30. Another Problem

A big happy family.

Big? Yes. Happy? Maybe. Problem free? Not really.

My dad went back to India a week later. He told us that he will try to call off the deal. I had bed rest for two days and I felt a lot better at the end of the week.

Everything was back to normal and peaceful. Actually, not peaceful at all. We had two newborns, how could it ever be peaceful?

They cried at least once every hour and we had to change their diapers even more frequently. They kept us awake all night but slept peacefully during the day when we possibly can't sleep. But they were the cutest little babies and it made up for all of the crying and pooping.

"Do you think we have some time alone?" Shiv asked me when we finally sat down after putting both the babies down for sleep.

"I think so." I said.

"Well, then." he kissed me.

We were so deep into it and before I knew it, I was straddling on his lap while we made out and his hands ran along my legs and thighs. I took off his shirt.

Just then, we heard crying and I pulled away.

"Not again!" Shiv groaned when I got up from his lap and walked to the kids room. We had completely changed it. We kept the walls white with a single accent wall which was painted in rainbow colours. The curtains were also in the colours of the rainbow to match the accent wall. Their closet contained all of their things and their two cribs sat side-by-side supported by the wall in front of the accent wall. There was also a white leather sofa set for us to sit and a matching coffee table.

I walked into the room and saw both of them cry. The problem was that one of them started crying and the second one joined without any reason.

"It's okay, I am here. Mommy is here." I said in a baby voice as I checked their diapers. There was not need to change them.

"What's wrong?" Shiv asked as he entered the room.

"I don't know. There isn't the need to change the diapers. Maybe they are hungry, I'll feed them." I told him.

"Okay. Do you want help?" he offered.

"Yeah, I will feed one of them first and you stay with the second then we switch. The usual." I said and picked up Keya and walked to the sofa. I sat down and fed her. I can hear Shiv trying to make Kiaan stop crying by singing a song which made him cry even more and it was the funniest thing ever.

After a while, we switched and I fed Kiaan. We finally put them to sleep and I if checked all the windows in the room were shut tightly. I closed the curtains and dimmed the light, not turning it all the way down.

We went to our room and I went to the washroom to clean up. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, arms and feet before changing into a comfortable large sweatshirt for bed.

"You want to finish what we started?" Shiv asked seductively and snaked his arms around my waist which was almost back to normal other than just a slight bump at the tummy. He rested his chin on my shoulder and kissed my neck slowly while I kept my head rested on his chest.

I turned around to face him and his hands remained intact at my waist. I got on my tip-toes to reach his face and kiss him which he returned softly.

"I love you." I said as we pulled away to catch a breath.

"I love you, too." he said and kissed me again.

.

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing at 6 a.m.

"Naina! I need to talk to you." my dad almost yelled into the phone.

"Calm down, will you? What happened?" I asked as I sat up slowly.

"I talked to Mr. Diwan and he doesn't want the deal to be broken. Even Ashwin talked to him and told him that he is gay and cannot get married to you, but that made him even more determined to get him married to you. The deal was also slightly illegal so I cannot not break the deal or I could go to jail for at least 5 years." he explained and then took a deep breath to calm down.

"What was the deal?" I asked, maybe there was a loophole and we could prevent that from happening.

"Its confidential." he said quickly.

"So what now?" I asked, not knowing what to say.

"I have talked to my lawyer about it but he said he couldn't do anything about it, the documents are a proof which can't be destroyed." he said and his voice tensed up.

"So do I have to get married to him?"

"I think so. I tried to explain it to him but I didn't know how comfortable you were about sharing about your kids to everyone so I didn't tell him that. I don't think he will back down." he said in a sad voice.

"We will figure something out, dad. You don't need to worry, take some rest." he had been working a lot and he was all alone back home, the last thing I wanted was for him to get stressed.

"Okay. But we have to hurry up." he said.

"I know dad. I will talk to you later."

"Okay. Bye. Love you." he said.

"Love you, too, dad." I said and hung up.

"What is wrong now?" Shiv asked me and rubbed his eyes.

"You've heard it all?" I asked, wondering if he was awake during all of the phone call.

"I guess. What's the matter?" he asked again.

I explained everything to him in detail.

"I will never let that happen. We will call everyone here and we will figure out a plan. Okay?" he said and I nodded.

"Good thing everyone is still in London." I said and snuggled up in his bare chest.

"Go back to sleep before the monkeys wake up again." he told me.

We both slept off, only to be woken up again after 15 minutes. We both rushed to the kids room and changed their diapers before I fed them.

This was pretty much our life. But it was beautiful and full of love. The problems of all sorts shooting at us made it better somehow, because every time we made it through a problem, we got stronger. It was irritating at times, not being able to spend time with family and friends. But when we saw it from another angle, it was better than living normal lives where everything went down according to us.

"I will make some breakfast. You can bathe them while I make something, if you like." Shiv said and walked away to the kitchen.

I carried both the babies to the bathroom. I placed their bassinet outside the door while I  filled up the tub. I took out the baby wash and a wash cloth. I checked the temperature of the water with my elbow and carried them one by one. I dipped the wash cloth in water and soap and gently cleaned the tiny body of my daughter. I cupped my one free hand and gently poured clean water on her chest and stomach to wash off the soap. I repeated the same with Kiaan and patted them dry with towels. I wrapped them up in the dry towels and dressed them.

They were newborns so we usually just left them with a diaper and a t-shirt so it is easier to change and so they don't get rashes because of the new clothes. They were covered in their blankets all day anyway.

After dressing them up, I took the little socks and put them on their tiny feet. I just looked at them and talked to them for a while and they listened to me with wide eyes. They constantly moved their arms and legs and made the cute baby noises.

After I put them back to sleep, I called everyone to come over so we could discuss the matter at hand.

.

We all sat in the huge living room and I explained the situation to everyone. They all blasted into speaking at once and I had to make them shut up.

"Stop talking so loudly! They babies are sleeping." I said in a low voice, just enough that they could hear me.

"Indeed, babies are sleeping. Two inside and one on the couch." Ashwin said, pointing to Shiv sprawled out on the couch.

"We are not having enough sleep. He is tired and so am I so don't make me yell at you." I warned him and continued. "Okay, let's talk one by one."

"Get married and then get a divorce or an annulment." Shiv's dad said.

"It will be a waste of a lot of money. First on the wedding and then on the divorce. We can afford it but we are keeping that as the last option, you know, if nothing else works out." I said.

I didn't have that amount of money, my dad did and I didn't want him to waste it on a wedding that will end up in divorce right after.

"Good point." my brother said.

"We could just make you escape from the wedding." my mom said.

"But that will mean that dad ends up in jail or with a large amount of lawsuit to pay." I said.

"Oh well. It's not like I care." mom said with an eye roll.

"Okay, mom. Tone down the hate, even though you are divorced now, he is still the father of your children." I said to her.

"I am telling you, just get married to Shiv before the wedding." Shiv's mom said.

"We can't do that. I just had babies and we haven't been together long enough. I want my marriage to be beautiful, not just the wedding and we need time for that. We are not ready. I mean, look at him, he probably needs to grow up first." I pointed at him as he drooled on the sofa while sleeping, unbothered by the important discussion we were having.

"You are right." Sanjana said, sat between Lorenzo's legs while he played with her hair.

"Sorry, but what is he doing here?" I asked in confusion.

"He is a part of the family." she said and intertwined her fingers with his.

"How?" I asked with furrowed brows.

"Like this." she said and brought her left hand forward to show an engagement ring on her ring finger.

"Congratulations!" I jumped and hugged her as she got up.

"Thank you!" she replied.

"But don't you think it is too soon?" I asked her when we pulled away from the hug.

"No. I love him, there is nothing like too soon or too late." she smiled and sat back with him and he kissed her cheek. "Well, in your case there is." she said while looking at Shiv.

"Okay, only I can make fun of him." I said with an eye roll. "We need to wake him up."

I shook his body and tried waking him up.

"Go away." he groaned and went back to sleep.

"I can tell you another interesting fact about penguins." I said, knowing he heard me.

He shot up and sat straight at once.

"What is it?" he asked, curiously.

"Nothing. I just wanted to wake you up." I shrugged.

"Ugh. You guys are disgustingly cute." Ashwin said.

"Played well. But just wait for my revenge." he said to me and I rolled my eyes.

"Come on, now. We are discussing something very important here." I said to him.

"About what?"

"Why do you think everyone is here?" I tried to make him remember.

"Oh!" he widened his eyes in realisation.

"So, back to the problem." mom said.

"Well, there is an easy solution." Shiv said.

"What?" we all asked.

He explained everything to us and we listened intently. We added things and subtracted the things we didn't like from it but at the end, we came up with the perfect plan.

"I knew there must be a reason I love you." I said to him and took his hands in mine.

"Thank you, love. Wait-" he said as he realised that I had actually insulted him.

"Yeah, whatever." I ignored him.

"Did you just-" he said and narrowed his eyes to slits.

"Yes, I did. What about it? I always insult you." I shrugged my shoulders.

"That's correct. Maybe another reason why I love you." he said and wrapped his arms around me and everyone burst out in 'aww' and 'oh, so cute.'