Anshuman's POV:
Every person's perspective, mood, and expression changes because of that one person who becomes your favorite, your life. She thinks that my care is nothing. She entered my life like a flash, but she stays with me. I don't want to let her go. She shows her hard side to everybody, but she is soft at heart.
I know she was scared by her mother's accident news, but she showed a blank face. She is good at hiding emotions, but I caught her glimpse. Only one look in her eyes tells you the whole story. The way she snapped at me; I know she was on the edge of bursting out. Controlling her emotions is what she has mastered. And the hug, the hug was necessary for her, to assure her that everything was fine. The way she relaxed in my arms was heavenly. I never had that feeling with anyone. Her head on my chest, her arms around my torso—everything seemed so good that it hurt me to leave her alone to deal with the hospital work.
I know she is stubborn, not letting me come with her. And talking about my family, they were legitimately lashing out at me to let her go alone. Like seriously, my brother and sister-in-law. Well, they are traitors. They didn't even tell them anything, and my brother, he was not there. He had gone to Samarth Jiju's house for the preparations.
Sometimes I think, what if we didn't meet? What if I didn't attend the reception? What if we didn't bump into each other? What if our families didn't meet? What if we just ignored each other? We wouldn't be here; we wouldn't have gone on a date. She wouldn't have come to Udaipur with us; she might be in Mumbai by now with her family. How our lives change just after a meeting. But I never want to let her go; that is one thing that is constant. She is like a rasmalai. As I describe her, she is the sweet syrup of my life. She entered my life, and I am just the fluffy bread of that rasmalai without sweet syrup. After her entry into my life, everything changes; in my every thought, there is an invasion of her.
Her little antics cause my heart to go wild. I capture several pictures of her when she doesn't notice, when she is busy. Call me a creep, but I know she wouldn't like to be captured in a picture, like she is not that comfortable. And I totally understand that, and I will give her time for that.
It was around 7:30 pm, and we entered Samarth Jiju's house. The party was held in the backyard, which was huge. All business delegates were present at the party; my family was already there. I was the one who was late because I forgot the gift for my rasmalai to collect from her room. So, I came after them. I looked at Samarth Jiju and Akshara Dii near the dance stage; both were talking to someone. I made my way to them to pass the gifts before I forget.
"Happy anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Singhania," I grinned cheekily.
Samarth: Thanks a lot, Dr. Bansal. Have a great evening. (he said playfully)
"Well, I'm looking forward to it," I said still playfully.
I passed them my gift and bouquet and then passed Srida's packet to Dii.
"This gift is from Srida. She told me to pass it to you and wish you as well and your baby," I said with a constant smile with dimples at the mention of the baby.
Akshara: Trisha told me about her mom. How is she? (she asked with concern while Jiju nodded)
"I asked in the hospital; aunty is fine. But Srida, well, I don't know about her. She is not replying to my text or calls," I said with a sigh.
It's true; neither she answered my call nor my text, so I called the hospital to check on the health of aunty. And her attending doctor, Mr. Paul, informed me about her health and when she would be discharged.
Samarth: Give her some time. She might be stressed about her mom, and she would be with her mother, so she might be busy. (he said while nodding)
Akshara: I was happy she would be celebrating with us, and while revealing our baby, what do you think, Samarth? Should we reveal it or not? (she said while looking at Jiju)
"Definitely not; she will be upset knowing you ditched your plans because of her. I know her; she is stubborn," I said sighing for the nth time, thinking about her stubborn self.
Dii and jiju exchanged a teasing look while glancing at me, and I could sense where it was leading. I raised my hands in a surrender position.
"Please don't," I warned.
Akshara: How can you not accept that you are totally into her? You've started loving her. (She giggled, and jiju gave me a smug, smirking look.)
"Dii, how can you label it as love? We've known each other for less than a month, and you know that," I said, presenting my point.
Of course, I know I like her, and I accept that, but love? It's a big word. Also, it's real life, not a fictional world where love happens at first sight. Yet, I can't understand her; there's an attractive pull toward her, and I find myself moving toward her without questioning.
Samarth: Love can't be felt within a certain time limit. You both feel it, but you're ignoring it, and this ignoring stage will not last long, mark my words. (He said it with such confidence that I was taken aback and nodded like an obedient child.)
We talked about everything and nothing while jiju went away to attend some of his business partners. Daksh and Payal also came to wish didi; they were mad at me for not telling them about her departure. It felt like mere dost mere hi nahi rahe.
(My friends are no longer just mine.)
Soon, the star couple of the show, along with the in-laws and family, came to cut the cake and celebrate with some dancing. After the party ended, only family was left, according to dii and jiju's request. I, with the help of Ishaan yeah, we had to include him in our plan, but we made sure he didn't leak the information to anyone; he's bad at keeping secrets, pulled the curtain on the stage. A projector displayed all the photos of dii and jiju from the hospital when they were born, from their baby pictures to the first day of school and their first awards. It was Srida's and my idea to show the new parents' childhood. The next set of pictures showed their school annual functions and school farewells, individually, as dii and jiju attended the same college but not together.
I saw both families looking and admiring the photos as if they were reliving those moments, holding them in their arms, guiding their children by the hand. Maa was getting emotional, while chotti maa was looking at the pictures with a teary yet happy smile. Everyone appeared joyful; some pictures of Akshara dii with Trisha, their age gap notwithstanding, portrayed them as soul sisters. Some pictures of jiju wearing Superman boxers with his cousins lightened the mood; everyone laughed looking at them while dii and jiju stood at the corner, recording the reactions of their loved ones. There were pictures of dii teaching me and Ishaan, scolding Ishaan. The next set of pictures depicted their college times, from freshers' party photos to graduation day photos. Dii's medical training photos and jiju's field visit photos were shown. The first day at the hospital for dii and first operation with their firstborn was captured, along with jiju's first day in his office and his first award pictures.
The next slide showcased their first meeting, engagement, wedding, and first and second anniversaries. In the subsequent pictures, there was a cute image of a baby with the caption 'I am coming to give you all a little promotion, family.' Everyone looked confused at the screen, and just as the picture changed, revealing dii and jiju at their first screening with tears in their eyes, all eyes turned to them. Dii nodded with tears, and everybody laughed, screamed in joy, and the elders moved toward the couple. Trisha was the first to reach and hugged dii tightly; both of them laughed with their small talk. Everyone was super happy; the ladies suggested what to eat, what not to eat, what to do, and what not to do, while the men advised jiju to give extra time to dii, focus on her. As for me, I laughed when all the men gave strict instructions to jiju not to stress dii, and he glared at me while mouthing, 'I will see you.'
It was a cute, funny, and smiley day for us. We returned to the palace, and Dadu announced that we would leave early morning. I freshened up in comfy sweatpants and moved to bed; I usually don't wear upper clothes while sleeping. I tried calling Srida to check if she was okay, but she didn't pick up. So, I called the hospital to check if aunty was discharged and learned that she was discharged in the evening. I put the phone on the nightstand and lay down, keeping my head under my arms and looking at the window where the moon was clearly visible.
"Good night, rasmalai," I mumbled and dozed off into a deep slumber.
Author's POV:
Abhishek: We got the orders! (He exclaimed, entering Srida's room.)
Srida: Yes!! We got this!! (She exclaimed, looking up from her laptop and then again at her laptop.)
Both were at Srida's apartment after completing their research on the accident from the headquarters. Basically, the headquarters, in the basement of their new company, was already built according to their requirements to work. It was nearly midnight, and they were working on obtaining government orders to handle the case of the accident without police intervention.
They didn't visit the hospital but gathered every piece of news with Advit, who was busy with work due to the accident; the media was spreading lots of news and rumors. The Sharmas' security doubled as per Srida and Abhishek's orders.
Abhishek: Did you find something? (He asked, looking at her laptop.)
Srida: I think so. I found something (she said, looking unsure, her eyes fixed on the laptop as she searched for information.)
Abhishek: What is it? (He said, turning toward her fully, giving her his full attention. Both were sitting on the bed.)
Srida: They are not targeting Mom in this. Whoever it is, I think they want the NGO (she said, examining the financial status of the NGO.)
Abhishek: And why do you think that? (He raised his brow.)
Srida: See here, the NGO is receiving many donations under anonymous accounts with the same name, and the money is getting rejected by the NGO. Also, if they wanted to target Mom, they could easily do so when she leaves for the temple early morning with only one guard. Also, Mom has traveled to many places in these days, mostly with only a driver and without guards (she said, forwarding the laptop toward Abhishek and adding, while removing her specs.)
Abhishek: Did you check on the account holder? Also, it might be possible that someone was genuinely donating money to the NGO (he pointed out.)
Srida: But why is the NGO rejecting the donation? Why would someone reject donations in lakhs? (She stood her ground with her point.)
Abhishek: Now that's for us to find out. We can visit the NGO or ask Maa and Choti Maa about it (he proposed, and she nodded.)
Srida: But do you know why Maa was at the NGO yesterday? (She said with a frown.)
Abhishek: Maa said that she was helping some ladies with work, and she was tired, so she decided to rest there only while Maa came home to check on Dadu and Dadi (he said, and she nodded.)
Srida: Okay, that's it for today. I'm sure I'll get a full day's lecture tomorrow for not visiting Maa (she said with a tired sigh.)
Looking at the clock, which showed 1 am in the morning, they decided to sleep, so they could visit the headquarters early for work and then the NGO to inquire about the case. Srida tucked into bed while Abhishek bent to kiss her forehead, said good night, and went out of the room to sleep. Srida took her phone when he left, seeing calls and messages from everyone, but her attention was drawn to one message from Anshuman. She bit her lower lip to stop the silly smile and opened the chat to see his numerous messages:
'Safe journey' sent just after her chopper departed.
'Did you reach?'
'You met aunty?'
'How is she?'
'She is fine; I got a call from the hospital.'
'Did you eat?'
'Everything will be fine.'
'Don't take much stress.'
'Did she discharge?'
'Are you busy?'
'Am I disturbing you?'
'Message me once you will be free.'
'I am at the party with Dii and Jiju.'
'We revealed the news; everyone was excited and happy.'
'Dii and Jiju thanked you for the gifts; she showed me the gifts; they were really good.'
'Good night, rasmalai.'
All the way reading the messages, she had a silly smile on her face. She watched the video he sent her about the party, where everybody was watching the video clip, and everyone's reactions were recorded. The name "rasmalai" gave her giddy feelings. She kept her phone on the nightstand, looked at the moon from her window, and slept in a deep slumber, mumbling,
'Good night, Mr. Wall Man.'
The next morning, time flew to morning, and both Srida and Abhishek were having breakfast prepared by Avni. She had come to visit them as Abhishek had told her that they were at her apartment, so she proposed making breakfast for them. All three were having their breakfast.
Srida: Wahh, Bhabhi, the breakfast is amazing. (she said, eating the matar paneer and roti)
Avni: Thanks, nanad ji. (she said while blushing)
Abhishek: Thanks, Avi. (he said while admiring her flustered face)
Srida: Bhai, you can compliment her privately if you want or get yourself a room, guys. (she said, looking at both lovebirds)
Abhishek: Sri! (he said in a fake warning tone)
Avni: Are you coming to the office? (she said, looking at Srida while ignoring their banter)
Srida: Nah! I have to go to the headquarters and NGO. Abhi, you are going to the office, right? (she said, finally looking at Abhishek)
Abhishek: No, I am coming with you! (he said, denying)
Srida: What about the office and the project? (she said, raising her brow)
Abhishek: Arnav will handle it. (he said with nervousness)
Srida: No, you are going to the office with Avni Bhabhi, right, Bhabhi? (she said, winking and smirking at her)
Abhishek: And you can handle all of this by yourself? (he said, sighing in defeat, knowing her well)
Srida: No doubt, sir. You can grace your presence in the office while I get the information. Also, I'm on holiday, remember! (she said while grinning)
Avni: Well, the headquarters? (she said, frowning)
Srida: Oh, Bhabhi, ask Bhai, okay? (She said while grinning. She liked the blush that always coated Avni's face when mentioning Abhishek)
Abhishek: Let's go; it's time. (he said, looking at the time)
Srida: Ladies first. (she said, looking at Avni and gesturing her while standing at the door)
Abhishek: What are you then? (he said with a bored tone)
Srida: Oh! I am a lady as well, sorry! (she said while awkwardly stretching her neck and laughing)
Avni: Pagal! (she said, flicking her forehead)
Abhishek: Let's go, ladies! (He said, so they could really leave the apartment. They were standing at the door)
All three moved toward the parking lot of the apartment. Abhishek went with Avni as Srida's Thar was not there, so she was going with Abhishek's car.
---
Srida's whole day was spent at headquarters and the NGO collecting information. She got a call from Advit when she was coming out of the NGO, having gathered enough information related to the accident.
Srida: Why the hell did you let them enter the home? (she yelled)
She moved toward her car and sped up to the Sharma mansion. She was furious about the news Advit had given her.
---
Two cars moved toward the Sharma mansion, occupied by the Bansal family. The first car was filled with Mr. and Mrs. Bansal, along with their driver. The second car contained Anshuman in the driver's seat, Ishaan, and Dadu in the back seat. They decided to visit Mrs. Sharma to check on her health.
They returned from Udaipur in the afternoon with their private jet. The guards knocked on Anshuman's car window, signaling him to lower it. As he did, they asked whom he wanted to meet. The guards around the mansion were doubled.
Anshuman: We are here to meet Mrs. Sharma. (he said)
Guard: Your name, sir?
Anshuman: Dr. Anshuman Bansal. (he said while the later nodded)
He informed Rajiv Sharma inside the house, seeking permission to allow the visitors inside. After getting permission, they were allowed to enter the mansion.
As they entered, Rajiv and Vanhi welcomed them.
Vanhi: Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Bansal. (she said in a welcoming tone while seeking blessings from Rajkumar and hugging Virthi)
Anshuman and Ishaan bent to take blessings from Rajiv and Vanhi. They entered Viharini and Harshit's bedroom where she was resting. She sat on the bed, joining her hands to greet them, as she was on strict bedrest by her husband and family.
Viharini: You all? (she said while smiling)
Virthi: We got to know about the accident from Ansh. Also, Srida and Advit left that night. So, we decided to check on you. Are you fine? (she said in a concerned tone)
Viharini: I'm perfectly all right. They both always take more stress over these things; it was nothing.
Rajkumar: They are our children; how can you expect them to be okay knowing your parents are not fine? (he said, explaining while others in the room nodded)
Vanhi: You are totally right, Uncle Ji. My Devrani Ji is very precious to us. How can we not take stress if anything happens to her? (all chuckled at her playful tone)
The men moved outside the room to give space to the ladies. While snacks were served to their room with Viharini's soups.
Virthi: Any news on how the fire started in the NGO? (she asked both ladies)
Vanhi and Viharini both shrugged their shoulders, indicating they didn't know.
Virthi: Are the kids at home? (she asked as she noticed no kids were home)
Viharini: Advit might be in the home office, Abhishek is at the office, and Srida, we don't know."(she said, sighing at last)
Vanhi: It's okay, she might come today. (she said consoling Viharini)
Virthi: Didn't she come home? (she asked with furrowed brows)
Viharini: She didn't come from the moment she landed. She came to the hospital but didn't meet me both Abhishek and Srida; she is busy with; God knows what work. (she said with hurt lacing in her tone)
There was a knock on the door, so Vanhi opened it, seeing Ishaan and Advit standing there with pale faces. Advit went near her Maa, held her hand, and kissed her knuckles.
Advit: Maa, you don't need to worry about anything; you are fine, okay? (he said and asked at last for her confirmation)
Viharini: Beta, what hap- (her words were cut off by Harshit)
Harshit: Basanti, you are not going anywhere. (he said, sitting where Advit was sitting a moment ago)
Vanhi: What is happening, Harshit? (she asked urgently to know the news)
Virthi: What happened, Ishaan? (she asked looking at her son, who was looking at Viharini without blinking)
Ishaan: Maa, there are p... police at the entrance. (he said with difficulty, looking at his Maa)
Vanhi: Why? (she said, still in her place)
Ishaan: To arrest aunty. (he said in a low voice)
Advit: NO!!! They aren't. (he said in a dark, dangerous tone, making the people in the room shiver)
Vanhi: Advit, it's not the time to argue; let us know why they are here. (she said in concern, looking at her Chotti in tears)
Harshit: Are you comfortable meeting them, Jaan? (he asked)
The Harshit Sharma known for his cold and dangerous aura, clever and sharp mind, a man of few words with anger issues, known for his business mind. He was a total opposite for his family. He was and is the cold façade man for others, but a sunshine girl entered his life to make his lives full of hope. His Basanti was his everything; he could take or give his life for her.
Viharini: Yes, does Srida know? (she asked her husband, with tears still in her eyes)
Everybody left the room to give the couple some time.
Harshit: She is our child; she will get to know. Also, you don't want her to know. (he said, kissing away her tears)
Viharini: She is our child. (she whispered; her head connected to his)
Harshit: Ours. (he said, while both smiled)
They moved toward the hall, spotting an inspector with two male sub-inspectors and two female constables. The inspector was sitting on a single couch chair, while Ram, Rajiv, and Advit were sitting in front of his couch, with the others on a nearby couch.
"We are here to arrest Mrs. Viharini for keeping black money in the NGO in the name of donation," the inspector said, causing gasps from everyone except the males, who maintained a cold look on their faces.
Rajiv: Do you have the orders? (he said in a low, dangerous voice)
Inspector: No, but we can take her for investigation. (he said, looking at others who were ready to confront him, including the Bansals)
Agastya: What's with these many police with you? (he said with clenched jaws)
Inspector: We doubt if she was interfered in the accident or fire in the NGO (the inspector said, looking at him.)
"THE HELL SHE IS MOVING AN INCH OUT OF THE PLACE" a booming voice echoed in the hall, causing all the police officers to shiver, while others turned their attention to the entrance.
_______________________AUTHOR'S NOTE_________________________________
Hey, chubbyreaders.................
First of all, a very happy new year, may this year will be far better than last year.🥳🥳❤️
First chapter of this year.
How was the chapter?
I know these chapter might be boring as this chapter not having Anshuman and Srida moments more, but we are moving according to the story line we can't expect them in every chapter.
Guess who said the last line??
Also, it's a long chapter.
Some help from my every reader, mostly i write more than or approxe 3000 words. can you readers my chubbyreaders will comment if it is boring to read this long or you want to extend the chapters with more words.
Do vote and comment, your little efforts make my day.
Meet you in next chapter,
Till then, LOVE LOVE❤️❤️❤️