Abhimanyu and Akshara stepped into the cool ballroom which had its air conditioning firing at full speed. They smiled, pretending to be a happy couple in love —that is until Abhimanyu's eye caught the scene unfolding in front of him.
"What the f..." He mumbled only to have Akshara slap her hand across his mouth fizzling out the last word of hai colourful language.
"Manners!" She whispered harshly, knowing full well what Abhimanyu was referring to.
"What is she doing here? With him?!" His eyes widened in shock and it was at that moment Abhimanyu realized where heart attacks got their name because they really were sudden and it did feel like your entire body was being attacked by unknown forces.
Right in front of his eyes, Sir —his father, that sir leaned in and placed a not so chaste kiss on Richa's cheek. Richa, the woman who micromanaged Abhimanyu and Akshara's fake marriage arrangement.
Abhimanyu mind reeled back to the time he had called Richa up in the middle of the night inquiring about Akshara's whereabouts only to hear a man breathing heavily in the background while simultaneously hearing the squeaking of the bed springs —a sound he was all too familiar with.
Suddenly Abhimanyu felt like he was going to be sick, as he felt his face grow pale and his throat clogging up and he tried his best to not regurgitate the snacks he'd munched on earlier.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Abhimanyu grumbled, trying not to dry heave.
"Abhimanyu, stop being dramatic. Your father can date whomever he wants."
"What I heard that day over the phone was more than just a date."
"I thought you said they were just grabbing a bite to eat?" Akshara recalled the blurry details of last night.
"Yeah, it wasn't food which they were eating." He really needed bleach to clean out his ears and eyes. He'd heard his father having sex over the phone —that was enough to leave a permanent scar on anyone's mind.
Akshara's mouth formed an O as she came to terms with what Abhimanyu was trying to say. Now what the heck was she supposed to say? "Umm..."
"I can't believe I heard my father having sex." He really was going to go into shock or be the newest heart patient at Birla Hospital.
"On the plus side, you at least didn't see them having sex?" Akshara offered, smiling sweetly.
Abhimanyu glared at Akshara. "Was that supposed to be funny? Because it's really not."
Before Akshara could reply, Harshvardhan and Richa walked up them, holding hands.
"Abhimanyu, Akshara, you both remember Richa?"
"Yes, we do, but it seems like you've forgotten." Abhimanyu nipped back, unhappily.
Richa raised her eyebrows pointedly. "Nice to see you two again, Abhimanyu. Akshara."
"Hello, Richa. How are you?" Akshara passed wary glances towards Abhimanyu.
"I'm good. And you?"
"Same." Akshara replied, hesitantly.
"Come Abhimanyu, Akshara. Let's go. We don't want to keep the board waiting. It's time we made introductions." Harshvardhan ushered them forwards, towards the group of board members and their spouses seated at one table.
"Hello Mr. Iyer, Mrs. Iyer. This is..."
"The notorious Dr. Abhimanyu Birla. Who doesn't know him?" Mr. Iyer interrupted Harshvardhan mid sentence.
"Hello, Sir." Charming, Pleasant, Respectful. Remember, Abhimanyu. "How do you do?"
"I'm fine, thank you." Mr. Iyer replied, shaking Abhimanyu's hand.
"And this is my wife. Akshara Birla." Abhimanyu turned towards Akshara, bringing her to the forefront.
"Hello." Akshara shook Mr. and Mrs. Iyer's hands.
"And this is our other board member, Mr. Arora and his wife, Mrs. Arora." Harshvardhan went around the entire table making introductions.
By the end of the introductions, Akshara's hand hurt and Abhimanyu's jaw felt as if it was locked in place by smiling too much. Being pleasant and charming was tougher than it looked.
"So you did get married. We all thought it was just a joke you were playing with us." Mr. Mehta, the third board member pointed out slyly.
"I admit it was a shotgun wedding but I assure you it's as real as weddings come." Abhimanyu lied, straight through his teeth, respectfully.
"So, tell us, how did you both meet?" Mrs. Khanna, the wife of Mr. Khanna was a bit too eager to get to know their love story.
"At the community center."
"At a club."
Abhimanyu and Akshara passed awkward glances at each other before turning to face the board members who were furrowing their brows in confused suspicion.
"What we meant to say is we first saw each other at a club where I'd gone with my friends for a night out. He and I didn't talk much but you know, we just felt a connection." Akshara lied through her teeth, looking Abhimanyu lovingly, trying to sell the lie.
Abhimanyu stared back at Akshara with affection as his grasp on her hand tightened and his smile widened.
"And then Abhimanyu came to visit me at the community center where I volunteer with helping kids with music and the arts. Before we knew it, we were hitting it off and we were deeply in love before we could even blink. It was somewhat of a love at first sight you see. It was just meant to be, I guess." Akshara finished her explanation, trying not to dig deeper into the lies she was spewing.
It wasn't a complete lie either. She had seen an entirely different side to Abhimanyu when he'd come to Camp Night the Community Center. There were layers to him, his personality that even she hadn't figured out till now.
"Dr. Birla volunteers at the community center? Since when? That's news to us." Mr. Mehta uttered, condescendingly.
"I think you're mistaken Mr. Mehta. With all due respect, I do think Dr. Abhimanyu Birla is a very charitable person and is especially great with children. You would have known that had you read his proposal to open a children's wing of the Birla Hospital as well as his intention to fund a charity ward using some of the annual profits from the hospital." Akshara replied, holding no hostages.
Abhimanyu glanced at Akshara, startled at Akshara's claims. How did she find out about his dream to open a children's wing of the hospital? And the charity ward? He didn't recall ever talking to her about it.
"You all may think because of how my husband behaves on his personal time, he is not a suitable candidate for the position of CEO, which I agree with. But why then are you overlooking his ideas that will do nothing but contribute to the betterment of the hospital?"
Abhimanyu stared at Akshara with pure admiration as she continued to speak on his behalf, defending him from the nagging and condescending glances the board members were throwing at him.
The board members passed uncertain glances at each other, offended that Akshara had dared speak this much in front of them. Harshvardhan and Richa stood at the sidelines, watching the scenes unfold whilst Parth had managed to make his way around to the table too, ready to get the show on the road.
"Firstly, this is no place for you to speak, Mrs. Birla as this matter does not concern you..."
"Oh the contrary Mr. Iyer, I do think you underestimating my husband and his ability to do his job properly is a matter that concerns me."
"No one is questioning his abilities as a cardiac surgeon. He is one of the best in the business."
"But yet you don't think he's capable of having good ideas? The charity ward, the children's wing?"
"It's not about the idea, it's about the funding too." One of the board members answered, whose names Akshara could not be bothered to remember because they were all one and the same.
"Are you telling me this hospital, which runs like a multi billion dollar corporation has no money to spare for charity? Then what is this Gala for? Deepening your pockets?"
"Before you point fingers at us, ask if Dr. Birla is ready to 'volunteer' for free at the charity ward?"
"He is. But are you ready to take a bit of a pay cut to fund the children's wing and charity initiatives? Isn't this your hospital too?" Akshara challenged, making Abhimanyu smirk.
Abhimanyu cleared his throat before starting his pitch. "You claim any publicity is good publicity and there is no better publicity than having a charity ward where patients can get treated for a fraction of the cost all due to the generosity of our wealthier patients? And the children's wing will create another revenue street for the hospital. Yes, it's s big investment but I assure you, your one small investment will not only improve the lives of patients but also put Birla Hospital on the road for the top 3 hospitals of India."
Akshara and Abhimanyu smiled at each other, supportive of each other's statements.
"I used to work as a waitress and had I gotten a long or short term illness, there is no way I would have been able to get myself treated at Birla Hospital. So by organizing the charity ward, you're giving everyone in india an equal chance at the treatment they deserve." Akshara vouched.
"And treatment, illness is scary as it is. And when the children and their parents are already going through stress as it is, the last thing they require is to be stuck in a hospital where everything bland, dull and boring. We need to keep them stress free, not add to their stress." Abhimanyu explained, relieved that there was a slight chance the board may actually consider his proposal.
The board members looked around the room and nodded their heads. "Okay, fine then Mr. Birla, send in your proposal and we will take a look at it." Mr. Arora stated.
"Thank you, sir." Abhimanyu squeezed Akshara's hand in relief and happiness.
Akshara had managed to do the impossible —convinced the board to take his proposal seriously —something which he'd failed to do.
"And who knows, if the proposal gets approved and if it's showing potential for good growth, we may be looking at the next CEO of Birla Hospital." Mr. Mehta announced earning a proud fatherly grin from Harshvardhan Birla.
Abhimanyu nodded his head in agreement as his eyes darted towards Akshara, searching for her reaction.
"Of course. Thank you." He replied, speaking indirectly to Akshara as he stared at her, squeezing her hands tight in pure and instant gratification.
He then turned around to glance at the board members, "We will take our leave now, we have already occupied much of your time."
"Married life suits you, Dr. Birla." One of the board members informed them.
And for the first time since their entire fake marriage arrangement, since the beginning of their marriage contract, Abhimanyu couldn't help himself but wholeheartedly admit, "Yes. Marriage does suit me." Or maybe it was just marriage with Akshara that suited him.