Chapter 33
Akshu went to her room to find Abhimanyu sitting on their bed coloring with Aaira. Akshu tried to control her anger in front of their daughter.
"Abhi, yeh kya tha?" Akshu asked him softly even though inside, she was screaming. Abhi saw her and got up from the bed.
"Yeh mujhe tum se poochna chaiye." He said a little too loudly. "Akshu! Maine kaha tha na tumhari behn tumse nahi mil sakti jab tak main saath mein na hoon!"
Aaira looked up from her coloring and looked at Abhi scared. This was the first time she had seen her father angry. "Papa kyun gussa hai?"
"Papa gussa nahi hain. Woh Mumma se aise e baat kar rahe hain" Akshu smiled at her and then turned to Abhi. "Abhi, keep your voice down please."
"Aksh..."
"Aur maine nahi kaha tha Aaru ko yahan aane ko, woh khud aayi. Aur mujhe yeh samajh nahi aa rahe ke iss main itni badi baat kya hai? Hum ghar pe e the. Kairav Bhaiya bhi yahan the. Aur meri behn koi naagin nahi ke mujhe das le gi." Akshu whispered to him.
"Naagin e ha!" Abhimanyu screamed which made Aaira look up again. "Woh jab bhi tumhare saath hoti hai toh tume kuch ho jahta hai. This is my last warning, Akshu. You need to stay away from her or...."
Aaira started to cry. "Papa is being mean to Jaan!" She got up from her bed and ran to Akshu. Neil poked his head in their room after hearing Abhi's screaming and Aaira's crying.
"Is everything okay?" Neil asked all worried.
"Aaira, baby. Papa is not being mean to Mumma. We are only talking. Aap jao Neil Chachu ke saath." Akshu turned to Neil. "Neil, please."
"Come on, Aaira! Chachu and Aaira will dance to Let It Go!" Neil came to pick Aaira up.
"Nooooo! I want Jaan!" Aaira held on to Akshu's leg. Neil forcefully picked her up. "Mumma! I want my Mumma!" Neil took a screaming Aaira out of the room. She called me Mumma for once. Akshu tried to control her emotions as she turned to look at Abhi who was standing there, with anger visible all over his face. It was as if he didn't even see his beloved daughter leave in hysterics.
"Abhi..." Akshu whispered.
"I'm warning you..."
"Or what, Abhimanyu?" Akshu had enough. "Or what?"
"Tum meri baat suno!"
"No Abhimanyu! Hamesha tum kehto ho aur main sunti hoon toh aaj tum suno. Nahi mujhe batao, kyun nahi mil sakti main apni behn se? Aur mere liye yeh faisla tum kyun karego? I've never told you who you can or can't meet? Abhi, all my life, I lived on my own terms. I made my own decisions. I didn't depend on anyone. Then you came into my life and my love for you and my trust in you is so great that for once I was okay with someone else making decisions for me. Magar iska yeh matlab nahi ke I can't decide anything for myself. I'm a grown adult and I can very well decide for myself what's good for me and what's not. At least have a little faith in me." Akshu said in a hurt voice.
"YOU DON'T KNOW YOUR SISTER!" Abhi screamed.
"I don't know my own sister?" Akshu laughed bitterly. "So now you know my sister better than me? How?"
"Akshu I've heard all about all the things she has done to you and ...."
"And I've lived through all of those things that you only heard about. I've known my sister all my life. I know my history with her better than anyone else. I know what kind of a relationship we shared. I know the dynamics between us. So please don't tell me I don't know my own sister. And I very well know when she's being genuine and not. So please, Abhimanyu. You can't keep me from my sister because of some baseless misunderstanding."
"So now I am baseless!" Abhimanyu laughed . "Fine. I'm telling you again. You want to meet your sister. Meet her. You want to have a relationship with her then have one. But you yourself decide if you want that or you want me and Aaira. Because you are right, you are an adult who can make her own decisions but I'm not going to put my daughter in any risk. Also remember one thing: in our relationship, this is the first time we actually fought and it's because of your sister and then you tell me she is not the one causing any harm."
Akshu smiled at him. "No, Abhimanyu. She's not the reason for this fight. You are. You know I always thought you were different. That you will never ever hurt me. You will never cause me any pain. But because of you, I can't even face myself today. Forget Aaru being my sister, she came to our house as a guest and you behaved in such a way with her that didn't insult her, but insulted me. And now you have gone and asked me pick between you and our daughter or Aaru knowing very well I will never put anyone else before you and Aaira. You have not only insulted me, but also my love and my trust in you."
Abhi took a deep breath. "Akshu...."
"Now please excuse me. My daughter needs me." This time it was Akshu that left the room with her words echoing in Abhi's ears.
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Abhimanyu sat in his room and tried to cool down. He realized he could have handled this better but seeing Aarohi with Akshu in the garden earlier today made him go back to the day of Aaira's birth where he almost lo....no he wasn't going to think about that. He took a shower to cool down and decided to go to the hospital to give Akshu time to cool down as well. He will talk to her more calmly later.
Abhimanyu spent the whole night in the hospital with one case after another. He had forgotten how busy overnight shifts could be given the lack of staff. After Akshu came into his life and especially after Aaira was born, he had stuck to a strict schedule to make sure he was going home at around the same time each day. He remembered how much he struggled as a child when his own father will come home at odd hours so he wanted to make sure Aaira's life was a lot more stable. Given that he was part owner of the hospital, he had the advantage of making a schedule to fit his needs. But this was the first time he was working overnight in the hospital in over 6 years.
By the time he was done, it was 12 noon. He had been working for 16 hours straight. He went home and went straight to his room to find it empty. He checked Aaira's room which was empty as well. Where are they? He knew Akshu will never leave him but his exhaustion was making him think otherwise.
"Maa! Maa!" He called out to Manjiri.
"Kya hua? Abhi tum aa gaye? Lunch lagaon?" Manjiri said to him coldly. He could sense that she was not happy with him.
"Maa, Akshu aur Aaira kahan hain?" Abhi started to panic.
"Kahan jayenge? Aaj Thursday hai toh Aaira school mein hai. Akshu usse pick up karne gayi hai phir dance class le jayegi. Tume toh yeh pata hai."
Dance class. So they won't be back until 3. "Okay, I'll go sleep until they are back. I'm very tired."
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When Abhi woke up, he looked at the time and realized it was 6 pm. He quickly washed his face and went downstairs to search for Aaira and Akshu but only his mother was home.
"Maa...abhi tak nayi aaye?" Abhi started to worry.
"Kaun? Akshu aur Aaira? Woh aaye te magar tum soh rahe the. Phir Akshu chali gayi mall mein Shefali ke saath. Koi costume party hai Aaira ke school mein kal toh woh kuch lene gaye hain. Phir Aaira zid kar rahi thi pizza ki toh Neil aur Nishta bhi saath gaye hain pizza kahne." Manjiri laughed.
Abhi went back to his room and called Akshu but she had left her phone in their room. Abhi shook his head. Akshu still avoided her phone as much as she could. Jaldi ghar aajao I haven't seen you or my princess for almost 24 hours now.
A little while later Anand came home and asked Abhi to meet him in the study to go over a upcoming heart transplant case. By the time they were done discussing, it was 9:30 pm. Way past Aaira's bedtime.
Abhi went to Manjiri and before he could say anything, she started to speak. "Akshu sula rahi Aaira ko. Jab woh ghar aaye toh tum study mein the Bhai-Saab ke saath." Abhi nodded. Even Aaira was aware that when there is a discussion going on in the study, it should not be disturbed.
Abhi went to his room but it was still empty. He went to Aaira's room and softly opened the door. Glow in the dark stars on Aaira's ceiling and an unicorn shaped night light were the only source of light. Abhi tiptoed to Aaira's bed and smiled. Both mother and daughter were peacefully asleep wrapped in each other's arms. A book laid on Akshu's stomach. He picked up the book and placed it on the bookcase. He kissed Aaira's forehead. As usual, a little hair was covering Akshu's face and he gently moved it to behind her ear and kissed her forehead which made her open her eyes. She saw Abhi and almost smiled but then turned around to face Aaira and closed her eyes.
"Jaan. Chalo apney kamre mein? I know you are not comfortable here." Abhi whispered to her. Aaira had a toddler bed which barely had room for Akshu.
"I'm fine. Please let me be. Good night, Abhimanyu."
"Jaan please."
Just then Aaira started to cry in her sleep and grabbed Akshu's top. "Jaan!"
"Mumma yahin pe hai, baby. Shhh...sleep. I'm right here." Akshu patted her and kissed her forehead. "Abhi, please. Aaira bohat mushkil se sohi hai and I promised her I'll sleep with her tonight. Please go and sleep as well."
Abhi went back to his empty room and sat on his bed. Mazey se keh diya Akshu ko to pick you or Aarohi magar kya tum Akshu bine reh sakte bhi ho? He sat there thinking about what actually make him dislike Aarohi to this level. He could never forget the stories he heard about her. But maybe Akshu was right. He only heard about them, he wasn't there. But what about the times when he saw her misbehave with Akshu in front of him? But yes it was also true she has seemed to changed over the years. Yet the accident? He could never forget the accident. He still got nightmares about it. Akshu laying in a pool of blood...no no he won't think about that. But how can he let go of how much his Akshu suffered afterwards? The complicated surgery? Woh kitna tadap rahi thi Aaira ko milne ko. And then when they finally came as a family of three and the many nights Akshu would wake up screaming and crying in pain from the complications of that surgery. It took Akshu almost a year to finally go back to her old self but even now she sometimes complained of backaches. This was the reason Abhi was even against having more kids. As much as he loved Aaira and Aaira was his whole world, he could not risk Akshu going through so much pain again. So yes he wasn't around while Akshu and Aarohi were growing up but he was around to see Akshu suffer after the accident which was because of Aarohi and for that he could never forgive her.
When Abhi woke up the next morning, he realized it was almost 8 am. Aaira will be leaving for school soon. He hasn't seen his little angel in two days and he desperately missed her. He quickly showered and went downstairs.
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Abhi came downstairs to find Parth, Manjiri and Aaira sitting at the dinning table. Aaira was dressed as a purple butterfly.
"...okay now we will take the jam and put it on the bread." Parth was showing Aaira.
"I don't like bwead.” Aaira told him.
"So you just want the jam?" Parth laughed. Aaira nodded.
Abhi stood behind Aaira and kissed the top of her head . "Good morning, meri jaan! Ah! Look how pretty you look today!" Aaira looked up to him, got up, ran and hid behind Manjiri. "Aaira, baby! Aap Papa ko hug nahi doge? I didn't see you all day yesterday. Come show me your costume na!"
Aaira continued to hide behind Manjiri. Abhi got down to his knees and pulled her from her hiding place and she looked at him and started to cry loudly.
"Aaira! Aaira! Meri jaan! Aap Papa se darr kyun rahe ho? Please stop crying." Abhi picked her up.
"Mumma!! Mumma!" She started to scream. Akshu came running from the kitchen.
"Kya hua, meri jaan ko? Aap roh kyun rahe ho?" She watched as Aaira tried to wiggle out of Abhi's arms. Akshu took her from Abhi and went to sit on the couch as Abhi stood at his spot confused. "It's okay, meri jaan. Kya hua? Aap darr kyun rahe ho? Papa hai na....Papa toh apni princess se itna pyar karte hain. Aap Papa se kyun darr rahe ho?" Akshu softly whispered to her to get her to calm down.
Abhi went to Manjiri. "Maa!! Kya hua meri Aaira ko? Why is she so scared of me?" Abhi felt his heart breaking to see his daughter behave this way with him.
"Abhi kya hai na ke jab hum gussa hote hain toh hume aur kuch bhi dikhaye nahi dete. Magar jab maa baap ladte hain na toh sab se ziyada assar bacho pe e hota hai. Aur yeh baat tumse ziyada acha kaun jahnta hai?" Manjiri asked him. "Aaira ko sirf yeh laga ke tum uski Maa pe chila rahe ho aur gussa kar rahe ho. Maa toh maa hoti hai...jaise maa ko bardasht nahi hota ke uske bacho ko koi kuch kahe waise e bache ko bhi bardasht nahi hota ke koi uski maa ko kuch kahe. Jaise tumhe nahi hota agar koi mujhe aankh utha kar dekhe toh. Aaira bohat ziyada darr gayi hai."
"Maa...uss waqt main Aaira ke baare mein soch bhi nahi rah tha." Abhi put his hand on his head. How can he be such an idiot? Now his own daughter is terrified of him. He had promised himself to never repeat the mistakes his father made and now....he went and sat next to Akshu on the couch. Aaira was on Akshu's lap clutching her kurti. "Aaira baby. I'm so sorry! Mujhe gussa nahi hona chaiye tha. Main Mumma se bhi sorry bol raha hoon. Sorry Akshu. Please aap naraz mat ho Papa se."
"Dekha Aaira? Papa ne sorry bhi kaha. Aur waise bhi, Mumma ne aap ko bataya tha na Papa aur Mumma toh game play kar rahe the? Jaise aap, Nishta Bua aur Neil Chachu woh Frozen wale game khelte woh jahan Chachu Olaf hain, aap Elsa aur Bua Anna hai? Jaise Mumma aur Papa bhi aise e game play kar rahe the. Hain na, Abhi?" Akshu smiled at him. Abhi smiled back. Thank you, Akshu.
"Bilkul. Kya Papa apni Jaan pe gussa ho sakte hain?" Abhi asked Aaira.
"Jaan lo kyun lahi thi?" Aaira softly asked Abhi.
"Main kab roh rahi thi?"
"At night when we was sleeping...." Aaira told her. She heard me cry! Damn it, Akshara!
"Baby I think you were dreaming. I think I was snoring and you thought I was crying." Akshu smiled.
"No only Papa snoles!" Aaira exclaimed.
"I snore? When did I snore? Aaira!" Aaira started to laugh. Abhi opened his arms and she ran to him and hugged him. "Mera bacha! Aaj se Papa kabhi bhi woh game nahi play karenge."
"Pomise?
"Pakka wala promise." He kissed her forehead.
"Acha Aaira! Come finish your breakfast now...school bhi jahna hai." Manjiri called her.
"Hurry!" Akshu pushed her towards the dinning room and Aaira ran to Manjiri.
"Thank you, Akshu for handling this. I lov...."
"I only said all that because I don't want to cause my daughter any pain. I don't want her to think badly about the Papa she loves so much. But don't think everything is okay between us, Abhimanyu." She got up and went to the kitchen to finish packing Aaira's lunchbox.
What now! Who is wrong here? Should Akshu let it go or is Abhi really is wrong? Or are they both right in their own ways?
Typos will be fixed later
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