Chapter 2

Armaan stared at the picturesque setting of the little cottage in something akin to bemusement.

A white picket fence around the cottage yard which displays a very beautiful and small garden.

He could see a pigeon pecking through the ground with no fear of anyone capturing it.

He felt as if he has stepped into a fairy tale for the setting resembles one he found in one of the story books he bought for little Ava.

He couldn't imagine party girl Janani Trivedi living somewhere like this.

He heard his companion clearing his throat to get his attention.

"Mr Verma??" Kamal Mishra addressed him formally just how he prefers. He doesn't like forming any bonds with any of his employees.

Armaan stepped forward and pressed the calling bell and waited for her to open the door.

Through the glass window panes he could see a female figure walking towards the door and then he heard the key turning in the lock and the door opened.

Armaan has heard the phrase time stood still many times in his life. But at that moment he felt it.

He couldn't take his eyes off Janani Trivedi, because she was so very different from what he had expected.

His very first sight of her had been her passport photo application in which she had looked plain plump with dull brown eyes, indeed so ordinary he had rolled his eyes at the idea that such a common place woman would be giving him a child.

His second view of her had been the security camera visuals of his solicitor's office in which she appeared much thinner and fashionable in a mini skirt and tight-fitting vest top. That should have been his cue to call of the whole thing off.

His latest view of her had been from the CCTV footage of a famous night club which had been more indicative of her true nature.

With dark shoulder length hair, she had been sported wearing the skimpiest of the dress he had ever seen and sky-high hooker heels that showed off her slim figure.

She had been acting like the slut that she was, giggling and fondling the older man that she was with.

Now that image was being replaced by another, even more challenging one for evidently Janani Trivedi had reinvented herself yet again.

Possibly another trick in misleading people and conning them.

The short shoulder length hair has grown hip length, possibly extensions.

Her heart shaped face is bare of makeup and his eyes flickered to the pink mouth and her eyes.

How had he thought it to be a dull brown?

It is the colour of melted caramel, an unusual shade.

With difficulty, he dragged his attention from the surprisingly appealing sight, acknowledging the fact that photos didn’t do the real Janani Trivedi any justice.

"How can I help you??" Came the sweet voice and he felt as if it was a caress on his skin.

Heavens!! What the hell is wrong with him??

So?? He is a man with a healthy appetite for sex, but he does have a moral standard.

And he never gets involved with the likes of Janani Trivedi.

"Armaan Verma, I am here for my son" Armaan introduced himself and the purpose of visit.

He saw the blood draining dramatically from her pretty face.

"Son??" He saw her gulp and her eyes weren't meeting his.

What more could be an indicative of guilt.

But that surprised him, to know that Janani Trivedi does have a conscience.

"Yes. My son. What did you think? That you are too smart to hide from me forever. That you will steal my child and I will let you go just like that? Or did you, by any chance, imagine that I would pay the amount you demanded to get my son back?" Armaan thundered as common sense came back to him and along with that the rage and loathing, he felt for the woman standing in front of him.

"Please do not shout. You will frighten Advi" she said looking over her shoulder into the cottage.

"Advi?? You named my son Advi?? What kind of name is that? And how dare you name him without my consent" Armaan asked and immediately felt stupid.

Of course. It has been ten months. She has to call the boy something. And she named him.

A name he is definitely going to change soon.

At that moment he heard a gurgle of laughter and something passing through the corridor at such a speed that he would have missed it if not for the sound of the laughter and the jiggling bells.

Janani groaned and turned around muttering.

"I thought it would help him to learn walk and he is flying in it" he saw her walking inside leaving him at the door step.

No one. No one had ever ignored him like that.

He didn't wait for an invitation and followed her inside and his heart started beating fast at the first glimpse of his son sitting in a colourful walker grinning at his mother.

"You naughty young man!!" He saw Janani looking at his son with hands on her hips.

"You don't get to sit on that again today. Babies your age haven't even started walking properly and you want to fly" she said shaking her head at the baby who bestowed his mother with a toothless gummy smile.

She gently took the baby out of the walker and made him sit on a rug in front of the TV and spread some toys on it.

Soon the baby's attention turned to the colourful toys in front of him and Janani turned around and her smile faded when she saw him standing at the doorway.

"I want to be alone with my son for a moment. Leave" he demanded

"But he doesn't know you" she protested.

"And whose fault is that? I am seconds away from calling the police. If you don't fancy that, you better follow my orders" he said coldly and she visibly flinched at his tone.

"Out" he ordered

Janani looked at the baby once more and walked out of the room hesitantly.

"And his name is Advaith" she muttered

"Thank you Ms Trivedi" Armaan murmured deftly planting himself inside the room and leaving her outside as he firmly closed the door in her face

With a sigh Armaan walked towards his son and kneeled in front of him.

"Hello Advaith" Armaan called him softly.

The baby looked up and gave him a curious look and then opened his mouth screaming aloud giving him a perfect view of his little tonsils.

Goodness!

Armaan tried to hush the baby but the baby continued screaming looking the door.

Waiting for his mother to come to save him from the dangerous looking stranger.

Armaan wrenched the door open and saw Janani Trivedi pacing in front of the door with a concerned frown on her face.

She looked inside the room over his shoulder

"You better come in. He is frightened" Armaan said gruffly.

She didn't need a second invitation, she ran inside the room and scooped the little one into her arms and he clung to her like a little koala, shaking and sobbing, burying his little head in her neck.

Armaan watched that revealing display in anger

Advaith had two little hands fisted in his mother’s dress, his fearful desperation patently obvious as he hid his face from the stranger who had tried to make friends with him.

As Janani quieted the trembling child, Armaan registered two unwelcome facts.

His son looks very much attached to his mother.

Janani Trivedi is very definitely his son’s security blanket.

It was a complication he neither wanted nor needed.

He stalked out of the cottage for fresh air

He needed to think...

And he needed to talk.