TO THE STARS THAT LISTEN

CHAPTER 49: Hidden Doorways and Heartfelt Confessions

Ahaan

Once, Dad's old friend came home to meet Dad, but he didn't know that Dad was out of the city for work, so Mumma requested that he stay for lunch. I had just returned from school with Reet and Karan, while Bhai had stayed back for extra classes. That day, Mumma was working from home while everyone else was out. We all sat at the dining table to have lunch. While everyone ate quietly, that man kept speaking. He spoke too much and commented on Mumma, calling her a golddigger who used Dad for money and fame. He thought it was funny to comment on my mother. Me though? Not so much.

When we all had our meal and got up to rinse our mouths and wash our hands, I quietly went to my room, brought my divider, and placed it on the couch where the said man was going to sit.

I said just one line: "Oh dear, I forgot to mention, the couch has a small issue.". Then I returned to my room until Mumma came in and started scolding me. She said that it was not a big deal. What if someone said something to us? It didn't mean that we were like that. She continued that she didn't care what people said about her when I hugged her. It was the first time I hugged her.

I thought that night, when Dad would come, he wouldn't let me off the hook easily. He too would scold me, maybe even slap me. And I was ready for it too. But it never happened because that day, when Dad came home, he hugged me and said that even though my way was wrong, I became a real man by protecting my mother. It's every man's priority to defend the women around them. And that is exactly what I did today.

But what I didn't expect today was for my mask to slip like that. I didn't want to get up to take that call, but it was important. Nevertheless, it didn't take place because of some connectivity issue, so I was back as soon as I left, but when I heard the hate-filled voices of her parents, I stopped in my tracks. They just kept going on about how they despised Ira.

I should have known this. I was a witness to a bad parent; I should have latched on to how Ira would turn to stone when she heard about her parents. Or what her mother whispered in her ear at our wedding. Why didn't I? Was I so blinded by our deal that I didn't think that this could be a possibility?

"Let me drive." Her hand on mine pulled me out of my thoughts.

"No."

"Please?" She gave me those doe eyes that I can't say no to.

I passed her the keys and stepped back, taking the passenger seat. She started the engine, and we drove out of that mansion, but instead of taking right for home, she turned left.

"Where are we going?" I asked after she kept taking a different direction from home.

"Last night you said you wanted to know me, and I said yes; I'm keeping that promise." She gave me a small glance before turning her attention back to the road ahead.

After what happened at Mehta Mansion, the tension in the car was so thick, I could cut it with a knife. We had to discuss the elephant in the room, but before I could bring up that topic, she parked the car in what looked like a historic neighborhood. We hadn't driven for even 5 minutes before stopping. She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to look at me. "You wanted to know me; this is where my heart lives." She stepped out of the car and started walking without sparing me another glance.

I followed her down the pavement into a smaller street. It couldn't have been more than 5 meters wide. This side of the town was comparatively less crowded than the rest of Mumbai. It seemed like the people here were enjoying their lives rather than surviving them. We passed hardly 5 or 6 houses before she stopped in front of a traditional Marathi house. She took out a key from her bag and unlocked the rusty lock.