Chapter 28
The brass bell beside the carved teak door gave a soft chime under her touch. Siya stood still on the porch, her gaze running over the golden ornate latticework of the Agrawal mansion’s arched doorway. The veranda glowed softly with yellow lights as darkness swallowed the sky inch by inch.
The door opened and Neena came into view. The warm glow from inside cast her in a muted amber tone, making her pink kurti shine like the evening sky. The wisps of hair brushed against her cheekbone as a cool breeze blew. ‘Siya?’ she asked, surprised.
‘I’d like to talk to you if it’s okay. I am sorry I didn’t call ahead,’ Siya offered.
‘Come on in.’ Neena stepped back, giving her room to enter.
The entrance hall was spread with checkered tiles, and was dimly lit under the chandeliers. Her attention immediately snapped to the wall lined with dozens of framed photographs. Most of them were of Abhay, celebrating his achievements and moments. Siya looked around the wall, and saw more snaps.
In one picture, Mihit was holding a toddler Abhay pretending to be a superman on his shoulder.
There were various shots of holiday outings and festivals with friends, and she found Raghav and Luv in several of them.
Unlike the Kashyap house, this home displayed the joy and milestones of a happy family very proudly.
‘You’ll find Mihit on the balcony,’ Neena said, already turning toward the kitchen. ‘Why don’t you go join him? I’ll bring us some chai.’
Siya walked toward the open doors, and stepped out onto the balcony. Mihit was seated in a wooden armchair, his feet up on a stool, reading spectacles perched low on his nose as he read a book. He glanced up when she entered. ‘Arey, Siya, what a pleasant surprise.’
‘Hello Uncle. I am sorry for intruding,’ Siya said, sinking into the cushioned seat opposite him.
‘Don’t be silly. We’re family. You can come over any time.’
Silence settled around them, filled only by the flutter of leaves from the vast garden below. Siya looked around and observed how just this balcony was as big as her and Kashvi’s rooms combined, complete with black marble and potted plants.
The quiet space and rustling of the trees calmed her nerves. She could see why they ended their day here, with this gorgeous view of the sun setting over the ocean.
The scent of ginger and cream wafted into the kitchen as Neena came in with a tray of three cups and a small bowl of sugar, setting them down on the lawn table.
She poured a cup and stirred in the sugar, then handed it to Siya. ‘Thank you, Aunty.’
Mihit prepared his own tea and made one for Neena too. She thanked him when he handed it to her, and Siya smiled at their familiar, easy bond.
Neena turned to her, taking a tentative sip. ‘How are you, Siya? I don’t know if you know, but we’ve been trying to reach you.’
‘We were worried about you,’ Mihit added.
‘I saw your messages, but I didn’t know what to say. I’ve also been caught up in doctor appointments and test scans.’
‘What did the doctor say?’
She curled her fingers around the warm porcelain in her hands, afraid it’d betray her anxiety. She decided to rip off the band-aid in one go. ‘I can’t have children. The doctor confirmed it.’
Mihit reached out to cover Neena’s hand, who gave her a sympathetic smile. ‘We’re really sorry, beta.’
Siya nodded, her gaze dropping to the untouched tea in her cup. ‘Anyway, I came here for a different reason. I want to apologise for my father and grandmother’s behaviour that night at the dinner. I know it must have been awful for both of you, and… for Abhay.’
‘Honey, there’s nothing for you to apologise for. It was all Kartik, and frankly, we’ve never expected any better from him.’
Her shame sat thick in her throat, coiled and overwhelming. ‘I want you to know that I didn’t know about my fertility situation. If I had, I would never have agreed to marry Abhay.’
‘We don’t doubt you, Siya.’
‘I just… I don’t want you to think I tricked him, and married him under false pretences.’
‘Why did you marry him?’ Her penetrating, fixed stare left no space for lies.
‘To save Kashvi. Dad threatened to get her married to that business tycoon Ravindra Bhatt if I didn’t marry Abhay.’
‘We know,’ Neena said, calmly.
‘What?’ Siya asked, taken aback.
Mihit spoke up. ‘I’d declined when Kartik came to me with the proposal for a marriage between you and Abhay. But then, he let it slip that he had to go with the only other option he’d lined up. Ravindra Bhatt.’
Neena nodded, mirroring the anger simmering in her husband’s eyes. ‘When Mihit told me, we decided to agree to his initial proposal because we didn’t want you to end up with a sleezy, old man.’
‘We were blown away by the fact that he could even consider something so vile.’
She was no longer surprised. When he’d threatened to get Kashvi married to him instead of her, she’d seen the levels he’d stoop to. ‘He wanted to safeguard Kashyap Luxe and he’d do anything for it.’
‘That’s no excuse! There is no justification for using Kashvi as bait to blackmail you.’
‘You know, I’d ask how a father could do that to his daughter, but after the dinner that night, I’m genuinely speechless.’
Siya shrugged in response, and just that was enough to tell him. That’s Kartik.
‘You do not owe us an apology. You didn’t twist anyone’s arm for your benefit. That was Kartik. And I want to be very clear about this, Siya. What he did to you, what he kept doing to you, was unforgivable and inhumane.’
‘I care more about Kashu. She’s all I have. Everything I’ve done has been to protect her, to give her a chance, and to save her from that miserable life. But I hate that it came at Abhay’s expense, and for that I’m sorry.’
‘And saving her is the only reason you married Abhay?’
Siya looked away, unsure how to answer.
Neena watched her struggle. ‘You know, you’re not nearly as good at hiding your feelings as you think you are.’
Startled, Siya glanced at her and she gave a knowing smile. The motherly way she said undid the careful stitching Siya had done to hold her heart together.
‘With Abhay,’ she confessed, ‘it’s like I finally have someone I can call mine, even if it started wrong.’
Mihit let out an unexpected chuckle. ‘Well, thank god. I am so relieved to know that our son is not a lost ek tarfa aashiq.’
‘Do you still feel like it’s wrong?’ Neena asked.
Siya kept her hands tightly folded in her lap. ‘I feel like I ruined it.’
Neena turned slightly in her chair, setting her cup down. ‘Abhay told us how both of you met a couple years ago but things didn’t work out. So, is it complicated because of your past or your future?’
‘We sorted out our past issues but this… this infertility will be like a shadow on us all our lives.’
‘I agree. And then there is society to consider, expectations to fulfil, and our reputation to uphold.’
Was she going to ask her to leave Abhay? Siya felt the breath leave in a shallow rush, and she had to loosen her grip on the cup to not break it.
‘But,’ Neena continued, firmly, ‘all of that fails weighed against our son’s heart and his choices. Abhay has always mattered more to us than what this world finds acceptable, and that will never change.’
Siya snapped to look at her. That was the last thing she’d expected from her mother-in-law, and the sympathy shining in her eyes surprised her.
Neena nodded. ‘We know what it’s like to live with that fear. I found out about my low fertility in college. I began the treatment for it, yet we struggled to conceive. The appointments, hormonal treatments, and endless tests left me feeling like my body wasn’t mine anymore.’
Siya held her breath, listening intently.
Neena swept her gaze through the garden, lost in another time.
‘I used to sit on this very balcony and wonder what I was doing wrong. Why me? I was a woman from a noble family, a perfect match for Mihit on paper, yet childless. That was the story the media decided to frame for me when we got married.’
She continued, ‘They brutally ripped apart my image on a public platform by gossiping about my character, spreading rumours about secret affairs, questioning the legitimacy of our marriage. But what hurt me the most were the whispers in our family. And after a point, I started to believe them too, that maybe Mihit did deserve better than me.’
‘But it was Mihit who became my anchor,’ she turned to her husband, who was watching her with a sad smile.
He held her hand and squeezed it gently.
‘He never once made me feel less, not for a single second. There were days I couldn’t get out of bed.
Every night I cried, every morning I woke up wishing I hadn’t—he stayed patiently by my side, holding my hand through it all.
He believed I was enough, even when I couldn’t believe it myself. ’
Mihit ran slow circles over her knuckles, as he teased, ‘And that’s why the universe blessed us with Abhay to make our lives chaotic.’
‘You don’t get to complain because he took after you,’ Neena answered him, and covered his hand with hers.
Siya let out a long breath, in awe of their strong bond that stood the test of time. It was no wonder that Abhay believed in the power of patience and love. His worldview had been shaped by his parents’ happy marriage.
‘When we were in the eye of the storm, we realised how parents place so much stakes on their children, on how they’re supposed to bring joy, legacy, and a sense of purpose.
But eventually, they grow up to become their own people who build their separate life and their own family.
You can love them, you can raise them well, but you cannot expect them to stay. ’