PROMISE TO BE YOURS

CHAPTER 13

Rudhi and Ragavi along with Mrs. Silva now moved back in to the Singhania Mansion. Mrs Silva offered to resign and move on. Rudhi staunchly refused to even hear about it. She insisted that Ragavi and everybody in the Singhania mansion needed her in their lives. JRS was only interested in what his two girls wanted but Raghav had spent time sitting with her and listened to all what she had to tell him about the 4 plus years she spent with his Rudhi. Once he knew what all had taken place and how Mrs Silva had helped a lonely and pregnant Rudhi he insisted she should now live with them as a member of the family.

Mrs Silva was a mother of 2 boys and a girl. She was a retired teacher living on her pension. Her supposedly late husband and she belonged to two different religions and when they got married both their families refused to accept them. The young couple decided to make it on their own. With proper planning and saving they were self-sufficient. This is when they decided to start a family. Within the next few years they were blessed with 2 boys and a girl child. Life was running at a smooth phase with love and laughter filled in their tiny home. When the youngest child was 3 years old Mr. Silva went to work one fine morning and never returned back. She knew he will never abandon her but she also knew something very nasty would have happened for him to not return back. She did everything humanly possible to check his where abouts but failed. Mrs. Silva ran in circles to take care of her 3 young children, go to work and look for a still missing Mr. Silva. This is when she decided to contact his parents and hoped they will help her raise his children. The parent were furious with her for separating their only son from them and now standing there informing he is missing. After a bit of drama they agreed with her and agreed to help her bring up her children. This meant them living in the same house as Mrs Silva and the children and she was happy that the kids will now have their own grandparents caring for them instead of a maid.

Things worked out very well for Mrs. Silva. She now had so much time in her hands to both give her 100% to her job and continue to look for her still missing husband. Two years into this arrangement she was given a job transfer to a different city which took her away from the children. When she approached the Ministry she was informed to take up the job for the time being but they will look into her request for a change back to the same school she was teaching now so she could be with her children. Mrs. Silva hated to leave her children who were already quite distant but being the sole provider for them she decided to take the offer on a temporary basis. She started work in the new school but constantly followed up with the ministry about her re-transfer. When she persistently pursued the matter with the Ministry she found out that it was a voluntary transfer personally requested by her and now she had to complete her term of 5 years or resign. This is when the alarm bells rang as she had never requested for a transfer away from her kids. Further digging into the matter disclosed that her in-laws were quite well-to-do and influential people. They had used their contacts to get this transfer and it could not be reversed.

When she went to confront her in-laws her children along with her late husband's parents were not where she left them. Instead there was a letter waiting for her with a cheque for considerably large sum of money. All it said was the amount quoted in the check was the sum she spent on her children from the day their grandparents came into her life. It was now hers to do with what she wanted. The kids did not need her or her money and from henceforth will be their responsibility. At the bottom of the letter there was one statement that broke Mrs. Silva. "You selfishly took our only son away from us now it is your turn to know how painful that experience is. She should be happy that the grandparents could give her children a better life than her. She knew it was useless going to them for change of mind so she took them to court.

Mrs Silva never stood a chance but what was even more painful was the children told the judge they wanted to stay with their grandparents as their mother was never around. While the court disbursed and Mrs Silva stood watching her 3 children walked away from her life. The judge had a more remorseful attitude towards her judgment for this particular case but she had no choice as the children wanted to go with the richer grandparents. She decided to help Mrs. Silva so first found her a place to live and work. She then promised Mrs. Silva that she will help her to look for her husband. A heartbroken Mrs. Silva resigned her teaching job and went to work in the orphanage. This helped her to work and be with children at the same time. As promised the judge helped her to look for her missing husband as well. Over the years she tried several times to get in touch with her children but each visit only stressed the fact that her children were not hers anymore. Mrs. Silva then decided to make sure that none of the children in the orphanage ever felt they did not have a mother. She poured her heart and soul into their care and upbringing and had a houseful of happy children.  

A/N: When blood is not so thicker than water it is better to invest those emotions else where.