"Stop her !" Tej said to Shivaay as they both watched Annika walking out of the room in anger.
"Anni...Annika." Shivaay called after her in a loud yet weak voice as he followed her out clumsily.
Annika didn't stop. She ignored Shivaay's calls and marched directly in the living room where Rikara and Ruvya were chatting away happily.
"Arey di, kya ab mein apko bhabhi bula sakta hu ?" ("Hey di, can I call you bhabhi now ?") Rudy was first to notice Annika storming towards them.
All the heads snapped in Annika's direction and they all frowned when they saw Annika's tear stricken, angry face.
"Di kya hua ?" ("Di what's wrong ?") Om asked worriedly. "Bhai ne kuch kaha kya ?" ("Did bhai said something to you ?")
"OmRu, tumhara bhai ghar chhod ke jaa raha hai." ("OmRu, your brother is leaving the house.") Annika boomed with tears spilling out of her eyes.
"What ?!" Rikara and Ruvya asked in unison.
"Yeh aap kya bol rahi ho di ?" ("What are you talking about ?") Bhavya frowned.
"Sach bol rahi hu, Bhavu, aur sach batane hi aayi hu." ("It's the truth Bhavu, and I wanna tell you another truth as well.") Annika replied.
"Annika...nahi.." ("Annika...No..") Shivaay came down the stairs leaning on the railing of the stairs.
Rikara and Ruvya's attention was fixed on Annika and her shocking announcement hence they didn't see Shivaay's condition and as Annika had her back towards Shivaay, she didn't see his condition either.
"Nahi, Shivaay." ("No, Shivaay.") Annika replied without turning to look at Shivaay. "Aj mein sab sach sach bata dungi sabko. OmRu ko sab kuchh janane ka haq hai." ("Today I'm gonna reveal it all. OmRu have the right to know the truth.")
"An..nika... please..." Shivaay's loud yet weak voice hit Annika's ears but she ignored him.
"OmRu, Tej uncle-" Annika was cut of by a loud crashing noise.
Annika and others turned towards the noise and saw Shivaay lying face first on the floor with a broken vase. Shivaay was unconscious.
"Shivaay / Bhai / Bhaiya !" Everyone yelled and rushed towards Shivaay.
"Bhai, aankhen kholo, bhai kya hua ?" ("Bhai, open your eyes, bhai what's wrong with you ?") Om panicked as he tapped Shivaay's head after cradling Shivaay on his lap.
Tears were streaming down Annika's eyes at the sight of Shivaay's unconscious figure. She had got the idea of what was happening.
Shivaay had been stressed since a weak and as far as Annika knew him, he must've ignored his health all this while.
Annika had lectured Shivaay numerous times about taking care of himself and his heart but Shivaay always waved her off.
Shivaay's heart muscles were extraordinarily weak, Annika got to know that when Shivaay had been shot by Harshad. She even wished to tell that to OmRu but Shivaay had restricted her from doing so, as he believed that this information will make OmRu unnecessarily worried for him.
Annika shakily took Shivaay's wrist in her hand to check his pulse rate and realised that his heart beat was abnormal.
"Heart attack." Annika concluded timidly. "Bhavya, ambulance bulao." ("Bhavya, call the ambulance.")
Bhavya nodded and went to call the ambulance service.
Just then Tej descended the stairs and stared at Shivaay with wide eyes.
"Shivaay ko kya hua ?" ("What happened to Shivaay ?") Tej asked and was taking steps towards Shivaay when Annika's voice and stance made him stop in his tracks.
"Wahi ruk jayiye." ("Stay where you are.") Annika growled with tears as she protectively stood between Tej and Shivaay. "Mein apka saaya bhi mere Shivaay pe nahi padne dungi, samjhe aap ‽" ("I won't even let your wicked shadow fall on my Shivaay, understand ‽")
Tej looked away from Annika but stayed glued to his place.
Om, who had noticed Tej and Annika's lil fall out, was about to ask what was the matter between them but before he could do that, Bhavya ran towards them.
"Ambulance is here." Bhavya informed.
After that neither Annika got time to explain everything to OmRu nor Om got time to ask what was wrong between Tej and Annika.
Shivaay was wheeled inside the operation theatre as soon as he reached the hospital.
Annika being a doctor, she was allowed into the operation theatre with Shivaay.
Annika didn't operate Shivaay but she stayed with him and supervised the operation cause she didn't wish to take any chances with her love.
-
"O." Rudy whispered feebly. "Bhaiya.." He weeped.
Om wiped his own tears and sat beside his baby brother.
"He'll be fine." Om assured softly as he rubbed Rudy's back comfortingly.
"Mein bhaiya ke bina nahi jee sakta." ("I cannot live without bhaiya.") Rudy cried. "Bhaiya ko thik hona hi hoga." ("Bhaiya has to get well soon.")
"Same here, Rudy." Om admitted. "Don't worry, Bhaiya jaldi se thik ho jayenge." ("Don't worry, Bhaiya will be alright soon.")
"Promise ?" Rudy whimpered.
"Promise." Om gave a small smile.
The conversation between OmRu was being witnessed by Tej who was sitting just across from them on the either side of the corridor in the hospital.
Tej felt bad to see OmRu so vulnerable like this. Maybe he shouldn't have asked Shivaay to leave the house and his recently reunited family.
Tej sighed.
It was anyway too late to do anything.
Tej just wished that Shivaay got well soon.
Just then Prinku came running towards OmRu.
"O bhaiya, Shivaay bhaiya ko kya hua ?" ("O bhaiya, what happened to Shivaay bhaiya ?") Prinku asked with tears spilling out of her eyes.
"Prinku, bhai ko heart attack aaya hai." ("Prinku, bhai has suffered an heart attack.") Om sighed.
"What ?" Priyanka gulped as more tears made their way out of her eyes.
"Prinku." Om mumbled softly and stood up to take his baby sister in a hug. "He'll be fine." Om assured as he rubbed his baby sister's back soothingly.
Prinku didn't reply, she just hugged Om tightly and cried in his chest.
Priyanka had just found her brothers and had grown immensely close to them over last few weeks. She couldn't even imagine living without them now.
♠
15 hours ago,
Australia.
Shakti and Pinky were just chatting away happily over a cup of tea when Shakti received a call from India.
"Hello ?" Shakti spoke as he received the call. "Shakti Singh Oberoi here."
"Sir, mein Advocate Kumar ke office se unka assistant Mudit bol raha hu." ("Sir, I'm Mudit, speaking from Advocate Kumar's office.") The young man on the line replied. "Aapki property ka jo case hai uske liye aapko kal tak India aana hoga." ("You need to come down to India till tomorrow regarding your property's case.")
Mudit was talking about reclaiming Oberois' property from the government which government had confiscated 16 years ago.
"Yu achanak ? Sab thik toh hai ?" ("Why so suddenly ? Is everything alright ?") Shakti questioned.
"Sab thik hai sir, infact hum lucky hai ki humare case ki sunwai preponed ho gayi hai." ("Everything's fine sir, infact we've been lucky, our case's hearing has been preponed.") Mudit informed. "Aap kal aa jayiye, kuch formalities hai jo apko aur Tej sir ko puri karni hai, uske baad agle mahine tak aapko apka Oberoi Mansion aur kuch aur properties wapis mil jayengi." ("Come down to India tomorrow, there are some formalities which you and Tej sir need to complete, thereafter you should get your property and your Oberoi Mansion back by the next month.")
"Waah, yeh bahot hi acchi khabar sunai hai tumne Mudit. Mein kal hi India aa jaunga." ("Wow, that's a great news you've told me, Mudit. I'll be in India tomorrow.") Shakti grinned. "Thank you."
After hanging up the call, Shakti turned to Pinky and Janvi arrived in the meanwhile too. Shakti narrated everything to them with a wide smile.
"Toh mujhe aaj hi ki flight se India jaana hoga." ("So I need to go to India today itself.") Shakti added.
"Sirf tum nahi, hum sab abhi ki flight se India jaa rahe hai." ("Not only you, we all will be heading to India.")
Shakti, Pinky and Janvi turned around to see Kalyani Singh Oberoi aka Dadi.
"Pr maa, aapki tabiyat-" ("But maa, your health-") Shakti was cut off by his mother.
"-mein ekdum bhali changi hu, samjhe ?" ("-I'm absolutely alright, okay ?") Dadi said and walked up to her son. "Mein aur raah nahi dekh sakti, meri aankhen taras gayi hai mere poto ko dekhne ke liye. Pichhale 16 saal se inn angrezo ke chehere dekh dekh kar tang aa gayi hu mein, ab apni maati ki khushbu lena chahti hu. Mein bhi tum logo ke sath Hindustan aa rahi hu, bas." ("I cannot wait any longer, I'm desperate to see my grandsons. I'm fed up after watching these foreign faces for 16 years, now I wanna go back to my homeland. I'm coming to India with you and that's final.")
Shakti, Pinky and Janvi shared a look and smiled. They knew Dadi wouldn't listen to them so they decided to take dadi home after all these years.
"Thik hai, mein abhi hum sabki tickets book karta hu." ("Alright, I will book the tickets.") Shakti smiled and pulled out his phone.
♦
Current time,
India.
The red light above the operation theatre finally went off after 5 hours of surgery and out came the doctor with Annika.
As soon as Rikara, Ruvya and Priyanka's eyes landed on doctor and Annika, they all rushed towards them.
"Di, bhaiya kaise hai ?" ("Di, how's bhai ?") OmRu asked as they stared at Annika incredulously.
Annika smiled and placed a hand on OmRu's shoulder and cheek respectively.
"Shivaay bilkul thik hai !" ("Shivaay's doing fine.") Annika grinned. "Operation was successful."
OmRuYanka closed their eyes in relief as they thanked the god in their minds.
"We'll be shifting him to room number 707 soon. You can see him them." The other doctor nodded before leaving.
"Mein abhi aati hu." ("Excuse me.") Annika mumbled before leaving.
Annika had been brave for the past 5 hours but now the seriousness and realisation of the situation was catching up with her. She felt overwhelmed by all the emotions and fears which she had managed to ignore all this while.
Annika excused herself and went to the washroom to cry her heart out and calm herself down without getting noticed by anyone.
After half an hour, Shivaay was shifted in room 707 but he was still unconscious.
OmRuYanka were sitting around Shivaay, desperately waiting for Shivaay to wake up.
"Bhaiya ko hosh aaya kya ?" ("Did he wake up ?") Bhavya asked as soon as she and Gauri came inside Shivaay's hospital room with some snacks and coffee for everyone.
"Abhi tak toh-" ("Not ye-") Prinku was cut off by Rudy's sudden yell.
"Bhaiya ko hosh aa raha hai !" ("Bhaiya is waking up !") Rudy exclaimed happily as he held Shivaay's hand tightly in his.
All the eyes travelled to Shivaay and a smile appeared on each one of their lips when they saw movement in Shivaay's eyelids and fingers.
A groan escaped Shivaay's lips before his eyes opened ever so slowly.
Shivaay opened his eyes and looked around.
"Kya...hua ?" ("What's...wrong ?") Shivaay asked when he saw his babies tear stricken faces.
"Bhaiya / Bhai !" OmRuYanka exclaimed before tackling Shivaay in a group hug, while making sure Shivaay's stitches are not being affected.
Shivaay chuckled softly as he wrapped his arms around his brothers and sister and closed his eyes in content.
A lone tear trickled down Shivaay's cheek but he was quick to wipe it off before anyone could see it.
The young Oberois' pulled apart after a moment with smiles littering their faces.
After a few minutes, Annika came inside Shivaay's hospital room with the doctor.
The doctor checked Shivaay and enquired about his health before prescribing some meds to him and leaving.
"Bade papa, kaha hai ?" ("Where is bade papa ?") Shivaay asked after a while.
Annika's face turned sour at the mention of Tej but she stayed silent.
Tej was standing in the corridor. Annika had strictly warned him not to be anywhere near Shivaay and even though Tej didn't take orders from anyone, he had to obey Annika cause she knew Tej's dirtiest secret and he didn't wish to let his secret out.
"Uncle bahar khade hai." ("Uncle's standing outside.") Bhavya replied with a slight frown.
Shivaay tensed up and made an eye contact with Annika as they silently conversed through eyes.
Shivaay {Through eyes} : Did you tell OmRu about Bade papa ?
Annika {Through eyes} : Unfortunately, no.
Shivaay heaved an inaudible sigh of relief before he realised something.
"Fir Woh andar kyu nahi aaye ?" ("Then Why didn't he come inside ?") Shivaay's eyes saddened. He knew Tej didn't want him around but he thought Tej would at least come and see him after knowing about his health issue.
"Mein..." ("I...") Annika started dryly. "...abhi unhe bula laati hu." ("...will call him inside.")
With that said, Annika stood up and left the room.
As soon as she came out she saw Tej sitting on the bench just outside the room with his head in his hands.
"Shivaay ko apse milna hai." ("Shivaay wants to see you.") Annika said emotionlessly without looking at Tej.
Through her peripheral vision, she saw Tej giving her a nod and standing up.
"Aapse request ki aap please koi aisi baat naa kare jisse unhen taklif pohonche. Woh abhi abhi hosh mein aaye hai." ("It's a kind request, please don't say or do anything which may hurt Shivaay, he has just woke up from a surgery and he's completely well right now.") Annika added sternly.
Tej was about to speak but stopped as something behind Annika caught his eyes.
Annika's eyebrows furrowed when she saw Tej staring at something behind her. She slowly turned around and followed Tej's eyes to see Shakti, Pinky and Janvi running towards them.
"Shivaay kaha hai ?" ("Where's Shivaay ?") Pinky asked as soon as her eyes landed on Annika.
"Andar hai." ("Inside.") Annika replied softly and held Shivaay's hospital room door open for Shivaay's parents before glancing at Janvi and following Shakti and Pinky inside the room.
"Janvi ?" Tej spoke as Annika, Shakti and Pinky went inside the room, leaving him and Janvi in the corridor.
Janvi turned to Tej with a death glare.
"Kya hua Janvi ? Tum gusse mein kyu ho ?" ("What happened Janvi ? Why are you angry ?") Tej asked.
Janvi just gritted her teeth and slapped a file in Tej's hand.
"Yeh kya hai ?" ("What's this ?") Tej questioned before opening the file.
Tej's eyes went wide when he saw the papers filed inside the file and he looked up at Janvi again.
Now Janvi's eyes were slightly teary but the anger was still dominant in her eyes.
"Haan Tej." ("Yes Tej.") Janvi spoke softly but venom lingered in her voice. "I want divorce."
--------------------------
Hey bubblies !
How are you all ? As for me, I'm good, slightly busy with studies and all but I'm good.
There will be more 2 chapters and an epilogue (If things go as planned) and then this book will end.
I don't have much to say...
So...
Um...
Bye 🙋
Until the next update
Have a safe and great life 😇