💕First of all,A big thank you to all those who commented and voted.Thank you so much for the votes and comments.💕
Note:This update is not proof read or edited.I just wrote it in a flow and corrrected the spellings.I didnot even check the grammar.So no Chamelis or Jhapps for the errors.😅
Note 2:I couldnt get a title for this update.So suggestions needed.
Don't forget to vote and comment to let me know whether you liked the update or not.😘
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The ringing of the alarm woke up Anika from her uneasy sleep.She had falllen asleep at the table in the study with her ;laptop working and papers strewn all around.
Anika tiredly stretched her neck muscle.She had been sitting at the desk for about 3 hours straight in a row.Not that she had insomnia but yesterday night she hadn't got a wink of sleep.Blame it on her jet lag or... her nightmare.
In the middle of the night,about 1 am she woke up panting and sweating badly because of her nightmare.Her nightmare was not as bad as it usually was, but it was enough for the hazy memories to come back to haunt her.She could tell that her nightmare was short and relatively mild because she had not woken up Shivaay from his sleep by her murmuring and crying. Usually when she had the nightmares,it would wake up Shivaay and he would stay awake with her till the time she calms down and sleeps again.
So after turning,tossing and lying awake in their bed for about an hour,Anika decided to put better use to her time since it was almost clear that sleep was the last thing that could happen to her on that particular night.She sorted out the luggage and arranged the clothes in the wardrobe. She randomly surfed through the TV channels,almost scared the security staff to death by roaming in the garden at the wee hours of the morning like a lost soul.She had done it all but time seemed to have slowed down to torture her more.Finding no other alternative she decided to run through her company's documents that were pending for almost a week now.In the middle of that she didn't realize that she had fallen asleep at the desk itself.Massaging her neck which was paining from the bad sleeping posture,she switched of the alarm and walked towards the bedroom to find Shivaay and Naira sleep peacefully.
Taking care not to make any sound which may wake them up,Anika walked to the wardrobe to pick up her clothes and rushed into the bathroom for a shower.
As Anika was drying her wet hair standing in front of the mirror,she self introspected her reaction to the news of Shivaay meeting Badi maa.Instead of being happy that he was getting back his family she had gone ahead and chosen to brood over her own worries.She was just insecure.Even though Shivaay never gave her a reason to be insecure in the last seven years still a corner of her heart existed which was stubborn enough to hold on to the insecurities. Maybe that was why she had reacted that way to the news.
Yesterday she was at her weakest point and that was why she had such negative thoughts about herself and their relationship.She had lowered her self confidence to such a level that she felt that Shivaay wold be more happy with someone else than with her.She had almost decided to let go of him.While she was drowning in the pool of self pity,it was Shivaay who stood up and put back the sense that she had lost.She realized that majority of the times it was Shivaay who was fighting for her and not the other way around.
After wearing the moon bracelet her eyes landed on the wedding rings on the dressing table.One was a simple band with small diamonds embedded all around and the second one was a platinum one with a big rock at its center.Though she couldn't wear her mangalsutra openly she never missed to wear the rings.
Anika was so immersed in her thoughts that she didn't see that Naira and Shivaay had woken up and were looking at her. Anika was sitting facing away from hem so they could just see her face from the reflection in the mirror.
Naira had woken up Shivaay when she saw that her mother was awake at such an early time.
Shivaay who had just woken up from his sleep by his daughter's whispers,rubbed his eyes in surprise as his eyes landed on the figure sitting in front of the dressing table.
"Anika? Anika itni jaldi uth gayi?"Shivaay exclaimed while looking at the clock to confirm that he had read the time correctly.
"Matlab aapko ko bhi mamma dikh rahi hai.When I saw her there I wanted to confirm that it was indeed Mamma and I was not day dreaming,that is why I woke you up."Naira whispered softly.
"Why did Anika wake up so early?"Shivaay wondered.
"I called out to her as well but she just didn't respond."Naira added on.
Shifting closer to her dad she continued,"Papa,is it possible that it is someone else who is sitting at mamma's place.I have heard that ghosts change their forms to scare people.Kahin aisa toh nahi?"
Shivaay was amused at his daughter's overactive imagination.
"Naira you seriously need to cut down on your movie times with your mother.What all movies do you watch?Icchadari naagin,bhoot,pret and what not?"
"Most of the movies are more of comedy than horror.And by the way we were discussing about mamma right, then how did we shift to bhoot preet etc?"
"Papa,Did you both fight with each other?It is possible that she is angry at you.maybe that is why she woke up earlier."Naira pointed out.
"Why do you always think that I am the one to start a fight?It is always your mother who fights with me and not the other way around."
"And...Yes!! We didn't have a fight."Shivaay added.
"Then maybe that is the problem.She may be missing fighting with you.It is possible that this was why she woke up early."Naira guessed still looking at Anika.
Oh god!Either way it is my fault right?If I fight it is my fault and if I don't then also it is my fault.She is a carbon copy of her mother in these matters.
"Anika"Shivaay called out.Seeing her still lost,he called out louder this time."ANIKA.."
"Kya hua Shivaay aap subhe subhe chilla kyun rahe ho?"Anika said irritated at the loud pitch.
Sensing a fight coming up,Naira decided to ask the important question."Mamma,you woke up early today?"
Anika was confused by the surprised look that both them had."Haan,I had something urgent to look after,so I woke up early.But why are you both staring at me like this?"Anika asked confused.
"Nothing,we were just surprised that you woke up this.Varna normally tum toh Khumbhkaran ki tarah soti ho?"Shivaay replied nonchalantly.
Did he just called me a Khumbhkaran?.Anika put down the towel and turned to face Shivaay."What do you mean,Shivaay that I sleep like a khumbhkaran?"
"I was just stating the fact."Shrugged Shivaay.
Anika narrowed her eyes at this statement and was all geared up for a verbal fight.Naira yawned tiredly.She could sense a khidkitod fight coming up and nothing surprised her.
She snuggled back into her blanket to catch up on her lost sleep,letting her parents sort it out themselves.After all,yeh toh roz ka hai.
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Gauri was sleeping peacefully,wrapped up in her husbands arms.Her sleep was disturbed by the incessant buzzing of her phone vibrating while it was on silent mode on the night stand beside the bed.
She slowly opened her eyes to see the bedroom bathed in the morning sunlight.
She turned her head to look at the clock out of habit only to realize that they were in Mumbai and there was no clock in the room.Making a mental note to buy a clock later,she reached out to the phone on the night stand.Om who had his arm around her,grumbled in his sleep at being disturbed and tightened his hold on her.
Gently easing out his hold,gauri reached out for the phone.Swearing in frustration and anger at being disturbed at an early hour,she picked up the call without even looking at the caller ID.
"Hello."She croaked in her sleepy voice.
Hearing what the person on the other line had to say,she sat upright in the bed.Suddenly all her sleep vanished away.
"Kya?"
"Gauri!!!Where are you?Tumhe pata hai that Micheal flew back to London this morning because of some personal emergency and he didn't submit your leave application for the day.In Micheal's absence you are the next senior in charge and Maam has asked all of us to assemble in her cabin for a meeting at 9:15 sharp.Today is her first day and if you get late on the first day itself it is going to be disastrous.So Gauri whenever you are please come to the office asap."Shilpa hurriedly repeated.
"Why didnt you tell me yesterday that Micheal is going on leave?Kaise dosth ho tum yaar?"
"I had told you to confirm with him whether he forwarded the leave application or not.Ab tumne nahi kiya ismein mein kya karoon?Acha chalo mein rakhti hoon,jaldi aaja and don't be late."
After Shilpa cut the phone,Gauri was in shock for a minute.She was trying to process all that has been said.Gauri flash-backed to the time she received a call from Shilpa yesterday.That was when it clicked her.She had missed some of the words of the conversation with Shilpa because she was distracted by her husband.Facepalming herself, Gauri ran out of the bed to the washroom to freshen up.After freshening up,she rushed to the wardrobe to pick out her office dress when her eyes landed on the figure sleeping peacefully on the bed.Omkara.
Here I am on the verge of loosing my job and he is sleeping like a log.murmered Gauri.She picked up a cushion and threw it at Om which landed straight on his face.Startled by the sudden blow,Om woke up only to see Gauri standing at the foot of the bed staring at him with red rimmed eyes.The eyes were red rimmed not because of tears but anger.
"Kya hua?"Om asked confused at her behavior.
"Kya hua"Gauri repeated furiously at the question."I am on the verge of being fired from my job all thanks to you Om and you are asking me 'Kya hua?"."Seeing that Om had not got the point that she had conveyed,she explained yesterday's events while drying her hair furiously.
"Listen Om,If I loose my job today then I will not spare you."Looking up at the time on her mobile phone,gauri mentally calculated.
The meeting is at 9:15.It takes me almost 45 minutes to reach the office during normal days by the bus.And given that it is almost 8:35,the bus would also have gone.
Seeing no other way out of this mess,Gauri asked Om.
"Can you drop me to office today?"
"Gauri,I have forgotten certain routes.What if I get lost?And on top of that our vehicle is not in a working condition,then how will I drop you?"
"I will arrange for the vehicle can you please drive me to my office?"
"But Gauri the routes.."
"Om this is my dream job and I don't want to screw it up.I will never be able to forgive myself if I get fired today.Please Om."
The tears and the raw fear in her eyes were enough for Om to let go of all his excuses.He knew what her job meant to Gauri.
"Don't worry tum jaldi jaake tayaar ho jaoo,I will be ready in a minute."assured Om.
By the time,Om was ready Gauri was already in the kitchen putting a pack of biscuits into her bag for her breakfast. As soon as she saw that he was ready,she came running to him to hand him a set of keys.
"This is Sharma uncle's car.I have promised to return it to him in an hour or so.And he has given strict instructions to get the car back without any major damages."Gauri once again searched her bag for something .Realizing that she missed the file,"You wait here I will just come in a minute."Gauri said as she rushed inside the house to pick up a file from the table.
As the car navigated through the heavy traffic owing to the rush hour,they were stuck in 2-3 traffic jams.At each traffic signal,Gauri would start her prayers continuously praying to her shankar ji.
"Shankar ji,Aaj bacha lena.I will never be late after today..."
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"You are not going to the office today.You should have told me Shivaay,I would have joined a day later.Why did you have to skip office?"Anika asked Shivaay when he told her about taking a leave for two days owing to the fact that Naira would be alone at home.
"Anni,calm down its ok.I didn't have any important meeting scheduled for these two days so I thought that it is better if I just skip office.Also you have to be there at your office for seeing the preparation the date for your even tis fast approaching."
Anika sighed.The event was a major concern for her.This was the first public event their brand wad having after its launch in India and they had to make sure that this was flawless since it could affect their brand value.It could pretty much go either ways.either with this event the brand would increase its hold in the market or could spell more trouble for them.
Anika sat down on one of the sofas in the living room to wear her heals.As she was strapping it up,he heard the sound of a car being parked in the front porch. Confused, she stood up.
"Anika,this is Rahul. He will be your personal bodyguard till Khanna comes to India."
"Good morning Maam.Maam your car is ready."he politely informed while Anika could only blankly stare at him.
"Umm, Rahul could you please give us a moment.I will be there in a minute."
As soon as her new personal bodyguard was out of earshot,Anika snapped at Shivaay.
"Khanna kya kam that ki ek aur ko employ kar liya.?"
"One second,I was not the person who made Khanna the head of your security team.I had fired him from my security team and the decision to employ him in yours was entirely your decision.So don't blame me for that."
Anika stepped back and crossed her arms ."Shivaay do you think I am a fool?You really thought that I will not come to know of the secret plan that Khanna and you made?"
"What plan?"Shivaay feigned innocence.
"One fine morning,you fired Khanna.Khanna,who was your trusted employee for the last five years,was fired with no major fault of his.After loosing his job,khanna comes to me with his sob story.You both knew very well that I wouldn't let go of a trustworthy employee like khanna who was the security in charge for so many years.He was employed as my security head.It was a joint plan by both of you.You wanted to make sure that I am safe by including Khanna to my security team.And now Khanna being the extra vigilant man he is,follows me everywhere and is ever suspicious of everybody around me."
"Haan toh.What is his fault here.?He is just doing his job."
"Yaa,he is just doing his job.You know I was so happy that Khanna would not be there today that I had planned to go to the office in an auto."
"Auto?"Seeing Shivaay's horrified expressions Anika decided to change her mode of transportation so that her husband doesn't have a heart attack.
"Ok fine,I will take a taxi."
"Taxi? Auto?Anika you really don't care about your security do you?"
"Shivaay aapko pata hai ki aapki problem kya hai?You think I some precious thing and all the people out there are bad people who are waiting to kidnap or harm me in any way. Whereas the truth is that nobody gives a damn about what I do and where I go."
"Yaa.Nobody gives a damn.Right.."Shivaay said sarcastically."Is that why your car's breaks failed about six months ago?"
"Shivaay that was a mechanical problem."
"No,it wasn't.The break wires were cut.Thank god that you escaped with minor injuries."
"But.."Anika started but was cut off by the ringing of her phone.
" Ma'am this Ria.I just called to inform you that you have called for a meeting with the staff at 9:15."
"I know Ria and I will be there on time."
"I am getting late so I don't have time to argue but don't think that this argument is finished"
Anika grabbed her files and had an apple on the other hand.as she reached the door she turned back and dramatically announced.." to be continued" and walked out of the door into her waiting car.
Shivaay chuckled at her childish behavior and walked to the bedroom to wake up Naira with a small smile on his face.
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Gauri walked into her office at sharp 9:15. Fervently praying that she was not late,she hurried inside the office.
Seeing that the office was almost empty except for a few junior employees,Gauri asked the young receptionist, the reason.
"Gauri maam,everybody is in the conference hall.Our head has already arrived so I guess the meeting has almost started."Gauri felt her worst fears coming true.She ran to the conference room.She ran with such a speed that she crashed on to the door with a force that it swung open suddenly stunning everyone in the room. Gauri stumbled into the room and looked around to see all the people sitting at the conference table staring at her.
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Thank you guys for your wonderful response.The last update had around 140 votes and I couldnt be happier.
Note:Please suggest the title guys.My mind has stopped working.
Next update:17 October 2017
Do vote,comment and give suggestions for the title.