Rudra screamed so loudly that the coffee cup almost slipped off Shivaay's hand. Finally composing himself Om spoke, "A plan? , what kind of plan Rudy? ", he questioned. And Rudy looked at everyone only to see them looking at him puzzled. He cleared his throat and spoke, " All of us especially Bhaiyya has been so busy in their work. Why don't all of us go for a trip? That way all of us will be able to rejuvenate and refresh ourselves. What say? "
"It is a nice plan Rudy, but I won't be able to come. The contract I got some days ago is taking up much of my time and there are other events as well. So I have no days off for at least a few weeks ahead.", it was Annika who spoke.
Gauri added, " Yes Rudy Bhaiya, Jiji will need my help too. She had told me about it. And I cannot leave her alone to handle all the work alone. She has too much of workload. "
Bhavya also chipped in, "Yes Rudy, don't you remember? I had informed you that I also have a lot of work. I also recently joined again and it is next to impossible for me to take a holiday. So count me out for sure. "
Rudra's face fell a bit when he heard them but then suddenly he realised that none of his brothers had spoken yet. He looked at them making his ever famous puppy eyes and his cute pout. Both of them looked at him and rolled their eyes at him. But Rudy wasn't the one to give up. He was firm on his intention. He made a serious face that made all others to pay attention to him. On gaining their undivided attention, he cleared his throat and said, "Shivaay Bhaiyaa, Om, I have a better plan. Why don't we three go together? It has been a long time since we actually shared time. Come on na. We three will go. It will be really fun. Plus you guys have been neck deep in work. Please please please."
Shivaay and Om looked at each other and Om spoke this time,"Rudy, the plan is really good. But I have a busy week ahead. It would be very difficult for me to adjust at such a short notice. Please try to understand. "
Rudra shook his head and looked at Shivaay. He had been all throughout the conversation. He looked up from his cup and looked at Rudra. He saw Rudra raising his eyebrow at him.
"Why are you looking at me like this Rudra? Of course I can't come. I don't think I need to explain myself in this matter. I have no free time in these coming weeks. And I won't be able to go without Annika as well. She is super busy too. I need to spend time with her as well. So yeah, 'no trip' from my end. "
"Come on Shivaay, don't be such a Sadu. Try to do something na. See, Rudra is so excited. Don't dampen his excitement please. As for the issue of spending time with me, it is only a matter of some days. It is not like you are going away forever. Go na, it will be a refreshing break for you. You will also get time to spend time with Omru. If you agree, Om will also adjust his schedule. ", Annika tried to make Shivaay understand.
" Anni, try to understand. I am not saying that we won't go. I am just saying that I absolutely have no time right now. It is not possible. We will go in some months. I promise. "
Rudra was really agitated now. He almost shouted, "Yeah I know, in some months there will be one more important meeting and one more important exhibition. I know you don't want spend time together. Your work has overpowered your family time. And listen both of you, I don't want to go on any trip, not now and not after some months. Understand? "
Saying so, Rudra stormed out. Shivaay and Om looked at each other while Annika, Gauri and Bhavya looked at each other in confusion. Om broke the silence.
"Shivaay, let's not dwell on this matter as of now. We will decide what we have to do tomorrow. You also look tired. We can all think over this. "
"Yeah Om, let's just call it a night. "
All of them finished their drinks and retired to their respective rooms.
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"Shivaay, what did you do outside? Didn't you see Rudy's face. He felt so sad. You could have adjusted your schedule right?", Annika shouted at Shivaay as soon as they came back in their room.
Shivaay surprisingly didn't retaliate angrily to what Annika said. He gave her a glass of water and made her sit on the bed. He took her hand in his and started explaining to her calmly, " Anni, I don't be able to argue with you right now. Please try to understand from my point of view. Rudra was acting immature out there. He very well knows what the situation is right now. Annika, for months neither me nor Bade Papa could personally look into business. Due to this, there are a lot of problems in the company. The clients need to be handled by someone in authority. We can't ignore it forever. If I don't pay attention to it right now, we might face huge losses. And I didn't say that we won't go ever. I was just saying we can plan it later. I am just busy right now. Of all people I know you will understand. ".
" Of course I do Shivaay. All I saying is that you and Om just spoke too bluntly. You could have made Rudy understand in a more polite way. His face had such a sad look on it. Please try to talk to him. He loves you a lot."
"Yes Anni, I will do that. Don't you worry. And I assure you we will go out on a trip soon. I promise you. Now can we please sleep. I am really tired. "
Annika looked at him and he indeed looked hella tired. Plus what happened outside had further worned him out. She knew he didn't like to disagree with his brothers. She had to lighten his mood before he went to sleep otherwise his sleep would be as stressful. By that time, Shivaay had already laid down to sleep. She instantly went towards him and gave him a forhead kiss and slowly started massaging his shoulders. He was asleep within minutes and Annika's face immediately broke into a smile seeing him at peace atleast in sleep.
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Rudra came into his room to see Bhavya arranging the bed. He couldn't control himself and immediately went to her and gave her a tight back hug. Bhavya got startled by the sudden force but relaxed feeling her husband. She was prompt to turn towards him and cupped his face. He looked really cute with his puppy face and pout and she couldn't help but wonder how could he look so adorable while he was angry. Breaking out of her thoughts, she saw him looking at her with the same face. Clearing her throat, she spoke to him still cupping his face, "Rudy, I know you were really excited for the trip but you also try to understand. The past few months were so hard for our family. We should give some time for things to get back to normal and once they do, we can go out for a long vacation. Everyone will have fun, hain na? ". Bhavya tried to make Rudra understand. He shook his head and removed Bhavya's hands from his face and went and sat on the bed.
" No Bhavya, you don't understand. They always do this. Ever since they have gotten married, they don't spend enough time with each other and me. And do you remember the music festival incident. Only when Dadi told them and I blackmailed them, they agreed. And you don't think that I don't like my bhabhis. In fact, they understand me more than my brothers now. But I just feel left out. I also want to spend a lot of time with you but I won't let anything come in between spending time with my brothers. They always come before anyone and Shivaay Bhaiya is very special for me. You know that right. Why is he behaving like this? Doesn't he like to spend time with us? Is he really ignoring us? Why has his work taken priority before us? I just don't feel right. Shivaay Bhaiya is acting a bit aloof with us. He was never like that. He also doesn't converse with us anymore. Is everything alright Bhavya? Will everything be alright? I am feeling so sad and confused right now. "
Bhavya was amazed at how much her husband was affected by the conversation that took place outside. Insecurities had crept into his mind and she could in no ways allow them to cloud over his love for his eldest brother. She squeezed his hand reassuringly and tried to console him.
"Rudy, first of all calm down. I know you are feeling bad but don't okay. I am here with you always. You are never alone and ignored. And about Shivaay Bhaiya, he loves you a lot. Don't allow any negative thoughts into your mind. And now, let it all go and have a good night's sleep okay. You need it. It will help refresh you. We will discuss this matter tomorrow. And don't forget I am here with you. Don't take Andy tension. Go to sleep. Come on. "
Rudra thought it was best not to argue with his wife and it wouldn't come to any conclusion. The matter was between his brothers and they had to solve it amongst themselves. Plus, he didn't want to pressurize Bhavya more. So, he got up and laid down on the bed to sleep. Bhavys gave him a long forehead kiss, ruffled his hair, switched off the lights and went towards her side to sleep. But sleep was far away from Rudra and all that was going on in his mind was his brothers behaviours.
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When Gauru came into the room after filling the water jug, she saw Om in deep thought. It didn't take her a moment to figure out what was going on in his mind. She went to him and her keeping a hand on his shoulder was all that was needed to make Om open up, "Gauri, whatever happened outside was not something that happens all the time. I mean that Rudra is immature but he had never behaved so strangely before and Shivaay, he had never been so weird. I mean he used to tease Rudra for his behavior and even scold Rudy but this was something very wierd. It feels different. I just can't understand what to do? "
Gauri understood his inner turmoil and attempted to soothe him.
"Omkaraji, weren't you only the one who said to discuss this matter tomorrow. And it is not useful to overthink. It will only give you a headache which you definitely don't want now, do you? Don't be so stressed and go to sleep. We will talb about this tomorrow."
"Maybe you are right, Gauri. It best not to overwork my brain. Won't do any good to me. Come, let's sleep. And yeah, thank you for being there for me. "
Gauri turned listening to his last sentence, kept the water jug on the table and glared at him angrily making Om step back in fear.
"Mr.Omkara Singh Oberoi, the next time you thank me you are going to have a really hard time. Understand that and fix it in your brain, you Jatadhari Hippi. "
Om lightly chuckled and took Gauri into a hug. Both of them then went to sleep but Om still had his unanswered questions at the back of his mind.
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So peeps, here is the next part.
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Keep reading.
Until next time.