I had to update this yesterday but I wasn't in the right mood...
Belated Birthday wishes to you Sawi...TheSilentBirdie
And thank you so much Naina... that's so sweet of you to go through so much Shivika stuff and watch those tiring ishqbaaz episodes to help me... Naina8721
I hope you like the update...🤗🤗😍
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"Harshvardhan Trivedi?" the name rolled out of Shivaay's lips.
"He was the son of Shrikant Trivedi, your dada ji's friend. Things didn't go well between the elders. Shrikant uncle who was one of the share holders in the company, opted out and started a new business which did not go in his favor. He suffered loses and his family had to bear the consequences," Tej said as he decided it was best if he told his nephew the story.
"Harsh blamed us for his father's wrong decision. He was a journalist and he used media to defame us, saying we Oberois do not follow ethical guidelines in managing the business. That costed us so much Shivaay. In fact, the company was going through a budget deficit when the accident happened."
Shivaay silently listened as his uncle continued.
"After the accident, he alleged that it is us who wantedly put fire to destroy our own company so that we could get the insurance claim and start afresh."
"What? And is that true?" the younger one asked.
"How could you even ask that? We would never do something like that Shivaay."
"What happened then?"
"As if situation wasn't bad enough, the day after Harsh made the statement, a fire accident happened in his house."
"Oh my God!!"
"Harsh died in the accident. He had two daughters with him and none of them were found in the remains. The police investigated the case and concluded that it was a mishap. The girls were not found till date."
"So, do you think it is someone who is related to Harshvardhan Trivedi who must be looking for revenge?" Shivaay asked.
"I cannot think of anyone else who would have that kind of motive."
Shivaay nodded his head, thinking of ways to get over this trouble named Trivedi.
He might need Karan's help again. Making a mental note to call him shortly, he spoke to his father.
"Okay, let me see what I can do and please you two, try telling me things before they become actual problems. If you did not do anything wrong why didn't you talk about this before dad?"
"Why would we? It never came up for discussion until we heard Jai Vardhan's name," Tej replied.
Shakti sighed and said, "It had been nothing short of a nightmare Shivaay. There was no solid prof but all the incidents happened in such a way that we both looked like murders. We didn't want you to believe that. Didn't you ask the same few minutes ago?"
"Not to forget my very virtuous son," Tej said.
"Omkara, if he got to know things, he would have been the first to accuse us of the crime."
"You have very less trust on us. If the police investigation went correctly and if you were acquitted, why will we question you?"
"Because the investigation did not go correctly," Shakti revealed.
Shivaay widened his eyes when Tej further explained.
"A few days before the incident, Nitesh Kapoor who was the manager, came to us with a proposition. He told us that if we light the fire and create that as an accident, we would get the money. Shakti out rightly refused but I had been silent."
"Bade papa, this..."
"Let me complete Shivaay. The office peon somehow overheard the conversation and told the police the same."
"Bhaisaab had to use our power and money to get us out of the mess. It wasn't an open and shut one Shivaay. I am telling you this because I trust you and I expect the same from you. We believe you know how important our family name means to us," Shakti concluded.
"We assure you that we did not do anything which might give a dent to our prestige," Tej assured.
"What happened to this Kapoor?" Shivaay asked.
"He was among the ones who got stuck in the flames."
"What if he was the one who had started the fire?"
"He wont jump into it right?"
"It can be a mishap too."
"Okay, I will start with getting information on each of the member who lost something to Kalyani mills. I am also thinking of organizing a fund raise for them. We are in a position to help them," said the eldest son.
Tej and Shakti nodded their head in agreement and Shivaay thanked them before walking out of the room.
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"That is some crime thriller," Rudra uttered and earned a smack from his big brother.
"This is not funny Rudy," Omkara chided him.
"What did I do?" the younger one pouted and got ignored.
"But Shivaay, if we go by their statement every family who lost something in the accident will have a motive to harm us," Omkara reasoned.
"Right and so, I am going to target everybody. Even this Jai Vardhan Dhokle shouldn't be left. I was about to call Karan regarding the same."
"Why Karan? Cal Bhavya. No matter what you say, I don't feel good about the guy coming to my house and flirting with my wife," Omkara said when his brother's phone rang.
"Great, it is Bhavya. Let me take the call," Shivaay excused himself.
"He is cool O, you are worrying unnecessarily," Rudra said in a placating tone.
"Rudy, despite the facts that we see, there is something called as gut instinct. I always get restless when Gauri is with him. You can call me a jealous husband but I cannot help it," his brother replied making him rethink.
"What is it?" Omkara asked his brother after he returned.
"Karan is assigned a secret operation in Delhi. He has to leave in a week so Bhavya asked me to call her if I needed any help. It is the commissioner's order," the former explained.
"Chehre ka noor to dekho," Rudra commented looking at the bright smile on his middle brother's face.
Shivaay shook his head with a smile as Rudra continued to tease Omkara.
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"Thank you so much sir," Bhavya thanked her senior in charge.
"I do not want to believe that Karan resorted to foul play Bhavya. How can it be possible? His conduct record never had any smudge on it."
"I seriously hope I am proved wrong sir. He is a dear friend."
"Take the necessary help and watch his moves. Now that he has less time, he might do something which he is not supposed to do."
"Yes sir, I am on it," Bhavya said and the commissioner nodded.
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Omkara entered his room and was soon engulfed in a warm hug. He hugged his wife back with a smile but couldn't help wondering of the reason for such open display of affection.
"Maa called me to say that she is coming to Mumbai because you invited her," she whispered, hugging him close.
Damn!! He did not particularly ask his mother in law to keep the information to herself but wasn't she supposed to know? Didn't Richa tell her?.... Omkara sulked.
"Great," he mumbled though he enjoyed the attention.
She parted from him, just enough to look at his disappointed face with confusion.
"You are not supposed to know until she is here," he confessed and she laughed.
"Oh, so planned a ... kya kehte hai usko...suprise?"
"Surprise," he corrected and she repeated after him.
"Thank oo," she uttered and his smile returned.
"I would never want you to correct your thank oo ever," he said pulling her cheek.
"Hmmm?"
"Nothing. Are you happy?"
She vigorously nodded her head and he chuckled.
These days, having conversations while they were in each other's arms seemed like a routine. And she liked the new routine.
"You thought I was upset for yesterday?" she asked, so happy that he was concerned for her.
Her husband stared at her for more than second before nodding his head.
"Choti maa is like an immature child who throws tantrums when things wont go as she planned," he said.
"She taunted people for their problems and projected Shivaay as the only one who handled the good of our family. Everybody including Me and Rudy, we have always turned a blind eye to it thinking that as her love towards Shivaay. I regret that now because it is making her think that she can do that with you as well."
"Omkara ji, I understand..."
"That is exactly what I don't want you to do Gauri. Please don't understand her. If she makes you look inferior, you can talk in your defense and if not, at least don't stop me to talk for you."
"I didn't want you to be taken in the wrong sense Omkaraji. She might take that as an insult and you will look bad," she tried to explain.
"Mein already bura huun unke nazaro mein. Thoda aur bura banne mein kuch nahi bigadega. (I am already bad in her eyes and it doesn't matter if I become worse)"
Gauri wanted to tell him that she doesn't want to be the person who created more problems in a family instead of fixing them, but she knew he wouldn't like her saying that. She sighed and nodded her head making him satisfied with the response.
"Good," he mumbled.
"So, maa ji will come tomorrow," he said to divert the topic.
"Yeah, maa told me," she informed with a smile.
"You liked the surprise," he stated and she nodded again.
"Wont you thank me then?"
"I just thanked you Omkara ji."
He clicked his tongue, "Not properly."
"Kaa?"
Omkara wordlessly lifted his hand and traced her lips with a finger, to give a hint. His wife widened her eyes before her lips tinted a pink.
He leaned closer to her, his hands firmly holding her waist but stopped an inch before he made contact.
Gauri who closed her eyes in anticipation, frowned when she didn't feel his lips on hers. She opened her eyes to look at him staring at her.
"I am waiting," he whispered his gaze shifting to her lips and she gulped in nervousness.
They had kissed before but she was never the one to initiate.
Could she do it? she asked herself.
But she never backed down from a challenge before.
Unsurely, she snaked her hands through his hair and he raised a hand from her waist to wantonly roam over her bare back, thanks to her low back kurta.
Her pulse skyrocketed and threatened to rip out of her skin but she took long breaths to calm herself down. His eyes filled with passion and his hands' bold touch were her only encouragement.
He already made it easy by leaning in and she just had to move some more to reach the destination.
And she did!
No sooner her lips touched his, he lifted her off the floor, hungrily devouring her. She found herself being pushed against something hard making her softly gasp.
His tongue took the opportunity and she clutched onto him as she lost herself again to him.
Omkara on the other hand was fighting with his inner mad self. The side which she awoke every time they got close physically. He could not believe he didn't have the power to fight it.
"Om..." she whispered against his lips and all he wanted was to rip her kurta to shreds. Her moans trailed off when his phone rang, breaking the moment.
"Fudge!" he swore, parting from the kiss but not letting her go.
She looked at him with a shy smile as he put her back on the ground, his eyes stuck to her heaving chest.
"Your phone," she reminded him and he looked away chastising himself for his absolute lack of propriety.
He excused himself answering the phone while she leaned back against the wall for support, still catching her breath. She saw him tartly giving answers in a yes or no, his voice still shaky.
No longer did he ended the call, he pulled her again and she promptly kissed him back, fully knowing his appetite by then.
"I need to go out," he mumbled and she hummed a response.
"It might take time," he said peppering kisses against her jaw.
"Hmm"
"I don't want to go," he sulked and she laughed pushing him away.
"I am not getting kidnapped today," she quipped and he sighed leaving her.
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"A week?" Svetlana screamed in outrage.
"I cannot do anything. I don't know why I am given the job when I suggested another," Karan tried to explain.
"I thought you will help in Sahil's kidnap."
"I clearly cannot Svetlana."
"Did you find anything in the pen drive?"
Karan shook his head in a no and said, "No, it doesn't tell anything about the location of the tapes."
"Can we go to the mill directly? I think we should go and search."
"Why didn't you go till now then?"
"I do not have access. You can get one, talk to Shivaay or do anything.."
"Let me see what I can do," he said and she nodded letting out a breath.
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What awaits?
Let us see in the next update...
See you until later... signing off yours Soujanya.