"It says here that Sharad was the founder of an IT bases solutions company."
Vrinda nodded, damp hair falling forward and loose tendrils sticking to her face, though thankfully she'd been able to change into dry clothes before Raj ' Yug's brother had started his appraisal of the will.
"It's not very big, about a handful of employees but it's worth a small fortune and with proper care it has a lot of potential."
Raj nodded, consulting his scrawled notes and adding a few after Vrinda's information.
"The ownership has been split three ways; 30% divided between the employees, 30% handed to KG Enterprises ' that would be Yug ' and 40% for Ria; held and cared for by her guardian, along with the house, some bonds and any liquid assets."
"And the guardian would be Vrinda?"
Raj nodded distractedly at Yug, though he refused to look up as he frowned at the will before him.
"Vrinda will look after Ria until she reaches the age of twenty-one and will be able to handle her own affairs. But there's a clause here."
Vrinda, who had been gazing absentmindedly out of the window, snapped back to attention and regarded Raj curiously.
He looked up with a grim expression.
"It says here that you have to marry within two months of Sharad and Githika's deaths."
Vrinda blanched.
"Two months?"
There was a hollow note to her voice, but she soon recovered herself and glanced sharply at Raj.
"And if I don't?"
He matched her expression head on.
"Then Ria, her fortune and her share of the company will be handed over to our Lalli Bua and her husband."
Yug cursed,
"I can't believe it...why would Sharad..."
Yug leapt up, pacing the tiny apartment and pushing fingers through his already dishevelled hair.
"Lalli Bua and her husband...Vrinda I know them! They won't waste a minute before blowing Vrinda's money. And once she's of age, I just know they'll be able to come up with something to get their hands on the house and company."
He whirled towards, hair sticking up in tufts and looking pained.
"You have to get married!"
She raised a brow.
"To who?"
Raj cleared his throat, settling back languidly before pointing out the obvious.
"Well, you could marry Yug."
"You want me to what?"
Vrinda stared, open-mouthed at Raj who smiled serenely back at her. What irked her more was Yug's thoughtful look that told her he was actually considering Raj's proposition.
"I can't marry him."
Yug gave a tight smile.
"Thanks for the vote if confidence."
Raj wisely ignored their glaring contest and continued unperturbed.
"Vrinda I know this is difficult but trust me on this. I can't think of anyone better than Yug to take care of you."
Vrinda gave a wry smile, idly wondering if Raj knew of his brothers past, even as her shaking fingers mangled a cushion in a death grip.
"It's the only option that makes sense at the moment. After your marriage to Yug, you two only have to stay together for six months before I can arrange for a transfer of custody."
"Six months? But...I can't take of six months...I have a job, responsibilities...I can't..."
Yug regarded her with a mocking smile.
"Job? Vrinda, you wait tables in the evenings and work as a receptionist on the weekends."
She looked up, blinking owlishly as a frown marred her brow.
"How did you...?"
And suddenly she leapt up, shaking with anger and almost knocking Yug over as she furiously through a cushion at him.
"I can't believe you checked up on me! How dare you? My personal life has nothing to do with you. And in case you've forgotten, you've already got a girlfriend."
Yug raised a brow and Vrinda flushed.
"I don't live under a rock you know. Sort of hard to miss the news when it's over every magazine."
He grinned,
"You've been reading up on me."
"Don't flatter yourself."
She replied hotly, glaring at him one last time before she stormed of, heading for the kitchen where she promptly started bashing pots and pans.
"That went well. Do you want to charge her for assault?"
Raj asked mildly, causing Yug to grin again.
*****
"No."
Yug raised a brow.
"I didn't say anything."
"You don't have to; I know what you're going to ask and the answer's never in a million years!"
"Vrinda'"
"What?"
She turned away from her cooking, wooden spoon pointed threateningly at Yug as she glowered at him. Yug dug his hands in to the pocket of his sweats so he wouldn't be tempted to brush away the locks of hair fanning her face.
She'd been holed up in the kitchen for the past two hours and one thing Yug had learnt was that whilst some of his previous girlfriends coped with stress by drowning themselves in chocolate or shopping bags; Vrinda dealt with stress by butchering veg - - er, cooking. And Vrinda with a wooden spoon was a force to be reckoned with.
And so Yug wisely kept his hands where they couldn't be mauled off and forced himself to talk gently to her.
"Vrinda, we need to talk."
"You have a girlfriend Yug, what's there to talk about?"
Yug grimaced.
"About that...currently single."
She glanced at him sharply.
"Urvashi left me for a photographer called Chunnilal."
"Ah..."
"Eloquent as ever."
She wacked him with the end of her spoon and Yug yelped as he rubbed the sore spot before continuing.
"So what I'm trying to say is..."
He was cut of Vrinda's weary sigh as she switched of the cooker and slumped against the counter.
"Don't Yug, please. I'll handle this myself."
He tried to quash his rising irritation, but it burst forth under the anger and shock he had been fighting to control over the past two days.
"Like you've handled everything else perfectly?"
Her head snapped up, eyes boring in to his as her spine stiffened.
"What does that mean?"
He grasped her arm, pulling her close even as she shook with barely restrained anger.
"Listen to me Vrinda; my family is very important to me and I'm going to make sure that Ria has everything she was born in to; even if that means marrying you."
Vrinda flinched as if she'd been struck and pulled her arm away from Yug's grasp.
"I'm perfectly capable of providing for Ria."
"Look around you Vrinda!"
He swung out his arm, outlining her pitiful apartment with barely a wave.
"Is that what you really want for her?"
She turned away, jaw clenched as she felt the bitter was of resignation flow through her.
"I need time to think about it."
"You have until tomorrow morning. And then we're leaving for Kishanganj."
And with that he stormed out of the kitchen, pausing momentarily to answer Ria's squawks of indignation before the soft patter of her feet followed Yug out. It was only once the front door slammed shut that Vrinda allowed the tears to stream down her face.
"Do you want me to leave you crying in the corner or should we sit down and talk it over?"
*****
Vrinda turned and gave a watery smile to Raj who stood, lounging against the door frame, arms folded against his chest as he watched her carefully.
Obviously used to women on the verge of hysterics, he quietly placed a soothing hand on her shoulder and led her back to the poufy armchair where he had first imparted his news. Returning within minutes, he placed a cup of steaming tea in front of her.
"Thank-you."
She sighed, sipping the sweet tea and feeling herself relaxing as the overpowering anxiety dulled to an occasional throb. She looked up from her teacup and was met with the same genial smile.
"Feeling better? It's what I do for my wife when she gets stressed."
Vrinda smiled warmly.
"I had no idea you were married. How long has it been?"
"Only ten months. Nishi ' Nishita ' worked for a Punjab based insurance company when I met her."
Vrinda grinned.
"I bet your Dadusa wasn't pleased."
A genuine smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Can't say he was. He wanted a Rajasthani daughter-in-law and there I was the second grandson to fall for a Punjabi. But he accepted. Sometime I wonder if he wouldn't have accepted Sharad and Githika. His family means more to him than his pride."
Vrinda focused on the cup cradled in her hands.
"That's why Yug left, because his family was more important. That's why he left me."
She paused, forcing herself to swallow against the sudden lump in her throat as Raj regarded her with a shrewd expression.
"I always wondered...but should have guessed when I saw you two together."
Vrinda creased her brow.
"Guessed what?"
He ignored her question, regarding her silently before asking one of his own.
"What happened? I mean, I managed to put together the main points but I never got Yug to open up about those two weeks he spent in Prathapghar."
An expression he couldn't quite discern flitted across her face before her head tilted back, eyes taking on a dreamy expression before she gave a smile, sad smile.
"It was Githika Di's wedding. She'd been engaged for a while and as soon as she finished her studies, Dadabeer arranged for the wedding preparations to start. We were all excited ' me more than most ' until I noticed that she her smile was always a little to strained, her excitement just a little fake.
I didn't realise what the matter was until two Sardars turned up at our house claiming they were relatives of Ghirdhari Kaka's."
"Yug and Sharad?"
Vrinda grinned.
"Who else? I managed to corner Sharad Bhaiyya and get the truth out of him ' he'd come to convince Di that she was making a mistake and would be happier with him. Yug on the other hand was convincing all my friends that he was the only one worth a second glance.
But he was always charming and did everything to get in to my family's good books. He ruptured his ears teaching my brother to shoot a gun, burnt his fingers cooking with Chachi and even farmed a tough piece of land with Chachu.
My family were never the most...affectionate towards me; but Yug treated me like everyone else. Smiling and teasing and generally irritating the hell out of me."
A burble of laughter escaped her,
"I always acted very cold towards him; after all, I'd seen him with the village girls. But then one night he followed me up to the terrace after I'd argued with Maa...and he just held me as I cried. I think that's when I fall in love with him."
"Does he know?"
"Does it matter?"
Mangal Lakshmi
Hindi TV Shows
Ishaani
