Mumbai,
In a large house, a young man stood staring intently at the papers in his hand. Beside him, his mother stood watching him, equally fixated on the documents, confusion and concern written all over her face.
She finally broke the silence, her voice laced with disbelief,"Son, what are you saying? These papers could be wrong! That girl can't possibly do something like this. Her mother promised me…"
The young man let out a frustrated sigh, cutting her off,"Mom, she did this. And because of her actions, we're going to face a huge loss. It's certain."
The woman's expression turned anxious, her voice trembling with panic.
"This could ruin us… Son, you have to stop this somehow. Say something—I'll talk to her mother!"
Shaking his head, the young man replied firmly,
"No, Mom. I'll handle it myself. We can't afford to lose her,especially not now. I'm going to talk to her right away. Don't worry… that golden goose isn't going anywhere."
He stormed out, grabbing his car keys and leaving in haste. His mother muttered to herself as she watched him go,"How dare that arrogant girl try to fool my son? Looks like I'll have to speak to her mother myself."
Meanwhile, at Mathur Industries…
Aarohi entered her cabin, struggling to calm her rising frustration. She exhaled deeply, trying to steady her breath. She was well aware of Agastya's sharp gaze following her constantly—it hadn't gone unnoticed. She had sensed it from the very beginning but had chosen to ignore it. The only question that haunted her now was—what did Agastya want from her? Why was he staring at her like that?
A few minutes later, someone sat comfortably across from her, his intense black eyes fixed on her.
Aarohi, seated at her desk, flipped through a file in her hand. Suddenly, something caught her eye. She looked up and asked,"You studied both Law and Business? Any specific reason for learning business?"
Agastya, his gaze still pinned on her, let out a light chuckle and replied,"Ms. Aarohi, the answer to your question is sitting right in front of you. I'm sure the queen of the business world understands the value of studying it. That's exactly why my family insisted I pursue business studies. And I took up law on my own."
Aarohi stared at him for a few seconds, unimpressed by his cleverly dodged answer. Her tone turned sharp,"And after working with Asia's number one company, R&R Industries, why would you suddenly join Mathur Industries?"
She locked eyes with him again, awaiting his response with her usual unflinching demeanor.
Agastya, noticing the firm set of her lips and the hawk-like intensity of her eyes, thought to himself,"So much sharpness? So much attitude? Such a firecracker. Looks like I'll have to endure this heat now."
But Aarohi was still staring, waiting. Finally, she said firmly,"Mr. Roy."
Snapped out of his thoughts, Agastya responded in a confident yet mysterious tone,"Ms. Aarohi, I have the right to choose my clients. And Mathur Industries is definitely a good opportunity. As for R&R, my friend Riyan is the department director there. He needed help, so I obliged."
Then, with a teasing smirk, he added,"You do remember Riyan, right? The one who was with me that day? The real recipient of that slap and punch?"
Aarohi immediately understood what he was referring to—he was subtly asking for an apology. But Aarohi wasn't someone to back down. She wasn't going to apologize to Agastya, not now, not ever.
Matching his energy, she returned a fake smile and said,"Mathur Industries welcomes you, Mr. Roy. You certainly talk well—let's hope your work is just as impressive."
And with that, both of them continued their silent battle of wills, exchanging fake smiles and unyielding eye contact like two opponents in a silent duel.
Moments later, Aarohi broke the stare, pulled out a file from her drawer, and handed it to Agastya,"Since you've officially joined Mathur Industries as our Legal Director from today, it's time you get started. This file contains a very important case."
Agastya opened the file and read the contents carefully. A thoughtful expression crossed his face. Then he looked up at Aarohi and asked,"Are we really going against them?"
Rising from her chair, Aarohi walked over to him. Looking directly into his eyes with her usual composed face, she replied,"Mr. Roy, if you have any issues going against your old firm or your friend, then there's nothing I can do. I need this case won. It's up to you how quickly you want to wrap it up."
Agastya didn't say a word. He just stared at the file, lost in thought.
Unaware of Aarohi's inner motives, Agastya didn't know that she had deliberately assigned him this R&R-related case to test his loyalty. She needed to be sure. Aarohi would never let anyone into her company who could harm her legacy or her grandmother's empire. She was well aware of her enemies and refused to give them even the slightest opening. And in the business world—betrayal was just part of the game.
Agastya, still unaware of her thoughts, was wondering,"Will I be able to accomplish what I came here for? What should my next move be?"
And just as this storm was brewing inside both of them—BANG!
The door to Aarohi's cabin suddenly slammed open, and someone barged in without knocking…
---
Who had barged into Aarohi's cabin?
Will Agastya pass Aarohi's test?
What is Agastya's true purpose behind joining Mathur Industries?
What lies ahead for Aarohi and Agastya?
To find out the answers to all these questions, keep reading the story "His Cruel Lady."