Chapter 32: Chapter 32

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 have 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 on 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 is 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 beta. 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

"Suniye. 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, beta. 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 can 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'm 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

"Chacha...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 chachi" she said and turned around to walk away quickly only to stop when at Mrs Trivedi's voice

"RICHA GUPTA. I said come in here"

"You knew Janani was lying to this gentleman here??" Mrs Trivedi asked and Richa gulped

"Who Janani??" And Mrs Trivedi raised an eyebrow at her

"Haha...I meant what lie??" She asked again

"Janani lied to Armaan here about being Saanvi. Do you know anything about that Richa??"

"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 she sighed

"Its 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 condone 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 chap, 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 mutterd a never gonna happen which was quiet audible for them to hear

"What do you mean by that??" Mrs Trivedi asked narrowing her eyes

"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" 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 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 na?" 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???"

"Yes"

"Sure"

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 a girl could like a man who cheated on her bestfriend " Richa answered dryly and Armaan's eyes widened in surprise

"He cheated on her??"

"With her twin!!" Richa said and Armaan wondered how could Janani 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???"

"Yes. I should not be talking about this to you."

"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 "

Oh how he wish he could punch the living day lights out of Thakur

Armaan left the place instructing Richa and Janani's parents not to contact Janani as he wanted to give her a head up to come into 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

She opened the door and frowned at him in irritation

"Yes??" She asked discouragingly

"I have something to tell you—"

"Can’t it wait...."

"I’m afraid not." Soft pink mouth compressed,Janani grudgingly stood back to allow him into her 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."

Transfixed by that staggering announcement,  Janani stared back at him in horror. "I beg your pardon?"

"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...how could you do that?" Janani was aghast at the news. "I just can’t believe you told them!"

"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."

Knees weakening, 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’ve tried so hard to keep my parents out of all this!" 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."

"I hate you!" Janani flung at him furiously. "You had no right to go snooping and interfering"

"I’m as trapped in the mess your sister left behind her as you are" Armaan contradicted coolly.

"The legal ramifications 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 flew upright in one tempestuous movement. "Do you think I don’t know all that?"

"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’m rather less innocent and much more accustomed to dealing with life’s users and abusers."

"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!"

Armaan lifted his hand and a forefinger flicked the full tense line of her lower lip in reproof. "What a little liar you can be. Without me there would be no Ava and Advi...and somehow I don’t think you’d give them up so easily."

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 hand behaviour

"Janani..."

"What??"

"Don't you think you are over reacting??" Richa asked exaserpated

"I'm over reacting??? How can you say that?? After what he did??"

"If you ask me I will say he handled things very maturely"

"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. Its 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 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'm not going to talk sense into you anymore" Richa said

"Okay. I will talk to him tonight"