127 The pretend game
With tears in her eyes, Akira left the coffee shop and went inside her car. She wanted to reach home as soon as possible. All this was too much for her to bear. No matter how much she tried, eventually she was the one who had to lose everything that was hers.
Scarlett looked at the papers and then sighed. She then read the pages one after the other and slowly a smile started brimming on her face. She immediately took out her phone and sent a text message.
"The lamb has fallen in the trap".
She took the papers and happily left the coffee shop a couple of minutes later. Now there was no one in between her and Raymond. And she knew that with Akira not around, she could turn Raymond towards her, maybe woo him once more.
But neither Akira, not Scarlett had any knowledge that there was a third person in the room who had witnessed them talking and he knew that things were not right. But before informing anyone he wanted to reach to the bottom of it.
After Akira reached home, she went to her bedroom and started crying incessantly. This was nothing but pure pain. She knew that by doing this she could keep the baby alive and Raymond could lead a happy life, but her hopes of being a part of his life were smashed to dust. She didn't know who sent the envelope for her. It could have been Scarlett or could have been Anthony. But all that she knew was that the threat was real and if anything happened to that baby then maybe Raymond could never be able to survive that blow.
She didn't realize when she cried to sleep.
She got up hours later and checked her phone.
There were 3 missed calls from Raymond and 1 missed call from Vikram. Raymond had sent her a couple of text messages too. But then she saw that there was a message from an unknown number as well.
"Good job. Now stage 2. Quit your job by tomorrow else ..."
She read the message and her heart just stopped like someone had taken her heart out in their hands and squeezed it tight to kill her without any mercy.
She knew she had to do something but in such a way that Raymond shouldn't have any doubt on her. And she knew that there was only one person who could help her with all this and that was Vikram. Till now she hadn't told him about how she felt about Raymond but now there was no time left.
She immediately called up Vikram and narrated her the whole thing to him.
"So? Will, you be able to help?", Akira asked.
Although Vikram knew that Akira had fallen for Raymond, but it was really hurtful to hear it from her. It was really difficult for him to digest it. So he paused for a second and then said.
"So I sent you to the lion's den myself", he said and stayed silent.
"It was not your fault Vikram that I fell for him. The problem is if I stay with him, then he is going to lose the one thing that is closest to his heart. And I cannot let that happen Vikram. I know Scarlett is pure evil, but there is no doubt that she loves him more than anything else in the world. So her ways might be out of the world, but I guess whatever she is trying to do is to save her family", Akira said and became silent for a while.
"I wish I could do things differently, I wish I could erase all his memories from my head for I love him so much Vikram. I want him so bad but I need to push him away. I need to push him far away", she said and cried.
Vikram heard every word of her and they all sounded like poison to him. His body was burning with anger, every second that she described how much she loved Raymond became like a hundred years long death sentence for him. But he too was helpless. There was no way to vent out his anger for he loved her madly as well.
"Why don't you inform Raymond about Scarlett's intentions. Maybe he can take some legal help?", Vikram suggested.
"No Vikram, you are not understanding. Anything I do to rat her out will have just one end. The baby will be killed. I don't know if she is behind all this or Anthony or they both, but that doesn't matter. All I need is the baby's safety. So please say YES", Akira pleaded.
"My men can try to figure out what is going on Akira. Don't worry. You don't have to go through any of this", Vikram said.
"No Vikram. You are not doing anything. All that I need to do is to just get out of his life. He has a baby, he has Scarlett. He will bounce back in no time. Just say YES Vikram. Just say YES", Akira said.
"When have I ever said NO to you Akira? I am ok with what you have suggested. If you really want this then I will help you with everything in my power", Vikram said and took a pause.
"So, what should I do next Vikram?", Akira asked.
"Ok if you resign abruptly then it would look weird. I will create some scenario and poach you for a new job. It will be all smooth. Then you can have a fight with him about your career and stuff like that which will obviously hurt him. If you want it to be less painful for him then make him hate you. That will make it easy for him to leave you. I am not saying it won't hurt him, but the intensity of pain would reduce", Vikram said.
"Ok, I can do that", Akira said.
"But what about making him believe that I was just playing around with him and that I like you instead of him? How can we do that?", Akira asked.
"That part you leave it to me. He will have no doubt that you like only me. But you will have to co-operate", Vikram said.
"I understand. As long as I can keep the baby safe, I am ready to do anything Vikram", Akira said.
Vikram paused for a while. His heart wanted to beam with happiness but deep down he knew it was not a real victory. But he was ok with that.
"I am sorry that you have to pretend to be my lover", Akira said with a sad tone.
"I wish I could tell you how much I want that with all my heart", Vikram muttered.
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