A Typical Indian Bride? [✓]

Dilemma.

A/N:

Thank you my lovely readers for your constant love, admiration and support towards this book. When I started off writing this, all I wanted to do was capture the middle-class housewife life with as much originality as possible.

And today we've reached the 20-th chapter of the book.

Love you all.

Cheers
Rashmi ❤️

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Recap:

But how was I to convince my mother in law?

Already, keeping this huge secret from the family made my heart dance in the plea of guilt. However so, after my honeymoon, my mother in law seemed to appreciate the fact that I was ready to spend more time with my husband and lets me take the burden of the shop work along with him.

Another lie?

I mean, wasn't that something beyond the degree of morality? I could just go back to being a truthful and faithful daughter in law, right? 

My mind peaked a thought, well, desired dream or sculpted values?

CHOOSE.

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

To be very honest, I didn't want to lie anymore. It did take a toll on me. Is it worthy to lie and achieve something in life?

However big and important it may be to us...

But a lie cannot present us with a sense of contentment and satisfaction in what we do. A lie may seem like a saviour today but would be the biggest threat tomorrow. So definitely, if I really needed to go to coaching classes for me to prepare for the entrance exams, I felt, in my bones, that I need to take the permission of my in-laws.

But this led to a disagreement between my husband and me; the first in the many months of our marriage.

He believed that a lie for the better good is not considered as one. Also, he felt that spilling the beans of our secretive intentions would not lead to an approval from his parents. And perhaps maybe, bring an end to it all!

Sadness succumbed every corner of my heart to believe that even my husband realised the fact that it would be beyond impossible to convince my in-laws out of their conventions. I know him to be a supportive man, but I somehow did not want to face this bigger reality that one fine day it may all, actually end.

He too, was a visionary and knew how to play the cards. But again, a lie, to be away from home, for hours, giving false hopes and promises,and dump all the duties that I have to carry out on my mother in law and Rekha, was definitely a questionable deed to me.

How can I equate a selfless act of being a doctor by performing a selfish deed being a daughter in law?

Silence distanced me from the love of my life. After our honeymoon, this was the first time that I did not go to the shop to "aid" my husband. Time was going relatively slow and the heaviness in my heart made me feel the pain with every passing second.

I rested in my room, as emotional dullness definitely reflects on physical weakness. My eyes were sore and so was my body. The cool breeze emanating from the fan was my only source of comfort as I lay my head on the side that my husband usually takes.

I heard a mild knock on the door.

I stood up to receive the person and well, it was my mother in law.

"Bahu, kya hua?

Sab teek hai na?"

"Yes Ma ji. Woh, I am just feeling a little tired."

She immediately made me sit at the edge of our bed and gave me a glass of water from the pitcher nearby.

She touched my forehead to check whether I was running temperature. And lo, from the expression of my mother in law, it seemed that I was.

She called Papaji in a hurry, completely worried. He looked at me and also agreed that I looked too weak.

Before I could even realise what was happening, a great sense of blankness wrapped me.

My eyes felt heavy.

My throat felt parched.

My lips felt dry.

My body felt weak.

I couldn't feel my legs.

My head was throbbing.

A faint beep sound captured the attention of my ears.

Where was I?

I slowly and gently tried to open my eyes.

I found myself on a hospital bed and my husband looking worried sick at me. My mother in law had tears in her eyes and praised the lord that I was awake. I saw an IV connected to my hand and an oximeter to check my vitals.

My father in law rushed to call the doctor.

I turned to look at my husband. He carefully touched my arm.

"Pavi...", he breathed as if his life was dependent on my name.

I couldn't speak. I tried my level best to reach out to his arm and blinked at him.

I love him, period.

Even before I could try and respond to him, a lady doctor, kind looking woman, in her mid forties came to me.

Immediately, Raj ji stood up to give me some privacy. The doctor however stopped him.

My mother in law was new to the concept of a man, even if it were to be a woman's husband, to be a part of a private woman-oriented conversation. I heard her sigh. But she couldn't deny things when the doctor herself requested him to stay.

I felt a sense of elite comfort in his presence. Even though we had our differences he was here, and that mattered the most to me. I didn't let his hand go and for the account, this was the first time that we showed public display of affection, in front of Ma ji.

The doctor asked to to sit upright on the bed and asked me to take deep breaths while she windowed her stethoscope through my chest.

"Doctor, is everything okay?", were my first words in the hospital.

I could feel my husband's arm gently squeeze my hand showing how glad he was to hear me speak.

"What day is today, Pavithra?"

"Umm...5th March?"

The doctor chuckled.

Oh no, have I been unconscious for more than a day?

"I mean, your periods. Has it been late? It seems that way!"

Oh no, where is this going?

"Congratulations Pavithra and Rajeev ji, you are going to be parents..."