The Intern

Part 16

This is a mature story. Only read if you are comfortable.

Abhimanyu Birla:

As soon as Akshu agreed, Abhi asked his mother to confirm the wedding date as soon as possible. He stayed away from his girl for 5 years, he couldn't stand to stay away any longer. After Akshu left, Abhi right away moved to Udaipur stopping by the Goenkas house every day for months in hope of her coming back. He only stopped going there when a new family moved there. Even then, he would visit the old lady, Shanti aunty, that lived across from the Goenkas, at least once a month in case she heard anything.  But for years there was no news yet he never gave up.

For a while, Abhi got frustrated and decided to move on from Akshu. If she didn't care to contact him, why was he so desperate for her? He was Abhimanyu Birla. Girls went crazy over him. Not the other way around. He went on a few dates and even brought the girls back to his house but nothing ever happened. He couldn't do anything. He only wanted his Akshu and Akshu was not replaceable.  So he kept on searching for her.

It was only few weeks earlier when Abhi to visit Shanti Aunty, that he finally found out where Akshu was. As soon as she saw Abhi's car, Shanti Aunty came running out with the biggest smile. "Abhimanyu! My son recently met up with Kairav, Akshu's brother. Kairav told him they now live in Dehradun." Abhi hugged the old lady before trying to retain that information. Dehradun? His hometown. Akshu has been in his hometown all that while? He hasn't been back in years as he couldn't stand his father but now for his precious girl, he will go back. He couldn't help but laugh.

But the biggest shock for him was when he reached home and a few days later, his mother showed him a picture of Akshara.  His Akshu was working at his Mahima Masi's clinic and Mahima had told Manjiri about what a wonderful girl Akshu was. Fate wanted them together, thought Abhi. Of course, he said yes right away and told his mother to take the proposal the same day.  He was dying to see his Akshu again.

Over the years, he often wondered why Akshu left. He knew she didn't leave on her own. He knew that for a fact. His Akshu would never leave him. She loved him too much. She was willing to give up everything for him. He knew her family forced her to go back home. He didn't know how but he knew it was mostly because they wanted her to get married and he was afraid by the time he found her, she might already be married and belong to someone else. That thought kept him up at night.  Akshu being married to someone else, someone else touching her, no. That was something he couldn't bear.  His Akshu only belonged to him and he knew, only he alone owned her heart.

When Abhi saw that Akshu wasn't married yet, he could have danced right there and then. He laughed with joy about being the only one who Akshu ever lived. Maybe she had been waiting for him as well. And now he was going to marry her. His Akshu will officially be his and that too, forever. This time he would make sure she never went away from him.

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Akshara Goenka:

The only condition Akshu had to marry Abhi was that Aarav only stayed with her until the wedding. Anisha didn't agree and threatened to leave the house with Aarav but Kairav put his foot down and made everyone agree to the condition.  Akshu wanted to spend all her time with her baby, to study his every feature, to memorize his every expression. She knew no amount of time will ever be enough but she was grateful for every single second she got with Aarav.

When Akshu found out she was pregnant, at first she was ecstatic. She was having a baby, her Abhi's baby. A symbol of their love. She stared at the pregnancy test sitting in the bathroom of the penthouse, grinning. Abhi and their baby will finally give her the family she had been deprived of since her parents passed away. But soon her joy turned into fear because she knew Abhi will never let her have the baby. He might not force her but he didn't have to. She loved that man so much, she would have jumped from their 24th story balcony if he asked her to, without any questions. She knew he would find a way to convince her. She couldn't let him know and she couldn't let anything happen to her baby either.

It took her weeks of planning, all the while trying to hide her morning sickness and other symptoms from Abhi. She had to behave normally in front of him and let him do whatever he wanted to do with her in bed even if it made her sick to her stomach. She couldn't let him doubt her. Her plan was to leave and go far away to have the baby and raise it alone.

Ever since she got together with Abhi, he never let her spend any money and all her salary sat in her bank account untouched. So she had a fair share of savings. And once Khushi and Siya told her about their trip, Akshu came up with the perfect idea. It would give her enough time to go hide. She made sure to clean up all her evidence before she left. She also made sure to not take anything that Abhi gave her. Except one thing: a cheap seashell bracelet Abhi got her as a joke at a weekend trip they took. It meant a lot to her as it was the first thing he ever bought for her.

By the time she left, she was already 14 weeks pregnant. She was lucky that her petit frame didn't show anything though Abhi did mention to her how pleased he was with her breasts getting bigger all of a sudden and how her new filled hips made her sexier turning him on more. She excused it on a new diet she was on. She left for Udaipur the same day as Khushi and Siya left for their trip. She told Abhi he didn't need to drop her off and she would meet him again in the hospital two weeks later. She took the train to Udaipur hoping to say goodbye to her family before leaving for somewhere else but on the way there, she got violently sick and as soon as she got home, she fainted. A quick checkup from the doctor who came to see her told the family the secret she was hiding from everyone.

Bade Papa right away told her she only had one option and that was to get rid of the baby. She refused which ended up getting her beaten up but she didn't break. Badi Maa and Mimi begged her to tell them the father's name so they could get her married to him and save the family's reputation. She kept her mouth shut. She didn't want to hurt her family but she couldn't lose her baby either. She told them she will go away but at that point she was so sick, she could barely walk to the bathroom without fainting. At the end, it was decided the family will move to their old house in Dehradun while Akshu will go live with her mother's family in Delhi until the baby was born. Once the baby was born, it was to be given to Kairav and Anisha. Akshu's brother and Bhabi struggled with infertility for years and this seemed like a fair deal to everyone. Everyone but Akshu.

Akshu didn't want to give her baby to anyone. It was her Abhi's baby. She decided once she had her baby, she will leave and go somewhere far away. But the labor was long and hard for her tiny body and she was already weak from her difficult pregnancy and as soon as Aarav was born, Akshu lost consciousness from exhaustion. By the time, she woke up, Bade Papa had already taken the baby and left Delhi. Akshu didn't even have a chance to see her son when he was born. For months, she begged her Keerti Bua and Naksh Mamu let her go see her baby but their hands were tied as Bade Papa had given them strict instructions to not let her come. One night, Akshu got up in middle of the night, packed her bag and took the train to Dehradun. Aarav was 5 months old the first time Akshu saw him and held him. He was also legally adopted by Anisha and Kairav and Akshu had no rights over him.

Bade Papa let her stay in the house with the condition that she will never try to be Aarav's mother. She had no choice but to agree just so she could be near her son. Anisha was insecure about having Akshu around and tried to keep Aarav away from her as much as possible but a bond between a mother and her child is the strongest thing in the world and without any effort, Aarav grew to be closer to Akshu than anyone else in the family. He loved his "Akshu Bua" the most and couldn't be without her just like how Akshu couldn't be without him.

Over the years she had many proposals which she rejected all yet now Bade Papa made her agree to marry the same guy who at one point she would have done anything to marry.  But marrying meant leaving Aarav behind. Since the day Akshu found out she was pregnant, Aarav was the only thing that mattered to her. Nobody else even came close. Not even Abhi. Now she had to leave him behind.  Her Aarav, her baby, her heart.  She wondered if she could confess to Abhi and tell him who Aarav really was but she knew he would never accept him and she didn't want her son to grow up knowing his father rejected him.

She often wondered if she could take Aarav and run away. From her family, from Abhi. From everyone. Nobody else mattered in front of Aarav. She didn't need anyone else when she had her baby.  Maybe she could still run away one day.  She had to plan it carefully. Just like how she once planned to run away from Abhi. But this time nobody will find them and separate her from her baby.  Yes, that's what she will do. She will take Aarav and run away before the wedding.

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