Thank you everyone for your love and support. Since I received so many requests and was able to manage, I am updating it early. Next update won't be before next Sunday. It could probably be even later. We are nearing the end of this SS - about 3-4 parts max. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soon they reached the main hall. Before anyone could take a seat, Kartik almost blurted it out as he couldn't wait to see her anymore "Naira kahan hai?" Singhanias immediately turned back and looked with amusement at Kartik, while Chachu gave him a knowing smile.

Disregarding everyone's gaze, Kartik spoke the next sentence looking at Akshara "Wo theek hai na?" Since the time he first met Akshara, he had taken a liking towards her. Until now whenever he looked at her or they had a conversation, she gave him this motherly warmth. So more than with anyone else, he found this comfort level to communicate with her.

Akshara brightened up finding the concern in his voice, and just blinked her eyes to give him assurance. "Wo upar soo rahi hai. Bohot mushkil se ankh lagi thi, but aabhi theek hai. Tum betho, mein thodi der baad usse jaga dungi." saying she turned to go, but stopped listening to her son-in-law "Please let her sleep. She needs rest. Mein khud upar chala jaunga. Baas thodi der uske paas bethunga, phir chala jaunga."

This time Akshara gave him a huge smile. She thought, "Sach mein bohot pyaar karta hai ye meri beti se." As Akshara was still thinking, Bhabhi Ma (Badi Dadi) gestured Gayu to show him the way to Naira's room. At once she came forward with Mishti and spoke teasingly "Chaliye Jija Ji, hum apko Naira ki room mein le chalte hai."

Just then Akshara looked at Naitik and assured him through her eyes that she would handle the matter. Before they could take him along with them, she intervened "Beta tum dono rehne do, mein le jaungi Kartik ko upar." Then turning her head, she asked him to come with her. Kartik obliged and started walking alongside Akshara.

Akshara knew the matter was sensitive. She didn't want Gayu or Mishti to tease him or ask any questions that he might not like at the moment. She felt it would be better to avoid such situations as for now.

Upon their arrival in front of Naira's room, Akshara opened the door for Kartik to let him in. As she came into his view, he found a disheveled Naira. His wife was laying on her back still dressed in yesterday's saree. Her head wasn't properly placed on the pillow, where the comforter had been tossed in a corner carelessly. He thought; it must have happened during her sleep.

As he crossed the threshold, Kartik felt the room temperature to be extremely low due to the air conditioner. As he continued scanning her sleeping figure, his eyes flew to her left hand that was clutching a pillow in her fist tightly. In an instant, he knew she was missing having him by her side. Yes, she was missing his warmth.

His Naira loved sleeping in his tight embrace while always covering her body with a duvet. He felt guilty seeing her sleeping in this uncomfortable position. It had been so many days that they didn't have a peaceful sleep while cuddling each other. Just like he had missed having her in his arms, she went through the same misery. That too at a time when she needed his love and care the most.

If he wasn't stubborn to let her come back to him on her own, she wouldn't go through so much. They wouldn't go through this painful separation and his wife wouldn't be this hurt. It made him feel guilty all the more for putting her through the hell that was actually uncalled for.

Akshara realized he was lost in his own world. To bring him back she called him out softly "Kartik!" His mother-in-law's abrupt voice startled him a little and made him realize that he was starting at his wife still standing by the door. "Beta tum andar jake betho uske paas. Mein neeche chalti hoon." saying she left the husband-wife alone to provide some privacy.

Kartik turned around and closed the door. Locking it behind him, he slowly walked towards the bed. As he stood close to it, Kartik stared at Naira's face for a good few minutes to observe her features closely. She looked pale. Her usual vibrant aura was missing today. It seemed as if she was really tired.

He leaned forward and motioned to fix her pillow, when Kartik noticed a photo frame underneath it. He carefully pulled out the frame and kept it on the nightstand by the bedside. Then with utmost care he positioned her head properly over the pillow and dropped a kiss at the top of her head.

That's when he noticed something hidden below her hair. Kartik's eyes automatically drifted to Naira's neck to confirm his suspicion and he found what he had been expecting since the time they had met after the separation. It meant she had them on all along. Naira simply chose to keep those hidden, and that's why he couldn't spot them yesterday; thought Kartik as his earlier doubt was cleared.

After taking a deep breath, he brought his attention back to the photo frame. Kartik picked it up and turned it upside down. The frame had their wedding photo in it. He gently caressed his wife's face over the frame. A slight smile adorned his face as he recalled how happy she was that day. Then when he thought about their current situation, he left out a sigh. With a heavy heart, he kept the frame over the nightstand again.

Soon his eyes started looking for the remote of the air conditioner. When Kartik couldn't seem to find it, he walked up to the portable AC and changed the mode from cool to fan. Then he looked back at her with a longing in his eyes and unconsciously started taking slow steps to reach her.

There was an empty space beside her. Soon Kartik went ahead and occupied the space. He sat there silently staring at her eyes now. Those light brown orbs that would always twinkle while looking at him and leave him mesmerized every time, were closed to his disappointment. Despite the fact, he didn't fail to notice the sadness in them. He felt as if those beautiful doe shaped eyes have lost the sparkle in them.

Shortly after, when Kartik brought his face close to hers, he was able to make out that she had been crying. Though they weren't really noticeable anymore, in his heart he could still see the tear marks on her cheeks. He leaned over her even more and kissed her eyes one by one. Then he planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

As their faces remained inches closer, Kartik's eyes automatically shifted to his wife's soft rosy lips. He rubbed the corner of her lips and spoke in a mere whisper "I will wait for the time when we both can feel this moment together." With that he softly kissed her both cheeks one after another.

Afterwards Kartik caressed her cheek as he spoke "Where did we go wrong in our relationship Naira? Jo itna pyaar hone ki baad bhi aaj hum itne dur hai? Kyun hua ye humare saath?" While speaking he came to realize his eyes had become moist. He immediately moved back and removed his hand from over her face in the process.

Now Kartik was sitting upright in his position. Before a teardrop could escape his eyes, he wiped it off by running a hand over his face. He was afraid to break down at the moment, as he wouldn't be able to control himself after that. Instead of breaking apart, he needed to mend his wife's broken heart and ask for her forgiveness. He had to be strong for his Naira. Kartik just couldn't let loose his emotions just yet.

After composing himself, he keenly stared at her still flat stomach. Kartik gently pushed the thin layer of her saree in one side revealing her belly. He bent down bringing his face closer to her stomach. Very lovingly, Kartik then left some tender kisses over it, where a part of them was growing slowly. As a father it was very overwhelming for him because since Naira's pregnancy, it was the first time ever he had a chance to show affection towards his child.

When Kartik was done showering his wife and unborn little one with his love, he kept his hand over her belly with a feather touch. Looking at her stomach, he spoke in a whisper as if it was a secret between the father and child "I am sorry Baby for staying away from you and your Mumma. I am really sorry. Please forgive your Papa. You know! I had hurt your Mamma a lot and Papa is very sorry for that. But trust me I love you both, more than anyone."

He almost choked on his own words as he continued "Soon I will make it up to her. Please aap apne Mamma ko samjhaoge na! Tell her I love her a lot and will not hurt her ever again. Aur aap jo bhi ho, ladka ya ladki; your Papa is waiting! Please come soon because he needs you both. And I promise, mein saab theek kardunga. Mumma and Papa will welcome you with all their love."

Then caressing her stomach, Kartik left one last kiss there. He moved up and held her hand in his firm yet soft hold. He kissed her knuckles first. After that Kartik let his lips linger over the back of her hand and thought sadly, "I am sorry Jaan for pushing you this far. I am truly very sorry. It was my fault that in my anger I have created this mess. Even though it was killing me from inside, I kept pushing you away. Aur wo bhi tab, when I should have pampered you, loved you, supported you and kept you happy always. Bohot pyaar karta hoon tumse, paar dekho meine hi tumhe itna dukh dia. When you are awake and ready to hear me out, I want to apologize to you for everything. I want my old Naira and I will bring you back. Meine tumhe jitni bhi takleefe di hai, apne pyaar se saab meeta dunga. Aur dobara kabhi dur jane nehi dunga, chahe kuch bhi ho jaye. Tumahara Kartik ka ye wada hai tumse."

Still lost in his thoughts, he looked at her face and then at the empty side of the bed. Gazing at her sleeping form, he closed his eyes in pain as he found himself helpless. His inner-self spoke "Mujhe aisa kyun lagta hai tum mujhe sunn sakti ho, mehsoos kaar sakti ho! Tumhe pata hai? I am dying to hold you tight in my embrace. Maan toh kaar raha hai aab ek paal bhi waste na karoon. I am feeling like to take you in my arms right now. Phir kabhi jane na doon. I want to love you to my heart's content Naira."

He breathed out as the war continued within himself "Paar ye paal sehi nehi hai. Iss paal mein khushi toh hogi, lekin adhura. I know how much you have been longing for me. Iss mein jitna mera haq hai, utna hi tumhara. Mein chahta hoon mere dil ko jo rah - jo sukoon tumhe apne kareeb pake mile; tumhe bhi wahi mehsoos ho. Tumhe bhi ehsaas ho ki mein tumhare paas hoon, saath hoon. Uss paal special hogi Naira, bohot special. Aur bohot hi jald hogi. Uske baad phir kabhi hum ek dusre ke saath ke liye nehi tarsenge. Humari pyaar ki kasam."

After pondering about their future, he slowly rested her hand on the bed and pulled the duet over her. As he stood near her upper body, still holding the duvet in his hold, he couldn't help but lose himself in his wife once again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a while, he forced himself to look back. With a heavy heart, Kartik turned to leave, but froze on the spot as a soft pair of hands clutched him by the waist tightly. A lump formed in his throat realizing what just had happened. With fearful eyes he looked down to his waist, hoping it not to be a dream. It took all his gut to bring up his hands and hold his wife's hands that were encircled around his waist. His hands shivered as his hands finally made contact with hers. Yet he couldn't find his voice to speak his heart out.

As if she was aware of his current state of mind, she made his struggle easier as always "Aab bhi naraz ho mujhse? Yaha aaye aur mujhse bina mile ja rahe the? Phirse mujhe chodke ja rahe ho? Kia mein itni buri hoon? Tum mujhse pyaar nehi karte?"

His heart broke listening to his wife's innocent questions. He shook his head in a no. He wanted to tell her, you are thinking wrong, but it never came out. Neither he had the courage to turn back and look into her eyes. His eyes became wet realizing how hurt she was.

Still hugging him by the waist, Naira complained "Pata hai meine tumhe kitna miss kia! Aur Baby ne bhi apne Papa ko bohot miss kia hai. Mein kitni excited thi tumhe batane ke liye, paar tum naraz ho gaye. Dekho tum mujhe dant lena, paa gussa maat raha karo! Jaab tum gussa hote ho toh mujhe bohot daar lagta hai aur dil mein ek ajeeb si dard bhi hota hai. Kyun chale gaye the humse itni dur?"

She choked as she said "Tumhara gussa muhse bardasht nehi hota. Mein dant kha lungi, paar tumahra narazgi nehi seh sakti. Tumse duri mujhe manzoor nehi hai Kartik. Plz mere saath aisa maat karo! Warna mein tumse bohot dur chali jaungi aur phir kabhi laut ka nehi aungi. Tum bulagoge, tab bhi nehi."

By now Kartik held her hands in his tight fists and closed his eyes as tears continouslly streamed down his face. Her confession broke him completely. Without wasting another moment, he turned to engulf her in his arms.......that's when he realized that he was still staring down at her face. He just had a dream about his Naira breaking down in front of him.

Though it was a dream, it felt so real. He thought; if her confession was so heart wrenching in his dream, how hard it must had been for his wife until now. The thought clenched his heart, and Kartik found it difficult to breath. He felt as if Naira, herself just told him about her pain. As if, it all came straight from her heart, even though she was lying in the bed in the same position.

Then Kartik's eyes drifted to her hand that tightly held the collar of his shirt in her fist. The reason he was brought back to realiy. Seeing the sight, relief washed over him. His heartbeats became normal and a soft smile appereaed on his face.

There have been numerous times when Naira held his shirt's collar or T-shirt like this. Sometimes in her sleep, sometimes when she was awake and sometimes while she was pretending to be asleep, escpailly when she didn't want him to go leaving her alone.

There have been times as well when she grabbed him by the collar in anger, love or like a bossy wife. They have had such many incidents in their relationship until now. Those were some of the most memorable moments that they had spent together. Today again Naira was telling him the same thing with her gesture. For Kartik it was more like an assurance from her side, and indeed was a positive sign.

Later his hands that were resting over the bed on either side of his wife, he brought them up and carefully freed his collar from her fist unwillingly. Then pouring all his love, Kartik kissed her palm and rested it under the comforter. This time with a broad smile, he leaned closer and kissed her forhead as he whispered, "Hum bohot hi jald saath honge."

Then giving her one last glance, he unlocked the door and stepped out of the room. Kartik made sure not to make any sound while closing the door, as he had no intention of disturbing her sleep. As the door remained shut, there was an inaudible whisper "Tum mujhe phir chodke chale gaye!"

Precap: "You let me go! You didn't want me!"

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