"Om, Sarva Mangal Maangalya..." the two priests chanted in synchronization.

Silently, another invisible wave of gloom surged in the opulent living hall of the landmark bungalow in Jaipur known as Rajvansh Vilas.

In fact, the grim manner in which the priests were chanting the mantras, they could have easily been performing someone's last rites instead of the wedding ceremony. Had it not been for a blank-faced groom and a stoic bride's presence, it could have just been that. The total of three witnesses of this holy matrimony looked as grave. Nary a smile was in sight.

It was only natural as the family had lost their younger son, Abhay Rajvansh, merely a month back in a helicopter crash. The groom, Uday Rajvansh, was now the only son of the house. Kaveri Devi, the mother of the groom, wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye before it could stream down. As it is the atmosphere was too glum, she didn't want to add to it. But the hearts were all heavy nonetheless. Apart from her, Gulal Singh, the caretaker of the vast Rajvansh Vilas and man-Friday of the sorts to Uday, was also in attendance. His loyal family was in the service of this family for generations and he too had been with Uday Hukum since his adolescence. Hukum, was Rajvansh men's traditional address among the household employees and in Rajvansh's native township which was also their election seat.

The third witness present there was in no way or form related to anyone in the room. He, however, was the only one from the bride's side. Anthony D'Silva was an IAS officer and the secretary to the home minister of the country. An important man, he had a big hand in making this wedding happen. But he would be the first person to admit that it had taken him almost everything he had in terms of connections, clout, tact, truth and persuasion abilities, to get the leader of the opposition of Rajasthan State Assembly who was also the scion of the Rajvansh business empire, to this mandap. However, he did it and was extremely glad for it. His elder sister, who had taken the oath to serve God by becoming a nun when he was still in college had never asked anything from him. She had, in fact, severed all her connections from the family. It was him who had tried to meet her at least once every few years since the last thirty years. She had devoted herself to the service of humanity and God with single-mindedness. However, it was to help this girl, the bride, that she had contacted him for the very first time in her life.

He couldn't let her down. It was the only thing she'd ever asked of him.

Though that hadn't stopped him from judging this beautiful young girl by the societal standards and find her severely lacking. Unwed and pregnant by the well-known playboy Abhay Rajvansh, he had pegged her as clever and greedy. Especially when his sister had insisted that this pretty girl who had been brought up in the orphanage of their church should be 'taken care' by Rajvansh family only as it is their responsibility as well. Of course, he had thought cynically. The kind of rich 'care' they would take can't be compared to any other kind of help. The girl had set her sights a tad too high, in his opinion. However, as per the girl, she had been used by Abhay Rajvansh who was avoiding her like plague later. Anthony had wiped all expression from his face and had nodded at everything she said only because he didn't want to antagonize his sister who seemed to believe her. Any way, Abhay Rajvansh was a useless lothario and would have rightly deserved getting saddled with such a girl. But before he could set the wheels in motion, the younger Rajvansh had up and died, literally, while trying to take off in his personal chopper under the influence.

The girl got majorly lucked out. Just when she got Anthony in her corner who could make things go her way, her intended target perished. Obviously, her options drastically reduced after that. The only few that Anthony could think of was termination, giving up the baby to Rajvanshs in return of financial reward, or marrying someone else. The first one was going to be mighty hard after the girl had involved Anthony's sister in her saga. The pious woman had involved herself into this mess solely for the sake of the unborn baby. If it would have only been the girl in question, Sister Sophia would have simply prayed for her soul, nothing more. Going by Anthony's opinion of her, the girl should have gone for the second option wherein she would have gotten good money and zero responsibility. But the girl surprised him when she opted for the third option. She was ready to get married to anyone as long as her baby was not born illegitimate. Even to one of Anthony's widowed assistant who was twice her age and already a father of two teenaged kids.

She accepted that proposal without blinking an eye and that made Anthony finally believe the girl in whose character and integrity his sister had such unwavering faith.

Anthony had two daughters of his own. Had they been in such a situation, what would have he done, he thought. And then did exactly what he would have done in that scenario. He went straight for the jugular of this branch of Rajasthan's royal family. What if the culprit was dead? The victim and her innocent child were not and they deserved justice. Period.

In his very first meeting with the grieving relatives, he made it very clear to Kaveri Devi Rajvansh and her elder son that Niyati Mishra had to be respectfully accepted by them or there would be consequences.

He still does not want to dwell on the scenario where they would have accepted his challenge. No matter how important he was, he wasn't a match for the kind of money and power he was up against. But he had calculatedly taken that risk and predictably, the grieving mother capitulated in no time. She was aware of her beloved but very dead son's philandering ways and the idea of getting her dead son's offspring as a souvenir was an irresistible temptation, no matter the price.

But Uday Rajvansh, who was the price Anthony D'Silva had demanded, had not swayed easily.

Even after the DNA test that had been ordered from London had come back positive, he had tried to negotiate any arrangement but marriage till the possible last minute. Dealing with him personally had almost assured Anthony of his victory in the next State Assembly election that was merely eight months away. He was extremely shrewd and his priorities were very clear. Apart from the sentimentality of his mother, upcoming elections were another big factor for his defeat in this private war of theirs. There was no way he could afford negative publicity of this magnitude at this stage when informal pre-election campaigning had already started.

Anthony knew that on her own Niyati wouldn't have had a prayer of even meeting Uday Rajvansh, let alone make him hear her side of the story. Making him believe her, would have been an impossible feat, for like any other seasoned politician Uday Rajvansh was apt at crushing down the truths that inconvenienced him. Anthony was glad that he could smooth things out for her in the start because the path ahead for her was going to be bumpy. He was also happy that he could keep his promise to his sister.

"Who will give the bride away?" the head priest asked.

"I will," Anthony D'silva announced.

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Uday Rajvansh seethed in silence. How he would love to strangle this pathetic manipulator who shamelessly played on the heartstrings of a grieving old lady! And this girl, Niyati Mishra, words failed him as far as she was concerned. She was the lowest scum in that dark stinky bottomless gutter where even his vocabulary won't reach. The greedy bitch was now the owner of every last cent that was Abhay's share in their property and businesses. Not the baby, in whose name she had captured all the riches, but she herself. The thug duo had insisted on it painting her as a victim in what had been a mutually consented affair. If he had any doubt about her avaricious intentions ever, which he didn't, there were absolutely none now.

And try as he might, he could not spare any charitable thought for his younger brother at the moment either. This wasn't the first time Abhay had been the perpetrator of such mess. He had kind of forgiven him earlier, but not this time. Not when he was signing off his life, his reputation and his ancestral wealth to one of his floozy. While he'd loved his brother as an elder sibling should, he couldn't claim that they shared a close bond with an age gap of eleven years between them. Theirs had always been a rather formal relationship. And rather strained too, lately. They had been at constant odds with each other over Abhay's depraved lifestyle, scandalous behavior, irresponsible spending, questionable friends ...

Shit! One should not think ill of the dead. He closed his eyes. No matter what he was, Abhay was his brother. He had a soft corner for him regardless of their deteriorating equation since the last three-four years. And the logical part of his brain knew that it was only right that Abhay's baby lives with them, but his life was getting ruined here for Pete's sake! He was thirty-eight years old and had given matrimony a wide berth all his life sparing one unlucky close brush, only to be caught in this degrading manner by this gold-digging tramp!

The only reason he was doing it, though, was his beloved mother. Anthony D'silva had uncannily attacked him where he hurt the most. His mother was his best friend, his confidante, his guide. And after losing her younger son she had aged the way she hadn't aged even after her husband's death. She had loved both her sons equally but it was a common knowledge that she had spoilt the baby of the family rotten. She had lately given Uday the sole authority to discipline Abhay but it had been too late. Had she told Abhay no at the right junctures in his growing up years, he wouldn't have slipped like an eel from their hands later on. She was blaming herself for the waste of Abhay's young life. For the abrupt end of it. She was bitterly regretting her over-indulgent parenting at the moment but that was not going to change anything. She was in a bad place right now. In fact, she had gone into a mild cardiac-arrest three weeks prior, just before when Anthony D'silva had appeared on the scene. He might be putting a brave face but inside Uday was shaken and scared. She was his only family left now. So, if she wanted Abhay's baby, she was going to get it. And if Abhay's baby came to her at the price of his freedom, then so be it.

He wanted his mother happy. And alive.

Just then he caught her looking at him worriedly. His mouth automatically curved up in a reassuring smile. Her expressions were heavy with something akin to gratitude. And lots of love.

Uday had to reluctantly admit that she was looking better after receiving the baby news. She even helped him personally draft the PR spiel. He was not going to let this truth out of these four walls. Not even to his professional PR team.

They had come up with a story of Kaveri Devi first seeing Niyati Mishra in the orphanage she patronized and feeling an emotional connection with the girl. That her younger son's death caused her a cardiac arrest, making her worry for her elder son being left alone in the world after her, was what prompted her to hastily arrange his wedding with the sweet orphan. She wanted to see her dear Uday settled in case something happened to her. Hence the impropriety of not waiting out the grieving period before this wedding. The press and media had gobbled this crap with relish. The story was currently featuring in all newspapers and media channels.

Though God only knew how they were going to pass this baby off as his when the girl was already three months pregnant. Another scandal in the wake of his brother's death while on 'strong meds', which claimed one of his useless friend's life as well, would be a death knell for their party in the upcoming elections. The public can forget one scandal of this magnitude in eight months but two would be a definite stretch. So he has to make sure there was no new circus in his life for the next year.

Thankfully, his mother had a plan for that. She will be taking this girl to London with herself in two months. Technically, she will be five months pregnant then but they will announce her gestation as new and only one month old. His mother had assured him that she won't start really showing by then. Out of sight, and hopefully out of everyone's mind too, she will spend rest of her term outside India and deliver the baby there as well under the guise of needing special care for a high-risk pregnancy. They will then adjust the baby's age a little and bring him or her back to India after the elections were over.

By all accounts, he should be grieving his brother rather than plotting his political career at this moment but between the two legacies left for him, of shame by his brother and of responsible pride by his father in the form of his political dreams, he considered his duty towards his late father more binding.

His father had been the Chief Minister of this state three times in his lifetime and had groomed him to take his mantle since his adolescence. And he had badly let his faith and hard work in him down when he had to assume the leadership of their party after his sudden death due to heart failure, just before the last elections. A once strong heart that Uday had had the hand in weakening. His mother never blamed him but he knew that he was the reason his father had the heart ailment in the first place. It was his private albatross.

Anyway, while the public sympathized with his grief, they were not ready for a green thirty-three-year-old Chief Minister to lead them. And why just blame them? Many of their own senior party leaders had taken advantage of the situation and had tried to grab the party leadership. There was chaos all around and without his father to guide him he had stumbled. Their party had been shamefully defeated. That they were even considered opposition was due to the support of some independently elected candidates. But slowly, and very surely, in the last five years, he had stubbed all the rebellion in the party. People either toed the line or they were booted out. He brought in a lot of honest young blood teaming with new ideas and eagerness to prove themselves into the sphere too. And while he had always worked at the grass-root level as a party member, he had revolutionized the term working-at-the-grass-root-level as the leader of the party. Education, employment, corruption, agriculture, sanitation, etc, etc, etc, there hadn't been a situation in this state they haven't worked to improve. Sometimes without an iota of credit, sometimes with a resounding public accolade. In a nutshell, each member of his party from the ground up has given his and her sweat and blood to lay down the foundation for the next elections. Their hard work was about to bear fruits. Their collective success with within reach. Almost.

He can not let them down.

He will not.

Everything else will have to take a back seat.

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Author's Note

Thank you for joining me on TUW journey. I sincerely hope you liked this chapter. I would request you to give this story some time to take a proper shape before deciding if you like it or not. Maybe four or five chapters. Thank you again for your continued readership. And it feels great to be back!

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