Hurdles
Protecting a secret never felt so difficult before. She was usually a very private person and had only a handful of friends but ever since she married a certain Professor Shaurya Sabherwal, life had thrown plenty of bends in their twisted lives.
Shaurya never voiced his irritation but Anokhi knew that his family was starting to get suspicious of his late night rendezvous and weekend stays at Patiala. She had warned him about taking her along so frequently, but he wouldn’t take her words.
If that wasn’t enough, a bunch of rumors had been circulating around the campus that Anokhi had a personal relationship with the Sabherwals. Then, Shaan Sabherwal and now Shaurya Sabherwal. People had started to see her differently.
“Dude, she is totally hitting on Shaurya Sir!” A third year senior whispered to his friends.
“Who wouldn’t!? I mean look at him!!!” A girl squealed.
“But isn’t it strange that Shaurya Sir is always around her too? Do you think there is something cooking there?”
“She is probably very close to the Sabherwal family. I mean, everyone knows how Shaan Sir went out of the way to schedule an interview for her. And Shaurya Sir bhi kaha kam hai? You will always spot him buzzing around Anokhi! Mujhe toh lagta hai Anokhi ko student council head bhi issi liye banaya hai...”
“What nonsense! Logic kya hai iss mei? Anokhi council head majority votes se bani hai!” At least someone defended her. “And by the way, you are talking about a topper, if you score half the marks she does, I am sure Shaurya Sir would appreciate you as well.”
Usually, Anokhi would brush it off, but recently these things worry her to no end. In their two weeks of SINDOORI marriage, she hasn’t lived a single day without the fear of exposure. What would happen to them if they got caught!!?
And her husband just won’t take her seriously!
Like now… Teasing her in front of the whole class.
“So your student council has planned a movie night as a stress-buster activity… So Ms. Bhalla and Ms. Kaur, as council president and vice president, you two have to make sure everyone makes it to the MPH by 8 PM.” His eyes meet hers, “Nobody stays back in the Hostel.”
And the only thing Anokhi could do was blush hard. She knew that everyone but herself would be at MHP that night.
The stress did go away once they got married officially a month later. But the relief was short-lived because she had to deal with a new problem each day in the Sabherwal House. She knew that Badi Maa was simply being wicked and purposely creating hurdles for her but nothing was impossible for Anokhi because she had her PS to support her through everything.
Although Badi Maa was being unfair, Anokhi knew that she would have to work on proving that she could take care of her personal and professional responsibilities. She could be a Sabherwal bahu and still fulfill Anokhi Bhalla’s dreams.
*******
The smell of rain fresh in the air, two lovers silently walked towards their destination hand in hand on a quiet street.
This was probably the first time in such a long time that they were graced with a moment of peace. But it was a blessing after days of anxiety, excitement and rush.
"Ek baat puchu?" She hesitated.
"Haa?"
"What made Badi Maa back off? Tumnne aisa kya kaha unse?" Anokhi watched his smile falter a little.
"Mera naam Shaurya Sabherwal hai, Wifey." He smirked, “If she can be melodramatic, I can act a little too, right?”
"So, you resorted to emotional blackmail?" Anokhi gasped.
He shrugged, “Anything to get rid of the drama.”
“Tum bhi kamal karte ho… Unhe kitna bura laga hoga!”
“In that case, I can walk right back and say 'I am sorry, Badi Maa' and just get your name withdrawn from the seminar…” Shaurya teased as they reached the Sabherwal House.
“PS!” She exclaimed, making him laugh.
Before entering their home, Shaurya turned around and held her shoulders gently, “Anokhi, I know iss family ke saath rehna easy nahi hai. But I promise, you won’t have to face the hurdles alone. Mai hamesha tumhara saath dunga.” He vowed.
He admired the soft smile on her lips and returned it when she wound her arms around his torso and rested her head on his heart.
The door opened abruptly forcing them to sprung apart, “Shaurya Bhaiyya, itna bada room hai apka, itna bada bed hai, par romance toh khulle mei karna hai na aapko?” Kanchan teased.
Anokhi giggled at his irritated growl and walked inside behind Kanchan Bhabhi but turned around and made a funny face at him.
**********
“Exam ka result aya?” Shaurya strolled into his room and saw his wife sitting by her study table.
“Haa.”
“So? What does it say?” He discarded his coat and laptop bag on the bed.
“Pata nahi. I did not check….” Anokhi replied in a flat tone.
Shaurya shook his head at her dramatics, “Anokhi, tum bekar mei tension le rahi ho… I am sure, tumne iss semester mei bhi top kiya hai.”
“How can you be so sure? Tumne papers check kiye hai?” She rolled her eyes.
“Papers check nahi kiye hai but tumhara professor reh chuka hu. I trust you to perform well in every subject.”
“Lekin iss bar mai galat paper ke liye padh ke gayi thi, PS!” Anokhi whined.
“Okay. So you don’t believe me? Agar maine jo kaha woh sach hua toh mujhe kya milega?”
“Agar mai topper nikli toh jo tum kahoge, woh mai karungi!” She sat up straight.
“Pakka? Soch lo, Mrs. Sabherwal…” He smirked.
“Soch liya. I promise, I will do as you say!”
“Fine then.” Shaurya turned her laptop towards him and entered her details in the website. Anokhi sat with her hands folded, praying to her Mata Rani for good results.
“Ah ha! See, I told you!” Anokhi opened her eyes and saw her PS beaming at the screen. She pushed him aside and scanned the screen to see her scores.
“Yes!” She ran across the room and jumped on the bed, “Yes! Maine top kiya hai, PS! Dekha! Maine kaha tha, mai top na karu, aisa ho hi nahi sakta! Aur paper itna accha likha maine ki professors bhi shock ho jaye honge!!” Anokhi boasted.
“Accha?” Shaurya raised his eyebrow teasingly.
Her husband chuckled at her excitement and let her celebrate the news.
“Okay. Okay, Mrs. Sabherwal. Please calm down,” He grabbed her arm and helped her down the bed, “Ab aapko humari deal yaad hai? ‘I will do as you say’ wali?”
“Of course! I remember… Tell me what can I do for you?”
He tugged her closer and bent his head to reach her ear, “How about we celebrate this occasion?”
Anokhi gasped as his lips lingered on the shell of her ear. A single touch and this man, her husband, could turn her insides into mush.
“Celebrate?” She whispered and fisted her palm on feeling the pit of belly clench pleasurably.
“Haa… You deserve to be rewarded. Motivation ke liye... Tumhara pati hone ke naate mera farz banta hai ki mai tumhe motivated rakhu… For better performance in future. In every field.”
Anokhi was not so innocent anymore to ignore the underlying suggestion.
“So wear something nice! I'm taking my wife on a date tonight!” He suddenly took a step away leaving her wanting for more.
“What?” Shaurya grinned as her eyes went wide.
“What? I said we are celebrating, right?”
“But…” Anokhi groaned, “But I thought we could just celebrate here? Stay in bed, watch a movie and munch on popcorn...”
“Come on, where is the fun in that?” Walked to the bed and reached for his laptop bag.
Anokhi knew all too well, Mr. Shaurya Sabherwal was teasing her!
Just as Shaurya turned around for another round of teasing, she did the unexpected and leapt at him.
He dropped the bag and grabbed her waist to hold her steady while her fingers clutched his collar tightly, but they both landed on the bed unceremoniously and Shaurya released an “Uff” as her weight held him down.
“You seem to forget who is the professor inside this room, huh?” Anokhi leaned in with her eyes focused on his lips leaving her husband deeply affected by their closeness, he could feel her breath hitting his face.
Anokhi trailed a finger from his hair to his neck and lower to play with the buttons of his shirt.
“Never...” Shaurya mumbled dreamily and tried to reach her lips.
And before he could do something, she gave him a winning smirk and rose from the bed leaving him baffled.
“Well, we are going on a date, right? I need to get dressed.”
Shaurya narrowed his eyes and surprised her by tugging her back into his waiting arms and rolled over to cage her below him, “I think the restaurant can wait for a while.”
And with that, he closed the gap between their lips.
********
“Tumse toh baat karna hi bekaar hai!” The wife was exasperated.
“Toh mat karo! So jao shanti se…” The husband rolled his eyes.
“Shaurya, don’t you understand? When you fight head-on with the family, it makes things difficult for me. They are our family, for God’s sake!”
“So what am I supposed to do? Let them treat you like that? Hmm?” Shaurya rose from his chair with a jerk.
“No! But at least try to deal with them a little calmly… There is a difference between arguing and misbehaving!” Anokhi tried to explain, “Badi Maa and Bade Papa won’t say a thing to you, but I am blamed for your impolite reactions… How am I supposed to get along with them if they keep misunderstanding us?”
“Look, Anokhi, I am not the kind of a person to beat around the bush. I speak my mind, I express what I feel. And I am not going to change this attitude to please anyone, not even for you.”
“Well, then you better get used to these daily fights in the house… At this rate, we are not getting off the hook anytime soon.” Anokhi gave up and pulled the sheets over herself.
“If they are creating too many hurdles for us, we could just…”
“Don’t you dare say it, Shaurya!” She sat up suddenly, “We are not leaving this place until we have tried our best to reach them. I don’t want to be accused of breaking the family now.”
“Well, then you deal with this disastrous family your way and let me use mine.”
Shaurya picked his book and walked out, she sighed in exhaustion but was surprised when Shaurya strode back into the room.
“You know Anokhi, for someone who values her independence and rights so much, you fail to see how much our so-called elders are trying to restrain us.”
Anokhi’s eyes softened, “It is not that I don’t see it, Shaurya. I just don’t want you to regret your decision to move out of this house when you are so disturbed over Aastha Maa and Shaan Papa’s truth. If you say these same words when your anger quenches, I promise to walk out with you, no questions asked.”
“My mother was forced to leave her everything behind, Anokhi! I don’t think this anger will ever cool down!” Shaurya yelled.
And this time when he left the room, he came back only after she had fallen asleep.
**************
“What is the result?” Shaurya asked.
“I didn’t check. I don’t think I can…” Anokhi’s voice trembled with anxiety.
Shaurya sighed, “Come on, Anokhi! It has been over 5 minutes now… Result ko dekhna avoid karogi toh woh badal nahi jayega…” He gently rubbed her back.
“Mujhse nahi dekha jayega, Shaurya.”
She saw his calm face but knew he was just as nervous as her. He kept bouncing his knee continuously. Despite her resistance, Shaurya pushed Anokhi to look for the answers they were seeking.
She walked out of the bathroom with a small white rectangular plastic in her hand.
“What is it?” Shaurya gave his full attention to his wife.
“It’s… Umm… It’s negative.” Her reply came in a plain tone, not giving away what she was feeling.
Anokhi plopped down on the bed next to him and showed him the pregnancy test kit with the negative result on display. However, his eyes never strayed from her face.
“How do you feel about that?”
“Kya feel hona hai? I kind of suspected it already… I mean the last few weeks have been very stressful because of the international seminar and my third year exams. I missed my period because of stress. That’s it.” She shrugged nonchalantly.
“You are upset.” Shaurya stated in surprise, “You were excited about having a baby?”
But he was greeted with silence only. Sensing her ache, he pulled her into his arms and comforted her. Anokhi didn’t cry but she was definitely feeling dejected.
“Anokhi… You are only 22. You have just answered your final year exams and we have only just celebrated a year of our marriage. We have a lot of time before we plan for babies. If anything, we should both be relieved that we are not expecting an unplanned pregnancy!”
She parted from him and frowned, “It wouldn’t have mattered if it was unplanned. I would have loved being a Mom nevertheless…”
“I am sure you would have, Anokhi. I would love our child too. But it would have hampered our plans, let’s be practical." He stroked the back of her hand gently, "You are starting your masters in a month’s time, you are also working as a TA and you are swarmed with responsibilities at home. Same goes with me! I am juggling between Chandigarh and Patiala so often, how would I have managed to make time for a pregnant wife and later a newborn?”
Anokhi sighed.
Since yesterday, when she had noticed her monthly cycle delayed by a week, she had experienced an unexplainable excitement.
A baby.
That had been her first thought given that she and her husband indulge in a very active bedroom life. But the result had told her otherwise. Her husband was right. They had decided to wait for obvious reasons and had made it very clear to the family to not pressurize them for babies, it wasn’t any of their business. Anokhi knew she wasn’t completely, mentally prepared for a baby.
“You are right, Shaurya. But I am not that upset. But I am not happy either. I- I can’t really explain what I am feeling right now.”
“I understand. Mujhe bhi kuch kuch vaisa hi feel ho raha hai. Yesterday when you told me, I was suddenly thrilled by the idea of our baby, Anokhi. Little hands and feet, changing diapers and all that stuff…” Shaurya smiled, “But by the time I woke up this morning, mai sochne laga ki humare plans aur goals ka kya hoga?”
“Haa. Yeh sab planned rahe toh hi accha hai. We should be sure that we are prepared to raise a child.” Anokhi agreed calmly.
“Right. Family should be a support system, not hurdles in life…” Anokhi frowned at this, “Don’t get me wrong, Anokhi… I am just saying! We have been so busy since the past few months, I think we should spend some time with each other before we have someone else to give time to… Aur mera phir bhi thik hai lekin tumhara career abhi shuru bhi nahi hua hai, abhi tumhara focus sirf tumhare career pe hona chahiye. Baki chize toh hoti rahengi...”
Shaurya took the used test kit from her and tossed it in the bin while his wife simply eyed him adoringly.
--THE END--
Yep.
For the ones who don't know this, I can write non-18+ stories as well 😃
So, I tried to write on the married phase of ShaKhi's relationship. I know we were disappointed with whatever is happening but I am not gonna crib and blame anyone. (Channel ki maa ki....) 😳
I had started writing this over a month ago 😆 but then I had to answer exams 😭 and it was left incomplete, then I lost interest in the idea of the original OS and had modify it as per the current track.
I don't know how many are gonna read this... But please, do leave comments and hit the like button. Keep the forum alive and support the writers on this forum so that they can at least feel motivated to complete their on going stories.
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