One week later...
Bangalore...
Aayan's house...
8:30 am..
Ananya walks out of her room dressed in formals,which was her office attire, and sits on the dining table, massaging her temples...
She is having sleepless nights since last encounter with Ritika, and she hardly speaks to Aayan, although he tries a lot to initiate the conversation or atleast talk to her...
Now that their differences were out, they stopped pretending to be a happy couple in front of Mrs. Kumar and also slept in different rooms...
Mrs. Kumar too, did not say anything to Jai, because she wanted them to sort their differences on their own and soon without involvement of any adult of the house..
And also if Arjun or either of Ananya's brothers come to know about this, they might take Ananya away from here and Aayan will never get a chance to sort things out...
'Good morning Ananya...' Mrs. Kumar greets, serving her the tea
'Morning Pappy...' Ananya replied in a low voice
'Are you okay, you look tired...' Mrs. Kumar asked
'It's work pressure Pappy, the case I am working on, it's hearing date is approaching, and the businessman's staff is not responding to our calls so that settlement can be made outside the court, I guess he wants to lose legally in the court...' Ananya says irritated
'Why don't you guys try visiting his office, he cannot avoid you there...' Mrs. Kumar suggested
'We don't who he is Pappy, the notice was sent to him, long back before I was hired, I am the third lawyer in this case, the first two have been threatened by him and they left the case and now they refuse to answer my calls, All I know is that, his office is a big IT firm in Kormangala, but there are 1000s of IT firms there...! How will I know which one is his... Such a useless staff my boss has, I mean I am fighting a case against the person, whose name I don't even know...' Ananya huffs
'Well that is weird, they should've atleast given you his name so that you can have his background check to know how influential he or she is...' Mrs. Kumar said
'Exactly ! But thanks to these ultra intelligent co workers of mine, they lost his credentials, we just know one person from his office and that person says they will directly meet us at the court... Such much of arrogance...! I will look like a stupid in my very first case pappy, because most probably my first question to the accused will be 'What is your name, Dear Sir...?' she whines and bangs her head lightly on the table and Mrs. Kumar chuckles at this
'Good Morning Pappy, Ananya...' They hear Aayan entering the kitchen dressed in formals too..
'Good morning...' Both of them greet him and he takes his seat opposite to Ananya smiling at her, but she didn't smile back and he sighed
'Pappy Amayraa has no play school today, so as soon as she wakes up, bring her to my office...' Aayan says and Mrs. Kumar nods
'Don't you have any work in the office ?' Ananya taunts him
'I have a staff of 150 people to work for me, so why will I...?' Aayan replied arrogantly and she gave him an uninterested look
Ananya digs into the breakfast Mrs. Kumar placed in front of her
Aayan looks at her shocked as her breakfast today was waffles and she hated it like anything
'Weren't you on diet...?' he teases as she pours chocolate syrup over her waffle
'No I don't need any...' Ananya says proudly
'If you say so...' Aayan says smirking and then starts eating his breakfast too and she glares at him
'Pappy, he is calling me fat...' Ananya complains
'Did I say that Pappy...? She always assumes things and complains like a baby...' Aayan sighs in irritation
'Atleast, I don't assume things and marry out of revenge...!' Ananya shot back and Aayan had no reply to this
'Why you always have to go that lane... I said I am sorry...' Aayan said irritated
Ananya didn't reply just continued eating her breakfast, while Aayan just huffed and left his breakfast, walking inside his room
'Ananya, don't be so hard on him... I am not saying he is not at fault, but atleast he is trying to make things okay...' Mrs. Kumar said
'You don't know him Pappy...' Ananya sighed
'Trust me kid, I have seen him since childhood, he has become like this because he never got the love he deserved, Bade sahab was always busy with work, Nitaara baby tried her best to be with him, but even she had her limitations, and his own mother didn't care...' Mrs. Kumar said
'I know all this Pappy, I did try to help him, but he doesn't let me in, he just want to live in the past ! And trust me all the things he holds me accountable for, were not done purposely...' Ananya said
'How can he let go of something, that has become inherent part of his personality ? He acts impulsive, because he has seen Bade sahab act impulsively in the matters related to him, he behaves selfishly because his mother did the same, the boy had always craved for love Ananya... Which I always hoped his wife would give him...' Mrs. Kumar said sadly
Ananya was lost in deep thought after hearing this, she didn't realise when Aayan left the house without saying good bye to them
Mrs. Kumar put her hand on Ananya's shoulder, startling her and breaking her reverie..
'All I am saying is, Aayan baba is genuinely trying Ananya... I have never seen him care or get bothered about anyone this much, and the Goa trip you are talking about, never happened, Baba was here on those dates, trust me... Please give him one chance Ananya, because if you leave him, god knows what will happen...' Mrs. Kumar requested Ananya and she nodded smiling
'I'll leave now Pappy, I hope those idiots find the credentials soon, the date in just a month away...' Ananya takes her bag and walks out of the house
At the bus stand...
Ananya was waiting for the bus, which was expected in 5-10 mins, she glanced at her watch, and sighed...
Maybe I should call and ask Joshi sir about the businessman, he must be knowing him for sure...
But is it okay to disturb him during his vacations ? I'll ask him after he returns, because Deepak sir has strictly warned us not to call him...
She glanced at the watch again, and Mrs. Kumar's words rang in her ears..
Why will pappy lie to me about Aayan..?
Her thoughts were disturbed by the honking sound of the SUV and she rolled her eyes
Not again...
She looked at the SUV which was parked few meters away from the bus stand and sighed
He won't quit this easily...
She placed the bag on the shoulders and walked towards the car, and the driver smiled at her
He opened the door and she gave him an irritated look
'Weren't you mad at me...?' She asked
'I can't be mad at you baby, atleast not for that silly fight...' Aayan grinned and she rolled her eyes
Liar..
'Aayan, I...' She began but he cut her off in between
'See, I know what will happen, you will say Aayan I can go by the bus, then I will say, Yeah ! But I like dropping you to your office, Then you will get angry and start walking towards the bus stop saying I don't need your favours Aayan ! Then I will follow you till the bus stand and won't leave until you give up, and then get inside the car, this has been going on over a week now, your fellow passengers know me, whenever I wait for you to give up and sit in the car, they have started to give me sympathetic looks... See ! Look at that lady, giving me a sorry look right now.. ' he said pointing at the passengers waiting and Ananya controlled her smile
'So can we quit all that drama for today, I really need to reach office early today...' he requested and Ananya glared at him
'Then just leave na...' Ananya said
'I am not leaving until I drop you to your office safely...' he said and she huffed
He is so stubborn...
'Fine...!' she gives up and gets inside the car
'Yesss !' he cheered and then gave thumbs up to the passengers of the bus stand, who smiled and waved at him
Ananya looked at them shocked and then at Aayan who grinned
'This is so embarrassing...' she muttered
'Not for me..' he grinned and she hits him
They drive towards the higway, and Aayan turns the radio on...
The radio starts playing romantic track and Aayan started singing it, irritating Ananya because he was singing very badly and this was her favourite song...
'You are a horrible singer !' she says and he grins
'I know... And I also know that, this is your favourite song...' he says
'Why are ruining it then...?' she asks
'Naah ! I am just making you habituated to my melodious voice, so that next time you hear this song you remember me...' he said and she chuckled
'You are crazy...' she comments
'Yeah, for you...' he grinned and Ananya cringed at this
'From where are you learning these cringeworthy, cheesy pickup lines...?' she asks
'Internet, why you don't like them...?' he asked
'They are so bad Aayan, that if you use it on any other girl, she will definitely think you are a creep...' she replied and he frowned
'Why will I use it on any other girl, when I have world's best girl with me...' Aayan grinned and Ananya couldn't control her smile now
'This was a good one, no matter how cheesy it was...' she said and he smiled
'Finally ! finally after one long week, she is smiling...' Aayan said dramatically, keeping his one hand on his chest, while other holding the steering
'Shut up...' she hits him
'By the way, I am sorry for annoying you earlier, I am just worried about work...' she said
'Well you can share it with me, who knows this engineer comes out with a mind blowing solution...' he said grinning
'Really...? You are so proud being an engineer, don't you...?' Ananya raised her brow at him
'Of course, we engineers can do any damn thing in this world, you name it, we do it...' He said proudly
'Really, can they become Prime minister of the country...?' she asked mocking him
He looked at her narrowing his eyes and then concentrated on the road huffing...
'That will happen soon too .. Who knows I can be the next engineer PM of the country...' he said giving her a determined look
Ananya started laughing at this and he huffed
'Jealous...' he muttered
They reached Ananya's office and he parked the car in front of the gate..
'Good luck PM sahab...' she says and turns to get down, when he grabs her hand and pulls her towards him
'What are you...' she began, but then couldn't say anything as he was too close
'Thank you for talking with me again Ananya...' He smiled and Ananya started at him not really knowing what to say
He kissed her forehead and Ananya felt tingling sensations all over her body, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath
'I'll see you in the evening...' he smiled pinching her nose and she hit hand playfully
'Bye...' she said and got down the car
'Bye...' he smiled, wearing his glares, and then drove away
Ananya stood there, clutching her bag close to her chest, looking at his car driving away...
I am doing the right thing by trusting you Aayan....?
New Delhi...
Thapar's Mansion...
10 am..
'Ved ! This was not the proposal we were supposed to send to the Malhotra's ! What's wrong with you...?' Arjun scolds Ved and he looks down embarassed
They were at Arjun's study, and Jai was with them too
'Calm down Arjun, he must be all tired because of the wedding, that's why he would've sent the wrong proposal to Abhi Bhai...' Jai said defending Ved
'Jai, wasn't Aayan newly married too, few months back, he didn't do such mistakes... What's wrong with this boy... Be thankful that you made this mistake with your Uncle's firm, had it been someone else, we would've lost crores...! ' Arjun throws the file on the table angrily
'Arjun don't be so hard on him, our Ved never made such mistakes before, give him sometime to settle, I am sure he will be focused like before...' Jai smiled at Ved and he nodded
'He is too distracted from last few months... You better get out of the fun zone soon young man, or else I will hire a new general manager in your place, and demote you to a trainee again...' Arjun warned and Ved nodded looking down
Just then Deepika walked inside carrying the the coffee tray and Arjun took a deep breath, and Ved too sighed
'Papa, your coffee...' she handed Arjun his mug
'Uncle, your Masala tea...' she smiles and gives the cup to Jai
'Your black coffee...' she hands the mug to Ved, and he takes it smiling faintly
'Deepika beta, I want to talk to you...' Arjun said and Ved panicked
'Yes Papa..?' she asks nervously
'Beta, your husband is very much distracted from work, I don't know what's wrong with him, please ask him what is his problem, and help him resolve that...' He said glaring at Ved and Deepika nods nervously
'Let's go Jai...' Arjun said walking out of the study and Jai followed him smiling at Ved-Deepika and they smile back
'He is getting old na, that's why he is getting crankier, don't mind him...' Jai joked to lighten their moods and they chuckle
'I heard that....' Arjun called from outside
'Good for you...' Jai called back and then patted Ved's shoulder, and walked out of the room
Ved sighed and leaned against the table, keeping the coffee over it..
Deepika looks at him worried and held his shoulders, he took a deep breath and pulled her into a hug, sliding his arms around her waist, holding her tightly
She too did the same, and rested her head on her chest, he sighed and rests his head over her...
'Everything will be okay Ved...' Deepika assures him and he nods
'I don't know what is wrong with me now a days, I just don't find these numbers, files, consignments and proposals interesting anymore...' Ved says irritated and Deepika looks up to him
'That day in hospital, you said that you don't have courage to stand in front of your father for something... What were you talking about...?' she asked and Ved didn't say anything, just left her, picking up the file from the table
'Tell me Ved, don't avoid this...' She holds his hands
'It's not important Deepika, leave it...' Ved says avoiding the topic
'It's important for me, I need to know what is bothering my husband... Tell me ! ' Deepika said in a persuading manner
'I never wanted to join E market when I was young, yes I showed interest in it's affairs for general knowledge, but wasn't really keen on joining it...' he said, not really looking at her
'What...! Then why did you...?' Deepika looked at him shocked
'Because Papa was already worried because of Vansh, he was worried for E market's future, already one of his sons backed off, and if I did that too he would be broken like anything... Vansh was the younger one, so he didn't mind much, but I am the eldest in the house, I had to be the role model for everyone...' Ved said sadly..
'What was your interest...?' Deepika asked holding his hands
'It was way stupid then what Vansh wanted to be, atleast Vansh's field has some money, what I wanted to be wouldn't fetch me enough money to run my family, it could be a hobby ofcourse, but not a profession... Papa would have been so disappointed, had I told this to him...' Ved said
'What you wanted to be Ved..?' Deepika asked him softly and he hesitantly looks at her
'Don't worry, I won't judge...' she smiled
'I.. I wanted to be a writer, when I grow up... I always loved telling stories to my siblings, creating my own characters, I thought that I would pen down amazing stories and become a best selling author one day...' Ved chuckled and Deepika smiled at this
'Then what happend....?' Deepika asked
'Writing can't make me successful Deepika, I am no Shakespeare or J.K Rowling or Martin, also, E market needed a heir, so I gave up on my passion...' he sighed and Deepika felt sad for him
'You should've told this to Papa you know, who knows he would've supported you...?' Deepika said
'You haven't seen him scolding Vansh didn't you...?' Ved laughed and she nodded negative
'No parent would appreciate the fact that their child doesn't want to work, but sit at home and write stories... Atleast not now, I cannot say about the future...' Ved said
'Will you do that with our child too..?' Deepika asked hesitantly
'Ofcourse not, I will let him / her do whatever he / she wants, As long as my kid is happy, I am ready to support him all my life...' Ved smiled
'That is so sweet of you...' Deepika smiled, and kissed his cheeks and he tapped her nose
'Do you write now...?' she asked
'Yes, whenever I get time...' he smiled
'Will you show me your books...?' she asked
'Of course...' he said and kissed her cheek
Deepika blushed and then hugged him, he hugged her back too
'I am so proud of you...' Deepika said
'I haven't done anything great...' Ved said
'You gave up your passion to be a role model for your younger siblings, and help your father, you are a great brother and a son, Ved...' Deepika said
'What about being a husband...?' Ved asked in a teasing manner
'You are the best husband in this world...' Deepika pecked his lips and he smiled
'And you are the sweetest wife...' he said and kissed her too...
Evening...
Bangalore...
6:30 pm..
'Any news about the businessman's credentials...?' Ananya asked her assistant, Ila
'No, but Deepak sir said that he will find his credentials in 2-3 days...' Ila assured her
'At least give me his name Ila, how can I fight against him without knowing his name, I need to send him a notice too...' Ananya said irritated
'I understand Ananya, I'll search the archives to find the old notice sent to him, so that you atleast get to send yours...' Ila said
'I'll sign this letter head, you send this notice to the business man as soon as you find his name and mail me a copy okay...?' Ananya said signing the paper
'Okay... Now don't spoil your mood, see your husband is waiting for you...' Ila smiled and pointed at Aayan who was waiting for her at the reception
Ananya looks at him and smile..
'He really loves you doesn't he...?' Ila asks
'I don't know...' Ananya says putting the bag on her shoulders
'He does, I can tell...' Ila smiled and she blushed
'Oooo... Blushing...' Ila teased and Ananya hits her playfully
'Go, I'll see you on Monday...' Ila smiled and Ananya nodded
Ananya walkes towards Aayan, and he smiled
'How was the day ?' he asked kissing her forehead
'Tiring, how was yours...?' Ananya asked him
'I am the boss, why will I get tired..?' Aayan smirked and she hit him
'Where is Amayraa...?' she asks and he points at the sofa where she was sleeping peacefully
'Awww, My baby was so tired...' Ananya picks her up and she squirms in her sleep, as they walked towards the exit
'My Baby's mother is tired too...' Aayan mimicked Ananya, while opening the door
'Shut up...' Ananya scolds him, and gets inside the car
'If you say so...' Aayan laughed and got into the driver's seat
They startes the car and drove away...
Ananya's cabin...
Ananya's boss, Deepak open's the cabin's door and peeks inside
'Ila, the businessman against whom Ananya is fighting the case, his name is Aayan Varma, owner of A V Tech, send him the notice ASAP and you can leave...' he said
'Thank you sir...' Ila smiled and quickly typed his name on the notice and sent to Aayan's lawyer and a copy to Ananya
I think I have heard this name somewhere... She thought while sending the notice
This was the beginning of the final war between them, let's see whether they survive this or not....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~