Author Note :" The book titled as been Changed from Six Months With Him to Her Broken Dream"

  The Next Day

   
Gauri felt horrible for the way she dismissed Arnav last night and may it was karma way of punishing her when Rahul woke up demanding to see Arnav . 

     
Her son wouldn't be satisfied by any other male family members , Ishaan and her dad failed miserably to entice him from forgetting about Arnav as he continued to demand for him every two minutes until everyone was sure a tantrum will happen soon if he didn't get to see Arnav .

      
Rahul had been the most mild one that he had never demanded for anything this insistently .Except Arnav , she didn't dare to ask the reason behind it fearing it may reveal how much her son loved Arnav and then her heart would break all over again when she let him go both for herself and Rahul .

        
" Dad ,can I borrow your car to take Rahul " she asked her father a little later prepared to acquiesce to her son demands , her father asked if he should drive her but she declined because she wanted to leave as soon as Rahul got his Arnav quota for the day .

        
She could have asked Arnav to come by and he would have but after her behaviour last night ,she didn't want him to make any concession for her comfort . She would go to him and it would also make her have a reason to visit his daily.

    
      
Rahul had been delighted when Gauri announced they were going to Arnav home and his joy was infectious that she basked in it until Arnav family house came into view ,this was the house she visited so often in her life . This was the house most of her memories with Arnav are locked up .

      
She didn't want to overstep her welcome that she had texted him instead of calling because she wasn't ready for that yet , she hoped surrounded by his family will ensure she could keep the distance through the visit .

      
He had been waiting for them that Rahul rushed out of the car as soon as he saw the glimpse of Arnav , she parked the car and waited for few moments before getting out . Fortunately Arnav wasn't alone by then as his grandmother joined in to see her great grandkid .      
       
Gauri always knew Arnav family would accept Rahul as their own, but knowing and seeing are two different things as she saw how they all craved for his attention even if it lasted few minutes, Gauri felt bit overwhelmed to see their love for her son. And when she had been young ,she used to think their welcome had been related to the fact she was Lavanya best friend,later assumed it had something to do with the fact she was Arnav girlfriend.

     
But their acceptance of Rahul made her realize the truth, that their acceptance never had a checklist ,it had always been free of any obligation. Rahul would have been accepted and cherished by Arnav family even if she wasn't married to him , they would have accepted her and Rahul if she had found the courage to visit them when Arun was alive.. She always knew it deep down, it was why she wanted to ensure Kavya life doesn't get sidetracked by guilt.

 
  Kavya always felt a little too much ,and if the mere fact she and Arnav broke up caused her to act out then she didn't want to imagine how she would have cooped up if the truth was known to her when it happened, and thinking about Kavya made her realize she wasn't among the admirers of Rahul.

 
 " Where is Kavya?" She asked Arnav dad who was closer to her and the smile that had been in his face while adoring Rahul from far off  fell a little at her question. 

 
 " In her room beta" he answered back but she didn't have to ask more because she heard what he didn't say as well. She locked herself in the room thinking Gauri would prefer that when it was far away from the truth.

  " I  will just go and check on her " She answered back as she walked towards kavya room. She didn't want to intrude on Kavya but she didn't want Kavya to walk on egg shells around her either .

   
After a Brief knock she let herself inside the room to find Kavya looking shaken up by her mere appearance and it looked like she had been crying as well which made Gauri feel bit sad for her friend .

  " Are you going to hide away every time i visit ?" Gauri asked her and saw the question register in her mind as Gauri made her way into the room .

" I thought you will get to see me plenty of time during the wedding that i shouldn't add on to it " Kavya answered back, it had been true Gauri had a panic attack when she first saw Kavya but in a way it had more to do with her need to hold on to the secret than any lingering resentment of Kavya actions

But Gauri couldn't possibly make Kavya believe her presence was wanted just by saying it a thousand times and she need to be able to prove it with her actions for Kavya to believe in them and in a way focusing on Kavya would be able to get her mind of Arnav and her ever growing love for him

   
" Do you want to come with me, i promised Lavanya i will stop by as soon as possible " Gauri found herself asking Kavya to show her that she need not hide from her during the course of her stay.

 " Are you sure , you want me there.. While it may be hard to believe i did grew up a little in the last few years that i can handle it if you ask me to stay away " Kavya spoke up and Gauri knew she meant them as well .

" Yes, I want you there at least to divert attention from Lavanya questions . You can take her attention by talking about your  fake fiancee " Gauri answered back which earned a smile from Kavya at the reminder of Akash Reddy. Maybe there had been more to their relationship she wondered as they bid goodbye to her son briefly who had been more interested with Arnav that he didn't mind her departure in the least. 

             ###############################################

         
 Arnav attention had been too focused on Rahul that he didn't let himself think much about Gauri and Kavya, the whole family had been surprised when Kavya announced that the both of them will be going to visit Lavanya, his cousin. But his family members face were filled with smiles at the announcement, considering Kavya Visit into the outer world had practically became null after that day.

         
" When will we go back home?" Rahul words would have never reached him if he hadn't been too focused on the little one, his sudden question came out of nowhere and he wondered why the little one was asking him instead of Gauri.

           
" You and Mommy  are here to attend your mommy best friend wedding ,You can go back home after the wedding " Arnav answered back hoping the time would be enough for him to convince Gauri to give him a real chance as well.

         
" Will you come with us or will you stay behind" Rahul next question was more of a shock, the fact his family are better at sign language meant they understood few of those words because suddenly Rahul admirers all left leaving him alone with him for the one on one talk.

       
Arnav knew Gauri had been preparing to live a life by herself from the way she insisted on travelling alone and he didn't know if she was preparing Rahul for the change as well, he didn't know if she told Rahul something that made the little one wary about their future or if he had been perspective like his mother . 

         
Arnav remembered the time she celebrated her first birthday party . It had surprised him back then to know she never had a birthday party until the age of seven . Her parents divorce and subsequent estrangement made them distant parents who weren't involved with the child often. So Gauri had been lonely as she grew up and her friendship with Lavanya at the age of six meant the whole world to her until she had to leave it all behind for their sake.

         
Arnav knew Gauri disappearance had more to do with protecting Kavya and Lavanya than herself , the three of them had been so close while growing up and at times it was hard for him to not wonder if they still would have been close if only he stayed away from her. His choices had been the one the led to a rift between them and his choices that choose to walk away from the only girl he loved and will ever love.

     
Arnav had been lost in his thoughts that Rahul had to tap his hand few times to get his attention as he remembered the little one question as well , he didn't know how to answer that one. His parents followed the principle of being quite truthful to him and Kavya when they were kids. If they said No to something, they usually give them the reason behind it as well . "We couldn't afford it" or " You still need to be little grown up to have it " or " You already have the same type of toy ". That they never questioned their decision. 

   
And if they said Yes, they usually keep their promises as well . We cant have too many broken promises between a child and its parents, his grandfather told him once because as they grew up the child need to believe when their parents said they will do something, they need to do it to build their trust. So Arnav was in a dilemma, he neither to make a promise that he couldn't keep or say No and break Rahul heart without reason nor throw Gauri under the bus, if Gauri wanted him gone from their lives, he would make sure Rahul doesn't hold any blame on his mother.

 
" I don't know Rahul.. I really hope i will be able to come with you and your mother" he answered back truthfully sticking with an answer that wasn't really a one. It seem to satisfy Rahul curiosity for now because the answer wasn't a No but Arnav feared that it may happen in the near future if he hadn't been able to convince Gauri to trust in them.

 
 It words must have worked to lessen Rahul fears that he wasn't looking for him every two minutes and was perfectly content to let Arnav mother take over her turn of having a grandson, by the time her mother fed him ,it had been his grandparents turn followed by his father that Rahul was fast asleep in his room that his parents made for him when Gauri and Kavya returned back.

One look at them , he knew something was wrong. His eyes looked into his sister hoping she let him know what happened, usually the sibling had the silent communication work well enough in the past but tonight he couldn't find the answer in his sister which let him focusing back on Gauri.

   
" Thank you for looking after Rahul, we will leave now" Gauri words were restricted as if she wanted to be far away from them at the moment. But he cant let her go through anything that troubled alone not again.

" Rahul is sleeping and you cant drive with him asleep. I will drive you home" he answered back ,he knew she would probably decline his request but was fortunate when she didn't say no ,once he placed the sleeping Rahul into her arms, he took over the  car key from her hands as he drove them home . All the while hoping she would open up to him on what bothered her .

     
When they reached her parents house, he carried Rahul to his room while giving her time to either find the courage to tell him anything or let him go without a word, the fact he cant walk back home with his leg gave him a few minutes of time as he booked for a cab and waited for his arrival. She didn't say a word till he left and he couldn't find it in himself to push her for more.

   
He did ask his sister once he reached home who had declined to break Gauri confidence , and he knew Kavya sense of loyalty and guilt would be too strong for him to break through . Which left him one option of calling his cousin to find the answers because while he didn't want to intrude on Gauri privacy ,he didn't like to see her distraught either and he cant help if he didn't know the source of her problem.

   
 But before he could call his cousin, his phone rang and he had been surprised to see Gauri caller id on the other end.  " Arnav, can you come home. Rahul is demanding to see you again" Gauri called him in panic, he had hoped the little one concern had been taken care of but apparently his non answer worked only when he was around. 

 
By the time he went back to Gauri house, this time in his car. Rahul had been close to a breakdown. The sight of Arnav calmed the little one who went back to sleep again after Arnav assured him that he is going anywhere tonight , a promise he intend to keep even if Gauri wasn't in favor of it.

Gauri may not be willing to let him inside her heart or mind, but she let him inside Rahul life and Arnav realized the little one was having a crisis of his own that took over precedence to the adults at the moment.

" We need to talk" he told her once  Rahul was back asleep all the while wondering if he could ever get her to confide in him on what bothering her.

P.S: " That it for now .Let me know your thoughts and Feedbacks. Hit the votes if you liked it "

Love

Juanita Reid.