Some moments and the love we lost

Sarika let out a deep breath upon hearing his words and then held out a pani puri in front of Adrijay’s mouth. Seizing the opportunity, Adrijay deliberately let his lips lightly brush against Sarika’s fingers as he ate, sending a shiver down her spine. Feeling the sudden sensation, Sarika’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she quickly averted her gaze, feeding him hurriedly before turning towards the stall. Adrijay, noticing her reaction, simply smiled.

Trying to calm her racing heartbeat, Sarika then fed Adhik a pani puri. Just as she was about to eat one herself, Adrijay quickly stopped her, saying, “Wait!” With that, he put Tanishk down from his lap and went to wash his hands.

Sarika watched him walk away in confusion. By the time she could ask him anything, Adrijay returned, took a pani puri in his hand, and pointed toward the other side, saying, “Look over there! What’s that?”

Sarika turned to look, but seeing nothing, she was about to say something when Adrijay swiftly placed the pani puri in her mouth with a mischievous smile. “You fed me one, right? If I didn’t feed you the same way, the score wouldn’t be settled. Right, kids?” he said playfully.

Tanishk and Adhik eagerly nodded in agreement, feeling overjoyed to see their parents like this.

Adrijay, still smiling, picked up another pani puri and fed it to Sarika. Watching this, Sarika quickly finished the one in her mouth and, lowering her gaze, said softly, “Look, I don’t want to eat anymore. You and the kids should have the rest.”

Adrijay looked at her and said, “Oh, come on! How can you stop now? There are so many left, and the three of us can’t finish them all. So, you have to eat more... Right, Tanu?”

Tanishk nodded enthusiastically and said, “Yes, Mumma! Papa is right. And these are your favorite, aren’t they? Then why aren’t you eating?”

Hearing this, Adrijay turned to Sarika with curiosity and asked, “Are these really your favorite?”

Without saying a word, Sarika simply nodded. Seeing this, Adrijay smiled and said, “Then you definitely have to eat more.” Saying this, he picked up another pani puri and fed it to her.

Tanishk pouted and said, “Papa, me too!”

Adrijay chuckled and continued feeding the kids as well. The whole family enjoyed the pani puris together. Then, Adrijay asked, “What do we eat next?”

Tanishk excitedly jumped and said, “Papa, chole bhature!”

Adhik playfully smacked Tanishk’s head and said, “Why do you always eat chole bhature? Try something new for a change!”

Tanishk pouted and retorted, “And have I ever asked you why you always go crazy over sweets? Why don’t you try something else for once?”

Hearing this, Adrijay gave him a stern look and said, “Tanu, is this the way to speak to your elder brother? You shouldn’t use such sentences.”

Tanishk immediately looked at Adhik and said, “Sorry, Bhaiya!”

Adhik smiled and said, “No problem.”

Sarika watched the two brothers with a warm smile. Just then, Adrijay noticed her smiling and, seeing her like that, he too couldn’t help but smile. Soon, he seated everyone in the car and drove them to a nice restaurant.

At the restaurant, everyone ordered their favorite dishes. Sarika, for the first time, ordered something of her own choice—though only after much insistence from Adrijay, Tanishk, and Adhik.

Today, Sarika truly felt happy. For the first time, she had spent such carefree moments with her family. She had been waiting for this day for so long. One of the wishes from her wishlist had finally come true. That’s why she was still smiling even on their way back. For the first time, she hadn’t let thoughts of Yamini Ji ruin her mood. She truly wanted to cherish and treasure these moments in her heart so that she could look back and feel happy.

On the other hand, Adrijay was also incredibly happy. For the first time in what felt like a hundred years, he had seen genuine joy and a true smile on Sarika’s face—something so rare for her. And knowing that he was the reason behind that smile filled him with an indescribable sense of peace. At that moment, he made a silent promise to himself—no matter what happened, he would never let Sarika’s smile fade away.

With this thought, he glanced at her lovingly before focusing back on the road, driving ahead with a newfound determination.

By the time they reached home, it was quite late at night, and the children had fallen asleep in the car. Adrijay and Sarika carried all the bags and the kids in their arms as they rang the doorbell. Devansh opened the door, smiled upon seeing them, and then looked at the children.

"It looks like they really enjoyed today! That’s why they’re fast asleep," he said.

Adrijay smiled and replied, "Hmm… They sure did! Don’t even ask! Anyway, listen, we’re going to sleep now, and you should lock the main door and go to bed too. It’s really late. Good night!"

Devansh wished them both good night and went to lock the door while Sarika and Adrijay walked to their room.

Inside the room, they placed all the bags on the table and gently laid the children on the bed. Sarika quickly grabbed her clothes and went to change.

A little while later, Sarika returned, took out fresh clothes for the kids, and sat on the bed to change them. Afterward, she placed the dirty clothes in the bathroom tub, lay down beside Tanishq, and closed her eyes.

Adrijay had already changed and was lying beside Adhik, but sleep hadn’t come to him yet. He turned towards Sarika and said, "The kids had so much fun today, didn’t they?"

Sarika, still with her eyes closed, simply responded with a "Hmm."

Adrijay felt a little annoyed but controlled himself and asked, "How about you? This must have been your first time seeing Durga Puja in Lucknow, right? So, how did you like it?"

Sarika opened her eyes and looked at him for a moment before turning to face the ceiling. "You’re right. It was my first time seeing Durga Puja in Lucknow, and to be honest, I really loved it. Everything was so beautiful, it felt like a dream that could shatter at any moment. I don’t know why you took me out today, especially since you never do. But if I’m being honest, those moments became very precious to me. I will always cherish these memories."

She then turned to Adrijay and continued, "So… thank you so much! Thank you for giving me such wonderful moments, Ji!"

Hearing her words, Adrijay felt an unfamiliar ache in his heart. For the first time, he sensed the pain hidden in Sarika’s words. He had always known what she had lost, but today, he truly felt it. He wanted Sarika to share her pain with him so he could right his wrongs. But Sarika had perhaps given up on sharing her pain with anyone, and if she ever did, Adrijay would probably be the last person she would confide in—especially after the way he had spoken to her that day.

Thinking this, Adrijay gently placed his hand over Sarika’s and said softly, "I’m sorry, Sarika… for the way I spoke to you that day—"

Before he could finish, Sarika interrupted him, still looking at the ceiling. "You don’t need to apologize, Ji. It wasn’t your fault. It was mine. I always assume things wrongly, speak without thinking, and forget where I am and who I’m talking to. So, you shouldn’t be the one apologizing. It’s my fault. I should be more careful with my words."

With that, she fell silent.

Her words pricked at Adrijay’s heart. He wanted to say so much more, but the way Sarika spoke made it impossible for him to respond. Feeling helpless, he closed his eyes.

On the other hand, Sarika didn’t wait for his response and soon drifted into sleep.

---

The next few days passed in a similar manner. Yamini Ji hadn’t said anything to Sarika about the Durga Puja outing, as she didn’t want to ruin her image further in front of Adrijay. She had seen how easily Tanishq spoke up in front of him, so she chose to remain silent.

During these days, Sarika and Adrijay exchanged brief conversations, mostly initiated by Adrijay. Otherwise, Sarika only responded with "Hmm," "Yes," or "No." This irritated Adrijay, but he stayed quiet because he didn’t want to hurt Sarika any further.

Tanishq’s birthday was approaching, and he was beyond excited. He had even handed a list of gifts to Devansh and Adrijay, which left both of them overwhelmed. But despite their initial reaction, they bought every single item on the list.

Vishakha still kept to herself, barely interacting with anyone. She hadn’t forgotten the way Yamini Ji had spoken to her that day, so she completely avoided her and spent most of her time in her room, only stepping out to cook or prepare meals. She had never been close to the children, so she didn’t interact with them either.

Before they knew it, Tanishq’s birthday had arrived.

---

The next morning, Chaudhary House was buzzing with preparations. Every year, Adrijay hosted a grand party for the children’s birthdays, and this year was no different.

Sarika was in the kitchen instructing the caterers. Adrijay had taken two days off from work, and Devansh had also taken a leave from his firm so they could oversee the decorations. Vishakha was in her room, talking to Nishchay on the phone, while the two kids were running wild in the hall.

Meanwhile, Yamini Ji was lying in her room, relaxing.

---

A while later, Tanishq approached Adrijay with a serious expression and said, "Papa, I need to talk to you."

Surprised by his serious tone, Adrijay nodded and picked him up, carrying him to the courtyard where no one was around. Sitting on a chair with Tanishq in his lap, he asked, "Yes, tell me, what’s the matter?"

Tanishq looked at him with innocent eyes and said, "Papa, if you don’t want to get me a gift, that’s okay. But please, can you get a new saree for Mumma? She only gets new clothes on festivals, but I want her to wear something new on my birthday. So please, don’t buy me any gifts. Just get Mumma a new saree—that would be the best gift for me!"

Hearing his words, Adrijay felt his heart sink. He had always been the one running this household, yet his own wife didn’t have new clothes unless it was a festival. But wasn’t it a husband’s duty to take care of such things? If he had never thought about it, how could he expect anyone else to?

The weight of his neglect filled him with regret.

Just then, Tanishq shook his hand and asked eagerly, "Papa, tell me! Will you bring a new saree for Mumma?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Adrijay looked at him lovingly and said, "Of course, I will! Not just one, I’ll bring many! Don’t worry. And I’ll get all your gifts too, okay?"

Overjoyed, Tanishq hugged him and said, "Thank you, Papa!"

Holding him close, Adrijay found himself lost in thoughts about Sarika.

---

That evening, when Sarika finally got a moment to herself, she went to her room.

Seeing no one inside, she quickly locked the door, opened the cupboard, and retrieved a file hidden among her sarees. Running her fingers over it, her eyes welled up.

Sitting on the bed, she opened the file, and her gaze immediately fell on an ultrasound report showing two tiny dots.

With tears streaming down her face, she gently traced the dots with her fingers and whispered, "Happy birthday, my baby… Tomorrow is your birthday too. If only you were here with us, everything would have been so perfect. You would have celebrated with Tanu… I’m so sorry, my baby. I couldn’t save you. It’s all my fault. If only I had spoken up back then, maybe you would have been with us today… I know I made a mistake, but please, never hate me. If you do, I’ll die inside. I love you so much, and I always will. Just… please, never hate me, my child… please!"

Tears flowed freely down her face as she gazed at the tiny dots with glistening eyes.

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This chapter was updated mistakenly, otherwise I wouldn't update it today as the target was not completed yet and secondly I update only on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So, the next chapter will be update only on Monday after the completion of the target.

Next chapter target:- 500 votes and 120 comments.