Chapter 72: chapter 72

GOWRI“Sign here,” the nurse says motioning to the bottom of the page. I sign my name. My sister does the same in the consent paper. “When is the surgery?” my sister asks the doctor who comes out of the ICU unit.“We will have it tomorrow morning,” he says with a pleasant smile. “Dont need to worry. Your father will survive. His condition is getting better.”I sigh when the doctor leaves the room. My father will survive. The surgery will save him. There is nothing to worry about. “Gowri, I am hungry,” my sister says. As if on cue, her stomach grumbles. Her eyes look bloodshot. I have not yet confronted her about her divorce from her husband. She came here all alone when she heard what happened to our father. “Wait, I will ask Shiva to get something for us,” I say and go into the corridor. But there is no sight of him. My MIL left an hour ago because Nithya would be alone in the house. But Shiva was here. Where did he go? He told me he will wait out when we were filling out the consent form. Where did he vanish all of a sudden? I look to the left and right but nope he is nowhere to be seen.I go inside and grab my phone. “Did you tell Shiva?” she asks.“He is not outside,” I reply. I dial Shiva's number and press the call button. His phone rings somewhere nearby. The door opens and Shiva enters with a bag in his hand. I cut the call and ask him, “Where were you?”He shakes the bag before me and says, “Went to get food. Anyone hungry?”My sister beams at him while I narrow my eyes. What is his deal? Why is he doing nice things? Why not ignore and avoid me? I appreciate what he is doing but at the same time, I don't want him to do these. Because his little thoughtful acts are making it difficult for me to be angry with him.My sister opens the food packet and starts eating. Shiva gives me a food packet. I take it without any protest because I am hungry. He places another one on the table for my mother who is still asleep. He opens his mouth to say something but gets interrupted when his phone rings. He frowns at the screen and leaves the room.I open the food packet and start eating. The food is from a nearby hotel and it is good. Aishu who is in the process of finishing her parcel suddenly gets up and runs to the washroom. I hear her vomiting. “Aishu, are you alright?” I ask closing my parcel and running to the washroom.“Yeah, fine,” she replies from inside.“You sure? Shall I call a doctor?” I ask again. My sister loves hotel food. She was never allergic to outside food. After a couple of minutes, she comes out but she looks tired. “I am calling the doctor,” I say going to the door. “I think you have food poison.”“No, Gowri, don't. I am fine. This is normal,” she looks at her stomach.Normal?“From when did vomiting food become your normal?” I ask.“From,” she says and then places her hand on her belly and then gives me a meaningful look.“Wait, is your stomach paining? Do you have an ulcer? Or some other incurable disease?” I ask frowning at her belly.“My idiot of a sister. I am pregnant,” she says.“So what-” I say and then realize what she told, “OH MY GOD! AISHU! ARE YOU SERIOUS?”“Totally.”HOLY HEAVENS!AM I DREAMING?I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS DAY FOR A LONG TIME.“THAT IS AWESOME. CONGRATS,” I squeal and throw my hands around her in a hug. God! I am so happy for her. She deserves this. I am soon going to be an aunt.She return the hug and her eyes are filled with tears, “Thanks, you are the first one to know this.”I gasp, “Ajay Mama doesn't know it yet?”She shakes her head.“Why? You should inform him now,” I say reaching for her phone.“Gowri, do you know why we are getting divorced?” she asks her face going grim.“Why?”“Because I can't get pregnant. He doesn't want to live with me because I can't bear a child.”“But you are pregnant now. That solves the problem, right? He will definitely get back to you when he learns this news.”My sister shakes her head, “Love is not easy. Sometimes, it is complicated. If he really loves me would it matter to him whether I bear a child or not? For God's sake, I am a human, not a child-bearing machine.”“But-”“Just think about it Gowri. If we get back together because I am pregnant with his child, doesn't that mean he only cares for the child and not for me? I couldn't live with him with that thought. I would start hating him and guess what, I would turn like our parents and my marriage would become like our parents. Do you want your niece or nephew to go through what we went through in childhood?”Nope. No one should go through the childhood I had. Definitely not my niece or nephew.“What are you going to do now?” I ask.She shrugs, “For now, I want our father to recover. Don't tell this to anyone, please. This is my secret to tell.”“You can trust me,” I say. “No matter what decision you take, I will be there for you.”“Thank you,” she says pulling me into a hug. I feel like somehow the wall I have with my sister has vanished. Her stomach grumbles making me frown.“You are hungry but you vomit the food you eat,” I say.“My stomach accepts homemade food only.”“You should have told Shiva when he gave you the parcel.”“I thought I could endure it for one night but guess not.” Her stomach grumbles again.“I will arrange the homemade food. No, don't protest. You should eat healthily and I want that baby to be healthy too,” I say and go to the door. I yank it open and come into the corridor. Shiva is at the end of the corridor and has his phone pressed to his ear. I approach him.When I am within earshot, I could hear him speaking, “Investor meeting is scheduled on Monday? Can we po-” he stops short as he turns around to look at me, “Uncle, I will call you back soon,” he says and cuts the call.“Shiva, I need a favour,” I say a little nervous. He gives me a warm smile, “You can ask me anything.”“It is not for me. It is for my sister. She... Her stomach doesn't digest the hotel food. Can you arrange homemade food? I know it is too-”I stop short as he places his finger on my lips, “Say no more. I will ask my mother.”🍀🍀🍀🍀Why is he doing this?Why is he suddenly so caring?Didn't he say that there was nothing for us to talk about?Didn't he regret kissing me?Then why is he playing the perfect role of a husband?Yes, he is acting before our parents.But, why is my stupid heart still believing that he genuinely cares? Why does it keep fluttering and hoping for something that will not happen?“Gowri, are you sure you will stay here tonight?” Aishu asks gathering her things.“Yep,” I reply. Since two attendants of the patient are allowed to stay in the hospital, I decided to stay and guess who is staying with me?No, not my mother. She needs rest, so I am sending her home.Shiva!Yes, he volunteered to stay and as much as I didn't want him to, I can't say anything. Not before my sister and mother. So, yes, I am going to stay with the man for whom I have intense feelings and who wouldn't return them. No, big deal.🍀🍀🍀🍀“How are you doing?” Shiva asks entering the room given for us to stay for the night. “Okay,” I say not meeting his eyes. “But why are you doing this?”“Doing what?”“Being nice to me when you told me the kiss was a mistake,” I say not able to bear this torture anymore. My voice shakes and I blink away the tears of shame and humiliation, “Stop acting Shiva. My stupid heart cannot handle any more of this.”“Gowri, look at me,” he says in a soft voice. I don't obey him. He crosses the gap between us. I am sitting on the bed. He sits next to me and turns me around to face him. He gently tips my chin. He cups my jaw and holds my gaze. There are a lot of emotions in his eyes. I don't know what they mean. “The line between acting and real blurred for me a long time ago,” he says in a roughed voice. “But-”“No, don't say anything. I am sorry for my idiotic behaviour. The kiss was not a mistake. I am a gentleman and I don't go around kissing like like that. That is what I meant. That the way I kissed you was wrong. I should have told you my feelings before going in for the kiss.”My breath hitch. Did he just say he has feelings for me? A smile creeps on his lips seeing my surprised reaction, “I have feelings for you Gowri. So intense feelings that it hurts me at times. When I first realized it, I freaked out because I was afraid of your rejection. But then, after the kiss, I realised I was being immature by avoiding you. I am sorry for that. I was a coward,” he takes a breath.His fingers graze my cheeks as he tells in a tone filled with so many emotions, “I don't want the divorce. But the ball is in your court. You decide whether you want this marriage or not. If you want a divorce, then I will give it to you happily. I just want you to be happy.”I open my mouth to answer him but he presses his finger to my lips, “No. Don't answer me yet. I will wait for it. I don't want to put you in a difficult situation now. Think about this later. You already have so much on your plate.”I stare at him dumbfound. He just confessed to me.OH GOD!He FREAKING Has Fellings For Me!He gets up and gives me a warm smile, “Good night. Sleep well,” he leans down and presses a soft kiss on my forehead. “Night,” I say when he pulls away.🍀🍀🍀🍀