Now I have to deal with his psycho-ex?

Time flew by and arrived the next weekend. Things were different this time since Dhiraj had been working overtime due to the new developments in his personal venture. So just like the weekdays, Dhiraj was off to work on a Saturday too.

Nakul's day had a slow start, similar to his every other weekend. What changed was how seeing Dhiraj overjoyed due to his projects made him happy too. He didn't realize when he had started secretly cheering for Dhiraj. And for some reason that change of behavior... just felt natural.

He went to the kitchen to make some breakfast when he heard some faint commotion beyond the front door.

'Is he back?'

The door opened.

'Maybe he forgot something.'

Nakul made his way to the main door, only to halt midway as he saw an unfamiliar silhouette of a woman standing in front of him. His senses suddenly went on a high alert mode, and he asked, "Who are you?"

The lady turned to him, and Nakul immediately recognized the already infamous face. It was the famed actress turned business mogul, Tanishqa.

"And here I thought I was famous enough for everyone to know me" she said in her regal yet drunk tone. She was most definitely intoxicated. She took some deliberate steps towards Nakul but tripped after a few.

"Are you alright?" a concerned yet cautious Nakul enquired.

Laughing out loud, she snapped back, "You are asking ME who I am? What about you....?" She got up and made her way towards the already guarded man. "Who are you? Are you Dhiraj's new boy-toy?...you look young.....not his usual type....."she assessed Nakul with narrowed eyes.

"Are you here to meet Dhiraj? He isn't here. Please leave." Nakul said in a somewhat stern tone. The tension between the two people was evident.

"Leave? WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU TO TELL ME THAT?" she screamed at Nakul. Taking a pause she continued. "It should be you who should be out." She looked at Nakul with spite in her eyes.

Nakul knew this lady was drunk, so he will need to handle this matter with care. "Ma'am. Dhiraj isn't here. If you want to meet him you can go to his office. Please leave from here."

Agitated, Tanishqa picked up a vase near her and smashed it on to the floor. Nakul's body went numb. The last thing he wanted to deal with was a violent lady. That too a beloved celebrity.

"DONT YOU FUCKING DARE TO TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD DO." she wailed out loud. "It should be you. Out of here. I am the one Dhiraj should be with. Not you. I was his girlfriend..."

'Now I will have to deal with his psycho-exes too? This is not what I signed up for.' Nakul cursed himself under his breath.

"DONT YOU FUCKING DARE TO TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD DO." she wailed out loud. "It should be you. Out of here. I am the one Dhiraj should be with. Not you. I was his girlfriend..."

Nakul cursed himself under his breath as the words of the woman in front of him kept echoing in his mind. Why is he dealing with this lady who in no way he is answerable to? And more importantly, how did she get in?

"I think there's some misunderstanding Ma'am. I am not Dhiraj's boyfriend. And more importantly, you are trespassing. Please leave or I will have to call the security." warned Nakul.

"You aren't his boyfriend?.....When you are chilling at his home?.....in these clothes?" questioned Tanishqa with an arched eyebrow as she pointed out Nakul's laid-back attire.

"I am not. I'm more like.....his roommate..."

"Do you really think I'll believe that? Dhiraj isn't the type of person who would just let anyone into his personal space. It took me so long just to be able to visit his place...." She did make a valid point. Nakul was in fact an exception to the general rules for Dhiraj.

Nakul was at a loss for words. 'How can I make this drunk woman leave?' was all he could think of. She was a celebrity. A beloved celebrity. He didn't even accidently want to get into a sticky situation involving her.

Finally he decided to go with, "I don't care if you believe me or not...." card. He continued, "....all I know is Dhiraj isn't here and You are a stranger, trespassing. Please leave."

Tanishqa was too drunk to understand what this third wheel in front of her was babbling. All she could fathom was that : SHE was the one Dhiraj should be with. The time they spent together, the laughs they shared, the experiments they participated in on her bed; she wasn't ready to let go of any of those. Needles poking right through her heart, was how she felt ever since Dhiraj left her. It was the 1st time, when she wanted someone so bad. But Dhiraj had vanished into the thin air without even a note.

In her mind, she wasn't trespassing, she was fighting. Fighting to win her man back from this 3rd wheel between them. So when Nakul told her to leave, that hurt her. She was so so mad at Dhiraj, but she was even more angry that Dhiraj had left him for someone else. That hurt her pride and that was exactly how she wanted Nakul to feel. She wanted to rile up the man in front of her. Without listening to what Nakul had to say, she had decided to drag this man down. Make him feel he's the outsider. The person who barged in her and Dhiraj's sweet haven. That HE was the cause of her ruins. And so she began,

"We were perfect. Everything was perfect. Then slowly we just didn't feel the zeal we had earlier... I thought it's just a rut. A rough period that we will get out of. That's why I turned a blind eye even when Dhiraj went out with other people. I..." she choked on her words as tears streamed from her eyes. "I...I thought even if he slept around, he would eventually come back to me...so I waited....."

Seeing Tanishqa break down in front of him, Nakul's heart shrunk. The woman seemed genuinely torn apart because of her feelings. She was known to be a strong, resilient woman. Seeing her reduced to such a pitiful state, made Nakul feel worse for some reason. But there was nothing he could do to help her.

On one hand where Nakul couldn't help but feel empathetic towards her, Tanisqha in her drunken state had begun to pile up more and more spite for him. Without confirming what exactly the situation was, she jumped to conclusions.

"You know it well, right? That he won't stay with you for long." she started spitting out venomous words. "Everything is going well for you now. But what next? Dhiraj did not hesitate to throw out a person like me from his life. Do you think you stand a chance?" she let out a mocking grin.

"Dhiraj is an insatiable man. Do you think you can keep a hold on him? " she took a deliberate step closer towards Nakul, with her hawk-like eyes glued to him. Nakul couldn't help but feel like a prey, being stuck in a battle that wasn't his to fight in the first place. He unconsciously clenched his fist tighter, not knowing the intentions behind those steps taken by the intoxicated woman. She stopped only when her face was inches apart from Nakul's.

She neared Nakul's ear and whispered, "Do you think you...a man...can be patient enough with him?" Only then did she take a step away from the man, letting her words mess up with Nakul's mind.

She continued, " Will a man ever wait for him, even if he fucks around. Pine for him, even if he left him. Still try to make things work even if he broke off everything without saying a single word?...That's what only a woman can do....you will just never be able to love him the way I do. NEVER." she nearly screamed.

Nakul was at a loss of words as he was unable to comprehend why he had to hear this woman venting. It was Dhiraj who should be dealing with her. Why him?

Finally he broke his silence and said, "Ma'am. I would like to clarify this to you again. I am not in any sort of relationship with Dhiraj. If you have anything to say, just go to Dhiraj's office and tell him." he kept his voice stern, hinting her to leave him alone.

He expected Tanishqa to counter him with some harsh words, but instead, she smiled.

"See, you are even telling him to deal with his problems alone. I would've never done that. I would've stood with him. But still....he is with you" Tanishqa's whole body had turned red. It seemed like she was having a hard time to even stand up. Tears streaming down her cheeks, Nakul could just understand....she was at the end of her wits. So despite being in that frustrating situation he didn't want to do anything that would hurt her more.

Not knowing what to say, Nakul just stood there in silence, just observing Tanishqa. For some unknown reason he felt a sense of guilt choking his throat. He silently waited for Tanishqa to throw more of her harsh words towards him. But she instead turned around to leave. She took a step but crashed on the floor, more tears streaming down her eyes.

Anger, frustration, pain and emptiness. All came crashing on to her in the same second. She said nothing but just kept weeping out her unexplainable emotions. Nakul's empathetic self took over as he rushed towards her to help. He extended his hand to help her, when she instead screamed out, "LEAVE ME ALONE"

A startled Nakul backed off as he watched the torn woman slowly get up and make her towards the elevator.

* * *