Prithvi... [Vol 5]

Chapter 121

"Rajeshwari? Harsh's daughter? Why is she here?" Priyamvada asked  rigidly, fists clenched under the coverlet.

"I invited her," he said peacefully.

Appalled, Priyamvada stared at her son with growing anger. "You asked her to – after everything I told you about -"

"Rajeshwari is not responsible for her father's actions, Maa," Prithvi said softly. "You need to try to remember that."

Priyamvada clenched her fists tighter. Her son was not speaking offensively. He was just stating his opinion. He didn't know yet that the only opinions that were of any importance were hers.

"You should rest. I'll be working in the sitting room. Give me a call if you need anything," he added soothingly, and then coolly stood up and left the room.

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Priyamvada struggled to figure out why she hadn't stopped him from leaving and demanded that they discuss the issue further. Was it because of the hint of steel in his voice towards the end? It had been so much like the tone that Aditya had used at times, but not towards her...never towards her...

Did her son expect her to just make her peace with an unacceptable fact? Was Prithvi truly that naïve? Then he couldn't really be her son.

Or was he doing this because of some petty need for revenge for what she had done to Nandini, Priyamvada mused warily, and evaluated his demeanour in the preceding few hours.

During the entire process of her medical check-ups and tests, Prithvi had made sure that he was in the immediate vicinity. He'd responded instantly whenever she had called out to him, being unruffled and responsible at all times and displaying the utmost care and dedication. It was only because she'd experienced his unreserved affection until today morning that she knew he had become aloof towards her since Nandini had left.

Well, if this was this way of seeking vengeance for Nandini, it was going to misfire badly. 

Had Harshvardhan and his wife been alive, she would have butchered Rajeshwari before their eyes to teach them a lesson. But it would be pointless to eliminate the girl in the current circumstances, Priyamvada mulled resignedly. In fact, it could cause further harm to her relationship with her son. That wouldn't do.

But irrespective of what Prithvi thought, she would not give Rajeshwari the tiniest bit of place in their lives. The girl had to leave.

With her mind made up, Priyamvada sat up in bed and asked the maid and the nurse to leave the room for a while. As she had expected, on watching the two women leave, her concerned son abandoned his work and strode into the room to ask if everything was okay.

"I wish to speak to you," Priyamvada said unsmilingly and gestured to the plush chair that he had vacated about two hours ago. "Please sit down."

With a crease forming on his forehead, Prithvi sat down on the chair.

Priyamvada started to say, "I want you to understand that -"

Her statement was interrupted by a short trill emitted by Prithvi's phone.

He looked at the screen, and then he glanced up at his mother.

For a second, Priyamvada felt it was her small, sweet child who was looking at her, innocent black eyes filled with tremendous pain and worry.

"What is it, Prithvi?" Priyamvada asked in alarm.

"Your father will arrive in about an hour and a half," Prithvi muttered.