The Oberoi Empire
Prologue : Part 2
Shrouded In Secrecy
12th February 2018
12:10 am
The Oberoi Mansion
Terrace
‘….kyun dard hai itna…’ (caller tune)
Annika slapped her hand to her forehead and nodded side to side, heaving,
“Chotu”
“Di, maybe you’re confused…it’s 12 am not 12 pm…, it’s midnight…good night”
“Chotu”
He had hung the phone already. Instead of getting disappointed, Annika grins from ear to ear. I am not gonna let you sleep, she says to herself.
‘….kyun dard hai itna, tere yeh ishq mein…’
“What is it, Di”, he asked, faking the irritated tone.
“I’ve decided, Chotu”
“Hmm ?!”
“It’s time to tell the truth, as it is”
“Di, the truth was meant to be told long ago…”
“But…”
“No buts, it’s a very good decision, stick on with it”
“But…”
“Di, you know there’s no fault of yours”
“But…”
“Just stay strong and confess everything, like the bold girl that you are”
There was a moment of silence. I am a bold girl, Annika thinks.
“Di ?”
Annika smiles and says,
“Get back to sleep, good night”
“Di ? Everything good ?!”
“Couldn’t be better”
“So you’ve decided”
“Yes”
“Sounds great. Good night. And oh, haan, Har Har Mahadev”
“Har Har Mahadev”
13th February 2018
Maha Shiv Ratri
Shiv Mandir
“Abhi tak nahi aaya hai, yeh Rudra bhi na”, mumbled, Omkara as he steals a glance at his watch. It says 8:24 pm, Tuesday. Three Oberoi(s) had just landed somewhere close to the temple.
“Arrey, zyaada tensions mat lo, Omki Shomki, says Pinky, “Kaisi dikh rahi hoon mein ?”
“Haan Haan”, he replies, in blithe ignorance.
“-Haan Haan-, kya hoti hai, I wants you to give compliments”, says Pinky, with a foolish grin.
“Choti Maa, your looking the best around here, extremely gorgeous”
“Thanks, and where is your wifes”
Just as he heard that, his face turns dull. He had never accepted the woman that he had married as his wife, because his heart, mind and soul belongs to someone else. And now, he doesn’t even know where to find them and get them back.
“Om, where she is ?!”
“-pata nahi.., uh…, I mean, she is coming, on her way”
“Om, I don’t likes your attitudes towards your wifes”
“Choti Maa, you first tell this to your son, Bhabhi pregnant hai aur Shivaay, pata nahi kahan hai”
“Shivaay is comings in the second chapper, if Shivaay not there, Iam there to take cares of my bahu”, she says firmly and calls, “Aneeka”
“Maa”, responds Anika. She manages to remain exceptionally calm and composed. With a a graceful smile on her face, she walks towards her saas. Annika looks like a Goddess in the red saree that she was wearing. She was dressed as grand as a queen and unarguably looks the best of all. One could notice that her kohl has slightly smudged at the crease, but it served a purpose too. It kept away the evil eyes of jealousy, nazar.
“What is it, Maa ?”, she asks politely, still having that graceful smile.
“Aneeka, todays, Iam going to take cares of you, I only, full cares”
Through the corner of her eyes, she sees, Omkara giggling. Annika’s lips curl innocently. Then, they all hear the sound of a chopper.
The chopper lands on the helipad and the first one to step out was Shakti. Then came out Tej and Jhanvi followed by their bahu. And then at last came out – Shivaay Singh Oberoi.
Just as Annika sets her eyes on Shivaay, they start shimmering with tears. He glares back at her, but weakly. They share a distant eye lock for a while. Annika was the first to break it, she looks away.
“Aneeka, let’s go”
The four ladies lead the the way for their men. As they proceed, Jhanvi is corrupted with many a thoughts. Maybe I shouldn’t have informed the media, she thinks, what if something goes wrong?
Tej is equally tensed, but manages to hide his feelings, unlike Jhanvi. His eyes are now searching for Jhanvi’s personal assistant. Jhanvi had apparently given him all the instructions. And there he was, standing across the shrine – Khanna
***************
PRESENT
9:00 pm
Shiv Mandir
You heave a sigh. Tej Singh Oberoi is about to call for you and you are already shivering.
“Khanna”, he booms at you.
You build your confidence and march towards him. You try to keep yourself nonchalant. You meet his eyes boldly and say to yourself – Why do I have to fear, I have done my job perfectly.
END OF PROLOGUE : PART 2
PRECAP : CHAPTER 1 : Maha Shiv Ratri
THE ATMOSPHERE WAS PLEASANT – HE BROUGHT HIS FACE CLOSE TO HER FACE – KHANNA SAYS “PHEL GAYA RAITA”
*************
There you go guys ! End of the Prologue !!!
From Chapter 1, the real story starts. I am really sorry that I have dragged this prologue, but it was necessary.
Do comment and let me know how you feel about this story !!
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Somewhere I can still improve ?!
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Thankyouuuu !!! ?
-Shhrika ?????