FF:Destiny's Children (Pgs 1 to 5) Also ck Pg 84 - Page 4

XLV

Three weeks later

When she approached the children, they turned around and looked at her mountainous stomach curiously. As her babies had stretched their legs out in one direction, there was an obvious bulge on one side of her abdomen. Seeing that, Guddi stood on her toes and reaching up to her stomach, she gingerly put her finger on the lump, trying to figure out what it was. She looked up at Prachi with questioning eyes. Prachi smiled and holding the back of her raised head she said that there are three little babies in there. Guddi's eyes, widened in excitement and she grinned, revealing two small milky white teeth at the top. Overhearing her, the other children too wanted to feel her babies. Alarmed to see his wife being swarmed by children who kept prodding her tummy, Milind immediately stepped in and holding his wife by the shoulders, carefully led her away, telling the children that the babies and their mother were feeling tired.

The children sang the carols and Santa Claus came to distribute gifts to them. Prachi turned to Milind and asked him why he did not dress up as Santa. Milind replied that he had his hands full being her Santa that he had no time to be everyone's Santa.

"Don't you go scaring my poor babies even before they can see this world," she admonished mockingly and slapped his hand.

"So this is what is called motherly love, is it? Mommy will not tolerate anyone raising their voice against her babies, will she?" he smiled, shaking his head and kissing her lips tenderly before settling her comfortably on her side so that she can go to sleep. Soon sleep took over and Prachi slept fitfully that night.

(2)

On the same evening Ayesha was at Neev's office discussing with him the designs that would be selected for their spring collection when she received a call from NIMHANS, the hospital her mother was being treated. On hearing what the caller had to say she turned death pale and slumped on the nearby sofa. Neev was alarmed to see her reaction and rushed to her side asking her what was wrong. She whispered that her mother had tried to commit suicide but was saved in the nick of the moment. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she looked at him pleadingly and asked if she can go to meet her. Neev assured her that she can and said that he will accompany her as he did not want to send her alone in this distraught state. He buzzed his secretary and asked her to cancel all appoints for the next three days. He called in his chief accountant, financial adviser, designing head, marketing manager and legal adviser, assigning them the tasks that they need to carry out in his absence. He also called Mr.Jaswal to inform him that Ms.Singhania will not be there for some days and he will have to assume her responsibilities in her absence. He then escorted her to his car. The company driver was waiting for them and he drove them to the Shergill residence.

Once they reached Bangalore, he took her directly to the hospital. Before he could pay of the cab driver, she ran down the corridors towards her mother's room. Neev followed close at her heels with both their bags. When they reached Amrita's room they realised that there was nobody there. Ayesha panicked and ran to the reception with Neev in tow. She tried to ask the receptionist where her mother was but she was choked for words. As she stood there gasping for breath, Neev stepped in and asked the receptionist where was Mrs.Singhania, patient in Room No.302. The receptionist checked her monitor and said that Mrs.Singhania was still in the ICU.

The two of them then rushed to the ICU and through the glass door they saw Amrita strapped to various medical gadgets. The doctor attending to her had just then come out of the ICU. Ayesha asked her what had happened and was told that Mrs.Singhania had been emotionally depressed of late and kept asking to meet Monty. When she was served the breakfast that morning she refused to have it and threw the plate down. Suddenly she got into a frenzy and started throwing things around. The nurse attending to her rushed out to get help to calm her down but before they can get to her, she had slashed her wrists with a blade which they did not know from where she got. She had lost quite a bit of blood but was out of danger now after being given blood transfusion. They wanted to keep her under observation for another 12 hours before moving her back to the ward. After that she will be on anti-depressants for some time before they decide on the next course of treatment. The only permanent cure, however, would be to find Monty and bring him to her.

After the doctor left, Ayesha crumbled onto the nearby bench and let out a heart wrenching cry. Seeing her in this emotionally distraught state, Neev's heart went out to her. He had never seen Ayesha lose control of herself before. She had always been bold, facing all challenges with a brave face but seeing her lost and defeated like this just sliced him up. Not knowing what to do, he sat beside her and tentatively put his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. She buried her face in his chest and wept uncontrollably. Soon his shirt was drenched in her tears. He patted her head comfortingly and whispered that everything will soon be alright but she was inconsolable.

Neev did not know how to console her. Holding her face between his hands, he wiped her tears with his thumb pads.

"I will not let you lose your mother, Ayesha. I will do everything there is to keep her safe. You can trust me. I will find Monty and bring him to her. By the way who is Monty? Is he your father?" he inquired.

She nodded her head. "What is his full name?" he asked. She shook her head saying she knew nothing about her father other than his nick name. He knew that it was not the right time to keep pressing for more information. He said that as she would require energy to take care of her mother when she comes around, she needs to have some food. Leading her to the hospital canteen, he bought her dinner and coaxed her to eat. She looked listlessly at the food but did not eat. He finally had to feed her forcefully. After having his dinner, he took her to the company guest house. The next morning they returned to the hospital. By that afternoon, Amrita was shifted to the ward. Ayesha broke down seeing her mother's unemotional face as she lay stiffly on the bed. She buried her head on her chest and poured out her anguish. Amrita kept staring at the ceiling unresponsively.

The next two days were pretty traumatic for Ayesha as she witnessed her mother's lifeless existence. She knew that her mother was suffering deep within although she did not display any emotion or feelings on the outside as a result of the medication. Neev tried his best to cheer her up but to no avail. He consulted all the doctors in the hospital about her mother's condition. The doctors said that they will do their best and keep her away from harmful devices but they unanimously felt that the only way her suicidal tendencies can be expunged for good is to bring Monty back to her.

When Ayesha was reasonably composed, Neev tried to again find out as much information about her father as he could. Ayesha told him the circumstances under which her parents got married, her grandfather's suicide, her father setting off for the Gulf to seek his fortunes, leaving her mother and her behind with her maternal grandmother and their coming to Mumbai when she was barely two years old. She mentioned that her grandmother had once told her that they were from a small village by the name Hasampura in Ajairajpura panchayat which was a part of Jaipur district in Rajastan. Neev felt that this information could help him unravel the mystery about her father, although he did not tell her anything, lest she gets her hopes up high.

As soon as Neev returned to Mumbai he set the ball rolling in tracing the whereabouts of Ayesha's father.

XLVI(2)

Milind and Prachi maintained a studied silence on their way back home. Milind was lost in deep thought as to how to broach the subject of Neev to her without upsetting her all over again. Prachi on the other hand was doing her best to forget the entire Neev episode. Words between them were sparse even after reaching home. Baba did not notice the palpable tension in the air as he was his usual chatty self during dinner. Later when they retired to bed, Milind made Prachi comfortable on her side and hugging her loosely, he went off to sleep. Prachi was awake for sometime before slipping into a restless sleep. In the middle of the night Milind was rudely woken up by Prachi's sobs. He got up with a start and looked at his wife's face in the streaming moon light. She appeared to be still asleep as her eyes were tightly shut but she was crying bitterly and mumbling incoherently. He bent down to her lips to try catching what she was saying.

"Papa, I mi.....iss you pa...pa...... Wh.. why....did.... you... .ll...leave meeee? Wh...why pa...pp..pa? If it ha...had not been for my ffff...failed engagement, you...you.... would st..st..still be alive today....nn...no pa..pp..pa? I.... sh..should ha..have said... nn..no... to the proposal. Why did I nnnn..not realise....I ... not lo....love hi....him? I ....I...aaa..am sorry Papa, I aaaa...am sorr..rrry.....fo....or... fo...or be...ing sss....so ....bbb....blind."

She stopped for a few minutes. Milind felt torn seeing his wife's pain and grief. He wiped her tears and was about to lie down again when she started her rantings once again. This time her voice rose in anger.

"Ne...eeev wh...why did you not tt...tell me yo...you we...were already married? Wh..why did you let your parents and mine mmmm..make aaaall the arr....rrangements bbb....before ddd..dropping the bbb...bombshell? Wha...what has my Pa...ppa done to you? Oh, wh...why di...did I....I trust you? Wh...why?"

"My ba....ba...bies, de... dead. Aa...allll. Oh, NO. Killed ... I...baad...mo....mother." Holding her by her shoulder he shook her awake.

"Prachi wake up. Wake up darling."

Prachi opened her eyes and looked at him first in confusion, then in fear and finally in pain. He pulled her up and put his arms around her, holding her close to his side.

"Milind, our babies?" she asked looking around the bed before her eyes finally settled on her protruding stomach. She looked at it with a puzzled expression.

"Baby, nothing will happen to our babies. They are safe. I am there for you sweetheart. I am there for you. I will not let anything happen to them, neither will you. You are a wonderful mother. Our babies are lucky to have you." He kissed the top of her head. Lifting her face, he kissed her forehead, her nose, her lips, her chin, her cheeks and all the time he kept reassuring her that she was a wonderful mother and the babies were safe.

"But Milind I...I... de....delivered the babies and they were all..."

Milind closed her mouth with his palm and shook his head.

"No darling. The babies are still in here." He pointed to her stomach. "They are all well and thriving. You were having a nightmare, darling. Don't worry, it is over."

"Neev", he said abruptly.

"Darling, a few minutes back you were having a chain of nightmares, first about your papa's death, then about Neev's betrayal and finally about...," he couldn't complete it.

"How do you explain the death of people in the hands of terrorists, murderers and assassins?" asked Prachi."Does God make these people do these heinous crimes so that he can call people to himself?"

"No, he does not. Neither does he stop them from doing such dastardly acts. He has given each one of us the most precious gift of all, the gift of choice. We can choose how we lead our lives. He does not interfere with that freedom. Ofcourse if we misuse our freedom and deprive others of theirs, we will have to face the consequences of it. But if our time is not up, we may even escape such attacks. Have you not read of people who were not supposed to be at a bomb site, landing at the place seconds before the bomb blew off and others who normally live or work there going out for a few seconds and escaping death? How do you explain these events? I am saying all this not to belittle your papa's death. It is a huge loss to his family. It was a big turning point. But have you paused to think about the flip side of it? Do you think we would have married each other had things gone according to plan? Neev's marriage may have resulted in your papa's death but it also brought about a chain of events which led me to you and I consider myself very fortunate for having you in my life."

"I am fortunate too, honey but I still can't accept what Neev had done to me. I considered him as my friend and he betrayed that friendship by not confiding the single most important event of his life when I was sharing with him the smallest and innocuous details of mine. If only I had known that he was already married I would have declined the proposal. Why did he hide the truth knowing that his family and mine were making arrangements for our union in matrimony?"

"How are you saying with certainty that he knew about the wedding arrangements? Do you know the whole truth?" he asked her.

She wondered what he was talking about. Milind then explained the circumstances that led to all the misunderstandings.

"So you see the guy was not even aware that he was supposed to be marrying you. By the way have you in all your conversations with him mentioned about it?"

She shook her head in the negative." I was too shy to talk about it."

"So you too kept back the most important information of your life from him. Had he known about the wedding arrangements, maybe he would have told you that he was already married."

"But was I not his friend? Why did he not tell me that there was someone in his life? Will he reveal that only if he knows that alternate arrangements were being made to get him married to someone else?"

"I do not know why he did not tell you this before, but I think there must have been a good reason for it, for the guy still values your friendship and regrets losing it."

"How do you know that?" she asked him.

Milind did not want to tell her about Ayesha's connection with Neev just yet.

Instead he took out the parcel that PL had given him.

"Look at this," he said and opening the parcel he handed her the maternity dresses. "Neev had these specially made for you after he came to know that you are in the family way. If he did not care for you, would he have taken the trouble?"

She looked the dresses in amazement.

"Please Prachi. Do not shut him out now. The guy has already suffered enough."

She looked at him in confusion. He then hesitatingly told her about the divorce. She was shocked to hear that Neev's life has taken such a tragic turn.

"He can use a friend now and you were his closest friend, darling. Would you still hold on to your grudge against him, knowing the truth? Won't you get past this and renew your friendship with him?"

"Sh...sh. You don't have to thank me for anything. It is I who should be thanking you for teaching me this patience and understanding, honey. You have made me a better person. It is your insurmountable patience and understanding that has rubbed off me. I would do anything to keep you happy and cheerful always."

Prachi smiled at that and after they kissed each other good night, they slept fitfully in each other's arms, their unborn babies wedged between them.

XVII

One week later

Ayesha paced restlessly up and down the guest house in Bangalore waiting for the phone to ring. Over the past two weeks, Neev had unfailingly rung her up around 9.30 pm every night and checked on her mother's health. Although her mother was not back to what she was prior to the suicide attempt, she had atleast started recognising her. She spoke only in monosyllables and had a perpetually lost look about her. Ayesha was not aware that hearing her daily reports on her mother, Neev had redoubled his efforts to find her dad for he knew only he can bring her back to normalcy. After the discussion about her mother's health, the conversation would veer around to what was happening at work and soon they would start discussing about their respective lives. Neev was an entertaining conversationalist and Ayesha looked forward to listening to his witty comments on anything and everything under the sun. Often their conversations carried on beyond midnight. In fact they ended up wishing each other good morning before they hung up the phone every day.

During the day, Ayesha had an idiotic smile perennially pasted on her face every time she thought of him, which was pretty often. Her mother was annoyed at these expressions since she felt Ayesha was mocking her. Ayesha then had to hastily assure her that she was not ridiculing her. In her spare time she kept wondering about the change she was noticing in herself. The feelings Neev was evoking in her were new. His voice made her heart flutter. His laugh lifted her spirits. She kept recollecting the smallest detail of his face, the crinkle of his eyes as he smiled revealing his teeth with the front two, a little more prominent than the rest; his big nose which flared up when he was angry which by the way was very rare; his full and shapely pink lips which looked inviting; his pronounced chin with the slight clef which enhanced his attractiveness; his angular jaw which underlined his masculinity; and his boyish hair cut which made him look much younger than he was. She never thought she would find someone like Neev attractive but here she was unable to dislodge him from her mind's eye.

It was not only his physical appearance that appealed to her. She was more than impressed with the way he handled the situation when she crumbled hearing about her mother's attempted suicide. He was non-invasive yet was extremely supportive. She never felt suffocated by his overwhelming concern for her well being. On the other hand she longed to lean on him to gain the strength to endure the trauma. She wondered how he managed to make her feel independent yet dependent at the same time. She did not feel ashamed to let her guard down and display her emotional vulnerability for she knew that he will not think less of her because of it or take advantage of her weakness. No man had the complete hold on her thoughts and on her life as he did, not even Milind when she was dating him. Has she finally found the love of her life? This was the question that seemed to perennially haunt her these days. Along with this question came the question whether he felt the same way about her. The latter one scared her. What if the answer is no, she wondered. She knew he was attracted to her. She would have to be blind not to notice that but did he love her? She knew he had been badly hurt in love before. Would he let himself succumb to love again or would he swear off love for life? She was eager to know the answers to all these questions but was also apprehensive of them. What if they were not what she was expecting? Can she survive the disappointment and disillusionment?

She looked up at the clock. It was past 11.30 pm and still Neev had not called. She was alarmed by the unusual delay in the call. Was something wrong with him? Was he sick? Panicking, she called up Shergill Residence. Nandu kaka answered the phone and said that Neev Saab has still not come home. Ayesha's heartbeat quickened as she called his office. There was no response. By now she was sweating profusely. She tried his cell but she was getting no response. Not knowing what had happened to him and being so far away from him, she felt lost and terrified. Tears started filling up her eyes fast and spilled over her cheeks. Just then the phone rang. She literally pounced on it and hurriedly held it to her ear. The sound of his voice was like music. She heaved a sigh of relief but could not immediately respond to him as she was choked with emotion. Inspite of herself a sniff escaped her lips. He immediately sensed that she had been crying and asked her if she was alright, his voice betraying his concern. She nodded her head and realising he cannot see her, she uttered a meek 'yes'. He then explained to her that he was caught up in an important meeting with his overseas clients. He later tried her number before he left his office but the lines in the route were busy. So he left thinking he will call her from home. She asked him why he did not respond to his cell. He apologised saying that he always kept his cell on silent mode while driving, to avoid distraction. She realised how foolish she was to unnecessarily panic over such trivial things. It was so untypical of her to behave in this manner. Was this one more reason to believe that she was indeed in love with him? She pushed the thought aside for the moment and embarked on another long and pleasurable conversation with him.

It was well past two o'clock by the time they wished each other good morning and Neev disconnected the call. It is only then he realised he had still not had his dinner. Seeing the number of missed calls on his cell and later being told by Nandu kaka that Ayesha had called home too, Neev feared that she was in trouble and called her up immediately. Once on the hook, he forgot all sense of time as always. Strangely he did not feel hungry. Talking and listening to her not only filled his ears but also seemed to fill his stomach as well. Ever since he left her behind in Bangalore and returned to Mumbai, he could not stop thinking about her. Her absence left a deep sense of emptiness both at work and at his house. Neev sometimes hallucinated her presence in his office or in his house as a result of which he ended up talking to himself. His secretary and Nandu kaka were puzzled by his strange behaviour and had to literally shake him up to make him aware of his surroundings. He knew he has fallen in love with her but can he afford to do so? Does she reciprocate his feelings? Would he be worthy of her? He did not know. All he knew was that he did not want to hurt her at any cost. He will not reveal his feelings for her. After the fiasco at his residence he cannot take the chance of losing her forever. No, he will wait for her to make the first move. He then hit his bed, and soon was enveloped in sweet dreams of the woman who had come to occupy all his thoughts.

"Do you know how cute you are?" She pinched his cheeks."By the way, would you like to have sons or daughters?"

"I would be happy to have three daughters just like you," he said kissing the tip of her nose."What about you?"

"I would like to have atleast one son, if not more and he should be a perfect replica of his papa."

"Darling, sons or daughters, they will be our babies. That is what is important. All I want is to see them healthy and happy. I don't care what gender they are. They are all the same to me. I'll love them equally."

"Amen to that," she said and smiled at him.

Milind reached his hotel in twenty minutes as the Sunday morning traffic was light. His manager stood at the entrance wringing his hands and looked highly perturbed. Milind asked him what the matter was and was told that Noor, the wife of Sheikh Hamid Ali from Oman had checked into the hotel late the previous night after celebrating her birthday in Goa. The sheikh would be joining her later in the day as he had some important meeting with one of his business associates. His wife has been making their lives hell ever since she landed. First she had a problem with the bed tea which was served. Then it was the breakfast. The series of complaints just kept piling on - bed linen, room service, toiletries, swimming pool-she seemed to have a complaint on each and every facility in the hotel. She then demanded that the proprietor, Mr. Milind Mishra be called expressly to listen to her problems. The manager had no choice but to trouble him on a weekend because she threatened that she will sully the image of the hotel. Milind merely nodded his head and asked which room she was in. He then went up to her room and knocked at her door.

The minute Noor opened the door, she drawled out, "Miiiilind, am I glad to see you."

"I had insisted that Hamid books me in your hotel this time around because I was confident that your hotel will be par excellence but your people have really disappointed me, Miiiilind. Their service is baaaad!"

He then patiently listened to all her complaints and had them attended to, one by one, as she devoured him with her eyes. Milind averted his gaze from her, distinctly uncomfortable under her unabashed stare. Once he settled all her complaints, he turned to leave but she caught his hand and asked him to join her for lunch. He tried to wriggle out of it saying that his wife was waiting for him at home and he wanted to be around her as much as possible as she was in the family way.

"Famiiily waaay?" she drawled, looking confused. "I don't get it."

"She's pregnant," he said cursorily, trying to put a full stop to any further questions.

"How sweeeet! Congratulations Miiiilind. Give my regards to your wife. Tell her she is a verrry lucky woman get a caaaaring husband like you."

She clasped his hand in hers and gave it another vigorous shake. When he pulled his hand away, he had to flex his fingers to restart the blood circulation. She then very reluctantly bid him good bye and as he stepped out of the room, she let out a sharp scream. Milind turned around to see her in a heap on the floor. He knelt by her side and asked what was wrong. She pointed to her left foot saying she had tripped on her stilettos and twisted her ankle. Milind tried to pull her up but she slumped again. Not having much choice he lifted her in his arms and placed her on the sofa. He then knelt down and removed her stilettos to examine her ankle. It was swelling up fast. He went to the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. Returning with an anti-inflammatory ointment, he knelt down and stretching her leg, he cupped her ankle in one hand and rubbed the ointment with the other. As he was absorbed in his task, he did not notice what Noor was up to. Watching his bowed head, Noor's lust for the man kept rising. She unbuttoned a couple of buttons of her tops to show her cleavage. She licked her lips and looked at him with great yearning. Once Milind finished with his task, he gently let her foot down and got up but before he could take a step she extended her other foot and tripped him. As he lunged forward she leaned towards him and grabbed him to pull him to her. Milind's face hit the exposed part of her chest and he hastily tried to push himself up. She was quicker though and she caught his face between her hands and captured his luscious lips in hers in a deep French kiss. He clutched her shoulders in both his hands and pushed her hard to free himself. He then swung his hand to slap her but stopped himself because he did not want to hit a woman, however depraved she may be. He gave her a stare which seemed to sear her soul and was about to leave but she caught him again and threw herself shamelessly at him begging him to satisfy her hunger.

"Miiiilind, I am hungry," she panted huskily. "I know you must be hungry too, what with your wife being pregnant and all that. I am sure she must not be in a position to fulfil your primal needs. Why don't we mutually satisfy each other's hunger? Neither my husband nor your wife need to know. That way nobody is hurt."

"I am ashamed to have entertained such a shameless guest in my hotel," lashed out Milind, pushing her away. "Do you even understand the sanctity of marital vows? You may hide your clandestine activities from your spouse but can you hide them from your conscience?"

"Conscience?" laughed Noor hysterically. "Miiiilind, you crack me up. Why do you speak like a seventy year old sage. You and I know you are a young hot blooded handsome man who is as much in need of a woman as I am in need of a man. So why deny each other the pleasures of the flesh? Ever since I set eyes on you last year I could not stop thinking of you. Come to me, baby. Come to me and quench my thirst for you," she seductively drawled and tried to once more pull him to her.

"Forgive you, for what Milind?"

"For letting another woman kiss the lips which are meant only for you."

Prachi looked at him in confusion. He led her to the bed and making her sit on it, he buried his head on her lap and haltingly told her what had transpired at the hotel that morning.

"I should have been more alert, Prachi. You did warn me last year that she had the hots for me. I should have not let myself be so easily trapped by her."

Milind was touched by the faith she had in him.

"You want to expunge her kiss from your lips, do you, darling? Here, let me help you," she said and leaning forward she caught his lips in hers and kissed him deeply, prompting him to return it with equal fervour. Just then Baba called them for lunch and they broke free, smiling at each other in love.

XLVIII (1)

Three weeks later

Saket met Sukriti at a coffee shop at the other end of the town, far away from Alaap's office. He gave her a rundown of the things he has made Alaap do without his knowledge. He has made him sign cheques which were apparently meant for various 'vendors' of the Shah Group of Hotels. In reality all these 'vendors' were benamies of his friend from the U.S. who had lent the same money back to him at exorbitant interest rate. In effect Alaap borrowed his own company's money without his knowledge. Saket also encouraged him invest in shady land deals, giving him false hopes that the price of those properties will rise in the near future. These deals were also financed through the ciphoned off money from his company. As of now Alaap was in Rs.200 crore debt and Saket was waiting for an opportune moment to pull off the rug from under his feet. Sukriti was happy that Alaap was blissfully digging his own grave.

On the same day at Neev's office

Neev got a call at his office from the private detective he had engaged to track down Ayesha's father.

"Yes, Mr.Vasvani, any progress?"

"Sir, I have some good news and some bad news."

"Give me the good news first."

"I had sent my man to Hasampura village again. While he was unable to gather any information the first time around, this time he has managed to locate the old village chief who recollected the suicide of one Dayanandh Singhania after his daughter eloped on her wedding day with another man. Pressing for more information he found out the name of the man Ms.Amrita Singhania eloped with."

"Sorry Sir, that is all we managed to get, just the name and where he had gone twenty four years back. No one seemed to know whether he is alive or dead now and if alive where he could be."

The next morning when she knocked at his door and heard him call her in, her heart skipped a beat. Neev welcomed her with a broad smile, wondering how she could look so breathtakingly beautiful, much more than he remembered her to be. He briefed her about the things which needed to be taken care of and soon she got busy with her work. As she wanted to clear the cases as fast as she can, she decided to have a working lunch and ordered for sandwiches in her cabin. She got to speak to Neev again only on their way back home that evening. He enquired about her mother and was told that the hospital had promised to engage a full time nurse for her to keep her mother from trying to harm herself again.

"I'm happy to be back," she quipped.

Although they both tried to sound nonchalant, both meant every word they said.

"Well, I did not know the whole story. I only knew the story from Prachi's perspective. Although I was indignant about what I thought you did to my dear friend, I decided to give you a chance to explain your side of the story. That is why I did not let you know who I was. Later I felt awkward bringing it up and thought that you may not like the fact that I did not confide in you in the beginning itself. I am truly sorry."

"Milind and I are so not suited for each other. While we still make excellent friends we would have been hopeless as life partners. In fact, I am glad that destiny intervened and Prachi found Milind and he found her. They are perfect for each other, true soul mates."

"Do you believe in soul mates?" he asked disbelievingly. He always thought that Ayesha was not the romantic kind.

"Well, seeing Prachi and Milind together, I believe they do exist."

"Have you found anyone whom you can consider your soul mate?" He awaited her answer with baited breath.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not," she smiled mysteriously.

"What about you? Will you give yourself another chance at love?" she asked expectantly.

He decided to pay her back with the same coin. "I don't know. Maybe, maybe not."

Ayesha entered at that moment and made a beeline to Prachi. Apologising for coming in late, she performed all the rituals and kissed her best friend on both her cheeks, wishing her luck. After a few minutes Neev arrived with a large parcel for his dearest friend. Seeing him PL twisted his ear playfully asking what he was doing in a ladies function. He retorted that he was there for his 'bestest' friend in the world and he wouldn't miss her moment under the sun for anything. He then walked up to Prachi and laying the gift on her lap, he shook her hand and bent down to hug her by her shoulders. Milind smiled to see the camaraderie between his wife and her childhood friend. When all the ladies had finished blessing Prachi, Milind walked up to her and knelt before her. He took out a box full of glass bangles and patiently slid them down her wrist saying that the tingling sound of the bangles will keep his babies entertained. By the time he was finished, Prachi had a dozen bangles in each of her hands. Although it was not part of the usual custom for the father-to-be to do this, Milind had got express permission from PL to adorn his wife in this manner. He then kissed her forehead and gently led her into the bedroom so that she can put up her feet. Ayesha came in and asked him if she can spend some time with her dear friend. From her anxious look Milind knew that she wanted to talk to Prachi about Neev. Before he left the room, he whispered to her to be careful not to upset Prachi too much. Ayesha nodded her head understandingly.

She then sat next to Prachi and taking her hands in hers she gravely said, "Prachi there is something I have to confess. Promise me that you will forgive me."

"Forgive you for what" asked Prachi, confused by Ayesha's unusual request.

"For hiding something important from you."

"What important thing?" she asked her.

"About who my boss is."

"Who is your boss?"

"Your friend turned foe turned friend" said Ayesha

"Friend turned foe turned friend?" repeated Prachi quizzically, confused by her friend's riddled description of her boss. Thinking for a few seconds, her eyes widened as suddenly a thought struck her. She asked sceptically, "You don't mean Neev, do you?"

Ayesha nodded her head, looking apologetically at her.

"You must be joking! You work for Neev?" Seeing Ayesha nod her head again she continued, "That means you are living in Shergill Residence?" Ayesha's face had turned red by now.

It suddenly dawned on Prachi that her friend appeared to have finally been bitten by the love bug.

"And you have fallen for the guy!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Although Ayesha tried to deny it, she could not escape Prachi's sharp eyes which caught the glint in her eye.

"Does he know yet?" she whispered conspiratorially.

Ayesha shook her head in the negative.

"Do you want me to talk to him about it?" Prachi volunteered.

"No please," begged Ayesha. "I'll confess to him myself in an opportune time."

"OK, but do not take too long to confess. I want my two best friends to tie the knot as soon as possible."

"What if he does not love me?" asked Ayesha fearfully. Her eyes quickly filled up at the very thought of a possible rejection.

"Arey, Pagli. Can any man not love my darling Ayesha? Neev is very lucky to have someone like you in his life. I am sure he too loves you but I think you may have to take the first step. Given his bitter past, he may be a little reticent. Shall I discreetly find out what is in his heart?"

"No, he is too shrewd. He will guess what you are after. I will handle it my way. Now you don't worry your pretty little head on this. Concentrate on getting my dear little bunnies safely into this world."

Prachi smiled and closed her eyes as she felt enormously tired. She soon dozed off.

Ayesha drew the covers over her and went in search of PL to give her an update of her mother's health. Soon it was lunch time and the guests were offered a buffet lunch.

Both Neev and Ayesha tried hard to behave casually with each other, not wanting to attract any attention but they could not take their eyes off each other. Neev was enchanted to see her in a saree for the first time and found her extremely sexy in it. As he stood behind her in the queue for the food, his eyes inadvertently wandered to her exposed midriff. As her saree fluttered in the breeze, he caught a glimpse of a flat, fair and smooth stomach. He gulped and looked away, trying to get the image out of his mind. After they filled their plates, they sat in the opposite corners of the room and stole glances at each other when they thought that the other was not looking.

"To be very frank, I was a little apprehensive of what life my daughter will get. While I had full confidence in your abilities to succeed in life, I always feared that the process of adjustment may be tough for my daughter. I am happy to now see that my daughter refuses to come to her mayka (mother's house) for her confinement, preferring to have her husband by her side instead. What more proof do I need to know that you are treating my daughter like a queen."

"She is a queen, Ma. She is my queen and will always be. I should thank you for raising her so well and trusting her with me."

Baba nodded his head in agreement. "We are the privileged ones to have a lovely girl like Prachi with us, Prem Lathaji. Don't worry about your daughter. Everything will go smoothly. Just keep praying for her well being."

"That I will. My prayers are always for my children. Milind and Sukriti are also my children," she said emotionally.

The trio then got into their car and left for their house.

That night Prachi woke up with a scream as she developed cramps in her calf muscles. Milind immediately got up and seeing his wife's contorted face, he realised she was in agony. Finding out the source of her pain, he lifted her feet and placing them on his lap, he massaged them. He then pulled her toes towards her ankles and lower legs. Once the cramps subsided, he got her a couple of bananas and forced her eat them saying that the potassium in the fruit would reduce such cramping episodes. Prachi was amazed by Milind's knowledge on the subject and asked him how did he know so much. Milind smiled and took out one of the pregnancy books. He said that he has read it from cover to cover inorder to prepare himself for all the symptoms of pregnancy and tackle them the best way he can. He then leaned foreward and gently kissed his wife's lips before settling her back comfortably on the bed. He caressed her head till she fell back to sleep.

XLIX

That night after they had retired to bed Ayesha lay awake for a long time on the bed. Her heart seemed to burst with all the pent up love she had for Neev. She felt she had to let him know how much she loved him and convince him to give a second chance for love in his life. Her feminine intuition told her that he was definitely more than attracted to her. Somehow she felt that his hitting the gym to tone up his body was more to impress her than for anything else. Maybe knowing that she once dated the well-toned Milind whipped up his insecurities. As Prachi adviced, maybe she needed to make the first move. She needed to assure him that she loved him as he was; nothing can make her love him less. Making up her mind, she went to his room and knocked on his door. Not getting any response, she slowly pushed open the door and realised he was not sleeping in the room.

Wondering where he could have gone, she was about to go searching for him when she saw light streaming from the bottom of the closed library door. She went in and found Neev stretched out on one of the chairs, a book on Finance lying on his chest. He had apparently dozed off while reading the book. Seeing his sleeping face which looked so innocent and vulnerable, she felt her heart strings tugged. She knelt by his side and removed the book from his chest, replacing it with her head. She heard the steady thumping of his heart beat which seemed to reassure her that he was always there for her. She could not restrain her feelings any longer. She felt the sudden urge to pour her heart out to him even if he was not in a position to hear or respond to her. Maybe it is just as well, she thought. She will practice what she will tell him the next day when he was conscious by saying it all to his unconscious sleeping form.

"Neev," she whispered hesitatingly. "I know you are sleeping and may not hear a single word of what I am about to say but I am going to say it nevertheless. I never thought I could ever fall in love with anyone. I fiercely guarded my independence and considered myself self-sufficient. That was before I met someone like you. In your quiet unobtrusive way you made your way into my heart. I could let my guard down and expose my vulnerabilities to you without feeling ashamed of them, for you never let me feel weak or helpless. I feel more human in your presence, more alive. You cheer me up when I am down. At work you give me complete freedom to operate on my own but I know I can always count on your guidance and wisdom when I need it. You are always sensitive to people's problems and difficulties. At the same time you are firm when you have to be. No wonder you are so loved by your employees. But I don't want to be just another employee. I want you to love me as a man would love a woman. I want to own your heart as you own mine. Yes, I can be very demanding you know. I am aware that you have been hurt in love. You may be scared to let yourself fall in love again, wary that you will get wounded again. But let me assure you that I will never play with your feelings. I will never hurt you. I may not have much to offer except my undying and passionate love for you. I am short-tempered, obstinate and wilful and may always remain so. I will not promise you that I will change myself for you. I know you would not want me to do that either. Neither do I want you to change anything for me. You don't need to build your physique, for I find you physically attractive as you are. All this may sound very clichd for I am not much of a romantic, but I mean every word I said just now."

She leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips, feeling their softness and warmth under hers. She hastily withdrew lest he wakes up and retreated to the door. Before she turned off the light she turned to look at his dear face once again and blew him a kiss.

After she left the room, he opened his eyes and smiled as his heart sang a happy song. He had heard every single word she said.

The next morning Neev and Ayesha were in tearing hurry to leave for work as both had overslept and got up pretty late. Barring the perfunctory good morning, they did not have time to talk to each other. They barely managed to gulp down their breakfast and rushed to the car. At the office they went to their respective cabins and began that day's work. At around 11.30 a.m. Neev called Ayesha to his cabin. When she walked in she saw Neev pace up and down the cabin with a file in his hand. As soon as he saw her, he threw the file on the desk and asked her for an explanation for it. Slowly lifting the file she read through the document, her eyes widening in shock.

"What is the meaning of this, Ms.Singhania?" he spat out angrily. "The inordinate delay in executing the order has caused a loss of Rs.50 crore to this company. Our client has also threatened to proceed against us legally for the sub-standard product which has been delivered to him."

Ayesha was for a moment stunned to see this side of Neev. She never thought he was capable of so much fury. Checking the date of the order, Ayesha realised that this was undertaken during her leave period. She knew he was aware of it as well. Then why was he accusing her? As if he read her mind Neev continued, "You may take shelter in the fact that this was done during your absence but were you not the one who once said that you will assume responsibility for the omissions and commissions of your subordinate? Now I want you to assume responsibility for this and submit your resignation letter immediately."

She stared at him in disbelief. Was this the same Neev who had assumed responsibility for loss on an earlier occassion? Was it the same man who was compassionate and helpful to people? How could he be so unreasonable all of a sudden? While one part of her revolted at the injustice meted out to her, the larger part of her felt too hurt to be angry. Her disappointment in him was so overwhelming she did not have the will to fight. All she wanted to do is to run away from him and cry her heart out in the privacy of her cabin. Quickly blinking back her tears, she rushed out from there.

If she had lifted her eyes and looked at him she would have noticed the pain in his eyes. It took all his will power to keep from running behind her and dragging her into his arms. As the minutes ticked by he waited patiently for her to reappear again. He had read her well. He knew she will not defend herself or beg for the job. Her self-respect would not allow her to do so. As he had expected, she came in within fifteen minutes, her resignation letter in her hand. She slammed it on the desk and said that she will vacate his house too by that evening. Without waiting for his response she left his cabin as quickly as she came in. He waited for a couple of minutes before following her. She was briskly walking out of his office premises, a cardboard carton in her hands holding her belongings.

"Ayesha, wait," he said. At first she tried to ignore him but he persisted.

Turning back, she cast her flaming eyes at him, "What do you want now, Mr. Shergill?"

"I am Neev, not Mr.Shergill. Remember, we are on first name basis outside office?"

She did not say anything. Ignoring her silence he continued, "Will you have lunch with me?"

She couldn't believe her ears. Was the guy out of his mind? He throws her out of her job and then asks her to have lunch with him. She was about to give him a heated response but he held up his hand and asked her to consider it for old time sake.

"Ayesha, we have worked together for a year now. We have shared a lot during this time. Would you not give me the pleasure of having one last lunch with you? I may not be your boss anymore but I am still your house mate till you vacate my house. Atleast in that capacity you can still accept my offer?" he looked at her expectantly.

She gave in finally and agreed to have lunch, more to get him off her back than to really please him. She decided that she will give him the silent and cold treatment throughout the meal. He took her to a nearby restaurant and led her to a corner table. Once she was seated, he passed the menu card to her and asked her to choose the items she wanted. She looked at the card listlessly for a few minutes and slammed it close. She was about to tell him that she had made a big mistake agreeing to have lunch with him and that she wanted to leave immediately when she found the seat opposite her empty. Wondering where he would have gone, she turned her head and found him kneeling by her side. In his hand was an open ring case. Nestled in the centre of it was a large diamond ring.

Even as she tried to comprehend what her eyes beheld, he whispered fervently, "Will you marry me Ayesha? Will you be my Valentine?"

She was totally stumped for words and looked at him with a mixture of confusion, exhilaration, and apprehension. 'Was this all a dream or has the guy really lost his marbles?' she thought.

As if to answer her question he said, "I am sorry about what happened this morning. I staged the whole thing to get you to quit your job."

She looked at him incredulously wondering why would he go to such great lengths to kick her out.

As she struggled with her feelings, her eyes brimming with tears of joy, he said jocularly "Darling, my knees are hurting. For now you can say yes and accept my ring so that I can get up. Later on you can give me that passionate speech you practised on me last night." She went red in the face when she realised he had heard her confession.

Smiling lovingly at him she said yes. Neev punched the air in glee and slipped the ring on her finger, kissing her fingers tenderly. He resumed his seat opposite her and said that there was more. Wondering what he meant she looked at him intently. He signalled to the waiter who brought in a black forest cake. On it was written in big bold letters 'Happy birthday, Ayesha'. She was surprised that he knew her birthday. Her birthday as per official records was June 1^st whereas her real birthday was February 14^th. There were only three people who were aware of her real birthday, one was dead (her grand mother), one was mentally deranged (her mother) and the third was absconding (her father). There was no way her mother would have told him her birthday. She was in a world of her own to remember her daughter's birthday. That left only her father. Has he found him finally? Her eyes looked at him with question and hope. He smiled and signalled towards the entrance. There stood her mother holding the arm of a distinguished looking gentleman in a business suit. The man was of medium height and built, with a mop of thick salt and pepper hair. He sported a moustache and a french beard. When they approached their table, he flashed her a broad smile revealing pearly white teeth.

(2)

Some of the incidents mentioned in this update regarding Mr.Garodia's life in the gulf are inspired by the Hindi film 'Dor'. As my knowledge of law (Indian or Saudi is next to nil), you may have to take this too with a can of salt like everything that is associated with Mr.Garodia, I guess.

Ayesha gaped at the man who was instrumental in bringing her into this world but whom she never knew, either by name or by face. While she was still reeling in shock, the man walked up to her and enveloped her in his arms. She stood rigid, not reciprocating the hug. Yes, she wanted to find her father, not so much for herself but for her mother But now that he stood before her, she strangely felt numb and emotionless. She caught sight of her mother who fondly gazed at her daughter in the arms of her long lost husband. Ayesha extricated herself from her father and rushed into the arms of her mother and hugged her tight, tears streaming down her eyes as she let go of her pent up emotions. Amrita whispered that everything was all right and that her mama and papa are there for her now. Ayesha lifted her face from her mother's shoulder and looked deeply into her eyes. There was a marked difference in Amrita; she no longer had the lost distant look. Instead her eyes gleamed in mirth. Clearly her father's presence seemed to have made a lot of difference in her mother's life. For her sake she needed to give her father a fair chance. She turned to look at her father again who returned the gaze with overwhelming love and a desperate longing to be understood and forgiven.

Neev realised that he needed to step in and break the tension in the air.

"Well, I do not know about you people but I am ravenous. Can we catch up with each other's lives over lunch?"

The three Garodias nodded and took their seats. Ayesha sat with her mother. Neev sat opposite her and Mr.Garodia sat next to him. Neev gave them each a menu card and asked them to select their favourite dishes.

Once their orders were placed, Neev started with how he found Ayesha's father. Her father supplemented with additional information wherever he could. Neev told her how his private detective managed to find out the name of Ayesha's father from the village chief.

After he came to know that the name of the man who married Mr.Singhania's daughter was one Garodia, he wondered whether he could be the NRI business tycoon, Mr.Tushar Garodia who had vast business interests, including the hotel industry and garment exports, among others. As he did not have many leads to go with this theory, he decided to search for information in the print media on Mr.Garodia's past and was planning to visit a library for the purpose but before that he had stumbled on the information quite by chance. His good friend and business associate in Jaipur, Mr.Mulchandani was in the city and had met him regarding some business deal. As he was about to take leave of him after the meeting, Neev quite casually asked him if the business tycoon, Mr.Garodia was a native of Jaipur. Mr.Mulchandani was surprised he would ask him that question and said that actually he hails from a small village in Jaipur district. Not many knew about his antecedents as the man closely guarded his past but Mr.Mulchandani was one among the few who did know about him. He then narrated part of his past to him.

Mr.Garodia who is a diploma holder in electrical engineering got a job as an electrician in one of the companies head quartered in Oman but with branches in all the gulf countries. Within a month of landing in Oman, he was sent to Saudi Arabia along with a colleague of his to attend to the company's project there. The two men shared a two-room tenement on the fifth floor as the work required them to stay there for at least three months. The first two days in the new country were uneventful and the two men got along pretty well. On the third day, the colleague complained of headache and asked Garodia to go alone to work. Garodia barely left the house when he heard a loud thud and rushed down the stairs to find the guy lying in a pool of blood. On checking his pulse he realised that he was already dead. As there was no suicide note and Garodia was the only man around when the death took place, he was charged with murdering his colleague. As motive they cited that the man owed Garodia money and in a scuffle to get back the money he pushed him out of the balcony. Garodia did not have anyone to vouch for him in the alien country. His company washed its hands off the case saying that the guy was new and they had no records to prove his innocence. As murder is a serious crime in Saudi Arabia which invited capital punishment, he was sentenced to die.

Now Mulchandani's father was a bureaucrat attached to the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia. As the accused was an Indian citizen he was informed about the conviction. Mr.Mulchandani, Senior (Sr) was an upright and just man. He had visited Garodia in the prison and hearing him, he felt that the man was telling the truth. He decided to dig out evidence to clear his name. In the mean time Garodia lost all hope of ever escaping the death sentence. He declined to send any letters home and asked Mr.Mulchandhani, Sr not to inform his family about him. He knew that his wife loved him very much and would be distraught to learn of his plight. He felt that she would be better off thinking he was a family ditcher as then she would start hating him and hopefully move on with her life. If, on the other hand, she learns of his conviction and later death, she would be completely shattered. He loved his wife far too much to put her through that trauma.

In the next nine months Mr.Mulchandani Sr., searched high and low, using his contacts at various places and institutions in India, for evidence to acquit Garodia. Finally, in searching the dead man's antecedents, he managed to get the medical records from his home town in Surat. The medical records clearly indicated that the man was manic depressive and had attempted suicide at least on three separate occasions while he was in India. Armed with the records, Mr.Mulchandhani Sr., forced the Saudi authorities to reopen the case on the strength of the new evidence and soon Garodia was acquitted. Garodia thanked him and returned to India by the next flight.

He went straight to his mother-in-law's place to meet his wife and daughter. On reaching their house he found that it was locked. He enquired with the neighbours and was told that the three of them had left the previous evening to take the night train to Mumbai. He rushed to the nearest railway station. It is there that his eye fell on the morning newspaper which was hanging in one of the stalls. The front page carried a large news item of the tragic train accident in which over two hundred people lost their lives. He bought the newspaper and quickly skimmed through it to find out more about the accident. The train that left Jaipur for Mumbai the previous night had derailed and fallen off a bridge, resulting in heavy loss to life and property. He panicked and contacted the rail authorities who only confirmed his worst fears. The names of his wife, his mother-in-law and his daughter were in the list of passengers travelling in the bogies which were completely mangled. None of the passengers in those bogies survived. The man was shattered that his entire family was wiped out of his life even before he could meet them and ask his wife's forgiveness for letting her think he deserted them.

Having no job or family, he roamed the city of Jaipur listlessly when he met Mr.Mulchandani Sr., yet again. The man had come down to attend the silver wedding anniversary celebration of his brother. He was saddened to hear about the tragedy that befell the man whose life he had saved. He assured him that he will help him and took him to meet his brother who was a garments manufacturer in Jaipur. His brother was looking out for an honest and trust worthy man to take care of his business in Oman and readily offered Garodia the job on the strength of recommendation from his brother.

Garodia worked hard and was rewarded well. He started his own garment store in Oman with the help of Mr.Mulchandani's brother and later branched into hotel industry. His growth was phenomenal and soon he widened his interests both oversees and in India. When he opened his hotel in Mumbai, he got Mr.Mulchandani Sr., to inaugurate it. Mr.Mulchandani's son, who was Neev's business associate, took over his uncle's business after his death as his uncle was childless. Although Mr.Mulchandani Sr., was no more, his son was well aware of Mr.Garodia's past as he had heard it both from his own father and from his uncle.

When Neev realised that his hunch was right, he got Mr.Garodia's cell number and talked to the man. He introduced himself and explained to him how his family whom he presumed dead was still alive. Mr.Garodia who was in Paris at the time was initially suspicious and couldn't believe what he heard. He wondered whether it was someone's sick joke but then decided to find out the truth for himself. Neev met him in Mumbai and convinced him that his family was indeed alive and in Bangalore. He told him about Amrita's mental health and about his efficient, bright and compassionate daughter who was taking care of her.

Neev then called Ayesha back to Mumbai, apparently for duty, but more to allow Mr.Garodia to meet his wife privately and spend time with her in the hope of healing her emotionally. So the day Ayesha left for Mumbai, her father left for Bangalore. Her father then met her mother and in the past one week has helped her slowly return to normalcy. Amrita was discharged from the hospital only the previous day after being certified as fully fit.

As Mr.Garodia had mentioned to Neev that it was Ayesha's birthday on February 14^th, Neev planned to surprise her by presenting her with her family on this important day. Mr.Garodia had agreed and brought his wife along with him to this restaurant where Neev had made all arrangements.

By the end of this marathon recounting, Ayesha had tears streaming down her cheeks. She told them that she had heard her grandmother say that they had narrowly escaped death by missing their train to Mumbai. She did not know about the details of that accident and did not bother to find out more. She could now associate the events better after hearing her father's story.

She reached out and held Neev's hand tightly in hers and thanked him profusely for giving her the most memorable birthday ever. She then leaned diagonally and held her father's hand in hers, apologising for her cold reception. She told him how happy she was to finally have a regular family. Her father patted her head and reassured her that he will always be there for her from now on.

Neev then told her parents that they had got engaged a few minutes back. Mrs and Mr.Garodia were extremely happy to hear this good news. They congratulated the new couple and Mr.Garodia admitted that he could not have found a better man for his precious daughter.

Neev suddenly realised that in all the excitement they had forgotten the cake which lie abandoned in the centre of the table. Amrita asked Ayesha to cut it while they sang for her. Ayesha then fed the cake to each one of them and was in turn fed by them. Looking around at the trio, Ayesha felt her heart would just burst with all the happiness she has been bestowed on that day. Truly her twenty fifth birthday will be etched in her memory forever, thanks to the man sitting opposite to her who will soon become her life partner.

(3)

"I have some very bad news for you Alaap. Our Alibaug hotel is not doing good business. As if that is not enough, the Hollywood company which was to shoot their movie in Alibaug have cancelled their plans, citing the heightened fear of terrorist activities in our country. So we will not have the opportunity to make good money by renting our rooms in the hotel to them."

Before Alaap could recover from the shock of this news, Saket continued, "There is more bad news in store. Vinay, who lent us the money for your Alibaug hotel lease and the various land deals you had concluded in the last several weeks, wants his money back in a week's time."

"What???" shrieked Alaap. "How can we pay up the money at such short notice?"

"I am afraid, we have no choice. The agreement says that the lender can call back the money at short notice which can be anything from one day to one month. Vinay says that he has suffered huge losses investing in the U.S. sub-prime market so he needs his money back to mitigate his losses. None of us anticipated that things will go so wrong."

"But from where will I get so much money?"

"If you don't mind, I have a suggestion. Why don't you sell the assets you bought from the loan and pay him off? In any case I think that the Alibaug hotel is a dead weight loss. We may not able to break-even for months on end. I thought that the presence of the Hollywood stars would give it the boost it needed but now that is ruled out. The lease agreement allows you to sell the lease. So I think you should sell lease of the hotel. As we do not have time in our hands, the best option would be to sell it to the person who was the next higher bidder in the auction we acquired the lease."

"You mean, Milind?" asked Alaap in a small voice, his heart sinking.

"Yes. Don't worry. You don't have to deal with him. I'll take care of it."

Alaap was numbed by all the bad news hitting him on the same day that he merely nodded.

That afternoon Saket got back to him.

"Alaap, I feel awful being the harbinger of bad news today. I spoke to Milind. He is willing to offer what he quoted in his tender to MTDC, which is Rs.5 crore."

"What? Rs.5 crore? The lying rat! He's taking advantage of my situation to get the lease dirt cheap. Did that scoundrel not quote Rs.50 crore for the deal earlier?"

"Apparently not, Alaap. After talking to him I checked with my sources in MTDC. They confirmed that he was the next highest bidder and his tender was only for Rs.5 crore. In fact here is a copy of his tender that my source faxed to me this afternoon."

Alaap stared at the document, shocked to the core. He has ended up paying more than ten times the value of the lease! As the implication of his folly hit him, Alaap sank into his chair, and held his head in his hands.

"What do I do now?" he asked, whining like a cornered animal.

"Well, we do not have much of a choice but to sell the lease to him and get whatever we can from it. In fact I think the guy is quite reasonable. He is still willing to pay the amount he quoted earlier even though the hotel is in a worse off condition now than before."

Having no other alternative, he asked him to sell the lease to Milind, as the hotel was running huge losses which will only mount if he holds on and as it is he was in desperate need for money.

"What will I do for the remaining money?" wailed Alaap.

"I'll try finding out if there are interested parties for the lands you have bought in various places."

Three days later, he returned to him, throwing up his hands.

"I am sorry. Nobody is interested in the land deals. Although Milind has been prompt in settling the money for the Alibaug hotel lease, we only have Rs.5 crore and we need another Rs.205 crore to pay up the loan we had taken from Vinay, along with the interest."

"What if I default in the payment?" asked Alaap hopefully, his crooked mind trying to take the easy way out.

"I don't think that is a wise decision, Alaap. Vinay is well connected politically. He can get you locked up in some false case. He also has friends amongst the underworld people. It is better that you do not rub him on the wrong side."

"Why did you make me borrow from such a man, then?" asked Alaap angrily.

"There is no point getting angry with me Alaap," Saket defended himself. "I myself came to know about his political and underworld connections only recently. You were desperate for money and I thought this guy was the best source as he asked no questions and gave such large sums of money almost immediately. He was quite a different person during our Harvard days but I guess some people change with time."

As they were speaking, a gang of goondas barged into his office and threatened that if he does not pay up the loan within the stipulated time there is no guarantee for his life. Alaap trembled at the prospect of being done to death. Out of sheer desperation and fear for his skin, Alaap asked Saket to dispose off part of his stake in the Shah Group of Hotels to pay off the loan.

Saket was waiting for this moment. He and his associates in the company had been preparing for months to get Alaap to voluntarily relinquish his stake in the company. As a first step to their master plan, letters had already been sent to the remaining stake holders in the company, asking them to hold on to their stocks irrespective of any adverse news they may hear about the company or any slump in the prices of the company's shares in next few days. They were assured that their patience will amply be rewarded as the company is going through massive revamping at the end of which it will emerge much stronger than it is now. They just have to keep their faith in the company. This way they ensured that the small investors do not get hit by their machinations to drag Alaap down. They then instigated the workers to create problems by threatening to disrupt activity if they are not given a huge wage hike. The accounts department then leaked false information to the press that the financials of the company were very bad.

In the meantime, through Vikram they let Milind know that Alaap was planning to sell his shares the next day because he was in deep financial trouble and the Shah Group of Hotels was on the verge of sinking. Milind was taken aback by the unexpected developments. As he did not want his father-in-law's company to be run to the dust, he decided to buy the shares himself and made arrangements for the necessary finance. When the stock market opened the next morning, the share price of Shah Group of Hotels was already down, affected by all the adverse publicity in the media. With Alaap trying to sell off his stake, things got only worse as market presumed that he was doing so to get out of a sinking ship. So the share prices started plummeting further. Alaap was forced to release more and more shares in order to try and recover enough money to pay off the loan. This only had a cascading effect and shares nosedived even more sharply. Milind kept buying the shares which were being released in the market at lower and lower prices till the share price fell below the face value. Alaap's wealth was wiped out completely but he managed to get just enough money to pay off the loan. Over the next three days he settled the loan and heaved a sigh of relief. At least now he will not get killed or locked up in prison, he thought. But then it sunk in that he had nothing to fall back on. He tried getting some solace and support from his girl friend, the small-time model, but the minute the woman came to know he has lost everything, she ditched him. She refused to part with any of the gifts she had got from him till then which included several pieces of jewellery, a car and a flat.

With no job, no money and no girlfriend, he thought that his wife and mother will support him no matter what. So he trudged home that day, hopeful that the women he treated abominably will forgive and accept him. After all Sukriti was a faithful Indian housewife and his mother is a typical Indian mother who will be all forgiving, he thought. Little did he know that neither of the women was in any mood to forgive his grave sins. Sukriti had already briefed her mother-in-law of the master plan to ruin Alaap. She told her about his affair with the model and how he had spent time with her in Shimla, unmindful of his son's funeral. PL was infuriated hearing this and supported her fully in her endeavour to punish him. PL threw Alaap out of the house and asked him not to ever return again. Just then police entered their house. They apprehended Alaap under the charge of embezzlement of company money. Even as Alaap looked at them in confusion, he was told that they had proof that he had signed cheques in favour of various 'vendors' and the money from this was traced back to him as it had gone to finance his deals. Alaap tried to reason saying that he had borrowed money from an NRI by the name Vinay. However, the police said that they had documentary evidence to show that there was no one by the name Vinay and Alaap had used the name as a front to swindle money from the company. Alaap was unaware that Saket and Pradeep had a hand in fabricating these 'evidences' against him. Alaap tried desperately to call Saket's cell but anticipating his call, Saket had switched off his mobile. His lawyer too refused to help him realising that the guy had no money to pay him. Alaap was locked up in prison with no one to bail him out. Given the snail speed at which cases, especially a civil one, moved in the Indian courts, it was anybody's guess how long Alaap would stay locked up in the prison for the under-trials.

L

Sorry that this update may seem a little stilted, lacking both in flow and detail but I couldn't do better.

Milind took over the reigns of Shah Group of hotels and the news was received with jubilation by the market, with the stock price of the company recovering and soaring high to unseen levels. The small investors who had their faith in the company during the turbulent times when Alaap was being done in, were happy that they stayed put and did not indulge in panic selling. The employees of the hotel group were also happy to have Milind as their master as he was known to be benevolent and able. Milind merged his hotel with the Shah Group and renamed the group of hotels as Shah-Mishra Group of hotels. Immediately after the takeover, he went about setting right all the problems of the Group. He retained all the old staff of the hotel chain, including Saket, although he was unaware of Saket's master plan which was responsible for Alaap's downfall. Knowing her brother's temperament Sukriti prevented both Saket and Prachi from telling anything to Milind. All Milind knew was that Sukriti and PL did not regret Alaap's imprisonment, given his abominable behaviour. Sukriti also filed for a divorce from her husband with the full backing of her mother-in-law and brother.

When Milind and Prachi came to know about the recent developments in Ayesha's life including her engagement to Neev, they were both surprised and excited. While they were happy to note that their best friends were going to be soon united in marriage, Milind was glad to learn that the man, who exhibited enough faith in him to give him his first opportunity to run a business, was also Ayesha's father. Mr.Garodia was proud of Milind's accomplishments in such a short time. Mrs. and Mr. Garodia stayed at his hotel for a couple of days till Neev literally dragged them away to stay with him in the Shergill Residence.

Although Mr.Garodia had several business interests in India, he had never purchased a house here, preferring to stay in hotels whenever he visited the country, as he was haunted by memories of his family. Now that he has reunited with his family, he wanted to settle down here. Neev insisted that his future father-in-law and mother-in-law stay with him till they bought their own place in Mumbai. Although they were reluctant in the beginning to stay at the house of their future son-in-law, they were coaxed into staying back as guests of his house-mate Ayesha. They understood then that Neev was reluctant let go of Ayesha and was trying his best to keep her with him as long as he can till she finally returns home for good as his bride. So they agreed and stayed with him, especially after Niharika too insisted that they stay with them till they bought their own house.

Niharika had arrived back in India, taking the earliest available flight as soon as she heard from Neev that he was engaged to the well known business magnet, Mr.Garodia's daughter. When Neev informed his father, Pranay about his engagement, he wished him well but expressed his unwillingness to leave the ashram. He promised to attend his son's wedding, though.

Mr.Garodia made Ayesha the CEO of his garment company. She was also inducted into the board of all his other concerns as he transferred a substantial portion of his stake to her. Mrs. and Mr. Garodia then went on a week-long pilgrimage to Hrishikesh, Haridwar and Kashi to give thanksgiving for uniting their family. Niharika tagged along with them, saying she had been dying to visit these places for a long time but never found the time to do so. The real reason was that she was enamoured by their wealth and was keen to impress them and get close to them. At Kashi, all three of them met Pranay at his ashram. Although Pranay was cordial to them he insisted that he loved his ascetic life in which he found immense peace and was unwilling to forego it.

Back in Mumbai, Ayesha was a little apprehensive about staying alone with Neev after both their families left for the pilgrimage. Although she had lived with him in his house before, their equation was different then. Now that they were engaged she wondered whether he will ask her to move into his room. While she loved him very much she was not prepared to share a physical relationship with him before marriage. She feared that Neev may not to have any such reservations as he himself had admitted to having had a live-in relationship with Annabel before his marriage to her. Surprisingly though, Neev was at his courteous best and never showed any inclination of taking advantage of their time alone although they both enjoyed each other's company and continued to have their long conversations. Neev was of great help advicing her on administrative matters relating to her company.

(2)

It was March 5^th 2008. Prachi was 33 weeks pregnant. Dr.Preena had just finished examining her and assuring them that she was progressing well, she said that she would like to perform the caesarean section on her the following Friday i.e., March 15, 2008 when she would be a little over 34 weeks pregnant. She explained that although normal pregnancies last for 38-40 weeks, multiple pregnancies are usually delivered before the full term gestation as it is difficult, although not impossible, for the mother to carry the babies for the entire term. The babies may have to be kept in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for a while before they are declared fit to be taken home. As the d-day was fast approaching both Prachi and Milind were extremely nervous as well as excited. Prachi was tempted to ask the doctor to get the babies delivered on that day itself as she wanted to be freed from the huge burden she was carrying around which was wearing her down. She was also subjected to a lot of inconvenience. She had to keep visiting the toilet at frequent intervals as the large and growing uterus kept pressing against her bladder. But then she knew the longer she sheltered the babies in her womb, the less time they will have to spend at the NICU. They will also be stronger and more resistant if they arrive late. Hence she bit back her urge to ask for an early confinement.

Milind then took her to her mother's house because it was PL's birthday. Milind had bought her a gold chain with a locket which held husband's picture. Gifting it to his mother-in-law he took her blessings. He then told Prachi that he will come back in a couple of hours and take her with him. Prachi wondered where he was going off, for he has been working from home for the past one week as she was closer to the delivery date. Seeing her enquiring look he said that he was interested to buy a bungalow which has come up for auction on that day. As they would require more space after the kids' arrival, he had been on the lookout for a bigger house for some time now and this property looked good. Hearing this PL took him aside and said, "Milind, please don't get me wrong. Why can you, baba and Prachi not move in with us? This house is big enough for all of us."

Milind shook his head and said that he would rather have PL and Sukriti move in with them into the house that he planned to buy. PL said that she cannot leave Shah House as it was filled with memories of her husband.

"Milind, you are like my son. Can a mother not wish that her son and his family live with her? If you are hesitating because your self-respect would not let you live in someone else's house then I'll sell the house to you. That way all of us can live in your house rather than in mine."

Milind was moved by his mother-in-law's words. She was willing to sell the only property in her name so that he will consider moving in with her! It showed how much she wanted them around her. With Alaap gone, the two women were quite alone in the house. Moreover, he knew she was eager to spend time with her grand children. The children will also cheer up Sukriti who was going through a rough patch with her divorce. He was not so selfish as to hold on to his 'self-respect' when his loved ones needed him. Making up his mind he told his mother-in-law that he did not want her to sell her property to him. Inder had gifted her the house and it will always remain hers no matter what. He will move his family to Shah House to his mother's house. PL had tears in her eyes when he referred to her as his mother. She held his hands and said she knew how much he is sacrificing to keep her happy and she will always remember that.

While Milind and his family were moving into Shah House over the next two days, Ayesha and her parents were moving out of Neev's residence into their own house. Mr.Garodia had purchased the same bungalow that Milind was planning to buy. Although Neev was sad that Ayesha was leaving, he knew she will be back in around two months as his wife and live with him permanently, for their wedding date was set on May 12^th, the same day Milind and Prachi got married.

With Milind's business growing, he needed trust worthy, hard working people to help in managing his affairs, especially with the anticipated future responsibilities of taking care of three small babies. When he consulted Prachi in the matter she suggested Ganpat's name for taking charge of his first hotel, the erstwhile Garodia hotel which was renamed as Shah-Mishra Hotel. Milind considered it was a good idea and coaxed his friend-cum-brother-in-law to accept the offer. Although Ganpat was initially reluctant, fearing that he may not be able to handle the responsibility, Milind encouraged him saying that he will always be there to extend his help and guidance. Finally Ganpat accepted the job and moved his family into the flat Milind had vacated.

One week later

It was the day before the date set for the arrival of the triplets. That night Prachi had trouble sleeping as she was weighed down by anxiety of what awaited her the next day. This was accentuated by difficulty in breathing caused by pressure on the lungs from the uterus pushing up on the diaphragm. Although the movements of the babies had considerably reduced as they did not have much space to move around, the shortness of breath made it difficult to sleep comfortably. Milind realised her problem and thrust additional pillows under her head to keep her in a semi-propped up position so that she can breathe more easily. He then sang a completely off-key lullaby to her to get her to sleep but it only served to drive away whatever little sleep she was getting otherwise. Prachi, however, did not have the heart to ask him to stop singing, so she pretended to doze off. This had the desired effect because Milind stopped singing soon and went to sleep himself. Prachi opened her eyes once she heard her husband gently snore beside her and gazed at his face lovingly. Suddenly she felt a sharp Braxton Hicks contraction. Although she has been having these contractions for the last few weeks, they seemed to be much more sharper, intense and more frequent now. During the contractions, she felt the tightening of the uterus which began at the top of her stomach and travels downward before relaxing. Although these contractions are generally painless, the ones she was having just then were causing her a lot of discomfort making her squirm. Milind immediately woke up, disturbed by her restlessness and was alarmed to see Prachi's face contorted. She was holding the front of her stomach and biting her lower lip. Realising that she was having one of the Braxton Hicks contractions, he asked her to get up and holding her, he got her out of the bed. He then made her walk up and down the room till she felt the discomfort subsiding. He slowly made her lie down again, turning her on her side so that the pressure is lessened. He massaged her back till she finally fell asleep.

The next morning Milind escorted Prachi to the puja room where PL, Suki and Baba were waiting for her. They all prayed for the well-being of the mother and the babies. Baba wanted to remain in front of their God and keep praying till he hears the good news. So Milind, Prachi, PL and Sukriti left for the hospital where Prachi was wheeled into the operation theatre after the doctor examined her.

Back in Shah House Baba had not stopped praying for his daughter-in-law, holding tightly to the feet of the resident diety, Lord Krishna. He was disturbed from his prayers by the blaring of the telephone. Ramu kaka was about to lift the phone but Baba stopped him saying that he wanted to be the first one to hear the good news. Ramu kaka smiled and gave him the wireless receiver. It was Milind on the other side.

"Baba!" he couldn't contain the jubilation in his voice "I am a father, Baba, father of a son and two daughters! They are soooo tiny baba but they are sooooo beauuuuuutiful! They are....."

Baba broke in and asked about his daughter-in-law.

"Sorry Baba. Forgot to mention that Prachi is fine. She is still unconscious from the effect of the anaesthesia but the doctor says she is doing well. I am right now by her side. Want to be the first one she sees when she comes around."

PL snatched the cell from Milind and gushed. "Mishraji, you and I have become grand parents!" she said excitedly.

Baba's eyes were streaming with tears of joy. "Thanks be to Lord Krishna!" he exclaimed, turning to look at the idol of the resident deity with great reverence. Sukriti took the cell from PL and screeched, "Baba, I have become an aunt! I have become an aunt!" She was literally jumping with joy.

"Yes,beta. You have become an aunt but don't shout so much. You'll scare your Prachi bhabhi. The poor girl has just gone through the toughest ordeal for any mother."

"Sorry Baba," she apologised and moved closer to the door. "Got carried away in all the excitement. Baba!" she screeched again. "Bhabhi has opened her eyes. I'll talk to you later."

Baba smiled contentedly and returning the receiver to Ramu kaka he proclaimed proudly,"Ramu, I have become a grandfather!" Ramu kaka shook his hands and rushed to prepare kheer to celebrate the happy occassion.

"I thought that on the wedding night, the new bride normally sits demurely on the bed, her head covered with ghunghat, patiently awaiting the arrival of her husband. Here my bride seems to want me to wear the ghunghat instead as she is covering my head with her saree! Quite a novel reception, I must say!"

He turned around to look teasingly at his wife.

A flustered Ayesha tried to explain herself by rapidly rambling, "I am sorry, Neev. I didn't mean to throw that saree at you. If it hadn't been for your keenness that I wear a saree for the wedding, I wouldn't have worn one; I'd have settled for a lehenga choli. But then I couldn't deny you the pleasure of seeing me in a saree. I thought I'll wait for you in it but the saree was so heavy and you took so much time coming up to the room, I couldn't bear to wear it for another minute. So I decided to change into something more comfy. I had just got out of the saree and aimed to throw it on the bed. Only it landed on you instead. Hope you don't mind."

"Mind?Why should I mind? How many husbands will have the pleasure of being greeted by a half naked wife instead of a fully covered one on their wedding night?" he teased.

Ayesha gave him a sharp slap on his arm.

"Ouch!" he caught her hand. "That hurt!"

Twisting her hand out of his, Ayesha turned around and sat in front of the dressing table mirror, removing her jewellery. She unscrewed her ear rings and moved on to her necklace. Neev who was busy removing his watch, looked up and saw his wife wrestling with her heavy necklace as she unsuccessfully tried to remove the offensive piece of jewellery. Smiling at her impatience, he walked behind her and pushing her hands gently away, he proceeded to unclasp the necklace. He swung it over her head and laid it on the dressing table. He then bent down and kissed the nape of her neck, making her tremble. Holding by her waist he lifted her up and sitting on the stool in her place he pulled her on to his lap. As she stared into his eyes, he held her hands and seductively slid her bangles out of them, one by one. Once he finished removing the last of the bangles, he gently kissed her hands. He then moved to her fingers and slid her rings from them leaving behind only the engagement ring. He kissed each finger making her quiver at the feel on his lips on her finger tips. He looked up and seeing her try hard to stifle a yawn, his heart sank at the thought that she found his amorous overtures so boring. But then he noticed the tiredness in her eyes and understood that the elaborate and lengthy wedding celebrations had taken a toll on the poor girl.

He lifted her. laid her on the bed and asked her to go to sleep. She tried to protest saying that it was their nuptial night. Pushing back a stray tendril of hair which had fallen over her eyes, he cupped her face and said that he was prepared to wait, for they have an entire life time of togetherness. Right now she needed to rest and he will make sure she gets it. She gratefully acknowledged his patience by flinging her arms around his neck and pulling him to her for a goodnight kiss. Soon she slipped into a deep slumber. He watched her sleeping face thinking back on the same day the previous year when he had kissed her in his inebriated state and she had slapped him. Now she had kissed him on her own accord. They have indeed come a long, long way! He smiled at the thought and got up to change into his night clothes. He then stretched beside her and he too went to sleep.

The next morning Ayesha woke up at 8.00 a.m. Not finding Neev beside her she looked at the clock and realising she had overslept, she rushed to brush her teeth. As she stepped out of the bathroom, she saw Neev enter in with a tray of two tea cups.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty. Hope you had a good night's sleep," he said genially.

"Sorry, I overslept," she apologised and taking the tray from his hand she left it on the side table. She then swung her arms around his neck and enveloped his full lips in hers in a deep kiss. He held her by the waist and drew her close, making her aware of how much he wanted her. With their lips still locked he pushed her gently on the bed, covering her body with his. Even as they ignited each other and their marital bed with the fire of their passion, the tea went cold in the nearby side table, not that either of them cared.

Later as they lay exhausted, she snuggled close to him and buried her head in his chest. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head, murmuring,

"Wow, you are quite a revelation. When you told me you loved me passionately, I didn't realise just how much, baby. You left me with no doubt after now. I wouldn't tire of receiving as much of this passionate love, ever!"

Ayesha punched his chest.

"Ouch! You'll have to stop doing that, though!" He pretended to be cross with her.

She bent her head and kissed him gently where she punched him.

"Unless you do that every time you punch me!" he added.

She smiled and said that he was a wonderful lover too as he made her feel so special. She then hugged him tight, revelling in the knowledge that he will always love her, no matter what.

L(4)

As soon as they reached home Prachi and Milind carried their babies to their room and Prachi got busy feeding Ishan who was the most demanding of the three. The two girls were relatively easier to please. Both of them lay drooping, one each on each of Milind's shoulders, on their way back, the motion of the car rocking them to sleep. Milind carefully laid them both in their respective cradles and kneeling between the two cradles, he rocked them gently. A few minutes later Meghna opened her large eyes and looked around. Seeing her father's face looking over her lovingly, she smiled and kicked her chubby arms and legs, indicating her desire to be carried by him. Milind smiled back and lifted her in his large arms, placing his palm at the back of her neck and head to support them. He noticed her licking her lips indicating that she too was hungry.

"What can I do Milind? Your son has a gargantuan appetite which never seems to get satisfied. He's not letting go!"

Milind walked up to Prachi and kneeling before her, he bent over to gaze at his son while holding on to his daughter. Ishan saw him from the corner of his eyes but continued to tug at Prachi, sucking vigorously. Milind stretched his hand forward and pressed his son's cheeks from both sides with his thumb and middle finger so that the boy was forced to let go of her.

Milind had been extremely helpful and kept his word of taking care of the babies - changing them, bathing them, burping them, entertaining them and putting them to sleep - but as far as feeding them goes, there was not much he could do to help. He suggested that they rotate their feeds, i.e., alternatively give mother's milk and formula feed so that the babies get the benefit of mother's milk and she also gets some respite in between when they are bottle fed, but Prachi wanted to exclusively feed them herself, atleast for the first three months.

Not wanting to upset her Milind made sure she replenished her energy by making her drink plenty of water as her body needed extra hydration to produce milk. A jug of water was always kept by her side which he refilled constantly. He also kept feeding her plenty of fruits, greens, vegetables and fish. Although they normally do not cook non-vegetarian food at home, both Prachi and Milind do have them when they go out for lunch or dinner. As he was told that fish was rich in protein and iron, he learnt how to prepare various dishes in fish from Ayesha and requested PL to allow him to cook them for his wife. PL, who would not dream of allowing anyone except Ramu kaka into her kitchen, that too to cook fish, had to consent because he was doing it for her daughter and her grand children. She had given him a separate saucepan and requested that he uses only that for cooking the fish. Although Ramu kaka had volunteered to cook on more than one occassion, Milind would not allow him to do so. That day too he had prepared fish fingers before leaving for the wedding.

After putting all the three babies to sleep he went to the kitchen and brought the dish to his wife who had in the meantime dozed off out of sheer exhaustion. He gently kissed her forehead which woke her up. He then fed her the fish till the plate was empty. After she washed up he sat by her side on the bed, their backs to the head board and put his arm around her shoulder. She leaned on his chest and thanked him for being so caring and he grunted that she should not be thanking him for he was only doing his duty. They then started discussing their babies.

"Who do you think our babies have taken after?" asked Milind curiously.

"Is there any doubt on that count, Milind? Ishan looks exactly like you except for his nose which is more like mine."

"Does he now?" he asked in surprise. "I don't see the resemblance" he declared, observing him more closely. Looking at his daughters, he continued, "But I must admit that Petal and Ribby take after you."

"They have your lovely kissable lips, though. I am sure once they turn into young ladies they will have guys cueing up to kiss them," she said teasingly, to irk her possessive husband.

"Let the guys dare!" roared Milind, menacing. "They'll have to face me first."

"Why, are you going to kiss them?" asked Prachi innocently, trying hard to suppress a smile.

He glared at her. "I'll break their bones if they so much as lift their eyes to see my beautiful daughters lustfully. I'll choose the men my daughters will marry."

"You think your daughters will let you have your way?"

"Of course they will, won't you darlings?" he asked leaning towards their cradles.

"Sh..sh..don't wake them up."

They wouldn't have slept for more than an hour when the babies woke up one after another. Milind hastily got up and switching on the bed lamp he went to their cradles. While Ice wailed loudly, Ribby and Petal made whimpering sounds. Feeling their bottoms, he realised they needed a change of diapers which were soaked wet. He brought them fresh diapers and changed them but soon they felt hungry and started crying again. He looked at Prachi who was still in deep slumber. He didn't have the heart to wake her up. It was the first day that Prachi had stepped out of the house after child birth and although they had not stayed back for all the rituals of the wedding, it must have been pretty exhausting for her, he thought. Just then Sukriti who had heard Ice's wail, knocked on their door and asked her brother if he needed help. He asked her to keep an eye on them while he gets them something to drink. She nodded and rocked their cradles in turns to pacify them temporarily.

He ran to the kitchen where he had the formula feed and feeding bottles stored without Prachi's knowledge. He heated water in two separate vessels, one for mixing the formula food and the other to sterilise the bottles and nipples. After the water started boiling in both the vessels, he first rinsed the bottles with the hot water from one vessel and waited for the water to cool a bit in the other vessel. Looking up the instructions given in the label on the side of the tin, he then mixed the powder formula and liquid concentrate with the required amount of water and cooled the milk before filling all the three bottles. He checked the warmth of the milk by holding the bottle against his wrist and satisfying himself that everything was alright, he took the bottles back to his room. Sukriti was having a tough time managing the three hungry babies. He rushed to her rescue and quickly thrust the nipples of the bottles into the lips of his daughters and gave the third bottle to Sukriti who in turn put the bottle in Ishan's waiting mouth. Soon the babies were sucking the nipples contentedly as their hunger was satiated. Milind and Sukriti smiled at each other.

After the babies had finished their bottle, Milind and Sukriti burped the babies and returned them back to the cradle. Just then Prachi turned in her sleep and not feeling Milind next to her, she got up with a start and tried to open her groggy eyes. The light from the night lamp made her crinkle her eyes. When her eyes got adjusted to the light she opened them wide to see Milind and Sukriti bent over the cradles. She asked them if anything was wrong, concerned about her babies. Sukriti assured her that everything was fine and that the babies have just been fed.

"Fed? How?" asked Prachi confused.

"Bhaiyya gave them bottle feed," replied Sukriti.

"What??? Bottle feed when I am around?" she shrieked, in indignation.

Milind who was busy patting the ever restless Ribby to sleep, asked his sister to take care of her and sat beside Prachi.

"Prachi, take it easy darling. You were too exhausted and the babies were crying of hunger. I didn't have the heart to disturb you after today's exhausting outing. So I decided to take care of them myself."

Prachi burst out crying. "What sort of a mommy am I, sleeping through my babies cries," she wailed pitifully.

"Yes, bhabhi. Bhaiyya is right. Nobody can do a better job than you but you do need to let people help you. We are all there for it. An occasional bottle feed should not hurt the babies."

Milind rolled his eyes and passed on the ever ready Ice to her. Although the boy was initially not willing to feed, having been fed only moments earlier, he soon got busy. After a few minutes, he slept against her bosom. She smiled and gave him back to Milind who in turn returned him to the cradle. The girls were fast asleep by then. Milind raised his eyebrows silently enquiring what to do. Prachi smiled and said that it was alright as they will be up soon enough, ready for their next feed. As she settled back on the bed, Milind turned off the light and tried to catch a few winks of sleep before the next round of diaper changing and feeding starts.

Milind was aghast at hearing the details of this master plan to bring about Alaap's downfall. He asked Saket why did he indulge in such under-handed activities. Saket did not want to drag Sukriti's name in this, knowing she was Milind's sister and he would be upset with her. So he just told him that he had an old score to settle with Alaap and joined his company only to exact his revenge. Milind was disgusted with him and asked him to resign from the company immediately if he did not want legal actions against him. Saket silently nodded and left his cabin only to return within a few minutes with his resignation letter.

That afternoon Milind went home for lunch as he had been doing ever since the arrival of his kids. Mala was there with her 14-month daughter, Bhavya, who was fascinated with the eight-month old triplets who were strapped to their baby seats and being fed by Prachi, Sukriti and PL. She was asking her mother how come Meghna and Sahana look alike in her childish gibberish. Her mother who was feeding her explained that they were identical twins. Mala then looked up at Prachi and asked her how she can tell one from the other. Sukriti laughed and said that they always dressed Meghna and Sahana in different clothes so that they can make out who is who. Just then Milind stepped in and seeing him, Mala smiled broadly. Bhavya ran to her uncle and raised her arms. Milind lifted her up and kissed her plump cheeks asking what his favourite niece was up to these days. She started rambling away in her undecipherable gibberish and Milind nodded his head, pretending to understand every word she said. Mala took her daughter from him and asked him how Ganpat was discharging his responsibilities as a manager. Milind assured her that he was doing a wonderful job and has come up with new and innovative ways to make his hotel more popular. Mala was happy to hear this. Having finished with the feeding of the triplets the three resident women of Shah House asked all of them to come for lunch. Baba slowly ambled in with his walking stick. He no longer required the walker to move around.

Mala soon left with Bhavya after kissing her nieces and nephew goodbye. Milind then asked Prachi if he can speak to her alone. PL and Sukriti assured her that they will take care of the kids. Prachi followed Milind to their room wondering what he wanted to talk to her about. Once they were in their room, Milind told her everything that transpired that morning. Prachi's initial guilt at having hidden the truth from Milind turned into alarm when he informed her that he forced Saket to quit.

"Milind you cannot do that to Saket. He is not to be blamed. He only wanted to help."

"Help who?" asked Milind angrily.

She was about to blurt out how Sukriti and Saket had planned all this together but realised that Milind will get angry with Sukriti. She, therefore, decided to assume the blame herself.

"Milind, I wanted him to bring down Alaap."

"You wanted to ruin your own brother?" he asked stunned. "Why?"

She then told him that her brother was heartless enough to sell his own sister for the greed of owning the stocks which her father had willed to the man who would marry her. She wanted her husband to get back what was rightfully him. She framed Alaap in a false case because he was responsible for showing him that disgusting music video of Kunal kissing her inorder to break up her marriage. He was the one who planted Mr.Bansal in Milind's hotel and was all set to plant someone else in his place to bring about loss and disrepute to Milind. He was a snake who was adamant at poisoning her family. She will not let him do that. So she decided to pre-empt him.

"Attack is the best form of defence. So I asked Saket to help me to annihilate my own brother for he does not deserve to be one. He has never been a good husband, or a good son, or a good brother," she said gritting her teeth.

Milind was astounded to see this violent side of Prachi. Was it really his wife? How can she be so crooked and cold blooded?

Recovering from his shock, he lashed out at her. "First of all why did you not tell me that Alaap was the one behind that video? Secondly, why did you not tell me that he was trying to ruin me and my business? Would I not have tackled him myself? How can you drag me into this crooked and cunning plan and make me buy the shares of your father's company at values which were well below the market value? I hate dishonesty and devious ways. I don't believe that means justify the end. However crooked and heartless your brother may be, I will not stoop to his level and do things behind his back. I would have confronted him about what he had done to my family and what he was intending to do. I would have fought him fair and square. You have made me indirectly a part of this mess. You have made me enjoy something which is not mine. If I had bought your father's shares at their true market value, I would have felt that I earned them but now I feel unworthy of taking over your father's business. I feel I have entered through the back door while the man who sold his company to me is locked up for a crime he did not commit. This is not fair or just. I am deeply disappointed in you, Prachi, I am disappointed in you. "

He looked at her in disgust and walked out of the room stiffly even as a stunned Prachi crumbled on the bed weeping bitterly. Sukriti and PL who were in the next room, which was the children's nursery, laying Meghna and Sahana on their baby beds after they had fallen asleep, had rushed out hearing the noise in Milind's bedroom and had heard their confrontation from the moment Prachi admitted to planning Alaap's downfall till the end. Sukriti ran behind Milind and dragged him to her room to explain everything.

PL staggered into Prachi's room and sat beside her daughter, taking her in her arms. She was shocked to learn that Alaap had literally sold his sister for her husband's wealth. She was not aware that Inder had willed half his company to the man her daughter was to marry and that Milind had written off his rights on the company inorder to ensure his sister's life was secure. Even after receiving everything, Alaap had treated his wife, Milind's sister, so badly. His own sister, Prachi was subjected to a life of hardship in the chawl because of his greed. The enormity of Alaap's sins just hit her hard. Of late she was beginning to soften towards her son. After today, she resolved that she will visit him in the jail, not to console him as she had earlier thought of doing, but to lambast him for his crimes against his own kith and kin. She wanted to tell him that he deserved this and more.

In the meantime, Sukriti narrated the whole truth to Milind. "How can you be so harsh with a woman who has always been your support in good times and in bad? Don't you know your wife better, Bhaiyya? Would she really do things that you detest? In fact she tried to stop us from embarking on this plan partly because she felt it was dangerous and was scared that Alaap would finish me off if he comes to know of it but mostly because it was something you would never agree to. But then this is not concerning you, Bhaiyya. That man has ruined my life, my happiness, my peace of mind. He was busy cuddling up with his mistress when my son lay dead here. I had to teach him a lesson. I had to get justice and this was the only way I could have got it. I did not want to trouble you with my problems. You have done enough for this troublesome sister of yours. It is time I take care of my own problems. Saket is a good man Bhaiyya. Please do not punish him for helping me. As to feeling unworthy because you bought the shares at below the market value, let me tell you this. Immediately after the market came to know that you had taken over the company did the share prices not sky rocket to new highs? Does that not show how much faith and confidence people have in your ability? You deserve everything you have got so far, including your wife and babies."

Milind was reeling in shock hearing that his young and innocent sister connived with Saket to mastermind Alaap's downfall. Now she was even giving him a lecture on how he needs to treat his family!

Just then he received a call on his cell. It was his secretary who reminded him that he had to address an important board meeting in less than an hour. He decided he will take care of the Alaap issue later and quickly returned to his office. He first called up Saket and apologising to him, he asked him if he was willing to resume duty the next day because he needed him. Although Saket was initially hesitant, he finally gave in and promised to report for work the next day.

After concluding the board meeting, he returned home early that evening. He felt bad shouting at Prachi that afternoon. She should have confided all this to him but as Sukriti pointed out, he would not have allowed their plan to take off. For Sukriti that was not an option and, hence, she forbade her bhabhi to discuss it either before or after the execution of the plan. No matter what, he will not allow a man to be punished for a crime he did not commit, but before that he first needs to make peace with Prachi.

When he reached home he saw Prachi with sullen face. He tried to talk to her but she did not respond. He then decided to elicit the support of his kids in an effort to placate their mother. He went up to Ice and lifting him up he asked him to punch his dada because he had been bad to his mama. Ice couldn't believe his luck at being given such a chance. He widened his eyes and readily punched his chest as forcefully as his tiny fist could. Milind pretended to be hurt and let out a loud 'Ouch', sending Ice into a peel of laughter. Hearing this Meghna and Sahana also wanted to play this new 'game' with their dad. He let Ice down and picked up both his daughters in each of his arms and asked them to pinch him and slap him. While Meghna gleefully pinched one of his chubby cheek, Sahana gave him a tight slap on the other with her tiny hands. 'Ouch, Ouch', he yelled prompting loud giggles from the girls. Soon he was alternatively punched, pinched and slapped by all his three kids and he obliged them by responding with loud 'ouches'. Prachi couldn't resist smiling at his antics and pulled her kids away from him saying that they had enough of fun hitting her husband. She will not let them hit him anymore. Milind's face broke into a smile seeing his wife spring to his defence. He pulled her into his arms and apologising to her, he kissed her forehead. He then opened his arms wide to envelope his entire family in them.

"Prachi, what would you want our kids to become?" asked Milind

"I want them to do whatever their hearts desire," replied Prachi.

"Yes, but what do you think their hearts will desire?" persisted Milind.

"Isn't it too early to say, Milind?" she quipped.

"Prachi I think you can read them pretty well even now. I think my son will become a shrewd business man like me. The other day I noticed him exchanging his broken toys for two big bars of chocolate from his gullible sisters."

Prachi smiled at that. He continued, "Ribby will become an artist like you. Did you see the picture she drew of me and you?"

"What picture?" asked Prachi in confusion as Milind led her to the water fountain.

"The one she drew yesterday," he enlightened her sitting beside her on the cemented rim of the small pool surrounding the fountain.

"You mean the two large crooked circles with four disconnected lines at the bottom?"

"Well, atleast she is showing some inclination in that direction. With a little practice, she will do better. Afterall she has a resident tutor to teach her."

"And Sahana? What will she become?" asked Prachi curiously, enjoying listening to his tall dreams for his kids.

"She is definitely the next Latha Mangeshkar, sorry, the next singing sensation Prachi Mishra," he said with confidence. "Have you not heard her melodious songs when she is being bathed?"

"Come on Prachi, don't be so harsh in judging them. They have the necessary basics. It is up to us to polish them and make them shine."

"You are right, Milind. Our kids are little geniuses!" agreed Prachi getting up and pulling him up. "It is getting late. We need to get back home before mama sends a search party to look for us."

"It is not!" he said quite emphatically as he slipped the nightie down her shoulders. "It happened a couple of nights back. It happened last week too. In fact I have been noticing it ever since we resumed normal marital relations three months back. He cries the minute I approach you and then goes off to sleep when we go check on him."

"Milind, now stop accusing my poor baby of being a 'kabab mein haddi'(dog in the manger) and get on with what you have started. Our three angels will soon wake up for their night feed." Although Prachi had nearly weaned them, she still gave them one feed at night.

Needing no further invitation or warning, he quickly got ready to show his wife how attractive she was as a woman even now after becoming a mother of three. After a passionate and loving union, they had a quick shower before the kids woke up for their night feed.

Milind sauntered out and brought in his kids one by one as their mother lovingly took care of their needs. Later after the babies had fallen asleep they laid them on their large bed between the two of them and interlacing their fingers, they kissed each other tenderly.

"I couldn't ask for a more fulfilling life, darling. My entire world is right here on this bed," whispered Milind huskily.