specifically Ms. Jamison's interview,"

"What about it?" Akash questions.

"Well, a huge chunk of the interview focuses on her childhood, meaning her school life here in India, which is deeply connected with the decades old friendship she shares with our boss."

"No," Gauri, their art director starts shaking her head. "You're not going where I'm assuming you're headed off to."

"We need at least one picture of them together." Shreeja mutters.

Riva, their assistant editor slumps down on the nearby chair. Akash looks at her worriedly. "Ignore me, I'm having a meltdown. I hope something happens to me. A heat stroke, a heart attack, anything that could get me out of this."

"Let's have lunch first and then try convincing her."

"She's not doing it." Akash shakes his head. "C'mon, we know her."

"It's an order from the Chief Editor." Shreeja reminds them.

"Who knows she can't convince her so she dumped it on us!" Shweta hisses under her breath. "So chalak! (How sly!)"

"Enough." Shreeja commands. "Lunch first, then we go together into the lioness' den."

"Aren't you our leader? You should be taking the responsibility." Gauri mumbles sheepishly. Everyone else nods in agreement.

Shreeja looks at her team in evident disbelief. "Wow, remind me to never trust you guys if we're ever stranded on an abandoned island. There are no negotiations in this situation, you guys are coming with me. End of the discussion. Plate the food. I'll go and announce the lunch break." She walks away from the buffet table. Her team watches her retreating figure despondently.

Shreeja claps her hands, gathering attention from everyone in the studio. "It's one in the afternoon. Lunch time!" She taps her wrist watch, beckoning everyone to the table.

"Oh, great. I'm starving!" Leigh hops off the stool and walks out of the set, waving at her friend in the corner to join them. Sara shakes her head softly. Leigh sighs and stomps over to the woman, dragging her to the table.

Chairs are unstacked, transferred to the willing hands that drag them away to sit within their selected groups. Leigh and Sara find themselves sitting in a circle with the editorial team. Shweta serves her boss with the food. Two chapatis, sabji, fried bhindi, rice and dal, along with a cup of sweetened curd. She hesitates serving Leigh, worried about the outfit.

"I've amazing dining etiquettes." Leigh flashes her a smile. "I'll show them to you if you let me eat."

Shweta chuckles, serving the woman.

As everyone sits down to eat, conversations initiates among the friendliest ones, eventually pulling the introverts in the casual discussion along the way.

"By the way, and I know you already know this, but you're so confident on the set. I was jealous seeing your natural ease. Even most actors and models don't have that." Shreeja compliments Leigh.

The latter smiles graciously, hand on her chest as she bows her head, "Why, thank you."

"It would be even more great to see the two great woman I admire on the set together." She adds nervously, a hyped smile forcing its way on her face.

Leigh's brows snap together in confusion. She eyes her best friend cautiously. Sara eats her lunch unbothered, not even realising she had become the topic of the conversation without any heads-up. Feeling unwavering stares on her, she lifts her head, her hand stopping halfway to her mouth as she looks at everyone in innocent confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Shreeja here suggested it'd be great to have you on the set with me?"

"For what?" Sara frowns.

"For a picture." Shreeja answers weakly.

"No." Sara rejects the idea.

"Actually, a huge part of Ms. Jamison's interview talks about you, so Mrs. Krishnamurthy thinks-"

"Did I ask what she thinks?" Sara raises a brow. "It's a no from me. The conversation ends here."

"Wow, I see I've no respect among my peers."

Eight backs go stiff. Sara drops the morsel in the plate, clenching her jaw as her boss drags an empty chair for herself and sits next to her. Shweta gets up to serve the older woman. Mrs. Krishnamurthy waves her hand in a dismissal, informing she already had her lunch before coming here. Shweta settles down.

"The subject must give their consent to be photographed and posted publicly. I do not give it. And I've every right to do that." Sara clarifies herself.

"Alright, Gauri, cut out the parts that mention Ms. Jamison's childhood and their friendship."

Gauri swallows nervously, playing around with her food on the plate as she nods.

"Woah, I'm sitting right here and I'm quiet offended." Leigh chuckles coldly.

The older woman smiles. "Pardon me, Ms. Jamison, but a magazine is all about the visuals. If there's no picture to prove how deep your friendship runs with Ms. Rajawat, it really serves no purpose to the interview rather than making it lengthy."

"So the world refuses to acknowledge the authenticity of something unless you show them?" Sara counters the unwarranted opinion.

"The magazine world? Yes." Her boss nods.

Sara rolls her eyes. "Gauri, no parts of the interview will be modified or manipulated."

"Gauri, you do as I say. I'm the boss of your boss."

"You cannot insult my client like that!" Sara snaps.

"Our client." Mrs. Krishnamurthy emphasises.

"Let me rephrase, you cannot insult my friend like that. She flew down from the states on my request. You're not only sabotaging our friendship but also Muse's reputation as a global brand."

"Then do the photoshoot."

"I won't."

"If the King of Jaigarh can do it, so can you." She gets up from the chair.

Sara smiles mirthlessly. "So that's what it is about. You want to attract sales by flashing the King of Jaigarh's ex-wife on the magazine cover page!?"

"No, I want to highlight how deeply Ms. Jamison's childhood is rooted in Indian culture and the relationships she made here. There's a saree prepared for you in the vanity. Ms. Jamison, yours will be delivered to you as soon as you get done with the solo photoshoot."

Leigh nods in reply.

"I did not mean to offend you, Ms. Jamison. This month's edition is all about you. You'll be the only one on the cover page. Your photo with Ms. Rajawat will be published alongside your interview."

The woman nods again in understanding.

"I deeply regret if you felt bad because of what I said. Let's have dinner before you fly back to states."

"Sure," Leigh forces a smile at her.

The woman smiles back before exiting the studio as quietly as she had entered.

Sara abandons her plate on the table and strides out of the studio for a breath of fresh air. She walks to the gates and exits through the attached door, sheltering her eyes with her hand as the sun glares down at her.

"Look who we have here,"

She whips around.

Her ex-husband stands near his Rolls Royce with his chauffeur holding up an umbrella for him.

Sara ignores him. She knew the studio next to theirs was booked by Icon. She just didn't expect him to visit personally.

"Sir!" Someone steps out of the same door Sara exited from.

"Radhika, let's go inside, boss will follow later." Zoya guides her back inside. Radhika follows reluctantly, her gaze glancing back and forth between her boss and his ex-wife standing not a few feet away.

"Kaka, park the car. I'll hold it for myself." He takes the umbrella from the old man and approaches the object of his attention. Sara avoids looking at him by turning around to leave. He holds her wrist. She turns around, stunned at his audacity. He releases her, raising the same hand in surrender. "If you stop avoiding me like a plague, maybe we can have a civil conversation?"

She crosses her arms on her chest. "What is it?"

Yuvraaj clears his throat, unnerved with the way she rendered him short of words under her gaze. "Have dinner with me."

She scoffs.

"Don't get any ideas. A professional dinner. I need to talk to you regarding the deal I made with Khatri."

"Is it through?"

"That's what I want to talk about over the dinner-"

"Yes or no, Yuvraaj."

"Yes."

She turns to leave. He cuts off her path, standing in front of her effortlessly. She glares at the shameless man. "Let's talk about it in detail over dinner. I've a solution -"

"No, thank you. I'll figure out something on my own." She side steps him.

He blocks her again.

"You'll regret turning me down."

"Trust me, Yuvraaj," she steps closer, giving him a whiff of her perfume. His jaw works. "There are a hundred things I might regret in this lifetime, rejecting you will never be one of them."

"I can never understand where you get so much audacity from."

"The same place you get your arrogance from. Hato ab, (Move now)" she tries pushing on his shoulders. He doesn't budge. She gives up and walks around him to leave.

"Just one dinner-"

"Sara?" Leigh stops noticing the man in front of her. Sara stops too, in the middle of the two as they face each other for the first time in the last two decades. "What the fuck are you doing here? Is he stalking you?"

"Careful of the words you choose when speaking to me, Ms. Jamison." He sneers.

"As if I care." She snorts and drags her best friend inside. They head back to the studio. "What is he doing here?"

"Icon booked the studio next to ours." Sara replies.

"No wonder I felt the vibes around me turn evil." Leigh shudders. "Man is thirty nine years old and still the same, insufferable and arrogant. Should have shot him in the chest when you had the chance to. Such a missed opportunity." She scoffs.

Shreeja approaches the women at the entrance. "Since there's only one green room available, we've prepared a vanity for you outside. While Ms. Jamison finishes her solo photoshoot, you should get ready in the meantime." She suggests softly.

Sara drags out a long breathe.

Leigh pats her shoulder sympathetically and walks to the set awaiting her presence.

Shreeja leads her out, towards the luxury vanity van waiting for her in the open premises. She climbs the stairs of the bus, meeting the team of professionals waiting inside to prepare her for the photoshoot. She follows their instructions to the tee, and an hour later, stands in front of the full length mirror draped in a Georgette white saree clinging to her curves, paired with a sleeveless white blouse embellished with thread work. Someone hands her a pair of pearl jhumkas. She puts them on, flipping her hair to the front as instructed by the hair and makeup artist. They make her wear a heavily embellished round ring in her right hand before giving her a thumbs up.

Sara grabs her phone and unlocks the vanity door, stepping down the stairs carefully in her saree, missing the sight of her ex-husband who steps out of the studio to answer an important call.

"Just convince her somehow!" Yuvraaj grunts, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"And I'm asking you how!?" Rudra growls.

"Somehow!"

"This is so not done, Yuvraaj. You fuck up and then want me to clear up after you?"

His arm drops to his hip. He turns around in annoyance. Stops short at the glorious sight in white under the bright sun. "Fuck off." He hangs up and shoves the phone in the pocket of his trousers.

Sara sorts out her pleats one last time, lifting her head and flipping the open locks behind her shoulders.

Their eyes meet across the distance.

Memories of a certain night knock back.

It was that damn saree that started it all.

He had chosen it for her. Heck, he had personally gone to buy the God damn thing.

She wore it first during the night of an event.

Then again, on his request, for the evening he took her out to a hotel opening and fucked her in the room they were staying in the same night.

His stomach knots up. Heat swallows the blood in his veins. He undoes the button of his collar, loosens his tie to make the shirt more breathable.

Sara strides off first, disappearing behind the metal doors of the studio. He turns around and storms inside his studio too.

She releases a strangled breath, waves her hands around her cheeks. It's too hot outside. The sun is unbearable even in the monsoon season. She doesn't want to imagine what summer will feel like in its peak time.

"Ma'am, let's go," Shweta leads her towards the open set where Leigh waits for her in a black saree. They've changed the backdrop. Draped an ivory curtain behind. Replaced the stool with a diwan sofa. Made it more subtle, intimate and regal.

Sara sits at the resting end of the diwan, legs crossed in a poised manner. Leigh is told to lie next to her. They compliment each other like yin and yang. Coexisting like good and evil, cold and warmth, happiness and grief, neither of them able to exist without another. Despite Leigh wearing black, she displays all the positive aspects of life, opposite to the vibes Sara exudes in her designer white saree with a poker, expressionless face on. She almost looks bored.

The shoots end at five. Sara drives her friend back home and then heads back to the office. Her team greets her when she enters the floor. She nods back, announcing a meeting in ten minutes. They'll be working until late today.

When the meeting ends, she returns to her office to her phone ringing from a familiar number. Settling down in her chair, she answers the patiently ringing call. "Yes, Rudra?"

"Have you had dinner yet?"

Sara checks her wrist watch. It's eight thirty. "Not yet. Why?"

"Why don't you stop by my place for dinner?"

She frowns. "What's the occasion?"

"Vaidehi Sehgal called me this afternoon. Just wanted to speak to you regarding that."

"Is it important?"

"Kind of, yeah," his replies.

"Alright, I'll come. I need to inform others at home first."

"Sure, take your time." He hangs up first.

She quickly calls Leigh, informing her about the change in plans.

"Fine. But we're spending the whole day together tomorrow. I'm leaving the day after tomorrow and I need to spend some time with you."

"Of course," Sara agrees.

"Alright, see you later."

"Yeah," Leigh cuts off the line. Sara drops her phone on the desk and drags hands down her face tiredly. She is exhausted from the day's events. She was planning to go home, eat homemade food, get nostalgic over their school memories with a cup of coffee and go to sleep.

Wishful, really.

There's no peace for her until this revenge ends.

She groans softly in stress. Yuvraaj terribly fucked up her plans by buying those shares. She has to think of something immediately.

Grabbing her purse and phone from the desk, she clocks out of the office and drives to Rudra's place in the receding traffic. Cutting off the engine in the parking lot, she exits her red Bentley and makes her way inside the building. The elevator takes her to the top floor. It opens at the same as the elevator across from her opens, revealing the man she is determined to ignore.

They stand face to face.

Yuvraaj steps out first. She walks out after him.

He rings the doorbell. She waits a few inches away.

She doesn't know what he is here for, but she'd rather take Rudra out to the lobby, finish the conversation and head home early. She's sure Rudra will understand.

The door opens. The Rawal couple stands in front of them.

"Oh, Bhai, you came!" Taranya exclaims.

"You invited Yuvraaj?" Rudra looks down at his wife.

"Oh my God, you invited Sara?" Taranya gasps.

"Esther," Rudra begins disappointedly. "You should have told me if you had plans for the dinner."

"I can say the same!"

Sara closes her eyes in frustration. It all makes sense now. Yuvraaj asking her out for dinner, Rudra inviting her over the same night.

"Seriously, drop the act." She says and turns to leave.

"Sara, listen to me!" Yuvraaj follows her to the elevator.

She punches for the doors to close.

He holds them open.

"For the sake of God, Yuvraaj, leave me the fuck alone! How hard is it for you to understand that!?" She screams at his face.

He steps inside. The doors slide close. The small place appears smaller. "If you only listen to me, you'll know bothering you with my presence is the last thing I wish to do!"

"Then leave!" She points towards the doors.

"I can't!" He snaps back. "I made a mistake. Accidentally this time. And I plan to reverse it. I cannot be guilty because I wronged you twice, this time without even intending to! Just give me a chance to explain myself. I found a solution. Hear me out." He says earnestly.

She breathes harshly, weighing her options mentally, unable to give up on the opportunity if it's easier than coming up with a brand new plan.

"Please," he adds in a whisper.

Their eyes meet again. "Fine," she yields begrudgingly.

He sighs, hating the relief he feels only because she is willing to talk to him.

If this is just the beginning, how long is he going to wait to earn her forgiveness?

It is the only question he's patient enough to find an answer to.