Chapter 13: A Routine Romantic evening Rendezvous followed by a Restful night's sleep that was broken by a chilling midnight Revelation and ended with the dawn of very heartfelt Remorse and Regrets
With dinner and the dining room cleared the older Oberoi's retired to bed but not before Pinky Aunty apologized for the morning episode and received a nod and smile from Annika as acceptance.
The group of younger ones leisurely retired to the poolside for their nightly 'post dinner rendezvous' minus Tia, who always seem to have her beauty regime and Reiki to complete before she want to bed. Not that anyone really cared for her presence in this 'holy round table' of the Oberoi Mansion knights as they called it jokingly.
This had become an unspoken ritual 3 days after Shivvay had married Annika and had started quite by accident, just like all the other rituals Annika brought with just her presence at the house.
It was the evening after the "pag phere rasam" when Shivvay had handed Annika the divorce papers gift wrapped and had made her homeless in one day.A shattered Annika sat that evening by the poolside lamenting her fate.
It was Saumya and Prinku who had come looking for Annika to check on her with Sahil who had been worried for his sister. They had been told by Shivvay that they would find her by the poolside and once they had found her had sat down to console and comfort her. A few minutes later they were surprised to see Om and Rudra who had gone to her room to do the same and had been directed to the poolside by Shivvay.
The biggest shock came when they saw Shivvay walk in about half an hour later with warm kullad chai's for the gang and 2 tall glasses of warm almond milk. The almond milk glasses were for Annika and Sahil and he asked if someone could please convince her to take her medicine to keep the fever down and drink the milk.
Annika refused to take the milk from Shivvay till Sahil grudgingly took the glass of milk and medicine from his hand, put the medicine in her mouth and fed her the milk. He knew she would never refuse him and he, and for his part, he would not see his Didi weakened by someone who had hurt her so much. He told her that they had a long and hard journey ahead and she needed her strength. He would never leave her and that is all she needed to remember. The whole scene was so adorable that DevRu had been moved to tears and had taken a picture of it to put it on Sahil's phone.
After that it became a regular evening rendezvous for the younger ones to gather by the poolside with Annika and surprisingly they would find Shivvay already there in a far distant corner working on his laptop while the gang would be chilling out around the pool. He had made sure from the next day that Sunaina did this one last task before she left for the night and he knew she would happily comply with this order. She would make sure the kullad chai's, munchies and two glasses of almond milk with Annika's and Sahil's vitamins were place before the gang before she said her goodnight' to Annika Di.
As days passed it was Sahil who had walked up to him one day and had asked him to join them as he was the referee and the boys' team was short one for the game. Sahil and Rudra had spent all afternoon preparing a strong argument and case to convince Shivvay in case he refused but to their surprise he calmly shut his laptop and walked over with Sahil to join the gang. With Sahil gone off to boarding school now it was one less gang member but Shivvay stayed on to make up for his loss. Rudra always teased Shivvay for being his salle saheb's' stand in till he came back.
After that he would always be the first there to set the poolside up for the rest of the gang since it was just outside his room. He would place the comfortable floor cushions in a lazy circle around the set of tall and stained glass storm lanterns (in case of a power outage since he knew Annika's fear of the dark) and make sure that there were enough warm shawls to wrap themselves with as the evenings got cooler. He always took his seat beside Annika and that was an unspoken understanding between all the others in the gang.
The group sauntered in just as Shivvay was dimming the lights by the pool and he shot me an annoyed look when my phone went off. I had forgotten to change it to silent mode before I entered and that was an unspoken rule of the gang. No calls to be taken unless it was a life and death situation. I threw an apologetic look at all and Om smiled and indicated for me to take it.
I looked at the screen and whispered, "Daksh??!!", in a surprised voice. I saw Shivvay straighten up quickly, look in my direction and stiffen at that name.
"Take it Anni", Om encouraged comfortingly, "I am sure he just called to say his'goodbyes'."
"Hello Daksh?" I answered the phone hesitantly and walked over to the distant corner of the room while the rest took their seats, wrapped themselves in their shawls and started chatting. As I ended the conversation I stood very still looking out of the long glass pane window to the rose garden in the distance. A few minutes later I felt the hair at the back of my neck stand and I knew it was Shivvay standing just behind me.
"What did he want??!!" he commanded as he firmly grabbed my arm and gently spun me to face him.
My first instinct was to tell Shivvay it was none of his business but then I did not want to cause any more trouble between childhood friends than there already was and thought it better to tell Shivvay the truth.
I told him that Daksh tried repeatedly to convince me to change my mind and when I refused him again he said he wanted to meet me one last time before he left. Shivvay's grip tightened, jaw clenched and eyes hardened at that statement.
So, (I continued to Shivvay) I explained to Daksh that if he wanted to meet me it would have to be here with the family present till our divorce came through because that is how Dadi would wish it. I did not care if I was Mrs. Oberoi to the world or not, but I did care that I was the Bahu of this house in her eyes and I could never, in my good conscience, act otherwise.
Shivvay let out what sounded like a sigh of relief, relaxed and loosened his grip on my arm. Then to my immense surprise and embarrassment, he let it slide down my arm slowly to place his hand in mine and lead me to the group. I felt my whole arm tingle with that contact and felt the heat reach my cheeks. This was NOT typical Shivvay!!! My senses were on full alert now. What was this man up to??
As we slowly made our way to the gang he asked me how Daksh had reacted to that and I told him the truth that he was very angry and threatened that whether I agreed to or not he would keep trying to change my mind no matter how long it took or what he had to do he would make sure he succeeded.
Shivvay shook his head in a negative and assured me that would never happen because he would not let Daksh harass me. Today Dadi had spoken with him to make sure I would always be safe whether I was at the Oberoi Mansion or elsewhere and he had promised her that.
As we took our seat on the cushions and wrapped ourselves in the shawls, I watched as Shivvay chatted away with Om and Saumya as though nothing had happened. Gone was the man from this morning who had chased me, followed me and yelled at me.
He casually and calmly filled them in on Daksh's call and my response as well, as he sipped his kullad chai'. If I may dare to deduce by his behavior it could be said that the 'Bhagad Billa' was as pleased and happy as the cat that got the cream!
As we retired for the night I was in for another surprise. Shivvay actually 'retired for the night' instead of working on his laptop!!! Now that was a first since I had married him!
I looked at him with what I am sure was a shocked expression as I watched him lay down, pull the duvet over him and calmly turn away from me with a "Good night Mrs. Annika Singh Oberoi. Get a good nights rest because you have a long grueling day ahead of you tomorrow," and then switched off his night light and settled in to sleep.
Alright then!! I thought. Even in a thousand years I would never be able to decipher the thought process and the mind of Mr. Shivvay Singh Oberoi. It was as though he had miraculously found the secret cure to his insomnia today and was that a soft snore I heard??!!! I laughed softly as I thought, my.. my... the Bhagad Billa does purr when he is relaxed and satisfied...
I turned away with a smile and snuggled into the warmth as I surrendered myself to the beauty of sleep.
I felt like I had hardly slipped into a glorious deep slumber when I was rudely disturbed, by the man who had vowed it seemed to kill every peaceful thing I enjoyed in my life.
Through my sleep filled mind I heard Shivvay's soft voice call anxiously, "Annika... Annika.. wake up!" as he shook me gently by my shoulder, his face leaning over mine.
Could this man make up his mind already??!! I thought in sleepy annoyance. He says get a good night's rest and then proceeds to refute his own statement before the stroke of midnight. He was like the evil Godmother and bad witch rolled into one.
"Please go away Shivvay... stop hounding me in my dreams as well ... I promise to agree to do anything you ask me to if you let me sleep in peace", I complained as I pushed his hand and face away from me.
"Anything I say??!! ", asked an amused and intrigued Shivvay, "can I hold you to that??!!"
I heard a feminine giggle and wondered in my fuzzy sleepy head what had Sunaina put in the kullad chai' to make Mr. Bhagad Billa giggle like a girl??! I smiled at that amused thought and picture of a girly Bhagad Billa.
"Annika... did you say you would do anything I say?", pressed Shivvay with humor evident in his voice and his hand on my shoulder gently shaking me.
"Within the limits of social decency Mr. Oberoi", I said in serious annoyance at that remark and continued, "don't take advantage of a girl who is not fully awake. It is very ungentlemanly and un-Shivvay of you."
"Un-Shivvay??!!", I heard Saumya ask laughing as she spoke, "Annika Di is that even a word??!!"
"It is if Mrs. Annika Singh Oberoi has it in her Annika dictionary'", said Shivvay as he laughed softly as well.
"Don't worry Saumya", I continued sleepily, "I have a special section in my dictionary for words that apply only to the Kanji Akhoonwala Bhagad Billa and no one else."
I heard Saumya laugh hard at that and a very angry Shivvay reprimanding me that I stop calling him that. What a weird dream I was having I thought amused and what was Saumya doing in it? I thought puzzled.
Suddenly it registered through my sleep filled mind that that was no dream and I had spoken to Saumya and my eyes flew open. "Saumya", I said in alarm as I sat up with a start, eyes wide and cold fear clutching my heart as I looked at her and asked with a choked voice, "Is it Sahil??"
Shivvay immediately held my arms gently and in a clam soothing voice answered, "Annika calm down ... Sahil is fine ... this has nothing to do with him".
I turned to look into Shivvay's eyes to scan if he was lying and when he saw concern and worry at my reaction to Saumya being here he continued, "Saumya says she saw a figure outside her room and felt like there was someone out there. I asked her to wait in our room while I went to check but found no one there . I think she is shaken up though and I suggested that she should sleep here tonight while I sleep in her room just to make sure all is ok. Is that fine with you?"
"Sure it is!!", I said in a surprised but sleepy voice that he had to even ask such a thing, "remember I have slept with her before when it first happened?", I finished off with a suppressed yawn.
"You have??!!", asked Shivvay wearing a very puzzled and perplexed look, "when??!! As far as I know you never stayed back the night with Saumya at the Mansion leaving Sahil alone ever, even before we married??!!"
"Yes Bade Bhaiya she has at my request", smiled Saumya at me affectionately and then continued, "it was Daksh Bhaiya who cleverly suggested that I should call Annika Didi to sleep the night with me that day."
What happened next was scary and chilling as I noticeably saw Shivvay change from the worried looking one to the frightening one with his fist clenched in controlled anger. I took in a sharp breath and then stopped breathing in fear at the look on his face.
The reaction that Shivvay had to that sentence was hard for both, Saumya and me, to understand. He stood up with one sudden quick movement, eyes wide with rage and spun around to face Saumya who looked very frightened by this Shivvay she saw. The poor girl took a step back in fright and softly inquired, "Bade Bhaiya, did I say something wrong??"
Shivvay's face was still angry as he very calmly inquired with Saumya, "You say that this has happened before. I am surprised no one bothered to tell me this when it happened the first time."
"Bade Bhiya", answered Saumya twisting her hands uncomfortably and looking miserable, "we did not mention it because Daksh Bhaiya said that it was probably my imagination and not to bother you about it. He said that he did not see anyone inside or outside when he slept that night in my room. After that I have never experienced that again until tonight"
Shivvay closed his eyes as she said this and took in a deep breath as if to calm him down and at that point I was truly afraid what he was going to do. As Shivvay stood rigid, eyes closed and fists clenched, I slid off the bed and went to stand beside Saumya. The poor girl had never seen the many frightening 'Aavatar's' of her adored Bade Bhaiya the way I had and it would be better if I faced the wrath instead of her when he opened his third eye to burn her to ashes.
"Shivvay..", I whispered tentatively in a pleading voice and heard his breath catch sharply at me using his name, "it truly wasn't her fault. Daksh offered his room to us just like you are doing now while he offered to sleep in hers? Please explain to me how that can that be so wrong as to make you this angry?" I continued my voice soft and soothing as if calming a beast.
His eyes shot open at my soothing voice and I was surprised to see a deep blue instead of the grey flintstones I normally associated with his wrath. What was this man about??!! I though nonplussed. He was turning into a regular mystery and had been keeping me on my toes since dinner trying to figure him out??!!
I was certain I was going to be put behind bars one of these days guilty for murdering my own husband.
I could see the headlines right now in the front page of the Times - Business Tycoon, Shivvay Singh Oberoi, killed two weeks after his marriage by a very demented bride who claims she could not fathom what the colour of his eyes meant.
He un-clenched his fists and relaxed as his eyes held my pleading and puzzled ones in what felt like a caress and I could swear I stopped breathing. I had no idea how long we both stood like that till we heard a very worried sounding Saumya appeal, "So Bade Bahiya are you still angry with me for not telling you??, as she peeped from her place of safety behind me.
He broke the trance at her voice, looked at her and smiled his usual smile as he walked towards her and said reassuringly, "Angry??!! No... not at all... in fact I owe you a big thanks' for bringing this to my attention and making me aware of the intruder who managed to get into the Mansion in spite of the security we have. It would have to be someone who has a good run of this place of course, someone who is familiar with the security at the Mansion", and ended up standing face to face with me when he finished.
His deep blue eyes turned back to lock mine and wore another look I had never seen before and if was a betting woman I would say it was as close to a look of guilt and self-loathing as Shivvay could ever get to. He lifted his hand slowly and lightly ran a finger across my cheek as if making sure I was not a dream as I involuntarily closed my eyes at that action.
At that reaction he let out a small satisfied sigh and continued to speak to me more than Saumya, "You have my solemn word I will make sure that this intruder problem is fixed and will never bother you again. It has happened to you on my watch even though I had promised it never would. This is my mistake to fix and my wrongs to right. This time I will not let anything or anyone change my mind no matter what lengths I would need to go to. Nothing and I mean nothing will stop me this time from doing what I have to do."
And with that he walked out leaving a speechless Saumya and a very confused looking Mrs. Oberoi watching his back as he stepped out. Better get used to seeing yourself in jail clothes Annika, I thought, murder is on the agenda in the near future if Mr. Oberoi continues messing with your head at this rate.
Chapter 14 - page 40
Indian Idol 15
