Page 27 of The Unwanted Husband
Ashok nodded.
Isha could only imagine why Ashok was also estranged from his family. “Did you or Sami not try to make contact withthem in all these years?” It had been five years since Ravi and Sami got married.
Ashok shook his head. “Samikhya did, quite a few times. Just never got a response.” He paused for a moment and added, “She had planned to invite my folks over for the twins’ first birthday party and then decided she didn’t want to be disappointed. That’s when they chose to celebrate with you all in San Francisco.”
Isha looked up at the ceiling, batting away her tears. “How mad can they be with her, even when she is not around?”
Ashok did not respond to her immediately. “Samikhya was everyone’s favorite. Growing up, she could do no wrong in spite of how adamant she could be.” He let out a small laugh. “And she and Ravi were crazy about each other and I knew that. When she broke the news to my father, he went silent and my older sisters were the ones who made the call to banish Samikhya from the island. The home we grew up in. I chose to leave with her.”
“And you accepted that decision?” Isha wondered why anyone would not sort it out, especially when they seemed to be such a close-knit family.
“Samikhya felt guilty about it. She wanted them to be angry with her for a bit but that decision on her part and my part only angered my family further. Well and here we are. What we had hoped for a short separation to sort things down, just enough time for everything to calm down ended up being a lot longer.”
“That’s a shame.” Something tugged in her stomach when she caught the sadness in Ashok’s eyes. “I will do whatever it takes to help you reconnect with your family.”
Ashok nodded.
“Time to host that birthday party.” Not exactly what she had hoped to do but now she had no choice but to go with it.
She was just glad there was no awkwardness from the previous night.Thank goodness!
CHAPTER 11
The following morning, she was in the office room that she shared with Ashok or rather time shared with him. It was her space during the day and after hours it was his for his overseas calls. She had woken up early that day determined to spend some time on the case.
Just like every morning, for reasons she could not explain she caught herself looking at the time when it was eleven past eleven.
“Chandini, what did you do?” She laughed and added, “I’m a believer if I can do something about my dad’s case.”
She shook her head knowing very well there might not be much she can do about a twelve-year-old case. She went back to reviewing the contract her office had sent for her review. She wasn’t sure how much time lapsed before a knock on the door made her look up.
“Ma’am, someone is here to meet you.” Sarita, one of the staff at the house, interrupted her focus on a contract she was reviewing.
How in the world did she have a visitor?
“Maybe for Ashok.”
Sarita shook her head. “They specifically asked for you ma’am.”
They?
Surprised she had multiple visitors; she followed Sarita to the front room. There was a young man and woman, seated on the chairs. They stood up as she approached them and the younger woman took a step toward her.
“Hello, Isha ma’am, I’m Nina and this is my colleague, Varun.” The woman had a polite smile on her face.
Isha took the woman’s extended hand and then the guy’s and shook them warmly. “Hi, how can I help you?” She gestured to them to be seated and she took a chair across from them.
“Ma’am, we are here to work with you on your case.”
Isha was stunned, confused further. “I…I don’t understand.”
Varun and Nina exchanged a look before, Nina said, “Ma’am, Ashok sir sent us to work on your case.”
“Oh,” she could only exclaim in surprise. She found it hard to process that Ashok even took note of her frustrations and intentions too.
“Ashok sir mentioned that you had a case you have been working on.”
A small smile formed on her lips that she bit back and nodded at them. She stood up and said, “Let’s discuss in my office.”
