Page 54 of Reckless Dare

“Stop it!” she said angrily. “I hate you. And I hate how you almost made me quit on my dream. Don’t ever come near me or talk to me again.”

With that outburst, she strode away angrily.

How dare he!

She didn’t know what he was up to. But the sudden turn in his attitude and him announcing that he liked her was definitely a prelude to another round of torture.

“Is everything all right?” Neeraj asked with a frown.

Her face was flushed and she was sure she couldn’t hide her anger.

“Yes,” she replied. This time, she sat right next to Neeraj, facing away from her tormentor.

But even when she could no longer see him, she could still feel his burning gaze on her back.

She knew whatever game her tormentor was playing, it was just the beginning.

CHAPTER 16

It was a Monday afternoon, and Ava rushed out of her class to go towards the performance and arts building. She had finally managed to enroll into a drama club. After giving an audition to a role that interested her the most, she was excited when she was chosen as the female lead for the play.

Like everything else in Simha, the person who was going to direct the play was one of the best. He was an award winning movie director known for his popular, intense dramas that were commercial hits as well as critically acclaimed. Ava felt nervous and excited to be working with such a talented director.

I hope I don’t mess up.

Although she had participated in many plays during her school days, it wasn’t on such a grand scale or with a professional director. She hoped she was able to do justice for having been chosen as the female lead.

She reached ten minutes early to change out of her uniform into what her role required. But even as she got ready and assembled along with the rest of the cast, she noticed that the male lead who got selected opposite her was missing.

I hope the guy doesn’t get into trouble.

She had met the guy a few times during the auditions when they were both short listed for the lead roles. The guy was sweet and pleasant when they read out a few opening scenes from the drama script. She hoped to have a good time working along with him.

The energy in the room changed when the director swept in. He was a middle-aged man who had a surprisingly friendly down-to-earth smile and demeanor despite being a famous director.

“Good afternoon, team,” he greeted. “Looks like everyone is here, except for our male lead” The man looked towards Ava. “Our male lead has decided to drop out of the cast for personal reasons.”

Ava was shocked.

“I was disappointed at first,” the director continued. “But I guess things turned out well at the end.”

Ava wondered what the director meant by that.

“The change in the lead role would have set us back quite a bit, but we were lucky to find a replacement on time. This new male lead has acting talent in his blood. He is the grandson of a renowned award winning actress who has acted in over two hundred movies, some of which inspired me to choose movie direction as my profession”

Ava wondered about the replacement the director was referring to. If the male lead was so good, she wondered if she would be able to match up to the skill.

“So my dear girls and boys, please welcome…” The director swept a dramatic hand towards the back of the assembled cast.

Ava turned and craned her neck, searching at the back, only to be shell-shocked.

“Abhiram Simha will be our new male lead.”

There were shocked gasps along with excited squeals from a few girls.

Oh my God!

Ava froze in shock as the room broke into a loud clamor. Cheers rang in her ears as she processed what it meant for her tormentor to be the male lead opposite her.

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