Hard as a rock
"You cant do that love Himani was stern
"I cant come home without seeing him atleast one time Maa
"Yes you can, you did your best. You are the best Mommy. He loves you nobody can change that. Its time to let go Himani swallowed tearing up
"Aise kaise aa jaaoon? Itni door itna chalakar aayi hoon, ya to usko lekar jaaoongi yay ahi reh jaaoongi Avantika was adamant
"Abhi raat bahut ho gayi, aap so jao. "Deepak front desk mein hain, he has promised to be there until you leave the hotel in the morning she had showered barely eaten the room service food
Deepak was a Gupta Mills employee's nephew
"I am fine. What if I had become a NGO worker? Tab aap kya kartin? Teeku giggled for the first time
"Oh yes, phir hum saath chal padte aapke, like movie starlets ke Moms Himani giggled
"I will also need my hair dresser and PR person and the rest of the entourage she smiled yawned and lay back
It was midnight, she couldn't sleep
She spent the next hours tossing and turning, texting Devika
When the blue skies peeked through the curtains she jumped off the bed, showered again, and drove down to the JV sahib's residence, drinking her chai on the way
The guards recognized her "Judge sahib to subehahi korat chale gaye she was told at 7:17 AM
She was asked to wait until 9 AM when the waiting room was going to be opened
She still went to the waiting room and was the first one
The guard was missing from the chamber door also
She sat there.
And waited...
And waited
The thought of Chandan making her cry
Around 10 ish she heard footsteps
She stood up in anticipation
A tall man, wearing blue jeans and a black Hard Rock Cafe, Mayfair tee entered the room
"Umm.. excuse me she mumbled "Can I talk to you? she asked seeing the tee and the jeans
"Mera matlab, ek second baat karenge? she changed the language realizing it could be an employee wearing a knockoff
"The judge is at the courthouse he said abruptly in his smooth fluent flow
"Are you family? she asked with a polite half smile
"Umm yes...he said confused
"I want to speak to ... I don't know who brought umm... Chandan Vuh. she didn't say Vaidya
"I did he said firmly
"YOU? she was not prepared to come F2F with the man
"You were told to bring the kid?
"Not TOLD he said
"U see taking him away from school without the mother's permission is unlawful she said loudly
"Are you going to talk about law to an attorney? he scoffed
"You are a lawyer? she was baffled
"I called you didn't I on January 20th? he smiled unamused
"You stole my child!! U had no right to do that she shrieked
"Right? he scoffed again
"Of course right, I AM HIS FAMILY
"His Dad was born here
"Chandan's Dad was thrown out of this very same house she shouted, waving a finger
"You ignored the court order
"You stole the child
"I took whats mine
Saying so, the hard as a rock Harit walked away