18.01.2025

-

"You were staring at the poster," Shubman said as he sat on the chair beside you.

"Yes, for two seconds," you reminded him. "You need to stop buying everything I glance at."

"But you did like the necklace," he played with your fingers on the table.

"Shubi-" You were cut off by the sound of the door opening, followed by your doctor walking in.

It was your monthly check-up and Shubman, as he should, never missed it once.

"Your tests have come up," the doctor started and your full attention was on him.

He kept staring at your reports for way too long, but not really examining anything. He was just thinking.

How does he break this to you?

When he raised his head, Shubman was already looking at him, like adding fuel to the fire of hesitance within him.

But he's a doctor.

It was his duty to let you know everything practically, and not let his emotions take over.

"There seem to be some-" He paused for a bit, looking at Shubman and then at you. "-complications."

Horrific thoughts started running across Shubman's mind.

Almost every single night he had dreamt of this pregnancy and getting to hold your newborn in his arms, started to turn into nightmares.

The world always saw him as a cruel murderer, and said that almost every sinful action he ever committed can be traced back to a selfish motive.

A trait he hated in other people but justified in himself.

They call him ruthless, or simply, heartless.

But Shubman wasn't just doing it for himself.

He has never cared for anyone else, except his family who made every second mean something.

And now that maybe his world was about to shatter, he was lost.

It wasn't until you sat in the car and opened the window, a drop of tear escaped your eye.

"Baby," Shubman held your hand and you shook your head.

"It's the wind," you said but your voice gave it away.

He took out liars as a hobby.

You couldn't lie to him even if you tried to.

Neither of you talked until you reached home.

Wordlessly, you walked to your room that was shifted to the ground floor by the start of your sixth month.

No one spoke but the silence in the room overflowed.

You couldn't think of anything to say.

"Shall we just go to sleep-"

"Baby," he said as soon as you settled on the bed. "You know I love you."

"I know you love me," you wish your voice didn't sound so low, with all the emotions weighing it down.

Shubman sat in front of you and took your hands in his, searching for your eyes as he spoke.

"Y/n, all that matters to me is you," he said again and you knew he felt the same when he called you by your name. "It's your body, your decision."

"There's still a thirty percent chance," you repeated the doctor's words from earlier, adding that you still had a choice to or not to continue your pregnancy.

"What about the rest?" He asked as you kept looking down.

There was this desperation in your husband's voice as he continued speaking.

"I can't lose you."

Like he was on the edge of a knife.

"We wanted to have kids," you finally looked up, your throat feeling thick with tears.

"We will," Shubman barely said. "We can adopt."

You put your head on his shoulder, not wanting to think anything for now.

"I want to sleep," you mumbled and he just stayed for a while before nodding.

-

Ishan always had the right words to say.

Whenever Shubman talked like an idiot, he was there to smack some sense into his head.

But now, even he seemed to be speechless.

He gave him a hug, hoping that it conveyed that he was here for you both, like he'll always be.

Shubman told Ishan. He has never felt this way for anyone else and he was blessed enough to show you how much he loves you.

He would burn the whole world down if it meant keeping you safe.

Except it wasn't that simple for him now.

"Things will work out fine, Shubi," Ishan said at last. "You both need some time to think this through."

The younger one nodded, facing his office's ceiling as they sat on the couch.

Ishan stayed silent for another five minutes, continuing to stare at his best friend.

"Have you ever thought about this, Shubi?" He started. "There's no gender bias in our work."

"Yeah," Shubman replied.

"But involving kids is just as unfair, right?" He asked and was faced with a few more seconds of silence.

They finally looked at each other, unspoken flashbacks playing in their heads.

"And now that you're about to have your own child," he continued. "When we think back, that wasn't something we should've done, Shubi."

Back then, Shubman knew he'd do anything that required to keep his empire afloat.

They knew he was heartless.

But now that he's a parent, when he thinks back to the time, it felt like holding his heart in a tight grip.

"Let's not do that anymore," Ishan added. "No one's always right."