THE CAPTAIN'S CATCH
CHAPTER 1
The air inside the Wankhede Stadium press briefing room was thick with the scent of cheap air freshener and expensive panic.
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
(aggressively messaging ber temples)
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
*is it too late to fake my death and settle in the Himalayas?*
"...unprecedented scenes tonight at the stadium. Mumbai Mavericks captain Kabir Malhotra has once again proven why he is called the Ice King-though tonight, the ice cracked completely. A brutal post-match physical altercation with Delhi Titans captain Devansh Kapoor has left fans shocked and the board scrambling for answers..."
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
....Shut it off...
VIKRAM (ML's PA)
👈🏻 long suffering PA
VIKRAM (ML's PA)
(scramble quickly to take the remote and turn the TV off)
VIKRAM (ML's PA)
Ananya, the board is on line one, Puma is threatening to pull their multi-crore endorsement on line two, and his Dadi has already called three times. What do we do?....
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
(stood up, straightening the blazer of her sharp emerald-green pantsuit)
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
What we do?.....
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
....is to confront the beast...
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
(marched down the concrete corridors of the stadium and pushed the heavy door open and stepped inside.)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
(sitting on the edge of a training table, unstrapping his batting pads with brutal, deliberate jerks)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
👈🏻 yet to freshen up after the match
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
Get out Vikram...
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
Vikram isn't here...
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
(close the door behind her)
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
Just the woman whose weekend you completely ruined
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
(head snapped up)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
(clench his jaw)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
I'm not in the mood for a PR lecture, Ananya.
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
Oh, you think this is a lecture
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
Kabir, you didn't just break the code of conduct tonight. You threw a punch on live national television! To Devansh Kapoor! Do you know what the top trending topic on Twitter is right now? #BanMalhotra!!
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
(swing his legs off the table and stand up)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
(towering over her)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
He spoke about my family....
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
He crossed a line. I don't care about the cameras, and I don't care about the brand deals. I'd hit him again...
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
Well, congratulations, hero, because that punch just cost your family's franchise fifty crores in stock value in the last twenty minutes
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
Your father is furious. Your Dadi's blood pressure is probably skyrocketing. And the board is currently drafting a suspension letter
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
(slacked a little)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
(turned around and threw his gloves violently at his bag)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
Fix it then...(mumble)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
This is what I pay you for....
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
I can fix a bad interview, Kabir. I can fix a leaked video of you partying...
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
I cannot fix a public assault when you already have a reputation for being an arrogant, unhinged lone wolf. The media doesn't see a protector. They see a spoiled brat who thinks he's above the law....
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
(turn to her and lean closer)
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
(gulp)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
I am the captain of this team. I don't need the media to like me. I need them to watch me win....
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
(whisper back harshly)
They won't be watching you win if you're banned from the season
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
(going to reply but stop)
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
(look at the door)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
(look at the door)
AUTHOR
it's my novel in the chat story form
AUTHOR
Here, the chat story is more famous than novels so i am writing it
AUTHOR
I hope you all will like it
AUTHOR
See ya in the next episode
CHAPTER 2
A voice: oh thank God you both are here..
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
Zayn....get out...
Zayn Malik (ML's teammate)
(grinning mischievously)
Zayn Malik (ML's teammate)
👈🏻 sweaty and drity after the match and in the jersey
Zayn Malik (ML's teammate)
Can't do that, skipper. The matriarch has arrived~~
Zayn Malik (ML's teammate)
(salute cheerfully)
Zayn Malik (ML's teammate)
And she looks like she's about to execute someone. Good luck~~
Zayn vanished just as quickly as he appeared, replacing himself with a figure that made both Kabir and Ananya instantly straighten their posture.
Kiran Malhotra-known to the country as Dadi-stepped into the room. She was draped in a flawless, stiff white Chanderi saree, her silver hair styled into a perfect bun. She held a cane with a silver handle, though she clearly didn't need it to walk. She possessed the kind of quiet, terrifying authority that could silence a stadium of eighty thousand people with a single glance.
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
D...Dadi...
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
I..i can explain
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
(raised a single, manicured finger)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
(shut his mouth instantly)
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
(look at ananya)
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
disheveled hair, fiery posture and determined look👉🏻
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
....Ananya beta...
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
Is my grandson's career salvageable?
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
(take a deep breath)
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
It will take a miracle, Malhotra ji. We need something massive to shift the narrative. Something that proves Kabir isn't an unstable liability, but a responsible, mature man who is ready to take accountability....
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
(tap her cane on the floor slowly)
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
...... Excellent...I have a solution then
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
The board will not suspend a man who is actively reforming his life. And the public loves nothing more than a reformed bad boy....
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
(frown and slowly paling)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
What are you talking about Dadi?....
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
(smile elegantly)
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
(look at ananya)
You...are.... going to marry him
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
(blink in confusion)
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
I'm sorry, I think the stadium acoustics are bad. It sounded like you said----
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
You heard me beta....
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
A six-month engagement. A public, high-profile relationship to soften his image. You will teach him how to behave, and he will show the world he is settling down. It fixes the PR nightmare, and it satisfies my desire to see him married....
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
ARE YOU INSANE? (erupts angrily)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
Dadi, she's my PR manager! She spends half her time yelling at me, and I spend the other half wishing she worked for another team!
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
I am not marrying him!
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
😨😨😨
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
With all due respect, Malhotra ji, he is arrogant, emotionally unavailable, and a walking HR violation! I would rather manage a team of toddlers!
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
(look at them and grin)
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
You both have exactly twenty-four hours to accept the terms
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
If you refuse, Kabir, your father will strip you of the captaincy by tomorrow evening. And Ananya, beta... I hear your father's sweet shop expansion in Delhi is looking for a major investor. It would be a shame if the Malhotra Group had to pull their funding.
With that final, devastating mic-drop, the matriarch walked out, leaving the door wide open.
Ananya stood frozen, the breath knocked completely out of her. Her father's dream business. The Malhotras held the keys to it.
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
(slowly look at kabir)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
(already staring at her soul angrily)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
Don't look at me like this😠😠
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
I didn't plan this 😡
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
(ragged, hysterical laugh)
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
(cover her face with her palms)
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
Welcome to the team, Captain (muttered into her palms)
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
We are officially screwed.....
AUTHOR
GRUMPY CRICKETER X PR MANAGER
AUTHOR
It is the troupe though
CHAPTER 3
The Malhotra mansion in Malabar Hill did not look like a home; it looked like a fortress constructed entirely of imported Italian marble, bulletproof glass, and generational wealth.
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
(sitting on the edge of a velvet wingback chair in the grand study)
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
(holding the tea cup tightly to mask her nervousness)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
(laying on the couch while staring at the ceiling)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
(dark oppressive aura)
Zayn Malik (ML's teammate)
(enter the study room)
Zayn Malik (ML's teammate)
The silence in this room is highly dramatic~~
Zayn Malik (ML's teammate)
(eating chocolate chip cookies which he has stolen from the kitchen)
Zayn Malik (ML's teammate)
(walk past kabir and offer one cookie to Ananya)
Zayn Malik (ML's teammate)
Cookie, partner? It might be your last meal before you become a Malhotra. Trust me, the family dinners are brutal? (chuckles)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
Zayn...(growls)
(continue staring at the ceiling)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
If you don't shut up, I'm going to make sure Coach runs you through five consecutive beep tests tomorrow morning......
Zayn Malik (ML's teammate)
(held up his hands in mock defeat, sinking into an adjacent armchair)
Zayn Malik (ML's teammate)
Just trying to lighten the mood, skipper. The media outside your gates looks like a scene from a zombie apocalypse. They're practically foaming at the mouth~~
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
They aren't the only ones (mumbles)
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
👉🏻Her inbox was a graveyard of unread emails from furious brand managers
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has called an emergency meeting for tomorrow at noon. If we don't present a united front-and a massive counter-narrative-by 11:00 AM, the suspension is a done deal, Kabir....
Before Kabir could reply, the heavy double doors of the study swung open.
Kiran Malhotra walked in, followed closely by Vikram, who was carrying a thick, leather-bound legal folder. Dadi's white silk saree rustled softly against the floor as she took her seat behind the massive mahogany desk. The air in the room instantly shifted.
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
Vikram....
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
Read the terms...
Vikram swallowed hard, adjusting his glasses. He looked at Ananya with an expression that begged for forgiveness
VIKRAM (ML's PA)
Right. As per the directive of Mrs. Kiran Malhotra, the proposed contractual relationship between Mr. Kabir Malhotra and Miss Ananya Sharma will operate under the following parameters.....
VIKRAM (ML's PA)
Clause One: The duration of the fake engagement will be exactly six months, culminating in a mutual, amicable 'split' due to demanding career schedules
VIKRAM (ML's PA)
Clause Two: Miss Sharma will relocate to Mr. Malhotra's penthouse in Lower Parel to maintain the validity of the arrangement for the paparazzi. Separate bedrooms will, of course, be maintained
VIKRAM (ML's PA)
Clause Three: Mr. Malhotra will issue a formal, televised public apology written entirely by Miss Sharma, attributing his recent on-field behavior to 'personal stress regarding his upcoming commitment to his long-time family friend
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
(after reading all the clauses and the terms)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
Long time family friend? (scoff and laugh mockingly)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
(look at his dadi)
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
Dadi, I met her exactly seven months ago when she yelled at me for throwing a water bottle at a journalist. We aren't friends. We barely tolerate each other....
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
The public does not care about the time lines, Kabir....
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
(sip her tea)
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
They care about a story. A wild, untamed bachelor being brought to his knees by a respectable, intelligent woman? It is a narrative as old as time, and it works every single time.....
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
....And...what about my family?
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
(nervous)
ANANYA MALHOTRA (FL)(PR)
You had mentioned my father's business...
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
(look at Ananya with a soft, gentle and warm expression)
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
The Malhotra Group will officially approve a fifty-crore expansion fund for Sharma Sweets Delhi. The first installment will be wired to your father's account the moment the press release goes live tomorrow morning. If you walk away before the six months are up, the funding is retracted....
Ananya felt the breath leave her lungs. Fifty crores. It wasn't just an expansion; it was life-changing wealth. It meant her father could finally stop working sixteen-hour days in the scorching heat of Chandni Chowk. It meant her brother's college education was entirely secure.
It also meant she was selling her soul to a man who looked like he wanted to throw her out of a moving vehicle.
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
You are blackmailing us....
KABIR MALHOTRA (ML)
(voice dropping into a dangerous, low register)
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
I am saving your legacy....(eyes flashing with a sudden, iron-hard intensity that mirrored Kabir's own temper)
KIRAN MALHOTRA (ML's Grandma)
Your father gave his life to this franchise, Kabir. I will not watch you flush it down the toilet because you cannot control your fists. You will sign this contract, or you will watch the board hand your captaincy over to Devansh Kapoor by tomorrow afternoon....
The mention of Devansh's name was like gasoline on an open flame. Kabir's jaw clenched so hard a muscle violently ticked. The rivalry between them wasn't just professional; it was deeply, bitterly personal. The thought of Devansh lifting the championship trophy while wearing Kabir's captaincy armband was a humiliation he couldn't survive.
Silence descended upon the room, heavy and suffocating.
AUTHOR
Please guys, read 🙏🏻😭
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