She fell in love. She couldn't be with him. She married someone else. She fell in love again. Then she fell apart.
•••
Iraj Kazmi knows only one thing, that she's always right. Then life proves her wrong...
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"She can't go through a normal delivery." The obstetrician said, "It's going to be a cesarean section."
Azfar and Iraj were seated inside the consultation room. Iraj had tested positive for her pregnancy just last night and the first thing her husband had done was get an appointment instead of celebrating the news. He knew more than enough about Parkinson's now to know the consequences of pregnancy in the condition, it was a huge concern for now. On the contrary his wife was only quiet because Azfar had not reacted like most husbands would.
"The aftermath?" Azfar asked, his hold on his wife's hand tightened a little, the hand he hadn't let go of ever since they stepped inside the hospital.
"Yes. That's the important question." The doctor sighed, "She has to be very careful as she'll be on medication on a regular basis. She can't breastfeed, no heavy movements, nothing to be done that can possibly trigger the tremors. I'd say no holding the baby while standing or walking either." These things were cruel to even speak of in front of an expecting mother, and the doctor had said it very clearly.
Swallowing his anxiety inside he asked the doctor what he wanted to know, "I just want to know if this is going to make her condition worse or not. We can think of other options if—" The sound of sniffing made him stop speaking as he turned his head to look at the person next to him. Iraj was sobbing, and now the doctor and her husband both were silent.
"Excuse us." Azfar got up and wiped his wife's face then slowly held her shoulders to make her stand and walked out of the room taking her. He held her to himself the whole time as the driver rode the car back to their house.
"Iraj, jaan please let's not." He remarked on her silence towards him. She wasn't crying when they entered the house but she didn't speak to him either. Walking away from him she moved towards the staircase.
"I want a child." She stopped and he started walking up the stairs to her, "My own, if it's happening then I don't want any other option."
"And I want you first. And there's no other option." He shook his head as he stood next to her.
Nodding her face like a child she spoke, "I'll be okay. I'll be a good parent. I will, I—"
He cut her off and gently rubbed her shoulders on both sides, "Okay, just calm down, alright. There's no disagreement about you not being a good parent."
"I want a baby. In fact not one but more." Although her voice was tiny but the demand was huge.
Defeated was the only word that summed up his effort to make her understand, "Then you'll listen to me? All the time? You have to promise today."
"I promise." She agreed at once.
"There won't be arguments." He reminded her about his own reservations on this matter, "Also, in between all this, the process, if I feel you are being compromised, at any moment, I'll go back on this Iraj. I can't risk you. And this is already a risk. If God forbid it deepens then, we are not going to go ahead with this."
