Unreachable Destiny- The Curse Of Your Love

Chapter-49: Inevitable Consequence.

1 week later...

"Dadi, will you stop pressuring me for this?" Amish says to Meenakshi. Meenakshi had once again brought up Maya's marriage and Amish is not pleased by the suggestion. "Why do you keep bringing this up?"

"You know why, Amish. If it wasn't for your obstinance, I wouldn't have to pressure you on this."

"Dadi, I have already told you my decision regarding this. Maya is too young for marriage." Amish insists. He knows what Meenakshi is talking about. In fact, everyone in the house does but he can't let his decisions affect Maya, which is why he had made it clear to everyone in the house to not bring up anything about marriage. He rolls up the sleeves of his burgundy button-down shirt to keep his hands busy. Amish didn't like where the topic was leading to.

"But you are not young anymore, Amish." 

"Dadi, if you don't mind, I have a meeting in a while. I need to prepare for it." Meenakshi scowls in displeasure and leaves the room. Amish takes a breath of relief as he falls into his office chair. His gaze falls on the last drawer on his desk, which is locked most of the time. It was a drawer that he opened once in a while. He hadn't opened it once since Maya and Aditya came to India, but the situation called for its attention and Amish once again couldn't resist the urge to take a look into the past he promised to leave behind. He took out the key from under the desk where he placed a hidden pouch and unlocked the drawer. The aroma of coffee and her scent enclosed his senses as a rush of feelings filled his heart. He slipped into a trance, relieving himself of all the worries, responsibilities and promises he made. If a man had to choose between two promises he made, which one should he choose? Does the decision depend on the weight of the promise or the person he made the promise to?

***

There were more reasons than just Amish's decision for Meenakshi to push forward Maya's marriage. In fact, Meenakshi herself didn't want to get Maya married because she wanted Maya to be her successor. Maya has the vigour to lead and the ambition to be on top, which is exactly what Meenakshi wanted from Amish but he has never been ambitious. Amish works great as the CEO of Rajvansh Enterprise but he is only suitable for the position of executive. Meenakshi needs a head, not a hand. But Meenakshi has to get Maya married for various reasons, one of which is her frequent visits to Ketki's apartment. Not long ago, Rishab, Ketki's husband, called Meenakshi informing her of how frequently Maya visited their house and how they always sat together and talked secretively. In any case, Meenakshi doesn't find it safe for Maya to be still visiting Ketki especially when the girl has a deep grudge against Meenakshi. Since Meenakshi herself failed to control or stop Maya on many occasions, she needed someone else to do the job. She already understood that it can't be Aditya so the only other option left for her is to get Maya to marry someone who listens to Meenakshi. Since Amish is adamant about his decision, the only other person she can move is Maya herself. Maya herself has to put forward the idea of marriage and Meenakshi knows exactly how to do it.

"Benba! benba!" Parul's voice reverberates on the walls of the corridor to her room as the surrounding echoes silence her approaching footsteps. Meenakshi turns around to face a panting Parul.

"What happened, Parul? What is the hurry?" Meenakshi asks, approaching Parul while arranging her maroon saree pleats. Meenakshi had put in extra effort to look good that day for it is her birthday tomorrow. She was quite sure that Kuhu and the rest of the family would plan a surprise for her tonight, and since it was the first time she would be celebrating with Maya and Aditya, she was quite excited for the night. If only Abhir was also here... Meenakshi trailed off as her longing to see her son took over her mind. She shook her head to rid herself of the uninvited thought.

"Banerjee Saab is here. He wants to talk to you about something. He said it is urgent." By the time Meenakshi came downstairs, she found Maya sitting in the living room with Dev Banerjee. The fifty-year-old man had never looked so flustered in the past two decades that Meenakshi knew him. As soon as he noticed Meenakshi approaching he visually relaxed at the sight.

"What a surprise Mr. Banerjee. How come you are here today?" Meenakshi asks the man as he looks between Meenakshi and Maya. Meenakshi sits on the other couch opposite Maya. Although she was facing Dev, Meenakshi's attention was still on Maya.

"Meenakshi Ji, I..."  The man looks at Maya in hesitation, which only piques Meenakshi's curiosity as to what made Dev Banerjee, a man who had been assisting her with all the legal procedures for the past decade and a half, be so apprehensive of someone half his age. "There was a board meeting held this morning," Dev said, confusing Meenakshi even more than she had been.

"Okay... Why didn't I know about it? I am the chairwoman." Meenakshi asks the obvious, but the answer Banerjee gives only baffles her more.

"That is the issue, Meenakshi Ji. The meeting was held to discuss the reappointment of the Chairperson." Meenakshi frowns for a moment, not sure if she heard him right.

"What does that mean?" Banerjee goes silent as he glances at Maya again. "I am asking you, what does that mean, Mr. Banerjee?"

"It means that you are freed from all your responsibilities as the chairwoman of Rajvansh Enterprise." Maya answers instead of Dev. "Happy birthday in advance, Ms. Meenakshi. Now you have free time to spend with the family that you love so much."

"What- What does that..." Meenakshi couldn't utter a word. She tries to remember the last time she felt so speechless but she realised she never had. Meenakshi is a woman who always has something to say at the end of everything and leaves in the last word in every battle. Yet she was rendered into silence by her 23-year-old granddaughter.

"29 years ago you transferred your shares to Mishti Rajvansh. On her passing, her husband, Abhir Rajvansh, gained ownership over the shares, but since he had relocated to London, you have been operating the shares on his behalf for the past 20 years. Mr. Abhir Rajvansh, my father, has now passed down the shares to his children, which means that the shares are now divided equally among his children. Moreover, 15 years ago, Kunal Rajvansh sold his shares to Vishal Trivedi, from whom I now bought the shares back, which makes me the biggest shareholder of Rajvansh Enterprise, which includes Rajvansh Travels, Rajvansh Textiles, and Rajvansh technologies and holdings." With every word that she said, Meenakshi's heart seemed to tear apart. She had never thought for once that her decision 29 years ago could resurface in such a nasty way. The only reason she had transferred those shares in the name of Mishti was for the tax issues the company faced at the time and to have more control over her eldest daughter-in-law, but little did she know that this critical chip would fall into the hands of her granddaughter who is driven by her vengeance against Meenakshi. This was a misstep that she had made 29 years ago and had long forgotten, but Maya was able to fish it out to rope it around Meenakshi's neck. Meenakshi doesn't know how to feel about this since she can't help but feel proud of Maya's intelligence, but at the same time, it doesn't sit well with her that Maya is only using it to hurt Meenakshi.

"And..." Despite her distaste for the situation, Meenakshi is really curious as to where Maya is going with this. Is it going where she thinks it's going...

"And a new chairperson will be soon selected for which we are going to push forward a candidate in the next meeting." Now that has got Meenakshi's attention. "Don't worry, it'll be a family member." And that has lifted the cloud of doom from over Meenakshi's unpleasant mood. It has to be Maya, Meenakshi thought. Amish would not be the candidate for chairperson as he is essential to fill the role of CEO and that is better for him as he doesn't have the callous nature to sustain as the head of the board. That board is full of sharks and only someone like Maya can survive the vicious tides. Being a chairperson has less to do with the business itself and more to do with projecting a strong front and being an unpenetrable wall against the corporate world. It has to be Maya...

"Have you decided yet? Who is it?" Meenakshi asked, already aware of the answer. If the cost of her losing is Maya taking the reigns, Meenakshi is willing to take a step back. Meenakshi can imagine Maya as the chairwoman. She knows that for someone like Maya, who has no background knowledge in business, it will be hard to sustain in that position but Meenakshi is more than ready to train and guard Maya with all she has if it means that she will fulfil the role. After all, it was all she waited for, a true heiress.

"Yes, we have decided." Maya smiled and Meenakshi felt it was odd. "The candidate we are going to push for in the meeting is Aditya." The ground fell from underneath Meenakshi as she heard what Maya said. For the second time that day, she wasn't sure if she heard it right. She wondered, if she had known that this would be the consequence for entangling Aditya, would she have done what she did?