"Where are we going?" Annika asked for the nth time since they have been on a two-hour-long drive, now in the middle of the night. They spent a good hour at the beach and then Shivaay took her to eat in a restaurant. When Annika expected a dessert, he announced he had somewhere else to take her to. Ever since then, every ten minutes of theirs would spend with her endless questions and his mysterious smile.
"You are such a curious cat, Annika," he remarked, "Have patience."
"Look who is talking about patience," she snorted in derision, "The man who creates a mess if he cannot find a file in less than five minutes."
"Hey, don't forget I clear the mess myself too," he reminded her.
"That's because you have OCD," she said in spirit. She turned silent as grave upon the realization of what she said. His lack of response added to her nonexistent misery.
"Say something!" she muttered.
"Huh?"
"What?"
Annika's face was worth watching. Shivaay was not a person to smile or laugh easily, yet her face was such that even he had to try hard to resist himself from smiling. She clearly looked as if a thief caught in the act.
"Relax." he took her arm and gave it a gentle pat. She released the breath she had been holding all this while.
"Are you okay?" he asked with concern dripping from his voice.
Annika inhaled two deep breaths before she replied, "Where are we going?"
"That's not an answer!" he said, "You will see when we reach."
She sighed. She was truly done for the day. All day long she was sad because Shivaay chose his office over her on a weekend that too on her birthday. Then she was busy comforting herself saying it was not realistic for a person to leave behind all his work in order to celebrate with her. And now that the day had come to an end, she lacked energy for anything but sleep.
"Please, when you asked me to take my shoes off at the beach, I did so. Didn't I? Now that I considered a wish of yours, you should too," Shivaay pled.
"I am only asking you to tell me where are we going at this hour of the night? First, we didn't tell anyone. Secondly, when I said yes, I was unaware that we are going to stay for this long. Third, I am tired and sleepy," she closed her eyes. The constant yawns she made were enough for Shivaay to know that she meant each word she said.
"And I am not tired?" he asked.
Annikka opened her eyes. She was too involved in her disappointment and misery to not notice that he was tired too. Her vengeance about her first boring birthday went upon Shivaay. And why would it not? She had expectations from him. As her husband, it was his part to make her day special. Alas! Mr. Billu could only do his part by providing her with a boring birthday.
"Annika?" he looked her way. She was still lost in her contemplation. He quickly glanced at the GPS to calculate the time of arrival.
Annika came out of her zoned out phase hearing the directions of the GPS. She looked around. Shivaay's smile and the nooks and corners around her screamed that she had been to the place before. She craned her neck a bit more to the left to see a bit more if possible. He entwined their fingers and jerked her hand lightly to catch her attention.
"When we arrive, you will see. It's a place dear to you," Shivaay said.
"Papa's home is in the opposite direction," she pointed out.
"I am not talking about that."
"Then?"
"You will see."
Annika's impatient heart could take no more. On top of that, the darkness made it very vague for her to realize which part of Mumbai they were in. She won't even be surprised if they were in the outskirts of the city by now.
***
Shivaay stopped their car in front of a chateau. The caretaker was visible from a distance and very few lights were on. She saw the board of her father's name written beside the front gate of the old, Gatsby-style house. It was enough for her to know where she was.
"Let's go in," she heard his voice. Shivaay walked down a few steps only to realize that he lacked her company. He turned back to find her still staring at the house. A smile crept up his lips. As much as he disliked the overly elegant structure of the chateau, it was a special place for his Annika. He had to bring her here on this day.
"Annika!" his call managed to grab her attention. Still staring at the place, she walked down to join him.
"The keys aren't with me," she told him.
"No worries. The caretaker's got them."
They entered inside with the help of the caretaker. The gentleman left them alone soon afterward. She saw the place was all cleaned when she entered.
"How did you know about this place?" It was obvious that he got it cleaned. Else even the caretaker turned lazy after her father's demise. For now, her reaction was that of confusion. How he knew about this place and why he brought her here?
"You told me. Don't you remember?" he asked. Had she really forgotten when she told him that this was her favorite place to visit when she was a kid? That she out of all people did not mind the Gatsby-style house and loved being here?
"I?"
"Oops. Sorry. I can't expect you to remember either. You were drunk." There he released the bomb. Her eyes dilated in shock.
"Drunk? When?"
"The only time you ever got drunk? Look, Annika, I have nothing against people who get drunk. I drink myself occasionally. Now that the topic has been brought up, let me tell you that I didn't really like how you coped up with your sadness by alcohol."
He went on and on without realizing that she had a hard time thinking about the incident she referred to. At last, Annika remembered how the night after burying her dad, she sneaked out of Oberoi Mansion and got drunk. She met Dev for the first time and they shared their mutual disappointment over the blue-eyed man. Then she ended up here. She called Rudra and Rudra told his brother. Next, he came in and gave her a speech on reputation and business.
"Oh, now I do. I started to learn how business works from that day," she threw an indirect taunt his way.
He looked down in a guilty manner. If Annika listened, he would like to tell her his changed stance about the same issue.
"I am sorry," she released a deep sigh, "I apologize. I didn't think of anything beyond my grievances that day and turned to something I am uncomfortable with. I should have at least thought about how the media would present the story in front of the business world."
He shook his said. "No, don't. I was equally at fault that day. Knowing your state, I shouldn't have left you alone and went to shower. I could have asked Dadi or Prinku to sit with you. That way you won't have sneaked out," he smiled sadly, "And to be honest, that day, I was too worried about the media that I couldn't think of what I should have. It was not right for me to think about how media would perceive it versus how to provide you with the support that you won't need alcohol again in your life."
"How does it matter now?" she asked, "It's done and dusted. And I am sure, if something similar happens today, our reactions would be different. I won't leave without your knowledge and you will care for me rather than how the media portrays this issue."
She noticed a tint of confusion emanating from his reactions.
"Caring for reputation isn't bad. I won't mind if you still do. All I was saying is that today, at this moment, you will care more about my health, my emotions, and my reactions more than that of the media. I know that."
Shivaay passed her a weak smile. She knew that. And she also knew what went inside his mind just by his expressions. Else, he was stuck if Annika meant to give him an open choice between her and his reputation. That was hard.
Shivaay went to open the door when someone knocked on it. He received the cake and closed the door. Annika turned to find a small vanilla cake in his hand.
"Thank you."
Without replying, he handed her a knife in order to cut the cake. She cut a small piece to feed him. He then took the piece from her and fed her.
She noticed the clock striking twelve. The smile on her face said it all. Her first birthday after the marriage began and ended with her husband. What if she couldn't spend the whole day with him? This was the first. She was stuck with him for decades more.
***
Come Monday, Annika got ready for her second day in the office. "The first day I entered, we fought for the first time," she reminded him while wearing her earrings, "God knows what will happen now."
"Relax! The office or you are not a bad omen of some sort. If we fought, let it be. I hated it too. There's no rule that we will fight today too."
Annika shrugged her shoulders. She saw sense in Shivaay's words, however, her sixth sense did predict some unwanted times fast approaching.
"I will wait for you at the breakfast table," he said before leaving. She proceeded with the rest of her chores.
Priyanka stood outside their room. Annika grew worried after seeing her sister-in-law's tensed face. By now she knew whenever Kalyani or Priyanka grew upset, it had a direct correlation to her stand in the family. That alone made her more worried.
"Priyanka?"
She did not reply.
"Are you okay?" Annika asked. The other woman shook her head. Annika saw through the lie, well aware that Priyanka was not okay.
"It's okay if you don't want to tell," she said before trying to leave.
"Do you think what Bhaiya did to Dev was right?" her words stopped Annika in her path. Annika noticed the seriousness in her voice. There was no hint of pleading in them so Annika talks to Shivaay for the same. A simple question that Annika hesitated to answer.
Priyanka tapped her feet letting her know that the former still awaited an answer.
"No," she finally replied.
"Then why does no one say anything to him?"
Annika felt stuck once again. People say. They do say. He decides to not listen.
"Let my and Dev's relationship be, was he right to reject Dev for the post at your office?"
Annika knew the answer was a no. In her opinion, Dev was the best candidate out of all she saw that day and deserved the job. If she had a say, she would give the job to him only.
"Bhabhi?"
"No, he was not right to reject him for that particular reason. However, when we talk about an interview, the purpose is to select the best candidate. Look, Priyanka, I am still figuring out how corporate life works. Your brother knows way better than I do. Though I disagree with the reason, I am not a cent percent sure if Dev deserved it or not." she tried her best to sound neutral. She did not want to hurt Priyanka nor she wanted to welcome another separation with Shivaay because of something irrelevant to their relationship.
"He doesn't? Dev desperately needed a job. He did his best when preparing for the interview. Until last year, he was in the same college as I and Rudra, if not in the same major. I have known him since then and I know how he is."
"You knew him for so long? Still, you didn't tell any of us?"
"Isn't the reason obvious?"
Annika nodded. The reason was more than obvious.
"Look, I know the way your brother judges people is wrong and disgusting to some level. People have flaws and he does too. As of now, I really don't see a way to mend things. Like how? He gets angry if I try to talk to him about something like that. Sometimes he dismisses the issue or sometimes he ignores it. When a person doesn't want to see the light, how am I to force him to do so?"
"He can't see the light because he stays in darkness," Priyanka's voice raised higher than usual, "When he doesn't allow someone like Dev come near him, how is he to understand that lineage may certainly give a person a name but not a character certificate?"
Annika's expressions changed. She saw a light at the end of a tunnel. Priyanka's words helped a new idea form in her brain. All she needed to do was to bring Dev near Shivaay. If she believed Priyanka's words, that should help Shivaay get rid of his prejudice.
"Ask Dev to send his file to our office asap."
***
Annika entered Shivaay's cabin with Dev's file in her hand. As soon as they reached the office, she parted ways with Shivaay making an excuse. She picked up Dev's file from the front desk and made some changes with the human resource department before keeping the original, unchanged file with them and bringing the changed version to Shivaay.
"What took you so long?"
"I—I—was—I found an old employee of Papa's. She has been working here since I was a kid. Meeting her after so long got me emotional and I ended up having a nice conversation with her." Shivaay found her behavior stranger than usual. He wondered why.
Annika took a seat right across him and gulped down the whole glass of water. All along, she did not let Shivaay's thoughts bother her. When it came to actually talk to him, it bothered her a lot. Won't he be hurt if he knew she lied? Then again, it was the only way she saw. For Priyanka's sake if not for the millions of illegitimates out there, she had to do it.
"Relax!"
She took long deep breaths before gaining the energy to lie more.
"Shivaay, remember we were looking for an employee to work in the IT department a few days ago?"
"Ahuh."
"So one of them had left his file that day. Maybe the one you couldn't stop praising. I took a look at it again. If you want, the position is still vacant, so we can type him an offer later." she took a lot of breaks while speaking. Shivaay sensed something that was definitely wrong with her.
"Are you okay?" he asked, expecting an honest answer.
"Nothing. Just my throat is dry," she filled her glass with water from the jug kept on his desk and gulped down all of it. She was not a good liar.
"What's his name again?" he asked, staring at the file in her hand.
"Ved Arbahci," she closed her eyes when she lied this time around. She did not like having to lie to Shivaay out of all people. As much as her own actions bothered her at the moment, she saw it as a way to change Shivaay once and for all. She was taking a huge risk, but that risk could benefit her with a better, nicer Shivaay that she wanted, Priyanka wanted and Dadi wanted.
"What sort of last name is it?"
Out of everything and anything, he had to make a remark on the last name. Ved Arbahci was simply the opposite of Dev's first and last names with an i added to the last. Of course, she couldn't tell him that.
"How should I know? Ask his ancestors," was the best answer Annika could come up with.
"Okay, let me call someone to escort this file to the resource management team and they will type an offer letter for this Ved Arbachi," he said picking up the intercom.
"Wait, won't you take a look at the file?" she heartily hoped he did not. Though she edited the name and background check in the fake file in her hand, she worried Shivaay could figure it out.
"It's fine. You said I was praising the guy on the day of the interview. You have checked his file and you think the same. So I see no point in checking again. And to be honest, I don't want any remembrance of that day or what happened after that," he replied.
Annika smiled. Their small distance affected him as much as it affected her and it was quite visible through his words. She found him dialing a number on the intercom and stopped him from doing so.
"I will get it till there. I am anyway thinking to take a tour of the office, so I will do it," she offered.
Shivaay nodded, "Cool. Meet me at Group meeting room no. three on the sixth floor sharp at noon. We have a small discussion with the management team."
Annika nodded. She left the cabin and closed the door behind him. Lying was a sin. Lying to Shivaay felt equivalent to hugging the fire of hell.
a/n:
In your opinion, was Annika right to lie to Shivaay considering the reason she has?
Precap: Shivaay wants to meet Ved Arbahci