Marriage Under Repairs

"This is not done Mishka. This is the third time in this month you have missed the school bus." Ragini was furious. She was dragging a little girl inside the house. "How many times have I told you to get up early?"

"Sorry Aunty but you were packing my lunch...." Miskha was on the verge of crying.

"Again a lame excuse. I am tired of your excuses." Ragini taped her head. "Now go to your room."

She entered the kitchen to witness raised eyebrows from the other ladies of her house. They had already heard about the chaos.

"What happened?" Annapurna asked, breaking the deep silence of the kitchen.

"Nothing Ma. Mishka again did not wake up on time and then she missed her school bus." Ragini shook her head annoyingly.

"But she had woken up at 6:30 and was here by 7:30. It's you who was preparing Laksh's protein shake from the last half an hour when she was asking you to accompany you till the bus stop." Sujata intervened, fumbling Ragini at her place.

"I had asked Swara to prepare Laksh's protein shake but she left saying, Sanskar will get late for his office." Ragini twitched her nose to cover up.

"What happened, Ragini?" Swara entered the kitchen after getting her husband ready.

"Shona you should have helped Ragini, see today Mishka missed her school bus." Sharmishtha intervened.

"Mishka missed her school bus again?" It was a news for Swara. She raised her eyebrows. "Ragini, this is the third time she missed her school bus this month. This is not good."

"Yes, if you would have helped me with Laksh's protein shake, I would have gone to drop her at the bus stop. He was also getting late for his office. He had a meeting with a municipality officer." Ragini's raised voice earned attention from everyone.

"Ragini, Swara had already steamed Idlis and grinded Chutney for breakfast before going upstairs. You only needed to prepare Mishka's tiffin and Laksh's protein shake. Me and Jiji were preparing for puja and lunch. We had already divided the work. If you cannot do your work on time, you should get up early." This time it was again Sujata to support her daughter in law.

Swara was awestruck looking at her mother in law, after a long time Sujata argued in her favour.

"Sujata, let it be." Annapurna remained calm and tried to sort it out. "Ragini, check with Laksh if he can drop Mishka directly to school or not."

"He is already late, Ma." Ragini held her head.

"I will drive her till school." Swara suggested. "I don't want a little girl to miss her school occasionally. And Ragini, I suggest, from tomorrow, ask any one of the drivers to come early to drop Mishka to school."

"Did you get the licence? When?" Ragini asked, remembering her and Sanskar's everyday's sneaking out on the name of  driving lessons.

"Yes, recently." Swara bit her lip. She left to escape from any further questions from others.

Annapurna along with Sujata and Sharmishtha left outside to look for puja and breakfast preparations.

"Laddoo, you saw how she went away with her nose high! If she had helped you one day, would the sky have fallen on her? But no, she only cares about herself." Parvati added fuel to the already lit fire.

"No such thing Dadi." Ragini ignored as usual.

"You are very innocent. Don't understand anything. This is all her trick." Parvati could not miss a single chance to badmouth Swara. She could never accept Swara as her granddaughter.

"By trapping you here in the kitchen, how she enjoys time with her husband. Every morning on the pretext of learning to drive she lies and escapes with Sanskar when you look after your family needs."

"I am telling you to be a little careful, otherwise these two, husband and wife will take away the entire share of this house and will make you and Laksh dance on their fingers." Parvati spitted out with venom.

"Dadima, I don't think Swara will do something like this. After all she is my sister." Ragini was in two minds.

"Step Sister and elder daughter in law of this house." Parvati caressed her hair, "I love you very much, I am warning you Laddoo."

But Parvati's words again pushed Ragini in whirlwind of thoughts.

Later in the afternoon, Swara came to Sharmishtha and Shekhar's room. "Ma, Ramesh gave these shirts to me thinking these are Sanskar's but looks like these are Baba's, can you please check?"

"Yes Shona, these are of Shekhar's." Sharmishtha took a good look at the shirts before confirming.

"Hey Ayush, are you awake now?" Swara sat on the bed beside her brother.

Little Ayush nodded his head. "Ma don't you think he has lost weight?" Swara started playing with her little brother.

"Yes, he had a cough and cold two weeks back."

"You did not inform me, I would have come to see him. Did you take him to the doctor? What did he say?"

"I didn't because  I had to be with Shekhar for our house hunt, but thanks to Annapurna ji, she offered us to stay here."

Swara smiled brightly, passing a quick glance at her mother before concentrating on her brother.

"Shona, I know, you always wanted to stay in a joint family. My dear, in a joint family it is never yours or mine, whatever is there it belongs to all the people of that family." Sharmishtha caressed her hair.

"Ma, what do you want to say?" Swara was clueless.

"Whatever dispute happened in the morning, it could have been stopped. What if you would have made milkshake for Laksh?" Finally, Sharmishtha spoke about the thought lingered around her mind.

"But Ma, then Sanskar would have been late for his office." Swara contradicted, shrugging her shoulders "And anyway, all the work was given last night itself. I had done my work, after that I went to our room to help Sanskar."

"And what about you going out with Sanskar early in the morning in the name of driving lessons? Now you can drive yourself, you have got the licence too, so why? It would have been better if you had helped Ragini." Sharmishtha questioned.

"Ma, I do not think that my and Sanskar's going for a drive outside in the morning affects any of my tasks. I go after managing all my work on time, so I do not think that anyone should have any problem with this." Swara replied in a casual tone.

"When did yours and mine start happening like this in SwaRagini? You both are two different notes of the same song. Ragini is your sister, you should always be there for her being her elder sister." Sharmishtha cajoled, she knew, her own well being was dependent on Ragini's happiness.

"You only said Ma two different notes, so each note has its own flavour. Each note writes its own 온라인카지노게임, how long will it be dependent on the other? It has to find and be responsible for its own way." Swara kept a small smile on her face but her curt tone was noticed by her mother.

"Anyway, I have to water the plants outside." saying this Swara left from her room.

Sharmishtha kept on staring at her daughter without a blink.

It was dinner time, when Durgaprasad asked Swara about Sanskar.

"Bade Papa, he is coming. He is on call and once finished he will join us."

"Ok. I hope he would have inform you about next month's meeting." He asked, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Which meeting?" Annapurna asked even before Swara could answer.

"Annual General Meeting." Durgaprasad continued, "Swara you have to be present for all days of the meeting."

"Yes Bade Papa, Sanskar told me in the morning." She replied filling her and Sanskar's plate for dinner

"But why does Swara need to be there in the office?" Annapurna again intervened.

"Anu, Swara is a one of the major shareholders of Maheshwari Inc. Being a shareholder, she has to attend this meeting." Durgaprasad informed earning in audible gaspe from Gadodia Family members.

"Swara? Shareholder? How?" Annapurna was still under shock.

"After our marriage, I have transferred some percentage of shares on Swara's name." This time Sanskar answered, he had already witnessed the surprised faces of the rest of his family members.

"Ohh, that's good. But company shares? Why?" words were out of Ragini's mouth even before she realised.

"For her financial security." He replied as an obvious statement.

"You did the right thing, Sanskar." Ram supported his son with a smile.

But recent conversations could not settle down in a few minds.

"Laddoo, has Laksh made any investment in your name or not?" Parvati asked her granddaughter, hoping no one listens to their secret talks.

Ragini shook her head, "I don't know Dadima. I have never asked Laksh about it." Ragini shook her head.

"Then check with him as soon as possible." Parvati stressed.

"Ji, why did Sanskar transfer company shares on Swara's name?" Annapurna asked first thing to her husband after dinner.

"He already said it was for Swara's financial security."

"Did he ask you about it?"

"No. Why should he even ask in the first place? Those were his shares. He wanted to transfer them on his wife's name. What 's a big deal in it?" Durgaprasad's nonchalant reply pushed Annapurna in bizzlement.

"Aren't these shares which you had distributed among three sons of this house?" His wife cross questioned.

"No Anu. Two years back our business was impacted severely. Sanskar had invested in it by purchasing additional shares at a high price, out of which he had transferred some after his marriage in Swara's name." her husband gave a clear picture of their company affairs.

But his explanations pushed Annapurna into an anxious state.

"Laksh, how many Maheshwari Inc's shares do you have on your name?" Ragini asked putting moisture on her hands before getting ready for bed.

"Why do you want to know?" Laksh asked but looking at his wife's widely open eyes he responded, "I have 5% which Papa had transferred to me. This is the minimum one should have to become a board member."

"And how much Sanskar has it? 5% as well?"

"No Bhai has much more than this. He has something around 42%. Out of which I think, he transferred 12%, on Swara's name." Laksh was still typing something on his laptop.

"So many shares?" Ragini exclaimed with gasps, "What do these shares do?"

"If any company has to make a major decision, then the one who has more shares, has a loud voice while making any decision about company affairs. In short, a higher number of shares gives one a hold of decision making power on the board." Laksh explained to his wife.

"Then in Maheshwari Inc, all decisions are made by Sanskar?"

"Mostly yes. Since he, Papa, and Chachu are the major shareholders and mostly these three are always on the same page."

"So he is like an owner of company?" Ragini's inquisitive instinct reached to its peak.

"Kind of." Laksh replied carelessly.

"Then what is your part in the company? Are you not the owner? If you disagree with their decision, what are your options?" Ragini needed to know about her husband's position in company affairs.

"I am bound by their decision as they have all shares vested in their hands. I cannot go against them."

Laksh's statement was alarming for Ragini, her grandmother's words started bothering her again.

"I checked Dadima, Laksh only had 5% of shares on his name whereas Swara and Sanskar had a total of 42% of company's share on their name." Ragini was tensed from the moment she had a word with her husband.

"That's why Swara has so much going on in this house. No one stops her for anything. No one in this house has the courage to criticise her on anything. Just doing whatever she wants." Parvati criticised.

"Then what should we do Dadima?" Her heart was filled with jealousy which she conveniently termed as insecurity.

"We have to talk to Annapurna Ji, this is not correct. What if tomorrow Sanskar and Swara seize Maheshwari's legacy and throw you and Laksh out of this house?" Her grandmother's statement took away the floor beneath Ragini's feet.

"Should we talk now?" Ragini turned restless.

"No Laddoo, we have to wait for the correct time."

But Parvati and Ragini did not require to wait for too long. Few days later in the afternoon, one of their Badi's neighbour and Parvati's friend came to Maheshwari house for meet.

"Sulochana don't worry, everything will be fine." Parvati shedded fake tears.

"How Parvati? My husband named our house in my elder son's name before his demise, thinking he will take care of his younger brother's family. Everything was going on well but with this Badi reconstruction, my elder son and his wife had changed. They are asking my younger son to find accommodation for his family by himself without giving him a single penny." Another lady the same age as Parvati was crying over her fate.

"This is such a dreadful world. No one is relative to anyone." Parvati consoled her friend but her eyes were stuck on Annapurna who was sitting in front of two old ladies along with Sujata.

"Annapurna Ji, as an elder , my advice to you is that whatever happened with Sulochana and her family should not happen in your family. You being the house lady should make sure of this, this is your responsibility by dividing the family's legacy equally among the next generation." Parvati found the perfect opportunity to fill Annapurna's ears when she was all alone.

Parvati's words started distressing Annapurna, she finally decided to talk about it with her husband.

"Annapurna, you don't need to worry about it. You should trust your own upbringing." Durgaprasad responded when his wife shared her reasons of concern.

"I would have but, what Adarsh did with us in the past. I have lost my faith." tears started to well up in her eyes remembering her elder son, "Why can't we divide this legacy equally? Why are we giving away everything to only one?"

"Anu, we had divided the legacy equally between the three sons of this family. Don't you remember when each one of them attained the age of 18 we had transferred 5% of shares on their name? If one of them has built a fortune from the share we have given, with his hard work and ability, then we should complement him for his success." Durgaprasad explained.

"Ok but then why does Swara have those shares? She is the daughter in law, same as Ragini. For us there are two daughter in laws of this house. They should be equal to us. One should not be favoured because of her financial status." Annapurna tried to reason out.

"Of Course not. We are not favouring anyone Anu. Me or Ram have not transferred shares on Swara's name. It was Sanskar who transferred it. If a husband gives a part of his wealth which he had earned to his own wife, then what is wrong with that?" Durgaprasad was not tired of making his wife understand

"But Ragini will not have this aid, due to which there are chances of quarrels in the house in future. Don't you see that even after so many months, there is still a gap between Sanskar and Laksh. As elders of this house don't you think we should be precautious about it?" Annapurna interrogated.

"We should all learn about this from Sanskar. He is concerned, he is precautious about his better half's future." Durgaprasad admired his nephew ignoring his wife's plea.

Over one week, Sujata could observe Annapurna's disgruntled attitude. Her  displeasure was visible in her demeanour. Getting irritated on every little thing, taunting on everything, not talking openly about her concerns, and just keep on suffocating inside became her every day's routine.

"I am just worried about my household but nothing is left in my hands." Sujata heard her sister in law when she was sharing her concerns with Sharmishtha and Shekhar.

"You know, Shona and Ragini are two sisters first. Such things will never happen in our family" Sharmishtha reassured.

"Don't worry Annapurna Ji, there will be some way. We will find a middle way on this." Shekhar said after thinking for a long time.

'Hey Kahnaji, please don't bring any new storm in my Sanskar's life, this time he won't be able to take it.'

Uttara saw her mother engrossed in her thoughts, Sujata shared her concerns.

"Mom, Bhabhi is changing herself for Bhai. Haven't you observed she is giving maximum time to Bhai? And Bhai, he is also mending, they both are trying." Uttara shared her insights.

"I know Uttu, but when it comes to Ragini and her maternal family, Swara has always sidelined Sanskar. I hope this time she will take a stand for her relationship." Sujata hoped from core of her heart along with her daughter.

One of the servants had informed Swara about her parents' request to visit their room in the afternoon.

"Ma, Baba you two called me here?" Swara entered inside Shekhar and Sharmishtha's room where Parvati and Ragini were already present.

"Shona, haven't you observed Annpurna' ji state these days." Shekhar broached the topic after some casual talks.

"She is worrying about her family. You know what happened with Sulochana Kaki's family. She does not want the same to happen with her family. And being elder of this house her concerns are valid." Sharmishtha supported her husband.

"Annapurna ji has a fear in her mind, and that fear is not wrong when her own elder son betrayed this family earlier." This time Parvati added fuel after explaining Annpurna's stand.

"Being the eldest daughter in law it's your responsibility to keep this family together." Sharmishtha always had high hopes for her daughter. She was very aware of her daughter's selfless nature.

"What do you want to say Ma?" Swara was trying to perceive their talks. One part of her mind had guessed the reason but her heart kept on declining which still loved her family unconditionally.

"See we thought a lot about it... there is one way to solve this conflict and keep your family as one always." Shekhar proposed carefully.

"What is that Baba?"

"Why don't you give half of your shares to Ragini? This will resolve and settle everything as before." Parvati explained, she could not hide an orderly tone. She was frustrated with her son and daughter in law who were talking in rounds.

For a moment Swara could not understand the ask from her grandmother. She stared at them with blank face.

"Haan Shona, Ma is right. You and Ragini are sisters as well as daughter in law of this family and you both should have equal rights over this house." Shekhar seconded his mother.

"Shares which Sanskar transferred on my name?" Swara asked, trying to register the situation in her mind. She continued cautiously, "do you want me to transfer them on Ragini's name?"

"Half of it Swara." Shekhar clarified.

"Half of my shares?" Swara muttered to herself.

"Wealth will remain within the family only whether it is in your name or in your sister's name, what difference does it make?" Sharmishtha answered, bringing all her motherly concern in her tone.

"After all family comes first Shona. You two sisters are going to carry forward this legacy ahead. You both should complement each other..." and there Sharmishtha went on explaining morals and ethics of sisterhood.

Swara stared at her mother for a long time. She remembered the day when her mother forced her to break Sanskar's oath to unite their family. That was the starting point for all her miseries.

Even on that day, her parents were more concerned about Ragini and Laksh's wellbeing than her and Sanskar relationship.

How conveniently her parents had persuaded her to disobey her husband's one wish by manipulating her thoughts for their other daughter's happiness?

Again today they were doing the same thing. Her parents along with her grandmother were trying hard to convince her to go against her husband. She turned her eyes to her sister who was standing in one corner without a word but with hopeful eyes.

Again she was standing at the same cross road. One way led her towards her perfect family picture whereas one way led her to her husband, her love, her Sanskar.

"It does matter. Ma" she mumbled after a long thought.

Sharmishtha and others could hardly hear her voice. Swara gulped unshed tears taking a deep breath and looked at them with a calm yet sterned face.

"Sanskar has not only transferred the shares in my name but has fulfilled a responsibility that a husband has towards his wife, that she should not lack anything after a marriage. This was one of the promises he had made to me while taking our marriage vows. This is his way of giving me respect that both of us are equal in this relationship. He is sure that I will never misuse these shares."

"Shona but when it comes to family..." Swara showed her hand and stopped her father.

"Leave it Papa. It's ok." Ragini was taken back with her sister's words. She understood her sister was changed now. The woman sitting in front of her was not her sister but the wife of someone.

"Shona please think for one more time this is needed for your family to stay together. It will be a question of my upbringing, that I did not pass correct values and morals to you." Sharmishtha tried her last resort.

"A few months ago, Ma, I came into these lacy words of yours and took a step to break the oath given by Sanskar. For which I am regretting even today. Till date, I have made many mistakes on the name of family's happiness or my sister's wellbeing but now I am trying to rectify those blunders. I can't make another mistake. This time I will not break his trust. Not for anyone" Swara's surety filled words echoed in their room.

All Gadodia family members were looking at their daughter with wide open eyes. This was not the Swara they knew for so many years. This was Mrs. Swara Sanskar Maheshwari.

Swara stood up and turned to look at them one by one.

"Neither for you,  Ragini... nor Baba, for you... and not Ma for you. Never ever."

***
Thanks for loving this 온라인카지노게임. Let me know how you found this chapter in the form of your votes and comments.

Please feel free to share this 온라인카지노게임 in your message board as a suggestive read if you think that they will enjoy this roller coaster ride.

Love
AngelTweet