AN : Hello Forumwasis! This is Niki. I tried my hand at a simple one shot. Hope you all enjoy it😊
COMING HOME
"So, is today sitting-in-the-dark day?" Om questioned bemusedly as he stepped into his older brother's room. His brother often had weird urges and of course dare anyone to speak against them or stop him.
His hand crept towards the switchboards in a confident manner assuaged by years of familiarity and flicked the switch. Immediately the room bathed in the crystal light of the ornate chandelier that doused the atmosphere in a silvery light. Om's eyes followed the light to the figure sitting on the bed.
"I had always thought," Om began as he made his way towards his brother, "that there is nothing in the world that can defeat Shivaay Singh Oberoi."
The man on the bed stayed silent.
He was dressed immaculately in a white button down shirt, black suit pants and a messily unbuttoned waistcoat. However sophisticated his apparel was, the complete opposite his composure appeared.
For the man was undeniably handsome with the distinctively carved Oberoi features, the pale aristocratic complexion and pointed jawbones; but it was his eyes that held the bulging volcano.
They were a beautiful blue, resembling the beauty of the serene unending sky but today it was the epicentre of a turbulence that hastened the enormous tides of the ocean.
A hand touched his shoulder and he jerked out of the deep despairing pit his thoughts. His eyes fell on the darker pair of his brother and froze.
"O-Om?"
It was a hammer of scalding pain that lit in his heart as he heard his brother call his name. It was thoroughly painful to hear his brother, the person he loved the adored the most in the world utter his name in a surprised tone, awed and disbelieving.
Om smiled bitterly. It was not a surprise that Shivaay was astonished to see him there after all he was the one who had walked out of this palace of sins made on the grave of innocents.
Shivaay blinked rapidly, a spark of his earlier zeal lighting up. "Y-You are r-really here!"
It was an overwhelming wave of love that soared in him and Om leaned forward enveloping his older brother in a tight hug. Shivaay sat still for a moment and then hugged him back.
It often happens that in the meandering journey of life we do not realize that as we race for further glories and stamping success on different goals, we often tend to lose out on the most important thing in life - a place to be ourselves, a place we don't need to don a mask: home.
And that was where both Shivaay and Om were. The two brothers, who had been the older heirs of an empire, put in constant competition by their parents, who had ignored their parents to support each other but had been torn apart from each other by lies, sins and conspiracies had found their home. For them, home was not the glittering mansion but each other.
They remained in that position for a long time. Neither was willing to break the hug, but alas time often bows to none.
Shivaay was the first one to loosen the hug. He immediately turned his face, no doubt to hide his slightly wet eyes. The gesture was so Shivaay, that it brought a smile on Om's face as he quickly pulled up a chair beside the bed, facing his brother.
There was a silence for some time.
"You are here?"
Om sighed. Sometimes he wished his predictions were wrong. "Can we skip this?"
Shivaay narrowed his eyes and pinned his brother with a glare. "No."
Om nodded. "Rudra called me."
"Rudra?" Shivaay felt a sliver of surprise light in him. "Why? Did something happen?"
Om quietly assessed his brother. "Yes."
It was a fuse had been re-connected that Shivaay abruptly straightened and made to dash out of the bed, which would have been successful if Om had not cuffed him on the head.
"Ahh! What the hell Om?"
"It is not what the hell; it is what are you DOING?"
Shivaay gave his brother a wounded glare. "What are on about?"
"What I am on about?" the usually calm Om looked suddenly incensed. The chair screeched to a rude stop as Om got up from it sending it careening backwards.
Shivaay looked at the chair. "What exactly happened? Why did Rudra call you up?"
"Wow!" Om erupted into a series of sarcastic chuckles. "What happened? WHAT HAPPENED? Well answer me this, HAVE YOU LOST IT?"
Shivaay huffed. "Will you stop shouting?"
"No I shall not. I am happily carving a new sculpture which I have to present in the Gallery Exhibition, and then I get Rudra's call and I find out that my knuckle-headed idiot of a brother has decided to hitch himself to that witch again. Are you that moronic?"
Shivaay gave a sigh of relief. "Oh that!"
"Oh that!" Om mimicked. "Tell me this Shivaay, nearly a year ago you were about to marry that bimbo, but you regained some of your brain cells and cancelled it. So why is it that those stupidity cells have multiplied in your brain all of a sudden?"
"It is nothing like that Om. I just-"
"What about Anika?"
A stiffening silence fell into the atmosphere. It was as if all of a sudden, the warmth had disappeared leaving behind the imprint of the gone happiness.
"What about her?"
Om scoffed. "I have a question. Why are you getting married to Tia and why isn't it Anika?"
Shivaay turned to face the window. "That is two questions, Om."
"Shivaay-"
"I know what I am doing."
Om cocked his head. "You do?"
"Yes," his voice rang with conviction, "I do."
"I see," Om sighed, "you have become a bigger fool than I had expected."
Shivaay whirled around, his eyes blazing. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Om made his way to his brother and plopped him onto the bed.
"Tell me Shivaay, do you really think I don't know what is exactly going on?"
Shivaay stubbornly stayed silent.
"You love Anika. You still do."
Shivaay shoulders tensed. "I don't want to hear about this."
"Well too bad," Om retorted, "because you are going to have to. And truth is that you love Anika and that is clearly reflected in your eyes. Today when I came here, you had shut yourself up in the darkness, something Shivay Singh Oberoi never does, for he believes in shining, in glory. But today he is sitting in the dark for the light of his life has left him."
Shivaay closed his eyes, his throbbing headache making a re-appearance. "Om, we are meeting after a long time. Please let us talk about something else."
"No Shivaay, let us talk about you. Why are you not with Anika?"
"For God's sake Om, you know what happened. She was with me only for money and---"
"Oh really?" Om responded sarcasm colouring his tones. "I wonder what Tia is marrying you for. Your good looks?"
"Our marriage is a business deal."
"Of course it is. Tia will use you name. You get her property. Cool. Well done! You are marrying each other for money and you have no problem with the fact that Tia is more in love with your shiny credit cards rather than you. But when it was Anika, you had a problem. Why?"
"Om please----"
"No Shivaay, I will keep quiet today. You knew Anika. You loved her. That girl worshiped you and all of a sudden your mother dearest shows you proof of her being a gold-digger and you leave her. You refuse to listen to her explanations, you refuse to meet her, go out of your way to bring trouble on her, spy on her 24/7, hurt her reputation, her respect and dignity. Why Shivaay? If you don't love her, why all these drama? Why? Answer me."
Shivaay wrenched his arm out of Om's grip and stalked off to the other side of the room. Om who had years of familiarizing himself with the antics of his brother was not fooled. He could clearly visualize Shivaay's trembling hands; stiff shoulders held in tightly and anguished eyes looking downward.
"Why Shivaay?" his voice broke. "For Anika you left your obsession with name, fame and power. You overlooked her lineage, her background. Then why is it that you are doing all these? Are you letting your pride and ego define you this time Shivaay?"
The hustle bustle of the background filled the room with a buzz.
"Turning your back doesn't solve the problem, Shivaay. And here I thought you were a fighter." Om gulped steeling himself. It was time to bring the bigger guns out. "Why is it that you are hiding not just from others, but from yourself? When did you become like your despised father, Shivaay?"
The next moment was a blur. Om just had a second of warning when Shivaay utterly stiffened and next second he was on him.
"Uff!" Om exhaled as he collided with the floor and a powerful punch knocked his breathes out. Om stared up at the trembling figure of his brother and next second gave him a sharp kick knocking him down on the floor. He scratched his leg and threw another punch at his abdomen when Shivaay butt headed him with a loud yell.
However before their beginning fight could escalate, another figure threw himself between them.
"Are we playing bull fighting?" Rudra asked with a large grin on his face. His eyes fell on Shivaay's red bruise on the cheek and Om's split lip.
Shivaay looked at Om. Om looked at Shivaay. Then they both looked at Rudra and a startling familiarity descended on them. The next minute identical devilish grins lit across their faces.
Rudra looked at them both. "I have a bad feeling about this."
And then they both fell on their youngest brother.
The loud laughter echoed through the morose and dreary halls of the glittering mansion. A pair of eyes spied on the three brothers roughhousing with each other.
A smile lit on her face.
While she may not show it, she very well adored the three of them together. She was perhaps one of the very few people in the family who silently but surely supported the powerful bond these three had.
Footsteps met her ears and she frowned. She could recognize that pattern of walking everywhere.
Eyes narrowed, she opened the clasp of her flask and took a deep gulp.
Let the brothers enjoy their time, for she was sure that Om's return meant that this farce of a marriage was definitely not going to succeed.
Till than she would follow her role of appearing as a hefty thorn on Pinky's path.
Dearest Devrani, she thought smiling darkly, your beautiful web of conspiracies are going to unravel very soon.
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