Annika stood on the stool and hung out the garlands of flowers around the dais. She looked at her handiwork from above , appreciating how lovely it looked. It was simple, yet so pleasing to the eye, floral smell permeating the hall making everyone stop to appreciate the spectacle.
Mrs. Kapoor and Pinky Oberoi had insisted on roses in white and red this time, and she was now being tortured with the smell of her favourite flowers, as she prepared for the wedding of the man she loved, to someone else.
Shivaay was furious with her. That much she could see clearly. He had blown a fuse when she insisted to leave him and his life, so he could marry Tia, and accept her baby as his. She was determined to walk out, and he really lost it. He looked into her eyes and shook her body by the shoulders, incredulous that she would ask him to do such a thing. His eyes bore an immense pain, that she tried to decipher, but he turned away. He didn't give her the words she needed to hear.
It looked like , almost, as though he knew she hadn't lost her memories after all. But she had to keep the facade going, because her intention was to catch Tia in her lies. But now she got messed up in this marriage drama, it was a pain like no other she had ever felt.
Shivaay is now going to marry Tia. Back to square one, when they first met.
He stood prowling around as she worked. Trying his very best to make her react to his proximity to Tia. He started touching Tia as familiarly as would her, and she felt bile rise in her throat. She looked away, hiding her hurt by lowering her lashes, averting her eyes. His eyes followed hers like a hawk, out for the scent of blood. The cruelty in his face was biting, his smile looked like a grimace , his voice mocking as he sent her on one errand after another, designed to keep her around to watch him with Tia.
She kept herself busy, as there was actually too many things to do. She took solace in her work, letting her mind wander away from the angry man bent on hurting her. Later, he insisted she must attend the Mehendi and Sangeet ceremonies that evening, knowing full well she was planning not to.
Why are you punishing me, God. Was I so wrong to fall in love with this man? Why does he not give me sanctuary, but repeated torture and pain? Please give me peace from this misery.
She walked out into the festivities , the guests mingling and laughing around the couple at the center, resplendent in matching green. She stood in the peripheries, keeping herself busy with her errands and the workers. Stealing glances of the the man she loved, dancing and making merry with his would-be wife. And every time she would glance at him, she would find his piercing eyes fixed solely on her. Accusing, mocking, angry eyes.
Somehow , she pulled through the evening, and got ready for bed. Having stealthily removed her clothes from Shivaay's room to Prinku's , she just wanted to curl up and sleep off this horrible day and prepare for the next. Walking past Shivaay's room, she discovered he had planned a special punishment for moving out of his room. A small scene , staged just for her, as he and Tia hugged each other in his room. He looked up as though just noticing her, frowned and marched up to shut the door on her, and the lights went off inside.
This man is so cruel, Dear God, I dunno how I'm going to take any more of this pain.
She ran off into Prinku's room and cried herself to sleep, her stifled sobs torturing Prinku as well. The younger girl hugged her Bhabhi from behind and tried to absorb every sob and hiccup, to share this awful pain her stupid brother was inflicting on the woman he loved like no other. Men are so dumb.
Annika slept poorly, giving up on sleep at 4 am. She got ready and decided to go start on some work in the hall, as a head start. The house was quiet, although her mind was muddled and heavy with thoughts, there was no Shivaay to torture her.
Work went on, Annika and her helpers were working furiously for the wedding ceremony this evening, as Shivaay prowled around like a shark. She simply avoided his eyes, and his mother kept him busy with other things thankfully. A huge consignment of gifts arrived for Tia, she gushed and shrieked with glee, hugging Shivaay happily. But his angry eyes hunted for her, and she refused to give him more than a few seconds of eye contact. Tears were dangerously close to bursting out from her, she was about to run out when a helper came to her with a little gift box.
"Shivaay sir says this one is for you..."
Frowning a little, she opened the box and felt her eyes well over with tears. It was a diamond and gold charm in the shape of a star, with a clasp hook. It would attach perfectly on to her own bracelet of moon charms, being it's center piece. She looked up and found his eyes instantly. There was no anger there, only love and longing, as she felt her defences crumble. Hiding away behind an adjacent wall, she gathered her stuck breath as a loud shout rang from the front door.
"BHABHI !!!! "
It was Rudra. And angry , uncharacteristically loud Rudra, demanding through the hall for her, not bothering to greet anyone else. Shivaay went to him and got brushed off, as he marched towards the kitchen. Zeroing on her location, he grabbed her hand and pulled her along to his room. Dragging her in, he closed the door and locked it. Immediately, he turned and held his Bhabhi in his arms tight.
She dissolved into silent rocking tears as he whispered "Shhh... Bhabhi, It'll be okay.." over and over. He held in her in a bear hug as she spent her tears of the difficult past few days.
"Too much tears Bhabhi. But Fhat the whuck is happening here? None of this was part of our plan!! "
"Things got out of hand Rudra. This is what everybody wants."
"I don't believe for one second THIS is what Bhaiya wants AT ALL. He loves you Bhabhi. Trust me. A LOT. You didn't see him in that hospital bed when you were gone."
"But as you can see Rudra, he is not saying or doing anything to stop this. What can I do?"
"Fight it! Tell him YOU LOVE HIM too! And you hate all of this, and you're dying inside. "
"I won't Rudra. This is for the best. Look, the elders are happy and celebrating. I'm not going to spoil it for them. "
"So you chose to suffer, and let Bhaiya ruin his life also."
Annika choked on a sob. Unhappy that she has to be the one to decide everything. Well, she has decided.
"Anyway , Bhabhi, the "Plan" is on as scheduled. But the situation in the house is going to make it a huge BOMB BLAST. " he made a booom sound for effect. Annika smiled wanly, glad that at least the purpose for all this charade was going as planned.
Rudra wiped her tears and gripped her hands. "This time tomorrow, Bhaiya will be holding your hands and saying sorry for the 100th time. Just hang on there, okay?"
Annika smiled uncertainly. At a distance they heard Shivaay's calling for Rudra, his voice emerging closer to the room. Rudra let Annika escape out of his secret escape window with a wink, and opened the door. Shivaay came in , hunting the room for a sign of Annika, and puzzled at her absence.
"Bhaiya !!" he gushed enthusiastically, hugging his big brother tight. Shivaay smiled and ruffled his hair , to the younger boy's consternation. Easing into chit chat and leaving the room, he turned back to make sure the room was empty.
**
That evening, the atmosphere was thick with anticipation and nervousness. Shivaay had just received another threat from Mrs. Kapoor , not to back out of the wedding. He felt sick to his stomach seeing someone else seated next to him in a bridal dress. If he had half a chance , he would make a run for it.
Correct that. Grab Annika and make a run for it.
Where was she? He searched the crowd for her unsuccessfully. He could feel her somewhere.
The pandit began his long mantras , and he felt an acidity in his stomach. Looking up suddenly he saw Annika, a vision in soft pink with a white rose in her hair. His heart lurched with longing, and she turned right then to meet his eyes. Time stood still as they searched each other's eyes for each other's love. She looked away, wiping tears surreptitiously. The sight of her tears upset him.
What was worse , she appeared to suddenly be smiling and talking warmly to a tall and good looking man, for the life of him he couldn't place the man. Who is this guy? And why is Annika so friendly to him? Is he a guest? Damn you , Annika, stop shaking the man's hand already.
Suddenly , Tia sat up ram rod straight next to him with a loud gasp. He couldn't believe what happened next , the woman in all her heavy jewelry and finery , jumped up and ran to this new man, crying his name out Dushyant! and threw herself into his arms. The man held her close and cried too, it was a lovers' reunion, and awkward as hell for all the visitors in the wedding ceremony, not to mention the groom's family.
One by one, the Oberois surrounded the couple, ominously. Pinky being the one loudest, demanding Tia explain herself. Shivaay was there, shock had rendered him speechless, but a familiar rumble of a furious temper rising to the surface. The Oberois were humiliated, and they were out for blood.
**
Annika slipped out the side door, when she heard Pinky Oberoi's voice shrilly asking Tia to explain herself. Hearing all the Oberois taking turns to shout, they didn't notice her departure. She picked up her little bag and ran to the gate. Khanna had spotted her and distracted the guards. Madamji needs to get away from Sir ji, he has been too mean to her. She didn't deserve this. Annika found her exit easy, and even found an auto waiting at the curb to spirit her away.
It was half an hour later, when her phone started buzzing continuously one after another. Shivaay, Rudra, Prinku, Dadi, all the calls came in and she stuffed the phone into her bag unanswered. Shivaay rang non stop, one call after another, tirelessly seeking her. But Annika was adamant for her peace and answered none.
**
Shivaay got Annika's voice mailbox again and fought the urge to smash the phone against the wall, again. Don't Shivaay, what if she calls back? He looked around and saw his family seated like they had just gone through a typhoon, all exhausted from anger and crying. Mom was absolutely broken that her favourite Tia ended up a lying, scheming, two timing cheat. Shivaay ground his teeth thinking about the many times he rubbished Annika's words, telling him Tia was not who she appeared to be. I'm sorry Annika, you were right. Please answer the phone so I can tell you , I was wrong. Answer the phone baby, please."
Rudra , for the first time Shivaay had seen, rose to a fiery temper like none had ever seen. He was the one who found Annika missing and tore into every single one of them for torturing her to the point she didn't feel like she had a place here anymore. He narrated how he and Annika had planned her memory loss , to trap Tia and Svetlana, so the attacks would stop and she could figure out what to do. Annika Didi had found out about Dushyant, even went to the address to find him, but was stopped by Shivaay.
Shivaay closed his eyes to his stupidity. So Rudra went to rescue the man out from the house, having been held hostage by Mrs. Kapoor herself. Tia had not known that he was alive, because his death was staged.
Shivaay shook his head. What an awful family he was about to join into. And he thought they were the cream of the high society. What a mess. He had gone for tainted gold, when the rough diamond in his hand had slipped out of his grasp.
Annika... where are you..
Shivaay sat holed up in his room , hours later, still unable to get a hold of Annika. He stared at his phone obsessed for any news of her. Om walked in and sat by his side, and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Rudra's still very mad at you, Shivaay. You really messed up this time, bro."
To that, Shivaay's shoulders began to shake, as he wept into his hands. Om hugged his brother close in a hard hug, heartbroken to see Shivaay like this. But he didn't sympathize. As much as he loved his brother , he deserved this pain, so he will value a love like Bhabhi's. That is if she decided to come back to him.
The two brothers sat in the moonlit poolside, one bent in pain and the other holding him protectively. Prejudices fell like hailstones that night, leaving a man eager for the love of his life to return.
*The END*
Debate Mansion
