Present: April 16,2018

There she is.

I swallow down the anxiety fastly forming inside me as I walk towards Mrs. Manasvi Mishra. She adorns a white studded saree and a long-sleeved blouse, her hair in a flawless updo and her face oozing sophistication. Gosh, everything about her is intimidating. She sees me approaching her, but she stares at me unfazed. I look to the ground as I stand next to her. Jogi comes out of his cabin and welcomes us both inside.

It turns out that Mrs. Mishra has already been proceeding with her own lawyer and a detective to find her son. Shilpa got to know of it only when she met the other lawyer. So, they decided we all need to come together and proceed with the situation.

"Hello, Mrs. Mishra," Shilpa greets as we both turn to face her. Shilpa raises her eyebrows as her lips form a little oh. She reframes her greeting. "Hello, Mrs. Manasvi Mishra and Mrs. Hansika Mishra. Please take your seats."

I wait for my mother-in-law to take her seat. She sweeps past me and settles down, her chin up high. Then, she turns to me and raises her hand towards the empty chair next to her.

"Come, sit here, Hansika."

It takes me everything to hide the jump my heartfelt. Her voice is enough to give me nightmares. I don't know why, but I feel one hundred percent scared when I'm around this woman.

You know exactly why this woman sends chills to your spine, Hansika. Who are you kidding?

I close my eyes and count to three as I suppress the memories of meeting her for the first time. It was two days right after I got discharged from the hospital. He told me he needed me to meet someone and I was pretty much lost without him, so I never said no to anything he put on the table. He brought me to his mother. The Manasvi Mishra. She walked up to me, eyed me top to bottom, and when I opened my mouth to wish her, she interrupted me with these five golden words: "No, Ayansh. She's not it."

Thank God for the cushions against my back, for they hide my shivers pretty well. Ayansh's mother could be hated easily, but my crazy mind chooses to fear her. Maybe it's because I fear what she saw in me. Maybe she saw right through me.

By the way she's staring at me even right now, by the way I feel her eyes piercing into my epidermis even if I'm not directly looking at her, I know she sees something; something that would completely strip me of the entire life I've built.

"Good morning, everyone. Let's just jump into it now that everyone has arrived, shall we?" Mrs. Mishra's lawyer, Ajay Kumar speaks. He's a tall man with a wide frame like he was made to dominate and tower over people. His eyes are narrow and small, and he seems to have them narrowed a little bit more as he scans me. I cower under his gaze.

God help me get past this meeting.

Shilpa clears her throat. "Ayansh Mishra has been gone missing since - "

Ajay interrupts, "the morning of April 12. His phone was in his car which was parked at the office parking lot. He last met Mrs. Manasvi Mishra at 9:30 AM in Garware Clubhouse. He has left the clubhouse by 10 AM according to the CCTV footage in the parking lot. He did not arrive at the office, however, even though his car was found in the parking lot."

I look at Shilpa. She's focusing on the lawyer speaking, but her hands are fidgeting under the table. It did feel a little rude that he interrupted her and finished the words she had to say.

"May I know what exactly the purpose of the meeting at Garware Clubhouse was?" Shilpa asks.

"That is just a private meeting between a mother and a son that need not be disclosed to anyone for any reason, Ms. Shilpa," Ajay snaps in reply. Shilpa looks down as her shoulders cower just a little. It is barely noticeable, but I get the nuances of a woman under the pressure of dominance.

"Moving on, his bank accounts are being closely followed, and there have been no transactions since his absence. And he hasn't tried to contact anyone here, I assume." Ajay eyes all the people in the room and takes our silence as affirmative.

"What are you trying to infer, Mr. Kumar?" I ask him. His eyes meet mine as I notice how small and crooked there. He's looking at me like I exactly know what he's trying to say. 

"I am inferring, Mrs. Hansika Mishra, that Ayansh Mishra has not left the home like he has done in the past. For all I can see, he has been kidnapped."

Suddenly, all eyes are on me. My heartbeat rings in my ears at the highest decibel I can tolerate as the world darkens for a second. The call for my name is what I heard last before slipping into the dark. 

***

My head feels light as my senses clear a little. I can't say where I am, but I know I'm in a safe place. If it's not the cold floor with a cheap carpet, it is a safe place. Always.

"Are you okay now?" I quickly get up when I hear Mrs. Mishra's voice. My head throbs from the action and I grab it with my hands.

Mrs. Mishra is sitting across me on the other side of the table, and I notice that I'm still in the office, resting on the couch.

"I asked if you are alright, Hansika," she repeats.

"Yes," I quickly mouth.

"Good, good," she says and gets on her feet. She trails around the room as I cower to the couch, one hand on my lower stomach.

She sees that and says, "I heard the news from Jogi just today. Congratulations."

"Th - thank you," I hesitantly reply.

She sharply turns to face me as her pointy chin aims down. "Was this necessary?"

Words get struck in my throat.

"Was all of this necessary, Hansika? Why so much drama, huh? We both know that you know. You knew he was abducted."

My heart nearly jumps out of my chest. "No, Mrs. Mishra! I swear to God, I did not know till your lawyer confirmed the - "

"Save your lies for my son, you wench. I know you had at least an idea about this."

I shake my head in denial as she towers over me.

"Don't think for one second that I'd fall for the tears or the fetus inside your uterus. I want my son back, and I know he's missing because of you. I'm not doubting, I'm telling. You better get my son back," her voice gets lower and scarier with each word as the tears in my eyes stand still.

How does everyone just know? How does everyone just know that blackmailing me would get him back? And why, just why in hell, does it not occur to anyone that I may want him back just as much?

I do not get any answers for any of these as she leaves me in my heap of tears in the office. My eyes dart to the table as I see my phone vibrating on top of it. Wiping away the tears, I slowly get off the couch. Despite my knee trembling from fatigue, I hold my stomach and reach the table. The name 'Private Number' flashes on the phone screen. 

My eyes go as wide as mirrors as I immediately pick the call. 

"Hello?" My voice goes one note higher as I wait for the other end anxiously.

"Ah, how long has it been since I heard my Princess' beautiful voice?"

My heart stills as my knees almost give up. I clutch the table and steady myself, but the world threatens to go dark once again. 

"How long has it been, Princess?" He repeats, his voice causing my heart to jump in my throat.

"E - eight months, Anirudh."

"Tsk tsk. You know how I want to hear it, sweet pea. Good job recognizing me, though." There's a little hint of a smile in his voice and the image of him standing above my small frame, smiling wide as his crooked eyes sparkle flash in my mind. Shivers run down my spine.

"It has been two hundred and sixty days, Ani."

He groans a sign of approval. "That's my darling. Now, I give you two options. Tell me where you are and I'll pick you up or you come to me yourself. Either way, we're meeting by the end of today. Now tell me, Princess. What is it going to be?"

Tears choke my throat as I plead to him. "Ani, please leave me. I'm begging you, on my knees..."

"Oh, Princess," Anirudh says, "don't cry. Not when I'm not there before you. I have told you that time and again. And sweetheart, you know I can't just let you go. I slipped once, but that does not mean I'll slip up the second time too."

"Ani, please - "

"Hansika, I made a mistake last time. I shouldn't have killed your father. I should have just kept him captive."

I scrunch my eyes as the memories of my father lying on the ground with his throat slit up stabs my heart and twists the knife. 

"But, I promise I won't do that with Ayansh this time. I'll only keep him till you come back."

The ground breaks under my feet as I fall down. Gripping my phone tight, I try to control the palpitations of my body.

"Where should I come?" I ask. That is the only thing I can do right now.

Anirudh lets out a hearty laughter. "Ahh, that's how I like it! Come to the same place you last saw your father, Princess. You know where that is, don't you?"

I mutter a yes as my mind keeps flashing me images of my father.

"And to think people actually believed you lost your memory... Oh, darling," Anirudh laughs as he cuts the call. 

I drop my phone as I recall the last few minutes. He called me. He got to me. He has Ayansh. I am going back to him.

I am going back to him. 

***