Page 56 of Okay Boss
“Exactly. Which is why I can’t play dignified girlfriend. That confirms something that never existed. If I defend you as a partner, it validates months of speculation.”
Silence.
“Do what makes sense,” he said finally.
By late morning, Riya released her statement:
“I want to clarify that the circulating image is from a film rehearsal. Vikram and I have always maintained professional friendship. Any speculation beyond that is incorrect. I request the media to avoid creating narratives involving me in a situation where I do not belong.”
Measured. Composed. Above the chaos.
Within minutes, tickers updated:
“Riya Sharma Denies Relationship with Vikram Khanna.”
Panelists praised her restraint. Social media applauded her grace. Classy. Mature. Self-respecting.
And then the shift.
If Riya was dignified enough to step back quietly… If she was clarifying “professional friendship” instead of claiming heartbreak… Then someone else must have created drama.
The internet doesn’t tolerate vacuums. It fills them. Within the hour, tone sharpened. Divya’s name surged again. Riya rebranded as the poised woman who walked away. And Divya Mathur became the girl who stepped in.
Homewrecker began appearing beneath her photos. Repeated. Hashtagged. Definitive.
The internet had found its villain. And it wasn’t the man in the photograph.
???
Divya sat on her bed and watched numbers climb.
The cruelty had sharpened. It no longer sounded curious. It sounded hungry.
She powered off her phone. But her mother’s phone buzzed endlessly. The building WhatsApp was on fire. Divya had been removed overnight, but she could feel the conversation in the way her mother flinched at every vibration.
The landline rang. Again. Again.
“Such a shock, Asha…”
“People are talking…”
“Has she always been… ambitious?”
The pauses carried more meaning than words.
Her brother came home early. Jaw tight. No words. She knew.
At 4:30, the doorbell rang. No one moved. Through the peephole, her mother saw Mrs. Deshmukh holding a plate.
They let it ring out.
A message arrived: “Left some halwa outside. In difficult times, we must support each other.”
Difficult times.
At 6:47 PM, Divya’s phone vibrated. The name made her breath hitch.
Vikram.
