Chapter 13: Chapter 13

My mother-in-law had also ascertained about his arrest through the news channel like others. She made me a call in the middle of the night to check on our well-being. And the following day, as I had expected, she approached us before the daylight break. She was very sorry for her son's misdeed. I somehow consoled her that she was not accountable for her son's wrongdoing.

The children had also learned about their father's arrest, and I did not know why, but they seemed to be content as I was rather than sad or concerned. They were not bothered to check the integrity of the news from me. Their behaviour told me that their father deserved that award for cheating on their mother. But yes, I had never dreamed that their despise for Ravi was so deep and robust.

Anyway, it was not a good sign for their well-being to show their joy in the open. I was worried about doing so; they would undoubtedly put themselves into trouble to show off their delight. And I did not understand how I could make them understand the gravity of the situation. My mother-in-law did not take much time to determine my children's concerns and the children's reaction to the whole event. But she preferred to remain quiet before them.

Then we had lunch together. I asked the children to go and take a nap. When the staff had gone to take some rest to clean up the table, the children were not around. My mother-in-law broached the topic of the children's strong antipathy towards their father. I told her that they had begun to hate their father, but I did not know the actual reason, and I would not ask them for the reason until the time came; they did not come forward to tell me on their own. I stammered when she questioned me,

"Do you still want to stay with Ravi?”

I always used to decide my actions from my brain, but that question aroused a great tussle between the mind and the brain. My heart wanted to count on her and light my heart to make her acquainted with plenty of things. But my mind suggested that it would be better to stay quiet for my kids and my safety. And I preferred to listen to my heart. Finally, my mind bit my lips. She always kept watching me for some time.

I had already assigned the task of collecting information about the person whose car number Hira had noted down. Arunima came to work in the evening. And she handed me a few phone numbers and photos. I was shell-shocked to read the name of the person who had passed the envelope to Ravi. It was none other than my father. Apart from that, I learned one more shocking news about him was that he had kept another family in the small town of Gopalpur.

I could not believe my eyes when I saw his second wife's photo. Tears automatically rolled down my cheeks when I saw the photo. She was my new mother, to whom I could never forget even after so many years had passed. She seemed to be very happy in the picture. I did not take much time to realize that she had fled with my father that night, and my father stayed with her from Monday to Friday.

I was desperate to meet her after knowing where she was living. I had her number as well; Even then, somehow, I stopped myself from calling her from my mobile. Then I decided that another day, I would make her a call from some distant telephone booth, and it would not be wise to go anywhere right then. I was so eager to talk to her that I could not sleep that night. I just wanted to approach her somehow. I had to fight terribly with her and ask her, why she did not try to come to me in all those years, and why she left me alone.

I did not have any doubts about Ravi's brain and strength. Ravi was, without a doubt, behind the bar, but at the same time, it was not an arduous job for him to come out of jail. It was well-known to me that he would certainly get bail until Monday morning. Soon after, he would put his all strength into finding out who had conspired against him to send him behind the bar. It might be his operation. I would have started to ascertain the person who made him reach there.

I was equally aware that he would also not exclude me from his search operation radar. Therefore, I was just thinking of it all the time where I had left the clues for him to reach back to me to pursue them. As I had expected, he was released on bail on Monday, and he got back home by evening. Rather than being ashamed of his misdeed, he was furious and desperate to find the man who had done all those things against him.

I did not bring up that topic before him, nor did my daughters. My daughter remained hidden behind me all the time. And Ravi did not show any interest in meeting them as he always used to do. But his mother did not stay quite like us. She seemed like a fearless tigress to me. She roared at her,

"What the hell have you done and have disgraced all of us in society? Do you have any realization that you have destroyed everything? Because of your mean act, your sister will have to pay heavily in her in-law's place. You have lowered her place. They will not let her lead a peaceful life anymore. It was as if they had taken her out of the house. Have you ever thought about which decent family will come forward to marry your daughter? How nice it would be if I had not delivered you from my womb? "

Ravi was in a fit of anger. He could not bear all the humiliation from all the staff. He also raised his hand to rap his mother, but one of the staff came forward and held his hand and twisted it tightly, warning,

"Do not dare raise your hand at Mataji.

Saheb; otherwise, I will forget you are my master, and I will not stay behind to give you a good thrash. And I don't bother about the repercussions as well. "

Another staff also came forward in his support and strongly protested Ravi's misdeeds; the rest also joined against Ravi. Ravi was boiling with anger, and he began to bark at everyone.

"I am firing all of you from the job right now, and I will ensure you get a job anywhere."

But that day, the scenario was different. No one was ready to take the bullshit, Ravi. In return, one of them gave him an excellent shut-up call,

"We do not intend to work under a master who has no respect for his mother. And we will undoubtedly get the job quickly because we are standing against the devil, and the entire society will support us. Mark my word. "

Tears began to roll down my cheeks incessantly as I witnessed the whole thing. The kids were too scared, and they watched the entire thing from my behind and cried bitterly and uncontrollably. I also did not get what I was doing standing there.

But I felt atrocious that day. I recollected how I used to think of them and what tricks I used to play to make them feel inferior. And those trivial acts gave me immense fake pleasure, as if I was a devil. And that day, they came forward to rescue the dignity of an old lady who did not belong to any of them. They did not also bother that they would be fired from their job for their misadventure.

I stood there bewildered for a while, watching all the commotion from a distance. It was then my turn to make some decisions quickly. I knew Ravi was not a fool that he could dare to mess up with me before so many staff. And it was the best opportunity for me to leave his house and get rid of him. Although I was cautious while executing my plan, I still wanted to keep it.

What if, someday, he somehow cracked the mystery of who was behind the whole thing? I knew there was no benefit to staying with him when all were leaving him. I could not uproot him from there. Besides, we were no safer staying with him. I asked them to stay for a while to bring you some essential things and accompany you because I could not visit that demon there anymore who had no respect for his mother.

The moment he heard from me, I could not stay with him. He could not stop himself and burst into laughter and made everyone take a turn and look at him. I could see why he behaved like that, but I preferred to ignore it. He kept telling me rubbish all the time; I rushed to my room and brought my files down. I looked at him and told him,

"I am not taking anything else which belongs to you. I do not mind at all; you can go through everything. I am just taking my certificates and registering them in your mind. Sooner or better, I do not need you at any point to take care of my children, my mother, and me. And one more thing, you do not deserve such a great mother. We are all leaving you forever. "

My daughters rushed to me and held each other's hands, and my younger daughter held the hand of her grandmother. We all left the house together without turning back, followed by the other staff. And Ravi kept watching us leaving his house. After walking a little ahead, my mother-in-law looked at me with fear-filled eyes and asked where we would stay at that hour. Both daughters could not resist laughing. Then, they comforted their grandmother, telling her mom also had a house on rent. The house had three rooms, and it was windy as well.

The whole thing confused my mother-in-law and the other staff. To soothe their curiosity, I told them I had set up my business, Event Management, which was, by God's grace, running well. And I was capable of hiring half of you for my company, and the rest would work at my friend's place. So, they need not worry about looking for a job for themselves. I also had an office in the prime market. They were so glad to know all about it.

And I could see the pride in my mother-in-law's eyes. After that, I asked all of them to go back to their homes right then and come back to the office the next morning at 9 o'clock. After that, one of them dropped us at my new destination. I had the keys with me, and I opened the lock and went inside. It had already gotten too late, so I decided to bring some food from outside. But my mother-in-law stopped me from placing a demand for food. If she showed her desire, she would prepare something sweet that day at home.

She gave a list of the things which she required. That day, we all prepared the food together. It was great fun for Anu and Priya. Then, we had dinner sitting, on the floor together, which was undoubtedly an unfamiliar experience for Anu and Priya. That night, we all slept together in the same room. Anu and Priya were thrilled with their new house. They did not complain about A. C. at all. The other morning, I found that all three were sleeping soundly and careless.

I went to the kitchen straight and prepared two cups of tea. My mother-in-law had got up until that time. After that, we had tea together. As soon as we finished, our tea, the bell rang. I thought it would be Arunima and her husband. But to my surprise, all my friends assembled there with them. They all knew about all the happenings of the previous day. I could not stop myself from sobbing when I saw them. I felt as if I were the wealthiest person in the world.

The same day, I had to meet with my new mother. She used to stay very far from my place. I took Hira along with me and reached her home. As soon as she saw me from her window, she immediately rushed to open the gate for me. We hugged each other and cried a lot, like anything. To my surprise, everyone knew me there. My stepbrother came forward and touched my foot. I did not take much time to figure out who he was. He seemed to be very docile and amiable. He was named Dev. He took all of us inside.

Suddenly, my eyes fell on the corner of the house, and all the secrets unfolded before me automatically; that is how they all recognized me. There I saw my latest photo hung on the wall along with others. I felt I belonged to them.

I was astounded when I saw one of the staff of Ravi's family serving me water with a beam of a smile on his face. I did not take much time to get there; he had been there for my sake only. And the interesting thing was that he did not let me know about it in those years. I could not believe in myself that I had never been alone. One more thing, I discovered that she was the one who used to send me gifts from time to time from my mother's side. I was speechless to learn about the whole thing.

My biological mother did not care much about me. My new mother took care of me all the time without making me realize at any time that she always protected me and was still by my side. There I learned a few more things that made my heart bleed. Ravi was my mother's choice, and she was aware that he was already married and had a son with his first wife. Despite knowing everything, she stayed quiet and made that marriage happen. My intimacy with my new mother was the reason behind her deep antipathy towards me.

I also learned that Ravi somehow discovered that my father lived with his second wife in some other city. Ravi blackmailed my father, and in return, he extracted a hefty amount of money from him every month. I wanted to talk to her about many things, but I could not. Actually, I was getting late, and my new mother did not stop me. Then Aryan, my half-brother, came forward and held my hand. He spoke,

"I do not want Ravi to know at any point who is behind his ruin. So, you do not take any steps against him anymore. "''

My new mother also agreed with his point, and she suggested that I not hatch a plan against him anymore. There were more chances I would be trapped if she had ceased to meet with them as long as he did not permanently go to the big house. I counted on them, but out of curiosity, I asked them what their strategy would be. In return, they smiled at me. And I was asked if I would be better off if I focused more on my business and my children rather than anything else.

I was feeling good and stronger myself after having a word with them. Before it got dark, I reached back home. I found the kids were at home, and they were a little scared because I had not been picking their phones up all day. Actually, as a precautionary measure, I had switched off my phone, and they were unaware that Hira was with me all the time. I felt a slight headache, and I wanted to have a cup of tea with some snacks to eat. To my surprise, before I could ask them, my mother-in-law brought it for me.

I was exhausted, and I wanted to lie down, but the kids insisted on playing Ludo with them. It was hard for me to decline them playing. It was certainly entertaining to play together. A boisterous laugh echoed through my tiny house. And everyone was glad to be there. After that, we made the children sleep earlier so that they could start school another day. I was surprised to know that in my absence, they had managed to get books, school bags, and dresses as well. And my mother-in-law had taken the responsibility of dropping them off at school.

I was leading a peaceful life over here that I could not get in my past. Before long, both of my daughters became best friends with their grandmother. They did not forget to relate to me what they did all day long, and then I shared my office experiences with them. It did not take much time to get my mother-in-law to run the house economically, which was impossible for me. And right now, I could not make an expenditure with a free hand. So, I handed her all the money which I earned.

However, over three weeks after leaving home, we had heard nothing about him. I could sense my mother-in-law was worried about her son. I also caught her sobbing alone. Although she always avoided mentioning his name before us. I did not get how I consoled her. One day, in the very early morning, Ravi turned up. We were just having tea. His hair was dishevelled. He had grown a beard, his clothes were crumbling, and he looked sick as well.

He told us that someone was after him to devastate him entirely. He tried his best to find the person who he was. But he could not know anything about him. In contrast, the other person was attacking him repeatedly from behind. He was sorry for his misbehaviour and asked his mother to come back home. For the first time in his life, he asked me to apologize as well. But I knew he did not mean sorry at all.

My gut feeling was warning me that I was on his hit list, and he wanted me back into his life so that he could keep an eye on me. He had developed substantial doubts about me, but at the same time, I was deadly sure he had nothing against me so far.

The seed of doubt was sown in his mind when he established the business in a hush-hush manner. He had it; I was also desperate to leave him as well. For the purpose of clouding his doubt and making him feel that I had made a blunder by leaving a posh life, I insisted to my mother-in-law that we should return home.

But I kept my condition before Ravi that I would continue my business and all the staff he had fired would come back with me. And he wanted the same, so he got ready for it quickly. I reached back to Ravi's huge bungalow. Honestly speaking, it was not that easy to leave the comfortable life you had been accustomed to from the beginning.

It was no doubt fun and adventure for all of us for a week or two, but after that, we began to miss our luxurious life desperately, which we were accustomed to. Anu complained too that it took a lot of time to get back to school from the school vehicle. And she had to carry her heavy bag all the time on her shoulder all the time. However, she rushed to get her favourite seat on the bus. Until she was pushed to the last. And it was too hot on the bus.

They wanted to eat out frequently, as they used to do earlier, but with my limited income, it was not possible. My mother-in-law likewise advised me to do the same. It would be better for you and your children to forgive Ravi and start your lives afresh. She was sure that then things would be all right, and he would mend himself.

What she observed about my daughters and me was true, but she was not correct in reading about his son at all. I did not utter anything. My love for her was unconditional. And I did not want to break her hope of going against her. I felt he had done many construction works at home in my absence. I could see CCTV cameras installed on the outside doors, the entry gate, the main hall, the kitchen, and many other places. I was not too fond of those changes. But I did not raise my objection and stayed quiet.

Actually, I was scared my objection would create doubt in his mind about me. My mother-in-law spoke against CCTV cameras, but I supported Ravi only there and managed to convince her that he had made the correct decision at that time.

I could feel it. Ravi used to observe me minutely whenever I opened my mouth to say something. But I just ignored his glance. I used to talk and put my points before him with confidence then. I did not stand anymore while he was having breakfast, as I used to do earlier, and many times, I did not mind anymore, waited for him then, and ate the breakfast before him. The change in my attitude was undoubtedly pinching him, but he had no other option except to tolerate me.

I had been cautious about all the activities. I knew he had been observing me all the time, even when I was working in my office. He fixed the CCTV camera in my office as well. Why did he not show excitement about what was happening in his life?

It was true that I did not intrude into his life as earlier. But I could sense everything was wrong in his life. His diet had reduced, he did not attend the party as much as he used to do before; he barely slept at night, so he kept tossing and turning in bed throughout the night.

Then he developed several medical issues such as gas and acidity as well. His tummy had also expanded a little more; his blood pressure had shot up, his greying hair had increased; likewise, many changes could be witnessed in his behavior and appearance in the span of one and a half months. I remained in a state of fear; what if he discovered someday that I was behind all the ruins?

One day, I learned from Anurima that he had a great fight with his first wife a couple of days back. Because he could not send her money as much as he used to do earlier, she threatened him that she would go to court and file a charge against him if it happened again. Besides, she had nothing to do with his problems. Actually, his resort video got so viral that his first wife also knew about it.

Apart from that, he could not leave the station without intimating the police station. His photos of the previous affair had also been leaked, and he had become very infamous. I ascertained all the happenings in Ravi's life through Arunima. But I did not want to keep her with me further.

I had a constant feeling that Ravi could anytime unearth the fact that her sister was staying in Delhi. After that, he would not take time to link the stories and find all the facts. I just gave her a letter and asked her to meet with Amy as soon as possible. Amy helped me a great deal in getting a working passport for two countries, Canada and the USA. She shifted her entire family to Canada first, and from there, they moved her to the USA.

They did the whole thing within a span of twenty days, and Ravi could not detect anything suspicious about her so far. And the most exciting thing was that Amy did not directly involve herself in doing the whole thing. So Ravi could not locate Anurima or her family either.

Ravi had inquired about why she had not turned up for work the first day, and I made an excuse that her son was not doing well, so she had taken leave for half the day to take him to the doctor. I intentionally said half a day because I knew he would not doubt her then. He inquired about her in the evening as well, but when I said she had not come to work that day, he said that might be because her son was not well.

Ravi at once came into action. He gave calls after calls to his chaps. He had circulated them all around the city to find where she and her family were staying.

I was bewildered when I came to know that he had kept men to spy on all of us. What if she was caught while meeting with Amy? He had searched everywhere, but he could find nothing against any of us. Then he filed a complaint against her for a case of missing person. I was shaken and praying to God all the time that she would not be found.

The CCTV cameras at UP Airport, Delhi Airport, and railway stations in both the states were checked for details. They continued doing the same, extending the search for the next 24 hours, but nothing they found about her. Each passing day was doing the job of strengthening my hope that they could not trace her anymore. Even then, I was living under the grip of constant fear.

After a few more days, he came home and announced that Arunima had moved to Canada along with her entire family. I pretended before him as if that piece of news shocked me. But I could read his face vividly; he was not counting on me. He was dying to find my involvement in his case. His eyes spoke to me that he would capture me before long, but I pretended as if I were thoroughly innocent. And I did not get any indication if a hidden and tough competition was happening between us.

Then Ravi was charged with infidelity. Due to the charges, he had to go to court repeatedly, which had an adverse effect on his business. He could not concentrate on the work. Besides, he was not getting any new projects into the market because of his tarnished image. And at the top of it, his first wife sued him. Although that case seemed to be because that marriage had happened in the temple, the priest was no longer alive.

His first wife was, without doubt, an intelligent lady. She did not take much time to realize that she could not win that case inside the court. So, she got ready for the settlement of the case outside the court. Ravi had to pay a lot to get rid of his first wife. He was getting exhausted physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially as well. He could not find out who was after him so terribly.

Ravi was also getting closer to me in those days. Until then, I acted very sensibly all the time, very sensibly. Because of that, he developed the wrong notion about me that I was crazy about him. However, my hate for him had not subsided at all. But I was glad that I served my purpose of fooling him about my love for him. And at heart, I knew he was looking for the right time to ravage me thoroughly.