OS Gallery!

Tangled By Fate

I woke up to my beautiful grandmother's voice wishing me good morning.

'Good morning Billu! Wake up soon... it's your marriage today! Anika will be waiting for you!', she said while pulling the drapes open.

I got up from bed with a smile and wished her good morning. She gave me my favourite espresso. After taking a nice whiff and filling my nostrils with the enchanting smell of it, I took a sip and my taste buds began to immerse in the bitter yet very heavenly taste of the espresso. Whenever I drink my espresso, the smell and the taste of me reminds of Anika. The way she calls it 'kaali coffee' and how she spat it on me a couple of times before when I urged her to try it. Always the best way to begin my mornings with my espresso which brings thoughts of Anika to me. I guess that's why I stopped drinking espresso when she left me for three months. But she came back. Thankfully she came back. I thanked Dadi for the espresso and went into the washroom to get ready. It's my wedding after all!

After several rituals which I have no idea of it's existence were completed, we finally left for the marriage venue. Dadi wanted my marriage to be done with all the rituals.

When we reached the marriage venue, Anika was already there, waiting for me. Waiting to be mine completely in every manner. I've also been waiting to be hers. When I got down from the car, I could sense her looking at me from the balcony of the grand hall. I looked up casually, but she hid behind the curtains very quickly not allowing me to look at her. She firmly believes in what Dadi had told us three days ago in Haldi ceremony. Dadi informed us that the bride and bridegroom should not meet each other before the wedding as it is believed to bring bad luck. Ever since, we both complied to Dadi obediently not wanting any kind of hurdle in our marriage. We've gone through a lot to be together now. We're not willing to take any risks in this matter. But now, I miss her. My gaze yearns for her hazel eyes. My fingers can't wait to ruffle through her dark brown curly hair. My ears are eager to listen to the melodious voice of hers. Just a little while more, I told myself. I lived without knowing her existence for 29 years and now after knowing her existence and importance in my life, three days without her was like eternity. The three months without her was like living hell to me. I became numb completely. It's like when she left, she took away the little pieces of me which makes me empty as a vessel. And I'm very well aware that she suffered more than I did.

Anika's family welcomed us with full respect. Okay, you must be wondering from where did this family came from right? Well, I've got a crazy bunch of people as my family. They decided t o break into two; some became the groom's family and some became the bride's family. Anika had OmRu in her side of course. Sometimes I feel like these two love their bhabhi more than they love me. They way they protect and respect her. And not to forget, they stood by Anika when she asked them for help. They didn't even break the promise they made upon Anika despite me asking them about it numerous times. Gauri and Bhavya were from my side, they consider me as their elder brother after all. Bade Ma and Bade Papa were on Anika's side. They took the parently figure of her. Mom and Dad were with me. It's good that Mom had accepted Anika whole-heartedly after realizing her mistakes. It was really hard for us to make her accept Anika, but we successfully did it somewhat. There were three special people who didn't choose their sides, they sided whomever they wanted at the moment. It was Dadi, Saahil and Mahi. Yes, Mahi is no longer just Mahi, he is Mahi Singh Oberoi.

We, the Oberoi's owe a huge thank you to Anika as she was the one who never gave up and went into the depth of the matter to unreveal several secrets. She found out that I and Mahi are twins and are legitimately born to Mom and Dad. Kaamini loved Dad's money and wanted to trap him. She orchestrated such a drama where she made Dad believe that he had spent a night with her and that she's pregnant of his child but in truth, she was never pregnant. Dad denied her and gave her some money. But it was not enough for her. She took advantage of being a nurse and swapped Mom's children; us with a still-born child and made them believe that their child is dead. At that time, mom was extremely vulnerable. She was shattered completely. Dad tried to find some solution. That is when he saw Kaamini in the same hospital. She feigned to have given birth to Dad's children. Dad then thought of taking one of the child and giving it to Mom. He made a deal with Kaamini to never show her face ever again and he'll provide money for her. But, being a selfish and greedy woman; Kaamini's demands were never ending. When Dad stopped funding her, she began to hatch a plan. And that's exactly how Mahi came to live as me. Throughout his stay there, all he ever wanted was their love nothing more than that. It was so heart wrenching when I got to know that my own brother was neglected by and yearned for love and family his whole life while I had been showered with it. He wasn't even accepted into the society. He beared the tag of being an illegitimate child despite him being an Oberoi. The day Anika, Om and Rudra revealed all of this to the entire family, I promisedmyself that my Mahi will not suffer any more. He'll beget all the joys that were snatched away from him. I brought him into Oberoi Mansion that day itself with full respect and dignity which he deserved. The whole Oberoi's welcomed him warmly and accepted him. We were then led in by the 'bride's' family.