I'm totally empty-headed, to be honest!
‘Are you sure you will be alright here?’ Ibhaan asks me for the third time and for the third time, I nod. ‘I really don’t want to leave you here alone. I am—’ He begins, making my grin go wider. ‘It’s fine. It’s calm here anyways. I want to look at the waves a bit more. Go.’ I assure him. The sun is melting into the ocean. The flock of birds in the sky, the gentle breeze, and the humming beats of the waves. Everything is transcendental as if the divine has descended to bless me with mercy. I stare at it with a small smile playing on my lips. My mind is completely at ease. As if an eternity later, I have felt happiness. I run my hands over the arms and hug myself, cherishing the moment till it lasts. For the fraction, I let myself forget about everything. Alpha, the approaching wedding, and the contest. The beautiful sleeveless dress wasn’t a wise choice for the night with the chilly wave around but the way it spread itself around me makes me feel like a fairy princess. It do
‘We are going to dine here?’ I gape at the colossal premise of sheer luxury. Dhairya, that thrice stingy asshole, did not have the brain cell to think anything closer to this. ‘Yeah.’ Ibhaan shrugs as if it is the most obvious of the things to spend his wealth on something as extravagant as this. The hotel is exquisite and least to say opulent. I only remember seeing such a grandeur palace on weekly Magazine covers in past years. Speaking of which, I remember how I am neglecting writing these days. I have not penned down once in almost forever. He is making me forget the only thing that gives me so much pleasure. What used to be a daily habit has become a rarely touched treasure in less than a week all thanks to his royal almightiness. Ibhaan’s easiness has started to rub off on me like a filthy poop-bacteria. At this rate, I am going to catch the flu soon. The whole drama of becoming Luna, trying to accustom to this completely absurd lifestyle, and figuring out my confus
I do a light shuffling tap dance across the marble superhighway. The third floor of the incredulous skyscraper mansion is my destination. The Mansion is named after Ibhaan’s great-grandfather and founder of the Sindhuja Akumji empire, Mr Heramb Sindhuja Akumji—former oil king and a business tycoon. Yes! The Taksh Mansion is officially christened as ‘The Heramb’s’ and was built in the early two-thousands for a joint residence of his family of six. Over the years, the title became redundant and was later dropped off by Lycan Mena. The Sindhuja Akumjis are not only rulers but one of the richest business families in the region that owns a fucking legacy in the oil, automobile, and telecommunication sectors. They are not only billionaires but one of the richest families in the world. To date, the Mansion has only accommodated Alphas of a certain pack—Sindhuja Akumjis, which is why the country recognizes it as the Alpha Mansion ordinarily. It is a skyscraper at twenty-fucking-
THE DEN where Ibhaan spends most of his time, forming plans, taking over strategies, and authenticating documents is his mini universe—a world in the galaxy that the Mansion is. It is the place where he makes plans to bring glorious Empires down, lure clients in his favour, deal with the manipulative sharks, and supereminent the superpower alongside playing ‘good-friends’ with the natural terrorists—the Grim Reapers. I have read all about the technicalities of the floor. It’s a specially designed platform that can survive fire, flood, and earthquakes. All of the visitors are bound under an NDA whereas only the eligible staff is allowed entry on the stringent terms. There are sensors to register the biometrics of each individual. Every motion is under the radar. It’s highly automatic and invisible to the naked eye. However, the dread of feeling eyes on you is deafening. Fortunately, there aren’t any special regulations for the would-be Luna of the Mansion as there aren’t for the A
I close my eyes and heave out a shaky breath. The more I explore the more ashamed I feel about myself. How can I be enjoying this douchebag’s company for a whole night? How can I open up my heart for him to peep in? How can I feel a transcendental connection? I have been praising his gorgeous looks forgetting all about his dark heart! I groaned out of annoyance when my eyes caught a series of portrayals hanging on the farthest wall with a fireplace. ‘You! You!’ I point an accusing finger at him. And I am on my feet again…thrilled to peek into Ibhaan’s personal life. Anything that will earn me an advantage over him—anything to have an upper hand for my defence. I have already heard nearly everything about his current life, but knowing about how he grew up, and who his close companions were had always been some invisible line of demarcation that I or anything couldn’t ever reach. ‘What would you want me to do?’ I’d asked him during supper. ‘You mean?’ He’d retorted stuffing hi
Ibhaan's Head: It is clear frosty weather today, spreading a soothing sensation in the air. I smile at the swarm of professional personnel eying me greedily with expectations. The curtness in me urges me to play some more. Damn! How I love watching them suffering in anticipation with their heart in their mouths. Serves them right! I have endured their bullshit for hours. ‘I shall see!’ I nod, intertwining my palms on the table. I mask my expression in a frozen unreadable face letting the serious business-type demeanour take over. From my peripheral vision, I watch as Kavish takes over already. He knows me well. Way too well… ‘We’d like to get more information on slide six and page 453, 878, 879, 652, and 564 in your report.’ Kavish deadpans looking to and fro between his tablet and the old sulking rag. The sincerity in the boardroom is getting on my nerves. I am exhausted, drained out of energy, and almost on the verge of death. Yet I cannot scream my lungs out. I want to t
Lizziy’s Head: I let out a string of curses as I slump onto His Highness’s throne with a spitfire. This time with innate force to make the tires screech.He has been watching me like the freaking creep that he is! How-how-how ugh! I cannot even find a suitable word to curse him. ‘Huh! I cannot believe your dumbass wouldn’t know the Den would be under survillence. Tsk! Tsk! Awful!’ ‘Shut up! Shut the fuck up, Ella.’ I run my hands through the length of my hair. No! I cannot let him know I am pissed. Then? What should be the ideal reaction? How would a lovesick bitch in these circumstances react? Blush? Giggle? Feel delighted that she had been asked to fuck off? The Dick that stretches your cunt…Oh, I am so fucking mad. How dare he? How freaking dare he talk to me like that? What am I? A fucking prostitute? Respect! I command non-negotiable respect!What should I do? He might be waiting for a reply. Yeah, he might still be watching me sitting on his throne, fisting and unfisting my
‘Arin?’ The drowsy voice purrs in my ears as Ibhaan snuggles closer, almost cocooning me between his back and arms. He has embraced me in clutches with my back pressed against his front and overlooking the Pacific ocean. If I turn around, I’ll get a nostril full of his misty scent which is highly addictive and intoxicating. And the dreadful morning breath that will have me puking my guts in a loop. It has to be five or six in the morning. The sun is yet to dip out of the horizon. However, its warm redness with tinges of orange and tangerine has spread across the perimeter in a welcoming warmth. It is a rather gloomy day like it may pour any second. The ferocious ocean breeze flirts with the curtains and chiming bells on the balcony. The chirps of the birds fade in the background but the voices in my head are loud and so are the thunders in the sky. Hissssssssssss… Ella spits in agony, waking me up in a jolt. My whole body tenses and core muscles tighten. I cannot hold back. She