Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
SUNAINA
T he flight to Mumbai felt interminable.
Aisha was sulking in a corner because her Chachu was going back to work so soon. Sufi and Daya Bua were very subdued and shot me sympathetic glances from time to time. Tahira and Viren’s aunt were very happy, though. Especially when Viren isolated himself in one section of the large private jet on the pretext of reading a contract.
Meanwhile, I sat at the opposite end of the cabin with my nose buried in the latest issue of Vogue, and when that didn’t put a stop to the pity being directed at me, I slapped an eye mask on my face and pretended to be asleep for the duration of the flight. The flight attendant turned down the cabin lights around me, which was a blessing because, under the cover of semi-darkness, I could finally allow my tears to trickle down my face.
I cried silently, not wanting to draw any attention to myself. I didn’t even know why I was crying. It wasn’t as if I didn’t know there was no hope for me. I knew very well that a man like Viren Chaudhry was never going to fall in love with a woman like me. So why was I surprised when he chose to end our vacation early rather than be forced to spend more time with me, pretending to be in love with me?
This was all my fault. I should have known my place. I was nothing more than an unofficial nanny to Aisha. If I had just stayed where I was slotted, I could have had a wonderful life. I had my own room in Viren’s wing of the mansion. I had a full complement of staff at my beck and call. I could go where I wanted. I could do what I liked. I had a handsome allowance. As Viren’s wife, I lived a very luxurious life. And as his ex-wife, I’d be even richer because our contract stated that he would settle property and investments worth almost a hundred crores on me. All because of what I did for Aisha.
But I was too dumb to settle for that. No. I had aspired for what could never be mine. I didn’t want Viren’s money. All I wanted was his love.
When I fell in love with him, I knew he would never be mine. I had even made my peace with it, even though it hurt me to see him treat me with the same impersonal kindness with which he treated the rest of the staff. But I knew that was all I could ever expect. So why did I forget that important fact and start hoping for more?
I had allowed Viren’s kindness, Aisha and Daya Bua’s love, and Sufi’s unwavering friendship to go to my head. I had begun to believe in the tangled web of lies we had all woven together when all I had to do was hold onto my end until I was asked to let go.
I took a slow, deep breath and gritted my teeth to force back the sob that rose to my lips. Because of my stupidity, I had destroyed everything that was holding me together. I was about to destroy my family.
The lines in our battle were clearly drawn, with Daya Bua, Sufi and even Aisha on my side. When our marriage ended, they were going to blame Viren, and I couldn’t allow that. I couldn’t allow them to turn on him because he had lost one family already. I couldn’t be the reason why he lost the second family he had built for himself.
No matter how much it hurt me to do it, I had to make sure our divorce was extremely amicable. And after the divorce, I had to walk away from the people I loved with a smile. I had to assure them I wasn’t shattered at being cut out of their little family for good because if they knew how much I was hurting, they would never forgive Viren. I would do it for him. As my last act of love.
And I knew exactly what I had to do to convince everyone, including Viren, that I was going to be fine. I pulled off the eyes mask and wiped my tears before I pulled out my phone to send a text.
Sufi slid into the seat next to mine and pressed the button to summon the flight attendant. She arrived with a small tray that she laid on the table in front of us.
“What’s all this?” I asked in horror.
“Damage control. You look like a fright, babe. Close your eyes and lie back,” he ordered, pulling out a moisturising sheet mask.
I gave in with a sigh because there was no arguing with Sufi when he was on a mission. He slapped two cold teabags over my eyes and placed a glass of watermelon juice in my hand.
“Hydrate,” he ordered, and I hydrated.
“I’m going to miss you,” I mumbled, and he let out a loud snort from under his own sheet mask.
“I’m not going anywhere, gorgeous,” he retorted.
“But I am,” I replied. “And you know it.”
“I know nothing of the sort. Even if the divorce goes through, you and I are solid, babe. You’re stuck with me. Trust me, we’re going to be besties until the end of our lives, terrorising the inmates of whatever old people’s home Aisha dumps us in, together,” he said with a cackle.
“That’s the dream,” I said weakly. “Unless you get dementia and forget all about me.”
“Pfft! You’re unforgettable, babe. Like a nightmare that never leaves you.”
“Stop! You’re making me blush with all this praise,” I said dryly.
“That’s just the sheet mask working its magic,” he shit back.
“Hopefully, I’ll look less like a swamp witch when we land.”
“Who cares? We’ve all seen you at your worst and we still love you,” he teased.
“Well…Dhruv hasn’t seen me at my worst yet,” I said hesitantly. “And I don’t want to scare him off already.”
Sufi pulled the teabags off my eyes and glared at me when I opened my eyes to protest.
“What have you done?” he hissed, and I raised my chin in defiance.
“I asked him to meet me at the airport. I’m not going home with you guys.”
“Oh boy! There’s going to be bloodshed on the tarmac today,” said Sufi in a singsong voice. “Poor Dhruv. I liked him. He doesn’t deserve to die so early.”
“Shut up,” I hissed, looking around to see if anyone had overheard his predictions. “And don’t you dare chaabi Viren into fighting with Dhruv, you hear me?”
“Babe, chaabi-fying is my superpower,” said Sufi with an evil grin. “But in this case, I won’t have to do a thing. Mr C will do the needful.”
“He will not . Viren is as eager to end this as I am,” I said coldly.
“That I agree,” murmured Sufi.
I shot him a suspicious glance because it didn’t sound like he agreed with me. But I had no time to argue with him. I had to find a very diplomatic way to break the news to the rest of the family. Because it was time they learned to live without me.
“Look, it’s not like I’m cutting off from you guys completely. I just need some space right now. I’ll come back in time for the social worker’s home visit. Until then…we can do movie nights at my place,” I babbled.
“Sure! Because Mr C will definitely agree to spend Friday evenings with you and Dhruv. Honestly, Sue! Are you high? Your husband is not going to let you drive off with another man. Especially not with Tahira and her aunt watching gleefully.”
I groaned in despair.
“That’s why I need you on my side, Sufi,” I begged.
“I’m always on your side, babe. Which means I get to stop you when you go off half-cocked,” he said cheerfully.
I rolled my eyes and slapped my teabags back over my eyes. He could say what he liked. But I knew that Viren would only be glad I wasn’t going home with them. It would make the eventual separation much easier if we started now.
As we prepared for landing, I cast about for a tactful way to tell Viren that I wasn’t going home with him. Because I needed his help to break the news to Aisha.
“You can’t do this to Aisha, Sue,” hissed Sufi as the plane landed and slowly came to a halt.
“Shh! First, help me break it to Viren,” I insisted.
But I didn’t get a chance to tell him anything. Viren disembarked first, with Sufi at his heels. I followed them more slowly, worried sick that I was going to mess this up terribly. We walked into the terminal, and it was only when I bumped into Viren’s hard back that I realised he had come to a sudden halt.
“What the fuck is he doing here?” he barked, and I knew he had spotted Dhruv waiting for me inside the terminal.
“He’s here for me,” I said softly, and Viren turned around to meet my eyes.
His own were unreadable behind his dark glasses.
“What does that mean?” he asked carefully.
I gulped at the menace in his voice.
“It means that I’m not going home with you…with you guys.”
“You’re going home with him ?” Viren asked in disbelief.
I shook my head.
“He’s taking me to a hotel. We’ll figure it out, Viren. I need to move out of the house at some point…”
“But why now?” he asked sharply.
I shrugged in reply.
“Why not now?”
Before he could reply, Aisha came running to us.
“Chachu, I see Naani,” she cried, waving at her maternal grandmother, who was walking towards us slowly.
Sufi and Daya Bua formed a protective circle around the child as we stared at the elderly lady in horror.
“What on earth is she doing here?” asked Viren.
Since Aisha’s maternal uncle had started a custody battle to gain control of her inheritance, Viren’s first act after he won her custody was to refuse her uncle any visitation rights because he hadn’t missed any opportunity to convince her to sway her into telling the judge she was unhappy with us. He had warned her grandparents that they were on thin ice, and if they did anything to mess with his plans to adopt Aisha, they’d never see her again.
But we all knew it wasn’t as easy as that. She was all they had left of their dead daughter. They had the right to stay in touch with her as long as they did not cross the boundaries of basic decency.
“I’ll go and check what she wants. Sunaina, please stay with Aisha until I get back,” he ordered.
“Of course,” I murmured.
I wasn’t leaving her side until she was safe. Dhruv began walking towards us with a questioning look, but he stopped when I shook my head. I pulled out my phone and texted him to tell him to stay where he was, explaining the delay. I didn’t want Tahira to make any snide comments about him in front of Aisha when she already had to deal with her other grandmother.
I had told Dhruv nothing when I requested him to help me out today except that I didn’t want to return to Chaudhry House. He had agreed to help me immediately. And now I was making him wait like a driver. I felt like an absolute heel for treating him like this, but I really needed a friend who was not part of the Chaudhry universe. And when I met Dhruv after all these years, I still felt the same connection I had felt when we were in school. He was still the same sweet, kind boy he had been then.
I was very relieved when he texted me back and told me he’d wait. But that relief turned sour when Viren returned. He looked grim when he joined us.
“Viren, what’s the delay? Why are we still here?” asked Tahira petulantly.
“Because we have company,” replied Viren.
I wondered if he meant Dhruv. But it was even worse than I expected.
“Aisha’s Naani wants to make up for the time she’s missed with Aisha.”
“I don’t want to go to their house, Chachu,” said Aisha worriedly. “I don’t like the way they talk about you.”
“Well, your Naani wants to stay with us for a while. And we can’t say no because with the adoption decision coming up soon, I don’t want them to try and influence it in any way,” he replied.
“What do you mean?” I asked worriedly.
“I wouldn’t put it past them to allege that we’re keeping Aisha from meeting her other relatives and pressuring her to say she wants to live with us. I don’t want to take any chances with this, Sunaina. Let’s try and keep it civil for now.”
When Daya Bua took Aisha over to greet her Naani, Viren leaned towards me.
“Looks like lover boy is in for a disappointment. You’re not going anywhere until this visit is over. You’re coming home with us,” he murmured in my ear.