Am I the villain in my own story
Meher? The Kapoors? has Abhyant lost his mind, I glared at him through the corner of my eyes, curtly smiling at the man standing behind my sister, Arjun Shetty the asshole son of Kunal Shetty the CEO of Shetty & co,"Ishani Kapoor" taking my left hand by surprise he planted his lips on the back of my palm, eliciting the raised eyebrows from my dear brother in laws, but before he could extend his greetings with the other Raichand ladies, Abhyant successfully tackled him into a handshake, yet the young Shettys's gaze remain fixed on my eldest sister in law, interesting.
"We were expecting a full board? Is Hriday running late" of course you were sister, I scoffed settling down, Abhyant had asked Neha to accompany Maanvi and Ruhi into the next room, something to do with the Shetty's eyeline which never left Maanvi's figure.
"Ishani" Meher called again as I nodded bored by her antics , this was not going to be a business meeting at least with her sitting here.
"I asked where's Hriday" oh he is .... Wait a minute where's Hriday? Avyaan has said Hriday had asked me to sit in for this meeting and he never does that unless he is travelling, I looked at Avyaan who had the guilty expression masked on his face, so he was out of town, thanks for letting me know Hriday.
"He is out of town" I answered widening the smirk on her face, "is he? where have you dispatched him this time or should I say where has he escaped this time" although immune to jabs, it did make my heart squeeze an inch, our little hide and seeks had escaped their capacity in past 6 months,we hardly been in the same room for less than 100 hours and no matter how much I tried to deflect it, I had longed for his presence every night.
I craved from him like a sun asking for the moon, not shinning in the same light but just being there for each other.
"Itne asani se me tumhara picha nahi chodne wala Ishani, you are stuck with me"
Stuck with me bullshit
"Ishani"snapping my attention back she wiggled her brows, making me roll my eyes at her, isn't she too much invested in my marital life rather than concentrating over her newly bestowed business.Looking at my right I could already see Abhyant transfixed gaze, god this is going to be difficult.
"I believe our today's meeting was about our contribution in this partnership and not about my husband's whereabouts, he is a busy man Meher, which I suppose your 'fickle minded running away from responsibilities' brain will find pretty hard to understand" not waiting for her reply I moved my attention towards the other Adid-ass in the room, whose newly found interest were my eyes,my lips,my boobs? because that's where his attention was.
"Mr Shetty" snapping my fingers in front of him, "what are your demands?" I asked, giving a little nod to Abhyant indicating him to finish this fast.
It was as if two toddlers were given a free pass in the business park all we heard were the ego boosting impractical ideas the two buffoons presented for fucking 60 minutes, and the look on Abhyant's face was somewhere between am I loosing my shit and did I loose my deal to this incompetent asshole.
It was absolutely comical seeing Avyaan trying to hold his laugh, watching Abhyant's face tick off.
Finally after the dreadful hour , Avyaan had let my dearest sister and the boob fetish Shetty out of the room concluding the meeting.
Sighing down Abhyant propped up in his seat," this is what you get singing a deal with two nitwits"
"I was expecting the senior Shetty, alas this is his way of punishing me for not working upon this deal faster"
"Quiet a punishment it is isn't it? Comes with a very pleasing perk?"the unresolved anger I had suppressed before was boiling in.
"It's not what you think it is Ishani , it's for the deal...... and Hriday too believes that" his eyes defied matching the slit of fire in mine.
Guilt and repercussions are hard things to hide, definitely for someone whose eyes voices out his soul.
"I highly doubt that" this deal was a flicker of fire which could ignite all the past bonds, all the wrong decisions, opening up the entangled web once again, burning us again but this time it was more dangerous because there was a another innocent soul involved, Maanvi.
" stop being sceptical Ishani" his voice rose, but I wasn't going to back down, it was he who was singing the ballad of destruction.
"I will, if you will just move on, how long are you going to keep mellowing about the history" why is that every time I attend this office I am fighting with either of the brothers.
"I moved on the day, you shut that door on my face Ishani" liar, I could sense the look he had in his his eyes today.
"who are you trying to deceive me or you Abhyant, look whatever you are planning I don't a give a fuck about it, but don't you forget you are married man"rising up from the chair, I walked near him.
"How many times are you going to commit the same mistake Abhyant? It has always been Hriday" and there it was the look I had sensed today, resentment and probably hurt.
"You don't have to gloat about it Ishani right on my face"
"I wasn't gloating I was stating the facts, the facts which your delusion self had ignored 6 years back and is still ignoring at this moment" the fury in his face was long gone, maybe there wasn't any in first place just anguish.
"This was a bad idea" he whispered crashing down on to the chair holding his head in his hands,of course it was a bad idea but I didn't wanted him to drown in self doubt.
"Abhyan...."
"Fuck! I can't do this to Maanvi" finally the man has a conscience "not when she doesn't know" Yeah..wait what.
"what do you mean she doesn't know?" No wonder she is so good to me "I thought she knew, you were supposed to tell her everything on the day of engagement itself" holy Hermès why is this all spiralling down.
"I did, but I didn't tell who it was, she just knows I loved someone else" loved.
" you do realise this is cheating and she has a right to know.... Fuck Abhyant you are telling Maanvi about this right now"
" telling me what right now?"shit.
Neha had led us into Avyaan's cabin which was the liveliest amongst the 3 brothers, Abhyant's was always covered with files speaking from the two visits I had in this office and well Hriday's it was forbidden, he rarely visited here 'AGNOSTUS" his cyber firm had tied him down deeply.
It was his secretary who had let out that he was visiting Germany and a small ball of pity had coalesced in my stomach, for Ishani, it was their routine they fought and either one of them disappeared for some time to start another fight, their marriage lacked the civility mine and Abhyant's shared and it had something to do with the bad blood they shared.
"They look nothing alike?" Ruhi asked gliding her fingers across the big family frame hanged in Avyaan's cabin. It was clicked at last Diwali.
"Hun?" I ask noticing different frames beautifully arranged against the wall,
"Ishani Di and her sister Meher, maybe except for their eyes they have nothing in common" it was true Meher was strikingly opposite of Ishani, she was women with beautiful curves and her face was lot broader and fuller raised cheek bones, perfect body, nevertheless the dreadful attitude of hers weighed everything down.
"The rumour was she was deep down for Hriday bhai" her fingers traced the photograph with 4 of them in view, in the middle stood Ishani brightly smiling, as if a loud joke was cracked, behind her stood Hriday, scooping her into him, his hands locked around her torso as if protecting his favourite toy, his head leaned into her neck, the rare 'Hriday has dimples' smile plastered on his face both of them looked so naive so, so perfect.....so in love, on their right stood Avyaan, lips curling up in goofiness, thumbs raised up doing the 'thumbs up sign' and finally to the farthest left stood Abhyant, with the loudest smile I had ever seen, the amber eyes twinkling against the sun, his wild hair ruffled messily, hands in pockets, he looked beautiful and alive and not someone with permanent wrinkles plastered on his face.
The same smile which had me loose myself within a flick of second.
"Happy birthday Abhyant" I wished him as the candle of 16 flickered on the top of the cake, the day these dusky eyes clashed with the warm amber, 16th birthday another elegant party hosted by the Raichands and their benevolence had extended the invitation to us and thus here I was clad in a simple summer dress, dressed as a flower in the mine of diamonds.
My dad was a mere employee, the fix gazes pointed at me left no crumbs in reminding me that and one such gaze boiled up into envy as my eyes adored the birthday boy.
"Awww isn't it the stray dog waddling its tail watching 'Mr he could never be mine' "ohh girl, what an irony it was.
"Shreya let her be, why waste time on nuisance, why don't you show your newly painted nails to Abhyant"the other girls tugged the 'ugly nails's' back.
"No shut up, this girl needs to be taught a lesson an outsider should know not to let her eyes wander" and it happened very slowly yet very fast,the next moment I opened my eyes my eyelids drooped in water, 'ugly nails's' idea of teaching me lesson was shoving me in the 6 feet deep pool,and thanks to my non existent puberty the 5'3 figure of mine somehow looked half suspended in the waters, hair and dress clinging to my soul,as I weighed down, I knew how to swim yet the waters of embarrassment sinked me deep, the laughters echoed and so did the pitiful glances yet one loud splash and five long swim strokes silenced all them down.
A hand hosted me by waist,making my neck turn with a snap, and there it was the boy who hadn't cared he was wearing a 100 dollar suit or had any resentment on his face towards the girl who had just ruined his party.
"Are you alright?" He asked, the melody in his voice tuned out all the background noise,his long eyelashes drenched the flicks of his hair stuck to his forehead, and my teenage heart had lost its inheritance.
It might be a mere accident for him, for me it was the moment I will savour till the end of my existence, the way his tender fingers wrapped the towel around my figure, the innocent tug of his lips after the successive bout of sneezes I had let out and the 'Maanvi tum Sachi mein thik ho na?'
The boy who had saved me from drowning the same man who now watches me suffocate in the lakes of indifference.
"Nahi I want to eat, Italian only" the loud stomping of feet made me revolt back to the reality.
Avyaan and Ruhanika were head locked, muttering gibberish at each other, "bhabhi aap batayein, aap kya khayenge"
"Noodles would do" I replied escaping not wanting to participate or negotiate their food ordering battle, passing the long corridors I made my way towards the conference room met by a view of very agitated Ishani her finger pointed accusing towards my husband as she pronounced,
"....you are telling Maanvi about this right now"
"Telling me what right now?" I tossed my eyes between them, and I saw their faces turning pale, must be the bad lighting.
"Maanvi?" Ishani gulped, sharing a look with Abhyant, is this the time where they both announce how liable I am to be a Raichand.
"We we were just talking.....ahhh no Abhyant was talking,I mean telling me .... how this deal costed him his secretary, yeah that nasty little secretary.....and now he wants a new secretary" okay but that still doesn't answer how I come into the picture ".....and guess what?.....who does he wants to appoint?" I shrugged my shoulders, girl I don't even know what his last secretary's name was.
"You"ohh achha ...what?!
"What?!" I must have heard it wrong but it wasn't just me who shouted at her.
"Yeeeahh...weren't you just saying how Maanvi is quiet good with all those speeches and you both working together might just erase the 'divorce rumour' lingering around, isn't that what you said just a minute ago ABHYANT?" She poked his shoulder, as his neck nodded like a robot answering command, " yes...YES! That's what I was saying wasn't I"
"So Maanvi? I'll let you two discuss about this arrangement, Avyaan and Ruhi in his cabin right ?" She whisked pass me not letting me answer.
Gulping down his stare, I asked, "do you really want me to work for you?"
"No" hmm now that's what I was really expecting.
"I want you to work with me."
"What Ishani said wasn't wrong, you are good at writing and organising and also you do speak more languages than me which is an absolute asset, you had business as minor so the terms wouldn't be so unknown to you, besides didn't you say you were stuck at writing and wanted a change, I believe office environment would provide that change you need"
Wait a second give me minute, so he is saying he wants me here, in his office working with him, then he also remembers the conversation we had months ago, isn't it too much to handle in a single day sorry night.
And why does he suddenly wants me working with him, after not so subtly insulting my presence here, not thinking twice which is by the way a hollow mistake when talking with Abhyant Raichand, I ask, "what's the reason for the change of hearts, Abhyant? Look if it is going to be a revenge because I turned up here today, then let me explain it was..
"Why would I scheme up revenge, just because you entered your husband's office" is it just me or there's a different Abhyant standing in front of me, his eyebrows sexily scrunch up in confusion, stop it.
"You never want me here" I stated moving back, his predatory advancement were enough to make my heart beat out loud like a loudspeaker and I definitely didn't wanted him to hear it.
" I never said that" uggh why is he still walking toward me " your actions did" I whispered because that was what I could let out with the minuscule distance between us, his eyes roamed over my face, the crease over his forehead making a deep v, confirming the top speed gears churning in his brain.
"good to know the beasty image of mine is still unscathed in your mind" letting the door open he made me fall down on my ass.OUCH!
"I like my coffee black and sharp at 10,don't be late Mrs Raichand"
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Okay guys I know I am terribly super duper late, sowy 🥺
but trust me guys I have been really crammed up with my studies.
I'll try updating faster,but please mind me if I am late.
Office romance wasn't one of the trope I imagined but looks like our story is curving along that path,Abhyant my love is a 'tube light' realises things when it's too late.
What are your views on Ishani and Hriday?
Xoxo