13. Making Up and Breaking Up

I was having loads of mood swings that day. Partly because of the pregnancy and partly because of Victoria, the obnoxious barbie doppelgänger. She made a few comments when we met in the restroom, a few at the coffee counter at the office and a few when I stepped out of my cabin to leave the office.

I ignored almost all of them. But when it was time to leave, I lost it.

"Leaving so soon? I thought you had to do overtime with the boss, you know, the reason you got promoted. Also, making out with your hot boyfriend in your new cabin...What were you trying to show?" She said. Her voice laced with venom.

"Ah, the snake speaks again. Do you not realise our boss is a straight woman? Even after I told you? Are you really that obnoxious or just slower than a snail?" I said.

"I know what you said. And I am smarter than you think." She said and I laughed. It was a genuine laugh. "Laugh all you want but we all know how much of a whore you and your pathetic little Mrs. White are." She said and gasps erupted from around us. Everyone started chattering in hushed voices.

"Miss Bailey. Can I talk to you for a minute in my office?" Mrs. White's voice cut through the crowd and everyone stopped talking. "Naina, can you also accompany us?" She turned to me.

.

"Miss Bailey, what is this behaviour? I am giving you a chance to justify yourself." She said with authority in her voice.

"I-I was just- I was-" Victoria started but couldn't finish her sentence.

"You have no words. That is not the case when you are trying to degrade your colleagues. Am I right?" Beth said.

Victoria just put her head down in shame. We all knew she was fired. But I felt bad for her.

Damnit! The mood swings are getting the best of me. Stop Naina! Don't say it! I thought.

"Mrs. White, what she said was utterly wrong, but I am sure she didn't mean it. Maybe you should give her another chance. I will make sure nothing of this sort ever happens again." I said politely.

Victoria looked at me with wide eyes. She was probably expecting me to add kerosene to the already burning flame and get her fired.

"Miss Dixit, I already know Miss Bailey's behaviour around the office and I have neglected it till now. But I don't think I will anymore." She said to me.

"Please, ma'am just give me another chance. I will never do anything like this again." Victoria finally said.

"Fine. This is your last warning. If I ever notice this behaviour again, you are fired. Remember that we have cameras all over the office." Beth said.

"I understand. Thank you so much. I will not disappoint you again." Victoria said.

"Good. Both of you are free to leave now." She dismissed us.

I walked straight towards the exit without acknowledging Victoria.

"Naina! Wait!" I heard her voice call me. I turned around.

"I just wanted to thank you. I have been nothing but mean to you but you helped me keep this job. I am really grateful. Thank you." She said with guilt.

"You are welcome. I never wanted to get you fired. A little competition is what you need to keep you going, right?" I told her with a smile which she returned.

I don't think we ever smiled genuinely at each other. Our smiles were always fake. I guess there is always a first time.

.

I parked the car and walked up the stairs towards my home. I opened the door and the smell of food hit my nose. I walked towards the kitchen and saw Shiv in an apron. He was making dinner.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I asked him. Dumb question, Naina. I thought to myself.

"I am making pizza for dinner and an ice-cream cake for dessert. I thought we've been eating out a lot so I made it myself." He said with an adorable smile.

"You are cute." I said while I pinched his cheeks. "I will take a shower and be back in 10 minutes. Okay?"

"Mind if I join you?" He asked with a suggestive smirk.

"As appealing as that sounds, I would like to have my pizza not burnt. So get back to cooking." I said.

I took a quick, hot shower and put on black yoga pants, an oversized white shirt and rainbow patterned fuzzy socks. I walked out of my room and saw that the dining table was already set with two glasses of wine and our pizza plates.

"Is this fine? Or would you like to watch TV while eating?" He asked.

"It's fine. When's your flight? It's 7:30 already." I asked.

"It was at nine but I just got a message that it was delayed. So now, it's at midnight." He said.

"That's good."

"You look cute." He complimented me.

"Thanks. I'd have dressed better if I'd known you will put so much effort in it."

"No, I like you better like this." He said and my cheeks heated up.

.

"You haven't touched your wine all night. Are you okay?" He asked when we were talking.

"Yeah, I am just turning down on the alcohol a bit." I said. I couldn't exactly tell him the real reason.

"That's weird. But it's actually good, I guess."

"I know. It's better this way. I love the food by the way. I didn't know you could cook." I said, trying to change the topic.

"I told you I am full of surprises." He said with a grin.

A minute later, the front door opened and Sanjana walked in. She smiled when she saw the two of us having dinner together.

We were actually alone. I didn't really know where my brother and Ashwin went but it was fine if I had some time alone with my new boyfriend.

"Hey, I see you two are getting along well. Anyway, I am running late. I have to go with a client, it's some kind of auction or whatever. So I will leave you two to do whatever you want to." She said and walked in her room, not even waiting for us to reply.

I know for one thing that she actually burned her bedsheets. She took it too literally.

"You owe me a set of sheets, Naina." She said as she threw them in the fireplace while we were on the phone that afternoon.

Around 15 minutes later, she came out of her room in a velvet, dark red dress with a slit on the side which went to her mid thigh. It was a V-neck dress which showed a lot. The only thing modest about it was the full sleeves. Her makeup was painted on a lot heavier than usual.

"What kind of client is this Sanjana?" I asked her.

"My boss told me to impress him and lure him into a deal with our company. So I have to go on a date with him." She explained.

"Well, you look really hot, Sanjana" Shiv said to her.

"Well, then stop looking." I said to him.

"Aw. You both are cute. Don't wait up for me." She said and walked out of the flat.

"Are you jealous?" I heard him ask me.

"Yeah, I am the mother of your child, not her." I muttered quietly. But it wasn't quiet enough for him to not hear me.

"What did you just say?" He asked me, narrowing his eyes.

"N-nothing." I said.

"You are pregnant?" He asked, completely ignoring my stuttered reply.

"You see, the thing is-" I said nervously and cut myself off.

"The thing is what?"

"I am pregnant."

"What? How the fuck?"

"Well, you know when a male and a female ha-" I started, trying to lighten up the mood.

"I didn't actually ask about the process, Naina. I had a condom on and we did it last night. How do you know so soon?" He yelled.

"Think harder. That wasn't the only time." I said. It was enough for him to understand.

"How long have you known?" He asked me while running a hand through his hair. If we weren't in such a serious situation, it would have been a major turn on.

"A week." I said in a lowered voice.

"A whole week? I was here most of the time. Why did you not tell me?" He yelled again and I flinched.

"I couldn't. I got scared." I replied and a tear escaped my eyes.

"Leave that. You are getting an abortion, right?" He asked.

I shook my head no, unable to speak.

"Why?" He yelled again and I lost all control. Tears streamed down my face and I brought my hands up to wipe them.

"I am not killing my child! I don't want to be like her! You can leave if you don't want this. You can play as much part you want in this but I am keeping it and that is final." I said through the tears.

"You know what? I can't do this." He said.

He took his jacket and car keys and just left the flat. I heard the door slam shut and he was gone.

Shiv's POV-

"You know what? I can't do this." I told her.

All of this, all my feelings for her, all my efforts, all for nothing. Because I lashed out.

It was around 11 and I had to be at the airport. Ashwin called me and asked me to meet him there.

I turned on the ignition and drove towards the airport. My luggage was already in the car, thank God, it would've been really awkward to go back to take my bags.

My head wasn't clear. I needed to think before I left her and threw it all away.

She was the best thing that ever happened to me. My first girlfriend. I never dated anyone before her but I was willing to try. For her. The way she smiled made my insides flip. She didn't even need to dress up to impress me. She looked beautiful in her pyjamas, without any make up.

But me, being the dick that I was, threw it all away. I walked away from her when she needed me. But I can't really help it, can I?

I mean, she announced to me that she was pregnant and planned on keeping the baby, without even asking me. She should have asked me before deciding. I am the other half of the baby.

I will be a father. I thought. It was a lot of responsibility. I was just 25.

But will I be able to be an actual father if I decided to be with her?

I didn't understand why she wanted to keep the baby. She said that she can't kill it. The society presents the fancy word 'abortion' but it is killing a child after all. But it was her decision, not mine. If I thought about it deeply.

She was the mother, the child will be connected to her, she will deliver the baby. It was her decision. She gave me a choice whether to be by her side through it or to leave her alone. What did I do? I left her crying, all alone in her flat.

When that single tear, that she was trying so hard to hold in, escaped her eye, all I wanted was to wipe it off from her face but I was so angry at her. I was not in the right mind.

She said she didn't want to be like her. Who is her?

Then it clicked. Her mother. She told me how she was never around when Naina and Vivan were growing up. She never cared for them. Naina didn't want an abortion because she was scared that she would become like her mother. She wanted to give this child all the care she never got. She was broken, probably scared that everyone will abandon her. And I proved her right.

"Shit!" I hissed as I turned the car around. I needed to go back to her.

I cared about her and I will show her that I did.