I was seated on the verandah stairs, with eight-month-old Arnav in my arms. The katori in my hand had a mixture of soft mashed rice and homemade ghee, but my son turned away whenever I brought a spoonful of it near his mouth.

"Kha lo beta, achi hai..." I sighed.

(Eat it beta, it's good for you...)

He mumbled something in baby gibberish and turned away. It seemed like he was more eager to have his fist in his mouth than the spoon.

Arnav also made countless attempts to squirm out of my arms so that he could play with the others in the courtyard.

"Avi..." I groaned when he began fighting my arms even more, almost knocking down the bowl of food. When I still refused to let him go, he began crying. Seeing this, Saarang skipped over to us and squatted beside me.

"Didi, aap ise bhi khelne kyu nahi dete? Dekho aapke kaaran kitna ro raha hai bechara!" My brother laughed.

(Didi, why are you not letting him play? Look at how he's crying because of you!)

I glared at him, but he stretched his arms towards Avi with a wide grin. "Mamu ke saath chaloge? Sabke saath khelte hain, chalo!"

(Would you like to come with Mamu? We'll all play together, come on!)

"Dopahar se zyada kuch khaya nahi hai isne," I mumbled, trying to stop Avi from squirming out of my grasp. But he cried and fought me even more violently.

(He hasn't eaten much since the afternoon.)

"Kuch der baad khaana khaa lega, Didi. Ab khelne chalte hai Avi!"

(He'll eat after a while, Didi. Let's go play now!)

He took Arnav out of my arms and carried him towards the twins and Rekha, who were all kicking a ball among each other. Saarang played with them while carrying Avi in his arms. My baby was laughing again, and when Saarang placed him on the ground, he crawled towards their ball and punched it away.

I was worried whether he'd scrape his knees, but considering how much fun he was having, I sighed and let it be. At that moment, the ball bounced towards the gate and rolled outside. Avi crawled right behind it, and all four kids ran behind him.

"Arnav!" I shouted.

My heart skipped a beat hearing the honking of a car, but I relaxed a bit when I saw Bhairav Ji's Jeep.

The kids froze. Saarang quickly picked Avi into his arms, and two men near the gate pushed it open entirely for my husband. As he parked the Jeep, the kids swarmed around him, brimming with excitement, considering he often brought something or the other every Friday evening.

"Bache khel rahe the aur phaatak band rakhna nahi jaante?" He barked at his men as soon as he stepped down from the Jeep. What could they do more than apologise? They were afraid of losing their jobs, or worse, their lives.

(Don't you know to keep the gate closed when the kids are playing?)

Arnav, oblivious of his Father's rage, squealed and tried to reach for his arms. Bhairav Ji complied nevertheless, still murderously glaring at the men.

"Gopal se bolo ki woh mujhse mile," he threatened them one last time before turning to the kids.

(Ask Gopal to meet me.)

"Dhyan se khela karo..." He sighed, squeezing Saarang's shoulder.

(Be careful when you're playing...)

"Baba aapne kya laya aaj!" Raghu clung to his Father's arm, and even Arnav was restless.

(Baba, what did you bring today!)

"Mujhe jalebi chahiye Baba!" Four-year-old Janaki grinned with twinkling eyes.

(I want Jalebi, Baba!)

"Jalebi chahiye?" Bhairav Ji asked, walking towards me now.

(You want Jalebi?)

"Mujhe khatte meethe mithayi chahiye-!" Rekha squealed and jumped up the stairs. She was always so cheerful and spoke so well for a two-year-old. It easily made me smile. Aradhya and Bhargav had gone to a government office for something, so they had left her in my care.

(I want sweet and sour sweets-!)

"Aur mere ladko ko kya chahiye?" Bhairav Ji sighed, handing over Arnav to me. Just as I feared, his knees were a little bruised, but it seemed like he had forgotten about the pain after being with his Father.

(And what do my boys want?)

"Ek itna bada cricket ki bat!" Raghav announced, stretching his arms as wide as possible.

(A cricket bat this big!)

"Tumse bhi bade bat se kya kheloge?" Bhairav Ji scoffed, and everyone laughed at Raghu.

(What will you do with a bat bigger than you?)

"Aur Saarang?" Bhairav Ji glanced at my brother.

(And Saarang?)

"Paise," he grinned, "Phir toh main kuch bhi kab bhi khareed sakta hu."

(Money. Then I can buy whatever I want.)

That brought a smile to my husband's face. Of course, he had found someone who thought just like him.

"Aap aaj itni jaldi aa gaye?" I asked in surprise.

(How come you're early today?)

He hummed, raking his eyes down my body. He always had that dirty look in his eyes whenever I was dressed in something nice.

"Meri gilehri toh aaj chamak rahi hai... Kaha jaa rahi thi?"

(My little squirrel is glowing today... Where were you going?)

My cheeks flushed a little as I went inside, following him. "Mandir se abhi laut aayi hu. Ise khaana khilakar kapde badalne wali thi par... Kuch kha hi nahi raha."

(I just returned from the temple. I was going to change after feeding him but... He's not eating anything.)

"Kya khila rahi thi?" His eyes darkened a little more, "Mujhe bhi khilao." The raspiness in his voice was something only I understood. There were only three things that went through his head at all times- money, food and sex. He behaved like a savage without shame and his eyes even dared to focus a bit on my breasts. Janaki took the bowl and showed it to her Father, distracting him.

(What were you feeding him? Feed me as well.)

"Avi toh ise khaa hi nahi raha tha, Baba," my daughter remarked.

(Avi wasn't eating this at all, Baba.)

Bhairav Ji took the bowl, sniffed it, and poured it entirely into his mouth in the pretense of just tasting it.

"Bache keliye tha woh!" I gasped.

(It was for the child!)

He ignored what I said and went towards Maa as soon as she stepped out of her room.

"Beta tum aa gaye," she smiled as sweetly as ever, and the devil smiled back before touching her feet respectfully.

(Beta, you're back home.)

"Aa gaya, par abhi jaana bhi hai, Maa. Soch raha tha bachchon ko lekar thodi der tahal aaun."

(I'm back, but I'll have to leave again now, Maa. I was thinking of going for a walk with the kids.)

The kids lost their minds as they squealed and jumped all over the place. Maa laughed at this, and seeing how excited his siblings were, even Arnav began squirming restlessly in my arms.

"Aap Avi ko bhi lekar jaa rahe ho?" I asked in surprise. Bhairav Ji looked hesitant, "Tumhare bina kaise? Mai saare bacho ko akele sambhal nahi paunga-"

(Are you taking Avi with you as well?)

(How can I take him without you? I won't be able to take care of all of them alone-)

"Hum sambhal lenge!" My brother protested immediately and took Avi into his arms. My son squealed excitedly.

(We'll take care!)

"Dekho kitna khush hai, Jiju. Hum chaaro milkar iski dekhbaal karenge, aap chinta mat kijiye!" Saarang grinned. Bhairav Ji and I shared a look. Rekha and the twins were staring at Saarang as though he was their one and only role model. My brother always behaved like their ringleader.

(Look at how happy he is, Jiju. The four of us will take care of him, don't worry about a thing!)

"Das minute bhi Sanjana ke bina nahi reh sakta yeh. Aaj keliye ise yahi rehne do, thoda bada hone ke baad saath lekar chalenge."

(He can't be away from Sanjana for even ten minutes. Let him stay here for today. After he gets a little bigger, we'll take him with us.)

But this time Raghu protested, holding Avi's arm with Saarang, "Nahi Baba! Hum Avi ki raksha karenge! Main bada bhai hoon, main dekhbaal karunga!"

(No Baba! We'll protect Avi! I'm his big brother, I'll take care of him!)

Janaki pushed him aside and took Avi from Saarang; even Rekha squeezed his cheeks, "Baba, Avi toh Raghu se behtar hai... Mai iski ache se dekhbaal karungi."

(Baba, Avi is better than Raghu... I'll take care of him well.)

"Mai bhi!" Rekha grinned, despite being barely two herself.

(Me too!)

I sighed, knowing the kids wouldn't give in. "Mujhe thoda paani lekar aao," my husband followed me to the kitchen. The kids squealed in happiness, knowing they had won this time.

(Bring me some water.)

"Tum bhi aa jao. Avi tumhare bina rone lagega, Sanjana. Tum bhi jaanti ho," he sighed, leaning back against the counter with his arms crossed. I left my baby's bowl in the sink and fetched a glass of water for Bhairav Ji.

(You should come with us. Avi will start crying without you, Sanjana. Even you know it well.)

"Bahut saare kaam hai, main nahi aa sakti. Aap jaakar bacho ke saath samay bitaiye..." I smiled to myself.

(I have a lot of work, I can't come today. You should spend some time with the kids...)

He watched me quietly as I washed the utensils, and eventually appeared right behind me. I glanced over my shoulder just to make sure that no maids were in the kitchen. Bhairav Ji placed his hand on my lower back, his thumb brushing my skin gently.

"Aur tumhare liye kya lau wapas aate waqt?"

(And what should I bring for you when I come back?)

My eyes twinkled, "Mere liye?"

(For me?)

He hummed, a strange look of affection in his eyes.

"Kuch meetha khaane ka man kar raha hai!" I grinned.

(I want to eat something sweet!)

"Meetha?" He raised a brow. My husband wasn't very fond of sweets, and considering he stole quite a lot of bites from my food, he didn't like the idea of me getting something sugary.

(Sweet?)

"Mm," I smiled to myself. He bumped his shoulder against mine, stepping a bit closer.

"Mera pet tumhare karan bad raha hai," he mumbled, placing his hand over his stomach. I didn't know what he was being dramatic about when he had the most perfect, manliest body I had ever seen. Whereas I was left with an uncountable number of ugly stretch marks and sagging breasts despite being younger than him.

(I'm getting fatter because of you.)

"Mere liye laa rahe ho," I pouted, "Phir aap khaane ki kyun soch rahe hai? Is baar sirf mai khaungi aur aapko ek tukda bhi nahi dungi."

(You're bringing it for me. Then why are you thinking of eating it? Only I'll have it this time and I won't spare even a bite for you.)

"Ek tukda bhi nahi?" He raised a brow in fake amusement.

(Not even a tiny piece?)

"Nahi."

(No.)

He chuckled to himself, inching closer. Our proximity made my cheeks heat up. "Phir toh mujhe tumhare muh se churana padega, jaan."

(Then I'll have to steal it from your mouth, my love.)

My eyes widened at his bold words. In panic, I glanced over my shoulder. Thankfully, there were no maids or anyone else around.

"Koi sun lega!" I hissed.

(Somebody will hear you!)

He was least bothered by it, "Dikhau kya? Paas aa jao." There was that look in his eyes again. He always had it before ravishing me beyond recovery.

(Should I show how? Come here.)

I gulped. The man always made me weak in the knees with his words and gaze. I couldn't stay there anymore. Just as I turned to escape out of the kitchen, he grabbed my arm as I feared.

"Kaha bhaag rahi ho, meri gilehri? Itni jaldi bhi kya hai?" He was grinning maliciously, trying to pull me towards him.

(Where are you running away, my little squirrel? What's the hurry?)

To my relief, the kids grew impatient, and Raghav ran into the kitchen to fetch his Father. Bhairav Ji's grip on my arm loosened when our son grabbed his arm instead, trying to pull him outside the kitchen, "Baba chaliye na, bhook lagi hai!" Our four-year-old groaned.

Bhairav Ji sighed, compelled to let me go as he lifted Raghu into his arms and carried him out of the kitchen. He was so eager to go out that he hugged his Father and kicked his feet excitedly. I smiled and followed them outside.