A Family Man

2

"Congratulations Shivaay!"

He forced himself to smile. He diligently shook hands with the person wishing him. "Thank you so much." 

The man patted Shivaay's shoulder. "I am so happy for you."

Shivaay nodded. "Thank you."

Another man patted his back appreciating him. "I am so amazed by the news, Shivaay. I never thought that you were this kind of guy."

Shivaay held back a chortle. What did they know, eh? What did they know of the kind of guy he actually was? If they knew, they wouldn't be proud of him. To be honest, they wouldn't even associate themselves with him if they knew what he had done. It was all too shameful.

He swallowed the guilt, the shame and regret he felt and shrugged. "Actually, I also never thought that I was this kind of guy. But the moment I saw her, my world changed. I couldn't leave her there."

The men threw their heads back and laughed. They all raised their glasses in a toast. "You are amazing. I am glad that you took this decision." 

The older man piped up. "Yeah. Everyone in this room only talks. But you walked the talk too. I am so proud of you my lad. Good job."

Shivaay's heart thudded painfully. He didn't deserve the appreciation, the good words that were coming his way. He was a liar. A filthy liar who was lying about a child of only a few months. It all felt horribly wrong. He wanted to dash out of the party and take a breather. He had thought that this was going to be super hard but it wasn't. It was surprisingly very smooth. But it was exactly why it was bugging him. He wasn't the saint people thought he was. He wasn't the nice guy these guys thought...

"Shivaay!" Anika made googly eyes at him. Then through gritted teeth, she whispered or rather commanded. "Smile."  

He wanted to throw something at her. He was smiling. He glanced at his hazy reflection in the opulent wall glass at a distance and sighed. No. He wasn't. He forced himself to smile. He then looked at Anika and spat out, "I am smiling." 

Anika rolled her eyes. Shivaay followed suit. That woman was a pest. A living, walking, hair shedding, swearing, pest. He didn't know what the astrology charts were like when his Badi Maa hired her as a PR for the company. If it wasn't for her annoying schemes working out like a dream, Shivaay was sure that he would have fired her in a heartbeat. He truly didn't want to find her hair on the floor of his office or on his files or on his coat lapels. Fuck. He glanced at her dress. A single hair was dangling for dear life. He needed to suggest good hair oil to her. Or just book an appointment with a good dermat. 

"Why are you so zoned out?" she asked, snapping her fingers in front of his eyes.

He pushed her offensive hand back. "I am traumatized, depressed and haunted. Hence." 

She grinned. "Aww, how sad. Must be a real pain to be depressed in a Mansion."

The gall of that woman. Shivaay glared at her. "Shut up." 

Then he shimmered down. She had helped him. Without her plan, he would have been taken to the cleaners by the same people who were right now lauding him. He rubbed his head and turned to her. He couldn't be mean to her.

"Anika, did I..." 

"Yes," she interjected him. "You did well. You are a good actor. For a minute, I truly thought that you had met Priyanka at an orphanage and pitied her." 

Shivaay smiled. So it was all good. He would live another day. He took a giant swig of his champagne and looked around. It was yet another boring party. No. Soiree. That's what his father called them. My foot. Spending 24 hours inside a steaming sauna felt more pleasurable than attending one of these but he had to. He was after all the Oberoi scion, the rightful representative of their illustrious family. 

"By the way, who is Priyanka with right now?" questioned Anika. 

"Her nannies." 

She raised her brows in surprise. "Plural?"

Shivaay smirked. Did she really think that his daughter would have a single nanny? No. She had three. 

"I have three." Shivaay told her smugly. "For different things."

"Of course!" Anika chuckled. Shivaay was sure that she had something caustic to say to that but she controlled herself. Though she added, "But don't say that if anyone asks."

Shivaay resisted the undying need to roll his eyes. That woman never ran out of instructions for him. But still, he nodded. "I know. Someone from the media asked me and I said that she is with my Mother. Bonding time."

Shivaay downed the champagne. Liar, liar. Rotten liar. His mother hadn't so much looked at his daughter. Hell, his mother hadn't spared him a single look. She hadn't ventured out of her room in the past three days at all. Shivaay knew that she was disappointed. But there wasn't anything that he could do about it now. He had shot his arrow. 

"Good job, my lad." Anika approved it. Then she leaned ahead, tuning her voice to a whisper. "Waise, interesting name. Priyanka."

She wriggled her brows. "Are you a closer Priyanka Chopra fan?" 

Shivaay snorted and shook his head. But soon, his smile fell. Looking down at his palms, he lowered his voice too and told her, "We had a sister. She died when she was two months old. She developed a life-threatening pneumonia and nothing worked out. Her name was Priyanka."

Anika blinked. "How touching."

Shivaay saw something incredibly soft in her eyes. Something akin to empathy, something like sadness. He didn't think she was capable of any emotion other than cunningness but that was a discussion for a different day. 

She blinked again. It all vanished in a whoosh. She grinned like she had stumbled upon the most delicious piece of news. She hurriedly grabbed her phone and typed something in it. She crooned, "It will make the most beautiful, heart touching article."

Shivaay exhaled loudly. He pinched the bridge of his nose. Peace didn't last too long with her. "Geez, Anika. Stop it."

She raised a brow at him. "Stop what? Making you look like an angel walking amongst mere mortals like us? Ungrateful much."

Shivaay wanted to tell her that she didn't need to use all the small things from his life to make him look like the best man on Earth. Because most certainly, he wasn't. But he was in no position to fight her right now. He zipped his mouth. 

Her questioning look flourished further. "Wow, you must be really sad cause I heard no Shivaay Singh Oberoi brand of wisecrack."

Shivaay pressed his palms on his temples. "Shivaay Singh Oberoi needs a drink. A strong one."

He summoned a waiter and picked up a neat whiskey glass. He looked at Anika and asked, "You?"

She refused. "Nope. I don't drink on the job. I want to be in my full senses and notice everything. Keeping the eyes and ears open always helps." 

He nodded. "Sm..."

"Shivaay!" 

A booming voice interrupted him. He turned to see yet another group of middle-aged businessmen making a beeline to congratulate him on the adoption. He groaned. What had he landed himself into?