The way I used to live

15 days later.

Daksha's POV:-

Everything was going well except for the fact that I was receiving threatening messages from Rahul to stop my brother from whatever he was doing.

When I informed the same to my Anna, he told me to ignore those messages but I knew Rahul wouldn't stop sending those messages unless I responded to them.

Arjun became even more caring than before after that cafe incident. He was always after me to take care of myself properly just like a nagging old man.

Another thing, last week our grandfathers returned from their tour and the interesting fact was, our grandfathers were already good friends with each other.

So Attayya and mom arranged a family dinner for our both families and in that dinner, we came to know that Arjun's family and my family belonged to the same village but later moved to the city for business purposes.

While Arjun's grandfather was still living in that village, our grandfather left with my father to the city. That's how both the families lost contact with each other.

Our grandfathers accidentally met once and planned this world tour. Finally, both the friends became relatives through our marriage.

I came out of my thoughts when I heard the pinging of my mobile phone. I knew the message was from Arjun because of the tune.

So I opened and saw the message.

Have your lunch on time - MJ

I smiled a little after reading this message. He never once failed to message me to remind me of it.

I replied to him with an okay and asked him to take the food on time as well.

After thinking of something, I again took my phone and sent a message to him.

Come home early. I have something important to tell you.

I received a reply immediately. He just sent me a simple 'okay'. I think he must be pretty busy. So I kept my mobile aside and didn't bother him anymore.

Today, I decided to tell him everything about my past. I gathered some courage to face it. Reopening my old wounds was going to be a difficult task but I had to do it. It wasn't fair on his part when all he did was, being so understanding and caring.

I was sure he would support me once he came to know about my past. I trusted him on that.

Recently, another thing that was confusing me a lot was, whenever Arjun came in front of me, my heart felt like it was going to explode at any time. His single touch was enough to make butterflies do salsa in the pit of my stomach.

I really couldn't understand all these feelings. So I decided to meet my girls to get some clarification. I immediately messaged them in the group and asked them to meet me at the cafe near the hospital.

Today, I didn't have many cases lined up. So I was pretty free and Yuktha too came to my cabin after taking some time from her schedule.

We both went to the cafe together silently. After some time, both Rishu and Aarna came on Aarna's scooty.

We all sat around a round table and gave our orders. After our orders came, Aarna turned and looked at me for some time.

"Are you going to say anything? Why did you call us and asked us to come here quickly? Is everything okay?" She started her question bank session.

Though I called them here, I didn't know how to say everything to them. So I just stayed silent.

"Girl, what's the matter.?" Yuktha chimed and I released a shaky sigh and cleared my throat.

"That... recently I had a friendly talk with one of my patients. She got married recently and was pretty confused about her own feelings that she felt for her husband. So, she asked for my advice. As I don't know anything, I called you all to ask your opinion," I told them while avoiding their scrutinizing gazes nervously.

"Did you call us here for that matter? Have you gone crazy or what?" Yuktha asked me angrily.

Of course, she has every right to be angry at me because I made her come here by taking out her time from her schedule, and because of that, she had to work another extra hour after her shift. So, I mumbled a quick sorry guiltily.

I turned to look at Aarna and Rishu. They both didn't react much but were passing meaningful glances at each other and both suddenly turned to look at me. So, I bent down my head and sipped on to my hot chocolate.

"Okay. Can you tell us about her husband.? So, we can help you in analyzing everything." Aarna asked me calmly and I nodded at her in understanding.

"He is the best husband that any girl could ever get. He always takes care of her, pampers her, pacifies her, and bears all her silly tantrums. Most of all, he is so understanding and never once forced her to do anything against her will. For her, his embrace feels like the safest place in this world. Being in his arms, she feels so secured and protected. His touch makes her heart go on the marathon. He can be naughty, childish, caring, supportive, protective... everything but only for her. Finally, that person evokes different feelings in her heart which she has never experienced before. She can be her real self when she is in his presence. In one sentence, she is feeling like she is nothing without him." I poured all my emotions in front of them and they were gawking at me with their mouths wide open.

I cleared my throat to bring them back from their dazed states. The three looked at each other with bright smiles on their face and turned to me.

"SHE IS IN LOVE." All three shouted together, making everyone's heads in the cafe snap in our direction. I embarrassedly covered my face with my hands and apologized to everyone.

Not bothering with my embarrassment, the three of them were grinning like a Cheshire cat. I shot them a glare. Aarna stuck her tongue out at me and the remaining two laughed at us.

"How are you sure that she is in love with him?" I asked them after some time.

"Those are all the symptoms of love, Akka. Trust me, she is in love with him," Aarna said.

"Are you sure?" I asked her while biting my lips.

"Cent percent. If not, ask her these questions. Can she live without him? Can she feel like she can do anything and can go to any extent just to see him happy? Can she feel like his smile is enough to light up her world? Can she feel like he is the light in her darkness? If she has the answers to all these questions, then she surely knows whether she is in love or not," Aarna said with a glint in her eyes and a dreamy smile on her face.

If it were another time, I would have teased the hell out of her but now I was not in a situation to bother with all these as I was in a complete dilemma about my own thoughts.

Suddenly, Yuktha received a message from her assistant to come to the hospital. So, we all left the cafe after paying the bill.

Before going, Aarna came to me and whispered something which made my eyes widen in surprise.

"Confess your feelings quickly and I am sure, he will be the happiest person in this world. Don't fear that he won't reciprocate your feelings. That won't happen till hell freezes over." She said and trotted to her scooty after passing me a wink.

I shook my head and went to the hospital along with Yuktha. We both headed to our departments.

After reaching there, I informed my assistant that I was going home and told her to call me if anything needed my attention.

Since Arjun dropped me to the hospital in the morning, I didn't have my car. So I hailed a cab to go home. After settling in the cab, I closed my eyes to reflect on my thoughts but I opened them immediately when the cab driver called me.

"Mam, is it okay with you to share the ride with someone? That lady is asking me for the ride and her address is also on your way. So, are you okay with it.?" He asked me politely.

After hearing his words, I turned my face to look out of the window and saw that a young lady was waiting outside the cab while holding some reports of our hospital in her hand with a blissful smile on her face.

Sensing that the lady was looking harmless, I told the driver that I was okay with it.

After hearing my consent, he signaled her to get into the cab. She came to the backside and took the seat beside me.

Settling herself in the cab, she turned to me and offered me a friendly smile.

"Hi! I am Ankitha." She introduced herself cheerfully.

"Hi! Nice meet you. I am Daksha," I told her with a slight smile.

"Did you come to the hospital for a check-up too?" She asked me with a frown and I shook my head at her in denial.

"I work as a doctor here. What about you? You must have visited the hospital for a check-up as I have never seen you here before," I asked her.

After hearing my words, she placed a hand on her tummy with a serene smile on her face. "Yes, I came here to confirm my pregnancy and came to know that I am three months pregnant." She told me in a happy tone and that smile never left her face.

"Congratulations." I wished her wholeheartedly with a smile.

"Thank you so much," she replied.

"Why did you come here alone? You should have visited with your husband or with any of your friends."

After hearing my words, the smile on her lips got frozen and she visibly stiffened but soon masked her expressions with a smile. "I don't want to trouble anyone and my husband is a little busy. Moreover, I want

to give him a surprise. So, I didn't tell him about my check-up," she told me with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Okay. I think he will be very happy with this news," I said while observing her expression.

"He will," she said in a low voice without even looking at me.

"I think she too has some story." I thought.

After that conversation, the atmosphere in the cab turned awkward and we both didn't talk with each other any further.

I guess I asked the wrong questions. So I kept my silence and looked out of the window.

Though I didn't know much about her in the first meeting, I felt that she was a good lady and I really hoped that whatever she was facing in her life would get solved soon.

I didn't know why but hearing her talk about being pregnant reminded me of one of the happiest memories of the past.

*Flashback*

"Teju!" My Anna and I shouted for her.

"I am here," she replied from the balcony.

Soon we both went to her while glaring at each other. Upon reaching her, I sat beside her quickly without giving my brother a chance to sit there.

"What's the matter?" She asked us while drawing some designs in her book. I immediately scoffed in my brother's direction and he huffed at me in return.

"Teju, if you are pregnant, who will be the first one that you will tell this news to among the two of us?" He asked her while pointing at both of us.

"You will tell that news to me before him, right?" I asked her while looking expectantly at her.

"No. She will tell that news to only me," he chimed in the middle.

"Me."

"Me."

"Stop it, yaar. First of all, I am not pregnant. So, we will have this talk when I become so," she told us in an annoyed tone.

"That won't do. Tell us now itself. Imagine yourself to be pregnant and answer this question," I asked her and Adi Anna agreed with me.

"Okay." She nodded and looked at both of us repeatedly. Finally, her gaze settled on me and she gestured with her eyes that I would be the first one to know about the news.

Upon knowing her answer, I jumped from my seat excitedly and stuck my tongue out at my brother.

"See? She loves me more," I told him teasingly and he scoffed at me.

"Girl, I am your husband. Give me some importance," he said to her and she rolled her eyes at him.

"So what? Don't forget that If it weren't for her, you wouldn't have gotten a chance to meet me and marry me. So, she should be the first one to know everything," she said to him with a finality in her tone and I wriggled my eyebrows at him in victory.

"You both are ganging up on me, right? I see." Saying this in a sulking tone, he stomped his foot all the way back. We both laughed together and shared a high-five.

*End of flashback*

As she had said, I was the first one to know that news but sadly I was the last one too because she didn't get a chance to share that happy news with anyone, and my brother didn't get a chance to know that he was going to be a father from her mouth.

Thinking about all these, my eyes filled up with the unshed tears. Suddenly, I came out of my haze when I felt a hand on my shoulder. So Immediately wiped my tears without her noticing it and turned to face her with a smile.

"We reached my house. So, I am leaving. Goodbye. By the way, it was nice meeting you. I hope we will meet again in the future." Saying this, she got down from the cab.

When she was about to enter her house, I called her from the window.

"Ankitha?" Hearing me, she again came back to me.

"Take care of yourself. I can sense that you are going through some difficulties but don't let them affect your health. You have a life growing inside you. So, the baby should be your main priority and go to any extent to protect it. Face everything bravely and start living for yourself and your baby." I told her and she looked at me with her teary eyes.

"Thanks a lot. You are the first one who has asked me to live for myself. I will. Definitely, I will," she said in a determined voice and I nodded at her with a smile.

"That's good. There are my contact details on that card. Don't hesitate to call me when you are in need," I told her and she took that card with a grateful smile.

We both parted ways and I soon reached home. After paying the driver, I went inside and greeted my Attayya.

After I went to our room and waited for Arjun in anticipation as I had decided to tell him everything.

But that anticipation turned into apprehension when I received a message from Rahul.

I warned you to stop your brother but you didn't pay any heed to my words. So, now I am here at your husband's firm to have a nice chat with him. I came to know that he doesn't know anything about your

past. So, the situation is in my favor and he will believe whatever I say. Goodbye. Wait for my updates.

-Rahul

After reading the content, I froze in my place. Why was everything happening like this? Today, I decided to tell him everything yet before I could get the chance to do it, God snatched that right too.

It was not that I didn't have trust in Arjun but I couldn't trust Rahul. He was so manipulative and cunning.

But my instincts were telling me that Arjun wasn't a person who would believe all his nonsense and wouldn't be manipulated easily. So, I decided to trust my instincts and for the first time in all these days, I

replied to Rahul.

Do whatever you want to do. I trust my husband. -Daksha.

Let's see. Hope you will still be so confident after facing your husband's confrontation when he will believe my white lies. -Rahul

I will because I have confidence in my husband that he won't even acknowledge your presence. I just hope that you won't lose your face after meeting him. -Daksha.

After messaging him confidently, I put my phone aside and sat on the bed while flipping through a magazine.

"Hope Arjun won't disappoint me and will live up to his name of a suave and sharp-tongued lawyer." I thought with a sigh.000000