31. The realization

Jai

I woke up with Anika in my arms, just like every day since we got married. One of her arms was around my torso, and her face was snuggled into my chest. With one of my arms around her, she felt so tiny—my little princess.

I didn't want to move from there. Anika made me feel grounded, which I rarely felt these days.

I had been neglecting her due to my busy schedule—normal meetings and the ones my dad doesn't know about took up most of my time.

I had only told her half of the truth about my goal. Daman Malhotra, the mole in the company, had stolen a lot of money and was involved in illegal activities. But there was also something he did when I was nine, not to me, but...

I heard Anika mumble something, and then she snuggled even closer. She was so cute; I wanted to kiss her. I missed kissing her, and it might be my fault.

I got up slowly without waking Anika. She's usually awake by this time, but because she was still asleep, I didn't disturb her. I got ready and made breakfast for her. She preferred coffee over real food, but I insisted she needed a little food in her body as well.

After giving her a forehead kiss, as I always do before leaving, I whispered, "Bye, princess."

I reached the office on time. It was exactly 8:00 am by the time I reached my cabin. My assistant, Preeti, was already at her seat.

"Don't let anyone else come in other than Aarav."

"Sure, sir." she replied. I've had Preeti as my assistant since I came back from the States. Even though I don't always like her, she gets the job done, so I'm fine with it.

I left my bag and phone outside, as usual. I don't carry my phone with me when I'm at the office. I asked Preeti to give me my phone only when Anika, Mom, or Dad call.

I went into my cabin and waited for about a minute when I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in." I said. I knew it was Aarav.

Aarav entered my cabin and took a seat. He looked at me with concern.

"You're scaring me, Jai," Aarav said. "What is this about?"

I took a deep breath and said, "I had one clear goal in mind when I became the CEO, and that was Daman."

Aarav looked puzzled. "Daman, the Managing Head? Why?"

I didn't beat around the bush. "I know about it, Aarav. I've known for a long time."

I could see him trying to control his emotions. This was a tough conversation for both of us.

"But—" Aarav began but couldn't seem to find the words.

"I came to check on you. You were too young to understand what was happening back then, but I knew it was wrong. I should have protected you." I admitted.

"We were just kids, Jai. It wasn't your fault." Aarav reassured me.

"But it is." I insisted. "And I'm going to make sure that bastard pays for what he did."

I saw fear in Aarav's eyes, and I quickly added, "I'm not asking you to confess, Aarav. I have another plan. I'm gathering evidence against him for his other crimes. He's into sex trafficking. He owns a lot of land, but there are no money transfers. If all of this comes out together, he'll be behind bars."

Aarav seemed to understand. "So that's why you've been working non-stop?"

I nodded. "Yes, he's planning on leaving the company soon, and I need to catch him before that."

Aarav quietly absorbed the information. "Hmm."

"Whatever this is, I want in. I'm glad you're doing it for me, but I'll be the one who is going to make him pay."

"Of course."

"What's the plan?" Aarav asked, and I explained the last one, which backfired. That was the reason I drank so much, and Aarav had to carry me home.

After I told him the plan, he made a few changes here and there. They were probably the smartest. Then followed a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes.

"You should have told me, you know," I said. "All this time, you've been carrying this alone."

"I didn't know how to," Aarav explained. "I did tell one of my teachers in school, and he said, 'It's been a long time, move on.' That was just a week after it happened. If you had said the same thing, it would've broken my heart, so I had decided not to tell anyone."

"Does Dad know? What about Mom?" Aarav asked, rubbing his face.

"No. Only me," I replied.

"Thanks." Aarav came over and hugged me. We were close as brothers, but we rarely showed our emotional sides to each other. This moment made us feel even closer.

"I love you, Jai. I really do. But Anika didn't deserve that," Aarav told me, leading to a topic I knew was coming.

"I know. I honestly didn't realize it. She barely called me, Aarav, so I thought this was ok with her and by the time I realized it, it was too late," I said, my guilt resurfacing.

"She wouldn't talk to anyone. She barely replied to me. She canceled plans with Nisha, saying she was going out with you. You were at the office at that time," Aarav revealed.

"I messed up, Aarav. Whatever my goals were, I shouldn't have left her like that. I genuinely care about her, you know?" I confessed.

Aarav smirked and warned me, "Yeah, I know. But if you repeat that one more time, expect the unexpected."

"Will she forgive me?" I asked, consumed by guilt.

"Of-course she will. Have you seen the way she looks at you?" Aarav assured me.

"How does she look at me?" I inquired, curious about his perspective.

"Like you're her favorite book boyfriend." Aarav said with a knowing smile.

You know how much she loves those," he added.

My heart did this ridiculous thing whenever I was around her. The way her eyes sparkled when she laughed, the serious expression when she was working, her genuine kindness to everyone around her—she was the most amazing person I had ever met, and I couldn't help but think that I might be falling in love with my wife.

"Okay, I need to make things right. I'll go to my wife now," I declared, determined to mend what I had broken.

"Sure thing," Aarav replied, smirking as I left, shaking my head. While I did want to make amends in that department, I knew I needed to have a serious conversation with Anika first.

I reached for my bag, and then Preeti was doing something on my phone. She looked at me at the same time, informed me, "Your wife called."

"What did she say?" I inquired.

"She wanted to talk to you, but I told her you were in a meeting," Preeti replied. This wasn't the first time she'd done this. I had explicitly told her to give me the damn phone when my wife called.

"I told you to give me the phone when she calls. How hard is it to follow basic orders?" I asked, frustration bubbling up.

Preeti retorted, "Can't she just talk to you when you get home? She might be disrupting a million-dollar meeting."

I lost my patience. "I don't give a damn about millions or billions. When my wife calls, you give me the damn phone," I yelled, and then it hit me.

"Did you delete the missed calls and chat threads with Anika?" I asked, furious.

She stayed rooted to the place, a little scared.

"Did you or did you not?"

"I did."

"Why the fuck would you do that?"

"You were supposed to be with me. She just came into your life because of Aarav."

"You—are you crazy? Who the hell are you to tell me that? Just fuck off. Aarav, take care of her," I looked at him when he came out of my cabin. He nodded.

I left that place and reached my car which was in the parking lot.

I tried calling Anika, but she didn't answer. Anika had never not answered a call. She always picked up, even when she was in meetings. Something felt off.

She was perfectly fine yesterday, so why wasn't she answering now? Maybe she was on her way home or something.

I sped home, over-speeding a few times, my mind racing with thoughts of what might have happened. I couldn't help but think about all the "what if" scenarios.

When I reached home, I used my spare key to enter, calling out for Anika, but there was no response. I checked the living room, the kitchen, and our bedroom.

It was when I reached the guest room that I found her lying unconscious near the bed.

"Anika!" I shouted, rushing to her side. I shook her gently, but she didn't open her eyes. I checked her breathing, and thankfully, it was steady. Without wasting a moment, I picked her up, carried her, and started running.

We lived in the penthouse, and the elevator was often on the ground floor. I didn't have time to wait, so I took the stairs, with her in my arms.

After reaching the car, I placed her in the backseat and sped to the nearby hospital, my heart pounding.

I rushed inside the emergency section, carrying her, and pleaded with one of the nurses for help. They acted swiftly, bringing in a stretcher to transport her to a room. They didn't allow me any further, stating that they needed to check her condition first.

I never prayed to God. But I did, for her, after a very long time. Dear God, I just hope she'll be back in my arms soon.

101 nariyal phodunga, bas woh sahi salamat mere pas wapas ajaye.

As I sat alone in the waiting area, a wave of realization washed over me.

Anika was the only person I couldn't imagine living without. She shattered all the damn walls I had built around my heart. She filled a void in my heart that no one else even knew existed.

And at that moment, I realized I was so deeply in love with my wife.

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❀₊˚⊹♡

So I wanted to clarify on one thing. Why did Jai leave his phone with his secretary.

So as you guys know, Jai is planning to collect proof's against Daman, who is into sex trafficking mainly. So because those meetings are highly confidential, all of them should *strictly* leave their phones outside.

Information is something which can be used positively and negatively, but if it goes to the negative hands, Jai's phone plan which he had been plotting for years will be destroyed.

There are many other ways people can extract information through people's phones. Which is the reason why he leaves his phone outside when he's in meetings.

What happened to Aarav? Let's see in the next chapter.

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I post every Tuesday and Saturday, so wait for the next one😉