64. TWINS
VEERANSH
When the doctor stepped out of the ultrasound room and walked toward me, I stood up automatically.
Her expression was neutral. Professional.
Controlled. I searched her face for clues immediately.
"Doctor?" I asked quietly. She gestured toward the side cabin.
"Let's talk." My pulse rose instantly as I followed her inside.
She closed the door gently behind us, and for a second there was complete silence between us before she finally looked directly at me.
"It's confirmed," she said calmly. My chest tightened immediately.
Confirmed what? Before I could ask, she spoke again.
"Twins." The word landed heavier this time because now it wasn't a possibility anymore.
Not a maybe. Not uncertainty. Confirmed.
"Twins," I repeated slowly. "Yes," she replied.
I didn't sit. I didn't react loudly. But inside me, something shifted completely.
Two heartbeats. Two lives. Two responsibilities.
"Is there any risk?" I asked immediately.
"No," she answered firmly. "Right now, there is no complication.
" Right now. I noticed the wording instantly again.
She continued calmly, explaining that Aarohi could carry twins and there was no structural issue or immediate danger.
Relief finally loosened the tightness in my chest. I exhaled slowly, a breath I hadn't realized I was holding since yesterday.
"But," she added carefully, and my muscles tensed again, "she needs to gain weight.
" I frowned slightly. "Weight?" I repeated.
"She's slightly under the ideal range for a twin pregnancy.
" My jaw tightened automatically. "She eats," I said defensively.
"I'm sure she does," the doctor replied calmly, "but twin pregnancies require higher caloric intake.
More protein. More iron. More calcium. More everything.
" I nodded slowly while listening carefully to every word.
"She looks delicate," the doctor continued, "but medically, she is capable.
We just need to strengthen her." Strengthen her.
The phrase stayed in my mind immediately.
"She gets tired easily," I admitted quietly.
"Normal," the doctor said. "Hormones are fluctuating rapidly.
" I continued listing things anyway. Mood swings.
Excessive sleep. Weak appetite. The doctor answered every concern with the same calm response.
Normal. Still, hearing "normal" didn't completely settle me.
"She barely finished half a bowl of food yesterday," I muttered.
The doctor raised an eyebrow slightly. "That's not enough.
" I inhaled slowly. "I'll handle that." "I know you will," she said calmly.
Then she flipped through another report and informed me they would run more tests.
Hormone panels. Iron reserves. Vitamin levels.
I nodded silently while she walked out again, leaving me alone in the waiting area with my thoughts.
The next hour felt longer than any business meeting I had ever attended in my life.
My phone stayed in my hand the entire time, but I didn't check it once.
My mind kept repeating the same sentence over and over again.
Twins. I imagined Aarohi's reaction in a hundred different ways.
Shock. Tears. Laughter. Panic. Maybe all at once.
I could already hear her voice saying she couldn't even handle one baby and now there were two.
A faint smile appeared on my face before disappearing quickly.
Because joy came with responsibility now.
Twin pregnancies weren't simple. More care.
More monitoring. More risk. More precautions.
More everything. And she already struggled to eat vegetables without arguing with me.
I ran a hand through my hair and leaned back against the chair.
She would need strict routine now. Proper meals.
Timely medicines. Rest. No stress. No unnecessary emotional exhaustion.
Which meant I would have to become stricter than before, even if she called me khadus every single day.
Eventually the doctor returned carrying another file.
I stood up again immediately. This time she gestured for me to sit.
"I've reviewed all the reports," she said.
"And?" I asked. "No complications." Relief came instantly.
But she continued carefully. Aarohi's hemoglobin was slightly low.
Not dangerous, but low enough to require attention in a twin pregnancy.
Iron-rich food. Spinach. Beetroot. Pomegranate.
Lentils. Protein intake had to increase too.
Milk. Paneer. Nuts. Healthy fats. Supplements.
"She doesn't like half of that," I muttered under my breath.
The doctor almost smiled. "She'll have to.
" I nodded slowly. Every sentence she spoke felt like instructions being carved directly into my mind.
Aarohi could carry twins. Her body was capable.
But early stages remained sensitive. Stress needed to stay minimal.
Emotional stability mattered more than anything right now.
Then she looked at me carefully and added something that stayed with me even after the conversation ended.
"You need to stay calm." I inhaled slowly.
"I am calm." "You look tense," she replied.
I looked away briefly before answering honestly.
"I'm processing." Her expression softened slightly.
"That's fine. But don't let her see fear.
She will absorb it." Absorb it. That word hit differently.
Aarohi trusted my reactions. If I panicked, she would panic too.
I nodded once and asked quietly, "Can I tell her?
" "Yes," the doctor answered gently. "But softly. "
When I finally stepped out of the cabin, my heartbeat felt heavier than before.
Not scared exactly. Just aware. More aware than I had ever been in my life.
Two tiny lives were growing inside the woman who complained about sleeping at ten o'clock.
Inside the woman who pouted over vegetables.
Inside the woman who argued with me about horror movies.
The thought almost made me laugh softly.
I walked toward the recovery room where she was resting.
The door was slightly open. Aarohi lay there quietly, looking smaller than usual somehow.
Fragile. But stronger than she realized.
I paused at the door for a second, staring at her silently.
Twins. Destiny really had a strange sense of humor.
One baby already felt overwhelming enough.
Two? That felt like life deliberately testing how much love a person could hold at once.
I stepped inside quietly. Suddenly the weight didn't feel frightening anymore.
It felt purposeful. Challenging. Beautiful.
And while looking at her resting figure, one thought became absolutely clear inside my mind.
If she could carry two heartbeats inside her body, then I could carry every responsibility outside it.
On the drive back home, she stayed quieter than usual.
Not scared exactly. Just thoughtful. Every few minutes she glanced at me like she knew I was hiding something.
Maybe I was. When we reached home, I parked the car and turned toward her.
She was already looking at me expectantly.
"So?" she asked softly. I held her gaze for a second before answering quietly. "Confirmed."
Her breath paused instantly. "Confirmed.
.. what?" I stepped out of the car, walked around to her side, opened the door carefully, and helped her out slowly before answering.
"Twins." She froze completely. For a second she just stared at me without blinking.
"What?" "Twins," I repeated. Her eyes widened slowly.
"Two?" "Yes." She blinked again in disbelief.
"Inside me?" I almost laughed softly despite myself. "Yes. Inside you."
Her hands moved automatically to her stomach.
"Veeransh ji..." she whispered softly. I watched her carefully, waiting for fear or panic.
But instead, a slow overwhelmed smile spread across her face.
"Two?" she whispered again. "Yes." She laughed softly in disbelief.
"I couldn't even handle one... and now two?
" I stepped closer instinctively. "You won't handle them alone.
" Her eyes softened immediately at that.
Then suddenly she looked serious again. "Everything is fine, right?
" "Yes." "No complications?" "No." "You're not hiding anything?
" I shook my head gently. "Just... you need to gain weight.
" Her expression changed instantly. "What?
" "You're slightly underweight for twins.
" She frowned immediately. "I eat!" "Not enough.
" She narrowed her eyes at me suspiciously.
"You're enjoying this." "Very much," I replied calmly.
The moment we entered the house, Maa looked at us anxiously.
"What did the doctor say?" she asked immediately.
I looked at her and answered clearly. "Maa.
.. twins." For a second she didn't react at all.
Then her hand flew to her mouth. "Really?
" "Yes." Her eyes filled instantly with tears.
"Two babies are coming into this house?" Aarohi nodded shyly while Maa walked toward her and cupped her face gently.
"My child..." Then she looked at me firmly.
"Take care of her." "I will," I answered quietly.
I took Aarohi upstairs afterward because exhaustion had already started showing on her face again.
She lay down almost immediately the moment we entered the room.
I sat on the edge of the bed and watched her breathe quietly.
Two babies. Inside this small body. My eyes automatically moved around the room.
The bed suddenly looked too small. It had always been enough for two people before. But now? Four.
Without thinking twice, I picked up my phone and called the furniture supplier immediately.
"I need a custom king-size bed," I said directly.
The man on the other side sounded confused.
"Sir?" "Larger than standard. Strong frame.
Solid wood." "How many feet, sir?" "Enough for four people comfortably.
" There was a moment of silence before he answered carefully, "Yes sir. " I didn't care how strange it sounded.
When I hung up, Aarohi was already staring at me.
"What was that?" she asked softly. "New bed," I replied simply.
"Why?" "Because this one is too small." She blinked in confusion.
"For what?" "For all of us." Her expression softened slowly after that.
She didn't argue further. Maybe she understood.
Or maybe she was simply too exhausted to fight with me today.
By evening she insisted on coming downstairs despite being tired.
"I can walk," she protested when I offered to help her.
"I know," I answered calmly, though I still walked beside her with one hand lightly holding hers.
Even while attending a work call, my eyes never left her movements on the staircase.
Only after she reached the hall safely did I properly focus on the conversation again.
Maa brought halwa from the kitchen while Aarohi immediately complained about wanting something sour instead.
I glanced at her. "You're eating vegetables today.
" She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Yes, sir.
" Just then, two workers entered carrying large wooden pieces into the house.
Maa looked confused. "What is this?" "For our room," I answered casually.
Aarohi stared at the huge bed frame parts in shock.
"It's so big." "Necessary," I replied simply.
"You're overreacting," she said softly. "No," I answered calmly.
"I'm preparing." She looked at me carefully after that but didn't argue anymore.
Somewhere in the middle of all this, Suhana came home from college and immediately rushed toward Aarohi excitedly before I stopped her automatically.
"Careful." She rolled her eyes at me while noticing the giant bed pieces nearby.
"What's happening?" "Twin babies need twin space," I replied dryly.
Suhana nearly screamed in excitement after hearing the confirmation.
Soon both of them started talking about names, baby clothes, tiny socks, and things I had never thought about before.
I listened quietly while sitting nearby, realizing an entirely different world had already started forming around us.
A world built around two tiny heartbeats.
Later at dinner, I watched Aarohi's plate carefully the entire time.
"Finish it," I reminded her repeatedly. She complained, sighed dramatically, glared at me twice, and still ended up eating every vegetable without argument.
I noticed it immediately but chose not to say anything.
After dinner I handed her medicines. She swallowed them obediently.
No complaints. No stubbornness. Somehow that worried me more than her usual drama.
"You okay?" I asked softly afterward. She nodded.
"Just thinking." "About?" "Two babies." I sat beside her quietly while she leaned against my shoulder.
After a few minutes she looked up at me and asked softly, "You ordered that huge bed because of the babies, didn't you?
" "Yes." "You think too far ahead." "Someone has to.
" She smiled faintly after hearing that.
Sleep pulled her under quickly again. I adjusted her pillow properly, pulled the blanket over her carefully, and turned off the lights before sitting there quietly in the dim room for a long time.
Tomorrow the workers would assemble the new bed.
More space. More comfort. More future. I looked at her sleeping figure quietly.
She didn't look like someone carrying two lives inside her.
She still looked like the same stubborn, dramatic, soft-hearted woman I had fallen in love with.
But now she carried double heartbeat. Double responsibility. Double joy.
And suddenly I realized something quietly.
My life had doubled too.
Not in burden.
In purpose.
I finally lay down beside her carefully on the bed that already felt too small now and whispered softly into the darkness,
"I'll make space for all of you."