The moment Vivan started to paint a picture of a happy family in his mind, Ira crushed all his hopes. The anger was clear on his face as he looked through Ira's tablet.
"Do you want to abort my child?" His stare was cruel enough to knock her breath out for an instant. The only time she had seen him this angry was the fight that led to their divorce. Vivan had never even raised his voice at her.
She bowed her head to avoid his hurtful, questioning eyes.
He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him and repeated, "Do you want to abort our child?" Her lowered eyes gave away her insecurity. Ira never did this before. She would talk to him, directly meeting his eyes, even when she was in the wrong.
Ira's mind was chaotic, empty… a mess.
'How did he know about it?'
Absent-mindedly, she stuttered, "No—no—I—"
"Then, how do you explain this?" Vivan showed her the tablet.
The words read:
-Search History-
'How to terminate a 4-week pregnancy'
'Medical termination of pregnancy'
'Abortion clinic nearby'
'Illegal abortion clinics'
'Intrauterine device for contraception'
"No… no... Viv, listen to me. It's a misunderstanding! I got scared with the sudden news, and searched randomly with no meaning." Panic-stricken, she somehow tried to make excuses for her irresponsible behavior.
She had forgotten that the past her had decided to abort the child the moment she found out about its existence.
Ira had searched for ways to terminate her pregnancy online.
Stupid! She had fallen asleep with her tablet unlocked!
Upon hearing her words, his face changed. Vivan suppressed his anger and anxiously grabbed her shoulders. "No meaning?"
With a sincere gaze, he waited for her reply.
"Absolutely none." Ira defended.
"You want this child right?"
When he asked her, she looked straight into his eyes and nodded.
He clasped her hand between his' as he urged her, "Promise me to take care of our baby."
Ira nodded immediately, "I promise."
Vivan didn't pry further. He shrugged the matter off and blamed her behavior on the anxiety that came with pregnancy.
"Ira, I know you are worried about how you would cope up with our child and your career altogether. Remember, I will always be here for you. We will take baby steps to our future," he said in a calm voice. Brushing the back of her hand with his fingers, he added: "Don't worry, let's go with the flow. You're a strong woman; I know you will be a good mom."
Lowering her eyes, she bit her lip. 'This man is understanding and considerate to me… as always,' she thought, ashamed of herself.
Ira was a tyrant. Like her father, many feared her for her cold and decisive nature.
Her dad Tej Rai, was a successful businessman, a self-made man who build an entire business in a span of a couple of decades. He created the country's biggest pharma giant.
She admired him the most and wanted to continue his legacy, expanding their company to the far corners of the world.
In her previous lifetime, she never wanted to have a child. It was an accidental pregnancy because she forgot to take a few doses of contraceptives. Yet, Vivan had no idea.
Being selfish, when she came to know about the pregnancy, she didn't even deem it necessary to tell Vivan about it and got it aborted by herself. Maybe if she had chosen to speak it out things would have turned out differently.
Ira did the abortion at an illegal clinic since she couldn't let her husband know about it. Not because she was scared of him, instead, she thought that he would tattle to her dad, thereby ending her dreams. Thus, she kept the issue hidden. In any case, she couldn't take the risk as she was still fighting for the position of CEO.
Following that, half a month later, she inserted an IUD that would stay for 5 years, at the least.
Who would have thought that this method would fail as well!
She was pregnant again at 30. This time she was prepared to accept the child with gratitude. However, there was no fate between her and the child anymore.
She remembered that particular night... the beginning of her fall.
__________________________
Coming straight from the office, she ran to the washroom when a constant pain in her lower abdomen suffocated her.
A sudden bolt of pain struck her abdomen. "Ahhh!" The unbearable pain felt like it would tear her to pieces.
Blood ran down through her thighs, and it dripped down on the ground. She took a deep breath as she placed her hand on her lower abdomen to, at least, ease the discomfort.
Vivan rushed inside the bathroom when he heard her painful cry, breaking the door in the process. Ira was wailing as she sat on the floor, streams of blood were running down her legs.
Her face was pale, her hand clutched her abdomen and the other clenched around his wrist.
"My stomach hurts."
He picked her up and rushed to the hospital.