AnSh + Saanchi SS: FOR BHAI & BHABHI:PART 3 Pg 4 - Page 2

Shiv Raj Shekhar stood in the doorway of his living room gazing at the scene ahead with a look of fury on his face. That idiotic Rohan Malik was sitting right beside his petite, demure wife and she was laughing at something he had said. Why was he here? Who had invited him? What for? Was it not enough that he had splashed the entire dramatic saga of Shiv's life all over the media, that now he was here trying to get into the good books of his innocent wife? This man was at it again. Harassing the most trusting person in the world; trying to get some inside scoop for some reality TV series he wanted to spin off the whole "Love story of the Century" spectacle he had made.

And then out of nowhere, his sister appeared with Nathu, who was carrying a tray laden with kachoris, jalebis, samosas and all sorts of fatty snacks for this man. Shiv sighed deeply with annoyance and walked into the living room, where he glared at Rohan who was happily biting into a kachori and looking up at Shiv with a smirk on his face.

'Anandi! Saanchi! I need to speak to both of you in my study as soon as you have a free moment', Shiv said as he strode back into his study banging the door shut behind him.

Saanchi sighed at her brother as he retreated back into the study, and stopped her bhabhi from getting up.

'I'll go and see what bhai wants, don't worry' she said as she walked towards him with a meek, shy expression on her face. Her eyes swam with ready tears, and no one could possibly have believed these eyes could, and had, burnt a man with one glance every day for the past few months.

'Bhai' the small mouse like squeak that emerged was quickly stifled, and after a few deep breaths, Saanchi tried again.

'Bhai, Rohan came to see me and bhabhi, and he brought us snacks. He knows how much bhabhi loves all those samosas and kachoris and tikkis, so he brought them for her', and as she said it she noticed her brother's expression soften and he walked towards her and held her hand in his large one.

'Saanchi tell me what that man wants, Is he blackmailing you? Does he want another story from us? Did he involve Anandi in this too?'

Shiv now saw what he thought was the true picture. He wanted to rip something, to break something, to commit murder. The very thought of his sweet little sister, his angelic little sister, the pure, pious lodestone of all that was good, the thought of her spending time with that devil, forced to lie, forced to have an affair with that man, all to protect her bhai and bhabhi's privacy and happiness, all so her bhai and bhabhi could be free from NDTV's innuendos.

No! Saanchi would tell him what Rohan was doing here, and if he had made any advances towards her and Shiv would kill him and make everything alright again. His poor gullible sister had been lied to, cheated and left alone and broken hearted once before and he was not about to let it happen again.

His harsh breathing was the only sound in the silent room. Saanchi had immediately understood what Shiv was trying to say. She was horrified by his words, by the hatred and bitter mistrust towards Rohan that were behind his thoughts, but she couldn't help but understand the fear and concern, too. Concern for her, the little sister that she was for him; the underlying fear of losing the only two people he had left. The fear that an outsider would come into their midst again and take away everything he held dear, all he had left. It was her older brother's insecurity and fear that she saw.

Saanchi stayed silent as she struggled to come up with a plan, with anything to get her out of this mess --- she did not know how to deal with this right now, what to say, what to reveal, and what to hide. She was frozen, knowing her brother was horribly, deeply wrong, and still unable to tell him the truth.

What could she say that would make Bhai believe her? That she was having an affair with the nosy reporter who would go to any extent for his network's TRPs? Shiv would not believe it. He would dig, convinced she was hiding some horrible bargain she had been forced into making. And since it was a question of her safety and happiness, he would be ruthless, and he would be thorough. In the process, he would find out everything and it would not take very long for him to know. Know she was the source. Know she was the one to splash his personal life all over the media. Know that she had always known what a monster Jagdish had been and had ignored that, turned a blind eye. Know that she was the reason behind the fact that their family was gone.

She would die before she would let him find out, she would lose him, and lose his respect, his love, his trust in her--everything. She would die. But the alternative was disgusting---to let things go on like this, was to accuse Rohan Malik, the most incredible, honorable, complicated man she had ever met---of being little better than a monster.

She did not want Rohan accused of a crime he did not commit, of coercing her into an affair. She did not want bhai to believe this because if he did, he would not forgive Rohan and set out to and perhaps even succeed in ruining him. Her brother was a powerful man; one of India's richest and most influential industrialists. He had power. He would destroy Rohan, and rain such hellfire onto him for daring to hurt and use his beloved sister, that Rohan would never recover from Shiv's attack. He would lose everything. Socially. Professionally. Personally. He would be back in Ludhiana overnight.

What the hell could she do? Saanchi tood, her head bent, and knew that Shiv was waiting for her answer. And right now, she had none to give him.

Rock, meet hard place.

The laugh echoed outside the study as Anandi walked into her husband's study with Rohan in tow. Shiv glared at him again, knowing that his sweet, adorable little wife was probably ready to adopt and make a family member out of this journalist.

As he walked in Rohan spoke in that irritating manner that Shiv had grown accustomed to off late,

' Charming Mr Shekhar! I should do a reality series on you..to think that you are a student of every bad masala Bollywood movie where the villain is out to get the heroine's izzat for her parivaar ki suraksha. What do you take me to be? Vinod Mehra? For such a shrewd, intelligent business you are quite the nutcase. My TRPs would soar even further. All of Delhi would be so interested in knowing how the handsome young tycoon, so in love with his wife comes up with such stupid, judgemental scenarios.'

Rohan stood by the door, in his Armani suit smirking at Shiv as Anandi held Shiv's hand and shook her head at him, trying to stop him from walking towards Rohan and slapping him.

'This is a private conversation Mr Malik', Saanchi's voice was cold and formal and Rohan raised a brow at her tone. There were icicles dripping off the soft voice, but by now, Rohan knew the manipulative woman who owned his heart. He knew it when she said one thing and meant another---and he did not mistake the tone or the words for anything more than what they were---a subtle warning.

So Saanchi had not been able to make herself reveal their relationship to Shiv, then. She would not tell the man in her life about the new man in her life. She would not risk her old relationship for her new one. Not yet. A momentary spasm of pain and jealousy grabbed Rohan, and was just as quickly suppressed. It was not for him to reveal what the sister and the brother had to deal with by themselves. He had sworn to protect their secret, at any cost, and he would.

Rohan had been a little hurt as he had caught on to what Shiv thought he was doing with his little sister. He had wanted Saanchi to speak up then, defend him, because what he was being accused of was pretty low, pretty disgusting. But she had not spoken up and corrected her brother, and, of course, he knew exactly why.

His cold, callous ice-cube of a woman was stuck. She was not able to deny her brother's accusation nor tell him the truth. He wished she could tell her bhai that they had been meeting secretly for months, had been enjoying each other's company, and enjoying a lot more than coffees and conversations during those meetings. Whatever it was that they had between them---something sensual, respectful, loving, passionate...was something that had started ever since they had met each other. Something that had started much before 'Love Story of the Century' had knitted Anandi and Shiv's lives back together and sent Jagdish where he rightfully belonged. In Jail.

He wanted Saanchi to tell Shiv that Rohan was hers; her man, lover, friend.

Rohan watched Saanchi's eyes. She pleading wordlessly for his silence about their relationship, beseeching him for help. She had been refusing him on every count. He wanted a partnership with her, he wanted a relationship out of the shadows. He wanted trust along with the desire, love along with the friendship. But, in every way she could, ever since she had also given in to the heat that blazed between them, Saanchi Shekhar was keeping Rphan hidden and herself aloof.

Rohan knew what that Jagdish had done to make them all this wary. But he was a man, and a tough, hard-hearted, stubborn one at that. He was pretty clear on what he wanted from her, and he was an honorable man. He had wanted her for so long; wanted to make her his; to tell her how beautiful she was; to ask her brother for her hand in marriage.

He would therefore help her, and speak to her brother and extract some fun out of it while he was at it.

He was Rohan Malik after all.

'It stopped being private when your bade bhaiyya accused me of attacking you' and being the dramebaaz that he was, Rohan fixed a look of pious indignation onto his face. Now, abruptly, instead of looking positively wicked, he looked wounded and betrayed, as much as it was possible for a six foot-two predator in Armani to look wounded and betrayed.

Not knowing how mischievous and devious the journalist in front of him truly was Shiv looked on, now confused by the expression of outraged virtue that he was seeing on Rohan 's face. Rohan looked mad, and hurt, and not a little disappointed by Saanchi--not one of which were expressions that should be on the face of a man who had been caught blackmailing an innocent woman. And trying to make way into his gullible Anandi's heart. Shiv was mystified.

" This has truly hurt me, Ms Shekhar. I came here, like a nice shareef man, to make you a job offer---an offer I have been extending to you for weeks now. I came to meet your sweet bhabhi and brought you snacks. Who brings tikki and samosas for their blackmail victims Ms Shekhar? What am I, a gavaar from the village who brings a light snack for his assault victims?

Tell him how I made you a job offer. How I wanted you as a lawyer for my firm to pull me out of a specifically difficult situation. Tell him! Tell him how I thought you would fit the bill. Tell him! I need someone who won't be bought, who won't be influenced politically, and who is well-connected herself, so she won't face any undue pressure or threats-and you Saanchi are perfect. I had no other choice so I came to ask. Your bhabhi was so hospitable towards me, and you? This is what you do to guests?"

Apparently overwhelmed by his feelings, by the wiles of a cruel, sexy woman, Rohan turned away from the silent Shekhars, his shoulders shaking.

And as Shiv looked at him and the nautanki performed In his study, he thought fondly of the brother he had lost that would have enacted a scene just like this.