‘Oh, really,’ she said in exasperation. ‘But why didn’t you tell me before?’

Then he narrated the contours of the conspiracy and the details of its execution with a sense of excitement, and added, ‘I wonder how anyone could have smelled a rat. Unbelievable really, for that was all so foolproof.’

‘No doubt, it’s brilliant,’ she said, making no effort to hide her admiration for his brainchild, ‘though wicked. Oh, if only you had put your brains to better use.’

‘Do you know,’ he said mysteriously, ‘what my idea was worth?’

‘Why, the crumbs of the cake,’ she said feeling sad. ‘And now we land in this mess.’

‘Hold your breath,’ he said proudly, ‘you’re a millionairess without your knowing it. I’ve made two millions from that single deal and another half a million for the assorted favors done over the time. The money is there for you, safely tucked away in the attic.’

‘To hell with your millions,’ she said, unmoved. ‘I’m worried about your future.’

‘More than the loss of face for me,’ he said dejectedly, ‘I’m worried about its confiscation, making you poor all over again.’

‘You know that I don’t care,’ she said, trying to calm him, ‘even if it were a billion that is at stake. I’m only worried about you.’

‘I’ve never imagined things would come to this pass,’ he said morosely. ‘I only thought that money might make you feel secure, and would earn me your love. It looks like, now I’m ruined in every way.’

‘Oh me!’ she said with a sense of remorse. ‘It’s my fault indeed. How I was cold to you! Don’t you know that I love you now?’

‘I know that,’ he said with his heart in his mouth, ‘but do you still love me?’

‘Oh, for the way you feel for me, I love you even more now,’ she said, taking his hand.

‘Roopa, you don’t seem to understand the value of money and the humiliation the lack of it could cause,’ he said, pushing the import of the calamity onto the back burner, as the sentiment of his love came to the fore. ‘Though it hurt me deeply, it was Prasad’s ogling of you that had opened my eyes. If only I were a man of status, he wouldn’t have dared even to daydream about you, leave alone wooing you. From then on, I strived to prepare a sheath of wealth for you to ward off the lecherous folks.’

‘Oh, my darling,’ she embraced him, ‘how you love me!’

‘More than you could ever imagine,’ he said.




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