"What?" Indrani asked in confusion.

"Be here by today evening. Otherwise another girl will be stealing him again", said Gomati.

"But Aunty, shopping is not over yet", said Indrani, she had gone to Chennai to help her younger cousin sister in selecting designer wear for her wedding.

"She is getting married. When will you?" asked Gomati.

Indrani sighed. "Ok Aunty, I will be there by evening. Let me check the flights".

It was an uneventful day in the office and Leena came home by 6 PM and went to cook in the house kitchen. By 6:30 she had finished cooking and was heading back to the annex with her dinner.

"So that's her?" asked Indira, she was a tall, regal looking woman with beautiful hair and fair skin. She had big beautiful eyes and a strong jawline and was wearing a pink and white salwar kameez that complemented her well.

"Yes", replied Gomati in a disapproving tone.

"She looks cute from the back. How is she from the front?" asked Indrani.

"Slutty", stated Gomati.

"And you think Rajiv is interested in her?" asked Indrani as they observed her go in and then come out with a book and sit in the verandah. None of the kids have returned and she was waiting for them to come so that she could greet them.

"I don't know, but he speaks to her a lot", said Gomati.

"About what? About business or personal stuff?"asked Indrani.

"I don't know, they are so far, I can't hear them", Gomati replied.

"This is the reason why you called me back from my favorite cousin's wedding shopping?" Indrani asked in disappointment.

Just then Rajiv's car came into the compound and he parked it in the garage opposite to the annex. He got out with his briefcase and walked towards Leena. They were both smiling to each other.

"Waiting for the kids?" asked Rajiv.

"Yeah, they aren't here yet", she replied.

"Today is Tuesday, Ravi and Abhi have football practice in the local club and Kiran would be in his physics tuition, they will only be back by dinner time", he said.

"I will wait" she said.

"Eat on time. Their curfew is until 8 PM, and they stay out until then. I will go in, bye" he said to her with a smile.

Gomati gave a knowing look to Indrani.

"Huh! I see now", said Indrani. She went into the kitchen and got a tray of tea and biscuits. As Rajiv entered and saw her sitting with his evening tea on the dining table, the smile he had while speaking to Leena instantly vanished.

"Indrani, you are back! I thought you would be in Chennai until end of this month" he said in confusion.

"Hi Rajiv. Yes I was going to stay that long, but then it got so boring, so I came back. Why don't you have some tea with me" she said with a smile.

Rajiv kept the suitcase on a table nearby and sat down next to her at the dining table.

"How was your day?" she asked.

"Fine, and how's everyone in the family?" he asked sipping the tea.

"Great. Mani chettan and Janaki chechi are still not back?"she asked.

"No, they will be here next week", replied Rajiv.

"How is Mahadevan uncle?"she asked.

"He is doing fine. You should meet him" he replied.

"Hey, Gomati aunty told me that some woman is living in the annex now?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, one of our staff had some issues with another staff. So we are letting her stay here until she feels safe" said Rajiv. He knew that it was the only reason why she came back from Chennai.

"I will go and meet her", Indrani said, promptly getting up.

"Why?" asked Rajiv. "She is my staff".

"So what? I should know who is living in this compound" she said and before he could stop her, she had already walked out the front door.

Immediately Rajiv texted Leena, "Don't get provoked". "Why the hell did Amma call her back?" he thought in his mind.

Leena was puzzled at the message from Rajiv and then she saw the lady standing in front of her. They took a couple of seconds admiring how beautiful the other person was.

Finally Indrani said, "Hi, I am Indrani", extending her hand.

Leena got up and shook her hand, "Hi, I am Leena".

"My alliance has been fixed with Rajiv. I thought I might come and meet our guest" said Indrani.

Leena sure as hell was provoked. She gritted her teeth and smiled, "Oh, nice to know. Please be seated".

Indrani sat down.

"Do you stay here often?" Leena asked.

"Occasionally, I have to get to know Rajiv and the boys. What are you reading?", she replied.

"A thousand splendid suns. So when is the wedding?"asked Leena.

"Haven't fixed the date yet. Nice book" she replied.

"Why isn't the date fixed?" Leena prodded.

"Rajiv hadn't divorced his wife yet", Indrani replied.

"Oh" observed Leena.

Just then, the boys entered from the front gate.

"Hey guys"  Indrani shouted to them and went to talk to them.

"Aunty you are back!!!" Kiran shouted. He and Indrani hugged.

"Why are you back so early? You guys are usually here only by 8 on Tuesdays" she asked Abhi and Ravi.

"Flood lights failed, no point in continuing after that" said Abhi.

"Come I have got some gifts for you guys from Chennai", she said and they left.

Leena was beyond provoked, she was livid. That night not a single morsel went down her throat.

"That bloody woman is now having dinner with my husband and kids. She has a relationship with my kids", Leena was in her angriest mood ever. Here she was desperately trying to get them to say hello whenever they see her and this woman is hugging them and knows their schedule. How could she compete with her for her kids affections? That has to be earned, she can't get it as a right.

The next day Leena waited patiently for Rajiv to finish his work and head home so that she could stop him on the way and ask about Indrani. But unknown to her, Rajiv was religiously avoiding going home so that he could avoid meeting Indrani. Finally by 8:00 PM, Leena lost her patience and marched into his cabin. By then all the office staff had gone home and only the delivery boys and the security guards were on duty downstairs. Rajiv was sitting on the desk looking through some documents and comparing it with the sales from previous year on his computer. He looked up and saw a tigress standing with her arms folded over her chest.

"Oh, this is going to be good", he thought and asked her, "What's the matter Leena?"

"Get.... rid..... of.... her....." she said deliberately.

A mischievous smile stole over Rajiv's face. He got up and walked around the table and leaned against it in front of her.

"I am not playing games, Rajivendra" she said his full name.

Rajiv was in trouble, but he was enjoying every bit of this jealous woman in front of him.

"I am neither your uncle Stephen, nor the mafia. I do not know how to get 'rid' of people" he said innocently.

"Get... rid... of... her..." she said advancing slowly into his face.

"How can I? She is a daughter of a dear friend of my father. I can't ask her to leave my home, she is my parents' guest. They have arranged the match", he said baiting her.

"Fine, why don't I marry your uncle Mahadevan then?" she baited him.

All the fake innocence drained from his face and was replaced with anger. He stood up towering over her.

"What.... did.... you.... just.... say...?" he asked and in the pause between each words he walked towards her egging her towards the sofa. Then he gently pushed her onto it and then landed on top of her, pinning her wrists on either side of her.

"Rajiv, let go of me", she pleaded.

"What did you just say?" he asked her again, looking deep into her eyes.

"I will marry your uncle, and become your aunt. And our kids will become your cousin brothers", she said to him in anger and defiance.

"Really?" he asked and then kissed her passionately which she returned with fervor. But once she realized what she was doing, she tried to push him off her.

When he looked at her after that, her face had a mixture of mischievousness, anger, defiance and love. And all of a sudden, he realized that he was falling in love with her all over again. How he wished he could kiss her whenever he wanted, how he could take her hand, touch her and how he wish he could make love to her.

She in defiance tried to push him off but again failing miserably, she said halfheartedly, "I am tired, get off me". 

She could see where his mind was heading and wanted to do the best to stop him from persuading her. He debated in his mind, if he persisted, they could be intimate on that sofa. But this was his office, he shouldn't be touching her, let alone have sex with her, this was disrespectful towards her and his work. He would have fired anyone who did the same in the office. Also, after 15 years, it has to be special, not this way. So he drew a deep breath and got up. Leena hastily got up and adjusted her saree which had become disheveled.

After fixing it she was about to walk out when he grabbed her by the waist and hugged her and in her ear he said, "One of these days, I will get a chance, and I will be so brutal that you will love it". That statement sent a thrill though her and she felt hot and bothered. To cover up her feelings she said, "So she will leave?"

Exasperated, Rajiv pushed her gently against a wall and passionately kissed her and said, "I can't do that. But even if all the world's most beautiful women were walking naked in my house, I will still be outside your door, begging you to let me in".

"Its not just that Rajiv, its about the kids as well. They might start seeing her as your potential wife and a mother figure. I can't live with that", she said desperately looking into his eyes.

"They know that I will never marry her. They know that I love only their mother, which kind of exasperates them. And about making them like you, I will arrange some ways for them to be in contact with you so that they could know you better. But when you get a chance, just take it and talk to them", he said.

She looked deeply into his eyes and nodded. "I will try. I have to go now, somebody might see us", she said.

Rajiv reluctantly let go of her waist and said, "Yeah, its too late now, go home".

Seeing her retreating figure made him yearn for her. "Damn it, why does she have to thrill me so much?" he thought. Going back to the boring paper work seemed like a torture.

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