42. Babys Name Revealed #3
It sounded like a little boy.
"I went to him."
His eyes lowered.
A tear slipped down his cheek.
Shivika gently wiped it away.
"I kept asking him for some food. He was on a call, but I was just... hungry. I didn't understand anything else. I kept telling him to give me some."
His breathing grew uneven.
"He finally handed me the vada pav..."
Rakshit paused.
His fingers tightened around hers.
"But before I could even put it in my mouth..."
His voice began to tremble.
"He... he suddenly threw his phone on the road and then..."
He struggled to continue.
His voice broke completely.
Shivika gasped, her hand immediately flying to her mouth.
Rakshit shut his eyes tightly as tears escaped them.
For a moment, he was no longer thirty-one.
He was that little boy again.
Hungry.
Alone.
And scared.
"I cried..."
His voice cracked.
"I cried so much. I didn't know what to do. It was hurting so badly..."
Shivika's eyes filled with tears.
"Then an aunty came with a bottle of water. She helped me wash my face."
His shoulders trembled.
"I just ran away from there."
He wiped his face with the back of his hand.
"I remember looking back at that man. He was still standing there."
His voice became quieter.
"I don't know where I went after that. I don't even remember what happened afterwards."
He stared blankly at the floor.
"But that incident never left me."
A tear rolled down his cheek.
"It just... stayed here."
He tapped his temple lightly.
"Saved in my memory for a lifetime. No matter how much I try to forget it, I can't."
Shivika couldn't hold herself back anymore.
She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace.
Her own tears fell onto his shoulder while Rakshit's tears soaked into hers.
She rubbed his back slowly, letting him cry.
After a few moments, Rakshit pulled away just enough to look at her.
His eyes were red and filled with a pain that made her heart ache.
His voice was so small.
Shivika's heart broke.
Because she could see him.
Not the billionaire.
Not the businessman.
Shivika immediately shook her head.
"No."
Her voice was firm despite her tears.
"Not even for a second, Aksh."
She pulled him back into her arms.
"You were hungry. You were a child. You asked for food."
She held him tighter.
"You didn't do anything wrong."
Rakshit closed his eyes, his face buried against her shoulder.
Shivika continued stroking his hair.
"That wasn't your fault."
She kissed the side of his head.
"Never think that again."
Rakshit's arms tightened around her.
And for the first time in years, the little boy inside him didn't have to cry alone. He had someone holding him now.
Someone who would never make him feel ashamed for asking for something as simple as food.
Someone who would stay.
Shivika stayed there, holding him until his breathing finally became steady again.
A knock on the door eventually made them pull apart.
"I'll wash my face," Rakshit murmured, getting up.
Shivika immediately held his wrist.
He turned towards her.
For a moment, they simply looked at each other.
Rakshit gently cupped her face.
"I'm fine. You go. I'll come soon."
He gave her a small smile before walking towards the washroom.
Shivika watched him disappear before wiping the remaining tears from her cheeks and stepping outside.
She opened the door to find Rashmi aunty standing there.
"Beta, they are done with their work. They're asking for you both."
Shivika nodded and walked towards the bedroom.
The moment she stepped inside, her eyes widened.
"Oh my God..."
The little corner had been transformed.
The beautiful crib stood neatly arranged, surrounded by soft details and tiny decorations. The little duck-themed aesthetic made everything look warm, cozy and almost magical.
"It looks so beautiful," she whispered.
The three men smiled at her reaction.
For them, moments like this were sometimes more satisfying than the payment itself-the genuine happiness on their clients' faces when they saw their work completed.
"It looks even more beautiful in real life than it did in the picture."
Shivika carefully touched one of the little duck decorations.
Then her eyes fell on the soft plush toys placed inside the crib.
"Did you guys bring these too?"
"Yes, ma'am. They're a complimentary gift from our side."
Shivika smiled warmly.
"Thank you so much."
Just then, she noticed Rakshit walking towards them.
Her face immediately brightened.
"Aksh, look!"
She turned towards him excitedly.
The men chuckled.
Rakshit smiled at her excitement.
"Yes, guys. It's absolutely amazing. Thank you for the wonderful work."
He extended his hand, shaking hands with each of them before they packed their things and left.
Once the door closed behind them, Rakshit and Shivika turned towards the crib.
They looked at each other and smiled.
"She is going to love this," Shivika said softly.
Before Rakshit could reply, they heard their daughter's cry.
They turned around.
Rashmi aunty was walking towards them with the baby in her arms.
Rakshit immediately reached for his daughter.
The moment she settled against his chest, her cries softened.
"See?" Rashmi aunty smiled. "She knows her papa."
Shivika smiled.
The setup caught Aunty's attention too.
"This looks so beautiful."
The couple exchanged a proud little smile.
After spending a little more time with them, Rashmi aunty left, giving the new parents some quiet time with their daughter.
Shivika looked towards the crib and then at Rakshit.
"Aksh, make her sleep inside. We can see her reaction."
Rakshit nodded.
He carefully moved towards the crib with their daughter in his arms.
But before he could place her inside-
"Stop!"
Rakshit immediately froze.
Their daughter also turned her tiny face towards Shivika.
Shivika walked closer.
"First say her name in her ear. Then we'll make her sleep inside."
Rakshit's lips curved into a smile.
They had waited for this moment.
Their daughter was awake, calm and content, making it the perfect time.
Rakshit slowly leaned towards her tiny ear.
His voice was barely a whisper.
He pulled back slightly and looked at her face.
The baby gave them a tiny smile.
Shivika's eyes instantly filled with tears.
"She liked the name," she whispered.
Rakshit nodded, smiling.
Shivika came closer and pouted.
"Now tell me too."
Rakshit chuckled.
"Akshvi."
"Akshvi," Shivika repeated, looking at their daughter with a smile.
Then she gently touched the baby's tiny cheek.
The baby smiled again.
Rakshit looked at his wife.
"What happened?"
Shivika looked at him with soft eyes.
"You're my Aksh. And she's our daughter."
She smiled.
"So Akshvi is a combination of our names."
Rakshit's smile deepened.
"I know."
He leaned closer to them.
For a moment, they simply looked at their daughter.
The little girl began making tiny sounds, as if demanding their attention.
Shivika smiled before looking back at Rakshit.
"What does it mean, Aksh?"
She knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't have chosen a name without researching everything about it first.
Rakshit looked at their daughter, then back at Shivika.
A soft smile appeared on his face.
He gently touched her tiny fingers.
"And I thought that was perfect for her."
Shivika's eyes became moist again.
Because their daughter wasn't just the little girl they had welcomed into their lives.
She was the light that had somehow found its way into both their hearts.
Their little Akshvi Mahajan.
The tiny piece of them, they would spend their entire lives protecting.
Rakshit carefully settled Akshvi inside the crib, but the moment he leaned over her, she wrapped her tiny fingers around his finger.
He smiled.
"Oh, so you don't want Papa to leave?"
Akshvi responded with a tiny sound, moving her little hands excitedly.
Rakshit chuckled.
"Okay, okay. Papa is here."
He bent down and gently played with her, making little faces that made her stare at him with wide, curious eyes.
"Look at you," he whispered. "Already making your Papa do whatever you want."
Akshvi made another tiny noise.
"Exactly. I knew you understood me."
Shivika stood a little away, quietly watching them.
Her eyes remained fixed on Rakshit.
His face was different now.
The pain that had been there moments ago had disappeared, replaced by that soft, genuine smile she had come to love so much.
He looked completely happy.
Carefree.
Shivika's lips curved into a smile.
She reached towards the wooden shelf beside her and gently touched it.
"Touchwood," she whispered under her breath.
She wanted to see him like this forever.
Smiling.
Laughing.
Happy.
She didn't like the crying Aksh.
Not because she couldn't handle his tears, but because seeing him break apart hurt her in a way she couldn't explain.
Rakshit rarely cried.
He was the kind of man who swallowed his pain, carried it silently and kept moving forward.
So whenever he finally broke down, it wasn't just a few tears.
It felt as though years of pain came rushing out all at once.
And every time she saw it, something inside her ached.
Even the pain she had felt during childbirth didn't feel as unbearable as watching him cry.
She looked at him again.
Rakshit was now gently tapping Akshvi's tiny nose.
"Papa's princess."
Akshvi kicked her little legs, making him laugh softly.
Shivika smiled.
She didn't know what the future held for them.
She didn't know how many old wounds would still surface.
But she knew one thing.
She would do everything she could to protect this smile.
Rakshit's voice immediately pulled Shivika out of her thoughts.
She walked closer to the crib and bent slightly to look at their daughter.
And there it was.
A tiny, gummy smile spread across Akshvi's face as she stared up at her father.
"Oh my God..." Shivika whispered, her heart melting. "Look at her."
Rakshit laughed softly and looked back at Akshvi.