"Yash? Are you listening?" Shalini nudged her son who was lost in his train of thought "what do you think about destination wedding?" She didn't get any response.

"Bhabi! I think he's dreaming about his future wife" his father's younger brother Sandeep teased "he needs to come back to reality".

"Yash?" Shalini called a little loudly and he blinked "um..yeah..I was listening" he forced a smile.

"So you're okay with destination wedding?" Shalini gave a sharp glance in his direction "I'm thinking of Venice or maybe London...we have a farmhouse there anyway. It would gather a thousand guests atleast".

Yash gave a small start of surprise "is it required? Why don't we have a small and simple wedding?"

"Are you crazy?" Sandeep looked at him "you're marrying Ahuja's daughter...it has to be grand and pompous...everyone should see we still have it in us....and it's good for our financial success" he explained in a matter of fact tone.

"I don't know...we should probably postpone the wedding...keep the date a year later..after the completion of the plant.." Yash said, lost in thought.

"Are you crazy? This is the best time to have a wedding" Sandeep said, getting up "bhabi! Convince your son, he's having cold feet..." he teased.

Shalini didn't smile "what about the guest list?"she asked him. "I've already prepared a list of close relatives and friends separately...and then there are others..." Sandeep replied "speaking of close relatives...I think we should invite...Daksh".

At the mention of the name, Yash regained his composure "no trash is invited chachu". Sandeep looked at his nephew with concern "whatever conspired between the two of you, he's your brother....I'm sure your father wouldn't have wanted this...I think you should..."

"I don't want to have anything to do with him" Yash confirmed "he chose his path...if dad hadn't taken him in, he would be slaving in the streets..so the least he can do is be a little thankful...".

Sandeep could sense a lot of venom in his voice "he's still family..and we wouldn't want more scandals to come up"he said.

"Family?" Yash shook his head "he disrespected my mother...even when she looked after him as her own..I don't want to get started with what he did before getting himself out of our house...so let's close his chapter".

Sandeep wondered how much of that was true but didn't argue more; he knew better than to get involved with the mess "fine...whatever you wish" he got up "I've to get back to dinner... Vasudha must be waiting".

After he had left, Shalini turned to his son who was back in his phone "you're really taking it too far". Yash didn't look up "I don't care...I want that bastard away from our lives".

"I wasn't talking about Daksh" she replied "you're still having doubts about marrying Nidhi...don't make it obvious to others that you're not interested... your uncle was almost suspicious".

Yash kept his phone aside and looked at her warily "I still can't forget the way she looked at me when I told her about Nidhi..it was so loathsome..she had tears in her eyes and I wish I could stop her from crying..."

"Please don't go there Yash!" Shalini warned, sensing a red signal; all the meticulous planning was done and now he was beginning to have second thoughts "everything we've worked for will go to drain...the life of our company and many others depend on this alliance..don't mess it up because of your stupidity...be practical".

Yash leaned back on the couch, thinking about Meera. He loved her, still..he never loved Nidhi; he wasn't even sure he would ever fall for her. She was a nice girl, but she wasn't Meera.

After he told her about their engagement, he could still see her eyes brimming from tears and when she ran away from him, he tried to stop her "Meera wait!"

He caught up with her and took her hand "I'm sorry...please forgive me" he said "I'll try to make things better.. believe me..."

"How Yash?"she asked, shaking his shoulders "will you break up your engagement and come with me? Will you stand upto your mother? Will you give me back all those moments we had? Answer me!"

He didn't reply, he couldn't "that's what I thought..I should have realized when you drifted away from me..I kept consoling myself that it was a phase...that you were busy trying to put back your business...little did I know you were planning something else...to secure your future with Nidhi.. because you could never have anything with me".

"I can't go against my mother Meera" he said slowly, unable to meet her gaze "I'm extremely sorry".

"No you're not Yash" she shook his hand away "but you will be" and she had walked away from him.

"Yash?" Shalini spoke softly "Nidhi will suit you perfectly. With her, you'll achieve everything you've worked for. With Meera, you'll only have failure...no one will respect you in our circle....think about all the prospects you'll get when you're with Nidhi...we can work our way to the top".

Yash exhaled a long breath; his mother was right. He should forget Meera. Time would heal the wound and he was sure she would get over the pain and move on in life. And everything would fall into place.

Little did he know what was coming...

◇◇◇◇◇

Daksh, busy listening to the schedule of his chief accounts officer was severely interrupted by the extension call.

"What is it?"he asked a little harshly as he never liked to be interrupted. "Extremely sorry sir but Mr Arora is here..."

"Send him in...I've told you before never to make him wait" he told her curtly and dismissed the staff "I'll call you later....have the reports in an hour".

Adarsh occupied the chair opposite to him "I didn't know you were busy". Daksh closed the file "I was going through the reports....I'm leaving to Meerut tomorrow.. apparently there's this small problem I've to take care of".

"How's the project going?" Adarsh asked, staring at one of the paintings above the chair. "Very slow as a matter of fact...that's why I'm leaving urgently" Daksh replied "how's the new plant coming up?"

The older man raised a curious eyebrow "thanks to you, the labour division has gone on strike and the new officer appointed has filed a complaint citing illegal activity around the area" his eyes darkened "I know you're behind it...why don't you stop waging war on Prime..and Yash?"

"I'm not waging war against any of you...my war is only with my brother.." Daksh pointed out "it's not the question of destroying the company...I want him gone from where he's sitting..."

Adarsh didn't understand the animosity between the two although he knew there was much more than what Dheeraj had hinted him once, few days before his death "make sure they don't destroy each other" he had told his friend "I want you to make peace between the two... something I had never been able to do". And now, he had failed too...

"I'm not here to talk about Yash" he said slowly, remembering the actual reason he was here "it's about Tanu".
Daksh stared at him in confusion "what's wrong? Is she okay?"

"I don't know what to do with her" Adarsh shrugged "she's getting out of hand..she comes late every night and she hardly talks to me nowadays...it's as if she's become a complete stranger...". Daksh could almost sense dejection in his voice "last night she came very late and she wouldn't even tell me where she was...I know she's hiding something but she wouldn't even tell me what it is....I feel like I'll lose her forever".

Daksh listened to him in stunned silence and remembered the conversation with Shlok which he had passed off as a joke. Maybe he was right; she was in serious trouble.

"I'll try to talk to her but I doubt she would tell me anything" he explained "and I'm not so good in giving counselling and stuff...I wonder if she would take me seriously".

"She admires and respects you...I'm sure she would listen to you" Adarsh said with a heavy heart. Daksh heavily doubted that but agreed anyway. Just then, his cellphone rang, interrupting their conversation. The number wasn't saved in his contacts list but he received anyway but the first word he heard wasn't anything he had prepared for.

"I'll marry you" said a female voice.

"Excuse me?"

"You asked me if I want to marry you.. the answer is yes".

He didn't have to second guess who it was yet it felt alien to his own ears "Meera Anand" he whispered "you took quite a lot of time to grieve".

He felt prolonged silence and then she spoke "do we have a deal then?" He couldn't help but smile a little; so much for being professional.

He looked at Adarsh who was waiting for his response "it's an emergency" he lied.

Adarsh, having understood got up swiftly "carry on...but remember my words..." Daksh nodded "I'll talk to her" feeling a little guilty to have dismissed the old man. But this was important.

"Sorry to keep you waiting" he told her after Adarsh left "so you really want to go through with this? I'm really surprised you still kept my card".

"Yeah..lucky me" she replied and he knew it wasn't meant to be nice but sarcastic "do we have a deal then?" He had to admit, she was smart "I'm busy at the moment...and I'm leaving to Meerut tonight...let's meet after I get back after a week..then we can discuss the details".

"I can't wait till then" she said sounding business like "let's talk about it tomorrow...cancel your appointments for the day".

He wondered if she was joking "you seriously want me to cancel my meetings? It's not as easy as your baking miss Anand" he supplied with a hint of sarcasm.

"I thought it was serious to you....or else you wouldn't come all the way for this proposition, would you?"she challenged "if you can't, then forget we even had this conversation" the line went dead, much to his anger.

The nerve of her! He swore angrily which he rarely did. No one ever had challenged him like she did.

He sat back on his chair, rewinding the conversation in his mind. He needed her to carry out his plan. He understood his brother must have ended their relationship and broken her heart. Even though he wanted to pity her, he didn't. She was merely a path of destruction to his brother and he needed her.

"I've booked the tickets" came a voice from behind him and he hadn't been realized Shlok had walked in "we're leaving tonight".

"I can't attend the meeting" he said curtly "postpone it". Shlok stared at him as if he had gone crazy "but we need to inspect the infrastructure before the work begins".

"I don't freaking care..tell them I'm busy" Daksh rubbed his head. "What's wrong?" Shlok asked, occupying the chair opposite to him "is there a problem? You know how important this tower is...we need to get started as soon as possible".

"Meera called...." Daksh said, avoiding his eye "she wants to meet..."

Shlok's expression changed to amusement "you cancelled the meeting because she asked you to?" And to his surprise, burst out laughing  "oh God! Sun really has risen in the west!"

Daksh didn't find it funny "if you're done laughing, set up a conference call with Anup...I need to talk to him" he said, referring to their chief accountant.

Shlok supressed his laugh "should I set up a reservation for you two? I mean you and Meera? I know this great hotel..fully private and luxurious...you guys can have your own private cubicle there..."

Daksh didn't stop him as he went on bantering and when Shlok realized his friend was serious, he stopped "was she serious? Are you going to marry her?"

"I don't know...she's not easy as I thought she would be" Daksh replied in a flat tone "but I don't care...I'm sure she needs payback as much as I do...so it's a win win".

Shlok wasn't sure about that "you're treading on a dangerous path....I'm just warning you" he got up "when it's all over, you're going to get revenge all right...but you're going to lose a lot of things along the way".

He was almost out of the door when Daksh retorted "I don't have to worry about that..I've already lost".

◇◇◇◇◇

The dinner at the Ahuja residence was full of cheer and laughter as each one were excitedly discussing about the upcoming big fat wedding. Everyone except Yash who was quietly listening to the conversation, physically present but mentally drifting his thoughts to Meera.

Seated beside him, Nidhi looked the happiest, giggling at everything her mother said and beaming inwardly at the prospect of being the centre of attention.

When the main course was over and the desserts were served, Yash excused himself and stepped out of the house and sat on the porch.

He took out his cellphone and called her, unable to withstand the inner turmoil and half wishing that she wouldn't pick the call after what he had done to her.

But to his surprise, she did "what is it Yash?"she asked in a low voice. He took a deep breath "I was thinking about you" he said, feeling a bit confident "I can't get you out of my head Meera...please just say you've forgiven me...it wasn't my fault at all.. I didn't want to hurt you...I wish you would understand that".

She was silent for a while and then replied "it's okay..I've forgiven you". He blinked, not expecting that "really?"

"Yeah...when I thought about it for the last couple of weeks, I felt a strange sense of foreboding; that it was fate playing havoc in our lives...that I shouldn't dwell on the past and move on...that I shouldn't cry over someone who's never there for me...so I've moved on Yash..and I think you should too..let's think of it as a beautiful dream which awakened us into reality..."

As much as he felt lighthearted when she said that, he didn't feel much comfortable. He expected her to lash out at him but she had moved on "you can forget me so easily? You know I can't..not a single day goes by that I don't think of you.."

"Like I said, I've not given much thought to you lately" she said "I'm thinking of myself right now....so if there's  else to talk, bye". He stared at the dead connection with dismay.

"What are you doing here alone?" Nidhi joined him, slipping her hand in his "were you bored?" He forced a smile "no I wasn't...came here for fresh air".

She smiled warmly at him and leaned her head on his shoulder "everything feels like a dream...all this" her eyes lit with excitement "they've finally decided the venue...in Jodhpur palace".

"That's great" he said, slowly moving away from her "we should go inside.. they must be wondering..and I don't want them to get a wrong idea".

As they walked inside, she glanced at him "are you happy Yash? I know it's not easy after a breakup and all".

"I'm fine" he lied "we'll get though this...trust me". She beamed "I know we will".

◇◇◇◇◇

"Mr Sehgal's busy at the moment" a haughty looking secretary told Meera, the moment she stepped inside his office room which was situated on the twentieth floor "it'll take an hour or so".

"I'll wait" Meera said, disregarding the scornful look on the other girl's face which clearly indicated she didn't like her.

It had taken a while for her to make the toughest decision of her life. Yash's betrayal didn't hit her hard as her best friend's had whom she had known since four years. And it had been Nidhi who had cost her the job probably because of her insecurity.

She knew she was treading on the path which was strange and dangerous at the same time because she didn't know anything about the man she was going to ally with. But she didn't care; as long as she got her revenge, she didn't mind at all.

She checked the time and realized an hour had passed already. She walked towards his assistant "it's been an hour...can't you call and ask him?"

The girl looked up with an irritated expression "I told you already he doesn't like to be disturbed..." That's it! Meera gritted her teeth "you know what? Go to hell!"

She made her way into his cabin while the assistant shouted "don't go in there!" But Meera was already in and closed the door behind her and  looked ahead.

Until she was met with a strange sight in front of her...

Hi everyone!!
How was the chapter??
Please vote and comment...
Stay safe and have a great day ahead ♥️♥️♥️