Blessed: The Abandoned Wife

Un-Accountable Encounter!

Even after a week of his encounter with Shubhi in the hospital, Daivik was still upset. Seeing his brother irritated, Viren, his elder brother, asked Daivik to take his mind off things a bit. Rajan had informed Viren about what had happened, and though he was surprised, he now understood his brother's irritable mood. The other part of the shock was to think that his brother's ex-wife was part of his close social circle. He tried to think back and could not see anything in Shubhi's demeanor that felt remotely hostile. She was quite friendly with him and very happy about her daughter playing with Veni.

Viren was however bothered about Daivik's reaction to the event. His brother seemed lost, irritated, upset, and a mix of all these. So he suggested to Daivik that he go to visit the bouquet fashion design company that they have recently bought.

Viren: "Let's do this to divert your mind, we recently acquired this fashion boutique, so why don't you visit it this week? It is a small mom-and-pop company but not very profitable anymore."

Daivik: "Then why did we acquire it?"

Viren: "Uncle and Aunty belonged to Mom- Dad's circle long back so they reached out to me. Their kids are both settled in other professions and are currently outside India. They are not interested in continuing the family business. So, my uncle thought the boutique would do well for us."

Daivik: "Do you also think so?"

Viren: "It might be helpful for Darsh's business."

Daivik: "Then, why not ask Darsh to look at it?"

Viren: "He is not planning to return to India for another six months. This is a small firm, and it will keep you occupied for a week or two."

Daivik: "Okay, you are asking me to work in my holiday time, so what do I get?"

Viren: "You get a coffee treat on Monday evening! I and Rajan will be there at the usual haunt."

Daivik: "Sounds good, it has been a long time since I have been there."

Viren: "In fact, the boutique is also close to the D Café. Why don't you go there and join us afterwards?"

Daivik: "Fine I will go have a look at the boutique. But first, I will talk to the legal team and then visit the place later."

There was a check needed on the legal preparation for both sides. Daivik spent most of his weekend with his lawyers to understand their side and asked them to fix a meeting with the other party. On a crisp Monday morning when Daivik parked his car, he saw a nice simple office in one of the sections of the three interconnected areas of the sprawling mansion. The courtyard in the middle had a huge Ganesha idol, he prayed for the removal of obstacles and then looked for the owners. He was guided to the section on the far right where the office was. The elderly uncle and aunt greeted them, and he saw a lady whom he felt that he had seen somewhere...err...earlier, he could not remember when or where exactly. He stared at her for a minute, taxing his brain and when the result was naught, he decided to switch back to his work. She discussed something operational with Aunty and left, ignoring Daivik. He too decided to focus on the work, he already had one altercation for the month and was not in the mood for another, so he did not tax his memory further as to who she might be.

Daivik continued his discussion with his uncle and aunty and realized that some of the financial stuff was still pending. He questioned them with a frown. "Why haven't we finalized the deal yet? What's causing the delay?"

Uncle exchanged a glance with his wife and sighed. "Our lead CA is working part-time due to a family emergency," Uncle explained. "She's the best in the business, and we trust her completely."

Daivik shook his head. "That's not good enough. You should hire someone else to finish the job. Time is money, you know."

Aunty smiled patiently. "We appreciate your concern, Daivik beta, but we have complete faith in our CA. She's been with us for years, and she knows our situation better than anyone. She's promised to close the deal in the next two weeks."

Daivik was not convinced. He wanted to talk to the CA himself and see what was going on. He thought that the elderly couple was being scammed and their business deal was being delayed unnecessarily. He asked his uncle to dial her number and hand him the phone. Uncle reluctantly agreed and called the CA. After a brief greeting, he passed the phone to Daivik.

"Hello," he said, without waiting for a response. "I'm from the company that is planning to acquire the boutique. I'm here to ask you about the timeline for completing the financial work. When can we expect it to be done?"

A feminine voice came from the other end of the line. "Hello, I'm the CA. I'm working on the accounts that Uncle has shared, so don't worry. I have an agreement with them as well as the buyer's legal firm that I will close in the next two weeks. Everything is under control."

Daivik's eyes widened as he recognized the voice. It was Shubhi, his ex-wife, the one who had cheated on him. He felt a surge of anger and disbelief. How could she be the CA for them? How could uncle and aunt trust her? He couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could his legal or financial team not smell a rat? He muttered a weak "okay" and wanted to close the call.

Shubhi was equally shocked when she realized who she had been talking to. It was Daivik, her ex-husband, the one who had questioned her character recently. She felt a wave of resentment and indignation. How dare he question her work? How dare he interfere in her business? She didn't need his approval or his supervision. She snapped at him before he hung up. "Listen, Daivik. I don't need you to keep tabs on me. I'm a professional, and I know what I'm doing."

Daivik: "I understand but this is a business transaction and my legal and financial team is involved."

Shubhi could again feel the weight of his family's money power. It was as if she was being humiliated again. She decided to be professional. She said, "The paperwork will be done in two weeks, as agreed. If you don't trust me, you can get it audited by anyone you know."

Daivik: "Thanks my legal and financial team will have to scrutinize the accounts once you are done."

Shubhi: "I'm not afraid of your scrutiny. I challenge you to find any fault in my work. Go ahead, I dare you."

Feeling the eyes of the elderly couple on this heated discussion and embarrassed about it, he quickly cut the call and handed it back to his uncle. Daivik wanted to run away as fast as possible, but their uncle decided to let him in on the secret that their CA's daughter was still in the hospital and that is why she needed two weeks for finishing the work.

Daivik felt doubly embarrassed and quickly agreed to a one-month timeline so that she could balance family and work. Uncle was happy and Aunty told him that there would be Sukhmani sahib paath at their house next week to celebrate their 50th marriage anniversary and they would be inviting him with family. Grudgingly, Daivik agreed, cursing Viren in his head and smilingly asked them to send the invite to the head of the family- Viren!

Daivik was angry that he had run into Shubhi again! The tragedy was that this time as well it was nothing short of a slap on his face! His ego had taken a beating again....and not very well. He was sure that he was right, but her attitude smacked of self-righteous behavior that he could not place. He needed a break and the evening meeting with Viren and Rajan sounded like the right thing.

Author's Note: Thanks @sindhura_28 @bruno03slslsls for the votes. It encourages me to post a chapter each week. What do you think of the characters!

Do vote and comment to share your thoughts!! Looking forward!!