YEH TERI GALIYAN (Avinash Mishra and Marlene Favela)

Chapter ten (bonus chapter)

'Last night's party was legit. It left me with a migraine,' Marisa, Paula's friend expresses, sitting down on the coach next to Paula.
'Tell me about it,' Paula rolls her eyes, taking a sip out of her cup of coffee.
'Still mad?' Marisa asks her with concern.
'Why wouldn't I be? I still can't wrap my head around the fact that my own mother would lie to me like this. And for so many years. I don't deserve that kind of treatment. But I'm better qualified for it, but Neil? Not him,' Paula cries.
'Well, you'll have to forgive her anyways. She's stil your mother.'
'Her? No, I can't forgive her. In fact, I won't. She has hurt me too much.' Just then her phone rings.
'Your Mom won't stop calling until you pick up. At least let her know that you're at my house,' Marisa says.
'You think?''
'Yeah, she must be dead worried. She was calling the whole night.'
'We are talking about my mother, right? Mmm, worried? That woman.'

Paula thinks for a while. She then picks up her phone in annoyance.
'Hello,' she says to her mother.
After a while her mother, Sue, manages to convince her to come back home.

In anger Paula unlocks the door to their house. Her mother comes running to her after she hears her footsteps.
'Paula, what is your problem? How could you leave the house like that for two days straight  without saying anything to me?' Sue asks her and she ignores her. Putting on her headphones.
'Paula, I'm speaking to you,' Sue insists.
'And I'm ignoring you. Are you blind?'
'Paula!' Sue yells with raging eyes.
'I bet you only noticed this morning, right?'
'Don't speak to your mother like that!'
'My mother?' She takes off the headphones she wasn't even listening to.
'Children shouldn't speak to their parents anyhow. But their parents can lie to them anyhow, correct?' Paula suggests.
'Where is that coming from?'
'Quit playing that role of a mother. You know nothing about what that's about. If you knew, then you wouldn't have lied to me the way you did. I heard you, Mom. When you were speaking to Aunty Graciela. You were expressing to her how hurt both Neil and I would be if we ever found out your truth. That we aren't father and daughter. How could you, Mom? All these years Neil has left India on so many occasions, coming all the way here to London, believing that he had a daughter that needed him. I'm not his daughte,' she bites. Sue falls down to the sofa with her head in her hands, she starts to cry, not believing that Paula found out about the secret she had been hiding for so long. 
'Oh, please don't play the victim. You always lie to everyone, I'm not surprised. I just never knew I was part of those people. I'm so disappointed in you,' Paula bites again.
'I did it for you, sweetheart. If I hadn't done that then you and I would be separated. If not separated then on the streets. Neil was our only way out.'
'That's not an excuse! You lied to him that you were pregnant with his child. When in fact you were pregnant with his own best friend's child. And when you lost your baby and your sister, my mother, who died while giving birth to me, you took advantage of me. And after Neil's friend's accident and death you used my Neil... my sweet Neil was the one you chose to betray. You betrayed us and our trust. I'll never forgive you for that.' Paula paces around the room nervously.

'I was surrounded by so many deaths and debts. First Rishab Bajaj, Neil's friend died with my sister in an accident. She didn't just die because she was giving birth to you. The doctor had to save either one of you. And you were the one... you were the one with a better chance of survival. Or else both of you would have died. I was... I got the news about their accident when I was due too. My sister and I were both expecting at the same time. And at that time Neil was in Africa. I was on my way to the hospital and... and I was in so much shock. I fell down the stairs and lost my baby. I had nothing and nobody left. I took you and told Neil that we had a child.'
'How... but... you were with both Neil and someone else? You and my mother were expecting from the same man?' Paula asks devasted.
'Yes, but your mother never knew about that. I wasn't in love with your father. But he took advantage of both me and her. I couldn't tell her because I didn't want to hurt her. So, I took advantage of the fact that one night I was stuck with Neil. I told him that we were together jokingly. And then we never spoke after that. I couldn't leave you without both your parents. I had so many debts then. In... including the ones our parents left us. I was on the verge of losing my apartment. I had to tell Neil that you were our child. I couldn't see another way out.  I'm so sorry, Paula,' Sue cries to Paula. 
'And I'm so angry and furious and disgusted at you. I can't believe you could have done something like that. I know you for so many things, but not a liar. Does Neil know about this?' Paula asks.
'No, he doesn't,' Sue swallows hard.