Tia stares at her reflection unhappily. She wonders what those society ladies who shrivel up with envy at her 'good fortune' would say if they saw her now. Born into one of the wealthiest families in the country, courted by and wed into another...oh but, not wed. Not yet. Grandmom was more than happy to remind her of that every day, every time she laid eyes on Tia.
Running away from the wedding that would have sealed her fate forever with that of the richest bachelor in the land.
"What were you thinking!" her mother had raged at her.
Indeed. What. Was. She. Thinking.
She had never set much store by all that talk of 'love is blind'. From what she had seen, what she had known, love was never, in fact, blind. All those love-filled status updates from her circle made sure that the person they were 'truly, madly, deeply' in love were also 'truly, madly, deeply' matched with them in wealth, caste, family name.
God forbid, the fate of someone who strayed from this narrow rose petal-lined path was not one she had ever wanted to share. And she had not needed to. Shivay Singh Oberoi was everything her family had wanted for her and more. So what if he had never shown much emotional warmth towards her? She had been raised so that a bit of coolness between a couple only spelt marital harmony. You tend your patch, I tend mine, had been her motto and Shivay had wholeheartedly accepted it and worked it to a level of such finesse that she had almost fancied herself to be blissfully 'in love'. And then Fate had pulled the ultimate trick on her.
Tia feels the prickle of those treacherous tears. She blinks them away furiously. It is ironic that this thing called love had to come to her through Shivay himself. And just when everything had been perfectly planned and if not tampered with, would have reached the perfect conclusion"another 'successful marriage' that united two wealthy families and business empires with one stone. But instead of falling for the man, she had gone and fallen for his---
"Tia!" Shivay calls out from outside the washroom.
"Just a minute, Shivay baby", she coos on automaton and immediately hates herself a bit more for it.
Quickly dabbing away at her face with a powder puff, she surveys her reflection for any vestiges of those cracks. Satisfied, she steps out.
Shivay stands there, his eyes as usual fixed on a phone screen. He looks up at her.
"Tia, Mrs. Kapoor had just called. She wants us to go over for some rasam. It will probably have us staying over for dinner."
Is that just a hint of impatience in his voice? He is saying that he has work pending.
"You go over now and I'll join you later," Shivay finishes.
Tia's face must have shown something for Shivay adds, "Don't worry. Khanna will go with you."
Ever the responsible husband, Shivay Singh Oberoi has arranged for security for his recently-rescued-from-kidnappers wife.
She feels as if someone has clasped at her throat and she can barely breath. Fate really does know how to work an irony to the hilt.
"Okay Shivay Baby," she hears herself say.
***********
It is the evenings that Anika finds the most difficult. Even before this-- this travesty of a life that she is living through now-- she had been having a tough time adjusting to Saahil being away at the boarding school. The little champ had gone and gotten himself a scholarship to study at the Greenfields Boys' Public School after he won the All-India Mathematics Competion for his age group. She had seen him off with a smile, but returning home after a day's work at the Oberois' had lost much of its joy with her brother away. It was as if Destiny had cleared the path to trip her over with greater ease. She is thankful beyond words that little champ was not here to see her present state. The two of them have gone through so much already at the hands of Bua after the death of their...after the death of Saahil's parents.
But the evenings with that curious cacophony of the birds in the gardens of the mansion had grown to become her curfew bell as she had adjusted to her job as the event manager for the Oberois. It meant she could put away her planner, take off that smile and then Champa would carry her off home where she would no longer have to listen to another order, or pretend like those insults and barbs thrown so carelessly her way did not hurt her, even a little bit. It had meant freedom.
And now that sound is just that. Noise. But it still raises that faint hope in her heart every single evening only to be crushed brutally once her mind catches up. There is no freedom from this hell. Daadi had made sure that she lacked in no comforts. The house staff had been given instructions to see that she was treated as a member of the family. But that only succeeded in gilding the bars of this cage. At the end of the day, she was not Shivay's wife. She was not the one he had wanted to marry and indeed, was not the one he had married. Oh yes. He had dragged her to the mandap. He had uttered all those words. He had filled her head with that bitter vermillion. But what of it? He had not thought it meant anything. He had done it to hurt her. To punish her. To show her that he was the one who could control her destiny, who could use and abuse her, make of her what he willed and then destroy her as he willed. She had been wrong to think that the last few months had changed something between them. It was ridiculous and at night, when the nightmares had chased her into a corner, she would burst into hysterical laughter thinking that at one time she had almost nursed the vain belief that she was in --- But no. Such thoughts won't do anymore. He had always been the monster she had met that bright sunny day at the temple. Proximity had only blinded her to the fangs.
And what of the other Oberois? Did she feel nothing for even those among this family who had not turned around to blame her for the present debacle? Priyanka had been a good friend even before she had known her family. Anika had never been one to share confidences with anyone but still, Priyanka had been someone she had always felt comfortable around. Which was all the more astounding, considering the fact that this was the daughter of the Oberois. For if Anika was completely honest with herself, these people scared her a bit now. The way they had fixed Prinku's marriage for her...
So the evenings found her walking the balconies of the uppermost floor of the mansion. Hardly anyone but the housestaff ever came here. The balconies gave her a wonderful view of the gardens and on a bright day, she could almost see the glittering ocean from one corner. As the wind wafted through her hair, her clothes, she would walk endlessly, trying to quiet the demons within. This evening the house was mostly empty. A while ago, Daadi had taken her two daughters-in-law with her and gone out somewhere. Priyanka had locked herself in her room and there had been some raised voices. And then they had left. Anika had fled to the top floor barely before the cars had rounded the driveway.
Savouring the smell of wet earth on the breeze, she takes in a deep breath, filling her lungs with that freshness. The sprinklers in the gardens had been switched on most probably. She likes this loneliness. It calms her. Makes her feel less powerless, less of a pawn.
She hears footsteps coming down the corridor. Sighing, she turns around to come face to face with none other than her jailer, Mr. Shivay Singh Oberoi himself.
*********
Tia watches him through the glass window, as her car pulls away from the mansion. Shivay nods at her and then turns and walks back into the house. From the tip of his designer shoes to the flick of his perfectly set hair, the man seems to have an air of unreality in him. Involuntarily her eyes turns to the other man sitting next to the driver in the front. The unkempt rough beard that covers much of his face, the windblown hair, the swarthy complexion that hints at the rough life of the owner. He must sense her gaze on him because she sees the tinge of pink seep through the beard, colouring his cheeks.
"Rajan," she calls out.
The chauffeur answers without taking his eyes off the road. "Yes, Madam?"
"Pull up at Batra's, please. I need you to pick up a list of medicines for me."
"Okay Madam."
He hasn't looked back even once during this exchange. She is impatient and the ten minutes it takes them to reach the shop feels like an hour. But finally the car pulls up at the parking area and she hands over the list along with the money. Rajan leaves. The list is of her and Shivay's month's stock of pills. He will be a while in returning.
For a moment there is silence in the car. She wishes him to say something. To turn around. To look at her. He does none of those things. It is like something has ended between them. It has. But she doesn't want it to feel like this.
"Vicky," she murmurs. The syllables flounder in her throat. The word comes out jumbled. She ends up sounding nothing like herself.
A muscle on his face twitches. She wants to reach out and take his hand, turn him around, make him look at her. Instead, she glances out at the almost empty parking lot and speaks, as if addressing the emptiness within her.
"I didn't know Mom would be quite so difficult." She chooses her words carefully, not wishing to sound like she was whining.
"When she called me to meet her, I had genuinely thought she wanted to hear me out. Maybe find out who it was for whom I had decided to throw caution to the winds and run away on my wedding day."
She pauses, the memory of that meeting still too vivid, too biting for her to remain calm.
"You can suspect me of being a hundred different things, but don't suspect me of faking those injuries. She had never hit me before..." Tia trails off. He is now looking at her and it is not anger that she sees in his eyes.
"You are not mad at me?" The half-whispered question escapes her before she can stop herself. He doesn't meet her eyes.
"What right do I have?" He speaks finally. His gravelly voice sends shivers through her. The pain and helplessness in his voice make her want to break down in utter abandonment.
"I didn't know what I could do to stop her." Tia says.
"Neither did I," his voice seems to break. And Tia notices the dark shadows under his eyes.
Her fingers itch to smoothen the rough curls that crowd his forehead.
"I wanted to return to you, desperately, but Mom had become driven to some kind of madness by then. She simply wouldn't listen."
He turns away then. She notices his hands had fisted on his lap. The fact that this news affected him so gave her a peculiar sense of pleasure, of comfort.
"We can't talk like this again," he says, shattering her briefly held illusion.
"I don't have much save my integrity and--" he pauses as if trying to find a word that would not hurt her.
"I have made you challenge that as much as possible," she adds, taking brutal satisfaction in saying it aloud. He doesn't flinch.
"It would be best to just forget this ever happened." His words are firm now, emotionless. She remembers the way he had spoken to her that one blissful evening she had spent with him after running away from her wedding. For the briefest of moments he had spoken as if all barriers between them had finally collapsed. And now he spoke like the wall between them had never been scaled.
"Vicky.." she begins, to say something, anything that would make the distance between them seem less vast, less looming.
"Madam, it would be best if you call me Khanna from now on," he adds dispassionately. Tia sinks back into her seat as if she has been stabbed.
**********
Anika runs into her room and locks the door behind her. How dare he? How DARE he? Oh, the audacity of that man!! She trembles with rage. Her eyes search blindly around the room and lands on a crystal vase. She picks it up, feels the cool length against her palm. She raises her hand to throw it and then stops. Breathing harshly, she puts it down and sinks onto the floor.
He wants to help Saahil. How dare he! She shudders as the memory of his threat returns.
"If you do not agree to my conditions, I will have my men bring Saahil. And Anika, you know when it comes to protecting my family, I can go to any level."
Oh yes, he could. Blowing up that car, making her believe that next time it would be her brother who was inside it. But he didn't know where Saahil was, did he? He hadn't known that Saahil was away at Greenfields. Helping Saahil!
She had thrown his false charity back in his face. They didn't need the help of the likes of Mr. Shivay Singh Oberoi. Even separated from her by a hundred miles, the little champ has saved what little dignity was left to this sister of his. Saahil had secured a good education without the help of someone who took pleasure in treating them like pawns.
She sits there on the floor, her mind clouded with memories, old and new. She loses track of time and it is dark when she looks out of the window. Rising from the floor, she dusts her dress and walks out of the room. There is a spring in her step as she walks. Today she has shown Shivay Singh Oberoi that he does not have the last say in everything that involves her life. The fact that she did not have to accept his charity has given her a new strength. And Anika feels more like herself than she has in a while. Her steps take her to Prinku's room. She wonders if the girl is alright after the evening's argument.
However, the sight that meets her eyes when she steps into Priyanka's room, almost sends Anika running away. She really does not need this in her life right now!
**********
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