"Where the hell is Dushyant? It has been hours since he has last picked up the phone. I just hope he is fine" Tia worriedly said as she looked out of her house window.
"He must be fine Tia. Nothing will happen to him. He must have gone to some party and must be sleeping after being completely sloshed" Svetlana, who was sitting on the sofa behind her replied in an irritating voice. She had been annoyed with her younger sister who suddenly was more interested in her husband rather than their mission.
"Nahi di. He keeps me informed if he goes to some party. Yesterday, we talked and he didn't say anything. Kuch toh galat zaroor hua hai" Tia turned back.
"He is a complete idiot. Wait for some more time and dekhna, kaise call karta hai tumhe
Now leave all this and focus on the plan. The first phase of the stock crash and it was successful. Shivaay ne kaafi mehnat ki company ko bachane ke liye but this next plan of ours will definitely bring him to his knees" Svetlana said with a evil smirk.
Tia nodded half-heartedly as she sat beside her sister.
"Where are you baby. Please be safe. I can't lose you" Tia prayed mentally.
•••
"Bhaiya" Rudra screamed as soon as he saw his oldest brother walk in a little before dinner.
"Hey" Shivaay greeted back.
"Oh ho. Kitne tired lag rahe ho" Rudra ran and sat beside him and started massaging his shoulders.
"Move away man. You will break ny shoulders. This needs a delicate hand, not the hulk ones that you have" Shivaay shooed his hands away and Rudra whined. Om, Gauri and Bhavya who were also present laughed out loud seeing that.
"Shivaay, you go and freshen up. We will wait for you. Saath mein dinner karte hai" Om said before Rudra could start his melodrama and drive Shivaay crazy.
"Yeah. Thanks Om" He got up but turned back sharply missing the presence of one particular person.
"Om, where is Anni?" Rudra snickered and gave his brother a teasing glance.
"She is in the kitchen" Bhavya hit Rudra on his head as she replied.
"Is she cooking?" Shivaay asked horrified.
"Don't know what is she doing. She been there for quite some time now" Gauri replied.
"Fine. But please take a look at her. I don't want my kitchen burnt down"
"But aapne hi toh kaha tha na bhaiya that she can cook now" Bhavya counter-questioned.
"Ha, but that's just something easy. Something that doesn't take much work. Mostly continental. And if you are telling me that she has been in there for a lot of time, kahi koi problem na ho jaaye" He said and went to his room to freshen up.
15 minutes later, as he made his way down to the dinner table, he saw the same people who were sitting downstairs when he had gone up.
"Where are the others?" He threw an open question to no one in particular but it was Rudra who answered.
"Sab log Dadi ki dost ki poti ki shaadi mein gaye hai"
"Oh, okay. Is dinner ready? I am really hungry" Shivaay said and noticing that still Annika wasn't out, called out to her.
"Anni, chalo na. Mujhe bahot bhook lagi hai. I am waiting for you"
"Aayi Shivaay. Ek hi minute" She replied back and Shivaay could sense a tone of hurriedness in her voice.
And surely in a minute, Annika came out with a big glass vessel in her hand. Her hair was tied in a messy bun and sweat beads covered her temples. As soon as she saw him, she smiled lovingly at him which he unintentionally reciprocated.
She kept the vessel down and Shivaay was quite inquisitive. He slowly bent ahead and was about to lift the lid off the vessel when Annika suddenly hit his hand.
"Have patience Shivaay. Aapko jaldi pata chal jaayega what is inside"
"But this smells so good. Like something sweet" He said in a dreamy way.
"Why are you troubling him bhabhi. Dikha dijiye na" Bhavya intervened.
"Fine. Dikha rahi hu" She lifted the lid off and everyone was met with a wonderful aroma of scrumptious kheer.
"Wow Anni. This looks so delicious" Shivaay praised her.
"Actually, I took this recipe from ma. Wanted to try something new"
"Bhaiya ne sahi kaha bhabhi. Waise he was only saying a few minutes ago that you couldn't cook well" And Rudra definitely would have been burnt to ashes only by Shivaay's deadly glare.
"Kya kaha tha aapne?" Rudra heaved a sigh as he moved away from being the target. Annika had narrowed her eyes and her voice was angry as she asked her husband this question.
"I... I... " He stuttered.
"I know exactly what you mean. You are still making fun of my cooking. Aap jaante hai ki I have trying and meine kaafi dishes seekh bhi li and here you are teasing me" Tears started to pool in her eyes and that was something Shivaay couldn't stand.
He pulled her closer to him and hugged her sideways. Kissing her on the forehead, he said, "Anni, I was just joking. I really didn't know that you will feel so hurt. Please mujhe maaf kar do. I am really really sorry. And of course, I know how good you have gotten with food. In fact, ye sab nahi jaante ki tum kitna acha white sauce pasta banati ho. Inke liye kabhi banana bhi mat. Woh toh meri favorite dish hai na. They won't get this speciality made by you. Isliye, please forgive me and let this go na. I promise, mein fir se tumhari cooking ka mazaak nahi udaunga" He wiped her tears and tickled her a bit which made her chuckle.
"Aisi hi hasti raho. You know I can't see tears in your eyes"
"Aap bahot ache hai"
"Ha hu. But filhaal mein kaafi bhookha hu. Will I get the privilege of having the tasty kheer made by my wife?" He asked and broke the hug. She took a spoon and brought it closer to his mouth.
He took the bite and closed his eyes. She looked at him anticipatedly and so did the others. When he didn't open his eyes after a few seconds, she asked slowly, "Achi nahi bani hai kya?"
He opened his eyes and bore his eyes into hers. "Nahi"
Her face fell but lit up the next moment listening to him. "Bahot achi bani hai. It's perfect" He did a wow sign and her face had an elated look.
"Sach mein? Aapko achi lagi?" She asked, still not able to believe that he liked it.
"Ha baba. Bahot achi bani hai. Lo, tum khud kha kar dekh lo. He fed her also and she loved it too.
"Sach mein Shivaay. Yeh toh bahot tasty hai"
"Arre, toh give us also na" Rudra, who was now getting impatient snatched the vessel and served himself before serving others. They also ate it and praised Annika heartily.
•••
After dinner, they were all sitting by the pool having fun when Shivaay grabbed their attention.
"Suno sab log, I need to tell you all something really important" He said and the atmosphere around changed.
"Is everything okay Shivaay?" Om asked.
"Well, yes and no. We have to execute a plan that is a little dangerous"
"Aap khudko phir se khatre mein daalne waale hai?" Annika inched closer to him and looked at him with concern.
He held her hand tighter and rubbed the back of the palm gently.
"Anni, darna band karo. I am not getting into any danger. We have to execute a plan, bataya na"
"Kaisa plan?" Rudra intervened.
"Mission Kapoor"
"Mission Kapoor?" Bhavya asked with a questioning brow.
"It is high time to end this recurring and annoying chapter of the Kapoors. And I have a foolproof game plan for the finale"
"Seedhe seedhe bataiye na. Don't twist your words" Annika, who look quite irritated spoke.
"Okay okay" And he narrated the whole plan to them and by the end of it, they looked quite surprised.
"You mean to say you have already executed the first step of the plan?" Gauri, who had never see Shivaay in this way looked quite amazed.
"Yes, jab ghee tedhi ungli se naa nikle toh mein ungli tedhi nahi karta, ghee ka dabba hi ulta kar deta hu" He answered in his usually tadi but was interrupted by his wife.
"Ji nahi, yeh ghee ka dabba ulta nahi karte Gauri, ye seedha naya dabba hi le aate hai. Itne amir jo hai" This statement from Annika earned chuckles from everyone.
"Enough" He shouted and everyone shut up.
"Shivaay" Om came to him and kept his hand on Shivaay's shoulder. "You are sure of this plan right? I mean, I know you have implemented such wacky plans before also to protect the family, but there is much more at stake this time. And the people you are going against have been troubling us since years. It isn't just a business rivalry but a longstanding personal one. I just don't want you to get into danger's way without knowing it's consequences" At the last line, he looked at Annika.
Shivaay also followed Om's line of vision and understood it completely.
"You have trusted me over the years Om. I need to believe that trust. The pain you went through, the trauma badi ma had to endure, the manipulation faced by bade papa, the tears dadi had to cry, the anguish Anni had to face, and most importantly, the unending trouble our family had to face will be accounted for. Shivaay Singh Oberoi ki family ko nuksaan pohchane waale ko keemat chukani padegi. Woh bhi bhaari"
"I trust you bhaiya" Rudra interjeced with a voice full of confidence and Shivaay smiled. "Bhavya will also help you in any way she can, won't you Bhavya?"
She nodded and replied, "Of course bhaiya. I won't leave any stone unturned to keep you protected" He nodded.
"They kept attacking us using our weaknesses right, toh ab unke saath bhi yehi hoga"
"Shivaay, we all are always there with you. Yeh plan zarur successful hoga" And Om pulled Gauri and Rudra, who took Bhavya's hand. Shivaay looked at Annika softly before taking her hand in his and getting her closer.
"One for all, all for one"
•••
"Kaha thi tum?" Shivaay asked as Annika entered the room quite some time after they had dispersed from the poolside.
"I had gone to get water. Room mein khatam hua tha na. You need it to have your medicines" She said keeping the jar on the beside the bed and removed his medicines.
"Ye lijiye"
He had them and they laid down to sleep. He was putting on the alarm as she slept. When he too laid down, she came to his side and wound her hands around him with her head on his chest. She could hear his heart beats which calmed her down a little.
"What has happened Anni? You look really tensed"
"Shivaay, aap mujhse ek promise kijiye" She raised her head to ask.
"Bolo"
"No matter what happens you are not going in for the plan alone. I won't allow you to face this danger all alone"
"Meine yeh sab pehle kiya hua hai"
"Ha, but I wasn't there in your life na. I have already come very close to losing you Shivaay before. I can't go through that again"
"But why do you think isme khatra hoga hi? We just have to defeat Tia and Svetlana and throw them out of our lives"
"You don't know how it feels to lose something you have been plotting to get. A person will go crazy Shivaay. And these people are already a little eccentric"
"I know. But like I said earlier, I need you to trust me. Once this plan is successful, they won't trouble our lives anymore"
"Pinky promise?" She asked, innocently.
He smiled. "Pinky promise"
"Waise, we will go back to our home once this all is over okay" He whispered in her ears.
"Apna ghar?"
"Ha, I know yaha pe bahot log hai and you like to spend time with them but one thing, we don't get is time for each other. Phir se ye sab problems aa gayi hai. And sach mein toh hum yaha itni der rukte hi nahi, but I don't want you to be alone with Tia's danger looming"
"Awww, aap itne desperate ho gaye hai Shivaay. You sound really cute"
"I am not cute Anni, I am hot" His husky voice was enough to make her shudder.
"Shivaay.. "
"Yes jaan" The sweet endearment make Annika shy and she squirmed.
"Kya hua? You uncomfortable?" He asked with concern and began to take his hand backwards.
"Shivaay, no" She shouted defensively and held his hand before wounding it tightly around her stomach. "You can never make me uncomfortable and I like when you protectively hold me so close. Acha lagta hai. In fact, ab toh aapke deo ki fragrance, beard ki prickling aur aapke breaths ke bina neend nahi aati hai"
Shivaay laughed melodiously and she took his hand which was on her stomach to give it a kiss.
"Ab so jao. Mein humesha hu tumhare saath jaan" He assured her by dropping a peck on her temple and pulling her closer.
•••
"Where am I?" Dushyant asked in an exasperated tone. He had just woken up and noticed that his hands hurt and the reason were the ropes binding him tightly. He was tied to a chair and there was darkness all around. Only one beam of light was there but it wasn't much helpful.
"Meine pucha mein kaha hu?" He screamed at the top of his lungs and after a few eeriely silent moments, he heard some heavy footsteps.
He finally saw a shadow that was quite large and intimidating.
"You have no escape from here. You have to pay for what your wife, her sister and her mother have done. Their sins are going to be your doom. I don't like any questions and you keep thinking how did you land up here"
The footsteps faded away ignoring the loud shouts of Dushyant. He stopped screaming as he again was drowned into silence.
He closed his eyes shut tight as he attempted to recollect what made him land here. He somehow remembered how he came down from his flat and he was hit on the back of his head. And everything after that was just blank until he was now bound to some chains.
"I don't think this is going to end well" He sighed in sadness knowing that this is exactly what he had warned his wife about.