Bonds of Trust

The one where he proposes

Veera could see that Saheer was a bit restless today. Why? She had no clue of that, but all she could see was him glancing at her every few minutes, opening his mouth as though about to say something and then abruptly looking elsewhere shaking his head. This was unusual, especially for Saheer. The usually confident man seemed nervous to her today.

In fact, while tying Ovi's hair while getting her ready for school, he made a really messy ponytail eliciting a pout and whine from her. Veera found all of this really amusing and would have in fact sniggered at Saheer and teased him, had she not been caught up in some other thoughts - numerous questions swirling in her mind.

After Saheer had dropped off Ovi to her school, he and Veera were sitting in the living room balcony with their respective cups of coffee. After since the she-devil's visit, this had sort of become their ritual. Endless talks over a cup of coffee before the two of them would become immersed in their respective work. Saheer really did make a wonderful coffee, Veera thought. That addictive coffee combined with all sorts of talks - sometimes about their respective professions, a few personal anecdotes, a few conspiracy theories and some gossips, it was a great bonding time for the two of them.

But today, Saheer seemed a bit quiet and lost in his thoughts, when Veera decided to speak with him. She wanted some answers about what had been plaguing her mind and she was comfortable enough with Saheer to ask those questions.

"Saheer", she called out gently.

Saheer was shaken out of his thoughts by her voice and he responded with a faint smile and a 'hey'.

"Can I ask you something? Now, this is personal, so you can refrain from sharing with me, but I would still like to ask those questions.", she stated.

Saheer gave her a nod of assurance asking her to proceed.

"Alright, so where exactly is Ovi's mom? Like are you guys divorced or something? Also, why does your mom hate that sweet girl, her own grandchild so much? I know, this is intrusive, but please share with me.", Veera asked, stating the last part in a pleading whisper.

Saheer was startled by her sudden questions but he knew that these were bound to be asked by her, someday. He was really gladdened by the fact that she chose to approach him directly about the apprehensions she had, and he knew, as his wife, she had the right to know about these things.

"Hey, its alright. You are not being intrusive, hmm?", Saheer told her with an assuring smile.

"For starters, Ovi's birth mom and I were never together, I hate to say this, but my princess was in fact the product of a one night stand. Now before you would accuse me of being a playboy, let me tell you, that was the first time in my entire life I indulged in those things. I was drunk beyond my senses and then that happened.", Saheer's cheeks turned pink towards the end. Veera too had a pink hue tinted on her cheeks. After all, the both of them were still a lot clueless when it came to physical intimacy and the likes of it.

Saheer then cleared his throat before continuing.

"It was too late for her to get an abortion when she found out about Ovi and neither did she want the child, so she searched for me and informed me of her pregnancy. I was skeptical at first - neither did I know her enough to trust her about this, nor did I want a child in the first place. That was in fact, the reason behind me avoiding marriage and relationships in my entire life. But then we went for DNA tests and the unborn baby was proved to be mine, so I decided to up and take the responsibility."

He then glanced towards Veera with moist eyes and stated, "But you know, during one appointment, when I heard the baby's heartbeat, all of my apprehensions melted away, I fell in love with my child then and there and vowed to protect and cherish it all my life." He wiped away the lone tear that had managed to escape his left eye. Veera felt a familiar warmth seeping through her heart at his love for Ovi and she smiled at him warmly.