Khwahish

Twenty six

                 Seven months later

She stepped inside the house, very thankful for the warmth as it was freezing outside. She hated cold and now here she is. Living in it. Mahira pulled her coat off and hung it on the rack. She stepped further inside the house and sighed. It was too quiet and empty.

She walked towards the bedroom and found him there. Lying on the bed, unmoving. His eyes, she missed looking into those hazel eyes. His hands were lying on his sides. She missed his touch. She missed how he used to fuck her brains out but not anymore. She missed it all. She sniffed lightly, blinking back her tears as she walked in further.

She sat at the corner of the bed, and caressed his face. His hair has grown longer.  She leaned forward and laid her head on his chest. His heartbeat was low. Very quiet. She closed her eyes. "I miss you Ruhaan. I really do. All the time. It's been so long since you talked to me, or you touched me. I miss everything so much." Tears fell down her eyes quietly.

"I fall asleep for two hours, and you act like I've been in a coma for years." She got up from his chest and looked at him with narrowed eyes. He opened his eyes and rolled them the next second. He sat up on the bed. "I talked to you this morning and I touch you all the bloody time."

"That was too long ago, it was hours. You never let me have my moment. Here." she threw the mail on the bed beside him, got up and left the room. Ruhaan laughed. His wife has a thing for dramatics. But it's fine. It's not like he doesn't enjoy it. He got up from the bed and freshened up. He had come back from the office early today and he was tired so he took a nap until his wife made a whole ass soap- opera out of it.

He walked out of his room and down the staircase. They lived in London now. More like on the countryside with less people. Mahira loved the house and everything but if there was one thing she hated, it was cold. And her great husband had to shift to London of all the places in the world. Mahira was in the kitchen, stirring a pot. Ruhaan stood at the door and watched her.

"What are you making, honey?"

"Pasta." She huffed.

"Okay, why are you angry?" Mahira looked at him with a confused face. "I am not angry." Ruhaan nodded with a sarcastic smile. "Your face is all red and you are huffing like an angry bird."

She glared at him. "I am not angry. I am pregnant. I get tired easily."

"Fair enough." She rolled her eyes at him and turned around. Ruhaan went closer to her and pulled her towards a chair near the counter. "I'll cook. You relax." She smiled when he kissed her forehead. Her mood changes in an instance these days. Hormones.

"Ruhaan?"

"Yeah baby?"

"Do you not miss home?" He stopped chopping the onions and looked at her. He smiled lightly.

"Ofcourse I do baby. And not just home, I miss all of them. But everyone chose for themselves. Riya lives with Ishaan in another house. Sagar needed space so he moved to another country. We stayed there honey, you were there. But Sahil got alot more quieter than before. Sagar is his sibling, no matter how much we try, he has always been closest to Sahil and with him gone, Sahil didn't like that house either. And then-"

"Then he moved out as well, and that house felt too empty." He nodded at her words.

"Just because we don't live in the same house anymore doesn't mean we lost touch. We are still a family, we still talk and we love each other. Now you stop distracting me, I need to feed my wife and child." He kissed her lips and palmed her belly.

Mahira was five months pregnant and she loved pasta. They eat it everyday now. Another thing that happened is her appetite increased. She eats all three of her meals and a snack or two in between. Ruhaan served her a plate of her favorite and immediately dived in.

Later at night, Mahira stood infront of the mirror in her night dress, admiring her belly. "You've started to love the mirror now, haven't you?" Ruhaan sat on the bed with his laptop, working.

"I never thought I'd be this happy about my stomach getting bigger." She walked towards the bed and sat down beside him. She missed her own mother. Even her father. He died a month after dadi's death and that was another heartbreak for her.

They had moved here after that. She had no interest in dealing with the grim reaper.

She turned to her husband, "My doctor said that it'll start moving soon." She looked so happy and excited about it. A smile broke out on his face as he rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip, before leaning forward to steal a kiss. She smiled into the kiss and pouted when he pulled away.

Ruhaan put his laptop away and then pulled Mahira's feet in his lap. This was a routine. He massaged them every night, since his poor wife was always in pain due to swollen feet. He remembers when she told him that she was pregnant. They both wanted kids but her pregnancy came unannounced. It was a good thing considering how everything around them was sad. Their baby was a ray of sunshine. And Mahira had done nothing but jump up and down in happiness until Ruhaan calmed her down and gave her strict instructions of expressing her happiness while sitting.

Riya had been really happy when she had gotten to know. If she could jump out of the phone, she would. Sagar and Sahil were also very happy. Children do bring joy to everyone. Sahil even sent them a list of names he liked for his niece/nephew.

Mahira stared at her husband with a bright smile on her face. She never imagined a life with him. Not when he was her best friend's brother, definitely not when he was her enemy, not even when he was technically her husband. He seemed like a man who would never see her for who she was. But he did. He even saw the parts she didn't know existed.

She forwarded her hand to caress his cheek. "I love you." He stopped what he was doing and looked at her. She has never said that before, neither has he. He does love her, Ofcourse he does. Even though she was the last person he would've ever imagined to fall in love with, he did. She is a wonderful person, she is the best wife he could've asked for, and now she will be the mother of their children. She was kind, and sweet. Everything that he wasn't. She brought out a tenderness in him that he didn't know existed. He just never said it because he was afraid she didn't feel the say way.

"Say it again."

"I love you Ruhaan. Thank you for not giving up on me."

She turned her face away from him and blinked. She was tired of crying all the time. Ruhaan cupped her face and made her look at him.

"I love you Mahi. You've brought me so much happiness. Thank you for being with me." She nodded at his words.

"Oh and, thank you for being my baby daddy." He looked at her with a blank face and then nodded very sincerely. "You're most welcome baby."

                                🦋

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