71. The Way Back Home #4
"I'm good." She paused. "Just came to the doctor."
"Doctor?" I frowned immediately. "Are you okay? Should I come there? Or should I call Yugant?"
"No." She laughed softly. "Bhaiya is with me. He came with me here."
A smile spread across my face. "Really?"
"Yes." There was something warm in her voice.
"It was sunday. He spent the whole day with me... then brought me for my appointment."
Thank God.
"I'll call you properly after reaching home, okay?"
"Okay."
We disconnected.
I stared at the phone for a moment. So they had finally sorted things out. Good. That was exactly what I wanted.
Yugant was healing his relationship with Dhrithi and he had quietly given me the time I needed to heal mine with Mumma.
Maybe that's what love really looked like. Not holding someone back...But giving them the space to mend the relationships they couldn't afford to lose.
"Mumma."
"Yes, baby?"
A small smile found its way to my lips. I still loved the way she called me baby though I am 24 now.
"Which date did we get for the final hearing?"
"The day after tomorrow." She answered from the kitchen.
I hummed. "What about the forensic reports of all the evidence?"
She came out a little. "I had almost everything examined before submitting it to the court. The only thing that couldn't be verified beforehand was Dhrithika's video."
She looked at me. "So, except for that, every piece of evidence has already been authenticated."
"Don't worry. Those videos are real too."
"Then there's nothing to worry about. The court will punish the people who actually committed the crimes."
I nodded.
I tried to push every thought aside but couldn't stop thinking.
It had already been four days since the hearing and not a single update about the Kingsleys?
It was as if they had vanished into thin air.
After dinner, we were all sitting in Mumma's room again. I had my head resting on her lap while we talked. Mysha had already fallen asleep on the other side, hugging Mumma's arm like a little koala.
"Mumma..."
"Hmmm?"
I hesitated before asking.
"How did you find out Dad was cheating on you? I mean..." I looked away. "Did he tell you himself?"
Her fingers paused for a second in my hair then she sighed. "No."
Her voice had become unusually quiet. "I caught him red-handed." I looked up at her. "I had gone to tell him I was pregnant."
A faint smile appeared on her lips, but it carried no happiness. "I thought it would be a surprise for him because that pregnancy wasn't planned at all."
She looked somewhere beyond the room, lost in memories. "I was nervous... but also happy because I conceive for the first time after you."
A pause.
"And then I opened the bedroom door and found him in our bed... with her."
My heart sank.
"I walked out without saying a word." She smiled bitterly. "I left for my father's house in Lonavala, to tell him everything, to share my pain. It was the only time I forgot about you and I regret it till now."
I remembered it. That was the reason she wasn't home. I had taken permission from Dad to attend my friend's birthday party and he had let me go so easily. If she would be there I would never get that permission.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I shouldn't have asked."
Her fingers resumed stroking my hair. "You don't have to be. You have every right to know. He is your father."
She paused before saying the next words. "And even today... if you ever want to meet him, I won't stop you."
"I already met him." Her hand stopped again.
"You... what?" She looked down at me. "When? How?"
I smiled sadly. "A few days ago. He saw one of my paintings from the exhibition in Florence on YouTube. His assistant contacted me and placed a custom order. I accepted it without knowing who the client was. But when I went to deliver the painting.....I found him."
Mumma listened without interrupting.
"It was a gift. He had ordered it for his wife."
I swallowed. "They looked... happy."
A strange heaviness settled in my chest.
"But..."
Mumma asked quietly, "But?"
I smiled, though it hurt. "He didn't recognize me. Not even for a second."
I looked at her. "You recognized me with just one look. He couldn't. And I don't want to remember him anymore."
I closed my eyes.
"There's no place for a man like him in my life. Even if he's my father."
I lived all these years believing he still existed somewhere in my memories. Not anymore. I'll bury those memories. For me...He is dead now.
Mumma's eyes filled immediately.
"You don't have to do that." Her voice cracked. "He's still your father. If someday you..."
She couldn't finish.
I reached for her hand and kissed it. "I know I don't have to. But I want to. He doesn't deserve to know whether I'm alive or dead."
My voice turned firm. "And honestly...I don't think he cares."
Because if he had cared... He would've told me that Mumma never abandoned me. Instead... He let me spend seven years hating the only parent who had actually fought for me.
That wasn't a mistake. That was manipulation.