Blame game.

Maira

I stab my fork against the meatball and push a fork full of noodles into my mouth. "Where were you last night?" I inquire after I swallow my food and Ella frowns at me. "You weren't there when Vaanya and I left."

"Oh Daddy summoned me," she says and I nod silently. I mentally debate upon raising the subject of what Vaanya and I witnessed last night. I look at Vaanya and I can tell she knows what I'm pondering upon. She shakes her head ever so slightly in denial and I purse my lips.

"What are you doing?" I look at Sam to change the subject and she shuts her phone quickly.

"Nothing just looking for a book online," she says nonchalantly and Vaanya chuckles.

"A book with villains?" Vaanya raises her brows and Sam rubs her upper arm sheepishly.

"It's for Mayank," she says and Vaanya and I gape at each other in silent suspicion.

"Wait, dial it back," Vaanya shakes her head furiously. "You mean Saxena Sir is the person who likes villains?" Her voice waivers and Sam's brows knit to a frown.

Sam nods. "I mean theoretically, in the books, yeah." Fuck!

"That's...cool," Vaanya mumbles, her eyes meeting mine again and my lips twitch in amazement. Ella looks back and forth between us and jerks her chin up in silent query but before I could convey anything, Ranveer saunters by our table, talking indistinctively over his phone and I sigh audibly.

Vaanya pushes to her feet instantly to stop him but he just stalks away as though we don't fucking exist. She looks in his direction longingly, her eyes brimming with fresh tears and I just want to knock on that dude's head and shove some sense into him.

"I think I should go," Vaanya mumbles, fetching her tray from the table and I finish my soda. "Are you guys coming?"

"Of course sweetie," Ella chirps, pushing to her feet after she fetches her belongings.

"I'm ditching the rest of the day," Sam announces as I rise to my feet to dump the trash in the bin. "You guys continue."

"Are you okay?" I ask, feeling queasy about her. She is getting too close to that bloody counselor too fast and that's bad news. She nods quickly and grabs her bag before she walks to the bin and trashes her tray.

"See you guys around!" And then, she's gone. The three of us gawk at each other confounded for a beat.

"Guess she has more plans than we do," I mutter, dumping shit from the tray, and my phone buzzes in the back pocket of my denim. I pull it out to check the notification. A bitter fear niggles along the edges and I tear my gaze away from the screen of my phone only to find both of them gawking back at me. "It's nothing, some stupid chat request from a random dude online."

"Oh thank god!" Vaanya's hand lands on her chest and she heaves a sigh. "I honestly thought it was another gossip alert." Quite frankly, I did too and that's exactly why I bothered to check.

Vaanya and Ella begin to head back to the classes as I fetch my bag from the table but freeze to my stance as I spot the bloody counselor strolling towards the exit. He tosses a can of soda into the bin and draws out his phone from his pocket, dropping something on the floor in the process. What a moron!

I sling my bag over my shoulder and skate towards him to stop him but halt as it rustles under my feet. I crouch down to pick it up and open my mouth to call him but my voice never leaves as my gaze wanders on the piece of paper.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

I stare at the back of him skirting out of the room as my hand tightens to a fist. How does he own a torn page from Ella's journal?

Ella

The traffic in Breach Candy is bumper-to-bumper massive when I set out to meet Aagnay. You're so cold by Two Feet swirls through the air and I drum my fingers against the steering wheel mindlessly, peering past the windscreen to revel in the rays of the sun leaking through the condos.

Upon the release of gridlock in intersections, I nearly moan out of relief when I pedal through the busy streets and reach near the clubhouse. I glance at the rear mirror to fix my face before I slip out of the vehicle and toss my keys to the valet.

My heels sink into the stoned path as I saunter towards the entrance and the doorman tips his hat ever so lightly to greet me. I return a smile before I head to the reception to fetch the details of Aagnay's private room and traipse through the foyer, glancing at the mezzanine floor to catch a sight of him but he is nowhere to be seen.

When I reach near his private room, I find the door left open, ajar and I step in to find Aagnay standing in solidarity, hands shoved in the pockets of his dress pants and he pivots to face me.

He glowers. "You're late." He strides to the nightstand to pour himself a drink and I lock the door behind before I dump my satchel on the bed.

"The traffic out there is insane," I say, meeting his piercing gaze and he halts the glass near his mouth. I ignore his gaze on mine and look past the glass doors towards the open space. "Do you plan on hiding here forever?"

"Do you plan on ruining my life any further?" he queries icily, his tone growing acrid and I step back reflexively, mortified by his infuriatingly ludicrous accusations.

"It isn't my fault that someone is targeting me," I begin to defend myself and he drinks the amber liquid from the glass, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Really?" His brows crease to a scowl and he takes his seat on the upholstered sofa. "Poor Ella, we should all collectively pity her since she's always been so sincerely nice to people," he laughs mockingly, taunting me and my jaw clenches in silent exasperation.

I decide to tread in carefully instead, "I didn't beseech another person to steal my journal."

He shakes his head in silent deliberation. "Of course you didn't," he says, gripping his glass so tight, I think he'd smash it in his bloody hands. "With your immaculate track record, I'm certain you don't have to."

"Are you done?" I snap viciously and he smirks condescendingly.

"Done?" He arches his brows questioningly. "No, Ella, I'm not done." He drinks from his glass and rises to his feet to make himself another drink. "First the Sports Coach and now this?" he snaps disgustedly and I square my shoulders defensively. He is insane if he thinks I would ever apologize for that. "I've been enduring enough of your royal crap and this ends now."

"It ends when I want it to," I snap back, and his jaw ticks with fury. "You have no fucking right to question me."

"This little slip of yours has yielded me a great deal of impediment I never 'beseeched' for." He then gets back to take his seat and I cross my arms over my chest. "I'm a Bhasin, Ella, do you know what that means? It's a brand people would kill to be associated with. I won't let your negligence change that."

"I did apologize earlier Aagnay. What else am I supposed to do?" This is getting seriously mundane for me. Aagnay and I have been close friends and watching him lose it is quite unnerving. I'm exhausted and I want to be with Jordan right now.

"You think a fucking apology is supposed to iron it out?" His voice echoes in the confinement of the solitary room and I'm agape to his ruthless austerity. "You're a whore my father could buy over at least a million times and toss you in Arabia like you never existed." What the fuck? "Whatever you are, is because of me."

"Don't you forget who I am," I bite out harshly, my sweaty palm clenching to a fist so tight, I think I'd tear my hands apart. "I'm not a whore but you certainly are a wannabe stud with no fucking dick."

A sickening crash of glass slices through the fuming air in the room as he glowers. His jaw tightens as a shard churns in his fist and blood drips from his knuckles.

"I'm surprised your big man didn't fix you Bhasin, you poor little thing—literally." I make a tsking noise and his lips twitch in silent fury. Before I could say another word, he is on his feet, striding towards me with full force and I tread back until my back hits the wall. I'd be lying if I don't admit just how petrifying this is. Balls! I need to get out of here.

"Why is that Ella?" he asks icily and his jaw steels. "All because I didn't choose to nail you out of all the people?" I jerk away as though he'd blown me. I couldn't be more humiliated. "Did that wound you fragile vanity?"

"You don't want me to answer that," I bite out sternly and his irises flare with wild rage. 

"You're going to decline every word of it," he demands gruffly. "Is that understood? This is a lie and you, as my girlfriend, know it as a fact that it's preposterous."

"Interesting," I whisper, my lips inching away from his as I slide my gaze onto his. "I would, but then, why would I?"

His brow arches and his lips twitch to a lopsided smile challengingly. "Because our fathers are connected Ella, need I say more?" Defiant silence hangs in the air and he curses under his breath. "You know what I'm capable of so don't push it." I knew I made a deal with the devil when I agreed to date Aagnay Bhasin. He's the real spawn of satan you don't wanna bet on because the aftermath is preordained. He always wins.

"How can I forget?" I fake a sarcastic smile and his face grows from smug to ashen under zero seconds. He leans away from me and I stare at the splash of blood on the expensive rug. Fucking bastard!

A flash of terror crosses across his features. "You didn't write about—wait, Ella," he mutters horridly and my brows knit in bewilderment. "In that journal...did you write about her?"

My stomach flips. "I—Oh my God."

"You're kidding me, right?" He grips my arm so tightly, I almost yelp.

I stare at him with trepidation. "I'm not entirely sure Aagnay," I mumble and he glares at me. "Maybe I haven't," I quickly add to calm him down. "I—" I trail off as hindsight knocks the breath out of me.

Aagnay loses his grip on my arm and exhales harshly, drawing shards of glasses from his hand as though he needs to feel the pain—feel anything at all.

"Stop with the blame game. Help me unmask this person and all of this will be over," I gush, sauntering to him so he wouldn't bleed to his death. I don't want to wind up with another dead face for fuck's sake. "There haven't been leads so far but we can do it together."

"This isn't a fucking science project," he bites out frigidly and I catch his hand to help him remove the shards. "This needs to be over for once and for all."

Horror swirls in the pit of my stomach. What's he gonna do now? 

~~~~

Hello Darlings! 

Any guesses who this new person is? I swear it will change the game for once and for all. 

I hope you're having a pleasant morning so far, tell me how you're doing! :) 

With that been said, I hope you liked what you read today. Please don't forget to vote, comment and share. It always helps me as an author to cater you better. Thank you for reading, now go devour another book and I'll catch you guys next time! <3

Happy Sunday!