Tring!
Tring!
The phone in front of Kartick rang out again for him to pick it up finally and receive the call. "What the hec—"
"Kartick, it's me, S.. Sitara!" A sweet and soft voice reached his ears from the other side of the phone line for him to re-check the number.
It was Sitara written over the screen, a tired sigh escaped from his mouth. "Hello! Umm! Kartick?! Are you there?!"
The voice woke him up and he stepped out towards the balcony before putting the phone over his ear, "Yeah, I'm here. How are you?"
"This should be my line, how are you?" Sitara asked sympathetically.
"Tired, distressed!" Another sigh escaped from his lips.
"I... I don't know what to say, how's aunty? Is she fine?"
Kartick felt emotional noticing her concerned tone for his mother, "Don't talk about her! Today we're facing this series of problems and humiliation just because of her!" He replied to her angrily.
Sitara sighed, "Kartick, don't talk like this. She's your mother after all. Forget this, tell me if you have had your lunch?" She inquired with concern laced in her voice.
Kartick suddenly felt a wave of emotions in his heart, since morning so many people had called him, but none of them asked him this question.
He felt a surge of happiness in his heart, "Kartick? Are you there?"
"Aah, sorry! I actually didn't get any time, and also didn't felt like eating." He answered the question after a small pause.
He heard a sigh from the other side, "This is not right, you shouldn't have done this. How's uncle?" She scolded him lightly while inquiring about his father.
"Dad is too offended, he's very angry. In his entire life he had never faced this much humiliation ever." He informed her truthfully while staring back at his father inside the room.
Kunal was smoking while lost in thoughts, he could feel how the man was feeling. The business which they worked hard for all these years was on stake, and that was also for his wife's stupidity.
"I can understand the reason of his distress. What happened today shouldn't have happened. That doctor, what she thinks of herself, she didn't even spared uncle!!" Kartick felt his blood boil as he was reminded of the incident briefly once again.
But before he could say anything, Sitara talked again. "Kartick, please don't get mad. I think you should stay with uncle & aunty. They needs you, if you think I can help you in any way, then please don't hesitate & feel free to say." Sitara showed her worry, concern & support towards the guy.
Kartick stayed quite, he was not sure about what he should say, he was feeling emotional. His mother never behaved well with her, always disrespected her. But she was still concerned about her, she wanted to help them.
He felt proud of his decision to marry her, he believed that only she deserved to be his wife, also one & only she could be the perfect daughter-in-law of Roy Family.
"Thank you Tara, you're really kind hearted to say this, even after what my mom did with—"
"Kartick, don't talk like this. We're gonna get engaged in just some days, it's my duty." A humbleness could be felt from her words as Sitara comforted her to be fiancee.
Kartick smiled, "Yeah, you're right. Now forget this, tell me how are you? When will you return, I'm missing you."
Sitara laid on her bed more comfortably, "I'm fine, I'll return very soon, maybe next week. Okay, bye now. Take care of yourself and your family, and don't skip your meals." Sitara said before disconnecting the call without providing anymore time.
.....
The people who were standing at the doorway of her room fell into a fit of humorous laughter. Sitara just rolled her eyes onto her friends, "What are you so amused with?"
"Just humored by your award winning acting. What an ideal girlfriend, huh!!" Charlie replied in between his laughter, the duo high-fived with each other.
"Such a cunning human being, first you beat them mercilessly, and now applying ointment?" Mrs. Jindal teased her niece while entering inside her room.
Sitara smiled sweetly ignoring their teasing, "What can I say, I'm a kind hearted person after all." They felt the urge to roll their eyes watching her narsicism.
"Such a narcissist!!" Charlie teased her with voice filled with sarcasm.
But the girl just shrugged it off, "I'll take it as a compliment." She threw flying kisses towards the two ladies.
They just shook their heads and entered inside her room.
"What are you two mother & daughter-in-law doing here in my room?" Sitara asked while raising her brows towards the two in suspicion.
They didn't replied immediately & just sat down on the bed with a sweetest smile on their faces, which raised the suspicion in her heart more. The warning bell in her mind started to ring. This two surely is cooking something in their minds, and I can feel that it's nothing good.
"Rose!"
"Princess!"
The girl shivered as the sugar coated voice reached her ears. Whenever this two ladies talk these sweetly, it clearly says that they are upto something which is not good.
"You know, I was thinking about—"
"Maami, where are the boys of our family?" Sitara asked cutting her aunt in the middle, in order to distract them while climbing down of her bed.
Mrs. Jindal scrunched up her nose while her to be daughter-in-law sighed in annoyance.
"Where else, sitting in the study room. God knows what they're doing inside, I'm just fed up with this!" Mrs. Jindal mumbled in a angry tone and voice laced with annoyance.
A smirk appeared on her face as she successfully distracted the two. Then without wasting any time she walked towards the door and opened it.
The duo was still busy in complaining about their husbands, so they didn't noticed her attempt to leave the room.
"Rose, what are you doing there?" Charlie asked finally noticing her.
The girl didn't stopped and stepped out of the door before turning around, "You two enjoy yourselves, I'll go and check on them." With the said words Rose left the room.
......
Inside the study atmosphere was stiff, tension was evident on each of the five faces.
They were looking at each others faces while discussing something important, about someone very important.
"Dad, it's been two and a half weeks since we've learnt about the news. What's new in it?" Ragav asked his father creasing his forehead.
Nitin looked at his second son before talking, "What's new? Let me tell you something new then, the 56% shares of Maheshwari group has been sold to KB Group. Do you understand what it means?"
Shock flashed in the eyes of the trio as they looked at Nitin & Rishi, but their creased forehead and quietness confirmed it all.
"According to our sources, KB Group has already acquired their factories, their investors pulled themselves from the three big projects, they sold their shares to them. So, basically we can say that, the three mother projects, which the company was standing onto are snatched from them. Maheshwari's are in total chaos. It's just a matter of time before they will be kicked out of their own property." The tension in his voice was very clear as Rishi talked for the first time since they entered inside the study.
The others fell utterly silent as they listened his statement. It was too shocking, "What are you so stressed about? Isn't it good?" Raghav asked feeling utterly confused.
Rishi just shook his head, "Good? Destroying Maheshwari's like this is good?" He felt a sense of ridiculousness listening his younger brother's question.
"I'm unable to understand about what that man exactly wants?" Nitin wondered in a thoughtful manner.
"Destruction!" Rishi answered the question.
"Who's destruction? Who wants whom?" Each of the heads snapped behind as the question reached their ears.