The man she loves

Turbulent Tides in Family Bond

I don't know how this chapter turned out. The story is in the building phase, so maybe it's not that interesting, but yep, here it is

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away"

Life has a knack for throwing challenges right when your happiness is at its peak.  That is what happened this morning when Agastya received a notice from the court about the reopening of his son's custody case. What really shocked him was the name of the person who applied for Ritosh's custody. It wasn't his father-in-law, who lost so badly last time; it was the woman who left him and his child without any words, reasons, fight, or anything. It was the woman who was up and disappeared without saying a single word or giving him a single reason.

Seated on a stool in his front yard, he tore the seal of the envelope and pulled out the notice to read. It wasn't anything special—just a court order for him to be present at court on the 2nd of next month. However, it was enough to dent his happy mood. He read the notice repeatedly, searching for anything that might indicate it wasn't meant for him. Agastya wasn't worried about the court case and custody battles; his primary concern was his son, his innocent four-year-old who would be entangled in this mess which is something Agastya doesn't want to happen.

"Pwa Pwa," he was pulled out of his thoughts by the sweet voice calling out to him. An instant smile adorned his face when he saw his four-year-old dressed in his favorite dinosaur pajamas, standing a few steps away from him. He extended his hand for his child to hold, and the little one was delighted to do so.

Agastya made his son sit on his lap and focused his attention on the boy. "Yes, Ritosh," his voice was gentle, and his eyes remained kind as usual, not betraying any indication of the dreadful news he had received a while ago.

"Cwan we pway with my new dino Pwa Pwa" Ritosh asked, his eyes brimming with the innocence "My new dino is so wute pwa Pwa, My dino has pwink dwots in his tummy and bummy awrea" continued Ritosh pointing at his tummy then his bum, Agastya bite his tongue to control his bubbling laugh and nodded his head.

"Yay Yay, come pwa Pwa" Ritosh jumped down from his father's lap, He held his father's pinky finger and looked up at him with his biggest smile, Agastya's heart melted at the sight of his beautiful smile.

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The night had passed, and so had the storm outside. Arnika woke up, and unconsciously, her hand reached out to hold her daughter, but all they met with was air. Her eyes jerked open, and she looked around for Naina, but there wasn't any trace of her daughter. It didn't take her long to realize that her time with her beautiful child had ended. Her heart ached in the pain of separation, and she gulped down the mountain of emotions down her throat, not wanting to break down in tears and cry like a weak woman.

She heard the rustling outside and sat up in bed. Her mind drifted back to a small memory of her life beyond these four walls, eliciting a faint smile on her lips. However, the smile quickly faded as thoughts of the man from her past surfaced. Her eyes filled with sadness, and she berated herself for being such a fool. She couldn't fathom how she had blindly trusted him. Yet, as others had remarked, it was simply her desperate yearning for love that had led her down that path of believing on him blindly.

The door of her room creaked open, making her look up at the intruder, who turned out to be none other than her own mother. However, what really soured her mood was the expensive-looking dress in her mother's hand. Arnika already knew what was coming her way, and she couldn't wait to be done with the torturous evening that lay ahead.