It was seven forty and there was still no sign of Sahil. Srishti sighed as she glanced at the entrance for the nth time and then chuckled to herself. What exactly was she doing? Keeping hopes? Expectations? Just because he said he would be early didn't mean he was asking her to wait for him.

With another sigh leaving her lips, she got up and checked on Ayaansh who seemed to be sleeping soundly. A smile formed on her lips knowing he was going to be up later in the night and give her a hard time. But that's how babies are, innocent and carefree. Growing up was sure messed up.

A few moments later as she stood on the terrace watching the bright city lights, the breeze flowing through created a sense of calmness inside her.

"I guess you like the terrace more than any place in the house." Startled she turned around and found him leaning on the wall as he stared at her.

"How long have you been here?" She questioned and he shrugged as he pushed himself off the wall and walked towards her.

"Not too long." Sahil stuffed his hands inside his pockets and stood by her side as she continued staring at him.

"I know I'm pretty handsome but try not to stare at me for too long." He commented and Srishti grew red from embarrassment.

"I wasn't staring at your face." She cleared her throat, trying to cover her embarrassment.

"Sure, you weren't. Have you eaten yet?" He turned to look at her and she did the same, only that her face held a big question mark.

"What are you doing? Are you sick? Did you hurt your head somewhere?" She questioned as she continued to stare at him in disbelief.

"Why? Is it unusual for me to act like this? Does it make you uncomfortable?" He questioned back and she shivered deliberately.

"Ofcourse. You're giving me chills. So please stop behaving so nice towards me." She looked away and he chuckled softly.

"What exactly do you want? If I am cold towards you, you complain of me being rude and a jerk. Now when I'm being a little nice, you don't want that either?" His stare made her squirm but she didn't show it to him, instead looked back into his eyes and answered,

"I don't want you to change because you have to, do that if you really want to. And about treating me, I'm fine unless you don't take away the only important thing in my life." She said sincerely and they continued to stare at each other for a more few minutes.

"I'm not going to separate you from Ayaansh." He stated as she searched his eyes for something.

"That's good then." She smiled and turned to the front again.

Both grew silent but it was a comfortable one before she decided to break it.

"Have you eaten?"

"I did, with a client."

"That's good. I did as well."

"Well, I thought you would prepare something for me since I mentioned coming early today." He joked and she scoffed.

"Don't flatter yourself. I was just going to sleep early today." She lied and he nodded with a hint of smirk on his face.

"What? You don't believe me?" She said defensively watching his smile.

"Also, can you stop being like this? Gosh, I feel like you're not the Sahil Malhotra I know. Perhaps are you his twin brother? Or his clone?" She asked and Sahil just ignored it all as he stared at the city lights ahead.

It was noisy and annoying, yes, but somehow he had started liking the noise.

────────

Srishti frowned as she opened her eyes and sat up. She got up and moved towards Ayaansh's crib and picked him up. But something was not right. Her sleep flew away at once when she felt Ayaansh's body burning up. He seemed to be crying more than usual and it worried her.

"Sahil," She shook him lightly but that was enough for him to wake up.

"What's wrong?" He asked in a groggy voice as he stared at her and then at Ayaansh who was crying in her arms.

"He's burning up and has cold as well. It's three in the morning, no doctor will be available but I'm worried. He won't stop crying." She explained as she kept rubbing Ayaansh's back.

"I'll call a doctor, don't worry. Just stay with him." He said and picked up his phone as he moved out of the room.

Half an hour later, the doctor was there and checked Ayaansh's health while Srishti looked at him in worry. Sahil stood there waiting for the results but he was anxious as well.

"It's nothing serious, just common cold which led the fever. Just make him drink lots of water and make sure you give him a bath with lukewarm water. He'll be fine soon." The doctor assured and Srishti let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you doctor. Thank you for coming at this hour." She thanked him and he smiled.

"That's no problem. I'll take my leave." He got up and Sahil led him out while Srishti adjusted the quilt over Ayaansh's small body. She waited until Sahil came back and asked him to sit beside Ayaansh before she went out to prepare for the wet strips.

"Sahil, you can go to sleep. I'll take care of this." Srishti said as she came back with the bowl of water in her hand. She sat on the other side and dipped the cloth in the water before squeezing it and placing on his tiny forehead.

Instead of saying anything, Sahil sat there with her and watched as she repeated the procedure without being tired. When it was more than an hour, he asked her to rest and took her place instead despite of her protests.

Almost four hours later, taking turns and being worried, Ayaansh's fever had almost vanished. It was a huge relief for both of them and it was then Srishti noticed the time. It was almost nine in the morning.

"Sahil, its nine already, you're not going to work?" She questioned as he walked out of the bathroom in his casual clothes.

"I'll stay at home today." He declared and she nodded even though she wanted to say something.

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Half the day passed with both of them taking care of Ayaansh who was much better and playing around. Sahil worked from home but would check on Ayaansh from time to time. Whereas Srishti mostly stayed by Ayaansh not wanting to take his health lightly.

"Srishti, stop worrying so much or else you'll get sick as well." Sahil said as he noticed her getting worked up even when Ayaansh would cough a little.

"I'm fine." She said but her tired eyes said otherwise. Sahil sighed and took Ayaansh in his arms before he turned towards her.

"Go sleep, I'll take care of him." He ordered and she opened her mouth to protest but his cold look was already present which made her shut her mouth and do as he said.

Honestly, she felt much better as soon as she lied down on the bed and was asleep in no time. Few hours later as Sahil came in with Ayaansh asleep in his arms, he placed him in his crib before he settled himself beside Srishti. The three of them slept until it was dinner time and Srishti was the first one to be awake not because she wanted to but because she felt some weight on her waist.

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was Sahil's face which was extremely close to hers and it made her heart stop. She tried to get away but his left arm which was around her waist prevented her from going anywhere. She pressed her lips tightly and held his hand to take it away but much to her surprise or shock, he pulled her closer and snuggled closer.

For a minute she couldn't understand what had happened until he moved again and she got her senses back. Without thinking anything else, she pushed him away and got off the bed, running in the bathroom. Her heart felt like it would leap out of her chest any second as she stood leaning on the door.

Sahil opened his eyes when he felt a push and looked at Srishti's side of bed confused. Who the hell pushed him? With a frown he went back to sleep after pulling the quilt over his head.

Srishti peeked out and felt the relief when she found him still sleeping. She checked Ayaansh's temperature and was thankful when it was normal. She quietly moved out of the room and decided to prepare for their dinner.

At around eight, Sahil walked out of the room and found Srishti reading a book on the couch. He thought of something and moved towards her catching her attention.

"You're up." She stated with a smile and he nodded as he sat opposite her.

"Did you, by any chance push me while I was sleeping?" At his question, her eyes widened slightly before she composed herself.

"No, why would I?" She lied through her teeth and he narrowed his eyes.

"Strange, I'm sure I wasn't dreaming." He was deliberately eyeing her with a suspicious look and it annoyed her. It wasn't her fault to begin with! He was holding her in the first place.

"Whatever! I'm going to wake up Ayaansh because its dinner time." She frowned and closed the book with force as she got up and left from there. Sahil was surprised at the change of events. What did he do now?

After dinner as if it was their routine, both of them were on the terrace but this time, Ayaansh was there as well. He was quietly watching the view being in his father's arms.

"Is my baby sleepy?" Srishti cooed as she watched him rub his eyes twice after a while. Ayaansh just rested his head on Sahil's shoulder and watched his mother who did the same with a smile on her face. When he closed his eyes, Srishti mouthed Sahil about it who nodded and left the terrace.

When he came back and stood beside her, she said nothing and neither did he but when ten minutes passed, Sahil decided to break the silence.

"I was four years old when my parents passed away." It felt as if she was frozen on her spot when she heard him. She didn't move nor did she make a move to say anything too afraid that she would make a mistake and he would return back into his shell.

"It is something I can never forget even if I wish to." He sighed and this time she turned to look at him. He was staring straight ahead but there was this coldness on his face which scared her.

"Do you have your memories of when you were four years old?" He asked her and she replied nothing as he chuckled coldly.

"I do. Clearly."

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