Shirin woke up from her beauty sleep a little late as it was her day off unlike usual week days.

After freshening up, she walked to the kitchen but could already smell the aroma of freshly prepared tea.

"Good morning" smiled Sakshi as she poured the concoction into two cups.
Shirin greeted back and settled on the small dining table for four and stifled a yawn "why did you prepare? I was late because it's a holiday and so a lazy day for me".

"It's okay..I didn't want to wake you up" Sakshi brought the tea and bread sandwiches to the balcony and kept on the mini table "I didn't want to feel useless...as it is, I'm too embarrassed to simply lie around doing nothing".

Shirin frowned "did that jerk Aman say anything to you?" Sakshi forced a smile "hey no! He never said anything...it's just my thought".

Shirin rolled her eyes "sometimes his big fat mouth gets ahead of him... otherwise he's a sweetheart" she pointed downwards "speak of the devil".

Sakshi peeped at the direction she pointed and saw Aman walking with the cat snuggled safely in his arms.

"He's taking his cat for a walk" Shirin explained and laughed at Sakshi's amused expression "I know! Even I had that face when I saw him initially".

Sakshi didn't reply and stared at the person of interest. Ever since she had rushed out of the hospital, she hadn't exactly spoken to him and came straight to Shirin's apartment.

She expected him to come behind her and lash out but he hadn't. She expected a phone call at the least but never got any.  It appeared he was too angry to even look at her.

Two days passed without any interaction between either of them as she was too embarrassed to even apologize. Even though it was her choice, she felt she owed him an explanation. But he never bothered to talk to her at all; his indifference puzzled her.

Shirin must have noticed that too "something happened between the two of you?"she asked, slowly sipping the tea "he never came by like he usually does...and when I met him downstairs, he didn't even ask about you..."

Sakshi finished her breakfast and looked at her, not wanting to hide any further as Shirin had proved to be nothing but sweet so far.

She explained what had conspired at the hospital and Shirin raised her eyebrows in wonder "are you serious?"she shrugged "I mean...I understand it's your decision but have you thought about the future? You don't even know who..." she stopped midsentence "you don't remember at all..."

Sakshi nodded "I don't know what happened back there...seeing all the ladies happily embracing their motherhood made me crazily guilty. I couldn't bear the thought of destroying such a sweet thing. What was it's fault in all of this? I just couldn't.."

Shirin patted her arm in support "I understand your dilemma..but there are lots of things you need to sort out"  she gave a wary smile "it's not easy being..single mother..and unmarried".

Sakshi felt her pulse quicken "I've thought of it too these past days...once I join the hospital, I'll have steady job and it'll be fine...I'll work it out".

Shirin felt it was useless to argue with her now; Sakshi sounded so confident but the poor girl didn't know the consequences or the hardships she was going to encounter.

"Okay...if you've already made the decision" Shirin said with a small smile.

Sakshi looked out of the balcony and spotted Aman making his way back "what do you think?"she asked her new friend "should I talk to him and apologize?"

"Of course you should" Shirin advised "his pride is wounded and he's probably hurt that you ran away unannounced. The least you can do is explain".

Sakshi nodded in agreement but couldn't quite bring herself to meet him. What if he's too angry and refused to talk? He was the only person who genuinely cared for her and she had bridged an unsafe distance.

After mentally debating in her mind, she finally decided to see him and put an end to her turmoil.

◇◇◇◇◇

His apartment was right next to Shirin but there were no hangings or decorative accessories put up in front of the door like hers. It was dull and empty.

She knocked on the door and waited. There was no response for a long while. She clicked the doorknob and it sprang open.

She walked inside cautiously and wondering if he was home or not. There was no sound or anything that could indicate a human presence. She still decided to give it  a try and wandered inside.

One could feel the artistic aspect as there were lots of paintings hung on the wall. But the centre one caught her attention and she wondered if he himself had painted it. If he had, he was one hell of a painter.

The sudden meowing startled her and she felt the large pair of eyes staring at her.

She smiled at the cat "hey Hero. Is your boss in?" It bent it's head to her and ran inside the kitchen.

"What are you doing here?" She gave a start as Aman was out of the room, wearing nothing just Jersey shorts.

She felt colour drain from her face "I...your door was open. I knocked but no one answered". She tried to look anywhere but the guy in front of her who didn't look as disturbed with his attire as she was.

"I forgot to lock" he said simply "why are you here? Is everything okay?"

She nodded, still averting her gaze "can I sit down? And will you wear something comfortable?"

He gave a derisive smile "it's my house...this is what I wear. If you've a problem, you can leave. Or stay"

She gulped for breath; gone was the aloof and silent Aman who was now replaced with the brash and arrogant guy whom she had first encountered.

"I owe you an explanation" she began when he showed no signs of putting on a shirt "okay...you've tortured me enough..please wear something. Till I go?"

She heard retreating footsteps and heaved a sigh of relief. He was back after having changed to a tshirt but shorts was still on which was okay.

"You don't owe me shit" he sat farthest from her and she finally looked at him "I know you're angry. I shouldn't have ran away like that without informing you...I feel terrible"

"After so many days you feel terrible?"he sneered and she bit her lip "I did what I felt was right at the moment..."

"Moment?"he rasped, much to her surprise "do you know how scared I was when I came back and didn't find you there? I asked the nurse for 'my wife' who was missing" he made air quotes in anger "she stared at me with a questioning look and said that you didn't even bother to do the check up. That it was by mistake and you had run away. Do you know how humiliating it was everyone around were staring at me?"

Sakshi felt surrounded by guilt "I'm so sorry that I left unannounced. I was scared myself. I know you want my well being but this is a choice I have to make on my own".

"If you've made your choice then good for you" he muttered, his eyes boring into hers.

"I wanted you to know...you've helped me a lot and I can't thank you enough.." she began.

"I did it for my brother....and I would have helped you as I would have any helped any human being. It's  not a big deal really..." he added with a snide remark.

"Okay.. remind me to buy you a 'being human' t shirt" she quipped with sarcasm. He snorted "sure..and next what? You want me to knit sweaters and socks for the baby?"

She resisted the urge to strike his face and satisfied herself by replying "you're insufferable and intolerable. You take immense pride in insulting people and degrading them, don't you?"

"Atleast I own it" he drawled "you on the other hand..."

She blinked "I'm nothing like you! And neither was your brother!"

At the mention of his brother, the retort remained on his lips. He stepped closer to her and she shuddered slightly; had she unleashed his wrath? She wished Shirin was here to back her up.

He closed the distance between them and she slightly pulled back. He locked his intent gaze with her shy one "the last time I checked, you're the one who's here to apologize, atleast that's what I thought. But it looks like you're here to vent out your frustration and anger since you can't unleash it in front of your parents. The only reason you came here was to make sure your decision was justified.  And you wanted me to thwart your decision so that you can convince yourself more than me".

She tried to digest the bomb but truth he had dropped on her. He had his eyes still fixated on her and she looked away, feeling mortified "I did the right thing..I know that. I don't need you to tell me otherwise".

"Fine...apology accepted then" he said by way of dismissal "if you're expecting coffee or something like that.."

"Yes I am" she said just to annoy him " dark coffee..less sugar please". He glared at her but sauntered to the kitchen and she followed.

He made great coffee, she thought as she sipped it slowly; even better than her mother. At the thought of her mother, she felt her heart ache.

"So...what next?"he asked, gazing at her. Her smile faded to be replaced with a frown "I've to go the hospital and start my shift...my leave is ending today and I've to meet the head of department...I can't sit idle".

"I was asking about the baby" he said by way of clarifying "are you going to raise it alone? What about your parents? They'll be furious.."

"If they can't accept my decision, be it" she shrugged "henceforth, I'll do what I feel is right for me...if they can't accept my words, there's no point in going to them".

Although surprised at her new found confidence, he didn't want to negate her.

He sincerely hoped for her sake that things would travel on a right track.

He had no clue about its destination...

◇◇◇◇◇

"Soumya!?" Ranjit yelled from the living room, his eyes fixed on the laptop he was using "I want my black tea".

Without waiting for the reply, he carried on with his work. Minutes passed and he yelled again "where's my damn tea?"

Still, he received no reply and he angrily shut his laptop and sauntered toward the kitchen. He didn't find her there as she usually made the dinner early.

Puzzled, he peeped inside their bedroom and the balcony and there was no sign of her.

He found her in Sakshi's room and walked in to see her crouched on the chair and going through the photo album. Although he felt his heart skip since he had never entered her room after she had left, he hid his true emotions and peered into the album.

Soumya sensed his presence and wiped a tear from the ends of her saree "she was six wasn't it?"she said "it was her sixth birthday".

"Seventh" he corrected and reluctantly took a seat next to her. She nodded "yes...she was seven. You had bought her this dress..it was hideous and I could sense she didn't like it. So I brought her another lavender frock with frills in it...she refused to wear. She said 'I don't want to hurt papa...I'll wear his dress..he'll feel sad if I wear something else'. I told her it's okay but she wouldn't listen" Soumya turned to him, teary eyed "she was seven! And our baby was worried about your feelings..she was only bothered about pleasing us since she was a baby!"

He looked at her and realized he had tears too. When he didn't reply, she continued "she missed every single parties and functions because you would be angry..she even missed hanging out with her friends to go to a movie or a mall because she was afraid someone will malign you...she only thought about us..she sacrificed her youth for us..and what did we do?"she snapped "we shunned her like she was nothing to us...she was screaming for help and we simply didn't care to find out and blamed her easily!"

"She lied to us" he said slowly "and look what happened as a result. God punished us!"

"What was her fault?" Soumya raised her voice which she had never done in their twenty six years of marriage "that she wanted to spend some time with her fiancee? That she wanted to breathe freely?"

"She did much more!"he snapped back "she brought shame to all of us!"

"She's our daughter for God's sake!" Soumya yelled in despair "have some mercy. She's going through hell and she only wants our support" she got up from the chair and knelt beside her husband in desperation "please let us help her Ranjit..or else God will never forgive us!"

He was tongue tied at her words "I..  you know she ran away with that despicable man..."

"Who's a total stranger and yet, stopped you from hitting a pregnant woman!"she cried "if that despicable young man can have so much mercy, aren't we demons in front of him?"

Ranjit felt a lump in his throat and tried to swallow it. Soumya simply stared at him "if something happens to our daughter Ranjit" she warned, moving away from him "I don't know about God but I will never ever forgive you..I will only curse you".

He watched her go and didn't stop her. Instead, he stared at the album which lay open on the table.

Sakshi was beaming beside her parents, kissing him and clutching his hand tight.

He threw the album to the floor and wept miserably...

◇◇◇◇◇

The taxi pulled down right in front of the hospital entrance and Sakshi got down after paying the driver.

After registering through biometric, she walked inside the hospital pharmacy. As usual, it was crowded with buzzing patients and nurses.

As she made her way in, she couldn't help but notice the change in the atmosphere. The staffs who usually smiled or greeted her simply stared with a look of indignation on their faces.

Even though she smiled at them, few gave a half smile and didn't even bother to talk. She found Yuvika working on one of the counters and approached her.

"Hey!"she patted her back from behind and Yuvika turned to her "oh hi" there was no usual enthusiasm from her friend's side as well, Sakshi observed.

"Where's Dr Shah?" Sakshi asked her and she shrugged "I don't know Sakshi..I'm a little busy. Can we talk later?" Yuvika politely tried to dismiss her.

Sakshi had enough "no" she said firmly "why are you behaving so differently today?"she asked "and why are everyone staring at me?"

Yuvika looked around and slowly pulled her to the store room, shutting the door.

"I can't believe you lied to me!" Yuvika chided as soon as they were alone "you said you were undergoing treatment for post traumatic depression!" Sakshi suddenly paled "I..was..."

"Are you pregnant?" Yuvika asked her before she could explain. Sakshi felt her insides churn "wh..what? How do you know?"

"Piyush told me..he thought I knew and was pretending to be ignorant" Yuvika gaped at her "is it true?"

Sakshi could feel bile arise in her throat; how had Piyush known? If he had, he must have told the entire department. She could understand their glares clearly now.

"Sakshi?" Yuvika nudged her, already knowing the answer by her frightened expression "why didn't you tell me?"

Sakshi held her hands "how can I say something like this? I don't know how it happened in the first place".

Yuvika blinked in disbelief "stop lying atleast now!"she snapped "what do you mean you don't know?"

"I swear Yuvika!" Sakshi said in a panicky tone and narrated her the incident on the night of the party.

"Oh my God!" Yuvika gasped "I don't understand...that's terrible. You never found out who...?"

Sakshi shook her head "I have reached a dead end...and I don't even know if I was consenting or..." she sighed "I'm so clueless".

Yuvika patted her arm in support "I'm so sorry this happened" she said "but Piyush has come up with a different theory and he's told everyone about it".

"What did he say?" Sakshi asked, already fearful. Yuvika wiped her brow "leave it...he's spreading nasty rumours".

Sakshi didn't wait to find out and rushed out of the store room in search of him. She spotted him on the first counter and busy in desktop.

He saw her approach and sat up straight "hi Sakshi"he said in a tone that was close to a sneer "long time no see...is everything okay?"

Sakshi gritted her teeth "what rumours have you been spreading about me?"

Piyush raised an amused eyebrow "rumours? Do I look like an old aunt to you?"

Sakshi felt her anger boil "why don't you leave me alone? Stop acting immature and move on okay? Don't interfere in my affairs!"

"Immature huh?"he got up "and what are you exactly? A girl wearing mask of naivety and sweet nature but in reality, we all know what you really are" he snarled "a hypocrite and a who..."

"Shut up!" Sakshi yelled, striking his face hard. He didn't faze at that "wow! Look at that! You have some guts after sleeping with your dead fiancee's brother and becoming pregnant!"
Sakshi stood frozen to the spot "what?"

A few people had gathered to see the commotion. Piyush took advantage of that fact and snapped "I saw you with Amit's brother at the rural center...trying to get your pregnancy terminated isn't it?"

"I..it's none of your business!"she seethed, feeling nauseated. He shrugged "I know...but terrible isn't it? Amit's been dead for what? A few months..and you couldn't even wait to  get into his brother's pants!"

Sakshi tried to speak but no words came out as few people were gaping at her in shock. Her reputation at workplace was gone. He had made sure of that.

"Why Piyush?"she sobbed softly "what did I ever do to you? If you saw me in the hospital, you could have asked me directly instead of assuming things and snitching it to everyone!"

"What's there to assume when it's crystal clear?" Piyush snarled "by now, the whole world should know what you really are...a characterless and a..."

"Stop your tongue right there!"came a booming voice from behind them and Sakshi turned to see with surprised face...

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