PUNARVIVAAH - ARRANGED TO LOVE (L&M #3) [COMPLETED]

SHOT 11

Third person's pov!

A couple of days passed by and Abhay kept a close watch on Vaiga to make sure that she was treating his child well.

He had seen many articles online on how nannies treat the kids when the parents are away. Now, there are always people at home, so there is no fear of leaving baby Kriti alone with Vaiga, with the watchful eyes of family members over her always.

But he wants to make sure that she wasn't simply putting on an act to please his parents. For that, he decided to do a background check on her. For that, he first dialled one of his bestfriends' numbers.

"Hey, Abhay! All okay? Why aren't you picking our calls since the last two days. We both have been trying to get in touch." Shravan asked, as soon as he picked up the call.

"Uh! Work pressure, Shravan. There was a technical issue going on and I have been behind it for the last week.." He said half truthfully. It was true that he had been behind the issue, but he had intentionally avoided the calls of his friends too.

"Hmm. All good, right? How is baby Kriti?" Shravan asked, knowing very well how Abhay is with Kriti. He has tried many times to make Abhay understand, but Abhay is drenched in guilt and there seems no way out of it, unless and until he himself wants it.

"Yes, Shravan. Everything is okay. I called you now for a favour. I need the number of your private investigator." Abhay said and he could actually imagine the frown on Shravan's face.

"Private Investigator? What for?" Shravan asked curiously.

"There is a new nanny. Papa and Mama brought her when they came from Thanjavur. I cannot directly go and ask them about her. Even if I do, they will only say good things about her, because Mama seems to like her very much. And Kriti seems to have gotten attached to her very quickly and it scares me a little. I want to be sure she is good for Kriti and all this isn't just an act of hers." Abhay explained and Shravan hummed in understanding.

"I understand. I will forward his contact number to you." Shravan said and then they had a casual conversation for a few more minutes before hanging up the call.

As soon as the call was disconnected, Abhay received a text message from Shravan, which had the PI's contact information in it. Without delaying another second, he dialled the PI's number.

"This is Abhay Dev Agnihotri. Shravan's friend." Abhay said.

"Yes, Mr Agnihotri. I just received a message from Mr Maheswari that you would get in touch." The PI said formally.

And Abhay told him what he wanted and shared the only two pieces of information he had on her. That the woman's name was Vaiga and that she was from Thanjavur.

"Alright, Mr Agnihotri. I will get back to you in two days." The PI said and hung up the call.

It was a Sunday and he didn't have to go to the office. Since morning, he had cooped himself up in the bedroom, like he usually does on Sundays. And as usual, he stepped out of the bedroom by evening, to check on his daughter from afar, just like always. That's his routine from the time she was born.

As he walked into the living room, he was greeted by the sweetest melody of giggles and blabberings. There, amidst a colourful chaos of toys, was his daughter, Kriti, on all fours, exploring her tiny world with sheer determination. Her eyes sparkled with mischief, her rosy cheeks flushed with excitement.

Kriti was in the midst of creating havoc, her chubby legs kicking in excitement as she crawled around the room with reckless abandon. Vaiga, her new nanny, was patiently trailing behind her, trying in vain to keep up with her energetic antics.

"Kriti, baby, please be careful," Vaiga said, her voice tinged with amusement and tiredness as she reached out to steady a stack of building blocks, someone had carefully stacked up, from toppling over.

Kriti, oblivious to it all, simply giggled in response, her laughter filling the room like music.

"Looks like someone is having fun," Siddhu said with a chuckle, as he went closer to where Vaiga and Kriti were playing. Vaiga glanced up at him, a smile on her face, that didn't reach her eyes. It seemed as if she was hiding a world of hurt in her eyes.

"It's a never-ending adventure with this little troublemaker," Vaiga replied, her voice filled with affection as she scooped Kriti up into her arms.

Kriti squirmed and wriggled in protest, and let out a shrilling scream, demanding to be let down, so that she can continue her exploring.

As Abhay watched the scene unfold before him, a pang of guilt stabbed at his heart. Here was his daughter, his flesh and blood, surrounded by love and laughter, yet he stood there, a mere spectator in her life. He longed to join them, to scoop up Kriti into his arms and shower her with affection, but his guilt held him back like an invisible chain, binding him to the shadows.

He knew he didn't deserve to be a part of this joyous moment, not after what he had done. His carelessness had robbed Kriti of her mother, leaving her to grow up without the love of a mother. And now, as he watched her play with Vaiga, he couldn't help but imagine how it would have been, had Kiara survived.

But despite his guilt and self-loathing, a small part of him yearned to be a part of Kriti's life, to make up for all the lost time and missed opportunities. He wanted nothing more than to hold her close, to whisper words of love and reassurance into her ear, but he knew he didn't deserve such forgiveness, such redemption.

"Abhay!" It was his father's voice that brought him out of his thoughts.

"Yes, papa.."

"Come to the office room. I need to talk to you."

He followed his father towards the study and took a seat across from him.

"What is it, papa?" Abhay asked and Niranjan took out a file from the desk.

"Someone you know is working as a lecturer in the arts college right?" Niranjan asked.

"Yes. A school mate of mine. Why do you ask?" Abhay asked curiously.

"Hmm. These are Vaiga's certificates. She only went to college for her undergraduate degree until her fourth semester. But she wrote the exams until the fifth semester. I want you to check with your friend and see what are the formalities for her to write her last semester exams.." Niranjan said and Abhay looked at him in confusion.

"Why are we looking after the nanny's education?" Abhay asked and Niranjan looked at him in shock.

"Nanny?"

A/n

Here goes the next shot..

Please do vote and comment..

Love,

SF❤️