Page 9 of The Unwanted Husband
*****
Later that morning, she called her travel team and got her travel reservation cancelled. She thought about postponing but given her situation she didn’t know if she would leave in a week or a month so she chose to go with the cancellation.
Shortly after she called her aunt.
“Isha, how are you, sweetheart?” It was a relief that her aunt sounded almost like her normal self.
Her aunt’s voice was still weak but she had recovered from the panic attack she had right after the call from Ashok and was back home.
“I’m doing okay, Mom.” She lied, fighting angry tears.Why was life so unfair?
“I should have been there with you, to take care of you, of the babies.” Her aunt’s voice was guilt ridden that made her stomach twist painfully.
“No,” Isha managed to say in a steady voice. “You need to be resting. The kids are too young to know and they seem to be doing okay.”
“I know, Ashok told me the same thing.”
Isha was not aware of her aunt and the guy she hated the very sight and mention of, were in constant touch. “Oh, when did he talk to you?”
“He called me a couple of days back to check how I was doing. I felt better after he assured me of taking care of the kids and you as well.”
What a liar!
“Yes, there is help with the kids but we haven’t discussed any long-term plans yet.” Isha wished she had thought throughall of this before she talked to him. Maybe that’s what she needed to talk to him about.
Her aunt tsked. “Very unfortunate but we have to do what’s best for the kids.” Her aunt paused like something clicked in her mind. “Why don’t you bring them to San Francisco. They will have all of us here.”
Isha was stunned for a moment. Why didn’t she think of it? Well, because it was not practical.Who would take care of the kids and give them the attention they need?
Her aunt spoke as if she anticipated Isha’s thoughts. “I know what you’re going to say, but hear me out.”
“The solution has to be something other than you having to raise these kids. You’ve raised all of us already and this is not the age for you to take care of infants.”
Her aunt did not hesitate. “They are our children. We can hire help and they will grow up with Chandini’s kids.” It was a great plan but she wasn’t convinced it was the best one. Why, because her aunt and uncle needed someone else along with them to take care of the kids and it had to be her.
With her work schedule there was no way she could keep up with even partially taking responsibility for the kids.
“Mom, it’s too soon to move the kids to another country and also, I don’t know if Ashok would want to be away from the kids.” She had to discourage her aunt from taking on that responsibility.
“Why don’t you ask him? Maybe he can give you full custody of the kids and bring them here.”
Her aunt’s words set off new ideas in her mind. All she had to do was give full custody, legally to Ashok. He was anyway taking care of the corporation he and her brother started so he might as well take full custody of the kids. She would help out inany way possible and in that moment that was the best course of action.
Isha decided to put her plan in action and this time, she knew not to just declare her plans but to be prepared to talk to the shark-like man who knew how to wring her the wrong way even in such dire situations.
She could not stand him.
His handsomely arrogant face, the cold calmness that was fueled by raging anger and most of all the way he said her name. No one called her by her full name except for him, and she disliked that very much.
CHAPTER 5
The following morning, she woke up around the same time. She hoped that Ashok stuck to his morning routine and that she could probably talk to him and share her plans and even her conditions on how to handle the kid’s situation. It was best to be practical about the situation and she wanted to put it out there for him to consider or recommend alternatives.
After her minor altercation with Ashok, she hadn’t seen him the rest of the day. She did hear him later in the evening playing with the kids, laughing like nothing traumatic happened in their lives.
How could he move on so fast?
Any kind of joy seemed unfair in the house.
