Chapter 28: Chapter 28

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

"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 feels 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

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 does 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.

"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

"Its 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 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 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"

"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 been Janani telling 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 were 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'm leaving to 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 new comer 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 the hair and and Shreya's smile froze

"Momma???" She asked and Aadesh cursed under his breath

"Wo...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'm 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. Its completely alright. We will have to fly over to Chennai next week"

"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 was 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 om. 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."

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'm 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 lied 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

"Ofcourse no Aadesh. Your brother loves you. Ava and Advi loves you. I love you. If she couldn't then its her fault. Its she who is not capable of love. Its 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 then 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?? 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'm 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'm adopted Armaan. My adoptive parents loves 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 others 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 she could

So he have 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