Two Months Later.

Gauri had fell into a routine that suited her just fine until Arun insisted she have a social life as well. It isn't healthy for her to be locked up in her room for days had been his argument which resulted in him driving her to the park sometimes so she can have a walk for an hour .

The park had became a part of her routine as well , as place where she felt safe to explore on her own . At times someone will stop to make small talk with her ,once her baby bump became more pronounced more people stopped to talk with her to inquire of her baby healthy or how far along she was in her pregnancy.

Gauri found the experience safer because he was always around to keep an eye on her , slowly her confidence built when it came to talking with strangers . She still struggled with her nightmares but it was something she refused to think about the moment she woke up as they became a part of her daily lifestyle as well .

It may have been the reason she was quick to accept Arun invite to go for a movie , he had been trying to get her out as often as he can and her confidence which was building slowly made her agree to it but she couldn't handle the darkness that engulfed the theatre the minutes the lights were switched off .

It was an unreasonable panic but she was close to an panic attack when she could no longer see the faces beside her or before her , fortunately Arun didn't ask her to stay when she insisted they leave minutes after the movie started it was one thing about him that made her trust him all the more ,his ability always accept her no without a protest .

The next few days she refused to go to the park as well and remained in her room , it felt like all the small progress she made weren't helpful in the long run and to be fair the thought was too depressing to accept ,the only reason she ventured out of her room the next week had been for the doctors appointment as it was not about her but her child.

" You are weak Mrs Prasad , you need to take better care of yourself and your child,  " the doctors advise , made her feel like a failure . So the next day she fell more into depression at the thought she was already a terrible mother.

And it didn't help when she felt Nauseous and spilled all the food she forced herself to eat down the drain , she felt way too Vulnerable and had no intention of venturing out of her room ,so was surprised to hear the door open on its own .

Arun never once entered her room in daylight , the first time he walked into her room had been two weeks after their marriage and she was having one of her nightmares , she heard his voice first trying to wake her up and then his hand was on her shoulder to wake her up ,it had been the touch that woke her up as if sensing danger from a stranger .

And she pushed him with all her might that he fell down in the floor , she knew he was trying to help but the words she spoke back that day didn't convey them but it had been a command never to touch her again .

And she had expected him to leave her to her nightmares after that ,who wouldn't so had been surprised when he walked into her room for the second time few days later on the midst of her another reoccurring nightmare ,this time she only heard his voice , it got louder and louder until she woke up but he never touched her as if keeping his promise.

It was also the reason he never entered her room in daylight , it made her feel safe in her room at least when she was awake ,so was surprised to find her door open until she saw her mother standing before her.

Until that moment she didn't know how much she missed seeing her mom , she didn't what brought this sudden visit but she was too relieved to see her that she burst into tears at the sight of her.

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

Renuka Singhania felt desperate at the tears in her daughter , as a mother she had let down Gauri so many times that she didn't know how to be a good one. Sometime she tried bit too much to over compensate for her failures and right now travelling hundred miles after the phone call from Arun last night was one of them .

" Gauri is bit weak according to the doctors , if you tell me her favourite food I could make them or arrange them for her .  " Was all Arun said on the phone call but it had been enough for her to leave her home to visit her daughter .

She had her misgivings about visiting uninvited until she saw her daughter and somehow she was thankful that her motherly instinct didn't fail her this time as she gathered her daughter into her arms .

" I am here beta ,it going to be alright,  " she kept whispering to her daughter,  hoping the conviction in her voice made her daughter believe in them .

Once her daughter fell asleep again she walked out to see Arun who had been pacing the living room concerned about his wife , a fact Renuka still couldn't come to terms with but whatever her hesitation had stemmed from the fact ,her daughter heart belonged to someone else not because she didn't trust Arun .

" How is she ? " he asked her , and Renuka detected the concern and worry in his face but more than that guilt as if he blamed himself for her daughter being weak

" She is fine Arun , I had been weak too when I was pregnant with her that the doctors were concerned ,so don't blame yourself . I am here to take care of her , " Renuka answered back , and from the relief in Arun face she said the right thing .

What she didn't tell him was the fact that her pregnancy had always been high risk in nature and the complications during Gauri birth resulted in the doctor assesment that she can't have any more kids ,a assessment that paved way for her divorce .

It was all in the past yet Renuka was worried about her daughter , the only reason she left had been because she knew Gauri wouldn't like her hovering around her but she began to wonder if she should have visited sooner

By the time she reached the guest room ,she had ten missed calls from her husband who must have been worried as much as her , at times his concern and care for Gauri made her love him all the more than she could possibly imagine.

When her ex husband Gautham resented Gauri for being a girl child and divorced her when he realized she wouldn't be able to bear any more child ,she let her insecurities and hatred for her ex create an toxic environment for Gauri ,a fact she felt guilty about till now.

The fact she let Gauri pay the price for her Jealousy was yet another blackmark against her because the day she learned that his new wife was pregnant,she called him and fought with him to share the burden of raising their daughter until he agreed to take her with him for the weekends , an arrangement she forced on a three year old because she was jealous .

It took a long time for Renuka to believe Gauri didn't resent her and forgave her shortcomings , but when they learned Gauri was pregnant, Renuka knew her daughter decision to keep the child and raise him was largely shaped up by her childhood that made her feel unwanted .

" I want this child mom, tell them I won't give up on him or her ... I am not like him. " were her daughter words in the hospital when they found out about the pregnancy and Renuka felt concerned that her daughter instinct to make the child feel wanted would probably cost her happiness in the long run.

And if her daughter also had similar complication like her and end up without having an opportunity to have a child again ,she was worried that her daughter may resent the fact later on or it may cause friction in her married world .

Renuka had promised her husband not to plague her doubts in their daughter life , but she can't help her thoughts as she saw her daughter struggling all by herself . Renuka first marriage was an elopement which meant she had been all alone most of the time as well and she wanted to stay by her daughter side all the time and she didn't know how to keep her thoughts hidden away as well .

A scream from her daughter room made her race to her room forgetting all about her misgivings until she found her daughter in pain clutching her stomach ,and Renuka knew something was wrong .

It had been Arun who remained calm as he carried her to his car ,all the awhile Renuka kept panicking about her daughter and her grandchild . Until that moment she hadn't realized how much she had been expecting to see the kid being born ,her misgivings all fell away when her grandkid life was in danger .

And the look of desperation in her daughter made her hope against hope that nothing wrong would befall both of them . Amidst the pain her daughter worry only remained about her child and that was when Renuka knew Gauri may be her daughter but she wasn't like her .

Renuka may not be the best mother in the world but she fully believed that her daughter will be able to do so and not let anything get between them. And the look of concern and love in Arun's face made her believe that her son in law would remain by her side through it all .

Arun and Gauri may not be in love with each other but both of them loved the child and it was more than enough to bind them together through all the adversities that the world may throw at them in the long run .

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