Continued...
'Hey...! Hey... Don't sleep here..' her soft voice broke his sleep
Arjun opens his eyes to find himself half lying on the sofa, with a file in his hand and Naina standing near him...
He blinked his eyes multiple times to adjust with the light and sat straight on the sofa..
'Yeah... Lost the track of time... Are the boys asleep...?' he asks
'Yes, they are in Adi - Sash's old room, Vansh didn't want to sleep on our bed...' Naina sits beside him
Arjun streched his arms and legs and then flexed his neck muscle, keeping the file on the table..
'He's too stubborn for a 2 year old... I think he is like me...' Arjun chuckles, and puts his arms around Naina's waist, pulling her closer
'No doubt about it, but Ved is so unlike me, I was never this calm as a kid...' Naina adjusts her head on his shoulder
'It runs in our family, siblings are never alike, like me and Adi weren't calm, but Sash was, so I think if Vansh is like me, Ved is Sash part 2...' Arjun laughs
Naina didn't respond to this comment, she just laid her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes, thinking about something...
Arjun looks at her and kisses her head
'Hey... Don't sleep here, let's go to our room...' he says softly
'No I am not sleepy, I am just.. worried...' she replies
'Worried about what ? It's okay Naina, just because Vansh won't sleep with us, it doesn't mean he hates us...' he chuckles
Naina smiles faintly, 'That's not what I was thinking, but thanks for the heads up, he's sleeping with us tomorrow onwards...'
'You are such an obsessive mother...'
'Of course, those kids are dear to me more than my life...'
'Uh huh, what about their father...?' he moves closer, caging her in his hold
'He is my life...' she smiles and pulls his cheeks
'So cheesy Mrs. Thapar...' Arjun brushes his lips against hers and she shivers
'I learn from the best...'
'I see... Let me teach you something more...' he whispers in her ears and crashed his lips on hers, she kissed back with equal fervour
They made out for a while, when Arjun's hands reached the hem of her t shirt, she gasped and broke the kiss...
'We are in the living room...' she says, trying to even her ragged breath
'So...?'
'What if the kids walk into us...?'
'Then they'll know how they came to this world...' he jokes and pulls her closer
'Arjun that's so inappropriate... Leave me...' she gets out of his hold
'Aww... Mood killer...' he whines
'Anyway, I need to talk to you about something...' she says, catching his hand which was playing with her hair
'Let's talk inside...' he says seductively, kissing her cheeks, and then neck
Naina pushes him away, and he gets confused
'See it's important... So please, listen to me...' she gets serious
'Alright, what is it...?' he sits straight too
Naina takes a deep breath and looks at him, and forwards her hands to hold his, to which he happily obliged
'Is everything okay love...?' he asks kissing her hand
'Yeah, there's something you need to know...' she says, looking a bit scared
'Okay... What is it ?'
'Remember we had a talk about having another kid...?' she asks, looking at him, getting really scared
His expression turned from curious to angry, hearing this, he pulled his hands out of her hold
'We've talked about this before and there's no need to repeat it Naina, we don't need a third child okay...! My boys are enough for me...' he declares
'But... You...' she stammers
'After what happened to you few months back, we're not risking your life again... So yeah... No third kid...'
'Arjun listen to me...' she tries to calm him down
'Naina, do you have anything else to talk about ?'
'See, I have to tell something really important to you...'
'We are not going to talk about having another kid okay...' he gets angry and stands up
'Why not...?' she gets angry too, her eyes welled with tears
'Because last time, you almost died damn it and our girl died for real.... I am not risking your life again, besides you are too weak for another pregnancy...'
'That was an accident... Besides...' she began, but he cut her off in between
'We are not talking about it...' he growls and starts walking towards the room
'Well too late...' she says wiping her tears
He stopped on her tracks, and turned to look at her
'What do you mean...?' he asks
'I mean too late to discuss about it, because we are going to have another child soon...' she says wiping her tears
Arjun was numb, he tried to register what she just said, and a sense of fear filled inside him..
He should be happy that he was going to be a dad, but he wasn't, he absolutely wasn't, he was scared, really scared for Naina, it took her 6 months to recover from the trauma she went through, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to see all that again...
Right now, the child inside Naina, was no less than a monster to him, who will eat up his family, because if anything happens to Naina this time, he'll surely die too, leaving Ved & Vansh on the mercy of his brothers, which he didn't want to...
Naina got scared seeing Arjun going numb, he didn't say anything past 3 minutes, just stared at her, well specifically at her stomach area...
She slowly walked towards him and held his hand
'Arjun, say something...' she cried
'How many months along are you...? We can get rid of it...' he blurted out
*Slap*
'How. Dare. You. Arjun !' she cries and before he realised what happened, she closed the bedroom door with a thud
*Back to Present*
Arjun opened his eyes, hearing the loud sound of the door closing, and looked towards the source
He saw Ananya approaching them frantically, followed by Aayan... Ananya's eyes were all red and teary, while Aayan looked scared as well..
'What happened to Maa..?' she asks Ved who took a deep breath
'Are you okay bro...?' Aayan asks Vansh, who looks away wiping his tears
'Can anybody tell me what's going on !' Ananya gets impatient
'Your Mom needs a surgery beta, nothing serious...' Sash tries to calm her down
'If nothing is serious, why does she need a surgery...?'
Sash didn't have any answer to this
'Why is she here bhai, what happened to Maa...?' Ananya asks Vansh
'I.. I... I can't....' he starts crying
Ananya's anxiety increased at this, her mind went blank and the emotions that should've been either sad/worried came out in form of anger..
'Guys, please tell me Maa is alive !' Ananya loses her patience
'Ananya !' Aayan warns her
'Shut up Annie ! Of course she is alive, if she wasn't why would chachu say about her needing a surgery...?' Ved scolds her
'Are you crazy ?' Vansh scolds her as well
'Then why are you behaving like that...!' she says to Vansh
'Ananya...' Aayan tries to calm her down
'Because he is worried...' Sash says calmly
'Bhai, don't cry... Maa will be fine...' Ananya says, controlling her own tears
'Of course, what a great way to console people Annie...' Vansh says sarcastically
'That was really inappropriate Annie....' Ved says disgusted
'Atleast he stopped crying....' Ananya said
'You think it's funny...?' Ved gets angry
'What a great time your kids have chosen to start a fight Bhai...' Sash says to Arjun who massaged his temples
Yes they were worried for their mom, and this was coming out like this...
Arjun was ready to lash out at his kids, when he heard Aayan's voice
'You think it's the right time to start a fight right here, at this time...?' he slightly raised his voice keeping in mind the hospital rules
Ananya and the twins stopped glaring at each other and looked at him
'Geez guys, you are parents now ! This is how you behave, in a hospital, when our mom is in the ICU....?' he scolds them and they looked away in shame
'I understand you guys are anxious, but this is not the way ! Now, Come on apologize to each other ' he says authoritatively
'She started it...' Vansh complains
'You end it, you are the older one...' Aayan says
'Fine ! Sorry...' Ved huffs
'I am sorry too...' Ananya says
Aayan looks at Vansh, raising his brows, who sighs
'Fine, I am sorry too...' he says and takes a seat
'Go sit with your Dad...' Aayan says to Ananya who nods like a punished kids and follows what she said
'That was pretty impressive son, I felt I am seeing younger Arjun Bhai, scolding his grown up kids...' Sash comments and Aayan chuckles
'Yeah, they are just worried...' Aayan looks at them, who just sat quietly at their respective places
'Will she be okay Chachu...?' Aayan asks Sash
'She will be...' Sash smiles and pats his shoulders
'She can't just leave yet...' he says to himself and looks at Arjun who was sat there numb
After a while, Ananya holds Arjun's free hand, and he looks at her, for a moment he was shocked...
Ananya was the younger version of her mom, for a moment he thought he's seeing younger Naina, whom he married almost 30 years ago..
'Paa what's wrong...?' Ananya asks concerned
'Nothing... I just... No... Nothing...' he says and sighed heavily
'She'll be fine...' She assures him
'I know she will be...' he smiled
They sat there, saying nothing, when Arjun looked at his daughter and realised she's changed, she's no more a little girl by heart, she's a woman now, A strong, independent woman, just like Naina was when he married her...
He remembered how Naina was emotionally blackmailed by her mother to marry him, because she hated him at that moment, during initial days of her marriage, she suffered, like she didn't want to be with him, but couldn't do anything about it...
Ananya was in a similar phase right now, but more painful, because after marriage Arjun didn't even dare to hurt her and Aayan... Well he married her to give her pain
Arjun felt anger building inside him, he looked at Aayan who sat beside Ved, not saying anything, just held his arms in one hand and Vansh's arm on another
He saw the changes in him as well, the angry boy inside him was gone, he was calm now, the face which looked troubled always was now at peace, just a bit worried... And he knew that his daughter was the reason for the drastic transformation in him
This two have come a really long way
He thought
The door opens and doctor came out, they look at him and rushed towards him
'We are taking Mrs. Thapar for the surgery in 10 minutes, but before that she insists on meeting someone...' he informed
Arjun moves forward to go inside, but doctor stopped him
'Sorry Mr. Thapar, she wants to talk to Ms. Ananya...' he says and Arjun nods moving back
Ananya looks at her brothers and then at her Dad
'Go.. Tell her to come out soon...' Arjun says and she nods
Ananya glances at Aayan who gives her an assuring smile, she nods and goes inside
She follows the doctor to the room inside the room, which was a bit cold, and saw her mom lying on the hospital bed, with needles pierced in her arms, connected to various machines which were making beeping sounds
Her heart pained seeing her mom like that, Ananya always used to think she's like her father, but as she grew up, she was more like her mother and was really happy that she turned out to be like her
'Baby...' came Naina's voice, it was a mere whisper
'Hey Maa, how are you feeling...?' she walks towards her bed
'Well, I feel amazing, you know with all this VIP treatment I am being given...' She tries to joke, her voice being very low, she took a deep breath before saying anything further
'Maa, you don't have to speak...'
'Don't worry, speaking doesn't hurt me...' she smiles faintly
'Maa you had a stroke...' Ananya tries to control her tears
'Yet I am okay, speaking to you, right ?'
Ananya chuckles and holds her arms, trying to control her tears
'You'll be okay...' she says
'Is that an assurance to me or you...?' Naina asks
'All of us...' Ananya replies
Naina smiles at this 'I know I'll be fine, your father isn't getting rid of me so easily...'
'He doesn't want to...'
'Yes, I know... Listen baby, there's something I need to tell you...' Naina says trying to breathe
'Maa I really think...'
'Please...' Naina pleads
'What is it...?'
'I want to apologise, for pushing you to marry Aayan...' Naina says, tears filling her eyes
'Maa, we can talk about this later...' Ananya caresses her hair
'I know beta, but it's something I really need to get off my chest, before you know going for the surgery, from which I may or may not come back...' Naina says with difficulty
'Maa please...'
'Please let me say, if this thing gets off my chest, maybe i'll heal quickly..' Naina smiles faintly
Ananya sighs
'Okay...'
'Baby, I know you've suffered a lot and trust me, I am angry on Aayan for this, but apart from him, I hate myself for pushing you to marry him baby... I shouldn't have asked you to accept the challenging fate...' Naina cries
'Stop crying, you didn't push me to do anything...'
'But I did...'
'You just said why am I scared of taking this challenge, you had no idea this was going to happen... No one did.. Even Aayan didn't...' Ananya holds her mom's hand
'If I didn't want to marry him, I would've ignored your and Paa's advice Maa, you know how stubborn I was, no one could push me to do something I didn't want to... I did marry him because I wanted to... I mean.. I loved him...' she sighs
'You don't love him now...?'
'I do... I do love him Maa... But it's complicated...'
'I think I understand that baby, we both have fallen for complicated men..' Naina chuckles and Ananya chuckles too
'Baby, maybe your father wasn't perfect before marriage, but after that, he never ever hurt me intentionally, that's why I never regret my decision for marrying him...' Naina says
'I know...' Ananya smiles
'But Aayan, he's different... He may hurt you...' Naina began
'I think he won't Maa...' Ananya says
'This is your love for him, which is making you think like that...' Naina says
'Maa he...'
'I am not pushing you for anything baby... But If you think, a relationship is going nowhere, You should end it... Because forced things never last...' Naina says
Ananya was shocked to hear this from her mother
'Nothing is forced on me Maa...' she says
'Don't do it because I am saying so... But you've suffered enough my child, if this marriage is going to give you more pain, I want you to get out of it... You understand ? Don't think about Paa, Jai or anyone... It's high time to live for yourself baby...' Naina caresses her face
'I'll think about it Maa...' Ananya assures her
'Good...' Naina sighs and then winces holding her chest
'They warned me not to speak much...' she mutters
Ananya gets scared seeing her in pain
'Maa... Why did you talk this much...!' she said and looked around to find a doctor
'I am fine baby...' Naina says
'No you are not, you are in pain... Doctor...! Nurse...! Anyone ! Please come here...' She calls
'Baby... Relax...'
'You better come out of this room healthy Maa, or else you know what i'll do...!' Ananya warns her
'Who says your father didn't have any influence on you...' she chuckles and then winces
Doctors rush in, followed by worried Ved, Vansh and Aayan
'What's wrong...?'
'Her chest hurts...' Ananya says and the twins gasp
'I asked you not to talk much Naina ji... Come let's take you to OT...' the doctor says injecting the anaesthetic in her body
'Come back Maa...' Vansh says crying
'I will...' Naina says as her eyes start drooping
'You guys need to leave...' Doctor says to her kids
'Yeah...' Aayan says and walks towards Ananya who was staring at her mom
'Come Ananya...' he holds her arm
'But she...' Ananya tried to protest
'She's fine...' He assured and looked at Naina who smiled faintly at him
Aayan pulled Ananya and Ved out of the room, and then walked back inside to get Vansh
'What's wrong...?' Sash asks
'They are taking her for the surgery...' Ved says
Aayan comes out pulling Vansh along with him, they were followed by the ward boys who pulled Naina's stretcher out of the room
Arjun looks at Naina, who was unconscious now, and quietly saw them pulling her inside the OT, standing there like a statue...
He looked at Naina's sleeping figure, before the doors shut behind her
28 years ago...
Arjun stood helplessly as Naina was taken inside the delivery room, she was unconscious and doctors advised for a C section delivery, as she wasn't in a condition to go for a natural birth
'She'll be fine son...' Arjun's dad assured him
'She has to be...' he says, not looking away from the delivery room
'Why don't you sit beta...?' Naina's mom says
'I won't unless the doctor says she's fine...' he declares
'You have to relax bro, Nothing will happen to her....' Jai says
'You heard the doctor right... What if she doesn't come back...?'
'Arjun you are over reacting...' Rads said
'You won't understand...' Arjun sighs
'If hypothetically Naina doesn't come back, then you have to be strong for your boys and the new baby...' Jai pats his shoulder
'I am not going to hold the child, unless I get to know my Naina is OK...' he says angrily
'Why are you saying things like this...?' Rads gasps
'Because I didn't want this kid in the first place ! It was her decision to go for it... If anything happens to her because of this child, I'll never see his/her face...' Arjun declares
'Too much drama...' Jai rolls his eyes
'You think I am joking...?' Arjun gets angry
'I think you are over reacting !' Jai matches his tone
'Jai, don't push him...' Arjun's father says and Jai takes a step back
'Uncle ji he is...' Jai began
'I know beta, but you saw him last time right...? He's scared...' Mr. Thapar says and Jai nods
After about an hour, the doctor comes out, followed by a nurse holding the baby...
'Congratulations Mr. Thapar, It's a girl...' She says
Others around Arjun rejoiced in happiness, but Arjun didn't react..
The nurse came forward to give Baby Ananya to him, but he took a step back, and Jai glared at him, taking the baby from the nurse's arms
'My god, she's cute...' Jai gasped looking at her
'Agreed...' Rads says in awe
'How is my wife Madam...?' Arjun asks
'Arjun atleast look at the girl...' Naina's mom says
He ignored her and looked at the doctor again
'Is she okay...? When will she gain consciousness...?' He asks
'She's fine Mr. Arjun, since we had C section, she'll be unconscious for like 2-3 hrs, but she'll be fine, there are no post delivery complications seen yet, so yeah...' she says and Arjun sighs
A wave of relief washed over him and he realised he became a dad, again..
'She looks like Mini version of Naina...' he hears Naina's mom saying and turns to look at his daughter
She was fragile like a doll, wrapped in a pink cloth and everyone was staring at her admiringly
'Can I see her...?' he asks, knowing that he messed up and they won't let him do that...
'No way... Let Naina gain consciousness, I'll tell her what you did and then she'll decide whether you get to see her or not...' Jai says
'No please, she'll kill me, or worst divorce me for this...' Arjun says horrified
'To be honest you deserve this...' Rads glares at him too
'Let me see her please...' Arjun begs
'Absolutely not...'
'Maa, please...' he looks at Naina's mom
'I am with them for this, how could you do that to your own girl...?' Mrs. Malhotra scolds him
'I am sorry Maa... I was worried...' Arjun sighs
'That doesn't mean you'll get ready to abandon your own blood...' Mr. Thapar scolds him
'I know... I am sorry... But please...' He says, looking at the baby on Mrs. Malhotra's arms
Finally he got to be a father of a girl, he always wanted one, despite all this stress he went throughout Naina's pregnancy, he really hoped it was a girl and when god sent her, this is how he behaved... Guilt filled inside him, how could he even think of abandoning the angel Naina gave to him...
'And FYI, if you still don't want her, I'll take her... She's such a doll...' Rads looks at Baby Ananya admiringly
'Hey ! I wanted her, but no issues, once you raise her Rads, I'll get her married to my son Aayan... This way she comes to my house forever...' Jai says to tease Arjun
'Great Idea...' Rads hi fives him
'No way ! She's my girl...' Arjun declares
'Too late, she's ours now, and I am sure Naina won't mind....' Jai says taking Ananya in his arms and cooing at her
'Hey ! Give her to me !' Arjun marches towards Jai
*Back to present*
Arjun opens his eyes to look at Ananya who stood beside him, holding his shoulder...
She looked worried, anxious and was about to cry, but kept an even face, trying to be strong for her family
Arjun stood up and engulfed her in a tight hug, to which she was shocked, and so were others
'Paa... Are you okay...?' she asks hugging him back
'I am so sorry baby...' Arjun cries and she gets confused
'Why are you sorry Paa...?' she asks trying to calm him down
Arjun didn't reply, just sobs and she calms him down, looking at her brothers worriedly
They too looked confused, and so was Aayan, but they thought maybe he's just worried for Naina, so they consoled him too
'She'll be fine Paa...' Vansh says
'Yeah...' Arjun says and leaves Ananya, caressing her face
'You are the best thing that ever happened to me Princess, always remember that...' Arjun says and Ananya smiles
'I know...' she smiles
Arjun takes his seat and his sons sit on either side of him
Ananya slowly walks away from them and sits on the chair far away from others, because now she couldn't control her tears
She begins to cry, holding her mouth, to prevent sob from coming out loud, she was in pain, a crippling fear gasped her, what if something happens to her mother..? How will she survive without her ? How will her father live...? Is she here because of her ?
Ananya didn't realise when someone wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him, she immediately recognised the hold, and that was just something she needed right now...
She sobs and holds him back, hugging him, and his grip around her tightened
'She'll be alright, don't cry like this...' Aayan says softly
'What if she...' She tries to say
'Nothing will happen okay, it's a minor surgery...'
'It's not a minor...' she began
'Yeah, it's a major one, I know, I am trying to console you here, help me atleast...' Aayan sighs and Ananya smiles a bit admist tears
'You have a bad timing for humour..' she says
'I learn from the best...' he pats her shoulder
Ananya chuckles and leaves him
'Don't worry... Mom is a lot stronger than we think...' Aayan says
'I know, it's just... You know...' she began
'I very well understand what you are going through Ananya... Trust me...' He smiles
Ananya nods and didn't say anything, she just held his hand, and rests her head on his shoulder
Aayan to held her hands and looked towards the OT
Naina was a mother figure to him as well afterall, she was there when his own mom abandoned him, he knew she'll be fine, but deep down he was scared too
'You know, I get it now...' Ananya says
'What...?'
'What you felt when your mom was leaving...' Ananya says, looking at his eyes
He went speechless at this, he opened his mouth to say, but couldn't... These two scenario's weren't same...
'These are two totally different things...' he says
'I know... But the fear in a child's mind about how he will live once his mom leaves is same...' Ananya says
'Yeah except my mom left voluntarily...' Aayan chuckles
'Somehow your behaviour that night now makes sense to me Aayan... I don't blame you for being angry, it was your grief that came out...' Ananya says
'Well it doesn't matter now...' Aayan says
'I am so sorry Aayan, no one deserves the childhood you had...' Ananya says wiping her tears
'You did nothing, so relax...'
'You know I made things difficult for you in the beginning and God ! I so regret that...' Ananya sighs
'It's Okay Ananya... It's all in the past...' he assures her
'I wish I could go back in the past to change things....'
'Tell me about it...' Aayan chuckles
'You are really strong, you know that..?' Ananya says after a while
'And you are stronger, it takes courage to be with a broken man and not leave yet...' Aayan smiles, caressing her hand
Ananya went silent to this, her mom's words crossed her mind
If you think things won't work between you two, get out of this marriage...
'I'll see how your brothers are doing...' he gets up and she nods
Will things really work ?
Is he changed...?'
She looks at Aayan who sat beside Ved, who sighed and leaned against Aayan, who hugged him and said something, probably consoling him
If this was few years ago, probably before Marriage, Aayan would've just stood away from everyone, lost in his own world, not taking any efforts to console or talk to anyone, but today what Ananya saw was a whole new different man in front of her
He doesn't get impulsive, he's doesn't stay aloof now, he apologises for his mistakes, he's always there when anyone needs him and most importantly he is kind... These attributes were missing in old Aayan, which somehow he inculcated in him
Then what's stopping you Annie..?
I just need an assurance that he's not the same anymore
2 hours later
Ananya opened her eyes when someone tapped her on the shoulders and blinked several times to adjust the light
'Hey, you must be hungry... Come with me to the cafeteria, i'll get you something to eat...' Aayan says
'No I am fine...' she says and sit straight
'See, everyone had something, only you are left..'
'Did Paa eat...?'
'Yes... Now come...' Aayan helps her stand
Ananya looks around to find her Dad, Uncle and Brothers sitting quietly and then glanced at her watch
'It's been more than 2 hours, what's taking so long...' she says
'These surgeries need time, it'll be over soon, now come with me...' Aayan pulls her towards the gate
At the cafeteria
Ananya sat on the chair, while Aayan went to the food counter to get something for her
He came back with 2 donuts and a tea and kept it front of her, seeing which she made a face
'I don't like this flavour...' she whines
'Well, sorry but this a hospital's cafeteria, not dunkin donuts milady.. This is all you get...' he says forwarding the plate to her
'Your sarcasm didn't change at all...' she rolls her eyes
'Well, some things don't change...' he said proudly
Ananya didn't say anything just started eating
'Why did mom call you inside ?' he asks after a while
Ananya puts the teacup down
'Uh.. She wanted to see me and tell me a secret about some thing she hid in her room...' she lies
Aayan narrows his eyes
'You know you can lie better than that...' he comments and she sighs
'She said, if things don't work between us, I should end this marriage...'
Aayan went numb at listening to this, he took a deep breath and leaned against the chair
'I didn't say that I was going to do it...' she clarifies
'I think she's right' Aayan says
'What !'
'If you are not happy Ananya, this marriage should end...'
'You want this marriage to end ?'
'No ! That is the last thing I want, I love you, you know that...' he says softly
'Then how can you say it !'
'Because I love you enough to let you go Ananya...' he looked into her eyes and she went speechless
'My worst nightmare will come true, if you decide to do this, and I really hope you don't, but if you are not happy Ananya, I will not stop you...' he says with tears in his eyes
'I...'
'No pressure on you, but honestly speaking, your wish, will be my command, just think what you want...' he says getting up
'Where are you going...?'
'I don't want to blackmail you emotionally, so I'll find some corner to cry...' he chuckles
'Don't go please...' she pleads
He looks directly into her eyes
'Same... Don't go please...' he says and walks out of the cafeteria
Your wish will be my command
What is my wish though ?
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2 more chapters to go...