AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But he didn’t.”
“No. And there might not be any letters, but the answers we need are almost always inside of us. If you can’t find them externally, perhaps go inside. Chances are you’ll find the truth.”
Reeva was trying to think of a more suitable response than “Sorry, what?” when she noticed that the singing next door hadcompletely stopped. “Oh god, we’ve missed the whole prayers! Am I a terrible daughter?”
“Only if you choose to see yourself that way. To be honest, Hemant probably felt like a terrible father at times too.”
Reeva paused. Just thinking that her dad had felt that way made her feel more connected to him. They both knew what it was like to feel you’d let people down.
“We can grieve Hemant anytime, Reeva,” said Satya Auntie gently. “You don’t need to feel bad. And I think he’d like to see us getting to know each other. It’s funny, a little part of you really reminds me of him.”
“Really?” Reeva’s eyes widened. “Which part?”
“I get the sense that both of you are quite stubborn. But then again, I could be completely wrong. Biscuit?”
—
“Are you kidding?”demanded Sita. “There’s no way Dad didn’t tell her why. She’s got to be lying.”
Reeva hugged her knees to her chest, pulling her cashmere cardigan tight around her. “I don’t think she is. She doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who lies.”
Sita, sitting in a chair opposite the sofa her sisters were occupying, looked at Jaya. “What do you think? Hello? Oh my god, do you have to be on your phone all the time?”
“Uh, yes, it’s my job.” Jaya, sprawled out on the sofa, continued scrolling through her phone. “And I don’t think she’s lying either—she’s anun.She probably took an honesty vow or something.”
“Plus she told us that stuff about Dad saying it wasn’t Mum’s fault,” said Reeva.
“I bet Mum manipulated him into thinking that,” said Jaya, still scrolling. “So she could go and be famous. You know her parents cut her off when she married Dad. Leaving him was the only way to get back into the fold and use their support to get success. It makes total sense. If I’d moved from a mansion in Mumbai to an average house in England, I’d also be up for faking my husband’s death to go back.”
“Not everyone’s as shallow as you,” retorted Sita. “So was that it? She didn’t say anything else?”
Reeva shook her head. “No. I just don’t know what Dad could have done that was his fault that’s big enough to make Mum tell us he was dead.”
“An affair,” said both her sisters in unison.
Reeva stared at them. “What? No.”
“It makes total sense,” said Jaya, finally looking up from her phone. “He cheated on Mum, then she lost her shit, because, hello? She’s Mum, and there is no way her ego can handle anyone cheating on her. She made him fake his death and get out of our lives forever.”
Reeva felt her stomach twinge uncomfortably. Hearing Jaya talk about affairs was not an enjoyable experience. “Okay, but isn’t that a bit dramatic? Even for Mum. I think a divorce would suffice.”
“Too dramatic for our mother?” asked Sita. “I don’t think that exists.”
“Totally,” agreed Jaya, the thin strap of her black lace pajama top sliding off her shoulder. “She would definitely think death-faking is an appropriate punishment for cheating on her.”
“I don’t know,” said Reeva uncertainly. “I can’t imagine Dad having an affair.”
“You’re so naive,” said Sita. “You always want to think the best of people, but remember, you never even knew our dad. None of us did.”
“Yeah, who knows how many secrets this man had?” asked Jaya. “I mean, look at his house. It’s so bare. He could have been a spy. A spy who had an affair!”
Sita sighed in frustration. “We’re not in a Bond movie, Jaya.”
“I actually once worked on a divorce case where a man abandoned his wife and family,” said Reeva. “Turned out he was a spy who just took off one day! The kids never heard from him again. We still got him to pay pretty decent child support though.”
“See?” cried Jaya.
“Are you seriously telling me you think our dad was a spy?” demanded Sita.
