"State Bank of India?" Akshara turned to look at Abhimanyu quizzically as they pulled into the parking lot.
"I just have a quick meeting with the bank manager. It shouldn't take long." Abhimanyu shrugged casually.
"Oh, okay. I can stay in the car if you'd like if it's going to be a quick in an out thing?" Akshara asked innocently.
"I actually don't know how long it'll take. In case he has other clients waiting. And I don't want you to melt in the boiling heat." He joked.
"Okay." She replied, unsuspectingly as they both stepped out of the car.
Abhimanyu looked over at Akshara as they walked up the stairs of the bank building. It had been just yesterday when Richa had announced the contract null and void. She also had sent a follow up email finalizing the details, outlining that her services had been terminated.
Akshara had not said anything regarding the money matters again but Abhimanyu knew that the financial burden was weighing at the back of her head.
So he was going to remove finances and money matters from their relationship forever.
~*~
"Sir, Ma'am, thank you for coming in. Please take a seat." The manger, Sahil Patel outstretched his hand, calling Akshara and Abhimanyu into his office.
Abhimanyu pulled Akshara's chair out for her, waiting for her to take a seat. Once Akshara was settled, Abhimanyu took his seat beside her.
"Thank you for seeing us so late minute, Mr. Patel." Abhimanyu shook hands with Sahil Patel.
"No problem, Mr. Birla. You are one of our most important clients. We always have time for our best clients." Sahil Patel took a deep breath before opening up a file folder. "So as we talked over the phone, I have drawn up the paperwork to the terms and conditions you asked for." He placed a neatly stapled set of documents in front of Abhimanyu. "You can ready over them and let me know if anything needs to be altered."
"Thank you." Abhimanyu grabbed the documents and quickly began skimming through it. He read the fine print throughly, not bothered by it, except for the one name he was looking for: Akshara Birla.
"While you are reading through the contract, may I grab a piece of ID from both you and Ma'am?" The bank manager asked.
Abhimanyu was quick to take out his driver's license and hand it over to the manager. Akshara on the other hand was confused about why a piece of her ID was needed for Abhimanyu's financial matters.
"Ma'am?" The bank manager asked.
Abhimanyu turned to look pointedly towards her. "Akshara?"
Uneasily, Akshara opened her crossbody bag, took out her wallet and handed the bank manger her driver's license.
"I'll be right back after making photocopies."
"Abhi, but why do they need my ID?" She asked him quizzically after the manager had left the room.
"You'll find out soon enough," Was Abhimanyu's only response.
The manager came back shortly and returned Akshara and Abhimanyu's IDs back to them. "Sir, we normally don't do this, but since you are one of our most privileged clients, I am just going to be a bit more lenient. Ma'am name on her ID is listed as Akshara Goenka which does not match the one on the documents listing her as Akshara Birla. However, I am still going to follow through with the paperwork, so whenever you both are feeling comfortable, you can always email me with a picture of her updated ID. Doesn't have to be now, it can be whenever."
Abhimanyu leaned forward on the desk. "But she won't have any trouble accessing the account, would she?"
"No, no trouble whatsoever. It will take about 2 weeks, 10 business days for her credit and debit cards to be delivered in the mail to your house. But until then, I can issue her a temporary card. Downside is that she will only be able to use it to withdraw money from the account, at one of our bank's branches."
"That's fine, as long as we receive the credit and debit cards in the mail in 2 weeks."
"Abhi...?" Akshara asked again, flabbergasted at the cryptic conversations Abhimanyu was having with the bank manager, right in front of her. They were both pretending like she didn't exist.
Abhimanyu heard Akshara call out his name but he chose to ignore that. "I read the contract, everything seems to be in order."
"Perfect. Then can you please sign here, on the dotted line." The bank manager pointed Abhimanyu to sign on the documents. Abhimanyu began doing as he was told. The manager kept flipping the pages and Abhimanyu kept signing as Akshara watched with millions of scenarios running a marathon in her head.
The manager then turned to Akshara. "Ma'am, would you please sign here, right beside where Sir signed, on the dotted line?"
Akshara turned to look towards an expectant Abhimanyu, brows furrowing and a frown marring her face. "I won't sign until you tell me what this is."
The manager glanced in Abhimanyu's direction before turning towards Akshara. "Ma'am, Sir is giving you access to all his financials. He is adding your name to his bank account and sharing his investments, his financial portfolio –everything –with you." The bank manager explained, leaving Akshara speechless.
Akshara turned to Abhimanyu, her mouth agape from all the new information. "I can't sign this, Abhi." She told him earnestly.
Abhimanyu sighed, turning back to Mr. Patel, the bank manager. "Could you give us a few minutes?"
The bank manager smiled at Abhimanyu. "Of course."
After the bank manager had exited the room for the second time, Abhimanyu turned to look at Akshara, willing to die on this hill.
"Abhi, why?" She asked, feeling overwhelmed by Abhimanyu's kind gesture.
"Why not?" He fired back.
"Is this about Richa's contract? About the money? I told you I am not with you for your money. I don't even know how much money you have."
"I don't either. I just know I have a lot of it. And you know me, how careless I am with my finances. I need someone –you ---to look after it for me. Makes sure I don't go broke." Humour was Abhimanyu's gateway drug.
"Abhi..." Akshara began to argue. "I can't take your money. Please."
"Akshara, like I said yesterday, I have money –a lot of it. And I need you to help me spend it. We are married now. We are a team. What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine. I don't want money to ever be an issue between us ever. So this is my way of making sure money never becomes an issue between us, ever again. Couples share finances, and we will too from now on. Plus, you are the one in charge of taking financial decisions for the both of us now. So next time, when I ask to buy a Ferrari, you are going to have to be the one to tell me, 'No, Abhi! You can't buy a Ferrari!' and then secretly buy one for me anyway."
Akshara felt her heart soar at Abhimanyu's words. He was trying to make this easy for her. Give her financial stability which she had lacked all her life. "And what if I take all your money and run?"
"You can do that, as long as I am the one you come running to."
"Which I probably will." Akshara giggled.
"Yeah, like you have any other option." Abhimanyu chuckled, rolling his eyes. "You don't have to have to say it, but I know I have ruined you for other men."
"Aren't you getting a bit cocky there?"
"After having made the most beautiful, smart, kind hearted, selfless girl fall in love me, one has all rights to become cocky." Abhimanyu got up from the chair and went down on one knee in front of Akshara, holding a pen for her, leaving her flustered.
"Abhi?" She asked, her heart hammering loudly against her chest as her cheeks began to flush.
"So, Mrs. Akshara Birla, do you accept to sign the contract and become equal partner in all my financials? From my bank account, to my investment portfolio, in my profits and my losses, In my monthly paychecks and my yearly bonuses, to my taxes, do you, take my money to be yours?"
Akshara giggled upon hearing Abhimanyu's proposal. "You are so dramatic."
"I know. So what do you say, Wife? Is that going to be a yes?"
Akshara bit her lip, nodding her head. "Yes, yes, I will take your financials to be my own from therefore on." She took the pen out of Abhimanyu' s hands and signed on the dotted lines, right beside his name as the manager had asked of her.
"Oh thank God, my knees were starting to hurt." Abhimanyu complained, sitting back in the chair and earning a playful smack on the shoulder from Akshara after she had finished signing.
"By the way, Akshara Birla? Who says I want to change my last name?" She pointed out, teasing him.
"I do." Abhimanyu replied firmly. "Make no mistake about it, Akshara. You will be Akshara Birla. I want you wearing my last name like it's a goddamn piece of jewelry. I want every one knowing you are my wife and that is the one thing I won't compromise on." Possessiveness dripped from his voice as he stared at her intently, making Akshara's heart flutter.
"Then I guess we better get the name change process started." She whispered, hesitantly breaking her smile from the corners of her lips.
~*~
After they had finished with the bank, Abhimanyu drove Akshara to the second important errand of the day. As they parked outside of a lavish high rise building, Akshara noticed a signboard which listed the names of very prominent realtors which Akshara had only ever heard of.
"Abhi?" She turned to look at him.
"Your music corner. You were going to begin looking for a place after a year, when you received your money from the contract. But since money is not an issue anymore, why wait a year? Why not start now? Saluja and Sons specialize in finding the perfect location and commercial properties, which is what we need for your music corner. So I set up a meeting with them. All you got to do is tell them which area, and location you desire and let them do the legwork for you."
"Abhi, you didn't have to..."
"I wanted to." He held her hand, caressing it. "Partners support each other's dreams and aspirations. You supported mine with the Children's Ward and Birla Hospital Charity initiative and now I want to support yours. You deserve this, Akshara. Every bit of it. I want to see you soar to new heights. I want to see you thrive."
"With you. I want to do all that, with you. None of this matters, if I don't get to share all this with the person who made it all possible. You, my husband. My biggest cheerleader, my biggest support." She replied, making Abhimanyu smile. "I love you, Abhi."
Akshara leaned in and crushed her mouth to Abhimanyu's, capturing his lips in a brutally soft yet passionate kiss.
"I love you too." Abhimanyu smiled against Akshara's lips before pulling back. "Shall we go?"
"Yes."Akshara nodded her head as they both exited the car, making their way into the offices of Saluja and Sons.