Forget-Me-Not: Taste of Freedom

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

From the moment she stepped out of the elevator, Geet knew something was wrong. She could see the door of her flat, ajar, moving slightly in the breeze. There was no one in the doorway, and no sounds came from inside. For an ominous moment, she was afraid that someone had broken in. She froze on the landing, all kinds of horrible thoughts pouring into her mind. Were they alright? She'd left the kids with the baby-sitter-her neighbour on the same floor, who had nothing to do that Saturday afternoon. She'd promised to look after them and keep her posted. But for over an hour, Geet hadn't heard from her, and she was beginning to doubt if she was still inside. She broke from her daze and clutched her purse tight, moving towards the open door of her flat. Before she could go in, though, she heard a loud laugh.

It was Rohan. He ran out, bending down to pick up a coin, and broke into a grin when he saw her. "Mummy!"

"Rohan!" Geet pulled him to her side, looking him over for possible injuries. "What are you doing outside?"

"Naina keeps throwing things out of the door," Rohan explained. "It's her new game."

Her madly pounding heart calmed a little. Partly relieved to see that nothing was amiss, Geet followed him into the house. "Isn't Mona aunty with you?" she asked him, as she firmly shut the door-both of them. Now no one was going to throw any coins out again. When she turned, though, it wasn't Rohan she saw. Her view was blocked by six feet of man. A very hard, angry-looking man. Geet instinctively stepped back, almost pressing into the door.

"God," she whispered, "I thought... never mind. What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" Gautam demanded. The nerve in his temple was ticking. "When I came by, I saw the kids with some strange woman, sitting in a corner in their own house, while she talked on the phone, and the kitchen in a mess. What were you doing? Why did you leave the kids alone?"

Geet's expression hardened. She pressed her lips together, regarding him with a certain aloofness. After watching Ananya's video, they'd all huddled about on the sofa for a while, giving in to their weaker, feminine sides. But about an hour after she'd been there, she'd told her friends that she needed to be home. The kids were alone, and her house was in a piteous state, what after her new business venture. Dia had offered to drop her home, but Geet had declined. She'd seen the hesitation in her friend's eyes. Dia had wanted to stay back, to spend some time with Vidhi and Abhay, and she was right, too. They needed each other. However, Geet could handle herself, so she had left. Now here she was, in her flat, answering to her husband about her whereabouts. What a huge déjà vu.

"I did not leave them alone. Mona was watching after them," Geet said through clenched teeth.

"The hell she was. And all that mess... god. If you can't take care of my kids, I'm not going to let them live here. They'll get much better attention at home, with mother looking after them."

She froze. Her shoulders went stiff, and she glared at him. "Don't you dare think about it. They're not going anywhere... they'll live here, with me."

"Considering you're doing such a great job of looking after them?"

Rohan was watching them, she realized. He was seeing his parents fight. Suddenly, Geet didn't have the energy to do this anymore. She glared one last time at her husband, and then walked past him to where Rohan was standing, still staring at her.

"Mummy, why is daddy angry with you?"

"He's not, he's just worried. Come on, let's get you inside. Did you eat lunch?"