✨ surprise! It's my baby sister's birthday ✨

-• kneel, and beg •-

I can react in a hundred different ways right now. The problem is, ninety-nine of them are recognised crimes. And I'm a Chauhan. We are not aggressive. Quite the opposite actually, we're polite, humble, and kind. The world looks up to us for who we show us as, not for how smartly we hide our reality. Good people are innocent until proven guilty. Bad people are guilty if not proven innocent. Akansha Singh is one of the bad people. She's not going to last in this world without her daddy's money. And for that, I feel pity for her. Poor girl, she's not prepared for what's going to hit her soon.

She could have ended it with insulting me. I'd have called her immature and insecure and forgot about it. But she made a mistake dragging my dead mother into this petty argument. Such harsh, crude words for someone's mother because you can't keep a man to yourself? Pathetic, really.

But she has guts I must say. Standing against a Chauhan, one of the most powerful family in India, for a man who couldn't care less about her, a true brave nut case. If she had channeled this courage somewhere else, somewhere resourceful, there would have been so much to gain. But courage don't equal to intellect. Even worse if it's paired with insecurity and insensitivity.

"An advice from me," she smirks at me, standing at an arm's length, and looks up and down at me in a condescending manner. "Maybe stop dressing like a slut. Men will look at you as more than a sex doll." She leans in and pats my cheek like one pets a dog.

A woman pulling another woman down, especially on her choice of dressing, because she can't have her man's loyalty?

Wow, I feel bad for her.

She turns to leave, but stops abruptly and turn around to face me again. I stop myself from sighing aloud. Is she still not done?

"You'll be the first to receive our marriage invitation." She points her well manicured finger at me. That's a beautiful blue color. I wonder where she got it done. "Buh bye!" She waves at me with a sickly sweet smile and walks off, slamming the door close behind her.

I shake my head in disbelief.

How insecure do you have to be to corner someone in a public washroom like this and spout all that bullshit? People amaze me with their audacity.

I step out after her and watch her saunter back to the open bar of the club. On her way, she stops in front of Janet, looks at her up and down judgementally, and looks over her shoulder at me, shaking her head in disgust before walking off like a supermodel. Janet turns to me in shock, splaying her hands forward in a dramatic flair.

I sigh and increase the gap between my strides to reach Janet faster.

"What was that!?" She demands harshly.

I shrug, flashing a smile at Agastya who meets my eyes through the crowd. How come he's still not done? It's almost midnight. We need to get home before calls start coming from our family.

When I look at Janet, she's still waiting for an explanation. So, I give in. "She cornered me in the washroom, called me a whore, dragged Mom into the argument, said I should know mistresses can never become wives so I should not think I'll be anything more than a sex doll to Shourya."

Janet's mouth drops. "That fucking bitch!" She slams the glass down, picks up the whiskey bottle from the side and was all prepared to storm over and smash it on Akansha's head had I not grabbed her elbow and held her back. "Let me go, Tara. The fucking cunt needs to know when to run her mouth and when to shut up." She growls.

"Janet, no." I say firmly.

"Tara-"

"Janet, I'm not jeopardizing my family's reputation because of some stupid girl. You know Yuvraaj Bhai is already disappointed with my career choice. I can't go around fighting with pick me girls for a man. That's not us." I state and her arm hesitantly drops to her side.

Carefully, I take the bottle from her and put it back in the tray.

"So we're just letting her go like that?" She looks at me accusingly.

"Oh no," I shake my head, glancing where she was hanging on Shourya's arm, her entire personality surmounted in the title as his fiancee. There are different ways to deal with spineless, uncultured women. And it's not by dropping low to their level. But pushing them even deeper with your foot. "She dragged Mom into her drama. She's not getting a free pass out of this."

Janet observes my calculative face. "What's the plan?"

"I don't have any right now. I'll need to look a little into her to find her weakness." I mumble and flag down a waitress to take my order. "Red wine."

She nods and quickly turns to prepare my drink. When she turns around with my glass, I see her manicured fingers and reach out to hold them, surprising her a little. They're just as well done as that bitch's. "May I know where you got them done?"

She flusters. "I- I work as a part-timer in a beauty parlour. I did them myself."

"You're so good at them!" I gasp.

She smiles softly, a blush coating her slightly dusky cheeks.

"Is it possible to book your for a private session?" I inquire curiously. "My friend and I'd love to get our nails done from you." I say, referring to Janet who nods in agreement of my words. "What's your name by the way?"

"Latika," she replies softly.

"That's a beautiful name!" I compliment. "I'm Taranya!" I hold out my hand for her.

She shakes it timidly. "I know you." Then chuckles, as if whatever she said is dumb. "I mean, who doesn't?"

I roll my eyes. "Please, it's just my PR team hyping me up for no reason. This is my best friend, by the way," I glance towards Janet.

"Janet Williams."

"You're not from here?" Latika holds her hand for a shake.

"No, I'm from England." Janet answers.

"So, I'm still waiting for your answer." I lean ahead.

"I'm sorry, it's not possible. I cannot take private appointments without consenting to my boss. And she'll never allow me." Latika says sheepishly.

"I'm Taranya Singh Chauhan, darling. Don't worry about the impossible. Just tell me if you're interested in the offer," I smile at her.

She licks her lower lip thoughtfully, before she sighs and nods in response.

"Then it's decided!" I beam. "Does your workplace have a personalized visiting card?"

"Oh, yeah," she quickly turns around and crouches to her knees, grabbing her bag from behind the shelves. I wait patiently as she digs through the front pocket before putting the bag in its place and getting up to give me the slick black card.

I read the name. "Diva in Makin'" I nod and look up at her, shoving the card in the pocket of my shorts. "Tomorrow at six."

"Alright," she smiles.

"Tara!" I hear Agastya call out to me loudly over the music.

"Bye!" Waving at the pretty waitress, I pick up the wine glass and make my way towards my brother. Janet follows me with her drink. "Are we done yet? I'm tired now!" I grumble, taking a sip of my wine, aware of the brown eyes staring at me with a dedication akin to an artist towards his art.

"Almost, short stuff. I just want you meet some of my friends." He swings an arm around my shoulders and pulls me in a side embrace, squishing me to his chest. "Guys! Guys! Guys!" He shouts, gathering attention from everyone around. "I know I'm a narcissistic asshole and y'all think I don't love anyone but me, but that's not true!" The beer in his other hand almost spills considering how wildly he gestures the bottle around. He's definitely drunk as fuck. "This is short stuff!" He squeezes me tighter. "And that's Arush! Sorry, Ayush, I love you, but he's my favourite!" Ayush chuckles. "These two people in my life are the most important. Before Tara, Arush kept me going. My boy hyped me up on every little achievement I made. I can never thank him enough. Love you, bro." Arush smiles shakily. I grin witnessing the exchange.

The two are inseparable but they rarely show it through physical or verbal affection. It's always indirectly. So I know how much this means to them.

"And then this little munchkin barged in," he smacks a kiss on top of my head, hugging me even tighter. I laugh, barely able to hold the glass of wine stable. That's when Shourya steps in and takes the glass from me. My smile slightly drops. "Thanks, man!" Agastya says to him. Shourya smiles and steps back, keeping an eye contact with me as he takes a sip from the same glass. I grit my teeth and look away. He knows how to ruin my fun.

"She gave me my dream back." Agastya's words bring me back to the moment. "There was a time I had almost lost it, and someone close to me did it. But then this girl here, she made the tough choice of choosing me over her friendship. And no words of gratitude can ever describe how much her decision helped me." He looks down at me fondly. "I love you, short stuff. Thank you. This was possible only because of you."

I roll my eyes and slap him on the chest. "Stop now, being considerate doesn't suit you."

"I'm better as a jerk, right?" He jokes.

"Tolerable, yes." I nod.

Everyone laughs.

And that's how we call it a night.

Coming back home, Arush reassures me that he'll take our drunk brother safely to his room. Agastya still blubbers my name all while he's dragged to the elevator.

"I'm sleeping with you tonight." Janet grabs my arm and drops her head on my shoulder as we start moving upstairs.

"Where's your courtesy, Janet? What happened to, let me take you out for dinner?" I nudge her in the ribs.

"You're my personal whore," she tries kissing me on the neck. I sputter out a series of chuckles and stumble aside, throwing her off me. "Come to daddy, babygirl!" She opens her arms and makes lascivious faces at me.

"Eww!" I laugh and rush upstairs. She follows me in a flash. We stumble into my room together and she immediately pins me to the bed, tickling me in the tummy knowing I get tickled easily. She doesn't stop until I'm crying, begging and laughing all at once. "God, you're a monster." I say breathlessly.

She chuckles. "By the way, what are we doing about that bitch? I can't stop thinking about her. I wish I had a murder forgiven." She sighs.

I close my eyes for a moment. "I need something solid to get back at her. Something that will stop her from coming at me with those cheap tricks."

Janet nods. "Let's research about her and her family." She gets up from the bed and grabs my laptop from the desk, coming back to the bed and sitting up leaning against the headboard. I copy her position.

For the next two hours, we search everything about her that we can get our hands on. I hate wasting my time on people like her who doesn't deserve a glance from me. But I won't be at rest until I give her a taste of her own medicine.

"Her father's a flamboyant man," she nods softly.

"Flamboyant?"

She hums. "And do you know which club he is a frequent guest of?"

I raise a brow.

"The one we went to tonight."

My lips part slightly. "You mean, we can..."

"If we gain her trust." She says, our target the pretty woman we met tonight at the bar.

"That's a sick plan." I chuckle. "Wait, I can offer her a job at our hotel parlour?" I suggest.

"Not right away." Janet advises.

"Let's keep her coming back for a few times," I say thoughtfully.

"Yup, until we have her on our side." She raises a hand and I hi-five her.

And that's what we did. The next evening when Latika came, we treated her as more than a nail artist, and extended our offer for the next day for our legs. She left as a happy woman.

Then she returned, and this time, we held her back for lunch. As we grew to know her, she opened up more and more, letting us into her past and sharing how many struggles she went through to land her current job, but never got the respect or position that she deserved.

Janet nudged me in that moment. So I said, "Our hotel has a private boutique for the guests. But I never went there to get my nails done. They're just not as good as you. I hope you were working there." And as expected, her eyes sparkled. The chance of getting out of her current cheap workspace and enter into the world of elites must be enticing to hear.

When she returned on Tuesday afternoon, I took her to the private boutique and got her familiar with the staff there. She was mesmerized.

"Latika, do you happen to know Mohit Singh?" I ask her that evening while she was doing our nails.

"Yes, he's our VIP guest. He comes every alternate days to club."

I nod.

"Tara, forget about him."

"Janet, he tried to touch me inappropriately. I cannot just forgive and forget." I shake my head.

"He did what?" Latika looks up at me in shock. "Then again, it's expected of him. He's such a womaniser."

"What do you mean?"

She sighs. "Can you believe he pays for girls half his age at the club?" She grimaces. "That man is irredeemable."

"I wish I can have something against him so he stops troubling me. I can't even go to my brother because his daughter is my friend. I don't want to break her heart." I murmur, feigning a sad, pitiful tone. Janet rubs my knee empathetically.

"I- I can help you?" Latika offers hesitantly. "Privacy is our priority at the club. So nobody knows what he comes there for. I'm sure I can get you some controversial pictures that you can use against him?" She offers readily.

"You can?" I turn hopeful.

"Yeah, but if I get caught, my job will be at risk-"

"Oh, don't you worry about it. We're friends now, aren't we?" I hold her hand in mine. "You saw we're short on staff at the private boutique, didn't you?" She nods, a greedy glint shining in her eyes. "Don't worry about anything. Just help me out this once and I'll make sure you never have to worry about a job."

"Okay, then, I'll text you the pictures tonight." When she left, Janet and I celebrated by hugging the life out of each other.

We could barely stay still throughout the dinner.

"My flight is rescheduled," I hear Agastya say.

"Why?" Vivaan inquires. I look up too, waiting for an answer.

"They postponed the scouting date because of NFL." Agastya replies.

"Yeah, I heard that." Yuvraaj nods. "It's good you're getting some more time to prepare before you leave. I was also thinking of throwing a farewell party for you."

"Party? When?" I ask, now intrigued.

"Maybe next Wednesday?" He glances toward me. "Did you receive the new dates?"

"Yeah, but they're tentative ones. If not next Thursday, I'll be sure to leave next Sunday." Agastya answers.

"I'll talk to my secretary and fix a date for the party." Yuvraaj informs.

After we're done with the dinner, Janet and I rush back to my room and wait impatiently for my phone to buzz. We try passing time by watching a movie on laptop, then play board games and even do a random photo session in the middle of the room.

"Do you think she bailed out on us?" Janet drops down on the bed eagle spread.

"I hope not." I nibble on my lower lip.

And my phone chooses that moment to buzz with countless notifications. Janet scrambles to sit straight, stationing herself beside me as she watches over my shoulder while I unlock the phone and click on the notifications.

We both gasp in sync.

Latika is a darling.

She not only sent us a picture of him with women, but also men.

And they were not just simple pictures. Nope. They involved of him doing all kinds of erotic activities with his much younger partners.

"Oh, yuck," Janet looks away instantly when we come across a picture of a young man kneeling between Akansha's father's knees, definitely not to check if his zip works properly.

"Janet, she also sent us a video." I pat her knee.

Janet looks down at the screen again and reaches out to play the video. We end it the moment we start it. Our hearts are not that strong yet to watch threesome of someone's father.

My phone quickly rings. I answer it.

"Did you receive them?"

"This was one night's activity?" I ask in disbelief.

"Oh, you've no idea. That man is insatiable." She grunts. "Anyway, about my job..." She prods hesitantly, afraid we'll go back on our word now that we got our side of job done.

"I've talked to the boutique owner. You can start from next Monday." I tell her.

"Oh my God! Thank you so much! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She rambles on unstoppably.

I smile. "Don't fret it. And we'll be your usual customer by the way. Don't you dare forget us." I warn her playfully.

"Of course not, Princess Taranya. You've no idea what you've done for me. Thank you so much."

"Thank you to you too." I say gratefully.

After we hang up, Janet and I move to my desk and turn on the printer, taking out color prints of the photos. I decide to leave the video as it is. No daughter would want to watch her father get fucked in the ass by a random stranger.

"We're not being too cruel, right?"

"She called Aunt Scarlett a mistress. And you a whore. All this over a man." Janet grabs the photos from me and slips them inside an envelope, sealing them with a wax. "How are we going to send these by the way?"

"Don't worry about that. Juyi will get it done for us." I say in reassurance.

And so the next morning, a little reluctantly, I send them through my personal maid.

On Monday morning, I'm called to University along with Janet to submit my highschool documents. The twins drive us there considering they need to submit the copy of their documents as well. Standing in a queue has to be the hardest part of a student life. And the staff behind the desk can even put sloths to shame by how slow they work.

So after we're done, we move to the cafeteria to eat something and refresh ourselves.

"I love this university," Janet looks around. It has this Victorian era touch to it. The architecture is huge, and it's well maintained. Anybody can tell it was built during the British rule. Janet loves it because it houses one of the largest libraries in India.

"I know right, it's beautiful." I murmur.

"Tara!" She pokes me with her elbow. I arch a brow at her. She juts her chin ahead and I follow, annoyance filling me when I see Shourya walk inside the cafeteria alone. He finds me in a split second, but doesn't react and walks up to the counter past us. He returns at the same time the twins do with our order and settles into the table next to us.

I thank Ayush as he puts the glass of milkshake in front of me along with my burger and fries.

As soon as I pick up the burger to take a bite, an envelope is slapped on the table. I put the burger down and look up, holding back a smile of victory when I see Akansha's tear stricken face ashen with shock and fear staring down at me in contempt.

"Akansha?" Ayush mumbles, his brows furrowing in worry seeing her all-over
-the-place state.

"Did you send these to me?" She points an accusing finger at the envelope.

Janet slurps on her milkshake loudly.

I cross my arms on my chest and lean back, crossing my legs together as I look up at her. "Yes." I own it proudly.

Her chin trembles and tears start to roll down her cheeks. "Are you going to release them?"

"I mean, I'm not into voyeurism, so obviously." I smile.

The silent tears rush out rapidly as she struggles to wipe them.

"What's happening?" Arush inquires sternly. "Why is she crying?"

"It's between the girls." Janet shuts him up.

"Taranya," she begins shakily, "If this is about what happened at the club, I - I'm sorry." She flinches when I push the chair back and get up, towering over her by a few inches.

"You should have thought of the consequences before standing so proudly before me and speaking all that bullshit about my mother." I sneer.

"Don't release them please." She sniffles, pleading me in her broken voice.

"Convince me." I command.

She sniffles and rakes a hand through her hair, looking around in panic before her eyes fall on Shourya watching the drama unfolding nonchalantly. She quickly rushes towards him and bends over the table, holding his wrist earnestly. "Shourya, please help me out. Please tell her not to do this."

"What did you do to provoke her?"

She blinks, her eyes lowering.

"You shouldn't make an enemy if you're not capable of fighting a war." He removes his wrist from her hold, meaning she is on her own and takes a slow sip of his black coffee.

I scoff out a chuckle. She insulted me for this man? Who can't even stand up for her?

"Taranya," She rushes back to me, her last hope. "Please, I'm sorry. I was in the wrong. Please, I'll do anything for your forgiveness." She joins her hands. "Don't release them. Please." She sobs, her hands clasped together, wishing for my mercy.

"Anything?" I raise a brow at her.

She nods eagerly.

"Then kneel," her eyes grow large in shock. "And beg."

Goddess ✨🧎

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