Chapter 17

Warmth and wetness, quite a contrasting pair, united to awaken Jyotsna from her peaceful and numbing slumber. As she gained the awareness of her surroundings, her sense of hearing increased, and she began noticing that someone was sobbing around her and it felt like a male tone.

She struggled to separate her eyelids and the vision that greeted her when she was successful made her wonder if she was in a dream because she could not bring herself to believe that what she was seeing was true.

Varun Khanna was crouched at her feet while holding them in his palms as he hid his face in them. It was his tears that were washing her feet and his warmth that spread through her; a scene just ironic as the pair of warmth and moisture but just as overwhelming as the former.

From the corner of her eye she saw the man who had been her anchor throughout the fiasco- Arjun Ranawat. He was eying Varun with a mixture of emotions she could not quite decipher or maybe since they did not resonate with hers, she could just not decode them.

In an attempt to rise from her position, a gasp due to ache of longtime impassiveness left her chapped lips, making the men jump onto their feet and to her side. While Arjun 's concern was not a surprise after days of compassion he had shown her, it was Varun's worry lines that shocked her. The man who was supposed to be her brother, albeit foster, but brother and the one who coerced her into signing the surrogacy contract, he was shedding tears for her?

"What are you doing here? Came with a proposal to renew the contract and demand for compensation so that you can earn more money?" she snapped, her voice despite being weak, reverberated in the eardrums of Varun more than ever.

Arjun did not know how to feel and with whom to side. It brought him happiness that the feisty spirit of Jyotsna was back but he felt sorrow that the spirit had arisen from her pain and he was also aware that Varun was truly regretful of his deeds and the guilt in him was powerful enough to guide him in the right direction.

"Jyotsna, you think I would want a fate like this for you? Never, not even in my dreams. I am so sorry that I had ever asked to enter this contract. Greed had gotten into my head and my bad company did not help. Come back home, Gudiya, we will somehow return the contract money," he pleaded, clutching Jyotsna's hand in between his in a humble gesture and the mention of her childhood name rendered Jyotsna's heart sensitive.

"You are doing this, aren't you, Mr. Ranawat? I know that you are conspiring against me to escape from fulfilling my request," she accused, looking pointedly at Arjun who hung his head in acceptance of her claims.

"Request? What are you talking about?" questioned Varun, alternating between Arjun and Jyotsna, prominently at the former since he had not informed Varun of any such happening.

"Jyotsna, I am doing this for your own welfare. You are in so much pain for having lost your child, how would you feel to leave your child behind and walk out? Would you be able to live with the feelings of not being in the child's life as the true mother?" asked Arjun , his eyes boring questions right into her heart, knowing that it would not be acceptable to her and it was just the feeling of loss which was taking over her.

"Would you be able to live with the guilt that you had a chance to bring your child back and you did not? Would you be able to face yourself in the mirror when the knowledge that you have snatched my biggest dream of being a mother from me? Because, Mr.Ranawat, if I cannot have a child like I have lost, I am never having a child in my life. Nothing would ever replace my baby," she sobbed as she clutched her abdomen with tear-filled eyes and shaking dainty fingers.

Arjun had to restrain himself with great effort from shouting on her. He understood that she was in trauma, but he had lost the same thing as Jyotsna, but he was not allowing the trauma to overpower him like she was. He hated to see her so weak, but he could not do anything when her brother looked furious already.

"Jyotsna, you are putting all of us into a quandary," he said, sighing deeply as Varun nodded in acceptance towards Jyotsna.

"I am sure your family would be very happy about this, Mr. Ranawat. You have listened to their wish, maybe you can do it this time around too. At least, it would give me mental peace and satisfaction, and my self-respect would be intact that I have not violated the contract," she countered, as frustration began building up in Arjun for not being able to convince Jyotsna and bring her to the right track.

"You are right on everything, probably except one thing, Jyotsna," said a voice which everyone soon recognized to be that of Namita Ranawat.

"Neither me nor Nani would be happy about it. You think we don't regret what happened? We do, in fact, more than you can imagine because maybe if we have not exerted so much of stress on the two of you, Jyotsna might have never miscarried. But I agree on one thing which Jyotsna says, the whole thing should be given a try," she said, making fury dance over Arjun 's features like never before.

"Is this not enough for you to stop, Miss Namita Ranawat? How much more would you stoop? Showing the bait of money, you expect anyone to do anything," lashed Arjun, clutching his arms by his side to ensure that he does not do anything that he would regret.

Namita took a deep breath and closed her eyes to take in Arjun 's taunts. She turned to Jyotsna with never seen before compassion and guilt floating in her eyes.

"Irrespective of your decision, Jyotsna, the contract money would reach you and the only reason I am saying this is that the child is our only key to repentance and to correct our errors. All of us, in some way or the other, have committed a sin and the innocent child paid for it. It is only fair that we give the child a chance at life," requested Namita, hanging her head in shame and humility as everyone looked at her in silence as they lost themselves in thoughts.

Jyotsna's numbness in the hospital had taught them what Arjun 's screams and shouts did not - their sin in expecting their every wish to be fulfilled - and according to Namita, siding with her and supporting her wish, was the least she could to thank the one who taught her the difference between right and wrong.