Shaurya looked up when he heard someone barging into Dhruv's room.
Dhvani? He watched her in confusion for a while. What was she doing here?

"Mumma!" He heard Dhruv's voice calling out to her.

At first, Shaurya thought that Dhruv was mistaking Dhvani for his mother, but he saw the way his body relaxing and eyes lightning up; Shaurya knew there was no mistake.

Dhruv Gupta? That was the name that she had picked for her son...Their son.

Once his brain and heart grasped the idea of Dhruv being his son, they began working overtime. His heart was beating so hard and fast against his ribcage that it started hurting. Well! Good thing he was in a hospital. While his brain couldn't fantom that his Dhvani could be so cruel to him, even after all that she had done, he still hoped that she loved him, and them separating was due to a been a big misunderstanding. Something that they could figure out together. After all these years, maybe now they will be able to be the partner they each deserved. However, now, the only thing he felt towards Dhvani was hatred.

Dhruv's voice echoed in his ears. Although, he couldn't hear properly because it was masked by the sound of blood roaring in his ears.

Dhavni dropped her purse on the end of the bed and raised her hand to touch Dhruv.

However, she quickly pulled back and looked at Shaurya in anger. "What the hell did you do to my son?" She yelled.

Shaurya tried to take deep breaths to calm himself down. He didn't want to do anything that he shouldn't do. How could Dhavni hide the fact that he had a son?

Just as he was about to yell at her for accusing him of doing something as vile as hurting a child, Dhruv spoke again. "Mumma."

"Yeah? I am right here." She cried as she rained kisses on Dhruv's face. "Is it hurting too much? Are you okay?"

Dhruv shook his head. "I didn't cry a lot. Even when the doctor poked me with needles. The doctor said I was a good and strong boy. Right, Shaurya?"

Dhavni was confused. How did Dhruv know Shaurya, and what was he doing here with him?

Shaurya blinked away his tears and passed Dhruv a tight-lipped smile, which Dhruv returned with a huge grin of his own.

Shaurya wanted to hug Dhruv. His son. He watched on as Dhruv hugged Dhvani, and also grinned at him from her shoulder.

"How many times have I told you to be careful about what you eat?" Dhvani chided as she helped Dhruv into her lap. "What do you ask before you eat anything?"

"I am al-alg-allergic to pineapples. Does this have any?"

"Then why.... never mind." Dhvani sighed and hugged Dhruv tightly. She looked at Shaurya, but his attention was focused on Dhruv. He hadn't felt so overwhelmed in a long time. The last time was when Dhvani had left him. He didn't know what he should do or feel. So many thoughts. So many things he wanted to say and do, but he held himself back.

"Are you still mad at each other?" He asked carefully, looking at Shaurya and Dhvani.

"What?" Dhvani asked in shock. Had Shaurya told him the truth? But how could he have? It's not like he knew the truth himself.

"You won't tell Maasi, right?" Dhruv held out his pinky.

Dhvani shook her head and grabbed his fist. "What are you saying?"

"First-"

"Dhruv!"

He knew that tone well enough. His mother would use it when she was upset, and he hated it. So, he began talking, "Maasi told me you and Shaurya were friends, and you had a fight. Lb to keep it a secret that I met Shaurya at the centre. Also that I invited him to my birthday party."

Before Dhvani could rack her brain for an answer, there was a soft knock on the door

Dhvani quickly wiped her tears and exhaled deeply. "Come in."

Shaurya refused to look at Dhavni because right now, all he could think about was her betrayal.

"Hello!" The doctor walked into the room with a friendly smile. "Oh!" He looked at Shaurya in surprise. "You are still here? I thought you would have left since the mother was here." Then he turned towards Dhvani. "You are very lucky! Mr. Gupta took care of Dhruv really well. He didn't leave his side at all, and that really helped Dhruv."

"Is Dhruv okay? Will we have to have more tests done? Does he need medication?" Dhvani blasted him with questions. She'll deal with everything else later. Right now, she only cared about Dhruv being okay.

"His blood reports are here, and they look good enough. You can take him home, but bring him for a check-up again for tomorrow. A nurse will come in a little later with the prescription and bill."

"Thank you, doctor." Dhvani let out a sigh of relief and placed a kiss against Dhruv's head and held him tightly against her.

The doctor smiled and ruffled Dhruv's hair.

"Mr. Gupta, thank you again for giving me your autograph. My daughter is really going to appreciate this year's birthday gift." The doctor said, chuckling, not understanding the tense atmosphere in the room.

Shaurya didn't know how he managed to smile and nod because right now, he felt like he could barely stand without collapsing under the weight of everything going on.

"Oh, one more thing before I leave. I needed to know if this allergy is hereditary. So that I can add it on Dhruv's file."

Dhavni could feel Shaurya's stare burning a hole into her soul, but she refused to look at him. Shame and Anger wouldn't let her.

"Does anyone else in the family have an allergy to pineapples?" The doctor repeated.

Gulping, she nodded. "Dhruv's father is allergic to pineapples." She whispered.

Dhruv's eyes gleamed in joy and a massive smile appeared on his face. "I am just like my Papa." He said happily.

That was it. The dam had broken with that one sentence. Shaurya ran into the bathroom inside the room and locked the door.

As soon as he locked the door, a huge sob left him. Covering his mouth, he cried in anger and frustration. What was the appropriate response when someone found out that they had a six-year-old son whose birth had been hidden by their ex-wife?

He didn't know how long he stood there, trying to articulate his thoughts. What words was he going to use so that she could understand how angry he was. What should he say to Dhruv? Will he like him? He knew that Dhruv enjoyed his company enough to invite him to his birthday party, but would he love him as his father? What had Dhvani told his son about him?

"Shaurya" Lucky called out, followed by a soft knock. That's when he remembered that he had messaged him about Dhruv being in the hospital.

"Give me a minute." He said, hating how his voice broke.

Shaurya took a deep breath to compose himself and scrubbed his face to remove the traces of tears.

When he came out of the bathroom, Dhvani and Dhruv were still sitting on the bed listening to the instructions that the nurse was giving while Lucky and Trupti stood near the window.

Everyone looked up at Shaurya as he walked out of the bathroom and padded over to the bed. The nurse smiled at Shaurya. Or blushed when she saw him.

"So, you take care. Don't eat pineapples again. Okay? She said to Dhruv. When he nodded. The nurse stood up. "You have a very handsome boy." She said to Dhvani.

"He has very good looking parents." Trupti chimed with a smile but saw the expression on everyone's faces she shut up. Talk about bad timing.

"Okay! I am going to leave the bill here. You can pay it down at the administrative department." The nurse said and placed the sheet on the bed and left the room but not without giving another smile to Shaurya.

Dhavni reached for the bill, so did Shaurya. She tried to tug it out, but he refused to budge. They played tug of war with the piece of paper till it almost ripped. Only then did Dhvani let go of it.

"It's my son's medical bill," Dhvani said through gritted teeth.

"For someone who topped all her classes, your biology seems very weak. Perhaps you might have missed the chapter on human reproduction." He said curtly.

Dhvani felt the heat rising in her cheeks.

"Are you both still fighting?" Dhruv asked.

"No!" Shaurya and Dhvani said in unison.

"Let's change your clothes and go home. Okay?"

"Not okay," Shaurya answered instead.

"Trupti?" Dhvani looked at her cousin, who immediately nodded and picked Dhruv up to take him to the bathroom along with the clothes he had in his backpack. He kept looking at Shaurya and Dhvani curiously, so both of them smiled at him.

"Guys..." Lucky began when he noticed the aggressive stance that the couple had taken.

"Did you know about Dhruv?" He asked Lucky.

Lucky squirmed uncomfortably and then slowly nodded.

"I am surrounded by liars and cheats!" He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Shaurya wanted to yell, but he knew Dhruv was listening.

"Shaurya, listen to me man," Lucky said, but Shaurya held out his right hand.

"Please don't. I want to talk to her."

The harshness in his voice made her feel queasy. "I am not a liar; neither am I a cheat." Dhvani snapped.

Shaurya scoffed in disbelief. "What do you want me to call you then? A thief. In these six years, I missed Dhruv's birth, the first time he walked, the time he first spoke, his first day at school, and so many other countless memories. You stole them all from me. How could you do this to me?"

"Shaurya," Dhavni walked towards him.

"What the hell did I do to deserve this, Dhvani?" Shaurya asked with tears brimming in his eyes. "Why do you hate me so much?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Was one time not enough? How many times will you break my heart? Was this your father's idea? To keep me away from my son's life. He-"

"Stop bringing my father into this!" She poked a finger at his chest.

"I don't need to bring him in. He is already here." Shaurya roared. "He was there at every single step of our marriage. He was just waiting for one weak moment so he could come and sweep his princess out of the dump that she had chosen. All that mattered to you was what your father thought of you. Me, our marriage, nothing mattered to you."

"Look who is talking. Who was the one that didn't want a child because you were afraid of it comprising your career? And who else was I supposed to talk to about my feelings?"

"Me. Your husband."

She laughed at the ridiculousness of his words. "When would I have done that? Did you even have time to talk to me? All-"

The bathroom door opened, and Dhruv stood there with a frown.

Dhvani and Shaurya quickly stepped away from each other and tried to wipe their tears as discreetly as possible.

"Great day one at parenting." Trupti murmured as she walked a now extremely quiet Dhruv out of the hospital room.

"This is not over," Shaurya warned as Dhvani was about to follow them. "What have you told Dhruv about his father?" The fire in his eyes mirrored the rage in his heart.

Dhvani looked at him and shook her head.
-
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-

Trupti smiled up at Dhavni as she walked out of her room after putting Dhruv to bed, but Dhavni didn't return it.

"Is he asleep?"

"Yes. He keeps asking about why me and Shaurya were fighting." She massaged her temples and walked to the kitchen. "I am making coffee. Do you want some?"

"I am good." Trupti followed her to the kitchen.

Both the sisters stood in silence as Dhvani made her coffee and slowly sipped on it.

"Dhvani, I am sorry... I shouldn't have-"

"Yes, you shouldn't have."

"I just wanted Dhruv to have a bond with his father-"

"There were a lot of other ways you could have handled this, Trupti. But whatever. What's done is done. Can't change it. Please just don't do something like this next time."

"Have you decided when you are going to tell him?" Trupti asked quietly.

"Tomorrow. After his checkup."

"And then?"

"Then what?"

"I mean maybe at least for Dhruv's sake you can-"

"What?" Dhvani asked is confusion. "You can't mean that Shaurya and I live together because of Dhruv. Do you?"

"Well.... yeah... I-"

"That's crazy! What is that going to do?"

"Give Dhruv a family." Trupti calmly stated.

"An unhappy one. Shaurya and I are going to be fighting all the time. That's not the environment I want my child to grow up in."

"Dhavni, when you start living together for Dhruv you'll-:

"No! If nothing gets fixed, then what should we do? Have another child? When are we going to get out of this mentality that a child magically fixes everything."

"That's not what I am saying-"

"Trupti, please. If... it is never going to happen... but if Shaurya and I were to get back together, it wouldn't be because of Dhruv alone. It wouldn't be healthy for Shaurya, me or even Dhruv for that matter."

"Okay." Trupti sighed.

"Good night." Dhvani wished and went back to her room.

She couldn't sleep that night. Memories of how hurt Shaurya looked kept playing in her mind. She tried to keep telling herself that it was Shaurya who responsible for this mess, but the sadness in his eyes wouldn't let her. He may have the right to be upset, but she had tried to tell him; however, he was the one that didn't return any calls.

Her phone buzzed from the nightstand.

My house tomorrow at 8

Author's note: I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Please do vote and comment if you did. It would really mean a lot to me.❤