Chapter29

Janani woke up to the rhythm of a steady heartbeat and the warmth of a strong pair of arms
around her.
She slowly opened her eyes and was met with the peaceful sight of Armaan sleeping with
her in his arms.
She slowly raised her hands and touched his cheeks gently before pressing a feather light
kiss on his cheeks.
A smile formed on her face and she blushed remembering what happened before falling
asleep in his arms.
She had been kissed before by Vikram and it had never felt like what it felt like yesterday.
Whenever Vikram kissed her she could remember her thoughts drifting off to various
happenings in her life unlike last night where all she was aware of was of his warm lips being
on her.
She believed she was not a passionate person when it comes to physical intimacy and had
always wondered how it would be to be passionately attracted to someone when Saanvi
used to tell her aboutSaanvi!!!
The reminder was like pouring cold water on her feelings.
Along with it the panic set it.
How could she let it happen?? How could she let it happen before telling him the truth?
She gently extricated herself from his arms without waking him and made a bee line for her
room making sure the coast is clear.
She just can't have anyone seeing her exiting Armaan's room in the early hours of the dawn.
Once inside the room she started pacing to and fro cursing herself for being so stupid.
To calm her mind she decided it's best to go to the nearby mandir and have a heart to heart
talk with Lord Shiva.
Once she checked the kids and saw that they are already awake, she thought it would be
nice to take them to the mandir with her.
Armaan woke up to an empty room and sighed.
Did he really expect to wake up with her in his arms??
Maybe he did!!
A man can always dream, he chuckled at the irony of the situation.
All his life he had runaway from commitment and had never let a woman stay over.
He had never let a woman in his home. It had always been him going to their place which
makes it easier to leave at night rather than trying and getting them out of his place.
And the one woman he wanted to spend the night cuddled up with couldn't get away fast
enough.
Did that Vikram guy hurt her to such an extent??
He is by now convinced that whatever aberrations that happened in his Janani's life for the
past two years to make her act so out of her character is the after effect of her heartbreak.
And he would help her heal.
He would give her so much love that she would forget Vikram even existed in her life.
Armaan freshened up and got ready for his office. There is no point in taking an off today as
Janani would be joining school.
He came down to an empty kitchen and frowned when he found none.
Where is Janani?? Is she still sleeping?? He looked around only to find Khanna coming into
the kitchen and pouring a cup of coffee from the kettle for him.
So she made the coffee and disappeared??
Is she feeling awkward after last night? It's possible.
He sighed and took a sip of the coffee only to spit it out.
"What the hell is this??" He asked frowning at Khanna who was looking at him expectantly
"Coffee sir" Khanna said
"Coffee??? This?? Where is Janani?? Who made this concoction??" He asked, pushing the
cup away from him.
"I made the coffee just how Janani asked me to make" Khanna said
"Where is Janani???" His main question was not being answered and he is getting
frustrated.
"She has gone to mandir"
"Who has gone to the mandir??" Aadesh walked into the kitchen.
"Janani and the kids" Khanna said
There was an unusual silence in the kitchen.
Both the brothers couldn't look at each other after what happened last night.
Aadesh doesn't want his brother to ask him anything regarding what happened yesterday
and Armaan doesn't want his brother to know that he knows what happened.
The silence was broken by the sound of little feet running towards them.
They looked up to see Ava in a red silk skirt and top running towards them. She has jasmine
flowers pinned to her hair and tilak applied on her forehead.
She did a little impromptu twirl in front of them.
"Pwetty??" She asked, earning a smile from her dada and chachu.
"Ava baby is the prettiest" Armaan said and picked his daughter up and made her sit on the
kitchen island after giving her a tight kiss on her cheeks.
He again looked towards the door when he heard the footsteps and his breath caught in his
lungs at the sight in front of him.
Janani clad in a simple red chiffon saree with Advi on her hip and a small thali in her hands.
Advi was wearing an off white silk kurta and he too had a tilak on his forhead.
Aadesh picked up Advi from her and Janani fed him the prasad and applied tilak for Aadesh
too.
Then she came towards him a forwarded the prasad towards his hand.
"You won't feed me??" He asked in a slight whisper and Janani silently fed him the prasad
and applied the tilak for him too.
He had never been a believer in God and had never stepped foot in a temple before but if
this makes her happy, then so be it.
She looked at the coffee cup on the table and raised an eyebrow.
"You didn't have your coffee??" She asked
"It's not coffee. It's some sort of concoction Khanna made with coffee powder. I need your
coffee to start my day, Janani" he said and she busied herself in making the coffee.
As she took the sugar tin she saw it was empty. The larger tin was in the top kitchen
cupboard and she raised on her tip toes to reach for it.
Armaan saw her tucking in the pallu of her saree around her waist and he gulped seeing the
creamy perfection of her waist.
Janani felt extremely tensed. At the mandir she had made the decision.
She is going to tell him the truth. She can't keep up the ruse anymore. She has started to like
him very much. And if she so much as wants to even think about a future with him she will
have to come clean in front of him.
And she is terrified of his reaction. All she can pray is that he wouldn't hate her once he
knows the truth.
She was thinking about what would happen when the truth comes out that she didn't realise
his presence until he reached for the sugar tin himself.
She stiffened when she felt him pressing himself closer to her.
"You are a vision in saree, sweetheart and red suits you" he whispered in her ears and
was fascinated by the scarlet spreading from her neck towards the cheeks and he wondered
if her entire body blushes like this.
"Red is definitely your colour" he said huskily, eyeing her blush and just because he couldn't
help it, he skimmed his fingers along her exposed waist just for the hell of it.
Janani felt the electricity passing through her entire body at the mere touch of his fingers.
She looked around to see if anyone was around only to see Aadesh making funny faces at
the kids making them laugh.
"What are you doing, Armaan??" She whispered slightly, pushing him away.
"What am I doing??" He asked huskily, looking straight into her eyes and Janani's resolve
strengthened.
It's time he knows the truth.
"We have to talk, Armaan" she said and he frowned.
"Talk what?" He didn't like the tone of it.
Call it a premonition, but he could feel it in his bones that something unpleasant is going to
happen.
"We will talk in the evening, Armaan. It's very important" she said and his lips thinned in
frustration.
"Fine. I will drop you at the school. Get ready"
Armaan drove Janani and the kids to the school.
Ava is over the moon that her momma is coming to school with her along with her baby
brother.
Now she could show off at the school especially at Aarav who keeps boasting that his
momma is their teacher.
Now her momma is also a teacher and she has an upper hand too. She has a little brother
whereas Aarav doesn't have that.
Maybe she could ask her dada too to come inside so that she could tell him she has her own
superman too.
Armaan saw the devilish grin on his daughter's face and wondered what is going through her
little head.
Armaan got down from the car along with the rest of them and walked them towards the
entrance.
Once they reached, Armaan dropped a kiss on both his kids' head and gave a quick peck on
Janani's cheek which unfortunately for Janani was witnessed by a grinning Ananya.
"Welcome Janani. And welcome little man" she gave a little handshake to Advi too who was
hopping on his momma's hip to get down so that he could play on the swing over there.
"Miss Ananya, where is Aarav??" Ava could hardly contain her excitement and her voice was
practically strumming and Armaan frowned at that.
Why is his little girl so excited to see some boy?
Aarav who heard his name came running forwards to meet them.
"Aarav, this is my spiderman" Ava made a quick change in her decision. If Aarav has a
superman then she has a spiderman.
"Spiderman??" Armaan looked at Janani who shrugged her shoulders.
"And this is my momma. She is also a new teacher here" Ava proudly introduced her
momma.
"But this is my momma's school" Aarav simply couldn't give up.
"This is Ava's brother. You don't have a little brother" Ava said smugly
"Ava..." Janani called in a warning tone
Ananya shook her head at the competition among the toddlers.
"We will have a baby soon. Superman told me" Aarav informed folding his little hands across
his chest with a cross look on his face and Ananya gasped.
"He said what??" She whisper yelled
Armaan raised an eyebrow at the spectacle and Janani tried to defuse the situation
"That's enough babies. Let's go inside and play"
She bid a quick bye to Armaan and ushered the children inside
Armaan still had a grin on his face while he walked into Verma Industries.
His daughter was showing him off, he slightly chuckled remembering that.
The employees gaped at him seeing the grin on his face and the tilak on his forehead.
***
Inder sat in his car in front of the pre kindergarten and gave himself a prep talk.
He will have to woo her somehow.
He will have to make her believe that whatever she said didn't matter to him in the least.
He didn't respond yesterday because he was simply taken aback.
He remembered the conversation they had over dinner last night.
***
"Look Inder. You have to stop doing this. I don't want Aarav to get close to you and end up
getting hurt" Ananya said
"I would never hurt him, Ananya. I love him as much as I love you" he declared for the
umpteenth time.
"What do you even know about me to fancy yourself in love with me"
"I know that you are a wonderful mother and I also know that you have a big heart that could
love me if you can let the barriers you have built around yourself down" Inder said earnestly
and Ananya felt herself moved.
"I know you have been hurt pretty badly, Ananya. I know you are scared to love and lose.
But that doesn't mean you stop living. Do you think Dhruv would want you to give up on life
like that?? Do you think he would be happy looking down on you two??" Inder asked and her
lips thinned in anger.
"Don't bring Dhruv into this" she said through gritted teeth
"Fine!! I won't. All I am asking you is to give me a chance, Ananya. Let me love you" he
whispered the last part holding her hands
"Your parents would never accept me Inder. You belong to one of the richest families in
Mumbai. Do you think they will be happy for you to take on another man's child??" She
asked withdrawing her hands from his.
"My mother already loves you. She is dying to meet Aarav. How can she find any fault in
you. You lost your husband to fate. It is neither your fault nor Aarav's" Inder said
"That's the matter, Inder. Dhruv was not my husband" Ananya delivered the shocking truth of
her life leaving Inder stunned.
"Society would never accept an illegitimate child and I wouldn't have my child exposed to
that kind of treatment, Inder" she continued when he remained silent.
"I hope now you realise that you have been wasting your time on me. I have to leave now. I
have a new staff joining tomorrow. I have to make sure everything will be fine for Janani.
Wish you all the best Inder" she stood up and walked away from him leaving him to think
over what she had just said.
"Come on Inder. You can do this" he encouraged himself and got down the car.
He walked towards the entrance and was shocked to see the person standing there.
Janani Trivedi??
What is she doing here??
Does Armaan knows that she is here??
"Janani" he didn't even realise he called her out loudly until she looked up to him with a
confused frown on her face.
"You know me??" She asked frowning
This is the man Aarav calls superman. How does he knows her??
"What?? What kind of question is that? Of course I know you??" Inder said, perplexed at the
puzzled look in her eyes.
Eyes which were no more cold and detached, he thought absently.
Janani suddenly tensed.
Have he met Saanvi when she was parading around as Janani.
God help her if he has??
She chuckled nervously
"Yeah we kind of met at that party..." she mumbled
Where else would have Saanvi met him??
"Party??" Inder was even more confused
He saw Ananya coming towards them with a frown.
"You again??" She asked frowning, though a corner of her heart soared at the thought that
he hadn't given up on them.
"I was talking to Janani" Inder said
"You know Janani Verma??" Ananya asked and both Janani and Inder looked at her in
shock
"Ananya. It's Janani Trivedi" Janani said awkwardly, making Ananya frown.
"You didn't tell me how you know each other" Ananya asked, deciding to leave the other
topic for the moment.
Inder let out a forced laugh.
"Of course I don't know her. I was just pulling her leg. You told me yesterday right a new staff
is joining." Inder said and saw Janani letting out a breath of relief.
"Aap bhi na bhaiyya. I really got worried that I met you somewhere and forgot you somehow"
Janani smiled
Something is not adding up, Inder thought.
"I will let you two talk then" Janani excused herself and went inside.
Ananya turned towards Inder and folded her hands across her chest.
"Didn't you hear anything I said yesterday??" She asked
"I did. And I just came to tell you that it doesn't matters to me. I still love you and will always
love you. Now I have a very important thing to do. I will meet you again soon. Give Aarav my
love" he said it in a go and rushed out towards his car
His destination - Verma Industries