Chapter 46 - Justice Served...or delayed?

 "Yeh last paper hai, ispe sign kardo aur bas ho gaya." ("There's one last paper to sign and then you're done.") Tej said as he flipped to the last page in the file.

"Okay bade papa." Shivaay mumbled and was about to sign it when a servant came running towards them.

"Sir, police aayi hai." ("Sir, police are here.") The servant informed.

"Police ?" Tej amused while Shivaay just threw the fountain pen on the file and went to the living room.

"Hello, ACP Singhania." Shivaay nodded, getting all too professional.

"Hello, Mr Oberoi." ACP Singhania greeted back before signalling his subordinates to bring in the people they had caught. "Aapne jo information di thi uske bharose humne apke diye hue addresses pr raid dali. Aap ke allegations sahi the, Mr Oberoi, yahi Vecha hai." ("We raided the addresses you gave us on the basis of the information which you provided us with. Your allegations were right, Mr Oberoi, he's Vecha.")

Meanwhile, OmRuAniRiVya and all the elder Oberois had also gathered in the living room as the servant had informed them all about the arrival of police.

"Vecha ? Yeh kaisa naam hai ?" ("Vecha ? What kind of name is that ?") Rudy scrunched his nose up. "Suney mein ketchup jaisa lagta hai." ("Sounds like ketchup.") He giggled.

Om elbowed Rudy to shut him up before turning to Shivaay. "Yeh Vecha kaun hai bhai ?" ("Who's this Vecha guy, bhai ?")

"Om tum pr jo kuch dino pehle humla hua tha woh Vecha ne kiya tha." ("The attack on you, a few days ago, was done by Vecha.") Shivaay replied. "Vecha, ek underworld don hai jisey Interpol aur police kafi saalon se dhund rahe hai. But don't worry he's under arrest now." ("Vecha is an underworld don who's on the most wanted list of Interpol and police. But don't worry he's under arrest now.")

"Ek underworld don ne mujh pe humla kyu kiya ?" ("Why would an underworld don attack me ?") Om frowned.

"Tum Vecha ka chehra dekh lo, tum khud hi samjh jaoge." ("See his face for yourself, you'll understand the reason.") Shivaay said. "ACP Singhania." He prompted.

ACP nodded and stepped aside revealing Vecha.

OmRuRiVya's jaws dropped in surprise while Shivaay and Annika just shared a knowing, triumphant smile.

"Yeh ?!" ("He ?!") OmRuRiVya amused together.

"Mujhe lagta toh hai ki mein isey janta hu lekin mujhe yaad nahi aa raha." ("I think I know him but I don't recall exactly who he is.") Rudy said suddenly as he tried to recall who the person was.

Om smacked Rudy's head lightly before hissing, "Yeh Daksh Chauhan ka bhai hai, Veer Chauhan." ("He's Daksh Chauhan's brother, Veer Chahuan.")

"Mr Oberoi, humne Veer Chauhan ki sari factories aur properties japt ki hai aur aapne jo proof mujhe diye hai usey yeh bhi sabit ho jayega ki Oberoi's pe jo saalon pehle ilzaam lage the woh jhoothe the and hopefully apko apki kuch factories aur properties wapis mil jayegi." ("Mr Oberoi, we've confiscated Veer Chahuan's all the factories and properties and the proofs which you've given us will prove that Oberoi's are innocent and the allegations against them are void so hopefully you'll get some of your factories and property back.") ACP Singhania said.

Shivaay grinned. "Thank you so much, sir." He said and turned to Veer who was now glaring at Shivaay with fire in his eyes. "Lekin mein iske muh se sunna chahunga ki usne mere parivaar pr jhoote ilzaam kyu lagaye aur mere parivaar ko kyu phasaya." ("But I would like to hear it from his mouth as to why he conspired against my family.")

Veer scoffed venomously.

"Bolo ! Veer Pratap Chauhan, tumne mere parivar ko kyu phasaya ? Kya bigada tha hum Oberoi's ne tumhara ?" ("Spill it ! Veer Pratap Chahuan, why did you conspire against my family ? What wrong had us Oberoi's did with you ?") Shivaay growled with a matching fire in his eyes.

"Hahahaha."

Shivaay's head snapped behind Veer, towards the source of the laughter and he saw Roop Chahuan, Veer's mother laughing like a maniac while still being handcuffed to a lady countable.

"Tum janna chahte ho ki Veer ne aisa kyu kiya ? Daanton Daanton mein." ("You wanna know why Veer did what he did ?") Roop asked between her toothy laugh.

Shivaay just stared at her without replying.

"Toh suno." ("Then listen carefully.") Roop suddenly stopped laughing and glared at Tej. "Veer ne tum Oberois ko mere kehne pe barbaad kiya. Meine kaha tha ussey tum logo se badla lene ke liye." ("Veer ruined you Oberois lives on my command. I told him to take revenge from you all.")

"Badla ? Kaisa badla ?" ("Revenge ? But why ?") Janvi interjected.

"Tum apne pati kyu puchti ? Usey toh sab kuch pata hai." ("Why don't you ask your husband ? He knows it all.") Roop snarled.

All the heads in the room snapped towards Tej.

Tej was sweating in one corner of the room as he avoided any eyes contact and glared back at Roop.

"Papa ?" Rudy muttered softly as he stared at Tej.

Tej looked at Rudy and gulped once before coming forward and glaring at Roop.

"Mujhe kaise pata hoga ?" ("How would I know ?") Tej hissed.

"Nahi pata ?" ("You don't ?") Roop chuckled before getting serious all over again. "Thik hai, mein hi bata deti hu." ("Fine, let me tell you.")

Roop turned to other Oberois.

"Iss Tej Singh Oberoi ne Don Bosco se yani mere pati se 20,000 crore ka karza liya tha." ("This Tej Singh Oberoi had taken loan of 20,000 crores from Don Bosco aka my husband.") Roop yelled.

"20,000 CRORE ?!" Everyone else in the room amused including Janvi, Shakti and Pinky.

"Bhaisahab ?" Shakti mused but Tej just avoided eye contact as he tried to think about something to come up with.

"Aur jab yeh saare paise haar gaya tab usey samjh aaye ki usne apni aukat se kai jyada paise liye hai aur isne mere pati ki jaan lene ki koshish ki !" ("And when he lost all the money he realised that he won't be able to return it and hence he tried to kill my husband !") Roop yelled furiously. "Isne mere pati ko milne bulaya aur waha pe unka khoon kar diya !" ("He called my husband for meeting and killed him there !") She cried.

"Meine tumhare pati ko nahi maara !" ("I didn't kill your husband !") Tej defended himself and even though he was looking scared a moment ago, he seemed very confident and honest right now.

"Jhooth !" ("Lie !") Roop screamed. "Police ne mere pati ki body collect ki aur unka antim sanskar bhi police ne hi kiya ! Mein unhe akhiri baar dekh bhi nahi paayi !" ("Police collected my husband's body and they performed the cremation as well ! I couldn't even see him for the last time !") She sobbed.

"Tumne humse mere pitah ko chhina isiliye meine tumhe aur tumhare parivar ko barbaad kar diya." ("You took our father away from us and that's why I ruined you and your family.") Veer spat. "Lekin mujhe tumhe sirf barbaad nahi karna tha...Tumne humse humara ek karibi chhina tha isiliye mein bhi tumse tumhare dil ke tookde, tumhare bacchon ko chhina chahta tha. Lekin inki kismat acchi nikli." ("But I didn't just wanna ruin you...You had snatched someone dearest from us and I wanted to snatch your dearest, your sons from you. But luck always seemed to be with them.")

Veer glared at ShivOmRu.

"Mein inhe 16 saal se dhund raha tha lekin mein in tak pohonch nahi saka !" ("I tried to find them for 16 years but couldn't reach them !") Veer said exasperated. "Lekin jab tumne, Shivaay, Oberoi Reality takeover ki tab mujhe pata chala ki tum hi woh Oberoi brothers ho jinki mujhe talash thi. Meine bahot koshish ki tumhe barbaad karne ki, yaha tak ki tumhare bhaiyon ki jaan lene ki aur tumhe ek dusre ke khilaf bhadkane ki lekin har baar...har baar mein haar gaya !" ("But when you took over Oberoi Realty, Shivaay, I got to know that you're the same Oberoi brothers I was looking for. I tried so hard to ruin you, to take your brother's life and to separate you 3 but every time...every bloody time I failed !")

Shivaay gritted when he heard Veer's confessions about trying to kill his brothers and trying to ruin his relationship with his brothers.

Veer let out an exasperated scream.

"Mein aise haar nahi sakta !" ("I cannot fail !") Veer yelled. "Apne papa ki maut ka badla liye bina mein nahi haar sakta !" ("I cannot lose, I can't give up unless I take revenge for my Papa's murder !")

Before anyone could understand anything, Veer pushed the constables holding him and freed himself before pulling out a gun from the inspector's belt and holding it at Om.

"Aj mera badla pura hoga." ("Today I'll succeed in getting the Revenge.") Veer said and pulled the trigger.

"OM !" Elder Oberoi's and Shivaay yelled in unison, but the only difference was elder Oberois were glued to their places but Shivaay wasn't.

Shivaay ran as fast as he could and pushed Om aside Just in time but he didn't get enough time to retrieve his hand and got his forearm shot.

"Ah !" Shivaay let out a small groan before jerking his hand and looking at Om to see if he was safe.

Shivaay heaved a relieved sigh when he saw Om was fine, he may had a small scarp on his elbow due to hitting the ground hard but apart from that he looked fine. He was beyond shook but he was physically alright.

The police quickly came into action and got Veer under control again.

"Don Bosco ko Tej Singh Oberoi ne nahi, tumhare uncle, Don Tango ne mara tha." ("Tej Singh Oberoi didn't kill Don Bosco, your uncle, Don Tango did.") ACP Singhania revealed.

"What ?" Veer exclaimed.

"Yes." ACP Singhania replied.

"Le jayiye inhe, please." ("Please, take them away.") Shivaay said to ACP Singhania before hissing quietly to himself.

"Bhai / Bhaiya / Shivaay !" OmRuAniRiVya yelled and surrounded Shivaay.

"Bhai I'm so sorry." Om spilled tears when he saw Shivaay's bleeding arm. "Yeh sab meri wajah se hua hai." ("It's all my fault.") He cried.

"Om.." Shivaay let out an inaudible hiss. "..I'm fine. Goli chhu ke nikal gayi." ("..I'm fine. The bullet just touched and went past my hand.")

"Bhaiya ! Kitna khoon beh raha hai." ("Bhaiya ! It's bleeding so much.") Rudy sobbed. "Aao aap yaha baitho." ("Come, sit here.")

Rudy walked Shivaay to the couch.

"Sab door hato." ("Everyone get aside.") Annika said as she pushed her way to Shivaay and checked his wound. "Gauri jaldi se first aid box le aao aur Bhavya paani lao." ("Gauri bring me the first aid box and Bhavya get some water.")

RiVya nodded and ran off to get the things Annika had asked for. As soon as they came back, Annika made Shivaay drink some water and took care of his wound.

"Goli sirf chhuke nikli hai." ("Bullet has just scraped him.") Annika informed OmRuRiVya and elders, who looked worried as hell. "Nothing to worry about."

"Told you I was fine." Shivaay mumbled as he wiped OmRu's tears and pulled them in a tight hug.

"Aap beech mein kyu aaye bhai ? Aapko kuch ho jata toh ?" ("Why did you risk your life ? What if something would've happened to you ?") Om complained.

Shivaay pulled out of the hug and wiped the tear which had slipped down Om's eye.

"Agar tujhe kuch ho jata toh meri toh aise bhi jaan chali jati." ("I would die as it is if something happens to you.") Shivaay replied softly.

Om's lower lip trembled after listening to Shivaay's words and he again tackled Shivaay in a hug.

"I'm so lucky to have you Bhai." Om mumbled while still hugging Shivaay.

"Me too." Rudy pouted and joined the hug making Shivaay chuckle.

"My babies." Shivaay mumbled to himself and kissed their foreheads as he pulled out of the hug.

Shivaay's smile reduced when his eyes landed on Tej who seemed lost in his own thoughts.

"Waise bade papa..." ("By the way, bade papa...") Shivaay stood up and walked towards Tej. "...aapne 20,000 crores kyu udhar liye the uss don se ?" ("...why exactly had you loaned 20,000 crores from that don ?")

Tej's eyes widened a bit and he started panicking but he masked it all away.

"Haan bhaisahab." ("Exactly, Bhaisahab.") Shakti came beside Shivaay. "Aisi kya jarurat aan padi thi ki apko itna bada loan lena pada, woh bhi ek don se ?" ("What was so important that you had to take such a huge loan that too from a don ?")

"Uh.." Tej started. "..Oberoi Industries ke expansion ke liye." ("..for the expansion of Oberoi Industries.") He quickly made up a lie. "Realty sector uss waqt thoda down tha toh humari Oberoi Reality ghate mein thi uss waqt isiliye mujhe karza lena pada taki hume company band naa karni pade aur koi bank se loan mil nahi raha tha isiliye meine Don se paise le liye." ("Realty sector was down at that time and our Oberoi Reality was incurring loss that's why I had to take loan to save our company from going bankrupt and since no bank was lending me money, I took it from the don.")

Shivaay gave a small nod.

"Oberoi Reality ke expansion ke liye ?" ("For the expansion of Oberoi Reality ?") Shivaay confirmed.

"Uh huh." Tej nodded as convincingly as possible.

"Hmm." Shivaay hummed while thinking something to himself.

Something didn't sum up.

20,000 crore loan for Oberoi Reality ?

Sure Oberoi Reality was a big venture but 20 freaking thousand crore would've taken it to an unprecedented level, wouldn't it ?

"Shivaay..." Annika came beside Shivaay and placed her hand on his shoulder. "...hume apke hath ke tests karne hoge to make sure goli ka zeher apke body mein nahi fail raha." ("... we'll have to do some tests on your hand to make sure that the poison from the bullet is not spreading in your body.")

"No need, Annika." Shivaay said dismissively. He was in a different mood right now.

"No, bhai." Om came on the other side of Shivaay. "You've to get your tests done."

"I second, O." Rudy said sternly.

"I third." Gauri said.

"I fourth." Bhavya nodded.

"Okay, okay." Shivaay chuckled. "As you all wish. I'll get the tests done."

Everyone smiled making Shivaay smile.

"For now, I'll just go and change." Shivaay muttered as was about to go towards his room when he saw Pinky on the way, she was crying bitterly in one corner.

Shivaay went to Pinky and placed his hand on his mother's shoulder. "Maa ?"

Pinky turned around and as soon as she saw him, she hugged him tightly and cried.

Shivaay realised what was wrong.

Pinky had just seen her son take a bullet and she was shook beyond belief.

"Shivaay." Pinky cried in Shivaay's chest.

"Mein thik hu." ("I'm alright.") Shivaay assured softly as he slowly wrapped his arms around his mother. "Mein thik hu." ("I'm fine.")

A tear pooled in Shivaay's eyes as he realised that his mother still loved him the same.

How long he had waited to be in his mother's arms ! To seek her affection.

The tear escaped down his eye but Shivaay quickly wiped it.

Pinky pulled apart sending a glare to Shivaay. "Kya jarurat thi aise Om ke saamne jaane ki ?" ("Why did you risk yourself for Om ?")

"Maa, Om mera chota bhai hai, usey har problem se bachana mera farz hai." ("Maa, Om is my younger brother, it's my duty to save him from every problem.") Shivaay replied genuinely.

"Nahi." ("No.") Pinky frowned. "Tera aisa koi farz nahi hai. Waha pe jeth ji bhi toh the woh bhi toh apne bete ke saamne jaake khade ho sakte the na ? Kya unka farz nahi tha apne khudke bete ko bachana ?" ("There's no such duty of yours. Tej was also there, he could've saved Om too by standing between Om and the bullet, couldn't he ? Wasn't it his duty to save his own son ?") Pinky retorted.

"Maa, OmRu mere liye sirf bhai nahi hai. Meri jaan hai woh dono aur mein apni jaan pe kisi ko kaise goli chalane deta ?" ("Maa, OmRu are not just my brothers. They are my soul, my life so how was I suppose to let someone shoot my soul ?") Shivaay asked.

"Tujhse koi nahi jeet sakta." ("No one can win an argument with you.") Pinky sighed in defeat. "Itna pyaar karta hai apne bhaiyo se ?" ("You love your brothers so much, don't you ?")

"Jaan se bhi jyada." ("More than my life.") Shivaay replied with a smile.

Pinky smiled back.

It was the first proper conversation they were having after the reunion.

However, the son-mother duo had no idea that there was someone else who had witnessed their moment.

Annika was there, standing 5 feet away from them behind a pillar.

Annika was smiling fondly at Shivaay.

She didn't know it was possible to fall more deeper for Shivaay but he just proved her wrong.

Shivaay was a gem, that pure flame of that oil lamp which illuminated in a holy temple and burns itself to give light to others, and Annika wished so hard to be his, to burn with him, to give light to others, her entire life.

Annika watched Shivaay chuckle at something with his mom and unknowingly Annika let out a giggle too.

What could she do, his smile was so contagious !

♥

Shivaay walked down the stairs and frowned when he saw darkness. He glanced at his mobile and checked the address again.

Was he at the right place ?

Yes...Then why was it so dark here ?

Shivaay decided to walk further and see if he is able to find Annika.

Annika had texted Shivaay an address this afternoon and had asked him to come there alone as she had arranged some surprise for him.

"Annika ?" Shivaay called into the dark.

Suddenly the lights came on and Shivaay saw heart shaped balloons covering the ground around a table for 2.

Shivaay walked ahead taking in the decoration.

Baby pink colored roses were littering the curtains on the walls and there was also a window showing the beautiful night sky.

"Annika ?" Shivaay called out yet again.

Someone covered Shivaay's eyes from behind.

Shivaay internally rolled his eyes.

"Annika, aankhein band karne ka kya matlab hai ? Tumne hi mujhe yaha bulaya hai toh zaahir si baat hai ki tum hi ne meri aankhein band ki hai." ("Annika, what's the point in covering my eyes ? You have called me over here, it's obvious that you're the one who has covered my eyes.") Shivaay sighed.

"You're no fun !" Annika pouted as she walked before Shivaay. "2-4 jhoote guess hi kar lete." ("You could've uttered some wrong guesses.")

Shivaay didn't reply, he just stared at Annika dreamily. She looked drop dead gorgeous !

She was wearing a full length ball gown type dress with her hairs in a bun and a few bangs were out.

"Kaisi lag rahi hu mein ?" ("How do I look ?") Annika asked with blush pink cheeks.

"Beautiful." Shivaay breathed making Annika blush more.

"T..thank you." Annika uttered softly, still blushing. "You don't look bad yourself." She smiled.

Shivaay actually looked pretty hot and charming (in Annika's words) in that black tuxedo which he had matched with feather printed white button down and his hairs were so neatly set that it looked no less than a masterpiece.

Shivaay shook his head as he came out of his trance.

"W..why did you call me here ?" Shivaay asked changing the topic.

"For dinner and.." Annika cut herself off with a deeper blush.

"And..?" Shivaay raised an eyebrow.

"You'll get to know." Annika replied. "C'mon let's have dinner, I'm starving."

Shivaay exhaled a smile. "Sure."

Shivaay was surprised that Annika had ordered all his favourite food but he didn't point it out cause he knew Annika knew everything about him.

After dinner, Annika forced Shivaay to dance with her.

"Let's ball dance." Annika cheered and started the music.

"No." Shivaay protested with tint of pink on his cheeks.

"Aww, why ?" Annika teased. "Darr gaye ? Don't worry, agar aap mere feet stamp bhi karoge toh bhi mein apko kuch nahi kahungi." ("Scared of me ? Don't worry, I won't rebuke you even if you stamp my feet while dancing.")

Shivaay scoffed. "FYI, I'm a good dancer."

"Prove it." Annika smirked.

Shivaay took it to his ego and snaked his arm around Annika's waist and started moving on the music, moving Annika with him too.

After the dance, Annika grinned.

"You're actually an amazing dancer." Annika remarked while panting.

"Thank you." Shivaay smirked. "Pr tumne mujhe ab tak nahi bataya ki tumne mujhe yaha kyu bulaya hai ?" ("But you still didn't tell me the reason behind this dinner.")

"Oh.." Annika's cheeks flared up. "...woh...mein...woh..." ("...uh... actually...um..") She stuttered.

Shivaay silently raised an eyebrow.

"Mein apko yeh kabse batana chahti thi lekin meri himmat hi nahi hui." ("I wanted to tell this to since ever but I just couldn't muster courage.") Annika confessed while looking at her hands cause she was hopelessly blushing. "Shivaay I...I...love you." She said and closed her eyes tightly.

Shivaay stared at her like she had grown two heads.

After whole 2 minutes, when Annika didn't get any response, she peaked an eye open and was surprised to see that she was standing alone.

"Shivaay ?" Annika called out but when she didn't see him around, she ran outside only to see that Shivaay had left in his car. "Shivaay !" She screamed in anger.

What the hell ?

How could he just leave without replying or reacting !

Annika felt so stupid now ! She poured her heart out to him and what did he do ? He kept her on read physically and left !

How could he leave !

"Stupid, Silly, Sunky SINGH OBEROI !" Annika yelled loudly after the car. "I'll make you pay for this !") She growled.

She was fuming.

♠

"Suno, yaha pe ek file thi, tumne dekhi ?" ("Listen, there was a file resting here, have you seen it ?") Tej asked a servant after trying to find the file in the corridor.

It was the same file which held ownership documents of Oberoi Reality on which Shivaay had signed to give up his ownership, unknowingly.

"Haan sir, abhi laya." ("Yes sir, I'll bring it for you.") The servant replied and went to get the file.

"Thank you." Tej mumbled as soon as he got the file and opened it to see that all the pages were stained by the ink.

Tej clicked his tongue as he remembered Shivaay throwing the fountain pen on the file when he heard that police have came to meet him.

The fountain pen was delicate and it broke when Shivaay threw it spilling all the ink on the papers.

"Yeh papers toh kharab ho gaye." ("These papers are ruined.") Tej said to himself but then smiled. "Chalo papers gaye toh gaye...At least mera secret to safe hai. Thank God, kisi ko sach nahi pata chala." ("Nevermind the papers...At least my secret is safe. Thank God, no one got to know the truth.")

Tej chuckled as he tore the papers into tiny bits and threw it in the dustbin.

-------------------

Hey bubblies !

3700 words !!!! 📜

So uh...yeah ? That's it for today 😅

Isn't Shivaay a bit unpredictable ?

Well in his defence, he just doesn't know how to deal with such a situation so he did what first came to his mind.

He's going to regret it, of course..but oh, what-a-va ! 😂😂😂

And oh ! Prinku will be back in the next chapter... honestly, I had forgotten that she's in tbe book ! 🤦🏻 I was like why didn't I add Prinku here and then I realised, oh yeah, she's in the book, I just forgot to show her 😬🤪😂

Talk about being forgetful..🤦🏻😂

Anyway...
Take care of yourselves lovelies.

Until the next update
Have a safe and great life 😇