Till Death Do Us Part

Part 4

"She is my wife, Mumma, and with her is my mother-in-law," answered Arnav, having the humility to look ashamed in front of his mother who looked every bit of the shocked, traumatized and disappointed mother that she was.

"Wouldn't you enlighten dear mother-in-law about the reason behind the state of your not-so-dear mother-in-law, darling husband?" mocked Khushi, her condescending tone making Arnav forget his humility as he glared at her with an intensity which could burn holes through her but it was his turn to burn when she appeared as cool and composed as she wasn't.

"What is she talking about, Arnav?" questioned Sunita, wondering if her son had hidden further secrets from her.

"Nothing..."

"Oh, nothing much, Aunty! Just marrying me as undercover officer, then killing my father, leaving me alone with my mother in vegetative state and claiming rights on me when he realized that his dalliance with me resulted in a child, which I have given up for adoption. That's all," answered Khushi, flashing a sarcastic smile to the mother and son duo who were taken by shock for albeit different reasons; one by the sheer audacity of their son and another for the recklessness exhibited by his wife.

"Khushi....." hissed Arnav, his flared nostrils and balled up fists revealing his fury.

"Is she speaking the truth?" questioned Sunita, cutting her son across, struggling to keep her calm and not jump to conclusions.

"Mumma!" complained Arnav, irritated at being demanded by Sunita, proving Khushi correct in her deductions previously and allowing her to see his weaker side, which he was sure, would be exploited by her in the near future.

"Yes or No, Arnav? I don't want to hear excuses or stories. Is she speaking the truth?" demanded Sunita, stepping towards her son as she looked up into his eyes, with disappointment and distaste swirling in her eyes and surprised to see anger instead of regret floating in his.

"While you are indulged in this conversation, I will take it upon myself to rest my mother. She cannot, of course, remain in such tense atmosphere for longer time," said Khushi, wheeling her mother in the direction guided by one of workers in the Mansion.

"Arnav! Don't test my patience!" lashed Sunita, clutching his upper arms in death-grip as she refused to believe the accusations showered on her son but his silence and the hollowness in the girl's eyes refused her the privilege to bestow unconditional trust upon her progeny.

"Yes, it's the truth but Mumma..."

Sunita stepped back from him, glaring at him through the film of furious tears. Her pride had broken and so had her heart. The moments of playful fight with her husband regarding the traits inherited from them flashed in front of her tumultuous mind.

"Where does your dear son listen to me? He loves his Mumma the most!" complained Raghunath with a teasing smirk playing on his lips, a charming trait inherited by his son.

"Well, so do you, don't you?" questioned Sunita, coyly smiling at her husband as he pulled her into an embrace laughing.

Nothing would ever be the same once again and she was aware of it. But she wanted to know the reasons behind her son's actions. What made him so insensitive and ruthless that he abandoned his pregnant and newly-wed wife?

"Why did you consummate your relationship if you knew that it was an undercover operation?" demanded Sunita, clutching her son's face in between her hands as she forced him to look into his eyes, something which he was unable to do.

"I was attracted to her, Mumma. It was just a moment of weakness.." he trailed off, realizing that his words were pressing the wrong buttons of his mother.

"Moment of weakness? Great and you killed her father. Was he a criminal? Why did you have to marry her in the first place? Was it due to your attraction too?" she asked, her stony glare making shiver run across her spine.

"He wasn't. He had helped the mafia leader Paul when he was at his worst so Paul owed it to him and promised to look into his daughter's wedding arrangements personally as a token of appreciation. We had to bait him out and that night...."

"Wedding night?" she interrupted, hoping that conscience dawns upon him due to her incessant questioning.

"Yes, after I thought everyone had slept, I had sneaked into Paul's room but he was alerted by his bodyguards. Our men were already stationed at the wedding so cross-fire began. In that cross-fire, her father Anand, rushed towards me, maybe thinking that I was caught in the cross-fire, and shots fired, two through him," revealed Arnav, sighing deeply as he recounted the night of bloodshed and ear-shattering blasts.

"Did you shoot him?"

"Ballistic reports said it was from Paul's gun that he died, possibly because Paul thought he was the traitor. We had to immediately leave from the place as we had to round up on his gang before the news was out that Paul was dead, allowing them to escape, and after the operation, I was not allowed to leave the safe-house since I could be targeted. I forgot about her due to the stress I was surrounded with, till she joined the force, working with me. She gave up the child for adoption, how could she?" he wondered, staring at the ground in front of him as he heard his mother's labored breathing.

"With her father, her husband gone, her mother in vegetative state, you think she had it in her to raise a child, conceived on the worst night of her life? With no means to live, ostracized possibly by everyone due to affiliation with mafia and walkout of her husband, surrounded by negativity on every side, she does not have it in her to be a mother," she pointed, her voice crackling with emotions.

Arnav could not bring himself to utter a word as the rebuke by his mother was hitting the nail on the head, spreading the light of realization just as she had wanted.

"You know, when we got the news that I was pregnant with you, there were celebrations in the whole village and your father, who loved me more than anything at that point, lost himself completely in my pampering. What did she have? No one to be happy at the news, no one to take her to the hospital probably much less taking care of her moodswings or cravings. You had no right to even touch her when you had no intention of bearing the consequences or lack any concern for her being. Did you ever notice the hollowness in her eyes? The pain in her voice? I am sure that the girl,you felt attracted to, wouldn't be the lifeless, walking corpse that she is right now, if not for the burden of the past. If you want to know about your child, win the mother first, and this time with sincerity, not by pushing her further into the vortex of darkness. Or Karma will never be merciful."