Mathew's PoV

What fuck did I just do? I shouldn't have brought up that night not in front of Radhika. I was just so angry with Arjun when he wasn't even ready to listen to me that I gave it back to him and I think I did more damage than good.

I look at Radhika who was sobbing silently with Sam rubbing her back and Mariam aunty trying to make her eat something. Arjun has been gone for almost ten hours and its getting late now. His phone was switched off as it is he wouldn't have picked up my call even if his phone was switched on. He has been gone for ten hours now and he has left his phone here so there is no way I can contact him.

"I am not hungry, Mariam Aunty. I will throw up if I eat anything right now."

Radhika has been turning down food from the time he is gone.

"Radhika, my dear, you need to eat something at least for the baby, you must eat."

She shook her head adamantly.

I kneeled in front of her," I am sorry, Radhika. It's all my fault please eat something, you should not be starving yourself in this condition."

"It isn't your fault, I understand what you said it was just in the heat of moment." She says softly, sniffling.

I feel more guilty than I already did, I shouldn't have brought up this thing right now when Arjun was so overjoyed.

"Radhika, nothing happened between that whore and Arjun. He is many things but not a liar, I hope you know that." I tell her, looking her in the eye as I don't want her to think that I am taking Arjun's side here.

I remember asking him the next morning if he really fucked that Olivia bitch and he told me he was so drunk that he couldn't even fuck her with a borrowed dick. I know Arjun will never lie, he is a brutally honest bitch so if he does something good, bad, evil, he will own upto it and if he didn't then he will never take the blame.

I do know for a matter of fact that my best friend had tons of chances to get laid outside his marriage with women throwing themselves at him but he has rebuffed all of them and I have seen it happen with my own eyes a couple of times.

She nods wiping her tears," I know, he told me, I just don't like to think about him with other women. It just makes me so sad that he...." She breaks down covering her eyes.

"Radhika, he loves you fuc...no he worships you and you are on his mind 24/7. He is yours, all yours from the moment he married you. I know Arjun better than anyone else and I know he has not fuc....slept with any other women." I correct my crude language as I could see Mariam aunty glaring at me.

She nods," I just want him to come back, he has been gone for so long now and I fear if something...."

She swallows her words looking at me tearfully but I understand that she has been through a lot and she doesn't want to lose Arjun again.

"Nothing will happen, I promise."

"Radhika, at least have this soup."

"Mariam aunty please, I can't....."

As soon as she opened her mouth to protest, Mariam aunty stuffed a spoonful of soup inside her mouth making her eyes go wide in surprise.

She tried to protest but Mariam aunty was having none of it as she fed her the soup with her own hands. Her crying has subsided a bit as she had calmed down by now and at least that was a silver lining amongst the dark clouds.

"Radhika, listen he is mad at me not you, trust me  I promise I will get him back before the dawn." I assure her.

I stood up on my feet as I started to leave.

"He will not listen to you in fact he will hit you." Sam warned me.

I turn around and look at her,"Let him then but I will get him back."

"Do you even know where he is right now?" Radhika asked me.

"I think I might just know where he is right now. Don't worry, I will get him back." I assure them.

I get inside my car and drive as fast as I could to the place that has a piece of Arjun's heart. I am confident that he is there only and I am going to fulfill the promise I made to Radhika.

I stop the car near the graveyard and step out of the car. I enter inside and walk straight to where I know I will find my best friend.

He was sitting on the ground with his head resting on his mother's crpyt with a fresh bouquet of lillies placed on it. He must have brought them along with him as lillies are Martha aunt's favorite flowers.

"Arjun, let's go home." I said without bullshitting with him.

"What the fuck do you want?" He stood up and tried to intimidate me but I am not scared of him.

"I am here to take you home."

"I will fucking come home when I want to." He said in a hard tone.

"Radhika is worried, everybody is tensed and she has not eaten anything since the time you stormed out."

"I don't want to come home."

"For Radhika, for your baby, you have to come home right now with me."

He stood up and closed up on me.

"Why the fuck did you do this? You turned my sister against me! You turned my wife against me! You!! My fucking best friend!" He accused me.

I shake my head," No I didn't and nothing could turn Sam and Radhika against you. Sam loves you the most besides her mother and for Radhika, her world begins and end at you. Do you really think it's possible for anyone to turn them against you?"

If I wasn't wrong, his eyes were filled with tears as he looked away from me, hiding the fact that he had teared up.

"You know when Sam was born and I held her in my arms for the very first time and she looked at me with those big hazel colored eyes, my heart was in my mouth that day. She was so beautiful, so innocent and so pure, I promised her and Mariam that I will always protect her and I will always do anything to make her happy."

" I know, Arjun."

"I was nine when she was born, I use to keep staring at her. She was my little wonder, I use to watch her sleep for hours. I use to feed her sometimes too when Mariam was too tired. I always wanted a sibling but my Father never wanted any children after me so I kept praying to God and he fulfilled my wish in form of Sam. I use to play dolls with her and do girly stuff with her just to make her laugh." He says reminiscing old memories.

"Sam isn't just my sister, she is my child, my first child and I love her so much, Mathew. I can't even tell you in words what she means to me."

I look him in the eye," I know, Arjun. Trust me, I know and I will never do anything to hurt her. I really love her, brother."

He stood facing me, with just a few inches gap between us,"If you ever cheat on her or you hurt her, I will kill you with my bare hands and that is a promise. Like I told you, Sam is like my own baby and if you fuck this up, I swear Mathew, I won't give you a second chance to even explain yourself."

I look up at him," Does that mean you are...."

"You have to prove yourself to me, I haven't accepted you yet and I won't until you prove yourself worthy of Sam." He says in a tone that means business.

"Are we still friends?"

He looked up at me, giving nothing away but smiled after a couple of seconds.

"We are family, you have always been family to me but don't fuck this up because you know I won't spare you if you break my sister's heart."

"I understand you, man and you know how important you are to me, we have been together whole our lives and you have been my family when I lost mine at a young age."

This man standing here has given me so much in life, so much I can't even in put in words. We were neighbors right from our childhood, the Mehra Mansion was three blocks away from my house which was pretty small as I didn't come from a rich family. I still remember the first time I saw Arjun and we fostered a bond for lifetime from that moment onwards.

I use to watch him play football with his father, he use to horse riding on their large grounds and he clearly was the prince of our locality. Everybody wanted to be his friend, everyone was attracted to this handsome looking boy. He was such a good looking shit and everyone was just mesmerized by him.
I wasn't exactly rich rather I was just a middle class boy watching him play football, run around with his dog and do things rich kids do.

One day he saw me watching him play and I hid behind the wall in fear because I thought he will insult me as I thought him to be a arrogant rich brat  instead he walked to me and asked me if I wanted to play with him. I told him that I didn't know to play football and he said, he'll teach me what he knows. He said I can come to play with him and I can also play in their huge garden even if he is not there. He was very kind to me and he even invited me to his house.

His mother was very sweet to me, she made a variety of dishes when I had come to their house for lunch. His Father didn't like me much because I didn't match their status but still tolerated me for Arjun. We had really grown close as we use to hang out together all the time but on one unfortunate day which was the darkest time of my life, I lost my parents! Their plane crashed and I couldn't even see them for one last time.

I was devastated but Arjun never left my side, he use to wait outside my room for hours when I use to lock myself inside. He really stood by me in those hard times and I decided that there is nothing I wouldn't do for this man. My aunt shifted to my house as she was the only family member willing to look after me. She was just interested in the house and whatever money my parents left me. Since I wasn't an adult, the state appointed her in charge of my inheritance. She didn't use to give me any money for anything other than my basic needs and my education.

There were only two people Arjun loved the most, his mother and his maternal sister, Sam. Samaira Khanna, the name that gives me chill down my spine still. I still remember walking inside Arjun's room and finding him kneeling on the ground, peeping inside a cradle. I took a peek at the baby inside the cradle and I was spellbound looking into those big hazel colored eyes.

Arjun picked her up in his arms as he swayed her from side to side and she laughed from the core of her belly. It was the most beautiful sound I ever heard.

"This is Sam, my baby sister." He introduced me to the baby proudly.

"She is beautiful." I managed to say as I was never around someone so little and so beautiful.

"Say hi, Sam." He talked to her in a baby voice.

"Say hi to Mathew, baby." He cuddled her.

She wasn't looking at me, she was looking at him, confused and clueless. It was such a treat to watch her suck on Arjun's cheek and leaving her drool all over his face but he didn't mind at all.

"Call her name." He said with a smile and I did as I was told.

"Sam."
She looked at me, gazing at me.

"She knows her name?" I asked him.

"She is smart, she understands everything." He says proudly as he pecked her head.

"Don't you baby?" He cooed her.

"She is beautiful, isn't she?" He asked me as he was simply taken by the baby and so was I.

I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be so head over heels for the same baby one day. Arjun was so protective about her and he use to let me play with her, entertain her but he never let any other kid of our age get close to her.

After my parents death, my own house was not my own and my only silver lining admist the dark clouds was my best friend, Arjun. He use to take me to his house to eat when my aunt used to starve me. He shared everything with me from his books to his clothes. Then one day, Arjun lost his mother and he changed overnight! He became so quiet as if he had nothing left to say to anyone.

I never left his side, I stayed with him even when he threw me out of his room and wanted to be left alone. Before he could  accept his mother's death, he lost his Father and also his shield that kept him safe. Soon I got a scholarship and I didn't even wanted to go but Arjun forced me to accept the scholarship because he had seen me struggle for basic necessities and he wanted me to succeed in life.

We stayed in touch for all those years I wasn't in the county and when I came back, Arjun had undergone drastic  transformation. He told me what he did for living and I decided to join him and his dark world because I wanted to protect my best friend. He was the only family I had left after I lost my parents. I could never forget the love and kindness he showed to that poor lad.

I know for a fact that Arjun trusts me blindly but he is overprotective about Sammy as he should be because he has watched her grow up from a baby to a beautiful. He has always been there for her not like an elder brother but more like a Father and I understand his position here. It's actually a great thing to earn another man's respect and I know I have Arjun's respect, he just needs time to wrap his head around the whole idea. Also I need to work hard to prove myself to him and I know he is going to give me hard time.

At present we were sitting on the hood of my car, staring at the moon.

"Do you have a cigarette?"

I nodded and got up to fetch some from my car. I don't smoke that much but I do keep some handy in case I or someone else from our crew needs it. Nothing dulls your thought process like a good old cigarette does.

I handed over one cigarette and lighter to him and I couldn't help but sign in relief watching him get back to normal rather watching us get back to normal.  As Arjun's best friend, I understand one thing about him that he rarely smokes and drinks in company of strangers or people who he doesn't trust.

"Don't tell, Radhika. She doesn't like it."

He warned me and I chuckled.

"You are so pussywhipped."

He glared at me, "Call me what you want, fucker."

"You know, I am really happy for you and Radhika of course. You guys are really excited about the baby......"

He cuts me off,"Baby who is a boy! I mean seriously I cannot believe my gut feeling was so strong that I actually predicted my baby's gender. Can you believe it?"

I give him a dirty look,"You predicted nothing, you were just pestering everyone especially Radhika about how you wanted a boy. I think God took pity on that poor girl, I believe she was scared of your reaction if the baby was a girl."

"Oh, Common! I am not bad!"

He gave me a smug look.

"So how does it feel? Scared?"

"Shit scared! The baby is super active and he keeps moving around and responding everytime I rub her belly or when I have my mouth against it. He isn't even born yet and I feel goosebumps all over my body just by feeling him kick from inside."

To witness Arjun so happy and excited about his baby makes me want one too but I know with children comes great responsibility.

"You will be fine, Arjun. What are you worried about?" I ask him.

He looked down with  his gaze cast down and I knew that look very well. He was assuming the worst, he was thinking about his Father.

"I don't want to be like him."

He says in a low clipped tone.

I shake my head," You won't be like him. Are you crazy? Why are you thinking like that?"

"I just think that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, he fucked up my childhood, I don't want to do the same with my child."

He says in such a sad voice that I feel his pain. I have seen it, I have seen his Father making his life hell, I have seen and been there for my friend but there was very little I could do about it as even I was a little boy.

"Arjun, you are not like him. He was pure evil to be so cruel to his own child even if he thought what he was doing was best for you." I assure him.

"You know, Radhika thinks I should forgive him, she said to me that he wasn't cut out to be a Father. He didn't know how to be one so I think that what the fuck do I know about being one?"

I wish I could tell him something that will make him feel better but I myself didn't get much time with my Father.

"I wish I could offer you some advice there but you know even I lost my parents when I was just six but I just think that in any relationship you just have to do your best, give your best. I think the fact that you are so scared for your baby proves that you love him a lot already and he isn't even born yet."

"Father loved me at least everybody says he did but look what he did to me! He gave me nightmares to live with and it wasn't until Radhika, I could finally sleep without waking up in the night."

"Arjun, the difference is in the word itself. Any man can father a child but it takes a lot out of you to be a Dad, to be someone the child looks up to. I know you are terrified but look, how amazing you were with Sam, you were just nine years old and you were doting on her."

He was simply amazing with Sam when she was a baby. I don't understand why is he even worried?

"That's different, Mathew. Sam is my sister and it's not like I use to watch over her throughout the day. Mariam and my Mamma took care of her when she was a child and even when she was a little girl. I love her to pieces but this is my child we are talking about, the child I am bringing into this world who will be entirely dependent on me."

"Arjun, I think you are going to be fine and to think it you never wanted a child year ago in fact the thought was so abstract to you."

"That's because I never wanted a baby with those sluts that I fucked, I mean having children means you bind yourself to that woman forever and I never wanted to be tied to a whore."

"So how did you react when you got to know that Radhika is pregnant?"

"It took some time to sink in, but I was over the moon, she is my wife and she is such a purehearted girl. Somewhere I knew that the kind of person she is, that she will be a great mother."

"Yeah she does put up with a lot of your shit so she has a temper of a Saint."

I fully agree because Arjun is a difficult person to live with, I know this and sometimes even I get tired of his shit and need my own space. I tolerate him because we are more alike than apart and also we have been together since childhood.

"Radhika's strength is her silence which for me is more hurtful than anything she will say out of anger. I mean I am shortempered, I will just say any fucking thing and burst out but Radhika keeps quiet and when I see hurt and disappointment in her eyes, it hits me hard."

"So how does it feel to know that soon its not just going to be two of you?"

"Scary but I am more excited because hey, it's my own child, my flesh and blood. You know I have never felt this possessive and insanely protective about any person besides Radhika."

"Arjun, you are going to be fine. So are you going to change diapers?"

I ask him to distract him.

"Do I need to? I mean Radhika...."

I stared at him with disdain,"Fuck you! You had fun making the baby and now you are going to dump the diaper duty completely on your poor wife! Seriously, you are right, you should be scared because Radhika is going to have your nuts if you don't help her with the baby!"

"Yeah, you are right. I had fun making the baby so I should help her in everything or maybe we will get some help."

"I think you are not going to let anyone touch the baby when it's born. I can bet that about you given your obsessive nature."

"We could keep a nanny when the baby is two or three years old. I think Radhika deserves her own space and time away from fulfilling the mommy duties but it's upto her, what she wants to do."

Sometimes I forget who I am talking to, Radhika has really changed my best friend as he was never this understanding neither was he accommodating in any way. He is a caveman in my opinion and hearing him say that he is okay with keeping a nanny for his baby is a great thing. The Arjun I know would have wanted his wife on baby duty

"Radhika is my rock." He reinstated and I didn't miss the pride in his eyes as he talked about her.

"She has been crying her eyes out, you should not have taken it out on her and it was my fault. Whatever happened between us was in the heat of the moment and Radhika or anyone from the family shouldn't bear the brunt of it." I stated.

"You were right, I don't have any right to point a finger at you when I wasn't  a Saint myself but Sam is my baby sister and I can't just give her hand in yours without making sure that this is the best thing for her."

"I understand bro and trust me I am ready to go through any hardships you put me through."

He steps down from the bonnet,"Let's go home or else that stupid girl will go to bed on an empty stomach. I don't understand how can she not eat? I mean seriously it just isn't about her now it's about the baby....."

I cut him off,"You are one lucky motherfucker! I must warn you though that she is mad at you...."

He smiles, "She doesn't stay mad for long, let's go home and stop near the ice cream parlour on our way. She was craving for some chocolate chip ice cream this morning."

Arjun really remembers every single word that comes out of Radhika's mouth.

I take the wheel as we decide to go home in my car and call up one of the security details to bring his car back home later. It's actually pretty late now and Arjun really freaked us out. I am sure everybody is mad at him and he is set up for some verbal asskicking once we reach home.

"When are you going to announce her pregnancy?" I ask him as I pull the car out from the parking space.

"It will be out once she starts showing, I don't think so its safe right now to make an announcement or bring her out in public eye."

I couldn't agree more on this.

When he reached home, I watched in amusement as Arjun literally ran like a madman inside the house. I followed him as I didn't wanted to miss Radhika berate him.

To be continued......