Fighting!

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Ananya's point of view:

I attended 7 campus interviews with top MNC's that came to my college. And I got into 4 of them!!!

Everyone was thrilled when they got to know this news. The happiness in my parents' faces when I told them was priceless. They were a bit concerned about how I would manage work and marriage at the same time, but I assured them that I'd manage. Aayush is a technology lead, he has abundant knowledge in this field. I'm sure he'll help me. I got this news from the college. I have not received any offer letters from any of those four companies. I thought about it for a while and decided to go to the company which gives work from home the option. The salary packages of all those companies are the same but might vary after a decimal. It's not a big deal, they are all top companies. They all have great opportunities.

Since I'm going to an MNC, they will take months to send the offer letter and after that the onboarding will also take some more months, so Aayush and I decided he would take work from home once I start my job. He said I should choose a hybrid option if there is one, and he has enough connections to take work from home when I'm at the office. If that doesn't work, he'll apply for permanent work from home. I told him that let's decide about this after I get an offer letter.

The very first day he returned to the office, there was a different vibe at home. Aayush woke up early and went to the gym. I woke up an hour later and made him some breakfast, nothing fancy, just some light and healthy food. After that, I woke Diya up. She was cranky, as yesterday all three of us enjoyed ourselves a lot. We played so many games with her and she tried walking too, but she couldn't. 'A' for efforts though.

Aayush got ready as soon as he came back from the gym. He didn't get any time to spend with Diya and I. He had to rush because of the Mumbai traffic. He kissed Diya and I on the forehead and rushed out. The apartment after he left felt a different type of quiet. I missed him the very next instant, but had to wear big girl pants and carry on with my day.

I fed and gave Diya her bath first because she sleeps as soon as she takes her bath. In that gap, I took a shower and had my breakfast. I called mom and she said she would visit in the afternoon for a while. I called my friends next, who said tomorrow they'll spend the whole time here keeping me company and mostly because they miss Diya. They don't even miss me anymore.

I thought of taking a walk in the garden with Diya in her stroller. The weather today is beautiful; no harsh sun and not too cloudy that it would rain either. Until Diya woke up, I read a book. Once she was up, I changed her diaper and fed her some vegetables. She loves cucumbers but hates carrots. I strapped her to her stroller and handed her bunny to her. Today, her mood is gloomy. Maybe she misses her dad and even I do too. In the initial days when uncle and aunty went back, she used to miss them and ask for aunty every day. Aayush would video call her and both of them would talk until Diya looses her interest and starts playing with her doll.

I checked my phone to see Aayush's messages.

"Hey, I just reached the office."

"Did you guys have breakfast?"

"Ananya?"

were his three messages. I forgot to check my phone after I put Diya to sleep. I called him but he didn't pick him up. Guessing he must be busy in the office, I sent him a text.

"Hey, sorry I didn't check my phone"

"Both Diya and I had our breakfasts. She had her nap and just woke up. I thought of taking her for a stroll in the garden downstairs"

I sent the last text and I missed him even more after that. Last week, he was there with me every day. We used to laugh and talk about everything and anything. I loved that phase. I'm surprised by my own change in personality. I used to love my me-time but now I want to spend as much time as possible with him and Diya. Life sure finds a twist one way or another.

I went out of the apartment and locked it. I made sure I carried my phone with me and a small bottle of water.. Diya was blabbering about something while playing with her bunny and I let her be. I pressed the ground floor button and waited for the door to open when a young girl around 19-20 years of age walked up the stairs. I silently wondered if she had walked up from the ground floor. Then I remembered we are on the 20th floor and dismissed the idea. I just saw a glimpse of her face. Her whole demeanor looked like she was exhausted. When she saw me standing there, she just looked at me to recognize who I was, but when she couldn't, I thought she might talk to me but she just turned right and walked off. She opened the apartment door at the end of the hallway. After giving me a glance, she just walked in, opening the door. The whole encounter was eerie for me.

I don't know what happened. I think her whole aura kind of stopped me from talking to her. Shaking off that weird feeling, I got inside the lift once it opened. The whole way down, her face kept reoccurring in my head.

"Ann" I heard Diya. I turned on her stroller and bent down to talk to her.

"Hey baby" I said, cupping her cheek.

"Bun bun" she said, plopping the bunny in front of my face. I smiled at her enthusiasm. I think getting out of the apartment lifted her mood.

"Yes, bun bun. Hold on to it. You don't want to lose it, do you?" I said softly, she just looked at me as if she didn't understand a word I said and held her bunny to her chest. Smiling at her, I stood up. The lift reached the ground floor and opened.

We walked towards the garden area. There were a few people near the swimming pool. They all looked at me, wondering who I was. I wanted to talk to them but first, I wanted to take Diya on a walk and kind of refresh her mind. So I just smiled at them.

I took a walk around the garden and Diya loved it. I could hear her loud babbling. I thought of sitting on the grass but I was wearing white pants, so I searched for a bench. There were fewer benches in the garden area which were in shade. There was one with a space where a kid was sitting at one end. He looked like he was a teenager. He had a book in his hands. I pushed Diya's stroller over there and sat on the other end.

I opened the hood of the stroller and picked Diya up along with her bunny. I placed her on my lap and leaned back on the bench. The view from here was beautiful. The green grass everywhere and a swimming pool at a distance.

"Hey Baby, are you okay?" I asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the boy. Other benches were occupied by older people.

"Geee", was her word for water. I opened her bottle that I had brought with me and she took a few sips. I guess she was thirsty. I turned to see that boy was looking at Diya and he had a frown on his face.

"Sorry, did we disturb you?" I asked, feeling stupid. Of course, we disturbed him. He was reading for Christ's sake.

He just shook his head.

"What is your name?" Wouldn't it be rude to sit beside him and not introduce myself?

He just stared at me with a frown.

"I'm Ananya. I have just moved into building B" I said, smiling, and got the same frown in response.

Geez, tough people.

Smiling awkwardly at him, I sat back and started talking to Diya in a hushy tone. When I checked my phone there were texts from Aayush and mom. s**t! My phone must have been on silent. Aayush's messages were -

"That's great."

"I'm swamped at work. There's a major issue and we have to figure it out."

"Is Diya in a good mood or is she giving you a hard time?" was his last message.

I called him and there was no answer. He did say he was busy. Sighing, I replied to him.

"No, she's an angel like always."

"We miss you." I couldn't hold myself back. I really did miss him. I missed his warmth and his kisses.

"I'll be there in an hour" was mom's message.

I looked at the boy once more, his face was buried in the book he was reading, so I knew talking to him would only disturb him and he was not that keen on conversing either. I put Diya back in her stroller and stood up. I moved towards the beginning of the garden area where there were a few women all talking loudly. When I walked there, they noticed me and stopped talking.

"Hi" I said, smiling at them.

One of the ladies smiled at me and stood up.

"Hi, I'm Nayana, I live in Apartment A". She introduced herself.

"I'm Ananya, I just moved to Apartment B" I said, shaking her hand. Later, one by one, all the ladies introduced themselves. I tried to remember all their names but I couldn't, so I just simply nodded as if I did.

"Hey, I know this cutie. Isn't she Diya, Aayush's daughter?" One of the ladies, I'm guessing Devi asked.

"Yes, Aayush's my husband" I said, knowing they would be confused for sure.

They all looked at me in confusion, as I guessed. Smiling, I cleared all their doubts.

"We got married last week" my one statement set their minds at ease.

"Aww, congratulations, but Disha will be sad for sure," Nayana said and the others laughed. Now I was the one who was confused.

"Disha?" I voiced out loud.

"Disha stays in Apartment A. Ananya, your husband has a fan following here. Every teenage girl crushes over him but Disha likes him. She thought one day she would marry him." Jealousy flowed through every cell in my body at her words. Who the hell is this Disha? I even want to see how she tries to marry my husband.

He's mine.

Controlling my anger, I chuckled alone with them.

"It's okay, when I meet her I'll let her know he's taken" I said with a fake smile.

They all laughed as if I had made a joke and I didn't get what was funny.

Diya started making a fuss with so many ladies laughing out loud. I bid them a quick bye and went towards our apartment elevator.

Too much socializing for one day.

-------------- ------------- -------------- ------------- -------------- -------------- ------------- --------------- ----------- -------------- ---------------