Hi,

I confess before you go further, this is an interim chapter. Pritvi doesn't appear here so no interactions of him and Myra. But of cause it is necessary to establish some other key characters that we will need along the way.

I sincerely hope you will enjoy.

CHAPTER FOUR

Broken Princes

The day you walked in, I knew why storms are named after people...

He was stuck in her head as if an old tune that she had picked up passing by. A memory, at the same time a souvenir of a time gone by. To Sanaya Mishra, Sushant Raj Maurya was that part of childhood which she could never really leave behind. No matter how many times he broke her heart or how many speeches of moving on she gave herself.

It was an odd thing, she couldn't forget him even when there was nothing to forget about. No promises, no strings, if there had been it was a sense of belonging that he had snatched from her even without meaning to. It was a terrible thing, when the man who held so much power over you knew nothing of his position. It was a terrible thing, when you can never bury the remains of your love and move on. Sushant was, but a part of her world, Sanaya couldn't cut herself off from Mauryas just because she wanted to run away from pain. They were the only family she had since she was a ten year old.

These days she had taken to wear a stone mask whenever she stepped inside the Maurya Manor, and tried to minimize the time she had to spent in there for whatever reason. Sanaya checked the time on her mobile display for the tenth time in that fifteen minutes as she supervised the arrangements they were making in Saket’s room.

Kaki mom wanted him home. She was right in declaring that there was no care in that hospital which they couldn't provide for Saket at their home. Then there was the secret mission she entrusted to her. Kaki mom believed Priv hasn't really bought the story about Myra being Saket’s girlfriend. No matter how much she hated it, it was Sanaya’s job to rid his room of any evidence that supported Priv’s theory before Priv himself came snooping around.

She had taken a moment to agree to this. Sanaya really wondered if she could ask Kaki mom the real question burning in her head. Finally, knowing from personal experience that pain was better addressed than compressed she had spoken out loud.

“Kaki mom, did Saket...did he really tried to...kill himself?”

Sanaya was prone to handling the scandals of Maurya family from time to time. It was the legacy Anuradha had passed on to her. But she could not bury a skeleton she herself did not know the identity of. She was a curious being and she was aware of the rather dark period of Saket’s life which both of them would rather not address.

Saket was undisputedly the Apple of Anuradha’s eye. He was the youngest and the least bothered with the huge empire he was entitled to. He had detached himself from those affairs in the early years, making a name for himself in the field of abstract arts, catching the eye of certain art dealers and gallery owners in his late teens. Saket was a breath of fresh air amidst them. A handsome boy with a grin plastered on his face all the time...until she had walked in and out of his life.

Sanaya wondered whether Mauryas were unlucky in love. She was yet to see one who had found the bliss all those fairy tales promised at the outset. Since then, Saket had never mended. Although Kaki mom didn't answer her question and had just sighed squeezing her hand, Sanaya knew they both dared to voice that thought. It was a fear they both shared. A storm they both knew was coming. Both of them knew it was only a matter if time before Saket lost the battle to his demons. He was after all a sensitive boy. Regret was painted all over Kaki mom’s eyes. She had been too involved in the cold war between Pritvi and Sushant to watch over her pet, leaving Saket to struggle through the storm himself. Sanaya wished Kaki mom would get a chance to make amends, stitch back the torn tapestry of her family.

In the meantime she hoped it would be done without sacrificing many pawns for the cause. The thought of shielding herself from further pain had just crossed Sanaya’s mind when something crashed downstairs, making an enormous sound in the silence of the late night.

**

She was not family, more like an unpaid tenant. The attitude of the Bedi family towards her was better explained that way. However, Myra was grateful to Rathi for the girl had stayed up waiting for her, so that Kamini wouldn't lock her out for the remaining hours of the night.

Rathi did her best to look as cheerful as she could as she bolted the door behind Myra, chatting aimlessly about how Mina Das had visited in the pretext of getting the latest issue of some magazine and inquired what happened before. Both girls rolled their eyes at the efficiency of their local gossips before Rathi sobered up and said in a much serious tone,

“let's make some Maggie, what say?”

Myra wasn't surprised, she was certain after the fiasco that evening that there won't be any dinner for her that night. To be honest, the action that ensured since her departure had pushed food to the back of her mind. She had lingered in the hall a moment too long that Rathi paused on her way to kitchen and liked over her shoulder.

“Is something bothering you?”

Myra shook her head, attempting at a tiny smile.

“Nothing really, just had the misfortune of meeting someone just as nice as our Dadi,” she said with a chuckle as she dumped her bag on one of the chairs and followed Rathi into the kitchen.

Rathi set the water to boil and turned to look at her, eyes dancing with mirth.

“Someone managed to distract your sour mood I presume?”

Myra sighed. She hasn't thought of that angle really. In her frustration with Pritvi Raj Maurya she had entirely forgotten her earlier argument with Kamini Bedi. Perhaps, the man was good as a Kamini repellent, she humored herself. Then the entire scenario of Saket’s accident, the people at the hospital the misunderstanding and her unrevealed sins returned to her. Myra looked down, her shoulders slumped.

“Di, if you don't lie but not correct an incorrect statement would you be at fault?”

Rathi tilted her head, as she stirred the noodles in a thoughtful motion.

“That depends on the incorrect statement I suppose.”

“What if you later realize that you'll be helping someone by not correcting It?”

There was a pause as Rathi stopped what she was doing before turning to face her fully.

“Don't you think that's a bit like consoling ourselves that what we’re doing is right?”

Myra didn't answer as she lit one of the candles on the dining table absentmindedly. Rathi was repeating what her mind had been originally telling her. Rathi finished with the noodles and brought over two plates of smoking hot dinner to the table before pulling a chair for herself. “People can look after themselves, you don't need to lie and protect them.”

Myra nodded although she didn't reply. Instead the flickering candle light caught her eye. She was reminded of the meditation sessions her Dida used to had, during night times.

“Think back to all you did and why you did them...the reasons and regrets, let them surface, simmer and fade. Let the candle burn away all your worries. Just don't repeat what you think was wrong, let the past rise with the fumes of perfume. Up and away it goes…”

She was confused at first, then enthralled by Mrs. Maurya’s motherly affection. Myra mused as one of her fingers drew unconscious circles around the candle. It had been a long since she was enveloped in such warmth that she couldn't bear to reveal the truth and end it so quickly. Then she had heard about the doubts the police had, Mrs. Maurya and Pritvi talking in hushed tones.

Myra tried to reason with herself. Saket didn't try to kill himself. His accident was probably a twist of fate that awful charm had brought about. In the end, she was the one who had engineered those troubles in their lives. Wasn't it right that she took some responsibility? She watched the candle melt away tears of wax trickling down. She would never go searching for Saket Raj Maurya again. She had paid for her sins by keeping her silence that night. But she wasn't interested in interacting with the likes of Pritvi on a daily basis. Myra wasn't interested in the Maurya estate. If anything, she knew for certain that once her background becomes known neither would the Mauryas be interested in her. Saket was a chapter which would go on no longer.

It broke her heart to think that, but she had to let him be what he really was, a fantasy that was never fulfilled.

**

Sanaya cursed her inability to let go for the dozenth time that night. It ached her heart to see him like this, wasted away in the grasp of his desires. Nikki Kapoor could be a siren when she wants to, and she had her claws deep in Sushant’s heart that no cure was possible for his blind devotion to her.

Sanaya wondered if she looked as desperate as that when she stole a gaze at Sushant once in a while. Perhaps not, she consoled herself. She was clueless how he loved her so, knowing full well how fickle her nature truly was. But, at that moment looking at the drunk man sprawled on the sofa, with his bloodshot eyes and bleeding cut across his palm from the vase he had just smashed, Sanaya could imagine it must be as painful as her love for Sushant.

She took the first aid box from the hands of the waiting servant and dismissed the man with a jerk of her head before walking briskly towards Sushant.

“Oh it's You!” Sushant said merrily as she sat beside him and took his bleeding hand in hers, examining the extent of damage. “Mom ki chamchi! Just the woman I wanted to see!” Sanaya didn't reply as she dubbed disinfectant on a piece of cotton wool and Sushant tugged at her hand. “So tell me, Sunny, was she happy - ouch!” Sanaya pressed the stinging medicine against his cut, pursing her lips at his statement. She knew better than to talk with a drunk Sushant.

“She planned this, didn't She? Mom, mom is behind everything. She doesn't like Nikki does She? She'll do anything to stop me from marrying her!”

“Sush, do you really believe she loves You?” Sanaya couldn't help but ask.

“Who do you mean?” Sushant asked her bitterly. “Nikki, or Mom?” He sighed and sank into the sofa, head leaned back and eyes closed. “Do either of them love me? Or do they simply live the opportunities I open for them? You tell me Sunny, shouldn't I let the exploit me, since I love them too much?”

A tear escaped Sanaya’s eyes lined with thick coat of mascara.she made no attempt to wipe it off as she bandaged Sushant’s hand.

She could have told him his love was unhealthy. But she was no one to comment on that. Sanaya herself was addicted to that unhealthy obsession. She herself let him trod all over her heart...Just because she loved him so much.

She stood up wordlessly and lingered there a moment more watching over him as his breathing called down.

Love was a wretched thing...Sanaya was sure of it.

**

A little star would mean a lot…

Please do share your thoughts and thank you very much for reading!

Sakura.