by your side ! [Completed✓]

33. Questions

EIGHT YEARS SKIP---

JEEVIKA

It was Pihu's wedding today. Everything went on smoothly. After the marriage was over, there was still time for vidaai. Everyone was resting after a tired day. I was sitting in the hall with Arhaan, Arjun, Annu and few of the guests.

One lady whom I didn't even knew questioned me, "Aap Shrivastava sahab ki badi bahu hai na?".

I nodded my head and bent down to touch her feet along with 3-4 women sitting along with her. She kept her hand on my head.

Then she opened her mouth to speak again, "Kitna saal hua aapki shadi ko?".

I replied, "Ji- 8 saal".

"Achaa.. aur bache?". I shook my head in negative.

"Aaj kal ke modern bache hain", she said to the lady sitting beside her.

"Ab toh kafi samay hogaya beta shadi ko, sochna chaiye aapko iss baare me", the another woman spoke.

I nodded my head. Arjun and annu was making weird faces while looking at her.

"Yes beta, there was a girl in my neighbourhood. She faced a lot of problems in conceiving. She was of your age only"..."aapko bhi toh kahi problem nahi horaha?". Tears started forming in my eyes.

"Nahii", a cold voice came from behind. "When we'll have one, I'll make sure to invite you all in the function". Arhaan. He says the same to everyone who asks me this question.

He took my hand in his and took me away from there. He took me to our room and made me sit down on the bed. He kneeled down in front of me and placed his hands on my lap. He calmed me down.

He came and sat beside me and side hugged me. I lied down on the bed and rested for sometime. I wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. I felt so uncomfortable here, if if I wasn't able to breathe. This wasn't the first time someone was asking me this question.

The entire wedding someone or the other asked me this question and I didn't had any answer for them. Soon the vidaai ceremony started. Pihu was crying a lot. She hugged everybody and took everyone's blessings.

She came to me and hugged me tightly. I didn't wanted her to go because she was the only little sister I had by my side. I cried a lot while hugging her. She too was crying loudly. Then she shifted her gaze to Arhaan who was standing beside me.

I knew he was going to cry a lot. The day he came to know about Pihu's wedding, he became so emotional that day. But after that he involved himself in the preparations of her wedding and tried his best to forget about it.

But today is the final day. The day his sister is leaving him. Pihu hugged Arhaan tightly. They hugged each other tightly and started crying. I was rubbing Arhaan's back continuously. I know he tries to be strong but he isn't when it comes to his family.

They held each other so tightly. Arjun came from back and hugged Arhaan and Pihu tightly. The trio cried together and everyone became emotional after seeing them in this condition. After few minutes they calmed themselves down.

Pihu left us after some minutes and we were left behind with tears in our eyes.

After everyone had their lunch in the afternoon, we kept our luggage in the car and left for our home.

We reached our home and went to our respective rooms.

Arhaan sat on the bed. He was clearly restless. He hadn't even had his lunch. I sat beside him. He placed his head on my lap. I kept on caressing his head until he fell asleep.

I placed myself on the bed and shifted him beside me. I placed his head on my chest and held him. He hugged me like a kid and slept in my embrace.

I slipped into chain of my thoughts again.

Me and Arhaan.

As a couple. We were good enough. I don't know. He still supports me in everything. He still gets angry whenever someone points a finger on me. He still can't see tears in my eyes. And me?

I too cannot see tears in his eyes. I too care about him. But is the 'love' part still between us? I don't know the answer. It's not that we aren't together. I feel the 'love' part towards him. But I'm no more able to express it.

He has been extra supportive to me since the day our gynaecologist said that it will be hard for me to conceive.

Yes. We started trying for a baby just after our first anniversary. I knew sometimes conditions gets worse after a woman crosses her certain age limit. So we wanted it to be soon.

But here we're, after 8 years of our marriage, childless.

Arjun and Annu got married 4 years after our marriage. They had a great wedding. We really enjoyed a lot and now. Annu is 4-months pregnant. It's not like am not happy for her but I really wish that I could have a luck like hers.

Maa and Papa knew about the problem but they never taunted me about this. They have always been supporting about this. When we were about to tell them about this, Arhaan insisted that he would take it upon himself that he is impotent. But I decided to be honest to atleast our parents.

I feel for Arhaan. It was him who was really very excited when we decided to have a baby. We had a great sex that night. I expected only happiness for us and now the world is showering me with the opposite.

I stand at the same place where I was 8 years ago. And because Arhaan is married to me, he too stands in the same place as mine. Without any of his faults.

Family never says anything, it's the society that hurts me every now and then.

Questions like- "When are you both going to have a baby?", "Are you having a problem in conceiving?" and even their consoling words sounds like a curse to me.

Arhaan woke up after few hours of sleeping. He hugged me tightly and kissed me on the cheeks. He started tracing his lips down to my neck but I.. I didn't wanted it. I got up from my place and went to washroom.

When I returned, Arhaan wasn't in the room. I checked my phone and saw his message.

Arhaan: I'll be late at night. Don't wait for me.