Disclaimer : All the characters written below are imaginary and a work of pure fiction. There is no resemblance to any incident or situation and is written as work of fiction.
"pra....i have a daughter....we have a daughter...." he said with his voice choked and sobs coming back.
"huh?" he didn't really know how to react. Was this a joke?what was happening?
"i met her....my choco pie....my aru...." he sobbed like a baby on call.
"jiju....can you tell me what is happening?i am not understanding a thing and please don't cry....please just cal....just calm down...."
"Teja and me....we have our daughter....arushi...." he said almost in a whisper.
"what are you saying?" he said with shock dripping from his voice.
"she hid it from me....from you....from mom dad but you know what?my family knew...." he chuckled through his tears. "they all knew infact teja and choco pie was staying with them...." he frantically wiped his face.
"what?" he said slowly.
"yeah....pra what have i done to deserve this?" he was barely audible.
"i will talk to her...."
"no pra you won't....not now....not ever on that topic....i do not want to give her any explanation...." he said angrily. "remember my swear....always remember that...." he breathed in heavily trying to compose himself. "by the way i have asked her to shift with me because no way i am going to stay away from my baby...." he said once he was calm.
"and she agreed?" he asked immediately.
"yes she did...."
"jiju you have to inform mom dad....they will be glad to meet arushi...." he said with a soft smile. "and please send me a picture once you are home and settled...."
"settled...." he chuckled bitterly.
"i am sorry i didn't mean it that way...."
"i know....okay they must be coming....i will inform mom dad and let you know....thanks yaar...." he said genuinely.
"anytime...." he said with a small smile and they disconnected the call.
"papa...." he heard her voice and looked at the door of the vanity to see his choco pie come down in teja's arms with an ice cream cone in her hand. His face broke into a huge smile seeing her.
"yes my baby...." he immediately moved forward and took her in his arms carefully.
"ice cream...." she forwarded her hand near his mouth gesturing him to have a bite. He chuckled softly and had a bite. He took her to the car and opened the back door and made her sit there comfortably and gestured teja to sit with her and drove straight to her house.
"this is not where i am staying...." teja said as a matter of fact.
"i know....we will meet mom and dad because they have to see choco pie now...." he said dryly. "baby you will meet nanu nani okay?"
"okay papa...." she said happily and clapped.
He got down and opened the back door. He swiftly picked aru up and gestured teja to get down. Once she was down , he locked the car and rang the bell.
The meet was emotionally exhausting. There was love , complains and questions and most importantly love for their grand daughter.
"teju....why didn't tell us?" he mom asked her standing at the kitchen. Teja looked out of the kitchen to the living area where karan aru and her father were playing with teja's soft toys.
"i didn't want karan to know....i didn't want to see him and i didn't want to disturb his happy life...." she said slowly.
"happy life?teju?karan has had anything but a happy life....we have seen him....whatever you are assuming we know is not right...." she caressed her hair.
"if only i could not trust my eyes i would have believed you...." she said and wiped her tears away quickly.
"teju i will never deny you took care of us from abroad....you took care of everything....but both my kids were out of the country....you know who was there with us?karan....like our son....he came every other day to check on us....to have lunch dinner whenever he got time....sometimes he even stayed back at night....do you really think he is a bad human?" she asked softly.
"when did i say he is a bad human?whatever he did doesn't make him bad mumma....it only makes him a...." she stopped. "forget it....you will not understand....for you he is more important....and i know that....that is why i didn't tell you guys anything...."
"he shouldn't be important?teja i have faith on my judgement of people....and my judgment says he is not wrong....i don't know what you saw and what exactly you mean by your riddles but whatever you saw , i believe him over that....you should have done it too if you love him....and it is not late....talk to him now....ask him....question him....fight with him....but everyone has a right to present their side of the story....you know your side....you don't know his side....you did not give him the chance to tell you his side and you vanished....the least he deserved is a chance to explain...."
"he doesn't have any explanation....i asked him today...."
"and why do you think he will give you an explanation now just by asking once after knowing you hid his daughter from him....teja i know you were not happy....you suffered....i know how much you love him....forget karan....for your sake fix this....try to fix atleast....you are not fine bacchhaa...." she caressed her cheeks as tears dropped from teja's eyes.
"i will be fine mumma...." her voice shook a little.
"you couldn't be fine after 4 years and now you will be fine?whom are you fooling?you love him don't you...."
"more than anything...." she muttered and went upstairs.
After an hour karan drove them to teja's house to collect their luggage and straight away went to their place.
As she entered the house , she looked around. It was the same. Just like how she had left it to be. Not a single thing added. Not a single thing missing.
"choco pie this is our house...." karan told her as she looked around while being in his arms.
"papa swing...." she clapped seeing the swing in the balcony.
"you like swing?i will get one inside your play room and i will get a slide too...." he kissed his nose and she giggled happily. "what is your favorite colour?i will get the walls painted and i will decorate the room myself okay?tomorrow is a sunday , we will go and pick your toys and everything from the mall and we can always have a chic chic pizza party...."
"excuse me?no junk food...." teja said angrily.
"look who is saying....one who survives on junk food...." he rolled his eyes and sat on the couch with aru on his lap. "you can stay with aru in our room...."
"and where do you think you will sleep?on the dining table?" she taunted.
"very funny....should i laugh?" he asked sarcastically. "i will sleep in the guest room...."
"so you will sleep on the swing because i suppose you are planning to convert the guest room into her play room right?the other room i won't let you touch because that is mumma papa's...."
"i will sleep in mumma papa's room fine?" he rolled his eyes. The very first day and she has started her rules and regulations. Her kingdom. Her rules. Like always.
"no way....remember the last time you slept there you threw your hand in your sleep and broke the vase from the side table....that was mom's favorite....i cannot take that risk...."
"why don't you say directly that you want me in our room with you and aru?" he said looking at her.
"i don't want you there...." she quickly defended herself. "in fact that is the last thing that i want....but if you insist you can stay there....for aru...."
"thank you...." he muttered sarcastically.
Aru was really bored. She kept looking at both their face as they fought and made faces and poked him to get his attention.
"yes baby?" he looked at her and smiled softly.
"ice cream...." she whispered in his ear. Her mom was always strict about ice cream and she knew that papa would get her ice cream everytime she would want.
"ummm....i will order....there is no ice cream at home...." he pouted and took his phone out from the pocket.
"aru....it's evening....and i heard you....no ice cream....it is milky time...." teja said strictly and went to the kitchen.
"papa no milky...." she was almost in tears.
"shhh baby....papa will do something...." he caressed her hair and looked at teja in the kitchen. Scary she was.
Teja came out with a glass of milk and kept it on the centre table in front of them.
"i will freshen up , change and come and by the time i come this glass should be empty aru....no fuss over milk...." she said and went to their room.
Karan kept aru on the couch and jumped to the kitchen and brought a bottle of choclate syrup and mixed it with the milk and also drew a smiley on the surface of the milk and aru clapped.
"this will do right?" he asked happily.
"yessss...." she clapped happily.
Karan took the glass and made her drink the milk slowly and then washed the glass and put some milk in it and made the milk adhere to the wall of the glass to make it look white and not brown as chocolate and kept it on the centre table.
Teja came out and saw the empty glass and frowned in suspicion. This was too good to be true.
"did you drink it?" she asked karan directly.
"what are you crazy?i hate milk and i will fall sick also...." he said as a matter of fact.
She knew he was saying the truth. He was not quite tolerant to milk. But still this was too good to be true. No fuss over milk? her frown deepened as she turned and walked to the kitchen in confusion and Aru and karan shared a high five.