BACK TO PRESENT!

Aryamann's POV!

The sound of a gurney being moved through the corridor pulled me out of the memories. We had been sitting like that for quite a while, Bhumi tightly held in my embrace. When was the last time I had her in arms like this? The night before she left. I had slept, content, with her in my arms, and that was the last time I had a peaceful sleep. The nights after that were cold and lonely, with only a glimpse of happy memories lingering around me.

"I am sorry," Bhumi said awkwardly and pulled out of my hold.

"That's alright," I said with a soft smile.

"I should have told you already. I just– I am sorry," she said.

"Stop apologising, Bhumi. I understand," I said and waited for her to tell me what was wrong with Sam.

"Sammy. He is very ill. Oh God!! He is so little for this," she said with a desperate cry.

I held her hands in between mine and looked into her eyes.

"We will not let anything happen to him, Bhumi," I told her.

"It's his blood. Leukaemia, the doctor said," she said, and all blood drained from my face.

"What?" I croaked out.

"How did I not notice?" She cried out in pain.

"It's not your fault, darling. What did the doctor say? Tell me," I asked, quickly composing myself.

I need to stay strong for Bhumi. I need to stay strong for my family, I reminded myself.

"He said a bone marrow transplant can help. It is his only hope," Bhumi said.

"Then we will go for it," I said.

"Sammy has a rare blood group. Mine doesn't match with his. The doctor said yours might match. And I told him that you will do it. You will?" She asked.

"Of course I will, Bhumi. He is my son. My blood," I told her fiercely.

She smiled through her tears.

"Is it so hard to believe that I would do for him what you will do, without a second thought?" I asked painfully.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I don't even know what I am thinking," Bhumi said.

"We will get him back, Bhumi," I told her.

"You need to be tested before the transplant. They need to be sure," Bhumi told me, relaying what the doctors had informed her.

"We will do it right away, darling."

"He will be fine. He will be fine," Bhumi chanted to herself.

"I will go and talk to the doctor. Be strong, Bhumi. He is your son. He will be a fighter, like you," I told her and pressed a feather-light kiss on her forehead before going to meet the doctor.

Bhumi's POV!

Good god! What would I even have done if I hadn't met Aryamann yesterday?

Is it some kind of destiny? Bringing him here right at the moment we need him? Whatever it is, I am extremely thankful for his presence. Without him, I would have fallen apart. He had stood like a pillar right beside me ever since we heard about Sammy's illness.

Last night, Aryamann had pulled some strings, and the compatibility test was done immediately. It was a match!

"The appointment is at nine. They said it wouldn't take much time," Aryamann said as he took a seat next to me.

"Come meet me at the children's ward after this. I will introduce you to the boys," I told him with a soft smile.

"And what will they think of me?" He asked, uncertainty and fear evident in his eyes, making me pause.

Is The Great Aryamann Mehrotra uncertain? Of his welcome? By two-year-old toddlers! If the circumstances and situations were different, I would have laughed out loud.

"They are two. They love everyone," I told him with a fond smile, remembering my boys.

"They didn't particularly like me yesterday," Aryamann said, scrunching his nose.

"Ah! That's because they thought you were going to harm me. My boys, they are so overprotective about me," I said, with a tinge of pride in my voice..

"That they are," he said with a smile.

"So? Children's ward?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"I will wait for you then."

Aryamann's POV!

It didn't take much time for the procedure to be over. Apparently, all it requires is a sterile environment and a local anaesthetic. The procedure caused a little discomfort, but it is all part and parcel of being a daddy. The thought that I could do something for my son... It is so incredible. My phone rang, indicating an incoming video call. It was from Daksh.

I picked up the call.

"Aryamann? You are not at the resort," came the accusing voice as soon as I answered the call.

"You are at a hospital??" He asked before I could even answer.

"Will you let me speak?" I asked in exasperation.

I could see that Gaurav was listening to our conversation, though he wasn't looking at the phone screen. He was simply sitting next to Daksh and browsing through his phone. Well, I know how to get his attention.

"I found Bhumi," I said.

That was all I needed to say. Gaurav had snatched the phone from Daksh and was already demanding answers from me.

"Bhumi? How is she? Why are you at the hospital? Is she sick?" Gaurav asked.

"Bhumi is not sick. Sam is," I said quietly.

"Sam? Who is Sam?" Daksh asked, frowning in confusion.

"Our son," I said, with a tinge of pride in my voice.

"You have a son??" Daksh and Gaurav asked in unison.

"Two, actually," I said.

"Two? What the hell are you talking about?" Gaurav asked in confusion.

"Abhay Mehrotra and Samarth Mehrotra. Two years and seven months old twins. Well, it is Abhay Basu and Samarth Basu in records now. But that will change soon," I said, and a grin appeared on their faces.

"Twins!" They cheered happily, and a sad smile appeared on my face.

"Why do you look dull? Aren't you happy, Aryamann?" Daksh asked.

"I am thrilled that I am a father. But to have been plunged into such a dire situation just when I began fatherhood," I shook my head.

"What is it? What is wrong with Sam?" They asked.

I explained in detail about Sam's leukaemia and the bone marrow transplantation surgery that is about to happen any time in the next forty-eight hours.

I hung up the call and walked towards the children's ward. My heart is galloping at a speed faster than lightning. Bhumi is going to introduce me to my sons! How will they react? Will they love me? Or will they hate me, only seeing me as the bad man who tried to hurt their mother last night? Oh God! What will I do if they hate me?

I took deep breaths before stopping at the bedroom where Sammy was shifted to in the morning. The sight that welcomed me there filled my heart with warm emotions. Bhumi was sitting on the bed, and Abhi and Sammy were cuddling her from either side.

My whole world! I could see my whole world right there on that bed!

Bhumi looked up and spotted me, standing there with hearts in my eyes. A small smile appeared on her face.

"See, I told you someone special is coming to meet you two. He is here," Bhumi said, forcing cheer into her voice.

The boys looked up at me with a suspicious look in their eyes, as though silently asking 'what is special about this bad man.'

"He is the bad man from tomorrow," Abhi pointed out.

"Yesterday," Bhumi corrected and then added, "And he is not a bad man, darling."

"But he shouted at you, mommy," Sammy argued, though he didn't have the energy to.

"That was because mommy was being naughty yesterday. Remember, mommy shouts at you when you two behave naughty?" Bhumi asked, looking down at the boys.

They both nodded their heads, though not very sure.

"Hello, Abhi. Hello, Sam," I said my hellos to my sons.

"He is Sammy," Abhi pointed out.

"Hello, Sammy," I corrected myself to satisfy them.

"Abhi, Sammy. Remember you asked me once, where your daddy is? After watching that movie last Christmas?" Bhumi asked.

Oh God! They asked for me? And I wasn't there for them!

"Yes, mommy. And you said he is away at work," Abhi answered, and Sammy nodded in agreement.

"Well, his work is over, and he is here to meet you two," Bhumi said, clapping her hands, for the boys' benefit.

"He is?" The boys asked in excitement.

"Yes. This is your daddy. Aryamann Mehrotra," Bhumi said, and emotions welled up in me.

Daddy!

"Yay! Daddy came home," Abhi cheered and flung himself down from the bed before Bhumi could stop him.

My reflexes were quite well, and I caught him before his nose met the hard floor. I raised him and held him in my arms.

"Sammy wants daddy too," Sam said, from his position on the bed. He was too tired to move.

"You sit here with them," Bhumi said and was about to move away from the bed when Sam took hold of her hand quickly.

"Sammy wants mommy too," Sam said.

"Yes, yes. We want both mommy and daddy," Abhi said, clapping his hands in excitement.

The bed was too narrow for four of us. So I told Bhumi to keep Sammy on her lap. I sat next to her and placed Abhi on my lap.

Bhumi squirmed next to me, but I was too happy to be bothered by her discomfort. There is no escape from me again, Bhumika Basu Mehrotra! You are mine! And you will remain so! Forever!

"Uh, the bed is too small," Bhumi said awkwardly.

"Cozy," I said, and she glared at me furiously.

I placed a hand around her shoulder and hugged her and Sam close to me.

"What do you think you are doing?" She asked me angrily.

"Sammy wants me to hug him, don't you, Sammy?" I told her, adopting an innocent look on my face.

"Yes. Sammy daddy huggie," Sammy cheered excitedly, and I shrugged looking at Bhumi.

If a few years down the lane, someone asks me what is the most incredible and memorable moment of my life, my answer would be this. My family in my embrace!

What more could a man ask for? All the money and luxuries are nothing if I couldn't have this in my life. To think what a hollow life I have been living all these years!!

Arohi and Bani need to be thanked. They are the ones who dared Bhumi to sneak into my mansion. If that hadn't happened that night, if Bhumi hadn't landed into my life with such chaos.

Oh dear God! I shudder imagining an empty life.

Bhumi switched on the television and played a cartoon, and soon Abhi and Sammy were engrossed in it.

"Have you been in contact with Bani and Arohi?" I asked. If she had been in contact with Ansh, it is possible she would have been in touch with Arohi and Bani too. And if Arohi had known where Bhumi was, definitely Gaurav must have known too. Because Arohi and Gaurav have become best friends in the past few years. The guilty look in Bhumi's eyes confirmed that she cut them off too.

"I wanted to get in touch with them, once I settled down a bit. But then I decided a clean break is better. I didn't want anyone knowing where I am," she said.

"Why? Because you didn't want me to find you?" I asked painfully.

"I didn't think you would search for me," she said, and that broke my heart into a million little pieces.

"Why?" I asked.

"I didn't think you cared," she said in a casual tone.

"Right!" I said tightly.

She remained silent.

"Ansh didn't tell you anything?" I asked.

"About what?" She asked in confusion.

I have begged Ansh to tell me where Bhumi is. He had known all along that I was desperate to find her. That I am in love with her. Then why would he keep it a secret from her? Maybe if he had let her know, she would have come back to me.

A/N

A couple of chapters in the present before going back to the past..

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Love,

SF❤️