Without any delays here it is.
P.S. Be sure to check the end of the update for another treat.
Part 9
Ahem sat back in his chair and ran his hand over his face tiredly. It's been three days since the birth class incident; three days of Gopi ignoring him, leaving any room he entered to avoid him. Three days of absence of her smile. He was tired of pretending everything was fine in front of his family. He was determined to end it all today.
He was sure his sister had a hand in his delay as soon as he saw her smirk at dinner that night. She knew Gopi was upset and why. He wanted to strangle her and shout at her right then and there but stopped himself. He didn't want to cause Gopi more upset and also wanted to keep things calm for her. If he had said something his mom would have been livid. Gopi also must have thought same thing because she stayed cheerful around the family. She always puts everyone's needs before her.
He sighed thinking this is what he should have done. He promised himself from now on she would be above all else. Nothing and no one will stop him from being at her side when she needs him.
He picked up his phone and speed dialed her number. He waited for her to answer. He hoped she picks up the phone; he was not in the mood to leave a message with a family member. He counted the rings and almost hung up like the previous times he called her since he had her phone activated again. She finally answered, as he was getting ready to give up.
"Hello?" He could hear reluctance in her voice.
Ahem rubbed his forehead with his fingers and closed his eyes, picturing her face in his mind. "Gopi, I just wanted to let you know I will pick you up after lunch to take you to your appointment." All he heard was the silence on the other end. "I realize I messed up last time but don't worry this time I have no intentions to meet you at the hospital, I am going to come pick you up myself to take you to the hospital." He heard he sigh a relieved breath. He realized she had worried about him not showing up. "Okay, I will be ready." she hung up the phone before he could say anything else.
He turned to look at the clock, two more hours before he can leave. He had purposely given her a later time that morning knowing his sister was listening. He didn't want to give Kinjal a chance to interfere this time. He faced his laptop to finish pending work.
Exactly two and half-hour later Ahem arrived home. First person he saw upon entering the house was his shocked sister. "Bhai you are home early, I thought you were going to the hospital later." Ahem narrowed his eyes at his sister. He could tell by the nervous way she spoke she had planned something. He was saved from saying anything to her when rest of the family arrived.
"Ahem dikra, you are home early. Is every thing alright?" Ahem smiled at his mom. "Yes mom everything is fine. I came to pick up Gopi. She has an appointment for Ultrasound today." His mom looked confused and worried. "Mom, it's nothing to worry about, the doctor just wants to check the baby's growth." His Kaki and Baa smiled. "Theek hai Ahem dikra, but be sure to come home in time for dinner. I don't want Gopi vahu to eat outside food." Ahem agreed.
He was about to go up to get Gopi when he saw Mani help her down the steps. He waited for Gopi to say bye to everyone. His sister called out to him just as they were leaving. "Bhai, can you drop me off on the way to the hospital?" Ahem turned and looked at her inquiringly. "Where are you going?" He shook his head when she named the place. "Sorry Kinjal, you will have to find someone else to take you. We are going in the opposite direction." He saw Gopi open her mouth to speak, but he grabbed her hand and squeezed to keep her quiet. He didn't want Kinjal to know where they were going.
Kinjal was not one to give up easily. "But bhai your appointment is not for another hour and half, you can drop me off." Ahem lost his patience. "Kinjal I know what you are up to. I suggest you call your agent to make arrangements for you or take a taxi. I am not your driver, I have more important things to do than come to your rescue." He saw his Kaki was about to say something but his mother spoke up before his Kaki can say anything. "Kinjal you heard your bhai, now don't stop them, they are getting late for their appointment." He smiled his thanks at his mom and escorted Gopi out the door.
He helped Gopi in the car, and thank god for small favors when she didn't pull away from his touch. As he was going around the car to the driver's side, he spotted his sister coming out of the house. "Kinjal," He called out to her, "I wanted to speak to you about something." Kinjal twister her mouth and rolled her eyes. "Kinjal I have overlooked your attitude in the past, but don't think I will let you get away with pulling a stunt like you did the other day." He could see she was going to deny doing anything, so he held up his hand to stop her. "I don't want to hear your excuses. I already spoke to Anita on the phone today and told her there will never be anything between us ever again. I also told her even without Gopi our relationship would have fizzled out, because I have come to realize that I never loved her. I apologized for hurting her in the past, but I never gave her any hopes when she came back. I considered her a friend, but no more." Ahem hoped Anita believed him because he will not put up with her interference in his life anymore.
He took a deep breath when Kinjal looked as if she didn't believe him, but he didn't care. "I am warning you Kinjal, one more stunt from you and you will be out the house. Don't think I will let Kaka and Kaki come to your rescue this time, I own the house so it will be my decision. If you have future plans to hurt Gopi you better think twice and be sure you have a place of your own because I won't tolerate your childish tricks anymore. I hope I made myself clear." He turned and walked to the car. When he got in the car Gopi looked at him questioningly but he just smile to let her know everything was fine.
Gopi watched her husband covertly from the corner of her eye, and frowned. He looked relaxed outwardly but when she took a closer look she notice the slight tension on his face. She wondered what he had said to his sister, she had looked angry as he walked away from her.
She sighed, she knew she was too quick to react about the birthing class and should have given him chance to explain but she couldn't help herself. She had all kinds of bad thought going thru her head regarding his absence, but when she saw Anita walking behind him all she had been able to think about was her baby's future.
She knew him well enough to know he would never be unfaithful but she still didn't know what he wanted to do regarding their marriage or the baby. He had told her he was not sure about their marriage seven months ago, but now there is a baby involved and it scared her to think about what will happen after the baby comes.
Gopi realized she would have to talk to him and find out what his intentions are regarding the baby and their marriage.
They walked to the doctor's office side by side, but silently. There was underlying excitement at the prospect of seeing their baby for the first time.
Half hour later Gopi lay on the examination table in the dark room and waited for the doctor to start the test. Ahem was standing beside her.
Dr. Reena walked in with a big smile. "Hello Mr. And Mrs. Modi. Are you ready to see your baby?" They both nodded in anticipation. Doctor uncovered Gopi's stomach, she explained the procedure, and placed the ultrasound wand on her stomach. The monitor in front of them came alive with black and white images.
Neither of them could make out the images on the screen and waited for the doctor to explain to them. Ahem was watching Gopi more than the monitor when he saw her tense when the doctor didn't say anything he took her hand in his to assure her.
When the doctor turned the monitor to point out the baby's image, Ahem instinctively leaned down for a closer look, bringing his face closer to Gopi.
Gopi, in her excitement didn't notice their closeness or the fact that she had a death grip on his hand. Ahem was more interested in the expressions on her face then the baby.
Gopi could not hide her tears of happiness and excitement. She turned towards Ahem. "Ahemji our baby.." She stopped when she saw that he was watching her, and looked away nervously. Ahem kissed her hand and turned her face towards him. He wiped her tears then smiled at her in understanding. "Thank you sweetheart for this beautiful gift." He spoke softly so that only she could hear him. They both turned back to the monitor.
Dr. Reena smiled at the couple. "Do you want to know if it's a boy or a girl?" She laughed when they both said "No" together. Ahem smiled at Gopi mischievously "It's a girl doc, I am sure." He winked at Gopi, who made a face at him. "Don't believe him Dr. Reena I am sure it's a boy." For the moment everything else was forgotten and they basked in their happiness.
"Okay you two here is a first picture of your baby." Doctor handed them the black and white copy of the picture. Ahem took the picture and helped Gopi sit up on the table. He helped her clean off the gel from her stomach and adjust the sari pallu before walking out with his arm around her waist.
He made sure she was buckled in safely before driving away from the hospital. Ahem was reluctant to Break the silence and disturb the memory of the time spent in doctor's office but he wanted to clear the misunderstanding before he took her home.
Gopi noticed that he was driving in the opposite direction from home but didn't say anything. She sensed he wanted to talk to her as much as she had wanted to clear things between them, and understood the need for privacy for the discussion.
Gopi was surprised to see Ahem pull up in the same park he had brought her to on her birthday. He came around to open the door for her and help her out the car. He didn't let go of her hand as they walked towards the water. He stopped at one of the bench and helped her to sit before taking the sit next to her. For few moments they stayed silent and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the park.
They both turned towards each other at the same time. Ahem was first to speak. "Gopi, how did you know that was Anita with me the other day? As far as I know you have never met her or seen any pictures of her in the past." He already knew Gopi will not reveal anything if his suspicion is right. He suspected his sister has taken advantage of the obvious distance between him and Gopi in the past. When Gopi just shrugged her shoulders he knew he had guessed right.
"Okay, leave that for now. I want to talk to you about something else." He waited for her to look up at him. He reached for her hand hesitantly. "Gopi what happened seven months ago was not your fault." She raised her head and met his eyes. "I don't know what I have to say to you will make sense to you, but I hope that I am able to make you believe that I didn't pull away for any of the thousand reasons you much have come up with in your head."
He took a deep breath. "Do you remember the night I apologized to you? The night you had your first doubts regarding Rashi?" She nodded her head. "I promised myself that night that nothing would ever hurt you again, but I broke that promise within two weeks." He prayed he had the right words to explain to her. "That night I realized I have fallen in love with you." He could see the doubts on in her expression, but he had expected this, it won't be easy to convince her he loves her and have for a long time now.
"For two weeks I kept silence, I wanted to shout out my feelings to you, but I wanted my confession to be special. You deserved the best, and I wanted to take you away from Modi Bhavan for this special night." He looked away for a moment to compose himself. "Things didn't go as planned and Rashi and her mom pulled their worst act yet. I wanted to strangle them both, but my first concern was you and your pain only. All I wanted to do was comfort you, but things went out of control and next thing I knew I was at point of no return. It was the most beautiful experience of my life. I have never felt like that before." He turned back to her and smiled faintly. "From the very first moment I met you I felt the attraction to you. When you kissed me back, I completely lost control and couldn't hold back anymore." He closed his eyes and remembered that first taste of her soft lips.
He opened his eyes, he didn't want to be side tracked at that moment. "It wasn't until the next morning when my doubts surfaced." He felt her tense. "Not doubts about you, but doubts about my self-control." Ahem stood up abruptly, he felt restless and unsure. He walked away from her and went to go stand by the water.
Gopi waited for him patiently. She had never seen him this nervous and anxious before. Something had made him doubt himself that night, and she didn't know what it could have been that it is still affecting him.
Ahem stop procrastinating and tell her why you did what you did. She deserves to know that it wasn't her fault. She needs this, and you also need this. Your future depends on this, and what about your baby? Ahem walked back to the bench and sat down. He couldn't face her, so he bowed his head. "Do you know that mom was determined to make me successful at any cost? She wanted to be opposite of Papa, she made sure I studied hard and didn't get sidetracked by silly things. You also know how much I love mom and I would do anything for her. So this is what I did, I made sure mom never had to go thru what she had gone thru growing up and after marrying papa. Her goal became my goal and I achieved what I aimed for, but somewhere along the way I became very controlled and unable to express myself."
She felt her hand on his arm and he looked up at her, he could see the sympathy in her eyes, but he looked away because he didn't want her to feel sorry for him. "That night I lost my control and it scared me. I like to keep things nice and neat. I started having doubts about myself. I feared that I will loose myself in you and would not be able to give my 100% to my work, and end up failing mom. I also feared loosing you, all I kept thinking about what if something happened to you. I would not be able to survive. So I decided it was better to create some distance between us, until I have myself in control again. I never intended for us to separate forever, I just needed time to figure things out in my head. I wanted to prove to myself that I was still the same person, just because I fell in love with you didn't meant I would let you control me also." Ahem feared he was not explaining himself clearly.
He cursed at himself for his inability to express himself without anger. "I went overboard with creating the distance between us. Then a week later I ran into Anita. When I saw her again I realized I never felt for her the way I felt for you. Some old feelings were cleared up but it also made me pull back more from you. By the time I realized what I had done you were gone. Once again I decided that it was best for you. I wanted you to be happy and thought you deserved better than the way I have treated you. So I didn't come to look for you. I emerged myself in my work once again. Worked longer hours and pushed myself to the point of exhaustion each night just so I could sleep without dreaming of you. But it never worked, no matter how hard or how long I worked, no matter how exhausted I was, I still woke up in the middle of the night reaching for you. I realized that I don't have to choose between you and my work."
Gopi did not know what to say to him. She is not even sure she understands what he is saying, but it is something to think on later. She needs to decide wisely because this time more than her heart was on the line.
Ahem faced her again. "When the project that I had been working on finished, I decided enough was enough. I wanted you back home with me and I hired an investigator to find you, but before he could even start mom called me to Nani's place and I found you. I used the first reason I could come up with to bring you back." Ahem took both of her hands in his. "I know my own inability to think clearly hurt you more, but I hope you forgive me and give me another chance to prove to you that I will never intentionally hurt you again." When she opened her mouth to speak, he stopped her. "No don't say anything yet. I am sure I caused you more confusion, but just know that I do love you and you were not to be blamed for the distance I created between us." He stood up and helped her to stand also. "I think we should head home now. Just think about what I said please. I want us to work on our marriage and getting close again the way we were during your recovery."
Gopi walked beside him silently. He husband just confessed to being scared of failure, and explained what made him pull back. He also confessed to loving her, but she needed time to decide whether she believed him or not.
*~+~*
So will Kinjal back off?
What will Gopi decide now? Should she give him another chance?
While you are thinking about this, I leave you with Ahem's thoughts.
Enjoy!😊
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hCepH7dqJM&hd=1[/YOUTUBE]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hCepH7dqJM&hd=1
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