The morning was a sombre affair in the Verma Household.
Janani had forced the brothers to the breakfast table. They were simply picking at the food without eating anything. Their eyes were swollen, with dark circles around them indicating a sleepless night.
Aaradhya walked down the stairs with her luggage in hand. Armaan and Aadesh frowned upon seeing her all set to leave.
"Where are you going?" Aadesh asked, his face showing confusion.
"My goal is achieved. I came here to prove my momma's innocence. Now that my job is done, I am going back home," Aaru said with an attitude as she placed her luggage near the door.
Armaan and Aadesh froze.
"You can't go," Armaan said harshly, and Aaru frowned.
"Excuse me, that's my decision to make, Mr. Armaan Verma," Aaru said, and Armaan closed his eyes in disbelief. The little twitch was taking revenge for the way he had talked to her yesterday.
"You have college, Aaru. You can't miss classes," Armaan said hopefully.
"I opted for a college here only because I wanted to meet you two and prove my mother's innocence. Now that it's done, I will get a Transfer Certificate from here and join a college in my hometown. That way, I can stay with my papa and momma always," Aaru said, her attitude still the same.
Aaradhya's words hung in the air, leaving a sense of emptiness and uncertainty in the room. Armaan and Aadesh exchanged glances, realising the weight of her decision.
“My place is with my family. I miss my father and mother terribly, and it's time for me to go back to them. Momma was very reluctant to send me to Mumbai for my studies. She didn’t like the thought of me staying away from her. She had gone through the pain of living a separate life from her sons. She couldn’t bear to have me also away from her. I was adamant, as I had other more important goals. Now it's time to go back and make my momma happy.” Aaru said and Armaan and Aadesh hung their heads low. They couldn’t look at her, without feeling ashamed of themselves.
With that said, Aaru turned on her heels and started walking towards the main door.
“Can we? Can we also come?” Armaan asked softly.
Aaru grinned hearing that hesitant question. This was what she wanted to hear.
She hid her grin and turned around to face them, donning a serious look on her face.
“Where, Mr Verma?” Aaru asked, faking a confused frown on her face.
Armaan took deep breaths. The man who never bowed down in front of anyone, for the first time decided, it's okay to bow down at times.
After all, it's his little sister standing in front of him. She seems to have inherited all that attitude from him.
“To your home, Aaru. We would like to come and meet her.” Armaan said softly.
“Her? Who is this ‘her’?” Aaru asked again and Armaan glared at her.
“Aaru..” Janani called in a warning tone and Aaru pouted.
“I was having fun!” Aaru complained like a kid and Armaan looked at her in disbelief.
“Not at my husband’s expense!” Janani said with a glare and Aaru scoffed.
She then turned to her elder brother and shot another attitude look at him.
“You can come with me on one condition.” Aaru said.
“What?” Armaan asked.
“You can come, only if you are ready to stay there for a week. You will have to delegate all your work to your employees and be completely there for momma. Ours is a small house. You guys will have to adjust there. If these conditions are okay with you, be ready in half an hour. Momma will be expecting me for lunch and I can’t disappoint her.” Aaru said haughtily and Armaan and Aadesh hurried to carry out their work of delegating office duties. Janani and Shreya did the packing.
In an hour, their journey to Ahuja house started.
Armaan and Aadesh were silent all through the drive. They could only think of the various scenarios of how their mother would react on seeing them.
Aaru and the kids had a blast in the car. They enjoyed the road trip very much.
As they reached Ahuja House, Aaradhya's heart raced with anticipation. She knew that this homecoming would bring both joy and tears. The Verma brothers stepped out of the car, their nervousness evident in their expressions. Aaradhya took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.
Armaan and Aadesh stood a little out of direct sight. They didn’t know how to face their mother. Knowing the hardships their mother went through and the guilt of never trying to find out the truth, the guilt of never giving their mother a chance was killing them.
Druga Ahuja opened the door and her eyes brightened seeing her daughter.
“Aaru, what a surprise!” She said and embraced her daughter with all the love she had in her.
Armaan and Aadesh had tears in their eyes witnessing the scene unfolding in front of them. This was what they had been missing out on all these years. That tender love and affection only a mother can provide.
“Your papa said we are having guests and that I should prepare a feast for them. He didn’t tell me it was coming.” Durga complained, as she caressed Aaru’s cheeks.
“We wanted to surprise you, Durga.” Gagan said, as he came and stood next to her.
“You have become leaner than before, Aaru. Weren’t you eating anything at the hostel?” Durga asked and Aaru rolled her eyes.
“I mean, how? How do all the mothers manage to say the same dialogue when they meet their children after a short separation?” Aaru asked and Durga glared at her.
“Oh my sweet momma! Don’t get angry. In fact, it’s a happy occasion.” Aaru said excitedly.
“What is it?” Durga asked expectantly.
“Okay guys! Enough of the hide and seek. Come out!” Aaru called out.
Only Armaan and Aadesh had stepped out of the car. Others were still inside the car, which was parked outside the gate.
“Who is it?” Durga asked curiously.
“Surprise!!” Aaru said and pointed at the two tall well built men walking towards them.
Durga froze as she took in the picture in front of her.