"Maa! Maasi kahan hai?" I got out of my room after a long time. I was busy tackling the monster baby in there.

"She's here only, she will stay with us tonight." My mom said smiling wide.

"Hmm.." I said as I walked down the stairs, yawing and rubbing my eyes so that it seemed like I was sleeping. Well perks of being an actress !

"Chotii are you okay now?" I went and sat over the couch next to my mom and my Maasi came in from the kitchen wearing a worried look.

"Haan Maasi woh.. I'm fine now." I smiled.

"Accha sun, she'll be staying with you in your room okay? Vaise bhi this is the last week you stay here before marriage, toh she wants to spend time with you.." said my mother.

"What!?" I hopped up from my place. "No no no no! I don't want to stay with her!" I said freaking out. I didn't realize how it came out to her, I saw my Maasi's smiling expression fade away.

"Maasi, I didn't mean.. Matlab, I want to stay with you lekin.. Maasi .. I want to sleep in my room alone, kyunki.. I mean last week hai mera in this house so I wanted to live every moment of it alone so that I capture the memories acche se.." I tried to make whatever silly excuse I could. I knew I looked like a total nincompoop right there but I already had an intruder in my room and I couldn't possibly let anyone know about it.

"Haan lekin Niti, you have the rest of the days with you.. Ismein ek din mere sath nahi spend kar sakti kya..?" said Maasi with a disheartened look.

Okay, to be honest, Maasi was a person I loved more than my own mother and I felt terribly bad for refusing her but I had no option..

"Di!" I saw my sister walking down the stairs rather running down the stairs.

"Niti, sun.. Its important." she came towards me and pulled me off the couch.

"Di sun na, Maasi aap please di ke room mein so jana pleaseee." I said with an apologetic expression.

"Haan maasi okay" said my sister "Niti please come with me!" and then she pulled me off the couch and dragged me to the corner of the living hall.

"Thank god di tune bacha liya nahi toh Parth hai mere room mein, pata nahi kya ho jata.. Kaha chupati usse mein..." I was babbling like an idiot there happy to have my ass saved.

"Niti, its all over the internet.. And the newspaper." I stopped my unnecessary mumbling and raised a brow in confusion.

"What is?" I asked. She held her phone in front of my face.

"Shit! I knew it! I knew it! Maine isliye bola tha don't take him! Don't I know it di? Don't you!?" I didn't realized that I raised the tone of my voice.

"Nitiii! Shushh! Sun legi mom!" said my sister.

"Ab kya jab padhegi newspaper then she'll know! Its in the DT and HT city too! I mean can't the fans really give us some privacy.. Like jaha dekha photo photo photo! I'm sick of photos now!" Yes. It was out, the news of Parth and me being spotted together at a mall. And there was an article about it in the Delhi times and HT city ( the newspapers circulated in the Delhi and NCR regions). There were photos of us all over the internet, like I knew we would have individual pictures that we clicked with the fans but we never clicked a picture together. I made sure of that, but who can escape the FANS. Yeah. Fans are really the most loveable people but sometimes like sometimes like this time, they are very very very irritating! Even after being away from the world of acting, I was still in fame. I liked the feeling of it but I still had to struggle to have a private life! And Parth! God that man I wanted to murder him!

"Yaar Niti, Mom ne padh liya toh?" we both together turned to look at Mom.

And well, the worst happened. She had the newspapers in her hand. Mom and Maasi had this thing.. Whenever they met they'd comment upon the actresses while they flipped the pages of the newspaper.
I looked at my sister and my sister looked back at me, sweat formulated over our foreheads.

****

"When Niti!? When!? After you ran away with him? Then ? When were you going to tell me!?" My mom shouted in front of Maasi. She wasn't hesitant at all so I figured she had told Maasi all about it. I didn't have any issues with that, I was ready to tell the world that I am pregnant and being forced, rather, being emotionally blackmailed to marry a guy who wasn't the father or my child! Though I wasn't yet ready to marry the one who was the father of my child either.

"Mumma.. Maine .. Nahi.." I stammered, still sweating.

"Kya maine maine!? Haan? Niti, look at me!" I had never seen my mother like this. Never in life had she shouted in such a high pitch. I felt that even the neighbours could have heard her scream. I looked up as per her orders. "Where is he?" she asked. I looked at my sister and she had already been looking at me.

"Arre Aparna please, don't scream at her that way, bacchi hai vo.." I thanked god endlessly for having my Maasi there.

"Nahi didi! Bacchi? Bacchi hai? Koi bacchi nahi hai.. Jab pregnant hui thi tab toh bacchi nahi thi na!" she stared at me with tears filling up in her eyes.

"Mumma.. Maine nahi usse bulaya hai.." My voice started cracking, a lone tear fell off my eye. I walked up to my mother and held her arm. "Mumma dekho na ek baar.. I haven't called him. Vo khud aaya hai! Mujhe pata bhi nahi tha vo aaya hai, vo toh..." I stopped thinking what to say next because I couldn't take my sister's name. Mom would boil up on her.

"Vo toh kya? Bolo!?" she turned at me for an answer. Tears were flowing down my cheeks.

"Maine usse help kiya, to come here. And right now, he's up in her room!" said my sister.

"What?" she gazed up to the door of my room and then back at my sister "Radhika kya bachpana hai yeh!? You want to spoil your sister's life!?" she shouted on the top of her lungs. Dad was again not home yet, I wondered how long could be keep this hidden from him.

Mom was angry, very angry. She was boiling with anger, even Maasi couldn't help her calm down. "Radhika answer me!" she pulled my sister's arm shaking her for an answer. My sister's eyes were fixed onto the floor. "Leave it. Abhi ke abhi I want him out of my house!" she started walking towards the stairs angrily. I felt so helpless, I didn't know what Mom would do next, I didn't want him gone, I wanted him where he was, I wanted him with me but Mom didn't want to listen to me.

"Mom STOP." My sister said in a stern voice, it was one of those final tone of hers. Our mother stopped at once and turned to look at her, her eyes red with tears and nose fluttering with anger. "Niti ke life spoil aap kar rahi ho mom! Just like you spoiled mine!" she looked at mom with anger and a lone tear slipped off her eye.

"Yours?" I was clueless about what she said.

"Haan just like unhone meri life spoil ki thi teri bhi kar rahi hai !" tears flowed down her cheeks. I had never seen her cry in years now, this was the first time in maybe 3-4 years that I saw her cry.

"Radhu please beta.. Not now." Maasi came to her and held her arm, comforting her.

"Nahi Maasi! If not now then when!? She has done that to me once and she is doing the same to her!"

"What did I do to you? Huh? Jo bhi kiya kuch galat nahi kiya tha! It was just for your betterment Radhika." mom replied with the same angry tone.

"Kya kiya tha? What happened? Koi batayega?" I was a completely lost soul there. I didn't know what they were speaking of.

"Kuch nahi.. You come with me. I'm throwing that guy out of my house!" My mom held my wrist to take me along but my sister stopped her.

"Enough mom! Bus! She should even know that aapne kya kiya 2 saal pehle mere sath!" said my sister while tears flowed down her cheek. She withdrew mom's hand that was gripping my wrist.

"Radhika, that was just because.."

"Because? Because what mom?" my sister cut in "I'll tell you why ! Because apko bus lagta hai what you do is correct and what others do is wrong! You think you can control everyone's lives! But mom, no! Apne mere life control karli thi uss din, but I will not let you do the same with Niti, she deserves happiness not a forced relationship!" she yelled in a tone even louder than mom's. I feared what if Parth heard all this happening? I myself had no clue about this 2 years old incident. What was it?

"Radhika! I'm your mother!" Her voice cracked up as she spoke those words.

"Exactly mom! You are my mother! How could you not see where my happiness lies? Maine aapse kitna plead kiya, kitna manaya aapko, Papa bhi maan gaye the Mom but you! Nahi maani na aap.." she stopped for breath. She was crying heavily."Aapne kaise bhi karke situation ko mould kar diya tha na mom.." her voice faded away as the sound of tears took over.
Maasi and I were standing there, looking at both of them. Well.. At least Maasi had some clue, but I was like a clueless dodo standing there.

"Whatever I did, maine bahut socha tha uske baare mein and that was what was best for you!" said my mother, tears that had filled her eyes too lost space to be stored into, so they too started a stream of their own down her cheeks.

"Mom please! Jo apko sahi lagta hai that's not necessarily always correct! You just want to be a control freak! Okay, for once I agree ki he didn't come back for me, maybe he just didn't have the courage to fight for us, but mom jis situation mein you had put us, any man would lose his courage! Mom, I blame you for whatever relation you and I have today. Its all your fault. Jo aapne kiya.. I cannot let you do the same with Niti, isliye maine Parth ki help ki, to come here! That guy does have the courage to accept his faults and he is here to rectify them!" She shouted. Her voice raised louder.

"Radhu please beta... Please don't do this! Don't dig up the past just right this moment, please!" Maasi literally pleaded di to stop and get a hold over her anger.

"Tell that guy, he is leaving tomorrow. I do not want to see his face. Right now, its too late. The first thing in the morning, I want my house free of him." Mom said to me. Her tears had dried up, but her throat was sore, her voice was firm, a final word it was. She turned back and went towards her room.

"I'll go with her." said Maasi and she too left with mom. It was just me and my sister in there. We both were shedding equal amount of tears. She because she had just let a year long pain out and I because I had no clue about anything, I had just witnessed a painful conversation, my sister was in pain, my mother was hurt.

"Di.." I said and I saw her fall on the couch.
"I could not let her do this to you too Niti! That guy really really loves you! Vo aaya hai tere liye vapas!" she lifted her hand in the direction of my room. "Niti, I know tujhe time lagega to accept him back but you eventually will!" I sat down in front of her and put my hand over her knees.

"Di kya hua tha..? Batao mujhe please tell me."

"I was in love with a guy and vo accha tha Niti! He was not at all bad! Bus usmein courage nahi thi, mom ke weird situations se bahar nikal nahi paaya.. Mom had put him through so much.. But its just not the time for all that. All you need to know is that the idiot sleeping in your room upstairs, he loves you. A lot." Tears rolled down my cheeks and a smile replaced the curve over my lips. "Tujhe usse tang karna hai na.. Kar! Irritate him! He has to repent! But don't let mom get to you.." she placed her hand on my cheek. I looked into her eyes, her tears had dried. ".. Don't let her control your life, call it off choti, call this wedding off, please!" her forehead was creased with frowns, worry in her eyes, pain in her words, I could feel every bit of it.

"But di.." I said as I saw my mothers crying image in front of my eyes.

"Nahi Niti please! She thinks she knows what the best for us, she thinks, whatever she decides is what we would want, lekin aisa nahi hai! You know you love Parth, you know you don't want to marry Tushar. You don't right? Bol?" she asked meeting my eyes.

"I... I.. Don't." I said.

"Then please baccha please, don't spoil your life just because it would give some moments of happiness to mom! Kisi ne nahi kaha tha you will have to be alone with your baby ! Parth hai na! Vo hamesha tha, hamesha rahega! I know it! Niti maybe the guy I loved couldn't take a stand for us, but even after whatever happened, you got pregnant with his child Niti! He could have never looked back if he wanted, he could have just simply lived his life.. But he came back... For you!" The flow of the tears was uncontrollable now. I knew he came back for me, I knew he came back because he loved me but why didn't I just accept it! He had hurt me, broken me inside out but he loved me! And he came back to make it up for all the blunders he did.

" Mom ko lagta hai that we cannot choose the correct thing for us, ever. I know she loves us, she loves us a lot but we cannot do whatever she says! Its our life, we have to right to love, we have to the right to choose what we want in life. Don't let her make decisions for you, think yourself, think what you want, think where your happiness lies, think with whom would you be able to provide your baby a better future and life! Think about where your heart lies and walk in that direction." She wiped the tears off my cheeks and kissed my forehead removing the creases that had been formed there.

"I listened to mom, I thought she can never be wrong but Niti, she was wrong. And she still is, you cannot remain happy with Tushar, I know it, he knows it, you know it, even mom knows it! But she won't accept it." she was sad, her wounds had been scraped off one more time. I had no clue about what my sister had gone through because I was happily enjoying my life in Mumbai that time, I was settling myself there, it was in my initial days. I wished I knew about her pain, I wished I could live it with her to help her feel it less. I wish I was with her just like she was with me.

"Di but tu aur mom.." After the fight they had just had, I didn't know what they'll be like, I was worried for them.

"This was to happen one day, I had been holding on 2 saal se, I couldn't anymore. Specially when I saw her control your life too, I couldn't help it. Just.. Boom! My head exploded today. But you don't worry, we'll be okay.. All you should be worried about is how would you torture the handsome hottie up there!" This got a smile to both our faces. He surely was a handsome hot trouble for me. "Thoda aa aur tang karna bus, then maan jaana please." she said feeling sorry for the poor trouble Samthaan.

****

I opened the door of my room, I had asked him to keep it unlocked. My mind was still filled with the fight that had taken place downstairs. I was tired. Tired of crying, tired of fighting, I wanted to just crash into the bed and hibernate! I walked a few more steps and a smile was formed on my lips. He was sleeping, like a baby! His arms fell flat across the bed and his legs stretched over the long, big bed of mine.

I walked up to my bed and snuggled closer to him. I lay my head over his chest and wrapped my arms around his large torso. It felt good, It felt like my heart had finally found its peace. I heard his heart beat into my ears, just the correct place to sleep in. He had been the perfect bed for me for months ! Aaah! How I missed this comfort, this feeling to be secure, this warmth! His arms folded and I was sandwiched between his chest and his arms. He was the home to my wandering thoughts. How could I stay away from him? How could I not give in? I had loved him more than anything else in my life and I could not lose him again. He was here for me, just for us. I whispered as I spoke to our baby placing my hand over my stomach, "Daddy surely loves you a lot little champ!"

"Tumne jitna mujhe trouble kiya.. Main bhi tumhe utna he trouble karoongi." I said as I looked up to the 23 year old baby sleeping with his mouth half open.

----

Well what's a story without some drama? Eh? *chuckles*
Phew! That's it! Now stars my break.. I will try to deliver a chapter or two maybe more, in a week. I'll try my level best but I cannot promise anything. Thank you!
Do comment and let me know about this new chapter :)
Please feel free to drop in your views about anything! A character, the story line, the ongoing track. Everything would be noted :)
Bbye!