Wings & Chains (Season 2) Chapter - 3

 

Chapter 3 – The Hunter’s Interest

The early morning light spilled through the glass walls of Varma Industries Tower, casting a pale gold glow across Aditya’s office. The city below was already awake — cars threading through the streets, tiny figures hurrying along the pavements.

Aditya wasn’t looking at any of it. He was staring at the laptop screen, the slideshow of photographs slowly shifting — all taken by Aarvi Kapoor.

Rain-washed mountain roads. Children laughing beside a dusty well in Rajasthan. A lioness stretching under the acacia trees. Every frame had the same unpolished intimacy — as if the moment had been allowed to live, rather than posed.

He could understand now why people paid for her work… but what he couldn’t understand was why she refused to anchor herself. No permanent gallery representation. No corporate partnerships. No sponsorships.
She floated from one project to the next like a leaf on the wind.

Later that afternoon, he made his move.

He found her not at a glitzy event this time, but in the narrow, sun-warmed lanes of Old Delhi, crouched beside a shop selling hand-painted kites. She was photographing an old man carefully tying a string to a crimson kite.

Her hair was tied up messily, camera strap across her shoulder, a faint smudge of color on her cheek. She didn’t notice him until the shot was taken.

“Following me now?” she asked, standing.

“Not following,” he said, his tone unhurried. “Finding.”

“That’s worse.”

“I think it’s better,” he countered. “Following implies you’re leading me somewhere. Finding means I’m choosing where I go.”

She crossed her arms. “Why are you here, Mr. Varma?”

“To offer you something you actually need.”

Dialogue

Aarvi: “And what’s that? Another business deal I’ll refuse?”
Aditya: “A chance to work without worrying about funding. No conditions, no ownership. Just support.”
Aarvi: “I don’t believe in no-strings-attached.”
Aditya: “Then believe in this — I’m not here to take your wings. I’m just offering wind.”

She studied him for a long moment, eyes narrowing slightly, as if testing the truth in his voice.

“What do you get out of it?”

“I get to see what you do next.”

For a fraction of a second, something flickered in her gaze — curiosity, maybe. Then it was gone. “I work alone,” she said, turning to leave.

But before she could take more than two steps, he added, “I’ll be at the Aurora Café tomorrow morning. If you change your mind.”

She didn’t answer, but she didn’t say no this time either.

Inner thought – Aditya
You don’t catch a hawk by chasing it. You wait… and you make the waiting worth its while.

The next morning, he sat at the corner table of Aurora Café, the steam from his coffee curling lazily into the sunlight. And just when he thought she wouldn’t come — when the clock on the wall ticked past the thirty-minute mark — the bell over the door chimed.

Aarvi walked in, camera bag slung over her shoulder, eyes scanning the room until they found him.

She didn’t smile. But she walked over.

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