LVI. Home

"A home is the place we built with our loved ones."

----------------------------------------------

Our life is like a blank canvas and we are the painters. Our life and death are not in our hands but the time between those two main events will be in our hands. We can destroy it or paint it beautifully. As the time goes on we will learn how to paint ourselves beautifully and when we are old we look at what we created. When we do that our heart must be happy with our accomplishments. There will be incidents that change our lives and mold us into the person we are today. We are left to make choices that make our painting beautiful, even if the choices are wrong we can rectify them and make corrections to it.

I gaze at the mirror and observe my reflection as I think about life. It has been difficult for me but I made it. I place my hand on my stomach and pat it. I am four months pregnant now and a bump is visible.

It has been three months since Abhi accused me. I still remember his words but know they don't hurt as they used to. The wound has healed.

I remember the way Aarav cried as he knew about his identity. He was so terrified after knowing the truth and kept to himself but he came out of it slowly and he is himself now. The whole family knows about it and they never treated him anything different from then. Aarav himself told others about his identity when he was strong. I still remember their conversation.

It has been a month since Aarav got to know about his true father. He was rather upset and I was anxious for him. He told us that he needed to think about telling ma and papa about this but he wanted to tell them today after a month.

He asked all the family members to gather in the living room. Ma, papa, Akky and Kalyani dadi are sitting on the couch waiting for Aarav to speak as he paced back and forth. Akky asked us to be quiet about her knowing the truth, she told me that she wants to hear Aarav tell her about this and I agreed with her. Abhi and I are standing to the side anxiously waiting for this to complete.

"What happened Aarav? Why did you ask us to come here?" Papa broke the silence and Aarav finally turned towards them.

"Rudra papa, I have something to tell you guys. After knowing this you may treat me differently but know that I love you." He spoke slowly.

"What nonsense is this! Why will we treat you differently?" Meera ma asked him.

Aarav looked up and his eyes were filled with tears. "I was not born to Vinay Goenka." Everyone stopped breathing for a second. "My parents are Damini and Arjun Rajput." Everything was silent and I heard my one breathing get sharp. I told Aarav that his family will support him but listening to the silence is making me afraid. I am unsure of my words now.

I looked in Abhi's direction and he had the same helpless look on his face as he looked at his brother. Aarav started crying and fell on the floor, Abhi tried to go but I stopped him as I saw his family approach him.

"Hey, stop crying now." Three members surrounded him and comforted him as dadi still sat in her place. But seeing her expression I know that she is not going to treat Aarav any differently.

They treated him the same as before and I think they started to shower him with more love and Aarav needs it. I am grateful that all took the news positively but I know that deep down they are angry at my father. They can't help it and I am also angry with him. But a person can never stay angry for long and I know that soon this anger will vanish.

"Will this match your dress?" Akky came inside my room carrying two boxes. She removed the earrings from the boxes and showed me, I shook my head in negative.

"No, these are way extravagant. I need simple things to match with my dress." I added.

Akky thought for a moment before rushing out. There is nothing special today.

Abhi is taking me on another date. In these three months we went on many dates and I am on the moon. I am now confident that Abhi loves me and will always believe me. He proved his worth to me. I forgave him for the things he told me and accused me of but he doesn't know about it.

Today is going to be special for us, we are going to hear our baby's heartbeat today. We are excited for it and after going to the hospital we are going on a date and there I am going to let him off the hook.

My mobile vibrated with an incoming message bringing me out of my thoughts. I kept the comb aside and took my mobile. It was his message.

Hubby ❤️: I will be coming home in fifteen minutes. Excited to listen to our baby's heartbeat and to spend more alone time with you. 😘

I blushed seeing his message, these days receiving a few compliments is enough to make me blush like crazy. I typed back an okay and waited for my friend to arrive. I stood up carefully and took a step back to observe myself.

My bump is not huge and even not visible if you don't focus properly. The dress fell to my knees and it suited fine. It is a sky blue maxi dress with short sleeves. The dress was simple and elegant. My hair is straight and left open. My neck is adorned with mangalsutra.

Akky barged into the room with a pair of earrings in her hand. "This will suit you." I agreed instantly on seeing them.

I wore them and it fit with my dress. They are hoops adorned with white diamonds. They were small and looked simple which added to my favor. I finally looked at my reflection.

I looked simple and sophisticated and that's what I hoped for.

"Someone is very excited for today." Akky bumped her shoulder into mine gently and teased me.

"Stop it, Akky." I said softly and tried to stop the blush from spreading. "Today I am going to tell him that I forgave him." I was eager to know about her input.

"Oh my god! Thank you for doing it." She breathed a sigh of relief as I looked at her confused by her reaction.

"Don't get confused. Yep, I told you to be harsh on him but I was unable to bear the sexual tension between you both. I will be free of it now," she fanned her face and I blushed bright red. I slapped her on the arm.

"Jokes apart, I am really happy for you Avni. You guys are moving forward now." I smiled at her, thankful for the diversion.

"Yes, and I hope that we never need to look back." Akky made me sit on the chair. "You sit here and relax, when my brother comes home I will come and get you." Saying that she left me alone with my thoughts.

I thought back to that day, the day Daksh became like a family member. I remembered the conversation we had.

"My fiance." Daksh came and sat beside her. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting you guys here. Do you have anything to speak about, little one?" He gazed at me ignoring Abhi.

I looked in her direction, nervous. Daksh understood the meaning and sent her away to get some food to eat.

"Why?" I asked in a small voice. "I thought of you as my brother but you lied to me about your feelings. Why didn't you tell me about the marriage proposal?" Daksh looked uncomfortable as he adjusted his position.

"Yes, I approached your uncle and asked for your hand. I saw you at an event once and wanted to marry you. I asked your uncle and he accepted. I was abroad when you got married to Abhi. I was angry after seeing you both married and wanted to take revenge for deceiving me." Daksh looked up and met my eyes. "But after meeting you you became my little one. My sister." I smiled at him and felt the love in his eyes for me.

"I was ashamed of myself and how can I tell you this when you started treating me like your brother? I didn't want to spoil our relationship and tried to help you." He completed telling and closed his eyes.

I looked in Abhi's direction and his eyes were soft and full of guilt as he gazed back at me. He gave me a single nod. I stood up and sat beside Daksh.

"Aj, how did you meet that pretty girl?" I bumped his shoulder with mine and he gave out a laugh.

"After your marriage I got another proposal and accepted. We started dating to get to know each other better and I love her." He had a drey expression on his face as he spoke about his girl.

"Fine but I am angry at you. You call me your sister yet I didn't know about her, I don't even know her name." I pouted at him.

"Stop sulking. I will introduce her properly." He stood and went inside. He came back with her, she was walking in front of him as he placed his hand on the small of her back. They came and stood in front of me, I stood up as they approached me.

"I will make official introductions. Little one, this is Riya Khanna, my fiancé. Riya, this is Avni Goenka and her husband. She is like my sister. She is the oy family I have left." He made me sentimental.

"Don't get sentimental on me now. I am the pregnant one here and you act as if you are pregnant." I scolded him and they laughed at me.

I remember that after our conversation we became close. Aj still teases me like his sister and he and Abhi got close. I and Riya got close and she became my friend in no time.

"What are you thinking about?" Abhi asked, startling me.

I placed my hand on my chest as I felt the rapid beats of my heart. "You scared me." He ignored my words and approached me. I saw him walk like a predator and stand behind me. He looked at me in the mirror and our eyes met.

"You are looking heavenly like an angel." I looked down, breaking eye contact with him and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Thank you." He was silent for a while and I can understand him. These three months when he complimented me, I just ignored him but now I accepted it and it may seem odd to him.

"Shall we leave then?" He proposed and I got up. He offered me his hand and I took it without hesitation.

"Why are you acting weird today?" He questioned me as we started walking out of the house.

"I am just happy," I smiled and he simply shook his head at me.

😊😊

"Hey, don't be nervous. Everything is fine." Abhi gently squeezed my hand in support as I laid on the bed.

I changed my dress and was dressed in a hospital gown. I was lying on my back and waiting for the doctor to come. "You are the one to speak," I joked. I was calm compared to my husband. He was sweating and constantly assuring me when I didn't need it.

"Why is she late?" here we go again, he will start scolding the doctor for arriving late. "Doesn't she have time sense? Why is she late? We have been waiting here for a long time, she should come here first." He looked at his watch and at the door again.

"Abhi, if you don't stop it now I will ask them to take you out." He glared at me but I ignored him. I am the pregnant one here and he should focus on me and not his stupid questions. "Just shut up and wait." He became quiet after that.

The doctor came inside after some time. "Sorry for being late, I had an emergency case." I beat Abhi and answered her.

"No problem, doctor." The doctor nodded at me but I saw Abhi glare at me from my peripheral vision.

A nurse came inside pushing a machine. "It is going to be cold." The doctor warned me and applied a gel on my stomach.

"Are you excited to listen to the baby's heartbeat?" I nodded eagerly, unable to form any word from the anxiousness. "Here we go." She placed the wand on my stomach and moved it around, it was uncomfortable but not unbearable.

After a moment the doctor motioned towards the monitor. I saw a bean sized body. I can differentiate between the head, legs and arms. I squeezed Abhi's hand and found myself unable to move my eyes from the screen. Slowly, the room filled with a strong lub-dub sound.

"It is strong and your baby is healthy. Would you guys want to look at your baby girl some more time?" I nodded my head lost in the sound. On my first check up I told her with confidence that I will have a girl and the doctor always stated the baby as a girl.

The doctor left us and the nurse stood to the side to give us privacy. "It's our baby." Hearing his voice I turned towards him and found him staring at the screen with awe.

"Yes, we both made her." He looked at me and he had tears in his eyes. He was ecstatic.

"Thank you, angel. For staying with me and giving me this wonderful gift." He bent down and touched his forehead with mine. "Thank you, for bringing happiness into my life." I closed my eyes, savoring the feel of him close to me.

"Shall we leave then? We have a date to attend." He asked me after some time.

"Definitely, I am eagerly waiting for it." The nurse helped me to clean the gel and get dressed. Once, I was dressed. I met the doctor and she gave me some vitamins along with some instructions.

"Where are we going?" Abhi ignored me and kept driving. Abhi said that he had planned a surprise for us and seeing that it was early, I decided to take a look at his surprise first before having dinner.

"Where are we going?" I asked and Abhi sighed at me. I took it upon myself to ask him this question every two minutes. I first asked him that because I was curious but later seeing his reaction it became fun.

I looked at the surroundings as we reached a gate. The guard came near the window and Abhi rolled the window down, after seeing Abhi he spoke to someone and the gate opened. As Abhi drove forward, I opened my mouth in surprise.

There was greenery surrounding us, it felt like reaching a forest. I saw a few bungalows pass by and my curiosity increased. I kept looking everywhere and trying to take everything in. "Seriously, Abhi. Where are we going?" Seeing my excitement Abhi laughed.

"Just a few more minutes, angel. You will know soon." He replied and focussed on driving.

My eyes got glued to the outside as I stared at my surroundings, I tried to take everything in. Abhi approached another gate and the gates opened after looking at his car. As Abhi drove past the gate he stopped the car. "Why did you stop? Did we arrive?" I asked him and started searching for the surprise.

"No, tie this." I looked aside from the window and saw him offering a blind fold.

"Why?" I whined like a kid.

"It's a surprise, and please for me." I pouted at him but gave in. He tied the blind fold on my eyes and went back to driving.

As my eyes were closed I focused on my other senses. I felt some small jerks as the car drove. After taking some turns he stopped the car. "Can I remove it now?" I asked him curious to see where he brought me.

"No, I will open the door for you. Keep the blindfold until I tell you." With that he got down the car. I hear him approach towards my side and open the door. "Give me your hand," he took my hand in his and guided me out of the car. "Just a few more steps." I obeyed him and took a few more steps.

"Wait a minute." Abhi left my hand and I tried not to panic. I felt my blindfold loosen and it fell from my eyes. I slowly opened my eyes and gasped in disbelief. I rubbed my eyes with my palm and looked at the view in front of me, it didn't change.

"I-is this-" I closed my mouth when I was unable to form a sentence. Abhi put his arms on my waist and placed his chin on my shoulder.

"This is my surprise, do you love it?" I looked sideways at him as he had a satisfactory look on his face.

"Are you serious? I love it." I said excitedly as I found my voice. "Are we going to stay here for the weekend?" I asked him but kept my gaze on the house.

The house was modern and was covered with tall and short trees. Ther house is covered in glass, the house has a modern look but I am excited to see inside of the house. "Come on, let's see inside first." I dragged him with me.

Front of the house

Back of the house

I climbed the stairs and got to the main door. The glass door slid open as we arrived. I gasped seeing the interior. Everything looked new and pristine, they kept the earthly nature inside and it added a homey feeling to the house.

There were flowers in the way, they were spread in a path. "Look at this!" I looked beside and found no one. "Where did you go, Abhi?" I mumbled to myself. He might have gone back to the car, I thought to myself.

I started following the path, I am curious to see what lies at the end. I followed the path and reached the glass door. I slid the door to the side and gasped seeing the pool. It was like out of a dream. I tried to take everything in as I stared at it. I noticed a figure at the end of the swimming pool. I slowly approached him. I got down the stairs and stood behind him and faced his back.

"Abhi?" He turned around, I smiled seeing him hold a bouquet of roses.

"For you," he offered me the flowers and I clutched them close to my chest and inhaled the flowers scent.

"Avni," hearing my name I looked away from the flowers and found him on his knees.

"Abhi, what are you doing?" I gasped seeing him in that position.

"No, Avni. Let me speak." He stopped me and started speaking. "The day you came into my life, I neglected you. I didn't treat you properly until I saw you with Diya. You wrapped us both around your fingers. I realized that I love you more than anything in this world." I had tears in my eyes and I tried to stop them from spilling. "My past caught up with me and I doubted you. I made all my efforts these last three months to show you that I can be a better person for you and our family." He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my bump.

"I have shown you how much I am going to love you and now I ask you to give me another chance to shower you with my love until my last breath." He looked up and met my eyes. I sniffed and tried to stop myself from crying.

"Get up, please." I asked him in a feeble voice. He stood up hesitantly, I pulled him towards me and hugged him.

"Where did you learn to say all this romantic stuff? You made me cry." I spoke into his chest.

"It's you who turned me into a poet." He kissed me on my forehead.

"Abhi," I placed my hand on his cheek. "I thought to give you another chance. These three months have been tough for us but you loved me and showed what a great human you are. I learned many things about you during this time and I am happy that I have a partner like you to spend my life with." I rose on my toes and kissed him lightly on his lips. "I forgive you and I love you." I whispered and he breathed heavily.

"I love you, Abhi." He pulled me towards him and kissed me. I parted my lips giving him access. I placed my arms around his neck as he held my waist. Abhi took control of the kiss and I felt my toes curl in pleasure.

Abhi broke the kiss after a while and I took a lungful of air. He placed his forehead on mine. "It is amazing and I would love to do it again."

"Mmm," I replied as I was unable to find any words.

"How is our new house?" That brought me back to earth.

"House?" I shrieked and he pulled back.

"Yep, I know you missed being in Coorg. So, I looked for this place. This is a gated community, it is spread in fifty acres of land. There are twenty five more houses like ours. In five kilometres we have a hospital. I think it will be better if we move in after you give birth. Till, then we can make changes to the house and shift things. What do you say?" I am awestruck by him. How can he be so thoughtful? He bought a new house for me, for us.

"You are cute," I blurted out as he stared at me. He really looked cute when he rambled.

"I give a big speech and all you say is cute. How is that relatable?" He pulled me towards him and went for my lips.

"I am hungry, feed me." He groaned as he heard my demands. He placed his forehead on my shoulder.

"What do you want to eat?" He mumbled into my shoulder.

"I want to eat pizza. So, a large pizza with chicken, olives, onions, capsicum, tomato, pineapple, corn, jalapeno." I counted my fingers as I thought about other toppings. Abhi lifted his head and stared at me. "I want to eat rice also." I looked at Abhi with a serious expression. "Can you also ask them to add rice to the pizza and no tomato sauce? I hate it." Abhi kept giving me weird looks.

"Isn't it weird?" He asked me slowly as if afraid of my reaction.

"Are you telling me that my taste sucks?" I growled at the last.

"No, angel. I didn't tell that. My mouth is watering from just listening to you." My expression changed after hearing his words.

"Right, then order two pizzas. One for you and one for me," I fold him cheerfully and walked towards the house. "Don't forget my ice cream." I yelled at him without looking back.

"Welcome to pregnancy." I swore I heard him say those words. I simply shrugged my shoulders and walked inside exploring our house.

Hello people,

Here is the last chapter of my book. I learned many things while writing this book and I know that it is not the best put there. But thank you for choosing my book and reading it.

I thank you all for reading, voting and commenting on my book. It always made my day.

I know that this is the best, but I promise you all that my further works will be amazing and it's my promise to you people.

I will update the epilogue in two-three days and also there will be a surprise for you regarding my future work.

A small hint: It is a related to Abhi and Avni.

If you have any doubts please ask me, I'll try to answer them.

See you guys in the epilogue.

Love you and take care.

Vote. Comment. Share.