After 3 months

The sun rays peeped through the curtains casting their glow over the figure snuggled in the sheets. Looking at her swollen eyes and tear-stained cheeks anyone can say she cried herself to sleep. Her hair was sprawled over the pillow. Her once beautiful hair is now looking messy along with her room. 

"Chaithu, get up this instant or I will drag you out of bed," 

"Chaithamma, legu ra. Amma vasthe arusthundhi,"

(Chaithu dear, please get up maa. Your mother will scold us if she comes here,)

"Chinni, get up, Maa. We need to go to temple right?" 

"Chotu, get up! You will be late for your exam,"

"Oye, donkey! How long are you planning to sleep? I am bored!" 

"Bui, wakey, wakey," 

"Jaan, come on get up. You can sleep again after having your breakfast,"

Her eyes shot open and she looked around her, frantically searching for the people who woke her up. She could still feel her mother's harsh tug on her quilt, her father caressing her hair, her brothers shaking her awake, her nephew tapping her cheeks with his little hands, and her husband peppering kisses all over her face, making her giggle. 

But her smile vanished when she found no one around her. It was just another dream of her. With her legs pulled to her chest and her hands grabbing her hair, she screamed into the void, the same question roaming in her heart and mind from the moment she lost them,

"Why me? Why?" She shouted but the only reply she got was her own painful scream reflecting from the empty room. She never knew her own house haunt her one day. She looked around for one last time hoping someone would walk in through the doors and pull her into a hug. 

When no one entered the room even after 30 minutes, she jumped from the bed and dragged her body to the bathroom. She finished her chores and slipped into her formal. She then brushed her hair and applied a tint of lip gloss before picking a key from many keys in her drawer. She walked out of the room with her blazer hanging on her folded hand. She looked at the empty dining table and her hunger died. She shook her head and walked out without having her breakfast.

A guard opened the door for her and closed it behind her once she settled in the back seat. Her head security officer, Angad slipped into the passenger seat, giving some instructions through his walkie-talkie. Chaitra concentrated on her laptop as she memorized all the details she needed for the meeting.

"Chaithu, we are here," Angad's words broke her concentration and she turned to him. With a nod, she stepped down from her car and walked in with the security following behind her, dressed in black suits and wearing goggles.

"It is not going to be easy, but I trust you." Angad gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze. Chaitra nodded at him with a small smile and the door opened to the conference room revealing the board of directors sitting around the table. 

Chaitra walked in with Angad following her. Angad pulled the chair for her and she sat in the head chair with her elbows resting on the table and fingers intertwined. The board of directors shared a few glances before one of them finally spoke up, looking very irritated.

"Ms. Chaitra, we are against you becoming the CEO of our company just because you are the niece of our late Chairman sir. We don't want a novice to take up this prestigious role and drown us all," He chided her. There was no ounce of respect in his eyes nor there was any empathy for the girl sitting in front of them. All the members looked the same, hungry for power and money.

"I own 65 percent shares of this Group, Mr. Kamal. And according to the rules formulated by the very same board of directors sitting here, the person who has most of the shares will be the CEO, right?" Chaitra questioned coolly with no expressions on her face but her head held high. 

"But we all own the remaining 35 percent of the shares and none of us trust you with this group," Another person spoke up.

"Okay, if not me, whom do you suggest to be the next CEO?" Chaitra questioned again with a raised brow and the board members shared looks, communicating something through their eyes.

"We vote for Mr. Karunakar to be the CEO of the group," One of them announced and everyone agreed with him immediately nodding their heads.

"Mr. Karunakar? If you are all forgetting then let me remind you, that we are in a business sector and are directly connected to people. Mr. Karunakar here is accused of a hit-and-run case that killed 4 people. The case is still fresh in people's minds. Are you sure our Group will be safe with you making him the CEO of it?" She narrowed her eyes at the people around her who looked away, not meeting her gaze.

"As Mr. Karunakar is out of the league then who else is willing to take up? Are you interested Mr. Singh? Oh, but you have a second family, right? What if your father-in-law or first wife comes to know about it? They will snatch your position in the company, won't they? Now who else, Mr. Rathore? But you are accused of a rape case! Not you. Now listen to me carefully. I know the dirty deeds of every individual sitting in this room. This Group was started by my grandfather and developed by my Uncle and later by my brothers."

" It is more important to me than any of you. Anyone who doesn't want me as the CEO can sell their shares to me and leave. I will pay the market value of the shares to you. But, if you try this dirty politics again, I am going to provide all the evidence to the media and you know what happens after that. You all better stop all your shit and settle them legally. The next time you try to outsmart me, I will show you what Chaitra Chowdary is capable of!"  What Chaitra Daksh Chauhan is capable of, she thought to herself. She got up from her place and walked out of the room with Angad following behind looking at her like a proud brother.

Shashank who was waiting for them got up from his place when he saw them walking out. He pulled Chaitra into a side hug and rubbed her hand in a comforting manner as she got emotional. They walked to her cabin which used to be Akash's. Chaitra caressed her brother's chair and a tear slipped from her eyes as she remembered how she performed her brother's Aarthi when he first resumed his post as the CEO. His smiling face was still roaming in her eyes.

"I am so proud of you, Chinnu. I know you will handle it smoothly," Chaitra beamed at her brother who was made to sit on the CEO chair by their father. She took the Aarthi plate from one of the workers and rounded it in front of her brother who placed a few notes on the plate after she applied tilak between his brows. 

She took the amount and gave the plate back to the worker before hugging her brother grinning ear to ear. Raghav admired his daughter who looked happiest of all, seeing her brother taking the post of CEO.

"I know why you are grinning Chinni. But you won't get any raise in your pocket money. It is still going to be the same," Akash huffed making Chaitra roll her eyes at him. Of course, her brothers can't spend a day without making her annoyed.

"I don't want it either, you money-minded brother," Chaitra folded her hands in the front with a pout making everyone chuckle. Akash got up from his place and pulled her cheeks at which she glared at him. He wrapped his hands around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug, kissing her temple lovingly.

"I was just teasing you, Chinni. I don't like it when my Chinni becomes sad," He said caressing her hair and Chaitra gave in, hitting his chest before hugging her brother and shouting "Congratulations," in his ear making Hithen and Dev burst out laughing while Akash shook his ear to reduce the effect of her scream. 

She wiped her tears swiftly and took her place in another seat beside her brother's. She started going through all the pending files. She is handling all her brothers' companies with the help of Shashank, Abhishek, Rakshith, Naksh, and Laksh. Her friends are also helping her wherever they can.

When she was asked to leave the Palace by elders when her husband was not there, her brothers-in-law walked out with her and are now staying with her helping her handle her business. Naksh and Laksh are handling Dev's business in Udaipur while the others are handling Akash and Hithen's. They are now trying to shift all the main functions in the Udaipur office to Hyderabad to reduce the number of visits as Chaitra is coordinating all the businesses with frequent trips between Udaipur and Hyderabad. 

She divided her days equally to all her brothers working hard to fulfill their dreams working everyday including Saturdays. The only day she keeps herself away from work is Sunday but that day too she avoids being alone as being alone reminds her of everything she lost suffocating her mind. 

"Bhabi maa," She heard a voice from the doorway and smiled at both her Devars entering the cabin.

"How was the meeting, Bhabi maa? Did anyone cross their line?" Abhi enquired in an angry voice. 

"We wanted to accompany you but you sent us to attend that stupid meeting," Rakshith added further with a grumpy look on his face making Chaitra smile lightly at their protective nature. They once promised to be on her side and they are fulfilling it by going against their family. 

"Arey, relax guys. I am completely okay and no, no one dared to cross the line. Even if they did, Angad would have handled them," Chaitra assured them. They both shared a cryptic look and nodded slightly.

"Okay, did you have your breakfast?" Chaitra fell silent on hearing Abhi's question. 

"You didn't," It was more like a statement from Rakshith than a question. Abhi shook his head at his Bhabi maa's behavior and asked one of the staff to bring breakfast for her. 

The breakfast was there within a few minutes and both the brothers didn't leave her cabin until she ate the last morsel. They left after elaborating on the meeting details to her. Chaitra started working and everyone else got busy with their work. Angad and Shashank made her eat in the afternoon. 

Chaitra reached her home late at night and took out the packaged food from the fridge. She walked to her living room and sat on the couch. She started eating that bland food without any expression. The girl who used to love sweets, the girl who loved to cook and eat now doesn't even look at the kitchen. She eats whatever she finds and doesn't eat at all at times until someone forces her to eat. She turned on the TV but left to her room not having the interest to watch anything. 

**********************************************************************