Two weeks later, Ayaan and Zara arrived at the manor, where the entire family seemed excited to see her after so long. It felt almost like a celebration, especially with Ved and Saanvi squealing the moment they spotted her. They ran toward her, but before they could crash into her, Ayaan scooped both of them up and swung them over his shoulders.
“Uncle, let us go. We need to play with Zara aunty” Saanvi complained, kicking her little legs.
Ayaan chuckled and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Sure, I’ll let you go… but only if you promise to take care of your Zara aunty and your baby brother or sister.”
“Of course we will take care of aunty and the baby ” Ved declared proudly. Only then did Ayaan gently put them down. Zara was about to crouch to greet them, but Ayaan held her hand and guided her to the couch instead. He then settled Ved and Saanvi on either side of her.
Saanvi placed her tiny palm on Zara’s abdomen and squealed in delight. “Aunty, when will the baby come to play with us?”
“In a few more months, the baby will be born but you have to be patient and help take care of your little brother or sister until they grow up enough to play with you,” Zara said and Saanvi nodded earnestly.
Vaishu came and sat next to them, handing Zara a glass of juice. “I missed you, Maa,” Zara said softly. Vaishu smiled hearing her words and brushed her hair gently.
“Pari, please stay with Zara until I get back,” Ayaan said as he stood. Pari rolled her eyes dramatically just to tease him, making Zara giggle.
Ayaan, Vaishu, Reyansh, Mithun and Ishaan entered the study. Sameer followed them inside and immediately passed a file to each person.
“Dad, I went through the list you and Mithun uncle gave me. Our men have been monitoring every one of them closely. Based on everything we’ve observed, I’ve narrowed down a list of people who might be behind all of this or it could even be all of them.” Ayaan said and he glanced at Sameer, who nodded and connected a pen drive to the TV. Moments later, a file began to play on the screen.
“Two businessmen from our country are still competing with our construction company and their growth has increased tenfold compared to what it was during your time. Then there are three from overseas, they are former partners who now seem to have links with the underground world. Suryadev is connected to all of them. Finally, there is the Sheikh Saif al- Razaq from Saudi, who runs a black-market diamond empire. He’s become untouchable and now his son & Nafel al-Razaq has taken over the operations. We still have no clear evidence of the Sheikhs having direct ties with anyone here, so for now, we have seven people on our suspicion list,” Ayaan said and Reyansh and Mithun stared at the names, their jaws tight with anger.
Reyansh pointed to the Sheikh’s image on the screen.
“Ayaan… Sheikh Said al- Razaq is an old-generation smuggler. For forty years, he has controlled the flow of conflict diamonds out of Africa and across the globe. He built an underground auction circle called The Crimson Exchange. Only billionaires and mercenaries get invited. Every illegal diamond that enters the black market has passed through his hands at least once. But when I married your mother, I handed over all my dealings and cut ties with him completely. We expected him to retaliate, to wage a silent war in the underground world. But he didn’t. He simply agreed. It was strange so we monitored him for a decade but there was no movement, no reaction, nothing from his end. Eventually, we let him slip off our radar.” Reyansh said leaning back in his chair with a frown.
“He knows the power our family holds in this country and outside it. It would be foolish for him to pick a fight with us. Still… keep him and his son under observation. They lost the biggest diamond market in India because of us.” Reyansh said further and Ayaan exhaled slowly, processing his father’s words.
“Your point makes sense, Dad. He might be the one. Losing an entire national market is not something anyone digests quietly. And when our business boomed fifty-fold in the last twenty years, he must have realized he made a mistake letting you go. He could be trying to cripple us out of regret or revenge.” Ayaan said.
“His right-hand man Khalid Barzani, is the one who usually communicates with me during deals. I’m the one who has been in regular contact with them. If we connect the dots through him, we can confirm whether Razaq’s are the one targeting us. Barzani is sharp, calculated and doesn’t breathe without the Sheikh’s orders.” Mithun said tapping the file before him.
“Even a powerful mafia can’t operate alone. For someone to wage a war against a man like Reyansh Badrinath and his family, he must have someone equally powerful supporting him from within our own country.” Vaishu said and let out an exaggerated breath.
Reyansh immediately reached under the table and held her hand, calming her.
“We need to find this Barzani, but that won’t be an easy task……..not with the Sheikh’s son Nafel Razaq now running their operations. Still, we shall figure out a way. Now that we have seven suspects, we’ll assign more men to monitor them internationally,” Ayaan said.
“Mithun will speak to the Cuba diamond dealers. They’re the only ones who can help us locate Barzani and keep an eye on Razaq’s son.” Reyansh said and Ayaan immediately turned to Mithun.
“I’ll need at least a week. If the Razaqs are involved, then they’re already watching our movements. I can’t take any risks…..not with all of us on the line. I’ll plan a world tour on paper so it looks natural, but the real purpose will be gathering intel. Once I reach the Cuba dealers, I would return home and we shall start pulling the strings from here.” Mithun replied and everyone agreed to his plan.
“Is there a way we can find out if Suryadev is involved with the Razaq’s or anyone on our suspect list?” Vaishu asked and everyone shook their head.
“He’s not just a political leader, he’s the Prime Minister of our nation. Getting directly involved in his matters would be a massive mistake. We shall wait and once we know who’s supporting the Sheikhs, and once the reports on the rest of our suspects come in, then we decide our next step.” Ayaan said.
He switched off the TV and checked the time before glancing at his family, who were still smiling warmly.
“How are things with Zara?” Ishaan who was baffled on his brother’s way of handling enemies asked him.
Ayaan sat beside him with a sigh. “Not good, but not bad either. We’ve started talking through our issues, a little at a time. I’m hoping we fix everything soon… hopefully before the baby is born. ” he said.
“Don’t worry, the love you both have is strong enough to survive anything. Just be patient and don’t mess it up.” Vaishu said gently and Ayaan nodded with a small, grateful smile.
They walked into the living area and the home manager informed them that Pari, Zara, the kids, and Kajal were all in the kitchen. When they entered, they found the kids and Zara with their faces smeared in flour, while Kajal and Pari were busy recording a video of their chaotic baking session.
“Little monsters, you never leave your aunty alone when she’s around,” Ishaan said, scooping Saanvi onto his shoulder. She giggled and smeared more flour across his cheek.
The entire family joined the playful mess. Laughter filled the kitchen as they baked muffins and cupcakes, with everyone teasing Ishaan and Ayaan by calling them muffin and cupcake, the nicknames Reyansh had given them.
Ayaan and Zara returned to the villa after dinner and the next morning they arrived at the hospital. The doctor checked Zara’s vitals and reviewed all her reports before asking her to lie down for the scan. Ayaan helped her gently and the doctor lifted Zara’s shirt. She squeezed some gel onto her abdomen and moved the transducer across her skin.
The moment the grey image of their baby, tiny and moving appeared on the screen both Ayaan and Zara froze. Their hands tightened around each other instinctively. A lone tear slipped from each of their eyes. Ayaan immediately wiped the tear from hers.
Zara looked at the screen, then at Ayaan, “Our baby…” she whispered.
Ayaan lifted her hand and pressed a tender kiss to her knuckles, “Thank you so much,” he murmured before turning back to the screen, unable to look away.
A loud, relentless heartbeat thundered through the room, echoing unnaturally, too fast, too overwhelming. Zara and Ayaan’s breath hitched, terror clawed at their chest as Zara clutched Ayaan’s hand and tears blurred her vision.
” What happened doctor, why does the heartbeat sound alarming ? ” Ayaan asked squeezing Zara’s hand comforting her.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of. You should be celebrating the double happiness. You’re hearing two heartbeats. Madam is carrying twins ” the doctor’s calm voice cut through their panic, carrying a smile that changed everything.
They were having twins and Zara sobbed out of happiness hearing it. Ayaan kissed her forehead and his tears mixed with hers as he mumbled ‘ I love you’ and ‘ thank you’ repeatedly.
“The babies are healthy, but you still need to eat well and take proper rest. You’re 15 weeks along and everything looks perfectly on track.” the doctor said with a smile.
Both Ayaan and Zara thanked her and Ayaan helped Zara sit up and get off the bed. They collected the reports and Ayaan couldn’t stop smiling at the sonogram all the way back to the villa.
As soon as they entered the living, they called the family and shared the happiness of their twin babies. They heard the whole family squeal in excitement and Ayaan chuckled and turned the call on speaker as the couple received the wishes from the family.
Zara watched the pure love in his eyes each time he looked at the picture. He didn’t let go of her hand even once…not until they entered their room.
But Zara froze the moment they stepped inside. Hanging on the wall opposite the bed was their wedding portrait.
“I always wanted to have this here,” Ayaan said softly but Zara said nothing. She walked into the closet to change, her heart heavy and tangled with emotions.
Ayaan followed her into the closet and leaned against the wall as he watched her search through her wardrobe for something comfortable to wear.
“Do you want to rest? Or we can watch a movie,” he suggested.
Zara’s hand paused in mid-air. She turned slowly and Ayaan instantly sensed the shift in her mood. His stomach dropped knowing a storm was coming and braced himself for whatever she would say.
“Why do you care so much now? Where was this care when you were in Delhi ignoring all my calls and messages? You read every message I sent. You even contacted Rohan and the home manager for updates but you couldn’t send me a single message to say you were safe. You left some damn papers transferring your properties to me and disappeared without a word. You think I deserved that? Yes, I made mistake asking you that single question but so did you. I had been patient and waited for you, when you messed up with my life, so why couldn’t you wait for me? Now suddenly you want to fix everything and treat me like I’m made of glass. For your information, I lived alone for more than two weeks without you. I can take care of myself. Now excuse me….I need to change,” she finished through gritted teeth.
Ayaan took a deep breath and instead of walking away, he stepped closer.
” I’m ready to finish this part of our conversation if you’ll let me explain. And before you refuse we agreed to talk about our issues one by one, when we were ready. I think it’s time we address this one.” he said gently and took her hand before she could pull away, then her other hand, guiding her to sit on the couch. He placed himself beside her and saw her eyes brimming with tears.
Every mess he had created, every hurt he had left behind and now her mood swings everything was weighing on her. And he hated himself for being the cause of it.
“I didn’t go to Delhi because I thought or felt you hurt me. If I were in your place, I probably would have felt the same as you did…..questioning everything, doubting everything. I left because I didn’t want you to feel that way anymore. I told you that I never saw her in you, but just saying it wouldn’t erase the fear you felt. I didn’t want to stand in front of you and keep hurting you when I was drowning in guilt for the mess I created in our life. I was ashamed to face you, Zara. That’s the truth.” he said and swallowed hard, forcing himself to keep going.
“I’ve already explained the reason behind those papers, but I’ll make it clearer. It may seem like our family was betrayed by her but now I see the picture more clearly. She was with us for years, yet we never gave her anything truly precious, no property, no shares, nothing that involved our business. She only received some jewels as gifts on special occasions. And we have known you only for a few months. Do you really think I appointed you as the CEO of Rey’s empire out of pity or just because I discovered the truth about you?”
He shook his head gently looking at her. “No, Zara. You earned our trust in such a short span of time. You carry the legacy that Reyansh and Mithun built over years. The entire family agreed to make you the heir without a second thought. Do you think we did that because we believed you were greedy for money? No, wifey. You’re my soulmate. Mom and Dad truly see you as their daughter. That’s why they entrusted you with the legacy.”
He reached for her and his thumb brushed her tears. “So why are you surprised that I gave you everything I own? You’re a rare gem, Zara. You deserve every precious thing that exist on this planet ” he said and Zara looked at him through her tears.
“I called Rohan to make sure you weren’t overloaded. I called the home manager to check if you were eating on time. And I didn’t reply to your messages or answer your calls because… I had no answer that could fix the misunderstanding I had created. I thought giving us both space would help us think clearly and fix things without making them worse. For once I wanted to give you the space to decide our future. I would have come back that night even if you hadn’t been taken to the hospital that day. You know what I’m like without you near me so why would I ever choose to leave you?” he asked and his voice dropped, softer than before.
“I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, Zara… you are my home and I love you… love you so much wifey. I did mess up but I m not bad and I will prove you with my actions ” Ayaan finished and Zara broke into quiet sobs.
“Please don’t cry . Understand that, I never wanted to let go of you or leave you in any situation. Not in the past, not now… not ever in the future, that is the reason I rushed through the wedding. We shall talk about the rest another day. Now get changed and don’t you think we should celebrate this day. Its been hardly three hours we found that we are having twins. ” he said softly and brushed his thumb over her cheek and wiped the tears.
Zara nodded, leaning into his shoulder. Ayaan entwined their fingers and pressed a gentle kiss to the crown of her head. A soft smile curved her lips as her other hand instinctively rested over her abdomen.
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A/N:
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