Dawn of Spring

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"Teenage pregnancies!"

It was the fourth time she'd heard the same judgmental remark, and finally, Ahana couldn't take it anymore. She whipped around, her eyes narrowing into a fierce glare. "What did you just say?" she demanded, her voice thick with anger.

She felt her ears heat up in anger that she did not care about her age or pleasantries.

The woman, probably in her forties, smirked and shrugged casually, as if Ahana's outrage was nothing to her. "You've got a kid when you barely qualify as an adult yourself. I blame the parenting."

"Excuse me," she said, her cheeks reddening in displeasure. "How dare you?"

The woman rolled her eyes, clearly unfazed by Ahana's words. "So, you make mistakes, and you're offended when others point them out to you?" she mocked, her tone dripping with condescension. "Typical."

Her brows furrowed and her eyes flashed as she snapped,"Mind your own business!"

"She called you Momma three times," remarked the woman, "Think you can fool everyone."

"Sorry," Vivaan interjected, stepping behind Ahana's stiffened figure and offering the woman a lovely smile, "but she is right. This is none of your concern."

The woman's eyes shifted to Vivaan, and for the first time, she looked a little less certain. She sized him up, her posture softening ever so slightly, as if he were some kind of authority she could not challenge. The anger that had been so visible on her face just moments before turned into something that almost looked like admiration. "At least he is a decent man," she said with a sly smile, eyeing him from head to toe, "capable of parenting your little child. You're just lucky."

Vivaan's expression remained calm, though his eyes flickered with something darker. He was done with this conversation, but Ahana still stood rigid, her jaw clenched.

Before walking away, the woman shot a meaningful stare at her teenage daughter and warned her. "You see? This is what happens when you make bad choices. Don't you dare follow her example."

Ahana moved forward to block her route, but Vivaan gently tugged her back. "One word - ignore," he murmured in her ear, his voice calm but firm. 

He didn't let go of her arm, guiding her a few steps back as the woman turned to leave.

They were in the mall. It was Gia's first visit to a shopping complex. Vivaan wanted to get some things when his mother politely commanded him to bring some groceries, and Ahana was hoping to buy a gift for Riya's birthday that was rolling this weekend. Therefore, the duo decided to take Gia along with them and give her a treat.

The journey did not go as planned. Ahana knew she had a baby face, her parents made fun of it, but it was light humour. At twenty-two, she still looked like an eighteen-year-old student. Worst of all, she always had to show her ID whenever she and Riya decided to visit the city club.

As natural as it is for the rain to fall after the water evaporates in vapours to form clouds, people assume they are correct when they see a child swinging on the arms and by the waist of a female to be hers.

On top of it, the same child had been chanting 'Momma' every time she saw something new, flashy, and exciting. Since they were in the mall, the action happened repeatedly.

People around her had been throwing nasty stares for being a teenage Mum while she carried a three-year-old Gia. At first, she ignored it, but gradually when she felt she was being bullied, she decided she had enough.

Ahana's face was flushed with rage, her fists clenched tightly as she marched ahead. "How dare she? How dare she?" she repeated, practically seething with fury. "She insulted my parents! Their parenting and-"