Chapter 1

After successfully avoiding Manik's multiple calls and taking 3 more pregnancy tests which all showed positive, Nikita gave up and came back to her room. She quickly sent a text to Manik 'Not feeling well. Don't worry will sleep it off.' she turned her phone silent and kept that aside. Then went around the room and closed all the curtains bringing the room into darkness, and decided to do what she does in times of stress, which is sleep. 

Her little body was never good at taking stress, whenever she was in a difficult situation her mind would tend to zone out. So, after dealing with constant anxiety for the past few days and her over-thinking sessions she was exhausted and the moment she got into her bed and pulled the covers, sleep took over. It wasn't till 3 hours later that she woke up, and for the first few seconds, she completely forgot about the whole world and was in a state of peace. Then the uneasy feeling in her stomach brought her back to her senses and Nikki hurriedly got up and rushed to the bathroom to throw up her entire gut in the toilet bowl. After she was done, Nikki splashed some water on her face to cool down. Clearly, 'morning sickness' wasn't reserved only for mornings. 

Coming back to her room she reluctantly picked up her phone, Nikki knew she couldn't avoid the world forever and will eventually have to face them. As she unlocked her phone she could see numerous missed calls and messages all asking the same thing, where she was and how was she feeling, and to call back, they were worried. This reaction was expected as she hardly ever missed her class, even when she had a fever from the flu she still went to college because she was that sincere about her studies, so if she is skipping her class everyone knew it must be something very serious. But she wasn't ready to tell them the actual reason. Not yet.

Going to the call logs she checked the names of the people who called her, Manik, Nandini, Chachi, and Siddhanth. The last name irked her, already things were so messy she didn't want to deal with him now. Among all these names only one gave her some comfort, Chachi.

Nikita and Manik's Chacha Chachi lived just 2 floors above their apartment and the parental figures they had in Delhi. They lost their father 6 years ago in an accident and with much difficulty their mom Ananya had to recover from the shock of losing her husband and take ownership of their business so she could keep a roof over her children's heads and give them a good life. She mostly had to stay in Mumbai and came back to Delhi whenever she got the chance. She tremendously missed her kids and only got the courage to leave them behind because her brother & sisters-in-laws were extremely helpful and thought of Nikki and Maan as their own. The kids missed her too but they knew how much struggle their mom had to face so they never complained and tried to look after each other and they loved their uncle & aunt too, especially their Chachi who were more like a friend to them. 

Though Nikki was still feeling tired and drained of her energy but she decided to go her Chachi's flat, contemplating whether it will be wise to share the news with her or not, because she herself didn't make up her mind about what to do about this situation. The moment Nikki entered the flat she got a loving scolding from her Chachi for skipping last night's dinner and today's breakfast, worrying that Nikki looked pale and tired for skipping her meals and got sick because of it. Seeing her motherly concern Nikki broke down and started crying for the nth time today.

Mrs. Nupur Malhotra was shell-shocked to see her usually cheery and resolved niece in such a state, and immediately took her in her arms. She understood the girl was disturbed by something and there was no point stopping her from crying so she let her cry her heart out. Nikki was glad about that and finally, after her tears dried out she sat up and looked awkwardly at the floor, realizing she will have to explain to Chachi now what is actually going on. The younger girl could feel her aunt's questioning gaze on her and without even looking up she mumbled "Chachii... I...I uuhh...I... am pregnant." saying this aloud for the first time. 

'This feels so weird to say out loud.' Nikki thought 'This feels so weird to even think about.'

"You are... preg...nant?" Nupur repeated not sure if she heard correctly, her quota for surprises didn't end yet.

Nikita nodded still looking down, half expecting her Chachi to go into an angry fit. 'Maybe Chachi will kill me, that way I won't have to face Mom and especially Manik.' 

Nikki was surprised at Chachi's calm composure "I didn't know you were seeing someone."

It was getting more difficult for Nikki to talk "I am..not"

"Oh....so who is he?" 

"I...don't want to share right now."

"Okay.." Nupur replied getting thoughtful, while Nikki got more fiddly.

"Nikki? It was consensual right? Somebody didn't... didn't take advantage right?" Nupur finally shared her worry.

"Wha...No Chachi nothing like that. It was... it was..." Nikki trailed off surprised and touched by Chachi's concern.

"Oh okay." She sighed relieved by that piece of news.

After a long silence, Nikki spoke again "Chachi please don't tell Mom and Manik about this. Especially not Manik and not even Chachu."

"But... they will eventually know na Beta?"

"Yeah...but don't tell them... yet. I didn't make a decision."

"Decision about what?"

"Whe...whether I will keep the baby or not." Nikki finally looked up to see her aunt, but Nupur didn't give away any of her thoughts and kept a straight face. Nikki went on "The fetus doesn't get a heartbeat till 5-6 weeks so till the first trimester it's safe to..." she couldn't finish.

"Nikki you don't have to explain to me... But uumm does the father know at least?" 

Nikita's heart gave a flip, she had no intention of sharing that info with the 'father' as her Chachi put it and in reply, she vigorously nodded her head to indicate no, not even trusting her voice to speak.

Nupur took a deep breath "I will admit this came as a huge shock for me and it is still an understatement, but I also understand it must be even more difficult for you. All I want to say is I am here for you no matter what... and whatever decision you take." saying this she hugged Nikki to reassure her.

The nervous wreck of a girl was finally feeling a bit relieved and tightly hugged her aunt. Still hugging her Nupur said something that made Nikki nervous again "But Beta...I believe the father has the right to know. No matter whichever path you chose he should be aware of it as well." Seeing her niece getting worked up again she gave a small smile. "You know what? You can think about all these later. But first, you need to eat something because you will have to stay mentally and physically strong. So, tell me what you want to eat and I will cook everything that your heart desires." Nikki's heart filled with happiness and for the first time today, she smiled.

Author's Note~

1) Are you liking the story so far? 

2) Who do you think the baby's father is? And do you think Nikki will keep the baby?

3) What do you think will happen if her mom and Manik find out? 

As this is an experimental story, I am not sure if I should continue or not. Please let me know your feedback because it will encourage me to write