"Mom please!" I shouted.

"Niti no! Please! I have always supported you in whatever you have done and I never stopped you from anything and look how that has come back to us. You've made me regret it all. All the freedom I gave you, you've made me regret it all!" My mom screamed at the top of her lungs. Luckily dad wasn't at home so we could actually shout and and scream.

"Maa lekin pleasee you cannot do this.." Di was on my side, thank god for that.

"Nahi Radhika! You keep shut I'm talking to her right now!"she shut di up and turned to face me again. Mom was boiling with anger. "Niti, listen you've done what you had to, you've had enough of freedom. You left us 2 years ago without your father's permission, you caused him so much pain, I saw him suffer! Yet I supported you. But now Niti you have crossed all your limits."tears filled in her eyes and I knew if she started crying she won't stop.

"Mumma lekin please aise kaise aap kisi se bhi.."

"Kisi se bhi!?"she interrupted in between. "Tushar has been a really good friend of yours and his family is very close to ours. Niti your father has too agreed he has to problems with it."

"Lekin she has!" My sister spoke for me.

"I don't care. You are marrying Tushar and that's final."she looked at me with anger and her expressions said that she wasn't interested in listening to me anymore.

"Mom dad? What did you tell him? How did he agree?" I was scared, what if she told about me being pregnant? I didn't want him to know right now, I wasn't ready for it.

"He did ask me that why all of a sudden I am fixing all of this but I handled that. And no he doesn't know about your pregnancy." I sighed in relief when she said that.

"But mumma I do not want to marry him! I don't love him mumma I don't even look at him that way!" I had never seen Tushar as anything else but my friend. He had always been the 'friend-zoned' guy in my life.

"So what? Love karke dekh liya na? Dekh liya na what that guy did to you? He left you and your baby just like that. Kuch bola bhi nahi, kuch suna bhi nahi bus chale gaya, haina!?"she sat on the bed and started crying. She was right. The guy I had loved didn't trust me a bit. He didn't stop me when I left. He didn't talk to me or let me explain. He just left.

"Mumma please yaar stop with your emotional blackmail! And what about Tushar? Have you even asked him!?"my sister wouldn't ever let me marry Tushh. I wouldn't marry him!

"Yes I have! And that poor guy happily agreed to marry a girl who us pregnant by someone else's child!"she looked at me in anger. I didn't say anything. I was just standing and hearing my mother and sister argue and I was laughing inside. I laughing at myself, at how my life was.

"Mumma please! You are not getting it, she doesn't love Tushar, she loves Parth! Abhi bhi she loves him mom! Can't you see her break everyday? Can't you her fighting herself? Can't you any of it!?" Even though I had always denied any acceptance, my sister somehow knew what was going on inside me.

"Because I can see that I took this decision for her. Radhika, I'm your mother. I know what is best for my children. I have had enough of this drama! She's 21 and pregnant! The father of her child left her! Chale gaya vo, he didn't even look at her, didn't even think before leaving that house that night."she now turned to look at me. "Niti, I have talked to your father and he had asked me to ask you.." Ask me? Yeah. She was doing everything over here but asking me. She was forcing it all on me! "Niti you have had your way and landed yourself like this but now, I'm taking your decisions. And its final. You are going to marry Tushar." I tried protesting but she shut me up too. "Please Niti, please."and she started crying again. "Please, you're 21 and pregnant, and alone! How will you take care of your child? You cannot just think about yourself now, you have to think of your baby too. And that's the best of you beta.. Please, I love you sweety, I will never want you do anything that's not good for you. This is the best that you can do! Not for you but for your baby!"she put her hand on my shoulder, her tears flowing.

"Mumma.."I cupped her face with my hands and wiped her overflowing tears.

"Niti please, kaha jayegi aise tu? Kya karegi? Please beta.. Kal Tushar and uski family will come home please beta koi tamasha mat karna... Your dad still doesn't know about this and I will tell Tushar to keep it to himself. Everything is on you now. Your reputation, our family's reputation, your future, your baby's future!"she put her hand on my belly that was still as flat as it had been earlier. My baby bump was yet to come.. It was a long long way to go for that. "Please."she said touching my face and then turned, gave a terrible stare to di and left the room.

"Niti, tu mom ki baat mat sun.. she just has lost it! Tu ruk I'll go and talk to her. You sit and relax please." Said my sister and she too left the room.

I was standing at my spot. Didn't move an inch. Tears rolled down my cheeks. "What a mess my life is." I said to myself, crying.
I fell on the floor my knees and silently the tears escaped my eyes. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to marry Tushar, never! I moved my hand over my tummy. "Why did this happen to me? What had I done!?" I cried out loud in that empty room where just the walls could have heard me. I was helpless, one more time in my life I was helpless. That moment I wished he was here. I wished he was here to make it all okay. I wished for him to come back to me, I wished for him to hold me in his arms and tell me that he'll make everything okay. I wanted him to take me away from here. Deep down inside, a part of me wanted him back. I needed him in this moment but he wasn't there, just like he never was. I felt like running away from everything, again. But I couldn't. I couldn't risk hurting my parents again, I couldn't risk the life of my unborn baby. I couldn't risk falling weak at this point of my life.

I gathered myself and stood up. "I'll do whatever it takes to secure my baby. I'll do whatever it takes to keep my family happy." I said that to myself and wiped the tears away which were of no worth to anyone.

----

"Choti!" My sister dashed into my room banging the door on the wall as it opened. "Chotiii?"she called me again when she couldn't find me there.

"Haan di" I came out if the washroom wiping my face with a towel.

"Come here sit!"she pulled me onto my bed and made me sit.

"Kya haii?" I said irritatedly because of the way she pulled me.

"You are not marrying that douchebag. Okay? No no no no no! Not him. Okay? Niti?" I didn't respond.

"Niti please don't tell me you are listening to mom please don't tell me!" She figured when I didn't say anything. I had a stern expression on my face.

I had no choice left. And I wasn't at all waiting my whole life for some miracle to happen and for that jerk to realize the blunders he did. I wanted to hate him, I wanted to forget him and I wanted to provide my baby a secure future.

"Niti please yaaar! Tu pagal hai kya? Please say something!" My sister got restless as I didn't reply her back. She started shaking me by my shoulders. "Niti!"she shouted.

"Di what's the harm? I mean, mom is right. I have disappointed all of you, her specially and when dad finds out, he'll be shattered di. Even after all I did, he trusts me like before and I have broken that trust within me. I'm afraid he'll not see my face the day he finds out the truth. Di Tushh is nice and just because you don't like him doesn't mean I should hate him too. I don't get it..why do you talk like him!?"I stopped and when she was going to speak again, I continued. "Di and its not because of me, I know all alone I won't be able to provide my baby a good future.. I am being selfish okay!" I wanted to cry again and but not a tear left my eye.

"Niti.."she put her hand on mine.

"Di I know tujhe lagta hai ki vo vapas aayega.."just then her phone beeped.

"Ek minute." She said to me and checked her phone and the next second she received a call and she declined it. "Haan bol"she said coming back to me.

"But I am not waiting for him. I don't want him back. I have to move on!" I said though I knew deep down somewhere inside, I still wanted him back. I still had a teeny hope that he'll come back but I suppressed it all under the pain.

Again her phone rang and again she declined it. This was for the fourth time in a row. "Kaun hai di?" I asked her because her expressions had just changed. She was panicking, I could read her face.

"Tujhe jo karna hai kar! Mujhe ho Karna hai main karoongi..! You want to marry that jerk? Fine. Go ahead. Mat sun meri baat. Ignore what your heart says and follow your stupid ass brain!" She suddenly bursted out on me and this time when her phone rang she picked it up and went out of them room.

"Isse kya ho gaya?" I said as I was confused because of her behavior.

----

The next day

Dad came to me and he talked to me about this sudden arrangement that was made. Well at least for me it was an arrangement. He asked me if he was happy with the decision mom and he made.. "I am happy papa only if you are happy. I have hurt you once and I don't want to do that again." I said."Again? Why again? I know my little princess won't hurt me ever again." He pulled me into a nice warm hug and planted a kiss on my forehead. "Niti Tushar is a nice guy right? You like him that's why we are rushing into this. I don't know why your mother said it was you who wanted to get married as soon as possible. I have just come to ask you sweety.. Are you sure? I mean it's too soon, tum itni choti ho abhi I don't feel like sending you away this soon." My dad was a very emotional man, one of the reasons why he accepted me back home after 2 years. I knew dad loved me more than di and that's what made me feel even more guilty for lying to him. But I didn't want him to hate me, so I lied again and again. I felt terrible. "Haan papa, I'm happy. Tushh is cheekuuuu papa!" I looked up at him and we both laughed together. I don't remember why I called Tushar 'cheeku' but it just a very funny nick name! It felt so good seeing my dad smile. I didn't want this smile to wear off ever again, specially because of me! So I had decided to move on. I had to move in life if I had to lead a peaceful one.

----

"Nitiii get ready they'll be here any moment!" My mother shouted at the top of her voice from the kitchen downstairs.

"Haan mummaa!" I replied as I struggled with a sari again! Ugh I hated sari's! And my amazing sister was never there when I needed her! She had to go out to meet a friend and it was an unavoidable meeting. So I didn't stop her but I needed her now!
Mom was busy in the kitchen and I couldn't call her to help me so I tried calling my sister and she declined all my calls. "Ugh! What do I with this now?" I was trying to figure out how to set the pleats. "Why can't I just wear a suit!?" I was babbling to myself standing in front the mirror trying to drape that stupid sari. I closed my eyes tight and stood in front of the mirror in the half draped sari that was still touching the floor and I was wearing just the blouse and an underskirt with the sari cloth half draped over it.

"Because you have no idea how beautiful you look when you drape a sari." I heard THAT voice. My heart skipped a beat. I felt the floor beneath my feet shift. Someone grabbed me from the back and I felt 'someone's' hands on my waist holding it gently. I felt THAT touch. Everything inside me came to a halt. I felt myself getting breathless and I finally opened my eyes.