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I look up from my mobile and glance at Ranveer, wondering what is annoying him, when I notice his eyes are fixed ahead. I move my eyes in his direction, and to my chagrin, see Soha standing there with a man.
“Is that Mommy?” Mili whispers from the back seat.
I feel sick in my stomach when I see her being all mushy with the man. He then kisses her lips and leaves. Once he does, she turns around. As if on cue, her eyes lock with mine and narrow to slits as she gazes through the windshield.
“You guys stay in the car while I go and have a word with Soha,” Ranveer says in a frustrated tone, sending a chill down my spine as he steps out of the car.
I chew the inside of my cheek, not sure how I feel about a person like Soha being a part of Mili’s life, whom I have started considering as my own. My eyes are glued to them and see them in a deep conversation. Though I can’t hear them, I can say that the conversation is not a pleasant one. There is a sudden uneasiness in his frame.
I startle when I feel tiny fingers wrap around my shoulders from the back seat, and I turn to look at Mili.
“Do I have to go with Mommy?” she asks, her voice miserable.
My heart hurts, not liking the way her mouth is quivering. I shake my head. “No, Baby.” Even though my throat is tight with emotions, I still manage to tell her gently.
“Okay,” she mumbles, not sounding convinced while her gaze flits back to the front.
I pull in a deep breath and release it slowly, wondering what I can say to make her feel better, but before I can find the right words, Ranveer comes back and sits inside the car. His eyes go from Mili to me. I give him a tight smile. The storm of emotions clouding his eyes shakes me to the core. Without uttering a word, he drops his eyes to Mili.
“Mom said you can stay with us for a couple of days,” he mumbles.
“I don’t have to go to Mom?” she asks worriedly.
“No, you don’t have to.” She blows out a deep breath and slumps back in her seat. “You fine?” he asks me, squeezing my thighs.
“Isn’t that supposed to be my question?” I say instead, as he kickstarts the engine. “It must have been hard to deal with her.”
He shrugs, keeping his eyes on the road. “Nothing new. That’s how it has always been with her,” he says, his eyes now devoid of any emotions.
“Mili has us,” I say, leaving out that we will have to adopt Mili for that to happen.
“That’s true,” he concedes, letting out a long breath and giving a small smile though it doesn’t reach his eyes.
I am feeling a little off-balance here. I wish I knew how to fix this mess, not for myself or Ranveer, but for Mili. I nibble at my lower lip, wondering if Soha would even listen to me if I tried talking sense into her and telling her that what she is doing is wrong. As a mother, she is hurting her daughter. But I doubt my advice will have any effect on her. Actually, I’m sure she would be offended if I even tried to convey my opinion. Also, I’m not even sure if it’s my place to make her understand things. With a sigh, I look out of the window, feeling my heart sink, not liking the helplessness that is rearing up its ugly head in my mind.
Chapter 31
Ranveer
“Is she in bed?” I ask Alisha, looking up from my laptop as she walks towards me.
After we got home, Alisha and Mili slipped into the room as they wanted to set up the new doll house which Mili picked up. Meanwhile, I carried my laptop into the living to get some work done. I am still too exasperated by my encounter with Soha. It’s not about seeing her with another man that bothers me, but it’s about how she does half the crap and doesn’t once think what effect it will have on Mili. God, how can someone be so selfish and wrapped up in oneself? She doesn’t even love her own daughter enough. Now, Alisha’s previous words have got me thinking, and the urge to adopt Mili lingers in my mind.
“Yup, the moment she climbed into bed, she was out like a light in five minutes flat. She didn’t even demand me to read out her favourite bedtime story. I guess the day must have been exhausting for her.” She plops down on the sofa beside me and drops her head back on the headrest. Heaving a deep sigh, she utters, “God, I am beat myself.”
I wrap my arms around her shoulders and pull her into me, her cheek against my heart. “I am so glad you are back home and that my daughter has you.”
She lifts her head, looking at me, she says quietly, “Thank you for speaking with Soha about Mili staying here. I am so happy to have her with us at our home.”
My lips twitch. “That was no hardship. Soha had no intention of having Mili with her,” I say as I once again pull her into my embrace. With my other hand, I stroke her hair and press her close to me, so that her cheeks are back on my chest. “All that matters to her is just herself.”
“Does it bother you seeing her with another man?” she asks, drawing circles on my chest, her voice sounding weary.
“Hell no. I don’t care what she does or with whom she philanders. Never have. All I worry about is Mili.” I drop my head down and press a kiss on her forehead. “You are the only woman who brings those emotions out in me. You are my first and only love. I have never loved anyone the way I love you. Trust me, you have surpassed all expectations, fantasies, and dreams combined.”
Alisha lifts her head and smiles at me. “I have never felt this way either. You do make me feel like the most special woman on earth. You are everything I could want in a man. And I would marry you all over again, just so you know.”
“And I am a lucky bastard who gets to live my life with you,” I say with a smile of my own. But the next instant, when I find her smile turning into a frown, I can’t help but ask, “What’s wrong?”
