Amrita switched off the kitchen lights and made her way towards their bedroom. She was exhausted and couldn't wait to get to bed.

It was her third and final trimester and she was eagerly looking forward to the birth of their child. The doctor was hopeful that everything was fine at her end. The only thing that mattered was the time of the delivery.

As she entered the room, she saw Rishab perched on the bed and looking at his phone which was unusual as he was always busy this time of the night.

"You're early" she remarked "didn't you have a meeting with the investors?"she asked, settling next to him.

Rishab looked up from his phone "it got cancelled so I came directly". She leaned on his shoulders "good...you always come late. Now it's time you change your priorities".

Rishab smiled and kissed her hair "of course sweetie...I'll try to fit in your schedule once the baby is due". She clasped his hands in affection and closed her eyes.

"You were planning for a baby shower party isn't it?"he asked "what happened?"

She raised her head to look at him "I did want to but now, after Amit's death nothing feels right"she said in a serious tone "and maa and baba are not in the right state of mind anyway".

"Don't let anything get in the way of happiness you deserve" he explained "I think we should host a baby shower even if it's a simple one" he smiled "it's our first baby and after a long time...obviously we should celebrate" he added hastily "I'm sure Amit would have wanted the same thing".

She felt a pang of grief at her brother's absence "yeah..he would have".

He fell silent for a while and then spoke up "I think this is an ideal opportunity to bring our family together...you call Aman and talk to him..invite him as well. That way we'll patch him up with baba".

Amrita gaped at her husband in surprise. What happened to this guy? She could only wonder.

"I don't think baba would relent" she said "Aman messed up real bad this time".

"It's okay...I'm sure if we talk to him, there are chances he might consider" Rishab consoled her "I think we should go ahead with the baby shower...it'll be a change for everyone".

She felt her heart lighten with his words and hugged him "that was really sweet of you Rish..I'm so glad you're concerned about our family.... even Aman".

"Your family is mine sweetie" he smiled "although your brother picks on me, I genuinely care about his wellbeing...he's like my brother too". She placed her head on his lap and slept peacefully.

Rishab gave a long sigh and leaned back. Sleep wouldn't touch him, all thanks to his plans being foiled.

He had planned everything meticulously to sell his in law's ancestral plot. He even had the meeting with the investors who had agreed to pay him a handsome commission if the deal was set.

The plan had backfired with Amit's accident and subsequent death. He couldn't believe his rotten luck as Amit was the one who had agreed to sell it.

The only thing remained was to convince his father in law but that hadn't been a problem since he listened to his darling son. But now he was back to square one.

He waited for few months to pass to open the discussion in order to give time for his father in law to grieve.

"Baba?"he said choosing his words carefully "those realtors I told you about? They're waiting to make the deal official...I know it's sad time for all of us but we need to think about the future too.."

Shekhar gave a sharp glance at him "I remember what we have decided.." he said "only I can't go ahead with it right now".

Rishab tried to hide his annoyance "but we can't stall them forever" he explained as politely as possible "we need to go ahead".

Shekhar looked at his son in law "that land was my father's...it was his legacy that it belong to my sons....now that Amit is gone, it's still in Aman's name. And after that happened in the past few days, I'm not in the right state of mind regarding it. Let's wait for a little more time".

At the mention of Aman, Rishab could feel his blood boil. The asshole had to ruin everything even in his absence.

"What will I tell the investors?"he asked in a painful voice. Shekhar gave a small nod "cancel it...if they can wait, well and good. But I'm not planning to sell it right now".

Rishab could feel his huge commision going into drain. But he didn't want to lose hope. Since the demand was high, they had decided to give him more time. And thus he had begun to plot.

There was only option left now; he had to bring his brother in law back and kiss his ass as much as possible. But Aman wasn't like Amit; he was a tough nut to crack.

"Aren't you going to sleep dear?" Amrita who was drowsy herself asked him. He forced a bright smile and clasped his arms around her.

Indeed, there were lot of things to do...

◇◇◇◇◇

Sakshi followed her father to his room, her heart beating wildly against her chest. Was he going to accuse her once again? What if Aman was right? Was he going to throw her out? She couldn't bear the humiliation all over again.

"Sit down" he gestured towards the chair as he occupied the bedside. She sat in silence and waited for him to speak.

"Why didn't you tell me about Piyush?" he asked in a stern but polite tone "all the while you were working under him and he was mistreating you".

Sakshi who hadn't expected this question simply stared at him "I..didn't know myself" she explained calmly "I thought he was being strict and professional with me but his intentions were something else".

She went on to explain how he had liked her and wanted to marry her although he never approached her initially. Ranjit listened to her in amazement and let out a sigh "I always thought he was a decent man...he had protected his image that way...now I'm glad he didn't ask for your hand".

Sakshi didn't reply to that and looked away. Ranjit took a step closer to her "did you go to the doctor?"he asked, his voice sounding concerned.

She gave a small nod "I had gone but couldn't make it to the consultation room".

"Why?"he asked and she met his eyes "I thought of terminating my pregnancy and even went to the hospital. But then I realized if I did, I would be proving all things you have accused me of..which I'm not" she explained slowly "and I don't want to destroy a baby for no fault of it....I want to move on..with my baby and I'm ready to take whatever pain life throws at me".

Ranjit could only gape at his daughter as a small tear escaped his eye "I shouldn't have hit you" he began "or said such awful things..but you should understand us too beta. Try to see it from our perspective. How could a father feel to see his daughter in such a situation?"

Sakshi clasped his hand "I know papa!"she cried "I'm so sorry for putting you in a position like this. You've been always proud of me and I let you down".

He hugged her "don't say that...I'm still proud of you. It's only that I was so devastated and enraged by all this.. you're pregnant and single with no idea about who or how it happened. It totally blew us away..we thought you were getting away with the lie".

She hugged him back "I know it's not easy for you..I understand". He pulled away and cupped her face with his hands "no you don't" he whispered "you'll know how it feels to be a parent only when you become one".

She stared into his eyes and realized no matter how hard he maybe, how controlling or dominating, he would always look out for her. Aman's words came back to haunt her at this time. They love us in a weird way.

"So you've decided to keep the baby?" He asked after a while. She nodded "I know this isn't what you expect of me but that's my choice..and I want you to respect it".

"It's not the question of respect" he shook his head, unconvinced "it's your whole life, your future, everything will change with the arrival of the baby. Things won't be the same you know...you'll feel you've taken the right decision but there will be some point in life where you'll regret..."

"No papa" she said firmly "I've never been so sure. I know what I'm doing, trust me".

He looked like he was going to admonish her but instead, he patted her head "if that's what you want, we'll be there to support you..till our last breath".

She embraced him again, contemplating his words. Even though they were true, she didn't want to look back.

◇◇◇◇◇

Akhil waited for his friends to arrive and paced back and forth outside the Coffee day....what was taking them so long?he gritted his teeth; bloody jerks.

He caught sight of Kiran and Apeksha and waved impatiently at them.

"What the hell dude?" Kiran demanded as they walked inside the cafe and took their seats "you said it was urgent...this better be good!"

"Yeah Akhil" Apeksha teased "are you getting married or something?" Akhil forced a grin "if I was getting married, I wouldn't call you losers...I would put it on social media".

"Hear hear" they said in unison and Akhil waited for the atmosphere to lighten up before speaking again "so.. have you guys heard from Aman?"he asked, keeping his tone casual.

"Yeah...he had called few days back" Apeksha said as her tone suddenly became serious "he's a bit down ever since Amit's death. I'm not able to digest the fact that Amit is gone".

"Me too" Kiran admitted "it was as if he was snatched away suddenly". Akhil tried not to show his desperation "true" he nodded "so.. why did he call you Apeksha?"he turned to her.

She stared at him "I don't remember.. probably about that beach party..he sounded serious and asked if I noticed anything unusual" she shrugged "and he was asking if Sakshi was with us".

"What did you say?"Akhil asked curiously. Apeksha rolled her eyes "jeez Akhil! What's going on? You're really confusing me here".

Akhil gave a long sigh "he asked your number...in fact, every one of you. I don't know what he wants but he wants to know what happened in that party".

"Why? What happened?" Kiran asked in a curious tone and Akhil shrugged "what do I know? He said he's involving the cops".

At the mention of police, they straightened themselves "dude! What the hell?" Kiran yelled "I know he called us but it was a casual conversation..and he didn't even mention anything about the cops. And now you're freaking me out! What's going on?"

Akhil leaned closer and whispered "I swear I don't know man!"he sighed "but if cops get to know, we'll be in trouble...you know what kind of party it was. The cops will question us and ruin our peace of mind" he turned to Apeksha "you were close to Sakshi right?"

She shook her head "haven't spoken to her since Amit's funeral. I wonder what she's upto".

"Then get closer to her and find out" Akhil requested "I think it's about her but he's not saying anything. Can you do that?"

She looked confused "how do I do that? She's an introvert...she would definitely doubt my intentions". He shrugged impatiently "doesn't matter...keep a friendly pace and be nice to her...get her to open up to you".

Although unconvinced, Apeksha gave a reluctant nod. After chatting for a while, the group dispersed.

Akhil let out a sigh of relief but the worst wasn't over. He had to be careful...

◇◇◇◇◇

Aman came out of the Royal university auditorium after having given orientation and reached the parking lot where he had parked his car.

He needed to get back to the studio as Debu had insisted he finish the final touch of his new painting and make it ready for display.

"It's fantastic!" Debu had been ecstatic about 'waves' and started elaborating his plans "I think we should tour right away. You were saying about touring to Delhi...this is the perfect time".

Aman had dismissed the claim "I'm not looking forward to the tour actually". The only reason he wanted to go to Delhi was Deepa but since she was here, there was no point.

"Seriously? What's wrong with you?" Debu frowned "you couldn't wait to travel and now you're acting weird" his eyes suddenly twinkled "has it something to do with your...old flame? Oops! I meant friend".

Aman ignored the sass and decided to tell him the truth. Debu thumped his back "what's there to think man? If you like her and so does she, then what's the problem? Go ahead and take your shot!"

Debu had a weird way of giving advice but nonetheless, Aman couldn't help but agree to him. He had asked her for more time but he realized he needed to move further...with her.

He called her the very right and she picked up in a single ring "hi" she said in excitement and he felt like that stupid nineteen year old with a huge crush "hi...I was thinking about you".

"That's a great development Aman" she giggled and he felt elated "I know...are you free tomorrow then?"

She seemed to be thinking and he waited for her reply with baited breath.

"After five..at my apartment" she said slowly "I have a client in the afternoon".

After finishing the orientation, he went back to the studio but changed his mind and turned the car. He couldn't wait to see her.

Deepa's apartment was in the heart of the city and an easy one to locate on the map since it was the largest.

He parked the car at a distance and walked towards the lounge. After giving the security his details, he was let in as she was already expecting him.

Taking a deep breath, he rang the doorbell and waited.

He saw her open the door and smiled at her, his heart melting at the sight of her dressed in a casual top and denim trouser. She looked just the way he had imagined her to.

"What took you so long Aman?"he teased as he gave her the assorted roses he had brought.

"Hope we're not too old for this" he winked "you still love roses, don't you?"

She took it with a smile "it's cliche but I love it" she set it on the table and looked at him "it's really sweet of you Aman" she said, pleased with the gesture.

He simply nodded and sat on the couch next to her "I thought about what we spoke that day, at the gallery".

"For two whole days" she frowned and he grinned "will you allow me to complete?"

She comically placed a finger on her mouth "okay sir...go on". He caught her by the wrist and pulled her to his lap "oh damn you!"he growled, claiming her lips with a swift motion.

She gave in to the sudden but ecstatic kiss and the world around them was forgotten.

He released her slowly and gasped "I've wanted to do this ever since you came into the gallery" he explained in a dazed tone "I want you Deepa..I don't know what will be the outcome but I know I'm crazy about you".

She wrapped her arms around his neck "me too" she said "we'll manage just fine...you'll see".

He tweaked her nose "what about your huh? Wouldn't they mind their succesful daughter dating a plain artist?"

"I'll manage them...you don't bother your mind about it" she drawled dreamily. He kissed her palm "I realized I've never asked you out" he pretended to clear his throat "Deepa? Will you go on a date with me?"

She made a serious face "I don't know...let me see my schedule". He laughed "playing hard to get huh?"he kissed her once again "I love it" he sighed "but I'm serious..I want us to have a proper date".

She went on to say something but stopped when his phone rang.

He saw that it was Sakshi....

Hi everyone!!
How was the chapter?? (I know its short but I'll compensate for next)
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Have a great day ahead ❤❤❤