|| PART 27-ii ||
I was driving home. It has been a very taxing day. I had got in touch with Mr.Burn's son-in-law to offer my condolences and more importantly to see if I can pick up some hints of what is brewing in his head. I could not get the conversation out of my head.
"I am sorry Peter. He was a really great man - he meant a lot to me."
"Thanks Virat. That's very nice of you. I am sure you meant a lot to him too - specially your wife. I hope you got the message from our lawyers. Everything is going to her tomorrow."
"Well, I called to find out when his funeral is but you seem pretty preoccupied worrying about tomorrow Peter."
"I heard you were in a major accident. I didn't think you could make it here; since you know - you are temporarily handicapped. Did your hand break or leg or is it your spine? I am sure you wouldn't dare stepping into this house again." He laughed.
"Unfortunately, although I almost died, I am in the pink of my health right now. If I were you, I would be more concerned about your own health. Weird thing - my chopped crashed in the exact same way as your wife's and your father-in-law's. You will be delighted to know that we did some research and found that all the three engines were tampered with in the exact same way - some coincidence huh? My security advisor just forwarded all this information to the FBI - just so you know - they have also gathered finger prints of some of your technicians on all three sites - matched perfectly. I suggest you get our own helicopter on stand-by - You never know when you might need to flee the country, to save your ass."
"I heavily underestimated you Vadhera. You are mistaken about one thing though - all three accidents aren't all exactly the same - there is an important difference - my wife died, my father-in-law became an invalid but you - you slipped away."
"Yes. How about thaaat?" I smirked.
"Thaaat is pretty lucky. I think the stars are in your favor. But, you know what they say about stars.."
"Yes, I do - they never favor motherf**king bas***ds like you. Listen, you asshole - if you don't back off from me and my family, I am going to f**king kill you and your loser girl-friend."
"hahaahahaaha..Scared? Vadhera?"
"Oh yeah, I am very scared - about what I am capable of doing to you right now.YOU WILL DIE AND YOU WILL NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT HIT YOU!!"
~~~
"Momma, papa is home." Nikki screams and hugs my legs. Hmm. This is a first.
"Hey bud." I lift him up and he hugs me. "Missed your old man?"
"Ah-ha"
"Virat? You okay? You never called." Manvi comes to me worried.
"I am ok." I tell her. I look into her eyes and she looks away.
"Nikki, let papa relax. Go play with spiderman." She tells him.
"Alright. I'll go." He walks away, shaking his head, as if he is dealing with all the problems in the world. I smile at him walking away with his small cricket bat. When I saw him for the first time, he had the same bat in his hand. It idly occurs to me that I have never seen him play football. I have never been with him on any of his birthdays.
"Virat?" Manvi brings me back out of my thoughts.
"Hi!" I mumble and walk into the kitchen where Swetha was sitting at the dining table reading something. She smiles at me sweetly and I smile back. What would have happened to Manvi if it was not for Swetha?
"Do you want anything to eat? Drink?" Manvi pops up by my side. I roll my eyes at her.
"Yes, I would like a beer actually." I go to the refrigerator and get a bottle out.
"You look tired." Swetha says.
"Oh, tired is an understatement." Mindf**k comes close to describing how I feel right now. I take a sip. I look at the statue by my side who is glaring at me.
"Kya?" I somehow didn't want to speak with her yet. I feel very distant from her all of a sudden. I just realized I haven't kissed her and that I don't want to.
"Virat? You just had so much to drink yesterday. You are not drinking today." She tries to take the bottle from me.
"Manvi please. Just let me be." I grab the bottle from her.
Her face falls. She looks at me and her eyes start filling up. I know you went through a lot today Manvi. But I cannot even begin to start talking to you about how I feel right now. "Manvi, I will talk to you in a little bit. Can you please leave me alone for a few minutes. I have had a very bad day."
"Virat!" she holds my wrist stopping me.
"Are you mad at me?" she asks coming in front of me.
"OFCOURSE I AM MAD AT YOU!! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" I scream at her.
God!
I need to get away. I am just too stretched, I cannot deal with her right now. I will blast her. I look at Swetha who sprang out of her chair shocked.
"Whats wrong?" she asks me.
"Excuse me. Manvi, I am going to my study for a while" I walk away.
"Virat?" She follows me to the study and shuts the door behind her. Damn woman!
"Why are you mad at me Virat? All that happened a long while ago."
"I am not mad at you Manvi. I am just mad. Can you please leave me alone for a few minutes?"
"What was in the folder?"
I cup my face with my hands and run my fingers through my hair, exasperated.
"Virat, I wrote those emails a few months after I left. I didn't know how to live, how to survive by myself. I am sorry. I shouldn't have revealed some of the stuff to random people. I was very..."
"Who asked you to leave Manvi?"
She just looks lost.
"You know there were pictures Manvi - pictures of my son and daughter with that dirtbag. 'I' should have been there in them - NOT HIM!!! NOT SOME RANDOM.CRAZY.PYSCHO!!
Tell me one thing, you heard what all he was implying today morning right? You called me and told me that you were worried about what I was thinking. Let me tell you what I was NOT thinking - Not even for a second did I think that you might have been involved with him in anyway. But you? You on the other hand, didn't think atleast for a second, that I might NOT have been involved. What do I make of this Manvi?
"Virat, I am sorry. I know what I did. I..didnt know better.."
"I should be the one coaching my son for his first football game, I should have been the one taking them to picnics and bus rides. I should have been there at my daughter's first ballet. He is there instead of me!!!!!! - in.every.f**king.picture. Do you know how I felt looking at those pictures?? I felt like killing him. I felt like I was ROBBED of those precious things Manvi and I am never going to get them back. And that is why my kids don't love me as much."
"Virat...your kids love you to bits.."
"That's what I'd like to think!!!!!!!!"
"That is how it is Virat"
"What about you? You had to rely on random people for consoling you while you were going through so much - You went through so much unnecessary mental anguish. Do you know how scary it is to think that one of those days, you might have actually lost control over yourself and jumped off the building? THEN WHAT? I WOULD HAVE DIED TOO DAMMIT!!! This is so f**kedup. AM I THAT EASILY REPLACABLE MANVI??"
"No jaaan. Stop, you are killing me. It is not like this at all. You have it all wrong."
"Manvi, you feel bad that I slept around with so many women right? You know what, I don't even remember the name of a single person from them; I don't have a single picture with anyone and I definitely didn't have conversations more a few words with any of them - let alone heart-to-heart email banter."
"STOP IT VIRAT!"
"NO YOU STOP IT MANVI! JUST LET ME BE. I NEED TO BE ALONE."
"Please don't be like this jaan."
"Leave Manvi."
She comes to me slowly, she was crying but I couldn't look at her. She tries to hold my face in her hands. I move back. I turn away. I just couldn't look at her - my blood was boiling mad.
I hear the door slam shut.
~~~
I am lying on the couch with my eyes closed - trying to relax my over-worked brain. But things kept going round and round in my head.
"I hope you got the message from our lawyers. Everything is going to her tomorrow"
I have no other way of approaching her. You locked her in this beautiful golden cage away from me. Or else, I would never have spoiled your day like this.
Ben found out Dr.Rahul never ever spoke to or got a call from Ashish. Who else would have told him about Manvi? Tomorrow, after the lawyers hand over Burn's property to Manvi and she signs the documents, Peter Cunns will not be able to do anything. Even if he kills Manvi and me, the property will not go to him. Whatever he has to do, he will do it before we meet the lawyers tomorrow.
He will attack!!
How? What can he do? I will keep the kids at home tomorrow. We have such high security at home; he will not be able to reach us.
What else can he do?
I need to think like him. If I was Cunns, what would I do to reach Manvi before 10 AM tomorrow?
I feel two small hands feel my face. I open my eyes with a big smile. "Hi sweetheart."
"Hi papaaa!" she smiles.
"What are you doing in here?"
"What are YOU doing in here?"
"Hmm, I am thinking Ria. Do you want to play with Nikki for some time? Daddy is busy."
"What are you thinking about?" she asks me.
I close my eyes. She gives me a small kiss on my chin coz my head in dropped back and she cant reach my face. Kids! I open my eyes unable to stop smiling.
"What are you thinking about?" she asks me again.
"I have adult problems princess."
"What are adult problems?"
There she goes. My own little walking and talking question bank.
"Problems that grown-up people have honey."
"I can give you a huggg" she shrugs.
"You know what? That might just work." I tell her but I am too tired to move. I feel her put her tiny hands around me. "Oh my! Half my problems are solved. How about another one? Tighter?" I tell her and she hugs me again, this time her hands around my neck squeezing my breath. I pretend to be dead and she is giggling. I start tickling her and she laughs - her laughter fills the entire room. I kiss her. "Thank you for the hug. Now run to your mom. Daddy needs to do some more thinking."
"about adddult problems?"
"yeah." I laugh.
"I need to think tooo!"
"What about darling?"
"I have a kid problem."
"Oh? Do you now?"
"Yeah." She says with a sad face.
"Let's hear it."
"Mommy gave Nikki two cookies but she only gave me oneee." She says with a pouty face.
"That's not fair!" my voice mimics hers.
"I KNOW!" she sits beside me hunching forward balancing her face in her two tiny palms.
"I don't think I can solve any of my problems anyways, so let's solve yours. Where are those cookies now?"
"In the kitchen."
"Let's attack the kitchen. Come on."
"Momma won't yell at you?"
"Nooo!" I look at her with my hands on my hips. "Daddy is always the boss." I look at her a little offended.
"Who is the boss?" I ask her again. She needs to get this straight.
"Daddy is." She repeats without any conviction.
"Remember that. Let's go!" I carry her and stroll into the kitchen. I look around and there is nobody there except Nikki and spiderman. Ria points out the cookie jar which I manage to open it, it has a child lock - for heavens sake!! Ria is standing on the kitchen counter looking in the jar and I give her one.
"Thank you papa!" she kisses me and extends her hands for me to put her down. I look at her suspiciously and put her on the ground. She walks away and sits on the couch with Nikki. I go and sit on the incliner beside the couch, stretching out, looking at some of the information James has sent me about Tanya.
About five minutes later, I hear a big scream. "RIA, who gave you a cookie?" I close my eyes and turn around. Manvi!!!!!!!! "You are not going to sleep all night and be grumpy all day tomorrow. I TOLD YOU NO YOUNG LADY!!"
"Manvi, its just a..." I try to tell her but I am cut short.
"Nikki broke the flower vase in your bedroom." Ria screamed pointing at Nikki.
"WHAT???!!!! NIKKI!!!!!!!!!!!" Manvi shouts.
Ria silently moves away and climbs up next to me. I look at her confused. Manvi goes inside our bedroom and comes out after a few minutes, holding a broken flower vase. She looks at it shocked and at Nikki and is glowering at him. "Nikki I told you hundred times not to play cricket inside the house."
"But, I didn't do it mama. Spiderman did it! BAD DOG!" he points his finger at spiderman.
But I guess Nikki's complaining skills aren't upto the mark. Manvi doesn't buy his story. He gets a big lecture from her for the next few minutes.
"No cartoons for you for one full week. GO TO YOUR ROOM! And I see you with your bat in the house again, no cartoons for one full month." Manvi tells him and goes into the kitchen, fussing over something else.
Ria is off the hook.
I am looking at Manvi in the kitchen and Nikki who was walking into his room and at Ria who just finished her cookie beside me. I am dumbfounded. "Ria, where do you get these ideas?"
"What ideas?" she asks.
I stare at her for a few seconds.
"Once you are a teenager, I am going to hire a professional detective to keep tabs on you." I tell her, shaking my head.
"Okay." She says and runs away as if taking me up on a challenge.
I look at Manvi. She is stealing glances at me and her eyes are swollen. I go and hug her. "I am sorry baby." She turns and tears were flowing from her eyes like a waterfall. "You know I am a jealous guy."
"No Virat. Everything you said was right. I am sorry. I will even die to go back in time and change my decision and reverse everything, but.." she was sobbing and I couldn't take it anymore.
"Stop crying Manvi. You did whatever you had to do to getby. I get it and I should have know better than to blame everything on you. It's not your fault. I just looked at those pictures and felt really jealous, I think. And your email just broke my heart. I wish I was there for you and I was so scared when I read that you were going through such crazy thoughts. You seriously need psychiatric help."
"I don't need anything when you are with me. I love you so much. Please don't be mad at me."
I look into her eyes and the pain in it and I feel like an ass. Why do I always do this? She cups my face and places a soft kiss on my lips and my lips automatically respond to her - it is like an inner calling. I can never be mad at this angel. I cannot believe I said all those things to her. I kiss her tears away. "Sorry baby" I kiss her forehead, her cheeks and place soft little kisses on her jawline. She falls into my arms and hugs me as I squeeze her into a heavenly hug. This was all I needed to comfort my agitated brain.
"I was so scared seeing you so angry." She tells me as I dip my nose in her hair and claim her lips again.
"What are you guys doing?" we hear someone and I start smiling looking down. "Ria, you are everywhere." Manvi moves away flustered and looks at me with a sweet blush on her face. My phone rings at the same time.
"Let's set up the dinner table bunny" she says and carries her away.
It was my mom ringing me "Hi Mom, have you guys reached?"
"Yes. We are all home and just had dinner. How is Manvi? How are the kids?"
"Everyone is fine mom."
"God, I miss Ria and Nikki. What are they doing Virat?"
"Well, Ria hoodwinked her mom and got Nikki grounded instead of her. Good you reminded me of that, I need to tell Manvi about our smart-ass daughter."
Mom was laughing loudly "What did she do?"
"Well, basically, she did something and then in order to hide it, diverted her mom's attention to what Nikki did before. Manvi was so involved in dealing with what Nikki did, that she...overlooked...what..Ria..did..." f**k!
I have no other way of approaching her. You locked her in this beautiful golden cage away from me. Or else, I would never have spoiled your day like this.
f**k!!!!!!!! It was like an epiphany..oh my god!!!
"Mom, I will have to call you back.."
I run to the security room with the video feeds. "BLANCO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Sir!!" he stands up.
My heart was racing. "Please show me the video of Ashish Singh from morning..."
He calls Martin who operates the CCTV cameras we have in every room. He plays the video from the morning.
"What are you looking for sir?"
"I don't know. There must be something else to the stupid drama in the morning."
We run and re-run the video..a couple of times and then we see it.
"Freeze right there.." While Blanco was dragging him out of the door. Ashish's hands briefly touches one of our security person's hand.
"Play it again, slowly.."
"Who is he?? He is handing Ashish something - looks like a card. I have never seen this security person."
"Yes Sir. He is a newbie - Steve - he joined as a replacement to Randy for this week."
"Zooom in. What is on the card?"
"Can you zoom in more?"
"It looks like a number.." Blanco observes.
"Can you catch the number?" I ask the Martin.
"yes sir. It is the security code for the garage entrance." Martin replies, checking with the current codes given to him.
"Blanco, how often do we change these numbers??"
"It is automated sir - It changes at 8 AM everyday - so that our own employees don't know the code when they go home. They get checked into the premises with the code and as long as they are inside, they cannot communicate with anyone. The code automatically changes again at midnight when some of the security changes shift."
I hope you got the message from our lawyers. Everything is going to her tomorrow"
f**k!!
"They are coming Blanco. They are coming before midnight. Alert everyone."
"Change the code Martin. CHANGE IT NOW."
"Wait! We never use the garage entrance. Can you check if anyone entered through the garage entrance today?"
"CHECK FAST!!!!"
"Yes sir. Someone entered at 7 pm."
"We look at the time - it is 7:05"
~~~
Edited by bluebolt - 12 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
