Chapter32

Armaan was staring out through the windows while his driver drove him towards Janani's
home.
He took an early morning flight as soon as he got a call from Kamal Mishra.
Mishra did a pretty good job of groaning and apologising as things were not quite as he
thought it is. But then Armaan knew all that already.
Kamal Mishra didn't have further information on what exactly happened between Janani and
Saanvi and he had no hopes of knowing the truth from Janani after her declaration of
undying love for her cheating lying twin.
Kamal Mishra's chief informant is Harshvardhan Trivedi, Janani's adoptive father, who is the
retired headmaster of the local govt school.
Janani will be angry with him. He knows that very well. But he can't help it. He needs to
know what exactly happened between Janani and Saanvi. In his thirty years of life never
had he been conned before. And to know that a little scammer had conned them all, it is a
big blow to his ego.
Above all that, he deserves to know the truth.
Janani's intentions when she lied to him might be honorable, but it doesn't change the fact
that she lied and kept him in the dark.
And moreover Harshvardhan Trivedi being the chief informant might have already got a
vague idea of what is happening and Armaan wants to be there in person when
Harshvardhan Trivedi gets to know the entire thing.
He can't have Janani's father thinking that his future son in law has been snooping around
collecting information about his daughter through a third person, now can he??
The car stopped in front of her house and he got down and took a deep breath.
About time he paid a visit to his future in laws.
Armaan pressed the calling bell and the door was opened by a woman in her early fifties.
"Armaan Verma" he introduced himself as he saw the bright smile on the woman's face as
she saw him.
She looked as if she was seeing someone she knows pretty well. She might have mistook
him for someone she knows maybe
"I know" she said and looked behind him excitedly as if waiting for him bring flowers from
under his hat.
Then it clicked. She probably thinks he brought Janani and the kids home for a visit.
"Uh- Mrs Trivedi. I have come alone. I had to meet Mr Trivedi about something important"
Armaan said and the smile dimmed on her face a little which she recovered quickly.
"Oh come inside, som. I forgot my manners" she said and and guided him towards the living
room where he saw Mr Trivedi having his morning tea and reading newspaper
"Listen. We have a visitor" Mrs Trivedi called out getting her husband's attention
"Mr Verma?" He asked getting up from the couch and greeting him.
Armaan gently explained the situation and reassured them that everything is alright now.
They still looked extremely worried but Armaan was marvelled at the older man's optimistic
and forgiving outlook.
He also learned a lot many facts about what Saanvi did to this family.
"You knew it and didn't tell me??" Janani's mother asked frowning at her husband
"I didn't know the whole facts and didn't want to worry you. If I so much as breathed a word
either you would have been on phone at midnight giving hell to our daughter or you would
have been pestering me to leave immediately for Mumbai to get her back" Harshvardhan
Trivedi said ruefully.
"We are really sorry for what Janani did, son. But I can understand why she did it. She
always loved babies. Even when she was a toddler she used to play momma for all her
dolls. She would take such care for her inanimate dolls and it seemed ingrained in her. When
she grew up she was inclined to a career where she could take care of children." Mrs Trivedi
said
"And having Advi was like a dream come true for her. You do understand, don't you?? She
might have lied but her intentions were never unhonorable." Mr Trivedi continued
"I do understand. I came over so that I could reassure you that everything is alright. Knowing
half the facts might have been very worrying for you." Armaan said politely
"That's very kind of you. If it were anyone else in your place I am sure they would have been
extremely angry." Mr Trivedi smiled at him and Armaan winced lightly.
Hopefully Janani wouldn't convey how angry he was yesterday to her parents.
"Harch Uncle, there is a car outside?? Who is it??" He heard a voice coming from the door
way and turned around to see the woman who had been with Janani the day he had come to
collect Janani and Advi from here.
She froze when she saw him.
"Richa, come here" Mrs Trivedi called her in a stern voice and she chuckled nervously.
"Seems like an important discussion. I will come later, aunt" she said and turned around to
walk away quickly only to stop at Mrs Trivedi's stern and loud voice.
"RICHA GUPTA. I said come in here" Mrs Trivedi called out
"Yes aunt?" Richa asked, with a nervous chuckle.
"You knew Janani was lying to this gentleman here??" Mrs Trivedi asked and Richa gulped
"Who Janani??" Richa asked and Mrs Trivedi raised an eyebrow at her
"Ha ha. I mean what lies??" She asked again
"Janani lied to Armaan here about being Saanvi. Do you know anything about that Richa??"
Mrs Trivedi asked patiently.
"He would have taken Advi with him and Janani couldn't bear to give him away,'' Richa said
defensively.
"There is no point in worrying about split milk, Sharadha." Mr Trivedi said and Mrs Trivedi
sighed in defeat.
"It's alright, Mrs Trivedi. Everything is fine now. As I said I just came over for your
reassurance" Armaan said trying to defuse the tension.
"You are a very mature and responsible person, Armaan" Mr Trivedi said thoughtfully and
Armaan resisted his urge to fist his pump in the air in triumph.
He has created a very good first impression with his future in laws
"Although I could never support the agreement you made with Saanvi. That was rash and
she was the worst possible candidate you could have chosen—"
Maybe not, he sighed
"Yes, but don't forget it wasn't Saanvi he really picked. He believed he was picking Janani"
Richa was quick to remind the older man that Saanvi had applied to be a surrogate using her
twin's identity rather than her own.
Armaan mentally thanked the woman for the intervention.
"True and she have certainly stood up with the little one, giving him what he needs to
flourish" Mr Trivedi said with a warm smile of approval thinking about his daughter.
"I suppose now that Armaan has claimed his child back, we will have to wait until our
daughter gives us a grandchild to fuss over my dear" he said to his wife.
"Well. Hopefully she and Vikram clears whatever misunderstanding they have soon" Mrs
Trivedi said and Armaan stiffened.
They still believe Janani and Vikram will get back together??
Richa scoffed and muttered a 'never gonna happen' which was quiet audible for them to
hear.
"What do you mean by that??" Mrs Trivedi asked narrowing her eyes at Richa
"Nothing. I didn't say anything" Richa shrugged
"I have noticed your disdain towards the poor guy. It would be better if you tone down your
attitude, Richa" Mrs Trivedi warned to which Richa simply nodded.
"I will take your leave now. It was nice meeting you. And I will make sure to bring Janani and
the kids down for a visit soon" he stood up from the chair and that's when he noticed the
array of photos on the wall which wasn't there the last time he came over.
There were so many photos of Janani from her childhood and some of Janani and Advi.
What caught his attention was the one photo were Ava and Advi were cuddling and grinning
at the camera.
"That photo???" He asked, pointing at the particular photo.
"Janani sent that photo. They look so adorable, right?" Mrs Trivedi said with a fond smile on
her face looking at the photo.
"My wife have developed a new obsession on framing and hanging photos recently, ever
since she saw it in a friend's house while we were on a vacation" Mr Trivedi said dryly
earning a glare from his wife.
Richa walked out along with Armaan outside the house
"Coffee??" He asked making her frown
"Me???" Richa asked
"Yes" Armaan shrugged
"Sure" Richa said
They settled in a corner seat in a nearby cafe.
"So??" She asked
"You don't like Vikram Thakur??" He asked and she scrunched her nose in an expression of
disgust.
"Oh I like him as much ss a girl could like a man who cheated on her best friend " Richa
answered dryly and Armaan's eyes widened in surprise.
"He cheated on her??" Armaan asked in surprise.
"With her evil twin!!" Richa said and Armaan wondered how Janani could claim to still love
this sister.
"If you ask her she would say they didn't cheat her as they got into a relationship only after
she broke off the engagement" Richa said
"They were engaged?" Armaan asked, again surprised at that news.
"Yes. I should not be talking about this to you." Richa said sheepishly
"Yeah right." Janani wouldn't like it either.
"If he cheated, how could her parents still expect them to get back together??" That is
unacceptable.
"Well. They didn't know he cheated. They just know that they called off the engagement
because they had second thoughts" Richa said.
Oh how he wished he could punch the living daylights out of Thakur.
Armaan left the place instructing Richa and Janani's parents not to contact Janani, as he
wanted to give her a heads up to come to terms with the fact that her parents now knew the
truth.
When she is ready, she herself will call them back.
By the time Armaan reached home, it was late afternoon and the children were asleep and
Janani was in her room.
He made a bee line for Janani's room and knocked on the door.
She opened the door and frowned at him in irritation.
"Yes??" She asked discouragingly
"I have something to tell you—" Armaan said
"Right now? I can't imagine what pressing issue is left to be discussed" Janani said tartly
"I am afraid, it is very important." Armaan said.
Janani's lips thinned in annoyance. Though grudgingly, she moved aside, allowing him to
enter the room.
Since she had no idea what he had to say to her, keeping him out in the corridor where their
conversation could be overheard struck her as risky.
"I spoke to your father today and we talked for quite some time." Armaan said
Shocked by that sudden announcement, Janani stared back at him in horror.
"Uh- I think I heard you wrong" Janani said in a daze.
"No. You heard me right. I visited your parents today and they are now aware that you were
pretending to be your sister for my benefit" Armaan said
"Oh, my goodness. What the hell is wrong with you? How could you even do that?" Janani
was aghast at the news.
"I just can't believe you told them!" Janani mumbled to herself.
"The investigators my lawyer employed had already contacted your father and it made sense
for me to reassure them in person. He was troubled that you hadn't told him what you were
doing but he understands why you did what you did and he wants you to know that he
forgives you. I had to warn you in case you were planning to phone home." Armaan said
"Oh! How very thoughtful of you" Janani said sarcastically.
She felt her knees go weak in fear. Janani sank down on the foot of the bed and bowed her
head into her raised hands.
"I can't believe you approached Papa. I have tried so hard to keep my parents out of all this
mess!" she exclaimed reproachfully.
"I wanted a clearer picture of what happened and you're too emotionally involved"
Armaan drawled in self-defence.
"It was- enlightening to hear the facts from your father's point of view." Armaan said
"I hate you!" Janani flung at him furiously. "You had no right to go snooping and interfering"
"On the contrary, I had every right to know the truth. I am as much a victim as you in the
machinations of your sister" Armaan contradicted coolly
"The legal side of her having stolen your identity will take a long time to unravel. She gave
birth to a child using your name. She contracted debts in your name and she broke the law
using your name—"
Janani threw a look of reproach at him.
"Do you think I don't know all that?" Janani asked furiously.
"She took advantage of you and your parents" Armaan delivered grimly.
"There's no way my father said that!" Janani accused furiously.
"Your father is a rather unworldly man and I imagine he has had little contact with the
criminal element. I am rather less innocent and much more accustomed to dealing with life's
users and abusers." Armaan said
"Bully for you!" Janani snapped back childishly, marching back to her bedroom door and
dragging it open in invitation.
"Right now all I want to do is go to bed and forget you ever existed!" Janani said
Armaan lifted his hand and a forefinger flicked the full tense line of her lower lip in reproof.
"What a little liar you are, my darling Janani. Without me there would be no Ava and Advi.
And somehow I don't think you'd give them up so easily." Armaan said smugly, before
walking out of her bedroom
Janani paced the room angrily once Armaan left.
After taking some deep breaths and giving herself some prep talk she called and talked to
her parents.
They were obviously disappointed by her behaviour but thankfully they forgave her as they
understood what pushed her into lying.
She made the next call to Richa and started ranting about Armaan Verma and his high
handed behaviour
"Janani..." Richa cut in impatiently
"What??"
"Don't you think you are over reacting??" Richa asked exaserpated
"I am overreacting? How can you say that?? After what he did?" Janani asked furiously
"If you ask me I will say he handled things very maturely" Richa said
"Maturely??" Janani scoffed at that
"Yes. He did. You are the one who lied to him, Janani. You are the one who deceived him.
He is the one who is supposed to be angry at you. Not the other way around " Richa said
angrily making Janani frown
"I- he was angry yesterday. Didn't I tell you what all he said" Janani said defensively
"So?? He got angry. What if he did. It's perfectly reasonable. He got to know he was being
lied to for two months and you expect him to hand you an award for your wonderful
performance?" Richa asked mockingly
"And if there is any truth about the google reports about the ruthlessness of Armaan Verma,
he should have thrown you out of his house the moment he knew the truth. And look at you.
You are still there around the children you love and the man himself had come down to visit
your parents and personally reassure them, because he thought they would be distressed
after the approach from the private investigators. And how do you repay?? By being angry at
him and giving him hell?" Richa said and Janani pouted
"I should say sorry!!" Janani mumbled
"Happy realisation"
"There is no need to be sarcastic. I was angry because he thought me capable of stealing a
baby" Janani muttered defensively
"Yeah right. You know what Janani. Do whatever you want. I am not going to talk sense into
you anymore" Richa said
"Okay. I will talk to him tonight" Janani said