Just Another Mother

Chapter - 23

After breakfast, elder kids went with Sachin and Nakul to explore the surroundings, and Jo with Jeff were playing inside the house, while Meera, her mother, aunt, and grandma were chit-chatting, sitting near the open courtyard inside the house( Nadumuttam *).

Meera was getting uncomfortable due to the frequent stares she and her kids were getting from the maids, who were dusting nearby! She knew it will be like this in the upcoming days and ignored it thinking they will give up after some time! But sensing her discomfort, her granny scolded them to quickly wind up their job and leave the room.

"What happened Aunt?" Shekhar asked Saraswathi hearing her scolding the maids. He entered the room along with his wife Rukmini and their son Kiran.

Grandma(Saraswati): " Oh nothing! I was just asking them to clean properly... Come and take a seat." Meera's grandmother invited them inside.

Rukmini: "Ohh!! sweetheart, you came? We thought you wouldn't come this time too. We all missed you a lot!! you don't know how excited Kiran was to see you. He was also planning to come along with Sachin to pick you up from the airport. But some mishap happened with the time and poor boy missed the car!" She said with a fake smile, hugging Meera.

Meera controlled her laughter, thinking what might have happened. Sachin and Kiran never got along well and Sachin might have told him the wrong time!

Shekar cleared his throat glaring at his wife and continued.

Shekhar: "Hi dear, How are you?? How was your journey? We were all waiting for you!! Especially Kiran. He didn't even let me have my breakfast peacefully" He said laughing and subtly gesturing to Kiran with his eyes to talk with Meera.

Kiran: "Hi Meera. How are you? It has been a long time since we met!! We missed you." He said with a grin. Meera smiled at them and responded to all their queries politely, though she knew that their affection is fake!

Their conversation got interrupted by Sachin, the kids, and Nakul. Sachin and Kiran glared at each other. Meanwhile, Meera introduced her kids to them. The air was tensed due to Sachin and Kiran's presence and sensing the awkwardness, Nakul left the room. Sachin also had to leave the room soon after, as he got a call. But didn't leave before whispering to Jaiden not to leave Meera alone with Kiran! Though Jaidy didn't know the reason, he stood next to his mother protectively!

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Lady1: "Didn't you see their faces? They all have features similar to her. They are her kids! God knows what she has been doing there! People with money don't have any sense of shame! See how they have brought up their daughter as a slut! Shame on these people! They think we all are fools and will believe their 'adoption' stories! Hmm.."

Lady2: "Ya true! Even the elder one looks like her! Who knows maybe she was seeing their father even before going there! Oh, God!! Shameless people!!! If it was my daughter I would have either killed her or wouldn't let her outside the house, and here they are paroling her in front of others without any shame!!!"

Nakul was stopped by this conversation between the maids, on the way to his room. He wanted to confront them and put some sense in their mind! But he knew that whatever he does, they won't stop and in fact, it will again make them point fingers at Meera's character! So he left the place, controlling his anger and realizing why Sachin is always on the edges when it comes to Meera!

On the other side of the room, Meera also heard this conversation. But it didn't hurt her as much as it did to Nakul, as she was expecting much worse scenarios and she was ready to face it!

Ignoring their comments, she walked towards the kitchen, to prepare tea for everyone.

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Nadumuttam*: an open courtyard inside the house.

Again, either Varikkassery mana can be used as a reference or can imagine any type of open courtyard inside the house.

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Kiran: "Dad, Whatever you say, I'm not going to marry her. Didn't you see her kids? They are twice my size! I would look like a fool! I'm not ready for such embarrassment.

Kiran's Mom: "Yes. He is right! I wouldn't let this happen. It is not like she is some Miss Universe! My son is so fair why would he marry that blacky? There are so many beautiful girls in my family who are rich and beautiful and not to mention without any additional baggage! Why would my son leave all those and take the responsibility of someone else's kids and a woman with whom even an aged divorcee wouldn't agree to marry!"

Shekar: "Ya.. ya there are so many miss universes who are covered with wealth in your family." He said with sarcasm.

"Don't be stupid and use your brains!! what do you know about her wealth?? Do you even know how much amount  Narayanan Uncle has put just as Fixed Deposit in her name? Not even mention the properties and other assets. Do you know how much wealth her mother and father have? If uncle had agreed to marry her mother then to me, I would have got all those! Instead, I had to marry you and Raghu got everything!"

K. Mom: "Ya I know you still have feelings for her and that's why you want to make my son marry your sweetheart's daughter!" She shouted at him and he slapped her.

Shekhar: "Think whatever you want. I'm not going to waste my dreams because of your stupidity. He will marry her and I will make that happen. I will become the owner of all of her wealth!"

Kiran: " But dad!! she has got 5 kids. What will be left after sharing with all of them??"

Shekar: "That is where you are wrong. She is just their guardian. They don't have any rights on her property. And after the marriage tolerate them for few more years until the eldest one becomes an adult. Then transfer the guardianship to him! So they will be out of the picture. And about her interests, do you think she has a choice? Will they get a better alliance? She will be forced to accept it. Otherwise, we should make it happen before she goes back."

He looked at his wife and asked her to bring a glass of water. After ensuring that she is out of hearing distance, he whispered to his son.

Shekar: "And who told you to live with her lifelong? Accidents can always happen and human life is unpredictable! And some people get better life partners after re-marriages." They both shared a meaningful gaze with a smile exchanging their thoughts...