The next morning Shahrukh found no one at the dining table, only a few pieces of toast on the table. He glanced at his watch. Usually Kajol would've been sitting there with her breakfast. But this time she wasn't there.
"Rashika!"
He called out his maid. The girl approached him from the kitchen with a cup of fresh coffee. She placed it on the table and stood beside him.
"Where's my wife?"
"Madam is not feeling well, sir. She has been so sick and couldn't get herself out of her room. So she asked me to make you breakfast."
Shahrukh fell into silent. He hastily left his breakfast and ran upstairs to see Kajol. He knocked the door and opened it slowly. He found her lying on the bed, covered with a blanket and shivering. He watched her pale face as he placed his hand on her forehead.
Kajol felt someone's presence and tried to open her eyes. She turned around to see who's coming. She is surprised when she see Shahrukh standing before her with a worried face.
"You're still sick?" Shahrukh asked as he grabbed her sweaty hand. She could only nod weakly.
Shahrukh took a deep breath. "I'll call the doctor. Get some rest." he said as he let go of her hand. But she held him even tighter.
"Could you ... stay here for a while?" Kajol said quietly.
Shahrukh just shook his head and let go of her hand. "Celebrating Holi is your last request. You remember?" after saying that he left the room and immediately went to his work. Without eating his breakfast.
**
Kajol felt so stress by her current condition. She must have had a terrible headache. Not to mention she had to drag her weak body to the bathroom every time she felt nauseous. Rashika brought her favorite breakfast but till the afternoon she hasn't eat it. She doesn't even want to see it.
Shahrukh really kept his words. He sent a doctor to Mannat to check on his wife. Kajol could only lie down while the doctor checked her.
"When was the last time you had your period?"
Kajol is silent for a moment, trying to remember her last period. "I don't remember."
"I apologize if this question bothers you, but ... when was the last time you sexually contacted with your husband?"
Kajol frowned in surprise. "Is it necessary for me to answer?"
The doctor nodded. "I think you should see Riya."
"Riya? My obgyn?" Kajol made sure what she heard is true. The doctor nodded again.
"I find nothing wrong with your symptoms. But I strongly recommend you to do further observation with Riya. I think she is the one who will give you more accurate diagnosis."
Kajol kept silent as she stared at the ceiling of her room. There were only two possibilities that crossed her mind when she had to see Riya. Whether she is in early menopause, or ...
"For the time being, you just need a lot of bed rest."
Kajol nodded and thanked her before the doctor said goodbye and left her room. She took a deep breath. What's next?
**
In the afternoon, Shahrukh returned home earlier than he expected. He finished his works quickly. On the way home, he received a call from Rashika telling him that Kajol had refused to eat since morning. She wouldn't eat anything without him. So when he got home, he went straightly to her room while bringing her food.
The door to her room is slightly open. He knocked it a few times and went straight to her.
"Don't be childish. I'm already here. Now eat." he said as he put the bowl of soup on the nightstand.
Kajol just nodded weakly. She tried to lift herself up and made her sit back down.
"Why you don't want to eat?"
Kajol didn't answer. She even took Shahrukh's hand and held it. He could only stare at her in surprise.
"I just want to hold your hand." Kajol said with a faint smile.
Shahrukh raised an eyebrow. "Holding my hand won't heal you."
"Who says?"
The two stared at each other for a few moments. Kajol looked away and turned to the soup that was still steaming.
"I'll just eat with your hand still here." she said, demanding.
Shahrukh gave up and put the bowl on her lap. While watching her, he asked something that has been bothering him.
"What did the doctor say?"
"He said I have to see Riya."
Shahrukh frowned. He had several questions on his mind. But just as he is about to ask, Kajol had interrupted him first.
"If I knew something, I would have told you."
Shahrukh clicked his tongue. He chose to remain silent even though he wanted to know more. Why Riya? What happened to her that she needed a check with Riya? He could only ask the questions in his heart while watching Kajol trying to finish her food.
"I'll arrange it." he said suddenly.
"That won't be necessary. I can sort it out once I feel better. Just take it easy."
Shahrukh released his held and stood up. "No. I'll ask Pooja to take care of it. I'll let you know when everything is ready." he said as he walked out of the room, leaving Kajol alone.
Kajol could only stare at him. She put the bowl back on the nightstand, wondering to herself.
**
Shahrukh asked Pooja to arrange their appointment with Riya after Kajol starts getting better. The two put their entire work on hold and rescheduled for it. This all happened because Tanuja asked Shahrukh to accompany her daughter. He had no other choice and didn't want her to be suspicious of him. So he just did what she said.
Shahrukh and Kajol arrived at the hospital in the morning. They were surprised when many journalists swarmed their car. Luckily Ravi managed to get over the crowd so Shahrukh managed to get Kajol into the hospital with a bit of difficulty as the journalists kept pushing them.
"Jeez, who invited them here?" Shahrukh grumbled.
"Certainly not me." Kajol replied curtly.
The two immediately headed for Riya's cabin. It's a weekday so the hospital seems quieter. In her cabin, Riya had been waiting for the couple and greet them with a smile.
"Welcome back, Mr and Mrs Khan. Nice to see you here again."
They smiled at each other and settle down. Shahrukh tells Riya the purpose of their visit. While Kajol told her how she had been feeling for the past few days.
Riya took a file from her desk drawer and asked few things to the couple. After finishing it, the three walked to the laboratory for further observation.
Kajol couldn't hide her nervousness. She grabbed her husband's fingers and gripped them tightly.
"I ... I'm so scared. Don't leave me alone." she said shaking.
Shahrukh looked down at their intertwined hands and glared. "You drama queen. You've been through this before. Don't worry."
"I've never been through this. It's my first time." Kajol snorted in disgust then bit her lip.
Shahrukh raised his eyebrows. "Is that so? I forgot."
They arrived at the laboratory. Kajol followed Riya to undergo several series of checks. Shahrukh just watched him from a far, blocked by a large glass window. She looked at him with a scared look. He showed his thumb at her. She just smiled a bit, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly to reduce her nervousness.
"Excuse me, Mr Khan."
A girl dressed in white approached Shahrukh. She seemed to be one of the nurses at the hospital.
"Sorry if I bothered you. Doctor Riya asked you to fill this out." she said handing some paper and a pen to Shahrukh.
Shahrukh accepted it and read it briefly. "Oh, Riya didn't say before that there wil be an exam." he said jokingly.
The nurse giggled. "No, sir. It is information regarding your wife's medical history. It will be needed for the observation."
Shahrukh flipped through the paper and nodded. "All right. I'll get it done. Thank you."
The nurse smiled and left him alone. He sat down on a bench not far from him. He read each question carefully and began to fill it out.
In the midst of his business filling out the paperwork, his phone vibrate as sign of an incoming call. He pulled it out and stared at the screen with a frown. An unknown number called him. He thought it was one of the directors who offered him a new project. Without thinking he immediately accepted it.
"Shah Rukh Khan here, who am I talking to?"
"Hello, sir. Thank you for picking up my unimportant call." a voice answered at the other end of the line.
Shahrukh recognized the voice immediately. He gritted his teeth. "What do you want?"
Ajay laughed. "So your wife is pregnant?"
"None of your business."
"It has made headlines all over the media. You can't deny it anymore."
"What do you care, huh? I'll hang up if you-"
"Are you sure it's yours?"
Shahrukh rolled his eyes in disgust and snorted. "I don't even know the truth."
Ajay laughed again. "Five years you hated your wife for what I did. I'm sure you didn't fuck her again after that. Then why did she suddenly get pregnant? You didn't suspect her?"
"Your rotten words won't set me on fire, mister coward." Shahrukh laughed softly. "Back then you might have escaped the police. But you won't escape karma. You'll see."
"Karma? Hey look at you! You're talking about karma when you're tasting it yourself." Ajay started suppressing his voice.
"That five years ago was just your first karma. There will be more to come. You'll see."
Shahrukh tried to control his breathing which started to become erratic. His chest began to burn with anger.
"By the way, if you're sure it's not your baby, you can call me. I can destroy it for you. Again." Ajay said with his evil laugh then the phone line just cut off.
"Shameless bastard!" Shahrukh cursed in a restrained tone.
He squeezed his phone tightly, trying to control his anger. He lowered his head as his fingers tugged at his hair carelessly. He couldn't blow his temper now. He didn't want anyone to take advantage of his carelessness.
"Shahrukh? What's wrong with you?"
He turned his head. Kajol and Riya stood in front of the door looking at him in wonder. He got up from his seat and brushed his hair back.
"No, nothing." he said with a smile. "Is it done?"
Riya nodded. "The observation will take a few days. I'll call you when the results come out."
Shahrukh just said yes and then handed over the file he had finished working on to Riya. "So we can go home now?"
"Of course. See you later." Riya said then returned to the lab.
Shahrukh immediately turned around and walked ahead of Kajol. She rounded her eyes and took a step closer to him. Her hands wrapped around Shahrukh's arm tightly.
"What is this?" Shahrukh asked, glancing at his arm.
"Never mind, ignore it. I haven't held your arm in a long time." Kajol said while smiling. "Can we have lunch outside today?"
Shahrukh looked at her cynically. She knew her request would be immediately rejected so she spoke again.
"Please, don't reject me this time. Just this once. Okay? Please ..."
Shahrukh still didn't change his gaze. She then showed him her puppy eyes while curling her lips. She knew Shahrukh couldn't stand that stare. And sure enough, he melted.
"Okay, okay, fine. Whatever you say." Shahrukh said with a heavy sigh.
Kajol smiled widely and rested her head on Shahrukh's shoulder. They walked towards the front door with different thoughts. Kajol imagined their amazing lunch date, while Shahrukh thought about Ajay's words that kept ringing in his head.
~ TO BE CONTINUED ~