Armaan picked up his personal phone which had been ringing for a while now and smiled as he saw the caller ID
Inder
"When did you come back from your European trip Inder?? Armaan asked as soon as he picked up
Inder is his best friend. They have been together at school and went to different fields for further studies but they always kept in touch
"Landed today morning Maan"
"You reached in the morning and you are calling now only?" Armaan asked
"Had to make an important visit" Inder smiled thinking about the mother son duo who rules his heart now
He had been away for the last one and a half months due to some unavoidable medical conferences and medical camps in tribal regions around the world
"Does this important visit happens to be a woman??" Armaan teased
"Maybe" Inder replied vaguely shocking Armaan
"Really?? You came back from a world tour and the first thing you do is go visit one of your flings??" Armaan asked surprised
"She is not a fling Armaan" Inder's voice hardened
He wouldn't let anyone say anything bad about his woman. Even if it's his best friend
Armaan was further shocked.
Is his best friend finally in love??
"Inder?? I'm happy for you" Armaan said and it was Inder's turn to be shocked
Armaam happy for someone in love??
He expected a scoff followed by taunt about the non existence of love and was all ready to defend his feelings
"Thank you" he choked out making Armaan chuckle
"Don't tell me the woman is one of your patients" Armaan teased again
"Talking about patients ,I got your email about finding your son and that woman who did a runner with your son. Couldn't get back to you sooner" Armaan's lips thinned in agitation
He didn't like how Inder referred to Janani as that woman.
He had done worse ,but he simply couldn't tolerate it from someone else
"That woman has a name.Janani Trivedi. And yes I found my son too" Armaan replied tightly making Inder frown
Why is Armaan defending that woman ,he couldn't understand
Inder still remembers Janani Trivedi
Her IVF was done in his hospital
He is one of the most renowned heart surgeons in the country and he had personally taken care of Janani Trivedi's case and consulted regularly with the gynaecologist regarding all her check ups as Armaan didn't want to be personally involved
Her eyes were dead cold and he did wonder what made Armaan select her as the surrogate
Then he thought it's better to have the surrogate mother as cold and detached as it wouldn't create problems in separation after the baby is born
But no one ever saw the possibility of her running away from the hospital
"I'm happy for you. How are they? Ava and what's his name??" Inder asked not wanting to probe further on Janani Trivedi
"Advaith. We call him Advi. And yeah both Ava and Advi are good" Armaan answered
"I will drop by for a visit soon. I will be pretty busy for the next week catching up with my regular patients "
"Will you be attending the charity event tonight??" Armaam asked
"No. I have a dinner planned for tonight" Inder smiled thinking about how he had manipulated Ananya Mittal to go on a dinner with him with little Aarav's help.
The woman is one tough nut to crack
"Oh okay. Will see you soon" and they hung up the call
****
Armaan fastened the sleeves of his dress shirt.
There was no sound of activity from Janani's room and he wondered whether he should have checked on her.
He remembered what happened an hour ago when he had handed over the gown he had gotten for her
"What's this??"
"Your dress for tonight " he said and saw her forhead creasing in a frown
Why?? She is supposed to be happy
"You didn't have to" she said
"Why?? Have you brought along your party outfits with you. I have never seen you wearing any of those. So I obviously thought you wanted me to buy you things" he said
Why is he angry at her anyway??
He is feeling things he had never felt before and anger is the best coping mechanism he found so far
"Ofcourse.Thank you so much" she said with a sarcastic touch
And she had walked into her room
She had been in there ever since and they have to leave within fifteen minutes
He was just walking towards the bedroom doors when they opened suddenly.
"Don’t say a word. Not a word."
A dangerous glint in her caramel brown eyes, she stalked barefoot across the carpet. A pair of silver shoes dangled from her fingers.
"Every time you open your mouth you say something nasty so just don't say a word"
She conveniently forget the moments when he told her eyes were beautiful
She buried the memory of him consoling her when they were at the hospital
She is too angry to remember all that now
Armaan was pleased she’d instructed him to say nothing because, for once, the power of speech appeared to have deserted him.
He was the one who bought the dress
He’d approved it ,but clearly he hadn’t devoted his full attention to the task because he had no memory of it looking quite this good.
Or maybe it was because he’d seen the dress in daylight and it was definitely designed to dazzle at night.
The fabric sparkled with every turn of her body and the effect was incredible ,it was as if she were illuminated, each sensuous curve lit up and accentuated by the shimmering fabric.
Her hair she’d scooped up and secured to the back of her head with silver clips, the slightly haphazard style both kooky and sexy.
'You look incredible' he wanted to say but his voice betrayed him
Once settled in the car Janani looked up at Armaan's profile to see his jaws were clenched tight
If you clench them anymore tighter ,you will break your teeth she wanted to say but stayed silent
"What am I supposed to do at the party" Janani asked
"As if you don't know" he scoffed
"As a matter of fact, I don't" Janani said and Armaan looked on suspiciously
"You see I only attend night clubs and parties. Never been to something as boring as a charity event" she put on a fake smile making Armaan more angrier
Why does she have to remind him about her past escapades
"There will be a throng of people, none of whom have the slightest interest in anyone but themselves and their own self-advancement. As it happens, I have a very specific reason for going to this particular event ,I need to speak to Rajath Pillai and Raghu Ramaswamy"
"Who are they?"
"Don’t you read newspapers?"
Janani flushed. "Sometimes. When I’m not working."
Armaan shook his head
"They are two of the richest men in South India. Very powerful "
"But not as powerful as you."
A ghost of a smile touched his mouth. "Different power."
"Alternative energy. Like fossil fuels versus a wind farm."
Looking at the thin line of his mouth, she sighed.
"Sorry. I forgot you don’t have a sense of humour. So these guys are going to be sitting at our table? I presume you want me to be extra-nice to him?"
"That won’t be possible. They don't speak much English and I doubt their interpreter will be there.I’m sure if you smile at him it won’t do any harm."
"I don't need an interpreter. I'm good at communicating with people" she said vaguely
"So you’re hoping to meet up with this Pillai guy ,who else? Doesn’t anyone just go to have fun?"
"They go to be seen. And at a charity ball they go to be seen spending money. It’s a game. I go because there are a few contacts I need to make. I have no doubt it will be boring."
Janani felt a renewed flutter of excitement at the prospect of playing Cinderella for a night.
She had never been interested in parties and stuff, but then she had never had a chance
For one day she will just forget everything and enjoy