-• heist •-

Last night was an opportunity I lost. Instead of asking my father about Virat Rajawat, we found solace in talking about my late mother before I fell asleep. But I don't think I'd change anything about it if I get another chance. It was a beautiful, vulnerable moment for both of us and the conversation felt important, maybe not enlightening in any way, but memorable nonetheless.

"You sure you can handle yourself in that saree. Or should we bring a maid along to help you?" Dad suggests as we pile in the black Mercedes.

Vivaan chuckles.

I smile at the ridiculous but considerate offer. "Dad, I'm volunteering to help around with the school function. How do you think it'd look if I bring an entourage along to take care of my outfit?"

"Spoilt." He nods.

I gape. "I was expecting minted but alright."

He shrugs sheepishly.

I glance at Vivaan whose attention is outside the window. I lean in and cup his interlaced hands, catching his gaze with mine. "You've been distracted lately."

He shakes his head. "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

He nods, holding my hand in his tightly before he looks back outside the window. I feel something is off lately around the house but I can't find a way to figure it out. Everyone's behaving a little reclusive, especially Vivaan. And my heart breaks everytime I see the lost expression on his face. I prefer when his bright ambers glow like the purest of golds, not be dull and gloomy.

My eyes dart to Dad, and I raise a brow at him, wondering if he knows anything.

He simply forces a smile at me.

The school gates come into view and I sigh in defeat, holding the questions for later as I reach to pick my backpack. I sling the strap over my shoulder and kiss goodbye to my father and brother on their cheeks before getting out of the car.

"Tara, wait," Dad stops me when I turn to leave. "C'mon Vivaan, step out for a moment. It's her first time wearing a saree. Let's click some pictures together." He pats the young man's knee encouragingly. I wait patiently until the two get out.

Dad and I click pictures first. Then Vivaan replaces him, before I'm requested to pose solo.

"Tara, hold the end of the saree on your head." Dad suggests when I ask what pose should I do.

"No, Dad, that's so seventies." Vivaan scoffs. "Tara, act like you're walking away and look back with a smile," I nod and turn, glancing over my shoulder with a smile just as a cool breeze slithers past, fluttering the end of my saree like a river of fabric. "Perfect!" He smiles broadly, the shine and sparkle back in his blazing ambers. I feel pumped up seeing his reaction, the huge grin on his face uplifting my spirits as well. "Now face your right, hold your pleats gently and tilt your head down just the slightest. Like you're watching your steps. And smile, okay? But just the hint of it. I want it natural." He instructs, going down one knee as he tries to capture the rising sun behind me as well. "Uhm, now, just smile, toss your hair around, play with the saree a little, I'll try to capture the candids."

He waits for me to play along but I have a hard time looking away from him, my heart a little heavy at the love and affection he expresses so openly among everyone else. No matter how much I hope he never faces any evil or cruelty of life, I know he has seen some bad days in his thirty years of existence. But the fact that he persevered and came out stronger, yet gentler, confident, yet calmer and sustained the good in him through everything speaks a lot about the kind of human he is. To protect the kindness in you for so long, to be so open and accepting about everything in life, including a sister you had no idea about before, feels like he's made of all good things.

The summer shade, the winter warmth, the monsoon drizzles, the autumn leaves and the spring blooms, he's everything that makes you happy.

Like a gentle pat on the head, finding the lost pair of socks, having that last scoop of coffee powder to brew your coffee, or the first morning of summer vacation.

"Tara?"

"Can I tell you something?" I ask softly.

He lowers the phone camera, nodding at me in response.

"You're my most favourite brother." I whisper. "Like the most most favourite. I'd trade all five of them for another you." I admit shamelessly.

He chuckles through the tears. "Agastya is going to hate me if he heard that."

I snort. "Too bad. He'd be the advance payment of the trade."

Dad and Vivaan laughs at that.

I walk up to him and hug him gently. He wraps his arms around me, pressing a soft kiss on top of my head before pulling away to fix my hair for me. "I love you," he confesses.

"I love you too." I whisper.

When I imagined myself saying these words to a man, I thought he would be the love of my life. And maybe Vivaan is, not the kind I expected, but the love of my life nonetheless. A man I'll always seek in every man, because no other man can hold a candle to him. Any woman to get him in her life will be the luckiest to exist. And I hope she knows that, I hope she cherishes that.

He releases me from the hug.

"Look here," our heads turn simultaneously, and I smile at the camera dad's holding. He clicks a picture, grinning triumphantly at the result. "One of the best."

"Show me," I rush up to my father to take a look at the photo.

"Thank you," Dad whispers, taking me aback.

"Why?" I murmur, still looking through the photos.

"For making him smile," he pats my shoulder softly.

I look up at my father, a smile of my own dancing across my lips. He nods at me, expressing his gratitude through his eyes. I shrug and focus back on the pictures.

"Tara!" I hear Anagha call for me. Lifting my head, I find her waving at me through the car window. She tells her father to stop the car and steps out in a beautiful white saree and orange blouse. "Oh my God, you look so beautiful! Bhai is going to-" I widen my eyes in alarm and she stops abruptly, realising we're not alone. "Your Bhai is going to lock you up in a tower so no boy tries to flirt with you, won't he?" She forces out a smile, her eyes fleeting from Vivaan to Dad. The two chuckle, thankfully buying the last minute lie.

"You're looking gorgeous!" I compliment her.

She jogs up to me and holds my hands as we giggle in excitement. "I can't wait to go inside. Kusum and Revathi arrived before us and are waiting. Let's go, shall we?" I nod at her, shifting my attention on Dad and Vivaan as I raise my hand to wave at them.

"Bye, Dad. Bye, Bhai!"

"Bye," the two echo.

"Keep your phone with yourself all the time, okay?" Vivaan instructs.

"Yes," I nod.

"And call me if necessary. We'll come back for Agastya's game at around five. I'll call you then."

"Okay, bye now. I have to go." I say and grab Anagha's hand before we both rush inside the school gates.

"Careful!" I hear Dad call out.

"Don't worry, Mr. Chauhan. The girls will take care of themselves." That's Anagha's father.

We wave at our respective family members one last time before walking deeper inside the school campus. Kusum and Revathi meet us in the auditorium and we go through another photo session. Then our class teacher, Miss. Jasmine, arrives and assigns us tasks in a team of two. Anagha and I are paired together, Kusum and Revathi are paired and then there are six more girls who volunteered to help which are paired in three groups of two.

For the next hour, Anagha and I get busy doing the arrangements, taking notice of absences and making last minute changes. We're given the task of making sure all the performers scheduled for the function have arrived and assign them rooms until the event starts.

The school buses start arriving at seven with the students, followed by their parents in private vehicles.

Anagha and I collide with the baseball team on the ground floor while on our way to the field.

The boys whistle upon seeing us.

And then stop after Agastya and Atharva shoot them a glare.

"Appreciating the pretty ladies in platonic way, geez," Arjun shakes his head.

"Come here," Agastya beckons me closer. I walk up to him, expecting a compliment when he harshly turns me around and fixes the flower wreath for me. From the corner of my eyes, I see Atharva and Anagha talking through sign language. She chuckles bashfully and I realise he did compliment her.

I nudge Agastya in the ribs. "How do I look?"

"Decent enough to not make me want to stab my eyes," he turns me back around.

"You can never say something nice to me, can you?"

"Your fault. You never evoke nice feelings in me." He shrugs, holding me at an arm's length and taking a good look at me from head to toe. "Nah, I'm having nightmares tonight." He comments, eliciting boisterous laughs around his group.

I scrunch my nose in detest. "Fuck off!" I swat his hand away.

He smiles lopsided and digs through his baseball bag for a while before coming up with his letterman jacket. "Here," he hands it to me. "Wear it at the game today."

"What if I don't?" I ask, just to get on his nerves.

"I'll jump past the fence in the middle of the game and make you wear it." He deadpans, definitely joking.

"Whatever," I roll my eyes. "Bye now, unlike you, I've things to do." Grabbing Anagha's hand, I hurry out of the school building.

The event commences at seven thirty with the school parade, then the chief guest who unsurprisingly is the trustee of our school hoists the national flag while the marchers sing the national anthem. We felicitate the guest, after which he bores us with an hour long speech before finally allowing the event to proceed with the performances.

It all ends at eleven thirty. Unlike the students who are allowed to return home immediately after, we're told to stay back and help around with the wrap up of the event. The field besides us gets busy with the baseball practice while we work around to clean the used venue.

"Is that Princess Taranya?" I hear the chief guest say and straighten up on my feet. My friends stop too, watching the scene unfold. The principal waves me over and I oblige, walking up to them with a nervous smile.

"Hello, sir," I bow my head.

"I heard the new princess of Jaigarh is down to earth and humble. I witnessed it today." He smiles warmly.

My cheeks heat up at that. "Thank you, sir."

"She's very smart too. We were worried she'll be held back a year since she joined at the end. But she's catching up faster than we expected. She's a brilliant individual." The principal adds to the compliments. I feel self conscious with all the attention bestowed on me so suddenly.

"And flexible too, I must say. She carried her responsibilities and the outfit quiet gracefully throughout the event." Miss. Jasmine smiles, looking at me proudly.

"It was all because of my friends," I gesture behind me. "It wouldn't be possible without them."

The chief guest nods. "The Chairman seems impressed by you. It's not easy to get the attention of the old man. Keep up that attitude and you'll go far in life." He pats my head before retreating with the principal and the rest of the staff.

The mention of Chairman turns my face sour but I keep the smile on until the group disappears.

"God, that got my nerves dancing wild for a moment." Anagha sighs, shaking her head softly.

"Who's the chairman?" Kusum asks.

"I think they were talking about Shourya's Grandfather." Revathi answers.

"Yup," I answer. "C'mon, let's get back to work."

I'm occupied with the work until late in the afternoon. When we're finally free, Anagha and the girls find a quiet spot beneath a tree so we can fill our tummy. I feel a headache coming up. I didn't have a grain in my mouth since this morning.

The three girls open their tiffins and I feel guilty for mooching off them. "Sorry, guys, I didn't bring anything."

"Don't be silly." Anagha dismisses my apology with a scoff.

I smile. "Actually, the staff begins work at seven so there was nothing prepared to eat."

"It's okay. My mom got up at five to make this knowing we'll be coming home late. And she made a lot to feed an entire village. I've got you covered." Kusum shrugs.

"Same. My mother got up at five too. I told her to pack me something light but she was like, nah, I'm making you paneer masala. She knows how much I crave paneer masala after a tiring day. Poor woman was slaving off in the kitchen from the break of the dawn." Revathi sighs softly, but a fond smile plays on her lips.

Anagha and I look at each other awkwardly before she picks up one of her PBJ sandwiches and takes a bite of it. I do the same.

Anagha's mother is a hot shot businesswoman who runs her own make up brand and thus, is out of the town most of the time. Her father's side of family is filled with lawyers so they are always busy. Hence, why her parents are never home, not even on weekends.

"Tara!" I hear one of the twins and turn my head over my shoulder, watching them run towards me before Ayush stops and bends over to pant harshly. Arush shoves his hands in his pockets, having run the same distance but not breaking a sweat over it. I'm pleasantly surprised when Ayush digs through his backpack and takes out my tiffin box.

"Here, your tiffin."

I accept it with a thanks.

"Vivaan Bhai told me to bring it to you since you left without breakfast this morning." He shares.

Automatically, I smile wide.

"C'mon now, we're getting late. I've to be at the court." Arush taps his shoulder.

He nods and stands straight. "Give me a call after you're done. Agastya bhai's game will start in an hour or so." He informs me.

"Yeah, I will."

The two jog back out of the field, leaving me with this warm fuzzy feeling that resonates in my head with four words.

I'm taken care of.

Giddily, I unbox my tiffin and reveal a variety of dishes. Rice, lentil soup, chapati, stuffed okra, salad and two choco chip cookies. I share my tiffin with the girls and we have our own little feast.

The game is scheduled to begin at five pm. I get a text from Vivaan that tells me to wait for them in the parking lot. The girls, Kusum and Revathi go back home since baseball doesn't interest them, neither they've anyone close playing today. Anagha and I part ways when her parents arrive. So I wait there alone, beside the main staircase, leaning against the wall wearing my brother's varsity jacket. I see several of my classmates come and go, some stop to share a few words and some pass by me with a casual smile.

A text pops up while I scroll through my YouTube feed.

I click on it and it takes me to the familiar chat window.

M: The game will last three hours. At six thirty make an excuse to leave with Yuvaan.

I reply back immediately.

Me: how am I going to enter my father's room?

M: Make a lie that you can't remember where you put your card key. Your father will give you his. I can't tamper with the CCTVs in that corridor. This will be easiest way to get access to his room without bringing suspicion on yourself. Don't flip over the entire room. Keep it clean.

Me: what if I do find something and bring it to you? Won't he suspect me?

M: You have a phone right?

Duh.

Me: of course.

M: There's a built in feature in every smartphones now a days. It's called CAMERA. Use it.

I suck in a deep breath, trying to keep my patience onboard.

Me: very funny. But if somehow things end up going south, I'm blaming you.

M: I still have the pictures, Princess.

Me: yeah, make sure to frame them before sending over. If I get caught, I'm exposing you.

M: Getting sarcastic, are we?

I roll my eyes and see three luxurious car models drive in. This has to be my family.

Me: my family is here. I've to go.

M: see you tonight at 00:00

I sigh and shove my hands in the jacket as I make my way towards the recently parked cars. Door to the black Rolls Royce opens and Yuvraaj steps out, dressed in his usual three piece suit, his poise and grace a dream of every fashion designer. His eyes fall on me first and he beckons me over. I jog upto him, letting him wrap his arm around my shoulders as he pulls me to his side. The rest of my family gets out of their cars. Vivaan flashes me a smile and walks up to me, followed by Dad who thanks the driver. Yuvaan's Ashton Martin bleeps, an eye candy to all the boys lingering around before he stuffs his keys in his pocket and saunters over to us.

The principal personally comes to greet Yuvraaj before we're taken to the exclusive area of the bleachers that offers a clear view of the field. Considering the sun is about to set, the floodlights turn on one by one, following a sound of thump as the baseball field lits up bright.

We get served with refreshments and snacks. Soon, the commentry for the game begins.

I understand nothing.

But when Agastya walks into the field, Arush and Ayush scream, Vivaan smiles proudly and I hoot with the audience.

Atharva and him might not get along like best friends, but they play together exceptionally well. It's like whatever Agastya lacks, Atharva makes up for it and vice versa. More than once I feel Atharva glance up towards me, smiling at me from the field. I had to hold back the urge to wave at him.

Sometime into the game, the Principal comes up to us and taps on Yuvraaj's shoulder. I watch as he points to somewhere left and follow, noticing a group of middle aged men dressed in suits, watching the game carefully. Are they here to scout?

"Bhai," I lean closer to Vivaan. "If Agastya gets selected, will he get to play on international level?"

"Not right away. They'll train him for the first two years before he'll be tried out in front of scouts of some major baseball league teams. There if he gets selected, he'll be signing a contract with the team and then he'll get to play internationally."

"Has any Indian player made it big in baseball?"

"Only two. Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh. Both of them had a very brief but noteworthy career as an Indian baseball player." He replies.

I nod, glancing behind as Yuvraaj gets up and follows the principal out of the bleachers. The two head to where the group of men are judging the game from.

I press on the power button of my phone to check the time.

06:25 PM.

I stuff the phone into my pocket and tap Vivaan's knee. He gives me his attention. "I have a headache. I don't think I can wait until the game ends." I whisper.

His brows furrow in concern and he places the back of his hand on my forehead. "You're burning up a little too."

"She is?" Dad asks worriedly. "Maybe because of running around the whole day? What time did you have your lunch?"

"Three or something."

Vivaan clicks his tongue in disappointment. "You should have eaten something early. Anyway, it's better if you go back home. Yuvaan," he calls out and the man has hard time looking away from the field.

"Ha?"

"Yuvaan!"

"What?" He finally looks at us.

"Taranya isn't feeling well. Drive her back home."

"But the game's just getting interesting!" He states.

Oh. I thought he'd jump at the chance to get away from here.

"Then come back if you want. But right now, take her home." He chastises. "And Tara, if you feel something's wrong, ask the maid to get any available guard to take you to the hospital. We'll follow you there immediately. Okay?"

I nod obediently. "But Bhai, I can't find my card key."

"Why? Where did you put it?"

"I don't know. I can't remember." I lie guiltily.

"Here, take mine instead." Dad is quick to offer me his, just as the mystery man had predicted. "Get some rest."

"Go, Yuvaan. Don't make her wait. She needs rest." Vivaan pats Yuvaan on the back.

Yuvaan gets up half-heartedly. I shrug off the jacket and hand it to Arush. He puts it on quickly, seemingly happy about the exchange. I look back at the field and Agastya chooses that moment to make a home run.

I cheer for him one last time before walking off the field unwillingly.

Yuvaan drives fast this time and drops me off at the palace in less than fifteen minutes.

"You'll be fine alone, right?" He asks me leaning over to the passenger side when I step out of the car.

"Don't worry about me. Go, you must want to see the game."

He nods reluctantly and drives off.

I make my way towards Dad's bedroom. The moment I'm inside, I gently close the door and search through everything I get access to. The safe in the walk in closet requires password so I don't even try to prod at it. After checking several drawers, shelves, books, under the bed, beneath the bed, under the carpet, I even knock on the walls, but end up empty handed.

Placing my hands on the hips, I look around before my gaze goes to the wall clock.

07: 40 PM.

Twenty minutes until the game ends.

Everyone will be home by eight thirty. I don't have more than half hour in my hands to find something useful and then put the room to its initial condition.

I walk up to my mother's painting, trying to work up my brain as I gaze at her youthful beauty. God, my mother was one heck of a beautiful woman. Time did her so bad.

I fish out my phone to take a picture of her when I notice the painting is slightly tilted. For naked eyes, it wouldn't be visible but looking at it through the camera pointed out the tilt almost immediately. I step closer and fix it straight, gasping when it opens up like a door, revealing a blank wall behind. I grab the ottoman from the dressing table and climb it before putting my ear against the wall and knock. The hollow sound resonates back. I pat the wall and easily find the corners. While trying to find a way to open it, I slide my hands to the right, then left, then up and then down. Thankfully, it slides down, revealing a hidden safe into the wall. I turn on my flashlight and duck in, looking through the things. I find a diary, an envelope and a few photos. I take it all out and lay it on the floor, glancing at the time as I open my camera and take pictures of the almost discolored images of him with some man, newspaper cut outs, documents and each entry in the diary. Several of them are ripped off but whatever, that's not my problem. Placing my phone aside, I pick up the stuff and put it all inside the safe before closing it to how it initially was.

Then I rush around, picking up things and trying to bring the room back to its previous condition when the door suddenly opens, halting me abruptly, my back to the person.

"Taranya?"

Shit. It's Yuvraaj.

Well, fuck.

The one person you shouldn't lie to is here. Wonder what will Tara will do now.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to vote and comment. Makes my day.