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Dev froze in place, staring at her. He began to turn to look at the boy behind him.
Aaryan and Vihaan both leapt forward, but Neil was faster. He ran to her, throwing himself in her arms, digging his nose against the side of her neck, and breathing her in.
“I missed you, Mom,” Neil said. “I didn’t know you were returning tonight. I just couldn’t sit still at Josh’s house while Myra was in the hospital. I requested Josh’s mom to drop me here. I know Uncle Aaryan will be mad at me for doing this. But I had to, Mom. I had to.”
She looked into the face of her son, her heart beating frantically inside her chest. Her biggest secret, the one she’d kept hidden for so long from his father, was out in the open, and she had no way of stopping the aftermath of this revelation now. Dizziness threatened to assault her. But she had to be strong. There was nothing she could do to prevent the truth from coming out now.
The one thing she was certain of was that after today her life wouldn’t be the same, ever again.
17
Dev couldn’t believe the scene in front of his eyes. Avantika…she had a son. A young boy, who was a little taller than her. He watched the boy snuggle into his mother’s arms, breathing in the side of her neck, the same way Avantika used to do to own her mother at one time.
His chest ached. It pained him to know that Avantika had had a child with another man. She’d told him there had been others after him, but this morning she’d denied that. Why had she lied? And what else had she lied to him about?
Seeing her with a child… God! It was pure agony. It hurt. And what hurt even more, was that she hadn’t even trusted him to tell him this. He thought they were coming around, that she’d finally started opening up to him. How wrong he’d been! She’d deliberately kept this from him. His finger ran down his jaw as he thought through the various questions bombarding his mind.
Before he could even properly analyze them, Avantika’s scared eyes met his. He frowned at her reaction, unable to make sense of it. He’d proved himself often enough in the last week that he’d never hurt her. So why…
And then the boy turned slightly. Dev blinked. Something about the boy seemed vaguely familiar. Avantika’s son gave an apologetic glance to Aaryan and Sanjana before he turned fully, looking straight ahead at Dev.
The boy squinted at him and rubbed his finger down the side of his jaw. Dev gasped. His heart thundered. Goosebumps erupted on his skin as he took in the boy’s features, looking at his face—a replica of Dev’s own face—properly for the first time.
Shock rendered him mute as the reality of what he was seeing filtered through every pore of his being. His head spun. His pulse slowed, before it began to beat wildly again.
This boy was…he was…Oh God!
He washis.
He had the same wide forehead, the same pointed nose, the same mouth, the same angular jaw, and those unmistakable whiskey gold eyes—all of which belonged to Dev. The boy was a mini version of himself. There was no denying that. His heart twisted and turned, finally settling itself, and for the second time in his life, Dev fell head over heels in love. He’d never believed that his heart could love someone so deeply, so instantly, but it did. God, it did! In that moment, Dev knew that he could kill to protect this child. His son.
Hisson.
Possessiveness filled his being as he stared at him. That boy who washis. His flesh and blood.
And that intrinsic realization was followed by another realization. He hadn’t known. That he’d been kept away from this most important truth of his life. Rage, unlike any other, filled his entire being. He pivoted to face Sanjana, and the guilt on her face was further confirmation. She had known. His sister had known about his son, and she’d remained silent about it. Her deceit fueled his anger. They all had kept his son hidden from him.
He unglued his tongue to speak.
“Avantika,” he called out.
A visible shudder went through her, and Dev knew. He knew, but he needed to hear from her mouth what his heart had already accepted.
Aaryan and Vihaan stepped in front of Avantika and the boy,his son, shielding them from him. He wouldn’t tolerate it.
Dev walked up to them. “Move.”
“No,” Vihaan whispered.
“If you don’t move this very second, I won’t be responsible for what follows,” Dev said, his tone frigidly quiet.
Aaryan splayed his hands up. Defeat was etched on his face. “Think of what you do next, Dev. It will set the tone for your entire life henceforth.”
His blood raged to push past these men and reach his son. But he accepted what Aaryan was saying. The last thing he wanted to do was scare his son—one whose name he still didn’t know. He lowered his chin in acceptance.
From behind Aaryan and Vihaan, the boy moved forward as if he, too, wanted to come to Dev. Avantika held his arm, shaking her head.
Dev drank him in. God! He was gorgeous. Perfect in every way.
