As soon as Raghav’s car stopped in front of a four-storey building, the security guards, upon seeing his car, opened the tall gates that looked like a lion’s mouth. The car entered the portico and came to a halt. The driver got down, came to Raghav’s side, opened the door and held it.
“Tomorrow morning sharp at 9, come, Michael,” Raghav said, taking his laptop bag and walking inside.
After Raghav left, Michael went back to the outhouse where he stayed, grabbed something to eat just for the sake of it, and slept. When Raghav entered the house, as usual, the sight of the empty hall made him smile bitterly with detachment.
Manga (the maid who waited for him every day) looked at Raghav, then glanced at her watch, silently indicating it was past midnight. As she saw him climbing the stairs, she humbly said, “Oh babu, at least eat something before you go.”
Raghav stopped for a moment. “I’m not hungry. You go and sleep, Manga,” he said, and started climbing again.
“Babu, if you don’t eat, your health will get spoiled. Amma will also scold. Please eat at least a little, babu. One shouldn’t sleep on an empty stomach.”
“If I feel hungry, I’ll eat. I’m not hungry. Don’t bother me—just go sleep,” Raghav said, climbing the stairs three at a time and disappearing into his room.
Manga, helpless, began arranging the food items on the dining table. Just then, a hand caught hers. Shocked, she turned and saw the girl of the house.
“Amma, you haven’t slept yet?”
“No. I was waiting for bava. I thought I’d sleep only after he eats. But he went away without eating. Serve me a plate of food—I’ll wait.”
“Amma, he’s drunk heavily today… if he scolds you—” she hesitated, while filling a plate.
“His scolding is nothing new for me. Just give me the plate, clean all this up, and go sleep. Good night,” said the girl—Rupika, Raghav’s sister-in-law (remember this character well).
As Rupika walked upstairs, Manga looked at her with admiration, thinking, She’s not just beautiful in appearance, but also divine in nature.
When Rupika entered the room, she heard the sound of water from the washroom. Realizing Raghav was freshening up, she placed the food on the table and quickly tidied up the messy room in five minutes, then waited.
Raghav came out, saw the neat room, and wondered who had cleaned it. Just then, he saw Rupika smiling at him.
“Hi, bava.”
“Rupa (everyone in the house called her that), how many times have I told you? Can’t you get it into your head? My name is Raghav. Call me that—not by relation.”
“You’re my bava. How can I call you by name? I’ll call you bava only.”
“Rupa, you can’t bear my anger. I don’t want attachments with anyone. Call me Raghav. And why are you in my room? Didn’t I tell you no one is allowed in here? Why did you come?”
“You didn’t have dinner, so I had to come. If you eat quickly, I’ll leave. Otherwise, I’ll stay here.”
“Tch… there’s no peace in this house. That’s why I hate coming here. I come only for Dad—for his memories in this house, his hard work. Otherwise, I wouldn’t.”
Saying this, he reluctantly ate two mouthfuls, shoved the plate into Rupika’s hands, grabbed her by the neck, pushed her out, locked the door, drank water, finished another bottle from the cupboard, and collapsed across the bed.
Rupika steadied herself, ate the leftover food as if it were chicken biryani, not leaving even a morsel, and walked toward the kitchen.
—
The bungalow in Jubilee Hills looked very modern—three floors, clearly the house of millionaires. The entire home was filled with costly furniture and perfect interior design.
Just then, descending the stairs from the second floor while discussing a project on a call came the owner of the house—Yugender.
“No more talks, Satish. This tender has to come to us at any cost. In half an hour, I’ll leave with Rudhvi to the tender office,” he said, cutting the call and calling for his wife, Sulakshana.
From the prayer room, Sulakshana came carrying an aarti plate. Yugender looked at her lovingly, impressed. After placing the vermillion mark, she asked with a smile, “Where’s Rudhvi?”
“She’s getting ready for office. You come, I’ll serve breakfast,” she said.
“No, Lakshana. Let her come—we’ll all have breakfast together,” he replied, sitting in the hall with a tender file, checking amounts.
Hearing their daughter’s voice, Yugender turned to look. Dressed in brown trousers and a black shirt, a gold watch on her wrist, a simple chain on her neck, studs in her ears, hair left loose, Rudhvi was walking down, speaking seriously on a call.
“Yes, fix that amount. This tender will be ours. Mark my words. Yeah, I’ll be there in half an hour. Do it,” she said, cutting the call, then turned to her father. “Good morning, Dad. Everything’s okay. Shall we move?” She slipped her phone into her bag.
“Okay, Rudhvi,” he replied, and as her husband and daughter began to leave, Sulakshana stopped them and insisted they eat breakfast. After reluctantly eating, both kissed her cheeks and started toward the tender office.
At the tender office in Hyderabad, many businessmen waited anxiously to see who would win, checking their watches nervously.
As Yugender and Rudhvi’s cars pulled up, Satish rushed to open Yugender’s car door. Yugender adjusted his blazer and stepped out.
At the same time, another car stopped in front of Rudhvi’s. Out stepped Raghav, stylishly wearing cooling glasses. The moment she saw him, Rudhvi’s face flushed red. Raghav, with an attitude, glanced at her and walked past.
His arrogance isn’t ordinary. I’ll bring it down. I’ll crush that pride, that look, Rudhvi thought, putting on her glasses and following behind.
Yugender, seeing Raghav, smiled warmly. “Babu Raghav!” he called.
Raghav stopped, removed his glasses, and looked at Yugender. Yugender walked up, still smiling.
“How are you, Raghav? Long time. I was in Malaysia for a few months, just returned. I heard you took over your dad’s office. So happy for you, Raghav.”
Raghav gave a faint smile, carefully hiding it from his lips. “Best of luck for this tender,” he said, shaking hands.
“Same to you, Raghav. How’s your dad, Mahidhar?” Yugender asked.
At that, Raghav’s face, calm until then, turned red with anger. “My dad isn’t Mahidhar. He’s Madhukar. Yes, he’s my father—your friend. To me, he’ll always be uncle. Remember that,” he snapped, storming inside.
Seeing his father hurt by Raghav’s behavior, Rudhvi consoled, “Please, Dad. Control. You know about that hothead. Why feel bad? Come, let’s go in.” Muttering curses about Raghav, she led Yugender inside.
They sat in the first row, in the empty chairs left beside Raghav. She glanced at him, but he looked back recklessly, making her turn away toward the announcer.
Finally, the announcement came. “The tender has been awarded to Rudhvi Group of Industries.”
Raghav’s face reflected defeat, while Rudhvi’s glowed with the pride of victory.
