That night seemed to be a rather gloomy one, with random flashes of lightning.

"Madhu stop jumping on the bed!" Shree tells Madhu who was jumping up and down the bed. "Oh my mata, you're messing the bedsheet! Stop jumping, Madhu!"

"No!" She exclaims loudly as she jumps faster not realising that her soft toys were lying on the floor. Shree neatly flattens the wrinkled bedsheet and it gets messed up again.

"Madhav!" Shree sighs in defeat looking at her husband who was brushing his hair. Shree rolls her eyes and sits on her side of the messy bed.

"Alright! It's 10 PM and someone is supposed to be asleep by now." Madhav says walking towards the bed.

"Yeah!" Madhu says as she stops jumping. "Amma sleep!" Madhav grabs Madhu and effortlessly lifts her into his arms.

"No, I meant you!" He says as he makes Madhu lie on the bed.

"Not tired, Nanna!" Madhu whines as she yawns. Making Madhav smirk. He picks up her soft toys from the floor and keeps it beside her.

"First person to sleep gets more ice cream after lunch!" Madhav says and Madhu's face brightens. "But looks like your mother will beat you. She already looks so sleepy."

Madhu quickly closes her eyes. "Look, I'm sleeping!" Madhu says.

"Goodnight my kannamma." Madhav whispers and presses a kiss to her forehead.

"Goodnight Nanna." She whispers back. "Goodnight Amma."

"Goodnight, my darling." Shree says caressing Madhu's soft hair.

Madhav sits on the bed, looks at Shree and extends his hand to hold her face. Shree blushes as she feels his palm against her cheek. She closes her eyes as he runs his thumb over her lips.

"Say it, once more, Madhav." She whispers.

"Shree, chellam, I love you-" Madhav says but is interrupted as someone knocks on their door.

"I'll get that." Shree says and walks to the door. "Yashoda Ma, what are you doing here?" She asks as she sees Yashoda standing outside the door, wearing the same pale blue sari she wore for dinner.

"Come with me, dear." She says pulling Shree outside. "Radha wants to talk to us urgently."

"Now?" Shree asks, to which Yashoda nods.

* * * * *

"Ah, Shree darling! Come in! Come in!" RK says as Yashoda and Shree walk into his study room. He was seated on the big swivel chair, his hands resting on the expensive mahogany desk. The room was dimly lit, engulfed in thin darkness, the only light coming from RK's laptop and the big oval floor lamp thst casted a bright shade of dark amber. The sky was dark as it was a new moon night, and however the constant flashes of lighting made the sky look bright. "I needed to speak to you and Yasho immediately. Come and take a seat."

Shree and Yashoda sit on the cushioned seats opposite him.

"I feel bad that I sounded perplexed when Madhav announced that both of you were shareholders of the company." He says solemnly. "I am extremely sorry for that."

"We both own 15% of the company's shares." Yashoda says.

"Only 15%?" RK asks stunned. "He gave his mother and beloved wife only 15% in total?"

"He wasn't in the position to offer more." Shree says. "He needs more than 50%"

"But he gave 15% in total while he could have given 20%, 10 for each!" RK states.

"It's okay. We aren't complaining, Radha." Yashoda says.

"But I am!" RK says. "And that's why I called you both here tonight. I am writing off three quarter of the shares I own."

"You mean you are giving me and Yashoda Ma 15%?" Shree says. "And you will have just 5% of the company's total shares?"

"Precisely!" RK says.

"But why?" Shree asks.

"It's because, I am an old man. I want to play a small role in business and let the young blood to be most engaged and powerful." He says as he opens his desk drawers and pulls out two bulky files. I want my daughter-in-law and my young wife to have more share and more power than me. Please don't refuse. I'm sure you won't."

"But Radha-"

"Please Yasho! I love you!" He says. "Let me do this. I want to do this."

"Fine!" Yashoda says. "Where do we sign?"

RK smiles and opens the two bulky files, pushing it towards them.

"On the dotted lines." RK says. "I have attached several copies of the same Share Transfer Agreement, because I need to submit the original copies to many places and people, like the bank, our business subsidiaries, to the CEO- I mean to Madhav. Just read one document thoroughly and sign the rest."

"If you plan to read through everything it'll take up the whole night." RK says as he takes his phone to his hand.

"Let me read this one thoroughly first." Yashoda says as she and Shree both starts reading. The clock strikes twelve and outside the wind howls loud.

"So, do you agree with the terms and conditions?" RK asks.

"Yes, I do." Yashoda says as she signs the first document and proceeds to sign the rest.

"And you Shree?" RK asks.

"Hmm, I'm fine with this." Shree says tapping the pen against her chin.

"Did you read everything thoroughly?" He asks.

"Yes." Shree says and places her signature on the dotted lines.

"Wonderful!" He says smiling.

* * * * *

Madhav places a kiss on Shree's neck as she pats her wet hair dry with a towel.

"Madhav, enough!" Shree giggles as he feels her waist through her kurta top.

He smiles as he presses a kiss to her ear.

"No." He whispers. "I want more time under the shower with you."

Shree turns. "One hour wasn't enough?"

He shakes his head, not satisfied with the lovemaking under the shower. She walked into the bathroom, naked, while he was showering. She stood there admiring his taut athletic buttocks. He was surprised when he turned to see Shree look at him as she bit her lips. She surprised him by walking towards him and pressing her lips to his, letting her hands feel his toned and muscular chest that was covered in foam.

"You are going to be late for work, Mr. Ramakrishna!" Shree says as she ties his tie.

"Chellam, are you forgetting that I am the CEO?" He whispers huskily as he holds her curved buttocks.

"And are you forgetting that our daughter is asleep in this room?" She asks smiling, hitting his arm playfully. She stands on the tip of her toes. "I'll see you in the evening. Bye!"

She softly presses her lips to his.

"See you tonight, I guess." Madhav says before placing a kiss on her forehead as she straightens the folds of his light blue shirt.

"When you come back, and after we put our baby girl to sleep, let's start working on Baby Number 2, okay?" Shree shyly whispers.

"Definitely." He says smiling. "But why doesn't Baby Number 2 have a name? Haven't you thought of one, Chellam?"

"Actually, I did think of a name." Shree says looking into his eyes, caressing his trimmed beard.

"Well, do you mind telling me?" He asks.

"So, if it's a boy- I thought of naming him-" Shree says and is interrupted by a knock on their room door.

"Well timed!" Madhav sighs annoyed as the knock becomes successive and louder.

Shree runs to open the door and finds Yashoda, who was panting and out of breath.

"Ma, what happened?" Shree exclaims.

"Shree- Shree, we have been deceived." Yashoda pants. "I-I-I can't believe Radha would do this. Please follow me downstairs with Madhav."

"But- what happened?" Madhav asks as he follows Shree and Yashoda outside.

Downstairs in the living room was RK, with his lawyers and two unknown men, dressed in crisp white shirts and tailored pants.

"Ah, yes Madhav! My son!" RK says with a wide and evil grin. "Come and sit down, my beloved son."

Madhav raises an eyebrow and sits down on the sofa. Shree sits beside him.

RK stands up. "Madhav, you remember my lawyer, Mr. Rao, right?" He asks pointing to his balding and plump lawyer.

Madhav nods.

"Mr. Rao has something to tell you." RK says with a sinister smile. "Mr. Rao?"

Mr. Rao clears his throat. "Mr. Madhav Ganapathy Ramakrishna, you have been legally sued-"

"A what?" Madhav asks blinking in confusion.

"Mr. Ramakrishna, let me finish, please." Rao says rolling his eyes. "Mr. Madhav Ganapathy Ramakrishna, you have been legally sued on multiple grounds ranging from bribery, defamation of shareholders, unethical dismissal, emotional damage by Mr. Radhakrishna Ramakrishna, Mrs. Yashoda Ramakrishna and Mrs. Shree Sita Ramakrishna-"

"No!" Shree yells. "I never sued Madhav! Madhav, I never did that-"

"Is this your signature, Shree darling?" RK asks holding the lawsuit document that had Shree's signature.

"I didn't sign any document suing my husband!" Shree exclaims. "And I never would!"

"You signed this last night yourself, darling! You even said that you agree to the terms and conditions." RK says in an evil whisper.

"I signed a different document last night!" Shree says, realizing RK had stealthily kept the lawsuit document in between the share transfer documents. She turns to Yashoda and she nods. "This lawsuit is invalid since my signature was obtained by deception. You tricked me and your own wife. You tricked us into signing this document saying it was to transfer your company shares to us!"

"What are you talking about? I called you last night to talk about suing Madhav to which you agreed and placed your signature to have him legally sued." He says and pulls out his phone to play an audio recording.

"So, do you agree with the terms and conditions?" RK asks.

"Yes, I do." Yashoda says.

"And you Shree?" RK asks.

"Hmm, I'm fine with this." Shree says.

"Did you read everything thoroughly?" He asks.

"Yes."

"The signatures were placed with your full consciousness, which makes this sue valid by all means, in the face of law." RK says with a feeling of accomplishment. He laughs out and turns to his lawyer.

"You are taking revenge because I went against your wish for that joint venture, right?" Madhav asks looking up at RK. "I should have seen this coming. Anyways, may I know on what grounds I am being sued?" He asks calmly.

"You are charged by these three individuals on multiple grounds some of them being bribery; defamation of your shareholder cum father Mr. RK Ramakrishna; distasteful behavior towards your stepmother Mrs. Yashoda Ramakrishna; unethical dismissal of your former secretary Ms. Shree Prasad; emotional and psychological damage inflicted upon your wife during the course of her pregnancy."

Shree breaks down crying and Madhav holds her hand. Tears came from her eyes, racing down her jaw, and falling from her chin to the marbled floor.

"Do you deny any of the charges, Mr. Ramakrishna?" Mr. Rao ask.

"I have bribed several people over the past decade, I been awful to Yashoda Ma, I may have insulted Mr. Radhakrishna over the few decades, it was unethical when I terminated Shree's employment at RKGOC, and I don't deny emotionally scarring Shree during her pregnancy. Mr. Rao, I don't deny any of the charges. I'll settle the sue. How much am I sued for?"

"Mr. Madhav Ramakrishna, you must settle a total of 3 billion-"

"That's it?" Madhav interrupts amused. "Just three billion? That's not going to be a problem-"

"Three billion euros." RK says smirking. "Which is almost twenty-five thousand and seven hundred crores. "

Madhav's face contorts.

"Give me a minute." He says and gets up. He quickly climbs up the stairs and goes into his room. He returns a few minutes later, carrying a few files in his arms, a few envelopes lying on top of the files.

"You don't have to do this, Madhav!" Yashoda tells him, holding his arm tightly.

"This is what Mr. Radhakrishna wants and I will give it to him." Madhav says looking at RK coldly. "I never thought you would stoop this low because I went against your wish on that joint venture."

He keeps the files on the glass table and takes two keys from his pocket. "I will pay you every cent of this sue. I have brought the files that contain the legal documents to all my assets to settle this sue."

"Good, and since you agreed to settle this, I am giving you an offer." RK says. "I am willing to buy each share you own for 1 billion Indian rupees. That's equal to writing off 80 billion Indian rupees. Do we have a deal, Madhav?"

"No, Madhav!" Shree yells with tears in her eyes. "You'll lose ownership of the company!"

"Deal!" He says and nods. "And to settle the remaining, you can have both my Audi SUVs, my new Rolls Royce."

"I want the shares I own at the other corporates like Reliance, Singapore Telecommunications and Tata Motors to be sold for today's going rate." He says giving the envelops.

"Here is the deed to the holiday bungalow in Goa, the penthouse apartment in Mumbai, the villa in Lonavla, my private estate in Pune. Here are the plots of land I own in Thanjavur, Padamsar, Mysore and Bhopal. The deeds to the five star hotels in Sri Lanka and Malaysia, they are legally yours from today." He takes one file after the other and hands it over to RK. RK passes them to the two strangers, who calculates the value of each asset.

After three hours, one of the two strangers stand up. "Mr. Madhav Ramakrishna still has to settle more."

"I-I-I'll write a cheque worth my bank account's outstanding balance." He says as he writes a cheque and slams it on the glass table. "How much remaining?"

"A few more billion euros." Comes the reply and Madhav sighs in defeat as he sinks into the sofa.

"You can sell Elysium, Madhav." Yashoda suggests.

"No! I am not going to sell Elysium!" Madhav says. "It's not the place that is meant to be sold off!"

He takes a deep breath.

"Fuck! I don't have anything more to offer." He says rubbing his forehead.

"Yes, you do!" Shree says, holding a few files and many big jewelry boxes. "Here's the deed to a yacht and an eight-acre land-"

"What are you doing Shree? That's Madhu's property!" Madhav exclaims.

"She's still a baby!" Shree tells him. "She doesn't need a yacht and eight acres of land, for God's sake! The only thing she needs is our love, support, and affection! Our unconditional love for Madhu will make her the world richest and wealthiest child, she can face any obstacle when she has our support."

Madhav nods.

"Here's a few assets, or rather gifts I received from Mr. Radhakrishna. Here's the deeds to plot of land in Trichy and Theni, and the boxes of gold and platinum jewelry you gifted me during my wedding to Madhav. She takes the heap of kancheevaram saris that she asked the maid to bring from her cupboard. Shree takes them all and mustering all her energy throws it at RK's feet.

"And here are the kancheevaram saris you gifted me with. Take them all! I don't want your gifts after what you did!"

"Madhav still needs to settle a few million rupees." Says one of the two strangers after an hour.

"Take these too, on behalf of Madhav!" Yashoda says as she brings a big velvet potli bag and two big boxes with her. "There's fifty 24 carat gold coins that Radha gifted to me. Take my gold earring collection and my bangle collection too, another set of expensive gifts I received from Radha during our wedding. And the beautiful jungle villa in Nashik."

"Another ten thousand rupees is missing."

"Take this!" Yashoda says thrusting a few notes into RK's hand. "I believe everything is settled, now!"

"Yes!" RK says coldly.

"Great, because I'm not staying under the same roof with you for one more second!" Yashoda says. "I'm leaving. Shree, tell your mother that I'll be living with her from today onwards."

Shree nods as Yashoda walks to her room to pack her things.

"We should start packing too, Shree." Madhav says.

"But where are we going to go?" Shree asks.

"To Elysium."

To be continued....

Stay in touch! I'll see you soon with Chapter 49! 

The next chapter will be out on 1st October, followed by Chapter 50 on 3rd October. That sounds great right?

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