She decided for herself

oh nakhrewaali

@oh_nakhrewaali

She decided for herself

Sara wanted to cry. She wanted to yell, hit someone, or probably jump off the building and end it. Instead, Sara just looked at the man who was supposedly interested in marrying her, despite knowing that she was pregnant with someone else's child. She wanted to ask him why he was even interested in her, but one look from her father and she pushed her thoughts aside. 

Her potential future mother-in-law was on continuous jargon. 

"Your daughter is... Used goods. I hope you will make it up to us." She had said before making a list of things that they had to give to make it up to them. Papa tried to look like the bride's submissive father, who was ready to give in to any demands, but Sara knew that he was controlling his anger. The anger that he would vent out on Meera Maa as soon as the Mehtas would step out. 

"What's going on?" She looked up and saw her younger sister, who was staring back at her, and then looked at their mother. 

"Who are these people? Why is Sara Di all dressed up?"

"Priya, shut up!" Papa hissed, but that only seemed to egg her on. 

"I am not talking to you. Maa, what is going on?"

"They are here to see Sara, beta. Varun is interested in marrying Sara."

Priya raised her eyebrow and looked at the man, who pushed back his glasses and stared at the floor. 

"What are your demands?" Priya demanded after a few seconds. Sara almost flinched at her tone. Priya was the first to know of her pregnancy, and she had promised to find a job the second she turned eighteen, so that she could take care of Sara and the baby, but Sara had shut her down and told her to focus on her college applications. She had been the one to yell at Papa to shut up when he went on about how Meera had failed to raise her daughters. 

"Watch your tone, you insolent girl!" Mrs. Mehta yelled at her. 

"Sara Di, do you want to get married?" Priya asked Sara instead. Sara blinked in surprise. 

"You know that I will fight the world for you. If you say that you want to get married then I won't say a word, but do YOU want to get married? We have discussed this earlier. You don't need a man to raise a child. We didn't have a father, and we all turned out just fine, and we will raise your baby too. But it's your decision to make, yours alone."

Sara looked at her and then at Varun. Priya nodded at her encouragingly. 

"Mr. Mehta, why do you want to get married?" Sara spoke for the first time since the Mehtas had been over. She heard Maa gasp but ignored her and looked at Varun. Varun looked at her and opened his mouth but then looked at her father and shut it. 

Sara looked at Priya, hoping that she was thinking the same thing that Sara was thinking. 

"Get out!" Priya said to the elder Mehta. Priya stared at the woman, and there was nothing but coldness in her stare. She looked at Varun and started tapping her foot as if she was growing impatient. 

Papa tried to stop them, but Mrs. Mehta left. 

"What have you done, you stupid girl?" Papa yelled the second the mother-son duo left after his pleadings to stay back. 

"Who will marry this girl now? Who will take care of her?"

"I will! And don't even pretend that you care about Sara Di! You are just worried about what people will say about you! And guess what, Mr. Sood! They are already talking about you! Not because Di is pregnant out of wedlock, but because you left your family! They are saying that you are a useless piece of sh..." She never completed her sentence because she never saw the incoming slap. 

"Priya!" Sara yelled and stood up. But her proud sister just glared at her father and whispered. "Get out!"

___________________

Sara took in the beautiful architecture of the office of Mr. Virendra Kapoor. She walked into the building, her eyes on the posh building and her hand on her six -months baby bump.

"Nikhil! What is wrong with you? I asked for two spoons of sugar, not three!" An annoyed voice broke her trance, and she saw a man in a suit yell at another man holding a teacup. 

"Just get me another cup!" He said, and the younger man hurried away. 

"Yes?" He said after a few seconds, his eyes on Sara. 

"Hello Sir, I am here for the post of receptionist. Can you please tell me where the HR office is?"

"Isn't there an office layout at the entrance?" He asked, and Sara wanted to face palm. 

"Of course. Sorry, Sir! And Thank you! And good day!" She said and turned to jog back to the entrance. 

"Wait, if you are pregnant, won't you be taking maternity leave?" He asked, and Sara turned. 

"Sir, the job advertisement said that the contract is for three months, so I will work for three months and then leave. I am in dire need of a job, and at the moment, anything would do!" She said as she unknowingly placed her hand on the baby bump. 

"What is your name?"

"Sara Sood,"

"Qualification?"

"M.Com, Sir." She said and pulled out her CV. The man walked to her and took it. 

"We have a vacancy for an assistant accountant. You are overqualified for the job of a receptionist. Meet the HR and give him this." He scribbled on her CV and waved dismissively. 

"Referred by Virendra Kapoor for the job of assistant accountant/receptionist" It read. Sara looked at the retreating figure in shock. 

___________________

Her contractions came two days before her due date. She was still in office. 

"Sara, are you ok?" Ram Kapoor, Virendra Kapoor's son, was by her side. In these three months she had somehow wiggled her way to the top. Her efficiency had impressed the multimillionaire and his son, who was interning in the accounts department. He was like his father, kind and just. Recently heartbroken, the boy was like her brother she never had. Akki was there, sure, but he was Priya's brother. It was as if only Priya existed for Akki, and the other three sisters were invisible. 

"I think my water broke!" Sara managed and winced. 

"Oh, fu... Freak!" He gasped. 

"Should I call someone?"

"There will be a diary in my bag. It has my home number." She managed as another contraction hit her. 

A few minutes after tearing the place apart while searching for her bag, Ram ran to her with the diary. He dialed and handed her the phone. Sara couldn't help but glare at him. He winced and put the phone to his ear. 

"Hello, is this Sara Sood's home? Hi, I am Ram, and your daughter is in labor. We are taking her to the hospital. Ok, bye!" He blabbered and threw back the phone. Sara looked at him and raised her hands to her head. 

"I am panicking! Sorry!" He said and rubbed his face. 

"Just help me up!" She said to the younger man. Soon, they were walking to the lift. The HR was kind enough to call the hospital and lend them her car. 

___________________

Sara winced as a contraction hit her when Priya rushed into her hospital room. It was a posh room, and had it not been her baby struggling to wiggle his way out, Sara would have spent her time panicking about the bill or yelling at Ram for driving to such a costly place. 

"Hi, Di!" Her younger sister said as she hugged her. 

"How are the contractions coming along?"

"The doctor said I'll need to wait for some time. I haven't dilated yet," She replied. 

"How are you feeling?" Priya asked, and Sara shrugged. She was excited but slowly getting tired too. The pain was bearable, or maybe she could tolerate pain, something that came with her father's abuse.

"Where is Maa?"

"She is at the bakery. There is a rush there. So, I dropped Akki and Sandy off to help her and came here. She promised that she would finish within an hour and come here." 

"Have you contacted Dishaant?" Priya asked slowly after a few seconds, and Sara looked at her in shock. Priya had never mentioned Sara's ex-collegemate and her ex-lover during her pregnancy. While her mother spent hours trying to convince Sara to talk to him, when Sara had asked for Priya's opinion, she had shrugged as if to say, "it's your call,"

"No. Do you think I should?"

"I don't think so. It's not like he will be there for you or your child. I just wanted to know if you are considering contacting him." Priya replied. 

"No. I think I am good. I don't need any man anymore. I have you, don't I?"

"Till the end of the line. " Priya said and hugged her. 

"And you have me too," Ram said as he entered with a glass of ice chips. 

"Who are you?" Priya raised her eyebrow and looked at him in a mixture of curiosity and threat. 

"I am Ram Kapoor." He smiled a charming smile, though his eyes betrayed him and showed the fear they held for the youngest occupant in the room who had suddenly turned on him. 

"Priya, he is Virendra Sir's son. He got me here, and he was the one who called you." Sara said as she held her hand and pulled her back. 

"Thank you," She said after a few seconds, and Ram nodded. 

___________________

One year later, Sara held her son as he cried, and she walked the length of the living room of their small flat while Akki and Sandy argued somewhere back in the corner about the cake. Maitrayi entered the room, and a man followed her. 

"Sara Di, this is Neeraj. He is my senior. I hope it's ok that I invited him to Ishaan's party," She said and ran her hand through her nephew's curls. Sara shrugged and smiled at the man who made a face at their small house. 

"Sara, where should I keep this?" Ram said as he pulled a table. 

"Keep it there, Ram. And how many times do I have to tell you that you needn't help? Akki, Sandy, get your behinds here!" She yelled for her youngest siblings. 

"Where is Priya Di?" Akki asked as he approached her. Sandy took Ishaan from Sara, whose eyes were on Ram, especially on the crimson blush gracing his cheeks at the mention of Priya. 

"She is still at college. Stop messing with the cake and put the decorations!" Sara rebuked her cousin, who nodded. He picked a few balloons lying around and walked away. 

"Should I go pick Priya?" Ram asked super casually. Sara raised her eyebrow. 

"It's getting dark. She won't get an auto, and it looks like it will rain."

"Don't worry about Priya. She is fine. If you want to worry, worry about how you are going to ask her out." Sara replied and patted his chest. She walked to her son, with a smile on her face at Ram's horrified face. 

The man was too naive to think he was doing a great job hiding his crush on his sister. Sara really hoped he would muster the courage to ask Priya out. She wasn't sure if Priya liked him just as much as he liked her. She knew that Ram had managed to impress Priya, but her sister was good at hiding her emotions. 

Sara hoped that just like her, even her younger sister could find her share of happiness because no one else deserved it more than the brave girl who stood for her when no one else did.