AVANTHI
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'Dadda can I have some chocolates that Popsy got for me yesterday?' Roshni said as she sat on Shankar Anna's lap. He smiled and asked in a cute voice 'But has Shine had her breakfast? I was told that she did not finish it. Now that's not good for my Rapunzel's long growing braid.' he said and I pressed my lips trying to control my laughter.

She cutely looked at her braid and said 'But Dadda...I had milk. 1 big glass of milk you know?' and he said 'But what about the Dosa that Shailaja aunty cooked for you?' she started playing with the edge of her hair and I wanted to squish her cheeks.

'I no like Dosa Dadda!!! No tasty!!! And veggies ewwww!!!' she said and I hid my laughter behind my palms when he rolled his eyes saying 'If no veggies no chokies too darling!!! That's Ewww for your teeth!!! Double Ewww for your stomach!!!'. And the little girl got down from her dad's lap saying 'Fine!!! I'll eat the Dosa' to which Shankar Anna smiled saying 'Okay then go eat your breakfast. Dadda and Popsy will see you in a bit okay???' he asked and she nodded.

Then she looked at me asking 'Avanthi and Uncle Kevin as well?' to which Shankar Anna said 'Shine... baby... that's not just Avanthi. She is your Popsy's wife...she is your aunt. You can call her Pacchi.' and then she looked at me with those big bluish green eyes and repeated in her American accent 'Avanthi Pacchi...' and I smiled. She was beautiful. She quickly ran out of the room when Shankar Anna said 'Jack...I want you to wait at the door. I have something personal to discuss and I want to ensure no one enters the room. Specially Shine!!!' and he nodded.

'Have coffee Avanthi. You'll need more. It's a long story ahead!!!' he said and I nodded. We were sitting in his study which had a huge personalized library. The room smelled of books and I loved the fragrance. It had all wooden interiors giving it a old school library feel. He opened the huge wooden doors leading to an open balcony that held the breathtaking view of their green neighborhood. Bright sunlight entered the room making the dark room look bright. The artificial lights were no longer needed. He dragged a wooden chair and took a seat. And then...he began.

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'I met Camellia the first time eight years ago at a trekking camp. I still remember we were a group of fifteen and Camellia was a part of it. I am a health freak and back then I did a lot of Jungle Safari, rock climbing, trekking. I liked these nature driven athletic events rather than running aimlessly in a marathon.

She was the most beautiful lady in the batch. The trek went for almost a week but she neither looked at me nor did we become friends. But as a part of the trekking programme we had to cross a river. We had to raft through it and Camellia fell into the river. I jumped into the water and saved her. That's the day she spoke to me properly for the first time. That was our last night at the trekking camp but we spent most of it chatting and sharing experiences. I liked her a lot.

That's how we became friends and gradually started dating each other. I loved her company. She made me feel homely. After mom's death there was a void in my life, an emptiness which was filled when she entered my life. I thought she was the most beautiful soul I ever knew. She was kind, empathetic, caring and loving. I thought she was perfect for me until and unless I got to know that she has a boyfriend.

One of her friends told me that they only wish well for me and that's the reason they wanted to tell me that I'm being cheated by Camellia. But like obviously would I believe someone like that? I was blinded my love and emotions and shit like that. I didn't care a damn until one day I heard Camellia talk to someone on the phone.

She was desperately trying to convince someone on the other side that she still loves him. Imagine...the woman who spent a night with me and kept repeating how much she loves me as we were pouncing on each other like hungry animals was confessing her love for someone else the next day morning. I was shattered.

When I asked her for an explanation she initially tried telling me that I am misunderstanding everything but when I kept a condition in front of her that I was believe everything provided I get to check her phone is when she showed her true colors. And...we broke up. I was tarnished. She was my first love.

I was shattered. I was guilty. I had never tried to concentrate on my mother's business that she left behind. Her hardwork, her dedication. I remember her last day, she went to the office even on that day because her son was too busy climbing a hill. She kept telling me to work with her but I loved my hippy life. She kept asking me to share the load because she was getting older but I gave it all a deaf ear. Now I was determined to stop monkeying around and get back to what I am best at. Making money.

I was the topper in my business school. I wanted to put all that education into expanding my mother's small garment business. IN Designs started expanding. And when I started making money I decided to get into the textile retailing business as well. I wanted that to be a startup venture. Independent of my mother's business. So I attended various investor meet-ups and started pitching my business ideas. And that's when I met Neil.

Neil was an independent investor and a co-founder of KenNeil Corp. One of the fastest growing organizations in the US. They had recently begun but were booming and growing faster than anyone could imagine. He himself wanted to invest into retail business and was happy to begin something with me. He wanted to be a major stakeholder and I didn't mind it until and unless I had him finance it. He seemed trustworthy. He went back to India as he was looking into their hotel business as well.

Here I started working on registering our company when Camellia came back in our lives. This time she was pregnant. Paternity reports clearly stated I was the father of the child. I was only coping up with that information when she threw another bomb on my head that Neil is my step brother.

It was too late when we got to know my father had another family in California, the reason why he kept traveling there frequently every now and then but we didn't even think in our wildest dreams it's because he had another family there. A wife and two children. My mother immediately broke ties with him. She was a housewife but she vowed to not take a single penny for her children's upbringing. She did three sometimes four jobs a day to take care of us. And slowly she began something that she was good at. Stitching clothes. She took classes for fashion designing and the market was booming then for fashion designers. My mother got an opportunity to work along with a famous designer and then just like I pitched this business to a certain investor she pitched her business idea to a UK based businessman. Mr Siddesh Pai. He agreed to invest into mom's designer house and that's how IN designs came into existence.

My mother struggled and slogged to be where she was and now having the man as my investor who's mother was the other woman in my parents marriage. I couldn't continue with it so I decided to back out from this business deal. Neil wasn't understanding why I was avoiding him until one day I told him everything and he was completely heartbroken. At least my mother had an idea about her husband's other marriage but he seemed clueless. Our father was a godly person for them.

Just when he was struggling through all of this mess Camellia played a double game with us, this time openly.' he said with a faraway look in his eyes.

I looked at Neil who kept looking at the carpet and continued

'I had agreed to marry your sister back then but I was hopelessly attracted to you Avanthi. And after knowing you were going to marry my brother I was restless. I tried avoiding you, ignoring you but every time I tried going away from you I helplessly was drawn more and more to you.

And then the business meet happened in Bangalore. I didn't expect you there but...the moment I saw you there I knew we had a carmic connection. I couldn't stop thinking about you. To avoid you I spent more and more time with Sandra although I was third wheeling between her and her husband I could do anything to be away from you but when at that party that filthy bastard touched you, I lost it. I beat the shit outa that asshole!!! I would have killed him if you hadn't stopped me.' he confessed and I was taken back.

'But you said Camellia was with someone else at the pa-'

'Camellia wasn't even in India that time. I lied.' he said and I wanted to punch his jaw. Idiot.

And then that night I got a call from Shanky Anna saying he wanted to talk to me in private. I was busy drowning myself in alcohol but when he told me about how he doesn't want to continue this business deal, that was the last blow. I asked him for the reasons but he was adamant until finally he spat out the truth leaving me shattered. That night I drowned myself in alcohol. And I didn't remember anything.

Next morning I found myself on my bed naked. Although nothing looked unusual something still felt uneasy. My pillows smelled of a lady's perfume. I noticed I had a few scratch marks on my back when I had a bath and I knew I had definitely done something last night but I was so drunk that I hardly remembered anything. And then Sandra came to my room when you misunderstood about us. I came back to convince you and by then I had realised I can't let you go. And like promised I decided to talk to mom once we would reach home.

But that afternoon everything changed as I received a call from Camellia. She asked me to meet her. She had put up at SiRa Group of Hotels. I decided to visit her and to my ultimate surprise she wasn't alone. Shanky Anna was also with her. And that's when she told us she was pregnant and the child belonged to Shanky Anna. I was shaken.

And then she began her game. She had every minute detail of what was happening in my life. She had people spying on me and Avanthi. She threatened me about Avanthi's safety. I was scared. But I knew I could save Avanthi from a leach like her. If she had goons, I could hire men too. But she darkly chuckled and told that she would also go and tell my brother and my mother about Shanky Anna's mom. She would tell my mother that my father was a cheat and that came crashing down on me. I couldn't do that.

My brother had only recovered recently from anxiety disorders and mental trauma. He had even attempted suicide due to depression. I couldn't risk telling him anything and my mother, she loved my father too much. I didn't know how would she react. I was scared Avanthi...I thought I'll loose mom. I already lost dad. I had almost lost my brother, how could I take the risk of losing my mother so I silently agreed to do whatever she asked me to.

Then I did everything she asked me to do. I was a puppet in her hands. Camellia was a chameleon to be precise. She although was pregnant with Shanky Anna's child wanted to marry me. She was a greedy woman. She wanted money from both brothers businesses. Money and property from her child's biological father in exchange of letting him meet his child and a relationship with me ... marriage to be precise so she could have me and money both.

Just like she blackmailed me about unveiling my father's secret to my mother, she also blackmailed Shanky Anna that she would harm the baby if he would try to outsmart me. She wanted a company to be established on her child's name. She wanted the business venture that Anna and I had decided to cancel out to go as planned. The reason Shine Group came into existence. I became 55 percent partner of the company. Shanky Anna owned 45 percentage of it.

She was very clear, she wanted everything to happen legally. Once I broke my marriage with Prakruthi and broke your heart, I was supposed to come back to NewYork and we were supposed to start a new life. She wanted to marry me and post marriage she wanted me to transfer all the shares to her name. And I helplessly agreed. I wasn't left with another choice!!!' he said and I was shocked.

'That means you are married to Camellia? She... she's your wife?' I asked as fresh tears filled my eyes but then Shankar Anna handed me a hanky saying 'Relax lady!!! We have enough water in Newyork we don't need your free water supplies!!!'

Rude!!!

But my heart was pounding. Did he really marry her?