Chapter 7

Matsyaa jolted awake with a scream. It had to be eight in the morning when her idiot brother sneaked in her room and burst the bunches of balloons he'd tied onto the bedpost. With her hair strewn like a bird's nest, she sat ramrod straight on the mattress and stared at him, blankly. A flash made her momentarily blind. 

For a brief second, she couldn't understand what happened until Arush's hyena-like laughter cleared the fog in her mind. She bawled her fists and threw a pillow at him, screaming. "You stinking piece of horsefly shit! How dare you?" 

Arush neatly escaped from her target and grinned at his camera, "Why so grumpy? I was just trying to wake you up, Matsyaa Rani. (Queen)" He teased using the nickname she'd gotten from her late grandmother. "Come on, lazy bum. Hobble out."

"Says who? You?" She glared, rolling out of the bed. She grabbed the cushion and flung it on him. It hit him right on his nose and he winced. She gave him a winning smirk and he grunted, "I woke up two hours ago."

"And, did nothing." She finished his sentence, rolling her eyes and slumping down on the couch, "What are you doing in my room so early?" 

"I was thinking of tagging you along with me." 

"To where?" She raised an eyebrow. His face lost its smile, "To the hospital. I'm not ready to go there. But, I need to receive some of dad's reports." 

Matsyaa frowned slightly, "What reports are left now?"

Arush scratched his head and sighed, "I'll tell you about it. Go take a shower and meet me downstairs in exactly five minutes." 

"Okay!" For the first time, she didn't argue with him and dashed into her bathroom. She changed into a white, bodycon dress which was draped on one shoulder and bare on another. The material was sewed together in a zipper running down her spine. 

She loved how simple yet elegant it looked on her. She twisted her hair in a bun and left loose curls open. Applying moisturizer and foundation, she painted her lips pink and gave herself one final look. She slipped on her flats and climbed down the stairs. 

Rathore mansion was silent because the elders had gone to pay a visit to their kuldevta (a local God worshiped by their ancestors for generations) to pray for her uncle. Ved and Prem went to the company and Matsyaa realized why Arush chose this day to visit the hospital. He didn't want others to be worried. 

She smiled at his sensibility. A servant approached her when she was climbing down the stairs, "Ma'am! Someone has come to meet you. Arush sir is calling for you." 

"Did he tell you who that is?" She asked the servant. She didn't know anyone personally in India and she wasn't in contact with her friends, so who else could've come to meet her? 

"I don't know, ma'am, but Arush sir wants you to come quickly," The servant told her and she nodded, "I'm coming!" 

She strode to the hall and noticed three things; the guards, two strangers and her brother sitting there with a scowl. Those guards weren't from Rathore security, and those men weren't recognizable. She never saw them before. What were they doing at her house? And why would they want to meet her?

The thin heel of her ballerina flats tapped on the floor and the men looked up at her. As her eyes met the gray ones of the stranger, she forced herself to recall where she had seen him because she was sure she had seen him but she didn't know exactly where.

She smiled and took her seat beside Arush, inaudibly groaning as both the strangers didn't stand up to greet her. They were her guests and they behaved as if they owned her house. Arrogance and wealth screamed off their proud stance and expensive attire. It was definitely custom-made; both their egos and clothes.

"Yes?" She demanded, introducing herself. "I'm Matsyaa Rathore." 

"Veer Pratap Raghuvanshi!" The gray eyed handsome asserted like he wanted to show off something. Poor guy! He still didn't ring a bell to her. She stared at him boringly, "Okay. So?" 

The way Veer blinked, it was evident he hadn't seen that coming. People showcased many reactions to his name; lack of interest wasn't one of them. He exchanged glances with Arpan who had only come to meet Ranvijay but found himself becoming his envoy. Both the men pitied themselves being in a situation where they knew the outcome would be bad. For different reasons. 

"I'm Arpan Singh Sengar!" Arpan extended his hand, smiling and Matsyaa clasped his proffered palm with gratitude. "Nice to meet you." 

"Likewise!" The man pulled back, impressed with himself that he had correctly seen her pride. He decided to lead the conversation, clearing his throat. "You may not know us, Matsyaa. I hope you don't mind me calling you Matsyaa?" She shook her head and he maintained, "Good. We are here to give you something." 

He beckoned one of his guards to set the gifts on the table. Matsyaa stared at the gifts with her eyebrows raised. She eyed both the men and cleared her throat, "These are for me?"

Arpan confirmed, "Yes. These are for you. Consider them as an apology." 

"I don't know you. I'm sure we've never met before, so why would you offer me an apology when you've done nothing to offend me?"

"The apology isn't from our side, Miss Rathore." Veer proclaimed and waved a hand towards the gifts, "You'll have a card in there." 

Matsyaa exchanged glances with Arush who was still glaring at the men like they'd done something to offend him. She inhaled a deep breath and slid the box towards her. Taking off the cover, she found a beautiful peach dress inside. 

She was amazed. Who could send such an expensive gift to her? She took out the dress and held it under her nose. It was every girl's dream, fancied with gold and pearl embellishments. With a halter neck made up of delicate gold work, the satin and netting of the dress flowed down to the floor. 

"I hope you like it," Veer commented, seeing her riveted and that broke her trance. She peeked at him over the dress and cocked her head to the side, tossing it on the table as if it meant nothing to her. "I don't like sparkling things, Mr. Raghuvanshi, but thanks for bringing it to me." 

Without giving him a chance to speak, she dug out a rectangular box from the packet. It had a velvet roll inside. She quickly unfurled it like a royal edict with two wooden sticks fixed at the end of the sheet. Inside, smooth white paper was filled with a calligraphic handwriting. 

"Read aloud!" Arush whispered to her and she nodded. "Dear Miss Rathore, I couldn't help but feel compelled to give you the dress and a camera as an apology from my side for the pool accident. I hope you will accept it and grace me with your generosity." 

Pool accident? Matsyaa's eyes widened and realization dawned on her. 'Oh, so this is from the crown prince.'

"Ranvijay!" She whispered the name and rolled the edict back, blinking at Veer and Arpan. "This is from Ranvijay Raghuvanshi. The crown prince?" 

"The one and only," Veer tilted his chin up and looked at Arush scornfully. "It's strange how people are unaware of our identity here in our land itself."

Matsyaa scowled at his arrogance and pressed her lips, retorting. "Well, it's not our fault. We just shifted here. And, you're not famous enough, I guess."  

Insulted, Veer clenched his jaw and Arpan kept his palm over his curling fists to calm him down. He didn't want to create a scene. Matsyaa took it as a great sign and decided to directly communicate to Arpan, "Like I said, thanks for bringing it to me but I can't accept it. Whatever happened that day wasn't exactly his fault. I was also not paying attention. And, it's okay. I didn't take anything to my heart. In fact, I forgot about the accident like it never happened, so these things… I really can't accept it." 

Arpan licked his lips thoughtfully and smiled at her, "I understand, and I really appreciate your thinking, but my friend has a deep sense of accountability and for the mistakes that he even committed unknowingly, he takes the guilt to his heart, always trying to correct them. That's how he is brought up, so if you could just accept the gifts. Not as an apology but as a gesture, I think it'd be great. What do you say?"

"You've made a great point, but then again, I can't do that. I know your friend has a sense of accountability but I also have a sense of dignity. Um, don't take me wrong but accepting these things will mean that I find him guilty, which I really don't, so it's useless. Plus, I already bought the camera. I don't need another one, and about the dress, I told you I don't like sparkling things." She gave him a perfunctory smile. 

Veer was getting aggravated. Why this girl was so difficult? He didn't like her at all and she was showing off attitude to them. She didn't even know the man she was arguing with was the minster of parliament. Did she live in a cave for all these years to not know about who Arpan Singh Sengar really was? 

His family had produced chief ministers and prime ministers for generations. In fact, he was a candidate of the upcoming assembly elections. He could ruin her for making him waste his precious time for something so trivial. She had no idea that the men she was taking so granted for belonged to one of the most powerful families in the country. 

Veer lost his patience and cleared his throat, "Listen, Miss Rathore, I think you're taking the whole situation wrong. You're not someone special who my brother thinks of giving souvenirs and keeping in touch with. He doesn't even look at girls twice. It's just that he is very humble, and he wanted to make up for your loss. That's all. He sent these things to you because you were literally crying that day, blaming him for your loss when you know that it wasn't his fault. So I suggest you please save both our times and accept these things."

Matsyaa flushed red in anger at his rude tone. She clenched her jaw and swallowed a lump wedging in her throat. What the hell this man thought of himself? Just because she was being polite, it didn't mean he could insult her like that. 

"If you remember that day clearly, I don't think I need to tell you how your brother dashed into me. Yes, it wasn't entirely his fault but he was partly guilty. And then he left my hand, remember? I guess that's why he sent these gifts to me and not because I was crying, though I don't remember doing that." She spoke, crossing her arms over her chest. "Besides, like you said, your brother is very humble, so he should've come here in person and give me these things, not just send his messengers and let them be rude with me."

"You started that first!" Veer pointed out whereas Arpan palmed his face. This wasn't supposed to go like that. Matsyaa wasn't backing up, "Oh hardly! I'm not the one to go in your house and act arrogant. I told you nicely to take these things and leave, but you don't just understand. I'm trying my best to remain polite. However, it's clearly not working with you."

"Are you sure you wanna continue with this, Miss Rathore?" Veer squinted his eyes dangerously at her, "Because I'm pretty sure you will regret this. A big time! You've no idea who you're talking to."

"And you've no idea where you are sitting right now!" Arush spoke for the first time but his voice was enough to chill the air. He looked at Veer, coldly. "You need to keep your tone in check when you talk to my sister, Mr. Raghuvanshi. Don't forget you're an uninvited guest. I'm sure you know how they are dealt with."

"Calm down, gentleman." Arpan interrupted, his calm tone lacing a soft touch of warning. "We're not here to fight."

"No one's fighting, Mr. Senger. We're all about hospitality when our guests know how to respect us." Arush turned to face Arpan, "You said you wanted to meet her. Even though I was against the idea, I called her because that's how we treat our guests, by respecting them. You planted guards here but I stayed silent again. However, Mr. Raghuvanshi is crossing the limits now. If my sister doesn't want these things, please respect her decision. Why is that so difficult?" 

"You're right. We'll take our leave and thanks for your precious time, Matsyaa." Arpan stood up, nodding at Matsyaa. She followed his suite and wrung her hands in anxiety. She didn't know why she felt things were going to go south after this. She nodded at Arpan and sighed, "I'm really sorry for how this turned out. I didn't mean to disrespect you, but I guess…"

"It's alright. I understand." Arpan pushed a hand in his pocket and smiled at her. "It's just I would've felt great if you had accepted these things and let go of the bad memories of that day. But, we have no right to force you. I respect your decision, Miss Rathore."

"Thanks," Matsyaa reverted his smile, grateful that he had his brain at the right place unlike the cross man who was still standing beside Arpan like a statue and glaring at Arush. She shook her head and looked back at Arpan, "Besides, there are no memories. I didn't even remember him, or the accident. Now, when I think of it, I think it was funny." 

She made an attempt to ease the atmosphere and Arpan helped her by laughing openly. He extended a hand for her, "Pleasure meeting you, Matsyaa. Hope to see you again. Have a good day!" 

"You too, Mr. Senger!" She baded him and the men took their leave, striding out along with their guards. Matsyaa heaved a sigh of relief and slumped on the couch, rubbing her chest. Her heart was beating loudly against her chest, like she could sense the storm progressing towards her.