Part 1
She was the ideal bahu – she woke up before everyone in the morning, made sure everyone made it to the breakfast table by 7:55 a.m. (including her devar, so he wouldn't have to miss the most important meal of the day), never opposed anyone's order, and loved everyone unconditionally. But there was a small, actually a major part of her heart that cried every day, every moment – for her sister, her soul mate, her best friend, her everything … till she had gotten married and moved to a whole new city. She tried to keep herself occupied all day so she wouldn't have to miss her but it was hard to stay occupied amongst her in-laws. They were too rich for their own good – they had uncountable butlers, housekeepers, chefs, gardeners, laundresses, chauffeurs, and security guards. If she would be at home with her beeji, chacha, chachi, badi beeji, Dabbu and most of all, her Mannu, she would cook for all of them – out of will, not because she was forced. She liked caring for others – for those who meant so much to her. But in her new home, she couldn't even prepare a meal for her husband. It had been a week and every day the new family members took her by surprise with their rules and way of living. She could tell her sasuma (who had insisted she call her maa), chachiji, chachaji and devar tried to keep her entertained but nobody could replace Mannu. Mannu's memories haunted her day in and night out but who could she tell?
"Jeevika… JEEVIKA!" she heard Viren yell. Startled, she got up from the bed and faced him. "Jeevika, are you okay? I've been calling out for the past five minutes. And you look pale. Is your blood pressure low again?" She knew he loved her a lot but she just couldn't snap out of Mannu's thoughts. Her eyes started tearing, although she tried to control. She knew he would understand if she said she wanted to pay a quick visit to her family but she wondered if it would be right to demand to visit her family just a week after her marriage. Her mind didn't register when she leaned forward to hug Viren; Viren quietly let her cry her worries out. A few minutes later, he slowly whispered in her ear "Would you like to go see Maanvi, beeji, and everyone else in Hrishikesh?" She looked up with a jerk, not knowing whether it was a dream or reality. Viren assured her it wasn't her fantasy and carefully wiped away her tears.
"Ramlal, our most trustworthy driver, will take you there first thing tomorrow morning. I have to talk to some of my witnesses for the ongoing Jaiswal case so Virat & I will join you in the evening. We will spend the night there and return the evening after. How does that sound?" Jeevika couldn't believe her ears; she was delighted beyond words explanation. Viren let him out of her hold and got a suitcase for her. Without even waiting for her response, he packed 2 suits for her, a pair of jeans and t-shirt for himself and their nightdresses. Suddenly, her smile disappeared as she questioned him "but buaji and dadaji … they might not be happy with your decision, Virenji." Viren comforted her and reassured her that he will handle the situation here. Viren urged her to sleep as she looked exhausted and carefully tucked her in. Although he turned the lights off, Jeevika could see him working on his case from the corner of her eye. Even in the dim light of the laptop, she could see his face clearly. She wondered if everyone was so lucky to have a life partner like Viren.
Ring ring. Ring ring. Ring ring. Maanvi grudged as someone had dared to call her so early in the morning. Nobody had the right to disturb her beauty sleep, well maybe she had given the right to her di but she knew her di would be too busy following her in-laws' rules to call her. Maanvi ignored the phone as she dozed off to sleep again. Ding dong. She got angrier as she realized someone was at their doorstep. Ding dong. Ding dong. She assumed someone else in the house would open the door. Little did she know that beeji had gone to temple with chacha, chachi was off to to the vegetable market with Dabbu and badi beeji was too weak to get up?
Jeevika worried as her Mannu didn't pick up her calls and nobody responded to her knocks on the door. She tried knocking on the door again. Finally, Maanvi got irritated and ran to the door, cursing along the whole way. All of a sudden, she started coughing uncontrollably and running out of breath. She fell on the floor when she heard the knock on the door again. Maanvi realized it must be important since the person had been knocking continuously. She gathered enough courage to walk to the door and open the lock.
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