When the Sun meets the Moon

Rights of a bride...

Shivaay locked the door behind Mr.Mehra, and started arranging the pens on his desk, in a straight line. He had a range of Parker ink pens he had collected over the years, but he had an order he liked them to be in. He then started re arranging the papers, on his desk. Some corners were out of place. He sighed, and leaned back on the chair. Why did I do this? What was I thinking? The reality was that he wasn't thinking when he took Neils place on that mandap.

Many a times since he met Ann, his life had gone out of rails. He was compelled to make rash decisions, and he often didn't care what the outcome was contrary to the normal. With Ann, his plans were sabotaged...his scheming gone a waste. She had stirred up emotions, in him that were dormant, for a very long time, and it really confused him. His obsessive desire to follow the plan he had curated, so carefully, was derailed by a woman. A woman who was smart...beautiful...and stubborn. He found it hard to concentrate, as one of the pens rolled out of line. He picked it up, and placed it back in it's rightful place.

KNOCK KNOCK...someone knocked on the door, and he straightened himself up. His brain seemed to have given up on contingency planning, after the wedding. He really had messed up this time around. "Come in..." He called. Tej walked in and pulled out a chair. Tej accidentally graced the papers, Shivaay had so neatly placed, and he clenched his fists, knowing he'll have to wait till his father, leaves to put it back in place. "Yes...Papa..." He focused on the senior Oberoi, with the greatest might. "Son...I saw Mehra, dashing off. Is everything alright?" He asked.

"Yes...Mr.Mehra was just concerned about the wedding!" He said. "Ah...of course...now that you and Ann..." before he could complete Shivaay cut in. "Papa...I was just helping out a friend...she needed my help at that point...Doesn't mean we are married...I am to marry Tia Mehra, and that's final!" Shivaay declared. Tej leaned back on the chair, and scrutinised his son. " Son...I know...I haven't been the greatest father after your Momma's passing...For a long time...I was absent...I know I let you children down...But I think I know a thing or two about life better than you!" He paused to make sure Shivaay was paying him full attention.

"Son...Mr.Mehra...and Tia it was a business deal...I know how important it was for you...but sometimes in life, and in business you have to understand things don't go according to plan...Sometimes fate has something completely different in store for us! At first it was just Me and Jaanvi...then you came around, changing everything! Brought so much chaos, in our perfect lives! That also brought happiness! Sometimes change brings you better things in life..." He stood up and walked up to his son who was now staring at something on the desk instead of him.

Tej placed a hand on Shivaay's shoulder startling him a bit. "Ann is a wonderful girl! She deserves better! What you did was wrong! If at all I have learnt anything in life...never to interfere with someone else's life decisions! What you are doing now is wrong too...you are running away from the consequences of the decision you made!" He said.

"But Papa...You are doing just that right now! YOU are interfering with mine! I keep telling you my decision is to marry Tia, and  you and Daadi keeps pestering me to accept an unintended marriage based on some silly rituals to Ann!" He complained. " Son...those silly rituals, bound your Momma and me together, for a life time...did you know that she was my best friend? I was so lucky to be married to my best friend...and as far as I know...Ann is probably the ONLY friend, you made after Night!" He chuckled, irritating Shivaay. He shook away Tej's hand and stood up to leave.

"Son...listen to me...don't throw away something that is already great...just because you are hoping to find something better!" Tej called after him, for the last time. "Is that why, when Momma left us...you locked yourself up in your study, and didn't bother to see how we were? Because you were holding on to something great you didn't even want to try to make it better?" Shivaay questioned his father in resentment.