Chapter 4

"And why would you think that??" Janani asked in total bewilderment as to why he is so confident that she would agree to all his demands.

"Because I have the upper hand sweetheart. You don't have any other choice" he said, making her wince at the sarcastic note in the endearment.

"I have security camera visuals of you stealing credit cards and using them in acts of fraud. I can always pass that evidence to the respected authority"

"Are you threatening me?" Janani asked in shocked disbelief.

Stealing credit cards?

What the hell is he talking about?

Was he serious??

Did Saanvi resort to stealing to make money?

"I am just letting you know how things are going to happen, if you refuse to cooperate with me. As it is, the police are after you. All they need right now is solid proof, which I have in my custody" Armaan said calmly

But Janani had turned pale as death.

Proof of theft.

Goodness!!

He could have her arrested right here right now!!

Forcibly separate her from Advi, her beloved nephew.

She took deep breaths, as she tried to contain her panic and struggled to remain calm.

"So, you will agree to DNA testing??" Armaan asked once more, now confident what her answer would be.

"Yes" she agreed. What choice did she have?

"We will try to be civilised about this matter" Armaan said

Janani's palm tingled when she heard his words.

Never in her life had she so badly wanted to slap someone for lying.

There is nothing civilised about the man standing in front of her.

He is literally threatening her and offering her a civilised conversation in the same breath.

What an irony!

"Yes, we must try to be civilised" she heard herself muttering.

What other option did she have??

"I can be a very reasonable man" Armaan said smoothly

"Of course," Janani conceded, not really believing his words.

She didn't think in any way he could be reasonable.

Okay!! You have to be fair here, Janani.

He is the wronged party here. He is the victim of what your twin did.

His reactions are justifiable.

But that didn't give her enough courage to give up on Advi. She loves the little one to the moon and back.

So, she would hang on to him as long as she could.

"The laboratory technician will call in to take the DNA samples in the morning" he said

"You are not wasting any time" Janani remarked grumpily

"You have already wasted a great deal of my time, Ms Trivedi" he told her furiously.

Once Armaan left, Janani picked up her phone and dialled her best friend Richa.

"Run past me the rights you mentioned Saanvi would have had on Advi" Janani asked as soon as Richa answered her call

"Did you call me at midnight to ask that??" Richa grumbled sleepily.

"Armaan Verma dropped by. He left only now. He says he has some proof against Saanvi" Janani relayed the things Armaan had told her.

"Look Jan, I don't think Saanvi particularly has any rights over the baby. She might have signed away her rights before the IVF'' Richa said

"But you told me Saanvi has rights " Janani reminded

"I am not a lawyer, Janani. I thought she does have some rights, but it turns out she doesn't" Richa said and Janani felt miserable.

She is going to lose her beloved Advi.

"Then why is Mr Verma being so reasonable??" Janani asked confused

"Haa, this I have an idea about!! And you could capitalize on it, Janani. I am personally against you continuing this charade, but I know how important Advi is to you" Richa said sympathetically.

"Tell me" Janani prompted

"Commercial surrogacy is banned in India. So Mr Hotshot already breached the law when he resorted to one." Richa said

"Oh" that was news to her. She basically had no idea about surrogacies.

"And Mr Verma is an intensely private person. There are a lot of information about his business life on the internet, but there is nothing of his personal life"

"You did a thorough research on him??" Janani asked in disbelief

"Of course I did. It's not every day my best friend gets acquainted with a hotshot billionaire" Richa said, making Janani roll her eyes.

"Well??" Janani prompted Richa to continue the conversation they were having

"Ah yes, the surrogacy!! If the police are involved, the media might get involved. His business dealings are all legal. There is nothing people could point a finger at. So if it comes into media attention that he did breach the law in his personal life, they would have a field day. And Mr Verma, from what I understand, will do everything in his power to stay out of paparazzi attention."

"I see. So as long as he thinks I am Saanvi, he wouldn't be able to take him off me so easily" Janani asked

"Yes, but once he realises that the biological mother of the baby is dead, all bets are off. He could easily destroy the details of surrogacy and claim that he did have a relationship with the mother and the baby is conceived in a natural way. He is very influential" Richa pointed out her assumptions.

"I will keep all this in mind." Janani said

"Also keep in mind, Armaan Verma makes the worst enemy one could have." Richa said before hanging up the call.

The next morning was a hustle bustle with the technician coming to collect the swab for DNA testing.

By the time the technician left Janani was in no mood for further company and she suppressed a weary groan when she heard the doorbell ringing yet again.

Her face stiffened when she saw the man at her doorstep.

It was her ex-fiancé

Vikram Thakur!!

She was still friends with him because her parents liked him. And her parents are friends with his parents.

And both sets of parents still hope that she will get back with him.

They have no idea of the real reason why they broke up.

She had let them believe it was a mutual decision to call off the engagement

They don't know about Saanvi's involvement in it.

Or what a chameleon Vikram Thakur is?

"May I come in?" Vikram asked once the polite small talk on the doorstep about her parents' little holiday got over and she was hoping he would take the hint and leave.

"Advi is still up" Janani warned him.

Vikram had made no secret of his dislike towards Advi.

"Well, how is the little one doing??" He asked, with his widest fakest smile possible.

"Well his father dropped by yesterday" Janani heard herself saying and cursed herself for saying that to him.

"Well, that’s great news," Vikram said cheerily.

Janani genuinely did not hold Vikram's deception against him.

How could she possibly blame him for finding her colourful lively twin more attractive. It's not his fault that she is a plain Jane.

But what irritated Janani was that he was smugly convinced that he could talk his way back into Janani's heart, now that Saanvi is gone for good.

Not that her sister and ex-fiancé were really suited.

They had a brief fling, soon after he broke up with Janani, and parted ways when Saanvi returned to Delhi just before her surrogacy.

"Tell me more about him" he encouraged

And Janani told him as little as possible, making sure to keep all facts about her sister's double life a secret.

"That's the best news I have heard in weeks" Vikram exclaimed happily

"I admire you for what you did for the boy, but keeping him to yourself isn't practical. You have to move on. You have a life for yourself" He added

"Feelings aren't always practical, Vikram" Janani countered quietly

Vikram gave her an earnest appraisal

"You know how I feel about you, Janani. How long is it going to take for you to forgive me? I agree, I was foolish. I made a mistake. But I realised my mistake. I will never repeat it" Vikram said

"If you had really loved me, Vikram, you wouldn't have gone after my twin"

"I admit I made a mistake"

Janani breathed in heavily

"I have moved on now. I am fond of you, Vikram, but I am afraid that's all it will be" Janani said, looking him straight in the eyes.

"I know the child is what stopping us from getting together, Janani. Let the father take him away. And then you think clearly" Vikram told her through gritted teeth.

Janani resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

How did she fail to see what an arrogant and judgemental asshole he is? It was so easy to see. How the hell did she miss it?

To think she had once fancied herself in love with this man!!