20 The Queen of the Hearth Part 20

They were still sitting at the table when Sukkhi suddenly came barreling inside – earlier than expected. Her eyes fell straight on the hand holding of Kamal and Rani. She did not take another step and stood rooted at the doorway.

Kamal and Sukkhi lived in a secure, heavily-guarded society – with high-quality CCTV cameras installed everywhere. So, when Sukkhi used to go for the morning walk, they hardly ever locked the door. Originally, it was done to save Kamal the inconvenience of getting up if Sukkhi arrived early. Then, they fell into the habit of leaving the doors unlocked at the time.

Kamal and Jassi got up with a jerk. They were still holding hands.

"It's not what you are thinking, my dear," said Kamal moving towards Sukkhi with open arms as if to hug her.

Sukkhi turned a blank face to Kamal. There were hurt, anger, and distrust in her eyes.

Right behind her, Mr Jaiswal, secretary of their society and a police constable walked into the home.

"What is this, Kamal? You are a Professor. We expect you to be a responsible citizen. You kept a maid and didn't get her verified?"

Jassi's heart beat rose. With a policeman around, she wondered if Rajeshwar had actually died because of her oil attack and she could be arrested for murder. Drops of sweat appeared on her forehead.

For a couple of seconds, Kamal considered revealing the identity of Jassi but the same thought crossed his mind. What if Rajeshwar actually died and Jassi gets arrested for it? Anyways, he had hidden Jassi's identity from Sukkhi. This alone was enough to explode her.

Kamal was not only a Professor but also a renowned scientist. He used to earn pretty well through industry consultations. He had all the means to support Jassi who had proved that she deserved a little help with all her academic achievements. But Sukkhi, daughter of a shrewd businessman, could never understand this. When Jassi disappeared and he had to file a missing complaint in the police and run missing person ads, Sukkhi went ballistic.

She could not understand why Kamal would spend money on an orphan he was not related to – to such an extent. She had even expressed doubts that whether what Renny said was true and Jassi was his illegitimate daughter. It took a long time for Kamal to make her understand that what he did was only as charity and he had no vested interests in the case.

"Mr Kamal, I am talking to you. How can you be so irresponsible? You are not only putting your family at risk but also compromising the security of the entire society. Here is a police constable. Ask your maid to produce her papers or he can escort her outside," Jaiswal said. He refrained from commenting on why he was sitting with his maid at the dining table and why he was holding hands with a maid – a girl half her age.

Somewhere, in his mind, he was thinking about the story of promiscuous Lolita and smiling at how the most saintly-looking men fall prey to such vicious temptations of the body.

Kamal came up with a lame excuse, "I did not feel the need to get her verified, Jaiswal, because I knew her personally before she came here."

Sukkhi's eyes widened. She opened her mouth, and then, realised that there were other people around her and closed her mouth.

Kamal continued, "She is a cousin of my friend Balvinder who personally recommended her to me. She is a poor girl and I am sure she is harmless."

"If she is so harmless, what is the problem with her producing the papers," Sukkhi said in a sharp tone.

Kamal could not think of an excuse then.

"Aunty ji, actually, I ran from my husband because he was a drunkard and used to beat me every day. He is also involved with the wrong kind of people. Uncle ji was just asking me for the papers and I told him my entire story. I told him that if the police went there for verification and my husband comes to know about my location, he would kill me. Uncle ji promised that he would not let me in any danger and that I was like a daughter to him," Rani said.

Sukkhi looked at Kamal to see his expressions.

Kamal quickly added, "How could I not say that? Look at her. She is about the same age as our daughter – Shelley. I was moved. I promised to help her. You listen to her story and then, decide." Then, he turned to Mr Jaiswal and the constable and said, "I personally take her responsibility. I am sure you can trust me on this."

Jaiswal nodded. "OK…only on your personal guarantee. Sukkhi ji, are you okay with this?"

Sukkhi nodded her agreement – much to the relief of Kamal and Jassi.