“Raise your hand if you are ready for this.” Anisha laughed pointing at the two rolling closets filled with wedding outfits for Anisha and her family.
The small group of family members who were gathered cheered enthusiastically.
“Me, too,” Neeraj called out making the entire group laugh. Akshara accompanied Neeraj and his team for the dress rehearsals with Anisha’s family.
The large living area was occupied by close family members, and once Anisha was done with her fittings, then her parents and other family members were to dress up and take pictures that would be used during the wedding for display.
Anisha was bouncing with energy with every trip to one of the bedrooms that was designated as the fitting room. Halfway through the outfit trials, Akshara saw a beautiful, deep purple outfit made out of silk. The intricate thread work was with a bright pink making the outfit look dreamy and magical. She smiled remembering a similar outfit she had seen at the boutique in a different colour combination.
“Neeraj, how come Anisha isn’t trying this outfit?” she asked.
“That’s not for Anisha.” Neeraj brushed away her question.
“What? This is so beautiful. Why aren’t you letting Anisha have it? Don’t tell me you made this for another client.”
Neeraj pressed his fingers to his temple. “This outfit was not supposed to be here, it made it here accidentally.”
“Okay. Big deal. Have Anisha try it on.”
“No. It’s a special order for someone else.” Neeraj shook his head.
Akshara narrowed her eyes at him. “You were supposed to exclusively work on Anisha’s outfits. And now you tell me you took a special order?”
“Akshara, please. Can we talk about it later?”
“Sure, but I need to know who you made this for? Another client?”
Neeraj looked at her for a long moment.
“This outfit was ordered for you.”
“What? By whom?”
Neeraj shook his head. “This is not how it was supposed to go.”
“Neeraj?”
“Anisha’s brother’s assistant called and put in the special order for you.”
“You are kidding.” She glared at him.
“No. I was told to make the dress and deliver it with Anisha’s clothes. Now I need to attend to Anisha.”
“Fine. Go. I will deal with you later.”
She let out a growl before stepping out of the room to process the information she heard from the designer. She stepped onto the balcony that was off of the living area and took out her phone and texted Abhimanyu.
Akshara: WE NEED TO TALK.
Abhimanyu: Hi Akshara. Your caps lock is on…
She let out a huffed breath.
Akshara: Mr Birla. We need to talk now, please.
She stared at the phone as the three dots danced indicating that he was typing a response.
Abhimanyu: At the gym. Top floor. Take the elevator to the fourth floor.
She looked around the house and saw the elevator to one side of the house. She discretely walked through the elevator doors and rode up to the top floor, her mind a whirlwind of questions.
Why was such an expensive outfit ordered for her?
She stepped out of the elevator and stopped to take in the view on the top floor. The mini sanctuary of plants she had seen outside Abhimanyu’s place was recreated throughout the floor with a different kind of seating areas set up all around the open terrace.
“Akshara,” she heard him call out to her from the other end of the space from an area designated as the gym.
Her heart started to thud when their eyes met as he stood by the glass doors in a t-shirt and shorts wiping away sweat with a towel.
“Are you okay?”
She let out a sigh. “I’m… I need to know why Mrs. Sharma put in an order for an outfit for me.”
A sly smile played on his lips. “I guess you should ask Mrs. Sharma, then.”
“Abhimanyu, this is not funny.”
“I’m not laughing. You will need to ask Mrs. Sharma.” He turned to walk away from her, and on instinct, she stepped in front of him.
“Would you please call Mrs. Sharma? I don’t have her phone number.”
He shook his head. “Not now. I’m busy. I need to get back to my workout.”
She lowered her eyes and let out a sigh not knowing how to deal with the situation. This is one such scenario she had not experienced before, in all the years she had managed weddings. He stood in front of her in silence for a long moment before speaking.
“What’s wrong?”
She raised her eyes to his. “Would Mrs. Sharma order a designer outfit for me without your knowledge?”
“I was made aware, and it was Anisha’s idea to get you a gift.”
“Why?”
“She wanted to say thank you for everything you have been doing for her.” His voice was soft yet casual.
“Mr Birla, this is highly unprofessional and unacceptable.”
“Why is that?” He raised a curious eyebrow.
“Do you buy your employees at your offices or factories clothes?”
He folded his arms in front of him. “There is something called a bonus program for folks who work harder than the others.”
“Do you buy them designer outfits?”
“I don’t. But I can see why Anisha chose this route. It’s a form of bonus.” He kept a calm tone.
“This is not fair. Where is the bonus for the rest of my team? They worked harder than I did for all the events.”
“What’s your point, Akshara?”
“It was inappropriate for you to pay for an outfit for me.”
He looked at her for a long moment.
“Anisha told me she saw you admiring that outfit when you were at the boutique. She wanted you to have it.”
She held his gaze. “Fine. I’ll take it if you let me pay you for it.”
“Are you for real? Why can’t you accept a token of appreciation?”
“I… I cannot and—” Her voice was lost when she saw that Mr Sangha who had been working on the investigation was calling.
“Excuse me. I need to take this call. We still need to talk.”
He threw his hands up as she turned away and answered the call. She turned to look at him, her eyes scorching him for his inappropriate behaviour, but that very look only made him smile.
“She wants to pay me for the dress?” He scoffed, as his eyes followed her as she stepped into the outdoor space speaking on the phone.
Abhimanyu kept his eyes on her as she sat down on one of the chairs and just the way she grabbed the armrest, he knew something was wrong.
He saw her press her fingers to her temple and at a moment, the woman who was demanding an explanation for his unprofessional behaviour looked weak like something came crashing on her.
His mind told him to give her the space since she walked away to take the call, but something deep inside, something primal, told him he needed to go to her. And before he could debate about the best course of action, he was moving toward her. He watched her end the call and look up at the sky as she took a deep breath like she was fighting a great sorrow.
Abhimanyu didn’t know how she would react to him being around her when she was in a sad state, but he could not get himself to leave, not knowing what the cause of the gloom in her eyes was. He stopped a foot away trying to get a read on her, and when he heard her sniffle, something twisted in his chest. The next instant, he was on his knees by her side.
He slowly placed his hand on her knee and asked, “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head but could not suppress the sob that escaped her.
Abhimanyu slowly reached out and took her hand in his.
“You can scold me later for not being professional and intrude into your personal matters, but I can’t walk away when you look so sad. How can I help?”
“Just tell me I have been stupid to believe I have a family out there and that I need to stop looking.” She blinked away tears as she looked away from him.
“Akshara, was that your client who was working on the DNA research?”
She looked at him, surprised. “You remember?”
He nodded. “What happened to the research?”
She took in a deep breath. “No match. Millions of DNA samples and no match whatsoever.”
“We have seven billion people in the world, and you are going to stop looking because you didn’t find a match in the first few millions?”
She looked at him for a long moment. “Don’t say that. I will spend the rest of my life doing this and hoping to find a family.”
He shrugged. “If that’s what you want to do, go for it. Wouldn’t you rather do that than repent later about not doing something about it, especially when you know, deep inside, that’s what you want to do.”
She nodded. “It’s heart breaking every time I get a negative result, but I cannot get myself to stop. Aarohi thinks it’s because of—” She stopped like she realized she was about to open up to him again just like she did at the campsite.
“Because?” he prompted.
Akshara shook her head. “Thank you for talking to me.”
“Why are you doing that again?” he asked.
“What?”
“Finish your thought.”
“I… I shouldn’t. It’s not appropriate.”
“Really? Why?” His tone held mockery as he added, “You taking the blame when Anisha was emotional was appropriate, you being there for her when she had the toughest time with her fiancé was acceptable, but I can’t help out?”
“No. It’s not the same.”
“I’ve never seen you as someone Anisha employed for a job because you have been more than a friend to her. From what I can see, you will be a good friend of our family after the wedding. So, stop being difficult and tell me how I can help with what is going on.”
She shook her head. “I can’t believe I am having this conversation with you.”
“Yes, you are, and I am going to tell you, you need to listen to your heart. No matter what people around you say, they are your well-wishers, but no one knows you better than yourself.”
“Aarohi is very supportive, but she is under the impression that I am doing this search because my ex told me he could not have a future with someone who he didn’t know their background, but I want to do it for myself. I want to know what my parents and grandparents did even if they are around.”
“Then you should do it. Why would you stop?”
She shook her head. “I think I have exhausted all my options. If they could not find a DNA match from the state where I grew up and all the surrounding states in the northern part, where else should I look?”
He thought for a moment. “Like I said, you shouldn’t stop because a few million DNA samples didn’t find a good match. There are seven billion people out there, you should at least check a billion.”
She managed to smile.
“Right…Should I start looking in Italy because I like pizza?”
He thought for a moment. “You grew up in the northern part of India, but when I saw you for the first time, I placed you as someone from the south. Have you looked around the area where you are?”
“No. I don’t have any link to this area. I moved here for my job.”
He nodded. “You know, people tend to gravitate toward their roots knowingly or unknowingly, and if there is another location that you need to start looking are the places you find most happiness in. It could be any place.”
“I can’t think of another place, but I chose this city over another town, and maybe I should start looking around me.”
“There you go.” He smiled.
She wiped the edge of her eyes and said, “Thank you. I appreciate you talking to me.”
“Good. Will you accept the dress Neeraj made for you as a ‘you are welcome’ gift?”
She narrowed her eyes. “No. Unacceptable.”
He looked at her for a long moment. “You should have it.”
“I’m sorry. I cannot accept gifts.”
“Fine. Anisha is not in the habit of taking back gifts, either.” He stood up and stepped away from her.
“Fine, then.” She walked past him and stopped when he called out to her.
“Forget about who paid for it. Accept the gift. Anisha will be very happy.”
“Why?” Her voice was a whisper.
He shook his head as he stepped closer to her.
“For all the happiness you give people around you, you deserve everything you wish for.”
“Thank you,” she said and walked away from him.
Yet again, feeling his eyes on her and his words resonating in her ears.
You deserve everything you ever wish for.
What if her heart wished for him, a man like him who could fill the void in her life with his love and care?
Will that come true?
Love
Janus