They looked at each other. A few seconds, then Zoya turned her gaze in another direction. Even though her heartbeat was soaring faster, she tried to control the situation."Calm down Zoya! There's no way Sunil knows you with this appearance. And if he approaches you, just pretend you don't know him!" She calmed down herself.Zoya looked him like she's seeing a stranger, and continued to step inside the shop without looking back. She hoped Sunil didn't meet her. She didn't even look back. Completely ignorant of Sunil.Five minutes later she was back in the fitting room area. Apparently Praveen had left the fitting room."How about it, Praveen? Did you fit the shirt?"asked Zoya. " Do you like it?""Yes, but I won't buy it. Too expensive for me," Praveen answered frankly."Then I will buy it for you, Praveen!" Zoya said and smiling sweetly."Ashita! I...." Before Praveen finished speaking, Zoya immediately cut him off,"I bought it for you! Please don't refuse. If you do, I'm leaving now
But his instincts couldn't stay still. Just as the ricksaw left, he ran over to the other auto ricksaw that was parked waiting for passengers. He darterd into it and ordered the bajaj driver to follow thericksaw which Praveen and Zoya riding riding."Which one?" asked the driver, looking around for the bajaj that Sunil was referring to. There were many vehicles passing by."That Bajaj!" said Sunil pointing to the bajaj in which Zoya was getting away."Where is it going?""Don't ask too many questions! Just follow where it goes!"No asking again, the driver started the bajaj. There was a deafening sound of the engine, and white smoke billowed from the exhaust. The three-wheeled vehicle sped up and started to chase. Because it was a little behind, the driver started to increase his speed, faster. He easily overtook the other vehicles in front one by one, leaving Sunil reeling behind. When he tried to overtake the minibus that was blocking in front of him, the driver slammed the handleb
They had seen three different rented rooms, but none of them matched. Two were too bad and the location was not far from the recycling place. Lots of sacks filled with used goods on the side of the road making for poor access to the rented house. The rent money was also not comparable to the facilities. Praveen was not interested let alone Zoya.They had entered the wrong way, they shouldn't have gone through this alley. From the outside, it didn't look like there was a recycling place for used goods inside.And the other one, it turned out to be a special rent for women. Actually it was not easy to find a place to live in Dharavi even though this was a slum area."Where do we go next?" asked Zoya."Aren't you tired, Ashita?" Praveen asked glancing at the girl. Zoya shook her head even though her forehead looked wet with sweat."Or you are hungry maybe?""A little. But I can bear it. We'll search again, but not anywhere near here. The area over here is worse I think. Totally not for
Two servings of biryani were served plus two glasses of orange juice. Seeing the large piece of chicken thigh perched on top of the yellow rice made Praveen even more hungry. He took a sip of the juice first to moisten his throat and then said,"Let's eat. I'm getting hungry,""But I still want to hear from you, Prav!" Zoya half insisted. Praveen stared at her."You just called me, what?""Prav! Why?"Praveen smiled. There was a blush on his face."I'm glad you call me that. This is the first time someone calling my name like that. Sounds fun too."Zoya smiled back. She also wondered why suddenly mentioned Praveen's name by shortening it."Come on, tell me about yourself even if we want to eat. I want to know!""I already told you! There's nothing more to tell," said Praveen starting to eat. Of course he didn't want to say that his mother raised him by selling vegetables at the Chandrapur market because his father had died of TB. Or how he worked in a pottery factory to raise money to
They had been circling in the mall for more than two hours, but Avni, didn't want to leave the mall. Sunil had also complied with her desire to buy dress. The girl was good at choosing expensive clothes. But she wasn't happy and unsatisfied."Where are we going next? Eat, done! Shopping already! What else? Aren't you tired?""Ah, honey! It's as if you don't even know girls! If a girl goes to the mall, she won't be tired even if it's just window shopping.""But you've been shopping for clothes, haven't you?" asked Sunil looking at the girl.Avni did look beautiful, but thanks to the makeup on her face. He didn't know if the face without makeup, Sunil was not so sure."Let's walk around," said Avni."I'm tired, Avni!""You're tired of walking like this? How about we watch a movie to relieve your tiredness?" suggested the girl, but sounded more sulky."I'm not in the mood this time," Sunil refused."Come on! You can sleep while watching!""Sleeping while watching? How come?" asked Sunil
The sun was already leaning west, four o'clock in the afternoon. Praveen still hadn't found a place for his new rent even though he had been touring here and there with Zoya. The place as his wishes was full of all, nothing was empty.Dharavi was indeed the most densely populated place in the world. The area which was only 2 km square meters inhabited by more than one million people. You could imagine how crowded people were there. Although the buildings were mostly semi-permanent, but one room could be filled with five to ten people. They slept like sardines. Most of them were workers trying to save on rent so they could raise money to send back home. Usually those who had rented didn't care how many people live in one room. What was clear that every month they receive money according to what they have set.Not surprisingly, usually the room doubles as the kitchen as well. Every inch of space was so valuable, and utilized optimally.It's stuffy, maybe that's the impression that came
The room looked dim, but it could still be seen it was empty. The man immediately looked for the switch on the wall and turned on the light. In an instant it became brighter.Only a loose room with one small room which may be a bathroom that doubles as a toilet. At the far end, there was a door leading to a small balcony and a window.The size of the room was no more than four by five meters. For one or two occupants it may be more than adequate, as long as there was not a lot of furniture.It was pretty clean too, with plain walls with no scribbles or poster marks."How is it? Do you like this room?" asked the man."I like this room. Pretty clean," even Zoya answered. Praveen sayid nothing.Of course, compared to renting in densely populated Dharavi, this was much better. More representative and adequate. Moreover, there were bathroom and toilet facilities inside, of course they would not mix with other residents. It's just that the pocket was not yet reachable."This room was just v
The day was almost dusk when Sunil finished fulfilling his desire with Avni. He repeated it several times because of the girl's request. Of course he didn't refuse, happily doing it again until he was exhausted and fell asleep.He quickly pulled the blanket aside and found himself without a single clothes and the girl still sleeping hugging him.He slowly let go of her hand and slowly got up and sat on the edge of the bed.It was hot outside, but not in the girl's room because there was air conditioning. Once again he glanced at Avni who was sleeping exhausted.Sunil smiled to himself. He did not think, the girl was quite skilled in bed. Not just giving up, but repeatedly taking action until Sunil got even more excited. Not in vain he spent to fulfill his desire. Comparable to the service he provided. He liked the girl's service, but not love. Just having fun driving away loneliness.He quickly gathered his clothes and went to the bathroom."Where are you going, honey?" suddenly Avni
Meanwhile, far away in Mumbai, Sunil Chakraborty still could not accept the reality of what had happened.He was angry, but did not know how to vent his anger. Why did all this come to light?This must be the result of Roohan's failure, the man he had assigned to eliminate Praveen. If only he had succeeded, it would have been a different story. That man would have rotted at the bottom of the river!He had paid Roohan. He had to take responsibility for this failure! He should not deny it like that day, at least he should get his reward!Sunil still felt his chest burning with emotion. He would teach Roohan a lesson!He immediately left the house. But his steps stopped when Amaneesh stopped him."Where are you going?""I have some business to finish!""No! You stay home for now! Let me take care of everything!""No, Dad!" said Sunil, ignoring his father's words. He continued walking towards his car and soon the car was out of the garage.Amaneesh was furious, but could not do anything.
The afternoon was approaching.The Balinese bridal make-up artist had finished dressing Zoya. She seemed satisfied with her work.“It’s done. You can look in the mirror now!” said her with a smile.Zoya turned her body slowly to face the large mirror not far from her and was immediately stunned.Is that really her?She looked very different wearing a typical Balinese bridal kebaya in maroon and decorated with gold thread embroidery. Her head was decorated with a majestic floral metal crown that was also gold in color. Both of her wrists wore gold color bracelets. Prada songket cloth with a color that matched the kebaya she was wearing further enhanced her appearance.The make-up on her face was not striking so that her beautiful face looked even more beautiful.She stared at her reflection in the mirror for a long time, not expecting it to be herself.However, she had a little difficulty moving her head because the crown was quite heavy, around three kg.She convinced herself that she
The Balinese woman looked so graceful in the traditional dress. She wore a short white kebaya with a silver Prada cloth with a floral motif.Her black hair was pulled up into a bun. She was around mid-thirties and spoke fluent English.“So you two will be married with Balinese customs and rituals?”“Yes, of course. I have longed to marry with Balinese rituals. It just so happens that India and Bali have similarities,” Zoya explained.She smiled and looked at the two of them alternately. There was a sense of amazement in her eyes. The girl looked beautiful and the man was so handsome. They both looked so harmonious, especially later when they wear Balinese traditional clothes. Of course it would be even more charming.She had served quite a lot of clients who were about to get married, and most of them were Westerners, but this time she met a unique client from India.Judging from their appearance, they were not from just anyone. If not the upper class, then they must be public figures
Zoya and Praveen had landed in Bali three hours ago and now they had checked in at a resort in the Seminyak region. Zoya had made a reservation before so they didn't have to bother booking a hotel.Praveen didn't expect to go this far. This was the first time in his life he saw the outside world directly. It never even crossed his mind to be on this island of the gods. Not for leisure pursuit but to get married!No! He didn't feel tired after a long journey, in fact when he set foot in Ngurah Rai Airport his chest was still beating fast. Since leaving India, he felt like he entered a new world.Uncertain? Alienated? No! He didn't feel lost as long as Zoya was by his side. She gave him energy and determination so strong that he was a man who could overcome all obstacles.He had passed the biggest obstacle perfectly, taking away the lover he loved so much to escape from the one-sided match made by her parents.Coming out of the airport he was already fascinated by the pleasant atmospher
“What’s wrong? What are you guys talking about in there?” Sunil asked curiously.Stupid kid!If there were no other people around, Amaneesh would have slapped him. But he held back his anger so as not to raise further suspicion.“Come on, go home! I want to talk to you at home!”“Just tell me here now. I want to know!” Sunil said curiously.Amaneesh shook his head. He saw several of his subordinates standing looking at him in surprise.“You guys go back to the office now! We’ll talk later!”His subordinates took a respectful position,“Yes, sir!” said them.Sunil couldn’t accept it, he just walked briskly into Narendra’s room and opened the door,“What are you talking about with my father, Mr. Narendra?!” he asked loudly.Narendra was sitting on the sofa realizing the mistake he had made. Seeing Sunil act like that, his disgust surfaced again, he really didn’t want to see the young man’s face again.“Just ask your father! From now on I don’t want to see anymore! Get out of my room now
Rajesh Kumar was cheered. He quickly got up and half ran out to his car. In less than half an hour he was at the cafe that Narendra usually visited.Apparently Rajesh had arrived first. Narendra was not there yet. He immediately took a seat in the corner of the cafe and ordered a drink.Not long, finally Narendra appeared alone. He entered with brisk steps and sat across from Rajesh.“How are you, sir! Long time no see!” he said, starting the conversation.Narendra ignored him and went straight to the point.“Why did you tell me this now? Why?”“Because this is the best time to reveal everything!”“No! It’s too late!”“Not for me!”“Where did you get that evidence?” asked Narendra.Rajesh then explained in as much detail as possible.Narendra Prasadh listened with an angry expression. How could a police officer do something bad to get his personal desires and the police officer was… his future son-in-law? Truly, he had been deceived!“Your daughter has found a suitable man as her life
Two investigators came to see Mr. Amaneesh that night. They brought very important news.“We have checked the immigration data at the airport and got the names we are looking for, Sir! It turns out that Miss Zoya and Praveen Jayachandran took a flight abroad. They managed to escape to Singapore!” said a police officer named Sukhdev excitedly. His other colleague nodded in agreement.“That’s right! They left at 4:10 in the morning, and this data has been matched with the airline passenger manifest!”“They fled abroad?” said Amaneesh as if in disbelief. He did not know whether this was good or bad news because if this was true, their pursuit would be more difficult unless they asked for help from Interpol.But was it possible, considering that they were not criminals or perpetrators of crimes that harmed the country?Nothing is impossible. He could have used his authority as the Mumbai police chief.“What else did you get?”“That’s it. I think this is a very important clue, so I reporte
There were no significant results of the investigation even though Amaneesh had ordered many of his personnel. Some were ordered to Dharavi, some to modeling agencies, and advertising agencies and more to guard the borders.But none of them yielded results.Towards evening, Mrs. Fateema was even more shocked to see Sunil and his men arrive at her house. They interrogated her again, even though previously in Doorna she had been visited by the police asking about Praveen's whereabouts. Of course she did not know where he was. Since Zoya's identity was revealed, he had never been there again. What shocked her the most how Sunil knew where she lives?"Don't try to hide something from me, Mrs. Fateema!" said Sunil intimidatingly."Why would I hide him whereabouts, Sir! I have no idea at all. Since Ashita, I mean... Miss Zoya is no longer in Doorna, he has also never come again! Especially since he started to become famous!"“You don’t know where he lives?”“I don’t know exactly! But he sa
The wedding ceremony that was planned to take place this morning really ended in a mess, even though the hotel had made good preparations. The hall had been neatly arranged, both the stage and the arrangement of chairs and tables for the guests. Decorations full of flowers were already available. So was the catering.But all that was in vain because the bride ran away.Approaching 10 o'clock, the hall was actually quiet. Guests who did not know and had already come were not allowed to enter the building. The hotel was closed to guests.Of course, many guests were shocked, not expecting the party to be canceled. Not a few were disappointed because they had already come.In connection with being closed, Narendra's family could not hide their shame.This was the first time in his life he felt humiliated, not by someone else, but by his own child.Was there a wrong decision that made his daughter choose to run away rather than follow his wishes?But what was wrong? Isn't it his duty as a