Page 24 of Forged By Fate

“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 shewants 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.

CHAPTER 12

VIREN

Sunaina went pale at my words.

“You don’t need me for this visit,” she protested. “Aisha’s grandmother doesn’t even know me.”

Was she so eager to leave us, I wondered angrily.

“Well, I don’t trust her or her family. We need all hands on deck as long as she’s in our house.”

“I am not ahand,” she snapped. “I am your wife!”

“Then act like it,” I hissed. “Stop making a scene and come home with me. Aisha needs you right now.”

Aisha’s mother’s family was the root of all our troubles. They were the reason I was forced to marry Sunaina in the first place.

When Aisha was eight, her uncle and his family started showing up every time she visited her grandparents. Disha’s brother, Ajit, was a ne’er-do-well who had run his father’s business to the ground and was in need of fresh capital for his next venture. Aisha had inherited Deven and Disha’s wealth, but unfortunately, they hadn’t left any will naming someone astrustee to oversee her inheritance, which meant that whoever had custody of the child had access to her wealth.

Ajit had filed for her custody on the grounds that, as a bachelor, I wasn’t equipped to deal with her needs. He claimed she’d be happier in his house with his two daughters for company. I knew he was only after her money. If Aisha went to live with him, he and his wife would neglect her or worse. Hence, my hasty marriage to Sunaina which helped me retain Aisha’s custody and swung the adoption process in my favour.

After they played such a dirty trick on us, I refused to allow Aisha to return to her grandmother’s house because Ajit was capable of kidnapping the child to get his way. Disha’s parents got supervised visits with their granddaughter under my roof, and I put a stop to that after the last one two months ago, when her grandmother wept and begged her to refuse the adoption. She made such a bad scene that I banned her from ever approaching Aisha.

I was furious at her for turning up at the airport without my permission. But she played the dead daughter card and promised to be on her best behaviour.

“I haven’t seen my Disha’s baby in months, beta. I know you’re upset with me, but I was only doing what I thought was best for Aisha. If she’s happy with your family, I’m willing to accept that. But please don’t cut me out of her life,” Laxmi Aunty begged.

I was willing to give them an hour in the airport’s coffee shop, but before I could tell her that, my Chachi walked up to us and ruined everything. She hugged Laxmi Aunty as if she hadn’t met her in ages.

“Viren, you’ve punished her enough. You must allow her to visit Aisha again,” she said kindly.

“Bua’s right, Viren,” said Tahira, who had followed her aunt. “I have an idea! Laxmi Aunty can come to stay with us for a while to reconnect with Aisha. What do you think, Bua?”

I stared at her furiously, but she was oblivious to my anger. Who the fuck did she think she was inviting people to stay inmyhouse?

“I didn’t know you were extending your visit with Chachi, Tahira,” I said pointedly, and she gave an awkward braying laugh.

“She insisted I stay with her for a while,” she stammered.

Chachi chimed in, adding her two cents of approval, and there was really no way I could get out of inviting Laxmi Aunty to stay. Of course, there was a silver lining to this mess. If Laxmi Aunty and Tahira were staying with us, I could force Sunaina to stay on the pretext of putting on a united front. It wouldn’t do for the Chaudhry bahu to go gallivanting with another man while her husband hosted guests in their home.

I didn’t look too closely at why I wanted my wife to return home when we were about to end our fake marriage. All I knew was that I wanted her by my side.

“Fine!” she spat. “I’ll stay. Only for the duration of her stay.”

She stomped away to speak to the boy toy, and my lip curled in disgust when she gave him an extra-long hug. Ten Mississippis this time, I counted. What kind of man waited so patiently for another man’s wife?

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