Chapter Twelve

 

Wheeling his suitcase silently into the apartments Dev searched his coat pockets to find the flat keys...it was almost past midnight when his flight landed at Mumbai and by the time he finished his check-out formalities and reached his apartment it was  almost 2 p.m.
he was surprised as the flat door suddenly clicked open and a smiling Sona welcomed him to his own little world..."tum soyi nahi abhi tak?...mujhe to laga tha ki tum sab khana khaakar kabke so gaye hoge isiliye doorbell nahin bajayi taaki tum sabki neend disturb na ho...tum itni der tak kyun jag rahi ho Sona?...you know its not good for ur health!!!!!"...Sona just tugged his hand and pulled him inside along with his suitcase...closing the door behind him she turned to him and threw her hands around his neck..."hubby jee saari batein kya corridor mein khade hokar hi karni hai?...taaki saare padosi sun le ki The Dev Dixit apni  biwi ko kaise daant lagate hain?...aur main aapke kisi bhi baat ka jawaab doon isse pehle aap mere sawaal ka jawaab denge...aapne khana khaya hai ya nahin?"

She and her nutritional advices...impossible Dev thought..."maine kha liya tha flight mein...for a change khana accha tha aaj...aur ab tum mere sawaal ka jawaab do isse pehle ki mere andar ka gussail husband jag jaye"...Dev threatened her as Sona giggled at his instincts..."ok fine actually maine shaam ko aapke office call kiya tha kyunki aapka phone switched off tha...to Tina ne mujhe bataya ki aap already Mumbai keliye nikal chuke hain... Ansh maa ke saath so gaya aur mujhe neend bhi nahin aa rahi thi ... isiliye aapka wait kar rahi thi...mil gaya jawaab Mr. Dixit?"...Dev had the widest smile adorning his face as he couldn't help but fall a bit more in love with her each time she would do these small gestures for him.

 

 

 

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Devakshi's Bedroom

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Sona lay her head on Dev's chest as he caressed her hair lovingly...she had confided in him about her fear of visiting the doctor the next day for her fertility treatment..."Dev mujhe bohot jyaada darr lag raha hai...pata nahin kal reports kaise honge?...itna sab kuch karne ke baad bhi agar main maa nahin ban paayi to I'll feel very sad Dev"...Dev cajoled her stroking her hair gently..."dekho Sona maine tumse pehle hi kahan tha ki tum maa bano ya na bano mujhe koi faraq nahin padta...maine humesha tumhe apne liye chaha hai aur mere liye sirf yahi kaafi hai ki hum dono ek saath hai...yeh fertility treatment yeh sab main sirf tumhari khushi keliye karwa raha hoon...warna main tumhe pehle hi clear kar chukka hoon ki humare paas Ansh hai aur woh humare liye kaafi hai...ab tum agar aise hi darr ke tension lekar apni tabiyat kharaab karti rahogi to muhe accha lagega kya ?...ab kyunki tumne apne liye itna bada faisla diya hai you have to be strong enough to face its consequences"..."par Dev aap jaante hain na ki main humesha se aapko ek beti dena chahti hoon...jo aapka khoon ho...jo humare pyaar ki nishaani ho...jo mere shareer ka hissa ho...jisko 9 mahine apni kokh mein palta hua main mehsoos kar saku...kya mera yeh chahna galat hai Dev?"..."nahin Sona bilkul bhi galat nahin hai...lekin iss chah ko poora karne keliye khudko takleef dena sahi nahin hai...aur maa banna kaise lagta hoga yeh main tumhe nahin bata sakta because main shayad kabhi bhi ek aurat ke nazariye se nahin soch paunga...lekin haan main tumse itna jaroor keh sakta hoon ki pita banna kaisa hota hai yeh maine mehsoos kiya hai humare Ansh ke waqt...aur baat sirf yeh hai na kit um chahti ho ki humari ek beti ho ...to bass agar kal reports negative aai bhi jo I'm sure ki nahin ayegi...hum ek kaam karenge, humari shaadi ke baad hum ek bacchi ko adopt kar lenge ...ab khush?"

Sona couldn't help but be amazed at the ability Dev had to calm her down in the worst situations ever...she was sure however dejected  she would feel at any stage of her life her Dev would always be there to cheer her up...letting go of all her worries she snuggled into him as sleep took over her ...hopefully the next day she would wake up to a dawn full of hopes for her ...hope to become a mother...hope to carry a life inside her body...hope  to see herself getting pampered due to her bulging tummy.

 

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Next Day : LifeLine Hospital

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Sona eagerly waited for her turn to come...Dev and she had come to the hospital as today was the day of her final appointment with her fertility treatment specialist Dr. Sanjana Awasthi...despite of Dev cajoling her time and again she was still feeling butterflies in the pit of her stomach...anxious she started pacing up and down the corridor as Dev looked on to her dejectedly...however much he would try to pacify her, assure her that everything would be fine, she would get back to square one soon after his counseling sessions would be over...he pulled her hand and made her sit next to him ...passing the mineral water bottle to her he was about to start with his next counseling round as his phone rang ...he picked up the phone to answer a crying Ansh on the other side...his child was upset as his Mumma and Papa had left him alone at house with his daadi and had gone out to  roam around...at-least that was what he felt...Dev couldn't help but chuckle at his fate...here he was not done persuading his bigger child and there his smaller one had started throwing tantrums...he finally put the phone down after bribing Ansh for his favorite chocolate ice-cream and then turned to Sona to give her a earful..."for god sake yaar Sona...please stop like behaving a kid...tum khud ek doctor ho aur aise behave kar rahi ho...kitni baar samjhau tumhe ki tumhare aise tension lene se kuch bhi nahin hone waala...ulta cheezein aur jyaada bigadengi...please calm down now nahin to appointment bhi cancel kar doonga aur tumhara treatment bhi"...he was frustrated now...he had been trying for the n' th time to calm her down but she was acting like a spoilt brat...now the only way to calm her down was to scold her like a strict parent.

Finally they were called in ...settling inside the doctor's cabin Sona held onto to Dev's hand tightly as she looked onto the doctor as she went through the reports...closing the file after reading each and every page she started her conversation with a tensed Sona..."so Mrs' Dixit...aapki treatment ka course ab poora ho gaya hai...final tests bhi ho gaye hai aur maine unhe padh bhi liya hai...and I'm very happy to tell you ki aap par yeh treatment kaam kar gayi hai...Mrs. Dixit aap conceive kar payengi aur iski guarantee aapko main de sakti hoon...your reports are excellent...you need not worry at all".

"matlab ki doctor ab Sona maa ban sakti hai...matlab uski jaan ko isse koi khatra nahin hoga agar woh conceive karegi to?"...Dev couldn't believe what he had just heard...his Sona could conceive...she could experience motherhood...no measures could calculate how happy today..."ofcourse Mr. Dixit...she can conceive and have a safe pregnancy...to ab jab bhi aapko baccha chahiye hoga you can have an unprotected intercourse...ab aapko yeh baat mujhe alag se samjhane ki jaroorat nahin hai"...Dr. Sanjana was amazed even today at the way Dev would shy away at the slightest mention of intimacy in public...she had to admit that among all the patients and their spouses she had treated, this couple were the most decent and shy couple as far as discussion of intimate matters...she had to be very careful as she knew even if she went a little more detailed in her explanation Dev would find ways to escape out of her cabin..."bas ek baat main aapko samjhaana chahti hoon...don't force yourselves for a kid...matlab ki yeh sochkar chalenge ki aap dono intimate ho rahe hai to sirf bacche keliye to it won't work out...let it be a gradual process...stay calm and go with the flow...enjoy your togetherness and yes have an intercourse only when you feel to do so...not because you want to have a child...aur haan yeh jaroori nahin hai ki Mrs. Dixit will conceive soon after your first unprotected intercourse...kabhi kabhi bohot time lagta hai...but there's no need to panic at all...just have a normal love life, things will fall in place when the right moment arrives...I hope you are understanding what I'm trying to convey?"...Dev stayed mum with embarrassment as Sona took the responsibility to answer the doctor back..."of-course doctor, hum poora khayaal rakehnge...waise bhi humein koi jaldi nahin hai...jo jab hona hai tabhi hoga...main maa ban sakti hoon  yehi kaafi hai mere liye...thank you so much doctor...aap nahin jaanti ki aapne humare liye kitna kuch kiya hai"...Sona just could stop herself from expressing her gratitude..."maine kuch nahin kiya hai Mrs. Dixit...maine bass apna kaam kiya hai...I'm genuinely very happy for the two of you...All the Best"...shaking hands they moved out of the cabin to head home...Sona had to reveal this information to her mother...how excited she was today...she felt like being on the top of the world...finally her long fetched dream was coming true.

As they moved out of the hospital, Dev got a call from his Delhi office, asking Sona to sit inside the car he moved to a corner to get a good voice reception...here Sona was about to sit inside the car when her eyes fell on a toy shop on the other side of the lane...mesmerized she started walking towards the shop without noticing the traffic on the road...her gaze fixed on a certain toy as she had almost reached the middle of the road when a strong masculine hand pulled her to the other side of the road...confused she looked around only to realize what kind of a mess she was about to create...she was about to get hit by an ongoing vehicle when this particular man had saved her life in the nick of time...she looked upto him apologetically as Dev who had by now witnessed the scene came rushing towards them juggling the traffic...pulling Sona towards him he thanked the man who had saved her life in the crucial hour...shaking hands with him he said, "thank you sir, aap nahin jaante aapne kitna bada ahsaan kiya hai mujhpar...thanks a lot for saving my wife...agar aaj aap time par nahin aate to yeh to mujhe shock hi de deti...humesha ki aadat hai iski"...he looked on angrily at Sona as he continued his conversation with her savior...Sona was automatically reminded of her previous accident scenario as she pictured an anxious Dev shouting out to her to open her eyes and look at him...she hung her head down in shame as she knew she was just about to receive a big lecture from Dev..."hii I'm Dev Dixit, nice meeting you Mr..."..."Kunal Rastogi...mujhe bhi khushi hui aapse milkar...shayad maine aapko pehle bhi kahin dekha hai...aap yahaan ke nahin lagte...kisi aur sheher se yahaan shift hue hai kya?"..."haan who actually hum yahaan bass kuch dino keliye aaye hain(Dev tried his best to avoid answering these unnecessary questions, what if this person got to know about his Delhi connections?)...chaliye hume der ho rahi hai ghar pohunchna hai humara beta wait kar raha hoga ...bye"...both of them bid good bye to him in a hurry and left before he could hurl some more questions at them.

Kunal stood there thinking about where he had heard this name...Dev Dixit...he racked his brains to finally get an answer to his queries...yes Dev Dixit, his fiance Ria's brother..."par Ria ne to kahan tha ki uske bhai ki shaadi hui nahi hai...that he broke up with his girlfriend and then onn decided never to get married...par yeh to shaadi shuda hai...aur iska to ek beta bhi hai...mujhe Ria se baat karni hogi"...saying so he picked up his phone to dial Ria but then dropped the plan..."rehne deta hoon, phone par kya yeh sab poochna...aur agar yeh koi aur Dev Dixit nikla toh...agle hafte Delhi jaa hi raha hoon tabhi pooch loonga milke".

Next week Kunal flew down to Mumbai and met the Dixit's...he was shocked to see their family portrait which had Dev amongst the other people...he immediately told them about meeting Dev in Mumbai and that he was accompanied by his wife...Ishwari was hell shocked to hear this from him...she didn't want to believe him at all but then when he pointed out at the photograph in the living room and confirmed that he had seen this very person present in the picture she had to believe him...to confirm her doubts she tried calling Dev but every-time he rejected her call with a busy message...she was getting tensed by each passing minute...how could he do this to her...her Dev had got married to some random girl without her permission and she was unaware about it...if he wanted to get married he could have easily told her before doing so but he chose to keep it a secret...whom had he married ?...was it the same Sonakshi Bose who tried her level best to snatch her son from her and she had to risk her life so that Dev would be forced to break all his ties with her...how could he be so insensitive with her...she had a lot of queries unanswered and she had to get the answers from Dev.

 

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Devakshi Home - Mumbai

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Sona had taken a day off from her clinic as Ansh was having slight fever and hence she had not sent him to school today...Dev had also decided to stay back but an urgent call from his office informing him about some foreign delegates visiting him today forced him to head to office with a heavy heart leaving a wincing Ansh behind...Sona just fed him a few morsels before putting him to sleep, after he slept peacefully she had nothing to do so she decided to clean up the house till Dev comes back...she was engrossed in her work when she heard the doorbell ring...thinking it might be Dev who might have wound up his work soon  to be with Ansh she opened the door without checking into the eye-hole...shocked would be an understatement to her current state...she stood there, eyes widened with fright as she looked onto the person at her doorstep...was her life all set to witness yet another storm?