41. Welcome Home, Baby #3
Rakshit shook his head, amused.
"Did you see her photo?"
He already knew Rahul had clicked a picture of the baby in the hospital to show Ishani later.
"Yes! She's so cute. You know, she's an exact copy of Shivi."
A genuine smile appeared on Rakshit's face.
Then he remembered something.
"Do you have Shivika's childhood photos?"
"Yes. I have so many."
That was exactly what he wanted to hear.
"Please send me."
Rahul, who was standing beside him, immediately made a face.
If I were in Ishani's place, he would've ordered me instead of saying please.
He rolled his eyes at his own thought.
"Yeah, I liked the surprise."
Rakshit's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Yeah, I know. It was your idea to welcome the baby like this. I don't have any expectations from him."
Rakshit glanced towards Rahul.
Rahul's mouth fell open.
His apparently boss and his girlfriend were teaming up against him.
And, somehow, his boss-who barely spoke this much to him-was now casually talking to his girlfriend.
"Sir, can I talk to my girlfriend now?" Rahul asked grumpily.
The sarcasm in his voice was impossible to miss.
Rakshit smirked.
"When did I say no? She is your girlfriend. But she doesn't want to talk to you."
He handed the phone back.
Rahul looked at the screen.
The call had already been disconnected.
"One day you will come to me only," Rahul muttered grumpily before walking back towards the living room.
Rakshit remained on the balcony for a moment.
A small smile adorned his face.
He never thought he would behave like this.
He had never teased Rahul like that before. He had barely even spoken to him beyond work.
But now...
He was slowly getting to know the real Rahul.
And, more importantly, he was discovering a side of himself he had never allowed anyone to see.
The man who could joke.
The man who could tease.
The man who could laugh without thinking about how he looked.
The man who could let his emotions out instead of keeping everything locked inside.
For years, Rakshit had only been the businessman everyone knew.
Silent. Composed. Untouchable.
But Shivika had changed something in him.
She had given him a family.
She had unknowingly given him the freedom to finally be himself.
Rakshit was about to walk back inside when Rahul came towards him again.
He stopped at the balcony, waiting for him.
"What happened?" Rakshit asked.
"I forgot to ask you something."
Rakshit nodded, silently telling him to go ahead.
"How do you and the baby have the same eyes?"
The question made Rakshit sigh softly.
"I don't know. Maybe he has someone with the same eye colour in his family."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
Rahul understood immediately who he was referring to.
He didn't ask anything further.
Some questions were better left unanswered.
There was a brief silence between them.
Then Rakshit suddenly remembered something.
"Did you talk to Paulo?"
"Yeah." Rahul nodded. "We came to a solution. You can manage things through calls and online for a month. After that, we'll need your presence."
"Okay."
Rakshit glanced through the glass door towards Shivika, who was sitting with the others and talking.
"It's not an issue after a month. I want Shivika to have complete rest for forty days so that her body doesn't face any problems in the future."
Rahul looked at him, intrigued.
"How do you know so much about all this?"
It wasn't the first time he'd noticed it.
Throughout Shivika's pregnancy, Rakshit had somehow known about things most people wouldn't even think about.
Rahul couldn't help wondering where all that knowledge came from.
Rakshit didn't answer.
He merely shrugged, as if the question didn't need an explanation.
Then he turned around and walked back inside towards his wife.
Rahul watched him leave.
There were still many things about Rakshit Mahajan that he didn't understand.
After dinner, everyone slowly left for their respective places.
Rahul dropped Satyam and Jhanvi at the airport for their flight while the house finally became quiet again.
Inside their bedroom, Shivika sat on the couch, feeding their hungry daughter.
The baby had been crying continuously and had refused to settle until she finally got her milk.
Meanwhile, Rakshit arranged their bed properly, making sure everything was comfortable for all three of them.
Once Shivika finished feeding the baby, Rakshit looked at the bed and then at her.
"Ika, should I sleep on the couch?"
Shivika stared at him.
"Aksh, seriously? Here I am thinking of sleeping while hugging you, and you're planning to sleep on the couch?"
Rakshit nervously chuckled.
"I just thought... what if the baby needed more space?"
The moment the words left his mouth, he realized how ridiculous they sounded.
She was so tiny that she didn't even occupy a quarter of the bed.
"Sorry, baccha. Sorry," he said quickly, seeing the look Shivika was giving him. "I was just having fun with you."
He walked towards her and gently picked up their daughter.
He placed the baby on the bed.
"Make her lie down on the left side, Aksh," Shivika said, slowly walking towards the bed.
Rakshit opened his mouth to say something.
Before he could get a word out, Shivika pointed her forefinger at him.
"And don't even think about making her sleep between us."
Rakshit immediately raised both his hands in surrender.
"Okay."
He bit back the smile threatening to appear on his face.
They settled into bed, Shivika in the middle and Rakshit on the other side, leaving the space beside her for the baby so that she could feed her comfortably during the night.
Once they were settled, Shivika slowly snuggled closer to Rakshit.
He kissed the top of her head and gently caressed her hair.
She wrapped one arm around his waist and rested her head against his chest.
For a few moments, neither of them said anything.
The room was quiet, except for the soft sounds of their sleeping daughter.
Rakshit's hand slowly moved over Shivika's back, comforting her without saying anything.
Then he spoke softly.
"You don't need to suppress your emotions, Ika."
His fingers continued their gentle movement over her back.
"Let them out before you go to sleep."
The words were enough.
The tears Shivika had been holding back all evening finally slipped from her eyes.
"I miss Mumma... Papa."
Her voice was barely audible.
Rakshit sighed softly.
"I know."
He did.
It wasn't simply sadness.
It was the longing of a daughter who had wanted her parents beside her during the most important and vulnerable moment of her life.
Two days ago, she had gone through one of the most crucial phases of her life.
She had needed her mother.
The woman she had wanted beside her when the pain became unbearable, when fear took over, when she needed someone to simply hold her hand and tell her that everything would be alright.
She had needed her father.
She had needed him to look at her and remind her that no matter what had happened, she was still his little princess.
She needed the people who had brought her into this world when she was bringing another life into theirs.
But they weren't there.
"I still don't know, Aksh..." Her voice trembled as she cried. "What was the biggest crime I did that I don't have my parents with me today?"
Her sobs muffled against his chest.
Rakshit's heart ached hearing her.
"Shhh..."
He gently stroked her back, pulling her closer.
He didn't have an answer.
Because sometimes there was no explanation that could make someone's absence hurt any less.
So he simply held her tighter.
Soon, sleep claimed Shivika while tears still stained her cheeks.
Rakshit remained awake for a while, watching her.
He gently wiped the tear stains from her cheeks before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.
"Please, God... let her have her parents' love. Don't make her feel like an orphan while having parents."
His voice trembled slightly.
"Isn't me being an orphan enough?"
A single tear escaped his eye and rolled down his cheek.
He quickly wiped it away before gently caressing his daughter's head.
His fingers lingered there for a moment.
He lightly patted her tiny head, almost as if reassuring her without words, before finally pulling his hand away.
Then he wrapped his arm around Shivika's waist and pulled her a little closer.
With his wife and daughter beside him, Rakshit finally closed his eyes.
It was early morning when Rakshit's eyes slowly opened at the sound of faint voices.
For a moment, he remained still, trying to understand what had woken him.
Then he turned his head.
Shivika was awake, sitting against the headboard with their baby girl in her arms. The little one was wide awake too, staring at her mother while Shivika whispered something to her in her groggy, sleepy voice.
"Ika, what happened?" Rakshit asked, sitting up slightly.
Shivika looked towards him.
"She was hungry and woke up crying, so I fed her. But now she's not sleeping." She yawned softly. "I think she's not in the mood to sleep."
"Oh..." Rakshit rubbed his eyes before getting out of bed. "You sleep. I'll look after her now."
"No, Aksh. You sleep. You haven't rested properly." She reached out and held his wrist. "I'll make her sleep and then I'll sleep myself."
Rakshit looked at her for a moment.