Khushi sat beside Rajveer in silence as he took care of the formalities. The representative was talking about the themes and decor but she did not pay heed to anything. Her mind was focused on only one thing. Vivek. He was getting married.
The representative, Tia Bhatia, showed them a catalogue. "What ever you choose we will deliver. We are glad you offered us this opportunity."
Khushi was not responding. Her silence intermediated Tia.
Tia looked flustered. She had never handled such high profile clients, they were way above her league. She was waiting for Sadhna to come and take over. Never in their wildest dream could they ever think that the Mittals would come to them. Until the moment she saw him she was not aware of the fact that the Rajveer Mittal who requested for the meeting was, THE VEER MITTAL. The world renowned F1 racer and the grandson of a leading Industrialist. Not to mention that he was tying the knot with the Birla Princess. The Birla's were a very big name. Suryakanth Birla was a renowned businessman and a big philanthropist. He donated millions to charities every year. He never refused anyone who asked for his help. He was a 'masiha' for the needy. A man who was respected world wide. A man who had a heart of gold. His daughter's wedding was the talk of the decade.
Both the families belonged to New York's elite class. Very few people knew about them in India. The secretary who had taken the appointment did not care to find out the details as Rajveer offered none. She would have even recognized them if she had not seen their pictures splashed across the papers. Tia's looked at the door, wishing for Sadhana to make an appearance. She felt lost with such a big client.
"Ma'am dekheye na please." Tia pulled herself together and gently nudged the catalogue towards Khushi. The book's edge collided with the glass of water that was placed on the table and the glass tumbled. The girl looked in shock as the glass tumbled and spilled over khushi. Shocking her.
"I am so sorry ma'am...."
"Dekhai nehi deta tumhe?" Khushi's eyes glinted, "What the hell is wrong with you?"
She stood up and brushed the water away from her white dress jaket."
"I am so sorry ma'am...."
"Kaha tha tumse Veer ke mughe yeh sab nehi chaye. Why the hell do we need a wedding planner for a wedding that will end in six months?"
The representative looked shocked. The others looked up startled. Khushi had not bothered to keep her voice down. Veer took a deep calming breath. He absolutely abhorred public scenes. So did khushi. Her behavior shocked him. She was alwyas calm and composed. She was not the one to create a public debacle.
"The date is set. Lets go to the registrar office and get it done with. I am not interested in this wedding bullshit. Pay her for the timed and let's go. I have had enough."
Sadhna rushed inside. She was talking to another client when she got Tia's message. She was as shocked as Tia that the Mittal's chose them. She was rushing to greet them personally when she heard Khushi shouting. She looked at the young representative who was handling Khushi and Rajveer. She looked close to tears.
"Everything alright Tia?" She spoke carefully.
Tia shook her head scared, "I spilt water on ma'am by mistake, Sadhna. I am sorry I did not....."
"Mistakes happen, Tia." Sadhna gently cut her off, "I am sure you would have already apologized."
Tia nodded her head. She was holding back tears.
"Why don't you take a break, let me take over?" Tia was grateful for offer. She apologized once again and walked away. Khushi did not react. She felt guilty for yelling at the girl. She knew she was taking it out at the wrong person but she was frustrated. The whole wedding was stressing her out. Seeing Vivek again pushed her over the edge. She was not ready, and she hated herself for feeling that way.
"I am done here, Veer." She picked up her purse. "If you want to do this, do it on your own. count me out" She walked away without a backward glace.
Roshni looked at her retreating figure. If she had seen arrogance she would not have hesitated to put her in her place, Birla princess or not, but what she saw came pretty close to anguish.
She looked up at Rajveer, "Bad day?" She tried for a polite smile. H Veer sighed and nodded his head. The whole wedding was not their cup of tea.
"I am sorry for what happened Miss....."
"Roy, Sadhna Roy" She extended her hand in greeting. He took her hand and was surprised by the firm handshake. He was expecting a gentle hand, the handshake told him that he was dealing with someone who took business seriously.
"Miss Roy. Khushi is going though a rough phase now. I am sorry for her behavior. We will come again later."
Roshni nodded her head. She did not press him to stay back. She did not plead on her representatives behalf. Vee was impressed. Small business often were desperate, her silent dignity earned his respect.
"The contract is your if you want to have it, Miss Roy...."
"Go talk to your Bride Mr. Mittal. This can wait. Have a good day."
Veer sighed. He knew a dismissal when he heard one. No one had ever dared to do that to him. He was Veer Mittal, the girls flocked around him, she was the first one to be unimpressed. If he had been single or in the game, he would have chased her, but fate had other plans for him. He gave her a sincere salute and walked out. She was right he needed to talk to Khushi.
She was waiting for him in the car. He did not expect her to wait, when Khushi was upset she did not stop for anyone. She preferred to lick her wounds in privacy. The fact that she was sitting there waiting told him how upset she was. He sat in the car and shut the door. Khushi did not acknowledge his presence. He did not expect her to.
"Can we talk khushi?" He broke the silence.
"There is nothing to talk, Veer. Let's go." She turned away, but he had already seen the sheen of tears in her eyes. She never cried. At least she stopped crying after she realized her tears could make no difference to anyone. She stopped doing a lot of things, thanks to Vivek Malhotra. If he ever got his hands on his ex best friend, he would take great pleasure in beating the hell out of him.
"Drive Veer."
"Talk to me Khushi, please. You are not alone in this...." Khushi looked at him with a smile that did not reach her eyes, "Really Veer? I am not alone in this? Who is with me? You or your best....."
"Don't go there Khushi. What happened between you and Vivek happened 17 years ago. I agree he was a moron to you, but 17 years is a big time to hold a grudge against someone." He found himself defending the same man he wanted to thrash. Vivek Malhotra did that to you. He hated what Vivek did to Khushi, but he ever made a friend like Vivek. He could not find anther Vivek, that was the reason why he became a loaner. No one matched up to the moron.
"Grudge Veer. You think this is what it is?" Her eyes blazed, "I lost a part of me Veer, I lost the most precious part of me....."
"You both made the decision together Khsuhi"
"I did damn it. But when i took the decisions I expected Vivek to stand with me. We were supposed to be in it together Veer, what did he do? Left me standing alone? To deal with my pain? He walked away without a backward glance Veer. I have lived in hell, and here he is ready to tie the knot. Ready to start a family of his own? ready to replace what we lost with another woman?? Did he ever love me Veer?"
Veer looked away. The seventeen year old Vivek was head over in heals love with Khushi. he knew that because Vivek could not stop talking about Khushi. He did not know why Vivek walked away, but he could not accept the fact that a guy who loved his girl so much could desert her in her time of need. He had tried to reach Vivek, but his ex best friend had vanished from New York. No one knew where he went. One day his family was operating a small but successful cafe in the suburbs of New York and the next day they were gone. Without leaving a single trace behind. He never thought he would find him again in Shimla of all places.
"All the promises of love and happy ever after, all the bullshit that he fed me, everything was a lie. He is freaking getting married, Veer. Go dance at is wedding. That should make you very happy. You finally found your best friend. I am sure he can help you get out of the mess you are in right now. Neither of you know how to respect boundaries....."
"That is enough Khushi" Veer's eyes glinted, "Tughe ehsaas bhi hai ke kya bake jaa rahe hai. You are blaming the whole thing on Vivek and it is not fair on him. I agree he walked away. He is a moron, but he is not guilty of what you are accusing him of. Both of you were equally aware of what was happening. You cannot...."
"Yes I was responsible and I was ready to take up the responsibility. What did the coward do? Walk away, at least you are ready to fight for your son. He walked away leaving me to grieve on my own. 17 years Veer, i have not seen my child for 17 years. You do not know how much I have longed, how many times i have begged the agency to give me a contact address. I would have sold my soul to get him back, but he is lost to me for ever. I held him all but once, Veer. Just once..." Her voice shook. "They took him away from me forever."
Veer gently pulled her into his arms, "I know you are hurting Khushi, but at that time you did what you had to do. Both of you agreed for the adoption. It was in your child's best interests. No matter where the boy is, i am sure he is happy. You made sure of it. You were 16 Ashi, no one can blame you for giving him up. You did the right thing."
"I need him back in my life Veer, I cannot live like this any longer. I need my son back. Kamsekam uska naam bhi nehi pata mughe. It is killing me inside. How can Vivek forget him? How can he move on? Itna asan tha uske leye? Our child meant nothing to him?"
Veer did not know what answer to give her.
"Ashi...."
Khushi pulled back and wiped her tears. "Take me home Veer, please. I do not want to talk."
Veer did not argue. She was in pain. he did not wish to rub salt to her wounds. He drove away without a word. Khushi closed her eyes against the tears. She was bubbling in anger. She had never trusted anyone as much she trusted Vivek Malhotra. Since the day she had met him at Veer's 15th birthday party, she knew he was the one for her. His shy nature and simplicity won her over. He kept her distance from her, well aware of the difference in their social status. She was the one who chased behind him. In the end he gave in. They had been great friends, but they always knew they meant much more than friends. The pregnancy took them by surprise. Neither of them were prepared.
When her parents found out, they were furious. They wanted her to terminate the pregnancy. She was too scared to say no. Vivek chose to respect her wishes, but the scan changed everything for her. Since the moment she heart her son's heartbeat, she wanted him. She knew she loved him. She refused to get rid of him. Her parents were furious with her decision. They threated to force the adoption on her but the law prevented it. She was 16, the age where her consent played a key role. With Vivek backing her all the way, her parents were forced to accept their decision, but they made sure she felt their displeasure. They cut her off everything. She was a billionaire's only child, but most of her pregnancy cravings remained unfulfilled because her parent refused to indulge her in any way. Vivek was the one who made sure she had everything she needed. Her parents refused to let her meet him, but she fought them tooth and nail. They were frustrated but they let her have her way.
Everything was going fine. As the child grew inside her she became more aware of him. Vivek got a part time job. They had so many plans, all that changed when the doctors told them that their child had a rare heart condition. He had a tiny hole in his heart that could need surgical intervention after his birth. The cost of the surgery was phenomenal. Her parents paid for her insurance, but they made it very clear that they will not pay for the child. She was on her own. Vivek's parents did not have enough savings to support all three of them. The issuance would not cover for everything. They were desperate. She begged her father to help and in the end he promised to give her the money, but he had a condition. She had to give the baby up for adoption. He did not want her running her life. Looking back she understood her fathers fear. She was his only child, 16 and pregnant. In a way he was protecting her by forcing her to give up the child. She did not agree with him but she could understand a parents concern, and he had been right. Vivek showed his true colors the moment the adoption papers came in. He demanded money in exchange for his consent. He knew their child was at stake. He knew the adoption was their son's lifeline but he still demanded money in exchange for his consent. His betrayal broke her heart. Her father paid him the money and he vanished from her life forever. He had not waited to even see their child born. She hated him for what he did to her, She hated him for not loving their child, above all she hated him for falling in love with him. She never believed in monsters, Vivek Malhotra taught her different!
"What the heck dude" Vish protested, "How can she think of the Prince as the monster. It was her father who forced her to give the boy away. She should call her dad the monster, right?"
Vivek shook her head. "There are no monsters Vish, its our perception that makes us think of some people as monsters.
"So the ice queen thought that the Prince took money and ran away, when all this time it was the Prince who was raising the child on his own?" Vibha frowned. She did not like the story at all. She wanted to punch the Evil king for forcing the Ice Queen to give up the baby.
"Yes" Vivek nodded his head.
"Why would the Prince take money and run away?" Vish shook his head, "Does not add up. He was the one raising the brat. So what happened to the adoption?"
"Was the brat really the Ice-Queens baby?" Vibha heart pounded in her chest. For some reason she wanted the child to be the Ice-Queens son. She wanted the boy to be the Prince's son. She loved the bond that the Prince shared with the boy, she could handle it the truth was something different.
"Please big-b. Tell me the boy belonged to the Prince. Tell me the prince was not a monster. He cannot be the monster" Vish pleaded.
"Vish....."
"Vikky, Vish, Vibha, I am home." Vivek's voice startled them. Vikky got up and rushed outside. He had not seen his buddy the entire day. He was missing him a lot.
Vivek walked in holding a big ice cream tub. The twins rushed to hug him. Vikky waited patiently for his turn. Ten years back he could not even dream of sharing his buddy with anyone. Even his bride became a bone of contention between them. Now he was happy to let his siblings have his fathers attention first. Vivek handed Vibha the ice-cream tum and made his way to Vikky.
"Soya nehi kal raat?" He caressed his face gently. Vikky wrapped his arms around his buddy. He never failed to notice anything about him.
"I slept late dad, i am fine. Stop worrying"
Vivek pulled back and looked at his son. He could see the sadness in his eyes. "Kya hua?"
"How is gramps?"
Vivek sighed and took a seat. He shook his head sadly. "It's bad Vikky. His body is not ready to take the chemo. His body is failing him." He rubbed his tired eyes. His wife was not able to sleep the night before. he had held her the entire night. he wished she was not so tough on herself. He wished for once she would let go of her stubbornness and reach out to her dying father. The man had his days numbered. He did not know how to tell her that.
"That bad?" Vivek held his hand gently.
"The doctors are giving up hope, Vikky. I don't know how to tell your mother that"
"She is very upset buddy. Talk to her. It is best she finds out the truth from you. She will be able to handle it if she learns form someone else. Talk to her. Tell her......"
"I will Vikky. Go and meet your gramps. He was asking for you. Take the kids along. Make sure they don't tire him. Okay?"
Vikky nodded his head and got up. After what his father had said he could not stay rest till he saw his gramps for himself. Despite what happened he loved his gramps. The thought of loosing him scared him very much. Vivek got up and gently wrapped his arms around him.
"I Know you are scared bacha. We all are. We will need to be strong for your mom. If you cry, she will not be able to handle it."
Vikky buried his face into his fathers warmth. He could not help the tears that reigned down his eyes. Vivek felt the wetness and gently guided him away from there. He did not want the twins asking questions that they were not ready to answer. They were too young to face the harsh reality of life. He would protect their innocence as long as he could. He could never fail his children! Ever!