"Beta, I'll be back tomorrow! You just have to stay with Rana Mausi for today." Riya looked down at her daughter, reluctantly letting go of her hand.
"Mumma! Please don't leave! I don't want to stay with her!" Cia whined.
Riya handed the other woman Cia's overnight bag, and the contact list.
"Please make sure she sleeps on time, and thanks once again for doing this on such short notice." She thanked her friend, already slipping back to her car.
Rana looked down at Cia, and asked if she wanted to watch Tom & Jerry, to which she happily agreed, and then looked at Riya and waved.
Riya sat in her driver's seat, and swallowed the lump that rose whenever she had to leave Cia.
It had been much like this when she had lost her husband, Sanjay.
"Honey, I'll be back in no time!"
She pecked him on the cheek, and he turned to the door to leave, stopping to turn back and wave at her.
She had been eating Nutella out of the jar when the phone had rung.
"Is this Ms. Riya Mukherjee's residence?" The voice was detached, and decidedly male.
"Yes, but that is my maiden name. I go by Riya Raiker now." Her brain was screaming at her to hang up, but she couldn't.
"We are sorry to inform you that Mr. Sanjay Rai-"
She dropped the phone, sinking to the floor slowly.
Cia had been born nine months later, and she was the spitting image of her father, with her jet black hair, fair skin and gray eyes.
She was shaken out of her reverie by the honking of the car next to her. She turned around, annoyed, and was greeted by Arjun's aviators. She lifted an eyebrow, annoyed, and asked, "What?"
"Why were you late today?" He countered, in the same tone.
Riya flushed, then opened and closed her mouth several times, before answering. "I-I had some family obligations." She said, the pain in her eyes wholly visible to a very confused Arjun. She had done her best to hide her pain from ETF, and generally conceal Cia from the world that was half her life.
Having answered his question, she got up and left, trying to wipe the wetness from her eyes discreetly, and failing miserably.
Shree and Chottu saw her distress, and tried their best to make her feel better, but nothing seemed to work. Rathod called them to the discussion table, and she was very distant, looking off to a point, and nervously clasping and unclasping her fingers as she did.
"So, gang, we have a kidnap case. The kidnappers haven't declared ransom, and the lady who reported the kidnapping also told us that the mother had dropped the girl off this morning."
Riya's head snapped up. "What' What was the girl's name?" Her tone was urgent, and the rest of the team looked at each other unsurely. "What was her name, dammit!"
"Her name was Cia, Cia Raiker." Arjun spoke, curiously detached, but quickly becoming horrified when Riya sank to the ground and began to sob broken sobs.
Shree and Chottu went to help her up, and she pushed them away, standing up on unsteady feet, and running outside to her car.
Rathod was trying his hardest to stay in control, but was perplexed as well. "Shree, do a check on the girl. Chottu, go check-"
"I'll go, sir." Arjun interrupted, and ran out behind Riya.
Shree pulled up the site, and gasped as the facts became suddenly clear. "Sir. Cia' Cia is her daughter. Her and Sanjay Raiker, her ex-husband's. He died in battle."
Arjun stopped at the end of the corridor, and spun on one foot before running even faster behind Riya, his mind reeling at the knowledge he had just found.
Riya sat inside her car, shutting the door and putting her face into her hands, before beginning to cry in earnest.
Suddenly, she heard raps on her window. She hastily wiped her face, and opened the door, looking up to a concerned Arjun.
She cleared her throat, and spoke, "Some family business, sir. It was urgent. We should' Go work on the case."
He shook his head, and lifted her head up with his finger.
"it's okay to cry. You need
to let it go."
And she did, crashing into his chest and wrapping her arms around his back. He
stood for a moment, before crushing her small frame to his, and gently kissing
the crown of her head, murmuring sweet words of ebcouragement to her.
She calmed down about fifteen minutes later, and wiped her nose with trembling hands, her eyes widening at the tear stains on his shirt. She started to apologize, and he simply held a hand to her lips, and smiled, shaking his head, gently leading her back inside.
She left to the restroom, but Arjun's mind kept spinning around her. How she had experienced almost the same pain he had. And how she had kept it hidden. Turns out there was more to Riya Mukherjee than she let on. Lots more.
My second time writing on this forum. Inspired by @sweetdoc I hope it was up to your expectations. If you have any requests, drop them here: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/3178320
If you want PMs, just buddy me, and send a PM/scrap that you're from the Arjun forum. And I want reviews if you want PMs. And yes, I do know I sound greedy. Deal with it :P And now, TANKS to all the lovelies who reviewed last OS. You all are beautiful, and perfect.
To everyone who did:
To all the people who didn't:
And to those who think my language/I am 'not nice':