Chapter 1
Three months.
Three months to date she had married the man known to the world as Mr Rishabh Bajaj. A lot can happen in three months. She feels like she has lived a lifetime in last three months. As the first rays of sun made into her room Prerna was getting ready for the day. This was her routine ever since they have come back from Zurich. A dreamy place that had turned into a nightmare for her. She would wake up at the crack of dawn, get ready and do her prayers. She would then go down to the kitchen and have a meeting with all the heads of staff to plan the entire day which included. This marriage was deal to her husband. He wanted a lady of the manor and Prerna took to the task as a religion. She prepared all the meals by herself and supervised everything from groceries to garden. Nothing happened in the Bajaj Mansion that she did not know about. She had immersed herself in work, that by the end of the day she was too exhausted to feel anything. She worked until her bones were tired and all the sensations in her body were dead so that she would not feel the pain of betrayal and mistrust her loved ones have shown.
Her husband had become even colder to her. He never talked to her until it was absolutely necessary. He had hired a personal assistant for her and all the communication was done through her and honestly she was fine with that initially because she had nothing to say to him. He was partly responsible for her pain. She remembered the night they had come back from Zurich, her heart was broken into a million pieces. All she saw was darkness ahead. The man she had loved, sacrificed everything for had mistrusted her along with his and her family. They accused her of being a social climber and a gold digger. Her own family had disowned her. Her mother had declared her dead. No one had tried to see things from her point of view. They did not even give her the benefit of the doubt. They became the judge and jury, declared her at fault and sentenced her to a life of loneliness. The man she has married was a mystery to her and she was not sure if she wanted to solve it or not. That night an angel came to her room and put her broken heart back with her tiny hands. That night had given her a reason to live. That reason right now was sleeping peacefully in her bed.
Prerna was sitting in the corner of her room, crying when the door to her room burst open. Ready to spit fire thinking it was Mr. Bajaj she looked up to be surprised. On her doorstep stood a little girl in a Minnie Mouse Pajamas who was holding a blanket in one hand and a teddy in another. The little girl shut the door, walked to her, gave her the teddy and wiped her tears with tiny hands. Her world seemed to find its axis again. Before she could say or do anything there was an urgent knock on the door, “Mrs Bajaj,” Her husband called out.
The little girl hid behind her as Prerna stood up, “Yes Mr. Bajaj.”
As the door opened Prerna was surprised to see that her husband was worried, an expression she never thought she would see on his face, “I am sorry to disturb you Mrs. Bajaj but have you seen a little girl running around the house,”
Before Prerna could reply, a giggle escaped from the little girl’s mouth. The worry lines on her husband’s face turned into smile lines, “There you are my jaan,” He walked up to Prerna and went on his knees so that he was eye to eye with the little girl, “You made me run around the entire house, not fair Sneha,” Mr Bajaj said with pretend anger.
Sneha shook her negatively as she peeped out of Prerna’s pallu, “One more story Dada, Please.”
Prerna was just frozen to her spot. Mr. Bajaj has a daughter? And who was this man smiling blindingly at little girl. He was not her husband. Her husband was aloof, cold and ruthless. There was not a kind bone in his body.
Mr. Bajaj was about to say something when a stern voice came from the door, “No Mr. Bajaj, you can not say yes to another story. It is way past her bedtime.” There was an elderly woman standing on the door with a disapproving expression on her face.
“I was not going to say yes to her Miss Rose,” Mr Bajaj replied standing up. Miss Rose just stared at him sternly, “Honest, I was going to tell her to go bed. I know Sneha has her therapy tomorrow.”
Miss Rose walked up to Mr. Bajaj, “Like you know how to say no to Sneha, she would ask for the moon and you will get it for her. You make my job way too difficult than necessary. My old bones can not keep up with little Sneha already and then you come and spoil her,”she chided, totally ignoring Prerna.
“You will live fo-ver Mish Rosh,” little Sneha said coming out and sticking her arms out for Mr. Bajaj, “Pick up” she order the man who made grown men shrink in fear.
“Yes, your highness,” Mr. Bajaj said picking her up, “And it's forever,” he corrected.
Sneha totally ignored him and pointed at Prerna, “Dada,” she said innocently, “She crying, Boo boo happened.” Then she turned to Prerna, “Dada, fix boo boo okay,” Their eyes met each other, fire and ice at little girl’s words. Sneha, oblivious to the sudden tension in the room got down, held Miss Rose hand and said, “Lets go shleep.” The little girl and the old lady left the room.
“I am sorry for disturbing you Mrs. Bajaj. Sneha ran away from me. She was being stubborn about another story but it was way past her bedtime. Good Night and my apologies again for your inconvenience,”Mr. Bajaj said and started to walk out.
“Really, that is all you have to say to me,”Prerna chewed out the word in anger, “There is a child in this house who just called you Dada in front of me and all you have to say to me is, I am sorry and good night.”
Mr. Bajaj took a deep breath as he turned around to face his wife, “I thought you said that who calls me what is none of your business when Mr. Basu was calling me “The Break Up Specialist.”
“I am your wife,”Prerna said trying to ignore his taunt, “I have a right to know if my husband has a child.”
“Now see Mrs Bajaj, you have me confused here. I have no right on you but here you are claiming a right on me,”Mr. Bajaj said with a smirk, “And it's good to know that you are aware of the fact that you are my wife.”
Now it was Prerna who took a deep breath, “Sneha, Mr. Bajaj.” Prerna asked, suddenly she was exhausted. “I have met her before.”
“I know that,”Mr Bajaj replied matter of factly.
The man really knows how to test her patience, “Of course you do,”Prerna mumbled under her breath. She did what she knew she should have done in the beginning of this conversation, “Please, Mr Bajaj,” she asked nicely, “I would like to know if I am responsible for a child’s care as your wife. She is very sweet, I don’t want to make any mistakes.”
“You like Sneha already?” Mr Bajaj asked with a blank face.
“She has the most comforting touch in this world,” Prerna smiled thinking of how she had wiped her tears, “It looks like she does not take after her father.”
Mr. Bajaj smiled to himself before replying to his wife, “Her mother had the same effect on people. Technically I am not her father but uncle. Sneha is my younger sister Ruhi’s daughter who passed away while giving birth to her four years ago. Ruhi was 15 years younger than me. She was a surprise baby. I always used to say that Ruhi is my first born,” Rishab felt a sadness creep his heart but he composed himself, “Sneha calls me Dada because for what it counts I am both her father and mother and she is my daughter. We are all the family each other have. ”
“What about Sneha’s father?”Prerna inquired.
“When Ruhi’s boyfriend came to know that she was pregnant, him and his family did not want anything to do with her,” Mr. Bajaj replied curtly and started to walk out
“What kind of therapy does Sneha go for?” Prerna asked before her husband could leave.
“She has dyslexia and before you lecture me about neglect and lack of care, let me tell you that it is hereditary. I have it and so did Ruhi.” Mr Bajaj explained, “I love my daughter very much.”
“You have dyslexia?” Prerna asked astonished.
“Yes, I do Mrs Bajaj.” Mr Bajaj said icily, “It's not a terminal disease or a handicap. Our learning process is just different than most people. Now if you will excuse me…”
“I would like to take over Sneha’s schedule,” Prerna cut her husband off. Sometimes she feels that is the only way to get a word through.
“I do not want you to think that you are obliged to take care of her. You are pregnant and Sneha is quite handful.”Mr. Bajaj replied.
“Please, Mr Bajaj,” Prerna softly, “She feels mine too. Sometimes you just look at someone and know that they are made for you.”
“Yes, sometimes you do know,” Mr Bajaj said quietly looking directly into his wife, then turning his back to his wife, he said, “You can take over her schedule but please make sure that you don't over do.” He walked out of the room with a smile on his face which his wife could not see.
Three months to date since their wedding, Rishabh thought while doing his early morning run. He liked the quiet on the streets before the sun rises. He ran alone without any security. He could see all the vendors getting ready for hustle of the new day. He waved to all the usual faces who met him every day. Mrs. Bose as usual gave him fresh bread to take home and Mr. Chakraborty gave him jalebis for Sneha. They had their normal talk about politics and stocks. He normally likes to plan his day mentally on his run. It kept helped him keep his calm the entire day. His thoughts went back to Prerna. Him and his wife have settled into a routine in these past three months which was sooner than he had expected. Prerna had surprised him, which he had learned that she has quite the talent for. He knew that she would make a good lady of the manor but he did not expect it to happen so fast. After all, his wife took decisions emotionally and not practically, much to his dislike.
His wife and daughter have become two peas in a pod. It had become practically impossible for him to find a quiet moment to conduct his business in the house. From the minute Sneha is awake till she time she goes to sleep, there is some sort of commotion going on in the house. One day he had come back to the house in the afternoon to pick up a file and had found his wife and daughter throwing rocks in his pool. When he had sent Mr Verma to ask what was going on, his wife had simply replied, “Alternative learning.” She was teaching Sneha to count. Another night he had walked into the house to find rangoli all over his floor, this time his wife was teaching Sneha colors. But Sneha was learning and that is what mattered. He will take the chaos if it came with his daughter’s well being.
Other than Sneha though they did not have anything to say to each other. He was still upset with his wife about the accusations she had made in Zurich. She had another quite a unique talent, and was understanding exactly the opposite of what he actually said. If he says no, she understands yes, he says yes, she understood no. In his entire life he had only said what he meant and he hated repeating himself. He hated to admit even to himself that he was worried about her. She had bottled all her pain inside, which was not good for her or the baby. Since, he was sure that if any problem occurred she would not share with him after all, he was the reason for all her pains. So he did what was efficient, hired a personal assistant for her. This way he knew what she was up to all day and make sure that she does not over do even though Miss Rose did monitor her health.
Even though he worried about her he was also impressed by the fact that his wife had more in common with him than she would like to think. She was a task master and had no tolerance for incompetence. She ran his house like a well oiled machine. Everything happened on time and nothing was out of place. His household staff now a days seemed more scared of her than him. Not that she got angry at them or raised her voice, she simply cut them off their knees with politeness. The staff seemed to fear and love her at the same time. Ever since Prerna has taken over the house she had cut down the household expenses by 45 percent even though she had access to immeasurable amount of money. Yes, he was now a billionaire but that does not mean he did not appreciate money being spent wisely. His wife could give lessons on importance of organisation and detail orientation. He was actually envious of the fact that his home was run more efficiently than his office.
His wife has said, “Sometimes you look at someone and know that they are made for you,” when she had first met Sneha. Hopefully, there will come a time when he could tell her that it was exactly what he had felt when she had spilled into his living room, short of breath demanding to bail out Mr. Basu and his business. He chuckled to himself as his stomach growled as he turned to enter the gates of his mansion. He gave the bread and jalebis to Hari who will make sure they reach the kitchen. He could not blame himself. His wife insisted on making every meal by herself and she was a very good cook. He turned down the run to a jog before to cool down as he made his way to the main door. He took off his t-shirt and wiped all the sweat off exposing his chiseled chest.She also made the meanest cup of coffee of which he expected to smell when the main door opened to chaos.
Chappals and Comments.Welcome.
Edited by Eternized_Blues - 4 years ago
Ankie
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