Chandni walked to their bedroom and paused briefly. She was nervous to go in, but she had no choice. Everyone had finally retired to their rooms, and every single room in the bungalow was now occupied, thanks to her family shifting here.
She nervously stepped inside. Advay was furiously pounding on his laptop, as he sat in one corner of the bed, propped against the pillows on the headboard. He paused briefly noticing her entrance and growled irritatingly.
"What are you waiting at the door for? Come inside and close the door."
She understood that he was still mad at being excluded from her discussion with Nani and Niru Mama. What could she do? It was Nani's order and she could have never expressed her feelings properly if he was there. Advay's mere presence intimidated her... She could deal any day and any situation with her Dev... but this new avatar of him... she was still clueless most of the time. She stood at the edge of the bed and hesitated again.
Advay still kept his gaze firmly on laptop and mocked at her.
"Don't worry you can sleep here. I am not going to eat you. If it wasn't for the fact that I am worried sick that you will have your nightmares again, I would sleep in my study." He said nonchalantly, his jaw tightly clenched.
"What nightmare did I have?" Chandni asked, her eyes wide with apprehension.
Advay's body froze. He slowly looked at her and observed how terrified and clueless she looked. She had no memory of it at all. His whole body softened as he recalled how frightened she was. He didn't want her to remember any of it again.
He said softly "It doesn't matter Chandni, please... come and sleep. I will keep an eye on you."
Chandni could barely take in all his features in the soft night lamp by the bedside, but his dark eyes showed an emotion that she could suddenly connect to. She locked her gaze with him and felt as if she was in a trance, as she slowly slid into the bed and pulled the covers up. Suddenly, for some reason, she felt safe and warm in his presence. It was close to midnight and sleep invaded her tired body soon. She slept with her back towards him, in a fetal position, clutching a soft cushion for warmth.
Even as Advay was answering emails and looking at project reports sent by various heads of his company, his eyes kept roving to her. Her even breaths showed she had finally fallen asleep. She moved slightly, and her soft long hair fell off to one side, revealing her back to him, and he suddenly realised there was a huge mole on her back on the right side.
He worked for another two hours as his eyes kept roaming to that mole. Finally, after completing all his work, he tossed the laptop aside and slid down on the bed, his eyes tired but his body used to the lack of sleep. He barely slept for a few hours every night. Right from his college days, he attuned his body to less hours of sleep, to be able to work two shifts and attend college, a habit that still stayed and helped him even to this day, where he had work with his employees across different time zones.
He turned to his left to look at her sleeping form and his arm stretched out to touch her soft hair. Suddenly she moved around to face him and he caught his breath. She was his dove, pure as snow and sleeping so peacefully, his Chandu. He didn't want to touch her; just watching her sleep made his heart so content that he never knew when he fell asleep, his hand still coiled in her hair.
******
"Chandni!! Chandni Beta!! Are you awake?" Nani's voice seemed to filter through the deep slumber Chandni was having, on top of her favourite pillow. She didn't feel like getting up at all. She was feeling too cosy, cocooned as her new pillow had a soft and heavy cradle, which wrapped around her back.
"Chandni!!" Nani's voice was getting closer and Chandni was suddenly awake, and lifted her head up only to hit something, and she heard curses which were too unbearable to be heard, so early in the morning.
Once she was fully awake, she replied to Nani in a loud voice that she was coming.
"Can you stop yelling so early in the morning?" Advay hissed at her.
"Can you stop cursing so early in the morning?" She hissed back at him, trying to free herself from his embrace.
"I wouldn't, if only you hadn't just hit my chin so hard. First say sorry to me." He demanded rubbing his chin, tightening his hold around her waist.
"Please let me go first. Nani wants me. And why should I apologise? It was a natural reflex. I was sleeping all the way over there by myself. You ...you..." She couldn't continue, as a deep blush engulfed her cheeks.
"Excuse me. I was sleeping here all by myself. And Madam suddenly thought that my chest was a better pillow, and curled up on me like a gilheri, in the middle of the night."
Chandni's blush became even deeper, as she realised that it was probably true, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction by apologising. She pushed him away with all her strength, and ran away to the living room.
"What the..!" Advay tried to catch her but missed her by few inches. He decided to teach her a lesson later. No one plays around with ASR!
When he came down for breakfast later, Chandni was nowhere to be seen. Little did he know that she was waiting for him to come out, so she can have a shower quickly. She successfully avoided him all morning, till he walked into Meghu and Shikha's room, where they were all busy playing with the baby.
Megha and Shikha welcomed him enthusiastically, while Chandni watched him with nervous eyes. To cover her nervousness, she cuddled the baby, and began giving him raspberries on his tummy, making him giggle and smile.
"Are you girls feeling ok here or do you want to shift to a bigger room?" He asked them cordially, as he watched Chandni from the corner of his eyes.
"We are fine Jijaji. This room is beautiful." They both replied happily.
"Why don't you go and do some shopping today? Look for baby cots and all the stuff necessary for him and ask the shop to get it delivered here. Take Murli or Shilpa with you, and there will be a police guard too. I am getting my security agency from Mumbai to get our own personal guards here; they will be here tomorrow so we don't have to trouble Siddharth for too long. Buy clothes for yourself too. I know Kajal Maasi brought some things, but I am sure it won't be enough." He suggested smilingly.
Chandni wondered how could he be so calm and smiling when he was talking with her sisters, while being so cross and arrogant with her?? She could never get her head around this man.
"When does your college start again? He asked them.
Shikha had exams starting next week while Meghana had hers in a fortnight.
He thought for a moment and asked Meghana bluntly, as he saw no other way around it.
"Meghana, please don't think I am interfering in your personal life, but are you planning to speak to Rahul soon? And when you do, can you please let me know. The reason I am asking is, If you can introduce me to him, maybe I can get his Visa processed quickly with my contacts in US, so that he can come back early. But first we need to know what his opinion is."
"Jijaji... I..."Meghana hesitated looking at Chandni and Kaajal Maasi.
"Don't worry Meghana, go ahead and tell me what you want. Your sister won't scold you in front of me, I can assure you that." He said, smirking at a fuming Chandni.
"Actually I called him last night when everyone had gone to sleep. He was very excited to know about the baby, and a bit nervous too. We didn't talk much as I wanted to give him some time to get his head around the new reality. But he said he will call us back today and very much wanted to see his son." Meghana's voice reflected the relief she felt, while talking to Rahul.
"Oh that's excellent. Let's wait for his call then." He purposely walked towards Chandni and the baby.
She hurriedly tried to handover the baby to him and escape, but he trapped them both by pushing them on to the bed. He wrapped his arm around the baby while Chandni's arm was still holding him, effectively pinning her down.
"If somebody wants to be freed from my grip, all they need to do is apologise." He muttered as he kept playing with the baby.
Nobody could see Chandni was trapped under Advay's arm as the sisters began happily to make a list of things they need for the baby with Kaajal Maasi's help.
"Please leave my hand, I beg you" Chandni whispered.
"Say sorry, and admit that it was you who came and cuddled me in the night." He muttered back.
Chandni was about to apologise when she heard this new condition, and suddenly her nostrils flared with anger. What does this guy think of himself? Really as if she would ever do that. He probably cuddled her in the middle of the night, and now he was trying to cover up for that.
"By the way Jijaji, we are finally glad that we are no longer the pillow pets of our Jiji. Every night she would either cuddle up to me or Meghu in the night." Shikha chirped happily from behind.
Chandni would never ever forget the look that Advay gave her then. She could feel goose bumps all day just remembering that look. She knew she had no escape from him now. Advay let her go with his trademark smirk, only after she confessed that it was indeed her habit, to cuddle upto whoever was next to her and whispered sorry. He even made her touch her ears with her free hand completing the apology.
As he left the room though, he looked back and winked at her, completing her misery, and made her face even hotter with a deep blush.
******
Rahul did call later in the evening, and spoke not just to Meghu but the whole family, expressing his happiness over the news of the baby, and how he will be back in India in 3 months' time. Advay briefly talked to him over his Visa after the initial pleasantries. It was awkward to talk to his co-brother like this over the phone, and that too over such a sensitive manner. But it wasn't just him, all of them had to deal with this new reality, and the faster they accept the facts and move on, the better for all of them.
In the evening he got the dreaded call from his secretary in Mumbai that he was expecting all day. His VP Operations in LA died a week ago, and it was his funeral in two days' time. Derick Wagner was a figurehead and was a loyal employee, and his death affected him deeply but he couldn't go to US then due to his own personal crisis. He couldn't possibly miss the funeral now. He asked his personal secretary to book the quickest flight to LA. She replied immediately saying she had already booked the flight from Delhi. He knew he had to attend to other urgent issues in his US office, that he had been postponing for months now. All in all, it looked like he would have to spend a week or more first in US and then Dubai.
As Advay entered the living room, he could see everyone chatting happily while Shikha and Meghana showed off all the things they shopped during the day. Veer had joined them with sweets and snacks from his father's shop, and everyone was enjoying the delicious food with their tea. Advay's eyes searched for Chandni as he sat next to Nani, and informed her about his sudden and urgent travel plans. A car was coming to fetch him in an hour's time.
Everyone was upset at this sudden development, but he assured them that he will be in constant touch and Siddharth, Veer and Murli will look after all their needs. There was a sudden thud behind him, as Chandni deposited the tea tray noisily on the dining table, and hurried back to the kitchen. He very much wanted to follow her there, but felt awkward. Instead he went back to his bedroom, and began to pack a few essentials in his travel bag.
Finally it was time for his departure, but he still couldn't find Chandni anywhere, to say good bye to her. Feeling frustrated, he just called for her from his room,and Chandni had no choice but to go inside.
Anger and frustration emanated from him like hot waves as he kept staring at her downcast face, as she stood few metres away from him.
"Are you very busy right now?" He asked her angrily.
She shook her head negatively and turned around, unable to face him anymore.
"Chandni!!" His voice reverberated the whole room.
"Don't you even want to look at me and say goodbye?" He felt so edgy that he thought he would almost explode.
Chandni slowly turned around and her tear filled eyes left him speechless. He reached her in two strides. His arms itched to embrace her, but he controlled himself. He had no right over her like this, he reminded himself.
But why was she crying? Was she afraid to be alone in the new house or was she actually sad that he was going away? The way she had been avoiding him all day, left him frustrated and confused.
"I am going now, I will be back in a week or so." He said curtly and began to walk away.
"Suniye...!"
He stopped dead in his tracks as her sweet whisper made his heart beat so fast.
Why was she not addressing him by his name? Does it mean what he was hoping it would mean, or she was just treating him like a stranger?
He slowly turned around to see her nervously tugging her saree pallu, her face still downcast.
"What is it?" He asked eagerly, betraying his emotions.
She was still silent. Did she need something? Then it struck him. What a fool he was? Advay looked up all his pockets, and took out some bundles of cash and the generic credit card that he used for everyday purchases.
He handed over all this to her, requesting her not to hesitate to use it anyway she needs to.
She nodded her head.
"Thanks." Her reply was short and so inadequate.
"Is that all?" He asked her again, and finding no response from her began to walk away from her, only to notice her rush towards him. He waited till she was just behind and turned around, surprising her. He threw the suitcase down, blocking her and she slowly walked backwards till she hit the wall.
Advay trapped Chandni against the wall easily. She just wouldn't look up at him, and he was so frustrated.
"Chandni do you know how frustrated I am feeling right now, trying to second guess what your feelings are?" He growled against her face.
She shook her head, her eyes still downcast.
"Of course you don't! Why would you?" Something snapped inside him at her response, and he wound his right hand in her hair and pulled it to make her look up.
"Ouch!! Dev you are hurting me!" she snapped her eyes up, to look furiously at him.
That was all he wanted... to look into her eyes. He knew he will find answers to all his questions in those eyes. Was she going to miss him the same way as he would?
He loosened his grip immediately and whispered, unable to control the tremor in his voice. "Not as much as you are hurting me."
Her narrowed eyes softened hearing the pain in his voice.
"Chandu...! Bol Na Kya Hai?" He rasped against her lips, just inches away from his as his eyes bored into hers.
She didn't know what made her. Whether it was the way he calling her so endearingly, or the hunger and hurt in his eyes. As she locked her gaze with him, she felt almost hypnotised by him, and she didn't even realise she was saying aloud all the things she had kept bottled up inside, since that morning.
"My heart feels as if a part of it has been ripped off. I can feel this deep ache somewhere inside me, which is going to consume me if I just let it, and I have been trying so hard all day to suppress it. I don't know how I am going to survive without you." Her eyes flickered as if she tried to read him back.
Why was she telling him how he his heart felt instead of expressing her own feelings? He wondered, still lost in her gaze.
He drank in all her features up so close to him finally. Her soft hair, high forehead and those beautiful mesmerising eyes. And he loved that mole on her right cheek!! He always thought of it as if it was a blemish on the moon, his moon... Meri Chandni ka Daag... He controlled his temptation to graze his lips right there, before his eyes moved further down and found those ever so kissable lips. He literally groaned trying to control himself. Advay knew he wasn't touching her at all, but their bodies were so close that they could literally feel the heat of each other.
Chandni observed how his eyes were roaming around her face and as they settled on her lips, she felt all the butterflies in her core, her heart thudding so loudly that she was afraid he could hear it. She just wanted to melt... and said it aloud.
"I just feel like I want to melt...."
"Sir! ... Sir!" Someone was tapping gently on Advay's shoulder and trying to wake him up.
Advay Singh Raizada snapped his eyes open in fury.
The Airhostess in the British Airways flight he travelled in, was looking at him in trepidation.
"Sir!! I am sorry Sir but the Plane has landed in Heathrow Airport 20 minutes ago. You specifically asked us to wake you up the moment we landed." She said nervously.
He looked around groggily. All the passengers around him in the First class have already left. In fact most of the plane was empty. He thanked her gruffly and made his way out.
The memory of those last moments he shared with Chandni, just before he left Allahabad was what kept him going, for the past few weeks ...first in LA, Dubai and now in London. He ached to go back to Allahabad, to his family and HER...but he had no clue why and what he was going to do once he saw her. He just wanted to see her again, that's all.
But it looked like it would be quite a while before he can go back. He was already counting the days; it's almost been 24 days since he had flown from Allahabad. He was caught up in one crisis after another at his company and was forced to travel between continents for the past fortnight.
As he walked in his usual style towards the arrivals lounge, his Company's Legal director Andrew Wu greeted him along with his other team members.
One of his employees in the UK office was caught with 5gms marijuana in Indonesia. And the HR and Legal team were already trying their best to get legal counsel for him, and to make sure he was not left rotting in the jail. He had to come to meet the foreign office officials personally to push things faster.
But there was one happy coincidence that he was looking forward to, regarding his visit to the UK office.
A group of MP's from India were on a "study tour" to various places in UK and MP Shyam Gupta was among them. Advay had invited the whole delegation for dinner at the Ritz. It was time to impress and get the details finalized and approved for the temple trust.
Although he was away, he was in constant touch with Siddharth and his local legal team in India, who had flown to Allahabad to get the groundwork prepared for the trust. Niru Mama and other local Mahants were helping to find the right candidates, who can be part of the trust which would have a comprehensive mix of Senior Pandits from the Shiv Temple, as well as prominent local citizens with good reputation and dedication to the cause of the temple.
He warmly welcomed the MP's delegation into a specially booked suite. After a long and rich multi course dinner, they finally came to talk business.
"Advayji, I have already signed the papers, and I also have the support of collector and MLA to setup the trust. But the mayor is in league with Indraniji, and is trying his best to avoid it. I also heard that she was getting bail through him and is going to be released soon."
Advay took the news calmly on the surface, but his heart was racing fast. He smiled nonchalantly at the MP who was observing him shrewdly.
"Guptaji, you concentrate on getting everyone to sign the papers and I will deal with Indrani. I am sure we can somehow make that Mayor listen to us and fall in line, can't we?" He smiled knowingly at him, while Guptaji guffawed loudly.
Advay's blood boiled and he cursed himself for having to deal with these corrupt politicians at various levels, but there was no way around it. He can deal with all of them once the trust is setup.
"Advayji you know how to speak our language very well. I will make him listen for sure." Guptaji assured him.
"Good! I am going back to India tomorrow anyway, so I can keep an eye on the developments more closely." Advay replied back, surprising his legal director and other heads who were sitting with him at the dinner.
"Oh, that is really good news then. I will put things in motion." Guptaji replied.
Once the delegation left, Andew Wu confronted his Boss.
"Advay! How can you leave us in the middle of this crisis? You just came here yesterday."
"My wife is in danger and her safety is more important to me than anything in my life right now. I am sorry but you won't understand. I have to be there in Allahabad, India by the first available flight. If commercial flights are not there, get a chartered flight. Get Sonia from HR deal with this this guy in Indonesia. She has good contacts in foreign office. Apologise to the minister on my behalf." Advay said brusquely as he made his way out.
He couldn't wait to see his Chandni again.
^-------------^
Hi everyone
This chapter is a mix of all. So many things are happening in Advay Chandni lives so rapidly that they just don't have time to reflect and pause.
But perhaps the 4 weeks separation can show them the right path and give them a clarity?
Before they can breathe a sigh of relief some or other crisis is always upon them too.
So how things will progress from here, you will see in the next..
Please let me know how you found this chapter. I loved writing it very much.
Love
Sesi