After confirming the pregnancy with Kusum's gynaecologist, the couple felt like they were on top of the moon. The moment they reached their home, both of them got busy with informing their parents and close relatives about the news.

First, they called Naveen's parents on a video call, his mother congratulating them for over fifteen minutes. After talking to them for one hour, Kusum video called her parents, her mother crying on hearing her daughter being pregnant.

"Please be extra careful, beta," Kusum's mother advised. "Don't overwork yourself."

"Don't worry, Mummy ji. I will keep a close eye on her," Naveen chirped and smiled at his in-laws.

Kusum's father was asking him about his job and all when Naveen's phone buzzed, and he excused himself. Kusum grinned at her parents and teased her mother for still crying.

"Kusum, don't forget to call your father to pick you up when your seventh month ends," her mother said.

Kusum etched her eyebrows in confusion. "For what?"

Her mother slapped her forehead. "This girl. I knew you were sleeping with your eyes open when I was telling you all about our rituals."

Kusum and her father laughed as her mother explained their tradition of bringing the daughter on completing her seventh month to take care of her till the time of delivery. Kusum shook her head at her mom, who stressed each word to drill it inside Kusum's head.

"I won't be coming, Maa," Kusum stated sternly.

"But Kusum-"

"No, I won't come. Papa and you both need rest, and you want me to put pressure on you at this age when I am the one who should be taking care of you?" Kusum protested.

"Beta, it is our custom. And you think I can't look after my daughter? Don't forget I am still in the shape to drop your father in one fist." Kusum's mother laughed.

Kusum's father shot a fake glare at his wife, shaking his head in amusement. All three of them laughed for some time before Kusum's mom brought up the topic again. At the same moment, Naveen arrived, and Kusum proudly laced her right arm with his.

"My dear husband is here, no? He is enough to look after me," Kusum said, and her parents smiled at their daughter and son-in-law in delight.

"Naveen beta, you convince her, please. She is really stubborn. If we won't follow our customs, then our relatives will laugh at us," Naveen's mother-in-law reasoned.

Naveen pulled Kusum closer and nodded at her mother in understanding. "I get it, Mummy ji, but don't worry. I am here, and I won't let anything happen to your daughter."

"But with you working, how will it be possible?"

"No need to stress, Mummy ji. You guys take care of yourselves and let me know if you need anything. As for Kusum and me, we will manage."

Kusum's parents had a huge smile on their glowing faces as they heard the reassuring words from their son-in-law. Naveen always made them feel as if he was their own son, and they were happy to see their daughter living a happy married life.

Twenty minutes later, Kusum cut the call and switched on the TV to watch her favourite soap operas. For the next two weeks, they made calls and received calls revolving around Kusum's pregnancy.

One day, Rati, Kusum's colleague asked for a treat from Kusum, and coincidentally, Naveen also suggested to her wife about eating out with their friends as a way of celebrating.

Kusum agreed, and in the night, both of them spent a good time with their close friends. On returning home, Kusum felt a bit nauseous. She threw up all the food she had consumed in the restaurant, making her husband worry.

"Maybe we should stop eating outside food now," Naveen said, pursing his lips on seeing Kusum's expression.

His wife liked to eat out a lot, majority of their dinner being held in their favourite dhabas or multi-cuisine restaurants.

Since both of them were working, their energies were drained by the time they made it to the weekends. So, to spend some quality time with each other, they spent time outdoors and met with the people in their circle.

But now taking Kusum's pregnancy into account, they had to make a tough decision.

After a lot of crying and whining, Kusum understood that she had to be cautious if she valued the life taking shape in her womb. Thus, all of the outside food was banned, and Kusum took the responsibility of preparing breakfast and packing their tiffins, while Naveen took care of the dinner.

Kusum was advised to rest as much as she could, but she didn't want to be absent during the final stages of their project she was tirelessly working on since last year.

Because of the demanding working hours, she even had to pull all-nighters at her office sometimes, neglecting her health.

As a result of continuously running to reach her office on time, getting little to no sleep, and missing her vital medications, Kusum's health worsened; it was the end of her fourth month, and she fainted while exiting her office building. She would have fallen down the stairs if her colleagues hadn't caught her in time.

To avoid any complications, Kusum was taken to the nearest hospital. Naveen arrived after being informed, and the doctor strictly prohibited Kusum from doing anything that would risk her and the baby's life. She was instructed to stay at home and avoid stress of any kind.

Therefore, Kusum applied for an early maternity leave, and Naveen decided to hire a maid as he knew his wife wouldn't say it herself.

As finding a household help was quite expensive, Naveena was left with majority of the chores to handle himself. Kusum tried to help around, but her husband would always scold her and remind her of what had happened in the office because of her negligence.

"How many times are you going to remind me?" Kusum pouted as she lay on the sofa with a bowl of tomato soup.

Naveen placed her feet on his lap and massaged her soles. "Till the time it gets fitted in your brain. And don't you dare lie that you didn't try to mop the floor again after Usha Didi (their household help) did."

"Okay, I accept that I did, but I don't like how Usha Didi works half-heartedly. She didn't even wash the dishes properly when I went to check myself. She always makes excuses, saying that I am being too hard on her."

"Really? Don't I know how you supervise like an eagle and make her wipe a single spot hundred times till you are satisfied?"

Kusum moved to slap her husband's arm but cursed when her back betrayed her again. The back pain had worsened with her pregnancy progressing, and she felt like she had run a marathon after roaming in her house for just five minutes.

"I wish I could ask for a whole new body from God. I don't think I am ever getting a relief from this back pain or these jelly like feet," Kusum grumbled.

Naveen rubbed more oil on her soles, making Kusum smile in relief. Her husband reciprocated her smile and chuckled when she fell asleep. He carefully picked her up and took her to their bedroom. While his wife had drifted off to the dreamland, he still had a lot of stuff to take care of.

After running the list of chores through his mind, he quickly moved to get things done. After putting the rice cooker on the stove, he went to the balcony and grabbed the clothes.

Till the cooker whistled for the third time, he had folded the laundry. After turning off the stove, he started preparing for dinner; he kept some snacks aside for his wife's midnight cravings.

Later, he ironed his clothes for the next day and was setting up plates on the dining table when Kusum woke up and grinned on seeing her husband. She slowly went to him and hugged him from behind.

Naveen's lips stretched up automatically as he felt the small baby bump against his back.

"Had a good sleep?" he asked.

Kusum nodded, and Naveen helped her in sitting. His face beamed on seeing Kusum drooling over the food he had made.

After getting their stomachs full, Kusum took her medicines and Naveen escorted her to their bedroom again. As he still had some work to do, he remained in the living room, working on his laptop.

"Naveen!" Kusum called.

Naveen checked the time, and it was past 3 a.m. He knew what his wife was demanding, so he grabbed the snacks from the fridge and went to her. Kusum took the snack boxes from his hands like a wild animal but got disappointed on seeing inside the box.

"What happened?" Naveen asked curiously, rubbing his tired eyes with the pads of his palms.

"I don't want to eat this," Kusum said.

"But that's what you had asked for earlier, no?"

"Yeah... but... I feel like eating some omelette now, and some cheese sandwich too."

Naveen stared at his wife with half-closed eyes, his body tired and begging for sleep. Kusum gave him her puppy eyes, but on seeing Naveen yawning widely, she told him that she would eat the snacks in her hands.

Even though Naveen was tired, with barely five hours left to complete his sleep, he didn't want to upset his wife. He took the snacks from her and moved to the kitchen to complete her wish. Half an hour later, he was back with all the things Kusum had demanded plus some fruit drinks.

"Thank you so much, baby. I love you," Kusum said and dug in the food.

Naveen caressed her cheeks and left to shut off his laptop. But the moment he was going to close his internet browser, he received a mail from his boss, asking him to resolve an issue at the earliest.

Naveen cursed, but that's what his job demanded. He fought the sleep, and by the time he got over with the impromptu request by his boss, the clock had struck 6 a.m. He decided to rest on the sofa itself but halted when he heard his wife's voice.

"Naveen!"

'What now?' he thought.

For a moment, he felt like not answering, his mood turning sour, but when Kusum yelled again, he sighed and got up from his comfortable spot after a few minutes. When he reached his room, he rested himself on the doorjamb and asked Kusum what happened.

His spouse didn't reply. Naveen asked again and moved forward, only to realise that Kusum had fallen asleep again. Naveen shook his head in exasperation and fell down on the spot beside her. His eyes roamed over his wife sleeping peacefully.

'How can she sleep all day?' he wondered. 'I wish I could also do that.'