LIFE AS WE KNEW IT

SHOT 22

"That's great news, Harsh uncle," Sathvik told Harsh through the phone.

Harsh had called to inform them that the final verdict of their case would be in their favour tomorrow.

"Keep Kalki away, Sathvik. The woman might try something," Harsh said.

"I will handle it, uncle. Don't worry," Sathvik said and hung up the call.

"Sathvik? Mrs. Kalki Malik is here to meet you," Soumya said, coming inside his cabin.

"Tell her I am not here," Sathvik said dismissively.

A few minutes later, Sathvik frowned as he heard a demanding knock on the door of his cabin.

"Sathvik, I know you are in there."

His frown deepened as Kalki walked in, with a frantic Soumya trying to stop her.

"Soumya, it's okay. I will manage," Sathvik said, and Soumya left.

"I have been thinking... about Muskaan," she told him coolly.

Sathvik simply raised an eyebrow.

"She is my granddaughter, and that means the world to me, but I can see the situation from your point of view. Priyanka was the closest you had to a sibling, and now that she is dead..." She gave a small shrug. "I can make things easy for you, Sathvik, or I can make them difficult."

He watched her without saying anything, but then there was no need for him to do so; he had already guessed the real purpose of her visit to the office.

"If you could, for instance, see your way to putting a certain sum of money at my disposal, I am sure we can come to some mutually beneficial agreement over Muskaan's future. I am thinking in terms of, say..." She paused and gave another small shrug.

"Well, let us say, for instance, three crores. That is hardly anything to you, Sathvik. You are a very, very wealthy man."

"You want to sell me your granddaughter, is that what you are saying?" Sathvik asked coldly.

"How dare you say that. I lost my son because of your ill-omened sister. She killed my son," Kalki screamed.

"No, if anyone killed both of them, it was you, Kalki. You were the one who destroyed their marriage with your greed and your soulless craving for money. History repeats itself, doesn't it? And now you want to sell Muskaan to me. Three crores, you say?"

Slowly, Sathvik shook his head. He was tempted to give in and pay her, but he knew that if he did, the matter wouldn't end there. Kalki would come back wanting more money, and then more.

Sathvik didn't trust Kalki at all. He disliked her, and he knew that she felt exactly the same way about him, and that if she thought she could hurt or damage him in any way at all, she would try to do so.

Even if that meant hurting her own granddaughter.

She was starting to scream at him, telling him that she would make him pay for not acceding to her demands, that if he had really cared about Muskaan, really wanted her, he would have been glad to pay her.

It was half an hour before she finally realised that he was not going to give in and left, hurling insults and threats at him as she did so.

As Sathvik reached home that evening, he found Devangana and Muskaan sitting on a comfortable chair in the rose garden, cuddled together.

He smiled as he saw his personal haven. His beautiful girls.

He went straight to them and sat next to them, wound his arms around Devangana's shoulder, and pulled them into his arms.

"Sathee," Muskaan squealed in happiness.

Sathvik leaned down and brushed his nose against little Muskaan's, making the toddler break out into peals of laughter.

"More, more," Muskaan demanded, and Sathvik happily obliged.

Devangana smiled, watching their bond.

"Freshen up and come, Sathvik ji. I will get you tea," Devangana said.

"No. What I need now is YOU," Sathvik said and placed his head on Devangana's shoulder.

"Tough day?" Devangana asked.

"Very."

"Then maybe what you need is a good head massage and a warm bath," Devangana said.

"I am tempted," Sathvik said.

"Then come on," Devangana said.

"Where is Muskaan?" Sathvik asked as he saw Devangana walking inside the room with a small cup in her hand.

"With Dad," Devangana said and then sat on the bed, Indian style.

"What's that?" Sathvik asked.

"Hot oil. Now, sit on the floor."

Sathvik obliged and sat on the floor with Devangana behind him, on the bed.

Devangana ran her fingers through his hair.

"Mmmmm. That feels good," Sathvik mumbled as he leaned more into her hands.

Devangana poured the oil in her hands and rubbed them together before running her fingers through his hair again.

Sathvik moaned in relief as he felt his muscles relax.

"You have magic in your hands, Deva," Sathvik said, making Devangana laugh.

"So, what happened in the office?" Devangana asked, and Sathvik told her in detail about the woman's visit.

"Kalki. That woman is pure evil," Devangana said, making Sathvik laugh.

"I know. But nothing to worry about. She will be out of our life for good after tomorrow's hearing," Sathvik said.

"Tomorrow is the final hearing, right?" Devangana asked.

"Yes. And Harsh uncle said that the case will be in our favour. Mrs. Iyyer submitted her report in our favour. So there is nothing more to worry about," Sathvik said.

"That is good to know," Devangana said with a sigh.

"And once the case is over, we are going for our much-needed honeymoon," Sathvik said cheekily, making Devangana blush.

"Can we go to Bora Bora, Sathvikji? All the couples in the harlequin novels I read go to Bora Bora for holidays. I just want to see that place." Devangana said dreamily.

"Bora Bora? No way. We are going to some high-range place," Sathvik said.

"But I want to go to some coastal areas. They have more activities, like water games and all. In high-range places, we only go for sightseeing. That is kind of boring," Devangana said.

"Who said anything about sightseeing? We won't be getting out of our suite, Mrs. Devangana Sathvik Acharya," Sathvik said and pulled her into his lap.

Devangana gasped at the sudden move.

"What?"

"I am going to have my way with you, darling. And you won't have the energy to go sightseeing," Sathvik said, leaning in for a kiss.

"You have become so shameless, Sathvik ji," Devangana complained softly.

"Me? I haven't started my shameless acts yet, darling," Sathvik said and pulled her in for a long, deep kiss.

A/N

Here goes the next shot...

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SF❤️