Amidst Our Erred Stars

02

"Sahaj?"

I heard a feminine voice. Fuck.

I'm so dead. I saw my mother getting up from my periphery, her hand coming towards me with the speed of light, I caught her wrist in time before she could hit me in front of fifty people as if I would allow that.

"Badtameez-"

"Get creative mummy, this is getting old now." I scoffed, I was tired of hearing the same insult again and again.

"What's happening here?" The voice I heard earlier was closer than before, please don't kill me. Please don't kill me, please don't-

"I don't know her Ma." The guy, Sahaj I'm assuming freed his arm from mine, "Let's go back to our table-"

At least it's not a girlfriend or a wife.

"You cannot abandon your child in this situation, Sahaj." I held his hand before he could walk away.

Sahaj's eyes narrowed in irritation as he turned to face me, his expression hardened as he pointed a finger at me, "I don't know who the fuck you are and what you are playing at but another lie out of your mouth, I'll-"

"What? Kill our baby?" I asked, keeping a hand over my stomach, tears threatening to spill out of my eyes.

"Excuse me?" He looks like he's going to punch a wall.

I swallowed hard, "You're not going to hit me, are you? This is a new low for you, you used to love me." I look into his eyes, I'm a great actor. I played the role of a tree in Ramayan when I was 13.

Sahaj's mother regarded me with a cold stare, her lips pressed into a thin line as she assessed the situation.

"Who is this, Sahaj?" she asked, her tone sharp with suspicion.

I squared my shoulders, looking at her, "I'm Seerat," I replied, "His...jeez, I don't even know the status of our relationship," I shook my head, "I'll just go with the mother of his child."

"She's not-"

"I took three pregnancy tests, three just to be sure." I interrupted, holding three of my fingers up, "Do you know how scary it was to go through that on my own? While hiding from my family."

"Okay, stop it Seerat or you're going to regret this." Rehan walked up to me, grabbing my arm as he whispered in my ear, "I know you're lying."

I pushed him away, elbowing his stomach while doing so, I've wanted to do that for so long.

"Seerat. Start walking and don't stop until you get into the car. Right now." My mother said, her voice dangerously low as Rehan's parents got up and left, my father walking behind them.

"I won't, I want a better future for my child and-" She pushed me. She actually pushed me with such force that even if there was no baby involved, I could've hit my stomach with the chair behind us.

The stranger this time was decent enough to hold me from falling as I watched my mother walk away. When did she become so heartless to think about harming a child that isn't even there?

Rehan held my wrist, pulling me to walk with him when my fake baby daddy grabbed his hand, stopping him.

"Who are you?" He asked, removing his hand from my wrist.

"Her fiance-"

"He's lying." I looked at Sahaj and his mother, "I swear he's lying, you're the only man in my life-"

"Excuse me while I talk to the mother of my child," He looked at his mother, offering her a polite smile before taking me out of the cafe with him.