Chapter 1: " The Helping Hand"

 Swara starred at her husband and was taken back by the fact he looked handsome, not the first thought that should have crossed her mind but well he did look handsome.  Then she remembered the few times she saw him before and never really looked at him , well because he was the groom and he was going to marry someone else,  there was really no point in looking at him . And Swara wasn't used to flirting with complete strangers especially when they are not available , so she totally missed crossing path with her husband until now. 

                   The sound of her cellphone ring disrupted the silence between them as she reached towards the phone clutched in her hand, then her eyes widened in shock to see the familiar number calling her at the unusual time . She forgot all about her handsome husband and rushed to answer the call . 

                      " What wrong bhai? " Swara hated that her voice held on to the assumption ,Something was wrong because if not there is no need for this call . After the day she had it felt like a logical assumption that it could get worse .

                        " I am so sorry , I will be there . I should have never left .." She answered back yet again once she had the reason behind his call and turned to look at the man she married and how just a single phone call made her ignore his existence even if for  a few minutes she didn't know but when it comes to her family ,they will remain her first priority . 
            

                       " I need to go now ." She spoke up afraid that he will delay her departure when she desperately needed to leave this house .

                        " I will drive you ." He answered back four words and she felt the relief that she didn't feel few minutes ago as her mind calculated how to reach the hospital in the middle of the night .  

                          Swara had no time to think about him ,or what he was thinking about her leaving on their wedding day . Only when she got into his car did he look at her waiting for her to say the destination . And she barely said the hospital name before his eyes widened in surprise and then a hint of concern flashed in his face . 

                             She didn't know what was going through his mind ,she wanted to explain but was too nervous to speak up . She can't lose her sister ,they have been always inseparable . Her sister was just two year older than her but totally different from her , she was the shy one to her bubbly nature . And when she got married Swara felt like she lost a part of herself but later realized she gained a family member in her brother in law .  

                            Tears threatened to fall as she remembered the doctors advise that her sister should be on bed rest till her delivery ,and the fact she was in the hospital two weeks before the due date made her very nervous. She can't lose her sister or the child in her womb that Swara was looking forward to pamper and love.

                She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned back in surprise only to realize she had been crying , the tears were slowly falling non stop that she tried to wipe it away because she didn't want to even think of losing her sister ,and after the day she had the stress had finally gotten her . 

              " It going to be fine ,whoever is in the hospital will be fine . We will be there in five minutes Swara . " he spoke up and she felt herself calm down ,she didn't know if it was because of his soothing voice or because she felt relieved that he wanted to comfort her ,they were strangers but he wanted to comfort her when she cried and somehow that made her believe that the guy she married had a kind heart and it had to be enough for now .  . 

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            Sanskar Maheshwari relaxed the moment she stopped crying , he couldn't let it slide when he noticed those tears . She was his wife ,though they were strangers he knew the person in the hospital was close to her . And he didn't want her to lose them . 

            When she first answered the call ,he was relieved that it gave him few minutes to come up with what to say to his new bride but when she apologized to that person ,he feared maybe she had a boyfriend or someone who she wanted to marry but he felt a flash of relief when she ended that sentence with the word Bhai.

                             Sanskar knew it was unfair to expect she loved him when he was a stranger ,but he didn't want to feel that she had to be forced to marry him when she loved someone else . It was the first time ,he felt a flicker of relief at Kavitha decision because he didn't want to marry someone whose heart will never belong to him .   

           By the time ,he reached the hospital . She got out of the car and rushed inside leaving him in a dilemma of whether to go after her or stay in the car ,once he parked the car . He walked inside the hospital lobby unsure what to do next , he didn't know if she would need a ride back or if she expected him to leave after dropping her .So he waited for about an hour  before he saw a familiar face   

            A flicker of recognition passed in his friend face who rushed towards him with a smile , Adharsh had been his one friend who managed to stuck with him from childhood and he remembered his wife had been pregnant because he called to convey he couldn't attend his wedding as he decided to stay with his wife . 

               " What is the new groom doing in an hospital ?" Adharsh asked as he hugged him . 

            " My wife is visiting ,someone she knows is in the hospital " he answered back and Adharsh looked like he was going to tease him , his best friend had been trying to get Sanskar married ever since he got married ,so Sanskar diverted the topic and asked about him . 

               " Our baby decided to come early " he answered back and the tension lines were back in his face ,for someone who always held a smile in his face ,Sanskar realized his best friend was worried about his wife . Sanskar had met them few times after marriage and found that Adharsh had met the right person ,it was also one of the reason he hoped kavita and he would work out because Adharsh and his wife were colleagues and best friend who fell in love .  

             " Then what are you doing here ,go back to her " Sanskar spoke up not wanting to take up any more minute away from him with his presence . 

          
          " I came to get Shona a cup of coffee ,I shouldn't have called her but she will never forgive him if i didn't tell her about pari " Adharsh answered back and Sanskar knew Shona was Pari sister . Because he knew Adharsh wife hoped for them to meet but it never happened until now when he was already married.  

               " I get the coffee ,you go back after you tell me the directions" Sanskar insisted as he sent his best friend back to his family . Sanskar hoped Swara won't come back to search for him in the mean time as he headed towards the coffee shop . 

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          Swara was nervous , she felt bad that she didn't even thank him for the ride and just rushed inside . In her rush ,she had forgotten to take her phone ,even if she did . She had no way to reach him because she didn't have his number .   

             Another option came to her mind but she discarded it because she couldn't disturb them tonight , but right now her priority remained her sister who was in the operating room ,she had been so nervous that her brother in law left to get her some refreshments . 

              She knew ,she should be the one who was comforting him ,not the other way around . But her family  was her weakness to the point she would marry a stranger for them . She was relieved when her brother in law came back as the two of them sat together waiting . 

             
              The sound of  footsteps  near them made her look up to see the familiar face of her husband starring right back at her with two cups of coffee , she didn't imagine he would wait for her or search the hospital until he found her . And when her brother in law reached for the cup of coffee ,she was confused as she hadn't had the courage to tell him about her marriage yet . 

            " Here you go Shona ,and this is my best friend Sanskar ,he is here because his wife is visiting someone " her brother in law introduced them to each other and she was at loss of words to realize the man she married was a friend of her brother in law . 

             Her brother in law remained clueless that he was introducing two people who are married to each other ,and she wondered how to tell him the truth and she waited for him to say something but he remained silent as well .

                    When the door to the operating room opened ,her attention shifted back to her sister and she breathed a sigh of relief when the doctor told them.  Her sister is safe and she gave birth to her nephew who was healthy as well . Swara slumped back in the chair as relief swept through her that her sister was fine .                           

                    Few minutes later ,a nurse came out with a small bundle in her hands and gave it to Adharsh ,Swara barely contained excitement until the father and son had their moment and then she was reaching for her nephew and when her brother in law placed the little one in her hands she felt all the nervousness fall away at the beautiful child in her hands . 

         " Come on Sanskar , dont stand far away . Say hello to my son " Adharsh voice made her look up as he walked towards her . Swara tired to let him hold the child but he shook his head in answer and she felt deflated that he wasn't as excited as her about her nephew .  But when he stood beside her and held the tiny baby fingers her heart melted and she realized he was just declined because he was worried to hold a new born baby  . 

         After few minutes Adarsh went inside with his son  to see his sister leaving the two of them alone , the silence should have been comforting but they were too may questions swerling  in her mind . 

                                 " Are you going to say what happened or should I? " he spoke up and she realized he was asking her about their marriage, she knew it is something they need to know but did she want to disrupt their happiness she didn't know the answer to that thought.  

                         " I will do it " she answered back and wondered how she was going to tell her sister that she got married without her .

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P.S :" That it for now ,let me know your thoughts and feedbacks .Hit the votes if you liked it "

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Juanita Reid 

NitaReid2016-03-12 12:22:29

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