Illicit Desire (Completed)

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 Vikrant came home early from the office today to spend some time with Anu and Mayank. His children were his life. He had not seen them since morning, so he was restless all day. The children were happy to see him home early.

After dinner, he took the children and Abha to Marine Drive for a walk.

He loved the sea, so he did not leave any opportunity to go near the sea, and Marine Drive holds a special place in his heart. Lovers, families—everybody comes here to see the sea and spend some time together with their loved ones. There's more rush at night than in the evening. Some people even do jogging at night. Mumbai doesn't sleep at night. Here, everyone is running in the race to achieve something, and they don't realize more than half of their lives are spent rushing for one thing or another.

Abha was sometimes looking at the waves rising in the sea and sometimes at Vikrant's face. It had been so many years living with Vikrant's family that she felt as if she, the children, and Vikrant were one family. Since childhood, she has been brought up in an orphanage. She was good friends with everyone, but Amit was her best friend.

Amit had proposed marriage to her as soon as he got the job, which she gladly accepted. The entire orphanage had attended her wedding. They all showered them with blessings and gifts. Abha and Amit were very happy. After spending most of their lives in an orphanage, they now had a small house of their own to live in. Though the house was rented and had only one room, for them it was not less than a palace.

After the first year of marriage, she became pregnant. Both were delighted with the pregnancy news, but one road accident ruined their lives. While coming from the office, Amit's motorcycle was hit by a car, and he died on the road. Abha could not bear this news, and she lost her child. She had become an orphan again; she had no one except the orphanage people. On the recommendation of the orphanage warden, she got the job of nanny at Vikrant's house.

She got both love and respect from Vikrant's family. Anu and Mayank's love had worked as a balm on her wounds. She loved them like her own children.

Seeing Abha lost in thoughts, Vikrant asked, "What are you thinking, Abha?"

"Nothing special, just thinking about my past. I don't know what would have happened to me without your family support. Thank you so much, Mr. Vikrant, for treating me like family."

"Instead of you, I should have said thank you to you; I don't know what would have happened to my children if you were not there. After Neera's death, you took care of them like a mother. I, the kids, and you are all one family. I will always be grateful to you."

At this, Abba smiled slightly.

"Abha, I feel lonely these days, as if I were all alone in the world, with no one to talk to, in spite of being surrounded by so many people all the time. Sometimes I feel the need to have someone special in my life to spend time with and share my problems and joys with.

I wanted to talk to you about this for a long time, but I was a little hesitant. Abha, I have made up my mind to get married again."

For a moment, Abha thought Vikrant was talking about their marriage. But the next moment, Abha's face turned pale when she heard that he wanted to marry Mrs. Mallika Sharma's daughter, Jiya.

"What happened? Why are you staring at me like that?

Oh Abha! At least try to understand me. Yes, I know Jiya is only a few years older than Anu, but age does not matter in love."

"Did she say yes to the marriage too?"

Vikrant lied and said, "Yes."

"I have only told you about this. I want you to convince my children about my second marriage. But there is no need to tell her about Jiya at this moment. I will talk to Anu myself about Jiya. At the moment, you just put the thought of my second marriage in their mind in such a way that they do not find it wrong and easily accept my decision to get married again."

Abha's emotions were stuck in her chest. Vikrant was so lost in Jiya's thoughts that he could not see the tears hidden in her eyes. Well, it wasn't his fault. It was all her fault. He never gave any indication that he liked her. She misunderstood their friendship.

She hid her emotions behind her fake smile.

"You have taken the right decision, Mr. Vikrant. A life without a spouse is not a life at all. I will try my best to convince the children about your second marriage, but you know Anu. It will take some time, but she will understand."

"Thank you, Abha, for understanding me and taking care of my children. You're a great woman. May God give you everything that you want in your life."

Abba's heart whispered, "God is my enemy. He took everything I wanted from my life. I wanted you, Vikrant, and today he has killed  my hopes again."

"Let's go home, Abba. It's quite late."

"Yeah, I'm calling the kids now.'

While Vikrant, Abha, and the children had left for home, Mallika Sharma was thinking of how to talk to her daughter Jiya about Vikrant.

On seeing her mother lost in thought, she shook her vigorously. "What have you been thinking about for so long?"

When she didn't get an answer, she smiled sarcastically.

"What happened? Did Vikrant refuse to marry you? Oh mom! Why are you thinking so much about him? There is no dearth of rich old men. It's fine if he doesn't want to marry you; you can find someone else and make him my daddy. I am okay to call anyone my daddy. It doesn't matter who you decide to marry."

"Stop talking rubbish. Jiya. Have some control over your mouth while speaking. I'm your mother, not your friend. How do you know Vikrant is not interested in me?"

"I just made a guess, Mom, and it turned out to be true."

"He's not interested in me, but he's interested in my daughter."

Jiya was so shocked to hear this; she remained quiet for a few seconds. Then she asked, "What does it mean, mom?"

"It means he wants to marry you."

"Mom, how did you hear that? Why didn't you straight away refuse his proposal? He's my father's age. He should be ashamed to think of marrying a girl of his daughter's age."

I also got angry when I heard this, but then I thought about your future. You know our financial situation; how hard is it for me to maintain such a lavish lifestyle? Only I know how I am managing everything with so little money. I am fully drowned in debt. If the loan is not repaid on time, the house will be auctioned. Where will we go, then? We will lose our reputation and status in society. Have you ever thought about it?

There is only Vikrant who can save us from all these troubles."

"Mom, I won't marry a man twice my age. Tell him I am not interested in marrying him."

"Do not think with your heart; use your mind.

There is no need to rush to answer. You know how to calculate, so sit down and calculate his wealth. I'm just saying to get married, not to stay in the marriage. If everything seems right, then stay married; otherwise, get a divorce, take huge alimony, and start your new life."

She looked at her mother with anger.

"I am definitely Mallika Sharma's daughter, but I am not like her. Your soul might be dead, but mine is still alive."

♥️ Soniya Jadhav

Note: Your comments and votes encourage me to write. So don't forget to follow, vote, and comment.

Thank you for reading.