Chapter 13: The Bitter-Sweet Memories
CHAPTER 13
"What!" the Vice President said, his voice screaming through the phone's speaker.
"I—I am sorry, Sir," Ms. Leon said, her body flinching at his scream.
"Ahhh... How could this happen, how?"
"Ha ha, all of you, get to my cabin this instant!"
The call ended, and Ms. Leon called all the other board members of their faction. All were shocked and scared after hearing how angry the Vice President was.
"Serves you right, humph," Anika snorted. Her mood brightened up after hearing the angry screams of the Vice President.
It was all probably his planning, that's why he agreed to my proposal at that time, using my own brother for your gain, Anika thought, clenching her fists.
"Still, I feel a bit bad for Ms. Leon. At one time, she had one of the brightest personas in the whole office. But that was until she decided to follow the Right Wing."
Ms. Leon, when she joined the company, used to have a bright smile and natural elegance on her face. But after she joined the Right Wing faction, that elegance and smile vanished, and her face became sullen.
But as soft as her heart was, her mind was just as strong. Anika could never show any of her weaknesses or softness to them. The moment she did, it would be the end of all the struggles and progress she had made until now.
This was also the reason why she had to treat her own brother as such. Although she always had a soft corner for her family, she couldn't show that in this place, or her uncle would use it as a knife to slit her throat.
After the meeting was over, Anika went back to her cabin and conducted a small planning meeting for her department: The Department of Emergency and Risk Management.
A decoy department established by her uncle, specifically for Anika. An escape-goat department, and it was the prime reason why it took Anika four years to get the management rights for even a single project.
She explained the project and the main parts to research, divided the work among the suitable teams, and, for motivation, she arranged a small meal for everyone on the office terrace.
"Finally, a little time to breathe," Anika said in relief as she took off her heels and sank into the rubber couch in her cabin.
This wasn't the end. It was just the start of her upcoming struggles. Now, those people in the opposition wouldn't take her for granted, at least they won't let their guard down, like they did this time.
But still, it was a big victory. Thank God, Mr. Hudson spoke in my favor, or this wouldn't have worked out, Anika thought.
She was right—it was a very risky move. If there had been no response from Mr. Hudson or if he had been in cahoots with the others, as Anika had initially thought, all of her hard work would have been in vain, and even this project might have fallen into her brother's hands.
I won't take such risks in the future, but at least the return is big this time, she complimented herself with a little smile. It was her triumph.
And as a gift for her success, she treated herself to a cheat day. Although she was told to consume light food, not to strain her body much and less use of Added sugar, still sometimes a cheat day is okay, or so she had thought.
Anika ordered some sweets—specifically, Rasgulla, her favorite sweet and dessert. A white, round, sweet, fluffy ball.
"Hehe," she laughed with a grin as she opened the box, revealing the white, fluffy balls covered in sweet sugar syrup. She took out one and placed it whole in her mouth while the sugar syrup dripped through her soft, red lips.
She bit her savory lips, running her blood-red tongue over the dripping sugar syrup, and one by one, she ate them like an alluring princess.
Until she stopped at the last one. Her hand froze before she could pick the last Rasgulla , and a scene flashed through her mind.
A scene with soft, warm light. A bright green garden where dense leaves of small plants were beautifully trimmed down , making them seem like a boundary around the garden.
In the middle of that park, a lady was sitting while two kids played around her. Sometimes they ran around the lady, using her like a shield to evade being caught, or they climbed over her, kissing her cheeks.
"You're out! It's your turn to catch me now," a bright, small girl with two ponytails laughed, jumping around as she touched her little brother.
"Waaa! Mom, she cheated! I am not out! She is lying!" her brother cried.
"What? No, Mom, I am not lying. I touched his jersey! He is lying because it's his turn to catch me now," the little girl said, rebutting her brother's point.
"Anika, it's okay, he is your little brother," her mother said, running her hand through her brother's hair, trying to stop him from crying.
That little girl was Anika, and the boy was her brother, Rahul.
"But Mom—" little Anika tried to argue.
"It's okay, Anika. It's just a game," her mother said sweetly, with warmth in her words.
"Come here," she signaled lovingly to Anika, who was pouting in anger. She laid both of them on her lap, running and gently stroking her hands over their hair.
Soon a voice came, "Surprise!" This voice seemed sweeter to Anika, much sweeter than the taste of Rasgulla she had just eaten.
It was the voice of a man holding a cloth bag in his hand, lifting it over his face. He was her father.
"Dad!" Both the children chimed as soon as they heard the voice, while their mother chuckled.
"What have I brought here? See!" Their father said, opening the bag to reveal two small, cubical cardboard containers.
"Rasgulla!" Both the children chimed in happiness as they saw the containers, it seemed like they both liked that sweet.
These 2 small cardboard boxes have one Rasguall inside, one each for both of them.
"Hehe, thank you, Dad!" they both said joyfully. Anika took out her Rasgulla and was about to eat it, but she stopped just before putting it in her mouth, when she heard her brother crying.
"Waaa! My Rasgulla! Waaa!" he cried. The Rasgulla in his hand had fallen to the ground.
"Here, take mine," little Anika said, giving hers to him.
"But it's yours," little Rahul replied.
"It's okay. I—I am a grown-up. You can take mine," she said.
Listening to little Anika's reply, both her parents chuckled. Her brother jumped in joy while eating the sweet. Meanwhile, little Anika's ears turned red with embarrassment, though she felt a bit proud.
Tears flowed down Anika's face as she smiled with a bittersweet feeling.
"How happy we were at that time!"
"How we always jumped with happiness whenever Dad brought us sweets."
"How we always slept in Mom's lap after fighting with each other."
"And..." she paused, her eyes seeming to long for something. "And how Mom would always gently stroke our hairs with her warm hands."
"How good it would have been if Dad were still with us. He would have handled everything himself."
"I wouldn't have to fight with Rahul for all this. Uncle wouldn't have dared to do what he's doing now."
"Mom... Mom would still be that loving to me, right?" she asked herself as her eyes filled with water and turned red.
"Like, we would all have been a happy family. Even if Rahul had gone down the wrong path, Dad would have guided him back."
"And whenever he stubbornly insisted against me, they would always say to forgive him because I'm his elder sister." She chuckled, recalling her parents' words.
"Yeah, I am his elder sister, and I will not let him go down the wrong path," she said, wiping her tears.
"But also, this time, I will not give you what's mine," she continued, as determination reflected in her eyes—clearly directed towards Rahul.
She ate the last Rasgulla that had left in the box, her spirits got high again, reassuring herself that she was on the right path. And one day, she would definitely stand up to their expectations.
Anika got up, straightened up her clothes and went back to her desk and began preparing for her new project, Image.