Chapter 4
"Aditya I think living with Jigyasa has taken a toll on you. You have lost your mind!" Jai fumed at his brother-in-law and close friend Aditya Bali. He was married to his older sister Jigyasa and lived in the palatial Walia mansion on Jigyasa's insistence since their marriage. Aditya was his confidante and Jai trusted him implicitly but Jai could not agree with what Aditya had suggested this time.
"Why not Jai? Aditya asked with arched eyebrows, no sign of his usual humour. "You have put up with Pia and her nonsense for years despite having the upper hand in the marriage. She has used you for the longest of time. It's your turn Jai, and believe me it's not as vindictive as it sounds. You won't be harming her in any way. Knowing Pia, she would only be delighted at the prospect of being Mrs. Walia for some more time, much more comfortable than being divorced with negligible chances of a hefty alimony. " Aditya couldn't help the last sardonic comment. He had disliked Pia on sight and knew it wouldn't be long before Jai regretted his choice. That was one time when Aditya would have been happy if he had been proven wrong.
Jai replied caustically, his face hard with remembered anger, " I don't see any reason to prolong the divorce now Aditya. Pia has fully recovered, the doctors have allowed her to leave. Why the hell should I put up with her for a second more?" Aditya was ready with his reply, he seemed to have rehearsed it. "Because you have suffered enough at her hands Jai. You have given this company your sweat and blood. You are the undisputed right choice for the position of C.E.O. I wouldn't have asked you to tolerate Pia anymore if it hadn't been absolutely essential. Our board of directors unfortunately comprises of a bunch of hypocritical conservative stuffed shirts. If you divorce Pia, they are going to use that as an excuse to not give you the post on the basis of "your unstable personal life". Years of hard work down the drain." Aditya looked at Jai expectantly, hoping to see acquiesce.
"Damnit Aditya!" Jai swore viciously. "What has my marriage got to do with my being C.E.O? I have proved my competence over and over again. What else am I supposed to do? Lick those pretentious b******s' feet?"
"That won't be necessary Jai, if you use a little foresight and tolerance. Maintain the image of a devoted, very much in love couple, celebrate your wedding anniversary lavishly and just appear happy together till you are announced C.E.O. Don't give the board any reasons to deprive you of your right. Change the rules once you have the power. Until then, follow them. And you know the rule at the moment- the C.E.O has t o conduct his personal and professional life ideally. Remember-if you can't beat them, join them". The last line was added to lighten the atmosphere, but only succeeded in Aditya earning a fulminating glare from Jai.
"You know Aditya, if you hadn't been my closest chum, I would have thought this was your ingenious plan to drive me insane," Jai said grudgingly with a reluctant smile. Aditya grinned broadly. "Rest assured, you do not have to worry from that quarter. You have enough on your plate with Pia, another enemy would be pushing you too far, So do I take your generous praise as your assent for my foolproof plan?"
Jai closed his eyes for a moment. Physically, Pia has recovered much faster and better than anyone had dared to hope for. Her health was restored, but she was definitely different. The doctors assured him it was a part of surviving a near death experience, but Jai wasn't convinced. Pia had become-he struggled for the right word- nice. She was polite to the doctors and nurses, did not complain while going through vigourous physical therapy even though her mounting frustration was evident. She even enquired about her room's cleaning lady's daughter's health who had malaria. Jai nearly staggered in shock when she did that. This was in total contrast with the Pia who made the doctors contemplate murder when she was admitted here for her caesarian at Sonia's birth.
She always smiled at him when he came to visit her, which was as less as he could mange without looking unconcerned, and he never smiled back. That did not deter her. She would talk animatedly about her day, who visited her, the food, her progress. Her voice was soft and melodious, not shrill as before.It was soothing to listen to, though he'd never accept that. His lack of response or monosyllable replies did not discourage her. His mother Krishna, who was her strongest critic, was baffled too. Despite her efforts on the contrary, she found herself almost liking her daughter-in-law, she had confessed bewilderedly to her son. Jai did not blame her. Pia had antagonized Krishna right from the start with her brashness and disregard for everything the Walia family held dear. Krishna adored Sonia, and Pia's blatant disregard for her daughter had been the final nail in the coffin in the already non existent relationship between his wife and mother. Pia's new avatar may be a shock, but he was no fool. He had already been on that road once and had no intention of repeating the journey.
"Alright", he said defeated to a beaming Aditya. "The marriage remains intact till I have that bloody position. After that, divorcing Pia is my life's aim." "Trust me Jai, you won't regret your decision." Aditya hurriedly left the room, to avoid the risk of Jai changing his mind.
Jai wished he could share Aditya's optimism. Unfortunately, his track record with Pia did not support any positive feelings.
Bani was getting bored. She had been in the hospital for a month and physically speaking, had a hellish time. Being able to hold a coffee mug herself was a groundbreaking achievement initially. She had wept buckets of tears discreetly, often berating herself for her foolhardy plan. Assuming a dead beautiful and extremely disliked woman's identity was no piece of cake. Her many slips had gone totally unnoticed in the frenzy after the surgery and the doctor's eternal logic- Pia would suffer lapses of memory loss because of being hit on her hear during the crash.
Bani gazed at the mirror again. Staring at the lovely reflection, she would almost not know that she had been given someone else's face. Her button nose was replaced by straight perfectly shaped one and she had higher, more prominent cheekbones now. Her skin was blemish free now, her small splatter of freckles gone, leaving her skin looking translucent and glowing now that she had a healthy diet. She thanked her stars that her ears were untouched. Pushkar often joked that he had fallen in love with her tiny earlobes before seeing the rest of her face. Earrings always looked fantastic on her tiny earlobes.
Pia's eyes had been just a little lighter than Bani's pixie green shade and this was thankfully another feature of hers which did not suffer the torturous surgery. The difference was very subtle, so thankfully nobody raised any doubts. In fact it was only the nose which was really different from her real face. But then again, it made her look like a different person altogether.
Bani was twiddling her thumbs when she noticed the wedding band she wore. I t had been "returned" to her as part of the luggage recovered during the crash. It was glinting, obviously very expensive but a little gaudy for her taste. It felt dishonest to wear another woman's wedding band and steal her husband, even if it was in name only. She had no plans of loving Jai Walia in any way. Thinking of him, she recalled Sonia's visit to her the day most of her bandages had been removed….
Bani's heart had been hammering rapidly since the nurse told her Jai was bringing Sonia to visit her. She remembered the timid little doll who had looked at her with such trust as Bani saved her from being enveloped by the fire. Will she remember her? Sonia was just three years old, she wouldn't. Bani accepted that fact sadly. But she was damned if Sonia flinched at her sight as she did at Pia's.
Bani smiled as Sonia entered the room, clutching Jai's hand as if her life depended it on it. Jai, although ruffling her hair, looked warily at Bani. God this Pia must have been a witch! Jai was also scared of her! An uncontrollable urge to giggle then hurt the dead woman rose in Bani so rapidly that she gasped. Sonia instantly moved towards her but withdrew, an expression of fear setting on her cherubic face. Bani felt a lump rise in her throat as Sonia sat on the far edge of Bani's bed, just staring at her. Jai was simply standing, smiling encouragingly at his daughter. Sonia hesitatingly placed a hand in her shirt's pocket and looked at Bani, unsure. Bani smiled brightly at her. "Come on sweetheart, don't you have something to give Mommy? Come here."
Sonia looked on as Bani nodded at her. Jai was too baffled to say anything. He just nodded his head mechanically in Bani's direction. Sonia slowly walked towards Bani, each step increasing Bani's nervousness. When Sonia finally settled next to Bani, she handed her a piece of paper, her hands trembling. Bani gripped one tiny hand, and looked at her gift with teary eyes. It was a handmade card, with "Get well soon" written in almost illegible scrawl and in different colours. "It's lovely darling! Thank you! Did you make it youself?" Bani asked in a rush.
Sonia nodded quickly, looking at Bani with glowing eyes. Bani said softly, "Mommy is not well. Won't you even hug her?" Sonia just hurled herself into Bani's arms, howling. Her tears wet Bani's shirt but she didn't mind as she soothed the scared girl. Sonia touched Bani's numerous bandages and more tears flowed. Bani assured her that she was going to be fine and come back to her very soon.
All this time, Jai had been watching the exchange with his mouth open. Bani would have laughed if the situation hadn't been so emotional. As Jai took a reluctant Sonia away from Bani's embrace, she could swear she saw extreme anger in his eyes. His jaw was set and his eyes were narrowed ominously. Without a word, he left with Sonia.
Bani's reverie was broken as her "husband" entered the room. It was the day of her discharge. She fervently prayed to God to not end her successful impersonation of Pia anytime too soon. Too much was at stake. With bated breath, she watched Jai near her where she was standing at the window.
Cricket
