CHAPTER 36: New beginnings
(Day when Anika and team find that Mrs. Kapoor has poisoned Tia)
Romi was sitting in Shivaay’s cabin wondering why Shivaay had called her on such a short notice…. She had hardly ever conversed with Shivaay…. Even though she was friends with Rudra and Priyanka and was Tia’s sister, she had never developed a bond with Shivaay…. She was confused about the sudden meet up…. She was lost in her thoughts when the door of the cabin opened and Shivaay walked in followed by Ranbir, Anika and Prachi…. She was even more confused seeing the other three…. She knew Ranbir well because of his visits to Oberoi Mansion…. She knew Anika as the lawyer of Oberois…. Romi was about to get up from her seat but Shivaay signed her to be seated…. He took the seat opposite her while others also settled down…. There were few moments of silence before Romi spoke….
Romi: Shivaay Bhaiya, aapne mujhe yaha bulaya, anything important?
Shivaay: Very important Romi, actually I wanted to talk about Tia and Mrs. Kapoor.
Romi: Di and mom?
Anika: Yes, and it is very essential that we talk to you.
Romi: But what has happened?
Ranbir: Romi, what we are going to tell you may shock you to the core.
Romi: What has happened, why are you not telling me directly?
Anika: Romi, we have investigated Tia’s murder and we have got to know that your mother was getting Tia poisoned for over a month, it was slow poison and was affecting Tia’s health adversely.
Romi felt like the ground beneath her feet slipping away…. She looked at Anika and then at Shivaay…. One look at him and she understood that what Anika was saying was indeed true…. Now she understood why Tia would fall ill frequently…. All this was done by her mother…. A mother is supposed to protect her children but their mother was killing her own daughter…. Tears collected in her eyes…. How could her mom be so cruel….
Prachi: Romi, we understand that this isn’t an easy thing to learn but this is the truth.
Romi: My Di was suffering every day and I couldn’t help her, I couldn’t save her.
Anika: Look Romi, we know it isn’t easy to cope with such a loss but you to have to be strong, and fight for your Di, we have to get justice for her.
Romi: By doing what, my mother killed my sister, what do I do now?
Prachi: We know that Mrs. Kapoor is the responsible for the poisoning but we aren’t sure if she is also the one behind what happened the day before the wedding.
Ranbir: There is a possibility that the one who stabbed Tia ma’am might be someone else.
Romi: I can agree that mom poisoned Di but I am also sure she won’t kill Di a day before the wedding; in fact mom was making sure that the wedding happened at any cost.
Shivaay: If that is the case, why did Mrs. Kapoor poison Tia everyday which would have eventually killed her some day?
Something struck Romi’s mind as she understood the reason behind her mother’s cruel act…. All this could only be done to keep Tia away from Dushyant…. She looked at the others deciding whether to let them know the truth or not…. Anika and Prachi understood that Romi knew something and looked at each other….
Prachi: Romi, you know both Tia and Mrs. Kapoor more than any of us, so please tell us if you know why your mom would do something like this?
Anika: Look Romi, we only want to help Tia and your family, trust us.
Romi looked at the two…. She could feel that their words were genuine….
Romi: As much as I know my mother, she would want to kill Di only for one reason.
Shivaay: And what is that?
Romi: Dushyant Rana….
Dushyant Rana….
All others looked at each other surprised and confused…. How was he related to any of this….
Ranbir: Dushyant Rana? What is his relation to any of this?
Romi: An important relation, I am sorry Shivaay Bhaiya that I didn’t tell you all this earlier but Tia Di was already married to Dushyant Jiju.
Shivaay was shocked beyond limits…. His fiancée was Dushyant’s wife…. He stood up from his seat….
Romi had tears in her eyes….
Anika and Prachi looked at each other….
Ranbir looked at Shivaay trying to understand what Shivaay was feeling….
Even though Shivaay was not in love with Tia, he had always considered her as his friend and his friend had betrayed him…. Anger built inside him…. First Siddharth Rana took away his girlfriend Mallika and now his brother Dushyant took away his fiancée…. He clenched his fingers into a tight fist….
Ranbir and others noticed it and were worried…. All had heard that Shivaay’s anger was no less than Lord Shiv’s anger….
Ranbir was about to say something when Anika placed her hand on Shivaay’s fist…. His hold loosened immediately as he looked at her warm eyes…. His fury filled grey orbs changed into the cool blue ones…. Anika shook her head in negative and Shivaay felt like his anger already leaving his mind…. How did she manage to do this…. Something no one had ever possibly done…. He felt a calmness rise inside him whenever she was with him…. His body relaxed under her touch….
Ranbir and Prachi noticed this and smiled at each other….
Just like Shiv Ji had his Parvati to calm him down, maybe Shivaay too had found his Parvati….
Anika: Relax Shivaay, this isn’t the time to think with anger, we need to calm down and think.
Shivaay sat down in his place…. Anika sat beside him…. Their hands were still in each other’s hold….
Ranbir felt happy seeing this…. He wished if they could be together forever…. Ranbir had never disliked Tia but he always felt that Shivaay deserved someone else…. Someone to understand him…. Someone to calm down his anger…. Someone to share all his worries and pain…. Someone to trust blindly…. Anika was the only person whom he had met who could do all this for Shivaay…. He wished the best to happen….
Prachi: Romi, will you please tell us everything clearly.
Romi nodded and told them everything that she had told Rudra and Soumya…. They all listened carefully…. Not everything you see is the truth…. Truth is beyond your vision and your thinking….
*****
Gauri was worried about her company loosing clients one after the other…. She talked to many old clients also but nothing was working out for her company…. She was sitting tensed in her cabin when Trisha informed her about Adhvik Malhotra’s arrival…. She was surprised knowing about this as she had no plans of meeting him nor was there any reason he would come all the way to her office to meet her…. She told Trisha to bring him to her cabin and also send some coffee for him after sometime…. Trisha nodded and left to do the needful….
Gauri was wondering the reason for his sudden arrival…. She was lost in her thoughts when the door opened…. She looked up to see him entering the cabin….
He had the kind of face that stopped you in your tracks…. He smiled a knowing smile seeing her…. Maybe he was used to this when there was a sudden pause in people’s natural expressions when they looked at him…. Till date Gauri had only heard about Adhvik Malhotra being handsome but today she understood how true those words were…. Few moments and she realized that she was staring at him and that he too was looking at her, she felt embarrassed and turned her head to the other side…. The blush that accompanied her was a dead give-away…. She mentally slapped herself for behaving like a teenage girl who comes across her crush and then checks him out…. Adhvik smiled a little seeing her condition….
Adhvik: Do you make everyone stand like this or I am someone special?
His voice reached her ears and she realized that he was still standing looking at her…. She instantly composed herself and looked at him….
Gauri: Sorry, please take a seat.
Adhvik: It’s okay, no need to feel apologetic.
He was handsome from the depth of his eyes to the gentle expressions of his voice….
Adhvik: By the way, I should apologize for coming without any prior notice; I hope I didn’t disturb you in the middle of any important work.
He was handsome from his generous nature….
Gauri: Of course not, nothing important was going on in here.
Adhvik: Great then, actually I came here to ask if you are free in the coming weeks, my sister is getting married and I wish that you organize her wedding.
When you are walking on the road…. Suddenly it starts raining and you start getting drenched…. You look around but find no shelter…. At that moment when you feel helpless, someone walks in and holds the umbrella for you…. You feel delighted…. That person becomes your ray of hope…. Hope for the better….
This is what Gauri felt when Adhvik Malhotra walked into her life…. He did not come alone but brought hope back into her life…. When everything around her felt like it would collapse, he came to hold on and help her rebuilt it….
Gauri: You want me to organize your sister’s wedding?
Adhvik: Yes, I think that is what I said.
That moment the world stopped for her…. When all she could see around her was darkness…. He walked in with a ray of light illuminating everything around her…. She thanked all Gods she could remember for sending him….
Seeing her lost in her thoughts, Adhvik snapped his fingers in front of her and broke her chain of thoughts…. He looked at her….
Adhvik: Is there any problem; are you busy with anything else?
Gauri: No, not at all, we are glad that you are giving our company this opportunity.
Adhvik: Well, I have heard a lot about your work and that is why I wish that you personally look after everything. I hope this isn’t too much to ask for.
Gauri: Don’t worry about that, I’ll definitely look after everything.
Adhvik: Great then, tomorrow is her engagement, it is a private affair with only few guests. I hope you can manage that.
Gauri: Sure, I’ll need a few details and then the work will be done by tomorrow.
Adhvik: Good, now I feel that I came to the right person. Your confidence is assuring.
Gauri: Nothing like that.
Gauri smiled hearing him compliment her…. He too smiled back…. They discussed about the engagement…. Gauri was noticing everything about him….
The way his voice quickened when he sparkled with a new idea…. The way his eyes were fixed at her when he listened to her…. The way he was lost in himself for moments during the discussion…. The way he forgot to wear his businessman mask to put a façade in front of others…. He was very different from the many rude and arrogant businessmen she had known…. He was sweet and kind….
After discussing the necessary arrangements Adhvik took leave from her…. She looked at his retreating figure through the semi-transparent glass door….
*****
Soumya: Really Di, we are organizing a wedding for the Malhotras?
As soon as Adhvik left, Gauri decided to break the news to Soumya…. She knew how Soumya and Rudra were working hard on the investigation giving her time to look after the company…. She had called them to the office…. As soon as Soumya heard the news, she was happy and excited…. She thanked all her stars who had brought in this opportunity….
Rudra: Congratulations Di, this is a really good opportunity.
Gauri: I know, and I really hope everything goes well.
Soumya: Don’t worry Di, we’ll work hard and nothing will go wrong.
Rudra: Yes Di, you have an amazing and hardworking team. I am sure this wedding is going to be one of your best works.
Seeing the encouraging and assuring smiles on their faces, Gauri felt relieved…. She was confident that her team would do everything properly and all things would be managed well…. She trusted her people…. She also promised herself that she wouldn’t let any of them down this time and make sure everything goes well…. This was a new beginning and she was going to make it worth…. Life was giving her a new opportunity and she was going to make the most of it…. she was not going to lose her company, her dreams and her passion….
She smiled looking at the other two and they were happy to see her smiling….
Seeing the girls happy, Rudra felt happy…. Knowing that Arjun had thought about his words and request and then Adhvik himself had come made Rudra thankful to the two…. Rudra was very worried seeing the way Gauri was losing her clients and projects…. He knew how much it meant to her…. Soumya had also expressed her worries to him…. That’s when he was reminded that Arjun and Pankhuri were also getting married…. He then talked to Arjun and Adhvik to give the wedding contract to Gauri…. Rudra showed them how she had worked for Shivaay’s wedding…. Arjun and Adhvik were both convinced by his words and had agreed instantly…. Adhvik was also impressed by her work and creativity…. Seeing that his efforts had brought the desired result, Rudra was more than happy…. The Rudra who always depended on his Shivaay Bhaiya and Om for the solutions of even his simplest problems, today felt satisfied by helping someone…. Today he understood what true satisfaction is…. How happy you feel when you bring a smile on someone’s face….
*****
Adhvik was sitting in his cabin when his phone rang…. Seeing the caller id, a smile appeared on his face…. He picked up the call….
Adhvik: Finally Bhai ki yaad aa gayi.
Pankhuri: Bhai, aapko aapki behen kabhi bhulati nahi hai.
Adhvik: Acha, now tell me, what has happened that you called me at this time?
Pankhuri: To ask if you did what I had asked you to do?
Adhvik: Of course your highness, city’s best wedding planner is going to organize your wedding.
Pankhuri: So, you actually hired Gauri Mehra.
Adhvik: Yeah, after all she is very important.
Pankhuri: Bhai, are you sure nothing will go wrong, I mean if….
Adhvik: Don’t worry Pankhu, your Bhai will take care of everything.
Pankhuri: Okay then, see you for dinner.
Adhvik disconnected the call and looked at the view outside….
Adhvik: Welcome to the game Gauri Mehra. I’ll make sure you enjoy each stage of the game.
*****
Hi everyone, I hope you all are doing well.
Here is the next chapter of the story with the entry of one of the important characters, “Adhvik Malhotra”, do share your views on him, how is his first impression on you all? Do let me know in the comments.
Do you like the new pair – Gauri-Adhvik?
Now that Shivaay knows about Tia-Dushyant, what is he going to do ahead?
What will Anika-Prachi do now to find Tia’s killer?
Keep reading and smiling!!!
Take care and stay safe!!!