Episode 12 || At The Club

NEW YORK,










Mishka was sitting on the calabah swing on the balcony. She was thinking about something with her eyes pinned on the stars in the sky when Riya appeared with two cups of coffee and placed them on the table in front of her.










“Don’t think so much,” Riya slid into the chair next to her and Mishka smiled.










“Kiara slept?” She asked.










“Yeah, after a lot of drama,” Riya replied as she handed her the cup of coffee and Mishka silently took a small sip. “What are you thinking about?” Riya asked.










“I am trying really hard to manage my personal and professional life, but sometimes I feel I am failing to be a good mom to them,” Mishka said, and a tear escaped from her eyes that she tried to hide. “I took Kiara away from Christian, but do I really deserve her? She isn’t happy with me at all.”










“What rubbish are you talking about? Kiara is so small, it’s just she doesn’t understand your ways sometimes,” Riya said and Mishka glared at her. “Okay, most of the time,” Riya corrected.










“But that doesn’t mean she hates you. Kiara takes time to process things and you’re definitely going hard on her. If you think she will be easy to handle like Eric, you are wrong. She is not like her brother, who will just be a good boy and say yes, mommy obediently every time. Kiara is full of whys, and it’s understandable.”










“I am going hard on her? Do you have any idea what she did to those boys?” Mishka asked Riya.










“She beat them?” She answered, but Mishka shook her head.










“Even worse, she threw her slipper at them before!” Mishka said.










“What?!?” Riya shrieked.










“Yes!! Why do you think I was so angry? That principal literally scolded me on her behalf. Kiara only received one-fourth from me of what I received from her principal and I gave her chocolates later, but still, she is throwing tantrums.” Mishka said, and Riya chuckled, remembering something from their childhood days in India.










“What??” Mishka asked, gazing at her.










“Do you remember? There were two boys who used to follow us from school to the orphanage and one day you got so irritated that threw your shoes at them and when you missed the shot…. You threw the other one.” Riya laughed, “God, they were so mischievous! They ran away taking your shoes, and you had to walk barefoot back to the orphanage.”










“Ha ha ha!! Now shut up,” Mishka spat, but the next moment, they both burst into a series of laughter.










“Kiara is your copy,” Riya said.










“And still I am failing to deal with her,” Mishka agonised.










“Maybe because she is like her father as well,” Riya mentioned, and Mishka’s eyes snapped back at Riya.










“No way!! She looks a bit like her grandmother. Her eyes and hair are the same as Vera mom, but her dimpled smile is mine. She is in no way like Chris and I am thankful to god for that,” Mishka countered and Riya huffed before opening her mouth again.










“I am talking about traits, not looks. Does she resemble Chris?” Riya asked and Mishka had no answer for this.










***










LONDON,










The car stopped outside the famous Club Inferno. Christian & Andrea entered hand in hand and the wild crowd inside welcomed them. The dance floor was in the full swing but Christian and Andrea settled in the bar for some drinks.










They took a couple of shots when Andrea found someone’s familiar face on the dance floor. “Danny,”










Christian looked at her, raising his eyebrow and followed her gaze to the dance floor where he found Danny and Maya dancing intimately close. “That’s Maya, Danny’s fiancé!” He said, taking a sip from his drink and Andrea continued to stare at them with slightly parted lips.










“Isn’t she the one involved in the big scandal six years back?” She leaned into Christian and whispered.










“Scandal?” Christian arched his eyebrow, and it clicked to Andrea that he remembers nothing from the past.










“Nothing,” She trailed off and looked back at the dancefloor but found Danny approaching them.










“Hey, what a coincidence!” Danny said, standing in the space between them, and ordered a drink for himself.










“So that’s your girlfriend?” Andrea asked, and Danny turned to look at Maya with a glass of scotch in his hand.










“Yeah, that’s my life,” He said proudly as he watched Maya dancing happily with her girl gang and Andrea smirked, nodding her head.










Danny gulp down the whole content of his glass and turned, “Come on, join us,” Danny asked Christian.










“Oh, no. We are fine,” He declined and Danny looked at Andrea with a pout and puppy eyes.










“Look at Andrea, she wants to dance. Come on, don’t break her heart.” Danny insisted, and Andrea looked at him as if she could sense something he was planning, and she played along.










“Right, Chris. Let’s go dance, please.” She smiled nervously as she was herself not sure if Chris will agree or if she was about to embarrass herself again while Danny smirked looking at her facial expressions in the dim light.










“Okay, sure,” Christian stepped down from the high-rise barstool and extended his hand in Andrea’s direction that she elegantly accepted and they soon walked to the dance floor. Danny followed them and joined Maya, slipping his hand around her waist from behind, and she leaned into him.










***










Mishka cracked open the door of Eric and Kiara’s room and peeked inside. Aryan and Eric were sleeping on the double bed while Kiara was alone on the single bed, opposite them, near the window.










She was wearing a Minnie mouse printed pink night suit and was in a deep sleep with her mouth slightly open. Mishka smiled, looking at her funny sleeping position as she was about to fall down from the bed. She walked near her and found her talking in her sleep like she was having a pleasant chat with her friend.










Mishka cautiously picked her up in her arms, without disturbing her sleep, and brought her back into her room. Something she does every night and Kiara always wondered about it. She laid Kiara down on the bed beside her and stared at her face. She pinched her nose softly and Kiara’s thick lashes flickered, and she snuggled into Mishka, leaving no space between them.










While Kiara was in a deep, peaceful sleep in her mother’s arm, Ivaan was experiencing a sleepless night as he recalled Kiara’s behaviour. He shrugged off all the thoughts and continued to work on his planner for tomorrow.










But meeting with Kiara and her hate towards him didn’t settle well with him. “She is just kiddo. Don’t take her seriously, Ivaan. She is just a baby.” He tried to convince himself when he heard his father shouting at someone. He quickly left his desk and followed the source of the voice.










“Sarah, you forcefully sent Ivaan to the summer camp and when he needed you, you were busy with your goddamn friends??” Nikhil shouted at someone on the call and Ivaan was looking at him from behind, wordlessly.










“This is what I hate about you, Nikhil!! Everything is solved now, but you’re still stretching this matter. For god’s sake, stop this nonsense now.” The voice from the other side retaliated. “I don’t understand. What is your problem?”










“Everything is a fucking joke for you, Sarah and that’s what my problem is!! Ivaan is your son, he is not your trophy that you want to show it off to your cake-faced friends.”










“Goodness, Nikhil!! You are impossible. I was in a middle of an important meeting with some investors. It was important to me. Now what you will take to squash this topic?” The voice shouted from the other side.










Nikhil massaged his temple before opening his mouth again. “You know what, Sarah? You’ve successfully ruined Ivaan’s childhood. That nine-year-old boy behaves like a grown-up man, and acts like a responsible, dutiful son. He is absolutely nothing like kids these days, and it’s all your fucking fault.”










“OKAY FINE!!! It’s all my fault, alright!!!” The voice yelled and disconnected the call. Nikhil looked at the blank screen and he was about to throw his mobile when he heard Ivaan’s voice.










“Dad,”










Nikhil’s hand stops in mid-air. He turned to look Ivaan at the door frame and he suddenly felt apologetic for not being able to be a good father to him. The more he tries to save his son from all the drama, the more he found Ivaan surrounded by it.










“Why are you fighting with mom? She already apologised to me for not picking up my calls. I told you when we were in the car,” Ivaan said as Nikhil strayed towards him and sat on the couch before him.










Nikhil clutched his hands into his. “I am sorry!” He said almost in a whisper, and Ivaan smiled.










“It’s alright, dad. I am not angry at you or mom. It was just my first time getting into such trouble and I got panicked. I knew you were busy with that ongoing case so I called mom but she was busy too…” Ivaan trailed off.










Nikhil cupped his cheeks, “Sweetheart, you don’t have to think so much. You can call me whenever you want. You don’t need to grow up so fast, you don’t have to appear so responsible for everything all the time. Let me take care of you, okay?” Nikhil said and Ivaan nodded his head with his lips pressed in a straight line.










“By the way, why are you still up? It’s so late?” Nikhil asked.










“Dad, I was thinking about Kiara,” He replied, scratching his eyebrow and Nikhil knitted his brows.










“Kiara? What about her?” He asked Ivaan.










“Why she was so angry with me? Just because I ran to you when she asked me to stay? But her mom was there to take care of her, right?” Ivaan said, sounding uncertain, and he gulped before continuing further.










“Do you think her mom will beat her?” He asked as fear crossed his face. “She was indeed angry at Kiara for her misbehaving…. And she said we’ll talk at home. Does that mean Kiara is going to receive a good beating?”










Nikhil chuckled, “You are thinking too much, Ivaan. Her mother won’t do anything like that. I know her. She is a nice lady.”










“But why does Kiara appear so scared?” Ivaan asked.










“She is a baby. She threw slippers on those boys, and this attitude is unacceptable no matter what. She knew she did wrong. That’s why she was scared of the consequences.” Nikhil explained, but Ivaan was still stressed as the reason for her rude behaviour towards him was still unclear.










“Let’s go to bed,” Nikhil said as he stood up. “Even I am sleepy now. Come on,” He said and they walked towards their room.










***










The atmosphere of the club turned hotter than ever as the light dimmed. Danny was intimately close to Maya while dancing and the couple looked much in love. But from the corner of his eyes, Danny stole glances at Andrea and Christian, who were dancing close to each other.










Christian twirled her around and pulled her close to him. Andrea put her palm on his chest as she stared at him to find any hint of attraction. Christian wrapped his hand around her waist and Andrea appeared to be in a haze. Her heart was thumping against her chest as she came close to him and their faces were inches away.










Christian stared at her face, and his eyes travelled to her lips. He lightly cupped her cheek in his rough palm and their lips were about to meet when his eyes caught the glimpse of the same person he saw earlier in the jeep.










Christian stepped back, removing his hand from her waist, tilting his head right to see the face clearly, and disappointment crossed Andrea’s face while a wide smile appeared on Danny’s face and he pecked on Maya’s lips.










“What….” Before Andrea could say anything, Chris disappeared into the crowd, leaving Andrea alone on the dance floor. Her face dropped and tears pooled in her eyes, witnessing Christian’s blunt rejection while this turned Danny’s mood jolly.










Maya was totally invested in dancing with her friend, and Danny walked to where Andrea standing and tapped her shoulder, offering his handkerchief with an amused expression on his face that irked Andrea even more.










“Grow up, Danny,” Andrea spat and disappeared into the crowd.










“Oops,” Danny muttered.