The Intern

Part 21

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

Abhimanyu Birla:

On the drive back home, Akshu sat with her head leaned against the window and sobbed with her eyes closed. Abhi wanted to comfort her but he was himself in so much shock and so confused. Was that kid really his? Did he really have a kid? He was having a hard time coming to terms with that. How could he not know? That kid was in front of him all that time and he never realized? So many people mentioned how much he looked like Abhi but Abhi never paid attention because Abhi never had any interest in the kid. But now, he had to be interested. That kid was his. Aarav. His name was Aarav. Aarav Abhimanyu Birla.

He looked over at Akshu who was still silently crying. Why didn't she tell him? He wanted to be angry at her for hiding such a big truth but she looked to be in so much pain and she was so broken, how could he even be angry at her? He was angry though. Her cheek was still red and he wanted to bury every one of those Goenkas to the ground. He won't leave them. How dare they touch his girl? He always treated like she was the most fragile thing in the world. Even at the hospital, he always made sure she was never overworked like the other interns. He always spoiled and pampered her.  It was only in bed, he couldn't help himself but even then, he knew she enjoyed it.

As soon as they got home, Abhi took Akshu's hand and took her to their room. She was still very distressed and both Manjiri and Dadi questioned them but he told them he will talk to them later. He wanted to talk to his wife first. He needed to know why she did what she did and what had happened in the last 5 years. He needed to know everything.

Akshu sat on the chair and sobbed. He sat on foot of their bed and tried to cool down. He had to be calm.  He had to be calm. He kept telling himself.  He still had a hard time processing the fact that he now had a son.  He went and sat on his knees in front of Akshu. 
"Akshu, I need to know everything. Please." He said to her softly. Even though there was a storm raging inside him, he tried to stay calm. He could tell Akshu was already upset and if he got angry, things will just get worst. Akshu looked at him and hugged her knees and cried. "Sweetheart, if you want to get the kid, I need to know everything."
"Aarav. His name is Aarav."
"Yes, Aarav. If you want me to help you get Aarav, you need to tell me everything, okay?"
Akshu nodded but didn't say anything else. This was going to be harder than he thought.  "When did you find out you were pregnant?"
"A few weeks after we came back from Maldives. I'm pretty sure he was conceived there." Akshu said softly, still hugging her knees.
Abhi looked at her for a few seconds. He knew but he hoped she would have said she only found out after she left.  "Baby, why didn't you tell me?"
"I wanted to! I was so happy when I found out. I thought that finally I will have the family I always yearned for, with you and our baby. I wanted nothing else more than us being a happy little family. After Papa and Mama passed away, I was so alone and then you came into my life. When I found out about Aarav, I was on cloud nine. It was a dream come true!" Akshu cried.
"Then? Why did you not tell me?"
"I was scared...."
"Of? Me?" Abhi asked stunned. How could his girl be scared of him?
Akshu nodded.
"Why?"
"I was scared you will make me get rid of our baby." Akshu said almost soundlessly. "Abhi! You have told me so many times that having a child was not an option and if that ever happened, you will have me get rid of it. I fell in love with Aarav the moment I found out about him, I couldn't risk it."
"Akshu, I never forced you to..."
"Did you need to force me to do anything, Abhi?" Akshu asked angrily. "Ask yourself this. Did you need to force me to do anything? You just had to ask me and you know I would have done anything you asked of me. I changed my whole self for you. I dressed how you wanted me to dress, I did what you wanted me to do. I loved you so so so much, Abhi! You might not have forced me to get rid of the baby but I knew if I stayed with you, you would convinced me to. You never wanted a baby. You made that clear many times."
Abhi looked at Akshu and knew she was right. If she had told him, he would have convinced her to get rid of the kid.  He would have never agreed. He also knew she would have done it for him. He always took pride in the fact that his girl never said no to him. Was he the one who forced Akshu to leave? Was it because of him she left?
"Abhi!" Akshu continued. "Trust me, I never wanted to leave you. It was one of the hardest thing I had to do and sometimes....sometimes I wish I stayed and somehow convinced you instead. If only I knew what was to be followed. I regret leaving you every single day. I loved you so much, I still do.  But..."
"But what?"
Akshu wiped her tears off. "I also know the love I had for you was one-sided. Abhi, please." Akshu stopped him. "I know you said you love me now but you can't deny that before I was just an intern for you that you passed your time with, a toy. I was just your bed warmer."
"My what? Akshu! How dare you say that?" Abhi got up angrily.
Akshu laughed bitterly. "That's not the truth? I know what you were like, Abhi. Everyone at the hospital had stories. I heard them many times but I ignored them because I loved you. I wanted to believe it was different with us. But at the end, I realized it wasn't."
Abhi walked away from Akshu and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He knew Akshu was right. When he first saw her, she was a new toy for him to play with. It was the lust he had for her that made him go after her but somewhere, he really did start caring for her and eventually fell for her. But how would she know? He never told her.

"When you left, did you go straight to your family?" Abhi asked her after a few minutes. "I went to Udaipur as soon as I realized you had left but nobody was there."
"Ya. I wanted to see my family one last time before I went somewhere else to raise our baby. It was hard to hide my symptoms from you but I managed to do it so I thought I could do the same for a few days in front of my family. But the train ride was hard for my body and by the time I reached home, I was so sick. Badi Maa called a doctor and the doctor right away told everyone that I was pregnant."
Abhi could imagine how her family might have reacted. "They surely weren't happy."
Akshu laughed. "Before I left for Mumbai, Bade Papa gave me strict instructions to stay away from boys and I came back home, pregnant. He was furious. He told me right away I had to get rid of the baby. When I refused, his anger got out of control so he beat me up until I was black and blue. I really thought I was going to die or I'll lose my baby and if Mimi didn't stop him, that would have happened." Akshu shuddered.
He just sat there in shock. He was horrified. He didn't want to hear anything else but he had to know what else happened. "What happened then? Did he agree?"
"Of course not. But Mimi told him maybe this was a blessing in disguise. Bhaiya and Bhabi were struggling to have a baby so maybe I could give my baby to them. I was against it. That was my baby. That was my Abhi's baby!"
Abhi couldn't help but smile at her but then he felt like someone had punched him in the guts. His girl went through so much for his baby because she loved him. All because of him.
Akshu continued. "I was too weak to fight but I decided as soon my Aarav was born, I'll leave. I already knew it was a boy. I had a dream of you and me on the beach at Maldives playing with a little boy who looked just like you and his name was Aarav." Akshu smiled lost in her thoughts. "So I knew. He was going to be a boy and I'll name him, Aarav.  But Bade Papa took me to Delhi to stay with my Mamu and for months, I couldn't get out of bed. He had beaten me up so badly, I still have pain on my backside. On top of that, Aarav arrived a few weeks early and his labor was long. 32 hours to get exact and when he finally started to come out, I felt like my body was going to be ripped in half. The pain was unbearable and I was so exhausted. I wanted to give up but I had to keep fighting.  Finally when I heard Aarav's cry, I closed my eyes and went to sleep."
Abhi looked at her in awe. His delicate, precious girl. He never realized how strong she was.  He felt proud and heartbroken at the same time. She didn't have to go through this and he should have been there with her.
"When I woke up, Aarav was gone. Bade Papa took him and left. I didn't have a chance to see my baby. I didn't get to hold him. Abhi, they didn't even let me hold my baby." Akshu cried. Abhi got up and sat next to her hugging her. He stroked her head. He was so angry at that point that he was glad none of the Goenkas were in front of him.
"When did you come here from Delhi?"
"When Aarav was 5 months old. I wanted to come the very day I woke up but my body wasn't strong enough. For 5 months, I called every day crying and begging them to bring my baby back but Bade Papa wouldn't listen. Aaru would secretly send me pictures of Aarav but Bhabi found out and put a stop to it.  One night, I got up and packed my bags and took the first train and got here. Bade Papa was furious and wouldn't let me inside the house but Bhaiya, Mimi and Badi Maa begged him. He finally agreed with the condition that I'll never try to be Aarav's mother.  I didn't agree. I wanted to take my baby and leave but I found out that Bhaiya and Bhabi had legally adopted Aarav so now I had no rights over my son. I didn't have any resources to fight back, no support, no money.  The only way I could stay near him was to agree to Bade Papa's condition." Akshu sighed and put her head on his shoulder.  "You know what's funny, Abhi?? Bhabi tried her hardest to keep me away from Aarav but I'm his mother! Aarav had terrible colic as a baby and used to cry all night long in pain. Nothing helped him.  One night, I forcefully took him from Bhabi and in desperation, started to sing to him while rocking him. He stopped crying." Akshu smiled. "After that, nothing could stop me from going near him. No amount of taunts. No amount of beatings. Nothing. Abhi, but now I'm tired. I just want my baby. I'm so tired of fighting. So so tired." Akshu closed her eyes.  They sat there in silence for what seemed like forever. Akshu lost in her thoughts and Abhi trying to process everything he was just told.

This was too dialogue heavy, but Abhi had to know what happened.  75 likes for next part