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“I don’t want to listen to anything, Maya. Just leave me alone, please.”
“Mom, don’t shut me out,” tears burst out from her eyes.
“I am not shutting you. I just need some time alone. Please leave me alone, Maya,” Garima pleaded.
By disobeying her Maya didn’t want her mother’s blood pressure to shoot up. So, she walked out. She knew this had to happen. That’s why she was so hesitant to tell her mother about it at the first instant. Whatever she wanted to explain to her mother patiently, it all turned the opposite. Garima found out herself, not from Maya, not from Ranveer Malhotra either. Maya felt ridiculous. Destiny had played its foul trick again. She really had no clue why God was being so partial towards her. First, he never gave her the love, name and support of her father which any child desired. Then her mother’s psychological issues and ailments killed most of her teenage years; early responsibilities fell on her shoulders, and she took the decision to stand on her own feet at an age when she should have been in college. She completed her graduation externally, so that her modeling work could run parallel. After all, she needed to pay her college fees. And now, when she had started earning a good income and thought her life was back on track, the mere entry of the same man who ruined her career once shattered everything around her again. Even though he didn’t do anything this time, he was still actively responsible for her mother’s present state of mind. If he hadn’t ruined her career in the past, broken her confidence to walk the ramp again, all this would never have happened in the first place. Whatever happened, she was not going to fall prey to him.
Paradise
Ranveer Malhotra was at his home, sitting at the private bar counter, opening the next bottle. He poured the drink for himself and gulped it down his throat. Laura came there with a file.
“Sir, Aman has mailed your tomorrow’s schedule,” she informed.
Ranveer gestured her to keep them on the table. She put it there and then opened her tablet to show him something.
“Sir, these are the Bouquet options we have finalized for your father’s birthday. Can you make your selection so that we can place the final order?”
Ranveer snatched the tablet from her and threw it down. It broke into pieces. Laura stepped back in fear. She knew her boss’s temper. She had been living with it for the past so many years, but never did she see him so much frustrated.
“Get out,” he roared.
She nodded and made her way out. Ranveer downed his drink before heading to the storeroom, his senses dulled by alcohol. He stumbled inside, scanning the area as if searching for something specific. Spotting it in the corner, he cleared a path through the clutter blocking his way to the box. With unsteady hands, he unwrapped it and retrieved one of the painting frames—Maya Bajaj's work, purchased at an auction. Gripping it tightly, he glared at the painting.
“You will defame me?” he growled looking at the painting. “You will spoil my image? How dare you, Maya Bajaj?” Losing his balance, he swayed, feeling lightheaded. The painting slipped from his grasp, tumbling to the ground. Using nearby support, he steadied himself, then retrieved the painting from the floor.
“You will see, Maya Bajaj. You will see what I am, what I can do. You will see it soon,” he challenged the frame, as if talking to Maya Bajaj directly, and then threw that frame towards the wall with rage in his eyes. That woman had crushed his ego, his pride which even his enemies failed to do so far. How could he leave her just like that?
************
The next two days passed quickly and Garima was finally discharged from the hospital. Maya cleared the bills, which happened to cross her budget again. She had saved this money for her mother’s therapy, but it looked like she would have to find other sources to make it happen. Her mother was still not willing to talk openly to Maya because of what she hid from her, nor Maya forced her to. She believed time would heal everything.
Maya drove her mother back home. Pammi aunty was waiting at the apartment to receive them. As they entered, Maya was startled seeing the bouquets in the living room.
“Aunty... what is all this? Who sent these?” Maya asked, holding her mother’s hand while she escorted Garima inside.
“Few of them are from your colleagues, and this one is from your father,” she replied, pointing to a specific one.
Garima’s face brightened with delight.
“Oh. I knew he cares for me.” She slowly walked to the table and hugged the bouquet.
Maya clenched her jaw. Her father was not going to back down so easily. He had been trying to contact them for quite a long time now.
“Saw, Maya,” Garima turned. “Didn’t I tell you? He loves me still?”
Maya faked a smile. She did not want to argue over this now. She was happy if her father’s fake gestures made her mother happy.
“You should rest, Mom,” she insisted.
“I am tired of resting. I want to sit for some time.”
“Not a bad idea,” Pammi interrupted. “How about a soup for starter, and then your dear friend, which is me, is going to treat you with a special healthy lunch.”
Garima gave her a thumbs up.
“Aunty, that’s okay. I will cook for everyone today. You have been doing this for so many days.”
“Oh, come on Maya. I love cooking for the family. My son has never given me this opportunity to cook for him in the last few years. Let me do this for you and Garima at least.”
