Felt and Fell

Forty- Six

Aditya

I had been calling her name for the past ten minutes, my voice echoing through the empty hallways of our home.

It wasn’t like Zoya to ignore me like this, especially when I wasn't out flying.

I checked the living room, her study, our bedroom—every place she’d usually be.

But she was nowhere to be found.

Then, I heard a faint, muffled sound coming from the bathroom. I moved towards it, my hand reaching for the door handle.

I knocked lightly, trying to keep my voice calm even though my nerves were frayed. "Zoya? Are you in there?"

No response.

Just a quiet, shuddering breath from the other side. My chest tightened, and I pushed the door open slowly, my eyes scanning the room.

There she was, sitting on the floor near the jacuzzi, her knees pulled up to her chest, face buried in her hands. She was crying, and not the soft, quiet tears I’d seen before—these were deep, wracking sobs that shook her whole body.

I froze for a moment, taken aback by the sheer intensity of her grief.

“

Zoya,” I whispered, rushing to her side, my knees hitting the cold tile as I knelt beside her.

I reached out instinctively, but hesitated for a second, not wanting to startle her. I finally pulled her gently into my chest, holding her tight, feeling her body tremble in my arms. "Zoya, talk to me. What happened? Why are you crying?"

She sobbed into my shirt, her breath ragged as she tried to pull herself together.

Slowly, she pulled away just enough to look at me, her eyes wide and full of fear. “Adi…” Her voice cracked, her lips quivering. “I’m… I’m pregnant.”

The words hit me like a freight train, echoing in my head as everything around us seemed to blur.

Pregnant.

Pregnant? I blinked, my mind trying to catch up with the weight of what she had just said.

My eyes fell on the ground... Finding the pregnancy kit kept there .... results clear as a day.

Pregnant.

"Zoya…" I finally managed, my voice barely a whisper. The terror in her eyes made my chest tighten, but beneath it, something else stirred. Something unexpected. "You’re pregnant…?" I repeated, as if saying it out loud would somehow make it real.

She nodded, wiping at her tear-streaked cheeks with the back of her hand.....Zoya’s voice trembled as she whispered, “I wasn’t expecting this… Adi…”

Her words hung in the air, raw and filled with a mixture of confusion and fear. I could feel the weight of it all pressing down on her, and for a moment, I was frozen, unsure of what to say. I hadn’t been expecting it either.

But here we were, standing on the edge of something life-changing, and I had to be there for her.

"Zoya, I…” I took a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts, trying to push through the whirlwind of feelings crashing over me."We... we're going to have a baby?"

The word tasted unfamiliar on my tongue, but as soon as I said it, I felt a strange warmth bloom in my chest.

She nodded again, tears welling up in her eyes as she searched my face.