Arnav looked around his new room and felt the depth of his actions sink in for the first time , he was married . He was a man who had rules after rules for every mile stone in his life until one day his carefully laid plans derailed , he had a son now . A son he wasn't allowed to see yet .                   

 A sharp knock to his door made him open it to come face to face with his wife, in name only . She couldn't be more clear by her actions of not once looking at him the entire day , whatever feelings they shared were a thing of the past . This marriage was for her son and he had gotten the message loud and clear .                          

 " I told Rahul about the marriage, he is confused as any  three year old . Do you wanna meet him now or tomorrow ." his wife asked and he noticed she was anxious about her meeting their son or was he just supposed to be his guardian . He wasn't sure about his role in their life yet .               

 " Let us meet him now " he answered back, because he didn't want to prolong her nervousness and she nodded her head in answer as she walked him to her son's room , after a brief knock she entered her son's room and he followed her until a pair of hostile eyes met him and a flurry of actions unfolded right before him as a pair of little hands moved in speed  . And sadly he couldn't understand a word .                      

After about few minutes where he stood unsure about how to proceed ,Gauri turned towards him and he saw the hurt behind her eyes as she looked at him.                

" He is just being stubborn Arnav . Let's go and I will talk to him later " She told him and he noticed the little kid face turn into something of sadness as she spoke of him .            

 " What did he say? " Arnav asked instead granted he could ask after they left the room but he wanted to know what was said about him ,so he could answer back as well . It wasn't fair to walk away from their first meet even without a word.              

" He doesn't want a new dad and wants me to bring back Arun. " Gauri answered back ,it may be the gist of what he said but for once he wished he understood every word the little one spoke so he could understand him better .               

" Okay, Tell him.  I don't want to replace his dad ,just want to be a friend to him . " He spoke up as he waited for her to convey it back to her son but she didn't say a word before the little hands began to move again.             

 " Yes ,he wants to be your friend . " his wife spoke up as well as she signed the words to him and he realized she hadn't spoken up before so as to keep him in the dark .  But Arnav was focused on the way the little one face relaxed and a smile lit up at his mother answer .                

" He said ,he is okay with having a new friend " Gauri spoke up yet again conveying the words between them and it should be enough for now yet Arnav couldn't leave yet . As he walked towards the little one and held out his hand in what he hoped could lead to a hand shake and waited for him to respond . 

                  *********************        

Gauri didn't know how wound up she had been about their encounter until she saw her son little hands hold his hands in return ,as they shared a quiet moment between them where no words were needed to convey the beginning of their relationship.      

 Gauri came from a family where blood isn't always what comprises a family , her family was filled with love but she didn't share the same blood with her father ,who was her step father and neither did she share it with her brother who was adopted and yet they had been her family ,so she was anxious for Rahul to feel the same way about Arnav and yet no one  knew better than her  how stubborn one can be when faced with new relationship .           

 She fought for years before accepting her father and her brother Ishaan initially rejected their offer to adopt because he felt it would be a betrayal to his real family to have new one . She had seen all of that and yet somehow hoped for a easy acceptance as she never seen Rahul voice out his displeasure like today.                   

Rahul was just three years old and so she hoped he wouldn't understand the dynamic behind Arnav being part of their family ,but the mere mention of marriage had him in fits of anger as he demanded he didn't want another father. The concept should be alien to him, she had assumed but her son had somehow connected the word marriage to him getting another father, maybe from the books or somewhere else didn't know, so she wasn't prepared for her son reaction at first , but she relaxed when he seem to not hate having Arnav as a friend .                 

Her decision to marry again had stemmed from the single fact she trusted Arnav to protect her son than her brother in law , her father asked her the same question back when she hesitated to marry him. 

" It not a matter of what you want anymore Gauri, it is  a matter of who you trust with Rahul future with .Is it Arnav or Vinoth ? , but don't think this is your only option either, if you don't want to marry again, we will find some other way  " her father told her two days ago and she had her answer .  She was lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice her son talking to her that Arnav had to call her out for her to look at them .           

A pang of guilt shot through her that she didn't notice her son speaking , for him the only way to speak had been by the move of his hands and since she can't hear him ,sometime she doesn't notice him speaking and each time she felt the guilt for not looking at him .               

" Good night beta , and sure I will drive you to get ice cream tomorrow " She answered back as well as signed the words as she replied back to his query for ice cream .             

Arnav walked out of the room beside her without a word , she should have told him about Rahul inability to speak like others but she was too caught up with her son reaction that she couldn't convey it to Arnav before they met .         

" He hadn't been able to speak from birth , Arun took him to all specialists but it was of no use . Rahul is smart, he has managed to learn both the languages faster than other kids his age , he can understand when we speak but since he can only answer back using sign language . I use both to talk with him ,so did Arun. " Gauri didn't know why she confided in him when he hadn't asked a question , but with him she always felt like she could share anything and the years between them didn't seem to diminish that part of them .     

" Teach me , as well .So I can speak with him . " he answered back earning a smile from her , she knew this about him . Arnav had been the responsible one in his family ,he always had looked after his younger  cousin and in a way her as well . And it was who he was that made her trust him with her son .     

" Okay , " She answered back unable to say any more as she felt tears threaten to fall at the realization her son was safe and no one would take him away from her . The past few days she had been so determined not to think of losing her son that she didn't realize how nervous she had been of the same until now when she realized she didn't have to fight this battle alone .         

She stopped when they reached her room, and stood in silence as she didn't know what else to say to him ,she wanted to go back to her room and create the distance between them . When she was around him ,she tends to forget everything .  She wouldn't want him to hope for future with her ,and she felt chastised by her dream that he was still in love with her , his love wouldn't have lasted against her betrayal .                      

She knew the reason he agreed for the marriage was because he had never been able to say no to her . Not because he still loved her . She heard him say Good night as he walked towards his room and all she hoped was to keep her heart intact for the next six months ,she may have temporarily laid claim to being his wife but he deserved a real wife not an illusion of one .

                       ********************
           
Arnav woke up in an unfamiliar surrounding and for a moment felt lost until he realized where he was as he noticed his unpacked suitcase.  He waited for the familiar rush of pain that always greeted him in the morning and sure enough his leg felt stiff and sore that he couldn't move it with out a sharp burst of pain to go with it ,so he waited as always gently messaging the leg as the doctors advised him to ,they told him it will get better over time and he really hoped so as well .                   

But his thoughts drifted towards Rahul , the little one who had taken a dislike to having another father . According to Gauri he was three years old , such a young age that Arnav knew he needs to tread carefully not to confuse the little one too much . He needed to gain his trust but without able to speak with him ,he didn't know how he could make the little one trust him .             

He opened his phone as he tried to learn the sign language online , around five minutes later he had learnt about five words and he felt hopeful about his process but one look at the clock indicated it was time for him to get ready as his leg was no longer stiff ,with his leg it usually takes him longer than others to get ready so he usually starts early as well .
                 
But a sound of scream had him  out of his room as he ran towards her , he knew it was her scream but he didn't expect to come face to face with her holding a knife and threatening someone not to get closer .  She was terrified and he didn't think twice before walking towards her .                     

" You are really crazy you know that , I will make sure you spend the rest of your life in asylum " he heard the vile words of the stranger directed towards his wife , as he turned walked towards her ,the stranger was momentarily surprised by his presence in the house .
                                      
Arnav noticed the stranger's face was bleeding by a small cut as he looked at the knife in Gauri hands ,he knew she left the mark . She relaxed at the sight of him as the knife dropped out of her hands on to the floor but her eyes still remained focused on the stranger before her .                

" Who are you ..? , Don't tell me she already found someone else to bed . You sure move fast sister in law , I don't care who you bed before our marriage but after that you will remain loyal to me " the stranger words were so vile that for a moment Arnav lost his reasoning as he grabbed the man shirt in anger.   He wanted to punch his face until he lost the smirk on it but he didn't ,years of being in the army had restrained him against the Violence.                         

" Not one more word against her " Arnav warned the stranger who by his words had revealed himself to be Gauri's brother in law . He noticed the flicker of fear in his face ,Arnav knew people like him won't stand up against someone who can fight him but rather against those who are weaker than them .                   

" Do you really want to lose you son , you will if you didn't call off your lover " her brother in law spoke towards her instead , he wanted to instill fear in her and make her dance to his tunes ,no wonder Gauri was desperate to protect her son.                 

" Her husband , not lover . And she won't lose her son as long as I am alive . " Arnav spoke up the words meaning every word of it ,now that he met her brother in law ,he will never allow the shadow of him to get inside this house ever again .

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

Love

Juanita Reid.