"Ved, careful baby. You are going to fall, if you run too fast." Anuradha shouted from behind as her angry son, Vedant, ran over to their home. 

From the moment Anuradha walked away, breaking Vedant apart from his papa dearest, the little boy remained sullen on their way back home. 

The sulky Vedant turned around to his mother, "No. I am not your baby. Don't call me that! I'm my papa's big boy." 

"Ved!" Anuradha tried to take a hold of his hand, before she could even touch him, he sprinted. 

"Nannyy..." Vedant entered the home, crying his lungs out, calling his grandma for help.

"Oh! You guys back?" Avantika did not notice at first, actually what was going on between the mother and son. 

Avantika secured Vedant in her arms as he threw himself at his grandma for support. 

Avantika detached his face a little from her body to see him and she was saying, "Hey, why did you run like this? What happened? Where is Anu?"

Vedant hid his face onto her tummy as he did not wish to face his mother now. "Nanny, please save me from her. She's going to punish--"

Anuradha directed Vedant not to make aware of Avantika's response, she pulled him a little hard. 

"Ved, did you know what you just told me outside? Huh?"

"I know, you are so bad." Vedant couldn't worry about his safety when he was around Avantika, so he could speak without dreading his punishment. 

Anuradha just thought for a moment, she was not hearing her son. Her beloved son, Ved, never would ever make her feel this way. This all happened because of one person, Rakshit. Her blood boiled, anger rushing through her veins. Her mind blanked out as if she was not aware of her surroundings. She could only see Rakshit's face, the very similar smiling face of him at that dreadful night. It was enough to lose her control, and the next second she was shouting, "VED!"

"Anu, calm down dear. He will be afraid only if you react like this." Avantika stopped Anuradha from reaching him out, making her realize this was not the correct way to make him right. 

Anuradha turned around to avoid as many possibilities as possible from not looking at his face. Right now, she could only think Vedant was being the son of Rakshit, whom she hated more than anything. Why couldn't she think that Vedant was also her son? He was made from both Rakshit and Anuradha. They could equally claim their own rights on him as his parents. If it weren't Rakshit, she could never get Vedant, her dear life. She wanted nothing but to burn herself when thinking about how she had to bear Rakshit's genes, who happened to be her gem. 

"Ved beta, how could you speak like that to your mother?" Avantika looked down at the little boy who's grumpy more than ever. As he was getting older, he was getting desperate for his father's love. That's what makes him turn against his mother. 

Avantika added further, "Don't repeat it ever. You know, she loves you a lot. Such words will hurt her."

But Rakshit's little fanboy exploded, before she could even imagine. "You are lying, nanny. She's not a lovely mother. She's a kind of bad mother in cartoons and stories." 

That's it! Anuradha lost it again. She held his shoulders and was asking, "What have I done to be so bad in your eyes?" 

"You're separating me from my papa. All these years you have been hiding me from my papa, now he found us, yet you don't let us be together." Vedant put his heart out before her. That's what he gathered with his little knowledge. 

Anuradha left him, realizing she could not change his mind while shouting or getting angry. 

"Oh my god! What kind of poison did that man inject in his little head? I wish I could choke him to death for making my son against me." 

"See, nanny, she wants to kill my poor papa. You know how loving and caring he is. He does want nothing, but Ma and I want to be with him. That's all he wants. My papa is poor, nanny. He can't live without us. He told me once." Vedant tried to gain Avantika's support to fight for Rakshit. 

"Enough of your papa's greatness. Never dare to say anything about him, not even his name." Anuradha shouted. She had no doubt, this Ved was another little version of Rakshit. He was getting under her skin just like his large version. 

"Anu, this is not the correct way to talk to a child. You would fail to convince him with your angry words." Avantika tried to understand her. 

"I will talk to him. You go inside." Avantika slightly pushed Anuradha to get inside her bedroom. 

Apparently, Avantika was the one who was trapped in between the mother and son. She didn't know which side she should take. Both of them were right on their sides. 

"Ved beta," she sat on a couch, pulling him over her lap. "You see, how much your mother is hurt?" 

"She didn't care about how my papa was hurt." Vedant countered back. 

Avantika realised that this stubborn boy was never going to listen to her sweet words. So she wanted to be careful with her words. 

"So, you love your papa so much?" She asked, already knowing what would be his reply. 

"Yeah! I love my papa soooo muchh..." Vedant replied with a cute smile. 

"Why do you love him so much?" 

"Because he's my papa!" Vedant squealed with happiness. Unintentionally, Avantika smiled too. He was talking about her son after all.

"You know, nanny, what promise papa had made when we met in the temple?" 

"Promise?" Avantika remembered the other day, Rakshit and Vedant were talking at the temple where Anuradha's wedding was supposed to be held. 

"He promised to give me a baby girl to play with." He chirped. 

"What baby girl? How?" Avantika asked instantly. 

"Yeah, a cute little baby girl when I told him about Papu(his friend) got a baby girl to play with, and I have nobody. Then he promised me that we will get a cute baby girl when we all start living together." 

Avantika's mouth fell open, hearing her son's promise. "Does he get any death wish?" She could not help but think to herself. 

Anuradha was equally stunned from what she heard from the other room. It's his intention to get close to her? Does he want to have another baby with her? What made him think she would let him have his way with her. Or he plans to force himself on her again? No! She would never let it happen. 

He did not get any other women for bearing his child? What did he think of her? A baby making machine who would deliver his children whenever he wanted? She should be careful around him.

●●●After two days●●●

Avantika reserved herself some time from the kitchen for watching her favorite serial. As she was moving over to the living area, there she saw someone who's not supposed to be there. 

"Are you still here?" Avantika took a place next to Anuradha who just smiled in return. 

"Why? You were expecting me to be somewhere else, ma?" Anuradha was watching t.v. It's obvious she did not pay attention to what was playing. 

"Two days you have been at home, and you have already forgotten about your classes?" Avantika was asking her about the home tuition she was taking. 

"Uh... I think I could take more leave." Anuradha smiled. Her eyes bounced to Vedant who's playing with a car. 

"What do you say, Ved baby? You will be happy if mamma stays here?" She sweetly smiled at him. 

"No." Vedant scowled. He did not forget their arguments from the other day.

"Why?" She mused. 

"You should go to your work, so I can play with nanni( grandma)."  Giving a convincing reply, he strolled to another room. 

"He's being right. You need to hurry up, if you don't want to miss another day. Come on, Anu!" Avantika urged her to get up and do her business. She was already late for her tuition. 

"Ma, I don't want to," Anuradha stayed there, not wavering. 

"Why? My Anu has never been like this." Avantika was confused. She had been behaving like a lazy person.

"You are not feeling well? Let me check you," Avantika put her hand on her temple. 

"I am good." Anuradha withdrew her hand, assuring she was fine. "Please don't worry about my health. I am all right." 

"You see, I don't like to continue tutoring anymore. It's so boring. Everyday teaching the same children. I am done." Anuradha reasoned why she was staying back home.

"You are not sounding like you." Avantika was watching her with a little suspicion. "And what about the children you were teaching? Their parents agree with your new mindset?" 

"Trust me, they were really glad, and about the children, they're gonna get a new teacher." Anuradha replied with a half smile. 

"How many lies are you going to tell me?" Avantika knew she was lying through her teeth.

"Lie? Why?" Anuradha felt she was being caught. "Why would I?" She tried to hide her emotions with a smile. 

"That's something you could only answer, dear. Why did you choose to lie to me when you can tell me anything about." Avantika was waiting for her to confess herself. She added, "Why, Anu? You began to think I was nobody to you." 

"Ma! Please don't say anything like this." Anuradha felt guilty to hide the truth. 

"Then, what's your problem?" 

"I lost the job." Anuradha told her not to meet her eyes. 

"What?" Avantika made her face look directly. "What are you talking about, Anu? How did you lose your job?"

"Who else is behind it? Your son!" Anuradha scowled. 

"Rakshit? Did he?" Avantika couldn't believe her son would do such things. 

"Practically he's not, but he's the one behind it. His obsessed fianceè, Rinisha, had done it." Anuradha had done with Rakshit and his fiancee were ruining her life. What had she done to them?

"Why?" Avantika asked. 

"She thinks I seduced her innocent fiancè and made him stop their marriage." Anuradha told her with a red face. "Pathetic!"

"Rakshit? Does he know?" Avantika prayed inwardly, for he did not have his hand in this. 

"I don't care." Anuradha could care less about whether he knew it or not. 

For some time they did not speak to each other, as if they fell into silence to wander in their thoughts. 

"I have been thinking for days, how do I talk to you about it?" Avantika broke the silence after deciding it's the time to talk about what she had been thinking over days. 

"What's it, ma? You can tell me anything." Anuradha assured. 

Avantika took a deep breath before speaking, "It's about Rakshit." 

"I am listening," Anuradha turned her face to the other side. 

"We don't want to get on like this. It's getting tiring, nothing better." Avantika began, "We deserve to live like others do. We truly deserve it!" She stopped to take a look at Anuradha who's hearing. 

"We need to put an end to everything that is disturbing our lives that threatens to take our peace. Don't you think it's going too far? And it's time to stop everything?" She added hopefully, she had an answer. 

"How? Do you think it's all in my hands?" Anuradha felt helpless. How much she wanted to free from the chaos which was eating her life.

"Yeah, only you can stop this." Avantika said, making her turn. 

"I don't know," Anuradha said. 

Avantika held her hand, and was saying, "Either you should accept him, forgetting what he had done to you or punish him for what he had taken from you." 

"Ma? What are--?" 

Avantika didn't let her finish, "You have to pick one. Don't try to run away from him anymore. Face it bravely."