Shock made Janani's lower lip part from the upper and she breathed again a little faster ,her eyes widening at the bombshell Armaan Verma just dropped in.
"It would ease the transition for my son but it would be on strict understanding that you would step back from him allowing others to take your place" Armaan spelt out casually.
"He should learn to do without you" He added
Janani tried and failed to swallow as he described the role.
He had delivered the killing blow of truth by telling her what he expected and wanted from her
Mumbai and Nanny job is very temporary and would come at a high cost
She would eventually loose little Advi
She lost colour, pain knotting inside her at the thought of walking away from her beloved Advi
But at the same time ,with every word Armaan Verma spoke she realized that whether she liked it or not he was worthy of her respect as a father.
He despised her yet he saw the strong bond she had with his son and was keen to protect his baby from getting hurt.
How could she judge him badly for that
A more gradual process of parting Janani from her nephew should work much better than a sudden break ,she thought unhappily.
"Do you have a problem accompanying Advaith??" Armaan asked surprised.
He thought she would jump at an opportunity that would grant her entry into Armaan's wealthy and privileged world.
"No...I was just thinking..." Janani mumbled not knowing what to say
"If you agree, I will naturally settle your debts here and compensate those men whose credit cards you stole so that they will drop the charges. That would remove the threat of arrest as well" Armaan said swiftly leaving Janani stunned
"But it wouldn't be right to let you pay those bills" Janani argued.
Armaan shot her a cynical look
"Ofcourse you would be happy to let me pay.That is the sort of women you are.Why pretend otherwise "
At that reminder ,Janani flushed and dropped her eyes.
Saanvi would never have argued against such a benefit
So if Janani was still set on pretending to be her twin ,she will have to bite her tongue and go with the flow.
The debts Saanvi had acquired on Janani's name was a major source of worry for her parents.To be free of that would be wonderful, Janani thought guilty
"And quite naturally I dont want my son's mother dragged into court for debts or dishonesty." Armaan pointed out without hesitation
The nerve of the man!!
She was tempted to point out that she knew it was he himself who doesn't want to be dragged into a court case ,but decided against it.
She is already deceiving the man
Blackmailing him wouldn't let her sleep at night!!
"Ofcourse not ,I will come to Mumbai with Advi..-"
"Ofcourse you will.Doing what I tell you to do would be a wise move now" Armaan spelt out softly ,his intense gaze raking down her full lips, the swell of her beautiful breasts and her slim legs
He had never lusted after a woman of her kind
What does that say about him
But lust was healthy and indifference was not ,he reasoned fiercely, reluctant to banish the sexual energy infusing him when for the first time in much longer than he cared to recall he felt alive
Suddenly resteless and uncomfortable at the way he was looking at her ,Janani stood up
"You are trying to intimidate me"
His gaze grew even more intense
"Am I??" He asked lazily
"I will do everything that is reasonable, but I wont be intimidated and I won't grovel" She said firmly
"You won't??" He asked as he stalked closer like a predator
"I won't " she confirmed shakily her voice breathless.
"But the idea of you groveling at my knees is very appealing little one" Armaan said huskily
"The image of you giving me pleasure while you are doing it gives me a high...."
At first Janani couldn't believe he had just said that to her
Then she told herself he couldn't possibly have meant the sexual innuendo in it
Embarrassed and uncertain, a burst of color spread across her cheeks and she blinked at him
"Did you really just say what I thought you said??" She mumbled and stepped back from him and Armaan raised an eyebrow at the mortified look on her face
"I better check on Advi" she got the words out somehow and fled the room
Armaan laughed out loud.
It was fun riling her up
The rabbit caught in the head light look and the embarrassed colouring of her cheek made her look like a blushing teenager.
And he felt his heart beat picking up its pace.
Her innocence was such a turn on.
He paused
Innocence??
And Janani Trivedi
Those two words doesn't go in a single phrase
What the hell had gotten into him!!
He is losing his touch
To be sucked in by a wonderful actress.
He shook his head.
She is doing that to him.
The way she works her spell with men who should know better
The fluttering of eyelashes and blushing at will
The ultimate naive act
He is not going to fall for that.
If Janani Trivedi thinks she could trap him with the naive act ,she could very well think again
He walked furiously out of the room angry at Janani for doing this to him..angry at himself to be so susceptible to her charm.
Khanna informed him about Aadesh's emergency call and he immediately returned the call.
"Hello Maann"
"Is everything there alright Aadesh?? Is Ava alright??" Armaan asked tensed at why his brother said it was an emergency call.
"She is alright now" Aadesh said calmly
"Alright now?? What do you mean by now?? She wasnt alright before??" Armaan asked his tension escalating.
He is already wound up tight by Advaith's illness...and to know that Ava too is not well.
"Maan....do you know about Ava's nightmares??" Aadesh asked
Nightmares??
"What nightmares??" Armaan asked
"Last night ,I was on a call when I heard her screaming. I went into her room to see the nanny hovering around demanding Ava to shut up.When she saw me ,she did a wonderful act of trying to cuddle and comfort Ava." Aadesh said through clenched teeth
"How did it go??" Armaan asked
"She went into sleep a while later ,must be because of exhaustion, because it definitely wasn't because of comfort " Aadesh said
"Are you sure it had happened before?? The nightmares??" Armaan asked trying to control his anger at the nanny
"I did ask some of the staff.The housekeeper Anjana had once heard Ava screaming during an afternoon nap and the nanny claimed you are already aware of the nightmares and had asked her to take care of Ava" Aadesh said
"That b*tch" Armaan ground out
"I was tempted to kick her out ,but while awake Ava is only comfortable with her and I couldn't even do anything " Aadesh huffed out
"I will deal with it tonight " Armaan said
"Are you coming today?? Did you deal with everything related to Advaith" Aadesh asked
"Yes....I will be coming home with Advaith " he paused and added " and Janani"
"Janani?? What?? Why??" Janani asked unable to believe that Armaan would even think about bringing the woman who stole his son home.
"You will know when you see them" Armaan muttered before hanging up the phone
Armaan walked towards the room where Advaith is sleeping
He opened the door gently without making noise and was momentarily stunned by the sight in front of him
Advaith was sleeping on the bed
Janani was lying beside him ,propped up on her elbow looking down at his son with such a tenderness that he felt overwhelmed.
No one had looked at him like that
Definitely not his mother
Once he had craved for his mother to look at him like that
He is not that boy anymore ,he told himself fiercely
He doesn't want his mother to look at him like that anymore
He definitely doesn't want Janani to look at him like that
His movement must have alerted her ,for she stiffened and looked at him warily
The tenderness he saw a moment ago vanished and he felt a sense of loss.
Armaan mentally shook himself.
He is not a five year old little boy anymore
"We will be leaving to Mumbai today evening.I will ask Khanna to take you back.Be ready by five" He said and walked out without waiting for her response
A/n
Hello gals....
How are you all...
Hope you all are safe
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