It was one of busy days at Oberoi architect as today they had official merger with Raichand Enterprises. Oberoi & Raichand is the new name thought for this firm.

Plus today even a PA interview was there for the new firm as both Ms. Raichand and Mr. Oberoi will need a common PA . difficult  job because being never met Ms. Raichand nobody actually knew her requirements but they had received a fax stating Ms. Raichand's requirements for PA, they were simple, a girl, young age, ready to travel, educated with English. Similarly , Sir's list was as always short too, a girl, not very engaging in relations, English educated, preferably young.

There was a long candidates list with all kinds of females but the most interesting was a girl, she entered as she owns this place and when she tried asking receptionist about something, she was shown the couch and nobody let her complete her sentence.

She was wearing a plain white cotton shirt and plain blue jeans , maternity jeans . With her 7th month pregnant bump . She had worn simple black slippers and her hairs were cut short reaching till ears over which a plain white cloth hair-band was placed . With that she was holding a sling bag of multi coloured flowers.

Employee : Well just a suggestion that you will not get the job with such huge bump,  Shivaay Sir doesn't like to work with popped up women . Was a snide comment passed on her by a passing employee. 

But, I am not..."

 Employee 2 : Leave all that if she is so determined to get her insulted who are we to say something." .

Just then entered Mr. Oberoi, the boss and was shocked to see her waiting in the reception area. All thought that now even Mr. Oberoi would pass some comment on her. But was shocked to hear :

Shivaay :  Ms. Raichand, you are here. Didn't we discuss that I would be late so you should inquire about your cabin or conference room from reception." 

Anika : Well I tried but here no one is there to listen ; now I can see the competency of staff recruited by you."

He took her hand and they both took the lift up and from triplex balcony, 

he said to the staff  "Attention please, you all know me I am Shivaay Singh Oberoi, but now we meet our other director of Oberoi & Raichand ,  Ms. Anika Raichand from Raichand Enterprise. Now she would be resuming all of you in conference room in 30 mins. Be there."

They both proceeded to the conference room where they both signed the last formal papers.

"Mr. Shivaay singh Oberoi it's rude to stare at full time pregnant lady " said Anika as she signed the papers. 

He could see a great mother in Anika as even in her full business form, he could feel her care for the child as she was very precautious of her every step.

Anika : "Congrats we are now officially directors in this new firm. Plus I would like whole privy over the matter I speak so I would not like any interference of any sort from your side."

In few minutes everyone assembled in the conference room where they saw her sitting in the head's chair beside her stood Shivaay Singh Oberoi. 

Till then they knew Shivaay to be tough task master but she had even madder gleam of workaholicism. As everybody settled in their places. They saw what they didn't see in the first time, she was thin, extremely thin till the point of being fragile, but she looked such a person who was very strong from inside . 

Anika : "As you all know, I am Ms. Anika Raichand, your new Director in the firm, but remember one thing I am not that social butterfly kind of Director who just comes once in a while with no work I will be here every day or my fax will there to notify you of your work on my instructions. Plus your behavior today with me has made realize that how poorly you see a woman who's pregnant . But just remember that just because someone is pregnant doesn't make them a weaker person to work with and I hope you remember my words for a long time because, I am pregnant yet I can work anywhere more than you. Plus I hate gossips, if i  found you gossiping about my life then better be prepared to be fired. We have highest pay scale so expect work of that level only and no doodling like free interns. 

Am I clear ???? and yes Ms. Tia your doubts of your boss working with me have being cleared or not. Similarly Rosy and Shashank listen very carefully let the person in front of you complete his/her statements you never know who would change your course. Three of you are demoted. Meeting dispersed."

Raichand Enterprises was something she owned with her sister and now its whole responsibility lies on her plus she always believed that one should never back-out from its responsibility. This is her pride, one of the biggest interior designing firms settled by her father, she took over it almost 5 years back and now and better. It was this moment she decided that with partnership or merger with someone of architectural line would help the firm so she decided on the Oberoi & Raichand.

He could clearly see that she loses her strength easily as it's hard to work on the 7th month but as usual Anika Raichand believed in fulfilling every duty to the fullest. So she sat down in most of the discussion and her face looked none less than professional. He sometimes felt that how would it be to be the partner of such a staunch workaholic.

..............................................

NEXT DAY  : 

He saw her in a golf course with some clients and when they forced her, she stood to play the game. She was wearing a fitting white dress. It fell below knee with boat neck and short sleeves. With that she was just wearing a charm bracelet in white base colour and trendy ankle length golf shoes. Anika played golf easily even with full grown bump which was clearly visible from the dress,  just then she heard "Ms. Raichand I never thought to see a pregnant woman in my office as associate  & especially in client meeting in a golf course I had never expected you to be present  ." lets proceed our meeting ms. raichand .

Anika : "Anika will do And get used to seeing me as I plan do work till last day of my pregnancy as you would have known, my sister is foreign settled so I handle Indian branches and mostly I am travelling. So next week you are invited to my place for my baby shower and Mr. Shivaay Singh Oberoi as now we are partners so it would be nice if you be there. Your other acquaintances are also welcomed. It's one huge party in honour of my unborn child. The next generation of Raichand dynasty"

shivaay could see the pride and glow on her face while talking about her baby , something churns inside him 

She was asked by one of the clients who was also pregnant that "Anika, congrats, I myself is in 1st trimester of my pregnancy. Can I touch your bump and feel the kick, you experience it naa? Have you decided upon the name?" as she touched Anika bump she felt the kick. 

Anika : "Actually it's a pact between me and father of the child that if its girl she keeps my surname and if it's a boy then he has his father's surname so just let's wait to know the full name of my child" 

she replied.

...............................................

1 MONTH LATER :

"Mam, there is a man claiming to know you and meet you, he says he is your business partner, Mr. Shivaay Singh Oberoi, he is pressurizing to enter the room but we only allow people related to mother in labour room but as you don't have anyone, if you allow he can be here. It's still time for you to have baby you can talk to him"

Shivaay found himself in a very clean private labour room where Anika was lying in the bed looking exhausted, it seemed that she was going through a lot of pain but was controlling it. She was wearing a plain white gown, mid length. Her short hairs were looking sticky due to sweat. She just said "Mr. Oberoi what made you come here? Some documents need my signature?"

"I thought it would be nice if you had someone to talk to. I was told it was some few more hours before you are actually ready. Your contractions are still irregular. And your family is also not here" he said sitting on the stool

"Don't worry, I'm a big girl, you can see that and I am more than enough to manage myself plus I don't need any sympathy or support. I prefer to say alone." For the first time in their meetings over weeks, she had first time lost her calm, looking teary not that perfect decent smile that has always being plastered in her face.

She now looked so young , so her age 23 . 

at 23 she was going through her first pregnancy, she joines her father when she was  18 but then she just joined as her father's PA for pocket money and simultaneously studying in her interior designing course. A year ago, when her father left the nation with her elder sister to UK after her marriage, she became the sole owner. Her elder sister, was just 1 year elder but joined business late because she was more the daddy's girl rather Anika who believed in standing for herself, so she took their father to UK to help her there & her father been the biased one just accompanied his elder daughter without thinking once how will anika manage everything ?

Seeing her wither in pain, Shivaay got restless . He stopped the horses of his mind and just decided that it has being enough.

He took out a small box from his grey hoodie he was wearing and filled her partition with vermillion and searched from his jacket the wedding chain. She was shocked but composing herself, she said "Mr. Oberoi what are you doing ? Do you actually understand the meaning of this? What had you thought that I am in labour room, would be high on emotions so would accept anything ?"

"Anika, enough is enough, what started as small argument has being dragged too far don't you think that my child should be born from my wife , Mrs. Oberoi ? Anika I never had undermined your capabilities then why are doing this ? Just because I joked that you would not be able to handle the child alone so you took such a decision.

We are married for last one year, at 24 how would you feel if your wife said that she is expecting at age of 22 & that too just 2 months after our marriage .  Anika I just pulled your leg and you fell for it. I thought you would come back to me in a week or two. But you decided to have your way. Since last 8 months you are here all alone, you don't give me your working schedules, your PA is not transferring my calls to you. I get to talk to you only few minutes in a day that too when you call me or you don't pick up the phone. You use your maternal name everywhere. You know how much it hurts to see that my wife is always alone with my child. I agree I had only said that..." 

he immediately stopped when he realized that she having breathing troubles and he pressed the bell when frantically running came a doctor. A man in his early 60s. Grey hairs and seemed he was the familiar doctor to case. He consoled her to a sleep due to exhaustion, she slept some time.

Turning to him, he said "I am the doctor handling her pregnancy , Dr. T Sinha , may I know who you are and what are doing here?"

"Doctor, I am the father , is there any problem?" said Shivaay as he saw her struggling in pain as she loses her strength.

"Mr. Raichand..." he interrupted "No, its Shivaay Singh Oberoi" "Ok, Mr. Oberoi, if you would have being there in her appointments you would have known that being mother in young age is not easy plus she is so underweight that it has become a risk that the child would also be under weight so we need to be super careful with her, but the major risk is on her life as we have low opinion of her surviving so much struggle. do you have any idea how difficult this pregnancy has being on her ? " Happy woman make happy pregnancy"  is an old saying but I think you youngsters just don't feel it the same way. She has being on and off with emotion management therapy where she has seen both very highs and breakdowns in the matter. She has lost around 10 kgs in the starting of this pregnancy due to morning sickness leading to more weakness from her side to sustain delivery .

She needed to put on weight for this pregnancy but I don't see that happening. As being informed she works 18 hours a day to keep herself busy, ok we are not against that because she was very physically fit to work. But have you ever thought that these long working hours in last week of pregnancy are not to be thought of."

"But Doctor she didn't told me anything, I agree we had different opinion of this child but she never asked my opinion or help?"

"Great, so now both of you in your egos have reached into this stage. Till today I was highly brittle about Ms. Raichand but now I know only she is not responsible, you too need a good smacking from me. Do you have any idea that your wife was carried from her cabin to this hospital for her delivery? She was working on some papers alone at midnight with almost no staff when her labour pain started."

"Doctor, is the baby fine? Will he/she survive?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Oberoi the baby will survive but we are not too sure of mother . In your egos you may lose Ms. Raichand. You can clearly see that she has almost lost her strength but if you are here for the child, don't worry, you will get it . Mr. Oberoi in last 30 years I have seen many couples, but yours is the most weird & stuborn . i can easily see the love between you two but i can also see how you too are overshadowing that love with your big fat EGOS !

I assume you both have enough money because that it is the thing which provides best treatment but i also knew that this child is unplanned  but you two are paranoid about the health of child meaning you both love it , meaning it was a product of love but now I feel that maybe I was wrong. You seem to be lost on winning so is she. Even if she dies in it, is that the price of this wager? A young girl loses her life in her first pregnancy and a motherless child. Now if you excuse me I have to prepare for her because now not much time is left for delivery, just one request please don't exert her with any mental pressure. She has enough in her plate already..."

.................................

Shivaay was lost in the thought of last one year, they met in her sister wedding, and he was the best friend of groom, within a month they realized that they want to spend time forever together, so they got married in UK only with permission of her father and his grandmother who lived in Paris. And they returned India , after that they got to know of her pregnancy and in last 8 months they have had nothing more than a professional relationship. But they talked to each other as expecting parents for five minutes daily. They had their egos standing as he wanted her to come to him and she was not ready to bend down. He always knew that she was staunch workaholic and he also never opposed thinking that they meet regularly for work so that's enough. It was a pact between them that if it's a girl, she gets the surname Raichand and remains with her whereas if it's a boy, he goes to Shivaay with surname Oberoi. But everything seemed meaningless.

But when he got a panic call from office that she is admitted to Hospital , he came to find her still stubborn and so that led to their confrontation so badly that she lost all her energies in that and now talking to the doctor he realized how much she had being hiding for just to prove her superiority and now he understood her moments of weakness , when he arrived.

He entered the room more calm and saw her struggling in sleep too and soon the whole room was filled with nurses and the doctor all trying to help her as she was going through a nightmarish pain, her white gown now had huge patches of blood and other fluids flowing from her body he just sat there and tried to calm her by looping his hand around her bump and soothing her sweat from her forehead but then they all heard her cries as she tried to push and suddenly they heard a cry, a baby's cry.

Someone said "It's a boy."  But this happiness didn't lie for moments also because, doctor said anika's heart-rate is dropping so they tried to revive it by pressing it and it worked, but she was shifted to ICU for observation,  when Shivaay was left with his child alone. He saw the small baby in his arms wrapped in white blanket, probably sleeping after so many struggles though nurse informed him, that when he will wake up he would crave for milk so she should be informed. They were not sure that whether this baby would get his mothers feed or milk powder .

Shivaay took the baby in his arms  but was scared, he now realized the gravity of situation that he would always remain alone with the child,  Vikramaditya Singh Oberoi , this was the name picked by them because he wanted Vikram and she wanted Aditya so both.

Sitting in that hospital metal chair he called her father and his grandmother about the child, both was shocked to hear about critical condition of Anika . Looked like  she hadn't informed anybody about herself. He just wished a second chance, he promised himself that he will do anything to keep anika with him always . after a grueling hour, he was informed that she is stable, he saw her from window, there she lied peacefully in changed new white gown.

white, he smiled the only colour he disliked  , so after they had their way with the child matter, she always wore a white dress or white shirt and had especially requested the hospital for white gown . white reminded him of words – simplicity , innocence & widow and she was none, yet now he realized she wore white for peace and calmness with what she confide .

After a week , she was strong enough to go home and she saw that during that week Shivaay spent most of his time with baby . so when she was standing in front of hospital premises in a plain white dress with a belt of silver to show her petite figure trying to call her PA to shout on her for not sending the car, he came from behind and firmly took her hospital bag and kept it in his car as parked by his driver and sat with his baby in backseat waiting for her to take her well deserved seat just beside him , she followed him into the car without any objection .

This was there Egoistic Love  & this is what happens " when EGO clashes " who was wrong or who was right its very difficult to decide , hope they have learnt there lesson for good & in future they might handle there differences without there ego's taking the front seat ..............

and as for our little vikramaditya singh oberoi well all is well for know and he hopes that it stays that way :) .