The Addiction of Love

XIII

Avira washed her hands after reaching home and got to cooking. She had discovered that Ashar's all time favorite was chicken lasagna and that's what she was making for him.

It took her about half an hour to get done with everything. Layering every component, she put lots of cheese on the top and then put the baking dish in the oven for twenty minutes.

Then she went to the living room and took out a balloon pump to inflate light blue and pink balloons. She decorated the living room with those balloons and then hung a banner that said 'We are expecting.'

She checked the time and it was almost time for Ashar to come home. She went to her room and changed into a beautiful red colored suit. It was loose but still somehow accentuated her lean figure.

She had to wait for almost fifteen minutes before Ashar got home. He unlocked the door with his keys and entered. But as soon as his eyes fell on the scene of the living room, his steps halted. He was shocked to see the decorations along with his beautiful, pregnant wife.

"Surprise," She said with a smile.

He said nothing in response.

Avira cleared her throat. "Ashar, I know I've been a bad wife for the past few days, and even a worse mother to our unborn child. I am ashamed of how I've treated you and our baby and I can't tell you how sorry I am." She wiped the tears that filled her eyes.

"Just saying sorry won't change all those words that I said that day, but if you could find it in your heart to forgive me and give me another chance, I'd spend the rest of my life proving to be the best wife to you and mother to our children. You were right, this baby is a blessing to us from Allah, and we should accept it with open arms. And that's what I'm going to do. I promise to fill our baby's life with all the love and warmth that I'd be capable of." Her voice cracked in the end and she palmed her mouth to control her sob.

Ashar couldn't see her crying in front of her. He wasn't that strong, so he covered the distance between them and hugged her close to his heart. As soon as his familiar cologne hit her, she broke down. She had missed being in his arms so much.

"I.. I am sorry," She said against his chest, crying.

"Shh, it's okay. It is in the past." He kissed his forehead and comforted her.

After their hearty reunion, they went to have dinner. Avira fed him his favorite lasagna with her own hands. Later, when she asked him if he liked the surprise, he kissed her senselessly followed by a long lovemaking session to show her just how much he had loved it.

As Avira slept peacefully cuddling him, he laid there looking at her. It gave him so much peace to see her sleeping in his arms after so many days. He had not had one proper sleep with her not beside him. He pecked her lips and placed his palm on her stomach before shutting his eyes.

The next day, they took an appointment with a gynecologist and went for her first check up. The doctor informed them that she was five weeks pregnant and both the mother and child were absolutely fine. After that, they called up their parents to give them the good news. And as expected, their happiness knew no bounds. Mariya and Bushra even started to think of baby names.

Avira went to the office, and also informed Antara about her pregnancy. Avira didn't know how Antara would react, but to her surprise, she was really happy about it and congratulated her. While coming back from the office, instead of heading home, Avira went to make up to another person whom she'd hurt.

Nandini opened her front door and found Avira standing outside with Chinese takeout in one hand and another pink colored box, which Nandini knew was cheesecake, in the other.

Nandini folded her hands on her chest and questioningly looked at her best friend.

"I am here to apologize for the other day. And what better way would there be to say sorry to you than Chinese and cheesecake?" Avira nervously said.

"Did you get the chilly chicken with extra chilly?" Nandini asked.

Avira gave her a full blown smile. "Yes, and I even got you your favorite spring rolls."

They both went inside and spent the evening eating their favorite food, talking about everything that happened over the last few days. Nandini was glad that Avira realised things before it was too late and was really happy for her. Avira also showed her the first sonogram and Nandini cooed over it. Avira knew that the baby was going to be so loved by everyone, but mostly by his mother.

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A few days later when Avira reached her office cabin, she was surprised. There had been a few changes made there. Her regular chair was replaced with another, more comfortable looking chair, the corner of her cabin that had a huge shelf with files was cleared and now there was a huge empty space there.

"Do you like it?" Avira heard Antara's voice and turned around.

"What is all this?"

"Well, now that you're pregnant, I thought you must need a more comfortable space. So I ordered a maternity chair for you. And I had the file area cleared for you. After that baby arrives, we'll get you a cot so that you can come to the office with the baby without any worry." Antara told her.

Avira was touched by her care and hugged her. "Thank you so much."

"There's no need for thank you. You've done so much for this company, now it is time that this company did something for you."

Avira felt so blessed having such loving people in her life. She thanked her khuda numerous times for such a blissful life.

Ashar had overtaken all the responsibility of the cooking and other chores and didn't let Avira even lift a finger. Her colleagues also made sure that she had her food and medicines on time. The Paris Fashion Show date was coming closer, so the stress was building everyday. Everyone at Fashionista was so determined to make it a success and had given their best.

Only a week was left for the show. Avira was 16 weeks along now and her bump had slightly started to show. The doctor had said that it was safe for her to travel. Just as Ashar had promised months ago, he was going with Avira to Paris. The official trip was of four days, but since Avira and Ashar had not been to their honeymoon, they had decided to stay three more days there. After that, they'd come back to India but instead of coming to Delhi, they'd be going to Bangalore. It was Moiz's convocation ceremony and they wanted to be there for him on his big day.

Mariya and Bushra had given them a long list of dos and don'ts and especially told Ashar to take care of Avira and the baby. While on the other hand, Mahira had given them a list of things to bring for her from Paris. Avira was really excited about it as it was her first time visiting the city of love. And she really hoped that their show would turn out to be a success.

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We're heading towards the end. One chapter to go before epilogue.

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