The love of my life

35. Need

"Yes.. Yeah... Everything's okay." Daman said with a smile and Ekansh instantly knew how fake it was.

He had heard the familiar dialect when she had referred to Daman as the 'Malika-e-maskan' meaning the queen of her house.

He was there to pick up his sister, who was there for a convention of genetics and molecular science.

"Who is this man?" The woman beside her gave him a stinky look and he knew how to confirm if he was right about her.

"I'm Dr. Ekansh Sandhu... Kunwar or even recently apointed Yuvraj, if you want to call me that." He says taking a slight risk to his self respect if she was not from where he thought she was.

"Ku... Kun..." She dipped into a slight curtsy at the name, and he knew he had hit the spot.

"Daman is a good colleague of mine and you must be..." He says letting her continue, not even nodding at her curtsy.

"Her mother-in-law." She says proudly, as he nods.

"Let me help you out with the luggage..." He says taking the bag, as Daman didn't even flinch waiting for her mother-in-law to disagree.

He kept one suitcase in the trunk reaching for the duffle bag as Daman spoke.

"You're not at work?"

"Ravleen's flight will be landing any moment." He says, as she nods.

Harmeet just stood there, looking starstuck as he kept the bags and greeted them farewell.

+++++++++++++++++

The drive was silent as she parked infront of Tejas' school and walked out. She got him from the teacher as he looked ready to go to bed.

"Your daadi mumma is here. You love your dad, right?" She says knowing this was blackmail and bad parenting.

Tejas looks up at her with a frown, knowing he won't like what she'll say next.

"Yes..." He says, handing her the school bag and taking a sip from his water bottle.

"So, You'll have to love her. She's a nice person. Don't be rude to her. For your father... You know Sangram was..." She was saying as he just ran away from her.

She looked up at the afternoon sky, praying to God. The next 10 days, she did not want any drama.

Tejas was more or less social with his grandmother for the evening as she treaded on egg shells, trying her best to avoid any arguments. After the slight outburst at the airport, she had to be extra careful.

She was thankful for not taking a leave for the next day. She didn't want to leave Tejas alone with her, but she knew she had to get out of the house, if she wanted to stay sane.

But the next morning, Tejas cried because he wanted to go to school for his best friend's birthday while Harmeet wanted to spend time with him.

Daman hated when Tejas cried, and her heart was thumping loudly in her chest. She was in the kitchen packing her lunch as Harmeet argued with Tejas.

"Teacher's are bad in school. They must beat you and scold you. We will watch TV and..." She was saying as Tejas cried even louder. She shut the tiffin box tightly and walked in his bedroom.

"Mumma, Tejas' teacher called. He has a small test for coloring. It's a competition. The certificate will help him into a good school. You're so wise and up to date, you know how hard it is to get a child into a good school." She said, picking up Tejas and the clothes he had taken out for his outfit of the day.

"You picked up a green patka with red clothes ? What are you a red pepper?" She says jokingly to keep his mood jolly, as she could hear her mother-in-law in the kitchen.

She walked out of the house, dropped Tejas at school and was confused at first, but then told them to send him to daycare on the van, instead of taking him home.

She reached her office, and sank into her seat looking up. She calmed herself down, settling her over-thinking brain and her rapidly beating heart.

"Dam.." Ekansh said opening the door, with a file in his hand.

"Daman, are you okay? Why are you red? Are you having a panic attack?" He says running towards her. She shook her head.

"I... I'm fine." She said as he took both her hands in his. She slipped her hands away, as he poured a glass of water and offered. She took a sip, noticing he had sat on the ground on his knees, before her chair.

He got up, and kept the file on the table.

"Harmeet?" He says as she frowns.
"The dialect she used, belongs to my area. I did some digging. Your husband's grandfather was an advisor to my grandfather. That's where the huge ancestral property came from." He says as if solving a puzzle. She thought for a moment trying to understand.

"Is it still about the Mercedes?" She says as he shrugged. "I told you my husband saved for it. Nothing I have, is from my in-laws. I do want them to give Tejas' rightful share to him but I don't have anything right now."

"Okay. But the way she behaved was odd...That's the reason, I did some digging. I called my advisors and got the family history. Sangram's father was in military, and later the family moved with his posting. Then, after he died they settled out here." he says as Daman wanted to tell him to mind his own business. "She's in India to have you and Tejas removed from the power of attorney and every..."

"Get out." Daman said regretting why she hadn't said this when he walked in, on his first day here. All her fears stood infront and she didn't have any idea how to face them.

"Daman, I can..."

"Dr. Sandhu, with all due respect... Get the f*ck out of my cabin." She said through clenched teeth as he nodded, getting up and left. He turned to look at her once, as she avoided his gaze before shutting the door to her cabin.

+++++++++++++++++++++

Daman picked up Tejas from school during her lunch break and drove to the apartment with her thoughts all over the place.

"Mom?" He asked, as she looked at him from his child seat on the back through the rear view mirror.

"Rorit mom said birthday party." He said as she nodded.

"Yes, Rohit's mom talked to me. The party is at 6. I'll come home, get you ready and then drop you there. They also have a tiny pool party, so get your swimming trunks out, your cap and what you want to wear, before I'm there." she says, as he looks like he wanted to say something that he couldn't.

"Tejas, what is it?" She says, a little annoyed and then instantly regrets her tone.

"Mom, can you take me with you?" He asks, as she shook her head.

"I'm a teacher, Tejas. It's unprofessional. Your daycare is open today you could have gone there, but I picked you up because Grandma wants you home."

"Granma said, I leave you with her." He said in a quiet tone as her foot was kept on the break too soon. The car behind her's almost bumped in, pressing the horn aloud. She apologized to the driver and turned the indicator on, parking to the side.

"What did she say?" Daman said looking at her son with a pointed look.

"You have work all day. I can't play or enjoy. She will take me, and she is home all day. I can play with Cousins." he said narrating the words as anger flared up in Daman.

"She said, not to tell you." He added, the fuel to the fire.