His to Hate.

Chapter - 29

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was the weight on my chest and I did not move. Parthvi's hand was resting on my chest.

Her fingers were lightly curled into the hem of my t-shirt, holding the fabric as if she had grabbed it sometime during the night and simply never let go. The cloth was slightly pulled where her fingers were gripping it.

I stayed completely still after realising that the cushion wall she had built in all her seriousness was gone and my mind immediately went to how satisfied and proud she looked for herself after building that up and that image amused me first thing in the morning.

Now one of those cushions was lying near my shoulder. Another had slipped toward the edge of the mattress and looked like it would fall off any moment.

My gaze shifted back to her.

She had moved closer during the night without realising it.

Not by much, but enough that her arm had ended up across the space she had insisted would remain untouched.

Her hair had come loose from the band she had put on before sleeping and was spread messily across the pillow.

A few strands had fallen across her cheek and moved slightly each time she breathed.

Her breathing was slow and even as she looked peaceful.

There was no stubbornness on her face right now and no irritation ready to appear the moment I spoke to her.

It was strange seeing her like this. The crease that usually appeared between her brows whenever she was thinking too much was gone and her face looked relaxed in a way I had not seen before.

I remembered her voice from last night.

"You remain on your side and I remain on mine. No accidental invasions."

"And if the border collapses?" I had asked.

"Then we pretend it did not."

Apparently the border had not lasted the night.

She shifted slightly in her sleep and her fingers tightened for a moment before relaxing again, still resting against my chest.

For a few seconds, I simply watched her.

It was strange how different she looked when she was asleep.

I reached toward the cushion that was about to fall off the bed and pushed it back slightly so it would not drop to the floor but my movement did not stir her sleep in the slightest.

She would undoubtedly panic if she woke up and realised that her fingers were clutching me and the thought almost made me smile.

Slowly, I lifted my hand and carefully loosened her fingers from the fabric so I could move. I did it slowly enough that she would not wake up.

For a second her fingers resisted, still half curled around the cloth.

Then they relaxed and I placed her hand back on the mattress beside her before rebuilding her pillow wall, roughly in the same place she had arranged them last night while she continued to sleep peacefully.

For someone who had complained so much about the mattress, she seemed to be sleeping quite comfortably now.

I shook my head faintly and freshened up for the gym.

The palace was still quiet at this hour. Most of the staff would start moving around in another half an hour and this early morning silence was something I had grown used to over the years.

I changed and stepped out of the room without making unnecessary noise.

The gym was on the lower floor of the palace.

By the time I walked back toward the room, the corridors were no longer empty. A few staff members moved around quietly, greeting me as I passed.

When I pushed the bedroom door open again, the curtains were still drawn the same way I had left them.

Parthvi was no longer sleeping peacefully though.

She was waking up and was lying on her back now, blinking slowly at the ceiling as if she was trying to remember where she was. Her hair had spread all over the pillow during the night and she pushed a few strands away from her face as she turned her head.

Then her eyes moved sideways and reached straight to the cushion wall, freezing on it immediately.

I leaned slightly against the doorframe without interrupting her.

She pushed herself up on her elbows and stared at the cushions for a few seconds as if inspecting them carefully.

Then she glanced at the other side of the bed.

Empty.

Her gaze moved back to the border again and slowly, very slowly, satisfaction appearing on her face.

She looked ridiculously pleased with herself. Her shoulders relaxed and she leaned back again against the pillow, staring proudly at the cushion wall she believed had survived the entire night.

A small smile appeared on her face.

"See." she murmured softly to herself, sounding half asleep. "Perfect system. Well done, Pri."

I stepped inside the room then.

I stepped inside the room then.

She turned her head towards the door immediately and her eyes widened when she saw me standing there before she quickly straightened up.

"Good morning." she said, trying to sound normal.

"Good morning." I replied.

She glanced toward the cushions again for a brief second before looking back at me.

The pride returned almost immediately.

"As you can see," she said, gesturing toward the wall of pillows as if presenting a successful experiment, "the system works perfectly."

I looked at the arrangement for a moment and then looked back at her. If only she knew but I was not going to rain on her parade this time.

"Clearly." I said.

She seemed satisfied with that response and was just tucking her loose hair at the back of her ear when she suddenly looked at the time on the clock beside the bed.

Her eyes widened again.

"Oh no."

She threw the blanket aside and stood up so quickly that a few cushions flew down to the floor.

"My first day at work!" she said, half panicking now as she hurried toward the wardrobe. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You seemed to have been sleeping very peacefully." I replied simply.

"That is not a valid excuse!!!" she said immediately, pulling the wardrobe open and staring at the clothes inside. "People wake other people up on important days."

"You woke up." he simply remarked.

"Yes but I am late! I don't know why my alarm didn't go off!" I replied, looking here and there for my phone till I found it.

"It is not even six-thirty Parthvi." I said calmly.

She paused, blinked a few times at me and her head slowly turned towards the clock again.

Then towards me and then back to the clock.

"Oh."

The panic disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared as she cleared her throat and straightened her shoulders.

"I knew that." she said quickly.

I said nothing.

She then closed the wardrobe door and turned around, pretending she had not just panicked over nothing and her eyes briefly moved toward the cushions scattered on the floor and she immediately bent down to pick them up.

"I was just preparing mentally." she added, placing one cushion back on the bed. "First day anxiety."

"Happens to the best of us." I replied but even I could hear the sarcasm in my tone so I had no doubt that she did too. However, she chose to ignore me and climbed onto the bed to fix the rest of the cushions.

Parthvi was all done when her phone went off and she looked around her find it, finally spotting it under her pillow and her face lightened immediately looking at the caller ID.

"Yaar bhaiya aapke jaldi uthne ke benefits aapko mile ya na mile, mujhe zaroor milenge.

Ek kaam karna, kal se Monday to Friday roz iss time pe call karke mujhe utha dena.

Agar Saturday aur Sunday call karne ki himmat ki, toh mai ghar aake aapka chuchundar ke jaisa muh tod dung aur mujhe koi kuch bolega bhi nahi.

" she threatened him so seriously that for a moment I could not decide if I wanted to laugh or be scared of her.

There was a pause while the person on the other side spoke.

She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I am up." she said, pacing slowly across the room with the phone pressed to her ear. "I just woke up."

Another pause.

"Yes yes. Ab jao apni yoga karo aur bhabhi ko irritate kiya toh yaad hai na maine kya kaha tha ki aapke saath kya hoga?" another threat and this time, I could not help but chuckle, listening to her.

Another pause and a few more eye rolls later, she hung up.

"Aap sabko dara kar rakhti hain na?" words escaped me before I could stop them and that made her look at me, still on the bed and for a second she just looked at me as if she had forgotten that I was still standing there in the room while she had been threatening her brother and her lips pressed in a thin line.

"Forgive me if I don't find that believable after what I just heard." I said, picking the towel up and she stepped off the bed and walked to me, stopping three steps away from me.

"Matlab kya hai aapka Ranaji? Mai koi gundi hoon jo sabko dara kar rakhungi?" she asked, stretching her neck to look at me, both her hands digging at the side of her waist, her eyes focused on me.

"Ab shayad iske baad aapko late hoga agar aapne apna din shuru nahi kiya toh." I reminded her and made my way to the washroom, overly aware of the fact that this woman was unintentionally funny.

"Haan mera sawaal avoid karne ka accha tareeka hai Ranaji par yaad rakhiye ki agar mai gundi hoon toh mujhse bade gunde toh aap hain.

Just because aapke paas ek fancy title hai uska matlab yeh nahi hai ki aap koi punya ki murti hain.

" she spoke back and this time, her words made me laugh harder.

"Woh fancy title ab aapke paas bhi hai, Parthvi. Yaad nahi hai aapko?" I asked back but she chose not to dignify that with a response but I heard the balcony door slam harder than usual.

When I walked out after the shower, she was pacing around the room, irritated.

"What's wrong?" I asked her and she turned around.

"I have no formal...." she stopped mid-sentence and her words cut off so abruptly that for a second I thought she had forgotten what she was about to say until I saw her expressions change from irritation to shock.

She held my gaze for another two seconds before shutting her eyes close and spun around so fast that she almost lost her balance and lifted her hand to cover her eyes.

"What is wrong with you, Ranaji?" she said quickly, clearly flustered.

Her back was toward me now and her palm was firmly pressed over her eyes.

"Do you keep forgetting that we are sharing this room now?" she continued, her words tumbling over each other. "You cannot just walk out like that!"

I stopped where I was, watching her before I made my way to the closet.

"Are you dressed?" she asked after a while.

"Yes." I replied, coming out.

Slowly, very slowly, her hand moved away from her eyes and she turned just enough to peek over her shoulder and the second she confirmed that I was dressed, she straightened immediately and cleared her throat as if nothing unusual had just happened.

"Good." she said quickly, brushing her hair back behind her ear and then she pointed toward the wardrobe in all her seriousness.

"You were saying something?" I asked and she nodded in a hurry.

"Yes. I don't have anything to wear for office. I did not bring anything appropriate from home and since that is your fault, you are going to solve this problem for me." she replied, shrugging.

"You should have gone shopping yesterday." I pointed out and she opened her mouth to say something before closing it again and did it a few times.

"Ranaji, I was not sure that I could leave this palace without asking or telling you." she confessed, blinking a few times.

"And yet you had a plan to run off to Udaipur for Holi?" I asked, not holding back the smile.

"That....that was different and you know it! The whole risk and rewards concept is based on the worth of...." she began rambling with her animated hand gestures and eye movements.

"If the reward is big enough, the risk becomes reasonable." she continued and I watched her quietly.

"So planning to run away to Udaipur was reasonable." I said.

"Yes." she nodded.

"But going to the market is not." I asked.

"See, now you understand me." she gave me an appreciative nod and picked out a black wide legged jeans and a blue top from her closet.

"I will have to do with this for today." she spoke to herself and I let her be while she paced from the closet to the dresser back and forth with a few other options.

"Go and get whatever you want in the evening with Pankhuri." I told her after she was done throwing her clothes on the bed which she did not like and gave her my card.

She looked at me, confused.

"I was not asking for your money when I told you that I did not have formal clothes Ranaji. I used to work before pursuing my MBA and I do have savings which I plan on using for my stuff." she looked into my eyes after she was done starting at the card I had extended towards her.

"Save the money you have earned and will earn in the future Parthvi. The company pays me unnecessarily and I need someone to spend it." I told her honestly.

"No Ranaji, I cannot take any money I haven't earned from you. I am not really a gold di...." she started but before the word could leave her mouth completely, I stepped closer and placed my index finger against her lips and the rest of the word died there.

Her eyes widened slightly at the sudden closeness.

"You will not finish that sentence." I told her resolutely and the stubborn argument she had been preparing vanished completely.

Her lips were still parted slightly beneath my finger, the rest of the sentence trapped somewhere between her thoughts and the space between us.

Slowly, I lowered my hand and she took one step back, putting more distance between us.

"I was not..." she started, then stopped again and her eyes dropped to the card in my hand.

"I was not trying to say something insulting," she said more quietly this time. "I just meant that I do not want to take anything that does not belong to me."

I watched her for a moment before placing the card on the dresser beside her instead of handing it back.

"It does belong to you." I said simply.

Her eyes lifted to mine immediately.

"For someone who argues so confidently, you are ignoring a very obvious fact."I continued calmly

"And what fact is that?" she asked, folding her arms.

"That you are my wife." I told her and for a moment, she did not respond.

Her gaze shifted from me to the card and back again, as if she was trying to understand whether I was serious or merely ending the conversation.

"You are making this sound very uncomplicated." she said after a moment.

"It is uncomplicated."

"It is not." she replied and looked away quietly, taking one step away once again, leaving me rooted to where I was standing because with her, I was still figuring my boundaries out.

_______________________

"Parthvi, when I married you, it meant that whatever I have also became yours too so this really is me giving you what is yours instead of what is mine and there are no complications here. Don't make them to be in your head either." he said and just his tone made me look at him once again.

He had simply stated it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and somehow that made it harder to argue.

I glanced down at the card again.

"Fine." I muttered and his eyebrows lifted slightly.

"I am not agreeing with your logic. I am only accepting this because you are clearly incapable of taking no for an answer."I clarified immediately, taking the card from his hand and the corner of his mouth moved very slightly.

"I have been told that before." he replied and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at his cockiness.

I slipped the card into the side pocket of my bag before I could change my mind. In my head, however, I had already made a perfectly reasonable plan.

I would keep it for now.

Not use it.

And in a few days, I would return it to him.

Problem solved.

"There, issue resolved." I said, dusting my hands together lightly.

He studied me for a second longer, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking and I tried very hard to look innocent.

After a moment he nodded.

"Good." he said simply.

Then he stepped back, giving me space.

"I will leave you to get ready. All the best for today, Parthvi. I know that you will have a lot to give to this company." he said.

I nodded and had this giddy feeling in my stomach listening to him.

"Thank you." I gave him the smallest of the smiles I could manage.

He did not reply to that. He just gave a small nod of his own and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

For a few seconds I stood there staring at the door.

Then I let out the breath I had apparently been holding.

"What is wrong with you, Parthvi??" I muttered to myself, pressing my palms against my cheeks.

My face still felt warmer than it should have.

I shook my head quickly and grabbed the clothes I had picked out earlier.

"Focus," I told myself firmly. "First day at work."

I had barely taken two steps toward the bathroom when the bedroom door opened again without warning.

"PRIIIII" Ishaan came running inside.

"Good morning Ishu." I said and bent down in front of him and he gave me a tight hug, wrapping his little arms around my neck and I kissed his cheek.

"What are you doing up so early?" I asked.

He pulled back immediately, his expression suddenly very serious, his nose scrunched up.

"I came to say good luck and did you forget that I go to school too?"

My heart melted a little.

"Good luck?" I repeated.

"Yes." he nodded confidently. "For your first day."

Before I could reply, another voice appeared from the doorway.

"Excuse me!" Pankhuri said dramatically, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed. "I would like to clarify that this was actually my idea."

I looked at her.

"You woke him up early for this?" I asked.

"No, he has to go to school earlier than usual today, annual day practice." she clarified and I nodded.

"Don't you worry a bit Parthvi, I have threatened Yuvaan that if he burdens you extra on your first week, he will have nothing but tinde ki subzi for lunch and dinner for the rest of the month." Pankhuri said seriously, making Ishaan laugh.

"Yes Pri, I heard mumma threaten papa. He hates tinde." Ishaan said.

We laughed a little before they left me alone to get ready and in another half an hour, I was.

Breakfast passed in a literal haze and I just had a cup of coffee because I didn't feel like eating anything at all.

Ranaji had already left for some meeting that was supposed to take place in Mount Abu and would only return later this evening so I asked one of the guards for help to show me to the office wing and he walked me there with utmost respect.

I thanked him and I stood outside the entrance of the office wing for a second after the guard left.

This office screamed corporate despite being in a literal palace. High long ceiling to ground glass walls, about fifteen floors and a distant from the residential wing. i could see a separate entrance to the office for the employees.

"First day." I murmured to myself and then I walked in.

I had barely taken a few steps when I heard someone call my name.

"Parthvi."

I turned.

Yuvaan was walking toward me from the far end of the floor, holding a tablet in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

"Good morning." he said.

"Good morning." I replied with a small smile.

He looked me over quickly and nodded slightly.

"You found the place without getting lost. That is already a good start." Yuvaan joked.

"I had help." I confessed, gesturing toward the corridor behind me.

"That was wise." he replied.

He turned slightly and gestured for me to walk with him.

"Come. I will introduce you to the team." Yuvaan said and we walked across the large open workspace.

"This entire floor is the finance division. Financial planning, treasury operations, investment analysis and internal audit. Everything financial runs through here." he explained as we moved past rows of desks.

Several employees glanced up as we passed.

A few nodded politely and I tried to ignore the curious looks.

Yuvaan stopped near a cluster of desks.

"Everyone." he said, getting their attention.

A few heads turned toward us.

"This is Parthvi." Yuvaan introduced.

He did not need to tell them who I was because I could see it in their eyes that they already knew.

"She has recently completed her MBA in Finance and will be joining the finance division as a management trainee." Yuvaan continued.

A tall man standing near the center desk stood up first.

"Welcome," he said with an easy smile. "Sagar Mehta. Senior Financial Analyst."

"Nice to meet you." I replied.

Yuvaan continued introducing the others.

"This is Riya. She handles investment modelling." he said.

"Hi." Riya greeted politely.

"Dev manages compliance reporting," Yuvaan added.

"Nice to meet you." Dev said with a small nod.

"And Neha works with treasury operations." Yuvaan continued.

"Welcome to the team." Neha said warmly.

Each of them greeted me politely.

After the introductions, Yuvaan turned slightly toward me.

"Now let me explain how things work here." he said, his tone shifting into something more professional.

I nodded.

"As the Chief Financial Officer, the entire finance division reports to me," Yuvaan explained.

He gestured toward the glass office at the far end of the floor.

"My office is right there."

Then he gestured toward Sagar.

"You will primarily work with Sagar for now." Yuvaan said.

Sagar nodded once.

"For the next month you will not be expected to take on major responsibilities." Yuvaan continued.

That was comforting.

"This entire month is your orientation and training period."

I listened carefully.

"You will rotate between different finance functions. Financial planning, reporting, treasury and investment evaluation. You will observe meetings, review reports and understand how the internal systems operate." he explained.

"So I am basically here to learn how everything works before touching anything important." I said.

"Exactly." Yuvaan replied.

That sounded manageable.

"You will also be given smaller analytical tasks. Mostly internal financial reviews." he added.

Yuvaan looked at Sagar again.

"Sagar will start you with the reporting structure." he said.

Sagar gestured toward an empty desk beside him.

"You can sit here." Sagar said.

I walked over and placed my bag on the desk.

For a moment I just looked at it.

My desk.

My first desk inside Raisinghania Holdings.

Yuvaan spoke again before leaving.

"Spend the first half of the day observing how the team works." he instructed.

I nodded.

"Alright." I said.

He studied me for a second.

"Nervous?" Yuvaan asked.

"A little." I admitted to him.

"That is normal. First day jitters and all." he said.

He gave a small nod.

"You will do fine and I am right here if you don't understand something."

Then he turned and walked back toward his office.

I watched him disappear into the glass cabin before sitting down at my desk.

Sagar leaned slightly toward me.

"First day nerves?" Sagar asked.

"Honestly, yes." I admitted to him too.

He smiled.

"Good. That means you will pay attention." Sagar said.

I opened the notebook in front of me.

And just like that, my first day at Raisinghania Holdings began.