Missing

The city had slowed down as the time approached midnight, but it was still awake. A cool breeze touched Aditya's face as he reminisced about Hamsa; her departure was still fresh in his mind. The night breeze reminded him of the time that both of them kissed. At that time, Aditya used Hamsa's legs as a pillow while both of them were on the balcony wall (thick railing made of concrete). It was also then that Aditya knew that his soul particle could somehow form bonds with another soul particle. It was a massive discovery about which Aditya could not get the time to study yet.

Aditya did not know about what exactly did V.V. Acharya had to talk to him. But he did not care in the least. Coming to meet him on V.V, Acharya's request was already pushing his tolerance level. Aditya had nothing but contempt and scorn at this person. Aditya it up a cigarette as he waited while enjoying the nightscape.

Aditya did not have to wait long as he heard footsteps behind. Aditya turned to see a handsome middle-aged man with greying hair near his temples, striding towards him.

Aditya could greet first, but he did not want to spend any extra effort in displaying respect for this person. So, Aditya just stood there with his arms crossed and smoked as he comfortable leaned against the railing. His hair blew along with the night breeze as he blew smoke without showing any signs of stopping. His crutch was hanging on his left arm.

V.V. Acharya did not expect that the boy whom he wanted to meet would act in this way. It was clear from this kid's body language that he did not respect him and was not even interested in talking with him. V.V. Acharya frowned a little but immediately smiled and said, "you must be Aditya, right? I hear that you are a good friend of Anu. Nice to meet you. Oh? How did you get injured?"

V.V. Acharya had run a brief check on Aditya's background and knew that this kid was a schoolmate of Anupama. He also knew that Aditya pursued his daughter, previously. As for Aditya's history, it was quite hard to find the details of his parents, but it seemed like his background was not worth paying attention.

Aditya did not have the patience to talk in a roundabout manner with V.V, Acharya. So, he cut to the chase and asked, "Why did you want to meet me? I don't think there is anything that we could talk about?"

V.V. Acharya's frown deepened when he saw the way Aditya was acting. He had expected that Aditya would at least act polite if not flatter him. But it seemed that V.V. Acharya missed something, or maybe it was just the way that the present generation behaved. He also did not have the patience to tolerate this little kid anymore and said in a stern voice, " I take it that you are pursuing my daughter. So, I am here to advise you to stay away from her. Anupama is not a girl that someone like you can reach and be worthy of her hand."

Aditya finally comprehended the meaning behind this meeting. It was to warn him to stay away from Anupama. Aditya chuckled as he asked, "Mr Acharya, I am surprised that you have suddenly started caring for your daughter. I know that Anupama is pleased with this sudden transformation of yours. She might have temporarily forgotten her past, but I did not. Do you know that the time that your daughter spent with me should be more than all the time that she spent with you?"

V.V. Acharya was shocked when he heard these words. Aditya's words struck right in the core of the issue, which he was trying to cover up. It was true that V.V. Acharya never cared about his daughter. So when Anupama had not mentioned anything about his mistakes and unconditionally accepted him, V.V. Acharya thought that his plans were moving quite smoothly. He had never felt that he would be questioned by a kid, whom he had wanted to push away from Anupama. But Aditya was not finished yet.

Aditya scoffed and continued, "So, don't come here flashing your father status in front of me as if you have any moral authority over who meets Anupama and who doesn't. Mr Acharya, as for whether my status could match your daughter, I suggest you do an in-depth study on my background. Or maybe you should ask the Raipath family with whom you seem to be collaborating. They should know who I am."

Aditya took a deep breath as he threw the cigarette bud and started to leave. He paused and said to the stupefied V.V. Acharya, "Do your duty as a loving father and then, maybe, I will care to listen to your opinion about Anupama. Until then, stay away from her life lest you hurt her more. It is Anupama's wish with whom she spends her time, and not yours."

V.V. Acharya was stunned when he heard these words. He had come expecting Aditya to flatter him and even bootlick him. V.V. Acharya had a valid reason to think that way. For one, he was a billionaire with an affluent background, and the other reason was that V.V. Acharya was Anupama's father.

But V.V. Acharya had never imagined that a teenager would scold him in such a manner. He had never suffered such a treatment in all his life. All the words of Aditya pointed at the truth which V.V. Acharya wanted to bury. He felt very uncomfortable and rage boiled inside in his heart as Aditya exposed the skeletons in his closet. It felt as if he had slapped him.

V.V. Acharya's body trembled as his breathing became unrhythmic. But before he could react, Aditya had already left. It took some time for V.V. Acharya to calm down. A coldness flashed across his eyes as he decided to know everything about this kid before making a move. If he found out that there was nothing to fear, V.V. Acharya would not mind having Aditya's legs broken and maiming him for life.

Aditya did not spare a thought for V.V. Acharya as he lightly whistled and made way for the private lounge. A smile appeared on his face when he heard his friends voices. The private lounge was a classic executive lounge but had a warm and intimate residential atmosphere. This lounge looked more like a modernised suite with all the luxurious features.

"Where are Kumkum and Anupama?" Aditya asked as he sat on a white couch beside Kavya while grabbing a soda.

"Anupama is still busy with the guests and Kumari went to use the restroom. But it has been for more than ten minutes. Maybe something delayed Kumari," Kavya said as she watched the soap opera. Kavya had the habit of watching those stupid soap operas, but no one could get her to stop.

Aditya's heart suddenly thumped for no reason when he heard that Kumari had not come. Delaying in the restroom was a completely valid reason, but Aditya's mind sensed something off. So, he took out his phone and called Kumari. To his surprise, her mobile was not responding. Then, Aditya opened an app which was developed by Tya. It contained a code through which two mobile phones could effectively communicate with each other even when they are switched off and did not have access to WiFi or network. The range was a kilometre.

Aditya had his friends, subordinates and employees install Tya's mobile operating system which could harmoniously exist with the standard OS. It was the first program made by Tya after Aditya had discovered the way of using electrical impulses in his nerves as a means for Tya to connect to electronic devices.

Aditya's heart loosened when he saw that the mobile was in the vicinity. But to make sure, Aditya went towards the source. But to his surprise, he found a servicewoman holding Kumari's mobile. Aditya's pupils shrunk when he saw this, he went and asked where she had seen this mobile.

The servicewoman replied that she had found this mobile in the female restroom and that she was about to report it as no one was around. She gave the mobile to Aditya when he said that it was his friend's and unlocked the mobile to prove that he knew the owner.

Though Aditya had a smiling face, his heart had already started beating violently. He left immediately for the elevator. Aditya was about to hack into the surveillance mainframe of this building to see if he could find any clues. Aditya's blood cooled when he saw that the surveillance systems were already down as if someone had blocked and corrupted them.

There was only one group of people that Aditya knew that could effortlessly achieve this feat and there was only one person who had a motive to make a move on Kumari. Aditya's hand trembled when he guessed the person, it was as if someone lit up a fuse in his blood. A murderous feeling which had been buried deep, inside Adiya's heart, started to overflow. It looked like the night was far from over.