REBORN: As a Mom & a Wife ✓

• 41

"Gandivan, you serve them the cake; I will join you guys after receiving this call" Meenakshi turned and said. Gandivan said Ok, took the four plates in a tray and went outside.
 
Taking a deep breath, she looked at the continuously ringing call. She swiped the green button and kept near her ear as she turned on the recording on her phone.
 
"Hello? Kani?"
 
Meenakshi's breath hitched upon hearing his voice, and her eyes welled up, remembering his sweet voice. She would have been happy whenever her father called her by that name. But not now...
 
"I'm sorry, Kani, for leaving you and Radha alone. I know what I did was wrong, but if I hadn't left that time, our company would have gone bankrupt. Appa is doing this to all of you." Meenakshi heard a saddened voice; if it were in the past, she would have believed him, but he broke her trust in him.
 
"Are you listening, Kaniamma?" Natarajan asked from the other side of the phone when he didn't hear any response.
 
"Yeah" Meenakshi said in a low voice enough for Natarajan to hear it.
 
"You know Appa always loves you. I left you guys to help the company, and I came home yesterday after solving everything. But Kani.." Meenakshi frowned at hearing Natarajan sob.
 
"Even though I think everything is solved and our company is safe, again another problem has been raised, Kani. Your brother came back; now he wants 'his' company back!" Natarajan said it with a little anger in the end, which Meenakshi didn't miss.
 
"Where was he when the company was about to go bankrupt? When it's finally stable, he wants 'his' company back? I didn't attend my wife's final rites and worked hard for the company to bring it back, and he just came from nowhere and wants to be CEO?

Kani, even though that company was organised by your Periyappa, this father of yours bought it this far. And I want that CEO position passed on to you and my grandchildren. You remember that day, right? What happened when he sat on the CEO chair for a day?" Natarajan said, making Meenakshi let go of tears silently. If she had said those things earlier, nothing would have happened now.
 
"So, Kaniamma, the day after tomorrow, you have to come to the company and support Appa. Ok?" Natarajan talked nicely, as he was saying to his two-year-old daughter.
 
"...Ok" Meenakshi wipped her tears and said in a normal voice.
 
"Sari Kani, Appa have some work to do. Take care" Natarajan said, ending the call.
 
Meenakshi stared at the phone as hot tears ran down her cheeks. She crouched on the ground and started crying badly. She knew her father's true colours, yet her heart wasn't ready to accept them.

"I decided I would take revenge on them for what they did to my Amma, but why can't my heart accept it? I loved and trusted you more than Amma in my previous life. I thought whatever you did was for my good because you loved me. But I also got fooled along with her, right?" Meenakshi sat on the floor and hugged her knees, and she supported her body against the wall.
 
"And you tell me to remember that day? The day where you blamed Anna wrongly and made him leave the home that was his by birth? How can you do that? I saw it was you who changed the files at the last minute and made fun of Anna in front of board members! And when he came home, it was you who mentally abused him, forcing him to leave the house." Meenakshi buried her face as she tightly hugged her knees. Only if she had told the truth that day, Markandeyan wouldn't have left his home.
 
"I remember how I and Anna used to run around our home as our mother chased us behind to catch us. And you and Periyappa were smiling and also joined us in teasing our mothers. At the end, all four members got scoldings for them. Those days were always good." Meenakshi had a faint smile appear on her tear-filled face.
 
"But you changed everything, Appa!" A sense of anger rose inside Meenakshi's heart, yet her tears were running down her cheeks.
 
"Meenamma?" Markandeyan's eyes widened when he saw his sister sitting in the corner and crying. He ran towards her knelt in front of her, wiping away the tears.
 
"Anna?" Meenakshi looked at her brother, and her tears started to flow. Remembering that day, if she had told the truth to everyone, would he have been with her?
 
"Meenamma, why are you crying? What happened?" Markandeyan kept rubbing her back to calm her down. His heart is hurting to see his sister like that.
 
"Anna... *hic* Anna, it was all my fault. I'm sorry, Anna. Only if I told the truth *hic* You wouldn't have let Appa take the company. *hic* I know it was Appa, yet I shut my mouth. I'm sorry, Anna. *hic!* *hic!*" Meenakshi started crying badly, with hiccups.
 
"Stop Meenakshi!" 
 
Markandeyan raised his voice to stop his sister from blabbering nonsense. He knew what she was trying to say, but that was past, and Meenakshi was still a kid.
 
"Meenamma, what happened to you?" Markandeyan hugged her to stop her from shaking. His heart sinks when he sees Meenakshi like this.
 
"Annaa.." Meenakshi hugged her brother and cried more. "Why anna? Why did Appa become like this?" She asked him, hugging him more tightly. She doesn't know; she thinks that her father is still the same, even though she knows he isn't, but her heart isn't ready to accept it.
 
"Calm down, Meenamma." Markandeyan patted her back to stop the crying. He gave her a kiss on top of her head and looked at Gandivan standing near the door. He asked him to bring water for Meenakshi.
 
"Meenamma listen.." Markandeyan said still Meenakshi was in his arms, who by then was sobbing silently.
 
"If you want, we can stop here; I am not interested in that company. We can stop everything..." Markandeyan calmly said to her, to which Meenakshi broke the hug and looked at him as if she were seeing some fool.
 
"Are you gone insane, Anna?" Meenakshi wiped her tears with her saree pallu and scolded her brother.
 
"Well, I didn't, but I know you will make me into one." Markandeyan said as he sat comfortably in front of her. He smiled when Meenakshi gave him a smack on the shoulder.
 
"I don't like jokes!" Meenakshi said, sniffing her nose as she took the water glass from Gandivan.
 
"I am serious, Meenamma. If you don't want to continue this, I can move back and leave the company to him -- ouch! ouch! That's paining!" Markandeyan was ready to stop this if it hurt his sister. He started this for her; if she wants to end it, he can, but he suddenly left the immense pain in his arm.