Chapter28

Janani woke up with a pounding headache. It felt as if someone was banging on her skull
with a hammer.
She groaned, holding onto her head as she sat up on the bed.
"Here. Take this. It will help with the hangover" she opened her eyes and saw Armaan
standing in front of her with a glass of water and some tablets in his hands.
She without any question took it and gulped it in a go.
"What happened yesterday??" She asked
"You got drunk" he shrugged, making her groan.
Never in her life she will touch alcohol again.
She felt as if her head is going to explode
"Ava and Advi??" She asked
How could she be so irresponsible to get drunk when she has to take care of two toddlers?
"They are having breakfast now. They asked for you" he said with a soft smile.
She pushed away her duvet and was about to get down when she heard the sharp intake of
his breath.
She looked up to see his eyes trained on her body and that's when she realized her dress
had come down.
"Aaaa" she screamed, pulling the duvet against her again bringing Armaan back to his
senses.
"Uh- I- sorry. I will be downstairs with the children. You freshen up and come" he said and
hurried out of the room.
She closed her eyes tight in mortification.
Armaan rushed out of the room and leaned against the wall to calm down his heartbeats.
What is it about Janani that always pushes him to the edge??
Once he composed himself he came downstairs to the kitchen to join the kids.
He haven't had his coffee yet as Janani just woke up.
Janani joined them soon and as soon as she entered both the children started hopping on
their high chairs trying to gain her attention, which was not a very difficult thing as her eyes
were already trained on them with a bright smile on her face.
"Oh my babies" she hugged them both and gave loud kisses on both their cheeks and a
smile formed on Armaan's face.
What would it be like to have this in his life forever??
What is it that he is feeling for her??
Does her past matters??
Whatever she did in the past?? Does it matter compared to the love she showers upon his
kids.
Her babies!!
He too has a past. He had multiple flings. So does he really have a right to judge her on that.
And regarding the crimes! Heartbreaks do lead people to do uncharacteristic things.
What matters is now she is perfect.
He should talk to her about his feelings. Maybe she would open up about her past to him
then.
"You had your coffee???" He heard her asking which brought him out of his thoughts
"No" he said
"I will get it for you now" she said and busied herself in the kitchen
Once the breakfast is over he got a call from his PA that there is an important meeting to
attend
"It's sunday Mr Roy. Get a life" he groaned through the phone and Mr Roy at the other end
gaped in wonder.
The slave driver Armaan Verma who used to make him work even on public holidays is
telling him to get a life??
"Sir. We have been trying for this meeting for so long. Mr Pillai and Mr Ramaswamy will be
flying back home tomorrow morning and they want this meeting today its" Mr Roy said
"Mr Pillai?? Okay okay. Arrange a coffee meeting in the evening.I will be there" Armaan said,
quite surprised by that.
****
Armaan greeted the two south Indian billionaires in the evening.
He had no idea what brought this now. He had been trying for a meeting with them both for
almost a year now and they had always rejected his proposals.
After exchanging pleasantries they got to the matter of discussion.
"The joint venture you wanted to explore in Chennai -- we are willing to give it a
consideration." Mr Pillai said in slow broken english.
"That's wonderful Mr Pillai" he said with a huge smile.
"Fly over to Chennai and meet with us. Janani can translate for you" Mr Ramaswamy
continued in his broken English and Armaan's eyes widened.
Janani?? So she is the one who brought this up. He had been trying for a year and she did it
in a day??
Unbelievable!!
"Sure"
"Bring Ava and Advi too" Mr Pillai said and Armaan choked on his coffee.
How do they know about Ava and Advi?? What had Janani told them about? He hoped like
hell she didn't tell them about the surrogacy under the influence of alcohol. They are a set of
very traditional men . Part of the reason why they put off his proposals was because of his
playboy lifestyle.
"Janani, very polite in the beginning. Two flutes champagne later, all she talked about was
Ava and Advi" Mr Pillai said with a fond smile.
"Sure . I will ask my PA to contact yours to make an appointment convenient for all of us"
With that they bid bye for the day
****
Meanwhile at Verma Mansion, Aadesh was lazing around with the kids enjoying the sunday
when he got the phone call.
Shreya
"Hello Shreya"
"Aadesh. I am leaving for Chennai tonight. I want to meet Ava before I go" she said through
phone
"I will pick you up soon."
Shreya walked into the Verma mansion along with Aadesh.
Aadesh guided her to the play yard were both the kids were playing
"Maasi" Ava squealed seeing Shreya approaching her and Shreya picked up Ava and kissed
her all over her face
"How is Ava baby?? I missed you" Shreya said as her eyes welled up
"Ava missed maasi" Ava said as she hugged her aunt
Aadesh watched the scene with a small smile on his face.
Advi who saw the newcomer hugging his sister stood up in the play yard holding onto the
rails and pulled Shreya's dress trying to gain her attention.
Aadesh held his breath in anxiety.
If she so much as shows an attitude to the baby, he wouldn't hesitate to give her a piece of
his mind.
Shreya looked down at the little boy and her eyes softened and Aadesh let out his breath in
relief.
Shreya crouched down in front of him with Ava still in her arms.
"Hello little man" Shreya patted his cheek lightly earning a grin from the child.
"Ava's brother maasi" Ava introduced her little brother.
"What's your name baby?" Shreya asked in a baby voice.
"Advi" Ava answered on behalf of her brother.
"Aivi" Advi imitated his sister earning a chuckle from Shreya.
Aadesh and Shreya took both the kids to the living room and sat there playing with them.
"Wah Ava's Hairband is so beautiful " Shreya said and the little girl giggled.
"Momma gave Ava" Ava said touching her hair and Shreya's smile froze.
"Momma???" She asked and Aadesh cursed under his breath.
"Uh- she used to call her jaan. But I think after the allergy attack, somehow it became
momma. Maybe hearing Advi call her momma Ava too started " Aadesh tried to explain.
Shreya was seething in anger.
How easily did Armaan Verma replace her sister.
Not only in his life, in Ava's life too.
No. She wouldn't let that happen.
Ava is her sister's child and she would always remain so. No one is going to replace her
sister. Shreya vowed to herself.
"Shreya" Aadesh called out
"Its time for me to leave Aadesh. I have a meeting with my editor tomorrow. But I will be back
soon" Shreya said
Aadesh dropped Shreya in the airport and was about to leave when he saw her.
****
Armaan was having dinner while Janani was feeding the kids
"How was your meeting??" Janani asked making a conversation
"It went well. All thanks to you" he said making her frown
"Me??"
"Yeah. You are their new best friend it seems." Armaan chuckled
"I don't remember anything at all. What did I do??" Janani groaned in embarrassment
"Apparently you were very polite in the beginning. But two flutes of champagne and you
were a gone case" he said with a light smirk playing on his lips.
"What did I do Armaan?? Did I do something to offend them?? Are you teasing me??" She
asked
"Relax. All you talked about were Ava and Advi"
"I qm sorry Armaan. I know how much you appreciate your privacy. I don't know how I could
just blabber on. I would have never talked about the kids if I were in my senses" Janani
apologised
"I do appreciate my privacy Janani. But that doesn't means I want to keep the existence of
my children a secret. It's completely alright. We will have to fly over to Chennai next week"
Armaan said
"We??"
"Yeah. They want to meet Ava and Advi. They heard a lot about them from you and now
can't wait to meet them it seems" Armaan chuckled.
"Where is Addy??" He asked
"He went to drop Shreya at the airport. He didn't come back yet" she said
Armaan tried Aadesh's phone which went unanswered .
"Khanna" he called out and Khanna came running in.
"Do you know where Addy is??" He asked Khanna.
"Addy baba is in the room Sir. He came back a while ago." Khanna said
"He came back?? I didn't see him" Janani said
"I will go check on him" Armaan said and walked towards Aadesh's room.
He opened the room and found it completely dark. No lights were on and there were no
movements.
He switched on the light and saw Aadesh sitting on the floor leaning against the bed.
"Aadesh" Armaan called him and he looked up.
His eyes were bloodshot red and Armaan tensed.
"Addy, what happened??" He asked as he hurried towards his brother
"Nothing Maan" Aadesh looked away
"Talk to me Addy. What happened??"
"I just want to be alone for sometime, Maan. Please??" Aadesh pleaded and Armaan
reluctantly left the room.
He will give some space for now. But Aadesh will have to talk tomorrow.
He saw Janani waiting for him outside
"What happened to Aadesh??" She asked
"Don't know. He looks so depressed, " Armaan said, running his hands through his hair.
"Shall I talk to him??" Janani asked
"He wants to be left alone"
"He didn't have dinner either. I will give him food and try to talk." Janani said
A few minutes later Janani walked into Aadesh's room with his dinner and saw him sitting on
the floor looking at the ceiling bleakly.
"Aadesh"
He sat up straight and looked at her
"You didn't eat anything tonight Aadesh. See I have made your favourite tandoori roti" she
said smiling
"I am not hungry, Janani" he responded weakly
"So what?? You don't have to be hungry to eat your favourite food" she said as she sat down
next to him.
She tore a piece of the roti and dipped it in the gravy before bringing it towards his mouth.
"You know what happened today after you left. I made Ava and Advi sit on their high chairs
for their evening meal. Khanna bhaiyya has brought some groceries and he placed it on the
table in the kitchen. I just went inside to get Advi's sippy cup. When I returned you know
what I saw?? Both the kids were taking turns to throw the eggs from the grocery bag onto
the floor. They made such a mess. I didn't even know what to do" she kept on talking while
feeding him.
Aadesh got slightly distracted listening to the kids' antics and he finished his dinner
unknowingly.
After dinner Janani sat on his bed and he laid on her lap.
"What happened, Aadesh??" She asked softly running her fingers through his hair in a loving
gesture.
"I saw her today" he whispered
"Her??"
"Our mother" he said and Janani sucked in her breath
Their mother is alive?? She had no idea. She thought they lost both their parents
"Your mother is alive??" She choked out and Addy chuckled humorlessly
"Oh she is very much alive and happy. She didn't even recognize me you know" Aadesh said
in a pained voice
"Maybe she didn't see you" she tried to make an excuse
Why would a mother fail to recognize her child??
"She walked right past me. And there is no way to recognize me either. She abandoned us
when I was a baby and Maan was just five" he said as a lone tear ran down his cheek
Janani stiffened
Their mother abandoned them??
Is it any wonder they find it difficult to trust women
"Am I so unlovable?? Are we so unlovable that our own mother abandoned us??" He asked
his voice cracking
"Of course no Aadesh. Your brother loves you. Ava and Advi loves you. I love you. If she
couldn't then it's her fault. It's she who is not capable of love. It's not yours or your brother's
fault" she said caressing his head
"Ava and Advi are so lucky to have you. I wish we too had someone like you in our life to
love us" Aadesh said
"You won't go leaving us will you Janani??" He asked for reassurance
How is she supposed to answer that
"I will always be there for you, Aadesh. Sleep baba" she said and tucked him in.
She stood up to leave when he caught her hands.
"Don't tell Maan that I saw her. He might act all tough and macho. But deep down he is hurt.
I don't want him to know about this. Let's just forget it" Aadesh said and Janani nodded her
head.
Neither of them saw the third person who was standing outside the room looking at them
with his heart in his eyes.
Janani walked out of the room and closed the door and saw Armaan standing there leaning
against the wall with his eyes closed
"Armaan" she called him gently
The pain she saw in his eyes when he opened his eyes was like a punch in her gut
"Maan" she reached out but he turned around and walked towards his room.
Janani rushed behind him. She didn't want to leave him alone
"Armaan, talk to me"
"What's there to talk about?? She left us. Still we grew up fine. We don't need her" he said
sitting on the bed holding his head in his hands leaning down.
She sat next to him and hugged him tightly.
"There is nothing wrong in showing that you are hurt Armaan" she said
"I am not hurt" he countered and his voice cracked
"Its okay" she whispered gently rocking him in her arms
He turned around and hugged her tightly
"Why?? What was our fault??" He asked placing his head on the crook of her neck
"It was not your fault, Armaan. She didn't deserve you two"
"You don't understand how it felt"
"I do" Janani said
"You have a very loving set of parents. How will you ever understand what we went through "
he asked
"I might not understand what you went through. But I know what abandonment feels like. I
am an adopted child, Armaan. My adoptive parents love me like their own. But it doesn't
change the fact that my birth mother didn't want me. She abandoned me as soon as I was
born. I was lucky to be adopted by the best parents in the world" she said and he looked into
her eyes.
The atmosphere around the room changed and the tension increased as they gazed into
each other's eyes.
Armaan very slowly lowered his head without looking away from her eyes.
When they were a breath apart he stopped waiting for her rejection. But when she closed
her eyes in silent acceptance he couldn't wait anymore.
His lips met hers and what started as a slow gentle comforting kiss soon turned into hard
and passionate one.
They kissed once, twice, thrice…. and it would never be enough.
They stayed in each other's arms enjoying the comforting silence.
Armaan looked down at the sleeping woman in his arms and his insides tightened.
Never had he been so affected by a woman as he was by Janani.
With a sharp intake of breath he was forced to acknowledge the truth.
That no matter what Janani had done, he is in love with her.
She might be attracted to him, but she isn't in love with him
But she loved his children, and would stay as long as she could.
So he has all the time in the world to make her fall in love with him as much as he loved her.
And starting tomorrow that was exactly what he was going to do.