"Chris, Vicky has gone mad again. He says he won't attend the premiere show. He's planning to run away." Latha called Chris.

"Again? I'm coming." Chris got ready and started for Latha's place.

"Where is he aunty?" He asked after reaching.

"In his room. Now he is refusing to come out."

"This boy will never change." Chris shook his head.

"I'm sorry to interrupt. I don't understand what's happening." Shubha looked confused.

"Vicky boy has a habit of getting extremely nervous on the day of exam results. He always plans to run away." Chris explained. "Don't worry. He won't go anywhere. He is too cowardly to do that." He added.

"But this is different. We got good response for the posters and trailer." Shubha pointed out.

"He won't be normal until the first weekend is over" said Latha. "I can make an excuse for his absence. But I won't. He has to learn. He's not a kid. His parents won't be there to look after him forever." She looked worried.

"Aunty please calm down. I'll handle it." Chris assured her and went to talk to Vikram. "Vicky boy."

"Chris. I'm so worried. I should have taken some more time. I shouldn't have planned to release it so early." Vikram was sitting on the floor.

Chris sat down beside him. "Relax. It's the perfect time to release. No big release for three weeks from now. We have got a good screen count."

"I'm talking about quality. As long as it's under production, everything will be our hands. Once it is released, we can't do anything."

"That's my point. Now you can't do anything. Just relax and enjoy the result." Chris patted him.

Vikram wasn't convinced. "What if the result is bad?"

"Whatever the result is, you won't be alone. We are in this together. We'll face it together."

Vikram looked at Chris. His previous movie garnered mixed reviews. If the current one didn't get good result, then the worst affected person would be him. Yet he was there, trying to help his friend. "Okay. I won't run away."

"And you will attend the premiere this evening. If you need a break, let's go on a trip to Vegas next week. She won't mind." Chris suggested.

"Which she?" asked Vikram.

"Oh! I keep forgetting that you too have a she in your life now."

"Shh! Keep your voice down. What if mom hears? By the way, your girl might agree. Mine won't. I've decided. The next time I go out of the country, my darling will come with me as my wife."

"Hello! Slow down. Have you proposed to her yet?" Chris asked him.

"No. How do you generally propose?"

Chris facepalmed. "You are an actor. How come you don't have an idea about proposing? Give her a ring and ask her to marry you in a polite and romantic way."

"Why ring? She doesn't like rings. I'll give her something else like bangles or pendent" said Vikram. "I'll talk to Bhuvan next week and convince your mother-in-law. You father-in-law will have no choice but to accept."

"Will Bhuvan agree?"

"He is the most sensible guy I've ever known. He will help us. I should have done this earlier instead of trying to get hold of the evidence" said Vikram.

Shubha knocked the door. She too looked nervous. "What? Are you running away now?" Chris asked her.

"No Chris garu. I have to wear stilettos today. What if I fall down?"

"You won't. I will catch you heroically before you hit the ground and we'll have an eye lock while the media goes mad and clicks a hundred pictures." said Vikram, trying to ease her mind.

"Is that a joke?" Shubha tried to look angry. Yet she couldn't help visualizing the scene. It looked good in her imagination.

"It's official. Vicky boy has gone mad." Chris ruffled Vikram's hair affectionately.

"Don't do that" Vikram adjusted his hair with his hand. Shubha ruffled his hair again. He glared at the other two, while they laughed.

After Chris left for his home, Shubha asked Vikram, "Can we go to the premiere together?"

"Together? As in holding hands?" He asked. She nodded. "No Subbu. We are supposed to keep this a secret for few more days. The media will be watching. Besides, mom will not like it."

"Let's try telling her the truth. She might understand."

"No. Please. She will start hating me. Let's solve the problem without involving her. After that I will tell her that I want to marry you." He felt guilty for hiding it from his mother. Yet he had to do it for his friends.

"Relax. Just kidding." She lied. She didn't have the heart to remind him that the filming was over and she was supposed to move out of the house soon.

---***---

"What is it? You look unhappy." Shubha asked Pragathi. She wore a blue saree with a pearl necklace, while Pragathi wore a pink saree. They looked raidiant.

"He is here" said Pragathi.

Shubha understood. She didn't know his name or how he looked. Yet she was determined to keep Pragathi away from him.

"Don't pay attention to him. Look at Naveen. He always talks so animatedly. Doesn't he?"

"Yes." Pragathi looked in that direction. "Dhwani is so elegant. I can never walk on the red carpet like she did. Wait. What's that?"

"Dhwani is embracing Nisha." Shubha almost rubbed her eyes. She stopped midway remembering that the eyeliner will get smudged.

"For the first time, I liked Nisha's acting. Look at her. It looks like she is talking to her favourite person in the world when in reality she hates her." Pragathi stared at them.

"You are right. Look. They are clicking a picture together. Get ready for--" Shubha stopped speaking as she saw Vikram join them. She frowned as the three of them clicked a picture. She then realized he didn't ask for a picture with her, his girlfriend.

Nisha gave him a side hug. She stumbled and was about to fall down when he caught her. "Oh! Thank God. He prevented another accident for her" said Pragathi.

Though Shubha knew he didn't do anything wrong, she felt annoyed looking at him holding her hand carefully and helping her walk.

Shubha felt hurt. Wasn't she the one whose hand he was supposed to hold? Wasn't she the one whom he promised to catch if she fell down? It hurt to see him maintaining distance, like a stranger, when he was supposed to be standing next to her.

She decided to let it slide and went inside the hall. The show started. When the character played by Chris was introduced there were cheers and applause. Shubha was nervous. Her character would be introduced five minutes later.

Vikram sensed it. He held her hand and squeezed it gently. Her character made her entry. Her bow and arrows were shown first. She was shown shooting her target, effortlessly switching the bow from one hand to another, which earned applause even before her face was shown.

And then there was a close up shot of her eyes and her victorious smile. Her friends cheered her followed by the others.

"Congrats! You impressed everyone without speaking a word." Vikram whispered.

---***---

"What's this rubbish? It says I ruined a good story. They praised everyone and said I could have handled the cast better." Vikram read the first review.

"Wait." Latha received a call from Srujana. "Srujana. Don't panic. This is just one newspaper."

"I don't know Latha garu. Maybe we should have listened to Keshav." Srujana sounded worried.

"This reviewer is Keshav's friend" said Latha.

"I don't understand."

"You will understand in a few hours. Wait for other reviews." Latha ended the call. 

"It will be fine Vicky. Keshav is trying to prove that I'm unfit to handle the company. But he can't ask all the reviewers to write the review against you. Even if he did, the response of public is more important to us than these stupid articles." Being a woman of principles, she never paid the reviewers to give good ratings to her films. She secretly prayed for the next reviews to be in their favour.

"I shouldn't have done this. I'm sorry for thinking that I can direct a film. I ruined everyone's career graph. Second flop in a row for Chris. Pragathi's first film in Telugu. Shubha..." He couldn't speak. He felt miserable for not living up to his mother's expectations. Latha tried to console him. But he would listen to no one. He was convinced that he was unfit for directing a film.

"Vikram, if you are a bad director why does this reviewer say that you are a worthy successor to your father in their review? They gave four star rating." Shubha showed him another review.

He snatched the phone and read it. He couldn't believe his eyes. Within no time, a third review was published. They listed all good things in the movie.

... Vikram Varma, handled the ensemble cast really well and gave each character their own moments to shine. What could easily have been a disaster, turned out to be well-planned and well-executed...

He scanned for the part about individual performances.

Christopher Robert, once again proved that he is one of the finest actors of current generation. Dhwani, as the proud and elegant princess, is equally splendid. Vikram, as the wise ruler is admirable. Right from body language to voice modulation, everything's perfect. Naveen as Vikram's younger brother, is a treat to watch and is lovable in all his scenes. Pragathi, a well known name in Tamil cinema, is given a meaty role and she delivered a solid performance. However, the surprise package comes in the form of new girl Shubha. Blessed with tall frame and stunningly pretty face, she is an absolute stunner. An actress who can express feelings with her eyes, she overshadowed veterans in few scenes....

Vikram was elated. "Looks like you just won your first award Subbu."

"All reviewers except three gave excellent reviews. You are being praised for your work as a director. Worthy successor to your father. I'm sure he will be proud of you." Latha said, teary-eyed.

Vikram wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "He will be proud of us." He corrected her. "Now we have vacation. I can wake up whenever I want." He started reading people's verdict on social media. Most of them were positive.

"I'm here. Wait. Why is he smiling?" Naveen looked confused.

"The 'I want to run away' phase is over now. He is normal" said Latha.

"Oh! No. I missed the show then." He pretended to be disappointed.

Latha served lunch to Naveen. "I have to go to office. All the congratulatory phone calls must be attended."

"Aunty, if you receive any call from my father tell him I went to Bangalore."

"I understand." Latha patted him before leaving. She knew Naveen's father planned to get him married to a girl from a business family. She wondered why parents don't understand their children's feelings. 'At least I am not so cruel that my son has to lie to me. I can understand his feelings.'

---***---

"What's wrong sweetheart?" Vikram observed Shubha's expressionless face.

"We have to behave like strangers in front of everyone."

"Subbu. Just a few more days. You are a strong girl. Aren't you?" He cupped her face.

"It's not easy. I..."

"Yes?"

"You won't understand. There are articles about you marrying Dhwani next month. In addition to that, you go ahead and hold that Nisha in public. I just can't..." She sighed.

"What? Are you jealous now? You know Dhwani is married and I have absolutely no feelings for Nisha. I just helped her or else she would have broken her leg again." 

"I know."

"Just because the media writes something about me doesn't mean that it's true. Ignore it. You know the truth."

"It's not that." She didn't know how to explain.

"What is it? Are you hiding something from me?" He sensed it was something else.

"I overheard someone talk about us during the promotions."

"What did you hear?" 

"They said actresses are always after the big names in the industry. They think I'm a.."

"What? Say it Shubha."

"I am a gold digger. A ch-characterless woman." She shut her eyes.

"Who?" He asked her. She didn't respond. "Answer me! Who said that?"

She never saw him so angry. His eyes carried pure and intense rage. "Just give me the name." He clenched his fist.

She shook her head. "This won't stop until we announce the truth. I can't handle this." She looked exhausted. 

That moment, he realized he was expecting a lot from her. He was scared it might affect her in a bad way. "Subbu. I am sorry. I will tell everyone right away that I am not marrying Dhwani."

"But Latha aunty?"

"We will announce everything except the part where I helped them get married. That way mom won't be mad at me. And if Dhwani's father threatens with that video, we will say it's fake and he created that video because he doesn't approve of Chris. We will have some legal complications but we can handle it." Vikram tried to look confident despite being scared of the consequences.

"She is sleeping now. Let's wait until tomorrow." She embraced him. "I wouldn't have asked for this if I had a choice."

"I know. Everything will be fine Subbu." He wrapped his arms around her. "I have something to say."

"Yes?"

"You are my second favourite actress."

"Who is the first?" 

"I challenge my very own Sherlock Holmes, Shubha garu, to find out using her superpower, which she so lovingly calls the Science of Deduction." He grinned. 

---***---

"Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it." 

-Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire.

Vikram will have to face the consequences of delaying what he should have done long ago.