Making You Mine

thirty eight - forgiveness and forwardness

It was early next morning, just before breakfast when Rosa knocked on their bedroom door. "Ma'am, Sir, there is someone here to visit you."

Akshara looked at Abhimanyu in confusion, who tried to play it off cool, knowing full well who was coming to visit Akshara. Abhimanyu and Akshara got up from their bed, fixed their clothes and stepped into the living room, to greet their guests.

"Bade Papa? Badi Mama? Mimi? Kairav bhaiya?" She glanced at Abhimanyu who stared back at her with a stoic expression on his face.

Unable to stop herself, Akshara ran forward and embraced each of her family members, trying her best not to cry. Abhimanyu gave Manish Goenka a subtle head nod, letting him know he did good.

"How are you, my sweetheart?" Mimi embraced Akshara, kissing the top of her forehead. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." Akshara felt tears rolling down her eyes. "You guys are staying for breakfast, right?" She blurted.

"Only if you want us to." Bade Papa answered, after gaining a nod of approval from Abhimanyu.

"We heard the good news. You're pregnant?" Badi Maa popped the question, leaving Akshara in surprise.

"How did you...?" She looked over at Abhimanyu in question who just shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Abhimanyu came to visit me in my office. He...he loves you a lot, Akshara. He...he returned his shades of Goenka Diamonds just so...we'd go back onto a clean slate. He did that for you...your happiness...and the baby." As much as it pained him to speak the truth, there was not an ounce of doubt in anyone's mind, not even his, that Abhimanyu Birla was head over heels in love with his granddaughter. And Manish Goenka had to accept the hard truth, and respect the man for his conviction.

Akshara looked over at Abhimanyu with moist eyes. "Abhi..." She broke free from the embrace of her great grandmother as she walked towards the love of her life. Her throat constricted upon hearing what Abhimanyu had done for her.

"I saw the way you were looking at that family in the hospital. So I made it happen." He whispered to her, kissing the top of her head, affectionately.

"I love you." She whispered, knowing full well her words would never be enough to convey her feelings for him. To him.

"You saved me, Akshara. Saved me from drowning in my own despair, in my loneliness. There is nothing, absolutely nothing in the world I would not do for you." He informed her, straightforwardly so there was not an ounce of doubt at his intent.

"Now go. Have fun. Get pampered." He pushed her towards her waiting family, wanting her to be the star hogging all the limelight, whilst he stayed in the shadows, guarding her.

~*~

"Akshara! What are you doing?! Get down from there!" Abhimanyu scolded, his voice booming loudly over the light music surrounding the room. His blood pressure rising to the brink of madness, and his heart close to failing as he came across Akshara standing on a ladder, painting on the walls of the nursery.

"Wha..." Abhimanyu's rabid screams distracted a focused Akshara as she turned around to look where her fiancé stood only to have her foot accidentally slip, causing a near fall.

"Abhi!" Akshara screeched in horror only to find herself tucked safely in the crux of Abhimanyu's arms, her safety net for life.

She wrapped her hands around him and nestled her face into the curve of his neck, trying to calm herself down from the horror she had seen flash in front of her eyes.

"It's okay. I got you. Always." He hushed to her, kissing the top of her head.

Once Abhimanyu heard Akshara's breathing had stabilized, he let go out of her and gently placed her on the ground, making sure she was standing up straight before he let go of his hold on her.

"What were you doing?! You could've gotten hurt!"

"But I didn't! Get hurt that is! I was doing fine until you decided to scare me with those loud baritone voice of yours!"

Abhimanyu pinched the bridge of his nose trying to calm down. "What is it that you were trying to do? You know you shouldn't be doing daredevil stunts at 5 months pregnant."

"I was just trying to paint stars on the nursery walls. See?!" Abhimanyu followed Akshara's wondrous gaze around the cream coloured room to see she as paining sparkly golden stars on one end of the wall.

His eyes twinkled as he took in their baby's nursery. It was currently empty, with the baby's furniture nicely packed away in storage until Akshara could the nursery painted with the colours and designs of her choice.

"Do you like it?" She asked eagerly.

"It's beautiful." And it really was. Everything about the nursery was close to perfection as perfection could be.

"Exactly. So let me finish. I only have a few more stars to paint."

"Uh huh. No. You are not getting on that ladder. I forbid you." Abhimanyu began taking off his coat and threw it onto the ground. He than began folding the sleeves of his shirt upwards so they rested right at his elbows.

"Abhimanyu, you're going to get your clothes dirty." Akshara warned him.

"I don't care. I'm not letting you get on that ladder again. So hand me over the brush, woman. I got stars to paint." Abhimanyu quipped as he climbed on the ladder with the paintbrush in hand. "You just stand back, and guide me. Okay?"

"Okay." Akshara smiled, resting her hand on her stomach.

Akshara watched with renowned appreciation for Abhimanyu in her eyes as she guided him into painting the stars in their baby's nursery. From not wanting anything to so with the baby to now himself stepping up to decorating the baby's nursery, her Abhimanyu had come a long way.

~*~

It was about 8pm, when Abhimanyu looked down from painting stars on little Bean Birla's wall to see Akshara had found her place on the ground, paining over little blank canvases, showing her artistry skills.

As he continued to paint, he heard the first drop of Akshara's magical voice as she began humming to herself, filling the room with twinkle of music. He had always known Akshara was musically inclined but never had he heard her sing.

Abhimanyu finished painting the stars on the wall and stepped down from the ladder, following Akshara's melodious voice, enough to put him in a trance. As he found his seat beside her, he saw she had painted various Disney characters onto little canvases, ready to hand them around the baby's room.

He leaned in, tucking Akshara's hair behind her was as she continued to hum to herself. She looked up at him and paused, raising her eyebrows in question. Abhimanyu shook his head in retaliation, his eyes soft with affection.

"It's the first time I heard you sing." He blurted.

"Yeah, I sing. Sometimes." She whispered, shyly.

"You should do it more often." He persuaded her, making Akshara blush.

Akshara then pulled Abhimanyu's hand forward and painted his palm with blue paint. Abhimanyu watched in confusion, as she slammed his and down on a white canvas, creating an imprint of his hand. She then covered her hand in pink paint and imprinted her tinier hand over Abhimanyu's large one creating a gradient of blue and pink ink. Inside, she painted the outline of a little bean shape with a handwritten letter A sitting in the dead middle surrounded by the bean and Abhimanyu and Akshara's handprints covering it, protecting it.

Abhimanyu glanced at the canvas in amazement, feeling overwhelmed by Akshara's thought process for the painting.

"Abhi?" She frowned at him, concerned.

Speechless, Abhimanyu did not know what else to do except lean in and capture her mouth in a soul searing kiss. Their tongues mingled with perfect amounts of love, affection, and need as he gently paused Akshara flat onto her back and crawled over her, overcome with his desire to have her.

His hands moved to her bottoms, quickly ridding her her underwear along her pants and then his, before he pushed inside of Akshara with one swift movement. He pressed his temple to hers, holding onto her for his dear life as he continued to pump in and out of her, relishing on their closeness.