IT WAS HIM

37. Their First Child

After some minutes of ear numbing silence, she finally lifted her eyes to meet mine and her face turned visibly soft and guilty.

Her lips formed a very small pout. "I'm sorry." She apologized quietly for, I don't know what reasons.

"Why?" I questioned and wiped off the one tear sliding down her puffy face.

She shook her head instead of answering my question and tried to move away from my lap, only for me to pull her back.

"Let me go, wash my face." She muttered slowly, trying to move out of my grip. I didn't stop her this time.

She walked away and I rested my back against the head rest thinking about whatever that just happened.

Among wedding, rituals and fun I forgot the promise I made to her and to myself. The promise of the lethal demise of her culprit.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and made a mental note to get working on it after our reception party.

Naina came back and sat silently beside me, looking better than before. Her face was no longer red, but just puffy. I laid inside the duvet and pulled it up for her to enter.

"Come here." I said and she looked at me before shaking her head.

"Mujhe neend nahi aa rahi."

"I'm not feeling sleepy."

She muttered in her small voice and I grabbed her hand and effortlessly pulled her inside the comforter.

"Neend nahi aa rahi ya phir sone se bach rahi ho?"

"You're not sleepy or you're trying to avoid sleeping?"

I asked while covering her with the duvet.

"Both." She replied and shifted closer to me.

I sneaked my arm under her neck, letting her use my bicep as a pillow.

She settled comfortably and silently kept looking at the ceiling without any visible expression on her face.

I turned to her and placed my leg on hers, as she likes to touch them for warmth.

But she still did not show any expression. She was not even blinking, and was lost in her own world of thoughts.

The much I knew was, the thoughts weren't nice. So I tried to deflect her attention from them.

I grazed my foot on her legs that were bare to me as she sleeps wearing shorts and shirt.

I did it again, and again, and again until her lips stretched into a small smile. She turned her face to my side.

"Stop, it's tickling." She chuckled and tried to pull her leg away but couldn't, because of the weight of my heavy one.

"Uh huh?," I smiled and nuzzled my face in her neck. "What about now?" I asked and she laughed even more at my touch.

"Oh, stop, bahahaha." She laughed and playfully tried to push me away but I pinned her hands over her head and nuzzled further into her neck, only for her to laugh louder. "Shubh! Hahaha, pl-please no, haha, stop!" She cackled under me.

She moved her head side to side while I held both of her wrists with one hand and used the other one to tickle her belly.

This made her crazy and she arched her body against mine, laughing hysterically. This reminded me of how she felt ticklish on our wedding night and gave me an astonishing kick, right on my chest.

She laughed louder and I immediately placed my palm on her mouth to stop the noices.

"Shh. You don't want others to hear us, do you?" I asked and she slowly got down from the high of laughters.