2.11 MASK II - A (KAPOORS')
Tia was exhausted. Her ankles ached and her light headache' from the previous evening had turned into an all-out hammer contest.
The charade was spiraling.
She knew it.
Her mother knew it.
And the more they tried to salvage it, the more complicated the spiral grew.
And as she sat in the backseat of the luxurious Mercedes - she wondered (not for the first time in the last few weeks) if this was really worth it?
Noticing that they had already pulled into the driveway of the Oberoi Mansion- she tried to ready herself to go in - but somehow... she just couldn't find the strength.
Not yet anyway.
Closing her eyes and just letting her thoughts wonder, she found the same memories circling her.
Dushyant was a simple man - and he had been begging her non-stop these past few weeks to reconsider the whole thing.
And she felt herself pale slightly at the stupid stunts he had been pulling in the last few weeks as warning-shots to get her attention.
First coming to Oberoi Mansion - then fooling around with her even as she video-chatted with Pinky Oberoi and Jhanvi Oberoi.
If her mother ever found out about those stunts -
She shuddered at the thought.
No - she couldn't event think about it.
Because despite everything - despite every single negative part of her life and the charade now - he was one thing that made her 'just happy'... and she shuddered to think what her mother would do if she ever found out that he had actively tried to disrupt everything that she had worked on for the last five years.
Five years.
The charade had taken over their whole lives for five years now.
Sigh.
And she remembered the night when her life had changed so well that she almost fell like it had happened only yesterday.
It was five years ago.
It was two days before her 22nd birthday - and she had just flown back home after her graduation from NYU - her girlfriends were waiting to catch up with her - and they were just discussing the waiting list for the new Louis Vuitton monogram when her mother had walked in.
She remembered jumping and running to her.
It had been a year that she had seen her and dad - but her mom seemed to have changed.
And her dad - her mother was almost robotic as she told her how her father had passed away in his sleep almost eight moths ago because of multiple age-issues.
Tia had felt her eyes moisten.
They had never been the perfect family.
How could they have been?
They were Kapoors' weren't they?
Her father was almost twenty-five years older than her mother - and like every single old-money' family in the world, issues were never talked about - appearances mattered more than relationships and most importantly - [Victorian era reminiscent] gender roles were not only respected but they were almost biblical.
She of course loved her father. He was always there for every single birthday, Diwali, graduation - each celebration marked a shower of gifts and a beautiful letter telling her just how much he loved having a beautiful little girl that he could show the world.
But then as she stood listening to her mom calling at her - she remembered wanting to for the first time in her life claw away at her mom's perfect face.
"How could you keep this from me mom?"
There was not a single flicker of sadness in her eyes as she continued - "There was nothing to be done Tia."
"Your father was seventy-three and had multiple heart conditions - I am just relieved that we didn't have to go through the insurance hurricane -"
Tia could not listen anymore - but the night seemed to have more. She wanted to do something - scream at her mom.
She stood speechless as her friends left (making excuses) and she remembered crying for hours after.
Could things get any worse?
But life seemed to have more planned, because just then - her mother's phone rang.
And she remembered the foreboding that she had felt then as the night had spiralled into a complete disaster.
Of course the stock prices for the Kapoor industries had been on the downward ever since the news of the untimely death of the chairman had started doing the rounds.
But it was only that night that the board of director's had made that decision.
A decision that ended up changing their lives overnight. A decision that was not only toeing the lines between legal and illegal but also brought a storm in their lives that threatened to drown them overnight.
The board had auctioned off the company.
Her father's company - auctioned off for quarter of the actual turnover that year.
The deeds were signed three nights ago.
Every company-owned asset was now dismantled and every employee fired. There was nothing but a ghost of the industry that could even be salvaged from the rubble.
And even as the shock was still sinking - there was more.
Their insurance claim had been denied.
And that was the first time in her life that Tia had seen her mother reacting so passionately.
The night was still slightly hazed for her, but she remembered struggling to keep her mother from frantically destroying every single piece of furniture in the house. She remembered the hysterical rants and she clearly remembered the growing foreboding in her stomach.
And the week after that followed was similar - where they had called every single lawyer in the country - only to be turned down each time - nobody wanted to touch their case.
Thus each passing day sealed more of their fate.
They were spiraling towards a bankruptcy - and the debt only piled on as they fought tooth and nail to keep the news out of the papers and outside the usual gossip circles.
They guarded the secret with their lives.
Tia remembering seeing a crazed look in her mother's eyes when one of the women from her Thursday luncheon parties had mentioned in passing about the bankruptcy rumor.
And that was when Mrs. Kapoor had started making the plan.
"Exc- Excuse me Tia madam - but we have reached..."
The hesitant voice of the driver suddenly pulled her away from her thoughts.
And she noticed for the first time the silent light on her phone, which now showed that an unknown number was calling her.
She had been waiting for this call all day.
With the grace of the most perfected poise, she looked up at the driver quietly and in a single motion of her hand waved once as a gesture of dismissal.
And even as she heard the slight thud of the door closing, she answered with the simple -
"What took so long?"
"I was caught up. What's the next step?"
"Get Annika out of my way - "
She could hear the almost hitch in the breathing and she could almost feel the hair on her neck stand up as she heard him whisper - "consider it done -"
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Hello! I know its been forever but I would still like to thank each and everyone of you for sticking with the story. A special shoutout to AC - can I just take a moment to tell you how much I adore your stories? You ARE sooo incredibly talented that I almost always end up wishing that I not read your work so that I shouldn't come to the end of it - did that make sense? Anyway... so much love xx
Coming back to 'An Ishqbaaaz Rising', since its been so long I just wanted to put in a quick reminder that in this story its only been about two days since 'the wedding'...and this chapter is in three parts and I have them all written (will be proofing and posting it over the next two days) - so please do leave in your feedback and comments because they actually make me write more!
All my love, LJ
xx
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