Intertwined Fates -- An IPKKND FanFic

Manorama's Planning

"What's wrong with both of you?" Buaji demanded.

"What do you mean, Buaji? Everything's fine," Khushi answered as she took another bite of her breakfast.

"Why aren't you talking? Both of you have been so quiet lately. I don't like it."

"I have a big meeting today," Payal explained. "I'm a little nervous about how it'll go." And I don't know what Akash is planning on doing. I know I promised I'd be with him 100% but I just don't see how it'll work.

Buaji snorted. "And you, Titliya?"

"I'm thinking about a case," Khuhi said predictably. Maybe Lavanya is wrong. Maybe it isn't Amit after all. But she wouldn't say his name if she didn't believe it and I trust her. Still, we can't do anything without evidence. I hope Anya pulls through for us.

"Work, work, work. That's all you girls think about. What about marriage?"

"That's your job, Buaji. You need to find us princes who'll treat us like the princesses we are," Khushi teased.

Payal smiled weakly. How would Buaji react when she found out that Payal already had a prince in mind?

***

"There," Payal murmured as she adjusted the skirt on the mannequin. Anjali had switched the meeting location over to the conference room. With Gohar Ji's help, Payal had transported her work here. She'd asked if he wanted to stay for the meeting but the tailor preferred his cramped workroom to the fancier offices above ground.

The door opened, and Payal forced herself to smile confidently as the Raizada trio walked in. A blush rose to her cheeks when she saw Akash. Surprisingly, the Raizadas were accompanied by a fourth person, a fashionable woman in her early-thirties. Payal though she looked familiar but couldn't exactly place her.

"Good morning, Payal," Anjali Ma'am said.

"Good morning."

The four of them sat down. "This is Payal Pansare," Arnav Sir introduced. "She's the newest member of our fashion design team but one of the most promising. This piece will be a showstopper for our European fashion show in two months."

The woman eyed the dress with interest. "It really is something else. Can I record this conversation?"

"No video."

"Just audio," she promised. "So, Ms. Pansare, what was your inspiration for this piece?"

Payal had no idea what was going on here, but nevertheless, she kept her composure. "A woman scorned."

Payal almost laughed at the identical expressions of surprise on the Raizadas' face. The woman leaned forward. "Really? Do tell."

"Imagine a woman so caught up in her beauty that she begins to think she deserves the world. And then comes along a man who promises her that world only to push her aside when he's done playing with her.

"And so she punishes him in the only way she deems fit. She destroys everything he holds dear. This is the dress that she'd wear while she watches him burn."

"Can I have a closer look?" the woman asked.

"Why don't we all?" Anjali answered. As they rotated around the dress, she commented, "Do you see the detail on the bodice? Payal did it herself."

"Let me see your hand," the woman demanded.

Bewildered, Payal held up her hand. "You're right," she asserted. "These are working fingers. Where did you learn to sew?"