Do Anjaane

Chapter 9

While Vaidehi protested against all the drama, she was secretly enjoying it just a bit. Everyone else had gathered downstairs, at the foot of the stairs, as if awaiting her grand entrance. Weirdly nervous, she took a deep breath and turned the corner, carefully stepping down the stairs while gliding her hand along the rail. Papa and Chachu whistled and clapped along with Akshu, Priya, Maa and Chachi, while Yuv clutched a hand to his chest and pretended to faint in his twin's arms. Vaidehi giggled seeing their antics. 

As she reached the bottom of the steps, Yagnik came forward and hugged her. Stepping back, he whipped a black pen out of his pocket and made a little dot behind her ear. "Kisi ki nazar na lage mere Bhabhi ko." "Thank you Yagnik, kitne pyaare ho." Although Maa and Chachi had already applied kala tika, it was a very cute gesture of Yagnik's. Raghuveer finally stepped forward, coming out of his trance. He had struggled to resist her when he only allowed himself to notice her presence, much less actually look at her. 

And now, dressed up as she was, looking at the natural beauty and glow of her, how was it possible for him to resist? "You're looking beautiful," he said with a hint of a rasp. Vaidehi held her clutch with both hands, looking up at his face for a moment before looking back down at her heels. "Thank you, you too," she mumbled. In the few seconds that she had taken to look at him, she noticed that he did look really handsome, dressed in trousers and a button-down with a casual blazer. Akanksha clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. 

"All right, so here's the plan. Humne lunch ke liye ek restaurant mein reservation ki hain, lekin tab tak, aapke paas time hain Bhai aur Bhabhi. So, Bhai aap Bhabhi ko jaho woh chahthi hain, waha ghumaiye, phir aaram se lunch kijiye, kuch shopping-wopping bhi kijiye aur shaam ke party ke liye wapas aiye. Bhai, maine aapko address bheji hain. Aur haan, Bhabhi, aapko sirf ek duty hain, bohot saare pictures click karna." "Lekin didi, mujhe in donon par bilkul bhi bharosa nahi hain. Backup ke liye abhi kuch pictures lete hain." 

After 5 minutes of posing for pictures under Priya's direction, Raghuveer barked, "That's enough, we're leaving," and led his wife outside to the car. Once they were buckled in and he had reversed, he asked, "Toh, kaha jaana chahthi ho tum." "Maine kuch soch ke nahi rakhi, jaha aapko theek lage." "In that case...let it be a surprise." "May I turn on the radio?" Veer nodded reluctantly. Vaidehi tuned in to her favorite channel that always played retro Bollywood songs. Within minutes, she was singing along, and Veer turned down the radio to better listen to her voice. 

He didn't know she could sing professionally, and her voice was perfect. Melodious but with an attractive hint of rasp. Music was Vaidehi's hobby and passion, and that along with cooking, kept her sane throughout her life. She closed her eyes and only opened them when she felt that they had stopped moving. She saw her husband holding the door open for her, stretching a hand for her to step out of the car. Taking it, she stepped out and was surprised to see that he still held her hand in his as he strode inside the building. "Is this your office?" The building was empty, as it was Sunday, and almost all employees had a holiday. 

Sometimes Raghuveer's personal team would have to work with him, but since he was off today, they were too. "Yes, this is our main headquarters, but we have offices in other cities, too." He guided her to the elevator, and while she ruminated on how to continue the conversation, they reached their floor. The doors opened directly into an entry hall that opened into a modern-looking living room with sliding glass doors to the balcony. Surprisingly though, the décor was more traditional. And were those a few pieces that Vaidehi had selected? 

She wondered where they were going to be used and had forgotten about them when she didn't see them anywhere at home. "I didn't know that the office also had a penthouse suit." "Hmm, the family always has a penthouse suite in all of their office buildings. And senior employees have company-maintained flats at nearby apartments." Vaidehi nodded, rubbing her hand and looking at the balcony, lost as to what to say or do. "Like I said this morning, we need to talk, and I'd like to get it out of the way first. Will you take a seat?"