16. ILLNESS!

All the members of Dixit’s are sitting at the dinner table having their breakfast except Arjun who left for Bangalore early in the morning. 

Asha:- ( cutely ) maa, what is in the breakfast? I am damn hungry.

Kiran:- ( caressing Asha’s hair ) aw….. Rama..( their old servant ) jaldi se breakfast lagao. Meri beti ko bhook lagi hai aur tum toh janti ho na ki is time bhooka nahi rahana chahiye. ( Rama, serves breakfast soon. My daughter is starving for food and you know na…. That it’s not good to stay empty stomach for so long in this condition.) 

Rama:- ji memsahab, lekin aaj ka nashta maine nahi Avantika madam bana rahi hai. Woh bus abhi laa hi rahi ha. 

( yes mam, but Avantika mam is preparing today’s breakfast and she is just coming with breakfast.) 

Asha:- oh…. Wow. Today’s breakfast is prepared by Bua Ji ( aunt ). I can’t wait to have the food made by her hands. 

Everyone chuckles seeing her excitement but Innaya smirks inwardly whereas Prakash has no interest in all this. 

Manish:- Asha, where is Arjun? Doesn’t he want to have breakfast? 

Asha:- ( palmed her face because she forgot to tell them about Arjun ) sorry Dadu ( grandfather ) Actually Arjun is not at home. He had an important meeting in Bangalore so he left early in the morning. 

Manish:- strange!! I didn’t know about such a meeting. 

Asha looks down not wanting to lie more to anyone. Much to her relief Avantika comes out from the kitchen holding a bowl making Asha jump on his chair. Kiran held her in her place. 

Kiran:- ( sternly ) Asha, stop jumping! Now, you are not alone. You have a life in your womb. So be careful. 

Asha:- sorry Dadi ( grandmother )….. But I am damn hungry. 

Avantika comes and smiles fakely seeing an overexcited Asha. She sits beside her while saying. 

Avantika:- your wait is over, my baby. Today I specially cooked your favorite dishes for you. 

Asha:- really? Bua Ji…

Avantika:- yup!! My Jaan.

Innaya:- this is not fair, maa. Did you forget about me?

Avantika:- no Innaya, but today I wanted to cook especially for my daughter-in-law. She is going to bring a baby into this world who will call me granny. So I am very happy. This is my way to show my happiness toward my daughter. 

Asha:- ( while kissing her hands ) thank you soo soo much, bua Ji, for taking so much effort for me. 

Avantika lightly hit her on her head with a fake grin. She serves Asha and makes a bite to feed her. 

Avantika:- Today, I will feed you with my hand. 

Divya:- ( smilingly ) lucky you Asha.

Asha opens her mouth to take her first bite from Avantika’s hand but immediately closes it when someone calls her from behind. All turn towards the person at the same time. Avantika shoots glares at the person, the same is the case with Innaya. 

The person is none other than a lady who is around her mid-thirty. She comes forward and looks at all of them keenly before asking. 

The lady:- may I know, who is MRS.ASHA DIXIT? 

Asha:- yes?

The lady:- good morning mam, I am DR.APARNA SHARMA. I am a nutritionist.

Asha:- ok…. How can I help you? 

Dr.Aparna:- mam, MR.ARJUN appointed me as your full-time nutritionist. 

Listening to this everyone frowned “Why did Arjun appoint a nutritionist for Asha?”. 

Asha:- Sorry doctor, but he didn’t tell me anything about you.

Everyone looks at the doctor for an answer but their reverse is broken when Asha’s phone rings. Seeing the caller ID she immediately picks up the call. 

Asha:- hello Arjun….

Arjun:- yes, Meri Jaan. 

Asha:- you reached? 

Arjun:- yup! Right now I am in the cab going to a hotel to freshen up. 

Asha:- ( in a weak tone ) ok… acha….listen, did you appoint someone named Dr.Aparna as my nutritionist? 

Arjun:- oh yes…. Sorry, I forgot to tell you about her. Is she there? 

Asha:- ya… she is standing just in front of my eyes. 

Arjun:- ( in an authoritative tone ) ok…listen to me clearly, I don’t want to take any risk with your health when I am not there with you. So she is going to prepare your meals as per your demand but she will make sure that the food is healthy. I don’t want to risk anything now. I don’t know why but I can’t trust anyone with you. ( pleadingly ) So please follow her order and have whatever she will cook. Ok? 

Asha gets overwhelmed with his care for her and their unborn baby. She smiles genuinely and replies. 

Asha:- as you say, husband. 

Arjun:- good…. Bye… have your breakfast first then, we will talk. 

Asha:- bye…

Saying this she cuts the call and tells everyone about Dr.Aparna Sharma that Arjun appointed her and from now she is going to cook for her whenever she says. Innaya fumes and looks at Avantika who is also cursing Arjun for failing their plan but how can Innaya let someone ruin her future. 

Innaya:- this is not fair, bhabhi. Don’t bhai trust us? 

Kiran:- don’t take everything wrong, Innaya. Arjun is her husband. He has every possible right to do anything to make sure that his wife and unborn child stay safe. 

Hearing this Avantika curled her fist in anger seeing everyone having no problem with this nutritionist. 

Asha:- ( sadly ) sorry bua Ji… 

Avantika:- ( with a fake smile ) it’s ok beta. I can understand Arjun’s concern for you. 

Asha:- come, doctor… I will show you the kitchen. 

Dr.Aparna:- please call me Aparna. It would be good. 

Asha nodded and took her inside the kitchen to show her everything. Here outside everyone settles down for having their breakfast happily except Innaya and Avantika who are mourning on their failed plan to feed Asha peanuts somehow because she is highly allergic to that. Her full inner system is imbalanced even If by mistake she smells those peanuts. 

On the other hand, the love birds are having a peaceful sleep after a small celebration because Shehnaaz and Cabir both got the job. Shehnaaz becomes a lecturer and Cabir gets a job as an assistant chef in a nearby restaurant. 

Shehnaaz is peacefully sleeping, keeping her head on Sidharth’s chest while his hands are tightly wrapped around her neck.

But Sidharth is shivering and frowning in his sleep which alerts Shehnaaz. She tried to get up but couldn’t because of his tight grip around her waist. After trying hard and with sleepy eyes she looks at him while raising her chest slightly. As soon as she found him shivering, all her sleep flew out of the window. 

With great difficulty, she turns on the side lamp and touches his forehead only to find his body slightly hotter than usual. She gets worried for him and immediately runs to find a first-aid box to fetch a thermometer to check his temperature. 

Fewer made Sidharth’s body so tired because of that he couldn’t even wake up with Shehnaaz’s movements. She checked his fewer to find it around 102 degrees Celsius. She got extremely worried about his health. Not wanting to disturb anyone right now, she decides to treat him herself. 

For this, she brings a small tub of normal water and her cotton scarf which she will use as a wet strip. She sits beside him and kisses his forehead lovingly before putting wet strips on his forehead to decrease his temperature. 

After almost an hour she again checks his temperature to find it around 99 which is a good sign for her. As his temperature is coming down his senses are starting to work. He slightly opens his eyes to find his lady love beside him and puts wet strips on his forehead. 

Shehnaaz cups his face and asks worriedly. 

Shehnaaz:- are you fine, Sidharth? 

Sidharth replies. 

Sidharth:- hmmm…….. But my body is hurting like hell. 

Shehnaaz:- ( caressing his forehead ) don’t worry this pain will go away soon. Just close your eyes because you need rest. 

Sidharth nods in understanding but he lifts his upper body and rests his head on her lap before closing his eyes to have much-needed sleep. Seeing this her hands automatically start moving in his hair, relaxing his mind and soul with her slight touch. She also kisses him on his forehead to erase his uneasiness. 

If Sidharth would be in his proper senses he will not lay down in her lap because it will tire her which he never wanted. But Shehnaaz doesn’t care about her uncomfortable position. What matters to her is his comfort and health. Within minutes he went into a deep slumber. 

Shehnaaz starts pressing his shoulder as much as she can but from time to time she is also checking his temperature. Out of nowhere she caresses his closed eyes and kisses him. 

Shehnaaz:- I LOVE YOU, SIDHARTH. Please get well soon.

To be continued…

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