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Yeahhh update thanks a lot. Yeah I too feel now payal is disturbance between my Anya. Loved Anya scenes to the core. Continue soon. Create some jealous anant
Anant smirked as he drew his wife closer. navya looked down. Her eyes then flickered down to his lips and then back to his eyes. Anant watched her, studying her to try to figure out is she was ready to kiss a man for the first time. She seemed to be showing no signs of resistance, so Anant assumed she was alright. He had decided he was going to kiss her.
Suddenly, Anant's phone rang. At first, he didn't move, determined to go through with the kiss. However, when navya took a step back, away from him, he concluded that the moment had indeed been ruined. He lifted his phone out of his pocket and answered it. 8
"Hello." Anant said, irritation apparent in his tone, "Your timing is perfect as usual." he continued. He glanced over at navya, who gave him a small smile.
As Anant continued his phone conversation, navya went towards the door. She decided to give him some privacy. When she re-entered Payal's room, she was bombarded with questions.
"What did Jija-ji think? Did he like it? What did he say? Why did you wrap your sari that way?" Payal asked quickly.
"Payal." navya said calmly, trying to get Payal to pause so that she could answer her many questions.
"He thought it was nice. I'm sure he liked it, but it's better worn this way." navya concluded.
Payal looked at her with her lips pursed together, as if she was thinking hard about something.
"Didi," she started, "do you think I can dance with a boy tonight?"
"What?" navya asked incredulously. "What on earth made you think about dancing with boys at this moment?"
"I don't know. I look nice. Do you think a boy would dance with me? And I don't mean bhangra, dandiya dancing. I mean slow dancing." Payal said with a dreamy expression on her face.
"No. Baba wouldn't approve and neither do I." said navya firmly. She'd never slow danced with anyone until after she got married. She thought back to the time she and Anant danced together and smiled to herself.
"Oh come on, Didi! Just one dance!" Payal begged.
Anant knocked on the door. navya answered it.
"It's time to get going or we'll be late." he said.
The three piled into one of Anant's stretch limos and made their way to the nightclub. The nightclub was in the city, so the drive took a little while. Throughout the ride, Payal busied herself by going through all of the contents in the mini fridge, and then after that, pressing all of the buttons in plain view to see what they did. navya tried telling her to sit still, but Payal was too excited about the party to sit still. Anant watched them, amused at Payal's childish behavior. He knew she'd never really been in a limo before. Her father preferred traveling in his imported, black Rolls Royce rather than a limo.
Finally, they arrived at the nightclub. Bright lights spilled out of the building from all sides. Young women dressed in tight, bright dresses lined the outside of the building, waiting to be let in. Couples stood close, drinking in hand, deeply conversing with one another. Blaring, upbeat music from inside filled the street as the limo pulled up right in front of the building.
Navya looked on with a shocked expression on her face. She looked up at Anant questioningly.
"The rules of the nightclub prevent the entire venue from being rented out for a private event. The entire back of the building is where our party is." he explained.
"We have to go through all of this?" navya said, referring to the wild scene before her. +
"Yeah, but it'll be quick though." Anant said.
He started into the crowd. Anant stopped to present what looked like an invitation to the bouncer, who after seeing it, allowed them to pass through without having to wait in the long line. The inside wasn't as crowded as navya had expected. She and Payal were overdressed compared to everyone else. navya eyed the dance floor, where couples were grinding their bodies so closely to each that navya had to look away. Payal followed navya's gaze towards the dance floor. She watched on, wide eyed and curious, at the way the young couples were dancing. Meanwhile, Anant had stopped to greet some of his friends, who were on their way to the party but got distracted by the nightclub ambience. 1
"Hiten!" Anant exclaimed, elated to see his best friend.
"Hey! So I hear the party is some boring formal shit." Hiten replied, as engulfed Anant in one of those brief man hugs.
"It's an anniversary party. What were you expecting? This?" Anant asked, gesturing the to wild party occurring on the dance floor.
"Let's ditch and just stay here." Hiten suggested.
"You couldn't convince me on the phone, and you can't convince me here. I think we should get going to that party." Anant said, as he turned to see a disgusted look on navya's face as she watched the dirty dancing going on all around her.
"Fine!" Hiten whined. He followed Anant to the back of the nightclub, navya and Payal right behind them. Anant and Hiten continued chatting as they passed through a long hallways, leading to the room where the party was. Payal couldn't get over the nightclub scene and kept blabbering to navya about how they should've just stayed there.
"Happy Anniversary, Nikhil!" Anant greeted as Nikhil and Neha made their way towards the four of them.
"Thanks, man. It's been a great five years." Nikhil joked.
Navya looked on in surprise. Anant hadn't told her that this party was for Neha and Nikhil's wedding anniversary. Neha made her way over the girls to greet them.
"Happy anniversary, Neha. Sorry, I had no idea."Navya said as Neha hugged her.
"Anant never was one to correctly relay information."Neha replied, giving Anant a playful look. "Payal! Nice dress. Wow! I'm surprised." Neha commented.
"Isn't it great? I wish I could wear the clothes you wear though. I'd never be able to pull any of it off." Payal pouted.
Neha erupted in laughter. She was dressed in a one shoulder, sequin clubbing dress that reached just above her knees. She thought it was funny how a teenage girl was jealous of what a thirty year old woman could pull off.
Navya observed her surroundings as Neha and Payal talked. It was a lot more mellow than the vibe outside. No one was dancing yet, and everyone was dressed semi-formally. The ambience seem a lot lighter than the party she had first been to, and she was grateful to see a lot more people around their age. She watched as Anant, Hiten, and Nikhil happily conversed with each other. navya began to feel a little out of place. She tried to pay attention to what Neha and Payal were talking about, but she found that she was unable to relate to the latest fashion trends that dominated their discussion. Finally, navya just decided to take a seat at one of the empty tables in the corner.
"Hey beautiful." a masculine voice commented from behind navya. She turned around and was met with Rakesh Sehgal's smirking face. She ignored his comment.
"What's the matter? Don't wanna talk to me?" he asked, taking a seat beside her.
Navya didn't answer. She didn't want to seem rude, but something about Rakesh made her feel suspicious as if his intentions were always awry. The way anant had described Rakesh's character made navya feel uneasy when she was around him.
"You look beautiful this evening. Where's that sister of yours? She's sure a chirpy little girl. I'm sure she's more than excited to be here. I just might make her night a little more interesting and ask her to dance." Rakesh said slyly.
"Don't talk about my sister." navya said angrily.
"You know, navya, you're right. Why waste time with a child when there's a beautiful woman sitting right next to me?" Rakesh eyed her desirably. 8
Navya looked away. Rakesh disgusted her. How dare he call Payal a child! And how dare he try to make advances on a married woman! She desperately wished Rakesh would leave her alone or someone would come to her rescue.
"You know, navya, it's a good thing my marriage with Payal didn't work out. If I could have my pick of the mishras girls, my choice would've been you. It's a shame Anant got you first." Rakesh said.
Navya's eyes widened. She couldn't hide her shock. He'd known about the marriage all along! He just lied to Anant about it.
At that moment, anant, Payal, Nikhil, Neha, and Hiten joined them. Anant took the seat on navya's other side while Payal sat between Anant and Neha. The others crowded around the table.
"So what's going on here?" asked Anant, irritated that Rakesh was talking to navya.
"Nothing. Just getting a little more acquainted with your wife." Rakesh said innocently.
Anant looked at navya hoping she'd give him a sign that Rakesh was bothering her. navya, however, hadn't yet recovered from what Rakesh said about knowing about his marriage and didn't notice Anant's eyes on her.
The group fell into jovial conversation. A little while later, Neha and Nikhil excused themselves. They had to make the rounds and greet the rest of the guests. Hiten turned his attention to a group of supposedly single women sitting at the adjacent table. 5
"What do you think?" Hiten asked Anant.
"Hiten, don't. Not here." Anant chided.
"I have to." Hiten replied with mock seriousness.
Payal and navya looked on in confusion.
"He's going to over there and flirt." Anant explained.
"Ooohh with which one?" Payal asked, suddenly interested.
"All of them." Hiten declared smugly, "Let's see which one wants me." Hiten continued, grinning.
Payal giggled as Hiten walked off in the direction of the table full of women. Anant rolled his eyes. Hiten would never change.
Couples began to make their way to the dance floor. A slow song started. Payal watched the couples dreamily, wishing someone would ask her to dance. Rakesh had his eyes glued to navya, who was effectively ignoring him. Anant had his attention on Hiten, trying to see which girl would slap him first. 4
"Didi, go dance." Payal mouthed to navya.
navya vehemently shook her head. Anant's attention wasn't even on her or on dancing.
navya's eyes wandered over to Nikhil and Neha, who looked so in love as they swayed in each other's arms on the dance floor. She looked at Payal, who had also shifted her attention to the celebrating couple. navya glanced in Anant's direction to find his gaze fixed on her. Her eyes looked questioningly at him. Anant opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Hiten, who had coming rushing back in desperate need of Anant's help.
"Anant! I need you to be my wingman!" Hiten cried as he grabbed Anant's arm, trying to get to stand up and go with him.
"Hiten. I can't" Anant said, glancing at navya.
Hiten caught on.
"Bhabhi! Bhabhi, please let Anant come. He's just going to tell the girls how awesome I am. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him. I'll make sure he's not flirting." Hiten pleaded. 4
"Okay." navya wasn't sure what else to say. She wasn't sure what the duties of a wingman included, but she was confident that Anant was not about to go off and flirt with other women.
"Yes! Come one, Bhabhi has given her permission." Hiten practically dragged Anant with him. Anant gave navya an apologetic look as Hiten pulled him along.
Payal burst into a fit of laughter as she watched her brother-in-law being dragged away by Hiten. Even Rakesh cracked a smile at the sight. Rakesh again fixed his gaze on navya. It looked like he wanted to say something to her, but something was stopping him.
A young man, around navya's age maybe a year or two younger, cautiously walked up to their table. He was Indian and seemed really nice. He was very shy from what navya could tell. He kept his gaze on the floor only glancing up once in a while as he spoke.
"Excuse me, my name is Rajiv and you're really pretty. Would you mind if I asked you to dance with me?" said the boy quietly.
Payal looked at him in shock. Someone was asking her to dance. Not only that, a boy was asking her to slow dance with him! Rajiv gained enough confidence to look up at Payal, expecting her to decline. Payal smiled at him, but turned to navya.
"Please Didi." she begged quietly.
navya looked at Rajiv again. He seemed decent. She nodded, giving Payal permission to go and dance.
"I'd love to!" Payal exclaimed.
Rajiv smiled, half surprised that she actually accepted. Payal immediately stood up, grabbed his arm and pulled him out to the dance floor. navya watched as Rajiv shied away from putting his hand on her waist. Payal took his hand and forcefully place it there. Then she lifted his chin so that their eyes met. She began animatedly talking with him. navya noticed that most of Rajiv's responses were nods and smiles, but he looked happy to be dancing with Payal. navya couldn't help but smile at Payal's forward demeanor. She was always the confident one.
"Navya," Rakesh said, breaking navya's attention away from Payal and Rajiv.
She noticed that they were the only left at the table. This observation made her uneasy.
"navya, I need to talk to you." Rakesh said sincerely.
navya ignored him.
"Please, it's important and it's about Payal." Rakesh requested again.
"Fine. Talk." said navya curtly.1
"Not here. Come with me." Rakesh stood up and waited her navya to do the same. 2
navya hesitantly stood up. She motioned to Payal that she was going outside, but she wasn't sure if Payal was paying attention to her or was too focused on Rajiv. navya followed Rakesh down the same hallway that led back to the rowdy part of the nightclub. Right before they entered the nightclub area, Rakesh suddenly turned and went inside another room. It was dark inside and there were only a few chairs stacked in a corner. It looked like a large storage room to navya. She hesitated before stepping inside. It seemed like a pretty unusual place to have a conversation. 7
Rakesh flipped on the lights. Once navya was inside, he closed the door but didn't lock it, which left navya a little more at ease.
"I knew about the marriage. I just didn't tell Anant I knew." Rakesh admitted.
"Why?"navya asked, genuinely curious.
"Because I don't want to get married. And if I do get married, it's not going to be to some child from India." Rakesh said.
"Don't say that about Payal." navya said sternly.
"She's too young, and I had no intention of ever marrying her." Rakesh continued.
"Had no intention? Now what are your intentions?" she asked.
"I'm gonna marry her." Rakesh said simply.
"What? Why? You just said you didn't want to." navya asked, concerned.
"I have to. The deal is too lucrative an offer to turn down." Rakesh said. He walked closer to navya, but kept a sizeable distance between them.
"What deal?" navya asked.
"It's complicated. It's based on a series of alliances between some of India's most prominent businessmen. Eventually, several companies specializing in different things will come together to make a large corporation that will monopolize the business industry in India and abroad. These marriages are ways of guaranteeing trust. This way everything stays in the family." Rakesh explained.
"My father is a part of this?" questioned navya in shock.
"Yes, as well as anant's." Rakesh replied.
"Does Anant know about all this?" she asked, hoping the answer would be no.
"I'm sure he's aware of what is going on, but I doubt he knows all the details. These big businessmen try to keep their children in the dark about their ulterior motives." Rakesh replied.
"How do you know all of this then?" navya asked. She could feel herself growing angry.
"My parents died a few years ago. I'm the only handling my empire now. I chose to get involved in this." Rakesh said.
"Why would you do that? You would willingly marry someone just because of a business deal? Aren't you even concerned about having happy married life?" navya asked. She was repulsed at how selfish Rakesh was being.
"Money talks. All of these children of these businessmen know that after they get married, they will have all the money they could ever dream of. It's all a sham. Legally, these men become family so there's a safety net for all of their business ventures. We all know that even after marriage, most of their children will continue doing whatever they want with whoever they want. My lifestyle will become more luxurious. I'll have so much money, I won't know what to do with it all. Even Anant agreed to marry you because he just couldn't turn down the offer. Do you really think he cares about you? He's just putting up with you so that nothing disrupts the flow of his profits." Rakesh said maliciously.
Navya felt tears sting her eyes. That wasn't true. Anant was sincere. He was always nice to her and treated her well. She had never seen him so much as speak to another woman since they'd gotten married.
"I intend to be the same way." Rakesh interrupted her thoughts.
"What way?" navya asked.
"After I marry Payal, I intend to do as I please. Husband or not, I am a man first. And men are animals." Rakesh said seductively.
"Y-you can't. Payal will be devastated." navya said.
"Not my problem. We'll be husband and wife by name only, not by relation. She can even spend her nights with that young man who has recently caught her fancy is she wants. I won't mind." Rakesh said.
navya wanted to slap him. How dare he! She controlled her anger. She was grateful that she was so level headed and thought about her actions before going through with them. Hitting Rakesh would only make things worse.
"No wonder Anant was so against this marriage. You're not a good person at all." navya declared.
"Oh navya, what made you think I was a good person?" Rakesh asked. He had an evil look in his eyes.
Rakesh walked towards the door. navya was relieved. She thought he was going to leave and their conversation was over. Instead however, he turned the latch and locked the door. He then dimmed the lights before turning back towards navya.
"What are you doing?" she asked, afraid of his intentions.
"navya, I must admit, I'd much rather have married you. To have way with you would be absolute heaven." Rakesh said. He took a few steps toward navya. His eyes bore into her as she stepped back. 3
"It's so unfortunate that Anant was the lucky one. Hell, if you were my wife, I might have even remained faithful for some time." Rakesh stopped suddenly.
He looked at navya but didn't move any closer. He stood still as if thinking about something. navya didn't dare move.
"If you were my wife, could you imagine how our honeymoon would be?" Rakesh asked.
He didn't move any closer, but navya still felt threatened. She didn't reply.
"No?" Rakesh asked, "Should I show you?" He said maliciously.
He quickly closed the distance between himself and navya, perching himself right in front of her at only an arm's length away. Rakesh grabbed at the end of navya's sari and began to tug. navya resisted, holding onto it tightly. He refused to let go and pulled harder.
"No! Don't!" She yelled. She began to scream for help, but her voice was drowned out by the loud music coming from either side of the hallway. +
"Oh my darling navya don't scream. No one can hear you. You might as well enjoy this moment." Rakesh said.
He maintained his firm grip on the end of her sari, but no longer pulled at it. Instead he walked closer to her, enveloping her in his arms. She tried to pull away, but his grip was too strong for her. He pushed her up against the wall and tried to kiss her. Navya strained her neck, desperately trying to move away from him. Rakesh held onto her arms so tightly that navya was sure bruises her forming. Suddenly Rakesh forced her forward and slammed her hard against the wall. navya cried out in pain, but Rakesh ignored her. He was furious that she wouldn't let him kiss her.
"I wanted to be romantic, navya, but if you're going to act this way, I might just have to get rough." Rakesh threatened. He again slammed her against the wall. He pulled her forward and slapped her hard across the face. navya fell to the floor. She could feel blood in her mouth. She scooted back as Rakesh moved forward. He removed his belt and tossed it aside. He started to unbutton his shirt, still walking forward.3
"Rakesh, please don't." navya begged. She couldn't stop the tears from falling.
Rakesh smiled at her. He leaned down to the floor where she was and cupped her cheek with his hand.
"navya, don't cry," he nearly whispered, "You'll enjoy this, I promise." he said. He pulled at her sari again.
"No! Stop! Rakesh, please don't do this."
"Payal, have you seen navya?" Anant asked Payal, who was deeply in conversation with Rajiv.
"Huh? Nope, haven't seen her." She said, briefly before turning her attention back to Rajiv. The couple had danced through almost a dozen songs and decided to return to the table for a little break.
Anant scanned the room and didn't see navya anywhere. Surely she would've told him if she went anywhere.
"Wait! She went outside, I think." Payal suddenly remembered.
"Outside? Why?" Anant asked.
"I don't know. She didn't say." Payal answered.
"Did she go with somebody?" Anant replied.
"I don't think so. I saw her leave alone." Payal said.
Why would navya just leave by herself? Anant decided that he needed to look for her. He left the room, where the party was being held and made his way through the lengthy hallway to the nightclub area. He doubted navya would be here, but it couldn't hurt to look anyways.
He started looking for navya's sari. No one else would be dressed in one. He looked at girls with dark hair and scanned their outfits, trying to find a sari. The lighting was dimmed and colorful, making it difficult to make out facial features. Anant couldn't find her. He started to become worried. He then walked outside into the cold New York breeze, but the streets were empty of pedestrians. The cold had forced everyone inside. Anant shivered slightly as he walked down the road. He walked around the building even though he doubted navya would be out here when it was this cold. She must be inside somewhere. 2
"navya, don't worry. Anany doesn't have to know." Rakesh said. He'd unwrapped her sari. navya attempted to cover her torso with her arms. She felt so ashamed.
"Don't try to hide from me." Rakesh said, pulling her hands away. He held them firmly above her head. His eyes scanned her length of her torso, lingering on her breasts. She mentally kicked herself for wearing that skimpy backless blouse that didn't cover much in the front either. 2
"anant is so lucky. He gets you every night." Rakesh said more to himself than to navya. His eyes darkened with lust. navya tried to skirm out of his grip, but couldn't. She kicked him and he released his hold on her hands. She quickly stood up as Rakesh doubled over in pain. She ran to the door and successfully unlocked it, but Rakesh was too quick. He grabbed her arm and flung her across the room. He turned the dimmed lights completely off. There were no windows in the room, so they were immersed in total darkness.
navya stood up. She was unable to see where Rakesh had gone. She felt a hand at her waist, and swung around trying to see him. Rakesh hit her again, and she fell to the ground. She could feel his hands on her, but couldn't see him.
"Rakesh, please don't do this." she pleaded. She placed her palms on what felt like his bare chest and pushed hard hoping to increase the distance between them. He took her hands and forced them behind her back. They were both sitting on the floor. He spun her around so that her back was against his chest.
"Just relax. If you and Anant can, why can't we navya? You two don't even know each other that well, and neither do we. What's the difference?" Rakesh whispered in her ear.
navya couldn't help but cry. Anant had never taken advantage of her despite the fact that they were married. She realized how lucky she was to have a husband like him. She suddenly felt worse that Payal could possibly end up with this monster. She screamed for help, knowing that no one would come to rescue her.
Anant became frustrated. He had wandered back through the nightclub crowd and was lingering in the hallway. He had tried calling navya several times, but it seemed like her phone was off.
"Dammit navya Where are you?" he said to himself. He was reluctant to go back to the party, knowing that someone was bound to distract him and then he would never find navya.
Anant stood there, thinking about what he should do next. He turned to go back to the party and try to search for navya again.
"Anant!" Anant stopped. Had he just heard his name? He stood and listened. Nothing.
He decided that his mind must be playing tricks on him.
"Help! Anant!" This time he was sure someone was calling his name. He walked towards the nightclub area. It came from that direction. He heard something crash and break in the storage room to his right.
Anant opened the door with ease. It was pitch dark. He moved to flip the light switch.
"Anant!" navya's voice cried out.
"navya?" Anant said unsurely.
Suddenly, a man ran past Anant and into the nightclub crowd. Anant didn't see who he was. All he knew was the man was dressed in black. Instead of pursuing the man, he turned on the lights. He saw navya's frail figure on the ground. Bruises were everywhere. There was blood dripping out of her mouth. Her blouse was torn and she was crying.
"navya! What happened?" Anant said as he rushed toward her.
He knelt down beside her. She cowered against the wall, pulling her sari over her chest. Some tried to rape her! Anant abruptly stood up. The man that had ran past him...tried to rape navya. Anant knew he wouldn't be able to find the man in the crowd. He was sure he'd left the premises already. And right now, navya needed him.
He knelt down again. He reached out for navya, but she turned away, tears still falling onto her cheeks,
"navya, it's okay. It's just me. Come here." Anant said soothingly.
navya didn't move. Anant tried to pull her into a hug, but she pushed him away.
"navya, please." Anant pleaded.
She looked up at him, but still didn't move. Anant took off his tuxedo jacket and put it around navya. She stared at him, but didn't say anything. He helped her up, and she let him. He walked her through the nightclub crowd, his arm securely around her. navya's eyes, still moist with tears, were fixed on the ground. She walked in silence. Once outside, Anant called for his driver who promptly showed up. He helped navya into the back, and then he pulled out his phone.
"Hiten, when Payal's ready, can you bring her home? navya isn't feeling well. I'm taking her home right now." Anant said.
"Yeah sure! She's really hitting it off with this boy. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them. If he moves an inch closer to her, I'll body slam him." Hiten said in jest. 2
Normally, Anant would have laughed at Hiten's antics, but he was too worried about navya to laugh at anything.
"Thanks," he said quietly before hanging up.
The driver started driving towards Anant's mansion. Anant wasn't sure whether he should ask navya about what happened or if she knew who her assailant was. He pushed the button that made the tinted window between the driver and the passenger go up, giving them more privacy.
"navya," Anant said, trying to get her attention. She didn't respond. She didn't even look in his direction.
"Hey, look at me." Anant said softly. He cupped her cheek with his hand, and gently turned her face so that she faced him. She shrunk away from his touch.
"Tell me what happened." Anant said.
navya's eyes started tearing up again. She looked down. She didn't want to tell anyone anything. She was too ashamed. The only thing she wanted to say to Anant was thank you.' She desperately wanted to thank him for saving her. If he hadn't come, who knows what Rakesh would've done.
Anant wiped away navya's tears. She looked up at him, but quickly looked back down. She scooted away from him, and he made no further attempts to touch her. The rest of the drive continued in silence. Once they reached Anant's mansion. He opened the door for her. She went straight to Anant's room. He followed behind her, keeping some distance between them. When he entered his room, he found her sitting on his bed, his jacket still tightly wrapped around her.
"navya," he sat down beside her, careful to leave some distance between them.
"Thank you." navya whispered.
"For what?" Anant asked.
"For looking for me, for saving me." A single tear fell from her eye. anant quickly wiped it away. He leaned in and kissed her forehead. navya looked up at him, surprised as his actions.
"I didn't really do anything. I just opened the door. navya, do you know who did this?" Anant asked.
navya hesitated.
"No." she lied. 5
"What were you doing in the storage room with someone you didn't know?" Anant asked. He was trying so hard to not jump to any conclusions.
"I didn't know he was taking me to a storage room." navya answered.
"Why did you leave without telling me? And that too with a stranger." Anant asked. He was growing angry, but he knew navya wouldn't respond to him if he started shouting at her.
"I told Payal," navya replied.
"Who was he?" Anant asked.
"Someone I met." navya said. She didn't want Anant to know it was Rakesh. Rakesh had threatened that is she told anyone at all, he would make her life a living hell as well as Payal's if they did end up getting married. She hated lying to Anant, but she had no choice. Payal's life was more important. 6
"What the hell, navya He, whoever he is, just tried to rape you and you're not going to tell me anything about him?" anant asked, incredulously. He was growing impatient.
"I...I don't..." navya didn't know what to say. She was surprised that Anant was growing frustrated so quickly, but his behavior was justified.
Fresh tears welled up in navya's eyes. She turned away, not able to face anant after lying to him. Anant stood up. He disappeared down the hall and back downstairs. navya started to sob. She thought Anant was angry with her. After a few moments, anant came back. He was carrying a first aid box. He once again took a seat next to navya on his bed. She glanced over at him, but immediately turned away again. 2
"navya, look at me." Anant said gently.
navya turned around. He eyes met his briefly. Anant started digging through the box and removed some gauze. He carefully dabbed at the blood at her mouth. He continued treating the bruises on her face. navya watched him silently. Anant reached to remove his jacket that was securely around navya's body, she quickly backed away.
"You have bruises and scratches on your arms and your back." Anant said.
He again reached over to remove his jacket from navya. She pulled away, shaking her head from side to side.
Anant sighed. He stood up and led navya to the bathroom.
"Have a shower, and change your clothes. You'll be more comfortable. I'll be downstairs." Anant said.
He turned to leave, but navya quickly grabbed his arm, stopping him. He turned towards her. She stared at him for a moment before hugging him tightly. Anant was taken aback by her actions, but he wrapped his arms around her, trying to make her feel safe.
"It's okay, navya. I'm right here." He said gently. He could feel her tears soaking his shirt, but he didn't care.
He waited a few minutes, allowing navya to cry until she couldn't cry anymore. They stood there in each other's arms. Suddenly, navya backed away. She was blushing furiously. Anant smiled.
"Are you okay now?" he asked.
She nodded, turning away and taking a few steps away from him. Anant knew she was embarrassed.
"Thank you." navya said again.
"Anytime. I'll be downstairs." Anant said.
He quickly left and went down the stairs only to be met with Payal, who had just been dropped off by Hiten.
"Jija-ji, is Didi okay?" Payal asked sleepily. It was a little late for her to still be up.
"She's fine now. She went to take a shower." Anant informed her.
"Okay. I'll talk to her in the morning then. I'm so sleepy." Payal replied, trying to stifle a yawn.
"Goodnight, Payal." Anant said with a smile.
"Goodnight!" Payal said before ascending up the stairs.
Anant took a seat on the couch. He started thinking, more like worrying, about navya and what she'd gone through. She seemed so traumatized, so helpless. He wanted nothing more than to comfort her and to find the man who attacked her.
navya stared at herself in the mirror. She looked abused, battered, weak. She removed Anant's jacket. She pulled her sari down slowly and took off her blouse. She turned around and again looked at herself in the mirror, this time her skin was bare. All of her bruises and scratches were visible. She couldn't stop herself from crying again. She looked deplorable, and she felt miserable.
After a long, hot shower, navya made her way downstairs to find anant. She saw him sitting on the couch, deep in thought. She made her way over to him and sat down beside him. He turned to her.
"Are you okay?" Anant asked, concerned.
navya was dressed in a long black salwar kameez that she often wore to sleep. She looked up at Anant and nodded, offering him a small smile.
"Good. By the way, Payal came home. Hiten dropped her off. She was tired, so she went to sleep." Anant said, trying to make small talk.
navya froze, a horrified expression was plastered on her face.
"What's wrong?" anant asked immediately.
"What am I going to tell Payal?" navya asked.
"Nothing," answered Anant simply.
"She's going to wonder about these bruises." navya said, pointing to her face.
She had a deep purple bruise on her left cheek and cuts around her lip from where Rakesh had slapped her.
"Can you cover them up?" Anant asked. He reached up and gently ran his fingers across navya's cheek.
navya shuddered at his touch, but didn't move away.
"We should go to sleep. It's late." navya suggested.
"Sure." Anant agreed.
They went upstairs. navya laid down on the bed immediately. She was beyond tired and just wanted to forget the events of the day. Anant joined her after quickly changing. She had her back turned towards him. He reached out and placed a hand on her waist. navya abruptly sat up.
"navya, I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Anant said after sitting up as well.
navya didn't say anything.
"Come here." Anant whispered. He held out his arm. navya hesitated. Anant pulled her closer and laid back down. She rested her head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. They fell asleep, leaving the bad memories of the night behind. 1
Anant woke to an empty bed. navya was no longer beside him. He groggily stood up and walked over to the bathroom. The door was closed.
"navya???" He called through the door.
The door opened a minute later. navya emerged, dressed in a long sleeve, long salwar kameez with a high neckline. She was trying to hide her scratches and bruises.
"Can you tell?" she asked quickly.
"Tell what?" Anant asked.
"The bruises. Can you tell they're there?" navya replied.
Anant closely examined her cheek, where the bruise was the day before. He noticed she'd covered it up with makeup. He noticed some discoloration, but only when he stared.
"No, they look fine. I'm sure Payal won't notice." Anant said. navya looked relieved. She left and walked over to Payal's room to see if she was awake.
"Didi! Are are you feeling okay?" Payal asked as soon as navya stepped inside. She didn't even bother knocking. She knew Payal wouldn't care. Payal was sitting on her bed, flipping through a magazine when navya entered.
"I'm fine. Sorry for leaving you last night." said navya. She sat down next to Payal, waiting to see if she'd notice the bruises on her face.
"It's okay! I had so much fun. The boy I dance with, Rajiv, is so sweet. He's quiet though." Payal replied. She was looking straight at navya and said nothing about any bruises.
"It's okay, Payal. I'm sure you talk enough for the both of you." navya smiled.
"Very funny." Payal replied.
"Let's go have some breakfast," navya said.
Payal jumped off the bed and followed her downstairs. The chef had prepared pancakes and waffles and a whole array of fruit. There was also turkey sausage and eggs. Payal nearly squealed with delight. She had already eaten two platefuls of food by the time Anant joined them.
"Damn, Payal. Slow down. The food isn't going anywhere." Anant joked as he watched Payal stuff her face with waffles.
"Sorry Jija-ji, can't. Neha is taking me to the cinema. She promised last night. It's going to be so much fun. She'll be here any minute." Payal said.
"You're going to the movies?" navya asked. Payal hadn't told her.
"Yep...Oh." Payal realized she hadn't even asked navya. "Didi please! You left early last night and I didn't get a chance to ask you."
"It's okay. Go have fun." navya said. As bad as it sounds, navya wanted Payal out of the house. The less she was around her, the less chance there would be of her noticing any bruises that might show.
"Yay! Thank you!" Payal hugged navya quickly. A honk sounded outside the mansion.
"That must be Neha." anant said.
"I should go!" Payal said, grabbing her coat and saying goodbye to Anant and navya. As soon as she opened the door, she was met with Rajiv, who stood awkwardly looking at the ground.
"Rajiv?!" Payal exclaimed, confused at his presence.
"Hi Payal, Neha-ji invited me to come along with you two to the movie, if you don't mind." Rajiv told her.+
"I don't mind. Why would I mind?" Payal replied, happily.
"May I come in?" Rajiv asked politely.
"Sure!" Payal answered. She stepped aside, allowing him to enter.
"Good morning, sir." Rajiv greeted Anant
"Good morning, Rajiv." Anant replied, not really paying attention to him.
"Sir, I wanted to ask your permission to take Payal out to the movies." Rajiv said quietly.
navya's eyes widened. She nearly choked on her tea.
"I thought she was going with Neha." Anant said defensively.
"Yes. Neha-ji will be there as well. Our outing will be completely supervised." Rajiv assured.
Anant looked at navya. He didn't really care if Payal went out on a date. In fact, he thought dating was a healthy thing for a teenager Payal's age, but he knew navya was conservative about such matters. Payal looked on in shock. She was beyond ecstatic. She didn't care that Rajiv arranged for someone to babysit them. All she cared about was that he wanted to go on a date with her.
"Rajiv, I have no problem with you taking Payal out." Anant said. He noticed navya's furrowed brows, "but the decision isn't mine to make." he stated, looked at navya.
Rajiv followed his gaze towards navya.
"I..." navya started. She noticed Payal start making a begging motion as she stood behind Rajiv and Anant. "I don't mind. Payal, have fun." navya said with a smile.
Payal screamed in happiness. The quickly thanked navya and grabbed Rajiv, rushing him out to Neha's car before anyone could change their mind.
anant turned his attention to navya. She seemed a lot sadder than usual. Her smile disappeared as soon as Payal left.
"navya, are you okay?" anant asked.
"I'm fine," she said, though she wasn't sure if she really was.
"Will you be okay by yourself?" Anant asked, genuinely concerned. Last night, she clung to him and refused to leave the safety of his arms. Anant felt bad just abandoning navya after such a traumatic event happened.
"I'll be fine." navya said. She sounded like she was convincing herself rather than answering anant's question.
"I can reschedule my meetings, and have the really important ones relocated to here if you don't want to be left alone." Anant suggested.
"It's okay, Anant I'll be fine. You don't have to do that." navya said.
"I don't mind, and it's no trouble. I just need to know you're okay." Anant tried to convince her.
navya thought about it. In her heart, she wanted Anant to stay with her just for today, but she didn't want to seem like one of those needy wives that required all of her husband's attention.
"I...Honestly, I want you to stay." navya admitted quietly.
"Then I'll stay." Anant smiled. He was more than happy to oblige. He was worried about her and knew he'd feel more comfortable if he was around.
He told the maids to clear the table and make sure the conference room in his mansion was prepared for this afternoon. He called his assistants, telling them to cancel all of his meetings except one that was too urgent to be postponed. He would host it at his mansion, in his conference room.
navya watched as he made all the preparations. He busily talked on his phone to who she assumed to be one of his assistants. A wave of guilt washed over her. Anant had to make such a effort to rearrange his day just because she didn't want to be alone. Even with maids and butlers around, she only wanted Anant with her. She only felt safe with Anant.
"My meeting is scheduled in 3:30 this afternoon. Until then, I'm all yours." Anant said to her.
navya blushed. She couldn't believe what she thought he was insinuating. She looked down, trying to get those kinds of thoughts out of her head.
"Sorry you had to do all of this because of me." Navya apologized.
"It's no problem, really. None of my meetings besides this one are really that important." Anant said. He meant it. He was happy to be with navya when she really needed him. His only regret was that he wasn't able to beat the shit out of whoever did tried to do this to her.
"Sir, everything is prepared," Kamla, Anant's head maid, announced.
"Thanks, Kamla." Anant said. "Come with me." he said to navya. He took her hand and took her upstairs.
"Anant," navya said unsurely.
Anant led her into his bedroom and closed the door. He motioned for navya to sit on the bed.
"navya, I don't want to upset you, but will you please tell me what happened?" Anant requested.
"We...already talked about this." navya said.
"Barely. You know who tried to do this to you. I know you do. You wouldn't just follow a stranger somewhere." Anant reasoned.
"I...I don't know who it was." lied navya.
Anant walked closer to her. He put his hands on her shoulders. He lifted her chin, so that she was looking at him.
"Look at me, and tell me you don't know the man who tried to rape you." Anant demanded.
Hearing Anant say those words made navya want to crawl into a corner and sob. She was almost raped. Rakesh wanted to rape her.
"Anant, please." navya didn't want to talk to him anymore. She just wanted to be alone. She moved his hand off her shoulders and left his room.
"We're going to have to talk about this, navya. You can't keep running away from me." Anant called as navya walked down the hallway.
navya stopped suddenly. She turned around and walked back to Anant's room.
"I would never run away from you, Anant," she said, looking straight at him, "You're the only one I feel safe around," she added quietly.
"Then talk to me, please." Anant said.
navya thought about what Rakesh told her. She needed to make sure there was no chance Rakesh and Payal would get married before she told Anant anything.
"I will...when I'm ready." navya answered.
"Fair enough." Anant conceded.
He decided that he and navya should sit down and watch a movie. This way, time would pass quickly and there would be no chance of him asking navya about the incident that happened last night and upsetting her. anant told navya that she could pick the movie, but she insisted that she was okay with whatever he wanted to watch. At first, Anant wanted to bother her and choose a steamy, romantic film, but he decided not to be cruel and chose a light-hearted comedy.
Anant watched navya more than he watched the movie. Everytime she laughed, he felt a little more at ease. He was afraid she'd fall into depression thinking about what happened last night. Anant inadvertently moved closer to navya. She didn't notice until he put his arm around her, or rather his arm lazily rested on the couch behind her head. She felt the need to lean into him as they sat in silence watching the movie, but she was much too shy to actually do it. Anant turned to navya and noticed that she'd stopped watching the film and had her eyes on the ground.
"What's wrong?" Anant asked.
"Nothing." navya said, blushing. She was thinking about Anant, but of course, she couldn't admit it.
Anant went back to watching the movie, but turned to glance at navya every few minutes. navya, aware of anant's constant glances, kept her attention on the movie.
Navya ..anant said
Hmmm she replied ...he cupped her face and and looked deeply in her eyes
I am All You'rs and You are all mine 'said anant and she blushed ...he move forward and kiss her forhead ... both eyes and nose...navya closed her eyes and looked down ...
"Sir," Kamla came into the living room, "some businessmen have started arriving early for your 3:30 meeting." she announced.
"Dammit." Anant cursed, irritated that people were arriving so early, "I guess we're starting the meeting earlier. Sorry navya."
"It's okay," navya blushed.
Men started arriving. They stood in the foyer, shaking Anant's hand. Anant didn't bother introducing navya to his colleagues. He knew she wouldn't appreciate the attention. She'd even retreated into the kitchen as soon as the first few men started to arrive. Anant led the group down to his conference room. He went in the kitchen in search of navya.
"This hopefully shouldn't take too long, maybe for a few hours. I can call Neha and Payal and tell them to come back if you need company." Anant suggested.
"No it's fine. Let them have fun. I'll just...be here." navya replied.
"Okay, I'll try to wrap things up quickly." Anant said before leaving and going to the conference room.
navya started fiddling with some things to cook with. Even though, Anant never wanted her to cook, she felt that she'd feel less anxious if she distracted herself.
navya was engrossed in cooking. She heard the doorbell ring. She looked around for any maids or butlers that may be around. After seeing no one around, she decided that she would just answer the door. 1
navya flung open the door.
"Well hello, navya." a devious voice said.
Navya looked up and saw Rakesh, standing in the doorway with a smug expression on his face. 15
"Won't you invite me inside?" asked Rakesh.
navya stood there, completely frozen. She couldn't think. Rakesh took a step forward. She automatically stepped back. He kept walking towards her. Once inside the mansion, he turned and closed the door. Memories of last night came flooding back to navya. Her breath hitched and she found it difficult for her to breath properly.
"navya don't think maybe we should finish what we were doing last night?" Rakesh said with malicious tone.
navya backed away from him. She wanted to run away, but she couldn't. She was paralyzed with a crippling fear that obstructed her rationality.
"You look beautiful today." Rakesh said, trying to get under her skin. His eyes slowly traveled down her body. He took another step forward.
navya didn't understand. What was Rakesh even doing here? Thank goodness Payal was out of the house.
"Why are..." navya managed to say. She couldn't continue. The intensity with which Rakesh was looking at her rendered her speechless. She hated the way he looked at her.
"Why am I here?" Rakesh finished her question for her, "Anant invited me." He continued.
Anant invited him here? How could he? Well, it's not like he knew what Rakesh tried to do. navya still couldn't believe it.
"Rakesh? It's about time. Everyone else is already here." Anant's voice came from behind navya.
"Hey Anant! I thought the meeting started at 3:30." Rakesh replied.
"Yeah so did I. Everyone just showed up early." anant said, "Everyone is in the conference room. It's down the hall and to the right."
"Okay, I'll just join them." Rakesh said. Before heading down the hall, he winked at navya.
"You look terrified." Anant pointed out.
"What?" navya said, surprised that Anant had noticed the effect the Rakesh had on her.
"You just look..scared." Anant repeated.
"No. I'm fine." navya said, "I'm just going to go upstairs. Tell me when your meeting is over, okay?" navya said, turning towards the stairs.
"Yeah sure thing." Anant said a little skeptically.
navya rushed upstairs to anant's room. Once there, she closed and locked the door behind her. She wanted to make sure there was no way Rakesh could corner her and try to talk to her or worse, do something that would scar her for life. She sat patiently on Anant's bed, just waiting for his meeting to be over. After Rakesh left, she would be free to leave. She felt ridiculous, hiding in Anant's room like a child running away from her problems. However, she absolutely did not have the courage to confront Rakesh. She couldn't even talk to him! She needed him to leave.
navya decided to occupy her mind with some television. Her mind wasn't on whatever she was watching. She was too busy worrying about Rakesh. She couldn't wait til he left!
"Pnavya Are you in here?" Anant knocked on the door.
navya opened it. She motioned for Anant to come inside and quickly closed it again.
"Is your meeting over?" she asked calmly.
"Yeah, we just finished up." Anant answered.
"Did everyone leave?" navya asked.
"Yeah, Rakesh was the last one. He just left." Anant answered. +
navya cringed at the mention of Rakesh.
"Anant, I need to tell you something." navya said immediately.
"What's wrong?" Anant asked.
"I...Last night, what happened..." navya couldn't tell him, not yet.
"What is it, navya? Just tell me." anant said gently.
"Anant, I need you to promise me that you won't let Payal marry Rakesh." navya said. Tears started to form in her eyes.
"What? Why this all of a sudden?" asked Anant, confused.
"I just need to know that Payal won't end up married to Rakesh no matter what." navya said.
"I think Payal is too young to get married. I'm against any marriage plans for her at the moment." Anant said.
"Why are you being so evasive? Anant, I need you to promise me that Rakesh and Payal won't be married. Please, Anant." navya was nearly begging.
"I...can't promise you that." Anant said guiltily.
"Why not?" navya couldn't believe this, "You're the one who said that Rakesh wouldn't be a good husband for Payal. He'd be unfaithful." navya said.
"We're thinking about partnering in a hotel project. Ashritha Hotels. It'll be a chain in India, starting in Mumbai. It's a grand project. For Rakesh to marry into the family would be great! Don't you think?" Anant said.
navya remembered seeing something about this project one day when she was in Anant's study. It seemed like an important project, but she couldn't let Payal's happiness be sacrificed for some project.
"No." navya said. Tears were falling down her cheeks. "Anant you can't let Rakesh and Payal get married."
"navya don't cry. It's only a possibility. This doesn't mean it's going to happen." Anant said. He reached for her, but she back away. 2
"You don't understand," she said, "You can't let them get married. There can't even be a possibility."
"Why not?" Anant asked. He thought that Rakesh and Payal wouldn't make a good couple, primarily because of the age difference. He was hoping that being married to someone like Payal would make Rakesh to improve his ways. 2
"Anant, last night, Rakesh was...the man in the storage room." navya finally admitted. She looked down, still unable to stop her tears.
Anant looked at navya, unable to fully comprehend what she'd just told him.
"navya, I know you don't want Payal and Rakesh to get married, but that's a serious allegation." Anant said.
navya looked at Anant, shocked. He didn't believe her!
"I'm telling you the truth. He's the one who tried to..." navya couldn't say. She just couldn't.
"You said you didn't know who it was." Anant retorted.
"I lied," admitted navya quietly, "He threatened me."
Anant paused, thinking for a second. navya didn't know anyone else at the party besides Nikhil and Neha, who were dancing and Hiten, who was with Anant. She wouldn't have gone anywhere with a stranger. It would make sense that she was with Rakesh, but why were they in the storage room together?
What exactly were you doing in the storage room with him, navya?" Anant asked suspiciously.
"Anant...I...just went to talk with him. He knew about the marriage, but he lied to you and said that he didn't." navya told him. She was growing frustrated.
"You have to believe me." navya added sadly.
"I'm gonna kill him." Anant said angrily.
navya grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving the room.
"No! Don't hurt him, Anant. You'll just get in trouble." navya tried to reason with him.
"Fine, navya. I won't hurt him, but I'll ruin him. I promise you that. And Payal is NOT getting married to him." Anant replied and kissed her forhead. 3
Then He angrily stomped out of the room. navya didn't follow him. She wasn't sure if he was fully convinced that she was telling him the truth.
Anant raced to his car. He sped away in the direction of Rakesh's house. Even though he told navya he didn't intend to hurt Rakesh, he was about to do just that. Anant saw red as he drove. He was too angry to function rationally. If Rakesh so much as looked at navya again, Anant was sure he'd kill him right then and there. Anant slammed on the brakes in front of Rakesh's house. Guards approached him. He calmed himself down and told them that he was there to see Rakesh for business reasons. They let him in with no further inquiry.
"Rakesh!" Anant shouted as soon as he was inside. He rushed through the hallways, searching for anyone that could tell him where Rakesh was.
"Anant? What are you doing here?" Rakesh asked, "Why don't we step into my office," he suggested.
Anant followed him.
"To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?" Rakesh asked.
Anant said nothing. Rakesh sat down and motioned for Anant to sit down, but Anant chose to remain standing.
"Anant, what is it?" Rakesh asked. He stood up, facing anant.
Suddenly, Anant swung his fist and punched Rakesh right in the face. Rakesh was flung backwards. Anant punched him again. He grabbed his collar and slammed him into the bookcase. Rakesh tried to hit back but missed. 5
"The deal is off." Anant said. He grabbed the contracts off of Rakesh's desk and tore them in half. He threw another punch. Blood started oozing from Rakesh's mouth.
"I know what you tried to do to navya. You will not touch her again. Do you understand me? If you ever go near her again, I will kill you. You can be sure about that." Anant growled.
"Anant, wait." Rakesh said. He couldn't lose such a lucrative deal. "I didn't do anything to her. She wanted it." Rakesh lied.
"Don't lie to me, Rakesh. She's traumatized because of what you did." Anant countered.
"She's just mad we got caught." Rakesh replied. Ananr's fist connected with his face once again.
"Don't you dare talk about my wife, you bas***d!" He yelled. He threatened to get the police involved if Rakesh came near navya again. Rakesh knew if the police got involved, no one would believe him over navya. He would be ruined. No one would want to do business with a felon.
"Be careful, anant. One day, this day will come back to haunt you." Rakesh threatened as Anant walked away. Anant scoffed at his words. 4
He stalked back to his car. He angrily drove back home. Rakesh's words rang in Anant's ears.
"She's just mad we got caught."
Anant didn't know if he suspected navya of cheating. All he knew what that he really hoped it wasn't true.
"navya!" He shouted as he entered his mansion. He slammed the door shut and threw his keys on the nearest table. He went into the kitchen.
navya" he called again.
"What happened?" navya asked, coming into view.
"I went to see Rakesh." Anant said.
navya's eyes grew wide.
"What did you do?" navya asked morosely.
"I...told him to stay away from you." Anant said.
navya walked up to him. She took his hand and examine the blood on his knuckles.
"You hit him." she stated.
"He deserved it." Anant replied.
navyas eyes searched his face.
"What?" anant asked, unsure about what she was looking at.
"Are you okay? Did he hit you?" she asked, worried.
"I'm fine. I need to talk to you though." Anant said.
"About what?" navya asked. She was still looking to see if Anant was hurt.
"navya, why did you follow Rakesh to that storage room?" Anant asked.
"I told you. We needed to talk about Payal. He knew about the marriage." navya answered.
"You could've talked at the party? Why leave? Why leave without informing me?" Anant asked.
"He wanted to go somewhere quieter, I guess." navya replied. "I thought you were busy, so I just told Payal and left. I didn't think that anything was going to happen."
"navya please just tell me the truth. I promise I won't be mad." Anant said.
"The truth about what?" navya asked. She was confused. She was telling nothing but the truth. 1
"Is there something going on between you and Rakesh?" Anant asked.
He regretted asking as soon as the question was out of his mouth. The color had completely drained from navya's face. She looked like she wanted to cry.
"N-no," she stammered, "Why would you think that?"
"I don't know, navya. It's just something Rakesh said." Anant answered.
"I would never...I...Anant, I don't even know to say." she said sadly. Her eyes started to water. anant immediately felt bad for suspecting her. Of course, navya wouldn't be unfaithful.
"Please don't cry. I'm sorry! When he said what he said, I just needed to make sure that nothing was going on." Anant apologized. He reached out and wiped away the lone tear that had fallen onto navya's cheek. She stepped back, away from him.
How could he just accuse her and Rakesh of being together? Rakesh had attacked her against her will and Anant thought that navya welcomed Rakesh's advances. She could never even think about being with another man. Anant was her husband, and she knew she'd always remain faithful to him, whether they ever fell in love with each other or not.
"navya," Anant's voice broke her away from her thoughts, "I'm so sorry." He apologized again.
navya didn't reply. She turned around and walked away. She was on her way up the stairs, when Payal came back.
"Didi! We had so much fun. Movies here in America are so short. I thought we should've watched another one, but it's okay. I can go again another time. You should come too. You'd really enjoy it. And you know what, Didi? Rajiv is so sweet! I hope I get to see him again. Don't worry, though. Neha was with us the entire time." Payal talked so quickly that navya was having a difficult time keeping up. She was still upset about anant's accusations and couldn't focus on anything else. 1
"navya," Anant walked in, "Oh Payal, you're back. How was the movie?" he asked, upon seeing Payal.
"It was great, Jija-ji! I can't wait to go again." Payal answered enthusiastically.
"I'm not feeling well. I think I'll go lie down." navya interjected, turning back towards the stairs.
"Didi, you weren't feeling well the other night either. You sure are sick a lot. Are you alright?" Payal asked, suddenly concerned.
"I'm fine, Payal." navya replied, giving her sister a small smile.
Payal gasped. A smile appeared on her face.
"Didi! Are you pregnant?" Payal asked sheepishly. 3
navya's eyes widened in shock. She blushed, but didn't smile. Anant looked just as shocked.
"N-no, Payal," Anant struggled to answer, "She can't be. We've never..."
"Had the chance to even think about children." navya interrupted him.
"Well you should!" Payal declared. "I want a little niece or nephew to play with." Payal pouted playfully.
"I...We...I'm going to go lie down now." navya repeated, unable to think of a response.
"Feel better, Didi!" Payal called after before retreating to the kitchen to find something to eat.
Anant paused at the bottom of the staircase, conflicted about whether or not to follow navya upstairs. He decided that he should apologize to her again. He walked upstairs into his bedroom. There, he found navya lying down on his bed. She was silently crying into her pillow. Anant sighed and sat down beside navya. He placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down but she flinched away from him.
"navya, I'm sorry. I don't doubt you. I don't know what I was thinking. Please don't cry." Anant pleaded. He hated when navya cried, and he especially hated when he was the reason for her tears.
"navya," he tried again. Still, no response from navya. He gently pulled her up off the pillow and into his embrace. He waited a moment, to see if she would pull away from him. When she didn't, he tried apologizing again.
"I'm really sorry, navya. Please don't cry." Anant said quietly. His arms were tightly wrapped around her. navya looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears.
"I wouldn't...I'd never..." navya tried to say through her tears.
"I know you'd never be unfaithful, navya. I'm sorry I suspected you. Rakesh just makes me so angry." Anant explained.
navya quickly wiped away her tears, but remained in Anant's embrace. She reveled in the warmth the close proximity of his body provided. navya was still upset that Anant had suspected her of having an affair with someone like Rakesh, but she thought it was noble of him to go and actually beat Rakesh up for her. She leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. She wanted to stay in his arms forever.
"Are you alright?" Anant asked.
She slowly nodded. She looked up at him and reluctantly pulled away from him. His arms still wrapped lazily around her.
"Payal." navya said.
"She's not getting married to Rakesh. And we won't be business partners." anant stated.
"I'm sorry." Navya said.
"It's not your fault. Rakesh was the one who ruined it all." Anant replied, "Actually, I've been thinking about Payal and Rajiv." he admitted.
"Rajiv?" navya questioned.
"Yeah. He works in one my companies. He also goes to school part time. He's working on getting his MBA. Maybe after a year or so and a promotion or two, he would be worthy of Payal. She seems to really like him." Anant explained.
navya thought for a moment. It all sounded okay.
"She's too young." navya said simply.
"Rajiv isn't established yet either. Maybe we can get them engaged for a few years and they can get married when they're older." Anant suggested.
"Okay, they should get to know each more though. I want Payal to be happy." navya said.
"Me too, navya, me too." Anant agreed.
The two went downstairs to join Payal. It was almost time for dinner. They just wanted to have a nice, quiet dinner after such a drama filled day. Of course, Payal's constant chatter didn't allow dinnertime to stay quiet for long, but neither of them minded. After dinner, Payal retired to her room, and Anant and navya did the same. navya laid down on Anant's bed, while Anant settled down beside her. He decided to get some work done on his laptop. navya could hear the sounds of the keys as Anant typed. Her eyes fluttered closed.
"navya, are you awake?" Anant's voice reached her ears.
Navya's eyes shot open. The lights were now off, and Anant was no longer on his laptop. Instead, he was laying beside her.
"Yes," she answered him now that she really was awake.
"Do you remember what Payal said about children?" Anant asked. His voice sounded nervous.
"Yes?" navya said unsurely.
"Well, I know you said you didn't want children, but I think she's right. We should start thinking about having children." Anant said.
Yayy!! Anant beat up Rakesh!! Yayy again! Anant wants Rajiv and Payal to eventually get married! Yayy once again! Anant wants navya to have his children! Sooo much happened in this chapter.OMG children!! They're going to have to consummate their marriage before any children can come along. How is navya going to react?!! +
Don't forget to COMMENT and Like!!!!!!!!!!
Thank You Dear😊You killed it ...damn whole update was wonderful...eagerly waiting for their lovey dovey scenes ;))
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