TejRan : What Love Feels Like

Part-3

Disclaimer : All the characters written below are imaginary and a work of pure fiction. There is no resemblance to any incident or situation and is written as work of fiction.

Karan turned back to look at the door and exhaled a breath immediately seeing her. Mumma. What? Mumma? He felt his legs and hand tremble as he struggled to breath. He looked at his choco pie who was climbing down the bed and then eventually ran and hugged teja. Karan followed her path not letting his eyes move away from her. His eyes had started to brim with tears and eventually he felt his cheeks turning wet.

Teja saw karan shaking. His hands , lips and everything was shaking. She caressed her hair without shifting her eyes from karan. Was he having a break down? She could clearly see him struggle for breath. She didn't want this. She had gone blank. What was their daughter doing here? With him? How does he know her? What is happening?

Karan didn't even have the strength to stand. Choco pie. His choco pie was his daughter. Their daughter. His little angel. He tried to bite his cheeks to control his shiver.

Teja felt a pull in her heart seeing him like that. Broken. Devastated. As much as she hated him , she loved him too. As much as she wanted him to stay away from her life , she wanted him close to her too. And seeing him like that broke a part of her. Only if it was possible. He had broken every part of her years back.

As if in a trance she knelt down in front of her. "you wanted to meet papa right?" she said blankly.

She nodded with curious eyes.

Teja looked at Karan and pointed at him "he is your papa...."

She had said it. In the moment. Without thinking about the consequences. Without thinking how their daughter will process the sudden information.

She immediately walked towards him and looked at him curiously. Why was he crying and shaking? Little baby was very confused.

"papa...." she said softly.

"baby....my baby....my choco pie...." he gulped his saliva and picked her up immediately and kissed her face thoroughly. "my bacchhaa....my...." he fumbled to search for words and hugged her tightly. "my...." he gulped again. "papa...." he didn't know he could feel this emotion. He felt that when his choco pie called him papa. A feeling so alien. His daughter calling him papa. "my...." he choked and pulled her closer to him.

"say that again...." he pulled back from the hug and cupped her cheeks and said urgently. The urgency in his voice scared teja as he looked at both of them.

To say that choco pie was confused would be an understatement. Say what again?

As if reading her thoughts karan said "call me papa....please...."

"papa...." she said cutely.

And this time it was not silent tears. He was sobbing. He sobbed and hugged her tightly again.

"papa why are you crying?" she frowned tried to wipe his tears away with her little palm. He smiled through his tears and wiped his face properly.

"what's your name?" he asked slowly. What an irony. He was asking his daughter's name.

"choco pie...." she smiled widely. He couldn't help but chuckle at her innocence.

"arushi...." he heard teja say. He looked up at Teja and looked back at his baby.

"karan....what if we have a boy in future?" teja poked him and he frowned. He had his full concentration on the movie and she was laying down on the couch with her head on his lap as he massaged her head subconsciously.