A/N - massive apologies for the delay and a lot of thanks for the continued support and appreciation that you guys have shown. It really means a lot. I have updated the next part and will do on a somewhat regular basis from here on out. Hope there are some readers still left :)
Chapter 14 - Surprises
Swayam nodded perfunctorily as Sharon went on and on about a new procedure that she had learnt in class. He didn't understand a word that she said which were mainly technical jargons but he liked the way her eyes lit up when she explained to him. She gestured animatedly with her hand, trying to paint a picture for him. He nodded again, his lips twitching in a smile.
It was the first week of February exactly 7 days after Neil and Simmi's wedding in Goa. He reflected back to that night and what transpired between them or what could have. It was surprising how his feelings for her were evolving. For more than 4 years, he had kept all his emotions locked away but not anymore. He didn't want to be alone anymore. He wanted Sharon.
His attraction to her was growing stronger by the day. Sometimes their hands would graze accidentally and it would lead to a surge of emotions in him. He wanted to hold her, to kiss her, he wanted more. In Goa, in a flow of sentiments, they were getting closer. However she had stopped him. She sounded embarrassed but he understood. He wanted her but not under any conditions or restrictions. He wanted her and would wait for her till she was ready. Though it was getting harder for him to resist her.
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Another relationship that was healing was Swayam and Taani's. For so many years he had left his little sister and crawled into a shell. Swayam shuddered when he thought at how a young Taani must have felt when he suddenly stopped talking to her. Growing up with their parents was not easy. Anjali and Rishi were very formal even to their kids. Their main concern was their business empire and grooming their kids for that purpose. In the midst of this, Swayam was Taani's rock the elder brother who was always looked out for her.
After the fiasco with Kria, Swayam had lost out on many friends but the most damage he had caused was to his and Taani's relationship. And he had to mend this as soon as possible. This and Sharon were his two priorities.
Swayam took Taani out for lunch to a restaurant in a club where the Shekhawats were members.
"Remember those tennis lessons mom signed us up for?" Taani asked as she took a sip of her soft drink. The tennis lawns were visible from the roof-top of the restaurant.
"I remember how bad you were at tennis. You could never hit the ball with your racquet," Swayam teased her.
Taani countered, "What nonsense. The coach always appreciated me. He gave mom positive feedback about my progress."
"Only coz I bribed him." Swayam confessed, with a laugh.
Taani chimed in, "Being the good elder brother."
Swayam stiffened at Taani's words. Let alone good, he was not even a brother to her these past few years. He cleared his throat, "Taani... I wanted to... apologize for-".
"Bhai, please," Taani interrupted him. "We are the Shekhawat siblings," she invented the phrase to which Swayam smiled, "We don't do apologies. You don't have to feel bad for anything. You had your own problems. I am happy that you have found peace. Everything else is just water under the bridge."
"Wow," Swayam muttered, "That's very mature of you. You have grown up, little sister."
"Yeah, in our crazy Shekhwat family, someone has to be the voice of reason."
Swayam chuckled, "We really are a crazy bunch of people."
Taani nodded, "I wonder how Sharon adjusted so well with us. She must have found all of us strange in the beginning; not in a general newly wed bride way, but actually strange."
Swayam beamed thinking about Sharon, "She is one hell of a person. I love-". He stopped immediately. What was he going to say? Love? Did he love...? He didn't want to complete the sentence, not even in his thoughts. He was attracted to her, he admired her, respected her and liked her a lot but love? Was he ready for it? Surely he had forgotten about Kria, erased the entire episode but falling in love with someone else wasn't something that would be easy for him.
He was grateful that Taani didn't observe the way he suddenly ceased speaking. She was already talking about something else. He didn't register her words. His mind was buzzing with what he was almost about to say.
Swayam's mind was still occupied when his eyes registered something else. As they were exiting the restaurant, two figures huddled over a table at a far corner, caught his attention - the unmistakable shape of Rey and Vicky.
Why was Rey conversing with Vicky? What could they have in common other than the fact than their shared hatred for Swayam and his business? A barrage of thoughts crossed Swayam's mind were they plotting something? It was a possibility. Vicky and his father had been ostracized by Swayam, especially after what had transpired between Vicky and Sharon; and Rey, even though now civil with Swayam, had always hated his guts. But surely Rey wouldn't collaborate with Vicky the guy who tried to hurt Sharon.
Swayam had half a mind to march over to their table when Taani grabbed his wrist. She had noticed Swayam observing Rey and Vicky. She knew that if Swayam went over to their table, it would definitely end badly. Swayam despised Vicky and rightly so.
"Talk to Rey later, if you want," Taani tried to reason with Swayam, "Lets not create a scene here."
Swayam begrudgingly nodded, the seeds of doubt already planted in his mind.
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Sharon looked up from her laptop as Swayam entered their room.
"How was lunch with Taani?"
Swayam, engrossed in his thoughts, didn't reply to her question. He instead inquired, "When was the last time you spoke to Rey?"
"Hmm... I don't remember... a week back maybe?" she replied casually typing on her laptop.
"Did he mention anything about Vicky?" Swayam asked, straight forward.
At the mention of Vicky her ears perked up. She closed her laptop and set it aside. "What about them? What's going on?"
So Swayam told her about Rey and Vicky meeting and about his reservations for the same. He concluded, "I don't think they are up to any good. Why would Rey even talk with Vicky after what he did with you?"
"Actually... I never told Rey anything." Sharon shrugged her shoulder, "We were not very close at that time and now it's all water under the bridge."
"Oh." Swayam muttered. "I still don't like them collaborating. Vicky hates me and so does Rey. Nothing good can come out of this."
"Rey doesn't hate you!" Sharon gave a weak protest. "You may not be his favorite person in the world since you took over his position and practically demoted him but he wouldn't purposely try to hurt you."
Swayam sat down on the couch and held his head, "I may be being paranoid but it's just that there's so much going on at work right now. I don't have the energy to deal with all this planning and plotting."
"You are being paranoid," Sharon replied and sat near him. He shut his eyes and started rubbing his temples.
"Let me," Sharon said and before he could understand what, she placed her fingers on his forehead and pressed lightly.
"Does that feel good? she asked.
"Umm hmmm," Swayam managed to utter. His headache was now the last thing bothering him. Her proximity to him started an onslaught of a whole different type of feelings. She was so focused on massaging his temples that she didn't notice his eyes grazing across her face, she didn't feel the slowing of his breathing as her face was just inches away from his.
All he wanted was to close the gap between their lips. But he resisted. After the weekend in Goa, he had been careful. He didn't want her to feel awkward.
They were still in that grey area of relationships, somewhere in the mid of like' and love.' How could one even know if they were in love? They were married but Swayam didn't want that sole fact determining the course of their relationship. Just because they were married, didn't necessarily mean they had to try and fall in love. Falling in love should be effortless, he mused, not something that needed to be taken care of like an item on a checklist.
The last time they had a talk to define their relationship, he had admitted very honestly that he liked her. From her reaction, he assumed the same, though till date she had never really said the words. A tiny thought crossed his mind why hadn't she? Did she think that she was under some marital obligation to try to make things work? Was her heart not in it?
He brushed the tiny, but now unsettling, questions aside. His past experiences with Kria had him wary of innocuous things, he reassured himself. Also he was somewhat cagey about Rey and Vicky's meeting, earlier in the day. He gave a slight shake of head, as if to remove those thoughts.
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Sharon still had a few days before her college reopened for the 2nd term. There was another important event in Feb- Rey's birthday on the 15th of the month. She made a mental note to ask Rey about his meeting with Vicky. She knew for a fact that Rey wouldn't do anything to harm Swayam, professionally or personally, but she still wanted to know what they were up to.
A couple of days before Rey's birthday, Sharon went shopping for a gift and bought a nice gold-plated watch. She reached home by dinner. Rishi and Swayam were present at the dinner table and Taani came in after a few minutes later from coaching classes.
"Just 3 months left for you to graduate and we think you should work for a year with us before going for your MBA, just like Swayam," Rishi was talking to Taani over dinner.
She nodded, looking least interested. Sharon gave Swayam a sideway look and smiled weakly. He reciprocated. They knew Taani was not interested at all in the automobile sector. She had told Sharon many times in the past. But being a Shekhwat, careers were not exactly a choice. They had a massive business and they needed the entire family to be involved.
Anjali came in while they were having dinner, busy talking on the phone. She had a cheque book in her other hand.
"I am sorry I am late," she apologized to the family after hanging up, "I need to sign a few cheques and send them over to the Deputy Manager." She looked around searching something, "Where did I keep my pen?"
"There's one in my bag," Sharon suggested.
"Thanks," Anjali muttered and walked over to the side table where the handbags were kept. She peered around for some time and took out something, "Are we to expect some news?" she wavered her glance from Swayam to Sharon, a smile playing on her lips, "or rather good news?"
She was holding something in her right hand. Everyone on the table turned to look at her. Sharon focused on the thing Anjali had in her hand. It was a home pregnancy test stick.
"What...," she stammered. What was a pregnancy test doing in her bag? Her gaze flicked to the handbag and she realized Anjali had taken that out from the brown leather bag. That was not hers; hers was the grey one, next to it. The brown bag was... Sharon slowly turned her eyes to Taani.
Taani gulped as Sharon looked at her and lowered her gaze. It was Taani's bag. She was carrying a pregnancy test!
Rishi broke the silence, "Anjali! If they have some news, they will announce it. Let's not probe them."
Anjali smiled apologetically, "I am sorry Sharon, And kept the stick inside."
Sharon couldn't correct them. She couldn't say that it was Taani's not hers. She felt Swayam's gaze on her. She tried very hard not to look at him. She had to talk to Taani first.
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