OS: Closer to her heart

Dedicated to the sole hero of the show Anuj Kapadia

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He slowed down as he neared the shah house. The house of doom, which kept his love locked for 26 years, is now decked up in all its glory for the fairy tale wedding of Anupama. The mere thought of her made his heart skip a beat. He shook his head to shake off the memories of their Engagement. Her smile, her excitement, nervous anticipation, and a thousand other shades of emotions that he witnessed during their Engagement were etched in his memory forever. He hardened his heart and whispered to himself.

Come on Anuj, You have to do it! For her! For her!

He entered the chaotic living room of Shah house and stood there a moment to absorb the liveliness of the room. Samar and Pakhi, as usual fighting over something silly. Toshu, sitting down and talking to the wedding venue guys over the phone. He felt grateful that Toshu accepted their relationship so wholeheartedly. Anuj's eyes did not miss the way his hands absentmindedly massaged Kinjals feet, relaxing on the sofa with her feet up. Kinjal has been going all out to make her Mummy's Engagement memorable. Anuj made a mental note to talk to Kinjal to take care of herself. Kavya and Ba, as usual, bickering over something. Dolly ben and Sanjay are talking in the kitchen, and Mamaji lazily wandered towards the kitchen, humming some old song. Mr. Vanraj shah, sitting on the dining table fidgeting with the salt shaker and giving daggers to Anupama every now and then, did bring a smile to Anuj's face. It's amusing to see such a complex human, Anuj sniggered, forgetting all his worries for a moment.

His eyes finally landed on his heartbeat. Anu sat on the sofa near Kinjal and was oblivious to the chaos around her room. She held a needle in one handle and cloth in one hand. Anuj longingly looked at the cloth she held; it was his handkerchief! His heart started beating a notch higher. He gave his handkerchief to Anu during the engagement ceremony to wipe off the smeared kajal. She never gave it back, and now he knew why! Anu was stitching an 'A' in the handkerchief. 'A & A' . Even amongst all this chaos, she kept him in her heart.

And I am going to break that heart... He closed his eyes in an effort to make his pain go away.

He spotted the one person he wanted to talk to. Bapuji, Anu's Bapuji, who sat apart from the crowd in a chair, lost in his own thoughts.

"Babuji,"

Anuj addressed him as he touched his feet. The whole room fell silent. No one noticed him, and everyone was surprised to see him returning to Shah's house after the engagement party.

"What happened, beta?" Anuj gave him a hand to help Babuji stand up. "All well?"

An anxious Babuji asked in his feeble voice. Anuj could see Anu standing up equally anxious. He knew she would guess that something was wrong. Anuj took a longer look at Anupama, and her expression changed into a panic. She could see the storm raging inside his calm demeanor. She would know her Anuj; he knew She would understand him too.

"Let's postpone the wedding, Babuji". Anuj, never the one to mince his words, came directly to the topic.

"What!"

Ba's enthusiastic voice echoed in the hall first, followed by hoos and haas of each Shah household member expressing their shock at the sudden change of events. Not from Anupama. She would always know her Anuj!

Babuji looked at the folder Anuj was holding and realized immediately what Anuj was up to. The medical folder he gave to GK for safekeeping, the same folder which has the detailed description of his heart condition and surgery details, is in Anuj's hand. He swore to give a piece of his mind to GK Kakka the next day.

That budhaa could not even keep this secret!

As if mind-reading Babuji, Anuj said.

"No, It's not GK Kakka who gave me this. Mukku found this in his cupboard, and she has had a habit of inspecting others' things since childhood. So don't blame him."

He paused for a moment, picking up his words carefully and raising his voice level to sound authoritative. Just the way he does with his employees when he has to reprimand them.

"Babuji, I don't think what you have done is correct. I understand why you have done it, but that does not make it right. With all due respect, Let me tell you this. You should not have done this, not to Anu, not to your family, not to us."

Vanraj got up, pushing back his chair, which fell down with a thud.

"HOW DARE...HOW DARE YOU TALK TO MY FATHER..."

Anuj raised a hand in Vanraj's direction without even looking at it, and Vanraj stopped.

"Not today Vanraj...."

Anuj's steely voice has a tinge of exasperation, and Vanraj did not move further. His gaze never wavered from Babuji, who was looking down. Anu ran to Babuji's side.

"Babuji, what happened?"

Anuj took a deep breath and gave a reluctant smile.

"Beta....No"

Babuji gave him a pleading look, and he ignored it. Anuj moved forward and gave Babuji a warm hug, A man who would sacrifice his life for his Anu. How can he pretend to be angry with this pure soul!!!

"Babuji, how can you ever think that Shaadi is more important to Anu than you!? Don't you know your daughter? Don't you know how hurt she will be if she knows you have hidden this from her? I am canceling the wedding as of now."

He took a moment to pause and assess the mood in the room before breaking the news. Ba's obvious smirks, Vanraj's creepy smiles, and kavya's giggles stood out among the otherwise shocked expressions.

He kept a hand on Anu's shoulder and gently pulled her closer to him. At that moment, he did not care what others thought about their proximity. He wanted to be there for her when she heard the news.

"Anu, Babuji has been ill for a few days, so he and GK Kakka met the Doctor today. Babuji has a heart condition and needs bypass surgery urgently. He is fine now; Doctor has given him some medication and advised rest. I spoke to the Doctor an hour back when I found out about this. He is a friend of mine, and I have reserved a slot tomorrow and another one day after tomorrow. We can pick one for the surgery. It's all taken care of."

"What!" Vanraj barked and came running towards Anuj.

"Who are you to handle all these? I love my Babuji and I should be handling this! How dare...." His voice trailed off.

Anuj could see the hurt and fear of losing his dad that's under the veneer of Vanraj's anger. He understood!

"Calm down, Vanraj! It's not my choice to hide this from you. Whatever I did, I did it for Anu's Babuji. I have brought all the documents for you. Please take a look at it. These are the reports that Babuji gave GK for safekeeping. I have talked to the best Doctor in the City, and they have the most modern facilities. Surgery will be fine. But ultimately, its yours and Babuji's decision"

Never leaving his hand from Anupama's shoulder, He handed over the files to Vanraj and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"I am with you. Don't worry man..." Anuj meant it. He knew the pain of losing a parent and would never wish that on anyone. Vanraj nodded blankly.

The whole family converged over Babuji, who literally became the eye of the storm now. Anuj's heart warmed at seeing the "toxic shah family," as GK fondly calls them, shower their love and care on Babuji. Ba's hollering echoed in the hall, and it was louder than her Badua screams. Karma comes round always. All the while, he held his hand over Anu's shoulder. Anu looked at Babuji keenly with a hurt look, and her guilt-ridden tears never stopped.

As if sensing his gaze Anu turned to face him. The moment their eyes met, she whimpered and hugged him tightly. His arms welcomed her, and she was home. He waited patiently till her sobs passed, felt her every tear in his chest, absorbed her every whimper. He was home too. With her in his arms, he was home. Nobody bothered to look at them, and he did not care either. She pulled herself back once she composed herself. He nodded at her, and she nodded back. He wiped off her tears.

Anu went to Babuji, and Anuj stood there for a few more minutes witnessing the painful and loving confrontation between Anupama and her Babuji. She might be hurt, not because of the cancellation of the wedding because Babuji did not share it with her. He thanked Khanaji for making Mukku find the medical file. Anu would have never forgiven herself if something happened to Babuji.

Anuj, You are an outsider, buddy. Give them some privacy

His inner voice murmured, and he reluctantly agreed. He would have loved to spend a few more minutes with Anu. But he knew it was not the time.

Patience Anuj, Patience. Thats what you have abundantly.

He turned to step out of the living room, and a soothing voice of Kinjal stopped him.

"Anuj ji...." Kinjal and Samar stood behind him. Anuj was taken by surprise when Samar gave him a bear hug. He hugged him back, slowly patting his back.

"Don't worry, buddy; Babuji will be alright." Samar's sobs reminded him how Anupama and Samar have the same temperament, making him hug Samar tighter.

"Don't worry Babuji will be fine; I will talk to the doctor."

"You too, don't worry, Anuj Ji. No matter what, we will make sure that this wedding happens. We swear on Khanaji that You and mom will have a fairy tale wedding. Thank you for sacrificing your happiness for Babuji and us. You and mummy are made for each other. " Tears welled up in Kinjals eyes.

Anuj could now see how Anu and Kinjal bonded so well. Both Anupama and Kinjal are pure souls who see and feel others' grief.

"Anuj, I can not tell you how happy I am. Mummy got a partner like you, who puts her above everything else. Thank you," Samar's voice choked as he broke out from the hug.

"Come on, buddy...Cheer up. Take care of Babuji and Anu. I will come tomorrow."

Anuj left the shah house, leaving a bunch of good and bad people to fret, taunt, cry and agonize over Babuji's heart disease. The cancellation of a wedding would be the least of anyone's worries right now. But his heart broke at the mere thought of it. The only thing he ever wanted! The only thing he ever dared to dream off. Despite the piercing pain in his heart, he knew he did the right thing, did the right thing for her. He is far from her but a lot closer in her heart, and that's what matters.