Chapter 20.

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Just wanna dedicate this chapter to @MonicaPessanhaPia for constantly voting and supporting my work 😆😉 thanks and also a big thanks to all those other people out there who keep reading my wappy ideas! Love y'all 😜😘 G x

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Rahul

It's been a seven weeks since we burnt the images of Leyla's haunter. Ever since then I've tried to help her work out who he is and what he wants but its proven difficult, very difficult. Leyla insists she's never seen this guy before and I believe but it just frustrates me because I can't help her if we don't know who he is from the outset. On top of that it has been a couple of days since Leyla's '12 week' scan. The baby looks so weird in the photograph. Like I don't understand how a person can be growing inside another person. In fact it was seeing this life growing that made me come to my decision. We can't keep hiding our relationship from Leyla's family so today we are going to see her grandma as our first stepping stone, hopefully if she takes it well then she'll be able to calm down the rest of the family before we have to face them. Then on top of that I want to ask Leyla's grandma for Leyla's hand in marriage-for real this time. I want this baby to grow up in a stable family and I really love Leyla so why not just marry now? Its not like it's going to change anything between us.
"I don't know what to wear?" I ask panicked by the prospect of the upcoming 'meeting' otherwise referred to as 'coffee and catch up'. 
"Mmm," Leyla mumbles lying on my dorm bed with her eyes closed. 
"Leyla?" I shout making her jump. She props herself on her elbows and looks at me.
"I highly doubt outfit will come first in her judgements," Leyla says. I know but if we're going to tell her that we are going out and then drop the bombshell that Leyla is also pregnant then I at least wanna look good doing it...
"I know but still I'm just really nervous!" I whine throwing yet another shirt on the floor. I feel Leyla put her arms around my waist and put her chin on my shoulder. The little bump of her stomach touches my back through her floaty blouse we brought specifically for this occasion.

"Just put on a smart shirt and some chinos," she whispers in my ear kissing it, "it'll be fine my grandma just wants what's best for me." 
"I know," I deflate, "just want to make that good first impression."

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"Beti," I stand up as a woman in an yellow loose fitting shirt with a bow on the front, black jeans and pumps strides towards us with a handbag in tow. I place, a hopefully realistic, smile on my face and wait for Leyla to finish up being smothered by her grandma. Her brown hair is tied up in a loose pony tail showing off her face and big eyes.
"This must be Rahul Khanna?" She sits down across the table from us.
"Haan, he brought you black coffee," Leyla smiles and her grandma nods appreciatively. 
"So you wanted to talk?" She asks slowly cradling her mug. Leyla nods her head and looks at me to fill the silence.
"Um... yes," I stumble feeling myself blush slightly. I'm just so anxious to hear what she has to say! What happens if she says no? Leyla has literally just talked about all the positive outcomes to this situation and totally blanked out the possibility of any negatives happening.
"And?" Leyla's grandmother elongates the word giving us thinking time. It's just best to put it out there really, get it over and done with.
"Leyla and I are in a relationship," I burst taking a swift swig of my coffee to stop me from blabbering on. Leyla's grandmother nods her head thoughtfully swirling the coffee in her mug. I glance over at Leyla who's smile had not vanished from her lips. Does she know something I don't?
"That's excellent," her grandma finally says, "I'm so pleased you were able to patch things up." Now I didn't know she had been informed about us. What exactly has Leyla said?
"But there's one more thing," Leyla's smile falters a little. I really don't want to be the one to break the news but I know Leyla's relying on me. I reach into my pocket and pull out the scan photo sliding it across the table. Leyla's grandma picks up the image and gazes at it, letting the silence envelope us. 

"Leyla is pregnant," I point out the obvious trying to cut through the awkwardness of just staring at her staring at a photograph.
"Oh..." Her grandmother sighs.

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