Sanjana's POV:
After that rat escapade, Akshay and I enjoyed fully. We went to this lake, there, we enjoyed a quite picnic. It was without doubt one of the best days of my life. I feel much closer to Akshay now.
We are going back to Singhania Mansion. But this time its Alex who is driving and Akshay is back to his workaholic self and I am random shuffling through social media.
"Alex, we will be at Singhania Mansion by..?" I questioned.
"In an hour, Ma'am." He answered.
"Sanjana Please." I muttered.
"Sanjana." He exclaimed and get back to his driving.
"By the way, its only 20 days left for Kirti's wedding. Where is it gonna take place?" I questioned Akshay while poking him in his arm.
"Italy." He muttered.
"Where in Italy?" I questioned again.
"Where were you when this all was being discussed?" Akshay questioned.
"I am working woman. I was at my office." I stated. When he glared at me "I know its taking place in Venice. I was just riling you for fun." I explained apologetically.
We reached home in the evening. Everybody was discussing the plans for Kirti's wedding.
"Is not Akshay overtaking wedding planning? He usually overtakes everything." I shouted excitedly.
When nobody laughed and Akshay stared at me impassively, I muttered "Bad joke."
Kirti planned and we all listened. Akshay's personal assistant Claire and wedding planner were taking notes and I was sitting idly listening to all the chatter.
Suddenly, I remembered all the moments I had spent with Akshay in past two days. I did not realise that I was foolishly smiling to myself. Ma shook me hard and I returned to mortal realm from my lala land.
"What is it, Ma?" I questioned.
"Where were you lost. I have been calling you from past 5 minutes." She responded shaking her head at me.
"I was thinking about heels I have to buy." I stupidly said the first thing that came to my mind.
"I am going to throw all your damn heels one day." No points guessing there, that this was my mother.
"Enough. Don't tease her anymore. She is tired already." And this was Akshay, who for a change instead of enjoying my misery was taking my side.
"Baby, go rest. You are tired anyways." And I suddenly realised how true he was. My whole body was in mild pain and I was feeling sleepy as well, so I just nodded and left for our room.
I fell asleep without changing but when I woke up after two hours, I was in Akshay's shirt and he was sleeping beside me.
"Akshay, wake up. Let's go for dinner." I whispered to him while caressing his hair.
"I am not hungry. I want to sleep." He sleepily murmured and turned on his side and went to sleep.
"Akshay, we did not even had breakfast. Come on, you can sleep after dinner." I again tried to coax him.
"No." He murmured and covered himself with blanket.
I asked helper to bring Akshay and mine dinner in our room only.
"Akshay, just wake up. I will feed you." I tried for one last time after placing dinner on bed side table.
"Okay." He woke up after sometime and let me feed him.
Morning
Singhania's Mansion
Mumbai
"Sanjana, get ready my breakfast." Akshay says to me as he saunters down the stairs half an hour early than his usual time.
"Okay. Is there any improptu meeting?" I questioned him.
"Yeah, I have pre-poned the meeting as in the daytime I need to finalise the finance and other details for Kirti's wedding. So, I will be at home by 4:00." He informed of his day plan. I nodded at him.
"What would you like to eat?" I asks him while chopping some fresh veggies as he settled himself in dinning room.
"I shall have salad bowl and a smoothie." He muttered while picking his tab and doing some work.
"Okay." And I get to make his breakfast.
"Akshay, why don't you try to make breakfast for me someday?" I questioned him.
"Akshay does not like to go to kitchen at all. He does not understand cooking." And the answer came from the queen of bitches Ahaana.
"I would love to try and cook for you, Baby. Let's say this Sunday, you can help me out, right?" Akshay asserted while completely ignoring Ahaana. Her face was so watchable. If she was a cartoon character, smoke can be seen coming out from her ears.
"Ofcourse. Even if you would toast a bread and that too with my help, I will happily eat it." I said to him while sweetly smiling at him. After two minutes came Nivaana. This is wonderful. I thought to myself sarcastically. Why don't a bandawagon of Akshay's fan-following comes already?
"Akshay, you missed school re-union. Even Ahaana was there and we had so much fun." Nivaana started.
"Sanjana and I had much more fun." Akshay nuttered while wiggling his eyebrows at me suggestively and on the cue I blushed. After that Nivaana continued to blabber generally.
I placed breakfast plates in front of everyone and we started eating.
"Akshay, are not some of the rituals of Kirti's wedding gonna take place in Devnagar as Dadi mentioned?" I questioned, when I suddenly remembered she wanted to some kind of rituals in Akshay's ancestral house.
"No, all the functions related to Kirti's wedding will be in Italy and I will not let her indulge in all the nonsense rituals." He explained briefly.
When will Dadi let go of all these unneeded dramas and be happy for her grandchildren?
"I see." I muttered calmy.
"Akshay, you should let Dadi perform these rituals. Kirti is a divorcee and all these rituals are for her purification." No points for guessing there that it was the wicked witch of the west. And her statement made my blood boil. Purification. My foot.
Before anyone could respond, I took matters in my hand to set this witch straight.
" You have been in relationships before. So obviously you had physical relations with men. So, are you up for this purification as many times the different men you had been intimate with?" I questioned her while folding my arms.
"How dare you insult my daughter?" And that was Mrs. Goenka.
By now, everybody was downstairs for morning tea.
"Did I say sonething wrong, Mrs. Goenka? If you all are asking Kirti for doing all this nonsense, then why not ask your daughter for the same? Why this hypocrisy, just because of a tag of divorcee?" I was super angry and I blurted everything that came to my mind.
"There are some unwritten laws of society which you will not understand. You have this ghost of modernisation sitting on your shoulders." This was Dadi.
"Dadi, I value our culture as much as every other Indian women but I am not a supporter of the things which have been expired already." I said to her in a sickly sweet voice.
"SANJANA, Is this the way to talk to your elders. Is this what I have taught you?" This was my mother.
"Look at your mannerless..." Dadi was not able to finish her sentence as the sound of china clay broking filled the room.
"Enough." One word not shouted but voiced out with so much power that everybody shut their trap.
"How long will all this drama keep going on? I have made myself clear that no such rituals will happen and in the future I don't want this kind of incident again." Akshay spoke so gravelly in his business tone that everybody agreed eagerly. After few seconds, when everybody settled, Akshay called out. "Sanjana, see me out." I nodded at him and followed him out.
--XX--