"Did you speak with dad? He said, He tried to contact you but you didn't attend his calls." - Anika said with a little hesitation after heading out from the exam hall seeing her dad's messages for her. Anika didn't wait a moment to call shivaay and ask about it. After knowing that he stops talking with his parents due to blackmail drama happened during her marriage held her back from going deep into the issue even though everything going very well between them. 

"Is it? I didn't know about it. Did you give my number to him?" - Shivaay asked her back. 

"Yes, Papa asked, So I gave it to him." - Anika replied in a low tone.

"You should have told me after that, Right. I usually won't pick unknown calls." - He asked her back in return. 

"Oh. I don't know about that." - She told in a further low tone.

"Anu. Is everything okay with you? What happened? Why are you sounding so low? Is dad told anything to you?" - Shivaay asked her when she didn't so excited like always while talking to him. He can understand it.

"No, Papa said he's leaving to camp for an important mission and before that he wanted to talk to you." - Anika replied firmly. Still, the excitement and chunkiness in her tone were missing. Shivaay can understand the reason behind her low tone. He saw her crying multiple times Uncontrollably when her colonel father gets back to his duty. 

"Okay, Sweety. Give me his number, I will call him and also asks sorry for ignoring his calls these days." - He said to cheer up her mood but still, She couldn't get back to herself. 

"It's okay, Shivaay. He will never misunderstand you, Call him and speak, That's all he wanted." - Anika said. 

"Okay, If possible, Let's meet up tonight. What do you say?" - He asked her to change her mood.

"Sorry, Shivaay. Exams." - Even she had an interest in going out she denied looking at the situation she was in. 

"It's okay, Sweety. Just a matter of three days. Don't stress much and take care. And yeah, Please share papa's number with me without forgetting." - He said and rested the call. A smile sparked in her face when shivaay mentioned her father as papa. But her father's words still roaming in her mind. It was her condition every time whenever her dad leaves her and her mom for national service. 

***********

Shivaay was shocked to see the call logs. He got at least 10 calls from her father to him in a dad. If he cut anyone's calls for the consecutive four times, It will get added in his spam list and his phone automatically goes on silent whenever they call. It was the same thing that happened with Anika's father. He didn't wait a minute but called him the next second, He picks up his call in the second ring without having any ego. If the same thing happens with him, He won't pick the call until the particular person calls for the second time. 

"Hi, Uncle. Sorry, I thought it's a spam number. It was not intentional. Anika just now shared your number with me." - Shivaay immediately said sorry before he could get any reply from his father-in-law. 

"It's okay, Beta. I can understand. Don't say sorry for silly things." - Harshavarthan trivedi said with a chuckle over the phone which eventually brought a smile in his face. 

"So sweet of you, Uncle. But I want to clear you this, It was not intentional." - Shivaay said in the same tone. 

"I know you from childhood, Shivaay. Now, tell me, How's your life?" -  He asked him Since his family and Anika's family were too close from their grandfather's generation. Harshavarthan knew very well about shivaay. Before Anika's birth, Harshavarthan trivedi takes him Red fort every independence day whenever Harshavarthan Trivedi was at home. They both celebrate independence and republic day as Diwali. Roaming around the city, Distributing sweets to everyone. Shivaay used to enjoy a lot but after Priyanka's and Anika's birth, Things started to change as he was getting matured along with the communication thread. But Shivaay always has unsinkable respect to him. 

"Everything going great, Uncle. But Anu is so stressed right now due to the exams. Rest, Everything is perfect. How about you, Uncle?" - He said in a flow. Harsh didn't reply to him for a while. 

"Uncle, Are you there?" - He asked him. 

"Ahh, Beta, Just got thrilled. I asked about your life and you told about Anika, This shows which is prior to you. Happy to know that you're finally moving on." - Harsh said in a proud tone that his judgement never went wrong ever. 

"She's so pure by heart which shows your upbringing. Nothing would have possible without her." - Shivaay said to him. 

"You may think shivaay why I took the decision that too, In the last moment. Trust me, Shivaay, It was not because of prestige or for any pithiness and you know I am not that type of person. It was only because I love my daughter to the core and I know you. From the moment, Anika was born, A thought was triggering me, How would I find a match for my daughter, What if anything went wrong in her life which leads to suffering. As a father, I just want one thing from life, Her happiness. Even though I look strong from outside, I am the weakest person in the earth when it come to my daughter. In that case, Every father is the weakest person. But the only reason for getting my daughter married to you is I know you and trust you." - Harsh finally confessed, Shivaay was taken back in surprise and how someone can trust him to this extent. Shivaay went speechless. 

"And Now, After hearing those words, You have no idea how happy I am." - Harsh said in a pleasant tone. 

"I promise you, Uncle. I will never break your trust ever." - Shivaay spelt without his knowledge. He was actually promising himself in his mind. 

"I know, Beta. You take care. I am resting the call." - Harsh said and rested his call, But still, He felt so low after he rested the call and finally understood the reason behind anika's low tone. 

*********

After 3 Days.

"I didn't have any symptom of it. How can it even possible?" - Anika losses her patience to her senior, Ramya who apparently doing her internship in the hospital. Anika was shaken and continuously sweating after hearing the news from her senior. 

"Your periods are skipped. That's the major symptom, How could you ignore that?" - Ramya asked her crossing her arms.

"My periods were never on-time. And also, In these exam stress, I totally lost myself into it. What shall I do?" - Anika asked her holding polaroid picture in her hand and looking at it every three seconds. Tears automatically crossed her eyes.

"First, Take your seat. Let's think." - Ramya made her sit in the chair and gave her water. Keeping that polaroid picture in her handbag, She calmed herself drinking the water. Her skin tone turned red due to stress. 

"I need to make a call." - Anika said taking her phone, Instead her phone rang from the person whom she was about to call. 

"He's calling." - Anika whispered to Ramya and attended the call. 

"Shivaay! I was about to call you." - She said as soon as he attended the call. But he sounded so firm than usual.

"Are you ready?" - He asked her. 

"Yeah, Actually I packed. Just came to the hospital for small work. I would be in the next  30 minutes." - She responded to him, The courage she had flown away without leaving a trace after hearing his firm tone. 

"No, Stay there. I will pick you up in 10 minutes." - He said in the same tone. 

"But you said, You're having an important meeting. It's okay, Shivaay, I will take the cab." - She said sensing the tension in his tone, She forgot for what she called him. 

"Nothing is important than you. I am on-my-way. Please get ready." - He said and She couldn't argue but eventually had to say yes to him.

"He's on his way." - Anika said to Ramya.

"Don't wait. Tell him." - She replied to her, She left with no choice but to tell him. 

Within 3 minutes, She got a message from him that he was waiting for her in the entrance and asked her to come outside. She walked towards the entrance and saw him waiting inside the car bowing his head on the steering wheel. The more she walked close to him the more she could hear her own heartbeat louder.  She opened the door, Shivaay immediately raised his head and looked at her. 

"Hi..." - She said, taking the seat in a terrified tone.

"Hi, How are you?" - He asked her slightly stretching his lips trying to smile. 

"Fine, You?" - She asked him in the same state. 

"Shall... Shall we leave?" - He asked her and started the car without meeting her eyes. But she held his palm in the steering wheel in the next second and take it in her lap, She bowed her head and tightly closed her eyes in the fear. 

"Anu. What happened? Is everything okay?" - Shivaay asked in a Panic state. She didn't lie but nodded no to him while bowing her head down. He stopped the ignition and turned around to her when he saw the teardrops felling down from her eyes. 

"Anu. What happened? Please say..." - He cupped her face and tried to raise her head but she didn't respond to any of his efforts and stayed there for a while. 

"It's all my mistake." - She started to murmur. 

"What mistake? What are you saying? I can't get you. Please tell me clearly..." - He asked her out of patience but instead she hugged him tightly and buried her face in his chest. He was shocked, He didn't ask any question further until she gathers up the courage to say everything. He firmly rubbed her back and tried to calm her. 

"This is your safe place, Anu. Take your time." - He said and hugged her even tighter when he clearly able to hear her sobs. She finally felt the courage to open up everything when she felt his kiss in her forehead. She partially broke the hug and took the polaroid picture from the handbag and gave it to him. He was confused for a second. But when he saw the scanned image of a baby in the picture, His whole world stopped for a while. He couldn't able to think anything for a while. He was lost until he heard Anika's sob mixed words. 

"I have no idea. I clearly have no idea how did I forget. But it happened, I just now found out. I am pregnant." - She cried to him. Tear crossed his eyes, He had no idea how to react but he hugged her even tighter just to convey he's with her. Over then, His phone rang and reminded him again the purpose but he didn't attend the call. More than anything, Anika needs him the most. He understood that. 

"It's okay." - He tried to cup her face.

"I said It's okay." - He again said to her, This time, She let him cup his and she met his eyes. 

"And it's not your mistake. Understand, Sweety. Now tell me, When did you come to know? How?" - He asked her cupping her face.

"This morning... While packing... I realized that my periods got skipped. I thought it's because of my haemoglobin deficiency, Because of that I never get it on time. But Yami insisted me to check it. So I went on a normal blood test. From there I came to know but I didn't believe that too. So I have gone for scanning. And this..." - She couldn't speak anything but showed him the picture while he caressed her face. 

"It's all my mistake. I didn't take anything seriously. Sorry." - She again lost patience.

"Relax. Relax. It's okay. It's not completely your mistake also. I am also the responsible one, Right. Don't worry! We will both figure it out." - He said while cupping her face, She nodded yes to him. 

"Do you eat anything from the morning?" - He asked her and he was sure, She must have definitely forgotten about that in the tension. With the response, She nodded no to him. 

"First, Let's eat something and meet the doctor."  - He said and again his phone rang which came to anika's notice. 

"Whose that?" - She asked. 

"Office... You go... I will park the car and join you." - He said to her.

"Is my kajal?"- She asked him which provoked the smile in his face. He took his kerchief and wiped off the smudged kajal from her eyes. 

"It's fine." - He said and handover the kerchief to her

"Don't judge, I am concerned because I don't want anyone to know I was crying." - She said while wiping off her face. 

"I understand madam. You go, I will park and join you." -  He said and saw her until she leave. His facial expression went down as soon as she left and again his phone rang, It was not from his office but from his mom. 

"Yes mom." - He attended the call. 

"Have you booked the tickets to Delhi?" - She asked him.

"Yes, Mom. We are leaving in two hours." - He replied to her in a low tone. 

"Okay, Did you tell her about her father demise?" - She asked him. 

"No. Mom. Not yet. And please I am requesting you, Don't let anyone call her. I will do it on my own." - He said looking at the picture of their baby inside his palm. And rested the call. 

***********