Armaan rushed along to the doctor’s room. “Sit down, please. You might need to sign some papers here. And, hmm, you need to take care of her for at least a few weeks. Don’t leave her alone. She seems to be down, Mr…”
“Armaan. Armaan Malik. Is she in danger? Physically?”
“No. There’s nothing to worry health-wise, and these things happen. You both are young; you can always try again. Just come in earlier next time, so that we can ensure she doesn’t suffer through a miscarriage again.”
“Is it...is it because of her condition?”
“I can’t conclusively say anything right now. But yes, it is difficult to conceive with endometriosis, and the risk of spontaneous abortions is more. Don’t worry, there are a lot of options these days. Don’t let your hopes down. Right now, I’d advise you not to talk about all this to your wife. She needs to heal first.”
Armaan simply nodded, not bothering to correct the doctor about his relationship with Mia. He silently signed the papers and went out to pay the bills. When he came back to Mia’s room, he saw her slumped back with her eyes closed. At the sound of the door closing, her eyes opened.
She looked at a haggard-looking Armaan entering the room and stifled her instinctive reaction. Shame, a sense of failure, and guilt; those were the emotions she experienced. She couldn’t give him the baby he was so excited about. Perhaps, she was indeed selfish. She hadn’t given her baby a chance to thrive.
“Sugar, I’m so sorry.” He sat on the bed and brushed a strand of hair away. When he kissed her cheek softly, she lost her composure and gave in to the emotional storm.
Armaan held her in his arms, rubbing her back, letting her get it all out. He felt like a prick for picking a fight with her the previous day. After all that she’d been through, he should have approached her slowly and introduced the idea of marriage gently. Instead, he’d spoken about custody battles. Damn! Armaan felt like a complete loser; he felt he’d failed her as a friend and her partner.
“We’ll get through this, darling. Don’t cry.” He murmured, soothing her through her tears. He felt her sobs getting stronger after hearing his words. Helpless and not knowing how to deal with the loss, he held her simply, preferring to keep his words to himself for now.
Chapter 13
“How’s she feeling now?” Tanya looked at Armaan with anxiety and worry. He noticed Neil rub his wife’s back, unconsciously soothing her.
“Relax, sweetheart. We don’t want you fretting.” Neil murmured.
Again, Armaan felt his heart pierce in guilt. This was how he should have treated Mia, who would have probably continued with her pregnancy had she not had any shocks that day. He swallowed, turning away, unable to look at the couple any longer. Tanya was showing now, her hand resting on her abdomen. He wondered if this is how Mia would have looked; pink and blooming.
Tanya moved away from her husband and walked towards him. “Armaan,” she called out softly.
“Yeah?”
“I know you’ve been taking care of her for the past three weeks and she would come out of it eventually. But, are you okay? Did you stop to take care of yourself too? It was your child too, you know?” She placed a hand on his arm and looked up at him, her affection shining for this man who hid behind his playboy image.
“Yeah!” He couldn’t seem to form any other words at the moment.
“Huh, Armaan! It’s gonna be okay. Give her some time; it might take several weeks for the body to heal and perhaps longer for her to get back emotionally. Hang in there. It wasn’t either of your faults.” She hugged him gently.
Armaan hugged her back, not even realizing how much another person’s care mattered to him. Yes, it was his child too, and he’d been looking forward to having a child although he had known only for a few days. After a couple of minutes, he got up from the chair. “Alright, I need to get back. Natasha is with her right now.”
“Okay, take care,” Tanya replied with a smile while Neil nodded, his expression grave. He’d never seen his usually happy-go-lucky friend so subdued. The couple exchanged a worried glance after he left.
Armaan entered his house after his chauffeur dropped him back home. He dropped his wallet on the table and went further in. He stopped when he saw Natasha come down.
“She’s sleeping. Want me to quickly whip something for dinner?”
“Don’t bother, my housekeeper will take care of it.”
Natasha nodded and unlocked her phone to book a cab.
“Don’t! Joe will drop you back. It’s unsafe to travel by cab now.”
Natasha hugged him and smiled. “Fine. You take care, okay?” She squeezed his arm and let herself out.
Armaan didn’t bother with food, but directly went up to her room. At first, when he’d insisted she come to his place, she’d feebly protested. After a few times, she’d given up even that. And that’s how she’d been these past three weeks; passive, empty, and barely getting through. More than once, he’d had to make sure she ate. Again, she didn’t protest, nor did she show any particular interest in anything. Armaan himself was hanging on by a thin thread. He spoke to his dad, anxious to ensure the older man took it easy after his heart attack. He would have been there with his dad himself, had it not been for the current situation.
He knocked briefly before entering. Seeing her awake, Armaan quietly sat on the bed. “Had food?”
“Huh, off late that’s all that I seem to be doing. Eat, sleep, walk around.” She gave a half-hearted smile.
