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 clearabout this, Siya. What he did to you, what hekeptdoing 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 lostek 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.
