2 Part 1

Jyotsna was both surprised and shocked when her brother had asked her to walk to the park near their call centre and breathe in some fresh air.

Nevertheless, the respect which Jyotsna had for Varun like she had everyone in their family pushed her to go and Jyotsna agreed to give him company to the park, where the brother-sister duo sat in isolation from the rest of the population.

“Jyotsna, will you do something for the welfare of our family? The earnings which we both get for working in call centers are not sufficient to support our family, you see.” Manipulator that he was, Varun was having his desired effect on Jyotsna with his words and tone, while Jyotsna expressed her regret of not being able to help,

“I know Bhaiyya. Tell me what I can do to support your family in a better manner.”

“This might sound a bit weird to you, so I request you to think with an open mind with our priorities in mind. I got a proposition from the famous business family of Ranawats for a girl who can...” Varun paused to see if he had garnered enough interest from Jyotsna, whose face lit up listening to Ranawats, who were extremely influential.

“Who can?” Jyotsna requested Varun to continue while he mentally smirked as he continued,

“Who can carry the heir of their empire in her womb, without any strings attached; as a surrogate mother.”

Jyotsna stood up to their feet with raw fury and shock written all over her face that her brother had suggested something so against her ideals. Jyotsna knew that being a surrogate mother means she could never marry in her life, knowing the prejudice which the society held against the surrogate mothers and Jyotsna had grown up seeing the dream of her marriage.

“Bhaiyya, you know what you are saying right? You want me to be a surrogate mother? You know the consequences, right? I will never be able to marry in my life.” Jyotsna questioned him furiously while Varun too sprung to his feet and displayed fake concern and affection to Jyotsna by holding her shoulder in a gentle manner.

“I know, Jyotsna. But what else can we do? See we are not rich enough to marry you off anyways and if you do this then it will be double help for our family.” Jyotsna was disgusted that her own brother held such low thoughts and had objectified her so badly.

“I am sorry, Bhaiyya but I cannot do this. I always held pregnancy as one of the most divine feelings ever and giving away the child I had nurtured for 9 months with a promise that I would never see my child again is just too much for me. If you think that marrying me off is a burden for you, then I don’t mind staying unmarried till someone asks my hand in marriage without dowry or us bearing the marriage costs.” Jyotsna turned around on her heels and Varun put forward an ultimatum as the last part of his backup plan,

“Is this the way you are going to show gratitude to the family which brought you up, even after you not being it’s blood, Jyotsna? You very well know that you are not my blood-sister, you are Mausi Ji’s daughter, whose parents passed away, burdening us with you. All these years, we educated you, took care of you, sheltered you, nourished you and you are not ready to pay it back, but you are ready to dream for an amazing marriage, isn’t it? You are the most selfish and self-centered person I have ever known in my life, Jyotsna. You have let all of us down by not helping us in any manner.”

The love which was showered on her by her foster mother and father appeared in front of her eyes, as tears of gratitude filled in her eyes. Vulnerability took over her, as she felt the last fibers of self-restrain breaking.

“If this shows how grateful I am towards Amma and Babuji, then so be it Bhaiyya. I am ready to do it. But I will keep my own conditions forward before anything proceeds and only if the Ranawats agree to it, it will go ahead or else this is cancelled, once and for all.” Jyotsna’s tone had streaks of warning in them while it shocked Varun to see the strong side of his sister even after his emotional speech.

“Ayye Jyotsna, if the deal breaks off, you will see the worst of me.” Varun warned her as she walked away from him with her back facing him. His words had stopped her in her tracks, but she didn’t turn around.

“As if I haven’t already seen the worst of you, Bhaiyya.”

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Ranawat Mansion,

“Maa Ji, my stupid sister wants to place some small conditions in front of you if you don’t mind.” Varun joined his hands as he spoke to Indumati who was looking at Jyotsna in an appreciating way, as her eyes had sincerity and purity in them.

“Of course, Child. What are your conditions?” Indumati asked with a smile on her face while Jyotsna’s face was still straight, sans any emotion.

“Nani Ji, I don’t want to hide anything from you. This is the first time I am doing this and probably the last time I will be doing it too. So, in this course I don’t want my family to get humiliated. It is not humiliating to fill a house with the cries of a child, but the society doesn’t see it in that way. So, I request you to draft a contract, making me the daughter-in-law of this house for the time I will be here as a surrogate mother. Your grandson will not have to treat me as his wife, and I will have no expectations from him too. It is just a relationship on papers and compromise. And since I will have to leave the child as soon as it is born, I would request you to let me see it at least once in a while, because I had always upheld the period of pregnancy and the bond between a mother-child greatly, making this thing very difficult for me. If you are fine with my conditions, then I am ready for it, Nani Ji.” Jyotsna’s voice reminded Nani of her grandson’s cold and ruthless tone as Jyotsna’s voice had absolutely no emotion in it. It was as if a robot was asked to deliver some already programmed dialogues.

Will Nani accept Jyotsna’s conditions?