"She is a twin??" Aadesh asked, still dazed after what he heard from his brother.
He had been away for a day and he had come home to receive a shock.
"Yes. A twin" Armaan confirmed
"And she is not Advi's mother??" Aadesh asked, still trying to get hold of the new reality.
"No. Not biologically" Armaan muttered
"And you are not angry at her???" Aadesh asked, raising an eyebrow at his brother
"I was really angry when I came to know the truth. Then when I thought with a calm mind I
realized she did it for Advi." Armaan said
"Wow. Love really does change people, doesn't it??" Aadesh asked and Armaan looked at
him in shock.
"What?? Don't look so shocked. You might have started seeing me only when you were five,
but I have known you since I was born. I know you very well" Aadesh said grinning
"Shut up Addy" Armaan chided at his brother's lame joke
****
Janani walked towards Armaan's study after putting the children to bed that night
"Armaan" she called out softly
"Janani, you are still awake??" Armaan asked with a frown
"Um- can we talk, Armaan?" Janani asked hesitantly
"Of course" he said earnestly and led her to the terrace.
There at the corner was a shaded area with two couches and a tea table. Janani had never
come up to the terrace so she had never seen it before.
"This is Addy's special place. He sometimes likes to sit here and stargaze" Armaan said and
he led her over to the couch.
"Armaan. I- I want to apologise for my earlier behaviour. I know it was not fair of me. And I
also apologise for lying to you.It was not my intention to deceive you. All I could think about
was holding on to Advi as long as I could. I simply couldn't think past that. And when
yesterday you implied that I would sell him for money, I couldn't bear it. I know you have
every right to be angry on me. I hope you will understand why I did what I did" Janani said in
a breath
"I understand," Armaan said as he turned around to stare at the unseeing scenery of the
night.
"So what next??" She asked in the pulsing silence
"That's what we have to decide." Armaan said, taking a deep breath
He was using the royal ‘we'; she didn't think she would have much actual input into what
happened next.
She absolutely have no rights here.
Not over Advi.
Not over Ava.
Not over Armaan!!
"Tell me how your sister got hold of your passport, Janani," he asked.
That was such an unexpected question. Something so irrelevant, she thought
"When we met for the first time, she had short hair. That was one thing to tell us apart
distinctively. We could never fool people like the twins usually do. I was telling her how good
it would have been if her hair was also longer. That's when she took out her passport and
showed me. She had long hair in it. And then I got out my passport to show how I looked a
couple of years ago. Somehow the passports got mixed up"
"And??" Armaan