Siya let out a long breath, in awe of their strong bond that stood the test of time. It was no wonder that Abhay believed in the power of patience and love. His worldview had been shaped by his parents’ happy marriage.
‘When we were in the eye of the storm, we realised how parents place so much stakes on their children, on how they’re supposed to bring joy, legacy, and a sense of purpose. But eventually, they grow up to become their own people who build their separate life and their own family. You can love them, you can raise them well, but you cannot expect them to stay.’
Mihit patted her hand, and said, ‘We understood that you can’t build your existence around your child, and someday, you have to let them go to live their life. You build it around yourself, you become whole for yourself, and maybe find a partner who will lay every brick of the foundation with you. If your bond is strong, it can survive any hurdles life throws at you.’
‘Sweetheart, take it from my experience, love is enough if you’re with the right person. You don’t need a child to make your marriage complete.’
Siya gave her a distracted smile, her mind wandering to Abhay. She closely looked at her life since he came back, and she easily saw how he’d been by her side through every obstacle. He had loved her gently, silently, unwaveringly, without demanding she become someone different, more manageable for him.
She couldn’t imagine her life, facing an unpredictable future, and building a family without him. He was hers, and that was the only truth she could hold onto through good and bad days. And then, it hit her like lightning. She was deeply, stupidly, and entirely in love with Abhay.
The epiphany came tangled in guilt and grief and all the ways she had pushed him away, all the ways she’d kept her guard up, convinced it was self-preservation when it had really just been fear.
Siya asked, ‘Then why didn’t you answer when Dadi asked if you’d be okay without grandchildren?’
Neena sighed, and looked away. ‘Because her question triggered my anxiety. Despite handling it for years, there are bad days, and it was one of them.’
Now that she knew her tumultuous struggle, Siya could understand better. That’s why her coping mechanism against her grandmother had always been silence.
‘We may want grandkids, but not at the expense of our daughter-in-law. We’re not foolish enough to lose what we have by chasing the dreams of something that might be,’ Mihit declared with conviction. ‘We refuse to bethatkind of parents to our kids.’
A thought buried in the recess of mind bubbled up. Siya hesitatingly asked, ‘When you talk about what makes one a goodpartner, do you speak from your experience or from the failure of another marriage?’
‘What do you mean?’
Siya picked up her bag from her lap. Her heart began to beat in a fast rhythm as she pulled out the photograph. Her fingers shook when she placed it on the table between them.
Neena immediately reached out and took it. ‘Where did you find this?’ she whispered, her wide gaze glued to it.
‘In one of my mother’s old boxes, tucked in between her diaries.’
‘I can’t believe she kept it,’ Neena whispered, looking at Mihit with misty eyes. He swallowed hard, still looking at the polaroid.
Their exchange confused Siya even more. ‘I didn’t know the three of you knew each other. You’ve never mentioned her.’
Something shifted beneath her soft exterior and Neena finally said, ‘Arohi and I were once… close. Did she ever tell you about me?’
Siya shook her head.
‘Neena and Arohi were neighbours and I lived down the street so we were childhood friends,’ Mihit answered when Neena couldn’t.
She cleared her throat, yet her voice came out broken. ‘This picture was taken the day we won the intercollegiate debate competition. We bunked the lectures after, headed off to Bandstand, and spent the whole day together. It’s one of my most cherished memories, because it was one of our last real days together before everything changed.’
Siya felt her stomach tighten with dread. ‘What happened?’
Her faint smile vanished as she said, ‘Kartik happened.’
Her voice was barely audible when Siya asked, ‘What do you mean?’
Neena glanced down at the photograph again, gently tracing its worn edge and said, ‘Siya, it won’t be easy, but I think it's time you knew the truth about your father.’
She glanced between them, scared of what was about to come.
Neena sighed and began. ‘Roohi and I were inseparable since birth, and Mihit was our annoying third wheeling friend. Chandni Aunty had passed away due to haemorrhage during childbirth, and Jairaj Uncle was a loving father to Roohi but also an absent one. He was dedicated to continuing the legacy of his father by expanding Kashyap Luxe overseas and he was usually gone most of the year. She grew up mostly at my home, and we’d always be together, but I knew she felt lonely. And then…’
Mihit picked up where Neena trailed off. ‘During our college, Kartik came into our lives. He had a reputation for fake internship scams, selling exam papers, and getting involved in street fights. It was clear that he craved power, and would go to any lengths to claim it. So when Arohi got paired up with Kartik for a sociology project, we were worried.’
Neena scoffed, ‘Roohi was the kind of person who was maddeningly kind and trusting toward others, so I wanted to protect her. But she told me I was overreacting when I asked her to swap partners.’
