Love Me Again

Surprise

Chapter 5

Surprise

“Jay! Where are we going?” I asked as he held my hand and led me to the waiting limousine.

Jay had called home and asked me to dress in a ball gown and be ready for when he got home.

He didn’t say anything, but the look on his face was making worry a bit.

He seemed angry and upset.

I moved closer to him and wrapped my hand around his arm.

“Jay what’s going on?” I asked again.

“Nothing Amara.” He said curtly, while removing my hand.

I was so hurt by his action but he sat there looking out the window.

He had been acting strange for the past few days and I was starting to get worried.

I sat there silently contemplating what could have happened to him. What had caused the man I had fallen in love with to become so distant and angry.

I couldn’t help but think I was the cause.

It reminded me of what it was like in the beginning.

Marrying a man in love with someone else had been the scariest thing I had done in my life, but it had worked out. Jay had tried and so had I, we had built our little life together and moved on.

I was thankful.

My father had been right. Jay was the right person for me. He had changed my life.

I hadn’t felt alone.

I finally had a place I felt like I belonged.

I didn’t know how wrong I was about everything.

When the car stopped and Jay helped me out of the limo, I saw that we were at Jay’s family home.

“Jay what are we doing here?” I asked for the third time.

Jay stayed silent and just pulled me along.

I knew. The moment we stepped through the doors, I knew my world was about to fall apart.

Jay led me to the ballroom doors.

I stopped mid step.

There in front of me was a sign.

‘Welcome to Zara and Devan’s engagement’

I looked at Jay and understood what was wrong with him.

The love of his life was getting engaged to his cousin. He needed to prove that he was happy and didn’t care.

But you didn’t need to prove something that was actually true.

And I shed a tear.

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“Boys!” I yelled after the twins.

I had a hangover from last night and my boys had decided that London was going to be the city where they refuse to listen to me. As a mother I know that the trip and the change of environment were a factor but I just couldn’t this morning.

I shouldn’t have started drinking straight from the bottle but seeing Jay had shook me a bit too much and I clearly couldn’t handle it.

I honestly couldn’t remember most of what happened after my third glass… or was it the drinking from the bottle…whatever. It was what it was.

I had gone overboard and now I was dealing with the consequences.

“Zian!”

They kept going, out the bathroom, out the bedroom and into the hall.

“Tej!” I yelled as I ran after them. “You’re supposed to stop your brother from doing things like this, not join him.” I said under my breath.

I heard them giggle together and look at me.

“Boys get back to the bathroom. You have to brush your teeth!” I yelled after them.

“We want to play momma with baba!” I heard Tej say.

They ran down the stairs and I followed after them.

“Boys!”

As I got to the bottom step I lost my footing, I thought I was about to fall off face first when a set of arms grabbed me…more like I fell into them.

“s**t, sorry”

“It’s fine. Are you alright?”

I knew that voice. That voice sent unwanted chill down my spine.

Jay.

I looked up and saw it was him.

It took me a second to register that I was wrapped around him but as soon as it dawn on me, I hastily pulled away and took a few steps back.

He gave me a strange look, I could figure out what it meant.

“Amara-

“Ma’am”

Before Jay could say whatever it was that he wanted to Nina, my children’s nanny called out for me.

I turned avoiding looking at Jay again.

“Yes Nina?” I asked looking upstairs.

Nina was standing at the top with stairs with my baby girl in her arms and Arya’s face was red.

Nina had helped me with the twins and Arya a few years back. She had been a student, studying early childhood development but helped me out as much as she could when I was setting up my small little business. Now she was working on her PHD here in London and offered to help again. She had been a live saver back then and she was again.

“I can get the boys, Arya wants her mom.”

I nodded my head.

“Boys, your both going to have time outs today and there will be no going to the park today if you both aren’t upstairs in one minute. And you better listen to Nina.” I yelled out as I walked back up the stairs and took Arya into my arms.

“We’re coming!” I heard Tej yell out.

“I’ve got them!” Nina said walking down the stairs.

I took Arya back to her room and cuddled with her. She was exactly what I needed at the moment.

My mind drifted back to Jay.

Jay…

I hadn’t seen him in years and now I had a feeling I was going to have to see him daily. Seeing him brought back the painful memories and the lies. That was what he had given me.

Painful memories and lies.

I had loved him with everything I had and yet in return I was given nothing but lies, deceit and deception.

Now that I was finally content in my life. Living for my sons and daughter. I had made a new life, new friends and even tried dating in between. It wasn’t for me, more like I couldn’t do it, but that was how I had met some one my greatest friends, like Naveen.

I looked down and saw that my baby was asleep and I put her in her crib.

“Come on boys, you owe you mom an apology.” Nina said, walking in hold each of the twins hands.

Tej and Zian let go of Nina’s hand and walked up to me.

Zian had a sly smile on his face and Tej had such sad look. Their faces showed their personalities.

“Sorry Momma.” Tej said quietly walking up to me and giving my legs a hug.

I crouched down and hugged him back.

Zian, the mischievous little monster had his hands behind him and was swinging back and forth.

“Do you have anything to say Zian?” I asked.

“I’m sorry too momma.” He said.

He walked over and gave me a quick hug before walking back.

“Okay boys, Nina is going to help you get ready and then your going to come down and have breakfast.” I told the two of them.

They nodded their heads.

“Momma!”

“Yes Tej?”

“That man from yesterday is back! Baba’s friend!”

I nodded.

“Why is here?” Zian asked.

“Because he’s Baba’s friend. Baba’s sick, right?” I asked.

Zian nodded.

“So that man is here to see Baba, when someone’s unwell you go see them and help them.”

The boys nodded their head in understanding.

I smiled at Nina.

“Boys go to the washroom, I’ll be right there.” Nina told them.

They rushed out of the room.

Nina looked at me. “Is that him down there?”

I nodded my head. “That’s him.”

“He’s not at all what I imagined him to be like.”

“What did you think he would look like?” I asked.

Nina smiled, “Uglier”

“I wish.” I said with a laugh. 

“He’s good with the boys.”

My heart dropped in my chest. I didn’t want him to be good with my sons. It was cruel and you could say even jealous but I was terrified Jay would find out that Tej and Zian were his, I couldn’t risk it.

“Nina-

“You don’t need to say a thing, I understand. Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it from my end.” She said with a stiff nod.

“I better head down and make these monkeys some breakfast.”

I left the room and headed back downstairs. I was still feeling the effects of last night.

I walked past my Baba’s room, I heard Jay talking to him but I didn’t want to hear a thing, my plan was to walk right past but then I heard him say “Zian” and my heart rate accelerated.

“Tej and Zian?” Jay asked.

 “Yes.”

“And her daughter’s name?” He asked.

“Arya.”

“She has three kids.”

Baba didn’t say anything.

“What about her husband? What’s he like?” Jay asked.

I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall. I hope Baba wouldn’t tell him the truth.

“Why don’t you talk to her directly?” Baba said.

Jay scoffed, “Amara would sooner spit in my face than talk to me. She’s practically ran away when I saw her this morning. I thought that her anger would have dissipated by now. She’s clearly moved on in life.”

“Have you?” Baba asked.

“Of course. You know I have.”

I opened my eyes.

Of course, he had. He had left me so he could.

I had to walk away. I didn’t want to listen to him talk about it.

I went into the kitchen and there was my cousin Sherry, practically sleeping in her cereal bowl. 

“Sherry wake up!”

“What? How the hell are you so awake?” She asked sleepily.

“Trust me I want to sleep, I need it. My brain is hurting but I have kids that don’t care or understand that their mother has a hangover, not that I want them too.” I answered, pulling out ingredients for pancakes.

Sherry stood up and came to help me.

“Well, I’m getting too old for this.”

I looked at her, “If you’re getting old for this than I’m definitely too old.”

Sherry shrugged at me.

I quickly made pancakes while Sherry set the table.

“Momma!”

“Momma I’m hungry.”

The boys ran in and went straight to the table.

“Food’s ready, sit down and I’ll be right there.”

The boys obeyed me and went to take their seats.

Sherry and I joined them.

“HELLOOOOO”

I looked at Sherry, “What the hell?” She yelled standing up.

I had been in the middle of pouring milk for the boys when I heard the voice.

What the hell was she was doing here? What was going on here behind my back? Was I overreacting? She was his wife, why wouldn’t she come with him?

But to my father’s house?

“JAY! UNCLE VIJAY!”

My poor heart. It was beating so fast at the sound of the voice of the woman who had ruined my marriage. The woman who couldn’t pick just one but had to go back and forth. So much so that she had destroyed everything I had worked hard to build and my future I could have had.

Zara.