His Dusk, Her Dawn

Chapter 32. Family

"Say Dadda."

"D... da... d... d... daa!"

"No, baby, say 'Dadda'. Come on, you can do it."

"Da... doo... d... dooo... da... Da... Dadda!"

I picked up my one and a half year old daughter and hugged her. I had already managed to teach her how to call me "Papa" and "Daddoo", so it was music to my ears when she came out victorious in calling me "Dadda".

I tickled my baby's small tummy, her giggles resonating throughout the room. Her dark brown eyes twinkled in happiness as I held her up and flew her like Hanuman Ji.

"Here comes the mightiest of mighty, Vidhya Ved Rajput!"

Vidhya laughed as I flew her around the room. Her short, dark, curly hair swayed around, and she babbled in baby voice for another round.

"Daddoo..."

"Yes, my baby."

"Daddoo..."

"Yes, baby."

"Daddoo... Mumma!"

Mumma?

I instantly pulled Vidhya down and acted like I wasn't just flying her around in her room.

"Do not tell your mom anything, okay?" I told Vidhya.

She nodded and started playing with her soft toys. Somehow my daughter's ears worked at superhuman ability. She sensed her mother's presence before Sandhya even entered the room.

"So, is the daddy and daughter's playtime over, or should I make another appointment?" Sandhya teased as she picked up our daughter.

Vidhya snuggled with her mother, and I winked at Vidhya. She gave a secret smile to me and tried to distract her mom.

Sandhya talked to her for some time before she turned to me and looked at me in accusation.

"What?" I asked.

"As if you don't know~" Sandhya shook her head. "When are you going back to work, Mr. Rajput?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Who cares? I wanna spend time with my kid, so I took a leave. I have efficient colleagues to rely on."

I extended my arms to take Vidhya, but Sandhya swatted my hands away. She hugged Vidhya closely and pouted.

"If you will spend all the time with her, then what will I do? Vidhya says 'Papa, papa' even when you are not here. And when you are, you keep her busy all the time. What about me? Am I not her mother?"

"See, Vidhya, your mother is whining again. I haven't stopped her from playing with you, but what can I do if you love me more than your mother?" I asked jokingly.

Vidhya giggled as Sandhya pulled my cheek for making fun of her. She kissed Vidhya's forehead and gave her to me.

I noticed her looking at us lovingly when I embraced my daughter and caressed her curly hair.

"Are you jealous?" I teased Sandy Pandy.

Sandhya stared at us, a small satisfying smile playing on her lips. She ignored my first question and inched closer.

"Ved, your whole time is spent with Vidhya. You are such a great father, but... What will you do when we have more kids?" Sandhya asked seriously.

"What's that question supposed to mean?~" I asked as I tickled Vidhya's nose.

"I mean, you keep taking long leaves just to play with our daughter. I am at home most of the time to take care of her, but you still wanna take most of the responsibility. You were already doing more than enough during pregnancy and after birth too. Aren't you tired?"