Mine

Chapter 27

A few months passed... Somewhere in Kullu Manali...

Major Asfandyaar was wrapping up his work soon as his heavily pregnant wife was rushed to the hospital for delivery. He was waiting for his subordinates to report to duty so he could rush to the hospital. Luckily, one of his subordinates clocked in a bit earlier, so he briefed the to-do tasks of the day and departed straight to the hospital. He was very restless and tired because he was unable to sleep last night due to his ad-hoc duty. While reaching the hospital, he tried his best to show a strong facade, however, he was failing miserably, especially after hearing her painful screams at each contraction. He was sweating profusely while entering the labour room. His wife was sweating mess. The front-liners were busy attending to her. Only one of the nurses noticed his presence, inquired him and later let him in when he said that she's his wife. With much difficulty, she gave a final push where her husband received their baby girl. Everyone in the room was congratulating the couple and he noticed his wife Armeena was slowly falling into slumber. He was tensed but the doctor assured him it is normal to pass out after the delivery. Upon cleaning the baby and the mother, the nurses passed his newfound joy to him. He hugged her close to his heart mumbling, 'mashallah! Abbu ki pyaari sehzaadi!' He knew he has to protect his beautiful daughter from every evil.

His wife slowly gained consciousness and she opened her eyes with difficulties as it was too bright and she was realised she was transferred to another ward. She eyed around and found her husband watching their daughter intently with full of adoration. She could feel the possessiveness in his gaze. It's nothing new to her as he was always possessive of her and now of his daughter. It is no doubt that he will be a great father to their baby girl. When their baby wailed for milk, he stood there flabbergasted because he didn't know what to do. Then only he realised that his wife was awake. 'Asfi, bring her to me. She needs feeding.' Her voice broke his trance, 'acha... wait I will pass her to you.' After the feeding session, she made sure the baby burped and put her back on the crib. After a while she asked her husband, 'have you informed her? When is she coming?' 'In all chaotic and emotional elation, I forgot to inform her. Wait, I will do it now.' 'You better do that first, she will surely kill you if you fail to inform her. Also, please bring her home. From now onwards, I want her to stay with us.' She ended her conversation like a command.

He went out to inform his bestie about his bundle of joy. After a while, when he returned to the ward, he was notified by the nurse to name their baby. He looked at his wife and daughter while saying, 'Haya... Noor Haya Asfandyaar Malik.' His wife was happy that he chose such a sweet and meaningful name for their daughter.  The next day, his colleagues and their relatives visited them to give blessings and wish to the new parents. The following day both mother and daughter were let go home. Though she was happy with all the visitors, there was one person she was looking forward to seeing and that is Nidhi.           

She knew Nidhi well as Asfi, Meena and Nidhi were besties from elementary years. She knew how protective Asfi was of her and especially Nidhi because of her soft nature. She was like a little sister from a different mother. He adored her equally as he adored his other brothers. They were always together in every thick and thin. Nidhi was always an optimist who spreads positivity. She would stay positive in tough times. She was a reliable friend. She always used to give. She's flexible and sensible. Also, she was loved by many people. She is not manipulative, but when she asks for help people wouldn't deny her. That's her charm! But what she saw three months back was really heart wrecking. She saw their bestie in a pathetic and devastating state. She wasn't like that. All broken and shattered. Albeit, having problems in her life, she didn't mention anything about it, and in the next few days, she came arisen with a new spirit and enthusiasm. She just mentioned she was married and she had some problems in her married life. However, every time when she tried to talk to Nidhi about her problems, she dodged the topic effortlessly. Armeena understood that Nidhi needs time to open up to her, so she didn't pursue her further. She knows Nidhi well. She will talk only when she's ready.

Armeena also noticed that whenever Nidhi talks about her husband, she blushes and addresses him fondly. Her face showed different radiance whenever there was mention of him. Seeing Nidhi, she understood that both husband and wife adore each other dearly and also her husband is really possessive about her. They are totally whipped and smitten by each other. Armeena was unaware of her husband's status. She knew his name is Abhimanyu and he is a lawyer by profession, but she doesn't know his surname. She didn't even bother to ask about it nor she inquired about him to her husband. All she wants was their bestie's life to get back on a proper track. Especially now when she is pregnant and became visually impaired, Armeena wants Nidhi to be with them and she wants to be there for her. For some unknown reason, Nidhi didn't want to stay with them and she wants to be independent like before, though it is rather hard. Armeena just wants Nidhi to be safe and stress-free. Therefore, she didn't ask anything about Nidhi's problems and she told the husband to do the same. Until the present, both Asfandyaar and Armeena are oblivion of what had happened to Nidhi.

There were many cliffhangers like where is her husband? Why she did the corneal transplant? Why her family abandoned her and almost planned to kill her? Why wanted to stay away from everyone? Why her perfect life became a mess within a year? However, they kept quiet not wanting to stress her. When they tried to approach her family they denied her rights as their family and even gave them a cold shoulder. Her husband was still in the hospital but when Nidhi found we were inquiring about her back in Dehli, she fumed in anger and told us to not bother anyone. She also told us she will tell us when she is ready. Pregnancy hormones, I presume. We came back empty-handed with very little clue that her life is now a total mess.