After making sure Abhi was fast asleep, Aditi went to her room and opened her laptop to search for the answers to the questions that flooded her mind since she met the Kapoors.
As she searched for Ram Kapoor numerous articles came in front of her eyes but what made her more anxious were the articles about Priya. Aditi couldn't believe what she read. She went on the internet for answers but the more she read, the more questions she started having.
Gulping some water she went downstairs and knocked on the door of her father's office knowing that he would still be awake.
Vivek: Come in.
Aditi entered with her face down and sat down on a chair.
Vivek looked at her and became really concerned for her.
Vivek: Aditi? What happened?
Aditi: Aapko pata tha?
Vivek: Kya?
Aditi: Ram Kapoor aur uski family ke baare mein? Yeh jo sab chal raha hai.
Vivek: Haan. Kyun tumhe nahi pata tha?
Aditi: Nahi. Kuch nahi pata tha.
Vivek: I thought tumhe pata hoga. It's been almost 3 weeks beta.
Aditi: Nahi. Kuch nahi pata mujhe. You know how hectic my days are going for over a month now. Jitna bhi free time milta hai main Abhi ke saath rehti hoon. Bahar kya chal raha hai kuch nahi pata mujhe. Mujhe sirf itna pata tha ke aapka ek bada deal sign hone jaa raha hai.
Vivek: Hmm. Sorry mujhe pooch lena chahiye tha tumne unhe invite karne se pehle.
Aditi: Aisi baat nahi hai Papa. Sorry mat bolo. I'm just....shocked. Priya jail main thi! Aur Pihu! Pihu born uss waqt hui? Pihu uske Papa se ab mili hai? Aur Mr. Kapoor ki poori family police custody mein hai?
Vivek nodded. Aditi held her head between her hands and let out a deep sigh.
Aditi: Pihu ko pata hai?
Vivek: Mujhe nahi lagta. Bohot choti hai.
Aditi barely nodded and looked at her father.
Aditi: Ek baat poonchu?
Vivek: Hmm.
Aditi: Do you think Pihu is a good influence on Abhi?
Vivek: Tum usse khud mili ho aaj aur tumne zyada waqt bitaya uske saath. Tumhe nahi lagta iska answer tum zyada achha de paogi?
Aditi: I'm just asking for an opinion.
Vivek: Beta Ram ke pehle uske Pita ko main janta tha. He is an honest businessman yeh pata tha mujhe par jis din usne mujhe bataya ke yeh sab hua hai tab...
Aditi: Aapko meri yaad aayi. Haina? Isiliye aapne unhe Ghar pe bulaya.
Vivek(nodding sadly): Mujhe Pihu bohot pyaari lagi kal jab mila usse. Toh Socha Ghar aake tum logon se milegi toh achha lagega usse. Mumbai mein toh nayi nayi aayi hai. Par woh toh pehle hi mil chuki thi tum dono se.
Aditi: Hmm. Bohot sweet hai Pihu aur Abhi usse dost maanta bhi hai. Bruno ko bhi bohot pasand hai. Par kya yeh thik hai? I mean I don't want to judge her because of her family Papa but you know what I'm trying to say. Samajh rahe ho na?
Vivek again nodded.
Vivek: Tumhe kya lagta hai? Honest opinion maang raha hoon.
Aditi thought for some moments.
Aditi: There's something about Priya. I can't say much about Mr. Kapoor because I didn't talk to him that much today but she Papa! Kuch toh hai. Maybe it's because of the similar trauma. I don't know. But I did like her. Her eyes...they had a different kind of depth in them. You know like she could understand my unspoken words. Plus she was really nice to Abhi. Aur isiliye shayad main chahti hoon ke Pihu Abhi ki dost bane.
Vivek: I understand bete. As a parent you have a responsibility to keep an eye on the people your kids are associating with and of course Abhi is very young and that's why you are more concerned. And you have a valid reason to be concerned.
Aditi: Hmm. And you know what Abhi ko jaise sunna padta hai uske Papa kahan hain, kyun nahi hain yeh saare questions...Pihu ko bhi bohot kuch sunna hoga. Main jo aise baithke judge kar rahi hoon aise hi baaki log bhi karenge Papa.
Vivek: Bohot log judge karke tumhari tarah analyse bhi nahi karenge aur usse dur chale jayenge.
Aditi: And you know how Abhi is. Kitna sensitive hai.
Vivek: Uspe kam toh beeti nahi hai. Dekho tum jo thik samjho. Tumhe maine kabhi roka nahi kisi bhi cheez ke liye. Apne decisions khud liye hai tumne. Abhi tumhara beta hai jo tum thik samjho.
Aditi let out a hollow laugh as her father again started being diplomatic.
A little later,
Aditi: Yeh jo karne ki koshish kar rahe ho na Papa aap sab samajh rahi hoon.
Vivek: Hein? Maine kya kiya?
Aditi: Priya ko yahan lana kyunki aapko lagta hai uska aur mera trauma similar hai and that's why we should, you know, talk. Isko Shared Trauma Bonding bolte hain.
Vivek: Mujhe itna sab nahi pata beta. Mujhe laga unhe achha lagega isliye maine bulaya. Ab tum jo achha samjho. (Caressing her head) Late ho raha hai. Office bhi jana hai tumhe so jao jaake. Baaki ka overthink kal kar lena. Main bhi chala sone.
Aditi rolled her eyes listening to him and stood up to go to her room.
Aditi: Thik hai jao. Good night. Hope you have a nice beauty sleep.
Vivek(letting out a laugh): Good night.
Aditi smiled at her father and went upstairs.
. . . . . . . . . . .
On their journey towards home, Pihu sniffled for almost 20 minutes and after that she fell asleep feeling tired in Priya's arms. It was heartbreaking for Ram and Priya both to see her cry like that. Although they didn't know exactly how to handle her.
It was getting tougher for Priya to handle Pihu because she's in a whole different environment right now than she was before. She had started feeling tired of running behind her all day. Maybe it was also because she was growing up. It's already tedious to tackle Toddler she knew and maybe these other factors were making it harder.
Priya looked at Ram once and then started staring outside the window.
"I'm sorry Pihu. Meri galat decision ki wajah se tumhe bhugatna pad raha hai. Main samajh rahi hoon tumhe akela feel hota hoga uss ghar mein. Aaj sab kuch thik hota toh shayad tumhare paas ek choti Behen ya Bhai hota.", Priya thought, caressing Pihu's hair.
"Pihu aise roti hai toh bilkul achha nahi lagta mujhe. Priya ka bhi mood off ho jata hai. Rote rote so gayi bechari. Achha hota uske saath koi chota hota toh company dene ke liye. Priya se baat karoon kya? Nahi nahi mar padegi tujhe Ram!", Ram thought and glanced over his girls.
Priya also fell asleep when they were about to reach home. Ram stopped the car at the parking lot and got out of the car. Carefully opening the passenger door, he took Pihu in his arms. The moment Priya sensed Pihu was not there, her eyes opened instantly. She looked around her being a little confused.
Ram(forwarding his right hand): Ghar aa gaya Priya. Aao.
Priya held his hand and got out of the car.
Priya(yawning): Main kab so gayi pata hi nahi chala.
Ram: Zyada nahi. Bass 15 minutes hi huye honge.
Priya looked at Ram with a little surprise. It made her smile that he kept a track of how much sleep she got.
Tarun opened the door and they went upstairs after wishing him good night.
Ram started taking Pihu's shoes off while Priya went to take Pihu's clothes out from the wardrobe. Priya was about to change Pihu's clothes when Ram stopped her.
Ram: Ek...ek second!
He removed a golden fur from Pihu's hair.
Ram: Bruno ke baal.
Priya: Oho! Haan chipakke baithi thi poori shaam uske saath toh hoga hi. Aur hain kya?
They both started searching if there's more fur in her hair.
Priya took a glance at Ram and realised how much she loved sharing these moments with him. It was almost 1'o clock at night and they were picking up dog furs from their daughter's hair. She also realised that the heaviness she always felt in her chest all these years, had lessened a lot. Yes it was still maybe complicated between them but there was this sense of comfort and assurance that she wasn't in this alone and that she had a shoulder to rest her head on and just breathe.
Ram: Done. Aur nahi hai dekho.
That brought Priya out of her train of thoughts and she also checked and confirmed.
While Priya changed Pihu into her night suit, Ram went to freshen up. After that Priya also took a quick shower and went to the balcony, not finding Ram in the room. But he wasn't there also. She was about to go out of the room when Ram entered in the balcony with two cups in his hands.
Priya: Yeh kya hai?
Ram: Chamomile tea. Bri bol rahi thi kal ke achha hota hai toh maine Pawan ko bola tha laane ko. Pakdo pakdo.
Priya smiled and took a sip of the tea.
Ram: Achha hai na?
Priya nodded with a smile.
Priya: Aapko pata hai aaj Pihu ne kya bola?
Ram: Kya?
Priya: Aditi ke usse pooncha ke usse bade hokar kya banna hai toh usne bola Papa jaise banna hai.
Ram's mouth widened in surprise. His eyes softened as if they're going to melt in a moment and a beautiful smile came onto his lips. It was a moment that he wanted to capture in his heart and cherish it till his last breath. It still felt surreal to him how he became a father. Every morning he woke up beside her and his heart would fill with joy when he saw her tiny fingers wrapped around his one or two fingers. Each morning her 'Good Morning Papa' with a kiss made him feel like the luckiest person on earth. Her laughter brought him immense peace when he came home after a hectic day in office.
Priya saw Ram's eyes becoming moist and she decided to not burst his bubble by telling him that Pihu found it fun that he gets to work with his friends all day and enjoyed and that was the reason she wanted to be like him. She wanted him to live that moment.
So she wrapped her hands around his arms and leaned over him, looking at the garden below. Ram smiled and kissed her hair.
Priya(with a smile): Pihu ko aaj bohot achha laga.
Ram: Hm.
Priya turned to see his face and again leaned on his arm.
Priya: Aapko Abhi se kya itni kya problem hai?
Ram(shrugging gently): Mujhe kya problem hogi usse.
Priya left his arm and leaned on the balcony railing to get a better view of his face.
Priya: Achha? koi problem nahi hai?
Ram shook his head looking at the floor.
Priya: Meri aankhon mein dekhke kahiye.
Ram looked at her once and then again looked at the floor.
Priya: Kya problem hai Mr. Kapoor? Kitna pyaara bachha hai. He's so nice to Pihu. Aapse maine yeh expect nahi kiya tha.
Ram(frowning): Ab maine kya kiya?
Priya: Kya kiya matlab? Poori shaam aap muh fulaye baithe huye the. Thik se baat bhi nahi ki aapne usse. Kisi aur ko nahi dikha par mujhe dikha. Kya hai yeh sab? Woh bhi chota bachha hai Pihu ki tarah. Aapko achha lagega kya agar Pihu ke saath koi aisa kare toh?
Ram pouted listening to her.
Priya(holding his hands): Maine kya samjhaya tha aapko? Haan? Ke dost hai woh dono bass. Kahin nahi jaa rahi Pihu aapko chorhke.
Ram(pouting): Mujhe pata hai.
Priya: Mujhe laga tha aapko bachhe pasand hain.
Ram: Yeh kaisi baat hui Priya? Of course mujhe bachhe pasand hain.
Priya: Phir aisa kyun hai Mr. Kapoor? Aap jab Pihu se pehli baar mile aapne jo kiya galat tha. Aur Abhi ko aise judge karna yeh galat hai. Main aap se at least yeh behaviour expect nahi karti.
Now Ram started feeling guilty. He knew how he behaved with Pihu when they met for the first time was not at all acceptable. And maybe he was being too problematic and judgemental towards Abhi. Also he didn't want Priya or Pihu to think less of him. He didn't want to be that kind of a person. He didn't want to hit a new low and make Priya think that she definitely married the wrong person. He didn't want Pihu to feel her Papa's a bad person.
Ram(taking a deep breath): I'm sorry. Main shayad kuch zyada hi protective ho raha hoon. Hai na?
Priya nodded sadly.
Ram: Galti ho gayi mujhse. Yeh phir se nahi hoga Priya. I promise. Aur agar phir se hua toh bohot daant lagana tum mujhe.
Priya smiled listening to him.
Priya(Caressing his face): Main nahi chahti log galat soche aapke baare mein aur nahi main khud galat sochna chahti hoon. Main chahti hoon sab ussi Mr. Kapoor se mile jinse main pyaar karti hoon aur mujhe jiss baat pe guroor hai. Isliye bol rahi hoon bass.
Ram nodded understanding that.
Ram: Main khayal rakkhunga I promise.
Priya(with a soft smile): That's all I want.
Priya lowered his head a little bit and kissed his forehead and then gave him a tight hug.
Priya: Aapko pata tha Abhi ke Mumma Papa ka divorce ko gaya hai?
Ram: Haan bola tha Minister Sahab ne.
Priya: Hmm. Pihu ne toh usko poonch liya ke tumhare Papa kaha hai. Dukkhi ho gaya tha woh.
Ram: Oh no.
Priya: Apparently uske Papa usse milna nahi chahte.
Ram(letting out a sigh): Minister ne bataya tha mujhe ke he didn't want...Abhi.
Priya's face fell listening to him.
Priya: Aditi bol rahi thi ke woh zyada baat nahi karta, kisise itni jaldi dosti bhi nahi karta. Bol rahi thi ke Pihu ka dost bann jayega socha nahi tha usne.
Ram felt a little uneasy but decided to ignore that feeling and nodded.
"Pihu ko bhi log pehle aise poochte honge na? Aur uske paas koi jawaab nahi hua hoga dene ko.", Ram thought to himself.
Priya: Achha hai Pihu ko bhi ek dost mila aur usse bhi.
Ram nodded wrapping his arms around her waist.
Ram: Pihu khush toh thi aaj. I can't ignore that.
Priya(nodding): Haan ghar pe toh akeli rehti hai. I mean hum hai par phir bhi...
Ram: Haan chota koi company dene ke liye hota toh achha lagta Pihu ko. Hai na?
Priya instantly broke the hug and looked into Ram's eyes and she nodded gently.
Ram(holding her hand, softly): Lekar aaye hum ek chota sa nanha sa sadasya? Kya kehti ho?
So they're finally talking about having a second baby. Priya started feeling all shy and her cheeks started burning thinking about the possibility of fulfilling her dream of having a happy family with Ram and their two kids. She and Ram could enjoy that phase together.
Priya didn't know what to reply so she just smiled.
Ram: Achha lagega sab ko Ghar mein.
Priya nodded with a smile.
Ram(excitedly): Tum haan bol rahi ho? Haan?
Priya(not meeting his eyes, shyly): Soch...ke dekh...sakte...hain...hum dono.
Ram: Yesssss! Pihu ko kitni khushi hogi yeh baat sunke.
Priya smiled thinking how Pihu would react knowing that she's going to be a big sister.
Ram: Kitna mazza aayega na Priya? Chota sa pyaara sa. Kitne cute aur soft hote hain. Aur hum na chota sa lenge. Chote chote chaar pair leke poora Ghar dawr marega. Achha lagega.
Priya's whole expression changed in a fraction of second. Her smiled vanished into thin air.
Priya(with a confused expression): Cha...chaar pair?
Ram: Haan. Priya yaar! Tum bhi kitna mazaak karti ho. Chaar hi toh pair honge na...achha kaunsa breed lein?
Priya: Breed?
Ram: Haan....woh jo chote chote dogs hote hain na kya bolte hain...woh Pomeranian! Achha hai na woh? Nahi toh Beagle?
Priya(still shocked): Kutta?
Ram: haan. Kutta! Toh tum kya soch rahi thi? Noooooooo...Billi? Tum Billi soch rahi thi kya? Nahi yaar Billi nahi Priya! Billiyaan na mujhe pasand nahi karte for some reason. Ek baar ek billi ne hath pe kaat diya tha. Billi nahi!
Seeing her shocked face, Ram waved his hand in front her.
Ram: Oooo...tum kya Guineapig soch rahi thi phir? Nahi yaar. Thode zyada hi chote hain aur sirf ghaas khaate hain.
Priya closed her eyes in pure frustration. She felt her blood boiling to no extent. All she wanted to do was scream at that point.
Ram: Priya? Bolo na? Achha hum ek saath jaake dekhenge. Jo pasand aayega le aayenge.
Priya(sternly, in a very low voice): Ya toh Ghar mein main rahungi ya aapka Kutta. Aap soch lije ab. Good night!
She gave him a death glare and went inside, stomping her feet.
Ram stood there completely confused. He didn't understand why Priya suddenly got angry.
Ram: Kya ho gaya achanak? Priya toh haan kar rahi thi mujhe laga. Gussa hoke chali gayi. Woh na bolti toh main nahi bolta. Kya yaar!
He also went inside and sat near Priya's feet who had already laid down beside Pihu resting her left arm over her eyes. He went a little closer to her and held her hand.
Ram(sadly): Thik hai nahi layenge Kutta. Tum kahin nahi jaa rahi mujhe chorhke remember? Kuch bhi kehti rehti ho tum. Sach mein baat nahi karogi mujhse? Itna gussa ho?
Priya didn't want to talk to him. Then again she didn't want him to feel restless all night also. Also she wasn't really angry with him but with their situation. So she removed her hand from her eyes and looked at him.
Ram(pouting): Nahi launga Kutta. Ab toh maan jao.
Priya gave him a little smile and nodded.
Ram: Thank God ab gussa nahi ho. (Kissing her forehead) Thakk gayi hogi. So jao ab. Good night!
Priya(softly): Good night.
And he went to the other side of the bed, put a kiss on Pihu's forehead and laid down. Priya let out a sigh with a heavy heart while Ram started thinking what made Priya so angry. As tiredness engulfed them both, they slowly fell into deep sleep.
.
.
.
.
.
Hope you all liked the chapter!