Forsaken Innocence

17. Coliving

                         "You need to eat properly", Ajay dumped his share of food also into Mehek's plate. "Please Ajay, I can't", she refused and pushed it to his side. "Are you kidding me? Look at yourself. Women usually glow when they are pregnant. But you are getting paler each day", he reprimanded her. "May be because of the monster growing inside me", Mehek chided. Ajay was surprised by her harsh tone. Mehek didn't make any effort to hide her resentment towards the baby. Although he understood her situation, he was unable to detest the child who is innocent. But he knew she will get angry if he tried to reason so he kept quiet. He was anxious about her health. "You need to stay healthy, Mehek. Else it is not good for...", he left his sentence uncompleted.

Mehek nodded. She knew Ajay meant well but nowadays all she could feel was irritation and anger. She knew it's the hormones but she blamed it all on the baby. "This baby is my trump card to hold Mr Khanna in place. So I will not harm it", she mused. It's been a week since she moved into Shaurya's place. Ajay and Sonal had carefully stayed closer to Mehek to ensure her safety. Shaurya regularly visited Mehek but never stayed for night. Mehek has realised that he genuinely cares about his child.

"Let me drop you, Mehek", Ajay offered. Mehek refused politely. Her friends have been neglecting their life while trying hard to keep her safe. Now it is time for her to fight for herself. "I will be fine, Ajay. This thing inside me is enough to guarantee my safety", Mehek mocked stabbing her belly with her forefinger. Ajay paled hearing her words but tried to act normal. Change in Mehek was too drastic for him to digest.

Mehek was resting in her room when Shaurya barged in. She was alert and quickly stood up from her place. "Why are you skipping meals? I heard that you didn't eat breakfast and now dinner is also not taken", he rebuked her firmly. She didn't want to anger him so replied nervously, "The food she prepared...smell & taste...I couldn't ". Shaurya sighed and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Come down and eat some food", he told softly. "Please don't force me. I feel throwing up", she told him honestly. 

Mehek was too tired and just wanted to sleep. He took a deep breath, "Mehek, I understand but you cannot sleep on empty stomach". Mehek looked at him warily as if begging him to let her rest. "Tell me what you want to eat. You may have some cravings. I will get it for your quickly", he asked anxiously. Shaurya was desperate to feed her. Mehek thought for a moment and shook her head. She had no such cravings. She hated food prepared by maid and had not energy to cook for herself. Ajay even tried to fill her with her favourite dishes from college canteen but that too failed.

"Tell me what you normally like to eat", Shaurya was not ready to give up. "Any simple Home cooked food", she told plainly. He nodded and pulled her out of the room. He made her sit in the dining chair and checked the food items. As he tasted dishes, he grimaced and decided to change the cook immediately. Quickly he took them to kitchen and revamped them while Mehek slumped over the table to rest. 

"Eat", he placed a warm plate of rice and dal curry infront of her. She sighed and took a spoonful of it. Contrast to her expectation, it turned out to be good.  "It is really tasty", she smiled and started to eat hungrily. Shaurya couldn't suppress his grin as she hogged on to the simple meal he prepared. He made a mental note to appoint someone better to take care of Mehek. Between those bites, she admitted that he is a good cook as he was able to salvage those ruined dishes. Shaurya shared that he likes to cook and since his younger days had learned a lot from his mother & cooks at his home.

"Thank you. I really enjoyed...", before Mehek could finished her sentence, she covered her mouth and ran to the kitchen sink. Shaurya was aghast while she started to vomit. He quickly went to her side and started to rub her back. "Why did you force feed me?", she yelled at him in between, "now I feel weaker than before". He remained by her side until she was done. He splashed water on her face and wiped her face clean. Once she was done, she was about to scold him but felt dizzy.

"Mehek", Shaurya quickly supported her to nearby chair, "Are you okay?". She nodded but it was clear that she is unwell. "I know morning sickness is common in pregnancy but your condition seems serious. What did your gynac say?", he asked. Mehek sat quietly so he grew suspicious. "When was the last time you visited your gynac?", he asked again. She had only once visited a doctor that too with the intention to abort the child. After that she never bothered to consult. But she was too timid to share it with him. As if reading her silence, he shot angrily, "we are going to get you checked tomorrow".

Dr Juhi Singh checked Mehek and sat down to write down her prescriptions. She had already scolded Mehek for her carelessness and now it was Shaurya's turn. "I can understand her immature attitude. But what about you, young man? You seemed to be wise enough to understand that she needs medical attention. Don't you care about your child and wife?", she lashed at him. Mehek was about to correct her that he is not her husband but Shaurya quickly pitched in, "I am sorry, Doctor. I will be more careful in future". 

Juhi glared at both of them and returned her attention to Mehek's file. "Everything about her is alarming. Her blood pressure is high, weight is low and she is anemic. If not cared properly, she will end up having a miscarriage", Juhi gave her verdict. "NO!!", he yelled in reflex, scaring both women. "Please help us Doctor. I will take good care of her and my child", he plead. As if satisfied with his response, Juhi gave a long list of instruction. While Shaurya listened to her carefully, Mehek appeared to be lost in her own world.

"Ready of scan?", Mehek woke from her la-la land when Dr Juhi asked her. She blinked and turned to face to Shaurya who nodded in agreement. He took Mehek by her wrist and moved towards the waiting area. There was a long queue of patients who were waiting before them. Mehek expected him to leave her alone but he led her to an empty seat. Once he ensure she was comfortably seated, he got busy on his phone.

"Aren't you scared that someone will found you here with me?", curiosity got best of Mehek. Shaurya lifted his head from his phone and mused in his mind 'Yes,I am' , yet he didn't say it loud. "I mean your wife is a well-known doctor and may have friends here. What if someone tells her that you were found with a pregnant woman?", Mehek asked again. That will be the end of my marriage, he knew the truth but still kept quiet. Mehek understood that he will not respond so shrugged her shoulders, "It is too risky for you, Mr Khanna. So please leave. I will be fine". He finally took a deep breath before speaking, "My problems are none of your concern, Mehek. You stay calm and don't take stress", he told firmly, "this is my child's first scan and I wouldn't miss it for the world". He focused again back to his phone while Mehek remained speechless.

"See here. That's your child", Dr Juhi touched the screen and explained. While Shaurya was overwhelmed, Mehek remained passive. She hardly glanced at the screen and laid still. "Do you want to hear the baby's heart beat?", Dr. Juhi asked. "No"..."Yes". Dr Juhi was perplexed when she heard contradictory response from the parents. Mehek shook her head vehemently while Shaurya appeared to be unhappy by her denial. "May be next time", Dr Juhi appeased him and went to record the scan results.

While Mehek went to change, Dr Juhi talked to Shaurya, "She seemed to be least excited about the baby". Shaurya was too embarrassed to speak. "I don't want to interfere as it is your personal matter. But I have seen enough cases to tell you that such women are hit the worst when they lose their baby. Please take good care of her", she tapped on his shoulder lightly to give him confidence.