Page 46 of The Unwanted Husband
Isha thought for a moment. The day she would head back, she would have mixed feelings. She will surely miss those cute twins but she could always visit them and when they are older, they could visit her over the summer.
“I’ll see you soon.” Isha ended the call and had no energy left to think through them. She fell asleep making a mental note about looking up Ashok online to see what Chandini was talking about.
CHAPTER 17
It had been two weeks since Ashok’s oldest sister Aravinda paid them a surprise visit at the house. She was supposed to break the news of Sami and Ravi’s accident to her parents but they had not heard back from her. Isha was getting antsy about when she would be able to get the kids and Ashok reunited with the family so she could leave.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she still believed it had to be Paramesh Saini who was behind both accidents. Just for that reason, she wanted Ashok and the kids to be in the somewhat secluded island for safety reasons and for her to be in San Francisco when she filed the lawsuit against the horrible man who cheated her father.
She had reviewed the paper work more than a dozen times to make the case bullet proof. She even added a new petition as part of the case to have both accidents, her parents’ and brother’s investigated for foul play. She was anxious about the wait and wanted to go home as soon as possible. Get back to her normal life.
Although she didn’t mind being in India with her brother’s kids, she wasn’t sure she belonged there. The small knit group of friends and family, along with coworkers and the lifestyle she had was what she wanted to go back to. Aman was a good companion but knew she would not miss not having around, at all.
Her shoulder had healed and she was glad she didn’t need to wear the brace anymore. She couldn’t exercise yet so her routine in the morning was to take a walk in the backyard. She was in the middle of her walk when she saw Ashok was calling.
It was one of those rare occasions that he had called her directly. Her heart dropped to her stomach expecting the worst.
“Is everything okay?” There was no other reason he would call her directly.
“Yes.” He paused like he was thinking about what he was going to say next. “I’d like to take you out tonight.”
Isha scrunched her nose. “Take me out?”
“Yes. I suspect Aravinda is on to us. She is holding off on having us visit because she is worried my parents will be hurt if they are not convinced we are really married.”
“Interesting.” Aravinda was smart and it didn’t surprise her that she was suspicious.
“I don’t know how but, she somehow knows enough to suspect we have some kind of an arrangement.” His tone was matter of fact.
“Are you telling me the story I told her wasn’t convincing enough?” She chuckled.
“You’ll have to work for it,” he said and she smiled when she caught the playful undertone in his words.
“I guess I have to. What’s the plan?” It hit her that she had not stepped out of the house except for the hospital visits and other random trips. She was bored of being home and could use the outing.
“I’ll send someone to bring you some clothes for the evening. We go do some shopping and then grab dinner.”
“How about we go after the twins go to bed?” It surprised her how naturally the statement escaped her. She wasn’t really part of their bed time routine but Ashok spent time with them before they slept.
Like he had the same reaction he paused for a long moment, before he said, “Sounds good.”
Isha ended the call and looked out into the backyard, a small smile playing on her lips. She looked forward to the evening. She knew it would be fun just going out but something about convincing his sister they were a real couple seemed like a challenge that had to be overcome.
She prided herself for coming up with the base story about her and Ashok when his sister questioned their relationship. And now it looked like they needed to be a bit more convincing.
“Challenge accepted,” she said under her breath and walked back into the house. It wasn’t just the relationship with Ashok she had to show, but also with the kids. She walked into the house to where the kids were, wondering what Ashok would tell them when she had to leave for San Francisco?
Things were starting to fall into place and she felt a new sense of ease sweep through her. She stepped into the room where the kids were playing and let out a laugh when Vaish came crawling to her.
Isha knew she was going to definitely miss the cute and smiley faces of the twins.
*****
Later that evening, Isha looked at herself in the mirror as the woman who showed up a couple of hours ago worked the final touches of her look. She didn’t expect people to show up with a selection of clothes and with makeup skills.
She had no idea she would have a team to help her dress. Did people dress to this extent? She was never the kind to dress extravagantly and felt a bit uncomfortable with so many people in her space. She tolerated it as it was part of the plan.
Even as she got dressed, she could hear Ashok speak with the twins as they ate dinner and got ready for bed. The twins went to bed early so they would wake up in the morning for Ashok to spend time with them. She found the guy’s dedication to the twins fascinating. Somehow, she did not feel the need to be around the kids as much as he did. This is why he was best placed to raise them, take care of them.
