AYAAN
"Ayaan, why did you suggest the doctor give her an injection? She was so upset, you know how difficult it was to put her to sleep," Aashi said, sitting beside me and leaning her body on my stomach since I was lying down.
I looked at her innocent face and tried to remember if I had ever called her by any other name like Ayushi did. I never used any derogatory words to replace her name.
"Can you please give me some water?" I said, taking a long pause. She reached her hand towards the glass on the table.
"BITCH," I finally completed my sentence. Her hand stopped midway, and she looked at me confused.
"Did you just call me that?" she asked, pointing her finger at herself.
"Give me a glass of water, BITCH," I said, avoiding eye contact and focusing on my phone. I didn't want to see the hurtful look in her eyes.
"Why... Why are you calling me that?" she asked, throwing my phone to the other side of the bed.
"Does it hurt?" I replied.
"It shouldn't? ," she asked, her voice becoming heavy. I could see a tear rolling down her cheek. When Ayushi, whose existence is because of us, cursed at her, she didn't react.
"Ayaan, why are you calling me that?" she asked, her eyes wide with confusion.
"It hurts me too. Our daughter, Aashi, OUR DAUGHTER, cursed at you just because she was mad at me," I said, holding her arm.
She looked into my eyes, and then broke the eye contact to hug me tightly.
"Please don't use that word to refer to me. I really don't like it. They may be kids, but you're not. It may be a small word, but I still don't appreciate being called that by you. I love you, so please don't do it. She said, sniffling, and the way she did it tells me she has a cold too.
I stand up and walk towards the door. After locking it, I come back to bed and hold my sweetheart in my arms.
"It's not right, Aashi. She shouldn't curse at you. She shouldn't curse at all, especially since she's only twelve. I really hate it when cute little kids curse, and every child is cute and little. They're not adults who can curse. If she grows up and decides to call her friends bitch, then I wouldn't mind. But she can't call you that, not now, not ever, Aashi." I said, cupping her cheeks.
"It's okay, Ayaan."
I give her a firm smack on her thighs, causing her to cover her mouth to prevent herself from shouting and attracting attention from the other kids in the room.
"It's okay? Is it okay for them to curse at you?"
She shakes her head and starts rubbing her thighs.
"It's red, I'm telling you. It has to be red." She said, and I can tell that we have a lot of comfort between us, as she immediately shows me the hand mark on her thigh without any hesitation, and I love it this way.
She used to be a shy doll. It took a lot of time to turn my shy doll into this.
"I'm asking you something else. It wasn't okay." I ask, my hand dangerously close to her core. Okay, I took advantage of her taking off her pants.
"Yes, it was wrong. Don't play with me like this." She said, adjusting her dress.
"Tell me, did Aryan curse at you before? Please, they're my kids too. I won't harm them. Tell me the truth." I said firmly. She nodded her head slowly, very slowly.
"But I actually don't min-"
"For heaven's sake, Ayaan." She said, starting to rub her chest. I didn't pinch her breast, I swear.
"You don't mind?"
"I do, I do. I don't want to sit on your lap."
"Hey, don't move. Is Aryan feeling better now? Listen, I have two options for you. Either you go and confront them for cursing, or I can do it myself," I said, emphasizing the importance of the situation. "We can talk about other things later tonight, and it'll be a good chat between me and Aashika."
"You go and talk to them," she replied.
"Oh, I forgot to mention that my belt will have a more specific conversation with them, especially Ayushi, because I'm sure she's the one who taught Aryan that bad word. Your son is safe, but my daughter will remember this day forever," I said, although I don't think I'll ever do that to my little baby. However, Aashika doesn't need to know that.
"No, not in this life. I will talk to them. I will scold them, I can do it," she encouraged herself. I know she has never actually scolded them before, but that has to change.
They can't manipulate Aashika so easily. She deserves respect, and they better give it to her, or else they'll have to deal with me.
"Ayaan, I can't do it," she said.
"You can, and you're not just going to scold them. Keep this in mind. If she talks to you in a friendly manner, I don't have any problem, even if she calls you 'tu' instead of 'aap.' I don't mind that. But they can't curse at you," I explained.
"I can't scold them," she insisted.
"Tonight, you will call them into this room and tell them how wrong it is to curse at their mother. Then, you will punish them. If they don't listen, I'm here for you," I said, leaning towards her lips.
"I'm not telling you to go hard on them. They can't get away with cursing, and tonight, you and I will also talk about something important," I said, giving her a slight pat on her thighs.
She pouted and placed her lips on mine.
"Kiss me," she mumbled, and I started kissing her back, holding back my anger.
"I'll make a herbal drink for you tonight. It'll help with your cold," I said.
Upon hearing this, she sniffled again and started looking for something.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I need a cloth," she said looking around, but ended up using my t-shirt to wipe her nose.
"I caught a cold," she explained, rubbing her nose. It's her gross old habit to use my clothes for that.
"If you can't find anything, we have a bathroom. You can use the sink," I suggested, giving her a gentle tap on the butt.
"I don't feel like going," she replied with a smile, revealing her teeth.
"Okay."
_____
After dinner, Aashika called both Aryan and Ayushi into her room to talk to them about the importance of not cursing.
Ayaan couldn't help but smile as he watched her. Every time she raised her voice even slightly, she would immediately apologize and switch to talking to them in their baby language. He couldn't help but adore her with so much love.
All he wanted was to pull her into a hug and give her a deep, long kiss that would make her forget the world existed.
"Mumma sorry," both childrend said together, holding their ears.
"Ayaan, they're sorry," Aashika said with a smile. But then her smile faded as she remembered something.
"Yes, now let's move on to the punishment... Since you both are SICK," she deliberately emphasized the word 'sick.'
"You two can just do ten sit-ups," she initially said, but when she saw her kids looking sad, she changed the number.
"Wait, just do two. My babies are sick, and one of them even got an injection, right Ayaan? Two are enough," she said, showing her two fingers to Ayaan.
Ayaan turned himself, burying his face in the pillow, and started laughing silently, making sure no sound came out.
Both Ayushi and Aryan held their ears, and within a second, they were done and resting in Aashika's arms.
"Do your feet hurt? Wait, I'll come to your room and massage them. And remember, no cursing from now on, okay?" Aashika said, kissing both of their cheeks.
"They're going to take advantage of her their whole life. They'll never, and I mean never, listen to her. I can write it down. She's going to be more of a friend to them than a mom. I planned for a baby after so many years, and I thought Aashika had grown up, but man, my wife has grown up to be more of a friend material than a mom," Ayaan thought, banging his head on the pillow.
"Ayaan and the kids have already gone to bed. Let's get some rest. They mentioned that their feet are feeling fine. I've already given Aryan an oil massage earlier in the evening. So, let's call it a night.
"No Aashi, dear, I also want to have a chat with you."