Chapter # 2
For days on end he had anticipated this reaction from her. Her breath hitched and eyes widened when she acknowledged his presence before she took a step back.
"Could you spare me a moment?" He asked, the words fell short of request with his menacing tone. He took a step forward, closing the distance between them, daring her to turn her back now if she willed.
The way his voice had made her jump, her eyes showing surprise at first and then confusion. They way those eyes had searched his face, making certain he was all flesh and blood, right in front of her was more than what he had expected but it felt good, seeing her being affected by his mere presence. Before the same pair of hooded eyes looked around her surrounding, there was a flicker of hope in them and then she lifted her closed doors of soul to his wounded ones and asked instead, "what are you doing here?"
"I reckon, that's a yes?" He nodded his head to his right. "There's a cafe down there. Let's talk." He was glad, he had both his hands in his jacket or else he would have dragged her with him. He started walking, expecting her to follow him.
"If you are here to tell me about your baby. I don't think I should listen to some.. Some stranger's personal details." Pragya hated herself for stammering when all she wanted to sound was indifferent.
He turned around ever so slowly that for a moment pragya expected he would just walk away. Instead, he walked back to her and spoke with his teeth clenched. "I'm going to talk about my baby." She had seen him at his best behavior and also at his worst but what transpired in his eyes then made pragya alter her preconceived notions, she decided it was best she let him have his way.
When they arrived the cafe, Abhi placed orders for both of them and found pragya gazing at him. "Is it.. Is it a baby boy or girl?" Pragya asked, trying her best to keep the trepidation at bay but failed miserably. Why would he come to see her when he had a trophy wife waiting for him with their baby? Why would he want to ruin her chance at life when she was struggling to keep up with the happening already?
"A boy." His reply was terse, not giving away any information voluntarily.
"Congratulations." She tried to smile. She almost tried to sound genuine. She did.
He shrugged in response, placed her tea in front of her and took coffee himself from the tray the server had brought. "Don't you get bored, acting as though you really care?"
"Why would you say such a thing?" The tea in front of her was left untouched. Though, the weather was cold and usually pragya preferred hot beverages but lately she had started having an aversion to tea or milk. Or was it due to his presence which unsettled her?
"Let's talk about you."
"I don't want to talk about anything." The smell of tea made her stomach growl, so she kept the cup away from her.
"Your taste has changed." Abhi remarked, running a finger on the rim of his own cup. He wondered if coming to see her again was such a good idea, after all.
"So has my life." She crossed her arms as she leaned back in her chair.
"Because you wanted it that way."
"What I wanted..." She sighed an exasperated sigh. "Why are you here?"
The reason he was here was based on a speculation. A hindsight he had only hoped to be true. He cleared his throat, wondering if she would laugh if he stated his question blatantly or would she just walk away like she did the last time. He needed to be certain, he realized, now that he was more in control after seeing her in person. He might have acted impulsively earlier but now he needed proof. "Well.." He was still looking for a coherent response when he saw her sprint to the restroom.
She was not sure if it was the food she had in the morning or Abhi's sight that made her throw up. She splashed water on her face. Once. Twice. Thrice. She looked up at her reflection in the mirror and found him beside her, stroking her back. She placed both her hands on the table top.
She was a mess, literally.
"Better?" She heard him ask and she could only nod. "Let's go." She managed to say. The cafe was near her university, anybody from her class might see her here. Not that it made any difference to her social life because she had none, but for the sake of appearance she decided it was better they left. Or perhaps she was in dire need of some fresh air.
When she was standing outside of the cafe while Abhi went to collect her stuff, she was thankful for his arrival. She was feeling weak, mentally and physically. She was also glad when he emerged from the cafe and started walking by her side without talking. She did not have the strength to answer any more of his questions or act indifferent when she was anything but that. She was surprised, he knew which direction her apartment was. She stole a glance at him, wondering what he wanted from her now. The answer arrived shortly when they reached her hostel and he asked, "when was your last check up?"
She took her bag from him and replied before turning away from him, "you don't need to put up a show now."
He held her upper arm and pulled her back, making her face him. "Run away from me if want to." He lowered his voice again along with his eyes which now rested on her lips. "But I will not let you..." He looked up to meet her eyes again. "Take. Away. My. Child."
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Edited by aaminah123 - 10 years ago
Anupamaa
18