Taqdeer

Epilogue- Forever

I blink open my eyes to the night sky. Thank god. Nothing better than knowing you still have more time to sleep. I pull the covers up when I feel the air conditioner freeze my naked back. But the covers are stuck.

No. Why?

I turn to the other side and there she is. The bane of my existence. My very own daughter. She is barely three months old but she has her life mission set to pissing me off. Don't get me wrong, I love my kid. I would die for her and I would kill for her. But there are possibilities of her killing me as well. I'm sure she hates me because of how much she ruins my life. Especially sleep.

Aarushi Rathore. My very own nemesis.

My father loves her. Says it's karma biting me back. I was a troublemaker but I was decent. This spawn of the devil is evil personified. She is lying on top of the comforter when I'm sure I put her under it. She is also awake and smiling at me. At least she isn't crying. That is worse.

I pick her up and put her back under the covers. "Stay there." I whisper. "And go back to sleep." She doesn't. Obviously. In fact this little girl raises her hands to do god knows what, but then she pokes it into my nose.

I wince and pull my face away to glare. That somehow makes her happy because she giggles. "Shhhh." I hold her to keep her quiet before looking over her towards my beautiful sleeping wife. She often looks tired. Raising children isn't easy. Nor is dealing with me.

We had our problems. She married me without questions and doubts since she was pregnant and as much as she hated me, we both knew she couldn't go through that alone. But even after marrying me, she glared point blank at my sight.

So I did all I could. I apologised every day. I told her I loved her every day. I still do. I got up in the middle of the night to find aloo chaat for her. I massaged her feet. Gave her everything she wanted, which wasn't much to be honest and I simply knew none of this is enough.

I could never beg enough, I could never tell her how much I love her for it to be enough. I wrote her songs. I sang them for her. I took her to her dream places since she never had the chance before. I did everything I could, knowing it would never be enough.

But my wife has a big heart. And she believes more in forgiving than in revenge. I told her it's stupid, that revenge is the best thing and she hit me on the head and told me I am an idiot. I am. I am an idiot. There is no other explanation for me to hurt her as much as I did. Neither is there an explanation for falling in love with her.

She was my competition. But I wanted to be hers. I wanted to be the man she looks at and smiles. I wanted to be someone who made her happy. Because she made me happy. So happy. She even gave me the devil's sister as a daughter. One that is trying to latch onto me. Should've slept with a fucking shirt. "Oye!" I whisper yell. "I'm not your mother. I don't have what you're looking for!"