Pretend To Be Mine

by P. G. Van

  “Hello, Mrs. Varma. You are indeed beautiful. No wonder my buddy married you so fast.” Raghav chuckled and added, “Sorry to keep you and my daughter waiting, but I wanted to be immaculately clean to be able to hold her.”

  “No.” It was a bark, and Raghav’s eyes showed a thread of fear in response to Dheeraj’s tone. “You will only look at her.”

  Raghav stood up from his chair making the metal cuffs clank loudly against the armrest. “That is ridiculous. She is not an animal in the zoo for me to look at. She is my seed, and I will hold her.”

  A shudder passed through Anjali but was distracted by the movement in Dheeraj’s arms. Inara’s eyes flew open in response to the loud voice but fell asleep in a moment.

  Anjali looked at Raghav and met his gaze. “Inara is sleeping, so please keep your voice down.”

  “I am very sorry. I got very emotional.” Raghav sat back in his chair looking dejected.

  Anjali kept her eyes trained on the man as red flags went off in her head. The man was being extremely calm in spite of the situation he was in, and it took her a few minutes to remember that the adoption panel was watching, and he was putting on a show for them.

  “Dheeraj, go sit next to him so he can see her,” Anjali whispered, her eyes averting to the mirrored wall long enough for Dheeraj to remember that the panel was watching them.

  Dheeraj let out a low growl and walked toward the table but walked past Raghav toward the older couple.

  “Raj, you are awesome, my friend. Thank you for letting my mom see her granddaughter first. My daughter needs their blessings,” Raghav said cheerfully.

  Anjali kept her eyes on Dheeraj and knew he was exercising a lot of restraint. From what she knew of him, every word that came out of Raghav’s mouth was scorching Dheeraj on the inside, but he did not react. She stood listening to Raghav talk to Dheeraj in an extremely sweet tone, but she knew that man was trying to get a reaction out of Dheeraj in hopes of creating a negative impression from the panel.

  Anjali couldn’t take the statements Raghav was making, and she needed him to stop. “Raghav, I am sure you are very excited to see the baby, but please keep your voice down.”

  Raghav looked at her like he wanted to burn her on her spot. “Thank you for your concern, but maybe I want her to be awake. She is my daughter. I want her to see me. I’m sure she will recognize me.”

  Anjali wanted to reach out and claw the man’s face when he started shaking Inara’s leg to wake her up.

  “Don’t wake her up,” Anjali growled and looked at Dheeraj as he sat next to Raghav holding her in his arms.

  “Fine, I won’t wake her up but let me hold her,” Raghav demanded.

  Dheeraj looked at Anjali, and the dejection in his eyes made her heart twist painfully. She could not imagine how difficult it was for him to sit next to the man who was the reason for his sister’s death, a friend who he had trusted to take care of his sister for life.

  “I just want to hold her for five minutes,” Raghav pleaded with what looked like remorse in his eyes.

  “No.” Dheeraj was curt.

  “Dheeraj, just place her on his lap. It won’t wake her up,” Anjali chimed, and Raghav eagerly held out his cuffed hands. Dheeraj stood up and placed Inara in Raghav’s lap and stood inches from her.

  Raghav looked up at Dheeraj and smiled deviously. “You may leave now.”

  Anjali saw Dheeraj fist his fingers, and she was quick to move the chair next to her to distract him. “Raghav, please be kind to my husband. It took a lot of effort for him to bring our baby here to a correctional facility.”

  “Your baby? What did you do to claim her as your baby?” Raghav challenged looking directly at her.

  “Everything.”

  Raghav glared at Anjali. “How the hell are you even in this room? What’s your relation to…”

  Dheeraj did not let him finish. “She is my wife, and the mother of my child.”

  “Mother? That’s a joke. She is mine, only mine.” Raghav jerked the baby in his hands to hold her closer.

  Inara who was already having a disturbed nap was partially awake, and Anjali held her breath as she started blinking her eyes. Dheeraj tried to reach for her, but Raghav jerked her away from him and barked. “No, I want her to see me.”

  Anjali’s worst nightmare was coming true, and she dreaded to look at Inara because she knew it would be hard for her and Dheeraj to see the baby smile at Raghav.

  “Hi, baby,” Raghav cooed to her, and Inara let out a low cry initially, and within a matter of seconds, Raghav was begging Dheeraj to take her back. Inara was not a crybaby, but when she was pissed, she had a cry that could put cracks in everyone’s eardrums.

  “Make her stop crying.” Raghav looked horrified as Dheeraj picked up Inara back into his arms attempting to comfort her, and it didn’t seem to help.

  Raghav’s mother stood up to leave. “All the noise is giving me a migraine. We will wait outside.”

  Dheeraj muttered to the baby softly, but she was not calming down even after Anjali took Inara into her arms. Inara pushed away the bottle of milk Anjali offered, and she held the baby to her to calm her, but nothing was helping her.

  “Madam, try nursing her,” one of the female police officers suggested.

  Raghav laughed not caring about the crying baby. “She is not the real mother.”

  Without another word, Anjali sat in the chair right across the table from Raghav and held Inara in the feeding position. Dheeraj shook off his jacket and placed it over her chest.

  Anjali did not have the feeding system, but she unzipped the zipper on her dress and offered the baby her breast in hopes of comforting her and was relieved when the baby latched on immediately. Inara wasn’t hungry but tired from crying and suckled on it as she fell back asleep.

  Anjali looked up at Dheeraj, and the look on his face made her heart melt. He looked at her with affection and love she had not seen before. He looked at her like she helped him win the war over evil.

  “What did you say, Raghav? Not her real mother? If Inara is the way she is, heck if Inara is alive today, she is the reason. This will be the first and last time you will ever talk to my wife like that, understood?”

  Raghav was visibly shaken still in shock at the sight in front of him. “How is that possible?”

  “Only for a mother,” Dheeraj said softly and turned to look at Anjali.

  “Geetanjali, let’s go.” Dheeraj helped her out of the chair after she adjusted and closed the zipper on her dress. He adjusted his jacket over her chest as if he didn’t want Raghav to see Inara who was sleeping in Anjali’s arms.

  “That hospital, you named it after your wife? Why her name?” Raghav’s voice wobbled.

  “Yes, because she is my everything. I’m sure it is hard for someone like you who only knows to abandon your wife to comprehend that feeling. Goodbye, Raghav. I hope I never see you again.” Dheeraj turned away and led Anjali out of that room.

  “I love you, Dheeraj.” She smiled stepping out of the room holding the baby to her.

  “Baby, I love you so much. I want to kiss you right here.”

  Anjali laughed. “Wait till we get to the car.”

  “I can’t wait.” He laughed.

  Chapter 19

  A couple of weeks after meeting Raghav in the correctional facility, Dheeraj was in his office reviewing the adoption application status with his lawyer, Mr. Singh.

  “How many times will the adoption panel consider their appeal after what they saw at the jail?” Dheeraj was annoyed.

  “Dheeraj, the panel wants to be fair to everyone.”

  “Does that mean they will consider an appeal to adopt Inara from every other person in their family?” Dheeraj referred to an appeal Raghav’s mother submitted after Raghav was deemed unfit to take care of the baby.

  “Dheeraj, you have been patient for so long, just hold on a bit longer.”

  “I want to move on with my life, Mr. Singh. I want to know Inar
a will be part of mine and Geetanjali’s life,” Dheeraj growled and looked away from Mr. Singh when a movement behind him caught his eye.

  The annoyance melted away, and a smile pulled up on his lips. “Mr. Singh, we need to end our meeting now.”

  “Dheeraj, I want to talk to you about the new project in the remote place… Devarakonda. Why are you even interested in investing there?”

  “Mr. Singh, this meeting is over, and that project is not for profit, it’s for my wife. I need to go now.” Dheeraj left the office and walked into the hallway to greet Geetanjali. He enjoyed the surprises she gave him from time to time, and it did wonders for his morale.

  Dheeraj put his arms around Geetanjali and kissed her cheek and whispered, “You look ravishing.” Anjali laughed as Inara almost jumped out of her hands to go to Dheeraj.

  “Inara missed you.” Anjali looked at him as he kissed their baby.

  “I missed you too, munchkin.” He nuzzled the baby’s soft cheek and led Anjali back into his office.

  “Hello, Mrs. Varma. I know now why my meeting ended abruptly.”

  “Oh… I’m sorry,” Anjali said sheepishly.

  “Mr. Singh, we were done talking, and we can talk about the other project later,” Dheeraj said, sounding adamant.

  “But the meeting…”

  Dheeraj didn’t let him finish. “You handle it, keep it to just introductions for today, and we can follow up when I am back.”

  “Dheeraj, Inara and I…” Anjali started to say, and Dheeraj hushed her.

  “Mr. Singh can handle the meeting. Right, Mr. Singh?” Dheeraj laughed looking at his lawyer, and the older man smiled and left the office.

  “Dheeraj, I probably shouldn’t show up like this at your office.” Anjali felt bad about interrupting his work.

  “Sweetheart, don’t… you have no idea how happy I am to see you and Inara. My day gets better when you give me such surprises.”

  “I will call your assistant next time and make sure you don’t have any meetings.”

  “You don’t have to,” he said placing Inara on the floor, and put the paperweights she loves to play with in front of her.

  Dheeraj walked over to where Anjali stood enjoying the view of the city and hugged her from behind, kissing the bare skin on her shoulder.

  “Let me remind you we are in your office.” She giggled.

  “Yes, my office. I have the security screen on.” The one-way glass gave him a view of the floor without people looking into his office when he was with his family or in important meetings.

  Anjali turned around in his arms to go up on her toes to kiss him. “We should go… I brought Inara because she wanted to see you.”

  Dheeraj chuckled. “And you didn’t want to see me?”

  She smiled. “I did. You left before I woke up, and you are disappearing from the office on a trip later today.”

  “After the late night with me last night, you needed the sleep.” His words made her cheeks turn hot.

  “I had fun last night.” She smiled.

  “The pleasure was all mine, baby.” He nuzzled her ear sending delectable chills through her body.

  “Do you want to go get coffee?” she asked as he trailed his lips down her neck, hungrily.

  “I want you.”

  Anjali laughed pushing him away. “Dheeraj, hold it in until you are home.”

  “Oh yeah? You think you can hold it in if I kiss you like you kissed me?” he teased.

  “Coffee first. Get your daughter, Mr. Varma.” Anjali laughed and started walking toward the glass door of his office and froze in her path turning around when she saw the man standing right outside the office.

  Surya!

  “Geetanjali, what’s the matter?” Dheeraj walked up to where she stood visibly shaken and out of breath.

  “Dhee… Dheeraj, can he see me?” Anjali stuttered.

  “No, he cannot… baby, are you okay?” He put his arm around her pulling her to him.

  Anjali hugged him, sobbing into his chest, her body shivering like she saw a ghost. “Why is he in your office… how do you know him?”

  “Baby, I don’t know who you are talking about. Come sit down.” Dheeraj took her to the couch in his office and sat her down holding Inara in his arms.

  “Dheeraj… that is Surya, the man responsible for ruining everything I dreamed of and managed to control my life until I met you.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Why is he here, Dheeraj?” Anjali asked turning to look at the man who stood next to Mr. Singh while he talked to Dheeraj’s admin assistant.

  “I don’t know who that is. He is probably here for a meeting regarding a project.”

  “What? Don’t work with him, he is a cheater. He will ruin everything,” she pleaded, tears running down her cheek.

  “Geetanjali, I want you to calm down and tell me what happened and why you are so scared of him.” Dheeraj ran his hand on her back to comfort her.

  “Dheeraj, his family cheated my grandmother and me. They said they would take care of me and my education after she passed away, and they did nothing. They took away my inheritance and refused to pay for my education. I wanted to be a doctor, and when I told them I wanted to go back to America to study, they laughed at me and refused to give me money. I had to take a break from school to work so I could pay for nursing school, and until a couple of months back, I was begging that man to let me sell at least half my property so that I could build the hospital with my grandmother’s name…”

  Anjali’s voice trailed off when Dheeraj handed her a bottle of water. She took a few gulps and wiped her eyes.

  “Why did you not tell me all this?” Dheeraj’s voice was soft yet firm.

  “I… I didn’t ever want to see him or remember what happened. It gives me chills just thinking about everything that happened. I decided not to deal with him or his family after you built that hospital. That was my dream, and when you fulfilled it, nothing else mattered to me.”

  “That large payment, the contract money that you paid… that was for him?” Dheeraj asked.

  Anjali nodded. “That money was like a bribe for him to allow me to sell my inheritance and get me the money from the sale.”

  “Why does he have to sell it. If it is yours, why can’t you sell it?” Dheeraj seemed surprised.

  “Surya’s family has a hold on the entire region. His father was once a local goon who gained my grandmother’s trust and used my family’s reputation to become the local political leader. Any business deal that happens in that region has to go through them… there is no law in that region and…” Her voice trailed off when she put two and two together.

  “Dheeraj, why is Surya here? What project were you referring to earlier?”

  “Baby, stop looking so worried. I will not move forward if you don’t want to deal with him, but that man deserves a beating for what he put you through.” Dheeraj gritted his teeth.

  “Let him go. What did you want from him?” Anjali asked.

  Dheeraj smiled. “This was supposed to be a surprise, but I was looking for a good location to build a hospital in your hometown, Devarakonda, just like you wanted. When our agent reached out for a large piece of land, Surya was the one who had the land we needed, and that’s why he is here in my office.”

  Anjali hid her face in her hands and started sobbing. Dheeraj put Inara back on the carpeted floor and gave her a couple of toys to keep her busy and pulled Anjali into his arms.

  “Stop crying, sweetheart. Why is this so emotional for you?” Dheeraj tried to comfort her.

  “Every piece of land they claim to be theirs is mine… my inheritance that they snatched away from me.”

  “How can they claim that? How is that possible? Stay here,” Dheeraj said and stepped out of the office.

  Anjali got up from the couch to sit next to Inara as she played with the glass paperweights. She had never expected her past to bleed into her present and future, but the reason for it was beca
use of the love Dheeraj had for her, his need to fulfill every wish and dream of hers, and this made her path cross with her nemesis.

  Anjali looked up when the door opened, and Dheeraj stepped in, his expression indecipherable. He silently walked over to where she sat and leaned against his table.

  “Geetanjali, what are you not telling me?”

  “Dheeraj, what do you mean?”

  “The property we were interested in is listed under your name with Surya Kota with the power of attorney to sell.”

  “What? No. I did not give him any such authority. I was too young even to know to give him such authority.”

  Dheeraj shook his head as he flipped through the pages he had in his hands and stopped when a specific sheet of paper caught his attention. His heart stopped and started when he saw the names on the sheet titled, ‘Certificate of Marriage.’

  “Geetanjali… what the heck is this?” Dheeraj’s eyes burned with anger as he held the marriage certificate with Surya’s and Anjali’s name on it.

  “No… that was not real. That was only for my grandmother as her last dying wish.” Anjali started to shake.

  “Geetanjali, why is there a marriage certificate that states you are married to that man? Did you marry him?”

  “Dheeraj, let me…”

  “Just yes or no, Geetanjali. Did you marry him or not?” He raised his voice.

  “Yes, but that was…”

  Dheeraj didn’t let her finish. “I should have known everything was too good to be true.”

  “Dheeraj, let me explain,” Anjali pleaded.

  “Why didn’t you tell me? You didn’t find an opportune moment in all these months to tell me?”

  “Dheeraj, listen… it was my grandmother’s dying wish to see me get married, so I got married for her sake so she could go away peacefully. It was a fake marriage.”

  “That marriage would have been fake, but this certificate… this certificate could void our marriage and turn the tables on the adoption process.” Dheeraj threw the stack of papers on his desk and ran his fingers through his hair frustrated with the latest findings.